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Joel Bouchard hired as head coach of Laval


Meller93

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After weeks or months of speculation, The Habs have locked down Joel Bouchard as their new head coach in Laval. Between Ducharme and Bouchard, I think we have a real solid duo that could be leading our team in 5 years. 

 

Their was some discussion that Bouchard could be hired in a management capacity, and I still wouldn’t be surprised to see him there someday, but I think being talented enough to both coach and manage is a great asset for Bouchard to have. Five years time, would anyone be surprised to see Ducharme as head coach of the habs, and Bouchard up as well, perhaps in a management position? 

 

Good for the future 

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First time I've felt good about a head coach on the Habs' AHL affiliate since Guy Boucher almost a decade ago. Since then it's been either ambivalence or outright horror.

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Good move, I am also happy that they seem to have moved Csrriere to an administrative role which I hope means Bouchard will work close with TT's recruitment team when evaluating prospects/draft-picks

 

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1 hour ago, DON said:

Will he be given an OK roster to work with?

 

He's inheriting the last place team whose top scorers are mostly either UFA or graduating to the Habs next season. Also the newly signed prospects all lack top-end talent.

 

But we won't have a clear picture of the team until mid-July, probably.

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2 minutes ago, Machine of Loving Grace said:

This is a very good move, long overdue, and hopefully it was Geoff Molson's decision.

 

Hopefully it was Bergevin's decision. He's still the GM, and I'd rather he be making good decisions instead of bad ones. This is a good one. 

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4 minutes ago, Trizzak said:

 

Hopefully it was Bergevin's decision. He's still the GM, and I'd rather he be making good decisions instead of bad ones. This is a good one. 

 

I want to have some faith in this organization in the long term. Molson making these decisions would do that. Bergevin is the walking dead at this point in my eyes.

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42 minutes ago, Trizzak said:

 

He's inheriting the last place team whose top scorers are mostly either UFA or graduating to the Habs next season. Also the newly signed prospects all lack top-end talent.

 

But we won't have a clear picture of the team until mid-July, probably.

Will they add enough quality AHL vets, not as concerned with 'real' prospects as much, but guys like an Alex Henry to mentor the young d-men or a guy like Corey Locke/Nigel Dawes up front to do similar with young forwards.  

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38 minutes ago, Machine of Loving Grace said:

 

I want to have some faith in this organization in the long term. Molson making these decisions would do that. Bergevin is the walking dead at this point in my eyes.

True. But on the bright side, no matter who’s decision it was, it is a positive and should benefit the team in the long run regardless (as long as they live up to their track records).

 

I hope they get a little help from both (Ducharme and Bouchard) for the draft. I’m sure they have a ton of intel of players in junior considering they coached against them. Good for both the short and long term.

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21 minutes ago, DON said:

Will they add enough quality AHL vets, not as concerned with 'real' prospects as much, but guys like an Alex Henry to mentor the young d-men or a guy like Corey Locke/Nigel Dawes up front to do similar with young forwards.  

 

Adam Cracknell had a video on his instagram of him reading to his daughter in (bad) French... he might come back if the offer is right. Haven't read any reassuring reports that Chris Terry will come back, unfortunately. 

 

I think it's pretty likely that they'll try to get some top tier AHL talent for next season. A last place finish in their inaugural season is pretty embarrassing and I expect everyone wants much better results going forward.

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6 minutes ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

Good to read these positive reviews. :thumbs_up:

 

Bouchard was part of my argument that if we're going to favour French Canadian staff, we certainly haven't been hiring the best available. The last two hirings of Ducharme and Bouchard are actually trying to get the best French Canadian minds on the team.

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24 minutes ago, Metallica said:

I feel better now for the development of prospects that we get out of all these draft picks we have going forward.

 

It's a great point. Imagine leaving the new crop to Lefebvre. Gawd.

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6 hours ago, Trizzak said:

First time I've felt good about a head coach on the Habs' AHL affiliate since Guy Boucher almost a decade ago. Since then it's been either ambivalence or outright horror.

 

I have to admit, I liked the Lefebvre hiring originally - someone with AHL and NHL coaching experience which made a lot of sense.  (It didn't take long for that enthusiasm to wane, however.)

 

5 hours ago, mineral said:

What do you guys make of the Larry Carriere move? Small potatoes?

