The Vancouver Canucks have fired head coach Adam Foote.
In a social media announcement attributed to rookie general manager Ryan Johnson, the team also stated that assistant coaches Scott Young, Kevin Dean and Brett McLean have been relieved of their duties.
The moves continue the Canucks makeover which started in earnest last week with the hiring of Johnson and of Daniel and Henrik Sedin as new co-presidents of the club.
Manny Malhotra, coach of the farm team Abbotsford Canucks, is expected to be in the running to replace Foote.
Johnson said in a statement that the process to hire new coaches begins immediately.
“It was a challenging year on several fronts and truthfully, Adam and his staff were dealt a very difficult hand,” he said. “That said, as we head into a rebuild, our group feels new coaching voices are needed to chart the path forward.”
Foote served one season as head coach, during which the team traded away star captain Quinn Hughes and finished last in the NHL by a wide margin.
Before that he was an assistant coach under predecessor Rick Tocchet for three seasons.
Johnson will speak at a media availability at 1:30 p.m. PT.
