NHL Power Rankings: Ranking All 30 NHL Coaches

NHL coaches come and go.

Ron Wilson won his division in the 2007-08 season and was shown the door the next year.

Michael Therrien led the Penguins to the Stanley Cup and was replaced mid-season by Dan Bylsma in 2009.

Dave Tippett made the Stars a perennial playoff team and… well, he was shown the door in 2009 as well.

The following are the 30 coaches in the NHL ranked based on proficiency.

Coaches will be judged on success, tenure and their ability to either a) perform in a tough market or b) be resourceful for a low-budget team.

Notable achievements include Stanley Cup wins, conference championships, division championships and Jack Adams Awards.

30. Calgary Flames: Brent Sutter

Tenure: Third season

Notable achievements: Won division (2008-09)

Drafted 18th overall in 1980, Sutter played in over 1,000 NHL games for the New York Islanders and Chicago Blackhawks, winning the Stanley Cup twice.

Sutter comes from a hockey family. His brothers Brian, Darryl, Duane, Ron and Rich all played in the NHL.

After coaching the Red Deer Rebels (WHL), the junior team he played for, and the New Jersey Devils, Sutter joined the Flames in 2009.

Although his teams were perennial playoff teams in Red Deer and New Jersey (in 2008-09, his team tallied 106 points), he has not gotten the aging Flames to the playoffs since taking over as head coach.

In hockey-crazy Calgary, Sutter needs to qualify for the playoffs this year. He is skating on thin ice.

29. New Jersey Devils: Peter DeBoer

Tenure: First season

Notable achievements: None

An accomplished minor league coach, DeBoer spent three years in Florida, where his team accrued 93 points in his first season, but couldn’t get to 80 points the next two.

He’s got to do better in New Jersey, where the franchise has an expectation of winning, but has endured tough times recently.

28. Ottawa Senators: Paul MacLean

Tenure: First season

Notable achievements: None

After 11 years in the NHL with the St. Louis Blues, Winnipeg Jets and Detroit Red Wings from 1980-1991, MacLean has earned his first NHL head coaching position.

Ottawa, once a juggernaut, is now on the downswing. MacLean’s job will be to control the damage and turn things around in Canada’s capital.

27. Florida Panthers: Kevin Dineen

Tenure: First season

Notable achievements: None

A man from a strong hockey family, Dineen had success with the Portland Pirates, a team that hired him in 2005, two years after he retired from professional hockey after 18 years in the league, primarily with the Hartford Whalers.

Dineen has time on his side, but the Panthers—who are virtually irrelevant in the Miami area—need to win eventually if they want to make the BankAtlantic Center the place to be in South Florida.

26. Columbus Blue Jackets: Scott Arniel

Tenure: Second season

Notable achievements: None

The Blue Jackets went with a young guy (Arniel is 49) to try to ignite a dormant organization that has not  won a playoff game since its inception in 2000.

With newcomers Jeff Carter and James Wisniewski joining Rick Nash this year, the expectation is he’s going to win immediately.

25. Dallas Stars: Glen Gulutzan

Tenure: First season

Notable achievements: None

Following Dallas’ epic collapse, coach Marc Crawford was shown the door and the Stars organization turned to their AHL coach, Glen Gulutzan.

After coaching the ECHL Las Vegas Wranglers for six seasons (where he missed the playoffs only once), Gulutzan had success with Texas and received his promotion.

He’s got a tough task in his first year. Dallas standout Brad Richards left in free agency and the Pacific Division has improved significantly over the past few years.

24. New York Islanders: Jack Capuano

Tenure: Second season

Notable accomplishments: None

With the Islanders’ stadium lease terminating in 2015 and the prospects of a new stadium looking bleak, the once proud franchise is looking more and more like a lame duck.

However, for Capuano, who earned the head coaching position last season, this is a great audition. He will have to overcome a lot in order to win on the Island, but if he shows promise, he could earn a position with a team that has better ownership and a full arena.

23. Winnipeg Jets: Claude Noel

Tenure: First season

Notable achievements: None

Noel has spent 20 years as a coach, but last year, in his first stint with the Blue Jackets, the team finished last in the Central and he was shown the door after 24 games.

