The 2024-25 NHL regular season reached it's conclusion this past Thursday, and now the focus is on the Stanley Cup playoffs. For the 16 teams that qualified, they are set to compete in the always entertaining playoff tournament for the chance to hoist Lord Stanley's Cup at year's end. For the other 16 teams who missed out on the qualifying, they now have an early offseason to figure out what went wrong. One main talking point will be "do we have the right coach to lead us to success?"
Before the season ended, there was some coaching turnover. The Boston Bruins fired Jim Montgomery, who then quickly signed with the St. Louis Blues, who fired Drew Bannister to facilitate the move. The Chicago Blackhawks fired Luke Richardson as the team continued to struggle through another season of their rebuild. And in just a few weeks before the season ended, the Philadelphia Flyers fired John Tortorella.
We'll keep you posted with the latest news regarding the NHL coaching carousel, specifically regarding teams that move on from their coaches.
Ducks fire Greg Cronin after two seasons (Apr. 19)
On Saturday, the Anaheim Ducks announced they were moving on from head coach Greg Cronin, who just completed his second season leading the team.
Cronin was brought in to help the Ducks progress in their rebuild and return to playoffs for the first time since 2018. Instead, the Ducks finished 27-50-5 in Cronin's first year at the helm. This season, the Ducks went 35-37-10 and missed out on a playoff spot by 16 points.
Now, the Ducks have to figure out who is the right coach to lead the team back to success.
Rangers fire Peter Laviolette after disastrous season (Apr. 19)
After a disastrous season and a missed playoff berth, the New York Rangers announced they were firing coach Peter Laviolette, along with associate head coach Phil Housley. While Laviolette was fired, general manager Chris Drury appears to be safe.
The Rangers hired Laviolette after the 2022-23 season in hopes that he can lead the team to it's first Stanley Cup victory since 1994. He was awfully close in his first year at the helm, as he led the team to a President's Trophy and just two wins away from the Stanley Cup Final.
This year, the Rangers went 39-36-7 with 85 points, falling six points short of the final Wild Card berth. The season was highlighted by lackluster play and notably ugly departures of players (i.e. Jacob Trouba and Barclay Goodrow). Laviolette didn't do himself many favors, especially prioritizing playing veteran players over developing some of their young stars. With that, Laviolette is gone after going 94-59-11.
Drury says that they will conduct a wide search for its next coach, and even said that first-time coaches will be under consideration.
Kraken fire Dan Bylsma after one season (Apr. 21)
The Seattle Kraken are searching for a new head coach, as reports on Monday indicated that they were firing Dan Bylsma after one year on the job. Now, the Kraken will look for their third head coach in three seasons.
Hearing the Seattle Kraken are making a coaching change.
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) April 21, 2025
Dan Bylsma will be let go…and a full search will begin.
Bylsma last coached at the NHL level back in 2017 when he was in his second year with the Buffalo Sabres. After getting fired, Bylsma spent a couple of years as an assistant coach for the Detroit Red Wings, before becoming a minor league coach for the Kraken, first with the Charlotte Checkers and then the Coachella Valley Firebirds. Bylsma was promoted to Kraken head coach after the team fired Dave Hakstol.
In his first and only season with the Kraken, the team went 35-41-6 for 76 points, finishing 20 points behind the St. Louis Blues, who clinched the final Wild Card berth in the Western Conference.
Now, we wait and see who the Kraken will bring in as their next head coach.
Penguins, Mike Sullivan agree to part ways (Apr. 28)
Despite Mike Sullivan saying that he would like to remain with the team, that didn't mean that it was a given he would remain on the team heading into the 2025 season.
On Monday, Apr. 28, the Pittsburgh Penguins announced that the organization and Sullivan agreed to part ways, bringing an end to his tenure as head coach after 10 years.
Sullivan helped lead the Penguins to back-to-back Stanley Cup Championships in 2016 and 2017 after taking over for Mike Johnston. Sullivan held a 409-255-89 overall record and a 44-38 record in the playoffs.
The Penguins said there is no timeframe for their search for a new coach.
Rick Tocchet not returning to Canucks (Apr. 29)
There was uncertainty surrounding Rick Tocchet after this season. Tocchet, who joined the team during the 2022-23 season, is due for a new contract, and it was up to him if he wanted to stay in Vancouver.
According to Sportsnet NHL insider Elliotte Friedman, Tocchet won't be returning as head coach of the Canucks.
There is word this afternoon that Rick Tocchet will not be returning as head coach of the Vancouver Canucks.
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) April 29, 2025
Believe there will be a full statement with his rationale in the next little while...but add Vancouver to the teams looking for a new bench boss.
In his three seasons behind the bench for Vancouver, Tocchet recorded a 108-65-27 overall record and a 7-6 playoff record.