DENVER -- Colorado Avalanche on Monday announced that they have fired Vice President and General Manager Francois Giguere after the team had its worst record in its history.

"The results of this season are unacceptable. We feel a new direction is needed which re-emphasizes those standards of excellence our fans have grown accustomed to since 1995. We will work diligently towards reclaiming our identity that made our brand so special and unique," said Avalanche President and Alternate Governor Pierre Lacroix.

Lacroix will oversee the franchise until a new management structure is announced, the Avalanche said.

"We are too proud of what we have accomplished in this market to ignore where we are and what happened in just a very short period of time. Ownership and the dedicated Avalanche fans throughout the region deserve better results," he said. "The immediate future of this franchise is my primary concern so it was important to act now and start the process of restoring this franchise to where it belongs."

The Avalanche, with a season total of 32 wins, 45 losses and five ties, finished last in the West -- the first time since the franchise relocated to Denver in 1995. The Avalanche were 28th in the league, in front of only the New York Islanders and Tampa Bay.

Colorado didn't announced a timetable in hiring a replacement for Giguere, who was appointed executive vice president and GM in 2006. The team wouldn't comment beyond Lacroix's statement.

"It's just been a tough year," defenseman John-Michael Liles said. "In a perfect world we would have been in the playoffs, but this isn't a perfect world. We did all what we could."

For now, coach Tony Granato's job remains safe. Granato took over for Joel Quenneville last May when Quenneville and the Avalanche split. Quenneville now coaches the Chicago Blackhawks, who face Calgary in the first round of the playoffs.

After Colorado's disappointing season concluded with a 1-0 loss to St. Louis on Sunday, Granato said it was going to be a long summer.

"When you finish a year like this, you want to start the next year right away," said Granato, who's in his second stint as coach of the team. "I think this team has to come back with an edge next year, right at the start of training camp. ... You want to get back out there and find a way to turn it around as fast as you can."

Lacroix served as president and general manager of the franchise for 11 seasons, assembling the pieces for two Stanley Cup championships. Under his watch, the team captured nine straight division titles, appeared in six conference finals and won two Presidents' trophies for most points in the regular season.

The Avalanche battled injuries all season, missing captain Joe Sakic (back, hand), offensive threat Paul Stastny (arm, foot) and defenseman Adam Foote (triceps, head injury) for long stretches.

Not that they're looking for convenient excuses.

"This wasn't what any of us wanted. It wasn't fun," said Milan Hejduk, who was the only Colorado player to appear in all 82 games. "I never want to go through a season like this."

"Frustrating," Ian Laperriere said. "That's the only word that comes to mind. We played some good games, but not enough of them."

The players knew changes were coming.

"Obviously, we all played below our capability," Laperriere said. "We should have played better and done our jobs better. Anyone that goes home thinking they did their job is fooling themselves. Everyone could have done more and should have done more."

One problem facing the new general manager will be a salary cap that doesn't offer much financial flexibility. The team also has to wait and see if Sakic returns for a 21st season before investing in other players. If Sakic does return, it might have to be at a bargain rate.

"That's obviously a priority -- find out what Joe's intentions are," Granato said. "As soon as he gives us that, we'll be able to find out what else we can do to try and improve over the summer."