Fantasy Impact: The Anaheim Ducks have fired Randy Carlye, and replaced him with Bruce Boudreau.

Boudreau's style: Boudreau is a player's coach in every sense of the word. He lets his veterans "run" the dressing room, much like Vancouver's Alain Vigneault. The upside to this is ideally players who are more motivated and willing to battle for their coach, but the downside (as we saw in Washington) is players who simply tune out the coach and no longer take his message seriously.

Carlyle’s style: Carlyle is an old school, no nonsense coach (to call him a taskmaster wouldn't be far off). He wore out his welcome in Anaheim, especially with their top players.

Coaches like Carlyle have a set shelf life – Mike Keenan is an example (although he was less of a systems guy than Carlyle is). He may not get snatched up by a new team in a few days, but I wouldn't expect him to be out of a gig for a while. And I don't see a role with TSN in his future, either.

Corey Perry had some interesting thoughts in this interview.

Scottie Bowman offered his take on the firing:

""Carlyle, I don't understand. He was a big line matcher. He always had a defensive line. The year they won the Cup (2007), it was Sami Pahlsson, Travis Moen and Robbie Niedermayer. He changed on the fly (to get them out against their opponent's best forwards) and they played a very disciplined game." But those three players are all gone now, the Ducks defense corps is not what it was, and Carlyle seemed to have taken a different approach by playing his best forwards in situations where he previously used checkers.

"I've been watching them the last month and a half," Bowman said. "The goalie wasn't what he was, but their defense corps is horrible. And Perry, Getzlaf, and Ryan, they weren't good in their own end. I know he didn't have a checking line anymore because all those guys are gone. You know when you get star players, you can't ever get them thinking that you want them to fail. You got to make them believe you're always in their corner, you're always trying to insulate them. I don't know what he was doing.""

The impact on key players

Perry, Getzlaf, and Ryan – Boudreau had great success motivating and helping elite offensive talents in Washington. His move to change the team from a high octane offensive club to one more known for an all-around two-way game likely came from above (ownership and GM George McPhee), and like any good employee, he did as he was told. Look for Anaheim's big three, especially Ryan, to look much looser and relaxed on ice. For poolies, that means more points.

Jonas Hiller – Hiller is the best goalie Boudreau will have worked with at the NHL level. His system was never conducive to goaltending success in Washington, but that could be different with the Ducks. Hiller hasn't been as bad as his numbers indicate this season, as the defense in front of him has been inconsistent at the best of times.

For the rest of the Anaheim roster, it remains to be seen of the change will affect them. I don’t see Selanne or Koivu’s fantasy value changing at all. On the back end, there will still be lots of ice time for Fowler. Perhaps he can find his game under Boudreau, as he’s been struggling this season.