It's that time of year again, when we speculate which seat in the NHL might be hottest. Let's just get right into it:
Alain Vigneault, New York Rangers I'd say this one is definitely the hottest simply because the Rangers went and hired a backup plan (Lindy Ruff) this offseason. This, coupled with the fact that New York did not do much to improve themselves, especially in goal, and are reliant more than ever on an aging Rick Nash and Henrik Lundqvist, just seem to spell doom for the veteran bench boss.
Paul Maurice, Winnipeg Jets No coach is going in with a bigger target on his back (Vigneault barely edges him out because of the Ruff hiring) than Paul Maurice. On paper, this Jets team looks like it should take the Central by storm. But time and again injuries and shoddy goaltending have doomed them. There will be no soft landing for Maurice this time around, who is no stranger to the hook at this point in his career.
Jared Bednar, Colorado Avalanche It seems strange to put a guy in his second year on this list, but few, if any NHL coaches had an NHL debut as awful as Bednar's last season. Management decided that the problem was in the roster and not him, and so have given him not only a reprieve, but the chance to hire his own staff--something Bednar was not able to do coming in on short notice last season. So now, the assistants are all his own guys, and while the Avs are not going to be a good team, it's hard to imagine they will be as bad as they were last season. Then again, one groin pull in net could spell disaster. Either way, I don't believe management will stand around and let the team tumble into the abyss without doing something this time around. Bednar is under the gun this year, and he knows it.
Glen Gulutzan, Calgary Flames I've made it known I'm not a fan of Gulutzan, but he defied my expectations last season despite yet another year of terrible goaltending. Supposedly the solution will be Mike Smith (whom I'm also not a big fan of) but regardless, expectations will be extremely high for a Calgary team that traded for Smith, Travis Hamonic, and just signed Jaromir Jagr.
Honorable Mentions
Joel Quenneville, Chicago Blackhawks We always include the current holder of "longest tenured coach", but I can't imagine the Hawks cutting ties with a man who may be the best head coach in franchise history. Still, stranger things have happened.
Jeff Blashill, Detroit Red Wings It's hard to fault Blashill for any failings that have befallen Detroit, but the Red Wings are a franchise in flux right now, and Ken Holland may choose to make a change behind the bench if things go as poorly as expected before the axe comes for him as well.
Bill Peters, Carolina Hurricanes We keep hearing about Carolina will be turning the corner any day now. Some thing "any day" is this year. Many believe Peters has gotten the most out of lousy rosters and even lousier goaltending. While the rebuild is likely not complete, there comes a point where those excuses run dry. Will it be this year?
Bonus Section - GMs on the Hot Seat
Garth Snow, New York Islanders No GM in the league is under more pressure to succeed on multiple fronts. The Islanders will not only have to win for their fans, they will need to win to convince John Tavares to stay, and convince taxpayers of whatever municipal area they land in that they're worth a new stadium. I think anything less than a deep playoff run and long-term deal for the captain seals his fate.
Ken Holland, Detroit Red Wings I just can't see Detroit giving Ken Holland the boot, but last year's performance along with some inexplicably bad decisions the last few offseasons make me think he is, at the very least, in trouble.
Marc Bergevin, Montreal Canadiens I thought about putting Claude Julien on this list, but I don't think there's any way Julien gets fired before Bergevin does. So many poor decisions it's tough to tell where it all went wrong, but succeed or fail, Bergevin will always be the guy who traded P.K. Subban.
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