Jan. 06--The Toronto Maple Leafs fired coach Randy Carlyle on Tuesday in the midst of another start that has left the team in danger of missing the postseason for the ninth time in 10 seasons.
Carlyle, who coached the Ducks to their 2007 Stanley Cup title, posted a 91-78-19 record with the Maple Leafs, but took them to the playoffs only once in his three previous seasons with the club. He joined Toronto less than four months after his firing by the Ducks in November 2011.
"I want to thank Randy for all of his hard work and dedication," said Maple Leafs General Manager David Nonis. "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."
Carlyle's most successful year in Toronto came during the 2012-13 season when the Maple Leafs finished 26-17-5 en route to a third-place finish in the Northeast Division. The Leafs lost in seven games to the Stanley Cup finalists Boston Bruins in the first round.
Toronto sits fourth in the Atlantic Division at 45 points with a 21-16-3 record. The Maple Leafs have lost seven of their last nine games.
The team said assistants Peter Horachek and Steve Spott would take over coaching duties for Wednesday's game against the Washington Capitals.
Carlyle, 58, has a career coaching record of 364-260-80. He is the fourth NHL coach to be fired this season.
