The Tampa Bay Lightning and Chicago Blackhawks are still battling it out to see who will hoist the Stanley Cup to cap the 2014-15 NHL season, but some teams are already looking ahead to 2015-16.
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Seven teams have revamped their look behind the bench in order to improve next season as coaches have been reshuffled throughout the league.
Here is our ranking of the new bench bosses on each of those seven clubs:
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7) John Hynes, New Jersey Devils
It'll be an interesting campaign for Hynes as he stands behind an NHL bench for the very first time, but he doesn't come to the league without a great background. Hynes coached the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the American Hockey League and led the club to 42 wins in each of his five seasons serving as bench boss for the team. He has a lot of work to do after New Jersey finished 13th in the Eastern Conference with 78 points in 2014-15.
6) Dave Hakstol, Philadelphia Flyers
It will also be the first season behind an NHL bench for Hakstol, who spent the last 15 years with the University of North Dakota and served as head coach for the last 11. He comes in as Craig Berube's replacement and will look to turn things around after the Flyers finished 12th in the conference with 84 points.
5) Jeff Blashill, Detroit Red Wings
Blashill has big shoes to fill after Mike Babcock's departure and he enters his first season as an NHL coach after it became official on Tuesday and he enters the league with a sparkling resume. Blashill served as the coach of the Grand Rapids Griffins, which is the Red Wings' AHL affiliate, and after guiding the club to the Calder Cup in 2013, he won Coach of the Year in 2014. He also led the team to the Western Conference Final this season. Blashill will look to continue the Red Wings postseason trend after Detroit made it to its NHL-record 24th consecutive playoffs this spring, but he'll hope to expand on the club's first-round exit.
4) Peter DeBoer, San Jose Sharks
After a disappointing exit in the 2014 playoffs that saw San Jose blow a 3-0 lead in Round 1 against the Los Angeles Kings and get eliminated, a change was needed for the Sharks when they failed to make the playoffs in 2014-15 for the first time since 2003. DeBoer has coached the Florida Panthers and the Devils in the past, with his most notable moment behind the bench being when he guided New Jersey to the Stanley Cup Final in 2012, which they ultimately lost to the Kings. He was fired by the Devils last December after a 12-17-7 start and will look to turn things around after San Jose finished 12th in the Western Conference this season.
3) Todd McLellan, Edmonton Oilers
With DeBoer taking his post in San Jose, McLellan now looks to turn around the Oilers franchise. McLellan guided the Sharks to the postseason in six straight years before they failed to clinch a berth this season, which led to him mutually parting ways with the club. After winning over 300 games in seven years in San Jose, he now turns to an Edmonton team that is armed with the No. 1 pick in the upcoming NHL Draft (likely Connor McDavid barring something crazy happening) and will look to help the club make the playoffs for the first time since 2006.
2) Dan Bylsma, Buffalo Sabres
Bylsma spent 5 1/2 seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins and was fired after being eliminated from the playoffs in Round 2 in 2013-14 after blowing a 3-1 series lead against the New York Rangers. Bylsma's greatest achievement was winning the Stanley Cup with Pittsburgh in 2009 and he'll look to turn around a Buffalo team that finished with a league-low 23 wins and 54 points this season.
1) Mike Babcock, Toronto Maple Leafs
The Maple Leafs struck gold when they landed Babcock, who guided the Red Wings to 10 straight playoff appearances behind the bench. Toronto knew what it was getting with Babcock and made him the highest-paid coach in NHL history by signing him to an eight-year, $50 million pact. Babcock, who replaces Peter Horacek, won the Stanley Cup with Detroit in 2008 and brought the Red Wings back to the Cup Final in 2009. He'll have his work cut out for him as he attempts to fix a Maple Leafs team that finished 15th in the Eastern Conference and appeared dysfunctional for most of the year.
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