5 NHL head coaches that are likely to get fired this season

By taavi.pailk

Modified Nov 11, 2017 12:18 GMT

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Being a head coach in sports is one of the most unforgiving jobs in the world. You can be a hero one day and a villain the next. Yet, as a head coach, you can only do so much. It's the players that have the direct responsibility to get the desired results. But, you can't fire a whole team, so the easy way out is usually to fire the head coach.

There were five head coaches that were fired during the 2016/17 NHL season. There will certainly be ones heading to the unemployment line this year as well. Alain Vigneault seems to have dodged a bullet with the New York Rangers winning five games straight after he was supposedly close to getting the boot, but there are plenty of other bench bosses under pressure.

Here's a look at five NHL head coaches that could get fired this season.

#5 Joel Quenneville

Joel Quenneville led the Chicago Blackhawks to three Stanley Cups in six seasons between 2010 and 2015. He's no doubt one of the best coaches in the league. However, past glories don't mean much in a results business.

The Blackhawks haven't won a single playoff series since their last cup success. They didn't win a single game last season against the Nashville Predators in the 1st round and became the 1st ever top-seeded team to get swept by the 8th seed in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

They got off to a good start this season with four wins in the first six games, scoring goals for fun, but they have been miserable for nearly a month now. They have lost seven of the last ten games. Quenneville's team has averaged a league-worst 2.07 goals per game in the last 14 matches, after exploding for 15 in the first two games.

Something has to give soon for the side that sees anything less than a cup win as a failure. Quenneville has the second-most wins ever as a head coach in the NHL with 858 and doesn't really deserve to get fired, but something has to light a fire in the players' eyes again.

The 59-year-old had a rift in the off-season with general manager Stan Bowman regarding the firing of his longtime assistant Mitch Korn, and it wouldn't be surprising if the franchise suddenly had enough of the outspoken boss as well.

#4 Todd McLellan

Todd McLellan is having a tough time repeating the success of last year

With 395 wins to his name, Todd McLellan is just outside the top 10 among active NHL head coaches and he brought playoff hockey back to Edmonton, but a poor start by the Oilers this season could lead to his firing.

The Oilers, who hadn't been in the playoffs for 10 years before last season, have only 13 points in 15 games. They have picked up just six wins and they own the worst scoring record in the league with only 2.33 goals per game. It's a shocking stat considering they have the reigning league MVP, Connor McDavid, playing for them.

Before the season started, the Oilers were seen as a potential Stanley Cup winner, but now they face a race of even getting into the playoffs. During his nine years as a head coach in the league, McLellan has missed the postseason only twice so far. It's a great record to have, but I bet it doesn't mean a thing in the current situation.

The team have won two in a row this week and have picked up half of their six wins during the last four games, so McLellan might be safe for now. But the Oilers have a really tough schedule coming up with seven of the next nine games on the road. They could easily start losing again and McLellan could be without a job by Christmas time.

#3 Claude Julien

Claude Julien could be fired twice within a calendar year

After getting fired by the Boston Bruins last February, Claude Julien would be really unlucky to get the boot again, but it could turn out to be a harsh reality for the 57-year-old, whose Montreal Canadiens side is among the bottom feeders in the Eastern Conference.

The Canadiens won only one of their first eight games this season and it took them until October 24 to record their first regulation time victory. They have since then bounced back a bit, and even had a 3-game winning run, but things still look bad with only 15 points in 17 games.

Julien's team are leading the pack with 37.7 shots taken per game, but they have scored very few of those chances. Only two teams have scored less than their 2.53 goals per game. It's a situation similar to the one Julien had in Boston last season. The Bruins were leading the league in shots per game when he was let go.

Montreal have won the Stanley Cup a record 24 times and they've missed the playoffs only twice during the last nine seasons. Carey Price is down injured again with his last appearance coming on November 2, and there hasn't been any news of a potential return. It will be very difficult for Julien to hang on to his job without his starting goaltender.

#2 Bill Peters

Bill Peters needs to deliver playoffs for Carolina after massive summer spending

The Carolina Hurricanes haven't played in the Stanley Cup playoffs since 2009 and they haven't really been close to returning to the postseason either. With that in mind, it's not a big deal to see the team sit third from bottom in their Conference with only 13 points. However, expectations have risen in Raleigh and that could cost Bill Peters his job.

Peters was hired in 2014 and during his time with the franchise, the team have improved every year, reaching 86 points last season. But this season, the rise has stalled for some reason. The Hurricanes have lost six of their last eight games.

The franchise that has financial difficulties because of low attendance in home games, spent big during the summer, signing Justin Williams to a $9 million, two-year deal and added Scott Darling, Marcus Kruger and Trevor van Riemsdyk via trades. Owner Peter Karmanos seems to have serious ambitions of returning to postseason action, but the team aren't getting there with their current form.

The job in Carolina is Peters' first head coaching gig in the NHL. He'll likely go on to have a successful career in the league, but currently, the lack of experience could be an issue. They are the 10th youngest side in the league with an average age of 26.5 years.

#1 Bob Boughner

Bob Boughner has started his first year as an NHL head coach

Rarely do you see a head coach fired during his first year on the job, but that wouldn't be a surprise with the Florida Panthers. The Cats have been a mess after playing in the playoffs for only the 5th time in franchise history in 2016. Gerard Gallant was the mastermind behind the rare postseason appearance, but he was let go last November. Tom Rowe was brought in for the rest of the season, but he was quickly offloaded as well.

After Rowe, Bob Boughner was hired as the next Panthers boss, and it looked like a clever appointment after his success in the WHL, which brought two Memorial Cup wins, and a trip to the Stanley Cup Finals as an assistant at San Jose Sharks. But things have been ugly so far, to say the least, especially defensively.

The Panthers are the only team in the league giving up over four goals per game (4.14). After 14 games played, they have allowed less than three goals in only two games. They are on a 5-game losing run and have the worst record in the Eastern Conference, with only 10 points.

All this after Boughner was brought in to solidify the team's defensive play. Nicknamed "The Boogieman", he played 630 regular season games in the NHL as a defenseman and had 65 playoff appearances as well. If he wasn't in his first year in charge, he surely would've been fired by now. And there's every chance that his rookie status as a head coach will soon be forgotten in South Florida.