The common saying in regards to being a head coach in the National Hockey League is that “you are hired to eventually get fired.” Every coach lives through this process, some getting the chance to go through it multiple times over the course of his career.
This season has brought some changes to certain teams. The Edmonton Oilers, tired of their season-long struggles, fired Dallas Eakins in an attempt to save face, even though the move itself won’t propel them out of the Western Conference basement. The Ottawa Senators said good-bye to 2013 Jack Adams winnerPaul MacLean, while the New Jersey Devils replaced Peter DeBoer with a cast of interim coaches in Scott Stevens and Adam Oates. Bob Hartley of the Calgary Flames and Claude Julien of the Boston Bruins both received contract extensions with their respective clubs.
As we near the mid-way point of the season, it’s time to take a look at some of the clubs that could use a change behind the bench.
Mike Yeo – Minnesota Wild
2014-15 Record: 18-15-4 (11th – Western Conference)
After a humiliating loss to the Dallas Stars last night, the Wild dropped 7 of their last 9 games, placing the in 11th place in the West, far away from last season’s form that saw them eliminate the hot Colorado Avalanche in the first round of the playoffs. Given Chuck Fletcher‘s comments two weeks ago, talking about how management plans to stick it out with Yeo behind the bench, it’s unlikely we see him go anytime soon.
Getting off to a strong start is as important as anything else and the Wild have struggled all season to do so, scoring just 29 times in the first period. While they do tend to pick it up in the second and third periods, their defensive game teeters off and Darcy Kuemper is often forced to stand on his head and be nothing short of spectacular if his team wants to stay in the game. At home, the Wild are 10-4-4 but it’s when they hit the road that they are at their weakest, posting an 8-11-0 record. The Wild continue to struggle to keep things simple on the road and fall into the same traps defensively.
It’s not set in stone whether or not Yeo has lost his dressing room, but in games where an opponent drops a score of 7-1 on a club that is struggling as hard as they are, followed by fights breaking out left and right to end the game, it may be a sign of things to come for Minnesota and Yeo. Fletcher’s resilience to let Yeo go may be forced to break eventually, especially if it’s his own job on the line.
Craig Berube – Philadelphia Flyers
2014-15 Record: 14-18-7 (13th – Eastern Conference)
The Flyers need a coach who can work with what the team’s general manager and ownership group can provide, while implementing a solid break-out system for the defense. Craig Berube is not that guy, and it’s showing with a sub-par record. While the team consistently puts up decent offensive numbers , their powerplay efficiency rate is at 21.9%, good for 6th in the league, the sheer amount of goals against falls heavily on their defensive game and the personnel provided.
74.2% – the efficiency of the worst penalty kill in the league, which belongs to the Flyers. After Mark Streit and Nick Schultz, what do the Flyers have to make up for a good defensive core? Prospect Shayne Gostisbehere continues to wait for his chance after playing in two games this season, while Nicklas Grossman continues to struggle and Andrew MacDonald fails to live up to his contract.
So maybe Paul Holmgren has failed to provide a team simple enough to coach, but it has become an atmosphere in which Berube can no longer control. It may be a situation in which the Flyers hold off until the end of the season before making a change and then, they’d lay out their possibilities.
Dave Tippett – Arizona Coyotes
2014-15 Record: 15-19-4 (14th – Western Conference)
Prior to this year, the Coyotes had failed to make the playoffs in the last two seasons. Sitting in 14th in the West and 9 points ahead of the Edmonton Oilers (with a game in hand, but it doesn’t really matter), they are poised to be on the outside looking in for a third consecutive year.
There isn’t a redeeming factor on this team. Arizona averages 2.34 goals per game while allowing 3.21 goals against. Their leading scorer, defenseman Keith Yandle, is a -10 on the season and Sam Gagner, who the Coyotes acquired via trade from Edmonton, is a top-5 point producer with 20 points in 37 games. The goaltending has been a horror story, with Devan Dubnyk out-performing usual starter Mike Smith and the team in general has been out-scored in every period — 38-28 in the 1st, 36-34 in the 2nd and an alarming 46-24 in the final period.
Ill-prepared each game and out-performed on a nightly basis, the Coyotes have a ton of holes to fill in the off-season, one of which could be patched up with the potential of bringing in either Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel through the draft. If the Coyotes are primed to miss the post-season again, Tippett may need to go.
Randy Carlyle – Toronto Maple Leafs
2014-15 Record: 21-16-3 (8th – Eastern Conference)
In Toronto, it’s the same old story, same old song and dance (my friend).
In the off-season, Brendan Shanahan focused on re-tooling the team to bring in some offense, while also adding veteran leadership to the back-end in order to make life easier on the goaltending tandem of Jonathan Bernier and James Reimer. Roman Polak and Stephane Robidas came to Toronto and Leo Komarov made his return, along with new additions Mike Santorelli and Daniel Winnik. The moves have paid dividends for the Leafs, placing them top-five in goals scored, power play goals and average goals for per game. So what hasn’t changed?
The same, tired break-out plan, as pointed out by Charlie Clarke, is just one of many problems this season. The inability to see past Phil Kessel and Tyler Bozak not working out as a duo is a problem the majority of Leafs fans have stressed over for the entire season. David Clarkson’s single point on the powerplay and Carlyle’s reluctance to move him off has left everyone furious. If the team’s personnel on the ice has changed several times and the ones who have remained not the problem, what is left? It’s time to fire Randy Carlyle.
Claude Julien – Boston Bruins
2014-15 Record: 19-15-5 (10th – Eastern Conference)
This firing is the least likely of the five and I’ll go out on a limb to say, it won’t be happening anytime soon. Having signed a three-year extension back in November, General Manager Peter Chiarelli made it clear that Julien will stay in Boston for the foreseeable future. Given his accolades within the Bruins organization — 317-171-65 all-time with Boston, a Stanley Cup in 2011, a Stanley Cup Final final appearance and President’s Trophy in 2014 — his extension was justifiable at the time. What irks Bruins fans the most is Julien’s reluctance to hold his team accountable for a loss. Sitting in 10th place in the East, there seems to be a ho-hum attitude and the inability to wake up a team in a slump while instead remaining content with moral victories has certainly been a tale told one too many times in Boston this season.
If Chiarelli cans Julien, it will be a big surprise. However, with a team that is held to a certain level among their own fanbase, granted they are coming fresh off two Stanley Cup finals in the last five seasons, Chiarelli could feel the pressure and show Julien the door, even if it’s to prevent his own job loss.
Whether it’s late into this season or in the early stages of the off-season following it, some coaches may have their jobs taken away and the fun thing about the situation is the fact that there is no shortage of free agents who are waiting to nip the bud. John Tortorella, Paul MacLean, Peter DeBoer, and Dan Bylsma are all awaiting a new team to approach them, while any of the five coaches mentioned above could slot in with a new team. Then there’s the Mike Babcock situation. Will he re-sign with Detroit to coach the Red Wings for the future or are the rumors connecting himself and Toronto far from exaggerated?
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