NHL odds can definitely be impacted by the change of a head coach in the middle of a season. The most recent one was in Philadelphia as the Flyers fired John Stevens and brought in Peter Laviolette. How will this coaching change work out in NHL betting odds?
NHL have seen a lot of coaching changes in the past. Some work and some don’t. Hockey teams do change coaches almost every season. Sometimes the NHL odds can definitely be affected. Look what happened with the Pittsburgh Penguins in NHL betting . They fired Michel Therrien and brought in Dan Bylsma. After the change they went 18-3-4 in the regular season versus the NHL. It helps when you have Sidney Crosby but there is no denying the change to Bylsma was positive and eventually led the Penguins to a Stanley Cup title.
Another example of a big change in NHL occurred when the Chicago Blackhawks fired Denis Savard early in an NHL season. The team was 1-2-1 with Savard vs. the NHL betting odds but they were a sizzling 45-22-11 with new coach Joel Quenneville. That was one of the quickest changes during a season in NHL odds history but it worked. Chicago finished that season with 104 points which was the most for them since the 1992-93 season.
It is interesting to note that while Laviolette takes over in Philadelphia, he was on the other end of this NHL odds change in Carolina. He was fired and Paul Maurice was brought in. The Hurricanes were 12-11-2 with Laviolette but they went 33-19-5 versus the NHL betting odds with Maurice.
Those were the positive influences in NHL odds. It doesn’t always work out that way. The New York Rangers, Ottawa Senators, Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning have made changes in the past few years with their head coaches and their results in NHL odds are not as positive.
Changing a coach can sometimes change the fortunes of a team versus the NHL odds but it is not an automatic thing. Each situation is different and the coach and the players must be analyzed before jumping and betting the team that has the new coach in NHL odds. Sometimes the change takes a few games to take effect so keep that in mind. You may want to monitor the first couple of games to get a feel for which way the team will go with their new coach.