NHL coaching carousel takes Berube to Toronto, Keefe to New Jersey and Ruff back to Buffalo

So many changes have happened behind the bench around the NHL in recent years that only four of the league's 32 teams have the same coach they did coming out of the pandemic.

“I don’t know what the average lifespan of a coach in a specific organization is, but I know it’s got to be short,” New York Rangers center Vincent Trocheck said. “You have GMs that are in a tough spot, and they have to make moves if things aren’t going well and it’s hard.”

Hard even for coaches who acknowledge the short lifespan and that they are routinely hired to be fired. A quarter of the league turned over jobs this past offseason with eight teams going in with a new coach.

The spinning carousel sent Stanley Cup champion Craig Berube to Toronto with the mission of ending the longest championship drought in the sport. It took Sheldon Keefe to the challenge of getting New Jersey back in the playoffs and brought Lindy Ruff back to Buffalo. Younger teams with varying levels of aspirations from Columbus and Ottawa to Seattle and San Jose went with different levels of experience in their hires.

The most consequential coaching change came with the Maple Leafs turning to Berube after five consecutive early playoff exits under Keefe.

At his introductory news conference, Berube called it a "great opportunity to build a team that can move forward and become something — not better — but get over the hump a little bit here.”

Berube, who played in more than 1,110 games in the league from 1986-2000, has gotten a team over the hump. He coached the St. Louis Blues to the first title in franchise history in 2019 and has a history of getting the most out of his players.

“He’s going to bring a different aspect — a different game style, maybe — to how we want to play here,” veteran defenseman Chris Tanev said. “He’s a Stanley Cup winner. He has high expectations on his players. I think he wants to bring a philosophy and approach to the game that’s suited to win hockey games.”

The Leafs have not advanced past the second round since before the salary cap era began in 2005. They have not won the Cup since 1967.

The Devils hired Keefe less than two weeks after he was fired by Toronto. He became their third coach since March after Ruff was fired and replaced on an interim basis by Travis Green, who was not retained.

General manager Tom Fitzgerald called the late-season move “a must” after the Devils couldn't seem to keep the puck out of their net. He thought Keefe was the right fit as New Jersey attempts to get back into the playoffs.

“Having talent is great, but they want to be coached,” Fitzgerald said. “He got thrown into a situation that he took full advantage of in Toronto. But it’s Toronto, too, and they’re hard on everything. And their loss is our gain.”

Perhaps, like Berube, Keefe will take a leap from his first NHL job to his second. Captain Nico Hischier called it the start of a new era with Keefe in charge.

“What he’s done with the Toronto organization, it’s still pretty impressive,” Hischier said. “He knows how to win games, how to get into playoffs consistently, and I think that’s somewhere we got to aim right now. He can bring that experience to our group.”

The Sabres have not made the playoffs since Ruff's first stint as their coach, their last trip coming in 2011. The 13 years without a postseason appearance is the most in the league.

Ruff, 64, remains one of the oldest to do the job, but that is not necessarily a bad thing for a team as young as Buffalo.

“As younger players, you can always learn the most from guys who are super experienced and they can usually teach you those little things that will help so much in the games,” 22-year-old forward JJ Peterka said. “I think for us it’s just getting us all in the same direction, getting us playing all together as a unit.”

No one has a more difficult off-ice coaching job than Dean Evason, leading the Blue Jackets back into games after the deaths of star forward Johnny Gaudreau and brother Matthew this summer.

On the ice, new GM Don Waddell fired Pascal Vincent and hired Evason to give his team a voice with some more authority. Evason spent parts of five seasons coaching Minnesota, after a stint in the American Hockey League, time as an assistant in Washington and a lengthy playing career.

“I think that’s a very wise decision to bring someone like Dean in because he owns the room when he walks in,” said Trent Vogelhuber, who coaches the Blue Jackets' AHL affiliate in Cleveland. “I think that’s just what we as an organization need: somebody with that personality that’s confident and knows what they want and has had success at that level before.”

The Sharks are even further behind the Sabres and Blue Jackets in rebuilding, so GM Mike Grier went in a very different direction firing David Quinn and hiring first-time NHL coach Ryan Warsofsky, who was a Sharks assistant the past two seasons.

Warsofsky at 36 is the youngest coach in the league, something players hope will be a benefit with rookies Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith coming in, among others.

“He can speak with us individually (and) the guys want to listen to him, too,” winger Fabian Zetterlund said. “On the ice, I think he has some great things in his mind. He’s been a head coach before, and I think he’s the right guy for us.”

The Kraken, after firing Dave Hakstol for missing the playoffs, are giving Dan Bylsma another chance in the NHL, 15 years after he won the Stanley Cup with Pittsburgh and seven since an unsuccessful stint with Buffalo.

“He’s worked hard to get back to this level and earn this opportunity,” GM Ron Francis said.

Bylsma helped Seattle's AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds, make deep playoff runs each of the past two seasons before losing to the Hershey Bears in the Calder Cup Finals.

Scott Arniel, on staff the past two years as an assistant, takes over after Rick Bowness retired. Jets winger Nino Niederreiter thinks getting promoted is an interesting position for Arniel to be in and expects some changes, but familiarity is an advantage, too.

“He’s very close with the guys,” Niederreiter said. “He gives you feedback. He wants to give you some updates where you stand and what you’ve got to do to be the best version of yourself. I think it’s going to be a good challenge for him, and it’s going to be a good challenge for the team.”

Much like Berube, Keefe and Ruff, Travis Green did not need to wait long to get a gig. The Senators are in a similar boat to the Sabres, trying to get back to the playoffs, and Green, who coached Vancouver for four-plus seasons before going to New Jersey, is being counted on for notable improvement.

“Developing a winning culture is paramount to our aspiration of achieving sustained success,” GM Steve Staios said. "Travis has a burning desire to win, is passionate about teaching and holds his players to a very high standard.”

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AP Hockey Writer John Wawrow in Buffalo and AP Sports Writer Tim Booth in Seattle contributed to this report.

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