The NHL’s 2026 off-season is halfway over, but all teams are set in terms of their coaches next season. There are no more interim coaches, nor are there head-coaching openings. What you see is what you get – at least, until the season is underway.
As we’ve seen in recent years, teams are prepared to make coaching changes at the start of the season, as well as a few days before the Stanley Cup playoffs. No coaching position is completely safe anymore. And that’s why you see teams making changes behind the bench all season long.
Here at TheHockeyNews.com, we’re ranking all of the NHL’s coaches, in reverse order, from No. 32 through No. 1. Criteria for our ranking include every coach’s accomplishments, short-term and long-term history, and expectations and overall reputation. But ultimately, this ranking is subjective.
We revealed coaches 32 through 27 Sunday. Monday, we revealed coaches 26 through 21. Tuesday, we unveiled coaches 20 through 16.
Wednesday, we unveiled coaches 15 through 11. And at this point, we’re unveiling the top 10 coaches.
Here’s our choice for coach No. 10:
10. PETER DEBOER, NEW YORK ISLANDERS
DeBoer missed most of this past season, as he hadn’t found a new coaching home since the Dallas Stars fired him shortly after the 2024-25 season concluded. But he’s coached 1,265 regular-season games, and if he lasts the full season as coach of the Islanders, DeBoer will move into 18th place in NHL history in games coached.
DeBoer is now on his sixth NHL team – he’s previously coached the Florida Panthers, New Jersey Devils, San Jose Sharks, Vegas Golden Knights and Stars – and the Islanders hired him at the tail end of last season to get the veteran-laden Isles team on a long playoff run. That didn’t work, as the Isles missed the playoffs by seven standings points. But in a relatively weak Metropolitan Division, the Islanders have an opportunity to surprise people next year and surge in the Metro standings.
DeBoer might be considered a journeyman coach at this point in his career. But he’s got the experience and the numbers that make teams give him another chance. Since 2015-16, DeBoer’s teams have made the playoffs in nine of 11 full NHL seasons.
Although he isn’t perfect – certainly, throwing Stars goalie Jake Oettinger under the bus led directly to DeBoer being fired by the Stars last summer – it’s also possible that DeBoer has learned from his mistakes and is now in a place where he can steer a team back to the second-or-third-playoff-round and beyond.
DeBoer would rate higher on this list if he’d won a Cup by now, but he’s had two Cup final appearances early in his career, and his teams have made seven appearances in the Western Conference final. Indeed, DeBoer hasn’t been able to get over the final hump and into the championship-winner’s circle.
But there’s a reason why DeBoer is getting additional chances to stick the landing. He’s got a tricky task with the Islanders, as they want to win now while also developing young players for a new era for the organization. But he might just be able to get the job done.
DeBoer’s impressive staying power is part of the reason he’s a top-10 coach. But he still has an opportunity to surge higher on this list a year from now. DeBoer is under contract through the 2029-30 campaign, so he has the job security many, if not most, coaches only dream of.
DeBoer has accomplished a lot in his NHL career, but he’s still scratching and clawing his way toward his goal of winning a Cup. DeBoer has shown that he can make a team competitive, but his goal now must be to push through the Metro and Eastern Conference ranks and reach a Cup final appearance.
If he can do that, DeBoer will be well worth the investment Islanders ownership and management have made in him.