NHL Hot Seat: Management Says a Lot of These Guys Are Safe ...

Dallas Eakins - Anaheim Ducks

Dallas Eakins needs some help and arguably some belief right out the door. The Ducks still lose games despite a relatively entertaining offense and a younger nucleus. It was always going to be a process with Pat Verbeek jumping in after what was a disaster before. 

Anaheim is now 4-9-1, has a -25 goal differential, and its metrics still lag behind even the worst teams. Management insists that Eakins’ job is safe, but will he last the entire season? 

D.J. Smith - Ottawa Senators

The Senators had won four straight games and looked like the team many thought they might be. At 4-2, the Senators hit a wall. They have not won a game since. Ottawa’s losing streak reached seven on Thursday night after an overtime loss to the New Jersey Devils. 

The Senators’ management looking at a team like the Arizona Coyotes have to be dismayed by what they see. Even Arizona has managed to stay around .500 as they show a more consistent fight. D.J. Smith kept playing Nikita Zaitsev despite how poorly he looked. Zaitsev was placed on waivers on Thursday.

Ottawa is another situation where management has pledged their confidence. Let’s see what happens next. Smith’s seat keeps getting hotter. 

Bruce Boudreau - Vancouver Canucks

Bruce Boudreau has seen his Vancouver Canucks go 4-2-1 since their 0-5-2 start. Despite those numbers, more is needed for some in Vancouver circles. 

The problem is Vancouver needs to get healthy. J.T Miller is an actual headache and liability when playing team defense. He is not the only player, but his decision-making has an effect. 

Again, this situation feels like it is far from over. 

Dean Evason - Minnesota Wild

Now, Andre Tourigny has managed to get himself off the hot seat as Arizona has climbed to .500. Surprisingly, Dean Evason keeps ending up on lists like this partially because of Minnesota’s record (6-6-1).

Minnesota allowing 42 goals is not so bad, but scoring 39 goals is unexpected. Kirill Kaprizov has ten of them. More goal-scoring balance is needed. If the Wild finds that, Evason may get off the hot seat. 

One has to wonder when the Wild will start getting more consistent play. 

John Hynes - Nashville Predators

The Predators won a game against Vancouver, primarily due to Juuse Saros. Saros stopped 42 of 45 shots versus Vancouver. The problem is the same defensive problems keep haunting Nashville. They lost two more games to Seattle and Colorado. Nashville got hammered 10-4 in those games.

Speculation keeps intensifying on John Hynes. Nashville is 5-8-1 and 3-8-1 since leaving Europe. There are a lot of issues for a team with a goal differential of -12. Only St. Louis is worse in the Central Division. 

Craig Berube - St. Louis Blues

The St. Louis Blues’ coach finally won a game on Thursday night as the Blues outlasted an equally bad San Jose team Thursday night. That snapped an eight-game losing streak that has led the Blues to a -18 goal differential. 

St. Louis is now just 2-4 at home this season. The seat is still pretty warm, even if management insists otherwise. 

Brad Larsen - Columbus Blue Jackets

The Blue Jackets, for better or worse, have lost nine of 13 games to start the season. A win against the Philadelphia Flyers has quashed some calling for his job, but speculation does continue.

This still feels more like a situation that is far from over. Larsen’s job is certainly not safe. 

See you next week, and yes, thanks for reading!