VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — The Vancouver Canucks cleaned house late Sunday night, dumping three executives and head coach Travis Green and replacing him with veteran Bruce Boudreau.

The Canucks, in a statement, said general manager Jim Benning was fired and assistant manager Jim Weisbrod, Green and assistant coach Nolan Baumgartner were also relieved of their duties.

The Canucks said the search for new hockey operations leadership “has begun.”

Scott Walker was named assistant coach to Boudreau.

Boudreau, former coach of the Washington Capitals, Anaheim Ducks and Minnesota Wild, is the 20th head coach in Canucks history.

“These are difficult decisions, but we believed we would have a competitive group this year,” Canucks owner Francesco Aquilini said in a statement. “As a result, I’m extremely disappointed in how the team has performed so far. I’m making these changes because we want to build a team that competes for championships and it’s time for new leadership to help take us there.”

The changes follow a dismal performance Saturday in which the Pittsburgh Penguins routed the Canucks 4-1 in Vancouver, eliciting boos and chants of “fire Benning!”

The 58-year-old Benning was known for some solid draft picks and questionable free-agent signings over his eight seasons as GM.

Vancouver is off to a rough start this year, falling to last spot in the Pacific Division with a 8-15-2 record.

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