Carlyle says game against Maple Leafs ‘not about me’
Ducks coach won’t dwell on past as he faces Toronto for first time since his firing.
Ducks Coach Randy Carlyle wasn’t feeling too sentimental when he walked out of Air Canada Centre on Sunday. He had just finished an optional practice with an extended team meeting during a challenging stage of a six-game trip.
Then the Toronto winter hit him.
“It’s minus-10 [degrees Celsius],” Carlyle said in a brief phone interview.
In Fahrenheit, that translates to 14 degrees, a bit nippy even for the Sudbury, Canada-born Carlyle as he sought warmer, more practical conditions. While he acknowledged being back in familiar surroundings, Carlyle will take a similarly purposeful approach Monday in his first game in Toronto since he was fired as Maple Leafs coach in January of 2015.
Much like his return to Anaheim, Carlyle recognized the arena workers, equipment crew and others upon his his arrival, but that friendliness will dissipate when the puck drops.
“It’s about the Anaheim Ducks, not about me,” Carlyle said.
Carlyle does recognize a unique chapter in his coaching journey. He coached Toronto for three-plus seasons and got the Maple Leafs to the playoffs in the lockoutshortened 2013 season. By the end of the next season, however, too many bad spells in between the good runs sparked speculation about his departure, and he was eventually replaced by Mike Babcock.
Carlyle appreciated the experience, even in the highly intense Toronto media market. It was the team he grew up watching.
“It was an opportunity to coach an Original Six team,” Carlyle said. “All those things are positives, and living the life of a coach in a Canadian market comes with positives and negatives. One of the things I take away is you can’t dwell on the past. We did some good things there. … Bottom line is they were going to go in a different direction.”
Carlyle’s return isn’t the only plot line. Maple Leafs goalie Frederik Andersen is expected to play his first game against the Ducks since they traded him to Toronto for a first-round draft pick, used to select forward Sam Steel, and a secondround pick next year.
Andersen initially struggled under the microscope and he recently told NHL.com that he was trying to do too much and had gotten away from the techniques that helped him win the William M. Jennings Trophy with John Gibson for fewest goals allowed last season.
But he’s turned it around with a 2-1-3 record and 1.76 goals-against average in December. The Ducks could start Jonathan Bernier, and it would be his first game against Toronto since he was traded to Anaheim after three seasons with the Maple Leafs.
Bernier was removed after two periods Saturday after he allowed four goals on 21 shots. It was more a reflection of Anaheim’s porous defense, which has allowed numerous goals around the net during a 1-2 start to the trip. That’s Carlyle’s focus amid all the story lines.
Asked what he’s most concerned about going into Monday, Carlyle said, “For us to get back to [being] a good defensive team.”
TONIGHT
AT TORONTO When: 4:30 PST. On the air: TV: Prime; Radio: 830. Update: Rookie forwards Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner co-lead Toronto in points. Toronto’s seven rookies have combined for 39 goals while 16 other Maple Leafs have combined for 46 goals . ... Former Ducks draft pick Jake Gardiner ended Toronto’s four-game home losing streak with an overtime goal Saturday.