TORONTO — The National Hockey League's Toronto Maple Leafs fired head coach Pat Quinn on Thursday, two days after the storied franchise failed to make the playoffs for the first time in his seven-year tenure.
The team finished with a record of 41 wins, 33 losses and eight overtime and shoot-out losses, but the 90 points was not enough for the Maple Leafs to make the Stanley Cup playoffs.
This prompted calls for heads to roll throughout the organization, which has not won a Stanley Cup since 1967.
"This change is as much about the future and where we are going as an organization as it is as much about what has transpired here," general manager John Ferguson told a news conference.
Quinn has never won a Stanley Cup in his 19-year coaching career, but coached Team Canada to Olympic gold in 2002. In Toronto, Quinn served in the dual role of coach and general manager for several years.
During his 574 games with the Leafs, Quinn had a record of 300 wins, 214 losses, 52 ties and eight overtime and shoot-out losses.
Ferguson, who has been GM since August 2003, said he would begin the process of looking for Quinn's replacement immediately.
He would not comment on whether Paul Maurice, head coach of the Toronto Marlies, the Leafs farm team, who has proven NHL coaching experience, was a shoo-in for the position.
Assistant coach Rick Ley was fired along with Quinn, but another assistant coach, Keith Acton, was offered another position in the organization.
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