The NHL's coaching carousel is spinning faster than ever, with many teams changing coaches this summer. But how do the league's 32 coaches measure up to one another? That's the focus of this series, ranking the 32 coaches. We're starting off ranking NHL coaches No. 32-through-27.
The NHL’s off-season continues to unfold, but it’s always a fun time to take a stab at some rankings of note. In this short series of articles on TheHockeyNews.com, we’re going to rank the NHL’s coaches, from No. 32 through No. 1.
The criteria for this ranking of coaches is centered around each coach’s accomplishments – recent history, past/total history, expectations and general reputation — and that makes this list ultimately subjective. Thus, for these rankings, there's plenty of room for friendly disagreement.
With that said, here are the first six coaches at the bottom of the list, from No. 32 through No. 27:
32. Jeff Blashill, Chicago Blackhawks
Blashill has coached at the NHL level for eight seasons – seven of which came with the Detroit Red Wings – but he’s made the Stanley Cup playoffs only once, and that came in his first year with the Wings in 2015-16.
In his first year running the Blackhawks this past season, Blashill led the Hawks to the NHL’s second-worst record.
Thus, the results just aren’t there for Blashill to rank any higher in this list. The Blackhawks are a team trying to transition into a legitimate playoff team in the highly competitive Central Division. The Hawks are giving him the reins again to start 2026-27, so Blashill will have an opportunity to show he’s better than 32nd-overall.
31. Lane Lambert, Seattle Kraken
The Kraken hired Lambert in 2025, but he couldn’t push Seattle into the playoffs last season, as the Kraken finished in sixth place in the weak Pacific Division.
This follows one-and-a-half seasons in which Lambert coached the New York Islanders, and Lambert didn’t produce much success on Long Island. He’s had short-burst successes, but he hasn’t developed Seattle youngster Shane Wright, and his inability to turn the Kraken into a playoff team is a major failure for Lambert.
Because Kraken GM Jason Botterill installed Lambert as Seattle’s coach, Lambert currently has a decent amount of job security. But there’s significant pressure on Lambert to develop talent in 2026-27, steer the Kraken into the post-season, or both. If he can’t do that, Lambert will be fired sooner rather than later.
30. Ryan Craig, Vegas Golden Knights
Craig is an unknown quantity at the NHL level, though he had success as an assistant coach with the Golden Knights when Vegas won a Cup in 2022-23. Craig went on to serve as coach of the AHL's Silver Knights from 2023-24 through this past season. Thus, he’s got a good deal of minor-league experience.
Craig’s longevity with the Golden Knights is a rarity for that franchise, which infamously dumped coach Bruce Cassidy late last season, replacing him with journeyman coach John Tortorella.
Vegas is in win-now mode, so Craig must hit the ground running and ensure the Golden Knights go on a long post-season run next year. That’s the only way he’s going to earn credibility and rise higher in a list like this one.
29. Andrew Brunette, Nashville Predators
Brunette has been coaching the Predators since May of 2023, and he’s only guided them to the playoffs once – and that was in 2023-24.
Although the Predators won eight more games in 2025-26 than they won in 2024-25, the cold reality is they’re a ‘Mushy Middle’ team, and Brunette could be one of the first coaches fired next season if Nashville wobbles out of the gate.
The Predators have a new GM and president of hockey operations in former Colorado Avalanche GM Chris MacFarland, so Brunette is facing serious pressure to produce positive results right away next year. MacFarland has made extensive roster renovations, so Brunette has to either get this Preds team into the playoffs or develop Nashville’s young players to be meaningful NHL contributors.
28. Mike Babcock, Edmonton Oilers
Easily the most controversial coach on this list, Babcock inherits an Edmonton team that is in Cup-or-bust mode. The Oilers may have wanted former Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy as the replacement for Kris Knoblauch, but when Vegas vetoed that move, Babcock was their choice to try and get Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl back to the Cup final.
Babcock’s notorious errors in judgment mean his every move in Edmonton will face intense scrutiny.
Babcock is a Cup winner, but he hasn’t won a playoff round since 2013. Can Babcock adapt to a new era for coaches, or is Oilers GM Stan Bowman making a massive mistake by hiring Babcock? We’ll find out in short order.
27. Ryan Huska, Calgary Flames
The Flames have been in full-rebuild mode for a long time now, and Huska has been Calgary’s coach since June of 2023.
But the Flames took a step back this past season, winning seven fewer games and falling from fourth in the Pacific to seventh. While Calgary has slowly pieced everything together over the years, Huska’s key role is to develop youngsters into solid NHLers.
The Flames aren’t expected to make the playoffs in 2026-27, but make no mistake – Huska is still on the hot seat in Calgary. He doesn’t have the winning experience at the NHL level, but as long as Huska is grooming players for NHL jobs, he’s likely to stay employed by the Flames.
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