Anaheim Ducks: Randy Carlyle Has Been Canned, What Now?
The Anaheim Ducks have fired their head coach, Randy Carlyle. What direction does the franchise go in now that he’s gone?
Anaheim Ducks fans have been clamoring for months for this day, the day that Randy Carlyle was “relieved of his duties” as head coach. It is incredibly clear that this was the absolute last resort for Bob Murray, so why now? What’s next and what can we expect? Let’s take a look at the surrounding circumstances, and some comments made by Bob Murray and the Samueli’s and break them down.
Why Now? Why Not Earlier?
Why Now? That is a good question. Why exactly did Bob Murray fire Randy Carlyle now as opposed to the 12 game losing streak or the end of the 7 game losing streak earlier this season? I think the biggest reason for that is the recent dispersal of season ticket renewal fliers.
Judging by Ducks Twitter, quite a few folks were voicing their displeasure over the poor play of the Anaheim Ducks this season. With the lack of communication from Bob Murray paired with the lack of action to actually improve the team, it’s not a long shot to say that a good portion of those fans would call in and let their intentions be known.
That is a huge problem for ownership. When that happens you’re looking at a potential for loss of profits, and that’s not something this team can afford. It’s quite possible that after the reaction to these fliers the Samueli’s stepped in and said enough was enough.
Another theory is that the Anaheim Ducks are coming home after a long road trip. That road trip could have been seen as Carlyle’s last chance to right this ship. With three days before the next game, it’s a good time to get a new voice on the ice and try to rejuvenate the team.
Here’s where I put a bit of personal opinion into it. I don’t think he’s trying to rejuvenate the team to win and push towards the playoffs. I think he’s trying to rejuvenate the team in order to raise the play of some of his players. Thus making them more valuable to be traded. The fact that he hasn’t made the move prior to now, paired with his comments from last season’s exit interviews, tells me that he’s probably not looking to recreate the same mistakes he made last year.
“I think it’s remarkable that we made the playoffs. But in making the playoffs, did we screw up some other things? That’s where I’m trying to get my head around. Sometimes it’s better to miss (the playoffs).” -Bob Murray, Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Anaheim Ducks
As it stands, the Anaheim Ducks may only be 8 points out of the playoffs, but they are much closer to the bottom of the league (4 points.) While there are 8 teams that are ahead of them in the playoff chase, only 3 currently sit lower than them in the standings. This season is lost, and Bob Murray will likely use the remainder of the season to evaluate the roster and find which pieces are worth keeping, and which pieces need to be moved.
So, What’s Next?
Anaheim Ducks General Manager, Bob Murray, himself is stepping behind the bench in an interim basis. That title is most definitely true, and not a job interview like other coaches in the league are subjected to. So why is a General Manager, who’s never coached a day in his life, getting one of the 31 most prestigious coaching jobs in the hockey world without any experience?
There are actually a couple reasons, and while I give Murray a lot of flack for his moves and decision making, namely his over conservative nature, I think this isn’t one of those bad moves, even if I’m not so high on what the end result is and here’s why.
1. Bob Murray Will Use This Time to Get a Real Feel for the Roster
He’s going to be on the ice a lot more. During that time, he’s going to be seeing the players up close and personal. GMBM will get a beat on not only their play from afar but their body language and the little comments they may make that he would not hear otherwise. He will get a feeling for how the locker room interactions go.
It’s a rare thing for a GM to have that kind of insight; they usually have to hear it from the coaches rather than witnessing it for themselves. This will help him evaluate the roster, and find the pieces that are key components, and which ones aren’t. He will have an inside look at which players are working hard in practice and which are tuning out the coaches.
2. Bob Muray Likely Won’t Be Making A Lot of Coaching Decisions
Any coaching decisions Bob Murray does make will likely be used to pump up a players value or see where they may fit this team in the future. I don’t expect Murray to start implementing a gameplan that he wrote up from scratch while watching game film and using the whiteboard. I think that he’s likely going to be the figurehead for the coaching staff while doling out the actual coaching responsibilities to Marty Wilford, Mark Morrison, and Rich Preston.
The one thing I do expect to see from Murray is some line juggling, and that could give us a bit of insight into his thinking. If we see someone elevated from the 4th line to the top line for a full game, Murray could be looking to move that player, pumping up his value to show that he can play with the top end talent of the team.
Conversely, if he’s putting a known top 6 forward in the bottom 6 he might be sending a message, and seeing how that player responds. Again, it’s rare for the guy who’s making the decisions regarding players futures to have a direct hand in how the players are deployed. It’s going to be interesting to see how the Anaheim Ducks respond to this.
3. Dallas Eakins is the Next Head Coach
I’m just going to say this, the Anaheim Ducks next head coach is Dallas Eakins. If he wasn’t penciled into that slot, the Ducks would likely have taken a flier on a guy like Alain Vigneault, Dave Hakstol, or Todd McLellan. The other possibility is that they would have promoted one of the assistant’s to the head coach position, giving them an on the job interview without having to commit to them long term.
If they do a great job, then he could hire them long term. If they don’t, no harm no foul. At least he tried. It’s similar to his waiver wire and bargain basement pickups in free agency. The fact he didn’t do that and said he doesn’t want to mess up what he’s got going in San Diego tells me that he doesn’t want to make his assistant’s look bad by having them named as a head coach, only to have a team play terribly under them. He’s opting to take that bullet himself or, he doesn’t feel he needs to give another coach the chance, he has instead basically made the job Eakins’ to lose.
