With the first few weeks of the 2016-17 NHL regular season in the books we have already seen enough to indicate which teams are trending in the right away and which teams are trending in the wrong way. The pressure to win now means there is likely at least a couple of head coaches that will be fired at some point either during the season or immediately after it. We took a closer look at a handful of potential candidates who will be worth keeping an eye on. Here is a look at four NHL head coaches on the hot seat right now.
Willie Desjardins, Vancouver Canucks (6-9-1)
The Canucks didn’t fool anybody when they opened the season with four straight wins as they scored two goals or fewer in three of them while three of those victories were decided in overtime or the shootout. Vancouver has come crashing back down to earth ever since with a 2-9-1 record over its past 12 games. A severe lack of offense has been the biggest issue as the Canucks rank 30th in the NHL in scoring with 1.8 goals per game and a big part of the blame is a powerplay unit that ranks 29th in the NHL with an 8.7-percent conversion rate. The Sedin twins have combined for 17 points through their first 15 games but the lack of depth behind them is a major concern. The poor powerplay numbers and overall lack of offense has Desjardins on the hot seat and nobody would be surprised if he is the first head coach fired this season.
Jack Capuano, New York Islanders (5-7-3)
Capuano is under fire following the Islanders’ slow start and while there is still a level of optimism that he can turn things around the reality is that the team is definitely trending in the wrong direction. The three-goalie system New York has in place could be directly blamed for the team’s poor goaltending from Jaroslav Halak and Thomas Greiss early on and their powerplay is an absolute mess with a 10.5-percent conversion rate that ranks 27th in the NHL. Capuano’s refusal to give the young talent in the team’s system an extended look as hurt their offensive potential and the revolving door on John Tavares’ wing has been a particular sore spot with the captain a pending unrestricted free agent. The Islanders have really underachieved out of the gate following last year’s playoff appearance and if things don’t get better soon then management could decide to shake things up and bring in a new bench boss.
Glen Gulutzan, Calgary Flames (5-10-1)
The general feeling is that Gulutzan has some rope in his first season as the head coach in Calgary but that doesn’t mean he isn’t on the hot seat following his team’s poor start. The Flames rank 28th in the NHL with an average of 3.6 goals allowed per game and their offense has dried up as well as they have averaged just 2.5 goals per game to rank 22nd in that department. A broken powerplay has been the biggest issue up front as Calgary ranks 30th in that department. The Flames penalty kill isn’t much better as they rank 29th in the NHL with a 72.1-percent kill rate. Special teams struggles are usually an indictment against the coaching staff, particularly for a team with as much skill as Calgary. Gulutzan’s honeymoon with the Flames will come to an end soon enough and he his job could be at risk if he doesn’t turn things around soon.
John Tortorella, Columbus Blue Jackets (7-4-2)
The Blue Jackets’ quick start has alleviated some of the pressure off of Tortorella but he is still on the hot seat in his first full season as head coach. Columbus showed signs of life at the end of last year but this team has enough talent to contend for a playoff spot and anything less than that could cost Tortorella his job. Jared Bednar of the Colorado Avalanche is another candidate that was considered for this list but his status as another first-year bench boss earned him the benefit of the doubt. Tortorella won’t get the same benefit of the doubt after getting a chance to finish last season with the team so the Blue Jackets will need to keep finding ways to win in order for him to keep his job.
