Vancouver Giants looking for 5th coach in 3 years

The Vancouver Giants continue to struggle on the ice and seem to be blaming their coaches for the team's misfortune.

On Friday they relieved Lorne Molleken after he posted a 23-38-5-4 record since being hired in June, 2015.

"We would like to thank Lorne for his time with our club," said Giants majority owner Ron Toigo in a release. "We wish him all the best in the future."

The Giants currently sit dead-last in the WHL's western conference with only the Kootenay ICE having a worse record in the entire league.

It's been a tough go for the junior team since Don Hay left as coach in the spring of 2014 to return to his hometown of Kamloops to coach the Blazers. Hay spent ten years in Vancouver and won 401 games.

According to a release from the team, he guided the Giants to five straight B.C. Division titles (2006 to 2010), and to appearances at the Western Conference Finals in four of five seasons.

He also took the Giants to two straight WHL league Finals (2006 and 2007) and won the WHL Championship in 2006 and the Memorial Cup in 2007.

Following Hay, the Giants hired Troy Ward away from the Abbotsford Heat, but he only lasted 25 games.

After that former Winnipeg Jets coach Claude Noel was hired, but again that didn't last. With Molleken, the team did get a coach with plenty of WHL experience, but he couldn't get the Giants the wins it needed to be successful.

Sources close to the team told CBC News that the team has struggled to find consistency since Hay left, but that the players generally did like playing for Molleken.

Assistant coach Tyler Kuntz has been named the club's interim head coach.