Carlyle in Control

Brian Burke got his man and the Mighty Ducks are going to find that the 2005-06 season is going to be a non stop season of work.

The Ducks signed up Randy Carlyle as their head coach on Tuesday, a move that should give any Duck slackers incentive to look for a new place to nest. Carlyle comes from the Manitoba Moose, the Vancouver Canuck farm club and his work in Manitoba has set the stage for his NHL coaching debut.

Carlyle turned a rather dis-organized Moose club into a solid performing squad in the 2004-05 AHL season and Carlyle won the support of his Moose players by not tolerating a lack of effort from any player regardless of status.

Burke who watched Carlyle from his job in Vancouver had been trying to land him since his arrival in Anaheim, the Canucks threw a few roadblocks in the way from time to time, but eventually a solid addition to the NHL coaching ranks was allowed to take his shot.

The Ducks will quickly become a competitive squad with Carlyle, who rewards hard work and punishes those that refuse to buy into the concept of a full effort.

Carlyle made a name for himself with the NHL's Jets and quickly became the man of a Manitoba legend. Many a night at the old Winnipeg Arena Jets fans would watch Carlyle man the blue line and steady down a young or nervous Jets team. His move to coaching was seamless and he came across as a natural for the profession. The decision to hire him in Anaheim will probably be one of Brian Burke's best moves, even if it follows on the mess of Mike Babcock's departure.

In the end success is based on wins and losses and Carlyle should give the Ducks the opportunity to collect more than their fair share of W's.