Helsinki HIFK sack head coach Bob Francis and assistant Tom Coolen in mid-season

Hockey team has slipped to 9th in league, but management claim dismissal was not related to results

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HIFK, one of Helsinki's two top-level ice hockey teams, has sacked its Canadian head coach Bob Francis and his assistant Tom Coolen, also from Canada.
      The announcement came as a surprise, even though HIFK have in recent years had something of a "revolving door" arrangement with their coaching staff. No specific reasons were given in the club's press statement, save for a reference to the fact that Francis has not performed according to the terms required by his contract and the club. HIFK-Hockey Managing Director Pentti Matikainen said that the decision was not based on the team's results or on sporting considerations.
     
Francis himself would shed no light on the matter, and passed the task to his legal adviser, who was equally reluctant to comment on the abrupt dismissal.
      Tom Coolen's contract was linked with Francis's, and so he leaves at the same time. Both men were appointed in the spring, and Francis had a two-year deal, while Coolen had signed up for this league season.
      The team is currently languishing in 9th place in the 14-team Championship League, and recent results have been rather up and down, with away matches proving particularly difficult.
     
In the past, a job with this Helsinki team was a pretty permanent appointment, and the club was also accustomed to league success. HIFK have won the Finnish Championship title on six occasions, most recently in 1998.
      In recent years matters have been somewhat different, and current club chairman Harri Tuohimaa has overseen the dismissal of half a dozen coaches and assistant coaches, including the former Finland head coach Hannu Aravirta, who was shown the door in the middle of the play-offs in 2005.
      Francis has been away for the past week in the United States seeking treatment for a back ailment, and coaching has temporarily been in the hands of the club's goaltender coach Sakari Lindfors. Lindfors will continue in the coaching role until such time as a new appointment is made. The list of suitable - and more particularly available - candidates in Finland is not overly long.
      The league season restarts after its holiday recess on December 28th, when HIFK meet local arch-rivals Jokerit at home in the Helsinki Ice Hall.


Links:
  HIFK Helsinki (Wikipedia)

Helsingin Sanomat