We are well into the NHL’s 2025-26 season, but there are already several NHL front office and coaching staff members who are on THN.com’s Hot Seat Radar. The place you are when you’re feeling intense pressure to either produce as expected or move on from your current team. 

In this Hot Seat Radar edition, we’re focusing on coaches and GMs who are feeling the heat. In alphabetical order:

Kevyn Adams, GM, and Lindy Ruff, Coach, Buffalo Sabres

We’re kicking off this Hot Seat Radar file with two people linked together, whose future with the Sabres could come to an end if Buffalo can’t get into a playoff position. The Sabres own a .500 points percentage with a 5-5-4 record, but that has them in a four-way tie for last place in the Eastern Conference. That’s not going to save Adams and Ruff from the firing line.

Few teams are facing more pressure, night in and night out, than Buffalo. No coach/GM tandem is on the Hot Seat the way Adams and Ruff are. It may take one prolonged losing skid to spell the end of the road for the coach and GM. But nothing short of a playoff berth will ultimately save their jobs.

Andrew Brunette, Coach, Nashville Predators

Last season, the Predators were an unpleasant surprise, posting the NHL’s third-worst record at 30-44-8. You might give a mulligan to coach Brunette if you’re a glass-half-full person. But this season, the Preds are unsurprisingly one of the league’s worst teams. In fact, they currently have the league’s fifth-worst record at 5-7-4, and their points percentage of .438 is fourth-worst in the NHL. Not a pretty picture in Music City. 

Sooner or later, Brunette has to be accountable for this group. Granted, the Predators are a dog’s breakfast of borderline talent, veteran savvy and prospects trying to establish themselves as above-average NHL talent.

But Nashville GM Barry Trotz can’t let his team meander in the standings for much longer. If the Preds continue to struggle, it likely won’t be players who are moved on from. It will be easier to send Brunette to the unemployment line if Trotz opts for it. And a new coach will be assigned to try to make lemonade out of a lemon-laden Nashville lineup.

Ryan Huska, Coach, Calgary Flames

The Flames were an inspirational story of sorts last year, flirting with a playoff berth before missing out on one by the thinnest of margins. First-year coach Huska got as much out of his roster as they could have hoped for, so he had the reins of the team for another kick at the can this season. Unfortunately, Calgary’s start couldn’t have gone worse, as their 4-10-2 record is the worst in the league.

Flames GM Craig Conroy isn’t on this list because he’s told team owner Murray Edwards that his group is a work-in-progress that still needs a lot of progress, and a whole lot of work. But Huska isn’t nearly so safe. He’s got to work with a roster that is likely to change significantly, and somehow get them to look respectable every night. That’s a tall order indeed for Huska, and if Calgary doesn’t start posting more ‘W’s soon, a coaching change could be in order in Alberta.

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