Anaheim Ducks rehire Carlyle as head coach
ANAHEIM, CALIF.— Randy Carlyle walked back into the Honda Center and discovered he still knew just about everyone, from the guard at the front door to the accountants in the Anaheim Ducks’ offices. “Everybody welcomed me back with open arms,” Carlyle said, a grateful smile on a frequently stony face. “This is a special place.”
The veteran coach is home again, and the Ducks are betting their Stanley Cup hopes on a fruitful reunion.
The Ducks rehired Carlyle on Tuesday, welcoming back the franchise’s only championship-winning coach 41⁄ years after firing him.
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Carlyle replaces Bruce Boudreau, who replaced Carlyle Nov. 30, 2011. After firing Boudreau in April and conducting a lengthy search, Ducks general manager Bob Murray decided to go back to the winningest coach in franchise history to guide his veteran core’s probable final chances at another title banner.
“I know in my heart this is the right move at this time for this hockey team,” said Murray, Carlyle’s close friend.
“We all know this group has got a little window here. Three years, maybe. And you had to get a guy in here that knew some of the players and knows that it’s time — that knows how to win.”
The 60-year-old Carlyle led the Ducks to the 2007 Stanley Cup title during parts of seven seasons in charge, going 273-182-61. After his tumultuous stint in charge of the Maple Leafs ended in January 2015, he moved back to Encinitas, Calif., and attended many games in Anaheim, usually sitting in the press box and taking notes while waiting for another NHL job.
“I don’t think you could come into a better hockey club, on ice or off,” Carlyle said, wearing a new orange tie. “I feel very fortunate that I’m the guy they trusted and are showing confidence in to coach this group.”
The Ducks’ decision to rehire a coach is rare, but not without precedent: Michel Therrien is in his second stint behind Montreal’s bench, and Carolina rehired Paul Maurice in December 2008 five years after firing him.
Boudreau went 208-104-40 in Anaheim while winning the last four Pacific Division titles and falling one game short of the 2015 Stanley Cup final. He was still fired by Murray on April 29 after Nashville’s surprising first-round elimination of the Ducks, who blew a 3-2 playoff series lead and lost a Game 7 on home ice for the fourth consecutive season.
Carlyle was known as a stern disciplinarian early in his Anaheim career, but Murray and Carlyle both believe the coach has changed.
“Randy is going to be different than he was before,” Murray said, calling Carlyle “much more mellow” after two firings.
Captain Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Cam Fowler and Andrew Cogliano are the four Ducks left from Carlyle’s tenure. Murray consulted Getzlaf and Perry before the move, and the GM said several veterans strongly approved of Carlyle’s return.