‘Tough business’: NHLers on the league’s volatile coaching carousel

Dallas Stars head coach Pete DeBoer took a moment to touch on his profession’s job security.

Or lack thereof.

“It’s insanity,” DeBoer said in May during the NHL playoffs after the league saw its 19th coaching change since the end of the 2022-23 season. “We coach in an age where everyone talks about the modern athlete, building relationships in order to coach them. How do you do that with that kind of turnover?

“It’s like going on a date and getting married and divorced before the appetizers show up. I don’t get it, but that’s the world we live in.”

That world has seen an astounding level of turnover that speaks to the desperation felt by organizations when things turn sour and the temperature is turned up.

“I wouldn’t want to be a head coach right now,” New York Islanders centre Bo Horvat said at the recent NHL/NHLPA player media tour in Las Vegas. “It’s tough.”

St. Louis Blues counterpart Robert Thomas saw the only pro coach he’d ever played for — Stanley Cup winner Craig Berube — get fired last December. Berube subsequently replaced Sheldon Keefe in Toronto after the Maple Leafs handed their bench boss his walking papers.

Keefe, in turn, took over for Lindy Ruff with the New Jersey Devils. Ruff, meanwhile, returned for a second stint with the Buffalo Sabres when Don Granato was canned.

“Coaching changes are hard,” Thomas said. “Sometimes it takes a little bit to adjust, but a breath of fresh air changes things in the room.”

Of the 32 coaches standing behind benches at the start of last season, 12 are no longer in the same role — including the retired Rick Bowness.

“It’s a results-driven league,” Vegas Golden Knights centre Jack Eichel said. “If you don’t win, you get replaced. If you don’t produce, you get replaced.

“If you’re not performing and not getting results, they usually just go find someone that will.”

Not all coaching moves are equal. The Columbus Blue Jackets cut ties with Mike Babcock for off-ice reasons prior to the 2023-24 campaign. Jacques Martin was brought back by the Ottawa Senators on an interim basis after D.J. Smith was axed to keep the seat warm for Travis Green. Scott Arniel, meanwhile, took over the Winnipeg Jets when Bowness hung up his clipboard.

The job, however, remains incredibly volatile.

“I don’t know what the average lifespan of the coach in a specific organization is, but I know it’s got to be short,” New York Rangers forward Vincent Trochek said. “(General managers) have to make moves if things aren’t going well.”

Florida Panthers winger Sam Reinhart watched Presidents’ Trophy-winning coach Andrew Brunette, now with the Nashville Predators, get fired after a second-round playoff exit in 2022. Paul Maurice took the reins and led the club on back-to-back runs to the Cup final, including June’s victory over the Edmonton Oilers.

“Tough business to be in,” Reinhart said. “Especially when 31 teams go home unhappy every year.”

But there are the organizations with a measure of stability.

Tampa Bay head coach Jon Cooper has the longest current tenure dating back to March 2013.

Lightning captain Victor Hedman said that continuity, even through tough times and playoff disappointments, helped his team lift the Cup twice (2020, 2021) and make three straight finals.

“It’s huge,” Hedman said. “Especially if you have a coach and a core group of players who have been with him the whole time, have bought into his message and his philosophies.”

The big defenceman added Cooper’s ability to evolve has no doubt helped his longevity.

“Really good at finding a way to play to make our team the most successful,” Hedman said. “You’re going to go through injuries, you’re going to go through different players.

“Really good at feeling out the room, feeling out the guys, and knowing when to push what buttons.”

Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan, on the job since December 2015, led the franchise to Cup wins in 2016 and 2017. Jared Bednar, meanwhile, has been with the Avalanche since August 2016, and guided Colorado to the 2022 title.

“That would suck … I wouldn’t want a new coach every couple years,” Avalanche centre Nathan MacKinnon said. “There’s so many factors going into winning. Health is a big one, just the right group of guys, the right mix.”

Horvat, who experienced a coaching change in January when Patrick Roy replaced Lane Lambert, said players feel a level of guilt with a firing.

“Ultimately it’s on us and how we play,” he said. “It’s not always the coach’s fault. Sometimes you just need to change and it sparks something.”

Senators forward Shane Pinto said coaching casualties are a byproduct of a league with fine lines and small margins.

“But that’s what makes it beautiful,” he said. “That’s why it’s so rewarding when you win.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 6, 2024.

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The Vancouver Canucks have sent defenceman Tucker Poolman and a 2025 fourth-round draft pick to the Colorado Avalanche for defenceman Erik Brannstrom.

Brannstrom, 25, had spent his entire six-year career with the Ottawa Senators before signing with the Avalanche in free agency in July. He signed a one-year, US$900,000 deal.

The five-foot-10, 185-pound blue liner had three goals and 17 assists in 76 games for Ottawa in 2023-24.

Brannstrom was the 15th overall pick in the 2017 draft by the Vegas Golden Knights. The Swede has seven goals and 62 assists in 266 career games.

Poolman, meanwhile, last appeared in an NHL game on Oct. 18, 2023 for the Canucks and has been sidelined since due to a head injury. He skated in three games for Vancouver in 2022-23 and had one assist.

The 31-year-old is expected to miss the 2024-25 season due to injury, according to a release from the Avalanche. Vancouver is retaining 20 per cent of Poolman’s salary as a part of the deal.

“Erik is a dynamic skater and skilled player who adds to our depth on the backend,” Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin said. “We would like to thank Tucker for his time in Vancouver.

“It was extremely unfortunate that he was unable to continue his career here due to injury and we wish him nothing but the best moving forward.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 6, 2024.

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The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has issued a recall due to possible Listeria contamination for more than a dozen brands of beef jelly tongue products sold in Ontario.

The agency issued the warning and recall Saturday, urging people who purchased the potentially contaminated meat to throw it out or return it to where it was bought.

The recall affects 13 different brands, and includes beef jelly tongue products that may not have a labeled brand.

The food inspection agency says the products that may be contaminated were sold from stores in London, Waterloo, Kitchener and throughout the Greater Toronto Area up until Saturday.

Food contaminated with Listeria may not look or smell spoiled, but the inspection agency says it can cause vomiting, nausea, persistent fever, muscle aches, severe headaches and neck stiffness.

Listeria poses a significant risk to people who have a weakened immune system, are elderly or are pregnant.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 6, 2024.

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