Stock Watch for NHL Coaches on the Hot Seat Halfway Through the 2014-15 Season

On Jan. 6, the Toronto Maple Leafs made Randy Carlyle the fourth NHL coach to receive his walking papers during the 2014-15 season. After 40 games, his record was 21-16-3.

Carlyle followed in the footsteps of Dallas Eakins of Edmonton (31 games, 7-19-5), Peter DeBoer of the New Jersey Devils (36 games, 12-17-7) and Paul MacLean of the Ottawa Senators (27 games, 11-11-5).

Last season, four coaches also stepped down during the regular season: Peter Laviolette of the Philadelphia Flyers, Ron Rolston of the Buffalo Sabres, Kevin Dineen of the Florida Panthers and Claude Noel of the Winnipeg Jets. Kirk Muller, Dan Bylsma, John Tortorella, Barry Trotz, Adam Oates and Dineen's replacement, Peter Horachek, joined them on the unemployment line at the end of the year.

Will we see more changes behind benches around the league before playoff time? If so, who's next?

Here's a status update on the coaches whose futures currently look least secure.

Dave Tippett: Arizona Coyotes

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Overall Record with Phoenix/Arizona: six seasons, 418 GP, 209-148-61, .573 points percentage, 2009-10 Jack Adams Award

This Season's Record: 42 GP, 16-22-4, 36 points, sixth in Pacific Division

Stock: Falling

Since the 2009-10 season, Dave Tippett has had a well-deserved reputation for making the most of a bad situation in the Arizona desert. He won the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year during his first season with the Coyotes in 2009-10. Now in Year 6, and with the franchise finally enjoying a stable ownership situation, Tippett is not looking like the magic man he used to be.

Despite a thrilling playoff run in 2011-12 where they eventually fell to the champion Los Angeles Kings, the Coyotes have never again matched the high-water mark of Tippett's first season. Last year, they finished just two points out of a playoff spot; this season, they're already 13 points back in the Western Conference race.

Don't expect to see management make a move before season's end. Though Tippett is in just the second year of a long-term contract extension, the Coyotes will most likely wait until the offseason before making changes to continue the repositioning of their brand in a challenging hockey market.

Claude Julien: Boston Bruins

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Overall Record with Boston: eight seasons, 582 GP, 330-180-71, .633 points percentage, 2008-09 Jack Adams Award, 2011 Stanley Cup

This Season's Record: 44 GP, 23-15-6, 52 points, fourth in Atlantic Division

Stock: Rising

What a difference a week makes. 

On Jan. 6, new CEO Charlie Jacobs of Delaware North Boston Holdings (which owns the Boston Bruins) used his introductory press conference to call the Bruins' performance this season "unacceptable" and say it would be an "incredible failure" if Boston missed the playoffs, per Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald.

Coach Claude Julien took the remarks in stride, saying "I'm OK with that statement. We've made the playoffs seven years in a row with a lot of this group and this coaching staff."

Underperforming teams don't hang onto their coaches for long in today's NHL, but the Bruins have made a sudden sharp turnaround. Boston is 4-0 since Jacobs delivered his message and is riding a wave of excitement thanks to 18-year-old David Pastrnak, who has back-to-back two-goal games after joining the Bruins following the World Junior Championship.

Boston is now back in the playoff picture, holding down the second Eastern Conference wild-card spot.

Julien signed a three-year contract extension before the beginning of the season. If Boston makes the playoffs, his job will be safe.

Ted Nolan: Buffalo Sabres

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Overall Record with Buffalo: four seasons, 270 GP, 104-135-19-12, .433 points percentage, 1996-97 Jack Adams Award

This Season's Record: 44 GP, 14-27-3, 31 points, eighth in Atlantic Division

Stock: Falling

Often presumed to be aiming for the first overall pick in the 2015 draft and a shot at phenom Connor McDavid, Ted Nolan and the Buffalo Sabres confounded the hockey world when they went on a 10-3-0 run between mid-November and mid-December.

That's over now. The Sabres are in the midst of an eight-game losing streak and have yet to earn their first point of 2015.

