MONTREAL, March 9 (UPI) -- The Montreal Canadiens dumped head Coach Guy Carbonneau Monday and said General Manager Bob Gainey will replace him.
Carbonneau was in his third season as coach of the NHL's most successful franchise, which has 24 championships. The Canadiens are fifth in the NHL Eastern Conference with 77 points, only two points ahead of ninth-place Carolina.
Gainey has been the team's general manager since 2003. He is taking over as coach for the second time.
Gainey previously coached for 41 games in 2006 after firing Claude Julien. The team was 23-15-3 the rest of the 2005-2006 regular season but lost in six games in the first round to eventual Stanley Cup champion Carolina.
Carbonneau, who was a member of the Canadiens for 12 seasons -- including the team's last Stanley Cup championship season in 1992-93 -- led Montreal to a first-place finish in the conference during the 2007-08 season but Montreal lost to Philadelphia in the second round of the playoffs that year.
