The coaching carousel spins the fastest in the NHL. Eight teams made changes behind the bench heading into the 2024-25 season. The average tenure for an NHL coach stands at 2.4 years, which is the shortest of the four major North American professional leagues.
Just over a month into the season, let’s look at the impact of a new voice behind the bench for each of those eight teams.
Buffalo Sabres
The Sabres’ big offseason change was the rehiring of Lindy Ruff, who coached the team from 1997 to 2013. Outside of promoting Seth Appert from Rochester as an assistant, there hasn’t been a ton of turnover elsewhere; there were minimal changes to the roster, and assistants Matt Ellis and Marty Wilford were retained.
This season, the coaching staff had a clear task: reignite the high-octane offense that the team boasted in 2022-23 while making defensive adjustments that won’t weigh the team down like last season under Don Granato.
The team seems to be employing more structure and trying to play more of an aggressive north-south game instead of the east-west style of the Granato era. But there are still some clear execution issues that have reared their head this season, including in a 7-5 loss to Montreal on Tuesday.
Buffalo is scoring more at five-on-five this year, but there are still gaps below the surface. On the season as a whole, compared to 2022-23, the team is missing the net on a higher percentage of its shots. And the Sabres still aren’t driving to the slot consistently enough, either — especially when Tage Thompson and JJ Peterka aren’t on the ice. But there have been some upticks in their scoring chance creation over this last stretch of games, and that has started to translate on the power play that deflated them all last season and earlier this year.
The Sabres have also made some slight improvements on the other end of the ice. The team is allowing less at five-on-five and protecting the slot better on the penalty kill.
The problem is that the Sabres need more than slight improvements on both ends of the ice. It’s been a pretty disappointing start to the season in Buffalo, with pressure mounting to finally turn the corner.
Columbus Blue Jackets
A .400 win percentage may not look like much for the Blue Jackets, who sit second-to-last in the Eastern Conference. But there have been legitimate signs of progress under a coaching staff led by Dean Evason.
After trying to grasp an overly complicated system last year, Evason’s coaching staff, which includes Jared Boll, Scott Ford, Mike Haviland and Steve McCarthy, has simplified things. The players are being encouraged to take more risks as long as they’re both aggressive and decisive with their decision-making. The defense has been more mobile and active, too, which is helping the Blue Jackets play with more pace and speed.
It’s given the Blue Jackets a jolt offensively in the early goings compared to last year. After generating little in the slot last season, Columbus is getting to the net-front area more often. The Blue Jackets’ shot and expected goal generation is up, and they have the results to show for it at five-on-five. Some of those results are thanks to a high shooting percentage, which is coming back to earth. But since their scoring has slowed, their play below the surface is ticking back up.
Columbus has also made some adjustments in its own zone that are paying off. The team is still running a hybrid system, but the players are grasping it better than last year. The Blue Jackets are pressuring opponents more back in their own zone, which is helping them move the puck out quicker. So far this season, they’re conceding fewer shots and quality chances.
Via HockeyViz
There is still work to do in front of the blue paint, but the Blue Jackets are allowing a lot less from the circles at five-on-five. Those defensive improvements are trickling into their shorthanded game as well.
New Jersey Devils
The Devils’ stars are built for the aggressive style that emphasizes a rush-based attack. But last season under Ruff, the team wasn’t as effective at executing that style of play that excelled in 2022-23. Injuries dragged the team down and had a ripple effect on the players left in the lineup. Unreliable goaltending only sunk the team further, and the coaching staff had few answers to fix it.
So, tactical adjustments from Sheldon Keefe and his staff were welcome in New Jersey heading into this season — and they have been aided by some personnel upgrades, particularly on defense. Keefe brings a more conservative defensive style that can limit some of the risks that the Devils’ transition game brought, and unlike in Toronto last season, has the puck-movers on defense to push the pace of play.
