Hurricanes fire coach Kirk Muller after 3 seasons

Kirk Muller went 80-80-27 in his three seasons as head coach of the Hurricanes. (Grant Halverson/Getty Images)

The Carolina Hurricanes have announced that they have released head coach Kirk Muller as well as assistant coaches John McLean and Dave Lewis.

General manager Ron Francis released a brief statement thanking the coaches for their efforts.

“We thank Kirk, John and Dave for their time and effort during the past three seasons,” said Francis. “Kirk and his staff worked very hard, but we feel that the team is in need of a fresh start at this time.”

Muller went 80-80-27 in his three seasons behind the bench for the Hurricanes, failing to make the playoffs in any of those seasons.

The team has retained two members of Muller's staff. Ron Brind'Amour stays on as an assistant, while goaltending coach Greg Stefan will move into a role in the scouting department.

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Francis stepping into the general manager's role after Jim Rutherford stepped down