Two potential Jack Adams Award nominees also happen to be the only NHL head coaches on expiring contracts.<\/p>\n
The Columbus Blue Jackets\u2019 Rick Bowness and the Buffalo Sabres\u2019 Lindy Ruff are both up at the end of the year.<\/p>\n
Bowness took over for the fired Dean Evason on Jan. 6, and he and Blue Jackets general manager Don Waddell agreed they would focus on the rest of this season and reconvene afterward \u2014 to see how it went and how Bowness felt. That remains the plan as of this week.<\/p>\n
Bowness, 71, will want to see where he\u2019s at with the stress of NHL coaching back in his life after he retired two years ago. Bowness has said that the main reason he stepped away was health reasons \u2014 not just for himself but also for his wife Judy. Both are doing better now, and he couldn\u2019t resist the opportunity when the Jackets reached out in January. And I mean, wow, has he turned around the Jackets\u2019 season or what?<\/p>\n
All things being equal, I think Bowness will want to come back, and I can\u2019t see a reason the Jackets wouldn\u2019t feel the same. But he needs a new contract.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Jarmo Kekalainen inherited Ruff when he became Sabres GM. At the time, he said everyone in the organization was being evaluated. He then made a number of front-office changes. Obviously, the Sabres have taken off since. Kekalainen politely declined comment this week when I checked on the coaching status, reminding me he does not comment on things like that.<\/p>\n
Ruff via text message said to me this week, \u201cFor me, I just take it one game at a time!!\u201d \u2014 a good approach to life in general.<\/p>\n
As long as Ruff feels up to it, though, it feels like he should be back, given that the Sabres have become the best story in the NHL.<\/p>\n
The other team that needs to make an end-of-season coaching decision is the Los Angeles Kings. D.J. Smith was named interim head coach for the rest of the season, at which point GM Ken Holland will evaluate the fit. I think a new coaching hire is the most likely outcome unless the Kings make the playoffs and notch a first-round upset.<\/p>\n
What about beyond this season? Here\u2019s our annual look around the league.<\/p>\n
Coaches with one year left<\/p>\n
Normally, coaches with a year left on their contracts might get extended in the offseason or early next season (as the Calgary Flames\u2019 Ryan Huska and Edmonton Oilers\u2019 Kris Knoblauch did last fall) so as not to have the distraction of being on an expiring deal next year.<\/p>\n
These are coaches whose current deals expire after the 2026-27 season:<\/p>\n
Joel Quenneville, Anaheim Ducks: It\u2019s easy to forget that Quenneville only signed a two-year deal last offseason. Things have gone as well as hoped for this season, with the young Ducks taking that next step. The playoffs await. The only thing to point out here is that Quenneville turns 68 in September, so any extension, one would imagine, would be short-term.<\/p>\n
Jared Bednar, Colorado Avalanche: Man, time flies. This is Bednar\u2019s 10th season behind the Avs bench. A Stanley Cup champion in 2022, there were questions about the coach after a first-round loss to Dallas last spring. But there weren\u2019t any questions in the front office, which firmly believes in him.<\/p>\n
\u201cJared\u2019s a great coach,\u201d Avs GM Chris MacFarland told The Athletic earlier this season. \u201cWe don\u2019t spend any time thinking about that. He has the support of the guys. We know it\u2019s a result-driven business, but he\u2019s hard-working, he\u2019s prepared, he\u2019s a quality person, and I think he has the respect of everybody. I know he does with ownership and myself and Joe (Sakic). But forget that \u2014 he\u2019s got the respect of our players, which is crucial.\u201d<\/p>\n
Short of a first-round exit, all signs point to another extension for one of the league\u2019s top coaches.<\/p>\n
John Hynes, Minnesota Wild: Hynes is in Year 2 of a three-year contract. He\u2019s in pretty darn good shape to get an extension at some point. I can pretty much guarantee that. The Wild under him have ascended as Cup contenders, aided by his GM\u2019s additions. There\u2019s a very tough first-round playoff matchup that awaits, likely with Dallas, but unless it\u2019s a sweep, I would find it hard to pin a loss on the coach. And of course, the Wild may win.<\/p>\n
Martin St. Louis, Montreal Canadiens: It could be back-to-back playoff appearances for the youngest team in the league, which is a reflection of the way St. Louis develops young players, particularly on the offensive side of the puck. Improvement is needed on the structure on the defensive side, but again, it\u2019s a young team. It\u2019s been a pretty good report card for St. Louis behind the bench. Perhaps St. Louis needs to be harder on players at times, too. I can\u2019t imagine the Canadiens would want the coach entering next season on an expiring deal, though.<\/p>\n
Andrew Brunette, Nashville Predators: Brunette has an option in his contract for the 2027-28 season, but as far as iron-clad years in his deal, next season is the last. The Predators need to hire a new GM at some point. That person will inherit Brunette and need to make a decision. But this late-season playoff push with a retooling team can only help Brunette\u2019s case.<\/p>\n
