Barry Melrose’s return to the NHL as coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning lasted 16 games until he was fired on Friday.
The move came less than five months after the former television analyst left the booth to coach a team that finished with the league’s worst record last season.
“This was a tough decision to make,” general manager Brian Lawton said. “Barry is a good man and we have a great deal of respect for him. We wish him nothing but success. However, the results were unacceptable and the players have to understand that we need to be better. Hopefully this change helps push them.”
Assistant Rick Tocchet was promoted to interim head coach. He was sentenced to two years’ probation in August last year after pleading guilty in a gambling investigation into a sports betting ring.
Tocchet said he never bet on NHL games.
Tocchet rejoined Phoenix’s coaching staff in February after a two-year absence that included a suspension by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman. Deputy commissioner Bill Daly said in an e-mail to The Associated Press that the league was not concerned about Tocchet’s promotion.
“Rick is still bound by the terms of his reinstatement,” Daly said. “If he’s qualified to be an assistant coach on those terms, in our view, he’s just as qualified to be a head coach.”
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