Is he a genius? I don't think so. He is a more than competent head coach though. Most neutral analysis of the habs over the last two seasons have had them as a fringe playoff team at best, yet they still managed to far exceed expectations both years. Personally my only complaint from last year is that he used Boullion on the power play far too often (or even too often in general). I hated this. Boullion was like a black hole on the left side, which did nothing to help the young guys getting their shot on the second unit. Still, that is a pretty minor complaint and should not be a problem for this upcoming season.
Similar to the Yankees of MLB, there is no rebuilding in Montreal, so it remains a tough balancing act of winning now and developing for the future. Therrien has proven he can win, this year he will have to prove that he can take a couple young guys to the next step. I think he is more than capable. In closing I should mention that i am not french, in fact I live in a rural community in Central Alberta. With that in mind I think we could do a hell of a lot worse than Therrien and will continue to give him the benefit of the doubt until he gives me reason to do otherwise. Watching him over the last decade+ I feel like he knows what his faults are and is actively trying to rectify them.