Abstract
This study investigated the effects of 15 mid-season coaching turnovers on team performance in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1989 to 2003. Team performance was tracked for one full season before the turnover (T1), the season of transition before and after the turnover (T2 and T3 respectively) and one full season following the year of transition (T4). Overall team performance improved from .35 at T2 to .45 at T3 of available points earned. Furthermore, team performance continued to improve to 51 at T4. When coaching experience was considered, results showed that incoming coaches had less experience as an NHL head coach than their replaced counterparts. The current findings suggest that mid-season coach turnover does lead to improved team performance in the short-term and at least the full season following the turnover. Results also show that team performance improved despite the fact that inexperienced coaches replaced experienced coaches.
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