Off to their worst start in 26 years, the Washington Capitals fired head coach Glen Hanlon on Thursday.
Bruce Boudreau, coach of the Capitals' American Hockey League affiliate, was named interim coach.
Glen Hanlon was in his fourth season as coach of the Washington Capitals.
(Len Redkoles/Getty Images)
The move came one day after the Capitals stumbled to a 5-1 loss on home ice to the Atlanta Thrashers. Disgruntled fans chanted "Fire Hanlon!" late in the game as the Capitals stumbled to their fifth consecutive loss and ninth in their last 10 games.
"He understood that it had to be done. We had talked after our game on Monday night and had some concerns about whether he was losing the team," general manager George McPhee told reporters Thursday.
"For the most part this year, I thought we were a team that played hard and wasn't getting rewarded. But the last few games it looked like we'd lost the team, and you can't ignore that. You have to do something about it."
Hanlon was in his fourth season behind the Capitals bench, but was axed after the Capitals began the year with a league-worst 6-14-1 record, the club's slowest start to a season since the 1981-82 campaign.
The Capitals promoted Hanlon from assistant coach to head coach in December 2003 after they fired Bruce Cassidy. Washington ended up finishing last in the Southeast Division that season, as well as in each of Hanlon's two full seasons at the helm of the club.
Boudreau, who played for the Toronto Maple Leafs and Chicago Blackhawks, will make his NHL coaching debut Friday in Philadelphia against the Flyers.
"I haven't really had a lot of time to focus on too much, except that it's unfortunate because Glen was a good friend of mine," Boudreau said. "But at the same time, I've sort of waited 32 years for this opportunity, so I'm looking forward to the challenge."
He coached seven current members of the Capitals roster when they were with the AHL's Hershey Bears, which he led to the 2006 Calder Cup title.
"It's a new page," star forward Alex Ovechkin said after the team's first practice under Boudreau.
"Hopefully a fresh voice will get some guys going here," goalie Olie Kolzig said.
Boudreau becomes the 14th coach in franchise history.
No timetable has been set for naming a permanent replacement for Hanlon.
With files from Associated PressRelated
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