So many changes have happened behind the bench around the NHL in recent years that only four of the league's 32 teams have the same coach they did coming out of the pandemic. “I don’t know what the average lifespan of a coach in a specific organization is, but I know it’s got to be short,” New York Rangers center Vincent Trocheck said. “You have GMs that are in a tough spot, and they have to make moves if things aren’t going well and it’s hard.
” Hard even for coaches who acknowledge the short lifespan and that they are routinely hired to be fired. A quarter of the league turned over jobs this past offseason with eight teams going in with a new coach. The spinning carousel sent Stanley Cup champion Craig Berube to Toronto with the mission of ending the longest championship drought in the sport.
It took Sheldon Keefe to the challenge of getting New Jersey back in the playoffs and brought Lindy Ruff back to Buffalo. Younger teams with varying levels of aspirations from Columbus and Ottawa to Seattle and San Jose went with different levels of experience in their hires. The most consequential coaching change came with the Maple Leafs turning to Berube after five consecutive early playoff exits under Keefe.
At his introductory news conference, Berube called it a "great opportunity to build a team that can move forward and become something — not better — but get over the hump a little bit here.” Berube, who played in more than 1,110 games in the league from 198.