After a year with the Manitoba Moose, Noel will be expected to have success with another team in Manitoba—this time it’s the reincarnation of the Winnipeg Jets.

Noel will be granted a honeymoon period, but sooner rather than later, fans in Winnipeg will expect their team to win and Noel, like any coach in Canada, will be given a lot of attention and little margin for error.

22. Minnesota Wild: Mike Yeo

Tenure: First season

Notable achievements: Won AHL Western Conference (2009-10)

Following his success in his first year as the head coach of the Houston Aeros (the Wild’s top minor league affiliate), Minnesota made Mike Yeo, 38, the youngest coach in the NHL.

The expectation in Minnesota is that Yeo will have immediate success with Devin Setoguchi and Dany Heatley arriving from San Jose.

21. Edmonton Oilers: Tom Renney

Tenure: Second season

Notable achievements: None

Last year, Edmonton turned to Tom Renney, a man with eight years of experience as an NHL head coach, to turn their storied franchise into a contender.

Renney struggled in his first stint with the Canucks, he was fired 19 games into the 1997-98 season, but was able to get the Rangers into the playoffs all three years he was in New York.

Edmonton’s youth has a couple of years under their belt and it’s time for this franchise to get back to treating their outstanding fan base to playoff hockey once again.

20. St. Louis Blues: Davis Payne

Tenure: Third season

Notable achievements: None

After a successful tenure in the minors, Payne was called up to the big leagues with the task of winning in a tough Central Division and generating interest in a team that has a large fan base that has become disgruntled after 24 years of playoff appearances, but no Stanley Cup wins.

Payne has missed the playoffs in his first two seasons. This year, a postseason appearance is a must, as interest (and therefore demand) is beginning to brew in St. Louis once again.

19. Colorado Avalanche: Joe Sacco

Tenure: Third season

Notable achievements: None

Drafted 71st overall in 1987 by the Maple Leafs, Sacco played in the NHL from 1990-2003. At 42, he is one of the youngest coaches in the NHL. He was hired as the assistant coach of the Lowell Lock Monsters two years after retiring from hockey.

In his first season with the Avalanche, he took a young team to the playoffs, almost upset the Sharks in the first round and was named a Jack Adams finalist.

However, last season, his team finished fourth in a weak Northwest Division and is currently on the hot seat in Denver.

18. Toronto Maple Leafs: Ron Wilson

Tenure: Fourth season

Notable achievements: Eastern Conference Champion (1998), Won division (1999-01, 2003-04, 2007-08)

After spending three seasons in non-traditional markets—Anaheim, Washington and San Jose—Wilson is now coaching a team in the hockey mecca that is Toronto.

A successful coach in Washington and San Jose, Wilson is able to get his teams into the playoffs but has yet to win it all.

The year before he was fired, Wilson led the Sharks to a Pacific Division title.

Wilson has the difficult task of turning around a losing team in the spotlight. He’ll be expected to make the postseason this year.

17. Carolina Hurricanes: Paul Maurice

Tenure: Fourth season (second stint)

Notable achievements: Won Eastern Conference (2001-02)

Last year at age 43, Maurice became the youngest coach in the NHL to win 1,000 games.

He began his career with the Hartford Whalers in 1995-96 and moved with the team to Carolina, where he took the Hurricanes to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2001-02.

He was fired in the 2003-04 season, but joined the ‘Canes again in 2008, leading them to the Western Conference Finals in his first year back.

The expectation in Raleigh is that he will lead his young team to the postseason again this year.

16. Los Angeles Kings: Terry Murray

Tenure: Fourth season

Notable achievements: Won division (1994-96)

For the first time since the Gretzky years, the Los Angeles Kings are expected to contend.

It is only fitting that a former California Golden Seal is the man to generate hockey buzz in the Golden State (although, this time he’s doing it in So-Cal).

Murray is an experienced coach. He began his career in 1989 with the Washington Capitals and coached the Caps, Flyers and Panthers from 1989-2001 before joining the Kings in 2008.

He is the last coach to lead the Panthers to the playoffs and has only missed the postseason twice in his career.

15. Phoenix Coyotes: Dave Tippett

Tenure: Third season

Notable achievements: Won division (2002-03, 2005-06), Jack Adams Award (2010)

An undrafted player who spent 12 years in the NHL, Tippett has established himself as a standout coach following his playing career.

