NHL Hot Seat Radar: Who's Feeling The Most Heat Early In The 2026-27 Season?

Welcome to the first edition this season of TheHockeyNews.com's ‘Hot Seat Radar’ – a regular series in which we analyze a few NHL figures who are currently feeling the heat for one reason or another. ‘’

It could be a player, coach, or GM – or, to heck with it, a team owner – on the Hot Seat. But the pressure to perform is enormous, and the way different hockey figures react to feeling the squeeze of expectations is always fascinating.

With that said – and in no particular order – here’s who’s made this week’s Hot Seat Radar:

Arniel’s appearance on the Hot Seat will surprise no one who’s watched the Jets lose seven straight games, and eight of their past nine. Positive Jets fans might look at that stretch of play and blame it on the distractions of the Connor Hellebuyck saga. But in the always-brutal Central Division, there’s no time to cry over spilt milk. It’s Arniel’s job to get the Jets into the post-season after they missed it last year.

In the Jets’ nine losses this season, they scored three goals or more only three times. Arniel can’t teach offense, but the way he puts his lines together could be what’s behind Winnipeg’s scoring struggles.

Acquiring a veteran point-producer isn’t something Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff has done often, and Winnipeg has also been without star defenseman Josh Morrissey since the start of October. 

But that doesn’t ease the pressure on Arniel to end the Jets’ struggles. He’s on the clock to push his team back into the post-season – and if he can’t, Arniel could be looking for work behind another team’s bench.

The Blackhawks came out of the gate losing five of their first six games – and while they’ve improved slightly of late, Chicago still has lost four of their past five games to drop to 4-9-0. That is unacceptable, even for a young team still trying to develop an identity. And both Davidson and Blashill bear responsibility for a Hawks team that’s been outscored 15-4 in their four most recent losses. 

It would be one thing if the Blackhawks were losing close games and didn’t have the requisite puck luck to reach a new competitive level. But that’s obviously not the case in Chicago. Indeed, absent some miraculous turnaround, the Hawks are tracking to once again be at or near the bottom of the Central standings. The optics of the situation have to be weighing heavily on Blackhawks ownership. 

So while we don’t expect Blashill or Davidson to be fired immediately, grey clouds are gathering on the horizon in the Windy City. If Davidson and Blashill can’t turn the Hawks’ ship around, they could both be in the unemployment line sooner rather than later. 

In his Hockey Hall of Fame career, Holland has earned the respect of his peers and the gratitude of Detroit Red Wings fans after helping deliver the Red Wings’ four most recent Stanley Cup championships. Unfortunately, since then, Holland has not been able to produce a true Cup threat – and that’s even more apparent in his first full year running the Kings.

Holland has chosen not to rebuild an aging Kings core and pursue long-term success, acquiring greybeard veteran forwards Artemi Panarin, Scott Laughton, Corey Perry, and defenseman Cody Ceci. Now, the Kings have a whopping 13 players who are 32 years old or older. 

Holland can try to go all-in and do something like trade young center Quinton Byfield for a solution like Vancouver Canucks center Elias Pettersson. Regardless, there’s a real risk that whatever the Kings do won’t be enough to keep them from imploding and taking a step backward.

Los Angeles is counting on Holland’s wealth of experience to steer them through adversity, but as it stands, Holland doesn’t have the answers to address the many issues Los Angeles faces.

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