Quenneville out as Avs coach a week after being swept in playoffs

DENVER -- The Colorado Avalanche want to play a faster, more attacking brand of hockey, similar to the style that brought them two Stanley Cup titles.

Now, they're looking for a coach who fits that description.

Joel Quenneville and the Avalanche mutually decided to end their relationship Friday, a week after Colorado was swept out of the playoffs by the Detroit Red Wings.

Quenneville was 131-92-23 in three seasons with Colorado, but just 2-2 in playoff series after inheriting a team that was on the slide after a decade of dominance in the NHL.

"Whatever happens going forward, my memories are all going to be positive here," Quenneville said.

Avalanche executive vice president and general manager Francois Giguere doesn't have a timeline for when he'll hire a new coach, but he does have one requirement -- an up-tempo philosophy. He wants the Avalanche to play with more speed.

"We've always been an organization that's been a puck possession, upbeat, high tempo, high energy, attacking (team)," said Giguere, whose franchise captured the Cup in '96 and '01. "That's the way the Avalanche have always played and I think that's the way I foresee this team continuing to play."

Quenneville thought the Avalanche were serious Stanley Cup contenders after beating Minnesota in a first-round series.

Then, injuries hit -- again. Peter Forsberg (groin), leading scorer Paul Stastny (knee) and forwards Ryan Smyth (foot) and Wojtek Wolski (ribs) all joined Marek Svatos (knee) on the bench as the Avalanche could never muster any momentum as Detroit rolled past them.

"We believed we had a real good chance and things changed quickly in that Detroit series," Quenneville said. "The ending leaves a sour taste, but at the same time there's a lot of good things we should be proud of."

Quenneville said the two sides are departing on good terms.

"We'll still be able to say 'Hi' to each other," he said.

The future of Quenneville's staff remains in limbo. It will be up to the new coach whether assistant coaches Jacques Cloutier, Tony Granato and Jeff Hackett remain.