NHL Coaches: Potential Jobs at Risk

Nov 24, 2014; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Bruins head coach Claude Julien looks on during the overtime period of the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 overtime win at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports

It seems that after every NHL season begins and teams start to falter early, that coaches can land themselves on the hot seat pretty quickly. More often than not, the early signs are there where we can identify who is likely to lose their job if things aren’t going well. On rare occasions, they surprise us.

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Heading into the 2015-2016 season, we’ve already got 7 new teams featuring a new bench boss:

Parts of the information below are property of nhl.com’s “7 new coaches” article.

Dave Hakstol, Philadelphia Flyers

Hakstol’s first NHL coaching gig (hired in May after replacing Craig Berube). Has spent last 15 seasons with University of North Dakota.

Todd McLellan, Edmonton Oilers

A month after he finished his tenure with the San Jose Sharks, new GM Peter Chiarelli in Edmonton appointed McLellan the man to steer the boat featuring new phenom Connor McDavid.

Mike Babcock, Toronto Maple Leafs

Sep 21, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock (center) on the bench against the Ottawa Senators at the Air Canada Centre. Toronto defeated Ottawa 4-1. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

Babcock quickly became the highest paid coach in NHL history (8 yrs 50 million) after a year of speculation came to fruition. His success with the Red Wings speaks for itself. Now he hopes to turn-around a franchise that could use some Detroit-like successes.

Dan Bylsma, Buffalo Sabres

Bylsma is widely known for his successes with the Pittsburgh Penguins during his 5 1/2 year tenure. Even though he may not have been the most flashy hiring, he does step in to the most advantageous position of any coach. It’s a roster that’s completely overturned and being immersed with some extremely talented young players.

Peter DeBoer, San Jose Sharks

Even though his time in New Jersey ended with a pretty ugly record, it’s worth noting he did coach a team to the Cup Finals that over-exceeded expectations. He also spent some time with the Florida Panthers. Ironically, DeBoer lost out on the Sharks coaching position to McClellan seven years ago. Maybe he’ll feel he has something to prove.

John Hynes, New Jersey Devils

Coming from Wilkes-Barre of the AHL, his first coaching gig won’t come with too high of expectations. He takes over a basement dweller team and hopes to steer the boat in the right direction as the youth develops. There’s some good pieces in place, but a lot of work to do for GM Ray Shero.

Jeff Blashill, Detroit Red Wings

Blashill was the obvious decision after leading Grand Rapids to numerous successes in the AHL. The question is what the expectations will be for the new bench boss? He walks into an interesting situation in goal, but has a lot of stability up and down the lineup with tons of young prospects knocking on the door.

Next: Trouble in Beantown?

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Feb 6, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets coach

(right) and center

(24) react in the second period against the Los Angeles Kings at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Todd Richards, Columbus Blue Jackets, Hired Jan 2012
information on Richard’s coaching career can be found here

11-12: (18-21-2 after taking over)
12-13: 24 wins 55 pts (48gms)
13-14: 43 wins 93 pts Lost 1st round
14-15: 42 wins 89 pts

To be fair to Todd Richards, he never really inherited the best player personnel to begin with. But Columbus management has worked hard to put some very talented pieces in place to help this team succeed. Richards finally led the Blue Jackets to the playoffs in 2013-2014 only to be eliminated in the first round.

They’ve gotten top tier goaltending from Sergei Bobrovsky. The blue-line has been a work in progress but the youth is expected to take a big step forward this year. Guys like Ryan Murray, David Savard, and Dalton Prout will need to take their games to the next level. Jack Johnson and Fedor Tyutin are underrated quality d-men.

Up front, Ryan Johansen keeps getting better and they hope he develops good chemistry with new acquisition Brandon Saad. The Columbus Blue Jackets have a ton of good young players up front: Oliver Bjorkstrand, Sonny Milano, Kerby Rychel, Alex Wennberg, Boone Jenner, William Karlsson are just some of the guys who could make impacts soon.

The general hockey world may not have high expectations for the Blue Jackets, but I guarantee that Columbus management feels like they have a team that could compete and go deep into the playoffs.

Maybe they haven’t been one of better teams in hockey, but they’re definitely a lot better than the underwhelming records they’ve achieved under Todd Richards. A slow start for the Columbus Blue Jackets could put this bench boss on the hot seat early in the season.