At five-on-five, the Devils are doing a better job of protecting the middle of the ice, which seems to be a result of both coaching and reinforcements on defense from offseason signings Brendan Dillon and Brett Pesce, along with a revitalized Jonas Siegenthaler. Those upgrades on the blue line seem to be paying off on the penalty kill, which is still run by Ryan McGill.
Assistant Jeremey Colliton has the power play generating a lot of offense and converting consistently over this last stretch.
The five-on-five scoring is good but has room to become great. But the coaches seem willing to make lineup adjustments to maximize their forward group.
The Devils look to be back on track under Keefe and his staff. If they can continue to be adaptable as the season goes on and the goaltending can be consistent, they should be a real threat in the Eastern Conference.
Ottawa Senators
After a year of change — in ownership, management and coaching — the Senators came into the season with more stability. Now, they just need it to translate on the ice.
That’s one of the tasks facing Travis Green and his new-look coaching staff. The pressure is mounting for the Senators to return to the playoff picture, and they’re off to a pretty good start so far.
One of Green’s priorities heading into the season was to instill more defensive structure in Ottawa with the help of assistant coach Nolan Baumgartner, who runs the defense and penalty kill. And it’s been one of the biggest areas of improvement from 2023-24 to start the year. The Senators aren’t allowing as many shots back this season and are doing a much better job of suppressing dangerous chances from the slot. That five-on-five defense, especially in transition, has progressively improved over the last few weeks and is top-five in expected goal suppression.
There are a few key differences on the back end compared to last year. The Senators’ superstar forwards aren’t getting overwhelmed by their poor defense. Ottawa is allowing less with Tim Stützle on the ice, unlike last season. And the team is getting reliable goaltending with Linus Ullmark between the pipes.
That improved defensive play was on display on Tuesday night when the Senators shut out the Maple Leafs — limiting them to just 46 unblocked attempts worth only a collective 0.7 expected goals at five-on-five.
Via Evolving-Hockey
The team still has room for improvement offensively. At five-on-five, the team isn’t creating much from the middle of the ice and is still building up its forecheck to add some dimension. The power play has the results but could use a little more oomph behind it to sustain that. Still, it’s a promising start for a team that is expected to be on the rise.
San Jose Sharks
Of the eight new coaching hires this offseason, Ryan Warsofsky is the only first-time head coach. He’s also the youngest head coach in the NHL at 36 years old.
Warsofsky may have familiarity with the defense and penalty kill after working with them for the last two years as an assistant coach in San Jose. But realistically, only so much can be expected of this group. The Sharks bleed shots and scoring chances against and likely will continue to.
The team has made a few marginal improvements offensively, even when Macklin Celebrini was sidelined with injury. Jake Walman has stepped up on the Sharks’ top pair, Mikael Granlund has been a surprising source of scoring, and Fabian Zetterlund seems to be coming into his own. That’s helped San Jose stay competitive in some games, against tough opponents like the Devils and Kings.
Warsofsky and his coaching staff are in a challenging spot. The standings may not matter much — the Sharks are in the midst of a rebuild and will likely spend a few more years in the basement before climbing back into the playoff picture. But San Jose still needs a coach who can help teach the fundamentals and put the building blocks in place for the future.
So there may not be tangible differences year-to-year just yet. Instead, the impact of this coaching change should be measured in the longer term based on how the next wave of Sharks develops to progress this rebuild.
Seattle Kraken
After taking a slower and more patient approach, the Kraken amped things up this offseason with major changes. Along with some big-ticket free-agent signings, Seattle made a change behind the bench. Dan Byslma was promoted from AHL Coachella Valley, along with assistants Jessica Campbell and Bob Woods, who join Dave Lowry behind the bench.
The most pressing task for this coaching staff? Boosting the team’s offense, both at five-on-five and on the power play, after the team’s scoring dramatically regressed from 2022-23. It wasn’t just a matter of shooting percentages snapping back to reality, either. Seattle struggled to turn its rush attempts into quality scoring chances. That is something this coaching staff is looking to change by emphasizing more pace and energized play.
