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The "exempts," aka "You either won the Cup or are brand new."

Bruce Cassidy
Spencer Carberry
Peter Laviolette (ugh)
Mike Babcock (uuuuugggghh)
Andrew Brunette
Ryan Huska
Greg Cronin

I think that's everyone.

Anyway, here are the primary candidates, in reverse order of projected jeopardy:

5. Jon Cooper - Just like first-year guys get a pass, the longest-tenured coach in the league gets an automatic spot on this list.

4. Lindy Ruff - The fans were literally calling for his head just last season (only to chant an apology later on). But this team has Stanley Cup aspirations and a still-not-great situation in goal. One slump and the knives will be out again in earnest.

3. Mike Sullivan - Sullivan is the second-longest tenured coach in the league, and he also has the league's oldest roster. He also has a new boss in Kyle Dubas, and Sullivan has a reputation for rubbing players the wrong way. It also doesn't help that his goaltending is one Tristan Jarry injury away from imploding completely (again).

2. Jay Woodcroft - Is this the year? No, not the year the Oilers win it all, the year Connor McDavid finally demands a trade. Thanks to continued mismanagement, Edmonton is likely headed for Cap Armageddon soon, and they already have at least two extremely onerous contracts on the books. Surely at some point #97 is gonna get fed up. All that said, Woodcroft probably won't survive anything less than a deep playoff run, since there may not be much time left and this ownership group has already shown they can be extremely panicky.

1. D.J. Smith - I gotta be honest, I'm more than a bit surprised he wasn't axed last season, but here we are. It's possible Dorion gave him a pass due to huge goaltending issues and uncertainty with ownership. Now, the goaltending is still a huge question mark, but expectations are still high with the core essentially locked in for huge money. Doesn't help that the Sens exist in a meat grinder of a division. This team did remarkably well on special teams, it was even strength play and play between the pipes that ultimately did them in. Will D.J. be able to fix those two issues? Guess we'll see.

Honorable mentions:

Jared Bednar - Bednar is the third-longest tenured coach in the league, and longest-tenured coach in Avs/Nords franchise history. He's only one year removed from a Stanley Cup championship, so he has that going for him, but he also has a roster that is seemingly made out of balsa wood and chewing gum. The Avs are also taking a few chances on some players like Ryan Johansen, mostly due to a depleted prospect base. Bednar also has one other thing going for him--there is no real heir apparent to replace him in case things go south this season.

Sheldon Keefe - Keefe was just extended, but Ken Hitchcock will be the first guy to tell you that means nothing in terms of job security. Keefe, like Sullivan, has a new boss this year. Expectations are pretty high following Toronto finally getting the first round monkey off their backs, and like Cooper and Smith, it doesn't help that the division the Leafs are in is likely going to be tough sledding.

BONUS, the GM Hot Seat:

Pierre Dorion - The ownership situation is not yet finalized, but Dorion already has some major stumbles during his tenure, and his new boss may not be all that keen on keeping him aboard. A win streak will definitely help, but failing that, Dorion may be following Deejay out the door.

I'd put Lane Lambert on that list. Isles weren't great, and that's largely due to their roster construction, but Lou isn't going to accept blame. He'd axe a new coach before falling on a sword.

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Posting your political views on social media is like sticking your head up your ass & whispering: You're just as likely to change someone's mind, and you'll always come out looking like a shithead.

Oh Lou has fired coaches about every different way you can fire a coach so I suppose I should have added him, we'll see I guess.

Funny thing is, Lamoriello is an excellent coach, I realize he's old AF, but just one year he should just do the coaching AND the GM thing and see what happens. But I suppose then he really has no one to blame if things go south.

He’s like 81. He can’t be on skates. But he was a good coach, although like his GM ideas, I have a feeling his coaching techniques and strategies are quite outdated.

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Posting your political views on social media is like sticking your head up your ass & whispering: You're just as likely to change someone's mind, and you'll always come out looking like a shithead.

Well, for the first time ever, the first coach to be shown the door is a member of the "Exempts" list!!!!

Mike Babcock, pack your shit! And NO, you can't look at my fucking phone you goddamned pervert.

Yes, he technically resigned but he was a goner either way.

So...I guess that's it for this year's Coaching Watch! Definitely the quickest one we've had here on OTP!

Not even a single practice. I'd ask if that was a pro sports record, but I'm a Yankee fan and remember when Steinbrenner fired Billy Martin during his introductory press conference.

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Posting your political views on social media is like sticking your head up your ass & whispering: You're just as likely to change someone's mind, and you'll always come out looking like a shithead.

Patrick Roy definitely had the quickest if you count before the post even went up

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Thanks Chuck, E.L. and Harmy!

True, that did happen in August before camps even started. Technically that was more an "I quit!" than a "Resign or your ass is fired" situation but if we're just talking coaching exits, that one was definitely quicker.

