ALL HAIL (interim) COACH HOB!

Good morning.

It’s Sunday, February 10. The current temperature in Anaheim is 53°F. There will be scattered showers throughout the day.

The Anaheim Ducks are the worst team in the Western Conference after losing their seventh game in a row yesterday matching their 2nd worst losing streak for the third time this season.

And Randy Carlyle...

HAS FINALLY BEEN FIRED!!

I didn’t think it would happen, but so long, Randy (again)! And all hail Ducks’ new head coach...

HOB MURRAY!

But he’s just the interim for the remainder of the season, so it appears we’ll have to wait until next season to see Dallas Eakins behind the big team’s bench. But one has to wonder, what took Murray so long to finally #PinkSlipRandy? Better yet, is it a case of thee ol’ “too little, too late”?

With one question being unexpectedly answered, Hob’s takeover opens the door for many others. One thing is certain: the team’s 2-15-4 record in the last 21 games will still be in the memories of Ducks fans when Carlyle’s name is brought up again beside the whole Cup-winning one. And it combats his record of Ducks winningest coach, but that’s not a shock considering the number of years he spent in Anaheim with two stints as head coach.

Allow me to go over the bigger questions:

How will Murray do as interim coach?

Hob has experience of GM, but has never coached...ever. We’re going to see him in a new and unknown light. He’s watched games closer and knows the team better than any of us can ever imagine, so it’s safe to say that this may go as well as if we who watch the game closely had a chance to coach - I’m sure armchair GMs can totally understand what that will be like...right?

Lose for Hughes? Crappo for Kappo?

It appeared that with the expectation of Randy finishing up the remainder of the season, Anaheim’s chances of getting that no. 1 or no. 2 first round draft pick were becoming greater with each loss. Will Anaheim continue to slide? Does this mean the emergency brake has been fully applied? That question won’t be answered until the draft lottery, where I hope to watch my colleague, JC McDonough, stuff his face with at least 50 chicken nuggets.

How will the players respond?

I’m under the impression that the players stopped listening to Randy. It’s been worse than when he was first canned. The team have been absurdly abysmal in these last 21 games. Randy was let go in 2011 following a win. Is this the “shake-up” that the team need? I think it may well be. Nothing came of the team when fan favorite, Andrew Cogliano, was traded to the Dallas Stars for Devin Shore - they continued to slide. Nothing’s come of it since Corey Perry has returned. All quotes from the team, including captain Ryan Getzlaf, have painted a pretty crystal clear picture that the players are completely done. We’ll get to see exactly how they react when they take the ice on Wednesday night at home against the Vancouver Canucks.

Will we see Randy again?

It was widely known that after coaching in Anaheim, Carlyle would have a nice front office job with maybe one of those stand up desks that he probably wouldn’t know how to use. I mean, come on, the dude can’t even properly use a toaster! But one must wonder if his sacking means that the position will remain open for him? It obvious that it took a lot for Hob to fire his bro, bruh. I just can’t help but think of this sequence from The Office when imagining Murray now after he’s fired Randy:

With 26 games remaining in the season, the Ducks will have to do a lot to turn it around. Can they and/or do we want them to? The least reasonable option is for the team to end the season middle of the road with nothing to show at the draft lottery. But that’s just this one fan’s opinion.

I, for one, welcome our new Ducks coach overload. I’d like to remind him that as a trusted Anaheim Calling personality, I can be helpful in making stupid memes and eating all the chicken strips & waffle fries!

Oh, and drinking all the beer.