COACHES with jobs on the line NEED to WIN out of the gate
Short leash for some NHL bench bosses this season
The season had not even started and Ken Hitchcock was already being fired. At least, that’s what they were saying about him in the newspapers.
Everywhere he looked, the veteran head coach was being told he was sitting on the hot seat or standing on thin ice. Every preseason projection had him losing his job before the end of the year. Some suggested he wouldn’t even make it until Christmas.
It turns out they were right. After the Philadelphia Flyers lost seven of their first eight games in 2006-07, Hitchcock was fired in the middle of October. A month later, he was back coaching in Columbus.
“That was not a surprise to me at all,” Hitchcock, who is now retired, told Postmedia News of being let go. “I could just feel it. I knew well in advance what was going on and what was going to happen. Quite frankly, you don’t like seeing your name in the paper for that reason. It makes you uncomfortable.”
Hitchcock, who was on the hot seat for much of last season in Dallas, ultimately made it to Game 82. And he wasn’t the only one. For the first time since 196667, not a single coach lost his job (Hitchcock and five others were replaced in the off-season).
Of course, don’t expect that trend to continue this year.
From Edmonton’s Todd McLellan and Chicago’s Joel Quenneville to St. Louis’s Mike Yeo and Florida’s Bob Boughner, there are a number of coaches who’s jobs are very much on the line this season. And, like Hitchcock’s eventful eight-game run in 2006-07, don’t be surprised if changes come fast if things get off to a rocky start.
“It’s a lesson learned for all of us,” Boughner said of Florida missing the playoffs last season. “We struggled out of the gate and our game wasn’t nearly good enough and then look at what happened to us at the end of the season despite playing well. I think more than anything it’s a kick in the butt to wake up. You don’t have time in this league to find yourself or find your game. Hopefully we’ve learned from that.”
The NHL coaching industry is not known for its job security. Quenneville, who is entering his 10th season with the Blackhawks, is the longest-serving active coach. After that, no one has coached more than five straight seasons with the same team.
Calgary is one of six teams (Carolina, Dallas, the New York Islanders and Rangers, and Washington are the others) with someone new behind the bench. And while all eyes will be on what impact Bill Peters will have on the Flames and whether the Capitals can repeat as champions now that Todd Reirden has replaced Barry Trotz, it’s the coaches who have been with the same team for several years who might have the most on the line.
Heads are going to roll in Edmonton if McLellan is unable to get a team led by two-time scoring champion Connor McDavid into the playoffs.
In Chicago, Quenneville is responsible for having guided the dynastic Blackhawks to three Stanley Cups. But with so many veteran players on immovable contracts, he might be the fall guy if the team cannot get back into contention.
Even coaches that are coming off winning seasons are not necessarily safe.
What happens if Toronto’s Mike Babcock fails to get the Maple Leafs out of the first round again or if Winnipeg ’s Paul Maurice doesn’t reach the Stanley Cup after losing in the conference final a year ago? Now that San Jose has acquired Erik Karlsson, is it the Cup or bust for longtime coach Peter DeBoer?
After all, with a great team comes greater expectations.
Pressure isn’t necessarily a bad thing. As DeBoer told Postmedia News during training camp, “I would rather be here talking about deep playoff runs and Stanley Cups and being one of the top teams in the league than sitting here with a sub-par roster trying to shock people.”
Hitchcock understands that better than most. He was let go in Philadelphia after three straight playoff appearances and was replaced in St. Louis after taking the team to the conference final for the first time in 14 years. But he managed to hang onto his job after missing the playoffs in each of his first two years in Columbus.
The reason? No one expected the team to contend for a championship — much less qualify for the playoffs — in the first place.
“There’s no better feeling as a coach when expectations are high, because that means you’ve got a chance to win,” said Hitchcock. “We’ve all coached on teams where you need to dull the game down so the other team becomes disinterested and you can win. That’s not a good feeling. As much as everybody talks about how we’re in the teaching and the developmental business, we’re in the winning business.”
As for landing on the hot seat before the season starts, it’s part of the business that some coaches are better at handling than others.