There may be a prize at the end of the road for all this failure, but the losing is stunting the development of the team's other young prospects, and the good vibes from earlier in the season have all but evaporated.

Nolan carries baggage with the Sabres that dates back to the late '90s—not ideal for a team that's looking to make a fresh start. Look for general manager Tim Murray to find a new face to lead the charge next season.

Mike Yeo: Minnesota Wild

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Overall Record with Minnesota: four seasons, 254 GP, 122-101-31, .541 points percentage

This Season's Record: 42 GP, 18-19-5, 41 points, seventh in Central Division

Stock: Falling Fast

After Tuesday's 7-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, I wasn't sure Mike Yeo would hang onto his job long enough to even be included in this article.

It looks like he's made it. Instead of firing the coach, general manager Chuck Fletcher acquired goaltending help from Arizona on Wednesday in the form of Devan Dubnyk. He gave up a third-round draft pick, according to NHL.com.

Dubnyk has outplayed starter Mike Smith with the Coyotes this season, but just last summer he was on the scrap heap after going from Edmonton to Nashville to Montreal before signing with Arizona as an unrestricted free agent.

Minnesota has struggled in net all season and is currently without Darcy Kuemper, who has been on injured reserve for the last week with a lower-body injury.

The Wild have gone 0-5-1 and given up 29 goals in their last six games. Their only win of 2015 so far came on New Year's Day against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Yeo's outburst at practice on Jan. 7 did nothing to spark better results for his team. He better hope that Dubnyk's arrival serves as a rallying point.

Craig Berube: Philadelphia Flyers

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Overall Record with Philadelphia: two seasons, 122 GP, 59-46-17, .553 points percentage

This Season's Record: 43 GP, 17-19-7, 41 points, fifth in Metropolitan Division

Stock: Rising Slightly

Philadelphia Flyers fans breathed a sigh of relief after their team's emphatic 7-3 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning Monday night. Though Philly is 11 points out of a playoff spot and the team's poor performance throughout the season has caused whispers that Berube's job is in jeopardy, it's unlikely that Ron Hextall will make any immediate moves.

"Hextall was promoted to overhaul this team, not to tinker with it," explained Sam Donnellon of the Philadelphia Daily News on Jan. 9. "He has made no secret of his belief that it will take a number of years, not half of one."

As for the status of the coach, "Hextall, amid threats that changes will be made if the team does not perform better, continually gives Berube a vote of confidence," Donnellon pointed out.

Philadelphia probably won't make the playoffs, and the team could replace Berube in the offseason. For now, his job is safe enough. If the Flyers can build off their big win over Tampa Bay over the next few weeks, Berube will have the opportunity to improve his chances of sticking around.

Todd McLellan: San Jose Sharks

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Overall Record with San Jose: seven seasons, 502 GP, 294-146-62, .647 points percentage

This Season's Record: 44 GP, 23-16-5, 51 points, second in Pacific Division

Stock: Rising

As the winningest record of any coach on this list, Todd McLellan looks like he has dodged another bullet as his San Jose Sharks climb back into the thick of the Western Conference playoff race.

McLellan has long been criticized for being unable to take his talented Sharks squads deep into the playoffs. Last spring, San Jose finished fifth overall in the regular season but McLellan's job hung by a thread after the team's first-round collapse against the Los Angeles Kings.

The new season started off with some bumps, leaving the Sharks outside the playoff picture in late November. 

"I feel confident with myself and the coaching staff, but I'm also a realist," McLellan admitted to David Pollak of the San Jose Mercury News at the time. "I know that the team hasn't performed to the level that any of us are happy with—not just ownership and management, but also coaches and players aren't happy with the results." 

The Sharks are still lacking consistency, but they've played well enough to climb past the Los Angeles Kings, Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks into second place in the Pacific Division.

Ultimately, the front office will judge San Jose by this year's playoff performance. It looks like McLellan will be the hand that guides the Sharks.

Team stats courtesy of NHL.com. Coaching stats from Hockey-Reference.com.