NHL coaches dropping like flies as struggling teams search for answers
Following a rare season without any coach firings, National Hockey League teams have been quick to drop the axe in 2018-19.
The decision by the Edmonton Oilers to sack head coach Todd McLellan on Tuesday marked the fourth change behind the bench of the young campaign as struggling clubs look to shake things up.
McLellan joins John Stevens (Los Angeles Kings), Joel Quenneville (Chicago Blackhawks) and Mike Yeo (St. Louis Blues) as coaches handed their walking papers this month.
The dismissals of Yeo and McLellan came less than 12 hours apart, with both of their former clubs finding it difficult to gain traction.
The four moves come in stark contrast to the 2017-18 campaign when no coaches were fired inseason for the first time in more than 50 years.
Edmonton general manager Peter Chiarelli said after hiring Ken Hitchcock to replace the deposed McLellan that parity across the NHL is part of the reason for so much movement a quarter of the way into the schedule.
“You win a couple games and you’re back in it,” Chiarelli said. “I just felt it was time.”
St. Louis GM Doug Armstrong echoed those sentiments in explaining his decision to replace Yeo with associate coach Craig Berube on an interim basis a few days before U.S. Thanksgiving.
The holiday south of the border is often viewed as an unofficial measuring stick for teams in the playoff chase.
Big expectations and GMs starting to feel some heat of their own are common threads in the four coach firings.
Edmonton is led by superstar captain Connor McDavid, but had lost six of seven in regulation before beating San Jose in overtime on Tuesday.
While the Oilers missed the playoffs in two of McLellan’s three seasons in charge, he was far from the only one responsible for the franchise’s issues.
For his part, Chiarelli has made a number of questionable personnel decisions — dealing away Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle, and signing Milan Lucic among them — that have failed to give McDavid the support he needs.
Armstrong remade the Blues’ forward group this summer by dealing for Ryan O’Reilly and signing Tyler Bozak, Pat Maroon and David Perron in free agency after watching his team miss the playoffs by a single point last season.
But St. Louis — which has lost four of five, including consecutive shutout defeats that sealed Yeo’s fate — sits 30th in the overall standings, two points up on last-place Los Angeles.
One difference with Chicago and Los Angeles is at least those teams have enjoyed recent success.
Quenneville won three Stanley Cups in his 10-plus seasons with the Blackhawks, while the Kings won titles in 2012 and 2014, albeit before the promotion of Stevens to head coach.
Salary cap constraints have forced Chicago to repeatedly remake itself around Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith.
Los Angeles also still consists of top-end talent with Hart Trophy finalist Anze Kopitar, Norris Trophy-winning defenceman Drew Doughty, as well as forwards Jeff Carter and Ilya Kovalchuk.
But, like the Oilers, the Kings haven’t got enough from their supporting cast.