TORONTO — Randy Carlyle was fired as coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday following a road trip in which the team lost five of seven games and showed little signs it would soon get better.
The dismissal comes 40 games into the season, with Toronto 21-16-3 and in fourth place in the Atlantic Division. The Maple Leafs have shown flashes of promise but have struggled on defense.
“I want to thank Randy for all of his hard work and dedication,” general manager Dave Nonis said in a statement. “It’s never an easy decision to make when changing your leadership, but our team was not trending in the right direction and we felt an immediate change was necessary.”
Assistants Steve Spott and Peter Horachek will run the bench for Wednesday’s game against the Washington Capitals.
Carlyle went 91-68-19 in 188 games as coach over parts of four seasons. He won the Stanley Cup as coach of the Anaheim Ducks in 2007.
He is the fourth NHL coach to be fired this season. The others were Ottawa’s Paul MacLean, Edmonton’s Dallas Eakins and New Jersey’s Pete DeBoer.
Carlyle was thought to be on a short leash given Toronto’s collapses the past two seasons. Last year, it was a stretch of 12 losses in the final 14 games that knocked the Leafs out of playoff contention. In 2013, it was a Game 7 loss to the Boston Bruins.
After Brendan Shanahan was hired as president in April, he evaluated the coaching staff and decided to re-sign Carlyle and fire his assistants. Carlyle received a two-year extension, but the final season of it was a team option.
Asked about Carlyle before the season, Nonis said the idea of a “short leash” is no different from what has been the case in the past.
“How a team plays is always a reflection of your coach,” Nonis said the day training camp opened. “At some point you look at how the team plays and you say, ’Is a coach having the impact that’s needed?’ I don’t really think that matters if a coach is on a one-year or a two-year deal if you don’t think he’s getting through.”
Blowout losses in November seemed to symbolize that, but a 9-1-1 run following a couple of embarrassing games got the Leafs back on track. Losing five of seven on the road trip, and repeating the same kind of mistakes that have plagued the team before, cost Carlyle his job.
Carlyle succeeded Ron Wilson with 18 games left in the 2011-12 season. Wilson was fired following the infamous “18-wheeler going right off a cliff” losing streak named for then-GM Brian Burke’s quote.
Carlyle and the Leafs made the playoffs in the lockout-shortened 2013 season before falling behind three games to one in the first round against Boston. They came back to force a Game 7 and led 4-1 with 11 minutes left before losing in overtime.
In 2013-14, the Leafs were easily in a playoff spot before goaltender Jonathan Bernier was hurt. They lost eight in a row in regulation and dropped 12 of their final 14 games. Carlyle’s job appeared in jeopardy then, but Shanahan wanted time to assess the team.
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