The NHL coaching carousel claimed its first victim on Tuesday when it was announced the Boston Bruins would be parting ways with Jim Montgomery.
For a team that typically keeps its cards close to its chest, the firing didn’t exactly come as a surprise – but it did remind everyone that the man standing behind the bench is normally the scapegoat when the going starts to get tough.
Several teams have underperformed with the season only six weeks old, and with more and more teams afraid of rebuilding, Montgomery’s sacking might not be the last before the Four Nations break in February.
Who does the hot seat burn for?
Here are a few coaches who could be next on the chopping block.
Mike Sullivan – Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pens have lost three of their last five heading into Wednesday’s game against the Lightning – one that kicks off a brutal home stand with the Jets and Canucks to follow.
Mike Sullivan’s team leads the league in goals allowed and continues to struggle defensively, but when we zoom out, issues are popping up all over the ice that he needs to address in a hurry.
Read any Penguins forum, and you’ll see fans are tired of their team blowing leads. The Pens lead the league with 28 goals allowed in the third period, which is a direct result of their poor puck discipline and basic lack of effort from night to night.
Not to pile on, but Sullivan’s men have given the puck away 327 times this season – second only to the Calgary Flames. And that might only get worse if they do trade away top defenseman Marcus Petterson only a week after Lars Eller departed for Washington.
With the team brandishing the “sell” sign ahead of the trade deadline, and the aging core of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang posing its own set of challenges, Sullivan is the next most likely candidate to be shown the door.
Derek Lalonde – Detroit Red Wings
The Red Wings are 3-5-2 over their last 10 games, a far cry from where they’d like to be as a team that was once earmarked as a potential contender in the East this year.
Derek Lalonde has been in charge in the Motor City for two full seasons now, steering the Wings to a 35-37 record in his first year and a much-improved 41-32 mark last season.
His hiring at the time was widely celebrated after he helped steer the Lightning to two Stanley Cups, but it also felt like the Wings were taking a minor risk by hiring someone who had known nothing but success at the NHL level.
Fast forwarding to now, Lalonde basically has to come up with a quick-fix answer with the Red Wings dropping three very winnable West Coast games last week to the Ducks, Kings, and Sharks.
The one positive has been the power play (tied for fourth in goals), but Detroit’s penalty kill has been one of the worst all year and their expected goals for total of 31.46 ranks third-worst in the league, according to Money Puck.
Andrew Brunette – Nashville Predators
The Preds are in such a weird spot right now.
They appeared headed for the dreaded ‘R’ word when Brunette was first hired in 2023 – one General Manager Barry Trotz basically muttered on the radio a few weeks ago to send the fan base into a frenzy.
We’ll have to wait and see if Nashville tears it down and opts for a rebuild, but with Juuse Saros being the only real bright spot on a team that spent big money over the offseason, they might not have much of a choice.
On the plus side, big acquisitions Jordan Marssechault and Steven Stamkos have finally reached the double-digit point mark 19 games into the season. But for a team that surprised everybody by grabbing the first Wild Card seed in the West last year, the Preds are feeling more and more like a team in need of a shake-up and a different voice in the locker room.
Patrick Roy – New York Islanders
Little did we know that Roy’s first win in charge of the Islanders (a 3-2 victory over the Stars back in January) would be a sign of things to come.
The Isles have made a bad habit of making their fans sweat, winning only three games by multiple goals this year to go with some serious woes in the third period.
Blown leads have almost become an expectation at this point as the Islanders rank second to only the Penguins in goals allowed during the third period. Unlike Pittsburgh, New York has some excuses with Anthony Duclair and Matthew Barzal out with lengthy injuries.
At 7-7-5, it’s far from panic stations on Long Island, and of all the coaches on this list, Roy’s leash is the longest. But with the power play accounting for just seven goals all season, this is already feeling like a lost season under Roy, who was slated to be the perfect fit for an Isles team that has been on the verge of Cup contention for years now.