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Boudreau replaces Carlyle in Anaheim |
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Headlines
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Written by J.P. Hoornstra
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Thursday, December 01, 2011 03:09 |
Randy Carlyle, the Ducks' only head coach since 2005, is fired less than an hour after a cathartic home win. Bruce Boudreau steps in two days after being fired by the Washington Capitals.
Two days.
That's how long it took Bruce Boudreau to find a job, and for the Anaheim Ducks to decide to entrust their future to the former Washington Capitals coach.
Less than an hour after Randy Carlyle had conducted his postgame interviews Wednesday following the Ducks' 4-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens, the Ducks announced that Boudreau was replacing Carlyle as head coach.
“This was an extremely difficult decision,” Ducks general manager Bob Murray said in a statement. “Randy is a terrific head coach, and did a tremendous job for us for six-plus seasons. We thank him greatly for his hard work and dedication to our franchise, not the least of which was a Stanley Cup championship. At this time, we simply felt a new voice was needed. Bruce is a proven winner with a great track record, and we are optimistic we can turn this season around under his leadership.”
Only Mike Babcock in Detroit, Lindy Ruff in Buffalo and Barry Trotz in Nashville had spent more time with their current team than Carlyle had in Anaheim. He led the Ducks to their first and only Stanley Cup championship in 2007 and compiled a 273-182-61 record (.588 win percentage) in 516 career games – the most wins and highest win percentage in club history.
Carlyle signed a contract extension through the 2014 season over the summer, but failed to meet expectations in his seventh season in Anaheim. After a 4-2 start, the Ducks won just two of their next 16 games, falling to 6-13-4.
They were riding a seven-game losing streak when the day began and the prevailing rumor was that star left wing Bobby Ryan was on the trading block. The day appeared to end with a cathartic home victory over Montreal, before the abrupt decision to replace Carlyle was announced.
Both Ducks assistant coaches, Mike Foligno and Dave Farrish, were also fired along with video coordinator Joe Trotta. Former Ottawa Senators assistant Brad Lauer, currently the assistant coach of the Ducks' AHL affiliate in Syracuse, will assist Boudreau behind the Ducks' bench. According to the team's official release, an additional assistant coach will be named "in the coming days."
A press conference to introduce Boudreau is scheduled for Thursday afternoon following the Ducks' 11 a.m. practice.
 Boudreau, 56, was named interim head coach of the Capitals on Nov. 22, 2007. On that date, Washington was 30th in the NHL standings. Boudreau led the club to a 37-17-7 finish, as the Capitals won the Southeast Division in the first of four seasons under his direction. He became the second Washington head coach to win the Jack Adams Award.
In 2008-09, Boudreau led the Capitals to their first playoff series win since 1988. In addition to the Presidents’ Trophy, the 2009-10 club set team records for wins (54), points (121) and goals (313).
Known as an offensive-oriented coach, Boudreau's teams could never translate their regular-season success into a long playoff run, winning just one series in four years.
This year even regular-season success eluded the Caps. They had slipped to second place in the Southeast at 12-9-1 when Dale Hunter was named Boudreau's successor on Monday.
Boudreau's job in Anaheim will be similar to the one he faced four years ago in Washington: To coax more goals out of his star forwards. Ryan, Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf have combined for just 23 goals in the Ducks' 24 games, and sport a collective minus-25 rating.
Boudreau's freewheeling style of play stands in sharp contrast to Carlyle's dump-and-grind system, and could prove a preferable alternative to trading Ryan.
The Ducks host the Philadelphia Flyers on Friday.
Photos by Getty Images
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Last Updated on Thursday, December 01, 2011 05:48 |
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