Well, those two make easy targets as their team have struggled coming out of the gates.

... for easy targets...

When Maurice came in last season, he was suppose to just finish the season and then take a head office job, but the team played so good under him, they had to keep him. The plan was for Ron Francis to take over as head coach, and I wont be surprised if he takes over before the year is done, and he would do a good job, I think.

Lets hope Jim Rutherford does deal. Nothing like sticking the coach with players that don't mesh then blaming him because of it

I dont think you'll see many coaches get fired this season, unless they're in the last year of their contracts. Owners are not going to have an appetite to pay people to sit at home, especially in places like Anaheim and Carolina.

Rutherford might as well try a couple of deals and if that don't work give the reigns over to Francis. If Maurice was just brought in for the season then it shouldn't be a big deal to let him go and give him an office job. I just hope Francis is ready for the job. I think with his knowledge and leadership qualities he'll make an excellent coach.

Randy Carlyle has to deal with some injuries.

And more than a few prima donnas?

the ducks are just going to be bad with any coach...they lost Pronger, their number one goalie hasn't been himself..just not the same team as previouse years.

Paul Maurice seems like a good coah but i think people expect too much from Carolina, they made an amazing playoff run but have looked dormant before that.

The Ducks traded their heart & soul players last year during the purge - then dumped off Pronger, who was their rock, in the off-season. Not only did Pronger go, but they brought in a giant waste of space in Lupul that they had been smart enough to get rid of before but brought back for some reason. Any team that loses Pahlsson, Pronger, May, Beauchemin (may not look great in Toronto, but who ever does?) and really only brings in a couple scrubs to replace them is going to struggle. And when your leader is a guy who has to take weeks at the end of every season just to decide if he wants to play or not, its even harder. I know you can't fire a whole team, but when you strip all the tread off a tire, you can't expect the same kind of traction, and throwing a coach under the bus is garbage. Does this mean that Babcock's job is in trouble because the Wings aren't in 1st place like usual? Give me a break.

The 'canes on the other hand, are no real surprise. Other than Staal - who I expected to tear it up this season after last year's playoff performance and his desire to be on Team Canada - I fully expected a drop off this year. Its the Carolina Way. Good playoff performance one year, 2 seasons of not making the playoffs, then a great playoff showing again. The cycle continues...

Did Scotty N announced his retirement yet?