Canadiens fire Ducharme as coach
The Canadiens fired coach Dominique Ducharme on Wednesday and made Hall of Famer Martin St. Louis the interim coach of the team with the NHL’s worst record.
Ducharme was dismissed after the Canadiens began their season with a dismal 8-30-7 record for a league-worst 23 points. The 48-year-old’s last game was a 7-1 loss to the Devils on Tuesday night, the Canadiens’ seventh straight defeat. The team has yet to post back-to-back wins this season.
The Canadiens went 23-46-14 in 83 regular-season games under Ducharme and 13-6 in postseason play, making the Stanley Cup Final last season for the first time since winning their 24th and last Cup in 1993.
Last July, Ducharme agreed to a contract extension through the 2023-24 season. He had been interim head coach since he took over from the fired Claude Julien last February.
St. Louis, 46, had 391 goals and 1,033 points in his 16-year career, helping the Lightning win the 2004 Cup. He also played for the Flames and Rangers.
Bruins G Tuukka Rask announced his retirement after 15 seasons. The 34-yearold was an unrestricted free agent over the summer when he chose to undergo hip surgery meant to support an eventual return to game action. Rask was able to start skating again in November, and he signed a one-year, $1 million contract with the Bruins on Jan. 11. He appeared in just four games. Rask, a two-time All-Star and the 2014 Vezina Trophy winner, 306-163-66 mark in 560 career appearances and helped the Bruins win the Cup in 2011.
Baseball: Former player Jeremy Giambi died at his parents’ home in Southern California, according to a statement from agent Joel Wolfe. He was 47. No cause of death was immediately provided. Giambi spent six seasons in the majors, playing for the A’s,
Royals, Phillies and Red Sox. He last played in 2003.
NBA: The Jazz agreed to trade injured veteran F Joe Ingles in a three-team deal in which the Western Conference contender will land G Nickeil Alexander-Walker, ESPN reported. The Jazz will acquire Alexander-Walker from the Trail Blazers and reserve F Juancho Hernangomez from the Spurs in the deal. The Blazers will also send G Tomas Satoransky — one of four players acquired from the Pelicans in Tuesday’s CJ McCollum trade — to the Spurs and acquire F Elijah Hughes from the Jazz, who will send the Blazers a 2022 second-round pick via the Grizzlies and the Spurs a 2027 second-round pick. Alexander-Walker, 23, is averaging 12.8 points and 2.8 assists per game, is expected to be a rotation player for the Jazz. Ingles, 34, is out for the season with a torn ACL.
NFL: Commissioner Roger Goodell said in his annual Super Bowl news conference that the league “fell short” in terms of increasing the number of minority head coaches this offseason. The NFL continues to have a total of five minority head coaches after two were fired and two were hired this offseason. Goodell said he’s considering multiple options to fix the problem, including the elimination and replacement of the league’s Rooney Rule, which legislates diverse interview policies but hasn’t had the desired impact on hiring.
Soccer: The Portland Timbers suspended midfielder Andy Polo and removed from all team activities pending an investigation into allegations of domestic violence made against him. The allegations of physical and emotional abuse were made by Polo’s former partner, Genesis Alarcon, on a TV show. Alarcon is also the mother of his children. She also accused Polo of not providing for her and their children financially.