Dec 3, 2008 - 12:04 PM
0 shoutsRALEIGH, North Carolina (Ticker) - The Carolina Hurricanes turned back the clock Wednesday, firing coach Peter Laviolette and replacing him with his predecessor, Paul Maurice.
The Hurricanes also announced that Ron Francis has been named the team's associate coach.
"This is a real strong addition with Paul and Ronnie leading our coaching staff," Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford said. "As we go into a very tough group of games in December, my hope is that the coaches make minor adjustments to the system and the players regain their confidence."
Laviolette, who was in his fifth season as coach, guided the franchise to its only Stanley Cup championship in 2006.
Laviolette, who also coached the New York Islanders for two seasons, compiled a 167-130-30 record with Carolina. He had 2 1/2 years remaining on a five-year contract he signed shortly after the Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup.
The Hurricanes have missed the playoffs in each of the last two seasons since winning the Cup despite finishing above .500 in each campaign.
Laviolette's dismissal comes with the Hurricanes having lost four of their last five games and three in a row at home. The slump has dropped the Hurricanes to 12-11-2 and into second place in the Southeast Division, three points back of the Washington Capitals.
On November 7, Laviolette won his 240th career game to surpass John Tortorella as the winningest American-born coach in NHL history.
Laviolette is the third coach to lose his job this season, joining Denis Savard of the Chicago Blackhawks and Barry Melrose of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Maurice, 41, returns to Carolina as the winningest coach in franchise history, having posted 268 wins during eight-plus seasons (November 1995 to December 2003).
Under Maurice, the Hurricanes won the Southeast Division in 1999 and 2002 and had four consecutive winning seasons from 1998-02. They reached the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in club history in 2002.
The Ontario native coached the Toronto Maple Leafs each of the last two seasons before being fired in May.
A Hall of Famer, Francis spent 16 of his 23 seasons as a player with the Hartford-Carolina franchise and is the team's all-time leader in nearly every statistical category.
Francis, 45, has served as the Hurricanes' director of player development since November 2006, and was named the club's assistant general manager in October 2007.
