Editor's Note: This story last updated Nov. 5, 2025.
We’ve just reached the one-month mark of the 2025-26 NHL season, and one of the most surprising things about the season so far has been the parity. The standings are almost as compact as the teams’ schedules have been through the first four weeks of the campaign.
Still, though, there are coaches whose seats are at least a tad warm, if not hotter. With that in mind, Ontario Bets continues our NHL betting analysis by bringing you the latest edition of our next NHL coach fired odds.
| Team | Coach | Odds | Pct Chance |
| Calgary Flames | Ryan Huska | +150 | 40% |
| Nashville Predators | Andrew Brunette | +250 | 28.6% |
| Minnesota Wild | John Hynes | +750 | 11.8% |
| Buffalo Sabres | Lindy Ruff | +1825 | 5.2% |
| St. Louis Blues | Jim Montgomery | +1825 | 5.2% |
| Field | +990 | 9.2% |
A reminder, these odds are for entertainment purposes only. You will not find them at any approved Ontario online sportsbooks operator.
Only nine teams have the same coach as they did to start the 2023-24 NHL season. The top two coaches on our board, though, are among those nine.
Ryan Huska’s Calgary Flames are by far the worst team in the NHL. It’s not just Calgary’s eight points through 14 games. The Flames are barely averaging more than two goals per game. Huska was named the coach on June 12, 2023, but unless he can fan the Flames’ offense, he may very well be the first NHL coach fired this season.
It didn’t help his cause that he recently admitted publicly to using ChatGPT to help him troubleshoot the Flames’ offensive woes. The next time he uses an AI tool, it might be to find his next job.
The only true competition, the way we see it, for Huska in the race to the unemployment line is Andrew Brunette. You might recall that in the 2024 offseason, the Nashville Predators opened their wallets and brought some star-studded but older offensive players to town. It didn’t work last season, and it hasn’t worked yet this season.
According to Hockey-Reference.com, the Predators are only the ninth-oldest NHL team with an average player age of 29.4 years. However, seven of Nashville’s 10 players who have played all 15 games so far are older than 30. A couple of other key 30-somethings, Roman Josi and Jonathan Marchessault, have been hindered by injuries.
At 2.53 goals per game, Nashville is the third-worst scoring team in the NHL. If Brunette can’t jump start the team soon, he might need to work on his resume.
No other coach really feels like they are on, or belong on, the hot seat. But OntarioBets.com – your source for Ontario sportsbook apps reviews – sees a couple of possibilities should current conditions linger.
The most likely of those candidates is Minnesota Wild coach John Hynes. Last season, the Wild started 8-2-2 in their first 12 games. This season, the team signed star forward Kirill Kaprizov to a record-breaking extension, but the Wild went 3-6-3 in their first dozen.
Minnesota since won two straight and its scoring has improved. However, the slow start has put the Wild behind other quality teams in the Western Conference. If the Wild are still on the wrong side of the playoff line come January, Hynes could go.
Buffalo’s Lindy Ruff likely won’t be fired as he’s regarded too well in the community, but he could decide at some point that he has had enough of trying to end the longest playoff drought in pro sports (14 seasons). The Sabres are improved, but their record (5-4-4, 13th in the 16-team East) doesn’t show it. They have played in five straight overtime games, dropping four.
Maybe the league’s fourth-youngest team will finally start to click, and they’re only a point out of a wild-card spot. But if they can’t break through, then maybe the frustration becomes too much for Ruff, one of the NHL’s best coaches.
See the latest Stanley Cup odds at OntarioBets.com for teams with coaches who are probably far more certain of their tenure.
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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