Another coach bites the dust: On Wednesday, Bob Hartley of the Colorado Avalanche became the third NHL head coach to be dismissed in the past month. He was replaced by Tony Granato, who has never coached before.

The National Post gripes:

There is a strong case to be made that neither San Jose's Darryl Sutter nor Calgary's Greg Gilbert deserved a pink slip. But the Avalanche's move was even more questionable. Mr. Hartley led the Avalanche to the Western Conference finals in each of his four full years in Denver, and the team won the Stanley Cup the season before last. Under his watch, the Avalanche had a win-loss ratio of nearly 2:1. Now, he has been replaced by Tony Granato -- a recently retired player whose only coaching experience consists of 31 games this season as an assistant. Like other GMs who fire their coaches mid-season, Colorado's Pierre Lacroix has taken the path of least resistance: It's easier to change one coach than 20 players.