Before the 2023-24 NHL season THN.com featured which individuals from all 32 teams were on the hot seat ahead of the season. It is now time to see how those early claims held up as the all-star break draws closer.

Prior to the start of the current NHL season, THN.com focused attention on which people were on the hot seat for every one of the league’s 32 franchises. Now that we’ve reached the halfway point of the season, it’s a great time to revisit those hot seat individuals and discuss whether they’re still on the hot seat, or if they’ve found more comfort and security since then. Today, we’ll kick things off by looking at the teams in the Atlantic Division.

ATLANTIC DIVISION (ranked by current place in the standings)

Team: Boston Bruins

Pre-season Hot Seat: Don Sweeney, GM

Current Status: Hot seat significantly cooler

Lowdown: As has happened in previous seasons, many (this writer included) thought the Bruins would take a step back this season, and Sweeney would feel the squeeze of the salary cap on his roster. But once again, Boston is one of the NHL’s best teams and the top team in the Atlantic. There’s no question the Bs are a model franchise, and Sweeney deserves all kinds of credit for constructing a winner. You can’t argue any Bruins player or management member is feeling the heat, as winning as much as Boston is winning cures all competitive blemishes.

Team: Florida Panthers

Pre-season Hot Seat: Sergei Bobrovsky, G

Current Status: Hot seat somewhat cooler

Lowdown: Given that he earns $10-million per season, Bobrovsky has a high bar to clear as far as his competitiveness goes. He struggled in the 2022-23 regular season, but this year, he’s done better, posting a .910 save percentage and a 2.51 goals-against average. That’s one of the reasons Florida is a beast, but don’t kid yourself – if Bobrovsky’s play drops off again, he’ll be hearing from anxious Panthers fans and media. Otherwise, Florida’s lineup is more or less delivering what was hoped from them, and their collective hot seat will stay relatively cold for the foreseeable future.

Team: Tampa Bay Lightning

Pre-season Hot Seat: Tanner Jeannot, LW 

Current Status: Hot seat still warm

Lowdown: The Lightning are presently on a hot streak, but Jeannot has been limited to 41 games due to injury – and when he’s been healthy, he’s not much of the force Tampa Bay had hoped for when they acquired him last season, posting just six goals and 12 points while averaging only 12:35 of ice time. Tampa’s winning ways have taken the spotlight off Jeannot, but when he does return to action, they need more production out of him, especially given his $2.665-million salary cap hit. The Bolts aren’t getting much offense out of their bottom two forward lines, and Jeannot needs to improve that area if Tampa Bay is to keep pace in the division.

Team: Toronto Maple Leafs  

Pre-season Hot Seat: Sheldon Keefe, coach

Current Status: Hot seat still very warm

Lowdown: The Maple Leafs had huge expectations on them at the start of the year, and the heat has been on Keefe to keep them at or near the top of the Atlantic. Toronto has slipped somewhat of late, and cries for Keefe’s head have grown louder as they’ve struggled. That’s not going to change if the Buds continue being inconsistent, and Leafs GM Brad Treliving is under pressure to ensure his team is one of the top organizations in the league, so there’s still a notable possibility Keefe gets pink-slipped and Treliving installs his own pick for coach. Anything less than a deep playoff run will result in a coaching change in Toronto, but Keefe might not get the chance to play in the post-season if he doesn’t keep the Leafs in a playoff spot.

Team: Detroit Red Wings

Pre-season Hot Seat: Alex DeBrincat, RW

Current Status: Hot seat significantly cooler

Lowdown: As Detroit’s marquee off-season acquisition, DeBrincat had all eyes on him to start the year. He’s responded about as well as he could, posting 18 goals and 42 points in 48 games. The 26-year-old earns $7.875 million per year, so he’s looked to for at least that much offense, but the pressure of playing at home in Michigan has not cramped his style. DeBrincat has to continue to compile goals and points at his current points-per-game pace of 0.88, but that’s been very doable for him, and if the Wings are to sneak into the playoffs as a wild card team, it will be because DeBrincat came through on offense.

Team: Montreal Canadiens  

Pre-season Hot Seat: Jeff Petry, D

Current Status: No longer with the Canadiens

Lowdown: At the time the Canadiens’ hot seat piece was filed, Petry was still with the team. Of course, he subsequently was traded to Detroit, leaving very few Habs feeling the pressure. The player who was on the warm seat for Montreal was goalie Jake Allen, and the veteran netminder has been decent, but not great, posting a 3.46 G.A.A. and .900 SP, as youngster Samuel Montembeault has taken the starter’s job away from him. Allen may begin to feel more pressure if Canadiens GM Kent Hughes trades him to a legitimate playoff threat, but due to the lowered expectations on Montreal as it rebuilds, there isn’t really anyone on the hot seat. That could change, but for now, it’s steady-as-she-goes for the Habs.

Team: Buffalo Sabres  

Pre-season Hot Seat: Devon Levi, G

Current Status: Hot seat still warm

Lowdown: Levi is just 22 years old, but he’s had a rocky acclimation to the NHL, putting up a 3.30 G.A.A. and .891 SP in 20 appearances. Consequently, he’s now Buffalo’s second option in net behind Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, and while there’s still plenty of time for Levi to figure out how to thrive at the NHL level, the Sabres are desperate to rebound from a sub-par first half of the season, and they’re not going to give Levi the starter’s job simply based on projections for him. Levi needs to make the most of the opportunities he does get from Buffalo coach Don Granato, but there’s going to be a whole lot of pressure on Levi to get his ship righted and contribute positive things to the Sabres.

Team: Ottawa Senators  

Pre-season Hot Seat: (tie) D.J. Smith, coach; and Pierre Dorion, GM

Current Status: No longer with Senators

Lowdown: Of all the hot seats in the league entering this season, Ottawa’s hot seat was the clearest, with all the focus on the management team of Dorion and Smith. The Senators’ underachieving ways first sunk Dorion’s boat, and more recently, Smith had to walk the plank. Both of them needed to produce a playoff-worthy season to avoid getting the axe, but that didn’t happen, and new GM Steve Staios moved quickly to try and salvage the season. To that end, there’s no longer any one person who is on the Sens’ hot seat, as the playoffs are all but a bridge too far, and they’re once again planning for next season as a mulligan for their woes this year. When Staios hires a permanent replacement behind the bench, that person will be on the hot seat to produce a winning year for Ottawa, but at the moment, the organization is focused on who to continue building around, and who to trade away for longer-term help. That won’t change, whether or not the Senators perform better the rest of the way this year.