Carlyle Becomes the Third Coach to be Fired in Busy NHL Week
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December 1, 2011 TheFreshOutlook  |
Randy Carlyle was fired by the Anaheim Ducks, with the organisation turning to former Washington Capitals head coach Bruce Boudreau.
Bruce Boudreau’s unemployment lasted three days, as the former Washington Capitals head coach was hired to replace Randy Carlyle at the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday. The Ducks’ move to replace Carlyle with Boudreau was the third head coaching move of the week, and the fourth of the season.
The Ducks announced the move shortly after Carlyle had led the team to just their seventh win thanks to a 4-1 defeat of the Montreal Canadiens. General manager Bob Murray decided the win was not enough to save his job, stating: “This was an extremely difficult decision … Randy is a terrific head coach, and did a tremendous job for us for six-plus seasons. At this time, we simply felt a new voice was needed.”
Boudreau was fired and replaced by Dale Hunter for similar reasons in Washington on Monday. His resume, which includes the achievement of becoming the fastest coach to 200 NHL wins, and leading the Capitals to the playoffs each of the past four years, was too much for Murray to turn down.
Murray highlighted Boudreau’s recent success as the reason they made the move, saying: “Bruce is a proven winner with a great track record, and we are optimistic we can turn this season around under his leadership.”
Anaheim has fallen well behind their competition in the strong Pacific Division standings. San Jose Sharks are the closest team, 9 points ahead, with all their rival teams having already achieved 12 wins.
The Californian team won the Stanley Cup under Carlyle in 2007, but decided that the team’s recent run of poor form outweighed Carlyle’s success from four years ago.
The Ducks’ new head coach is expected to run the team’s practice on Thursday before being formally introduced to the media. Boudreau will hope to build upon the Ducks win Wednesday night in his first game in charge on Friday against the Philadelphia Flyers.
By Matthew Giles
[Image courtesy of OfficerGreg]
