5 NHL teams who'll be next to fire their head coach

5 NHL teams who’ll be next to fire their head coach

SUNRISE, FLORIDA - NOVEMBER 14: Head coach Paul Maurice and assistant coach Charlie Huddy of the Winnipeg Jets huddle with the team against the Florida Panthers during the third period at BB&T Center on November 14, 2019 in Sunrise, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

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Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Kozub/NHLI via Getty Images /

3. Winnipeg Jets

Right now, the Jets are tied with Vegas for the second wild card spot in the Western Conference, with one more win giving them the tiebreaker. In Paul Maurice’s six full seasons behind the bench, they’ve missed the playoffs three times and lost in the first round twice. A run to the Conference Finals in 2018 is a highlight, and an outlier.

Any sort of losing streak down the stretch could drop the Jets right out of the playoff race, just as a win streak would propel them upward. They haven’t won or lost more than three in a row all season, albeit with a stretch of six wins in seven games once and a general majority of wins on their way to a 25-18-4 mark entering Thursday.

But if Vegas can linger in playoff contention and still pull the rug out from under Gallant in a short-sighted decision, Winnipeg could easily do the same with Maurice. If things remain stagnant (4-4-2 over their last 10 games going into Thursday), or fall off a bit, the heat will be turned up in Winnipeg. If the Jets do make the playoffs, another first round exit stands to put Maurice on the unemployment line quickly (but probably not for long).

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