Montreal Canadiens bench boss Guy Carbonneau was fired by GM Bob Gainey on Monday. He was the seventh NHL coach fired this season.
The Canadiens were once favoured to go all the way this season, the franchise’s 100th anniversary. Many thought Carbonneau would only be fired if Montreal failed to make the playoffs, but his exit came sooner than that.
Six other NHL coaches have been fired this year. Tom Renney was replaced right after the New York Rangers lost a game to the Toronto Maple Leafs after a long midseason slump. Michel Therrien was dismissed a day after the Leafs defeated the Penguins, 6-2, on Valentine's Day. Chicago's Denis Savard got the boot four games into the season at 1-2-1.
Barry Melrose was just 16 games into his Tampa sojourn. Peter Laviolette, whose Canes missed the playoffs in 2006-07 and '07-08, is gone. And Craig Hartsburg (17-24-7) was let go after 48 games with the Senators in Ottawa.
Who will be fired next, after Renney and Therrien? Here's a potential hit list.
1. Tony Granato, Colorado (29-37-1)
The once great Avalanche own last place in the Western Conference this season. The talent level is down from the glory years, but who expected them to be this bad? Granato recently coached his 200th NHL game.
2. Craig MacTavish, Edmonton (32-27-7)
Back in October, Craig MacTavish said he had visions of his team being division contenders this season. Now the Oilers are facing yet another fight to the finish with every point crucial. They haven't been playing with much intensity lately, though.
3. Wayne Gretzky, Phoenix (28-33-6)
The Coyotes franchise is taking a financial beating, and the on-ice product isn't doing much to help its cause, according to the Arizona Republic. "You need to score goals," Gretzky said recently. "It is the time of the year where we count on guys to score big goals, and we're not getting them."
The coach can blame the players, but the GMs tend to fire the coach.
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