ESPN NHL

With three coaches and one GM already down, we decided to take you on a tour of the NHL to see who else is in trouble and what might be needed to stave off a whacking at the coach or general manager's level:

Western Conference

Central Division
Chicago Blackhawks
Coach: Brian Sutter
Sutter's Hawks are in free fall, not a good situation when you are in the last year of your contract. There's talk that he won't last the season, but he likely will largely because the organization has already written the season off (see firing of GM Mike Smith as Exhibit A) and there's no sense making a coaching change unless management wants to give Trent Yawney or Denis Savard a head start.

General Manager: two-headed combo of Bob Pulford and Dale Tallon
Tallon is the heir apparent, as determined by owner Bill Wirtz, but there's lots of time to make a decision. If Pulford can fully recover from the faux pas of publicly questioning the owner's choice, he might still be able to lobby for son-in-law Dean Lombardi, a solid hockey man with tons more experience than Tallon.

Team Situation: Bad, and getting worse. They entered the holiday break with two wins in their last 21 games. Veterans on team are supremely unhappy, but they have little say now. If Sutter can show he's developing the younger players, he has a chance of staying on. In a normal season he'd be gone by now, but this is not a normal season and the Hawks are in cash-saving mode. Right now it's too unsettled to get a read, but that could change before the season ends.

Columbus Blue Jackets
Coach: Doug MacLean
General Manager Doug MacLean went behind the bench last season after he fired Dave King. He'll likely stay there through the remainder of this season and then see what the new CBA brings.

General Manger: Doug MacLean
MacLean fired King because he didn't like the slow progress of the team he was building. Now he's responsible only to himself and an owner who also made MacLean team president. The team does seem to be improving under the coach, the GM and the president, so this three-is-one boss appears safe.

Team Situation: Interesting mix of youth and recycled players have the Blue Jackets in contention for first-ever playoff spot (if they can win a few on the road). Short on depth, but certainly fun to watch at the skilled positions, and no prolonged skid is going to impact the coach-GM-president.

Detroit Red Wings
Coach: Dave Lewis
He has had his doubters and there was a time after last spring's first-round playoff defeat that you had to wonder about his job security. But Lewis and No.1 aide Barry Smith have done a good job handling a goaltending mess not of their making and a serious spell of injuries. They responded like pros, getting the best out of what they had and not letting doubt creep in. Having a veteran team helps, but having a veteran coaching staff doesn't hurt either. Smith may leave at season's end if a head-coaching job beckons, but Lewis appears on solid ground unless there's another first-round playoff loss.

General Manager: Ken Holland
Having nearly $15 million tied up in goaltending that isn't playing all that well is a mark against any GM, but Holland has won Cups, keeps owner Mike Ilitch happy and is handling problems well enough. He too is in a more than comfortable spot unless the bottom falls out in the postseason.

Team Situation: These guys like playing in Detroit, like their coach, their GM and their owner. When there's enough money for everyone it's a happy family.

Nashville Predators
Coach: Barry Trotz
There were rumblings near the end of last season, but Trotz and general manager David Poile are patient men. Plus, Trotz has his team headed in the right direction. It's possible that Trotz might not make it to the promised land with the Preds, should the team not make the playoffs again this season, but he appears safe at least until the final horn sounds on this one.

General Manager: David Poile
Hey, this guy is good. Maybe it has taken longer than anyone would like, but the Predators are a better team this season than last season, and that one was better than the season before. Poile operates under the usual small-market restraints and in a non-hockey market, but he does his job well and ownership respects him for it.

Team Situation: Growing, but the young players need to take control, especially David Legwand.

St. Louis Blues
Coach: Joel Quenneville
There's always talk that Quenneville is on the hot seat and we can't figure out why; he's one of the best and brightest minds in the game, a good teacher and a fine bench boss. He's all you would want in a coach and the only negative we fear is that he's been around so long players might start tuning him out. The record, however, doesn't show that and Quennville soldiers on winning games despite serious injury problems.

General Manager: Larry Pleau
He may have overspent a bit at times and can't quite seem to close the deal on the goalie that would make the Blues a champion, but he's respected by everyone in the organization and they would be loathe to let him get away.

Team Situation: Coaching and management are a big part of the reason the Blues win and these Blues win. They hit the 20-win mark this season as fast as any team in the NHL and they are eyeball-to-eyeball with Detroit. Nothing likely to change that now or in the near future.