Comments From Bob Murray and What They Mean
Like anytime a coach, player, or General Manager is fired, the media flock around the situation, and seek answers. Ducks Nation and media got answers from not only Bob Murray, but also in an open letter from the Samueli’s themselves. Firstly in regards to Dallas Eakins, Murray said this to the Anaheim Ducks official site on NHL.com:
“First of all, yes he’s (Eakins) a candidate. He’s done a very good job in San Diego. There’s a good thing going on in San Diego. That’s one part of our organization that’s good right now. I want to leave that just the way it is, and I want the young players to have Dallas there. Hopefully they’ll be a good end-of-the-year run.” -Bob Murray
Basically echoing what I said above, Eakins is a candidate and most likely the leading candidate. Murray doesn’t want to risk the young kids in San Diego derailing with a good thing going there currently, especially if a Calder Cup is on the line.
When Asked why he was taking the interim position, and what concerned him most about the team (Talent, Work Ethic, Combination of everything) Murray said the following:
“I had go downstairs and live it with these guys. I have to find out everything going on down here. It’s more problematic than I thought a while ago. The only way I felt it was fair was for me to get down there. It’s probably a combination of everything, but what bothered me the most was the lack of emotion. The lack of pushback. This team has always been a pride team. It’s gone away. It’s not there.” -Bob Murray
Murray sees that there’s a problem in that locker room and doesn’t feel a coaching change is going to change it. So, he wants to get closer to the situation and find out what can be done to remedy the situation. Say what you will about Murray (I know I have) but this move tells me he’s actually looking at addressing the root of the problem, rather than putting a band-aid on a 3rd-degree burn.
Saying that a lack of talent might be a problem, albeit indirectly is interesting, and not something we’ve heard before. Murray seems to be aware that while the players most definitely aren’t blameless, he hasn’t done enough to field a winning team.
When asked about moving the “No Movement Clause” players Murray said this:
“That’s one of the things I’ll figure out in the next 20-or-so-games. I’ll look at it then, and then I’ll assess the situation. If I have to go talk to them, I have no fear doing that myself. But let me look at this for a minute.” -Bob Murray
So don’t expect a Ryan Kesler, Corey Perry, or Ryan Getzlaf trade in the next two weeks, but if they don’t shape up, Murray may ask them to ship out. Although it’s unlikely any of the 3 would be willing to do so, and even more unlikely the Ducks can find a suitor for them, that doesn’t set them back significantly.
Overall Murray said quite a bit, and it does shed some light on his thought process, and actions most definitely speak louder than words. Again, most of this is stuff we’ve heard 10 times before. We heard it when Boudreau was the coach, to last season when the Anaheim Ducks were near the bottom of the league in November, to the end of the season last year when he said the leadership group needed to take a look in the mirror.
So, if he’s serious about these words this time, then this is a great step forward towards righting this franchise, if not, and these are empty promises. Things will likely get much worse before they get better.
Henry and Susan Samueli Finally Break Their Silence
Murray wasn’t the only one who made a statement today in regards to the Anaheim Ducks, team owners Susan and Henry Samueli also released a letter to the fans (this letter was also released on NHL.com.) One that was fairly well received, and offered what fans have been begging for since late December.
They started off with standard fare, thanking Carlyle for what he’s done for the franchise. Before this season, there honestly was more good than bad in terms of overall legacy. They followed that by making the statement that fans have been hoping for.
“This has been a surprisingly difficult season. We supported Bob Murray’s previous decision to allow the players and staff to battle out of this situation. While no one person should take the blame for our current predicament, recent results dictated that Bob needed to make this move. We are a proud organization with a great winning tradition. Our current performance is very disappointing and therefore we have given Bob permission to do whatever is necessary to get us back to our winning ways. By placing Bob behind the bench for the remainder of the season, he will gain unique insights into the team which will enable him to best determine the changes that need to be made. Changes are always difficult but you can rest assured that ownership and management will do a thorough and thoughtful assessment of our team and make decisions that are in the best interests of the team for both the near term and long term. We are confident that we can turn this around quickly.” -Henry and Susan Samueli
This is a comment that fans have been expecting for quite some time, and whether it be pride or just being his normal secretive self, Murray refused to let us know his plans. The Samueli’s stated the obvious, that this season has been incredibly difficult.
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This team is not okay, and while a coaching change was most definitely needed, it’s not the thing that’s going to solve this team’s problems. That’s going to come in the shape of reshaping this roster, and getting Murray himself to take a look at the roster up close and personal will do wonders towards making that happen, by giving him insight that most GM’s do not have.
They close out the letter thanking Anaheim Ducks fans, and asking for our patients, which is fairly standard fare for a team that is in a retooling effort. Does this absolve the entirety of the trainwreck that the last two months have been? Not really, but it lets us know that their intentions moving forward are to not let failure be an option.
It’s what we needed to hear, and it’s amazing what that small letter did for this fanbase. There’s more optimism going around now than any point this season, and all it took was for the powers that be letting us know that they can see the same things we see and that they aren’t going to just sit back. Simple, common sense words that the fans of this franchise desperately needed to hear.
Overall, I think the next 26 games are going to be a grind, but if the players can come with some emotion, and the GM is willing to make the difficult moves that need to be made to take this team into the style of today’s game, then the future isn’t all doom and gloom.
The Ducks may not have reached rock-bottom yet, but you don’t always need to hit rock bottom, and I, for one, am hopeful that this team answers the challenge that the Samueli’s laid out for them. This is not a team that accepts failure, and we take pride in being a difficult team to play, win or lose. Unfortunately we’ve gotten away from that in recent months, hopefully, we’re not too far gone.
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