MONTREAL — The Montreal Canadiens have fired coach Guy Carbonneau and replaced him with general manager Bob Gainey.

The Canadiens have struggled in their 100th season and started Monday in fifth place in the Eastern Conference, but only one point above the postseason cutoff. What was supposed to be a season of celebration has turned into one of difficulty.

Montreal (35-24-7) went into a free fall in late January and February, losing 10 of 13. The Canadiens, 5-4-1 in their previous 10 games, won 3-1 at Dallas on Sunday in their last game with Carbonneau as coach.

Carbonneau took over on May 5, 2006, after serving as an associate coach to Gainey.