The Anaheim Ducks today welcomed back a face from their past that they hope will eventually lead them to a Stanley Cup in their future, as the franchise announced that Randy Carlyle has been hired as the team's new head coach.
“I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to come back to Anaheim and rejoin the organization that gave me my first opportunity as an NHL head coach,” said Carlyle in a statement. “I’ve followed this team closely for the last couple of years and am familiar with the core group. I believe this team can win immediately and I can’t wait to get started.”
Carlyle returns to Anaheim as the team’s all-time winningest head coach, earning a 273-182-61 record from 2005-11. He also won a club-record 36 playoff games during his Anaheim tenure, made two trips to the Conference Finals (2006 and 2007) and become the first coach to lead a California team to the Stanley Cup (2007).
Carlyle will inherit a talented roster that has excelled in the regular season, but has repeatedly come up short in the postseason. As such, the expectations will be Stanley Cup or bust for him.
“A proven winner and motivator, Randy has expertly managed the bench throughout his coaching career,” said Ducks General Manager Bob Murray in a statement. “Our expectations are extremely high, and I believe Randy is the coach who can lead us to playoff success and our ultimate goal, the Stanley Cup.”
Carlyle, 60, was originally named the seventh head coach in team history on Aug. 1, 2005 and led the Ducks to their first Stanley Cup championship, Pacific Division championship (2007) and five playoff appearances in six seasons (2005-09, 2011).
Under Carlyle, the Ducks won 36 playoff games (36-26) and were 11-6 in playoff elimination games. Only one NHL coach had earned more postseason wins than Carlyle’s 36 from 2006-11 (Mike Babcock).
A native of Sudbury, Ontario, Carlyle has the most wins (273) and most games coached (516) in Ducks history. He led Anaheim to a franchise-record four straight playoff appearances from 2006-09 and 90-or-more standings points in five of his six full seasons with the organization.
All-time, Carlyle owns a 364-260-80 career record for 808 standings points with Anaheim (2005-11) and Toronto (2011-15). He has led to his teams to a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs in six seasons along with an appearance in the Stanley Cup Final, two appearances in the Western Conference Final and three appearances in the Conference Semifinals.
By Staff of TheDailySportsHerald.com and news services
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