Polls

The calendar has turned over to November, and with it the frustrations of many fans are bubbling up to the surface. Teams like Montreal, New York and Edmonton aren’t performing like they were expected to, and it has coaches feeling the heat. Just yesterday we looked at one in Detroit, and there was already chatter that another was on his last legs.

So who is under the most pressure, and who will be fired first? That question is hard to answer, given the amount of turnover the NHL saw at the head coaching position just a few months ago. Would any of the teams fire a head coach just a month into his tenure with the team? Or will it be a tenured veteran that gets the ax?

You can vote for as many names as you want, but remember to explain in the comments why you think their seat is getting hot. Also, let us know who you think will be the first to be fired this year. For what it’s worth, Jared Bednar and Paul Maurice led this poll when we last ran it in April. With the Avalanche and Jets both in playoff positions, it doesn’t seem like they’ll win this time around.

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The NHL season is alive and well, and teams around the league are beginning their pursuit of the Stanley Cup. Even the weakest of them are still in the race right now, and fighting to prove that they have gone underrated all summer long.

Improbable starts have happened all around the league, with teams like Chicago and Toronto putting on a goal-scoring clinic in their first few matches, while upstarts like Vegas and Colorado have shown they won’t just lie down this season. It’s early, and nothing is written in stone just yet but there have still been some huge surprises.

Jesper Bratt seemingly has come out of nowhere to steal the early lead in Calder Trophy consideration, while Dustin Brown looks healthy and rejuvinated in Los Angeles after several down years. Alex Ovechkin, the proverbial whipping boy of the Washington Capitals’ playoff failures, is scoring at a ridiculous pace that has him back near the top of the league’s most dangerous list.

All of this is happening while the St. Louis Blues, crushed with preseason injury after injury stand alone at the top of the standings at 4-0.

So what has surprised you the most through the first week of the season? We’ve listed some obvious choices, but make sure to leave your comments down below on any other improbable happenstances!

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Earlier this summer we asked our readers which non-playoff team would make the jump this year and get into the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Dallas Stars and Tampa Bay Lightning easily paced the pack, with each receiving more than 18% of the votes. They were easy choices after both experienced one-year power outages, but made moves to right the ship in the offseason.

But, if teams like Dallas and Tampa Bay are to climb back into the postseason tournament, someone will have to drop out. After the first couple nights of the season, some teams have celebrated huge wins while others are still trying to figure out what went wrong. One game doesn’t mean much, but it was sure a fun way to start the year.

So now, we’ll ask you the opposite question. Which teams are most likely to fall out of the playoffs in 2017-18? Will it be a division leader, plummeting to the bottom of the standings like Dallas and Florida last season, or a bubble team who just can’t quite hold on to their spot? A former champion, struggling with cap issues or a young team who is struck by the sophomore slump?

Check any and all teams that you think will miss the playoffs this year, and make sure to explain your choices in the comments below. Tell us who you think will jump in, and where they’ll finish.

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