The Anaheim Ducks are bringing back head coach Randy Carlyle in order to improve their hockey betting odds of winning a second Stanley Cup. It’s been nine years since the Ducks won the NHL championship, and four and a half since they fired Carlyle and replaced him with Bruce Boudreau after a disastrous start to the 2011 season. And if people who bet on NHL think about it, it only makes sense. Carlyle does have the franchise record for most wins by a head coach, and did lead the team to that aforementioned Stanley Cup.
In a very stark contrast, Boudreau only had to wait two days after being fired by the Washington Capitals before being hired by the Ducks in 2011. ‘Gabby’ led Anaheim to four back-to-back division titles. However, he was given his walking papers in 2016 after the Ducks lost a Game 7 on home ice for the 4th year in a row. Now Carlyle will pick up where Boudreau has left off. Very ironic, though not really. Some things haven’t changed at the Honda Center. Carlyle was welcome by many familiar faces, including the man who fired and rehired them, general manager Bob Murray. Journeys end in lovers’ meeting.
On the other hand, only two players remain from Carlyle’s Stanley Cup-winning team – Cory Perry and Ryan Getzlaf. Carlyle himself has not coached in more than a year since his dismissal from the Toronto Maple Leafs – cue hockey betting fans predicting how long will reconciliation will last. Love is lovelier the second time around, but that’s not always necessarily true in sports. As a matter of fact, it is very seldom true in sports. He has continued to be a student of the game, though. He moved back from Toronto to Encinitas, California, and fans who bet on hockey often saw him in the Honda Center press box watching Ducks game and taking notes.
At the end of the day, the question hockey betting experts ask is whether Carlyle is the right man to make the Anaheim Ducks great again. One aspect that has been singled out is his relationship with the players. Stars Perry and Getzlaf were allegedly so at odds with the coach the last time around that they stopped listening to him. But Murray talked to both players before Carlyle was brought back, and according to GM, other veterans on the team supported the move. Carlyle is known for his Bobby-Knight-on-ice demeanor, but the coach says that he has “mellowed dramatically.” For what it’s worth, Boudreau was hurt by a lack of leadership from Getzlaf and Perry – both of whom pretty much became stars on Carlyle’s watch.