Northwest Division
Calgary Flames
Coach: Darryl Sutter
A master survivor until the clock finally ran out in San Jose, Sutter is getting the job done in Calgary and that's earned him kudos from none other than?

General Manager: Darryl Sutter
Sense a trend here? The two-headed role is popular because it saves money in a year when everyone is hoarding cash and anticipating a shutdown come summer. Most of this team was built by fired GM Craig Button, but Sutter has managed it well and improved it a bit with a timely offseason trade that brought some defensive backbone to the club in the form of Rhett Warrner and an in-season deal that brought a backup goalie (Miikka Kiprusoff) who is challenging for the No.1 job.

Team Situation: Any more moves have to be money out for money in, but the Flames might shop goalie Roman Turek once he's healthy and that could bring something to help the thin cast of scorers up front.

Colorado Avalanche
Coach: Tony Granato
It may be that Granato is always dogged by the complaint that anyone can coach a team as deep as this one, but that doesn't fly in Colorado where the expectations are high and Granato has delivered. The one coach who took over and led his team to a playoff berth after the holiday firings of last season, Granato is as solid as Bob Hartley once was.

General Manager: Pierre Lacroix
There are people who maintain that Lacroix could exceed an unlimited budget, but he generally gets value for his expenditures, he fills the Pepsi Center year after year and he wins -- although maybe not as many Cups as critics expect. Ownership is happy because winning keeps the building filled, so it's status quo.

Team Situation: A Cup contender again, but only if goaltending stays steady and Lacroix adds some depth to the defense. A healthy Peter Forsberg would make a huge impact, but that's a question mark every season.

Edmonton Oilers
Coach: Craig MacTavish
Re-signed after toying with the idea of walking away in the off season but MacT is not necessarily on rock-solid ground. The Mike Comrie mess is the tip of an iceberg that may be revealed by other players -- that MacTavish is a tad on the inflexible side. He's solid for now, but the Oilers need to make the playoffs. If the limited unrest starts to boil over, it could well be the coach who pays a price.

General Manager: Kevin Lowe
Lowe is the darling of new-age GMs, solid as a team builder and a financial manager, but he took a hit in the Comrie dealings as well. He won't pay any real price for it, but GMs will be cautious in how they make deals with Lowe in the future now that details of what appear to be a renege on a deal with Anaheim are being made public. Lowe is solid with ownership, but he made an enemy in the Comrie camp and Comrie's dad carries considerable influence in the Edmonton business community and the business community owns the team.

Team Situation: It's likely to all blow over in time, but with Comrie as the latest in a long line of players who've been moved under financial duress there's a hint in the air from veterans that Edmonton plays the "poor me" card to its advantage a bit too often. Chemistry is vital to the success of this team and Lowe needs to nurture it a bit to avoid problems down the road.

Minnesota Wild
Coach: Jacques Lemaire
The Wild are struggling this season, but Lemaire is a proven winner and he goes nowhere unless he chooses to walk away. A trip to the Western Conference finals in the team's third season of existence reaps that kind of reward.

General Manger: Doug Risebrough
The Wild are still in a building mode despite last season's sudden success. Risebrough is credited for that and thus is on solid ground.

Team Situation: Scoring star Marian Gaborik missed all of training camp and the first month of the season in a contract dispute. If he rebounds, it will all be forgotten. If not, Risebrough must secure offensive help or the team will slide.

Vancouver Canucks
Coach: Marc Crawford
Crawford is talented but has his detractors, and there is reason to believe his boss, Brian Burke, can be one of them at times. Still, both men have reportedly agreed on a contract extension. The team has succeeded under Crawford, but you get the sense the bond between him and the team isn't all that strong. Never a good sign.

General Manager: Brian Burke
He has built a quality team on a budget, the model for most any GM in the league. Burke is secure even if team were to be sold (a persistent rumor) and would be an in-demand hire with any franchise in the game.

Team Situation: Most think the Canucks need only for the Sedin twins to grow up and for goalie Dan Cloutier to mature. It needs that and another cagey veteran to join Mike Keane up front to lend experience, especially in the playoffs. Having more around might take some of the edge off Crawford who can lose it from time to time, especially when the pressure is on.

Pacific Division
Anaheim Mighty Ducks
Coach: Mike Babcock
Babcock used a combination of first-year bravado, what he called "greasy" hockey and stunning goaltending by Jean-Sebastien Giguere to get the Ducks to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals last spring. He lost, but that kind of success earns you points upstairs. The Ducks' poor start this season seems little more than the classic Stanley Cup hangover that a great many teams suffer, especially ones without a tradition of success. You would like to think he could have avoided that, but that doesn't mean he's at risk.

