BetOnline releases odds on who will be the first coach fired this season

The 2022-23 season is right around the corner, with puck drop on the opening game of the new campaign coming on October 7th when the Predators and Sharks play a two-game series in Czechia.

As is the case every year, there will be at least a handful of coaches being fired during the season. During the 2021-22 season, it only took less than a month before the Blackhawks made the first coaching change by firing Jeremy Colliton and replacing him with Derek King.

In total, there were seven coaching changes last season, five firings and two resignations.

There are a number of coaches who are likely on the hot seat heading into the new season. On Monday, BetOnline released a list of the odds on who will be the first coach let go this season. Let's take a look at the top-three.

Sheldon Keefe (Toronto) - 13/2
Dave Haksol (Seattle) - 7/1
Dallas Eakins (Anaheim) - 15/2

Sheldon Keefe being listed at the odd-on-favourite to be fired first makes a little bit of sense, given Toronto's lack of playoff success. Keefe will need to keep the team afloat throughout the early part of the 2022-23 season, which shouldn't be too hard to do, especially with the amount of talent on Toronto's roster.

Dave Haksol being listed second is a bit puzzling. Sure, the Kraken had a poor first season in the National Hockey League, but things are expected to get better this season and Haksol wasn't brought in with the expectation of them being a contender within their first few seasons of existence. Firing Haksol this season wouldn't be a very wise move, unless someone else is available that Kraken management would view as a better fit.

The Anaheim Ducks are rounding the corner on their rebuild, but they are probably a year or two away from being a playoff contender once again. The pieces are there, there is no doubting that, but they are still a relatively young team with the likes of Trevor Zegras, Jaime Drysdale, Mason McTavish, among others. Dallas Eakins could be on the hot seat if the team isn't knocking on the door of a wild card spot by the time American Thanksgiving comes around.

Who do you think will be the first coach fired during the 2021-22 season? Let us know in the poll and check out the full odds list in the tweet below.

From @betonline_ag — #Leafs Sheldon Keefe enters the season No. 1 on the hot seat pic.twitter.com/0mIeseNOps— Michael Traikos (@Michael_Traikos) September 19, 2022

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