3 NHL coaches already on the hot seat after tough start to the season.

We are now several weeks into the National Hockey League season and one of the big questions on the minds of many hockey fans is 'Who will be the first coach in the NHL to be fired this season?" and there may not truly be an obvious answer.

Although there may not be one coach that stands out head and shoulders above the rest when it comes to possibly being replaced in season, there are a number of coaches that are likely feeling the heat after poor starts from their respective teams. Today I will be looking at the 3 coaches that I believe are in the most danger, listing them in order from the one I believe to be the most likely to be replaced to the least likely.

#1 Derek Lalonde - Detroit Red Wings.

Lalonde was brought in by general manager Steve Yzerman as a first time head coach in the NHL due in no small part to the work he witnessed Lalonde do as an assistant behind the bench with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Yzerman obviously had strong ties to that organization and although he stepped down in the same year that Lalonde debuted behind the bench for the Lightning, there's no question that the Lightning connection played a role.

Unfortunately for both Yzermand and Lalonde the pairing has not produced the results fans were expecting with the Red Wings missing the playoffs in both of Lalonde's first two seasons as head coach. A record of 4-4-1, including 2 straight losses to the Edmonton Oilers and Buffalo Sabres over the weekend, sees them trending in the wrong direction once again and it is clear that fan sentiment is turning against the team.

Whether or not that will be enough to get Yzerman to make a change in season remains to be seen.

#2 Mike Sullivan - Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Penguins came into the weekend the losers of 3 straight games and things unfortunately only got worse from there. The Penguins were blown out by the Oilers by a score of 4-0 on Friday night and turned a 2-0 lead against the undefeated Winnipeg Jets into a truly monumental second period collapse, one that included 3 goals in 65 seconds from the Jets, for their fifth consecutive loss. The Penguins are also currently tied with the Philadelphia Flyers for the second worst goal differential in the NHL (-13) only ahead of the abysmal San Jose Sharks (-21).

What makes Sullivan's situation unique among the coaches on this list is the fact that he was not hired by the current general manager of the Penguins, with Kyle Dubas having been signed shortly after the Fenway Sports Group gave Sullivan a multi-year contract extension. Dubas himself has been under a great deal of scrutiny with questionable moves like trades for defenseman Erik Karlsson and forward Reilly Smith and the signing of players like goaltender Tristan Jarry and defenseman Ryan Graves to long term deals with hefty price tags attached to them.

It wouldn't come as a shock to see Sullivan become a scapegoat for the Penguins current problems, of which there are many, although whether or not Dubas will pull the trigger on replacing Sullivan with a new coach of his choosing remains to be seen.

#3 John Tortorella.

I've already mentioned that the Flyers are tied for the second worst goal differential in the entire league (-13) but Tortorella sits as a distant third in my opinion due to how committed the Flyers management group seems to be to his coaching philosophy.

The Flyers are currently dead last in the NHL's Metropolitan division with a record of 2-6-1 on the season and appear to have taken a step back from their surprise performance last season. In fact, the unexpected success they enjoyed last season may be hurting Tortorella here given that the team's current form will naturally be compared to the team that just barely missed the playoffs last season.

Tortorella himself has acknowledged the drop off from last season, indicating that he feels his team is a lot slower this time around.

"I'd like to see us play faster," admitted Tortorella. "It just doesn't seem like we're playing fast. I think that's hurt us. We're not sneaking up on teams. Last year, I think we felt we snuck up on teams a little bit with our transition game. The neutral zone's been a little bit tough for us to get through."

Whether or not Tortorella's recognition of the problem will be enough to keep Flyers management patient if the season continues to slip away from them remains to be seen.

Which of these 3 coaches do you believe is most likely to be out of a job this season? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.