VANCOUVER -- Vancouver coach Roger Neilson was fired after the Canucks 7-5 loss Wednesday night to the Edmonton Oilers and will be replaced for the rest of the season by general manager Harry Neale, the team announced today.
The Canucks were in fourth place in the Smythe Division with a 17-26-5 record, only two points ahead of the last-place Los Angeles Kings and four points behind the second-place Calgary Flames. The Edmonton Oilers hold a commanding lead in the division, 29 points ahead of the Flames.
In the last 10 games, the Canucks have a dismal record of 2-6-2. In the five games before that they had four losses and just one win.
'I feel the hockey club has been underachieving for the last year and a half and the time has come to make this move while there is still enough time to improve our position in the standings,' Neale said in a statement from Edmonton.
'I also feel I am the best qualified to coach the team as I know all the players very well and have coached most of them before,' he said.
Neilson, who has one season remaining on his contract with the Canucks, took over the head coaching duties from Neale late in the 1981-82 season when Neale was suspended for 10 games by the NHL for taking part in a fight with fans in Quebec City.
Neilson led the team into the Stanley Cup finals that year, but lost four straight games to the New York Islanders. At the end of the season he was moved into the head coaching job. Neale then took over as general manager.
Neilson began his National Hockey League coaching career with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1977.
With the Leafs, Neilson had the dubious distinction of being one of the few coaches ever rehired 48 hours after he was dismissed. Cantakerous Leafs' owner Harold Ballard fired Neilson, then rehired him after being unable to find any one willing to step into the Leaf cauldron. Neilson took his old job back but was fired again at the conclusion of the season.
He then moved to the Buffalo Sabres as assistant coach under Scotty Bowman. Neilson was promoted to Sabres head coach at the start of the 1980-81 season before gaining the job as assistant coach to Neale in June, 1981.
During the 1982 Campbell Conference final against the Chicago Black Hawks, Neilson became a local hero when he raised a white towel aloft on a hockey stick in apparent surrender to the referees.
'Towel power' has remained a favorite slogan of Canuck fans, who are still known to wave white towels during home games.
