We have reached the point of the season in the NHL where the upper management collectively takes a step back and looks at the product that they have put their name upon. All of the off-season haggling and negotiating can be for naught when a key injury or slow start is crippling the franchise.

Players who aren’t cutting the metaphorical mustard can be benched or even sent to the minors for some “conditioning” or just a wake up call. They’ll still collect a paycheck for the most part because in the end they are harder to replace. The scapegoat ultimately ends up being the guy in the suit standing behind the bench.

Head coaches are hard to come by in the NHL. Let me rephrase or correct that statement by adding that “good” coaches are hard to find. The premise of a good coach always being employed typically holds true even in the world of the NHL, when the coaching carousel can take some treacherous turns.

We have already seen the Philadelphia Flyers pull the trigger on Peter Laviolette three games into the season. Here are five more head coaches that need to keep their eyes out for a pink slip if they can’t get their act together.

5. Ron Rolston, Buffalo Sabres

The yard sale in Buffalo has begun with the Thomas Vanek trade and it could end with Ron Rolston joining the unemployed. By trading their top player, Buffalo has basically given up on the season. With Ryan Miller sure to follow in the next few weeks, the Sabres could continue to clean house and bring in a more accomplished coach to tackle the rag-tag group that will be in Buffalo jerseys for the rest of the season.

4. Craig Berube, Philadelphia Flyers

Nobody really expected Craig Berube to be named the Flyers coach and he still may have the interim label attached to his good name. He has zero head coaching experience and is now the coach of a team that could turn the corner or continue to slide into oblivion. Berube has the temperament to motivate and the fire to command respect, but I don’t know where the Flyers are going to find the scoring to dig themselves out of the hole their in.

3. Peter DeBoer, New Jersey Devils

The Devils are a train wreck and we all knew that they would be. They have a roster full of veterans with some promising youth working their way up. However, New Jersey is spinning their wheels and DeBoer could be a casualty if the Devils find themselves spectating during the 2014 Stanley Cup playoffs.

2. Alain Vigneault, New York Rangers

I certainly don’t think that it is a good decision to pull a quick trigger on the first year Ranger head man, but the patience of the fans and ownership has to be wearing thin. Vigneault has every excuse in the world at his disposal for a horrid start: injuries to Rick Nash, Ryan Callahan and Carl Hagelin, a nine game road trip to begin the season and a roster that doesn’t match his coaching philosophy. Given those considerations you would think that Vigneault would be safe for a little bit, but I see wholesale changes on Broadway, which include a new bench boss.

1. Kevin Dineen, Florida Panthers

The honeymoon is over for the former Hartford Whaler, Dineen. A division crown in 2011 is nothing but a distant memory for the Florida head coach who has watched the Panthers free fall since their Game 7 loss in the first round of the 2011 playoffs. There is obvious rebuilding going on in south Florida, but if ownership feels that the club isn’t responding to his leadership, Dineen could be sent packing.