Editor's Note: This story last updated Dec. 27, 2024.
The NHL returned from its three-day holiday break on Friday. But when the Detroit Red Wings return to the ice, they’ll do so without Derek Lalonde, who the Original Six franchise fired as its coach on Thursday.
Now as Lalonde leaves the Detroit bench, OntarioBets.com has updated our Next NHL Head Coach Fired odds board. As we get set to ring in 2025, we do so with a new favorite on the list.
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 | Pct. Chance | Odds |
New York Rangers | Peter Laviolette | 25% | +300 |
Nashville Predators | Andrew Brunette | 20% | +400 |
Montreal Canadiens | Martin St. Louis | 16.7% | +500 |
Colorado Avalanche | Jared Bednar | 12.5% | +700 |
Philadelphia Flyers | John Tortorella | 10% | +900 |
Pittsburgh Penguins | Mike Sullivan | 7.7% | +1200 |
Other |
| 8% | +1150 |
Detroit, a powerhouse franchise during the 1990s and early 2000s, is back at a level that fans haven’t seen in the Motor City since the early 1980s. The Red Wings have missed the playoffs in each of the past eight seasons. They were eliminated on the final day of the 2023-24 campaign, when they posted their first above-.500 record since 2015-16.
Entering this season, hopes were high for Wings fans and anyone backing the team at Ontario sportsbook apps that this Detroit team would break the drought. Instead, as we near the midway point of the season, Detroit sits in seventh place in the Atlantic Division and has just three wins in its past 12 games (3-7-2).
How bad are things? With 30 points, the Red Wings are just two points better than the Buffalo Sabres, who are last in the division. And that’s with the Sabres finally breaking a 13-game losing streak (0-10-3) on Monday.
New York Rangers coach Peter Laviolette has shot up to the top of our odds board, almost as quickly as the Blueshirts have plummeted in the Metropolitan Division. With 33 points, they’re tied with the New York Islanders, their archrivals, for last place in the Metropolitan Division.
That’s not where fans nor oddsmakers viewed where the Rangers would be in the standings. Heading into Opening Night, oddsmakers at BetMGM Ontario Sportsbook had New York at +1100 to win the Stanley Cup, making the Rangers one of the top six teams on the futures board.
However, a long December has likely ended such thoughts for this season. In 11 games this month, the Rangers are 3-8. They’ve lost five of their past six, and only superstar goalie Igor Shesterkin’s magnificent game against the Dallas Stars on Dec. 20 kept it from being a six-game losing streak.
New York has also been outscored 37-21 this month, and nine of those goals came in back-to-back games against the Pittsburgh Penguins and Seattle Kraken on Dec. 6-8.
It’s not just on the ice where issues are affecting the Rangers. During this skid, the team traded defenseman Jacob Trouba, the team captain, and winger Kaapo Kakko, the second overall pick from the 2019 NHL Draft who never played up to NHL betting expectations in his five-plus years in Manhattan.
There have been indications more moves may be made in New York, and unless something changes soon, one of those transactions may very well be the firing of the veteran Stanley Cup-winning coach.
Even with a December not to remember, the odds on the Rangers aren’t as long as you would expect. Oddsmakers give the Rangers odds of +4000 to win the Cup this season with DraftKings Ontario Sportsbook. The Islanders’ odds are +8000 and the Red Wings are available at +15000.
As Laviolette has taken over the hottest seat, the heat has been turned down on Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan, who has seen his team recover from a 7-12-4 start. Pittsburgh sits at 16-15-5 as of Dec. 27. With 37 points, the Penguins are fourth place in the Metropolitan Division, and they’re only a point behind the Ottawa Senators for the second Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.
Having seen his team win four of the last six, we’ve dropped the longtime Pens coach to the bottom for now. If this improvement continues, he may drop off it completely and do so in a way unlike Lalonde.
The recent run has not adjusted Pittsburgh’s odds for the Stanley Cup, though. BetRivers Ontario Sportsbook gives the Penguins odds of +8000 to win the Stanley Cup. By comparison, the Rangers are still at +2300, and those odds are even lower than the Washington Capitals. A surprise team competing for the Metropolitan Division title, the Caps’ odds to win the Cup are +2500.
Stay with OntarioBets.com for Ontario sportsbook apps reviews and more hockey coverage.
USA Today photo by James Guillory
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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