Tis not the season to be a coach of a struggling team (or in Washington's case, a team with lofty expectations) in the NHL.
With coaches dropping like Santa's bag of toys down a chimney - I thought it would be interesting to take a look at the current NHL landscape when it comes to the head man behind the 30 benches in the NHL:
Buffalo Sabres - Lindy Ruff
14 years
Nashville Predators - Barry Trotz
13 years
Detroit Red Wings - Mike Babcock
7 years
Vancouver Canucks - Alain Vigneault
6 years
Boston Bruins - Claude Julien
5 years
Los Angeles Kings - Terry Murray
4 years
Toronto Maple Leafs - Ron Wilson
4 years
Chicago Blackhawks - Joel Quenneville
4 years
San Jose Sharks - Todd McLellan
4 years
Montreal Canadiens - Jacques Martin
3 years
Pittsburgh Penguins - Dan Bylsma
3 years
Philadelphia Flyers - Peter Laviolette
3 years
New York Rangers - John Tortorella
3 years
Calgary Flames - Brent Sutter
3 years
Phoenix Coyotes - Dave Tippett
3 years
Colorado Avalanche - Joe Sacco
3 years
Tampa Bay Lightning - Guy Boucher
2 years
Columbus Blue Jackets - Scott Arniel
2 years
Edmonton Oilers - Tom Renney
2 years
New York Islanders - Jack Capuano
2 years
Anaheim Ducks - Bruce Boudreau
1 year
Washington Capitals - Dale Hunter
1 year
Carolina Hurricanes - Kirk Muller
1 year
St. Louis Blues - Ken Hitchcock
1 year
Winnipeg Jets - Claude Noel
1 year
Dallas Stars - Glen Gulutzan
1 year
Minnesota Wild - Mike Yeo
1 year
Ottawa Senators - Paul MacLean
1 year
New Jersey Devils - Peter DeBoer
1 year
Now for some analysis:
* 25 coaches have been behind their benches 4 years or less. That is 83% of the coaches in this league. How's that for shelf life?
* Including the 4 recently hired -- 9 coaches, or 30%, are in their first seasons behind their current team's benches.
* If you include 2nd year coaches with 1st year that makes up a whopping 43% of this league's coaches that are only in their 2nd year or less behind their team's respective benches.
* Now that Bodreau and Carlyle have been pink slipped - only 5 coaches, or 16%, have been able to hold onto their current jobs for 5 years or longer. That's stunning.
* Only two coaches, Ruff and Trotz, have coached their current squads over 10 years. That is only 6.6% of the coaches in this league. I'll have what they are having.
* Now for the good news. Once you have your foot in the NHL door and have had some level of success the chances are that even if you do get fired you will probably get rehired. By my count 13 coaches (includes Noel) on this list are on their 2nd or more coaching stints in the league. That is 43%.
Despite 4 firings already, I don't think the NHL coaching carnage is over. We are only at the 25 game marker of the season and there are some other teams struggling. Arniel is an obvious and well covered candidate. There is Martin in Montreal. Sacco in Colorado. Sutter in Calgary. Maybe Capuano on the Island.
It's a tough biz, this pro sports. A business that is measured in two things: Wins and Losses.
Fair or not, coaches are always the first to go. The pressure to win now is enormous and they are the easiest target when a team is struggling. It's a cliche but it's true, it's easier to fire the coach than it is the team. Just take a look at the Carlyle situation for a perfect example of this. It's been heavily rumored Bobby Ryan is on the block to shake things up in Anaheim but instead, for now at least, the team fires their coach of 7 years. A coach that won them a cup.
Now in Columbus' case I personally don't think firing a coach will be anything more than putting a band aid on a broken leg. We've been there done that. Now, in their 11th season, the Jackets are on coach #7. Granted Agnew and Noel had short "interim" stints behind the bench. No, that problem is much larger than a head coach but I won't get into all that again here.
Bottom line is if you are lookin for job security, life as a bench boss in the NHL isn't where you're likely to find it.
-LTL
