What we learned in the NHL in December: Coaching tenures are getting shorter

NHL coaching changes wait for no one not even the end of the holiday freeze.

On a quiet day in the NHL, the Detroit Red Wings made noise by firing head coach Derek Lalonde and associate Bob Boughner.

The roster may be fundamentally flawed, but the coaches also failed to maximize their talent.

The defense underwhelmed, the even-strength offense lacked and the penalty kill has been a disaster.

Todd McLellan and Trent Yawney were brought in to give the team a spark.

Advertisement Lalondes is the fourth in-season dismal firing in 2024-25, after a summer of turnover with eight coaching changes.

That adds up to 12 changes since the 2023-24 season ended and drops the average tenure of all 32 active coaches to 2.23 years a slight dip from 2.30 when the season started.

Last month , we looked at how the NHLs average tenure stacks up to the four other major professional mens leagues.

Hockey trails the NFL , NBA and MLB , who all have more long-term coaches.

But that sparked another question: How have NHL coaching tenures changed over the years? Are coaching tenures on the decline in the NHL? The question needs time and work to find a deeper answer.

Two more firings in December, Luke Richardson and Lalonde, put this on the front burner and sped up the process.

The first challenge was figuring out the best measurement point.

Mid-season changes skew the end of each season, while the beginning misses them.

Use the seasons mid-point, and it feels like cherry-picking the data to fit a narrative.

For consistencys sake, the beginning of the season is todays jumping-off point because it is the only number we have for the 2024-25 season.

Were going back to the 2012-13 lockout, which coincides with the Lightning s midseason promotion of Jon Cooper, the leagues longest-tenured coach at 11.5 years.

In 2012-13, the average tenure of an active NHL coach was 3.25 years and 13 years later, is still this samples peak.

Most seasons since have hovered around 2.5 years, but there have been some clear lows over that time.

The lowest came back in 2017-18 at 2.06 years; seven offseason changes were made.

The average dipped to 2.09 ahead of 2022-23, when 10 teams started the year with a new coach.

So the 2024-25 season is on the lower end of the spectrum but isnt as drastically low as seasons past.

Coaches seats have been scorching hot in the NHL for some time now, and there could be a few contributing factors.

Coaching salaries have trended up since 2015, when Mike Babcock signed an eight-year, $50 million contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs , and maybe thats led to some impatience from general managers.

Plus, theres the fact that there isnt nearly as much front-office turnover in the NHL.

Sometimes, general managers change head coaches to make up for their flawed rosters (that was partially the case in Detroit and Boston this season).

It could also be that a coaching change is easier to navigate than dramatic roster reconstruction in a cap-strapped league with no-movement clauses.

Advertisement The NHL wont mirror MLB anytime soon, where 11 coaches boast a tenure of at least five years not when the leagues fifth-longest tenured coach, Andre Tourigny, is only sitting at 3.45 years.

Instead, the position will stay volatile as seats continue to heat up and get interchanged rapidly.

The Rangers shooting woes The New York Rangers downward spiral has mainly focused on their disastrous defense, which is hard to ignore considering how awful it has been.

But its not the only thing holding them back.

The Rangers dont have the offensive oomph to outscore their problems, a major reason the situation has gotten this dire.

Heading into their Monday night matchup in Florida, the teams expected goal generation at five-on-five was average in December, b ut they scored at a league-low rate of 1.57 goals per 60.

Shooting just 5.65 percent likely has something to do with it that ranked 31st on Monday, ahead of only the Florida Panthers .

New York doesnt have the support of a once-dominant power play.

The Rangers have been powerless on the advantage with 2.86 goals per 60, which lands them 31st ahead of only the Islanders.

And in their final game of 2024, the team has finally made an adjustment to try and change that by swapping Mika Zibanejad off the top unit for Alexis Lafreniere .

Just take their Saturday matchup against the Lightning.

The Rangers had their chances, with their shot quality adding up to 5.23 expected goals, their best since October.

Failing to convert on those chances sunk them further with their 18th loss of the season.

The Avalanche are betting on Mackenzie Blackwood The Avalanche have had a busy start to the season, with two goalie trades to overhaul their crease from opening night.

First was a trade of backups, with Colorado sending Justus Annunen to Nashville for Scott Wedgewood .

Nine days later, management made their next move, trading Alexandar Georgiev to San Jose for Mackenzie Blackwood.

That trade solidified Colorados crease by subtracting Georgievs erratic play and bringing in a legitimate upgrade in Blackwood.

Advertisement It didnt take long for management to commit to Blackwood long-term, signing him to a five-year extension.

And thats pretty out of character for an organization that hasnt signed goalies to big deals.

Georgiev was only signed to a three-year deal in 2022; Philipp Grubauer signed for the same term in 2018.

Darcy Kuemper , the teams 2021-22 starter, was acquired via trade in the second season of a two-year contract.

Theres already a lot to like about Blackwood he has saved 4.6 goals above expected in five games with his new team and helped stabilize the Avalanches crease.

But this contract is bigger than a few starts in Colorado.

He revitalized his value in San Jose behind a disastrous defense and refined the skill that once made him a touted pick in New Jersey.

The goalie market recalibrated with the Jeremy Swayman signing earlier this season.

It set a new standard for a starting goalie who doesnt necessarily have a long track record of success behind him.

That not only raised the bar for elite starters like Igor Shesterkin but also for 1As like Joey Daccord , who signed a five-year deal with Seattle earlier this season.

