Randy Carlyle

Toronto may be the self-proclaimed Center of the Hockey Universe, but Anaheim has become the cradle of NHL coaches and executives, a position solidified last week when a former general manager of the Ducks fired a former Ducks coach and hired another former Ducks coach to salvage a sorry season. Maple Leafs General Manager Brian Burke , who put the final touches on the Ducks' 2007 Stanley Cup team, on Friday fired Ron Wilson — the Ducks' inaugural coach — and brought in Randy Carlyle , who coached Burke's Ducks to the Cup but was dismissed in late November during a season-sabotaging slump.

The Ducks signed Coach Bruce Boudreau to a two-year contract extension, which goes through the 2014-15 season. Boudreau was originally under contract through this upcoming season. His record after taking over from Randy Carlyle on Nov. 30 was 27-23-8. Boudreau started the season with the Capitals and he had coached in Washington since 2007. "Since joining the organization last November, Bruce has done an outstanding job with the team," Ducks General Manager Bob Murray said.

Randy Carlyle thought little of coaches before becoming one. "As a player," said Carlyle, who played 17 seasons in the NHL, "I thought a coach was a guy that stood on the side of the boards and drank coffee. " But he said he learned to love it because it was the closest thing to being a player. And now he will be close to the players a little longer. On Monday the winningest coach in Ducks history agreed to a three-year contract extension through the 2013-14 season. His previous contract was set to expire at the end of this season.

Toronto may be the self-proclaimed Center of the Hockey Universe, but Anaheim has become the cradle of NHL coaches and executives, a position solidified last week when a former general manager of the Ducks fired a former Ducks coach and hired another former Ducks coach to salvage a sorry season. Maple Leafs General Manager Brian Burke , who put the final touches on the Ducks' 2007 Stanley Cup team, on Friday fired Ron Wilson — the Ducks' inaugural coach — and brought in Randy Carlyle , who coached Burke's Ducks to the Cup but was dismissed in late November during a season-sabotaging slump.

Randy Carlyle, who coached the Ducks to the Stanley Cup title in 2007 but was fired Wednesday because of the team's prolonged struggles, said Saturday he has been traveling "an emotional road" since his dismissal and will take a brief fishing trip to Northern California before considering his hockey future. "We'll see," he said when asked whether he expects to coach in the NHL again. "I'm working on putting one foot in front of another for the next couple of days. " Carlyle's last game was a 4-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday, which ended the Ducks' losing streak at seven games.

As bad as things have gotten for the Ducks this season -- and they nearly got very bad before Scott Niedermayer's overtime breakaway lifted them to a 4-3 victory over the Vancouver Canucks at the Honda Center -- General Manager Bob Murray said he had never considered firing Coach Randy Carlyle. Murray chose instead to fire some of his players, pulling off a series of trades aimed at now and the future.

vs. San Jose, 7, Ch. 56 Site -- Honda Center. Radio -- 830. Records -- Ducks 0-4-0, Sharks 4-0-0. Record vs. Sharks -- 0-1. Update -- The Sharks made several changes in the off-season, bringing in a new coach, Todd McClellan, and several new players. Perhaps because of that, they're off to their best start in franchise history.

When: 7:30. Where: HP Pavilion. On the air: TV: KDOC; Radio: 830. Records: Ducks 9-19-6, San Jose 19-10-3. Update: After three days off because of the Christmas break, the Ducks are back in action, attempting to halt a daunting losing streak on the road. They have lost 13 straight games on the road (0-9-4) and have not won away from Honda Center since Oct. 27 at Minnesota, back when Randy Carlyle was still their coach. Overall, the Ducks have lost four straight games and it's only a matter of time before trade rumors pick up momentum again.

The Ducks announced a one-year contract extension for Coach Randy Carlyle on Wednesday as a reward for the team's improvement over his two seasons that culminated last week in the franchise's first Stanley Cup title. Carlyle, 51, had one year remaining on the three-year deal he signed when he became coach on Aug. 1, 2005. Along with the championship, the Ducks have recorded back-to-back record regular seasons and are 91-47-26 during his tenure.

With a minute left and Anaheim's first victory seemingly secure, Teemu Selanne turned to coach Randy Carlyle and asked: "Why is Corey Perry out there killing penalties?" By the time Selanne looked back at the ice, Perry had scored. "That's why he's out there killing penalties," Carlyle said after Perry's short-handed goal with 53 seconds remaining clinched the Ducks' 6-1 victory against the Boston Bruins on Thursday night. Selanne scored two goals 82 seconds apart in the second period to give the Ducks the lead, and Perry had two goals and an assist to help the Ducks pull away.

Hockey amnesia, indeed, can be a good thing. For the Anaheim Ducks. "I think we're thinking about forgetting everything," Ducks forward Bobby Ryan said Saturday after practice. "Pre —" He thought for a second. "Pre-Jan. 1, I guess," Ryan said. "That's where things kind of turned for us and we found our stride. So I think every other game, previously, we'll just take as a write-off right now. " The Ducks were finally home after a 15-day trip in which they were 5-1-2, punctuated by a shootout win against Carolina on Thursday.

Did the Ducks go into turnaround mode because Jonas Hiller became Jonas Hiller, the All-Star goaltender, again? Or did Hiller become Hiller again because the Ducks helped ease the way? Hiller would say it is a bit of both. "The biggest difference right now is everybody believes we can win, which I felt really wasn't the case in October and November," Hiller said. "If we were scored on, we were always worried about losing a game and never seemed to be really comfortable out there.

Most valuable player = mostly vanishing privacy. You would think a league MVP in a major, celebrity-driven market would see his privacy vaporize in a dizzying flurry of red carpets, photo drive-bys and TMZ blurbs. Thankfully, there are rare exceptions to that expected course of events. Corey Perry, the Ducks forward who is the NHL's reigning MVP, recently showed that his skill for anticipation does not lie only on the ice. He seemed to know where the question was headed after the first couple of words and got off his response in rapid-fire fashion.

The halfway point of the season was approaching and the Ducks had won only 10 games. Goaltender Jonas Hiller wasn't tracking the puck. Winger Bobby Ryan couldn't find the net with a GPS. The slightest adversity sent everyone into a panic. Firing coach Randy Carlyle and replacing him with Bruce Boudreau hadn't made a difference. General Manager Bob Murray , responding to interview requests from two reporters, said he was prepared to trade anyone except esteemed veterans Saku Koivu and Teemu Selanne , who have no-trade clauses.

When: 7:30. Where: HP Pavilion. On the air: TV: KDOC; Radio: 830. Records: Ducks 9-19-6, San Jose 19-10-3. Update: After three days off because of the Christmas break, the Ducks are back in action, attempting to halt a daunting losing streak on the road. They have lost 13 straight games on the road (0-9-4) and have not won away from Honda Center since Oct. 27 at Minnesota, back when Randy Carlyle was still their coach. Overall, the Ducks have lost four straight games and it's only a matter of time before trade rumors pick up momentum again.

ST. LOUIS — T.J. Oshie scored twice, defenseman Ian Cole had his first goal of the season and Jaroslav Halak made 20 saves, leading the St. Louis Blues to a 4-2 victory against the Ducks on Thursday night. St. Louis won for the sixth time in eight games. The Blues have at least one point in 13 of their last 15 games and improved to 10-2-3 under Coach Ken Hitchcock, who took over for Davis Payne on Nov. 6. The Ducks have won three times in their last 19 games. Chris Porter also scored for the Blues, who have won their last four home games against the Ducks by a combined 24-9 score.