NHL | No playoffs, no job for Toronto coach Paul Maurice

TORONTO — Paul Maurice was fired as coach of the Maple Leafs on Wednesday after Toronto failed to make the playoffs during his two years. The dismissal was the first big move in what is expected to be an active offseason for the team.

"This is a start of a new era for the Maple Leafs," interim general manager Cliff Fletcher said. "This is all part and parcel of that."

The Maple Leafs finished 12th in the Eastern Conference with a 36-35-11 record and missed a playoff spot by 11 points.

They are looking for a full-time GM after firing John Ferguson in January. In other moves, assistant coach Randy Ladouceur was dismissed while assistant Dallas Eakins was offered a position elsewhere in the organization. Keith Acton will remain an assistant.

Maurice, who had one year left on his contract, was informed of the decision hours before the news conference. In 2003, he was fired as coach of the Carolina Hurricanes.

"You know the way the season ended up and the changes that are going to take place on the team," Maurice told The Canadian Press from his Toronto home. "So I was very aware that it was a possibility."

Fletcher said the ouster will pave the way for the new management team to bring in its own staff.

"It's just common sense," he said.

Hockey notes

• Tampa Bay Lightning center Jeff Halpern ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during the world championship and is expected to be sidelined until late December or early January.

• Switzerland held Sweden in check for a 4-2 win to stay undefeated and win its group in the preliminary round of the world championship in Quebec City. The Swiss will face the Czech Republic today, while Sweden will play Denmark. Finland beat Slovakia 3-2 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, to win Group C and set up a game with Latvia on Friday. Norway beat Germany 3-2 to set up a game with Canada today, while Germany will play the United States. Belarus, which beat France 3-1, advanced to play Russia on Friday.