Quinn Fires Ley, Returns as Canucks’ Coach

Pat Quinn looked around for a coach who could right the Vancouver ship, then glanced in the mirror and reappointed himself.

Quinn fired Rick Ley as coach on Thursday with six games left in the regular season and will return behind the bench tonight for a home game against the Chicago Blackhawks, taking time off from his general manager duties to lead Vancouver into the playoffs.

The move came with the Canucks 2-8 in their last 10 games, which dropped them to 29-32-15, tied for sixth in the Western Conference.

“It didn’t appear there was going to be any real change without a drastic change, which this is in my opinion,” Quinn said at a news conference.

The firing came less than 12 hours after the Canucks were humiliated, 6-2, by the Toronto Maple Leafs. Last weekend Vancouver lost, 4-0, at home to the Calgary Flames.

“Right now I don’t feel very good about the decision made today,” Quinn said. “My emotions have to be put aside for the time being.”

Quinn said he felt partly responsible for the firing because “I had a lot to do with putting this team together.”

OTHER GAMES

Geoff Courtnall scored with 2:06 to play in the third period to lift the Blues to a 4-4 tie with New Jersey at St. Louis. . . . Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr scored and became only the second teammates to both score 60 goals in a season in Pittsburgh’s 3-2 victory over Florida at Miami. . . . Marc Bureau’s second goal of the season, at 2:07 of overtime, lifted Montreal to a 4-3 victory at Boston. . . . Peter Forsberg and Joe Sakic each scored two goals for Colorado in an 8-3 victory at San Jose.