'A win-now league': Canadian coaching carousel keeps spinning

Hockey fans could be forgiven for not recognizing some of the faces behind the benches of Canadian NHL teams in recent months.

Last week, the Montreal Canadiens and Edmonton Oilers became the latest clubs to replace their head coaches, joining the three other squads that have made the change over the past year.

The shakeups simply show how seriously every team takes success, said Vancouver Canucks head coach Bruce Boudreau.

“There has been a lot (of change) and it just goes to prove that this is a win-now league, it’s not a development league," said the veteran NHL head coach, who took over in Vancouver in early December.

For a coach, joining a team midseason often comes with less pressure than an off-season move, Boudreau said, because a coaching swap generally means a team is struggling.

"You're trying to stem a tide," he said. "You just go in and you give them your beliefs and you just hope that the players buy into it and you start to succeed and start to have fun. And with that comes success."

In Montreal, finding success seems like a tall order for interim head coach Martin St. Louis.

The Hall of Famer was named to the role last Wednesday after the Canadiens fired Dominique Ducharme following yet another lopsided loss.

Little changed during St. Louis' first week in charge. The Habs (8-33-7) dropped three games in a row to start his tenure and are on a 10-game winless skid for the first time since 1926.

Coming into the role, St. Louis said he knows his job is to get the players excited about playing hockey again.

“I think you have to inspire them a little bit, you’ve got to motivate them," he said in his opening press conference. "I think, at the end of the day, this is the National Hockey League and every game