Általában nem szoktam egyetérteni Youngmannel, de most kivételesen nem így van.

Randy Youngman comment: Most Ducks fans I know – and some I don’t know – keep asking me if the team is going to fire Coach Randy Carlyle. I guess they’re implying that Carlyle should be the scapegoat for an underachieving team that didn’t make the playoffs despite a talented roster featuring seven medal-winning Olympians. Granted, coaching is usually the first area you scrutinize if a team mails it in down the stretch, but that didn’t happen.

The Ducks’ had the eighth-best record (23-14-4) among all 30 NHL teams in the season’s second half, including a 9-3-3 record at the end, so obviously the team didn’t quit on the coach. That’s why Murray continues to stand behind Carlyle, the most successful coach in franchise history.

That said, I could see a coaching change in two scenarios. If veterans Scott Niedermayer, Teemu Selanne and Saku Koivu don’t return next season, I don’t believe Carlyle would be the best choice for a young team forced to rebuild. And if Selanne and Koivu come back, as I expect, a slow start next season likely could lead to a coaching change.