The NHL regular season is entering its final weeks, and that means change will likely be on the way for teams that miss the playoffs. It usually starts with changes behind the bench and sometimes in the front office. Which teams could make coaching and/or front office changes in a few weeks?
Toronto Maple Leafs
It’s been a disappointing season for the Toronto Maple Leafs, to say the least. There’ll likely be some changes to their roster this coming offseason, but GM Brad Treliving and head coach Craig Berube could be on the hot seat, too.
Let’s start with Treliving, who has a year left on his contract. As Elliotte Friedman has reported, the Maple Leafs aren’t going to let Treliving go into next season without some clarity on his situation. They will either extend him or look to go in a different direction. There are cases for both, but there’s no doubting the Maple Leafs’ roster has gotten worse since Treliving has taken over for Kyle Dubas, who’s flourishing in Pittsburgh.
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There’s not much Treliving could have done with the Mitch Marner situation, but spending top assets to acquire players like Scott Laughton and Brandon Carlo has backfired on the team this season. They’ve opted for grittier additions rather than adding more skill, and that falls on the GM.
As for Berube, he’s not a bad coach, but a change behind the bench after how this season has gone may be best for both parties. The Maple Leafs are not the five-on-five team they were under Sheldon Keefe, and that was true even a season ago when they won the division under Berube’s watch. It might just be time, even though he’s only been the head coach for two seasons.
New Jersey Devils
Much like the Maple Leafs, the New Jersey Devils have been one of the most disappointing teams in the NHL. Injuries have been a factor, most notably to Jack and Luke Hughes, but they will still fall short of expectations, barring a miracle run to the playoffs.
It starts with GM Tom Fitzgerald, who’s done a poor job assembling this roster over the last few years. Every team has injuries, but the Devils’ injury woes have exposed the flaws in their roster. They’ve needed scoring help for a couple of seasons, but he’s yet to address it. Fitzgerald has also bogged the team down with no-trade and no-move clauses that have prevented him from making the necessary moves to retool the roster.
Keefe deserves his fair share of blame for how his tenure has gone in New Jersey, too. Until recently, the Devils had been playing a conservative, defensive brand of hockey that had stymied their best players. However, that has changed since the Olympic break.
The Devils are playing a much more uptempo, rush-based style of hockey, and they’re starting to find the back of the net much more often. Perhaps it may be enough for Keefe to save his job, but it depends on how the final four weeks of the regular season go. There will be some difficult decisions to make for ownership in the coming weeks.
Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers haven’t had as disappointing a season as the Devils or Maple Leafs, but they have underperformed. They’re fortunate the Pacific Division is by far the weakest in the NHL this season, so they should still make the playoffs, even with Leon Draisaitl out for the rest of the regular season. But an early exit or missing the playoffs entirely could put head coach Kris Knoblauch and even GM Stan Bowman on the hot seat.
There’s no denying Knoblauch’s resumé. He led the Oilers to the Stanley Cup Final in each of his first two seasons as head coach, but the pressure is on in Edmonton to come through. Connor McDavid is set to become an unrestricted free agent in 2028, so they need to break through in the next season or two. Knoblauch could end up as a casualty of the Oilers’ timeline.
Bowman would be even more to blame for the Oilers’ shortcomings than Knoblauch. He hasn’t been able to get the goaltending situation corrected, even after acquiring Tristan Jarry. You could argue the situation is even worse since Jarry’s contract runs through the 2027-28 season at a cap hit of $5.375 million.
Ken Holland had his flaws as Oilers GM, but the team has gotten worse under Bowman, who hasn’t even been on the job for a full two years yet. Like Knoblauch, the McDavid window could force ownership into a tough decision to help the team get over the hump and keep McDavid in Edmonton long term.
Nashville Predators
Barry Trotz recently announced that he’s stepping down as the Nashville Predators’ GM, so we know there will be a change there in the coming weeks. But how could that affect head coach Andrew Brunette? He’s done well to keep the Predators competitive, despite some of the mistakes Trotz made as GM. However, GM changes tend to lead to head coaching changes, since new GMs like to bring in their own personnel.
If the Predators move on from Brunette, he should be a popular coaching candidate this summer. He runs a fast-paced, rush-based system that will cater well to a team that has the roster to compete like the Devils or Oilers.
Wild Cards
The Detroit Red Wings are hanging on to a playoff spot at the moment, but if they miss, there needs to be a conversation about Steven Yzerman’s status as GM. He’s been the Red Wings GM since 2019 but has yet to make the playoffs. If they collapse and miss this season, it might be time for a change this summer.
On the coaching side, it wouldn’t shock me if the Vancouver Canucks move on from Adam Foote. Patrik Allvin and Jim Rutherford aren’t going anywhere, but they may seek a developmental coach as they enter what is likely to be a long rebuild. They could opt for a young, up-and-coming AHL coach to help guide the ship as they return to competitiveness.
There could also be a firing or two that we don’t expect as the playoffs progress. One team gets upset in the first round, and that could result in a coach losing his job, whether it’s fair or not. Regardless, it should be an interesting coaching and GM carousel once the regular season concludes.
