Firing a coach mid-season is no easy decision. For a losing side trying to meet preseason expectations, a change behind the bench can sometimes be seen as the catalyst needed to take the next step. Just take the Penguins, who made a coaching change in December 2015, then went on to win back-to-back Stanley Cups. Or the Blues, who last year made the switch from Mike Yeo to Craig Berube in November, went on a historic stretch from January on, culminating in the first championship in franchise history.
It seems teams are trying to catch that lightning in a bottle in waves, combined with a massive cultural change around how coaches are treating players within the sport. Put it all together and there have already been six coaching changes this season, the most of recent of which came on Monday. Are you all caught up with the coaching drama in the NHL?
Mike Babcock:
One of the teams expected to compete in the East, given an abundance of scoring talent (Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, John Tavares, etc.) the Maple Leafs stumbled to a 9-10-4 start. It was enough to force Toronto to fire the highest-paid coach in NHL history with over three years left on his contract. It’s appeared to work, as the Leafs have gone 15-4-1 since Sheldon Keefe took the reins, sitting in second in the Atlantic.
Bill Peters:
The hockey world is being shaken to its core as players are starting to go public with serious accusations of misconduct throughout the ranks. For the former Calgary coach, a former minor league player (Akim Aliu) accused Peters in November of using racial profanities toward him in the past. A day later, another former player accused Peters of kicking him during a game when both were in Carolina. Two days after that, he resigned from the Flames.
Obviously this is far more serious than on-ice results, but for what it’s worth, Calgary was 12-12-4 under Peters, and have gone 10-5-1 since, entering Tuesday a point out of a wild card spot in the West.
John Hynes:
New Jersey made all sorts of waves in the preseason when they traded for PK Subban, signed Wayne Simmonds and drafted Jack Hughes with the top overall pick. It’s never come together, as they fumbled their way to a 9-14-4 start and fired Hynes. Things have gotten a little better under Alain Nasreddine – they’re 4-1-1 in their last six – but it’s a lost season. Subban is on pace for his worst NHL season, Hughes has battled nagging injuries, goaltender Cory Schneider was demoted to the minors and former Hart winner Taylor Hall was traded.
Jim Montgomery:
Another off-ice situation, Dallas coach Montgomery was fired on December 10 for unspecified “unprofessional conduct inconsistent with the core values” of the Stars and the NHL. The exact happenings are unknown – it’s not believed to involve any sort of player abuse – but Montgomery announced last week that he checked into rehab for alcohol abuse.
Peter DeBoer:
Off back-to-back 100-point seasons and four playoff appearances in as many seasons, including a conference final appearance in 2019, the wheels fell off for the Sharks this year. A bunch of former mainstays left, young players haven’t been able to fill those holes, and some veterans are under-performing. After a 15-16-2 start, DeBoer found himself out of a job. Interim Bob Boughner hasn’t fared much better, going 4-5-2 since then. As of Tuesday the Sharks are eight points out of a wild card spot.
Peter Laviolette:
The most recent coach to receive a pink slip, Laviolette was dismissed on Monday as the Predators after a shootout loss to the Ducks dropped Nashville to 19-15-7, a record that includes a six-game winless streak in November. However, a little digging shows they aren’t far off from being a sneaky postseason team. They’re the only non-playoff team in the West with a positive goal differential (+5), and if the normally reliable Pekka Rinne can figure out his struggles, they could be the team best positioned to go on a Blues-esque run.
This has to be a difficult choice, given David Poile’s loyalty to coaches – the only general manager in franchise history, he’s had two coaches in Barry Trotz and Laviolette since the team’s inception in 1998.