That context helps make more sense of Blackwoods deal carrying a $5.25 million cap hit.

Its rich because he doesnt have a long history of playing at this level.

But if the last two years are an indication of his caliber moving forward, that risk pays off with the reward of a very cost-effective starting goalie contract.

The Devils shutdown defense The New Jersey Devils have developed an identity as a high-flying offensive team over the last couple of seasons thanks to their rush-based attack.

Jack Hughes , Nico Hischier , Jesper Bratt , Timo Meier and Luke Hughes all fuel that identity and have helped power the Devils to the top of the league.

But its not all that makes this team so dangerous this season.

Advertisement The Devils shutdown game has taken strides this season thanks to some offseason additions and Sheldon Keefes coaching.

Hischier, unsurprisingly, is leading the way up front with elite two-way play.

But even Jack Hughes has seen his two-way game take strides under Keefe.

Luke Hughes has bounced back since returning from injury on a strong third pair with Brett Pesce .

But the true shutdown stars on the back end are a surprising second pair of Jonas Siegenthaler and Johnathan Kovacevic , who are excelling despite shouldering some of the toughest minutes against top offensive competition.

As a team, the Devils have only given up 2.23 expected goals against per 60, fourth-best in the league.

The penalty kill is super stingy as well.

And that shined through most of December.

Before their most recent home-and-home against the Carolina Hurricanes , the Devils went on one of their best defensive stretches of the season, limiting their opponents to 20 or fewer shots on goal in eight of nine games.

The Devils defensive growth solidifies them as a real contender, and their goaltending finally matches that energy.

Jacob Markstrom saved 12.5 goals above expected in nine starts in December, which ranked third in the league.

Anze Kopitars on pace for a career year Not every player follows a typical aging curve.

Anze Kopitar sure hasnt.

At 37, he is having one of the best seasons of his career.

With 39 points in 36 games, he is on pace for an 89-point season, which would be his second-best behind a 92-point 2017-18 campaign.

When accounting for minutes played, Kopitar is scoring at a career-high rate of 3.36 points per 60.

The Kings havent exactly alleviated Kopitar of shutdown minutes duty, making this offensive explosion all the more impressive.

Having Phillip Danault in Los Angeles may have helped preserve Kopitars two-way game over the years since hes had someone to share shutdown minutes with at times.

But Kopitar is still shouldering the bulk of that burden.

Advertisement That was the case on Saturday when Kopitar was once again tasked with going head-to-head with Connor McDavid .

In 11:16 of their matchup minutes at five-on-five, the Kings had the edge with 58 percent of the expected goal share.

And Kopitars line helped keep McDavid off the board in that time.

The results are outpacing the process overall this season at five-on-five, thanks to an on-ice shooting percentage of 13.7 and a 0.941 save percentage in Kopitars minutes.

But the team still drives play in his minutes with a 53.5 percent expected goal rate.

Despite that workload, Kopitar has maintained his discipline with zero penalty minutes so far this season.

Kopitars consistency has been pivotal in Los Angeles.

His ability to absorb tough minutes at this point in his career has been especially important because it has allowed the Kings to shelter Quinton Byfield , who shifted back to center this season.

The Stars miss Tyler Seguin The Stars second line was thriving to open the season.

Mason Marchment , Tyler Seguin and Matt Duchene combined for about 60 percent of expected goal share and outscored opponents 14-6 at five-on-five.

That production helped make up for a top line that has underwhelmed to open the season.

That made Seguins hip injury all the more crushing when it was announced earlier this month that he would be sidelined for the next four to six months.

Marchment and Duchene havent been nearly as productive in their minutes without Seguin.

Theyre still earning a 60 percent expected goal rate but lack the results to back that up.

Dallas has been outscored 8-5 in 173 minutes without Seguin this season.

And now, with Marchment out week to week, the top six is even more strained.

That puts more emphasis on the top line.

The Stars need Jason Robertson and Roope Hintz to start dominating, both at even strength and on the power play.

The duo was fine with Wyatt Johnston and Logan Stankoven completing their line, but neither combination has taken over games.

That could get even more exposed with a shorthanded second line if something doesnt change soon in Dallas.

Advertisement December Stars Leon Draisaitl had nine goals and 23 points in December.

He has one of the best impacts on the Oilers five-on-five actual and expected goal generation this year.

In December specifically, the team has controlled play with a 60 percent expected goal rate and a plus-13 goal differential in his minutes.

While the Oilers have loaded up their top line with Draisaitl and McDavid at times to get a spark, he is primarily driving their second line to give Edmonton one of the strongest one-two punches in the league.

The second star could go to any of the Lightnings elite core.

Jake Guentzel and Brayden Point are hot.

Anthony Cirelli and Brandon Hagel are disrupting opponents in tough minutes.

Victor Hedman is back and Ryan McDonagh is a shutdown force.

But Nikita Kucherov essentially quarterbacks the Lightnings high-octane offense with his play.

He is right in the thick of the scoring race and could find himself back in the MVP conversation.

With 13.4 goals saved above expected and a sparkling 0.956 save percentage, Linus Ullmark led the league in December.

Giving an injured player a star may be a little unconventional, but he was that excellent for the Senators .

He gave his team a chance to win in all eight games he played before being injured.

That is the difference-making play the Senators have been craving in net, and its helped push them into the playoff race.

Data collected before Mondays matchups, 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 Derek Lalonde: Duane Burleson / The Associated Press).

This article has been shared from the original article on theathleticuk, here is the link to the original article.