Ranking the Best Open Head Coach Positions in the NHL Right Now

It's a signature piece of the NHL news cycle.

Running concurrently as the postseason whittles to its final few contenders is an annual hanging of (metaphorical) "Help Wanted" signs outside coaching offices at the buildings where true title contention seems a pipe dream.

Five such signs are being displayed across the league at the moment, and the B/R hockey staff took the opportunity to examine the openings and rank them in ascending order of attractiveness to a would-be job seeker, considering things like geographical location, blue-chip personnel and proximity to playoff relevance for each organization.

Take a look at what we came up with and drop a thought of your own in the comments.

5. Columbus Blue Jackets

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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MARCH 19: Daniil Tarasov #40 of the Columbus Blue Jackets leaves the ice in the second period after giving up a fifth goal to the Vegas Golden Knights during their game at T-Mobile Arena on March 19, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Golden Knights defeated the Blue Jackets 7-2. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

No offense to the fine people of Ohio's capital city, but someone's got to be last.

And it'd be hard to make a truly persuasive argument that the Blue Jackets, coming off a season in which they won 25 games—including just nine of 41 away from home—would be a desirable landing spot for any coach who had his pick of offers to consider.

Yes, they wound up a point ahead of the Anaheim Ducks, who are also looking for a new coach, but they've not finished better than fifth in a division since 2017-18, haven't sniffed the playoffs for the last three seasons and have better than 25 percent of their existing payroll tied up in Johnny Gaudreau, Patrik Laine and Erik Gudbranson.

That trio, incidentally, combined for 118 points in 205 games in 2022-23 with a -69 rating.

Having the third-youngest roster at season's end and the No. 3 pick in the upcoming draft can be construed as a good place to begin/continue a rebuild, but it's a long ride to relevance in a loaded Eastern Conference.

And having Disneyland and the Pacific Ocean as a backdrop probably edges the Ducks to the front of the lowest job-seeking tier.

4. Anaheim Ducks

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ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 21: The Minnesota Wild celebrate as Mason McTavish #37 of the Anaheim Ducks looks on after losing 4-1 in a game at Honda Center on December 21, 2022 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

Even if Disney and beaches don't matter, it's still a mite better in Anaheim.

The Ducks were a point behind the Blue Jackets last season and have been in freefall since they woke up on January 1, 2022 ranked 10th overall and second in the Pacific.

Their 14-27-7 finish was third-worst in the league across the back half of that season, and the 23-47-12 encore that followed wasn't enough to warrant the retention of coach Dallas Eakins after four seasons in which a sixth-place standing in 2019-20 was the high watermark.

Still, the ineptitude is hard to fathom given the presence of hot shots such as Trevor Zegras, Troy Terry and Mason McTavish—ages 22, 25 and 20, respectively—and it's their team-controlled status as restricted free agents or entry-level contract players that could allow for an additional signing or two who could make a significant impact right away.

Added to the youthful arsenal, too, will be the No. 2 pick in this summer's draft.

Not even the most loyal sycophant would presume a Stanley Cup run within a half-decade, but there seems to be at least a smidge more optimism warranted in SoCal, particularly if the team attracts a coach who works well with the younger set.

3. Washington Capitals

Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post via Getty Images

WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 13: Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) and his teammates react after losing to the New Jersey Devils in overtime during the final game of the season at Capital One Arena on April 13, 2023. (Photo by Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

The Capitals could be described as a legacy choice at No. 3.

They missed the playoffs this past season for the first time since 2013-14 and are something less than flush with cap space thanks to six players aged 31 or older who are owed more than $5 million for the 2023-24 season.

So, if you wanted to suggest either Anaheim or Columbus as a better growth opportunity for a coach looking to put down roots, it wouldn't be ludicrous.

However, Washington does have star power in the form of Alex Ovechkin and was in the running for an Eastern playoff spot in 2022-23 before earning just six of a possible 20 points across its final 10 games.

That ill-timed skid cost former Cup winner Peter Laviolette his gig after three seasons in D.C., but the team did win a title as recently as 2017-18 and could find itself in a better position for a playoff berth next spring if it's able to get anything consistent out of Nicklas Bäckström after he missed more than half of the 2022-23 season with hip issues.

And if nothing at all else, having a front-row seat to watch Ovechkin chase Wayne Gretzky makes it a job worth considering.

2. Calgary Flames

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CALGARY, AB - DECEMBER 27: Nazem Kadri #91 of the Calgary Flames takes a moment before leaving the ice after a loss against the Edmonton Oilers at Scotiabank Saddledome on December 27, 2022 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Gerry Thomas/NHLI via Getty Images)

Raise your hand if you expected this job to be open this soon.

Though they lost Johnny Gaudreau (via free agency) and Matthew Tkachuk (by trade) before the 2022-23 season, it did seem as if the Calgary Flames had righted the ship when they signed Nazem Kadri to offset Gaudreau's exit and brought back Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar from Florida in exchange for Tkachuk.

They were coming off a Pacific Division title, too, and hadn't missed the playoffs across a full NHL season since 2017-18.

Fast-forward a year, though, and everything's different.

The Flames skidded to fifth in the division and pink-slipped both general manager Brad Treliving and coach Darryl Sutter, leaving senior VP of hockey operations Don Maloney to suggest at a news conference that "a new voice" was needed.

Whoever's voice it is, they'll have a lot to work with.

All the important pieces remain under contract in Calgary for at least the 2023-24 season, and it would be no surprise at all for the Flames, who went 6-2-2 down the stretch, to reemerge as a factor both in the Pacific and the West as a whole.

Looking for a dark-horse Jack Adams contender? Pick the person who takes this gig.

1. New York Rangers

Rich Graessle/NHLI via Getty Images

NEWARK, NJ - MAY 01: Niko Mikkola #77 of the New York Rangers and Kaapo Kakko #24 of the New York Rangers after losing Game Seven of the First Round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center on May 1, 2023 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Rich Graessle/NHLI via Getty Images)

Here's another job that wasn't supposed to be available.

Gerard Gallant took over the New York Rangers prior to the 2021-22 season and proceeded to win 52 games, place second in the Metropolitan Division and engineer a playoff run that got the team six games deep into the postseason final four.

So, when he returned for the 2022-23 season and GM Chris Drury added Patrick Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko to the arsenal at trade-deadline time, it seemed a run of equal or even longer duration was a mere formality.

Until it wasn't.

Instead, the Rangers self-destructed after opening the playoffs with consecutive road wins, ultimately losing four of the next five to the New Jersey Devils—including a 4-0 blanking in Game 7—to end the run before it started and trigger Gallant's sudden dismissal.

Both Kane and Tarasenko are on the verge of free agency and neither is a lock to return, but the New York roster still boasts an embarrassment of veteran talent riches in the form of Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider up front, ex-Norris winner Adam Fox on the blue line and former Vezina winner Igor Shesterkin in goal.

The New York media is no picnic and the fanbase will be starved as the 30th anniversary of the last Stanley Cup win at Madison Square Garden approaches, but there's no job opening that would put its new occupant any closer to a would-be hoist.