Western Hockey League’s Erie Otters remove former NHL player Robbie Ftorek as the head coach
Robbie Ftorek, a former National Hockey League (NHL) player who played for Detroit Red Wings, Quebec Nordiques, New York Rangers, has been removed as the coach of Erie Otters in the Western Hockey League (WHL).
Apparently the reason of Ftorek’s dismissal is the continuous poor run of performances by the Otters’ team and the down the table finishes. The team was ranked fifth in the Midwest Division, as they had finished at the same place previous season as well.
This was Frotek’s sixth season as the coach of Erie Otters and they had done nothing special since he took over as the head coach. They had finished last in the Midwest Division in first year as well and the highest they could go in his time was the first
round of the playoffs. They were able to make it to playoffs in seasons, 2008-2009, 2009-2010 and 2010-2011. The highest position they finished in the Midwest Division was 3rd for the two times.
Otters’ record this season was seven wins, 15 losses and 5 of their games went in to over time. They experienced an embarrassing season previous year when they got just 26 points in 68 games. They suffered from 52 losses and won just 10 games.
Sherry Bassin, the general manager and the managing partner of the Erie Otters issued a statement in which he announced about the decision and clarified that the Otters’ organisation respects the 60 year old former forward a lot. He also wished the manager
success for the future life and praised his contributions as he said,
"Robbie has a distinguished career in coaching and is one of the classiest people in the game. He is a great mentor on and off the ice. I decided after considerable thought to make this difficult decision and to move in a different direction. The entire
Otters family has the utmost respect for Robbie, Wendy and their family and expect that he will go on to bigger and better opportunities."
Needham, Massachusetts native became a hall of famer in 1991 and has been coach of NHL teams Los Angeles Kings, New Jersey Devils and Boston Bruins.
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