5 NHL coaches most likely to be fired at the end of the 2025-26 season

The firing of now-former Vegas Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy came as a shock to many, given that there are approximately two weeks left in the regular season. But should we really be surprised?

Anyone who has watched the cutthroat era epitomized by legendary New Jersey Devils GM Lou Lamoriello will know that he fired coach Robbie Ftorek in 1999-2000 with nine games left in the season, and Lamoriello also fired Claude Julien in 2006-07 with three games left in the year. It doesn’t happen frequently, but the truth is, every NHL coach is only a long-losing-streak away from potentially being fired.

Even after Cassidy’s firing, many NHL coaches could be dismissed, most likely at the end of this year’s Stanley Cup playoffs.

Which coach will be the next to be fired? Let’s take our best guess at it. In alphabetical order:

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Scott Arniel, Winnipeg Jets

Arniel is the same coach who led the Jets to the best regular-season record in the league last year, but Winnipeg’s stunning early-season collapse has made the Jets quite the long shot to earn a playoff spot this season.

That said, Arniel has got his team playing better, as the Jets have posted a 16-8-7 record in their past 31 games. But Winnipeg is still three points out of the final wild card berth in the Western Conference, and they have only nine games left in the season.

Thus, of the five coaches on this list, Arniel is probably the least likely to be fired, as Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff is notorious for staying the course with his core. That almost assuredly includes Arniel. If Winnipeg does miss the post-season, they’re going to retool on the fly – and Arniel will likely still be running things.

Craig Berube, Toronto Maple Leafs

If Arniel is the coach on this list least likely to be fired, Berube is most likely to be fired next. As soon as the Maple Leafs fired GM Brad Treliving on Monday, the clock on Berube’s career in Toronto began ticking down to its final stages.

It isn’t just that Berube had no solutions for what ailed the Leafs this season – it’s that the disconnect between Berube and Treliving began this season, with the coach playing favorites that differed from those management may have wanted.

Whenever Treliving’s replacement takes the job, they no doubt will want their own coach. So it’s extremely unlikely that Berube will be Toronto’s bench boss at the start of training camp next season – or even by the draft. It’s a near foregone conclusion that Berube won’t be back, even if it’s true that he no longer has the talents of star Mitch Marner to lean on. The Leafs’ goalies didn’t bail out Berube’s coaching, and Toronto’s porous defense, and it’s a fait accompli that Berube is a goner.

MORE: Maple Leafs Coach Craig Berube Is Probably Next On The Chopping Block

Andrew Brunette, Nashville Predators

The Predators weren’t expected to make the playoffs this season, and some picked Brunette to be the first coach fired.

But lo and behold, the Preds have shown some spunk, and they currently sit in the second wild card spot in the West. But the ninth-place Los Angeles Kings are just one standings point behind Nashville, with the Kings having one game in hand on the Predators. And the 10th-place Seattle Kraken are only two points behind the Preds, with the Kraken having two games in hand on Nashville.

You can see, then, why Brunette is literally coaching for his job right now. The Predators have eight games left, and they could miss the playoffs by a point or two. That would be heartbreaking, and Brunette’s firing would probably come very soon after the season ended.

The Preds will also be hiring a new GM soon, and their next GM may want their own coach in place. The long-term outlook in Tennessee may not be great for Brunette, but he could give himself some more time by getting the Predators into the post-season.

Kris Knoblauch, Edmonton Oilers

We’ve known for a couple of years now that the Oilers are a Cup-or-bust team. Edmonton GM Stan Bowman has kept Knoblauch as coach through all the angst and noise regularly coming out of Alberta. That’s almost certainly going to change this season if the Oilers don’t win it all. If Edmonton is eliminated in the first or second round, Knoblauch will almost certainly be fired the following day.

Once again, goaltending could be a problem for the Oilers, and that’s out of Knoblauch’s control. However, the bottom line is that’s all that matters in the what-have-you-done-for-us-lately business of coaching. The Connor McDavid era in Edmonton may not last forever, so they have to capitalize soon. If the Oilers don’t win a championship very soon, there will be changes coming – the coaches included.

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D.J. Smith, Los Angeles Kings

Smith lasted as Ottawa Senators coach for four-and-a-half seasons before he was fired in 2023. The following season, he latched onto the Kings as an assistant under Jim Hiller – but when L.A. fired Hiller on March 1, they made Smith the interim head coach. The change hasn’t had too many positive results for L.A., as the Kings have lost five of their past six games.

The Kings are a veteran team that is in win-now mode, so if Smith struggles, even in a relatively short sample size, that could be the end of Smith’s time as Kings coach.

But if he can get the Kings into the post-season, and L.A. has a strong showing once they get there, Smith can get the ‘interim’ tag taken off his job description and settle into the job next season.

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