Playoff hockey is the most wonderful time of the year, unless you are a coach whose team did not make the playoffs.
Three coaches have been fired from three clubs that finished in the season in very different spots. It is only three for right now, but there will definitely be more to come. Especially after teams are eliminated from the first round.
Darryl Sutter comes from a family of absolute hockey superpowers. Five of his six brothers played in the NHL. Sutter himself played eight seasons for the Chicago Blackhawks. The family has incredible talent, and Sutter is an incredible coach.
Sutter began coaching for the Blackhawks, moved to the San Jose Sharks, then the Calgary Flames and ended up in Los Angeles, where he found great success.
He has led the Kings to two Stanley Cup victories in his five years on the job. After not making the playoffs this season, the Kings administration cut both Sutter and their GM Dean Lombardi.
The Kings have had success on the West Coast, but the same cannot be said for the Vancouver Canucks. They have made it to the Stanley Cup Finals three times, but have never won.
After three seasons, the Canucks fired Willie Desjardins from his first NHL head-coaching job. They have barely made it to the playoffs twice in the last five years, and there is no indication that anything will change.
This coaching change was much needed, but Vancouver will need to do more than that if they really want to be successful.
Ryan Miller was supposed to be a star goaltender for the St. Louis Blues in 2014, but he fell short in the playoffs and signed with Vancouver. After a significant injury in 2015, Miller has not been the same. If Vancouver really wants to make a difference in its standings, they need a new goalie.
The Canucks are unique in one way: they have identical twin brothers on the team. Henrik and Daniel Sedin play center and left wing for Vancouver, respectively. Henrik has been the team captain since 2010, but he is 36 years old now. The Sedin twins will have to retire soon, and Vancouver should’ve already been preparing for who will fill the leadership void.
The team needs something new, and a head coach is a great place to start. Todd McLellan, current Edmonton Oilers coach, could potentially be a good fit for Vancouver.
While he was not there to bring his former San Jose Sharks to the Stanley Cup Final last season, McLellan was an instrumental part in rebuilding the team. Vancouver needs that in a coach, and McLellan could be the man for the job.
Lindy Ruff was fired from the Dallas Stars after three seasons. When Ruff took over, the team was in shambles. Under his leadership, the Stars were finally playoff contenders last season.
A team with Jamie Benn, Patrick Sharp, Jason Spezza and Tyler Seguin seemed unstoppable in the regular season. Dallas was a force on the ice at the end of the regular season, and they were definitely a threat to the rest of the league.
When the playoffs came around, Dallas proved to be very stoppable, mostly because of injuries. Last season was their chance to at least beat two Western Conference teams, but the St. Louis Blues defeated the Stars in seven games in the second round.
The Blues fired Ken Hitchcock earlier this season in what he said would be his last season coaching, but now Hitchcock has been hired to lead Dallas next season. Hitchcock coached the Blues for six seasons and was fired in early 2017.
The Blues are headed to the playoffs and are set to play the Minnesota Wild in the first round with their new leader Mike Yeo, former coach of the Wild.
The Central Division and the Western Conference in general have been dominant in recent history, but with coaching insecurities, it is possible that another division will sneak through and surpass the Central Division’s power.
Playoff hockey is a time that fans love, but it makes coaches and players with expiring contracts nervous. Once the draft begins, all bets are really off as administrations try to get their team ready for the 2017-2018 season.
