Why do NHL teams keep hiring retread head coaches, and how long will their jobs last?

The NHL coaching industry can be a fickle business.

Few make it to the five-year mark.

Some dont even make it to three.

But when one door closes, another one generally opens because most teams want a bench boss with experience.

The past two seasons have been remarkable in terms of coach turnover even by NHL standards.

Eight coaches were hired last summer, and another five were fired (and hired) in-season.

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Since the regular season ended, another eight positions have become available.

Two of those roles have already been filled by coaches with prior NHL head coaching experience.

Mike Sullivan was scooped up by the Rangers just days after ending a nine-plus-year tenure with the Penguins.

On Thursday, the Anaheim Ducks followed suit, hiring Joel Quenneville valuing his championship pedigree highly enough to face the justifiable questions surrounding the decision.

With two of eight openings technically going to retreads, the coaching carousel is sparking the same questions year after year: Why is the NHL coaching club so exclusive, and how long will any of these hirings even last? Thinking about firings before the hirings are made may seem pessimistic, but the coaching carousel spins that fast in the NHL.

With over 12 years in Tampa Bay, Jon Cooper is the longest-tenured coach in the NHL.

His position with the Lightning is safe despite three consecutive Round 1 exits.

But Cooper is the exception, not the rule.

No other coach has been in their position for 10 years Sullivan was close, at 9.4 years, but departed Pittsburgh before reaching that milestone.

The next closest is Jared Bednar, who has been with the Avalanche for 8.7 years.

Rod BrindAmours seven years as head coach of the Hurricanes round out the top three the only three in their current positions for at least five years.

Expand to the top five, and Andre Tourigny and Martin St.

Louis slot in at 3.8 and 3.3 years.

The other 24 active NHL head coaches have all been in their positions for less than three years.

!function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data["datawrapper-height"][t]+"px";r.style.height=d}}}))}(); Of the 29 active coaches around the league, 13 held an NHL head coaching role in their last position.

With John Tortorella, Rick Tocchet and Jay Woodcroft available, among others, its a safe bet that number will go up as the summer progresses.

Sometimes, right or wrong, general managers prefer someone who knows how to coach at this level after a more inexperienced bench boss struggles.

Advertisement When Hynes struggled in New Jersey directly out of the NCAA, the Devils replaced him with a veteran in Lindy Ruff.

The Sabres did the same after the Don Granato era.

The Rangers opted for Gerard Gallant after the David Quinn experience.

Even the Ducks are going down that path, with Quenneville replacing Greg Cronin.

Sometimes it takes time and seasoning to truly understand how to lead at this level.

Sullivan was a different coach when the Penguins promoted him in 2015 compared to when he was behind the Bruins bench in 2003.

So was Scott Arniel when he was head coach in Columbus, years before getting a second opportunity at the position in Winnipeg.

The gap between jobs doesnt even have to be that dramatic look at Dean Evason with Columbus this year compared to the last few seasons in Minnesota, or John Hynes with the Wild after striking out in New Jersey and Nashville.

!function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data["datawrapper-height"][t]+"px";r.style.height=d}}}))}(); Paul Maurice is the prime example of not all retreads being bad.

He evolved in Florida after a stagnant end in Winnipeg (and having a few months in between jobs may have given him the necessary perspective many coaches dont get).

But not every coach changes between roles.

Some are hired days or weeks after getting fired, so there may not be a lot of motivation to change strategies.

Peter Laviolette fits into that box after similar experiences in Nashville, Washington and New York.

Why adjust when another team hired that coach based on their previous bodies of work elsewhere? Just having that experience can outweigh having results, even if holding multiple head coaching roles represents having multiple failed outcomes.

That is why some general managers are hyped up for welcoming in new voices whether they come from the AHL, like four current head coaches, or associate and assistant roles (another nine), or elsewhere.

Advertisement And the success of those coaches may inspire other hiring patterns.

Edmontons regular season may have been chaotic, but the Oilers have amped it up when it matters most.

Kris Knoblauch, who was head coach of the Hartford Wolf Pack before moving to Edmonton last year, is one of the final eight coaches in the postseason.

Cooper and Bednar are both from the AHL.

Its where Spencer Carbery got a lot of his seasoning before jumping up to the NHL level as an assistant in Toronto.

Ryan Warsofskys AHL experience in Chicago shaped his coaching style, too.

That could work in Todd Nelsons favor, after a successful stint in Hershey.

Carbery and Warsofskys last roles were as NHL assistants.

BrindAmour had that experience before the Hurricanes promoted him.

Arniel was an associate coach in Winnipeg.

That experience could benefit someone like Brad Shaw, who has made a name for himself in that capacity, or Jay Leach.

The risk of taking an NHL job is that there isnt much long-term security in one position.

When the 2024-25 season ended, the average tenure was 2.51 years.

With eight departures, it has sunk to 1.98 across all 32 positions (vacancies are counted because a new coach will eventually be hired and start at zero).

So no matter who gets hired, that number wont improve much by opening night in October.

The average NHL tenure has trended down over the years.

On opening night in 2012-13 the year Cooper was promoted mid-season the league average was 3.25 across 30 teams.

!function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data["datawrapper-height"][t]+"px";r.style.height=d}}}))}(); That is by far the lowest across the four major mens professional leagues.

The NBA recently dipped after Gregg Popovich stepped down as coach of the San Antonio Spurs after 29 seasons, but is still ahead of hockey at 3.03 years.

The NFLs average has dropped by a whole year since Super Bowl LVIII, but still sits at about the four-year threshold with MLB.

!function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data["datawrapper-height"][t]+"px";r.style.height=d}}}))}(); Anyone from the NHL, in any capacity, or the AHL knows this is the harsh reality of coaching at this level.

But it can give someone from the NCAA, where there is more stability, pause.

That may explain why David Carle isnt racing to leave his position at the University of Denver.

The money and prestige may be better in the NHL, but the longevity isnt.

Jumping on the coaching carousel may open up more opportunities in the NHL behind 31 other benches but that still carries an element of volatility.

Advertisement Holding a long-term role in the NHL is a possibility.

Cooper, Bednar and even Sullivan show that its possible.

So jobs in Tampa Bay, Colorado and Pittsburgh could be viewed differently because those general managers dont change coaches every couple of seasons.

Its just not as common as the other major professional leagues.

!function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data["datawrapper-height"][t]+"px";r.style.height=d}}}))}(); There isnt as much turnover higher up in organizations, though.

When the regular season ended, the average tenure of an NHL general manager was 4.79 across all 32 teams.

That has trended down to 4.32 years after the Islanders and Kings parted ways with Lou Lamoriello and Rob Blake.

!function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data["datawrapper-height"][t]+"px";r.style.height=d}}}))}(); Coaches often take the brunt for front-office mistakes and sometimes for goaltenders shortcomings, too.

But there is likely a correlation between the rapid turnover rate in the NHL and the number of recycled coaches.

Contrary to popular belief, there are more than 40 coaches qualified to lead an NHL team.

But the coaching carousel wont slow down if general managers keep repeating the mistakes of others before them by hiring retreads and firing them for the same reasons.

In fashion, youre in one day and out the next.

NHL head coaches, on the other hand, are in one day, out the next, and often right back in a few days later.

(Top photos of Mike Sullivan and Joel Quenneville: Peter Carr / The Journal News / USA Today Network via Imagn Images and Jasen Vinlove / Imagn Images).

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