Dave Hakstol – Seattle Kraken
The Seattle Kraken currently rank 28th in the NHL, and 29th in points percentage. While that is not nearly as bad as most expansion teams fare, it is a notch below expectations.
The Kraken’s playoff chances before the season we’re low, now they have a 1.3% chance of qualifying for the playoffs, according to moneypuck.com. Dave Hakstol was a controversial hire from the get-go and the naysayers have a lot more ammunition now.
The performances across the board have been ugly. They have zero players in the top 75 in scoring. Philipp Grubauer is having an abysmal season, even by expansion standards.
The Kraken management might be looking to make a change as their first-ever head coach has not brought them the results they had hoped for.
Dave Tippett – Edmonton Oilers
The Oilers are not out of the playoff race by any means, but their recent slide has been worrisome. They have a great top-five forwards and a solid defence group but their lack of depth and up-and-down goaltending are trends that have been going for a few years.
All the talk is about Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, but after those two, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Zach Hyman, and Jesse Puljujarvi, the talent drops off considerably.
Nobody in the bottom-seven forwards is better than 0.50 points-per-game and nobody except Zack Kassian is even close.
It doesn’t seem like Tippett will be fired in the near future, however, it is something to keep an eye on if the Oilers continue to perform worse than their expectations.
Rick Bowness – Dallas Stars
The Stars are a middle-of-the-pack team right now and there isn’t any indication that they will completely fall flat, nor become a contender either. Much like the Oilers, but on a larger scale, the Stars have a few great pieces up front, but it quickly dries up after that.
Joe Pavelski, Jason Robertson, Roope Hintz, and Ryan Suter have been having solid seasons. The problem is, Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn are both below 0.50 points-per-game.
Coupled with Radulov’s offensive disappearance and confusion in net, the Stars haven’t been reacting to their head coach in a positive way. Rick Bowness may soon find himself on the hot seat if the fortunes don’t turn around in Dallas.