The NHL looks like it will finish an entire season without seeing a single coach fired for the first time since expansion in 1967, but there could be a dark lining on that stat coming next week. “Black Monday” as it is being termed could be coming after the final game of the regular season this Sunday, with close to a dozen coaches finding themselves on the hot seat.
In last night’s Insider Trading segment on TSN, Bob McKenzie broke down a list of potential firings that looked like this:
Glen Gulutzan, Calgary Flames
Bill Peters, Carolina Hurricanes
Joel Quenneville, Chicago Blackhawks
Jeff Blashill, Detroit Red Wings
Todd McLellan, Edmonton Oilers
Doug Weight, New York Islanders
Alain Vigneault, New York Rangers
Guy Boucher, Ottawa Senators
Barry Trotz, Washington Capitals
Some of these names simply don’t have a contract for next season, including Trotz, who also happens to be the only coach on the list heading to the playoffs. The Capitals have won the Metropolitan Division for the third year in a row, but will be judged entirely on their postseason performance. Washington must find some success past the second round, or there could be a shake up in order starting with the man behind the bench.
The rest of the list is a who’s who of disappointing seasons, with Quenneville sticking out like a sore thumb. Arguably one of the best coaches of all-time, Quenneville’s firing could cause what McKenzie terms a ripple effect throughout the league. Though he doesn’t expand on that idea, many have wondered whether another team would fire their incumbent to have the opportunity to hire Quenneville should he become a free agent, much like the Montreal Canadiens did last season when Claude Julien was let go from Boston.
In New York, while both coaches might not be back it would be for very different reasons. Vigneault has had a lot of regular season success with the Rangers, but as they enter into an unfamiliar rebuild they could want to start with a fresh face behind the bench. For Weight and the Islanders, this season was an abject failure as they tried to woo John Tavares with a trip to the postseason. They won’t get there, and now have to worry about whether their captain and superstar will stick around.
There could be many other names you could suggest for the list, and it is extremely unlikely that all of these will get the boot before the start of 2018-19. You can be sure some changes are coming though, even if it does come after a remarkable season of patience by general managers around the league.
Why isn’t Julien on the list?
Because he has 4 years and $20 millon left on his contract. I’m not the biggest Julien fan but he was hardly the reason the Habs were as bad as they were.
But if Bergevin goes, there’s always the potential that a rich team like Montreal and the new GM would rather just eat the monies-owed and control who hires him next and start anew with a different voice.
Bergevin is pretty much guaranteed one last shot to turn things around this summer. If he doesn’t then his job security will be gone but I don’t anticipate a Julien firing until summer 2019 at the earliest as that will be when Montreal will be done paying Therrien’s roughly ~3 million salary.
If Washington doesn’t make it past the 2nd round Trotz is gone without a doubt. Vigneault might not be sold on the rebuild and NYR could look to find a coach that is better suited to work with the young talent.
Fire Peters and bring in Quennville and his staff (Ulfy and Dineen).
Ken Hitchcock should Big in all caps at the top of that list!!! He has sucked the offense out of a talented team and made them boring to watch. He needs to go ahead and retire if he wants to save face but he did a TERRIBLE job of coaching the Dallas Stars this season!
The game has passed Hitch bye.. He can’t adapt his scheme and it isn’t suited for today’s NHL
Flames really need to move on from GG. With some of those names available…they need to open their pocket book and bring in a coach that knows how to motivate players. Quenneville would be awesome for sure…Vigneault is a definite upgrade.
If Hakstol wasn’t the defining decision of Ron Hextall’s tenure he’d be on this list as well.
I disagree. Haks makes questionable moves with his goalies but aside from that he’s gotten a lot out of his young players
I still don’t get the talk with Boucher. yes the sens were bad and his defense approach has sometimes resulted in 1-0 or 2-1 losses but his goalie tandem was awful, his defense corps lost a player on each pairing with Wiseman, Phaneuf and prior to the season methot all being dealt or injured, and the trade of turris resulted in Duchenne having to learn the system.
I don’t think this team is the conference finalist it was last year but it’s certainly not one of the bottom 3 teams in the league. this is likely a 80-90 point team and with a likely young rookie young the team next year, should bounce back.
I think vigneault and quennville may be the first coaches to go. Barry trotz is probably going to be let loose because the caps can’t get past the second round. Every coach on the list could be let go because they’re team didn’t perform well, they themselves are absolute trash, or your team can’t get past the second round in the playoffs.
Shouldn’t the fact that half of the league would be salivating at the opportunity to hire Q if the ‘Hawks let him go be a warning that it’s probably a terrible idea to let him go? Crow got hurt and the team fell apart with suspect goaltending in the 2nd half. That’s not a reason to fire one of the greatest coaches in the history of the NHL.
Doug Weight shouldn’t be punished for the lack of goaltending and defense on his team. They were still one of the highest scoring teams in the league