It’s nothing new for NHL coaches to be fired midway through a season but the 2019/20 campaign has been especially harsh on bench bosses so far. We’re just three weeks into the new year but a total of seven head coaches have been relieved of their duties since the puck dropped on the season in early October. The latest to be let go was Gerard Gallant of the Vegas Golden Knights as he was sent packing on January 15th after his club lost its fourth straight game.
Gallant was the Golden Knights’ first and only coach and guided the franchise to the Stanley Cup Final in its inaugural season in 2017/18, losing to the Washington Capitals in five games. He was also named the NHL’s coach of the year that season for his work behind the bench. That didn’t help him hang onto his job though as he was replaced by Peter DeBoer, who was fired as head coach of the San Jose Sharks earlier this season.
Five head coaches have been let go due to the performance of their teams while Bill Peters was basically forced to resign from the Calgary Flames when he admitted to using racist language in the minor leagues a decade earlier. It was also revealed that Peters punched and kicked players on the bench when he was coaching in the NHL with the Carolina Hurricanes.
In addition, the Dallas Stars sacked head coach Jim Montgomery this season for what the club called unprofessional conduct. It’s believed Montgomery is now undergoing rehabilitation for alcohol abuse. Peters was replaced by Geoff Ward and Montgomery’s job was given to Rick Bowness.
It appears NHL owners aren’t afraid to fire coaches mid-season due to the recent success of coaching changes. For example, the St. Louis Blues relieved Mike Yeo of his post last season and replaced him with Craig Berube. The club sank to the bottom of the league ladder a couple of months later but then stormed all the way back to win the franchise’s first-ever Stanley Cup.
Mike Sullivan took over as head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins in December, 2015 and then led the team to two consecutive Stanley Cups. Darryl Sutter was hired as head coach of the Los Angeles Kings in December of 2011 and ended up winning the Stanley Cup that season and again in 2013/14.
Other head coaches to lose their jobs this season include Mike Babcock of the Toronto Maple Leafs, John Hynes of the New Jersey Devils and Peter Laviolette of the Nashville Predators. Like DeBoer though, Hynes has landed on his feet and is already back in the NHL as head coach of Nashville. Sheldon Keefe took over in Toronto, Alain Nasreddine in New Jersey and Bob Boughner in San Jose.
In total, there are 14 of 31 NHL coaches who are in their first year with their team this season and Berube has been with St. Louis for just 14 months. Just three coaches have been with the same club since 2015/16. Jon Cooper has been with the Tampa Bay Lightning since March, 2013 while Paul Maurice has coached the Winnipeg Jets since January, 2014 and Jeff Blashill was hired by the Detroit Red Wings in the summer of 2015.
Making the playoffs is definitely harder for NHL coaches these days since 16 of 21 teams made the postseason back in 1987 and in 2019/20 16 of 31 clubs will make the playoffs. Soon it will be 16 of 32 franchises as Seattle is set to enter the league in 2021/22. With so many head coaches losing their jobs this year NHL teams may soon realize it’s not in their best interests to sign coaches to long-term deals anymore.
Babcock is a prime example of what can happen when coaches are signed to multi-season contracts as the Maple Leafs are still obligated to pay him for another three-and-a-half-years or until he takes another job. But if he’s raking in an average of $6.25 million on his eight-year deal there’s probably not much to motivate him into looking for a new job.