In Meltdown Mode, Ducks Ice Coach

The Mighty Ducks, continuing a dramatic slide from a playoff team to a National Hockey League also-ran, fired their second coach in 13 months on Monday.

The Ducks under Pierre Page struggled to a 26-43-13 record and a 12th-place finish in the NHL’s 13-team Western Conference. He didn’t attend a news conference at the Arrowhead Pond to announce his firing.

Only a year ago, the Ducks seemed to be an emerging power after only four seasons in the league, with such young stars as Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne. But their troubles began after the May 1997 firing of Ron Wilson, their original coach, who only weeks before had led the team into the playoffs for the first time.

General Manager Jack Ferreira said Monday that philosophical differences with Page, rather than wins and losses, prompted the move.

“I don’t want to sound melodramatic, but Pierre and I are like brothers,” Ferreira said. “This was the toughest decision I ever had to make.”

Ferreira made similar comments when Wilson was let go. Wilson’s new team, the Washington Capitals, advanced to the Stanley Cup finals this season but face elimination tonight in Game 4 against the Detroit Red Wings.

When the Ducks fired assistant coaches Don Hay and Walt Kyle on May 28, it seemed Page’s job would be safe. Ferreira and Page had completed their postseason evaluations and appeared to be in agreement.

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But that all changed Monday.

“We had made definitive decisions on players, assistant coaches, where we were going and what we wanted to do,” Ferreira said. “Now, all of a sudden, those solutions are no longer good enough for him. My biggest concern was that a month from now, what he wanted to change he would want to change again.”

Neither Ferreira nor team President Tony Tavares would go into specifics. Page was unavailable for comment but left this message on his home answering machine:

“You probably heard about what happened today. I’d like to take the day and digest what really happened and how it happened. . . . “ Page, 50, then invited callers to an afternoon news conference today.

There appears to be no shortage of high-profile candidates to replace Page, starting with former Colorado Avalanche Coach Marc Crawford. Ted Nolan, Jacques Lemaire and Craig Hartsburg also are expected to be on Ferreira’s short list.

“I’ve got some people in mind,” Ferreira said. “I have to get permission to speak to a couple of others.”

Ferreira said he has not set a timetable to name a new coach. He hoped to meet with one candidate this weekend, but indicated his search probably will not begin in earnest until after the NHL expansion and entry drafts June 26 to 27 in Buffalo, N.Y.

He was not concerned about having a coach in place for the draft or for the start of free agency July 1. Ferreira and Tavares pledged once again Monday to be aggressive in the free-agent market.

They are particularly interested in signing a veteran defenseman or two to bolster a youthful lineup that gave up 261 goals last season, the third-highest total in the NHL.

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Money apparently is not a hurdle to finding the right man for the job, although Crawford, Nolan and Lemaire each could command $1 million or more because of their experience and track records.

Crawford led the Avalanche to a Stanley Cup victory in 1996. Nolan was the NHL Coach of the Year in 1997 with the Buffalo Sabres. Lemaire coached the New Jersey Devils to the 1995 Stanley Cup title.

Hartsburg, fired after the Chicago Blackhawks missed the playoffs for the first time since 1969, would be a more economical alternative. He probably would not demand much more than the $500,000 Page was paid last season.

The Ducks owe Page roughly $1 million for the remaining two seasons on the three-year contract he signed last August. It’s a small price to pay, according to Tavares.

“When you’re running payrolls in the range we’re running payrolls, and not just us but everybody in hockey, $400,000 or $500,000 or even a $1 million is not a factor,” Tavares said. “That’s a very small investment to make if you don’t believe you’re headed in the right direction with the coach.

“You pay it and move on.”

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Page’s short tenure in Anaheim was marked by seemingly endless change, much of it because of injuries to top players such as left wing Kariya and goaltender Guy Hebert.

Page often shuffled line combinations and defensive pairings during games and changed styles of play several times over the course of the season.

Kariya missed all but 22 games--the season’s first 32 because of a contract dispute and the final 28 because of post-concussion syndrome suffered after a Feb. 1 cross-check to the face by Chicago’s Gary Suter.

Unlike Wilson, who led the Ducks to a 36-33-13 record and the second round of the playoffs in 1996-97, Page could not wring a winning record and a playoff appearance from the team.

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Although disappointed by a 20-point drop in the standings, Ferreira had said he was willing to overlook this season’s failures in order to give Page another chance.

But when Page began to seek new solutions last week, Ferreira became concerned.

“Jack came to me three weeks ago and we decided to take out the assistant coaches,” Tavares said. “He came to me Wednesday or Thursday of last week and said he had deep concerns about the direction we were going and advocated a move on Pierre.”

Ferreira and Page worked together in the Calgary Flames’ organization in the 1980s. They then served as general manager and coach of the Minnesota North Stars from 1988 to 1990.

Page also was coach and general manager of the Quebec Nordiques from 1991 to 1994. He coached the Calgary Flames for two seasons before resigning last summer because of a contract dispute.