Summary Alex led NHL with 51 regular-season goals but the Capitals struggled with consistency all season.
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Adam Oates has been fired as coach of the National Hockey League s Washington Capitals and general manager George McPhee will not have his contract renewed, owner Ted Leonsis said Saturday.
The move comes two weeks after the end of a season in which the Capitals finished 38-30 with 14 overtime losses for 90 points, three points shy of Detroit for the last Eastern Conference playoff spot.
Russian star Alex Ovechkin led the NHL with 51 regular-season goals but the Capitals struggled with consistency all season.
"This is an important time for our organization, and I feel a change is needed in order to get us back to being a top echelon team that competes for the Stanley Cup," Leonsis said.
Oates was 65-48-16 in two seasons as the Capitals coach while McPhee spent 17 seasons in the decision-making role on player personnel for the club, rebuilding the team into a contender around Ovechkin, the top pick of the 2004 NHL Draft.
The Capitals reached the playoffs 10 times, won seven division crowns and had the NHL s best regular-season record once in addition to making the Stanley Cup Final in 1998, McPhee s first season in the post, where they were swept by Detroit.
"George has been a terrific, long-time executive for our franchise and I m grateful for his commitment to the Capitals organization for the past 17 years," Leonsis said.
"He was a highly effective manager who is extremely well regarded within our organization and around the NHL. We have the utmost respect for him."
Only New Jersey s Lou Lamoriello and Carolina s Jim Rutherford had longer tenure in their current NHL general manager jobs than McPhee, who unlike them was unable to deliver a Stanley Cup.
Oates replaced another former Capitals on-ice star, Dale Hunter, as coach after the Capitals were ousted from the second round of the 2011 playoffs by the New York Rangers.
