Pink Slip Index: Who's Going to Pull a Pittsburgh?

In the NHL, coach firings are as common as parking tickets in New York City. Throughout the NHL season I'll be taking a bi-weekly look at five coaches who are the most likely to get fired. Be advised your local coach may be axed at any moment. Consider this fair warning.

Last February, the Pittsburgh Penguins fired coach Michel Therrien with the team mired in the Eastern Conference's 10th spot. Dan Bylsma, who was coaching the team's AHL affiliate, was promoted to head coach of the big club and the rest, as they say, is history. The Penguins went 18-3-4 over their final 25 games, finished fourth in the conference and went on to win the Stanley Cup.

Today, the question I pose to you Dear Reader, is who is going to pull a Pittsburgh this season?

We know someone's going to try it. There's going to be a GM out there that sees his team underperforming, on the cusp of a playoff spot and will hope to shake things up and stir some life in them by changing the coach. I believe that between today and the trade deadline there will be a coach fired whose team is right in the thick of the playoff hunt. Chances are it will happen before the Olympic Break rather than after. Today, I present to you my top candidates for the illustrious title of "This Year's Michel Therrien."

Peter DeBoer, Florida Panthers: The Panthers are currently sitting in a four-way tie for sixth place in a crowded Eastern Conference. It seems like every year is supposed to be their breakout year. Maybe a change in leadership could spark some wins?

Claude Julien, Boston Bruins: Boston is the defending No. 1 seed in the East. They're sitting one point behind the Panthers, stuck in a three-way tie for 10th. If there's a team that needs a spark it's this one. A healthy Marc Savard would probably help too.

John Anderson, Atlanta Thrashers: Here's another team whose year it's always supposed to be. They're tied with the Bruins and only one point out of eighth. If a playoff run is what could keep Ilya Kovalchuk around, is it worth it to axe Anderson?

Ken Hitchcock, Columbus Blue Jackets: This is a team that finished seventh with 92 points last season and was supposed to be looking up. Right now they're on pace for 76 and are 14th in the West, eight out of the final playoff spot. I have to believe they would have made a move after the team went 2-9-5 in December but it's still hard to put a finger on what went so wrong. But there's still some time left.

And there you have it, folks. We'll have to wait and see who the winner(s) will be, as that's in the hands of NHL GMs. Until then, here's your updated Index:

No. 5: Randy Carlyle (ANA) and Todd Richards (MIN); No. 4: Ron Wilson (TOR), Paul Maurice (CAR). I've lumped these four together because, for one reason or another, I'm starting to seriously think that all of these guys will be finishing the season behind their respective benches despite their team's shortcomings. Carlyle has earned enough cred to stay on the rest of the year and Richards, a first year coach, will probably be given a pass. With how badly their teams have performed, Wilson and Maurice should have been fired long ago.

No. 3: Claude Julien, Boston Bruins (Last Rank: --): It's hard to play well when three of your best players (Patrice Bergeron, Milan Lucic and Marc Savard) have missed a ton of time due to injury. It's also hard to overlook that one year ago this was the regular season champion and highest scoring team in the Eastern Conference. Now, they're in 10th and are going to have to fight tooth and nail to make the playoffs. Injuries or not, that's a hard fall for any coach to withstand.

No. 2: Ken Hitchcock, Columbus Blue Jackets (LR: 1): Hitch was No. 1 on our last countdown and I thought for sure that he would be gone by the time I wrote another edition. Well, the Jackets have kept him around after the team won only two games in December. They're 6-7-0 in January, so maybe things are turning around.

No. 1: Pat Quinn, Edmonton Oilers (LR: 3): Quinn is a well-respected coach around the league and is in only his first season behind the bench in Edmonton. The Oilers are also missing stars (Ales Hemsky, Nikolai Khabibulin) because of injury and started the season off hot. Still, they're on one of the worst cold streaks a team could be on. They are two losses away from having a winless January, their last win coming against Toronto on Dec. 30. They're also an abysmal 1-15-2 since Dec. 15. If there's any coach who can survive an awful streak like this, a first-year Pat Quinn may be the guy. But he's also got the immense challenge of getting this team believing in itself again.