Coach Randy Carlyle Takes Fall For Anaheim Ducks Slump

No matter the sport, every head coach at every level knows that if their team isn’t winning at some point they’ll be held accountable. It doesn’t matter the real reason–injuries, personnel or whatever. The Anaheim Ducks have been playing awful hockey and it was inevitable that head coach Randy Carlyle would take the fall for that. The axe has fallen and the Ducks have dismissed Carlyle. General Manager Bob Murray will serve as the interim coach for the remainder of the season.

This is the third time in just over a decade that the 62 year old Carlyle has been fired and the second time he’s been fired as head coach of the Anaheim Ducks. Carlyle led the Ducks to the Stanley Cup in the second season of his first stint with the team (2006-2007) but was fired from that in 2011. He was hired as head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs but fired from that gig in 2015.

Murray released this statement praising Carlyle upon his dismissal:

“We thank Randy for everything he has done for the organization. Leading the team to a Stanley Cup and three conference final appearances, he has accomplished so much in Anaheim. Difficult decisions need to be made when times are tough, and our play has clearly been unacceptable. We have a tradition of success in Anaheim, and we need to get back to that.”

In late 2018, the Anaheim Ducks were one of the hottest teams in the NHL. Starting in late November, the Ducks finished the year on a torrid run of 11-2-0 with the only losses coming at Nashville and home against Carolina. It’s been a disaster ever since and Anaheim . The Ducks have won only two of their past twenty one games with a record of 2-15-4 during that stretch. To be fair to Carlyle, much of Anaheim’s problem has been injuries and particularly to their goaltenders. Ryan Miller is still listed as being ‘out indefinitely’ as he recovers from knee surgery. John Gibson–usually one of the more consistently solid goaltenders in the NHL–has been battling injuries and hasn’t been effective when he has played. That’s almost mystifying given how consistently good he’s been throughout his career. Gibson has allowed 18 goals in his last four starts. He didn’t practice on Friday and is currently listed as ‘day to day’ with an upper body injury.

It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Dallas Eakins, the coach of the Ducks’ AHL affiliate, the San Diego Gulls, be given the head coaching reigns in Anaheim. GM Murray held off making the coaching change as he’s generally opposed to doing that midseason. Furthermore, he didn’t want to take Eakins away from the Gulls and hinder development of the young players in the organization. Murray addressed criticism that he waited too long to make the move:

“What has happened here lately and how we have played, it was time for change. Some people thought I waited far too long, but this team has a history of coming on and charging late. I realized it wasn’t going to happen a few days ago.”

Even with their horrible recent form Anaheim is not out of the postseason hunt. They currently trail eighth place Minnesota by 8 points for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.