The coaching carousel is a precarious ride at the best of times, and this season has already seen several NHL head coaches replaced.
Five teams have parted ways with their bench bosses this season, but only three of those came as a direct result of poor play — allegations of physical and verbal abuse cost Bill Peters his job in Calgary and the Dallas Stars terminated Jim Montgomery's contract under mysterious circumstances.
Whatever the case, five coaching changes by early December is a substantial amount of movement.
FIRED: Mike Babcock | Bill Peters | John Hynes | Jim Montgomery | Peter DeBoer
Keeping track of all 31 current NHL head coaches is a tough task, but Sporting News is up to the challenge. Listed below is each team's current bench boss, plus their predecessors.
Eastern Conference
Two of the five coaching changes have come from the East, although Babcock's split from the Toronto Maple Leafs on November 20 got the proverbial ball rolling for the rest of the league.
On the flip side, Tampa Bay's Jon Cooper is the longest-serving head coach in the NHL, having been with the Lightning since March 2013.
| Team | Coach | Previous coach |
|---|---|---|
| Boston Bruins | Bruce Cassidy | Claude Julien (2007-17) |
| Buffalo Sabres | Ralph Krueger | Phil Housley (2017-19) |
| Carolina Hurricanes | Rod Brind'Amour | Bill Peters (2014-18) |
| Columbus Blue Jackets | John Tortorella | Todd Richards (2012-15) |
| Detroit Red Wings | Jeff Blashill | Mike Babcock (2005-15) |
| Florida Panthers | Joel Quenneville | Bob Boughner (2017-19) |
| Montreal Canadiens | Claude Julien | Michel Therrien (2012-17) |
| New Jersey Devils | Alain Nasreddine* | John Hynes (2015-19) |
| New York Islanders | Barry Trotz | Doug Weight (2017-18) |
| New York Rangers | David Quinn | Alain Vigneault (2013-18) |
| Ottawa Senators | D. J. Smith | Marc Crawford* (2018) |
| Philadelphia Flyers | Alain Vigneault | Scott Gordon* (2018-19) |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | Mike Sullivan | Mike Johnston (2014-15) |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | Jon Cooper | Guy Boucher (2010-13) |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | Sheldon Keefe | Mike Babcock (2015-19) |
| Washington Capitals | Todd Reirden | Barry Trotz (2014-18) |
Western Conference
The West has certainly been the more volatile of the two conferences from a head coaching perspective. Peters, Montgomery and DeBoer all left their former teams within a 12-day span.
| Team | Coach | Previous coach |
|---|---|---|
| Anaheim Ducks | Dallas Eakins | Randy Carlyle (2016-19) |
| Arizona Coyotes | Rick Tocchet | Dave Tippett (2009-17) |
| Calgary Flames | Geoff Ward* | Bill Peters (2018-19) |
| Chicago Blackhawks | Jeremy Colliton | Joel Quenneville (2008-18) |
| Colorado Avalanche | Jared Bednar | Patrick Roy (2013-16) |
| Dallas Stars | Rick Bowness* | Jim Montgomery (2018-19) |
| Edmonton Oilers | Dave Tippett | Ken Hitchcock (2018-19) |
| Los Angeles Kings | Todd McLellan | Willie Desjardins* (2018-19) |
| Minnesota Wild | Bruce Boudreau | John Torchetti* (2016) |
| Nashville Predators | Peter Laviolette | Barry Trotz (1998-2014) |
| San Jose Sharks | Bob Boughner* | Peter DeBoer (2015-19) |
| St. Louis Blues | Craig Berube | Mike Yeo (2017-18) |
| Vancouver Canucks | Travis Green | Willie Desjardins (2014-17) |
| Vegas Golden Knights | Gerard Gallant | — |
| Winnipeg Jets | Paul Maurice | Claude Noel (2011-14) |
* Denotes interim head coach