The San Jose Sharks have obtained permission to speak to Randy Carlyle for their vacant coaching job.
The news was first reported on Twitter by TVA’s Renaud Lavoie and Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman:
Fired mid-season by the Toronto Maple Leafs, Carlyle left the club in playoff position, but the team tumbled down the standings under interim coach Peter Horachek.
Carlyle, who has been attending Anaheim Ducks games at Honda Center, came out on the weekend and stated his desire to get back behind an NHL bench. He had signed a two-year extension with the Leafs last summer.
“I’m a coach. I want to coach. That’s what I do. Every day at four in the afternoon I have to begin fighting my wife for the remote when the games from the East come on the TV,” Carlyle told the Winnipeg Free Press. “I want to be in hockey. It’s what I do. In a lot of ways, it’s who I am.”
The 59-year-old Carlyle, a native of Sudbury, Ont., went 91-78-19 in 188 games as the Maple Leafs coach over parts of four seasons. He won a Stanley Cup with Anaheim, his previous club, in 2007.
The San Jose job became open Monday after and general manager Doug Wilson and former head coach Todd McLellan mutually agreed to part ways. McLellan, 47, failed to lead his team to the post-season for the first time as a coach.
Eager to find a new coaching job, McLellan has already been linked to the Edmonton Oilers.
San Jose assistant coaches Jim Johnson and Jay Woodcroft and video coordinator Brett Heimlich were also relieved of their duties this week.
While there was speculation that Wilson himself could be out of a job, Sharks owner Hasso Plattner sent an email to season ticket holders stating that Wilson had done a good job with the club.
During his exit, McLellan said he views the Sharks as a rebuilding team; Wilson said he believes San Jose can return to the playoffs in 2015-16.
