NHL Next Coach Fired Odds: Who Will Be Next?

By Jim Tomlin

Mar 2nd, 2026 4:16 PM EDT

Only six NHL coaches have been in their current jobs for at least four seasons. (Jerome Miron-Imagn Images)

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The Olympic break is over and players have returned to the NHL ice, so it’s a good time to assess where we are for NHL betting in the 2025-26 season. The trade deadline is also this Friday, as teams assess whether they need to make any changes, including at the coaching position.

The Kings have gotten a jump on their future, parting ways with Jim Hiller on March 1, and elevating D.J. Smith to interim head coach for the remainder of the season. (Check out our LA Kings Next Coach Odds when you can).

In wake of the Kings' move, preprod.bookies.com has updated our list of candidates to be the next coach fired:

NHL Next Coach Fired Odds

These odds are exclusive to preprod.bookies.com and are not available at legal, regulated sports betting apps.

NHL Next Coach Fired Top Candidates

Predators' Brunette New Favorite

Andrew Brunette (+250) is the betting favorite because his tenure in Nashville has been defined by a significant disconnect between payroll and performance.

Despite General Manager Barry Trotz’s massive investments in veterans like Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault, the Predators have struggled with three consecutive sluggish starts and currently sit near the bottom of the Central Division.

Analysts point to a fundamental "architectural flaw," where Brunette’s high-speed, creative system hasn't meshed with a roster that is increasingly aging and built for a heavier style of play. With the team hovering outside the playoff picture as of March 2026 and fans growing restless in "Smashville," many believe a coaching change is the only lever left for management to pull to spark the underachieving veteran core.

Arniel Still In Trouble

Next up is Scott Arniel of the Jets, who has +350 odds (a 22.2% implied probability) on our board to be the next NHL coach fired.

Arniel is a perfect example of how quickly things can change because Winnipeg won the President’s Trophy last season as the team with the best regular-season record. The Jets lost to the Dallas Stars 4-2 in the second round of the playoffs, but the future looked bright. Connor Hellebuyck not only won his third Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s best goaltender, he also was named Most Valuable Player, the first goalie to win the Hart Trophy in 10 years.

This season, Hellebuyck missed four weeks after having arthroscopic knee surgery and the Jets went 3-8-1 without him. But even when healthy, the 32-year-old goalie has not been at his best; Even with him, Winnipeg lost 11 in a row from Dec. 15 to Jan. 8 (three in overtime) to fall near the bottom of the West, and they’re still 9 points out of the conference’s last wild-card spot as of March 2.

Customers using the DraftKings Sportsbook promo code can get +1000 odds on the Jets to make the playoffs, or -1800 odds that Winnipeg misses out one year after being the league’s best regular-season team.

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Historic Trends For NHL Coaching Changes

It’s unusual for the first coaching change to happen this deep into a season.

In 2024-25, the Boston Bruins fired Jim Montgomery on Nov. 19, just 20 games into the season. But he waited just five days for his next assignment because the St. Louis Blues jettisoned Drew Bannister on Nov. 24 and hired Montgomery. In the 2018-19 season, four coaches were fired in November. In 2015-16, the Blue Jackets dismissed Todd Richards after an 0-7 start.

There was one outlier. In 2017-18, no coaches were fired during the season. That was the first firing-free full season in the NHL since 1966-67.

We won’t see a repeat of that in 2025-26 after both Columbus and L.A. made their move. In any case, stick with preprod.bookies.com for the best sports betting promos around.

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