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Did someone forget to fuel up the coaching carousel?
Remarkably, the calendar is about to flip to 2023, and we’ve yet to see a single NHL head coach get replaced this season.
Part of the reason, of course, is that the early part of 2022 was so tumultuous. Modern NHL coaches generally have short shelf lives, but seeing 12 teams hire new bench bosses between February and July pushed that truth to new levels.
Who will end up being the first coach fired this year? And will we see any big names getting back into the game when openings do arise?
After his surprise ouster by the New York Islanders in May, Barry Trotz told Daren Millard on ‘The Chirp’ podcast in mid-December that “I’m probably going to take the rest of the year off and see where I am.”
TSN’s Darren Dreger reported in November that Joel Quenneville is looking to return to the NHL after he resigned from the Florida Panthers in the fall of 2021 in the wake of the Kyle Beach sexual assault scandal. Quenneville will need to be reinstated by the NHL commissioner’s office before he gets back behind a bench, but Dreger said that may not happen anytime soon.
Former Vancouver Canucks coach Travis Green has also indicated that he’d like a crack at another NHL gig. During the holiday season, he’s making himself visible as coach of Team Canada at the Spengler Cup tournament, which runs from Dec. 26 to 31 in Davos, Switzerland. Canada won’t be winning it, though, after being the first team eliminated from the tournament without a win after Thursday’s loss.
Here are the top storylines among active NHL coaches this season:
The Rookies Are Rockin’ It
We often hear complaints that too many NHL coaches are retreads. After being fired from one job, they move on to the next, blocking worthy first-timers from getting their chances.
The league’s latest hiring spree has been rich with rookie talent. Lane Lambert and Jay Woodcroft were promoted from within their organizations, Derek Lalonde and Luke Richardson jumped to new franchises and Martin St-Louis stepped in straight from his son’s youth hockey squad.
Woodcroft had immediate success, getting the Edmonton Oilers into the playoffs and all the way to the Western Conference final. Lambert has the Islanders back in contention for a post-season berth in the East, and Lalonde started the year by guiding the Red Wings to better-than-expected results, although Detroit has sagged a bit lately.
In Montreal, St-Louis’ lack of big-league experience has been a non-issue. He’s been effective at helping his team forge a solid foundation while building back to contender status. For Richardson in Chicago, it’s just about getting through the year and making sure the Blackhawks don’t win too many games.
Second Time’s a Charm
It’s been impressive to watch Jim Montgomery make the most of his second chance in Boston after some personal demons forced him out of his head-coaching gig in Dallas three years ago. But while Montgomery’s Bruins have been rock solid, David Quinn has faced his share of challenges in San Jose a year after the New York Rangers ousted him.
Torts Has Gotta Torts
At 64, John Tortorella has made it clear that he expects his current gig with the Philadelphia Flyers to be his last in the NHL, following four previous stops over the last two decades and a Stanley Cup in 2004 with Tampa Bay.
From the outset, he aimed to manage expectations around this year’s Flyers, but he has let his short fuse ignite at times. Against the New York Rangers on Dec. 17, he sparked controversy by scratching Kevin Hayes, the highest-paid and one of the top-scoring players on his roster. Hayes said he did not agree with the decision.
As the Flyers hover near the Eastern Conference basement, there have been a lot of frustrating nights for the team and its fans this season. Carter Hart and Travis Konecny have been bright spots for bounce-back years. But is Tortorella’s ‘My way or the highway’ approach helping or hurting the Flyers’ long-term direction?
Successful Switches
The Vegas Golden Knights and Winnipeg Jets both missed the playoffs last spring, while the Dallas Stars squeaked into a wild-card spot during the last week of the regular season.
This year, those three squads are duking it out for the top spot in the Western Conference, all under new leadership.
Vegas is thriving under Bruce Cassidy, who was hired in Sin City just eight days after the Boston Bruins gave him the boot. The Vegas job opened after the team parted ways with Peter DeBoer at the end of the season. He’s now thriving in Dallas, stepping in after the departure of Rick Bowness. And Bowness, of course, has been highly effective in Winnipeg, rebuilding his team’s culture from the ground up.
Ruff and Gallant Ride Out Rough Patches
Hockey fans in the Tri-State area are never shy about making their opinions heard. At times this season, two of the region’s three fanbases were shouting for change before the coaches won their way out of trouble.
The ire rose early in New Jersey when a pair of season-opening losses led to “Fire Lindy” chants.
Now in his third season with the Devils, Lindy Ruff pressed on. His emerging group won 21 of its next 24 games – and the fans apologized just as publicly.
Across the Hudson, Gerard Gallant earned raves last season for guiding the Rangers to the Eastern Conference final and finished as a Jack Adams award finalist.
But fans have quickly become disenchanted this season. Calls for Gallant’s firing peaked after the Rangers’ 5-2 defeat by the Chicago Blackhawks on Dec. 3 – the fifth loss in six games.
Whether or not you believe that Jacob Trouba’s angry helmet toss at 3-0 that night was a turning point, the Blueshirts turned things around in a big way as they strung together a seven-game winning streak. That calmed the waters – but for how long?
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