The Carolina Hurricanes have fired head coach Peter Laviolette and will replace him with former Hurricanes bench boss Paul Maurice.
Ron Francis has been named an associate coach.
Laviolette, 44, was in his fifth season behind the Carolina bench. He became the third NHL coach to fired this season after the Chicago Blackhawks replaced Denis Savard after just four games and Tampa Bay Lightning let Barry Melrose go after 16 games.
Laviolette led the Hurricanes to a Stanley Cup championship in 2006, but has struggled the last two seasons, missing the playoffs in both. He has gone 12-11-2 this season.
"I would first like to say that I'm very thankful to Peter for the job that he's done here. He's done a lot of good things. He played a big part in bringing the Stanley Cup here. I have a lot of respect for him. I know he's going to do well going forward," said Hurricanes GM Jim Rutherford.
"Coaching changes, sometimes, becomes a necessity. This is a situation that we look at probably about three times over a little over a year. When you look at it that many times, you get to a point that there's a reason that you're always looking at it.
"We have a team right now, that in our opinion, is not playing with the kind of confidence it needs. Because of that, today I'm here to announce that Paul Maurice will be the head coach and that Ron Francis will be the associate coach."
Maurice, 41, last coached the Toronto Maple Leafs for two seasons and was fired on May 7, 2008. In 164 games behind Toronto's bench, Maurice registered a 76-66-22 record.
The native of in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, coached the Hartford Whalers/Carolina Hurricanes franchise from 1995-96 to 2003-04.
Laviolette, a native of Franklin, Mass., was named Carolina's 11th head coach on Dec. 15, 2003. Prior to joining the Hurricanes, he spent two seasons coaching the New York Islanders.
