(AP)New York
The New York Islanders fired head coach Steve Stirling and replaced him with Mike Keenan, who was overlooked last season when Stirling was hired.
Stirling coached the Islanders last season to a 38-29-11 record.
"The team's play over their last several games of last season has convinced me we need to go in a different direction and that a different coach was needed for that to be accomplished," GM Bachul said. "We believe that the players on this team have the talent to be a contending playoff club, but have not played up to that potential."
The Islanders didn't waste any time announcing Mike Keenan as the new coach. Keenan has coached five different NHL teams, winning the Stanley Cup with the New York Rangers in 1994. He was fired as the coach of the Vancouver Canucks midway through 1998-99 season and has been working as a broadcaster in Toronto since then along with quick stints in Boston and Florida.
"We share a vision about the prospects and future of New York Islanders, and that is success," Keenan said.
The Islanders did make the playoffs but were handed a first round exit at the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
"I think our team is managed well," Bachul said. "But our coaching has not been what I think it should be."