While the Kraken were making a lot out of a little to start the year, their offensive creation still isn’t where it needs to be — neither is the team’s finishing. At five-on-five, they’re creating more rush chances but aren’t turning it into sustained pressure enough. At a certain point, the roster construction has to be a big part of that conversation along with coaching. Losing Vince Dunn to injury has also limited the team offensively when the plan was to have more pop from the blue line with him and Brandon Montour as a one-two punch in the top four. But like every other team around the league, there is an adjustment period to learning new systems.
The team’s taken a step back defensively which has become a key part of their identity over the last few years. But the coaches are making adjustments on the fly, including shifting from a box to a diamond on the penalty kill to limit cross-seam passes from opponents.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Craig Berube came into the season with objectives for the Maple Leafs. He wanted to embrace more of a north-south game in Toronto and make this team harder to play against.
That vision seems to be coming through on one end of the ice. The Maple Leafs, who made a few changes on the back end, are more stout defensively. There haven’t been major swings in shot volume against compared to last season, but Toronto is doing a much better job of limiting the quality of those looks against. The team is suppressing scoring chances from the middle of the ice to the tune of 2.33 expected goals against, which is good for sixth in the league.
The penalty kill, now under the direction of Lane Lambert (and with the addition of Chris Tanev), has also improved. But there is one difference from last season’s power kill: The Maple Leafs aren’t generating as much short-handed offense.
It’s not the only area of the game where Toronto is generating less. That has become a major problem at five-on-five. Losing Auston Matthews for a few games has unquestionably impacted the Maple Leafs’ even-strength scoring. But it was already a theme before he was sidelined.
Before their Wednesday matchup against the Capitals, the Leafs sat 18th in five-on-five scoring and 19th in expected goal creation. The team isn’t driving to the high-danger areas in front of the blue paint and generates little from the right side of the ice. The power play isn’t consistent enough to mask any scoring dips, either.
This likely doesn’t fall solely on coaching — without a true Tyler Bertuzzi replacement, the roster isn’t as deep as it was when last season ended. But the emphasis on defense and less east-west play seems to also be limiting the team’s best strength: its high-octane offense.
Winnipeg Jets
The Jets are off to a record-setting start. With a plus-39 goal differential, no one comes close to Winnipeg right now.
The team didn’t have a splashy offseason. The most notable changes came behind the bench, with Scott Arniel taking over as head coach. Promoting from within has its pros and cons, and with Arniel specifically, one of the biggest benefits is his familiarity with the team’s defensive system that brought them so much success last season.
Another is his willingness to use all the available information to take a deeper dive into how the team can improve — especially after a tough Round 1 exit to Colorado last spring.
After underwhelming last season, the power play has emerged as one of the Jets’ best strengths under Arniel and assistant coach Davis Payne. Winnipeg has incorporated more movement into their play on the advantage to become a more lethal threat. The penalty kill is also trending in the right direction to give Winnipeg a special teams advantage most nights.
Between Connor Hellebuyck’s excellence, their defensive structure, Cole Perfetti’s growth, and a lot of scoring from their star players, there is a lot to like about Winnipeg’s start. But now comes the real work from the coaching staff to keep the Jets operating at this level and beyond. The five-on-five play has been solid, but there is room for improvement on both ends of the ice. Not every team finds ways to improve on the fly and instead gets stagnant during winning streaks.
After dominating in New York, Winnipeg will go on to face the Lightning and Panthers and then the Wild, Kings, Golden Knights and Stars a few games later. How the coaching adjusts to keep the Jets flying high will be the biggest test for this new-look staff yet.
— Data via Evolving-Hockey, HockeyViz, HockeyStatCards, AllThreeZones and NaturalStatTrick. This story relies on shot-based metrics; here is a primer on these numbers.
(Top photo of Kraken head coach Dan Bylsma and assistant coach Jessica Campbell: Steph Chambers / Getty Images)
