Laviolette out, 'Canes turn to Maurice

by James Mirtle on Dec 3, 2008 1:47 PM CST Comment 12 comments

Jim Rutherford, President and General Manager of the National Hockey League’s Carolina Hurricanes, announced today the team has relieved Peter Laviolette of his coaching duties and that Paul Maurice will assume the role of head coach. Rutherford also announced that Ron Francis has been named the team’s associate coach, and that the remainder of the team’s coaching staff will remain in place.

>> team release

Laviolette's been rumoured to be on the hot seat most of this season, and with his team sliding in the standings, it's no surprise Carolina makes this move. What is a surprise is that they turn to Maurice, who was fired by GM Jim Rutherford 30 games into the 2003-04 season.

Maurice replaces Laviolette, who replaced him in 2003. They are the only two men who have ever coached the Hurricanes franchise, and apparently it's going to stay that way into the future.

Maurice was very popular in Toronto with the media, but his teams simply underperformed on the ice and were awful defensively and on the penalty kill. It's going to be interesting to see what he can coax out of the Hurricanes, who have a hodgepodge on defence and a real problem putting the puck in the net.

I don't think they make the playoffs.

UPDATE Also, I think this is really setting the table for Francis to take over as coach in the near future.

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I like Maurice – I think he’s a solid coach. Hopefully he can find success in Carolina again.

Don't be afraid to take a few steps back, but you better keep moving forward.

by wlittle on Dec 3, 2008 2:08 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Nope

He’s a good quote but a terrible coach. The special teams will tank (if they haven’t already, I am too lazy to check) pretty quickly.

At least we’ll see the return of man-on-man defensive coverage!

Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.

by PPP on Dec 3, 2008 2:35 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

And the return of Maurice always being one loss away from being fired. Maybe this time it won’t last for 5 years.

by Afino on Dec 3, 2008 2:58 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

What, was the decision made like this?

Karmanos: We’ve missed the playoffs the past 2 years. Think we should fire Peter?
Rutherford: Maybe. You know, I always liked Paul Maurice.
Karmanos: Yeah, he went to Toronto, right? How’d they do?
Rutherford: Uh… they mumbles playoffs the past 2 years.
Karmanos: What? Really? Wow. Get him back!

Or is this a case of robbing Peter to pay Paul?

Hockey blogging can't get any flatter.

by saskhab on Dec 3, 2008 3:27 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Poor Acid Queen

Someone check to make sure she hasn’t hit the ledge at the prospect of having “Chairman Mo” back.

by Doogie2K on Dec 3, 2008 3:31 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Sometimes

I’d rather have her fall off the ledge.

by Afino on Dec 3, 2008 3:37 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Re-hiring Maurice is like putting spolied milk back in the fridge in the hopes that it gets better.

Bitter Leaf Fan: a life-long Toronto Maple Leafs fan comments on the team, the media and the exasperation...

by mf37 on Dec 3, 2008 3:38 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Imagine if Rutherford had been hired in August of 2007? Talk about dodging a bullet.

Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.

by PPP on Dec 3, 2008 4:09 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

He and Maurice are quite close.

by James Mirtle on Dec 3, 2008 4:20 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Now Maurice ows one to Rutherford, the Canes will miss the playoffs anyway.

by Fred Poulin on Dec 3, 2008 6:20 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

They made their best strength,

their forward depth into being pretty average, just to acquire defenseman that are worse players.

Maybe in order to understand mankind, we have to look at the word itself: "Mankind". Basically, it's made up of two separate words—"mank" and "ind". What do these words mean? It's a mystery, and that's why so is mankind.
-Jack Handey

by jobe on Dec 3, 2008 9:50 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs