Todd McLellan's release from the Edmonton

Todd McLellan's release from the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday made for the fourth coaching casualty in the NHL this season. If you we consider in 2017-18 Matt Read Jersey Womens , no coaches were fired during the season at all, it's hard to fathom how, to date, McLellan, John Stevens (LA), Joel Quenneville (Chicago) and Mike Yeo (St. Louis) have all been let go and most before the respective teams hit the 20-game mark of the 2018-19 regular season.So why the change? What makes this season so much different than last season and why are teams so quick to make a change? If we look at聽reasons teams make coaching changes in general, what happened in each team's particular case and the general changes year to year in the NHL, we can see both similarities and differences between this year and last and why these four may not be the final names on the casualty list.advertisingDisappointing Seasons via SportsnetIn some cases, the firings that happened this year are a direct result of unexpected and disappointing seasons. Perhaps in Edmonton and Chicago, things weren't dire, but in St. Louis and Los Angeles they were Matt Hendricks Jersey Womens , with the Oilers and Blackhawks not far behind.If we聽take the Blues as an example, here's a team who went out this past offseason and loaded up on offensive talent. They brought back David Perron, added Tyler Bozak, traded for Ryan O'Reilly and signed Patrick Maroon. They still had stars like Vladimir Tarasenko and should have been a deep team contending for a playoff spot, predicted to go deep in the postseason. Instead, they sit second-last in the NHL standings with the fifth-worst goals-for total in the league. Whatever that team envisioned clearly hadn't been panning out. The only team worse? The Los Angeles Kings.advertisingParity in the NHL via sportsnetMoreso than ever before, there's great parity in the NHL 鈥?meaning, any team can beat any team at any given time. Sure, there are stacked teams that were clear favorites from the first puck drop of the 2018-19 campaign, but those teams represent only a select few of the 31 NHL franchises that make up the league. Only聽six total points separate the聽third-place team from the fifteenth-placed team in the NHL standings, meaning a three-game losing streak or three-game winning streak puts any team right back in the conversation.When McLellan was let go in Edmonton Eric Fehr Jersey Womens , general manager Peter Chiarelli said of the decision, one or two points can be the difference between making or missing the playoffs. He's right. In the NHL, an overtime win or loss in the regular season could mean being in or out of the postseason. Every game, every period and every point counts. If general managers get a sense that the team isn't taking advantage of earning those points, they look to how to correct the problem. Sometimes it's players, but more often than not, the coach becomes the scapegoat. Sometimes, a quick change wakes a team up and kicks an organization back into full-effort mode.advertisingScapegoats via CBS Chicago - CBS LocalUnfortunately, for some of these coaches, the wrong person was actually fired. In Chicago, fans and media were floored that Quenneville was let go when you consider the mess the Blackhawks GM had made of the team. Bad contracts Greg Pateryn Jersey Womens , worse trades, and awful cap management left the coach to lead a team that was not nearly competitive enough. Quenneville wasn't playing with a full deck. It was a similar situation in Edmonton where Peter Chiarelli has to be on the hot seat now, after trading Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, and others, yet hasn't improved the team's defense. He's wasting the best years of Connor McDavid's career. In LA, Stevens was working with an aging team that likely isn't as good as some suggested they might be.advertisingIt's easy as a GM to grasp play that one final card before you're out on your a$$ and fire the coach. If you're lucky, things turn around and you salvage your job. If not, you prolonged the inevitable.What This MeansNo matter why these coaches were fired, don't expect these four to be the only ones served their walking papers. The New Jersey Devils, Pittsburgh Penguins Womens Luke Kunin Jersey , Florida Panthers and Philadelphia Flyers are having less-than-stellar seasons compared to expectations. Bruce Bennett/Getty ImagesThe Ottawa Senators reached an agreement Fridayto trade center Matt Duchene to the Columbus Blue Jackets, according to TSN's Darren Dreger.Aaron Portzline of The Athletic noted that prospects Vitaly Abramov andJonathan Davidsson are part of the package going to Ottawa in the deal. TSN's Bob McKenzie noted that defensemanJulius Bergman will also head to Columbus.According to TSN's Pierre LeBrun, the Senators will receive a 2019 first-round pick in the deal as well as a conditional 2020 first-round pick if Duchene re-signs with the Blue Jackets.The deal takes place as Ottawa prepares to host Columbus on Friday night. Per Dreger, Duchene is expected to suit up for the Blue Jackets in the game.The Sens acquired Duchene from the Colorado Avalanche, who selected him with the third overall pick in the 2009 NHL draft, in a November 2017 swap.Although the 28-year-old Canadian was highly productive for Ottawa, including 58 points (27 goals and 31 assists) in 50 appearances during the current campaign, he's set to become an unrestricted free agent at season's end. That put pressure on the front office to re-sign or trade him before the deadline.In mid-January, Duchene said he wasn't letting the uncertainty become a distraction because he understood "it's a business.""Honestly, I'm just letting it play out. I don't know what's going to happen. I have no clue," he told reporters. "This is still very early in the process Marcus Foligno Jersey , I think today is one of the first kind of real [contract extension] talks so I'm not sure."Duchene ranks 27th among all NHL skaters with 535 points since 2009-10, his debut campaign with the Avs, per Hockey Reference.His resume also includes two All-Star Game selections and an Olympic gold medal with Canada at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.Duchene should quickly slot in as a key piece of the Blue Jackets'top six, which is already headlined by Artemi Panarin and All-Star Cam Atkinson.It's not immediately clear whether Columbus will attempt to re-sign the playmaking center or simply view him as a rental for its playoff run. Dreger noted that there have been no extension talks at this time, as the Blue Jackets are just looking to make a run at the Stanley Cup this season.The Blue Jackets figured to be the team to watch ahead of the trade deadline as stars Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky are scheduled to become free agents this summer. General manager Jarmo Kekalainen decided not to wait around and decided to make a splash to bolster his roster as the franchise looks to earn its third consecutive playoff berth.Columbus is currently on the outside looking in of the Eastern Conference playoff picture, sitting one point back of the Carolina Hurricanes for the final wild-card spot. The Blue Jackets have played two fewer games than the Hurricanes, though.