The NHL’s 2026 off-season is well underway, but here on TheHockeyNews.com, we’re ranking the NHL’s 32 coaches. In this series, we’re ranking coaches in reverse order, from No. 32 through No. 1.

Our criteria for our coach rankings center on each coach’s accomplishments, recent and overall history, expectations, and general reputation. But there’s no denying it – this ranking is subjective. 

We began the rankings Sunday by examining coaches No. 32 through No. 27, and Monday, we focused on coaches 26-through-21.

These are our picks for coaches 20-through-16:

Arniel hasn’t had much playoff success in his two years coaching the Jets, and that’s why he’s not ranked higher on this list. He steered them to the second round of the 2025 playoffs, and he led them to the Presidents’ Trophy as the NHL’s top team in that 2024-25 regular season.

So while Arniel deserves criticism for Winnipeg’s subpar season this past year, he also has the respect of Jets players as they battle for a bounce-back season.

Arniel was runner-up for the 2024-25 Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s top coach, and he’ll be higher on this list this time next year if he gets Winnipeg back into the playoffs and past the first few rounds. But if that success isn’t there next season, Arniel could sink lower on the next coaches’ ranking. 

Keefe has coached the Devils since 2024, and his records in the two seasons are nearly identical, as he had just four fewer overtime and/or shootout losses in 2025-26 than he did in 2024-25. But after they finished third in the Metropolitan Division in '24-25, New Jersey finished in seventh place in the Metro last season.

So while Keefe has risen to the mid-tier of coaches on this list in part because he led the Toronto Maple Leafs to a first-place finish in 2020-21, he doesn’t rank higher because positive playoff results haven’t been there for him. 

With new Devils GM Sunny Mehta on the job, Keefe is squarely on the hot seat. Keefe has to lean on a New Jersey core that really hasn’t accomplished much, but in a relatively weak Metro Division, Keefe has an opportunity to deliver the Devils into the playoffs. If he can do that, Keefe will have job security in New Jersey.

Sturm is a relative newcomer to NHL coaching, as this past season was his first running an NHL team, and he led the Bruins to a 45-27-10 record and a playoff appearance against the Buffalo Sabres.

The Sabres beat the Bruins, but given that Boston is transitioning to a new era, Sturm did the best he could with a roster that’s still a major work-in-progress.

Sturm has 938 games of regular-season experience as an NHL player, and he’s paid his dues as an NHL assistant coach with the Los Angeles Kings and as a head coach at the AHL level. Sturm had a terrific first season as Bruins coach, and he’s trending upward on this list because he’s already had notable positive results.

McLellan has more NHL experience than virtually anyone, and he’s ranked this high in part because he has 1,274 regular-season games of experience under his belt. He’s returned to the Red Wings organization he won a Stanley Cup with as an assistant in 2007-08, and McLellan would be rated higher on this list if it weren’t for Detroit’s struggles since he took over the reins in December of 2024.

The Red Wings finished sixth in the Atlantic Division in both of the past two seasons, but this year’s abysmal late-season collapse really hurts McLellan’s stock on this list. McLellan has coached four different teams – the Wings, Kings, Edmonton Oilers and San Jose Sharks – and he’s under the gun to turn things around in Detroit, especially now that Detroit GM Steve Yzerman has been fired.

McLellan is a name-brand coach, but that won't save him if the Wings don't get into the playoffs next season.

When Montgomery became available to teams in November of 2024, the Blues took exactly five days before they fired Drew Bannister and replaced him with Montgomery. And who could blame them – Montgomery had led the Bruins to a stunning 65-12-5 record in 2022-23 while winning a Jack Adams Award in the process.

Montgomery hasn’t had the success in St. Louis that he had in Boston. But that’s a product of the changing core of the Blues as they transition to a new era under new GM Alex Steen.

That said, there is all kinds of pressure for Montgomery to improve St. Louis’ 2025-26 record of 37-33-12, and Montgomery must be a teacher for the Blues’ youngsters while trying to push the team up the standings of the highly competitive Central Division. With so much at stake, Montgomery is at a point where he could rise steeply or fall steeply in the coach rankings depending on what St. Louis does next season.

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