5 NHL Coaches and General Managers on the Hot Seat
The 2023-24 NHL season has not been a good one for head coach job security. Six bench bosses have been fired since the start of the regular season.
In November, the Edmonton Oilers parted ways with Jay Woodcroft, while the Minnesota Wild handed Dean Evason his walking papers. December saw the firings of St. Louis Blues coach Craig Berube and Ottawa Senators coach D.J. Smith.
Lane Lambert of the New York Islanders was the next to go, and he was replaced last month by Patrick Roy. The latest was Todd McLellan of the Los Angeles Kings, as he was relieved of his duties on Feb 2. Assistant coach Jim Hiller took over on an interim basis for the remainder of the season.
A general manager also lost this job this season. On Nov. 1, the Ottawa Senators fired Pierre Dorion in favor of Steve Staios, their president of hockey operations. Staios was supposed to be in the role on an interim basis until a permanent replacement was found but took over full-time duties on Dec. 31.
Approaching the final two months of the regular-season schedule, several other coaches and general managers might start to feel the heat.
It could be the coach of a club struggling to remain in the playoff races such as the New Jersey Devils' Lindy Ruff. Meanwhile, a general manager like the Columbus Blue Jackets' Jarmo Kekalainen could find his seat getting warmer with his team poised to miss the playoffs again.
The following is our list of five coaches and general managers (in alphabetical order) who are in danger of losing their jobs by the end of this season. You can express your views on this topic in the app comments section.
Rob Blake, Los Angeles Kings
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General manager of the Los Angeles Kings since Apr. 2017, Rob Blake oversaw three seasons of a roster rebuild from 2018 to 2021. His efforts began paying over with a 99-point season in 2021-22 followed by a 104-point performance in 2022-23. Despite two first-round playoff exits during that time, the Kings seemed poised to become a Stanley Cup contender.
The Kings got off to a good start during the first two months of this season. They sported a record of 20-7-4 on Dec. 27, including a league-record 11-0-0 season-opening road wins streak. Things quickly fell apart soon afterward, as they won just three of their next 17 games. They're now clinging to a wild-card berth in the Western Conference.
Blake replaced Todd McLellan as head coach on Feb. 2 with Jim Hiller on an interim basis for the rest of the season. However, some pundits suggested the general manager bore his fair share of the blame for the Kings' recent woes.
The Athletic's Eric Stephens cited several decisions by Blake that led to the club's struggles. Last summer's acquisition of center Pierre-Luc Dubois has failed to pan out. Trading away forwards Gabe Vilardi and Alex Iafallo to Winnipeg in the Dubois deal hurt the roster's chemistry and depth, as did peddling defenseman Sean Durzi last summer to Arizona.
Blake's moves have left the Kings with little salary-cap space to bolster the roster with trades. If they continue to flounder and drop out of playoff contention, he could find his seat getting uncomfortably warm.
Don Granato, Buffalo Sabres
2 of 5
The Buffalo Sabres seemed poised to end a 12-year playoff drought when 2023-24 began. Under head coach Don Granato, they rode career-best performances by emerging stars such as Tage Thompson and Rasmus Dahlin to a 91-point performance in 2022-23, finishing just out of the playoff picture. Better days seemed ahead for this club and its long-suffering fans.
By midseason, however, those expectations had been dashed. With just 22 wins and 48 points in 50 games, the Sabres are once again near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings, sitting 10 points out of a wild-card spot.
Injuries to players like Thompson, winger Alex Tuch and promising winger Jack Quinn sent an offense that had the third-highest goals per game in 2022-23 (3.57) plummeting to 22nd this season (2.94). Their goaltending struggled earlier in this season but has improved in recent weeks, sitting 18th with a goals-against per game of 3.12.
Granato, however, has been feeling the heat for the Sabres' lack of improvement. During an ugly 9-4 home loss to the lowly Columbus Blue Jackets on Dec. 20, frustrated Buffalo fans chanted, "Fire Donnie!", raising questions about his job security.
Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News considers the remainder of this season to be a referendum on Granato's coaching. In a Feb. 4 column, he noted the club's improvement in recent weeks but felt their lousy first-period performance continues to hurt them. Harrington believes Granato will retain his job but doesn't think it's a lock.
