NO COACHES WERE FIRED IN THE FIRST HALF OF THE SEASON
The NHL schedule passed the halfway point on Saturday and all 31 coaches still owned the jobs they had on opening night. Some appeared to be on shaky ground in the early going but turned things around, notably Alain Vigneault of the New York Rangers. Who will be the first to go? Todd McLellan of the underachieving Edmonton Oilers got the dreaded vote of confidence over the weekend from general manager Peter Chiarelli, but it's always easier to fire one coach than trade a bunch of underperforming players. The Montreal Canadiens' woes have triggered calls for the head of general manager Marc Bergevin more than for the firing of coach Claude Julien, with the prevailing sentiment being that Bergevin hasn't given Julien much to work with. Bergevin said Sunday he's in no hurry to make a trade, but left wing Max Pacioretty could be trade bait.
