Yet another NHL coach has seen the end of his current tenure this season, and it once again takes place in the Pacific Division. This time, it was the Anaheim Ducks, who fired head coach Randy Carlyle on Sunday afternoon. The 62-year-old was in his second stint with the Ducks, and is now the winningest coach in team history, including a Stanley Cup win in the 2006-2007 season. Although, the Ducks' struggles this season has sent Carlyle packing, as they now sit in last place in the Pacific Division at 20-27-9 following Saturday's 6-2 blowout loss to the Philadelphia Flyers.
Their struggles have taken place over the past two months, as the Ducks did have 19 wins in their first 35 games, which was good for the ninth-best record in the entire NHL, and best in the Pacific. Since then, they have gone 2-15-4, including a franchise-worst 12-game losing streak, as they now hold the worst record in the entire league. Following Saturday's defeat, the Ducks currently hold a seven-game losing streak, in which they have been outscored, 37-8, in that span.
Some may give them the excuse that they have missed Patrick Eaves, Cam Fowler, Ryan Miller, Rickard Rakell, Ondrej Kase, and Corey Perry to injuries, but for a city that is use to hockey success, anything other than that is unacceptable. General manager Bob Murray will take over as the interim head coach, as the GM admitted that he was hesitant to fire Carlyle. That is because the GM usually isn't fond of mid-season coaching changes, but he had to make the exception this time around. This is the second time in the past four years that Carlyle has been fired, as the Toronto Maple Leafs gave him the same fate in 2015.
Their struggles have taken place over the past two months, as the Ducks did have 19 wins in their first 35 games, which was good for the ninth-best record in the entire NHL, and best in the Pacific. Since then, they have gone 2-15-4, including a franchise-worst 12-game losing streak, as they now hold the worst record in the entire league. Following Saturday's defeat, the Ducks currently hold a seven-game losing streak, in which they have been outscored, 37-8, in that span.
Some may give them the excuse that they have missed Patrick Eaves, Cam Fowler, Ryan Miller, Rickard Rakell, Ondrej Kase, and Corey Perry to injuries, but for a city that is use to hockey success, anything other than that is unacceptable. General manager Bob Murray will take over as the interim head coach, as the GM admitted that he was hesitant to fire Carlyle. That is because the GM usually isn't fond of mid-season coaching changes, but he had to make the exception this time around. This is the second time in the past four years that Carlyle has been fired, as the Toronto Maple Leafs gave him the same fate in 2015.
