Having dropped six of their last eight games and 14 of their last 21, the Ottawa Senators fired head coach John Paddock with just 18 games remaining in the regular season.
Bryan Murray, who coached the Senators for two seasons before taking the general manager's job last summer, returns behind the bench for the stretch run.
"(The change) comes certainly because of performance lately," Murray told reporters at the team's hotel in Philadelphia. "I think the results that we'd been having or not having was an indicator that some adjustment, that some emotion had to be brought back to the team."
The team also announced that assistant coach Ron Low was relieved of his coaching duties, while assistant coach Greg Carvel, goaltending coach Eli Wilson, conditioning and player development coach Randy Lee and video coach Tim Pattyson remain on the staff. Paddock has been offered to stay with organization in a different role, and Murray said the former head coach will take a few weeks and decide.
"He took a lot of heat lately," Captain Daniel Alfredsson told reporters. "Right or wrong, he's in that position where that comes with the job. But it feels bad that we couldn't come out and get him some more wins here down the stretch."
"It's too bad," centre Mike Fisher told TSN after learning of the coaching change. "We respected John but we just couldn't get anything going. He had to take the fall for us not performing and I feel bad about that."
"It's always a surprise when a coach gets let go," said Jason Spezza. "We've been struggling, but as a team I don't think we thought it would come to the coach getting fired.
"It just shows the high standard we have in our dressing room, the city of Ottawa, and that our owner has. It shows how competitive a team they think we have."
Speculation over Paddock's job security heated up after the team's second straight uninspired effort - a 4-0 loss in Boston on Tuesday after a 5-0 loss at home to the Toronto Maple Leafs the night before. The Senators appeared ready for a major shakeup, and the local media in Ottawa were already calling for Paddock's job.
Even Murray was hesitant to give him a vote a confidence. "I think winning makes everything safe," he told reporters in Ottawa earlier this week.
With the Senators struggling, the surging New Jersey Devils have taken over the top spot in the Eastern Conference standings, while the Montreal Canadiens sit just one point back of Ottawa for the Northeast Division lead.
"We still have confidence," said Fisher. "I think knowing that Bryan has gotten us there before, maybe this is what can turn us around. But it wasn't John's fault."
Under Paddock, the team sprinted out of the gate early this season with a 16-3 record in its first 19 games. The team then struggled in late November and early December with a seven-game losing streak, and went 20-19-6 the rest of the way.
Paddock, 53, served as Murray's assistant the previous two seasons and before that coached the Senators' American Hockey League affiliate in Binghamton, N.Y.
He spent four of his 18 pro seasons as head coach of the Winnipeg Jets, posting a 106-138-37 record. In the playoffs, the Jets suffered consecutive first-round losses in his first two years, then failed to qualify for the postseason in his last two.
Murray, 65, has coached more than 1,300 NHL games in the regular season and playoffs. He has a regular season coaching record of 100-46-18 with the Senators.
Murray began his NHL coaching career with Washington and spent eight seasons with the Capitals before going to the Detroit Red Wings as head coach and general manager.
