NHL coaches face sky-high expectations and short windows to accomplish them.
Only three active NHL coaches have been with their team for at least four years: the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Jon Cooper, Colorado Avalanche’s Jared Bednar and Carolina Hurricanes’ Rod Brind’Amour. Of that trio, Cooper and Bednar brought their squads to Stanley Cup championships.
As for Brind’Amour, he’s one of five NHL coaches with the most to prove in 2025-26. He’s not necessarily on the hot seat – not every coach on this list is at an immediate risk of getting fired – but there’s a lot for them still to accomplish. Some of them are in the first season of their new role, while others have another step to take.
Here are the bench bosses in alphabetical order, beginning with a closer look at the third-longest tenured coach.
Rod Brind’Amour, Carolina Hurricanes
Brind’Amour won the Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s coach of the year, but that was back in 2020-21. As we know, the coaching industry in hockey’s top league is very much a “what have you done for us lately” line of work.
Brind’Amour undoubtedly faces pressure to bring the Hurricanes beyond the Eastern Conference final for the first time since 2005-06.
We’re not suggesting Brind’Amour will be fired during the season if the Hurricanes slump anytime before the Stanley Cup playoffs. He’s earned the landing strip he’s got, and Carolina’s lineup is as deep and dangerous as it’s been in nearly 20 years. But the churn-and-burn of the coaching business is a very real thing, and if the Hurricanes fail to at least win the Eastern Conference title next year, there will be questions again about Brind’Amour’s future with the squad.
Brind’Amour’s cachet will guarantee he quickly gets a new coaching job of his choice if he does move on from Carolina, but when you’ve had seven years with the same team and you haven’t won it all, your time with that team is likely nearing an end. Brind’Amour could be an exception, but either way, he would benefit greatly from showing progress with the Hurricanes.
Five NHL Wingers With The Most To Prove In 2025-26As is the case in every NHL season, certain players are coming in with something to prove. Whether it’s to justify a pay raise or a trade or to bounce back from a subpar year, some players have every motivation to improve on their results at any given time.
Adam Foote, Vancouver Canucks
Whenever you’re an assistant coach who is getting their first chance as a coach, you’ve definitely got something to prove.
That’s the case with Foote and the Canucks. Foote was an assistant from January 2023 through this past season.
Foote’s playing career as a Cup-winning defenseman has helped him earn his current coaching opportunity, and his experience with Vancouver’s roster no doubt played into Canucks GM Patrik Allvin giving Foote the chance to guide a team that was a letdown last season.
The Canucks fell from a Pacific Division-winning team in 2023-24 to a non-playoff squad last season, and bench boss Rick Tocchet chose to move on and coach the Philadelphia Flyers instead. But Vancouver’s lineup changes this summer and the potential for bounce-back seasons from star players, such as center Elias Pettersson, lay out a clear challenge for Foote – get this Canucks team back into the playoff picture immediately or face larger roster and possible management changes next off-season.
Foote must demonstrate that his experience as a head coach – including his time as the WHL Kelowna Rockets bench boss – gives him the expertise needed to turn around Vancouver’s competitive trajectory. If he can get the Canucks back into the playoffs next year, he’ll have a semblance of job security. But if Vancouver flames out and misses the playoffs for the second straight season, all bets are off.
Jim Hiller, Los Angeles Kings
Hiller joined the Kings as an assistant coach in July 2022, working under Todd McLellan. But when Los Angeles fired McLellan in February 2024, Hiller turned the interim coach role into becoming the Kings’ permanent coach.
Expectations for L.A. have risen for some time now as the team has a mix of older talent heading further away from their primes and younger players looking to take over.
Losing to the Edmonton Oilers in the first round for four straight years also shows there’s something more for the Kings to give. Hiller’s inability to get the Kings out of the first round for the past two seasons makes this next campaign a potential boom-or-bust year.
Also not working in Hiller’s favor is the fact that the man who hired him, Rob Blake, parted ways with the Kings in May. New Kings GM Ken Holland doesn’t have any connection or loyalty to Hiller, and the many changes Holland has made to L.A.’s roster are an indication of how considerable the pressure is on Hiller to show some type of progress in the post-season next year.
So long as the Kings are in a playoff position throughout the regular season, Hiller’s job is safe. But once the post-season begins, Hiller must either get Los Angeles out of the first round or be sent packing in favor of someone Holland hires himself. That may not sound fair, but that’s the reality of the NHL’s coaching business right now.
Todd McLellan, Detroit Red Wings
When McLellan took over from fired Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde in late December of 2024, he initially had a stellar run with the Wings. But the longer the season played out, the worse Detroit looked, and the Red Wings failed to make the playoffs for the ninth straight season.
Needless to say, the pressure on McLellan to turn the Wings into a playoff team will be massive this coming year. McLellan has 17 seasons as an NHL coach under his belt, so if anyone has the experience to weather any storm the Red Wings will be facing next year, it’s him. But Detroit GM Steve Yzerman also is facing a ton of pressure to get this Wings team back into the post-season – and that means nobody’s job in Detroit is safe, McLellan’s job included.
Coaching in the highly competitive Atlantic Division means McLellan’s work is cut out for him. So the pressure on McLellan couldn’t be more evident, and he has just one goal – lead this group into at least a wild-card berth in the Eastern Conference.
Mike Sullivan, New York Rangers
The Rangers hired Sullivan this summer partly because of his success as a two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Even that achievement didn’t stop the Pens and Sullivan from parting ways after three straight playoff misses.
Now, he’ll be the top coach of an NHL team without superstar Sidney Crosby for the first time since he led the Boston Bruins from 2003 to 2006.
Joining an Original Six team – and the spotlight that goes along with it – means Sullivan will be watched like a hawk from Day 1 of his time steering the Rangers’ boat.
He’s got an obvious mandate in Manhattan – getting the Blueshirts back into the playoffs after they missed out on the post-season last year. The Rangers plummeted after winning the Presidents’ Trophy in 2023-24, so the team has the talent to at least get back into the playoffs and potentially win a round.
Of all the coaches on this list, Sullivan might be the one who can survive missing out on the playoffs next season. But even then, if that’s the Rangers’ fate, Sullivan will face extraordinary pressure at this time next season to end the playoff drought at two years.
Drury fired Sullivan’s predecessor in NYC after only two years on the job, and that could prove to be what happens to Sullivan if he can’t turn things around. Sullivan has a veteran-laden Rangers team to look after, but he’s got to squeeze out progress from his lineup. And if he can’t do so, his job security will be tenuous.
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