Reports: Dwyer out as Sea Dogs head coach

Gordie Dwyer has reportedly been fired from his position as head coach of the Saint John Sea Dogs.

The news was first reported by TSN's Darren Dreger and later confirmed by Quebec media.

Surprising news from the @SJSeaDogs. Sources say head coach Gordie Dwyer has been let go. Saint John is hosting the Memorial Cup next month.

— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) May 22, 2022

Dwyer joined the Sea Dogs in the off-season and coached the team to a 47-17-1-3 record in the regular season. After a less-than-inspiring first half, the Sea Dogs revamped their roster with trades over the holidays. Dwyer and the team really hit their stride a few weeks into the second half, ending the regular season on a 15-game winning streak.

But things went off the rails quickly in the playoffs. The Sea Dogs were heavy favourites to win their opening round series against the Rimouski Oceanic (23 points separated the teams in the standings) but ultimately lost the best-of-five series in five games. The first round loss included the Sea Dogs blowing a 2-1 series lead where the team got shutout in Game 4 and then lost the decisive Game 5 in overtime on home ice.

Despite the rather disastrous playoff result, not many would have predicted Dwyer's firing less than a month before the team's first Memorial Cup game. The Sea Dogs host the Ontario Hockey League champion on June 20.

This is about as bold as bold moves can get for a Memorial Cup host team in this position.

Dwyer is a well liked guy in the hockey world and this move by the Sea Dogs is not going over well online.

Gordie Dwyer is a great coach. Saint John clearly fired the wrong guy. https://t.co/1cxCBX62bq

— Allan Walsh (@walsha) May 22, 2022

You have to think, given the tight timeline here, that the Sea Dogs have someone in mind to replace Dwyer. The team has had plenty of faces behind the bench in recent years. Since Josh Dixon was fired as head coach in December 2019, the team has had Jeff Cowan, Greg Gilbert and Dwyer all running things. Gilbert, who was head coach during the COVID season of 2020-21, remains with the team as an advisor to hockey operations.