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Ducks extend coach Randy Carlyle’s contract through the 2018-19 season

Coach Randy Carlyle, seen during a Western Conference playoff game against the Nashville Predators, has overseen the most wins in Ducks franchise history.
(Sean M. Haffey / Getty Images)
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Skepticism was rife when Randy Carlyle began his second coaching leg with the Ducks last year. By the end of this season, it looked like the smartest move they could have made.

Carlyle’s success in his return season earned him a one-year contract extension through the 2018-19 season, with an option for 2019-20, the team announced Friday.

Carlyle said the extension was triggered by playoff performance criteria from his original contract, and that the familiarity with the franchise helped in that regard.

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“I knew what the expectations were, all those things, and then it was basically up to us to kind of accomplish a few things,” Carlyle said. “There was some strategic points along the way that had to be hit. That’s what we were looking at is build a championship.”

Rehired under a two-year contract last June with the backing of veteran players, Carlyle’s steady bench acumen was the right fit for a team of playoff-tested older players and upstart younger ones. His level, no-nonsense approach got the Ducks within two wins of the Stanley Cup Final despite injuries to forwards Patrick Eaves, Rickard Rakell and goaltender John Gibson.

“We made great strides this past season and clearly Randy was at the center of that,” Ducks general manager Bob Murray said in a release. “He’s committed to this organization and to winning another Stanley Cup. Extending his contract was an easy decision for us.”

Successful second acts are rare but Carlyle took a team with several holes in its roster at the beginning of this season and, after upgrades by Murray, guided it to the Ducks’ fifth straight Pacific Division title. The Ducks were the fifth team in NHL history to finish the regular season on a 14-game point streak (11-0-3) and snapped a string of four straight Game 7 losses on home ice with a second-round series win against the Edmonton Oilers.

Veteran players spoke highly of Carlyle at last month’s exit meetings.

“I have a lot of respect for Randy and what he does,” Ryan Kesler said. “I think just the fact that he’s changed as a coach and evolved with the game. … He’s evolving with it and I think he’s the right coach for this group. He listens to the group, but at the same time he’s stern and gets the best out of his players.”

The Ducks also announced that assistant coaches Trent Yawney and Rich Preston will return, as will Todd Marchant as director of player development and special projects.

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Carlyle said he is evaluating how to fill the assistant position left by Paul MacLean.

“He’s at a juncture in his career that he’s looking at different things and, going forward, he wants to be a head coach in the NHL somewhere along the line, and good for him,” Carlyle said of MacLean.

sports@latimes.com


UPDATES:

6:51 p.m.: This article was updated with additional details.

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