Surprisingly, according to Randy Sportak of the Calgary Sun, the Calgary Flames announced the firing today of assistant coach Ryan McGill. The firing comes only eight days after the Flames fired two other assistant coaches-- video coach Rob Cookson and goaltending coach Jamie McLennan.
So why did Flames' General Manager Jay Feaster take eight extra days to fire McGill?
Well, my best explanation is he needed some more time to evaluate the other coaches. Feaster did go on to say today that head coach Brent Sutter and assistant coach Dave Lowry will stay on as coaches.
The reason why this was a bit of a surprise is because McGill and Lowry were highly regarded throughout the entire National Hockey League as excellent assistant coaches. They were regularly highly praised for their work on the bench and assisting in the dramatic turn around for the Calgary Flames this season and moving them into playoff contention in the Western Conference.
McGill spent two seasons as the Flames' assistant coach and the four previous seasons as the head coach of the Flames' American Hockey League affiliate in Quad City and Omaha.
Another reason I was a little bit surprised by McGill's firing is that his record as an assistant coach wasn't that bad at 81-61-22. But I guess when the team you work for does not make the playoffs two consecutive seasons, then changes are basically inevitable.
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