Anaheim Ducks Welcome Back Randy Carlyle
At 9:15am PST the Anaheim Duck announced the return of Stanley Cup winning coach Randy Carlyle
Welcome back to Anaheim former Norris Trophy Defenceman and Stanley Cup winning coach Randy Carlyle. Bob Murray announced this morning at a press conference the return of Carlyle to the team he took to the Cup on 07, stating “Our expectations are extremely high, and I believe Randy is the coach who can lead us to playoff success and our ultimate goal, the Stanley Cup.”
“I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to come back to Anaheim and rejoin the organization that gave me my first opportunity as an NHL head coach,” RANDY CARLYLE
Murray did not waste time this off season in hiring his friend and former coach, he was one of only a handful of people interviewed for the job, the two others being the current assistant coaches Paul McLean and Trent Yawney. Murray spoke with a few other people that could have been possibilities, but it seems Carlyle was always the target. It has always been the sentiment that Murray had a bad taste in his mouth after Carlyle’s firing back in 2011.
Carlyle returns to Anaheim with the best coaching record in team history earning a 273-182-61 record from 2005-11. He also won a record 36 playoff games as the bench boss.
"“I’ve followed this team closely for the last couple of years and am familiar with the core group. I believe this team can win immediately and I can’t wait to get started.” Randy Carlyle"
His record aside there are only four player left from the team he coached 6 years ago, one of them being current team captain Ryan Getzlaf. The others are Corey Perry, Cam Fowler and Andrew Cogliano. If there is still bad blood between Carlyle and any of those players, it will most likely be balance out by Ryan Kesler and Kevin Bieksa, both played for Carlyle during his time with the Manitoba Moose back in the day.
Well Ducks fans, here we go. With the re-hiring of our former coach and the draft just weeks away, lets see what the rest of the off season brings. Be sure to look out for our continuing coverage of the upcoming free agents.