from Gary Lawless of the Winnipeg Free Press,

Sandwiched between entitled players and twitchy GMs trying to keep egomaniacal owners happy, today's NHL coach is in many cases predestined to fail.

Hired to, "Just win, baby." Fired because it didn't happen, despite obvious and impossible obstacles to overcome. Too often, organizations fail their coach, regardless of the message delivered, in what has become ritual scapegoating within the NHL.

The NHL's model -- where coaches make less money and enjoy less security than most everyone on their roster, but for a few fourth-liners -- is broken.

NHL coaches have become disposable. There's usually a list of veteran retreads hanging around TV studios waiting for their next opportunity. There are assistant coaches all over the league capable of running a bench, not to mention the up-and-comers in the AHL.

The supply outstrips the demand and with the state of pay for coaches in the NHL, it's always easiest for a team to clip its largely inexpensive and easily dispensed bench boss.

The NBA has a $10-million coach, the NFL has a number making more than $8 million and in MLB, the new number for top-end hires is $5 million. In the NHL, the top salary for a coach is $2.75 million.

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