Bruce Boudreau Rapidly Rising in Odds to Be First NHL Coach Fired

• The Minnesota Wild have started the season just 2-6-0
• The Dallas Stars have started the season 3-7-1 this season
• The Stars were averaging the fewest goals per game this season at 2.10 heading into last night’s game

Although Dallas Stars head coach Jim Montgomery is the favorite to be fired first, Minnesota Wild head coach Bruce Boudreau is making a late push. His Wild have started just 2-6-0 and if they can’t turn it around, he might be the first coach to receive a pink slip.

Odds to Be First Head Coach Fired in 2019-20

*Odds taken 10/21/19

Boudreau Has Shot up the Board

Minnesota Wild head coach Bruce Boudreau was at +700 to be fired first when we started the season but he’s now down to +400. That’s because the Wild have registered just two wins in their first eight games with one of them coming against the hapless Ottawa Senators.

What’s concerning for Boudreau is that the Wild have not been competitive in many of their games. Their two wins are by a combined three goals while their six losses are all by two or more goals. They’re losing by an average of 2.8 goals per game.

The challenge is the Wild weren’t really expected to be good as their regular-season point total was at 84.5 to start the year. They may not have the parts to turn this around, which is why Boudreau could get canned first.

Stars Have Struggled

Entering Monday night’s action, only four teams in the NHL had played 10 games and the Stars were one of them. That’s added to the tension as they’ve only registered three wins to date. About the only good news is that the Stars are coming off now have a two-game winning streak after a 4-1 victory in Philadelphia and last night’s 2-1 win over Ottawa.

Just about everything has gone wrong for the Stars so far. They had issues on offense heading into the season and are dead-last in goals-per-game at 2.10 so far. In terms of goals allowed, they had been one of the best in the NHL last season but are giving up 3.22 per game over their last nine contests ahead of last night’s game. They allowed 2.44 per game last season.

If there is one saving grace for Montgomery it’s that seven of the Stars first 10 games were on the road. Six of the team’s next seven games are at home, so if the Stars don’t turn it around after this stretch, Montgomery is likely done.

Quinn Offers Value

I think the Stars probably turn things around – especially since they’re at home for six of their next seven – and I don’t see a ton of value there. With these types of props, I don’t like to bet favorites as I’d rather take longer shots since it’s a bit unpredictable.

One long shot that I do like is New York Rangers head coach David Quinn, who is on the board at +3300. To start, he’s made some bizarre lineup decisions early on this season (playing Michael Haley), and he’s not looking like he’s the right man for the job.

He’s supposed to be the guy that develops this young roster but we’re not seeing much of it. The team has lost four straight and guys like Kapo Kakko (one point so far) are not showing much progress.

We’re still very early in their development but after the offseason this team had, nobody envisioned them being among the worst teams in the Eastern Conference. Another month or two of this and Quinn will be a goner.