Ryan Warsofsky, San Jose Sharks: Warsofsky is wrapping up Year 2 of a three-year deal. The Sharks are on the rise. The more important tell will be how GM Mike Grier feels the young core is developing under his coach. Will Grier feel Warsofsky is the man to bring this young team to the next step in its development? I\u2019m guessing yes. Also, I don\u2019t think anyone in the San Jose market will make it a big deal if the coach enters the season on an expiring contract, so management has time on its side. The Sharks can let next season play out a little if they choose to before deciding on an extension.<\/p>\n
Andre Tourigny, Utah Mammoth: Tourigny\u2019s in his fifth season with the organization and Year 2 of a three-year extension. The Mammoth are looking like they\u2019ll make the playoffs for the first time in their second season. As the Arizona Coyotes, the team hadn\u2019t made the playoffs since the wonky COVID-19 bubble in 2020 and in a normal season since making the conference final in 2012. So it\u2019s been a long journey between a painstaking rebuild and the drama of being rescued by owner Ryan Smith and moved to Salt Lake City. Tourigny followed the team in that move and has overseen its improved play. I was a bit worried for him earlier this season when the Mammoth slumped for a while, just because there\u2019s so much pressure on that franchise to make the postseason. But he survived that. Let\u2019s see what the playoffs bring.<\/p>\n
Bruce Cassidy, Vegas Golden Knights: Cassidy\u2019s five-year deal expires after next season. He\u2019s already the longest-serving head coach in franchise history \u2014 Gerard Gallant lasted two and a half years, and Pete DeBoer just over two years \u2014 and guided the Golden Knights to a Stanley Cup championship in 2023, but Vegas has struggled to find a consistent footing in the second half of this season. Injuries are a part of that, of course. And the Knights are likely still playoff-bound in the mediocre Pacific Division. But I would have concerns. I don\u2019t have any intel here as Vegas management keeps things close to the vest. But a first-round playoff exit would probably at least invite a conversation about a coaching change.<\/p>\n
Spencer Carbery, Washington Capitals: Carbery is wrapping up Year 3 of a four-year deal \u2014 and went from Jack Adams Award winner last season to likely missing the playoffs this season. Such is life in the parity-filled NHL. But my understanding is that Carbery is still 100 percent management\u2019s guy, as he should be.<\/p>\n
Scott Arniel, Winnipeg Jets: From President\u2019s Trophy to likely missing the playoffs, that\u2019s a rough fall. Arniel is wrapping up Year 2 of a three-year deal. I think the Jets will look at every aspect of the organization after the season in a detailed postmortem. But at the moment, if I had to guess, I think they still see Arniel as more part of the solution than the problem.<\/p>\n
And finally \u2026<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t mention any head coaches who have term past next season. But obviously, there could be changes elsewhere despite coaches\u2019 contract security.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s see what the fallout is for the Toronto Maple Leafs, for example, with Craig Berube signed through the 2027-28 season. The first decision with the Leafs will concern the future of GM Brad Treliving, who has one year left on his deal. It\u2019s fair to say that all bets are off in Toronto after a massively disappointing season. It should be pointed out, though, that Berube has a very solid relationship with MLSE CEO Keith Pelley.<\/p>\n
Then there\u2019s the Edmonton Oilers, having a widely disappointing season, with their top players not exactly hiding their feelings on it. Knoblauch signed a three-year extension on Oct. 3, which carries through the 2028-29 season. He\u2019s the same coach who guided the Oilers to back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals, so I\u2019m not sure he got dumb overnight. But there is some obvious discontent, and who knows what the fallout of a first-round playoff exit might be. Then again, the Oilers could surprise everyone with another deep run. Stranger things have happened.<\/p>\n
As always, there are other potential situations that could arise, whether it\u2019s because of what happens in the playoffs or because a coach suddenly becomes available. DeBoer remains a free agent. He most likely won\u2019t be when the puck drops next season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Two potential Jack Adams Award nominees also happen to be the only NHL head coaches on expiring contracts.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":546685,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[66],"tags":[385,99],"class_list":["post-546684","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-nhl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/546684","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=546684"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/546684\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/546685"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=546684"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=546684"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=546684"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}