The reality of the business: Teachers are hired to get fired.
It happens to people who hardly have time to order a name for their office door. And it happens to people who make the playoffs and win Stanley Cups.
It will happen again this year.
Former Vancouver manager Bruce Boudreau was the latest victim of the coaching ax in January, losing his game with the Canucks after 46 games this season. He was fired just one year after coaching the final 57 games of 2021-22 when Travis Green and GM Jim Benning were let go.
Since most teams are in the final 15 games of their regular season, the next trade may not come until after the deadline, but there are certainly a few who are feeling comfortable with them. seat per day.
The B/R hockey team took a look at the most likely areas of recent change and compiled a list of coaches who will be on the hot seat for the balance of 2023. See what we found and leave a thought or two in the comments.
It’s hard to get more upset in a season than Craig Berube.
The first player to win the Stanley Cup in his first season in St. Louis after he took over the Blues after Mike Yeo was fired a few weeks into the 2018-19 season.
The playoffs have been completed in three seasons since then, but the Western Conference champions were 13 points into Friday night’s opener and have endured four different scoring streaks. five, six and eight losses with 15 games left.
Bowl winners Vladimir Tarasenko and Ryan O’Reilly were dealt at the trade deadline as the team relied on a rebuilding group, but due to their availability early in the season and the total lack of success, it was no surprise to see Berube fall.
Recent reports questioning the credibility of flexible players like Robert Thomas haven’t helped his locker room standing either.
It may take another year for the Cup to right the ship, but if GM Doug Armstrong’s number comes up on his phone in early April, it might be wise for the coach to let the the voicemail.
Dallas Eakins is probably the best pitcher in the AHL.
The 56-year-old received a pair of NHL training after progressing to success in the top North American league of the game.
He had two first-place finishes and 16 postseason wins in four seasons with the Toronto Marlies before being offered the head coaching job in Edmonton for 2013-14. And he played three games in four seasons with the San Diego Gulls before landing in Anaheim for 2019-20.
As for the outcome of the Oilers and Padoba, well…meh.
Eakins won 36 of 113 games with Edmonton before being canned by the Oilers in just 31 games in his second season, and he will finish the fourth round without a chance for the Ducks. which entered Friday just five points off the NHL’s. basement.
Their minus-102 rating is the worst in the league by a mile, and while Eakins’ release won’t put the team in contention, it will certainly provide a page for unstoppable and maybe a good start to the Connor Bedard era if he lands in the pond.
Call this a full street product.
Gerard Gallant is one of the most successful coaches in the current NHL, reaching the final of the Cup with the new team Vegas Golden Knights in 2017-18 and the end of the conference with the New York Rangers on last season.
He is poised for another deep run this spring with the Rangers team that took the lead in the championship game at the trade deadline, bringing in Cup winner Vladimir Tarasenko from St. Louis and three-time champion Patrick Kane from Chicago.
There are no signings for next season or beyond, so players with two and three drafts will receive nothing. ‘i were given to different trades to get it without a towel.
And given the fluctuating market in New York, it’s not a stretch to point out that Gallant’s future could be on the line if the Rangers can’t step back from the game. they were in the final season without Tarasenko and Kane – which meant Cup final or relegation.
Did someone say something about perfection?
Few players can claim that better today than the Toronto Maple Leafs, who will try to end a Cup drought before landing. the moon.
Not to mention a gap between the series’ series dating back to 2004.
Conn Smythe winner Ryan O’Reilly was brought in along with others at the trade deadline this season, and the 40-18-9 record with which the Maple Leafs enter Friday’s playoffs is sure to be they will be in the discussion about the appropriate competition this season. time
For Sheldon Keefe, it’s better.
Although the 42-year-old is the first player to play in three postseason games and only lost 68 (in regulation) of his first 252 regular season games behind the bench , it’s not hard to imagine calling for his job if the team falls in the first round this spring for the seventh straight year.
Anything less than a recent run, with a roster that includes three players making at least $10.9 million annually, is almost a established sales in a hockey-wild town.
Sometimes, whether a professional failure is your fault or not, there will be consequences.
Maybe that’s where Lane Lambert comes in with the New York Islanders.
It doesn’t seem possible now, because the first-year coach is leading a team that entered Friday with a three-point lead that prevented the last chance of the East. But if things go wrong now and the Islanders manage to miss out on an eighth seed (or more), who knows?
Program veteran Bruce Boudreau is a free agent to coach after being waived by Vancouver earlier this season, and also has multiple Joel Quenneville Cup wins, if he wants to. GM Lou Lamoriello makes a move to get new energy.
Does Lambert deserve another year with a team that isn’t too bad? I guess. But there’s a lot more that can ride on acceleration than just a series.
It’s a steep drop for the Florida Panthers.
The Miami suburbs won the President’s Cup last season and advanced to the second round-winning the first series of the century process-before taking a four-game sweep at the hands of their in-state rival from Tampa Bay.
The power to choose interim coach Andrew Brunette, who took over in 2021 after Joel Quenneville resigned amid an investigation into the Chicago Blackhawks’ handling of a sexual assault allegation in 2010, not ready for a regular season game based on the 4-6 record the team placed in the tournament.
So they brought in a veteran, Paul Maurice, who arrived with 24 seasons of experience and 775 career wins with three franchises.
But it wasn’t much.
The Panthers are out of the playoff penthouse just shy of a ticket, as evidenced by their position three points below the cutoff heading into today’s games. friday
Which puts the target squarely on Maurice’s back, because his stay with Winnipeg was abruptly ended last season when he resigned, saying the players needed a new voice.
If things end with Florida outside looking in, the decision may not be his right now.
Mike Sullivan won the Stanley Cup in his first two seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins and has been an all-around player ever since, reaching the end of a five-year stretch. correct.
Ownership invested in the team this offseason by giving contracts to Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang, teaming up for another game with Sidney Crosby.
But if that group can’t win fourth place this spring, maybe it’s time for a new maestro.
As of Friday, the Penguins were tied with the New York Islanders for the top of the East’s wild-card spot, but only three points ahead of Florida and five over Washington, meaning that enough with a little relief down can end. the season and nary an encore.
If that’s the case, it will certainly focus on the poor decisions made by Sullivan and his line – even though it’s a list built under someone else’s control – and his lack of interest. to limit the time of the ice for adults, not very effective.
Don’t bet the cattle on it. But if Pittsburgh slips through the finish line and sees the end of its run, Sullivan could end up being the one to jump off the bench.
Darryl Sutter knows all about success.
The 64-year-old Albertan reached the pinnacle of a three-time championship and had his name engraved on the Cup twice after the 2011-12 and 2013-14 seasons with the Los Angeles Kings. But he also knows that success is not permanent.
His Calgary Flames finished first in the Pacific Division last season and seemed poised for a deep run as stars Matthew Tkachuk and Johnny Gaudreau hit free agency, but both fell in the fifth round. two out of five games lost to the Edmonton Oilers.
Gaudreau left in the summer, and Tkachuk was traded. Their mojo has never been the same, as the Flames advance to the 2022-23 season and find themselves three points off the pace for the Western playoffs entering tonight’s games. Friday.
It was an impressive drop for a franchise that many felt won the tournament by acquiring Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar from Florida in the trade for Tkachuk. Concerns appeared to have reached Sutter’s position in February The Fourth Season David Pagnotta suggested whispering to the future teacher it has begun.
If the Flames miss the postseason, he’ll likely be a bust.