That makes sense in the short view, but from an overall perspective the team has missed the playoffs and hasn't been a serious threat to make it since 2012. The debate will rage on about whether it was Don Maloney's rosters or Tippett's coaching that was to blame (mostly because both of them were playoff-caliber before IA took over the team, but that's a whole different thread
), but the bottom line is that in the NHL (and most other leagues), you end up firing people if that much sustained mediocrity plagues your franchise.
Keep in mind, too, that 20 points is a significant improvement, but
in context it's not that big of an achievement considering how awful the previous season was. We are still picking 7th in the draft out of 30 teams.
A reasonable debate can be raised about which of the two - GM or coach - is more responsible and which one should have been fired first. But frankly I find it astounding that one of them got fired and the other got a five-year extension and the keys to the roster. In a normal situation, the one who didn't get fired would get a year or so to put proof to the idea that it was the other guy who was responsible for the underperformance - but in our case, we not only gave out a long-term extension, we are paying him more than Cup-winning coaches are making on other teams.
It doesn't matter to me whether you think Tippett is good or bad, because I don't make value judgments on people for what they believe, but you've got to admit that there is something headscratching about the rationale behind what has happened.