This was supposed to be the year the Boston Bruins finally returned to the pack.
It isn’t just Boston and Vegas who have found an even better place with a new coach. Philadelphia was thought to be a disaster — and still might be — but John Tortorella has made his mark in just seven games with the Flyers.
There’s little doubt owners will watch this trend to see how it plays out over an entire season. Nine teams begin this season with new coaches — 10 if you count Martin St. Louis in Montreal. Thus far, the biggest surprises in the NHL — Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Vegas, Dallas — all of them with new bench bosses.When the Maple Leafs fired Mike Babcock in November of 2019, they did so for a laundry list of reasons. Their record was only 9-10-4.
Still, he smiled, he carried on, and while he didn’t exactly race to the finish line hitting his 61st home run and his record-setting 62nd blast, you could see his game was suffering even though he wouldn’t show it.