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Ranking the head coaching vacancies by attractiveness

Eric Hartline / USA Today Sports

There are currently five head coaching vacancies in the NHL. The following list ranks each vacancy from most attractive to least attractive. The criteria is largely made up of the talent and age of the roster, but management stability and location were also factored in.

Top dog: Florida Panthers

The Panthers have two things every coach covets: A true No. 1 center and a franchise defenseman. Aleksander Barkov and Aaron Ekblad are legitimate organization cornerstones - and they're both just 21 years old.

In addition to Barkov and Ekblad, Vincent Trocheck and Nick Bjugstad provide nice depth down the middle, while Jonathan Huberdeau and Jonathan Marchessault provide solid top-six talent.

There is some work to be done on the back end behind Ekblad, and there are question marks between the pipes with the aging Roberto Luongo and his massive contract, but the young core will be appetizing enough for any head coach.

In addition to the roster, Dale Tallon was just reinstated as the club's general manager. Knowing there won't be turnover in the front office anytime soon is a big deal when it comes to recruiting a coach. Oh, and who wouldn't want to live in sunny Florida, where there is very little market pressure?

(Photo courtesy: Action Images)

Second fiddle: Dallas Stars

The dynamic duo of Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn makes the Stars gig a very appealing one. Few teams ice such a prolific offensive tandem.

The team also boasts some young players with upside, such as defensemen John Klingberg, Esa Lindell, and Julius Honka and forwards Devin Shore, Radek Faksa, and Remi Elie.

There is a glaring weakness between the pipes, but both Kari Lehtonen and Antti Niemi will come off the books after the 2017-18 season.

(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)

Middle of the pack: Los Angeles Kings

Any coach would be thrilled to coach one of the best defenseman in the game, Drew Doughty, who is still just 27. That will be the major selling point for coaches considering the Kings' gig.

In addition to Doughty, the Kings have what many would consider two first-line caliber centers in Jeff Carter and Anze Kopitar, though the latter certainly didn't play like one this past season.

Even though Jonathan Quick is on the wrong side of 30, he is still one of the best goaltenders in the NHL.

On the negative side, the team is on the hook for some very bad contracts. Rob Blake in charge as the new GM indicates stability for the head coach, but it also means a rebuild could be on the horizon.

(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)

Bad, but not the worst: Vancouver Canucks

The Canucks have been in semi-rebuilding mode for a few years now. They do have some young talent on the roster, but nothing earth-shattering. Bo Horvat is a nice player, but he doesn't project to be the type of center you can build your entire team around.

The club's best prospect is goaltender Thatcher Demko, who should be NHL-ready within the next few seasons.

One of the negatives of taking the Vancouver job is dealing with media pressure in a hockey-crazed market. It's not Toronto- or Montreal-type crazy, but it's up there.

(Photo courtesy: @SinBinVegas/Twitter)

Last and definitely least: Vegas Golden Knights

The least appealing has to be the Golden Knights. Coaching an expansion team is never easy. With the exception of Jacques Lemaire in Minnesota, most inaugural head coaches of expansion teams don't last more than three or four seasons.

Vegas can be a great city to live in for the right person, but's hard to take a job with an organization whose only current player is Reid Duke.

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