from Frank Seravalli of TSN,

A fresh NHL season does not always equal a fresh slate.

No, hockey’s New Year brings increased expectations and recalls unfulfilled ones – both of which can make seats uncomfortably warm.

Just ask these 10 players or people who begin the 2018-19 season under pressure:

Tampa Bay Lightning coach Jon Cooper

There were whispers that Cooper might have walked the plank after the Lightning bowed out in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference final last year. An early season slip up, with expectations so high and a new GM at the helm in Julien BriseBois, could spell trouble for the NHL’s second-longest tenured bench boss.

Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon

An owner under pressure? The boss isn’t going anywhere, of course, but there is no question the rest of the hockey world is watching Dundon’s every move as he shakes up the status quo in attempt to end Carolina’s nine-year playoff drought. Will his uber hands-on approach pay off? Many would love to snicker and say, “Told you so” if it doesn’t.

read on for eight more people under pressure...