Hartsburg Receives Two-Year Extension

Resisting the temptation to fire Coach Craig Hartsburg after the Mighty Ducks failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs, Pierre Gauthier, team president and general manager, instead gave Hartsburg a two-year contract extension Wednesday.

Hartsburg was rumored to be history if the Ducks missed the playoffs, and Gauthier’s reluctance to give his coach a vote of confidence at season’s end added to the speculation.

After a series of meetings last week, Gauthier decided to reward Hartsburg with an extension that will keep him behind the Duck bench through the 2002-03 season. Hartsburg, 40, has one year remaining on his original three-year deal signed before the 1998-99 season.

“Those rumors were just rumors,” Hartsburg said. “I don’t want to make any huge comment on it. It’s just part of being in the NHL. You have to shut those rumors out. I certainly haven’t been affected by those rumors.”

After an 18-point improvement and a playoff appearance in Hartsburg’s first season, the Ducks slipped from sixth place in the Western Conference to ninth in his second. Hartsburg’s two-season Duck record is 69-70-25-3.

“We had some meetings after the season, then I wanted to take some time and distance ourselves,” Gauthier said. “I had a scouting trip and Craig went on a holiday. We sat down for some long hours last week. We’re going to go forward. Stability is a huge part of a good program. Craig has brought a lot of strong leadership. Everybody knows exactly what he wants.”

Asked if he had any doubts about bringing Hartsburg back, Gauthier said: “Not really. I didn’t want you guys [reporters] to start any rumors, so I didn’t say anything. I just thought it was a good time, an appropriate time, a necessary time to back off and make sure everything is what we planned it to be and we could keep going forward.”

Gauthier refused to divulge financial details.