Canucks fire head coach Desjardins
The Vancouver Canucks have fired head coach Willie Desjardins and assistant coaches Doug Lidster and Perry Pearn, the team announced on Monday.
The news comes after Desjardins and the Canucks missed the postseason for the second straight season. The 2016-17 campaign was extremely bad, marking the team's worst finish in a full 82-game season since 1998-99 when they tallied just 58 points.
"We made a very difficult decision to relieve Willie Desjardins of his duties as head coach today," general manager Jim Benning said in a release. "It's been a challenging season and we all share responsibility for the results however, we felt this change was necessary as we continue to develop a young team and look ahead to the future. We're grateful to Willie, Doug, Perry and each of their families for their dedication and hard work and wish them every success."
Desjardins has seen a steady regression in points since joining the team for the 2014-15 season. After finishing with 101 points in 2015, the club captured just 75 last year, and just 69 this time around.
The 60-year-old has previously served as head coach of the Dallas Stars' American Hockey League affiliate the Texas Stars, where he helped the team win the Calder Cup in 2014.
The Canucks saving grace this season is that they will have the second-best chance at winning the draft lottery.