General Manager: Bryan Murray
Murray has kicked around a bit with stops in Detroit, Washington and Florida, but that's only made him one of the better GMs in the league. Murray knows what is needed to win and he's pretty good at getting the right parts at the right time. It's fair to say that he does not have a hockey-savvy owner, but that can help when it comes to job security. A more demanding owner might have expected the Ducks to win it all.

Team Situation: Ducks are on the rebound from a poor start, but the climb will be hard. Murray is looking for a second-line center and thought he had Mike Comrie until Kevin Lowe scuttled the deal. Should he get one, it should be enough to put the Ducks back into the playoff hunt.

Dallas Stars
Coach: Dave Tippett
A boy wonder last season, Tippet is in trouble. His best players aren't playing well and that's a reflection on him as well as them. There's been enough improvement in recent games to quell the firing rumors, but it has to continue and at an accelerated rate. Tippett is a good young coach and not all of the problems are of his making. Dallas is a demanding town and ownership is not above making a move for cosmetic purposes.

General Manager: Doug Armstrong
Armstrong and Tippett are close and the GM is just as likely to feel the heat from owner Tom Hicks as Tippett. With that in mind, Armstrong is said to be scouring the league looking for scoring help for his team. He won't go before Tippett, but he needs to save Tippett and this team if he's to save himself down the road.

Team Situation: Goaltender Marty Turco is playing much better now and that helps, but the offense needs a boost. There are enough skill players, so look for Armstrong to try and find more bangers or players with grit.

Los Angeles Kings
Coach: Andy Murray Murray is one of the brightest minds in the game and an excellent motivator. He is a big part of the reason the Kings are contenders in the West, despite numerous injuries. A rock solid coach with a future to match.

General Manager: Dave Taylor
Taylor is old school, but that's a good thing. Taylor knows everything about team building, including getting the right mix of talent, grit, emotion and team players. That's not always the case in an age dominated by bookkeepers and bean counters posing as hockey managers, but Taylor handles that side just as well. Taylor also has the ear of ownership and that serves him well.

Team Situation: The Kings need only to get healthy to be a playoff force, but that's a big "if" as some of their best players are sidelined with long-term head injuries. There is also some question as to whether or not Roman Cechmanek is the long-term answer in goal, but that's a question likely to be addressed at a later date.

Phoenix Coyotes
Coach: Bob Francis
Francis is another one of those coaches who could see it go either way. He's good, but his team is struggling and seems more and more to be tuning him out (though we can't help but wonder why). The Coyotes are one of those teams that never seem ready at the start of the game and often play only to the level of their competition. That reflects badly on a coach.

General Manager: Mike Barnett
Barnett is still learning on the job, but he's learning from a master in Cliff Fletcher. Because he's a former agent, he's got a good grasp of the business side, but he's still learning the art of the deal and his record of acquisition has produced mixed results, which are in evidence most every night. Having his longtime client and best friend, Wayne Gretzky, as a boss is about as good as it gets in terms of job security.

Team Situation: The 'Yotes are still looking for that No.1 center and Chris Gratton, acquired late last season for Daniel Briere, isn't it. There's talk that if a playoff berth slips out of reach goalie Sean Burke could be traded. That would signal yet another rebuilding plan, but it could well be time.

San Jose Sharks
Coach: Ron Wilson
Wilson is a career coach and he's reinvented himself in San Jose where the Sharks are surging in the standings and with their fans. Since he's still in the love-affair stage, having been hired to replace the fired Darryl Sutter last season, and since he's winning, he's safe.

General Manager: Doug Wilson
Wilson was promoted to GM job after Dean Lombardi was let go last season. It's not a stop-gap move as the former All-Star defenseman has worked both sides of the table as a former player agent, players' association representative and management trainee. Like Ron Wilson, Doug is still in the upwardly-mobile stage -- not a lot of demands but still showing improvement. A good position for a GM.

Team Situation: The Sharks are out from under the old management era and going with younger players, some of whom are finally coming into their own. Look for Wilson to shop for a physical defenseman (difficult to find) and maybe a tad more muscle up front.

Eastern Conference

Jim Kelley is the NHL writer for ESPN.com. Submit questions or comments to his mail bag.