People don't accept head coaching jobs in the NHL for tenure or stability.
The NHL currently has six coaching vacancies, with the Anaheim Ducks, Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers and Seattle Kraken. The hockey world is keeping an eye on places such as Vancouver and Pittsburgh for more potential openings.
"The shelf life of a head coach is significantly shorter than one of a general manager or a team president," Bruins CEO Charlie Jacobs said. "It's the nature of the job. You can have players' attention for a select window of time, and then sometimes you lose it."
The salary cap and contract restrictions prevent teams from "firing the players" when they struggle. Obviously, general managers aren't going to fire themselves. So the coach pays for a team not meeting expectations or when it's time for a franchise to go in a new direction -- and they pay more frequently than their peers in other sports.
According to hockey data analyst Shayna Goldman, the average tenure of an NHL coach through this season's changes is 2.3 years. That's well shorter than in the MLB (4.3), NBA (4.1) and NFL (4.0).
Last season saw 11 coaching changes made in-season or after teams were eliminated from playoff contention.
Neil Glasberg, who represents coaches as president & CEO of PBI Sports & Entertainment, said this is yet another season of "voluminous change in an industry that is so based on performance" in the standings.
