Over the last several days we have seen a number of coaches around the National Hockey League get their walking papers after their respective teams failed to make the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs.
At this time of year the question is always who will be the next domino to fall, and although we don’t know the answer to that, it sounds like there are at least 2 coaches who should be feeling pretty safe. On Sunday, former NHL enforcer Matthew Barnaby took to social media and, unprompted, shared his thoughts on the coaching situation currently in Vancouver.
The Canucks of course famously made a mid-season coaching change when they brought in Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet and relieved Bruce Boudreau of his head coaching duties, and Barnaby believes that Tocchet will turn that team around in short order.
“Coaches can make a team or break a team at any level,” said Barnaby on Sunday. “Trust me there are some bad ones. A great one is Rick Tocchet. He is going to change the culture and turn the Canucks into a winner”
Barnaby was asked about a number of other coaches around the league but thus far has only chosen to respond to one of those, a question about DJ Smith’s future in Ottawa. When it comes to Smith, Barnaby wasn’t as confident as he was with Tocchet, but he did suggest that the Sens head coach deserves another season behind the bench.
“I would keep status quo one more year,” admitted Barnaby.
As a former NHL player that played for several teams and under several coaches, and as a former assistant coach in the Ontario Hockey League, Barnaby likely has a pretty good idea of what he is talking about here.