Guy Carbonneau was in his third season as head coach of the Montreal Canadiens. (Ryan Remiorz/Canadian Press)

Guy Carbonneau was let go Monday as head coach of the Montreal Canadiens, with general manager Bob Gainey taking over behind the bench on an interim basis.

Carbonneau, 48, compiled a 124-84-23 record with Montreal since he replaced Gainey as head coach on May 5, 2006.

"I would have loved not to be with you today," Gainey told reporters. "But I find ourselves in a position that requires my intervention."

Carbonneau was a finalist last season for the Jack Adams Trophy as coach of the year in the NHL, surprising many hockey observers by leading the Canadiens to first place in the Eastern Conference.

But Montreal has tailed off following a strong start to the centennial season and is in danger of missing the playoffs.

"The players have no longer become emotionally engaged," Gainey said.

The Canadiens (35-24-7) rank fifth overall in the conference standings with 77 points — just two points above ninth place, which fails to reach the playoffs.

"The response is my decision today," Gainey said. "I think it is necessary to make a change today, but the real answer will be the results 35 days from now."

The Canadiens have struggled with injuries, a sophomore slump by starting goaltender Carey Price, a forced absence of star forward Alexei Kovalev and reports that some players were partying too much, sometimes with unsavoury characters.

Though Montreal has won five of its last seven games, but it is worth noting that backup goaltender Jaroslav Halak was sensational in two of those victories.

"In the last eight weeks, our performance has been below average and I believe a change in the direction at ice level is necessary," Gainey said.

The Canadiens finished a three-game road swing on a positive note, defeating the Dallas Stars 3-1, but began the trip with a 5-1 thrashing at Buffalo and 2-0 loss at Atlanta.

"We need our players to play up to their potential and that was not playing to our potential in Atlanta," Gainey said. "I want our goalies protected better, I want us to play better defensively.

"Our goaltenders are one of our strengths. It is not acceptable that we give up twice as many shots as we take."

'He took a very difficult job'

Gainey and Carbonneau were teammates in Montreal for seven years in the 1980s, and also worked together in Dallas.

"For sure, Guy was a special player for the Canadiens — a captain," Gainey said. "He took a very difficult job [as head coach], and tried his best to advance the team.

"It is never an easy message to deliver to anyone. But it was at a point where I felt it was needed."

Gainey, 55, has spent lots of time behind the bench, most recently with the Canadiens in 2005-06, and is 188-205-63 as a head coach with Dallas and Montreal.

"I'm not going to make black-and-white changes," he said. "But we need to move toward being a better, stronger [and] more consistent team defensively, and an offensive team that takes advantage of our opportunities."

Associate coach Doug Jarvis, assistant coach Kirk Muller and goaltending coach Roland Melanson have been retained, and will be joined by Don Lever of the AHL Hamilton Bulldogs, who is headed to Montreal as an assistant.

The Canadiens play nine of their next 10 games at the Bell Centre, beginning Tuesday night against the Edmonton Oilers (7:30 p.m. ET).

With files from the Canadian Press