Halifax Fires Shawn Mackenzie as head coach

In a bit of a shocking move, the Halifax Mooseheads relieved Shawn Mackenzie of his coaching duties. He'd coached the Mooseheads for over five seasons, taking over just prior to the 2000 Memorial Cup.

The timing of this is odd, considering that they had been on a roll before running into a rash of suspensions, injuries, and World Junior call-ups in the last couple weeks. People just were not buying into his system as they had in past seasons, it seemed, this year.

No "official" online confirmation yet, though Bobby Smith had been on local radio around noon discussing the change.

GM Marcel Patenaude is going to coach the game in Bathurst tonight.

Durn. Moosetalk will be buzzing today. This should be interesting.

Durn. Moosetalk will be buzzing today. This should be interesting.

At 1:30, there were 27 members and 54 guests. Don't even get that on trade deadline day.

Confirmation from RDS:

http://www.rds.ca/lhjmq/chroniques/169694.html

Well, I admit that I'm shocked. I just can't say that this makes a whole lot of sense unless they're hoping to guilt the players into getting out of this recent slump.

I think this is a bad move by the Moose. Shaun has been a stone behind the bench. Maybe there is something we don't know about, but what ever it is, it must be big. This is the time of the year when you want your team ready to go. A change in coach's is kinda a step backwards in the middle of the season.

Looks like Marcel did a good job behind the bench tonight as head coach. Moose with a big 2-0 shutout win over Bathurst, in Bathurst. :handclap:

Any names being thrown around yet?

Any names being thrown around yet?

Brian Skrudland's name has been thrown around. I'd like to see Patenaude take a look at a guy like Al McAdam.

Dark horse: Ted Nolan. Hahahaha.

John Moore is reporting on 920CJCH that Al MacAdam is the new coach. Apparently, he's at the practice with the players as we speak.

Looks like Marcel did a good job behind the bench tonight as head coach. Moose with a big 2-0 shutout win over Bathurst, in Bathurst. :handclap:

Dude....everyone beats Bathurst.

Well that was quick. Makes you wonder if this has not been planned for quite a time now?

Dude....everyone beats Bathurst.
We've lost to them twice this year and we tied em once.

We've lost to them twice this year and we tied em once.

Ha, I knew that, it was teasing.

The fact that Halifax accounts for what, 25% of Les Titans wins, may cost them a few spots in the standings at the end of the season.

http://www.sjmapleleafs.ca/history/anniversary.asp?id=47

One of the most astute coaches in Maple Leaf history, Al MacAdam used his quiet demeanor to get the most out of his troops and went on record as saying he didn't think he had to scream at grown men to get his point across. Judging by MacAdams' track record of preparing the likes of Danny Markov, Kevyn Adams, Ladislav Kohn and Lonny Bohonos for the parent club in Toronto, he accomplished what he was hired to do. MacAdam will surely be remembered as the least emotional coach on the bench of the St. John's franchise, but that's not to say he didn't bring a great deal of passion to his job each and every day. Under MacAdam, the Leafs managed to make the Calder Cup playoffs twice during his three year reign as bench boss with an overall record of 82-129-29 during the regular season and a post season slate of 3-6. The native of Morell, Prince Edward Island, spent 11 years as the head coach of the AUAA's St. Thomas Tommies in Fredericton, New Brunswick where he was named the conference's coach of the year in 1995-96 and also nominated for CIAU coaching honors. MacAdam played 12 seasons in the NHL with Philadelphia, California, Cleveland, Minnesota and Vancouver, scoring 240 goals and adding 351 assists for 591 points in 864 games. He was also the recipient of the league's Bill Masterton Award in 1980-81 for his perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to the game of hockey. Al MacAdam may have left Newfoundland without a very impressive winning percentage, but he will long be remembered as a true gentleman and classy student of the game.