Ranking NHL Head Coaches in First Season With a New Team

The 2023-24 season has been wild and six teams have spent the entire season with a new head coach ... how has it gone?

There is no doubt that the 2023-24 NHL regular season has been all over the place. From on-ice drama to off-ice drama, statistical records being broken, and more - it’s been a season to remember. Amid all the madness there have been six teams that hired a new head coach before the season began. This list does NOT include the teams that fired their head coaches in-season - of which there were seven.

This list is based on the performance of the team, the circumstances within the organization, and expectations. There may as well be a head coaching frenzy every offseason with how often they’re hired and fired these days. There are just five current head coaches who were hired before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

Let’s get into the list …

6. Greg Cronin (Anaheim Ducks) (Record: 25-48-5)

It’s hard to blame Greg Cronin for the struggles of his team this season. The roster is both poorly constructed and lacks the overall talent to succeed in the NHL right now.

Greg Cronin, Head Coach of the Anaheim Ducks (Amy Irvin/ The Hockey Writers)

Outside of Frank Vatrano and Troy Terry, the Ducks have numerous underperformers this season. It’s hard to fathom how poorly this roster has been constructed. The signing of Alex Killorn over the summer was unwise and unnecessary.

They’ve wasted loads of talent over the years and the 2023-24 season is no different. They’re 30th in goals scored and 31st in goals against. There are very few coaches, if any, that could find any success with this team. Cronin ranks last on this list, but it’s hard to pin the blame solely on him.