NHL Coaches on The Hot Seat, The List is Growing
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Here we are at this early point in the NHL season, looking at coaches who could be on the hot set or already are.
Some bench bosses are here as a product of last year, and some may be here because of expectations and pure speculation. Either way, this weekly column will serve as a way to monitor bench bosses who are on thin ice.
Is everyone ready to feel the flames behind them? I thought so.
Dallas Eakins - Anaheim Ducks
Does a coach like Eakins have a longer shelf life with a long rebuild in Anaheim? The losses expect to keep piling up for the Ducks' bench boss. That's a barometer for determining the fate of a coach.
Anaheim is 1-5-1, has a -16 goal differential, and its metrics are ghastly. Its SRS, or Simple Rating System, pans out with Anaheim as the worst. It is Eakins’ fourth year in Anaheim, so one never knows.
Andre Tourigny - Arizona Coyotes
Arizona has lost four of six games to start the season, but the hot seat might have cooled a fraction this week. Andre Tourigny saw his team win a game and is set to open its home schedule tonight against Winnipeg. That could be a winnable game.
In some respects, most NHL hockey franchises may have dismissed Tourigny. Thankfully, for him, Arizona is not your average team. The pitchforks have been replaced by those who want Arizona to be moved to a more “hockey-friendly location.”
Will management eventually go in another direction? Perhaps. However, the Coyotes seem to have bigger fish to fry with injuries and players Arizona is still trying to unload.
Bruce Boudreau - Vancouver Canucks
Boudreau did get his 600th coaching win Thursday as Vancouver won its first game of the season. The 5-4 win appeased some media and fans but not many.
The problem is Vancouver still is 1-5-2 on the season and is banged up with injuries to J.T. Miller, Quinn Hughes, and Brock Boeser, to name a few players. That buys Boudreau some time to turn the ship around. However, missing so much talent does not help either.
Again, this expects to be some ride. Management says the coach is not the first move. Does one believe them? Stay tuned.
Dave Hakstol - Seattle Kraken
An expansion team coach does not figure to be on a list like this so soon, but then again, it is Dave Hakstol. So, few may be surprised. Ron Francis has gone on record recently, saying he believes in Hakstol and his coaching staff.
Seattle’s goaltending and lapses in defense have been well-documented since inception. So, Francis went to work this summer to assemble a better team. Their goaltending cannot make clutch saves, and holding leads feels like an exercise straight out of “hot potato.”
Fortunately for Hakstol, he looks to be safe for now.
Lindy Ruff - New Jersey Devils
The New Jersey Devils are 4-3, which has helped keep Ruff in New Jersey. How fast does management enact the escape code and go into the Andrew Brunette era?
With the schedule about to intensify, Ruff will need to make better decisions as far as rosters and game management. Those are aspects that have dogged him in his Jersey tenure. It is now or never.
John Hynes - Nashville Predators
The Nashville Predators won a game on Thursday night, defeating the St. Louis Blues 6-2. Thanks to four nights' rest, the Predators recharged and refocused. Now, the hard part is can the Predators mount a run?
Some pundits called for the coaches’ nameplate during the offseason. Can Hynes and his staff calm those fears? He has found a way to do it before but needs Jusse Saros to play better, Matt Duchene, and Filip Forsberg. The leaders have to lead
Sheldon Keefe - Toronto Maple Leafs
The Maple Leafs are enduring another slow October. They lost in overtime to the San Jose Sharks. Toronto is hovering around .500, and Auston Matthews has only two goals.
This feels like an indictment of GM Kyle Dubas, but Keefe could take the fall if things continue. Even Canadian Sports Bettors are still deciding about this one. The sentiment is that Dubas may be more on the hot seat than his coach.
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