Second time around ends much the way of the first for Paul Maurice

The second term of employment for Carolina Hurricane coach Paul Maurice came to an end on Monday, though perhaps a bit overshadowed by the announcement of the firing of Bruce Boudreau in Washington.

For Maurice, the end came with a chat from GM and President Jim Rutherford who informed the likeable Maurice that it wasn't working out and with the Hurricanes slide continuing on into late November the fates it seems were set for Maurice to once again make the trek to the Unemployment office.

The profile of the coaching departure, while not quite the hot white spotlight of Boudreau's dismissal earlier in the day still was one of a hard working coach, who it seems wasn't finding any traction with those that take to the ice on a nightly basis.

Maurice returned to the Hurricanes in December of 2008, three years later and with little progress from the Hurricanes towards the upper reaches of the NHL his name was the most frequently mentioned of coaches that were on the bubble.

Monday the bubble popped, though to be fair to Maurice, unlike the Capitals, the Hurricanes haven't exactly surrounded him with a Top tier lineup and even though his most valuable player has struggled, the on ice troubles of Eric Staal certainly haven't provided for the same kind of enigma like performances of the Capitals Ovechkin, Semin et al.

Still, it's a win or lose business and the Hurricanes have done more of the latter than the former,  so Maurice was the first to be moved out of the way, though the President and GM seems to at least be aware that some of the blame may rest with the players.

Rutherford added this intriguing thought at the time of his dismissal of Maurice, sending the message to those on the ice that management is keeping an eye on things.

But we need to see if we can get back into it with this, or if we need to change some more players.

The task now falls to Kirk Muller, a frequently mentioned name as a potential head coach who now gets his chance to turn around a struggling team.

We're not sure that he'll have much more success than Paul Maurice, the Hurricanes seem to be destined to be a middle of the pack kind of team at best these days, some things run deeper than just the guy behind the bench.

Raleigh News Observer-- New coach, different direction for Canes
Raleigh News Observer-- Fan reaction to new Canes' coach: Kirk who?
Raleigh News Observer-- Canes fire Maurice, name Muller coach
Raleigh News Observer-- The second Mo Dynasty falls
Globe and Mail-- Hurricanes fire coach Paul Maurice
Globe and Mail-- Downward spirals cost NHL coaches their jobs
Toronto Star-- Carolina replaces Paul Maurice with Kirk Muller
Toronto Sun-- 'Canes fire Maurice, hire Muller
Sports Illustrated-- It all comes down to the Captain
NBC Sports-- Paul Maurice is one classy guy
NHL.com-- Muller to Hurricanes "It's a clean slate"
CBC Sports-- Hurricanes can coach Maurice, hire Muller
CBC Sports-- Did Paul Maurice deserve to be fired in Carolina?
CBC Sports-- The firing of Paul Maurice and Eric Staal;s role in it
Sportsnet-- What went wrong?