Four NHL teams have coaching vacancies at the moment, but they can fill up quickly. Adam Proteau finds a nice match for New Jersey, Winnipeg, San Jose, and Seattle.

With the Toronto Maple Leafs hiring coach Craig Berube on Friday and the Carolina Hurricanes signing Rod Brind'Amour to a contract extension, the NHL's coaching picture is coming into sharper focus. 

The remaining four teams still looking for a new bench boss – the New Jersey Devils, Winnipeg Jets, San Jose Sharks and Seattle Kraken – will need to move quickly to lock up a coach and begin earnest preparations for next season. 

Here are our picks for each of the four coaching vacancies:

New Jersey Devils: Sheldon Keefe

The Devils are much like Keefe’s former team in Toronto – a solid-enough regular-season team (albeit one that was even more disappointing than the Leafs this season) that hasn’t enjoyed much playoff success lately. 

Keefe led the Buds to their first playoff series win in two decades, and New Jersey GM Tom Fitzgerald is one of the sharper minds in the game who isn’t afraid to take a chance on a recently dismissed coach. 

The 43-year-old Keefe spoke after being fired by the Leafs about taking time to spend with his family, but if he were offered the chance to lead a Devils team with a lot of upside, we suspect he’d get right back on the horse and join the Devils right away.

San Jose Sharks: David Carle

Despite being just 34 years old, Carle has six seasons of experience coaching elite young teams – including at the University of Denver, with whom he’s won two NCAA championships in the past three seasons. 

His pedigree is excellent, and on a young Sharks team that will need some time to develop, Carle can grow into the job and bring along talent like soon-to-be No. 1 draft pick Macklin Celebrini and 2023 first-rounder Will Smith. 

The Sharks still have many roster decisions on veterans, including captain Logan Couture and defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic, so the franchise will have bumpy days ahead. But Carle’s reputation as a winner and a competitive bar-raiser makes him a perfect fit for the job in San Jose.

Seattle Kraken: Mitch Love

Love was in contention for the position as coach of the Calgary Flames last summer, but the job eventually went to Ryan Huska. Still, although Love worked as an assistant coach for the Washington Capitals last season, he’s enjoyed success at the AHL and WHL levels, and he could be exactly what the doctor ordered for a Kraken squad that fell short of expectations in 2023-24. 

Seattle GM Ron Francis is looking for someone who commands the respect of his charges, and Love has always done that in his coaching career, earning AHL coach of the year honors in 2021-22 and 2022-23.

Another candidate for the Kraken could be longtime bench boss Gerard Gallant, but Francis might go with Love instead and allow him a couple of years to establish himself as an NHL-worthy coach.

Winnipeg Jets: Todd McLellan

The Jets are in no position to let a young coach learn on the job. Instead, they need an experienced coach, such as Gallant or, more likely, McLellan, who would be on his fourth NHL team if Winnipeg hired him. 

McLellan has guided three teams to nine playoff appearances in his coaching career, and that would be the least that’s expected of him with the Jets. But in replacing respected coach Rick Bowness, McLellan would command the attention of Winnipeg players both young and old. 

He’s got a solid track record, and he’s made the conference final twice. The Jets need success right away, and McLellan could prove to be the right choice to steer them to a deep post-season run. 

Who do you think should fill in the coaching vacancies? Let us know here.

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