3 NHL Coaches On The Hot Seat One Month Into The Season

We're about 15% of the way through the 2021-2022 NHL season, and while some teams are performing well above expectations, others have fallen off in a big way. There are some teams who were expected to be competing for the playoffs that have had trouble out of the gate, and concerns from both fans and team management will mean the heat is being turned up on their coaches. Some of these teams may turn it around, but here are three coaches that, one month into the season, could be looking for a new job shortly.

Jared Bednar

Let's not kid ourselves, the Avalanche are a good team, deep in all positions and highly skilled up front. There were a lot of expectations about what Colorado could accomplish this season, with many picking them to be Cup contenders. Their start to the season has thrown all of that into question. While they've been playing somewhat better of late, they're currently sitting 5 points outside of a playoff spot with a 6-5-1 record. New goaltender Darcy Kuemper has struggled to reach the same heights that Philipp Grubauer did last season, and backup Jonas Johansson doesn't look ready to bear much more of the workload than he already does. While Nathan MacKinnon is putting up points, he's only scored 1 goal, and the team is currently led in scoring by Nazem Kadri. Not all of this is on the coach, but with a team this good, when the wheels start to fall off changes will inevitably be made, and the first name on that list is Jared Bednar.

Travis Green

The most obvious pick on this list, the Vancouver Canucks' coach is entering his 5th year with the team, and minus their great run in the 2020 Playoff Bubble, the Canucks haven't made much progress in their unofficial rebuild. Despite that, Green was signed to an extension last Spring, suggesting the team had confidence in him as their coach going forward. Suffice to say, this season has not gone as planned for the Canucks. The team was expected to take a step forward this year and earn themselves a playoff spot. Instead, the Pacific Divison has been stronger than most anticipated, and the Canucks have fallen off hard. Having played more games than any other team in their Division except for Anaheim, the Canucks currently have a record of 5-9-2, good for second-last place. On paper, this team should be an improvement on last year's with the additions of Conor Garland, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and Jason Dickinson, but in practice, they have been anything but. Something has to give in Vancouver, and given Green's long tenure and lack of consistent results, he'll be the first to go.

Rick Bowness

There are a few other teams who could claim this spot, but the Stars are the only ones whose window to compete is rapidly closing. With an aging core of players, the Stars are struggling in the same ways they've struggled for years, namely in goal-scoring. Their goaltending has been suspect, and despite their top-end talent the Stars only secured their first regulation win two days ago, thirteen games into the season. Currently, they're 5-6-2 on the year, and in a weak Central Division, they're in 6th place. To avoid being sellers at the trade deadline, the Stars are going to need a miracle run to get themselves back into contention, and as of yet, they haven't shown the ability to string enough wins together to pull that off. Coach Rick Bowness earned his position by taking over as interim head coach following the dismissal of Jim Montgomery in 2019. While he initially led the Stars to a Stanley Cup final before eventually falling to the Tampa Bay Lightning, the team has seen little success since their playoff run. Given their rapidly shrinking playoff window, the Stars might feel that a fresh face is needed to try and jumpstart their locker room.

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