“I can tell you the one thing that bothers you as a head coach is when they do these projections at the start of the year, and all of a sudden your name is up there as ‘First coach to get fired,’” Hitchcock said. “That bothers coaches a lot, because you haven’t even opened the gate and started the race. They’re just throwing darts into a board.”
COACHES TO WATCH
There were no coaches fired during the last season. Don’t expect that trend to continue.
Even though the season just started, some coaches are definitely feeling the pressure to perform and get their teams into the playoffs. Anything less and we could see a lot of changes before the end of the season.
JOEL QUENNEVILLE, CHICAGO
The Blackhawks, who lost in the first round in 2016 and 2017, missed the playoffs for the first time under Quenneville last season. Part of that was because goalie Corey Crawford suffered a season-ending concussion in December. But it had more to do with a roster that is getting older and slower.
Chicago better hope Jonathan Toews and Duncan Keith can find their legs and youngsters such as Alex DeBrincat and Nick Schmaltz can step into starring roles. If not, the window might have closed on the Blackhawks — and Quenneville’s reign.
TODD MCLELLAN, EDMONTON
Complain all you want about roster depth and goaltending, there’s really no excuse for missing the playoffs when you have the league’s leading scorer and 2016-17 Hart Trophy winner. McLellan knows it.
After last year’s debacle, the pressure is on for the Oilers to get back into the playoffs and take advantage of Connor McDavid’s skill set. If McLellan fails at that, both he and GM Peter Chiarelli could be gone — and the change could come before the end of the season.
MIKE BABCOCK, TORONTO
The highest paid coach in the NHL was initially hired to oversee the rebuild. But the reason the Maple Leafs handed Babcock an eight-year contract worth US$50 million was to win a championship.
With John Tavares on the team, the clock is ticking. The Leafs might not have to win a Cup this year, but after losing in the first round in back-to-back years, they have to take a step or two forward. Anything less and Babcock could be feeling the heat.
MIKE YEO, ST. LOUIS
No one could blame Yeo for missing the playoffs last year after the team traded Paul Stastny at the deadline. But in a summer where St. Louis acquired Ryan O’Reilly and Tyler Bozak, as well as the return of a healthy Robby Fabbri, the expectations are that the Blues will be back in the playoffs.
That is, if they can unseat either Minnesota or Colorado, while also fighting off Dallas and Chicago. In other words, Yeo has his hands full.
BOB BOUGHNER, FLORIDA
In Boughner’s first year, the Panthers missed the playoffs by a single point because the team waited until January before playing its best hockey. Consider it a learning lesson — and for Boughner, a mulligan.
With ownership craving the same level of success the Lightning have enjoyed, the Panthers won’t be able to sleepwalk their way through the first half of the season. If they do, he could end up pushed to the curb much like Gerard Gallant was years earlier.
TODD REIRDEN, WASHINGTON
It’s not often a team repeats as Stanley Cup champions. It’s even more rare that they do so with a new coach behind the bench. That’s the challenge Reirden is stepping into after Barry Trotz left the team for more money with the New York Islanders.
The good news is Alex Ovechkin and most of the rest of the team is returning. The bad news is motivation could be lacking after the players achieved their goal of finally winning a championship.
BILL PETERS, CALGARY
For the third time in four years, the Flames have someone different behind the bench. Peters, who is not as strict as Bob Hartley and not as soft as Glen Gulutzan, hopes to be here longer than his predecessors.
He has the roster to make it happen. Having familiar faces in Noah Hanifin and Elias Lindholm should make the transition easier, but ultimately it will depend on whether Peters can get Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan and Matthew Tkachuk playing at a consistent level.
JIM MONTGOMERY, DALLAS
Ken Hitchcock’s replacement is new to the NHL, having coached in the NCAA for five seasons, but he won’t have time to get his feet wet. The Stars were supposed to compete for a Cup last year. Instead, they missed the playoffs.
With Tyler Seguin on the final year of a cap-friendly contract that rises by $4 million in 201920 and Jason Spezza on an expiring deal, there is a window for Dallas to go deep in the playoffs. Anything less and Montgomery will take the brunt of the criticism.