Carbonneau fired

The Montreal Canadiens dismissed head coach Guy Carbonneau on Monday, two-thirds of the way through his third season. Executive Vice President and General Manager Bob Gainey will coach the Canadiens for the rest of this season.Associate coach Doug Jarvis and assistant coaches Kirk Muller and Roland Melanson will continue on the coaching staff.In addition, the Canadiens have added Hamilton Bulldogs head coach Don Lever to their staff. Hamilton assistant coach Ron Wilson will take over as bench boss of the AHL club.The Canadiens were the top team in the Eastern Conference last season with a 47-25-10 record, but have struggled this season due to inconsistent goaltending, power-play woes and low production from some of the expected team leaders."Not long ago, I responded to a question that was asked to me about my best decision since taking over as general manager, and that Guy was my best decision," Gainey said during a press conference on Monday night. "The decision today can be seen as a contradiction, but in the last eight weeks the performance has been below average. I believe that a change in the direction at ice level is necessary."

By John McGourty - NHL.com Staff Writer