Joe Sacco was fired today by the Colorado Avalanche.
Sacco has been coaching the Avalanche since 2009. He lead the team to the Stanley Cup during his first season as head coach but has failed to make the playoffs every year since then.
General manager Greg Sherman said:
“The organization believes a change of leadership behind the bench is needed going forward … Joe has worked for this franchise for eight seasons and he is a dedicated and hard-working coach. We appreciate all he has done and wish him the best in the future.”
The Avalanche had a rough season this year. They never won more than two games in a row and with the exception of the first four games of the season, the Avalanche were never about .500.
The team ended their season this year in 29th place with a 16-25-7 record.
Sacco’s time with the Avalanche started strong but he has never been able to match the success of his first season as head coach. Sacco will leave the Avalanche with a 130-134-30 record in four seasons.
The Avalanche has announced that head coach Joe Sacco has been relieved of his duties.
— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) April 28, 2013
Sacco has coached his last game with the Avalanche but he isn’t done coaching this year. He’ll lead the US squad at the World Championships later this week with Avalanche players Paul Stastny and Erik Johnson.