Hurricanes Fire Kirk Muller: The NHL Reacts to the #RFPimpHand

The Hurricanes' firing of Kirk Muller dominated the NHL news cycle until yesterday evening, and there was no shortage of reaction across the league to Ron Francis' putting his stamp on the team only a week after taking the club's reins. (Links collected by Jamie Kellner, who I would put on as a co-writer on this story if I could, but...)

• The Canes' Michael Smith recaps Francis' press conference with some more insight into the thought process that led to his decision.
• Tripp Tracy joined Jeff Marek and Greg Wyshynski on the MvsW podcast to give his take (jump to around the 20:00 mark).
• While we're on the subject of multimedia, ESPN Insider's Craig Custance did a phone-in to an ESPN video with his views on the Canes' decision.
• Muller's firing has consequences down the line in the Canes' organization, which the Checkers' Paul Branecky explores.
• Chuck Kaiton joined Adam and Joe on 99.9 The Fan to discuss the 15th coaching change he's seen in his time with the franchise.
• Speaking of The Fan, Mike Maniscalco, the man who broke the news of Muller's firing, explains that Muller's undoing was the failure of his players to consistently perform up to their potential.
• Chip Alexander explores some of the names that could be on Francis' short list.
• Sports Illustrated's Allan Muir poses a question that may have been a bit buried in the shuffle yesterday: will Rod Brind'Amour's continued presence on the Canes' coaching staff provide a disincentive for coaches who would want to start with a clean-slate staff?
• And speaking of questions that few people are asking, is Muller a fit in Vancouver?
• The Globe and Mail's David Shoalts compares the Canes' shakeup to the Leafs' lack of one, and mentions that indications are that Kevin Dineen is the front-runner to be the next coach.