Sheldon Keefe, Toronto Maple Leafs
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Since taking over behind the bench of the Toronto Maple Leafs on Nov. 20, 2019, Sheldon Keefe has coached them to three seasons with at least 100 points, including a franchise-best 115 points in 2021-22 and 111 points in 2022-23. However, they've also won just one playoff round with Keefe as head coach.
For a fanbase suffering under the longest Stanley Cup drought (57 years) in NHL history, simply making the playoffs or winning one postseason round isn't enough. Calls for Keefe to be fired could pick up steam if the Leafs come up short in the playoffs once again.
Keefe seems to have job security after signing a two-year contract extension last August. Nevertheless, that might not save him if the Leafs fail to at least get past the second round of the postseason.
The Leafs' lack of a reliable starting goaltender, their creaky defense, poor secondary scoring and a penalty-killing percentage (77.7) ranked 23rd overall are management's responsibility. Keefe has to rely heavily on his stars like Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, Morgan Reilly and John Tavares to carry the rest of the roster.
Nevertheless, the Leafs' inconsistent play at times, especially against much weaker opponents, along with their poor postseason record has cast Keefe in a harsh spotlight. He's kept his job despite each disappointing playoff performance. Another early playoff exit could test the patience of the Leafs' ownership.
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Jarmo Kekäläinen, Columbus Blue Jackets
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Stuck at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings, the Columbus Blue Jackets are poised to miss the playoffs for the fourth straight season. That could force the club to consider a front-office shakeup that includes the dismissal of general manager Jarmo Kekäläinen.
Hired in February 2013, Kekäläinen is among the NHL's longest-serving active general managers. Only the St. Louis Blues' Doug Armstrong (July 2010) and the Winnipeg Jets' Kevin Cheveldayoff (June 2011) have been around longer.
Under Kekäläinen, the Blues Jackets enjoyed their best period of success in franchise history. From 2016-17 to 2019-20, they reached the playoffs in four straight seasons. They swept the league-leading Tampa Bay Lightning from the first round of the 2019 playoffs and upset the Toronto Maple Leafs in the qualifying round of the COVID bubble 2020 playoffs
Since then, the Blue Jackets have been floundering. Despite the additions of promising youngsters such as Adam Fantilli, David Jiricek and Kent Johnson, and the acquisitions of high-priced stars like Johnny Gaudreau and Patrik Laine, they've been unable to gain traction in the standings.
Last summer's hiring of Mike Babcock as head coach and his subsequent departure for violating his players' privacy raises serious questions about Kekäläinen's management and judgment. Team ownership stuck by him, but the club's ongoing failure to improve could cost him his job by the end of this season.
Lindy Ruff, New Jersey Devils
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During the New Jersey Devils' home opener on Oct. 15, 2022, head coach Lindy Ruff was booed during the opening introductions and serenaded with chants of "Fire Lindy" in a 5-2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings. A month later, with the Devils amid a 13-game winning streak, they apologized with "Sorry, Lindy!" chants during a 4-2 win over the Arizona Coyotes.
The Devils went on to reach the playoffs for the first time in four years with a franchise-best 112 points, making Ruff a finalist for the Jack Adams Award and earning him a multiyear contract extension. He and his team looked like a rising force in the Eastern Conference entering this season.
Instead, the Devils find themselves struggling to remain in wild-card contention in the Eastern Conference. That could bring some heat back on Ruff over the remainder of the schedule.
The Devils' difficulties this season are largely injury-related. Core players such as Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier and Dougie Hamilton have missed time or remain sidelined. Goaltenders Vitek Vanecek, Akira Schmid and Nico Daws have struggled along with the defense, giving the Devils a goals-against per game (3.57) that is the league's fourth-worst.
Given all this plus Ruff's extension, it appears unlikely he'll be fired. If the Devils rally and reach the playoffs, it would at least salvage this season. However, Ruff could be the target of criticism if they miss the postseason, casting a shadow of doubt over him heading into 2024-25.
Stats and standings (as of Feb. 9, 2024) via NHL.com, salary information via Cap Friendly with additional info via Hockey-Reference.com.
.png?w=480 "Playoff Winners and Losers")
.jpg?w=600 "🚨 Giants Picking 5th and 10th")