Well, there's a race on for "next coach shitcanned" at least.

I still can't believe we say Mike Babcock re-enter the league after a long exile, get himself kicked out before coaching a single game, and basically end his NHL career all within a matter of weeks.

Anyway, are there any hot seats? Not quite yet, but some are really starting to get warm...

D.J. Smith - Again, I'm surprised he wasn't purged last offseason. But here he is, and Ottawa is off to a somewhat rough start. There's already a "Fire D.J." campaign starting in Ottawa, and with the new owner now fully in control, I can't imagine he has much longer before results really start to matter here.

Jay Woodcroft - Expectations were massive (a little too massive if you ask me, I didn't buy the hype) for the Oilers headed into this season, and they've faceplanted out the gate. Hard. Only one team in the entire league has a lower points percentage, and that's the completely winless San Jose Sharks. May not be long before everyone's favorite Emergency Automatic Pilot is ejected from the plane.

Don Granato - The Sabres have not been horrible per se, but the organization and fans had much higher hopes than this start. Granato rightfully deserved a legitimate shot with this roster, but he needs to deliver, or Buffalo will be looking elsewhere soon.

Mike Sullivan - The second-longest tenured coach in the league might be in trouble. He has been seemingly on the chopping block in years' past, but somehow managed to avoid it. No doubt the 2-time Cup winning bench boss is a good coach, despite the fact that it feels like he butts heads with players on the regular, but the Pens look very old and very tired right now, and their new GM may eventually be looking for a change to help jumpstart a roster that is flagging badly at present.

No real honorable mentions, but I think at this point, Spencer Carbery deserves to be in a category all his own, because, I don't think he'll be fired during the season since this is his first NHL head coaching gig, but if things continued to spiral out of control in Washington, I could see him getting recused from the bench in the offseason, and quite possibly never getting another shot again. Last one-and-done (at least close to that) I can remember was Davis Payne in St. Louis.

First GM fired (yes he resigned, fuck that, they turfed him) is Pierre Dorion!

We have a, uhh, winner?
https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/edmonton-oilers- ... cLmiEKn5lM

Oilers fire Woodcroft.

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Posting your political views on social media is like sticking your head up your ass & whispering: You're just as likely to change someone's mind, and you'll always come out looking like a shithead.

Didn't realize Woodcroft was responsible for picking the goalies.

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Just once I'd like to see a GM admit they fucked up with their roster and "fire" themselves.

_________________
Posting your political views on social media is like sticking your head up your ass & whispering: You're just as likely to change someone's mind, and you'll always come out looking like a shithead.

We've seen cases where the GM refuses to fire the coach because he knows the goaltending wasn't good enough--the latest one I can remember being Yeo in Minnesota. Goaltending was horrid until they got Dubnyk and it stabilized for a bit there (not sure if I'd call it "good" though). Wasn't until then and the Wylde continued to flounder that Fletcher finally swung the axe.

But no I don't recall a GM admitting he failed and stepping aside while the coach stayed. Bob Gainey essentially set up the next GM and coach of the Habs before he retired and holy shit that did not work out.

Dean Evason, come on down!!!!

John Hynes somehow gets yet another chance. No idea why.

Me neither but since he had Devils ties, I was worried Lou would hire him if he fired Lambert. So that's good.

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Posting your political views on social media is like sticking your head up your ass & whispering: You're just as likely to change someone's mind, and you'll always come out looking like a shithead.

I tell ya some of these guys are sooooooo well-networked. Dave Nonis apparently knows EVERYONE in the league (probably helps that Darren Dreger is his cousin) and that man will never find himself outta work in the NHL. Apparently Guerin and Hynes go way back so there ya have it.

Somehow D.J. Smith has outlasted Mike Babcock, Jay Woodcroft, Dean Evason, and now…Craig Berube.

Drew Bannister takes over as interim. Never heard of him.

Well Poke, you called DJ Smith as your most likely, and it's happened. Might have been after other impatient GMs canned their coaches, but I'll give you points for calling it.

Jacques Martin takes over as interim head coach and Daniel Alfredsson joins the staff as an assistant coach. I guess Alfie had some good input over in Sweden!

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Posting your political views on social media is like sticking your head up your ass & whispering: You're just as likely to change someone's mind, and you'll always come out looking like a shithead.

Can't believe ownership and management didn't pull that stupid trigger about a month ago. The new owner just needed to do what was necessary. Frankly I'm shocked he even MADE it to this season, not to mention nearly halfway through it.

That said, D.J. Smith may or may not be a good coach, but I don't think anyone can turn that Sens team into a winner with goaltending as shitty as that. I would've fired Dorion before he even finished the sentence "Y'know, I think this Joonas Korpisalo guy might be..."