The Coaching Carousel

As I wrote earlier this week we had our first coaching change of the season when St. Louis fired Davis Payne and brought in Ken Hitchcock to coach the Blues.

At 4th place in the Central Division it was a move the Blues felt they had to make to stay in the Western Conference playoff race before it was too late. Yes there are still five months left to play on the NHL calendar but usually by Thanksgiving you have an idea of what type of team you have. If you are on the outside of the playoff picture looking in & don't make any adjustments there is a good chance you won't be playing once spring comes around.

I still don't see St. Louis finishing ahead of Detroit, Chicago or Nashville in the Central Division but right now they are only two points out of the final playoff spot. A team coached by Ken Hitchcock has a better chance to hang around than a team coached by Davis Payne. 

That being said I don't think the St. Louis Blues will be the only team making a coaching change this season. Here are a few other teams that could make changes if things don't improve in the near future. 

Montreal Canadiens: 

When the Canadiens started the year 1-5-2 speculation was Jacques Martin was going to take the fall. On October 26th Montreal called a press conference to announce that assistant coach Perry Pearn was being relived of his duties.

The move was a little different but the message sent was that General Manager Pierre Gauthier believes in Martin as head coach and that this move would give him a little more time to straighten things out.

Since then Montreal has gone 5-2 and is currently four points out of a playoff spot in the East. The problem I see is I'm not sure if the Canadiens are good enough to overtake any of the teams currently sitting four through eight in the East.

Montreal right now looks like they are a mediocre hockey team that is capable of playing good in spurts and nothing more. That won't sit well with the Habs faithful. As long as Jacques Martin can keep them in the playoff hunt he should be safe but if they go through another struggle like they had to start the season his job will be in jeopardy once again. 

Carolina Hurricanes: 

Paul Maurice is 44 years old and is in his 14th season as an NHL coach, his 2nd stint with the Hartford/Carolina franchise.

In that time he has lead the Whalers/Hurricanes to two Southeast Division titles, an Eastern Conference Finals appearance in 2009 and a Stanley Cup Final appearance in 2002. He has also missed the postseason 10 of the 14 years he has coached.

Right now Carolina is 13th in the East and five points out of a playoff spot. They are 4th in the Southeast Division behind Florida, Washington, and Tampa Bay.

Right now the Hurricanes have the same problem Montreal has and that they aren't better than any of the teams sitting four through eight in the East. What makes it worse for Carolina is they are in a non-traditional hockey market where the people will show up as long as you are winning.

The Hurricanes have missed the playoffs four out of the last five years since winning the Stanley Cup in 2006. In that time span the Southeast Division has become one of the stronger divisions in the NHL. If things don't improve within the next month I don't see how the Hurricanes can keep Paul Maurice on as head coach. 

Calgary Flames: 

Brent Sutter isn't on this list because he is doing a poor job as coach. He is on this list because the Flames window has been closed for the last couple seasons.

Sutter was hired in 2009 by his brother Darryl to give the franchise a kick start after losing in the 1st round of the playoffs from 2006-2009. Instead the Flames have missed the playoffs both seasons Sutter has been head coach of the team.

At this moment Calgary is last in the Northwest Division and 13th in the Western Conference. The Flames were thought to be the toughest challenge the Vancouver Canucks would face in the Northwest Division. Instead Calgary has seen both Edmonton and Minnesota get off to strong starts this season leaving Flames fans to wonder when the rebuilding will start.

With Jay Feaster now in charge as General Manager changes are likely in Calgary. When the rebuilding begins remains to be seen but you can bet when that happens there will be a new coach for the Flames. 

Los Angeles Kings: 

Now I know a few people reading this will be surprised to see the Kings on the list of teams that may make a coaching change. After all they are currently tied for the final playoff spot in the West and more than likely will be in the post-season come this spring.

But the issue with Los Angeles isn't measured in wins & losses. It's measured by how big of a footprint they can make in the LA market.

With the Lakers & Clippers locked out and the Dodgers have their own struggles with ownership issues The Kings have a very small window to become the talk of the town and create a buzz they haven't had since Wayne Gretzky played for them.

Management realizes this and if the Kings continue to hover around the bottom of the playoff ladder in the West it isn't far fetched to think a coaching change could be made.