It was only a matter of time before a team made a midseason coaching change. The hot seat cooled at the start of the 2025-26 season but the Columbus Blue Jackets are the first team to pull the plug, replacing Dean Evason with Rick Bowness. It’s a shock considering Evason is a great coach. It’s not a shock considering the preseason expectations for the Blue Jackets and where they sit in the standings.
The Evason firing might be a preview of what’s to come for the rest of the NHL. Now that one team made a change behind the bench, others presumably will follow. Additionally, Evason is now available if anyone sees him as an upgrade, and the same applies for John Tortorella and Pete DeBoer. So, a few teams might be willing to move on from their head coaches and might do just that.
Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings were the team everyone anticipated would make a coaching change in the offseason and early in the season. Credit Jim Hiller for having them play above their weight and look like a playoff team halfway through the season. That said, the Kings have a high bar and are expected to go on a run. If they fall in the standings and are out of the playoffs, they might make a move, especially if they can bring in a big name like DeBoer.
Nashville Predators
Ironically, the Nashville Predators have played well lately and aren’t far removed from a playoff spot. They’ve overachieved lately compared to the past season and a half of disappointment. In the big picture, they are the team to make a change behind the bench.
Related: Columbus Outlasts Flames in Bowness Debut
Andrew Brunette isn’t the best coach to lead the Predators. If general manager (GM) Barry Trotz decides to hit the reset button, it will start with the head coach. The joke is that he should lead them as the coach and not the GM but he’ll probably look to hire someone who can facilitate a rebuild.
New Jersey Devils
The New Jersey Devils have become a punching bag team and the one everyone is looking at in anticipation of a big change. They’ve been a mess lately, and there’s talk about a fire sale, a GM firing, moving on from Sheldon Keefe, and everything in between.
IF the Devils don’t turn things around by the Olympic break, big changes will follow. Presumably, it starts with the GM but they might clean the house and fire Keefe, too, a coach who has taken a lot of heat by being too even-keeled and sticking to the same process despite its failures.
Utah Mammoth
The Utah Mammoth are in a playoff spot and putting together a great season, even without Logan Cooley, who is sidelined with a season-ending injury. The Mammoth season, like the Rocky Mountains throughout the state, has had its peaks and valleys. There’s a good chance they fall into another slump and want to avoid a season spiraling out of control.
There’s a lot of pressure on the Mammoth to make the playoffs. It’s the second season in Salt Lake City, and the ownership has invested in a team expecting to make progress. With raised expectations, it wouldn’t shock anyone if they made a move and replaced Andre Tourigny.
Winnipeg Jets
Like the Devils, the Winnipeg Jets might make a change. Things haven’t been great in Winnipeg, and it’s hard for them to go through a rebuild or make trades to change and improve the roster. Someone must take the fall, and Scott Arniel might be the one. The problem is if the Jets fire their head coach midseason or even in the offseason, they must attract a coach to a destination that is known for its struggles, notably to attract stars. It’s why there’s understandable hesitation to make a change of any type.
Which Coach is Next in Line to get Hired?
DeBoer is the obvious name for any team. He’s the head coach who can take a good team and put it over the hump. After all, he took the Devils to the Stanley Cup Final in 2012 and did the same with the San Jose Sharks in 2016. The problem is DeBoer’s struggles in the playoffs, notably in the conference final or the Cup final (he has yet to win the big one). The other thing to consider is whether he wants to return to the bench or find a role in a front office. Interestingly, he fits as a GM candidate for the Devils, if they need one.
The other names to watch are Evason and Tortorella. Evason, like Jim Montgomery last season, is viewed as a great coach, one worth firing the current coach to hire instead. Tortorella, meanwhile, is the coach who can clean up a mess or at least make them competitive right from the opening puck drop. So, both are acquired tastes.
The other thing to keep in mind is that an American Hockey League (AHL) coach is getting the promotion midseason. The Edmonton Oilers did it with Kris Knoblauch a few seasons back, and there are plenty of great coaches in the league who teams would give the call to. The name to keep in mind is John Gruden, the head coach of the Toronto Marlies, who was an assistant for years in the NHL and has the Toronto Marlies playing above their weight.
Which team do you think will be next to make a coaching change? Let us know in the comments section below!
