Editor's Note: This story last updated June 10, 2025.
As you might recall, when the Stanley Cup playoffs started nearly two months ago, we at OntarioBets added Pete DeBoer to our Next NHL Coach Fired odds board. We felt our reasoning for doing so was sound.
The Stars wound up reaching the Western Conference final, where they lost to the Edmonton Oilers. That was the third year in a row that Dallas reached that round. If they do it again next year, it won’t be under DeBoer, who was fired on June 6. OntarioBets.com, as part of our Ontario sports betting analysis, looks at the unusual situation in Dallas.
The Stars entered the postseason having lost seven straight, and some of those games were in ugly fashion. They had reached the Western Conference final the previous two seasons, and this season, they spent big at the trade deadline to get Mikko Rantanen. In addition, the Colorado Avalanche awaited them in the first round of the postseason, and while the Stars had home ice, the Avs appeared to be the better team at the time.
Thanks to Rantanen, the Stars survived a series they should have lost to the Avalanche. Following that, Dallas knocked off Presidents’ Trophy winner Winnipeg in six games. At that time, with the Stars heading back to the Western final for a third straight season and their Stanley Cup odds as short as +275, it seemed DeBoer had saved his job.
Then Game 5 of the Western Conference final happened. Edmonton, up 3-1 in the series, scored twice in the first 7:09. That prompted DeBoer to take out world-class goalie Jake Oettinger in a head-scratching move. Edmonton scored on Oettinger’s replacement 58 seconds later and eliminated the Stars that night with a 6-3 victory.
Afterward, DeBoer said the decision to pull a five-year veteran with a 2.52 goals-against average and a .912 save percentage was because he’d lost six of seven playoff games to an Edmonton team featuring Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
"It was partly to spark our team and wake them up, and partly knowing the status quo had not been working, and it was a pretty big sample size," DeBoer said after the May 29 loss.
DeBoer was fired eight days after throwing his netminder under the Zamboni. On June 9, general manager Jim Nill said DeBoer’s treatment of Oettinger was a factor.
“Was that part of the process? Yes, definitely. It was one of the components (of Nill’s decision), it wasn’t the final ending of it,” he told Dallas sports radio outlet KTCK-FM.
With DeBoer now out, OntarioBets has once again updated our odds board.
Team | Coach | Percent Chance | Odds |
Nashville Predators | Andrew Brunette | 20% | +400 |
Utah Mammoth | Andre Tourigny | 16.7% | +500 |
New York Islanders | Patrick Roy | 16.7% | +500 |
Toronto Maple Leafs | Craig Berube | 10% | +900 |
Calgary Flames | Ryan Huska | 10% | +900 |
Vegas Golden Knights | Bruce Cassidy | 8% | +1150 |
Carolina Hurricanes | Rod Brind’Amour | 6.9% | +1350 |
The Field | - | 11.8% | +750 |
These odds are exclusive to OntarioBets, where our Ontario sports betting apps reviews will give readers the information they need to sign up with confidence.
The good news for the coaches on this list is that they are still employed and likely will be once the 2025-26 NHL season begins in October. The bad news is, DeBoer – who has taken the New Jersey Devils and San Jose Sharks to the Stanley Cup final and the Stars and Vegas Golden Knights to the West final – is now available. So the margin for error has gotten smaller for any coaches on the hot seat. If any of these teams stumble out of the gate, then their front office might decide to make the decision in hopes of salvaging the season.
Andrew Brunette, whose Predators team was the biggest disappointment in the NHL this past season, remains our favorite. Islanders coach Patrick Roy got a vote of confidence from new GM Mathiew Darche and Roy should benefit from having the No. 1 draft pick on his roster in the fall. However, a bad start on Long Island could change things.
Tourigny, by all accounts, has done a fine job leading a team that has gone through a lot of upheaval the past couple of seasons. That said, the team last made the playoffs in 2020, when the franchise was still in Arizona. The Mammoth have a promising young team, but if Tourigny can’t get them into the playoffs this upcoming season, it could lead to a change behind the bench.
It’s interesting that Tourigny is the second choice at DraftKings Ontario Sportsbook for the 2026 Jack Adams Award. Oddsmakers there price him at +800 to win next season’s award for the league’s most outstanding coach.
Of the four coaches with odds of +900 or longer, Calgary’s Ryan Huska is the only one who has not led his team to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Flames lost a tiebreaker to the St. Louis Blues this season to miss out on a playoff spot. Huska is also only entering his third season as Calgary’s coach compared to Tourigny, who is entering Year 5.
Craig Berube, who coached the Blues to the Cup in 2019, led the Maple Leafs to the Atlantic Division title this season, his first with Toronto. However, there are fewer teams or fanbases more demanding than Toronto and Maple Leafs Stanley Cup odds are usually realistic. There should be some roster changes in the offseason, so Berube will be held accountable if the Leafs stumble early. He should get credit for the Leafs taking the Florda Panthers to seven games in their playoff series, even if Florida embarrassed them twice in Toronto.
Rod Brind’Amour, considered an icon in Carolina, would likely have to have his team implode for the Hurricanes to even consider moving on. Given the young core in Raleigh, that doesn’t seem likely. Meanwhile, Bruce Cassidy has done well in Vegas and winning the Cup there in 2023 should give him some breathing room. However, Vegas management has shown little patience for a lack of success before.
Caesars Ontario Sportsbook expects both the Canes and Knights to be top contenders for the 2026 Stanley Cup. Carolina is the third choice at +800, and Vegas has odds of +900. Only the two teams competing in this year’s Cup final, Florida (+700) and Edmonton (+750), have shorter odds for the 2025-26 season.
USA Today photo by Aaron Doster
Author
Steve is an accomplished, award-winning reporter with more than 20 years of experience covering gaming, sports, politics and business. He has written for the Associated Press, Reuters, The Louisville Courier Journal, The Center Square and numerous other publications. Based in Louisville, Ky., Steve has covered the expansion of sports betting in the U.S. and other gaming matters. He shares his expertise on OntarioBets, among other sites.
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