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Pre-game reading: Which coach is on the hottest seat now?

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The Bruins have fired Claude Julien, so which NHL coach is next up on the coaching hot seat? Bob McKenzie examines the futures of Stars' Lindy Ruff and the Lightning's Jon Cooper.

-- Up top, Bob McKenzie discusses whether Lindy Ruff is on the hot seat in Dallas. Ruff’s contract is up at the end of the season, and the Stars, after winning the Central Division last season, are most likely going to miss the playoffs.

-- In a related story, Ruff is the favorite in the next-coach-to-be-fired category at online bookmaker Bovada. Other candidates include Paul Maurice in Winnipeg, Jon Cooper in Tampa Bay, and Michel Therrien in Montreal. (MLive)

coaches

-- Therrien is certainly an interesting name on that list. Nobody was expecting him to be fired a month ago when the Canadiens were 25-9-6. But the Habs have been slumping lately, and now comes word that GM Marc Bergevin met with Max Pacioretty, Carey Price and Shea Weber on Wednesday, without Therrien present. Bergevin then reportedly met with Therrien, without the players present. What to make of that? Maybe nothing. But the Habs could sure use a win tonight in Arizona. (Yahoo Sports)

-- Blues defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk is trying to ignore the trade rumors. “My whole mentality is that when it happens, it happens. I can’t control when or where it’s going to be. I have to focus on my everyday responsibilities here. Looking at Twitter, that’s not going to help me by any means. It’s not going to be good for me.’' Shattenkirk is a pending unrestricted free agent. It’s possible he could get traded prior to the March 1 deadline, especially if the Blues can’t continue their winning ways under coach Mike Yeo. (ESPN)

-- An update on the arena situation in Seattle, with a statement from the mayor, Ed Murray. “Over the last four years, the SoDo arena group and the City have worked to determine whether SoDo would be the best place to build a new NBA and NHL arena. Given the continued uncertainty of when the SoDo group can secure a team and with multiple partners with strong ties to the NBA and NHL interested in the renovation of KeyArena without requiring a team, the City will continue the RFP process to evaluate KeyArena as an option to bring the Sonics back to Seattle. City Council will determine the path forward on the proposed street vacation in SoDo, while we continue to look at all the options, including the SoDo arena, and consider what is best for the public and what will bring the NBA and NHL to Seattle.” (Seattle Times)

-- An interview with Vegas GM George McPhee, who talks about trying to predict which players will be available in the expansion draft. “It’s not hard to identify the top players on each team and know who’s going to be protected. There are typically three or four guys on the bubble that are people we have to focus on and that all the GMs around the league will have to make difficult decisions on. Every club is going to lose a player. I think they’ve all accepted that.” (Yahoo Sports)

Enjoy the games!