Maurice and Boudreau are Checked Out From Their Head Coaching Posts

Monday is a new day of a work week, and it also was a beginning of a new chapter for two NHL franchises. These teams' head coaches have been fired just more than twenty games into the season.

The Carolina Hurricanes fired Paul Maurice for the second time in less than a decade. The last-place Hurricanes have had only one playoff appearance since 2006 and have lost 10 of their last 13 games. The team's record now stands at 8-13-4, but they are only five points out of the eighth playoff spot. It is clear that the front office thought that a move would help the team achieve its full potential.

The Hurricanes new head coach is former All-Star Kirk Muller. Muller had long, prosperous career in which he made six All-Star teams and helped lead the Montreal Canadiens to their most recent Stanley Cup in 1993. Muller does have coaching experience with the Canadiens and the Nashville Predators' AHL team, the Milwaukee Admirals.

Hurricanes GM Jim Rutherford is eager to see what Muller can do with his team. Rutherford stated, "I don't know exactly how good we are. I believe we're better than what we've done so far." It is now Muller's job to prove Rutherford right.

A much more surprising move was when the Washington Capitals decided to fire head coach Bruce Boudreau. Boudreau became the fastest coach to 200 wins in modern NHL history. However, Boudreau's team routinely choked and under-performed in the playoffs, despite its very talented lineup led by two-time league MVP Alex Ovechkin.

Because of his team's continual underachieving, Boudreau tried a new tactic of benching players who exhibited this type of play, including team captain Ovechkin. Ovechkin's play had not responded well to his former coach's stricter coaching style. He only has 17 points in 22 games.

Capitals GM George McPhee explained the move, "This was simply a case of the players were no longer responding to Bruce. When you see that, as much as you don't want to make a change, you have to make a change."

McPhee decided to replace Boudreau with former Capitals captain Dale Hunter. Hunter has no NHL coaching experience at all. In fact, his only experience coaching adults is with the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League.

Obviously, McPhee didn't make this move to get a superior coach. This move was made to be a wake up call to his players. Will it work? That remains to be seen. This team has to change its under-performing ways for that to happen.