NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs: Who Will Get Blamed If Bubble Teams Miss the Playoffs?

With just one week left in the NHL regular season, we are about to be treated to what will be an exciting dash to the finish line.

Several teams have already clinched playoff berths and are simply jockeying for position and home ice.

Others are making a desperate effort to even make the top eight seeds.

If teams don't make the playoffs, there can be consequences and there will be blame thrown around.

So, who is to blame if these bubble teams don't make the playoffs?

Los Angeles Kings: Everybody but Jonathan Quick

The Los Angeles Kings have been one of the most enigmatic teams of the season.

They are loaded with offensive talent throughout their roster, but have had a difficult time scoring goals all season.

It's hard to say they should blame the coaches, because they already did that when they fired Terry Murray at the start of the season.

Dean Lombardi made good moves in the offseason to bring in Mike Richards and then again at the deadline to acquire Jeff Carter.

Really the only people you can blame are the ones in the jerseys not named Jonathan Quick.

San Jose Sharks: Doug Wilson and Todd McLellan

San Jose has had to fight the label of "playoff chokers" for a while now.

This season, their label is more along the lines of "Most Disappointing Teams in the NHL."

General Manager Doug Wilson took a big gamble by trading away Dany Heatley and Devin Setoguchi at the 2011 NHL Entry Draft for Brent Burns and Martin Havlat.

Neither have been particularly bad, but with the Sharks in danger of missing the playoffs altogether that move would be a nail in Wilson's coffin.

Then there is Todd McLellan, who has coached San Jose to some spectacular seasons but never managed an appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals.

He coaches a incredibly talented and physically dominating team that can't clinch a playoff spot.

If the Sharks miss the playoffs this year, it's very possible that both these guys will be putting their résumés together.

Dallas Stars: Tom Hicks

Tom Hicks was the previous owner of the Dallas Stars who put the team in a precarious position heading into the 2011 NHL offseason.

Hicks wanted to sell the team, but was having a hard time finding a stable owner who wanted them.

With the franchise's future in such chaos, the Stars lost Brad Richards to free agency and not many people expected the team to do too much.

The Stars have been competitive all year long and the ownership situation was finally worked out when Tom Gaglardi managed to buy the team.

As competitive as this team has been, it makes people wonder how much better the team could have been if Hicks hadn't forced Richards' hand.

Phoenix Coyotes: Gary Bettman

Bettman refuses to allow a potential owner purchase this team if they have any intentions of moving them out of Phoenix.

The big problem with this is that there haven't been any owners who want to keep the team in Phoenix for the last three seasons, and why should there be?

The Coyotes haven't turned a profit since they moved to Phoenix, so what business sense would it make for somebody to put millions of dollars into the team?

This has made it so the team can't have an owner that is committed to making them a great team in a different market, and the uncertainty surrounding the team makes it difficult for them to attract any potential free agents that could help the team.

Bettman has created a mess in Phoenix.

Colorado Avalanche: Joe Sacco

It's no secret that I am a critic of Avalanche coach Joe Sacco but there is reason to be.

Under Sacco the Avalanche have been one of the most inconsistent teams in the NHL.

Some nights the team comes out flying, other nights they look like they are still in the locker room and on most nights the Avalanche have a hard time putting together a full 60 minute effort.

If this happens in just a couple of games, that's players who are figuring out what it takes to be consistent in the NHL.

When that happens for three straight years it is a coaching issue.

One stat that tells you everything you need to know about Sacco as a coach is his record within the division.

Since Sacco took over the Avalanche are 25-41-6 against their own division. 

Those teams know how to play against the Avalanche and Sacco doesn't know how to adjust the game to overcome this.

With a record like this, don't count on the Avalanche being part of the playoff picture anytime soon.

Florida Panthers: Nobody

The Florida Panthers currently lead their division, but are still nowhere near being a sure bet to make the playoffs.

If the Panthers don't make the playoffs, I don't think anybody will be blaming anybody.

Nobody thought the Panthers would be anywhere near making the playoffs let alone winning their division when the season began.

At this point, the Panthers are playing with house money.

Ottawa Senators: Nobody

After finishing 13th in the Eastern Conference a season ago, nobody was giving the Senators a chance to be in the playoffs this season either.

The Senators managed to find their game after a bit of a stumble at the start of the season and really took the league by storm.

The Senators haven't just been in playoff contention, they've been pushing the Boston Bruins for the lead in the division.

The Senators are another team that have already had a successful season and could be a threat to a few top seeds in the playoffs.

Washington Capitals: George McPhee

Bruce Boudreau already felt the cold axe of blame after being fired from the Capitals early in the season.

Unfortunately, the Capitals haven't managed to put together anything consistent since bringing Dale Hunter in.

There's usually a chain of command that things go through before a superstar player like Alex Ovechkin feels too much of the blame.

Coach, GM, then players.

The coach has already been given the axe and it's possible that the Caps could drop Hunter as well, but my bet is on McPhee.

Buffalo Sabres: Darcy Regier

New Sabres owner Terry Pegula certainly lived up to his promise of spending money to bring the Sabres quality players to help win the Stanley Cup.

Despite some strong moves, the Sabres have struggled to find consistency this season.

They have gotten a good deal hotter at the end of the season, but the lack of chemistry could make one wonder whether or not the moves that the GM made were the best ones for the team.

I doubt Regier gets fired, but I could see a good deal of blame being thrown his way.