Apparently the Washington Capitals aren’t the only team doing a little bit of housekeeping today as the Carolina Hurricanes have also fired their head coach.
This marks the end of the second stint with the team for Paul Maurice, who coached the Carolina/Hartford franchise from 1995-2003 and then was rehired to coach the Hurricanes during the 2007-08 season. Maurice led the team to the Eastern Conference Finals that season, but failed to make a playoff appearance since. His combined record with the team during both stints is 384-391-145.
Carolina currently sits last in the Southeast Division and 14th in the Eastern Conference. The team remains only five points out from a playoff spot in a tightly contested Eastern Conference race. However, Carolina has lost 10 of its last 13 games.
Former Montreal Canadiens assistant coach Kirk Muller will replace Maurice as the head coach. Muller spent five seasons with the Canadiens as an assistant coach under Guy Carbonneau. He left his post there to join the Nashville Predators organization as the head coach of their AHL affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals. In his first season with the Admirals, Muller guided the team to a 10-6-1 record so far in 2011.
