NHL Coaches and Executives Most Likely to Be Fired This Offseason

The majority of owners in the NHL expect their teams to win the Stanley Cup every season, but only 16 teams ultimately get to compete in the marathon for the legendary trophy.

The playoff picture for 2014-15 is set, for the most part, but some notable teams like the San Jose Sharks and Boston Bruins are on the outside looking in. With expectations very high for teams with top-tier talent and gaudy payrolls, failure is not tolerated for long.

A number of candidates are already on the hot seat, and here are the most likely coaches and executives to be shown the door after the season.

Ted Nolan, Buffalo Sabres

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Ted Nolan is an intense coach who prides himself on motivating his players and doing what it takes to win. The 2014-15 Buffalo Sabres have been at the forefront of teams gerrymandering to ensure that they finish last overall—because doing so will guarantee the selection of Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel in the NHL draft.

This season, the Sabres dealt talent such as Drew Stafford, Tyler Myers and assorted others for a combination of Evander Kane, prospects, draft picks and other roster players. The moves have been calculated, and Nolan hasn't been on the same page as his general manager.

According to Bucky Gleason of The Buffalo News, it is unlikely that Nolan will be behind the bench next season because he clearly isn't the man general manager Tim Murray wants for the long haul:

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It's only a matter of time now. At some point, Tim Murray is going to hire his own man to replace Ted Nolan behind the bench to usher the Sabres through the next phase of their massive rebuilding project.

The two have a strange relationship, assuming they have one at all. It explains why Nolan didn’t hear about a seven-player deal that included franchise defenseman, Tyler Myers, a player Nolan said the Sabres should build around, until the paperwork was complete.

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It is a shame because the 1997 Jack Adams Trophy winner is a good coach who has been asked to follow the script from Major League (Viewer Discretion Advised).

Peter Chiarelli, Boston Bruins

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If Boston misses the playoffs, there's a good chance that general manager Peter Chiarelli will be fired. His mismanagement of the salary cap is going to set the Boston Bruins back for the next few years to come, and the team is at a crossroads.

The Tyler Seguin trade has completely backfired, Loui Eriksson and Reilly Smith haven't produced consistently, the bonus overage from Jarome Iginla's contract cost the Bruins Johnny Boychuk and the team hasn't drafted well in recent years.

Outside of David Pastrnak and Ryan Spooner, there aren't any promising youngsters on the horizon, and that's a problem, considering the cap crunch. In addition to that, Zdeno Chara and Dennis Seidenberg are shells of their former selves, and there are no capable replacements on the horizon.

At this point, the Bruins need to hit the reset button. According to Joe Haggerty of CSNNE, it looks like Milan Lucic will be traded this summer, which would be the first of many moves to get the Bruins back into contending form.

Peter Horachek, Toronto Maple Leafs

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Interim head coach Peter Horachek took over when Randy Carlyle was fired, and it is unlikely that he will behind the bench next season for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Head honcho Brendan Shanahan is looking to kick off a "scorched-earth" rebuild to get things done the right way, as reported by the Globe and Mail's Cathal Kelly (via Sportsnet). It doesn't help that the Toronto Maple Leafs have been terrible since Horachek took over.

The Leafs have some talented players such as Morgan Rielly, James van Riemsdyk and Phil Kessel on the roster, but first and foremost, the team needs to have the right leaders in place both on the bench and in the management suite.

The Leafs' skid can't completely be pinned on Horachek, but his firing would be a fact of business that he will have to accept. The former Florida Panthers bench boss may be an assistant elsewhere in 2015-16, but it certainly won't be in the Toronto area.

It says something when the word "interim" is placed in front of your title, and that's something that probably sealed his fate from the start.

Dave Nonis, Toronto Maple Leafs

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The Maple Leafs will make a clean sweep if the scorched-earth rebuild is put into effect, and general manager Dave Nonis is certain to follow Horachek out the door. Although Nonis was able to free up some cap space with creative moves such as the David Clarkson-Nathan Horton swap, the Leafs need to start from scratch.

If the Leafs are unable to land Mike Babcock, it would make sense to add a veteran general manager who could step in while assistant Kyle Dubas continues to gain experience and makes the transition from assistant GM to GM.

The Leafs can emerge as contenders if they develop young players and draft well. At that point, Dubas could conceivably be ready to take control from the rafters of the Air Canada Centre.

Todd McLellan, San Jose Sharks

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The San Jose Sharks are going to miss the playoffs for the first time in 10 years, and head coach Todd McLellan is going to be the fall guy. He was on the hot seat earlier in the 2014-15 season, and at this point there isn't enough evidence to suggest he will be back next fall.

It doesn't matter that Doug Wilson publicly stated that the Sharks were going to rebuild and then proceeded to keep the roster in tact. It also doesn't matter that Wilson has publicly criticized the team's best player and unofficial captain Joe Thornton—because coaches are usually the first to go when a team looks to shake things up.

McLellan learned from one of the best in Babcock during his tenure with the Detroit Red Wings, and he should land on his feet with no issue this summer.

Craig Berube, Philadelphia Flyers

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Ed Snider wants a Stanley Cup, and he wants it now!

In an interview with Sam Donnellon of the Philadelphia Daily News, the Philadelphia Flyers' 82-year-old owner expressed some disappointment with the state of his club:

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You don't say when you've got Giroux, and you've got Voracek, and you've got Mason and you've got the kind of pieces like Simmons that we have, that, 'Hey, you've got to be patient, we might make the playoffs in 2 or 3 years.' [Bleep] that.

We've got to make sure our message gets through properly. Patience is great with the kids. But patience isn't great with the team we have on the ice.

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Although general manager Ron Hextall has an approach in mind, it might have to be amended if the man who signs his check says so. The Flyers have been a mediocre team under head coach Craig Berube, and it wouldn't be surprising if he were shown the door once the season is over.