5 takeaways from Week 1 of the 2019-20 NHL season
The first few days of the 2019-20 NHL season have been wild. It’s far too early to make sweeping generalizations, but what can fans take away from the first week of the season?
It’s early in the 2019-20 NHL season, but there’s already been a ton of surprises and action. There’s still a lot of hockey left to be played, but games in October count as much as games in March and April.
What can fans take away from the first week of the season? Let’s take a look at some of the interesting takeaways and storylines.
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Which Coaches Could Be On The Hot Seat?
In recent years, two teams have won the Stanley Cup after firing their head coach during the season – the Pittsburgh Penguins won in 2016 and the St. Louis Blues followed in their tracks last season. This could motivate certain teams to have an itchy trigger finger if things aren’t going their way.
Obviously, a few games into a season is a bit too early to start thinking about firing a coach. But American Thanksgiving is usually a good measuring stick. If you aren’t in the playoffs on Thanksgiving, or at least within striking distance, your chances of making the postseason aren’t that great.
There are a few names to keep an eye on. One of them is Peter DeBoer of the San Jose Sharks. To say the Sharks have had a dreadful start to the 2019-20 season is an understatement. They’ve lost each of their first three games and they’ve gotten outscored 12-3 in the process. The Sharks, much like the Blues last season, are an all-in team that wants to win now. If they don’t start winning soon, DeBoer could be the first head coach fired this season.
Speaking of teams under pressure to win now, the New Jersey Devils didn’t have a good start to their 2019-20 campaign. They lost to the Winnipeg Jets in their home opener despite having a 4-0 lead at one point. The next night, the Devils lost to the Buffalo Sabres (more on them later) 7-2.
A lot of the blame is pointed at head coach John Hynes, and deservedly so. His decision to shake up the lines on Friday after the Jets scored a sort of fluky goal towards the end of the second period was the turning point in the game. And not in a good way. The Devils still had a 4-1 lead. While the players deserve blame for blowing the lead, their coach didn’t put them in a position to succeed.
Keep an eye on Paul Maurice of the Jets as well. He’d be more of a sacrificial lamb at this point, but something’s got to give. It would be ironic if Maurice got fired the one time he probably didn’t deserve it. I’m not sure if any coach could have success with the Jets blueline in complete shambles.
Bruce Boudreau of the Minnesota Wild could be in trouble as well. Keep in mind, Bill Guerin is a new general manager. He didn’t hire him. Considering how late Guerin was hired, it’s not surprising he decided to keep Boudreau. But if things keep going downhill, he might want to hire his own guy.