Coaches on the Hot Seat

Jan 9, 2014; Raleigh, NC, USA; Toronto Maple Leafs coach Randy Carlyle reacts against the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena. The Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-1. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports

Randy Carlyle

The fact that we are still writing about Carlyle’s coaching tenure with the Leafs in the present tense, and not the past, is astonishing quite frankly.  The team collapsed the last month of the season despite being in the driver’s seat for a playoff spot much of the year.  The math kept telling us the team would collapse, and sure enough, the advanced stats conquered the day and the team that finished with some of the worst possession numbers failed to make the playoffs.  Somewhere Steve Simmons just punched a wall.

The Toronto Maple Leafs’ organization finally saw a front-office overhaul this summer led by the hiring of President Brendan Shanahan and Assistant General Manager Kyle Dubas.  Out went Vice President of Hockey Operations Dave Poulin and Assistant General Manager Claude Loiselle in what the team says will be a “fresh approach” to decision-making.  Miraculously, Carlyle wasn’t just spared, but given a contract extension.

Even with the extension, Toronto neutered Carlyle in the process.  The team fired assistant coaches Scott Gordon, Greg Cronin, and Dave Farrish and hired Steve Spott and Peter Horachek to stand alongside Carlyle on the bench.  If I were him, I wouldn’t be looking to buy anything in Toronto any time soon.

With a new philosophical approach from management, it is only a matter of time before Carlyle is shown the door.  The roster is thin…they still play in a division with powerhouse Boston and up-and-comers Tampa Bay and Montreal…the farm system is average.  There just isn’t a lot of hope for a deep playoff run this season, and unfortunately that will probably be the only thing that keeps Carlyle around, extension be damned.

Hot Seat O’Meter: 9 out of 10 he doesn’t last the season.