The Tampa Bay Lightning have fired head coach Guy Boucher following yesterday’s loss to the Ottawa Senators.
“Guy has poured his heart and soul into the Lightning organization for these past three years and we appreciate all the work he has done. But ultimately I am not satisfied with the direction we are heading and I believe making a change today is in the best interest of our franchise.” – Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman
Yzerman went on to say that assistant coaches Martin Raymond and Dan Lacroix would handle coaching duties for today’s game at Winnipeg.
Boucher was the eighth head coach in the history of the Lightning, compiling a record of 97-78-20 over three seasons, including coming within one game of the Stanley Cup finals in 2011. However, the team’s performance the past two seasons has been a disappointment, finishing out of the playoffs with a 38-36-8 record last season. They’re currently 13-17-1, five points out of a possible playoff berth but ahead of only the Florida Panthers in both the Southeast Division and the Eastern Conference standings.