Next: Could someone be singing the Blues?

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Nov 18, 2014; Boston, MA, USA; St. Louis Blues head coach Ken Hitchcock behind the bench during the first period against the Boston Bruins at TD Banknorth Garden. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

Ken Hitchcock, St.Louis Blues, Hired Nov 2011
information on Hitchcock’s coaching career can be found here

11-12: (43 wins after taking over) Lost 2nd round
12-13: 29 wins 60 pts (48gms) Lost 1st round
13-14: 52 wins 111 pts Lost 1st round
14-15: 51 wins 109 pts Lost 1st round

The impact of Ken Hitchcock’s arrival was immediately felt in 2011-2012 when the St.Louis Blues hired him. He actually went on to win the Jack Adams award that season, although the Blues were knocked out in the 2nd round playoffs.

Unfortunately that’s the furthest he’s gotten with them. Three straight years of first round departures have left a lot of fans asking how long it is before they make the switch from Hitchcock.

There’s no doubt that Hitchcock is one of the more decorated coaches in recent NHL history and has had his share of successes. The regular season records in St.Louis speak for themselves as its a team that has battled for the President’s Trophy every year.

However I remember when the Canucks used to own the regular season and find themselves as regular departures early in the playoffs. The blame has been pointed in so many different directions that it’s difficult to gauge exactly who should be to blame.

David Backes takes a beating from fans for his inability to show up come playoff time. A couple unproven goaltenders that can’t make the saves when you need them in the playoffs doesn’t help either.

But perhaps the blame should be directed towards the coach. Of course players are solely responsible for getting themselves ready for games, but is the coach getting these guys ready for games? Is he implementing a system that best suits the style of his players?

The Blues should once again be among the favorites to walk away with the President’s Trophy, but if something were to happen where this team does get off to a slow start, things in St.Louis could escalate pretty quickly and Hitchcock could very well be on the hot seat.

Next: Change of philosophy in Minnesota?

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Mar 6, 2015; Raleigh, NC, USA; Minnesota Wild head coach Mike Yeo looks on from the bench against the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena. The Wild defeated the Hurricanes 3-1. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports

Mike Yeo, Minnesota Wild, Hired June 2011
information on Yeo’s coaching career can be found here

11-12: 35 wins 81 pts
12-13: 26 wins 55 pts (48gms) L 1st
13-14: 43 wins 98 pts L 2nd
14-15: 46 wins 100 pts L 2nd

Mike Yeo began his successes at the professional level with Wilkes-Barre of the AHL where he coached from 2000-2005. He went to be the assistant coach in Pittsburgh from 2005-2010 where he won a Stanley Cup and had an additional two Stanley Cup finals to add to his resume.

He Followed that up in 2011 by coaching the Houston Aeros of the AHL (Wild Affiliate) to a Calder Cup final in his first season. He was hired as the third coach in Minnesota Wild history on June 2011.

He’s had somewhat decent stability up front and on the back-end during his time with the Wild. The goaltending has been a shaky one as he took over during the years where Niklas Backstrom was dealing with digression and injuries.

The Wild have had decent success under Yeo, but have been unable to escape the 2nd round in the three years. Wild management had put a lot of money into contracts to try and put the pieces together for a winning formula.

Up front, some experts have questioned the speed of the top six. While others question young Michael Granlund’s reluctancy to shoot the puck. Others may blame Zach Parise for not performing up to expectations. Regardless who you want to blame, the skill is there up and down the line up for all four lines. This team has the tools to succeed.

On the back end, The Wild have Ryan Suter logging astronomical amounts of ice time per game. The emergence of Matt Dumba should help to alleviate some of that pressure they put on Suter. Other guys like Jonas Brodin, Jared Spurgeon, and Marco Scandella are quality d-men who will look to continue to grow this season.

In goal, the Wild have hope they’ve solved their goaltending dilemma after the emergence of Devan Dubnyk last season. They signed him to a lucrative extension in the offseason. They’ve also got Darcy Kuemper who has proved to be a decent goalie.

I think the expectations are sky-high in Minnesota. You can’t blame Mike Yeo for making improper assessments on players and bringing in the wrong player personnel obviously. But the coach is usually the first one to go when a team doesn’t meet expectations.

Although, he may be more of the less likely candidates to land on the coaching hot seat early into the season, unless the Wild go off a cliff early.

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