FILE - Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet, top, talks to players during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Chicago Blackhawks in Chicago, Sunday, Dec. 17, 2023. The Canucks won 4-3. In completing his first full season behind the Canucks bench, Tocchet is not alone among his coaching contemporaries in providing their respective teams a spark. Of the 16 teams entering the NHL playoffs this weekend, seven feature coaches who are in their first full year or hired as midseason replacements.(AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
FILE - Nashville Predators head coach Andrew Brunette, center, gives instruction to his players during a timeout in the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Vancouver Canucks, Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. Vancouver won 3-2. Of the 16 teams entering the NHL playoffs this weekend, seven feature coaches who are in their first full year or hired as midseason replacements.(AP Photo/George Walker IV, File)
FILE - New York Islanders head coach Patrick Roy gives instructions from behind his bench during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Pittsburgh, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. The Islanders won 5-4. Of the 16 teams entering the NHL playoffs this weekend, seven feature coaches who are in their first full year or hired as midseason replacements. (AP Photo/Gene Puskar, File)
FILE - Washington Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery is shown during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Florida Panthers, Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. Of the 16 teams entering the NHL playoffs this weekend, seven feature coaches who are in their first full year or hired as midseason replacements. In Washington, Carbery maintained a sense of calm and positivity to settle a Capitals team that endured numerous peaks and valleys -- and outscored by a 36-goal margin -- to secure the East’s eighth and final playoff spot. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File)