Hockey News: Kings fire Crawford.

[Pho'dUp]

Boom. I guess demanding Cloutier be signed to a multiyear and getting eliminated from the playoffs by January didn't help. Kings are bad. But hey, they just flat out gave up at the end last year. New coach should help, so would new goaltending, and D-men.

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=2402...s=topStory_nhl

The Los Angeles Kings have fired head coach Marc Crawford.
Kings president and general manager Dean Lombardi made the announcement Tuesday that Crawford will not return next season as the team's head coach despite having one year left on his contract.
In his two seasons as head coach, Crawford posted a 59-84-21 with the Kings.
"We appreciate Marc's commitment the two seasons he has been here," Lombardi said in a press release. "However, we believe that in evaluating where we are at and, more importantly, where we are going as an organization, we feel this coaching change was the right decision to make. We wish Marc the best in his future endeavors."
''Marc's record speaks for itself in terms of his winning record but I guess it just comes down to a matter of fit,'' Lombardi said during a conference call Tuesday.
The Kings hired Marc Crawford as the 21st head coach in Kings history on May 22, 2006.
''I think it's fair to say we did not expect the team to be out of the playoffs in January this year,'' Lombardi added. ''I don't think we were kidding ourselves into thinking we were world beaters, we set realistic expectations.''
Crawford began his NHL coaching career with Quebec in 1994 and in his first season he became the youngest coach to win the Jack Adams Trophy. After the Nordiques relocated to Denver he won the Stanley Cup in 1996.
Overall, in 12 seasons and 905 games behind the bench as an NHL head coach, Crawford, has compiled a regular season record of 438-342-125 and a playoff mark of 43-40.

[kingaucho]

Not shocked, but very surprised. Can't wait for the draft! (Man, that's pretty sad...)

[lmnop]

Originally Posted by kingaucho

Not shocked, but very surprised. Can't wait for the draft! (Man, that's pretty sad...)

Why would you be surprised? The Kings ownership makes it clear that they expect a coach to put up decent numbers (perhaps even a run at a playoff spot ??) with the mediocre talent they bring into this town. What a joke! Murray was the best coach this organization had seen in a while, and they had to let him go. Look what he did for the Blues!

Like lots of hockey fans who attend Kings games, I only attend the games of the out of town teams that I dig.

[el_d00der1n0]

bring back barry!!!

[lmnop]

Originally Posted by el_d00der1n0

bring back barry!!!

Rumor is Melrose might be coaching again, and soon. Perhaps the Lightning?

[guero]

eff melrose, how bout robbie ftorek!!! lol!

[Rkoa63]

I've been a Kings fan for most of my life and lets just say I've had many letdowns over the years, but I have faith Lombardi will turn things around. The Kings have a young team, good draft picks this year, and a new head coach; give them a few years and maybe we will see an above .500 season

p.s. The Melrose idea isn't a bad one; although 2/3 seasons were losers, he did take them to the cup

[Stray_Bullit]

I'm at the point where I finally just don't care anymore. The Kings have sucked for so long and they will continue to suck. Yes, I am a fan, but I am really just bored with them. They are so predictable with all of the trial and errors. Even with the great young talent they have, somehow, someway they will mess it up. It's inevitable. They really seemed to be "cursed" or something.

The last time I was truly excited about the Kings is when they had the "LAPD" line rolling. Even that was started by the asst. coach because Andy Murray (their coach at the time) was in a really bad accident and couldn't be there. So Dave Tippet started that line. They were truly amazing for a short time until the injury bug dismantled the team. Allison, Deadmarsh and Palffy were a sight to behold!

Since then they have had reverse Midas touch. Everything turns to poo. Except Anze, but they will F that one up too. Jack Johnson was supposed to be their Calder hopeful and his rookie season sure was a bust. Wow, one goal! Yee-haw! I know he is a defenseman but my goodness, he looked terrible on the ice for 97% of the season.

I truly hope that the Kings become a force in the West, but I wouldn't bet the farm on it.