In his six seasons with the Stars, Tippett’s teams made the playoffs five straight years. Following his departure in 2008, Dallas has yet to make the postseason.

With the Coyotes, Tippett has taken a team that missed the playoffs for six straight seasons to the playoffs twice, but has lost in the first round each time.

14. Montreal Canadiens: Jacques Martin

Tenure: Third season

Notable achievements: Won division (1986-87, 1998-99, 2000-01, 2002-03), Jack Adams (1999)

Having made the postseason 12 of the 16 seasons he’s coached in the NHL, Martin is an accomplished coach who will be expected to bring a Stanley Cup to Montreal and their avid fan base.

Getting to the postseason will not be enough for Martin. He’ll be expected to get to the Stanley Cup Finals, something he has yet to do as a coach.

However, in Montreal, any time this team can get to the playoffs, they are a contender. Solid D, which brings championships, is an order.

13. Washington Capitals: Bruce Boudreau

Tenure: Fifth season

Notable achievements: Won division (2007-11)

It’s simple for Boudreau: the man has proven his teams can win their division and a President’s Trophy, but none of that matters now.

His team has to win a Stanley Cup.

12. Nashville Predators: Barry Trotz

Tenure: 13th season

Notable achievements: None

The second-longest tenured coach in the NHL, Trotz is the most under-recognized and resourceful coach at hockey’s highest level.

Trotz, who has coached the Preds since their inception in 1999, has had to deal with a shoestring budget and developing fan base in Nashville.

Despite the team’s economic struggles, they were almost sold to Jim Balsillie in 2007, Trotz has led Nashville to the playoffs seven of the last eight years and got his team to the second round for the first time in franchise history last year.

11. Buffalo Sabres: Lindy Ruff

Tenure: 14th season

Notable achievements: Western Conference Champions (1999), Won division (2006-07, 2009-10), Jack Adams Award (2005-06)

The longest tenured coach in the NHL has done an outstanding job with a Buffalo team that has often had parsimonious ownership.

While western New York is not a hotbed and the Sabres do not face the same media scrutiny as the Rangers, Buffalo loves their Sabres and often tough on management and coaching.

The former left win and defensemen, who was drafted 32nd overall by the Sabres in 1979, deserves to be named among the best coaches in the league—even if he flies under the radar in Buffalo.

10. New York Rangers: John Tortorella

Tenure: Fourth season

Notable accomplishments: Won Stanley Cup (2004), Won division (2002-04), Jack Adams Award (2004)

After seven seasons in Tampa, where Tortorella led the upstart Lightning to a Stanley Cup Championship and went to the playoffs four straight years, the Blueshirts turned to a man who coached the team for four games in the 1999-2000 season.

Tortorella has led the Rangers to the playoffs twice, but has never gotten past the first round and the team has never finished higher than third in the Atlantic.

This year, it is time to move up in the division and past the first round.

9. Anaheim Ducks: Randy Carlyle

Tenure: Seventh season

Notable achievements: Won Stanley Cup (2007), Won division (2006-07)

The former defensemen has led a Ducks team to the Stanley Cup in his tenure on a defense first mentality.

Since joining Anaheim in 2005, the rival Sharks have dominated the Pacific Division, but both teams have a bona fide rivalry and the Pond is known as a difficult place to play—even if attendance is sparse in the first few months of the season.

Carlyle’s teams have missed the playoffs only once, in 2009-10.

8. Tampa Bay Lightning: Guy Boucher

Tenure: Second year

Notable achievements: None

The Tampa Bay Lightning, a club that has experienced futility since their ownership blew up the team in 2008, took to Boucher’s unique coaching techniques and has revitalized hockey interest in a non-traditional city with a large barn.

If he can capture the momentum from last year, the new look Lightning can expect a crowd of 20,000 at most home games and success for years to come.

7. San Jose Sharks: Todd McLellan

Tenure: Fourth season

Notable achievements: Won division (2008-10)

McLellan replaced Ron Wilson in 2008 knowing he was expected to win the Stanley Cup.

The former Detroit Red Wings assistant led his team to the President’s Trophy in his first season, but the team lost to the rival Anaheim Ducks in the first round.

