Thanks to the Tampa Bay Lightning's win over the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday, Jon Cooper became the 29th.e Head coaches in National Hockey League (NHL) history have managed to reach the 500-win mark in the regular season, but some of his colleagues are also hoping to reach a milestone that attests to their excellence.
Here are some active chief trainers who, with a bit of luck, could have a career-defining moment in the relatively near future.
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– Paul Maurice, Florida Panthers, 843 wins
A familiar face in the eyes of many NHL fans, Paul Maurice will soon be among the top five coaches with the highest lifetime earnings: He will overtake Ken Hitchcock (849) and it remains to be seen whether he can catch up with Lindy Ruff (855) one day. , who still works for the New Jersey Devils. The good news for Paul Maurice is that his Panthers continue to benefit from the momentum from the 2023 playoffs. In its second year in Florida, the club has already achieved 26 wins in 40 games and is fighting for the lead in the Eastern Association. At this rate, Maurice will reach 50 wins in a second season, the first of which is with the Winnipeg Jets in 2017-2018. They reached the Western final.
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– Peter Laviolette, New York Rangers, 778 wins
The American had much more success behind an NHL bench than on the ice. His 12 seasons with 40 or more wins and his Stanley Cup victory in the spring of 2006 with the Carolina Hurricanes prove it. The third most successful active driver is expected to reach the 800th mark by the end of the current calendar. And he will logically have the chance to succeed with the only team on the circuit for which he played: former defender Peter Laviolette took part in twelve Rangers games from 1988 to 1989, when Michel Bergeron was his direct superior . In addition, there are still four triumphs to go until seventh place in history, held by another well-known figure in New York, the legendary Al Arbour. But if he played a total of 1,607 games for the Islanders and St. Louis Blues, Laviolette has 142 fewer games on the clock.
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– Todd McLellan, Los Angeles Kings, 595 wins
The experienced driver would have liked to have joined the group of winners of 600 or more games sooner, but his Kings had just suffered six defeats in a row. On the other hand, his patience will be rewarded in the coming days, perhaps with the break of the All-Star Classic. Todd McLellan holds the 23rd spot in track history, behind Jacques Martin (616), going back to his work with the Ottawa Senators. But unlike him, McLellan has maintained a record above .500 since his debut as head coach with the San Jose Sharks in 2008. He is in his fifth season in Los Angeles and in the last two he has maintained a scoring average above .600; This is still the case as of now in 2023-2024.
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– Peter DeBoer, Dallas Stars, 583 wins
The first name to appear behind McLellan in the teacher standings is Peter DeBoer, who is having another enjoyable season. Although he serves as a pilot for a fifth career team, he has been able to fill that role every year since 2008. One of the reasons for his omnipresence behind the benches in the NHL is certainly his high win rate from 2015 to 2016, as his teams have always performed above .500 since then. DeBoer led the Sharks to the Stanley Cup Final in 2016 and has reached the third round four times since 2018-19, with San Jose and the Vegas Golden Knights. He's on track to go very far in Dallas as the Stars battle for the top of the Central Division.