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PostPosted: Wed Aug 31, 2016 12:55 am 
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Camps haven't even opened and we have one coaching change, and one lame duck. With the surprise resignation of Patrick Roy one name gets taken off this year's list, and Ken Hitchcock announcing this as his final year in the NHL makes any speculation about his tenure a moot point as well.

So here's my best shot at the hottest seats in the league going into the season.

Willie Desjardins, Vancouver Canucks
He's got a lousy team run by a guy who is the consensus pick for worst GM in the league. It stands to reason that ol' Willie will be a sacrificial lamb sooner or later, and among the people on this list, he may be the most welcoming of the pink slip.

Alain Vigneault, New York Rangers
His team isn't lousy, but due to cap constraints he'll be forced to put some very green players in key roles. It could work out brilliantly, but I feel like this team is one Lundqvist or Nash injury away from disaster. Rumors are abounding NY isn't happy at all with their blueline corps and are looking hard for an upgrade...will it come in time to save Vigneault's job?

Jack Capuano, New York Islanders
Expectations have been rising at a steady pace, and one could argue the Isles took a step back this offseason. Apart from a new diving knife and more comfortable lifts in his shoes, a Cap firing is definitely at the top of Chris18's wish list.



Okay, those are the three hottest seats. Now for a couple that are probably lukewarm.

Claude Julien, Boston Bruins
Personally I'd be shocked if it happened, as I'm just not sure what expectations are in Boston at this point. Also, he has the dreaded label of "longest tenured coach in the NHL" so he has to be on the list by default.

Guy Boucher, Ottawa Senators
He's brand new but since Lou left the Devils, it appears the job of Sens Bench Boss offers about the least amount of job security in the NHL, so he's also here by default.

Michel Therrien, Montreal Canadiens
Management gave as big a vote of confidence to him that one could expect with the trade of P.K. Subban, so if this actually happens I can't even imagine the fallout in Montreal, and that's why I think it won't, barring a complete and utter collapse by the Habs.

Dave Hakstol, Philadelphia Flyers
Again, I'd be a bit surprised since the Flyers are still kinda/sorta rebuilding and the fact they still don't have a real goalie, but I can't rule out the possibility of Hextall axing Hakstol (say that three times fast).

Apart from those names I think everyone's either relatively safe or so new that they'll likely at least last until the next coaching watch.

Lastly, I always take a look at the "GM Watch" and this year there's definitely a guy who's in big, big trouble.

Jarmo Kekäläinen, Columbus Blue Jackets
Oh, Jarmo...the first-ever European NHL GM has had a very troubled run in Columbus, and is now faced with the worst of situations--a capped-out roster that looks mediocre at best. To be fair, he inherited a mess made by his two predecessors, but he didn't make things much better by throwing too much money at too many players way too soon. He can save his job if the team somehow performs above expectations and/or he somehow manages to pull off the miracle of dumping some of the cap-annihilating contracts currently on the books, but if he doesn't and the team is looking at yet another lottery pick, I'm guessing John Davidson will be looking for another guy to take the reins (unless he's fired too and then you'll know Columbus has entered Edmonton territory). The thing that sucks is that it'll likely be a long while before another NHL team tries again with a GM who's not from North America.

So...anyway, take your guesses. I'm not even gonna bother with a poll this time.


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PostPosted: Wed Aug 31, 2016 12:29 pm 
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My guess: Vigneault goes first.

Another guy to add to the "maybe won't make it to next season" list: Paul Maurice.


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PostPosted: Wed Aug 31, 2016 12:37 pm 
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Not too worried about Boucher. Teams will only pay so many coaches at once. Same with Hakstol.

The NY coaches won't survive slow starts.

I wonder if LA starts off slowly Darryl will get the urge to return to the farm. Stevens is waiting.

I'd say the hot seat is:

1. Desjardins
2. Maurice
3. Torts
4. Vigneault
5. Julien

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PostPosted: Wed Aug 31, 2016 5:41 pm 
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I'm guessing Torts was hired at the insistence of ownership, much like ownership picked Hitchcock without even really consulting Doug MacLean. Even though he wore out his welcome in record time in Vancouver I don't see that happening in Columbus...at the very least Jarmo will be out the door before he is.


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PostPosted: Wed Aug 31, 2016 6:30 pm 
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I still think Capuano gets a long leash, simply because Snow has fired 3 coaches already, and new owners may not look well upon him if he lets his 4th go.

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PostPosted: Wed Aug 31, 2016 6:36 pm 
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Chris18 wrote:
I still think Capuano gets a long leash, simply because Snow has fired 3 coaches already, and new owners may not look well upon him if he lets his 4th go.


If they end up losing a bunch they'll be looking far less well upon him than if he fires another head coach.

Besides, isn't Dougie the heir apparent anyway?

I had completely forgotten about Scott Gordon.


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PostPosted: Wed Aug 31, 2016 8:27 pm 
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Av-merican wrote:
Chris18 wrote:
I still think Capuano gets a long leash, simply because Snow has fired 3 coaches already, and new owners may not look well upon him if he lets his 4th go.


If they end up losing a bunch they'll be looking far less well upon him than if he fires another head coach.

Besides, isn't Dougie the heir apparent anyway?

I had completely forgotten about Scott Gordon.


