NHL Rumors: 4 Head Coaches Who Might Be Out Of Work at Season’s End

Edmonton Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch

Things are starting to get a bit clearer about which teams have fallen or will be falling far short of expectations this season, and with that, talk about coaches on the proverbial hot seat starts to heat up. So who is it that's about to get burned?

Insider Frank Seravalli has posited a list of head coaches who are the most likely candidates to find themselves out of a job come the end of their teams' seasons. In some cases, that could be the regular season, but in at least one instance, it could be after a short playoff run.

1. Craig Berube, Toronto Maple Leafs

Seravalli calls this one "abundantly obvious" and points specifically to the recent debacle around the team's players not coming to the defense of their captain, Auston Matthews, after the dirty hit from Radko Gudas ended Matthews' season. "I'm sure he's flipping tables in the locker room after watching his team react that way."

2. Sheldon Keefe, New Jersey Devils

"If there's a regime change up top with GM Tom Fitzgerald," Keefe would be in trouble, says Seravalli. The Devils, fully expecting to a solid playoff challenger this season, find themselves in 7th place in the Metro, and 11 points back of a Wild Card spot.

3. Andre Tourigny, Utah Mammoth

Seravalli admits that we'll be surprised to see this name on this list.

"I think they've really fallen short of expectations," he explained. He adds that most nights, he finds himself saying, "Man, this team looks really lifeless. They look like they don't have any compete or attention to detail in their game, and they have these nights where they just don't show up... I think there's been questionable decision-making, and questionable player-deployment... For the talent that Utah has, I think they should be in a better position than they have been."

The Mammoth are 35-27-6 and find themselves with a decent five-point cushion as the first Wild Card team in the West.

We would suggest that it's highly doubtful that Tourigny would take a fall here unless the team totally collapses down the stretch and misses the playoffs.

4. Kris Knoblauch, Edmonton Oilers

Perhaps there's no head coach who is potentially heading to the postseason who has been, and will continue to be, under more heat than Knoblauch. The Oilers have struggled much of the season, particularly defensively, and if they don't make another run to the Finals—at least—the head coach's days are likely done in Edmonton.

And we just heard today that Knoblauch's job just got that much tougher, with superstar Leon Draisaitl being lost for the rest of the regular season.

Honorable (or dishonorable) mentions from Seravalli go to DJ Smith, the interim head coach with the LA Kings, and Scott Arniel with the Winnipeg Jets.