With the NHL offseason underway for more than half of teams, the league's coaching carousel is now in full swing. There are currently four clubs without a head coach and two others with decisions to make about their interim bench bosses.

The coaching free-agent class is full of intriguing names. Veteran NHL head coaches Mike Babcock, John Tortorella, Claude Julien, Bruce Boudreau, Gerard Gallant, Rick Tocchet, David Quinn, and more are all up for grabs.

Several other people could also become first-time NHL head coaches: New York Islanders assistant Lane Lambert, Providence College's Nate Leaman, University of Minnesota Duluth's Scott Sandelin, and the Zurich Lions' Rikard Gronborg are all names to keep in mind.

Below, we predict who each club will hire as its head coach this offseason.

Arizona Coyotes

The Coyotes and Tocchet agreed to part ways after he guided the team for four seasons. Arizona has undergone ownership and front office changes since hiring Tocchet, so a fresh start seemed inevitable.

Owner Alex Meruelo has a reported history of thriftiness - to put it lightly - so don't expect the Coyotes to land a big-name head coach. It's also an undesirable job due to the mediocre roster and underwhelming prospect pipeline, so it's hard to imagine the club would've been able to lure a big fish anyway. Even highly regarded candidates looking to become first-time head coaches might be scared off.

However, Jay Varady is a logical candidate. Varady enjoyed two successful seasons as the head coach of Arizona's AHL affiliate, the Tuscon Roadrunners, before the team promoted him to an assistant coach this past season.

If the Yotes go external, don't be surprised if they pluck someone from the St. Louis Blues organization. Bill Armstrong worked in St. Louis for 16 seasons before Arizona hired him as its GM in 2020. Blues assistants Steve Ott and Mike van Ryn are prime candidates. Van Ryn has ties to the desert, too - albeit under the old regime - as he was the Roadrunners' head coach for their most successful season in 2017-18.

Prediction: Mike van Ryn

Buffalo Sabres

Don Granato took over head coaching duties on an interim basis midway through the 2020-21 campaign after the Sabres relieved Ralph Krueger of his duties, and he did a respectable job. Granato's 9-16-3 record is nothing to write home about, but the club did hire him in the midst of an 18-game losing streak. The temporary bench boss went 9-11-2 once that ended - and that was primarily without Jack Eichel, Taylor Hall, Brandon Montour, Eric Staal, and starting goaltender Linus Ullmark.

If Buffalo opts to keep Eichel, Sam Reinhart, Rasmus Ristolainen, and the rest of the gang together to try and right the ship, then bringing in a veteran head coach with a proven track record would make sense.

However, if the team decides to tear it down - which seems more likely - promoting Granato to full-time head coach is logical. Some of the Sabres' key building blocks, such as Rasmus Dahlin and Casey Mittelstadt, seemed to thrive under Granato. The development of those young players will be crucial in the rebuild, which justifies keeping Granato around.

Prediction: Don Granato

Columbus Blue Jackets

The Blue Jackets enter the offseason in a precarious position. The club's about to undergo some sort of rebuild, retool, or reset - choose your buzzword - after a miserable season, which followed the most successful run in franchise history.

Tortorella is out, and Columbus needs to bring in a coach that can get the most out of Patrik Laine, who struggled mightily after arriving in Ohio. Considering the Jackets are in a small market, don't expect the team to empty its pockets for a big-name head coach - especially after all of the 2020-21 campaign's lost revenue.

Still, Boudreau could be a fit - he has a strong track record of regular-season success and getting the most out of skilled players.

However, with John Davidson back in the fold as team president after a two-year stint with the Rangers, Quinn is an obvious fit after the duo worked together in New York.

Lastly, if one NHL franchise were to go outside the box and hire the third European head coach in league history, it would probably be the one with Jarmo Kekalainen - the first European GM in NHL history - calling the shots. That leaves former Swedish national coach Gronborg, as well as Finnish national coach Jukka Jalonen, as possibilities.

Prediction: Rikard Gronborg

Montreal Canadiens

Dominique Ducharme is currently the interim bench boss after the Canadiens fired Claude Julien midseason. Ducharme did not fare well in the regular campaign, going 15-16-5, but he made up for it in a big way during the playoffs, leading Montreal to a massive come-from-behind first-round upset over the Toronto Maple Leafs.

That series likely saved GM Marc Bergevin's job, which should almost certainly result in Ducharme's promotion to full-time head coach.

Given that the Habs stick to hiring only French-speaking head coaches, there aren't many other options available. Guy Boucher, Bob Hartley, Marc Crawford, and even Patrick Roy would be candidates among retread options, but all come with question marks. It's clear Ducharme has earned the rights to the full-time gig.

Prediction: Dominique Ducharme

New York Rangers

Rangers owner James Dolan believes his team is in a position to win now. That's part of the reason president John Davidson, GM Jeff Gorton, and Quinn were all fired. The Blueshirts seemed to be progressing in the right direction after declaring a rebuild just three years ago, but ownership clearly had visions of success sooner.

