Three NHL Head Coaches on the hot seat at halfway point of 2020-21
These three NHL Head Coaches may be starting to feel the heat at the halfway point.
What an interesting 2020-21 NHL season it has been so far. While the season wasn’t able to start until January, it has been well worth the wait. The new division alignments have created many rivalries between teams, and that won’t change anytime soon as they still have roughly half a season to go.
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Given the times we are dealing with due to the Pandemic, many thought Head Coaches may have higher job security this season than years past due to the quarantine protocol rules the league has been given. However, Montreal Canadiens General Manager Marc Bergevin proved that coaches can indeed be fired this season, as he elected to relieve Claude Julien of his duties nearly a month ago. A few weeks later, Calgary Flames GM Brad Treliving did the same thing with Geoff Ward.
Now, the third coaching casualty, and the first of American teams, has taken place, as Buffalo Sabres GM Kevyn Adams announced Ralph Krueger was being fired early Wednesday morning. With these firings taking place, it has become clear that General Managers aren’t afraid to pull the trigger on firing a coach, which has to have a few current ones throughout the league feeling pretty restless…
Three NHL Head Coaches on the hot seat at halfway point of the 2020-21 season
3. David Quinn – New York Rangers
When the New York Rangers hired David Quinn heading into the 2018-19 season, most thought that the team was at the start of a rebuild. However, that all changed in a major way when they were able to sign Artemi Panarin during the 2019 offseason, and even more so when they were able to win the First overall pick at the 2020 NHL Draft Lottery, going on to select generational talent Alexis Lafreniere in the Draft.
As a result, the rebuild that was expected to take place for the Rangers turned into more of a re-tooling. Their roster boasts a ton of talent, and gave them pretty high expectations heading into the 2020-21 season. Unfortunately however, things have not gone as hoped.
Through 27 games this season, the Rangers have a 11-12-4 record which gives them 26 points. This is good enough for just sixth place in the Eastern Division, and has them trailing the Boston Bruins by eight points for the final Playoff position.
While that is disappointing, it is worth noting that in Quinn’s defence he was without Artemi Panarin for a significant amount of time this season. Had the Russian superstar been in the lineup, they likely would be at least a few points closer to a postseason spot than they are currently.
The one thing Quinn has going for him is that while fans expected this team to contend this season, that may not have been the case for management. Remember, this is a team who was expected to be heading into a rebuild just two seasons ago. Perhaps they let Quinn finish out the season and even give him another chance behind the bench heading into the 2021-22 campaign. If that does happen however, you can bet his leash will be very short.
2. John Hynes – Nashville Predators
Though John Hynes was only hired roughly 13 months ago by the Nashville Predators, his time may already be coming to an end. Heading into the 2020-21 season, many questions surrounded this team. After being one of the powerhouses in the West for many years, it was clear that their roster was getting weaker, but many still thought they could bounce back from a disappointing 2019-20 season and at the very least contend for a Playoff spot.
Any optimism surrounding this season for the Preds has been washed away very quickly, as they have been bad all year. They currently sit seventh in the Central Division with a 12-16-1 record, and trail the Chicago Blackhawks by eight points for the final postseason spot. Their biggest problem is scoring goals, as they rank 26th in the entire league with just 71 on the year.
Their lack of scoring is quite astonishing given that they have some very talented players up front, but aside from Filip Forsberg, all are struggling in a major way. In Hynes’ defence, this isn’t a new problem, as many of these same players were also struggling to put up numbers for previous Head Coach Peter Laviolette. Still, this team should be playing better than they are right now, and GM David Poile may need to make a coaching change if he wants to see them turn things around.
Hynes too may be given the rest of the season due to the fact that Poile just fired another coach in Laviolette fairly recently. However, with many of their core players aging, this current group of players may not have much time left, meaning something may need to be done right away. Hynes cannot be feeling very comfortable at the moment.
1. John Tortorella – Columbus Blue Jackets
No coach in the league has been talked about more this season than John Tortorella. Heading into the 2020-21 campaign, most expected the Columbus Blue Jackets to be a borderline Playoff team. While they don’t have the same talent as others, in the past Tortorella has been able to instill his ‘us against the world’ mentality on them, but it appears that message may be falling on deaf ears this season.
The Blue Jackets currently have a 11-12-7 record, good enough for fifth in the Central Division. They currently sit four points back of the Chicago Blackhawks for the final Playoff position, which certainly doesn’t sound insurmountable, however it feels it given the drama surrounding them this season. First was the Pierre-Luc Dubois debacle, which started out as a trade request made by the young forward which then got brought up to the media multiple times by Tortorella.
Once GM Jarmo Kekalainen traded Dubois for Patrik Laine and Jack Roslovic, many hoped the team could avoid distractions and just focus on playing hockey. That hasn’t been the case, however. Instead, Tortorella has already benched Laine on two separate occasions, the second of which clearly confused the young Finnish forward, who told reporters after the game he thought he was playing well.
Many are confused with the decisions Tortorella is making behind the bench this season. In fact, TSN’s Pierre LeBrun recently stated he himself is questioning whether or not the two-time Jack Adams Award winner is trying to get himself fired. Though Kekalainen did say in recent weeks he isn’t considering a change, he may not have a choice given the fact it appears his players are growing sick of Torts.
Next. Daniel Vladar enjoys fairytale beginning. dark
Short Shelf Life
It has become more and more evident over the years of just how short the shelf lives are of coaches throughout the NHL. As the saying goes, coaches are hired to be fired, and while it certainly has its perks, it is without a doubt a very high-stress job. Hopefully for these three coaches above, they are able to get things turned around and keep their jobs. Who knows, perhaps another coach emerges and ends up being the next fired, but for now, these three seem the most likely bets.
Honorable Mentions: Rick Bowness (DAL), Jeff Blashill (DET), Dallas Eakins (ANA)