Editor's Note: This story last updated Feb. 4, 2025.
We’re coming up on the next break in the NHL schedule. That recess is for the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off – for which Ontario betting sites won’t be taking time off – and that’s when we have the next likely period to see an NHL team fire its coach.
Four coaches have been relieved of their duties this season, the most recent being Derek Lalonde in Detroit on Dec. 26, just as the league’s holiday break was ending.
With that said, OntarioBets has updated its next coach fired odds board, and once again, we have a new favorite. A reminder, these odds are for infotainment purposes only. You will not find them at any authorized Ontario sports betting operator in the province, such as Pinnacle Ontario Sportsbook or 888sport.
Team | Coach | Odds | Percent Chance |
Philadelphia Flyers | John Tortorella | 20.0% | +400 |
Pittsburgh Penguins | Mike Sullivan | 17.4% | +475 |
Nashville Predators | Andrew Brunette | 17.4% | +475 |
Montreal Canadiens | Martin St. Louis | 15.4% | +550 |
New York Rangers | Peter Laviolette | 10.0% | +900 |
Anaheim Ducks | Greg Cronin | 10.0% | +900 |
Other |
| 9.1% | +1000 |
The next team to make a move will hope that it succeeds as well as Detroit has after changing coaches.
All Todd McLellan has done since taking over is guide the Red Wings to a 14-4-1 mark and move the Original Six franchise from 15th (out of 16 teams) in the Eastern Conference to a wild card spot. And at 27-21-5 (59 points), the Red Wings are only three points behind the Ottawa Senators for third in the Atlantic Division.
For teams considering firing their coach now – and there are likely a few near the bottom of the standings – it might be too late to get a drastic turnaround and make a playoff push to improve their Stanley Cup odds. That said, with the trade deadline nearly a month away, a coaching change now could help teams decide what to do or whom to move by March 7.
John Tortorella is a good coach whose antics sometimes overshadow what he’s done behind the bench, but the 66-year-old Stanley Cup winner’s time might be up in Philadelphia.
Entering Tuesday, the Flyers (23-25-6) are tied for 14th with the Pittsburgh Penguins in the East. The Flyers have lost three straight, all by shutout. The team has only had one such dry streak in its history, and that happened in the 2002 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
For most of last season, Philadelphia overachieved. Torts’ team of younger players entered the season with odds of +15000 at BetMGM Ontario Sportsbook to win the Stanley Cup and odds of +600 to just make the playoffs. Yet through March 23, Philly was in third place in the Metropolitan Division with 81 points (36-26-9) with 11 games left in the season.
That’s when the tide changed. The Flyers went 0-6-2 over their next eight games and their season ended with a loss to the Washington Capitals, eliminating Philly from playoff contention.
Philadelphia has already started to make trades, moving Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee to Calgary last week for Andrei Kuzmenko and Jakob Pelletier. That move should give the Flyers even more salary cap space to retool the team for next season and beyond.
Tortorella’s contract runs through the end of next season, so if the Flyers want to make a change behind the bench, now could be an opportune time.
We’ve lengthened the odds for Peter Laviolette, our favorite when we updated these odds on Dec. 27. He remains on the hot seat, but the New York Rangers front office has done a lot of wheeling and dealing over the past two months. That included a blockbuster deal to get Vancouver center J.T Miller, a former Ranger who scored 319 points in 282 games for the Canucks dating back to the start of the 2021-22 season.
The decision on Laviolette’s job might not come until the season ends, as the Rangers are just five points out from a wild-card spot in a jam-packed East race.
Mike Sullivan, another one-time favorite, jumps back up as the Pittsburgh Penguins languish. He has the same odds as Nashville’s Andrew Brunette, whose Predators have lost five straight and seem to be out of playoff contention despite making several big moves in the offseason.
Nashville had odds of +1800 at DraftKings Ontario Sportsbook to win the Stanley Cup at the beginning of the season, making them one of the top 12 favorites back in October.
One name that’s not on the list but worth watching is Utah coach Andre Tourigny. The as-yet-to-be-named franchise has lost five straight, going 0-3-2 in that span. In all those losses, the opponents have scored either the winning or tying goal in the third period.
Utah hosts Philadelphia on Tuesday night. Could the losing coach from that game not be around when play resumes?
The Flyers return home to face the East-leading Washington Capitals and the Penguins before the two-week break begins. Utah, eight points out of a wild-card spot in the Western Conference, has road games at Columbus, Carolina and Washington before the break, and all of those teams are currently in playoff positions.
Stick with OntarioBets.com for more hockey updates plus Ontario sports betting apps operator reviews.
USA Today photo by Aaron Doster
Author
Steve is an accomplished, award-winning reporter with more than 20 years of experience covering gaming, sports, politics and business. He has written for the Associated Press, Reuters, The Louisville Courier Journal, The Center Square and numerous other publications. Based in Louisville, Ky., Steve has covered the expansion of sports betting in the U.S. and other gaming matters. He shares his expertise on OntarioBets, among other sites.
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