 

I think this is rather insignificant.  He'll still probably do some of the day-to-day stuff like he was before but he'll have more of a scouting role this time around by the sounds of it.  One of Bergevin's assistants will pick up any of the slack.

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19 hours ago, dlbalr said:

 

I have to admit, I liked the Lefebvre hiring originally - someone with AHL and NHL coaching experience which made a lot of sense.  (It didn't take long for that enthusiasm to wane, however.)

 

I think most of us were optimistic about all aspects of the new regime when it began. And there is a lesson in caution in this...Bouchard's c.v. is stellar and he is a great hire. That is not a guarantee of his ultimately working out of course.

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5 minutes ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

I think most of us were optimistic about all aspects of the new regime when it began. And there is a lesson in caution in this...Bouchard's c.v. is stellar and he is a great hire. That is not a guarantee of his ultimately working out of course.

 

The idea of former NHL players you remember seeing play being management is alluring. When I lived in Kingston it was great to see Doug Gilmour coaching the team, until you realized how bad he was at it. He laughed when I told him he was a better Hab than Leaf.

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4 hours ago, Machine of Loving Grace said:

 

The idea of former NHL players you remember seeing play being management is alluring. When I lived in Kingston it was great to see Doug Gilmour coaching the team, until you realized how bad he was at it. He laughed when I told him he was a better Hab than Leaf.

 

:lol: If only that were so...

 

Hey, if Wayne Gretzky could flop as a coach, then that's all you need to know about difficulty of transposing one set of talents to the other. The appeal of Bouchard isn't that he was a journeyman NHLer but that he has been very accomplished in coaching and management at lower levels...just as the appeal of Bergevin, apart from the zoot suits and the affability (a refreshing change from the constipated Goat and the lugubrious Gainey), was his extensive background behind the scenes with the Blackhawks. I'm all for the hiring, but it remains true that you just never know how a guy will pan out. I thought Carbo would be a great coach. Guy Boucher was supposed to be Scotty Bowman: The Return. Lefevbre had good credentials. Pffft....

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19 minutes ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

 

:lol: If only that were so...

 

Hey, if Wayne Gretzky could flop as a coach, then that's all you need to know about difficulty of transposing one set of talents to the other. The appeal of Bouchard isn't that he was a journeyman NHLer but that he has been very accomplished in coaching and management at lower levels...just as the appeal of Bergevin, apart from the zoot suits and the affability (a refreshing change from the constipated Goat and the lugubrious Gainey), was his extensive background behind the scenes with the Blackhawks. I'm all for the hiring, but it remains true that you just never know how a guy will pan out. I thought Carbo would be a great coach. Guy Boucher was supposed to be Scotty Bowman: The Return. Lefevbre had good credentials. Pffft....

 

The best example is Pierre McGuire. Knowledgeable, worked under Bowman and was praised, and was made coach/assistant GM. He is one of the worst coaches in history according to everyone in Hartford and who played for him. Used to throw temper tantrums after games. Bowman never took him back when he went to Detroit. He went to Ottawa as an assistant and never got another NHL coaching gig. Went to the ECHL and then nothing.

 

There is also this gem:

 

 In 1995, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman ruled that McGuire would forfeit half of the remaining salary owed to him by the Whalers for providing confidential coaching evaluations that had been prepared while employed by Hartford to the Edmonton Oilers.

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4 minutes ago, Machine of Loving Grace said:

 

The best example is Pierre McGuire. Knowledgeable, worked under Bowman and was praised, and was made coach/assistant GM. He is one of the worst coaches in history according to everyone in Hartford and who played for him. Used to throw temper tantrums after games. Bowman never took him back when he went to Detroit. He went to Ottawa as an assistant and never got another NHL coaching gig. Went to the ECHL and then nothing.

 

There is also this gem:

 

 In 1995, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman ruled that McGuire would forfeit half of the remaining salary owed to him by the Whalers for providing confidential coaching evaluations that had been prepared while employed by Hartford to the Edmonton Oilers.

 

:lol:

 

He's found his level as a broadcaster. Somewhat pathetically, he still feels deserving of more, and no doubt one of the dummies in ownership will give him what he wants some day.

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1 hour ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

 

:lol:

 

He's found his level as a broadcaster. Somewhat pathetically, he still feels deserving of more, and no doubt one of the dummies in ownership will give him what he wants some day.

What’s truly pathetic is that McGuire was the finalists for the Montreal GM’s job that eventually went to MB.  Talk about choosing between dumb and dumber.

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