Encore - 9-12-09

Dan Bylsma had quite a debut in his first season as an NHL coach. And as Dave Molinari points out today, it'll be a challenge to follow up the team's Stanley Cup run in his second season.

Were Bylsma able to win the Stanley Cup next season, he'd be only the third coach in NHL history to start off his career with two championships.

Here's a look at the other 13 coaches in league history who won the Cup their rookie year and how they followed it up:

Note: Carroll and the Arenas, the first name of what is now the Toronto Maple Leafs, won the Cup the first year of the NHL's existence. They missed the playoffs the following season despite there only being three teams in the league. The franchise was forced to sell off its star players during the 1918-19 season in order to pay legal fees resulting from lawsuits filed by former owner Edward Livingstone who wanted to regain control of the organization.

Note: The Senators were able to capture the Cup despite playing the entire five-game series in Vancouver. Green led the Senators to another Cup title in 1923.

Note: The St. Pats, the second name of the Maple Leafs' franchise, missed the 1923 postseason despite having the same identical record as the 1921-22 season. O'Donoghue was replaced as coach for the 1923-24 season.

Note: Gill and the original Senators franchise (or any other team from Ottawa for that matter) would never win another Stanley Cup title after the 1927 season. The Senators would move to St. Louis in 1935 and fold after one season.

Note: We're willing to bet this is a precedent that won't ever be matched. Denneny had spent 15 season as a legendary player with the original Senators franchise. He then joined the Bruins in 1928-29 as a player, coach and assistant manager. He led the team to its first Stanley Cup title then retired to become a referee after only one season in Boston. The Bruins made it back to the Cup final in 1929-30 after only losing five games in the regular season. They lost to the rival Canadiens in two games.

Note: The 1937-38 Black Hawks (The franchise changed the name to "Blackhawks" in 1986) might be the most unlikely Stanley Cup champion in NHL history. Despite having been outscored 97-139 during the regular season, they snuck into the playoffs with a poor 14-25-9 record. The Black Hawks upset the Montreal Canadiens in the quarterfinals and the New York Americans in the semifinals. Along the way, their starting goaltender, Mike Karakas, was sidelined by a broken toe. The Black Hawks signed Americans goaltender Alfie Moore prior to Game 1 of the Cup Final and he even led them to a 3-1 win. The league then stepped in and ruled Moore was ineligible to play. He was replaced by minor leaguer Paul Goodman who was not sharp in a 5-1 loss in Game 2. Karakas returned to the ice wearing a skate with a steel cap on it and limited the Maple Leafs to a total of two goals in the final two games. The Black Hawks set a record with eight American-born players on a Cup-winning roster and Stewart became the first American-born coach to claim the Cup. The following season, the Black Hawks came back to Earth. Stewart was fired in mid-season after a poor start and Chicago finished with the worst record in the league. The Black Hawks would not win another Cup title until 1961.

Note: The Rangers won their third Cup title by beating the Maple Leafs, 4-2, in the 1940 Final. During the 1940-41 season, the franchise paid off the mortgage on the third Madison Square Garden and literally burnt the mortgage in the bowl of the Cup. This was seen as the start of a curse that would keep the Rangers without a Cup title until 1994.

Note: Primeau took over a pretty established Maple Leafs squad which had won five of the previous 10 Cup titles under coach Hap Day. In the 1951 Cup final against the rival Canadiens, an overtime goal by defenseman Bill Bariko in Game 5 would claim the Cup for Toronto. Bariko was killed in the offseason in a plane crash. The Maple Leafs would make the playoffs in 1951-52, but were swept in the opening round and outscored by a total of 13-3. Primeau would be replaced following the 1952-53 season.

Note: The Red Wings had won the Cup in 1954 under coach Tommy Ivan. Ivan left the organization the following offseason to take over as the Black Hawks' coach and general manager. Skinner stepped in and led the Red Wings to their second consecutive title. In 1955-56, he once again directed the Red Wings to the Cup final, where they lost to the Canadiens, the team they had beaten for the Cup the previous two years. Skinner stepped down as coach in the middle of the 1957-58 season due to an illness. Detroit would not win another Cup title until 1997.

Note: Blake, a legendary player for the Habs during the 1930s and 40s, took over for coaching great Dick Irvin and turned the Canadiens of the late 50s into arguably the greatest dynasty in the sports' history. Blake won the Cup his first five seasons behind Montreal's bench. He won three more championships in the 1960s.

Note: Ruel took over for Blake who had won the Cup in 1968 and retired. He directed a team stocked with hall-of-fame talent to yet another Cup win. in 1969-70, despite a record that produced six more points than the first-place team in the Western Conference, the Canadiens finished in fifth place in the Eastern Conference and missed the playoffs for the first time in 22 seasons.

Note: Ruel and the Canadiens got off to a slow start in 1970-71 and he was replaced by MacNeil in mid-season. The team qualified for the playoffs and MacNeil made the questionable decision of promoting an unknown Ken Dryden to the No. 1 goaltending position despite the fact he had only played in six regular season games. Dryden would lead Montreal to its 17th Cup title. Despite the success, MacNeil was not retained as head coach and was replaced by Scotty Bowman. The Habs would lose to the Rangers, 4-2 in the quarterfinals of the 1972 playoffs. Up until last season, MacNeil was the only mid-season coaching replacement to have won the Stanley Cup in NHL history.

Note: Perron replaced Jacques Lemaire as head coach and led the Canadiens to their only Stanley Cup title in the 1980s with a 20-year-old Patrick Roy in net. Until last season, he was the last rookie head coach to have claimed the Cup.

(Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images)