Panthers fire MacLean

• Coaching changes in the NHL

The Florida Panthers fired head coach Doug MacLean on Monday, two seasons after leading the team to the Stanley Cup finals.

The struggling Panthers named their general manager Bryan Murray the new head coach through the end of this season.

"A good person went down today, that's what I told the players," team president William Torrey said. "Obviously the performance of our team in the early part of this season is a huge disappointment."

The Panthers are 7-12-4, the second-worst record in the Eastern Conference.

Murray has plenty of coaching experience, he coached Washington Capitals and Detroit Red Wings before becoming a general manager.

"I'll be trying to encourage more discipline with fewer penalties," Murray said. "I don't know that I have the remedy. To say much more than that is taking a shot at Doug, and that's not my intention at all."