Canucks fire head coach Willie Desjardins

Willie Desjardins seemed to sense he was on borrowed time in the waning weeks of a second consecutive lost season with Vancouver Canucks.

The club’s head coach was increasingly candid with the media, admitting more than once he was aware his job might be in jeopardy as the team limped towards the finish line.

The axe fell swiftly on Monday morning.

Vancouver fired Desjardins less than 24 hours after an eighth straight loss in regulation that concluded a miserable 2016-17 campaign where the Canucks finished 29th in the NHL’s overall standings with a 30-43-9 record.

“He’s a great person who has great character,” president of hockey operations Trevor Linden said during an afternoon press conference at Rogers Arena. “Our decision was based on just needing to make a change.

“There was a feeling between (general manager Jim Benning) and I there was some areas we can improve.”

The 60-year-old Desjardins was 109-110-27 during his three seasons in charge, but 48 of those wins came in 2014-15 when led the club to the playoffs as a rookie NHL head coach.

The rebuilding Canucks took a big step back last season with a 75-point, 28th-place finish before tumbling further with a dismal 69-point showing in 2016-17.

“It was a hard conversation,” Linden said of how Desjardins took the news. “Willie’s such a good person and has a big heart and loves the game. He was obviously disappointed. It’s a challenging day for us.

“It was tough.” Vancouver also let go of assistants Doug Lidster and Perry Pearn, while Doug Jarvis and Dan Cloutier were retained.

Linden, a former Canucks captain who returned to take over hockey operations in the spring of 2014, was asked how much responsibility he and Benning bear for the organization’s current plight.

“We’re all in this, for sure. This is on us,” he said. “At the same time we think there are some things we can do better.”

Focus now shifts to Desjardins’ replacement, who the Canucks hope to have in place by June’s draft.

Benning said NHL experience isn’t a prerequisite, which could be good news for Travis Green, currently the head coach of Vancouver’s AHL affiliate.