Craig Berube's seat became too hot to handle this week, as the St. Louis Blues fired their longtime coach (with whom they won the Stanley Cup in 2019) on Tuesday night.
It wasn't something GM Doug Armstrong wanted to do. But at a time when trades are hard to make due to parity and the salary cap, it can be the easiest remedy for a team's ills -- especially since the general managers who build these underwhelming teams won't fire themselves.
Berube was the third coach dismissed this season -- joining Jay Woodcroft (fired by the Edmonton Oilers) and Dean Evason (Minnesota Wild) -- and he might not be the last.
Here's a temperature check on the NHL's coaching hot seats for all 32 teams. Contract information is courtesy of CapFriendly and NHL sources.