San Jose has been in the Western Conference Finals in the past two seasons, but the window is closing on the Joe Thornton-Patrick Marleau era and, while the future looks bright in the Bay Area, he needs to win now.

6. Vancouver Canucks: Alain Vigneault

Tenure: Sixth season

Notable achievements: Western Conference Champion (2011), Won division (2006-07, 2008-11), Jack Adams Award (2007)

Vigneault could not find success in Montreal; however, moving west to Vancouver after five seasons of unemployment, the Quebec City native has turned the Canucks into a juggernaut.

Last season, the ‘Nucks broke through and got to the Stanley Cup. In his five seasons with Vancouver, the team has won their division four times.

This season, he will be expected to finish the job many felt the Canucks were capable of doing last year—winning it all.

5. Philadelphia Flyers: Peter Laviolette

Tenure: Third season

Notable achievements: Won Stanley Cup (2006), Eastern Conference Champion (2010), Won division (2005-06, 2010-11)

The Flyers, who haven’t won a cup since their back-to-back victories in 1974 and 1975, turned to Peter Laviolette—the man who won a Stanley Cup with the Cardiac Canes in 2006.

Before his five seasons in Raleigh, he led the New York Islanders to back-to-back playoff appearances.

In his first year with the Flyers, Laviolette brought his team to the Stanley Cup Finals, only to lose to Chicago. The expectation is that he’ll take a revamped Philly club to the Promised Land this year.

4. Boston Bruins: Claude Julien

Tenure: Fifth season

Notable achievements: Won Stanley Cup (2010-11), Won division (2008-09. 2010-11), Jack Adams Award (2008-09)

A former minor league defensemen, Claude Julien has made a name for himself in the NHL as a coach. After stints with the Montreal Canadiens (2002-06) and the New Jersey Devils (2006-07), he joined the Bruins in 2007.

Julien’s teams have missed the playoffs only once—in 2002-03 when he joined the Canadiens in the middle of the season.

Last year, Julien led the Bruins, the only Boston team not to win a championship in the modern era, to a Stanley Cup victory for the first time since 1972.

3. Chicago Blackhawks: Joel Quenneville

Tenure: Fourth season

Notable achievements: Won Stanley Cup (2010), Won division (1999-00, 2009-10), Jack Adams (1999-00)

One of very few players who can say they’ve played for the Colorado Rockies (the hockey team that relocated to New Jersey) and the Hartford Whalers, Quenneville was both an outstanding coach and player.

Coach Q led the tail end of the St. Louis dynasty, joining the Blues in 1996-97. From 1980-2004 (when Quenneville was fired), the Blues made the playoffs ever year…but never won the Stanley Cup.

Quenneville had a three-year stint in Colorado before taking over the Chicago Blackhawks. In the Windy City he did what many thought was impossible—his Hawks won the Stanley Cup for the first time in 49 years in 2010.

In 14 years of coaching, Coach Q has only missed the playoffs once (2006-07).

2. Pittsburgh Penguins: Dan Bylsma

Tenure: Fourth season

Notable achievements: Won Stanley Cup (2009), Jack Adams Award (2011)

In just four months of coaching, Bylsma led the talented Pittsburgh Penguins to a Stanley Cup victory, their first since 1992, and has had two 100-point seasons since.

Last year, the team spent half of the season without superstars Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby, but still managed to come second in their division and gave the upstart Lightning a run for their money while earning the Jack Adams Award.

1. Detroit Red Wings: Mike Babcock

Tenure: Seventh season

Notable achievements: Won Stanley Cup (2007-08), Western Conference Champion (2008-09), Won division (2005-09, 2010-11)

In Detroit, the expectation is that the team will win the Stanley Cup.

Babcock’s team won it in 2008 and went again the next year.

In Anaheim, where he spent two seasons, Babcock took the Ducks to the Stanley Cup in his first year, but did not come to terms with the organization after the team missed the playoffs the next season.

His tenure in Detroit started out rocky, in 2005-06, his team accrued 124 points, but lost in the first round.

However, since then, he has been resourceful with a talented but aging team. That said, if his team does not win their division, which has become increasingly better, or cannot get past the second round Babcock, believe it or not, may start feeling heat in Motown.