My favorite memories of Scott Gordon was being able to easily lip-read him saying "fuck me pink!" whenever they gave up a tying goal. :lol:

I don't know if Weight will be a good coach or not. He still yells at refs too often. And with him being assistant GM, he might have too much power in the organization if he becomes head coach too. But you can see he & Capuano disagree on things sometimes, so maybe Weight would be good. Although the PP still sucks under him, so he hasn't shown an ability to adjust either. Unless he's trying to make adjustments & Capuano is asking for status quo.

Either way, I only see Capuano being fired if they're doing really horribly, which I don't want to see. I can't see them pulling off a Penguins-type turnaround if they shit the bed early on.

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PostPosted: Wed Sep 21, 2016 12:45 am 
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Torts should just be fired. Just...now. He's not fit to run a fucking Pee Wee team in the middle of Iowa.


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PostPosted: Wed Sep 21, 2016 1:21 pm 
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Av-merican wrote:
Torts should just be fired. Just...now. He's not fit to run a fucking Pee Wee team in the middle of Iowa.


But he loves dogs! Dog hockey would be pretty cool. My dog is a great d-man. And he blocks shots, so there you go.

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PostPosted: Mon Nov 07, 2016 2:34 pm 
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Hoping for a Capuano firing, along with Snow. I've had it with the Mediocre Duo.

What experienced coaches & GMs are out there? Neil Smith? :lol:

Maybe they can get one of their 3 goalies to retire & take over as GM.

I could see Weight as GM & Thompson called up from Bridgeport to coach. I'd take that. I'd like to see someone come in & solve the goalie trifecta. Either make the coach play Barzal or send the poor kid back to junior. Start making some fucking forward progress, rather than treading water in the sewage treatment plant.

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PostPosted: Mon Nov 07, 2016 3:41 pm 
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I'd be willing to bet if Snow gets the axe that Don Maloney would be the first phone call. He had a decent run in Arizona, and he has experience with fucked-up ownership situations.

But if Cap gets fired I have to wonder who the replacement is there. I don't believe there are any veteran coaches sitting on the sideline right now (yes, yes, Ted Nolan, but that ain't happening), so it'd probably be an interim guy promoted from within.

Another guy who might actually be in huge trouble--Dave Tippett. Ironically he reportedly pushed for the managerial change, unfortunately the Desert Dogs are looking really bad with sub-level goaltending. Can't say for sure this is on him entirely since ARZ is very odd, they're actually utilizing LTIR but a ton of that cap room is tied up in dead money (Bolland, Pronger, Datsyuk) so it's not as if they're flush with talent. But one thing I'm hearing is that Tippett's system is actually stifling creative offense a bit.


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PostPosted: Tue Nov 08, 2016 12:42 pm 
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Av-merican wrote:
I'd be willing to bet if Snow gets the axe that Don Maloney would be the first phone call. He had a decent run in Arizona, and he has experience with fucked-up ownership situations.

But if Cap gets fired I have to wonder who the replacement is there. I don't believe there are any veteran coaches sitting on the sideline right now (yes, yes, Ted Nolan, but that ain't happening), so it'd probably be an interim guy promoted from within.

Another guy who might actually be in huge trouble--Dave Tippett. Ironically he reportedly pushed for the managerial change, unfortunately the Desert Dogs are looking really bad with sub-level goaltending. Can't say for sure this is on him entirely since ARZ is very odd, they're actually utilizing LTIR but a ton of that cap room is tied up in dead money (Bolland, Pronger, Datsyuk) so it's not as if they're flush with talent. But one thing I'm hearing is that Tippett's system is actually stifling creative offense a bit.


FUCK DON MALONEY, WITH A FLAMING SHIT COVERED SHOVEL.
He's the shitbag former Ranger who came in and dismantled the '93 Isles who had gone to the ECFs, and set the Milbury train in motion. He's a fucking moron and should be drawn & quartered, BY SNAILS, not be GM of the Islanders again.

He may have been as bad as Milbury.

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PostPosted: Tue Nov 08, 2016 2:04 pm 
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Oh shit...forgot about that. Never mind. :lol:


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PostPosted: Tue Nov 08, 2016 2:58 pm 
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Av-merican wrote:
Oh shit...forgot about that. Never mind. :lol:


Thanks for bringing that up. :chris18:

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PostPosted: Tue Nov 08, 2016 4:50 pm 
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Can we put Gulatzan or whatever his name is on here? Clearly the Flames have made a mistake.

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PostPosted: Tue Nov 08, 2016 5:15 pm 
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harmfuljays wrote:
Can we put Gulatzan or whatever his name is on here? Clearly the Flames have made a mistake.


His name has come up in other circles. I'm still completely bewildered by that hire. If he gets canned this time around I think it's safe to say he'll never get a sniff at the NHL level ever again.


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PostPosted: Mon Nov 28, 2016 12:35 am 
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Player coach Gallant first to get the sack in Florida. Reeks to high heaven of ownership intervention.


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PostPosted: Mon Nov 28, 2016 10:25 am 
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Well, that takes some of the pressure off the Isles and Canucks when the axe inevitably falls there.

How crazy...did not see that coming at all.

This image right here about sums it up. A Canes employee helping Gallant put his belongings in a cab.

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PostPosted: Mon Nov 28, 2016 11:39 am 
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Didn't see that one coming.

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PostPosted: Mon Nov 28, 2016 12:29 pm 
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The optics of this are awful for the Panthers organization. Apparently they allowed him to do the post game presser knowing full well he would be fired, then pulled his gear off the team bus and then made him get his own transportation on the road. At least make it discreet and order the guy a car.

Absolutely classless.


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