The Toronto Maple Leafs fired coach Randy Carlyle on Tuesday.
The Maple Leafs have showed few signs that they could regain the promise that they showed earlier in the season. They have played erratically and have struggled on defense. Carlyle was unable to get the team to play consistently which the team’s senior vice president and general manager David Nonis said was the reason for the firing, according to NHL.com.
"One of the things you have all heard me say since training camp is we felt we need to see some level of consistency, and I think we would all agree we've shown some good stretches, but I don't think I can stand in front of you and say we have been consistent," Nonis said at a press conference on Tuesday. "We just felt that at this point that this was the right time to make the change and move ahead and try to get this team playing like we have been during periods of this season."
Carlyle was the coach of the Anaheim Ducks before joining the Maple Leaf with 18 games left in the 2011-12 season. He led the Maple Leafs to the playoffs in 2013 and they were in playoff contention last year, but lost 12 of their last 14 games, including eight in a row. In four seasons with the Maple Leafs Carlyle had a 91-78-19 record, according to ESPN. In 704 career games he is 364-260-80 and won the Stanley Cup with the Ducks in 2007.
Carlyle is the fourth NHL coach to be fired this season. The other coaches that have been fired are Paul Maclean (Ottawa), Dallas Eakins (Edmonton), and Pete DeBoer (New Jersey), the Associated Press notes. Assistant coaches Peter Horachek and Steve Spott will handle the coaching duties for now. The Maple Leafs are currently 21-16-3 and are hold one of two wild card spots in the Eastern Conference