Leafs relieve Randy Carlyle of head coaching duties

The Maple Leafs have fired head coach Randy Carlyle.

We have a fourth head coaching change now so far this NHL season.

On Tuesday, the Toronto Maple Leafs have reportedly relieved Randy Carlyle of his head coaching duties. Carlyle was in his third full season as the Leafs’ head coach after being hired in March of 2012. The Leafs are 21-16-3 at the time of his termination.

Carlyle was hired following the Leafs parting ways with Ron Wilson after he failed to get the Leafs to the playoffs. Ron Wilson’s Leafs tended to be not so great defensively and had a lot of trouble keeping possession of the puck, so Carlyle was brought in to fix these issues and get the Leafs back in the playoffs.

Carlyle was able to snap the playoff-less streak in his first full season as head coach during the 2012-13 lockout-shortened season when his Leafs finished 5th in the Eastern Conference. Even though they battled hard against a superior Boston Bruins team and forcing a game 7 after being down 3-1 in the series, they blew a 4-1 lead in Game 7 and lost to the Bruins 5-4 in overtime to be eliminated in the first round.

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The following season, it seemed like the Leafs were set to make a second straight appearance in the playoffs. That was until the Leafs imploded on themselves, losing 12 of the final 14 games of the season and missing the playoffs. They got off to an extremely hot start, but were wildly mediocre in the second half of the season and, as you can see, just flat-out bad down the stretch.

That sounds kind of familiar, doesn’t it?

It should, as the same trend is happening this season. The Leafs didn’t exactly come red hot out of the gate, but they won nine of their opening 16 games, before going on a very depressing three-game skid. Three losses that saw them lose to the Pittsburgh Penguins (2-1), which is nothing to be ashamed about, but then to the last place Buffalo Sabres (6-2) and absolutely embarrassed by the Nashville Predators (9-2). After that, the Leafs went on a streak that saw them win 10 of their next 12 games, including a six-game winning streak. Since that win streak, they have lost seven of their last nine.

Now, Carlyle is finally the fall guy for the Leafs mediocrity.

It seemed like his job was in jeopardy this past off-season when the Leafs hired Brendan Shanahan as President of the team, but they decided to fire all the assistant coaches and give Carlyle a two-year extension. Which, in the words of Steve Dangle (Leafs Fan Reaction videos on YouTube), is like getting new laces when you need a new pair of shoes.

So, the Leafs bring in a bunch of new assistants and add some pieces to the roster that they hope will help the team defensively. They re-sign James Reimer to keep the goaltending tandem of himself and Bernier together, they added Roman Polak on defense and brought back the gritty, two-way play of Leo Komarov. Even with the new additions on the coaching staff and on the ice, the Leafs are still one of the worst defensive and possession teams in the league. The only individual you have left to point at is the head coach.

Just so we’re clear about the struggle of Carlyle’s Leafs, I’m going to spit out some numbers at you.

188: Number of games coached by Randy Carlyle as Leafs head coach.

91-78-19: Carlyle’s regular-season record with the Leafs.

26.3: Percentage of face-offs the Leafs have taken in the offensive zone over the past two seasons, worst in the NHL.

37.3: Percentage of face-offs the Leafs have taken in the defensive zone over the past two seasons, worst in the NHL.

26: Leafs’ NHL ranking in goals against this season (127).

1,254: Margin by which the Leafs were outshot during Carlyle’s tenure.

That last one is the one that really stood out to me. In other words, the leafs had 1,254 more shots against than shots for under Randy Carlyle. I’m honestly shocked they even have a winning record.

Needless to say, it was time for a change in Toronto, and it was probably overdue. The Leafs will go with assistants Peter Horachek and Steve Spott as temporary head coaches, ala the New Jersey Devils. Which is kind of ironic, because it was former Devils head coach Pete DeBoer that was linked with the Leafs head coaching job this past off-season when everyone thought that Carlyle would be fired. They may have not been wrong after all.

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