Coach Iced : Wilson Out - Burke far behind?
When a coach is as lame a duck as Ron Wilson is, the only humane thing to do is to let him out. Give Brian Burke credit, he didn't allow his friendship with Wilson to get in the way any longer.
However, I have to wonder - is Randy Carlyle really the coach for this club?
It might have seemed to me that Dallas Eakins, now coaching the Marlies (and not for long if there's another NHL vacancy this summer), would have been a more solid choice. If I were Burke, there's no way I would have passed up someone like Eakins, smart and young, who would have stayed under team control - and been a fan favourite. Even the female fans would have liked Eakins - well, at least more than the Daddy figures the team usually imports.
In any case, this move was long overdue - as is Burke's firing.
Yes, I know. I can hear the howls of protest now. Listen to me, now; Brian Burke's act has long since worn thin amongst those in blue and white. He didn't build Anaheim - most of those blocks were there prior to his arrival. He didn't build the Canucks (and didn't win squat there anyways). Dave Nonis did his best to bail Burke decisions out.
If we're speaking clean-sweep, it's best to move all the way forward. (For my money, a Nonis-Eakins combo makes the most sense.)
A fresh start can begin now, and it will serve notice to the players left over starting next year; "They already canned the coach. There's nobody else to blame."
A few good trades will go a long way towards curing the constant fan apathy and making Burke and Carlyle look like geniuses (genii?)...but for now, it's more of the same. I hope you guys listen.
The king is dead. Long live the king.
