Will the Buffalo Sabres' new GM keep coach Lindy Ruff as they try to make the playoffs? The bench boss is under pressure to improve, just like Lane Lambert in Seattle.
You don't have to be on a team that's struggling to appear on our NHL Hot Seat Radar.
New Jersey Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald is on this week's list, and the Devils are currently in a Stanley Cup playoff position.
The two coaches – Buffalo Sabres coach Lindy Ruff and Seattle Kraken coach Lane Lambert – are even on opposite ends of a three-game winning and losing streak.
Fitzgerald, Lambert and Ruff are all under great pressure to steer their teams into a playoff position and take a step forward. But while Fitzgerald and Lambert's jobs likely aren't at risk, Ruff is in the traditional hot seat at this point, which means he must step up or step away.
Warming Up: Lindy Ruff, Coach, Buffalo Sabres
The Sabres' firing of GM Kevyn Adams shifts the attention to his replacement, former Columbus Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen, to start making trades to shake up this team that sits last in the East. As such, it won't be long until Kekalainen arrives on our Hot Seat Radar, and he must produce positive results so that he doesn't feel the wrath of irate Sabres fans who are exhausted by all the losing.
Kekalainen's promotion to GM from senior advisor also puts the spotlight on coach Ruff, who hasn't been able to get his team out of its season-long tailspin.
As we all know, a GM likes to have a coach they've hired themselves, and that's not the case with Ruff and Kekalainen.
In his first press conference as Sabres GM, Kekalainen said he's evaluating all aspects of the organization.
"Lindy's resume speaks for itself," he told reporters. "He's been a great coach in the league for a long time. I've really enjoyed my interaction with him day-to-day. He works his tail off every day. He's early. He's watching tape, he's analyzing he's talking to the players. Got a good line of communication with him, and he's looking for ways to get better."
That said, he didn't commit to keeping or firing Ruff, leaving his future in limbo for now.
It's easier to fire Ruff than it is to make wholesale changes to the roster, so Ruff needs to win. The Sabres won three straight entering Thursday's game, but they're still just 5-5-0 in their past 10 games. A .500 points percentage won't get Buffalo into a post-season spot.
Unless Ruff can get his roster to click enough times to climb the standings, it could be curtains for him – and possibly, the end of the line for Ruff as an NHL bench boss.
The Sabres' Next Move Should Be To Fire Lindy Ruff — And Hire Peter DeBoer
Forget making a trade; now that Jarmo Kekalainen has been hired as the Buffalo Sabres GM, his first order of business is to hire a coach who can get the team back in the playoffs.
Cooling Down: Tom Fitzgerald, GM, New Jersey Devils
The Devils losing out on superstar defenseman Quinn Hughes has not put Fitzgerald's job at risk.
In a Sportsnet podcast, Elliotte Friedman said Fitzgerald isn't feeling any more heat because he wasn't able to acquire Hughes, whose brothers Jack Hughes and Luke Hughes are key components of New Jersey's core for the foreseeable future.
"Some people are wondering if Fitzgerald was in trouble – I don’t believe that right now," Friedman said. "If you’re saying that the New Jersey Devils are on the cusp of a GM change, no…I don’t believe he’s in any trouble now. I just, I don’t believe that's the case at all."
The Devils have a 19-14-1 record this season, which has them in the second wild-card spot in the East. They're also just two points out of second place in the Metropolitan Division. Thus, there's no chance Fitzgerald loses his job, especially when he didn't have the assets that would've lured the Vancouver Canucks into trading Quinn Hughes to New Jersey rather than to the Minnesota Wild.
Remember, Fitzgerald still can sign Quinn Hughes when he becomes a UFA after the 2026-27 season. But selling the farm to acquire him right away clearly wasn't the avenue Fitzgerald was willing to travel. And that feels like the appropriate choice, which is why Fitzgerald's job is safe for now.
NHL Rumor Roundup: Devils Shopping Hamilton And Palat? Senators Still Looking For Forward
The New Jersey Devils may have attempted to move Dougie Hamilton and Ondrej Palat in cost-cutting deals in a failed attempt to acquire Quinn Hughes.
Warming Up: Lane Lambert, Coach, Seattle Kraken
The Kraken shocked the hockey world this past summer when they fired coach Dan Bylsma after only one season on the job. So is it really much of a stretch to suggest they can't or won't do the same thing again with Lambert if Seattle once again fails to make the playoffs or make any notable improvement? We don't think so.
With the Kraken currently on a three-game losing skid – and going 1-8-1 in their past 10 games – there's legitimate heat on Lambert. And considering that the Kraken sit tied for 13th in the Western Conference, Lambert needs to pull his players into the win column.
Now, the Kraken may want some stability and give Lambert more patience than they gave to Bylsma. So Lambert's not in the same situation as Ruff, so they're on different kinds of hot seats. Lambert's under a lot of pressure to find a solution before he makes the situation much more challenging for himself, while Ruff is in the typical, "win or you're out" hot seat.
Seattle's .484 points percentage is better than last year's .463, but it's still worse than their .494 point percentage in 2023-24. Regardless, going sub-.500 is not what first-year Kraken GM Jason Botterill was looking for when he hired Lambert.
Seattle needs more out of Lambert, and if the Kraken continue to free-fall through the standings, Lambert's seat will get white-hot as pressure builds on him and his team to show some progress.
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