Given Dolan's eagerness, hiring someone with NHL head coaching experience seems like a given - especially since his last hire, Quinn, came from the college ranks.

Early indications back this theory up as well, as the organization has already interviewed veterans Gallant and Tocchet. GM Chris Drury has no prior connection to either coach, so it's unclear if either one of them may have the upper hand. It's also possible the New York club could interview other retreads like Babcock or Boudreau. A reunion with Tortorella seems unlikely, though.

Gallant should be a hot commodity after the fantastic job he did with the Vegas Golden Knights. Despite not getting a job last offseason, he may end up having his pick of the litter. If that's the case, it's hard to find a more desirable job than the Rangers, given all of their young talent.

Prediction: Gerard Gallant

Seattle Kraken

Gallant may be the best man for the job given his history of instant success with an expansion team, but it's hard to imagine he'd choose the Kraken if a team like the Rangers came calling.

Boudreau, Tortorella, and Babcock could all receive consideration for the position, but if GM Ron Francis opts to choose a candidate with league experience, Tocchet stands out above the rest.

Francis and Tocchet go way back. The pair were teammates in junior with the OHL's Soo Greyhounds and in the NHL with the Pittsburgh Penguins, where they won a Stanley Cup together in 1992. The phrase "it's all about who you know" seems to matter a lot in this industry, as executives often want to surround themselves with people they're familiar with.

Prediction: Rick Tocchet

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Winnipeg Jets pivot Mark Scheifele has been handed a four-game suspension for charging Montreal Canadiens forward Jake Evans on Wednesday night, the NHL's Department of Player Safety announced.

Scheifele was assessed a charging major and a game misconduct on the play.

Evans had to be stretchered off the ice and is out indefinitely with a concussion.

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Canada defeated the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) 2-1 in overtime Thursday to advance to the world championship semifinals.

Andrew Mangiapane scored the winning goal for Canada off a brilliant setup from Troy Stecher. Adam Henrique forced the extra frame with a tally in the third period.

ROC held a significant advantage over Canada in NHL star power and entered Thursday's contest leading the tournament in goals scored.

Canada will play the United States on Saturday at 7:15 a.m. ET, while Germany and Finland will clash in the other semifinal matchup.

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Winnipeg Jets head coach Paul Maurice defended Mark Scheifele on Thursday after the star earned a hearing with the NHL's Department of Player Safety for charging Montreal Canadiens forward Jake Evans.

"You need to do everything you can to stop a goal from being scored. It was a heavy, heavy hit for sure, but it was clean," Maurice said, according to The Athletic's Murat Ates.

Maurice added that Scheifele didn't leave his feet or lead with his elbow, and that Evans' head wasn't the target of the impact.

Scheifele skated nearly the entire length of the ice and steamrolled Evans as he tucked a goal into Winnipeg's empty net late in the third period of Game 1 on Wednesday night. Evans was stretchered off the ice and is sidelined indefinitely with a concussion.

The Canadiens said the hit was disgusting and promised retribution should Scheifele return at some point in the series.

Scheifele's hearing isn't in-person, meaning he can be suspended for a maximum of five games. He's never faced supplemental discipline to this point in his NHL career.

Game 2 goes Friday night.

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Petr Mrazek will start in goal for the Carolina Hurricanes versus the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 3 on Thursday night, head coach Rod Brind'Amour confirmed to reporters.

Alex Nedeljkovic had started Carolina's eight previous playoff games so far, posting a .920 save percentage and 2.18 goals against average.

"Ned's been great, that's not really the issue," Brind'Amour said, according to the Raleigh News & Observer's Chip Alexander. "We're going to need everybody as fresh as possible to get a victory."

Mrazek missed much of the regular season due to injury but was reliable when healthy. The 29-year-old had a .923 save percentage in 12 appearances.

The Hurricanes are in desperate need of a win after dropping the opening two games of the series to the defending champions.

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Montreal Canadiens forward Jake Evans had to be stretchered off the ice in Game 1 after taking a vicious hit from Winnipeg Jets center Mark Scheifele.

Scheifele lined up Evans from across the ice as the Canadiens player buried an empty-netter with less than a minute remaining in the contest.

The Jets pivot was handed a charging major and game misconduct.

Here's a look from another angle:

Scheifele left his feet, led with his elbow, and appeared to make contact with Evans' head.

Habs defenseman Joel Edmundson took issue with the hit, saying there will be repercussions if Scheifele appears again in the series.

"It was a dirty hit, but the league's going to take care of it," he told reporters postgame, per TSN's John Lu. "If (Scheifele) gets back in the series, we're going to make his life miserable."

Jesperi Kotkaniemi also defended his teammate.

"It's disgusting. Little respect for the players out there," Kotkaniemi said. "Just seeing (Evans) moving (on the stretcher) after a thing like that was huge."

Evans had movement in his arms as he left the ice.

Montreal held on for the 5-3 win.

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