Hockey News: Randy Carlyle Fired; David Backes Scores Four

The Canadian Juniors are better than everyone else. [Buzzing the Net]

After being on the hot-seat for what seemed like forever, the Maple Leafs have fired head coach Randy Carlyle. [Toronto Star]

Phil Kessel doesn’t want to be blamed. [Pension Plan Puppets]

Former Leafs coach Ron Wilson believes Kessel is part of the problem. [TSN]

Toronto is very loyal to the hometown team, the Maple Leafs (Marc DesRosiers-USA TODAY Sports)
(Marc DesRosiers-USA TODAY Sports)

Daniel Carcillo can’t get himself out of the press-box. [Sun Times]

Jamie McBain is having a strong season so far. [LA Kings Insider]

A few NHL stars tried their hand at sledge hockey. [The Hockey News]

Leon Draisaitl was in fact traded to the Kelowna Rockets. The Oilers were waiting for that to happen before sending him down, because they didn’t want him to play on a losing team. [Edmonton Journal]

It’s been a tough stretch for Zach Parise. [Star Tribune]

(Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports)
(Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports)

Impressive night for David Backes. And thankfully he doesn’t have a Joe Thornton policy. [Sportsblog]

The unlikely dynamic duo in Arizona. [AZ Central]

Roberto Luongo may still be in Vancouver if not for the Heritage Classic snub. Nice going, Torts. [AM1150]

It’s just laughable that Corey Crawford will play in the All-Star Game. [Blackhawk Up]

And finally, this Russian player wasn’t too happy about losing. [HockeyFeed]