The NHL is now passed the quarter mark. With so many former quality NHL head coaches available, how long before we see a change behind the bench?
Something tells me not too much longer and the Flyers’ Alain Vigneault is the prime candidate to go first, but he isn’t alone.
Alain Vigneault
“I’m not satisfied about anything here,” Vigneault said after losing to the Rangers 4-1 on Wednesday. “We have to find a way to win games. This is serious here.”
Philadelphia’s skid has now reached three straight losses to go with being winless in their last seven.
The 60 year-old coach was called a dinosaur by Vegas’ goalie Robin Lehner this season. Vigneault joked that if dinosaur meant experienced, then he fits the bill.
In two plus seasons as Philly’s bench boss his record is 74-53-19. That’s good for .572 points percentage, but likely not good enough if the losses keep coming. The rumor mill already has former Flyers fan favorite Rick Tocchet as AV’s successor.
As for Vigneault, his 722 career wins rank him 8th all-time. If he is let go, I wouldn’t expect him out of work for too long.
Travis Green
The situation is bad in Vancouver and despite Green getting a contract extension this offseason, it doesn’t make his job any safer.
“We’re trying to find solutions to our problems, and Travis and his staff are working hard,” GM Jim Benning said a few weeks ago. “This is wearing on them like it’s wearing on all of us.” Since those remarks, the Canucks have gone 3-3. That’s an improvement after losing four straight and only picking up 3 points in 7 games before that.
This is Green’s fifth season with the Canucks and the highest any of his team’s have finished is 4th place. For his career, all with Vancouver, his record stands at 133-146-34.
Possible head coaching replacements include the aforementioned Tocchet, but don’t sleep on David Quinn.
Todd McLellan
McLellan, 54, is entering his third season with the Los Angeles Kings. After a solid start, his Kings have faltered and are sporting a 9-9-4 record.
The Kings went out and opted to retool this summer instead of rebuild They spent money on free agents like Phillip Danault and traded for Viktor Arvidsson. So playing at .500 is likely not going to cut it.
In his time with L.A. his record is well below the even mark at 59-72-17.
If GM Rob Blake believes this is a playoff team now that Drew Doughty is back, could he bring in the fiery John Tortorella as a replacement? That would be interesting.
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