Who would you pick as a long term coach?

[JCPetit]

The "machine" is on. Bertrand Raymond with a long editorial this morning on Rds.ca about why Patrick Roy is the only logic candidate for the job.

I am French-Canadian, and proud to be one, but I can't stand reading Raymond (or Réjean Tremblay) anymore. Both are close to be as ridiculous as Don Cherry, minus colourfull suits, of course.

[JCPetit]

As for the bilinguism of the coach, it's important in Montreal, like it or not. The question has been asked yesterday at l'AntiChambre, and for once it was a good one: What would people in Ontario think if the Maple Leafs coach was a French-speaking, unilingual Quebecer? Of course, the problem would be two folds, with the media and in the dressing room. The fact is that French-speaking coach are all bilingual. In Quebec, with three million coaches second-guessing the coaching staff every night, or even after a practice; with the medias making big stories out of nothing every now and then, a unilingual English-speaking coach has a strike against him right from the start. I know it is frustrating, but there's nothing we can do about it.

I hope Cunneyworth will do the job. As I wrote earlier, I like the guy, but he has to produce, otherwise he won't be there next season.

[Commandant]

Hard to compare Montreal to Toronto. The reality is that most NHL players speak English... English is the predominant language of the league; so you are never gonna hire someone in Toronto who doesn't speak English.

Making English a job requirement doesn't limit the pool of available talent to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Making French a job requirement puts the Habs at a handicap before the search even begins, we eliminate a ton of qualified candidates.

It may not be right, but thats the reality of the situation. The political aspects here are costing the team wins.

Europe is a country rich in soccer tradition... most european clubs hire the best coaches availble and get translators, but this isn't acceptable in Montreal. It can't be a translation, it has to honour the tradition, culture, and history of the club. (A club whose greatest or 2nd greatest coach is a unilingual anglo in Toe Blake, but I digress).... Still its really bullshit. And I agree any English coach in Montreal is faced with being behind the 8 ball from day one. I don't agree with it; but it is what it is, and it probably isn't changing any time soon.

I wish the nords had a club, and they could deal with this bullshit and we could be about trying to win again.

[JoeLassister]

I am French-Canadian, and proud to be one, but I can't stand reading Raymond (or Réjean Tremblay) anymore. Both are close to be as ridiculous as Don Cherry, minus colourfull suits, of course.

Même chose pour moi...

[Colin]

As for the bilinguism of the coach, it's important in Montreal, like it or not. The question has been asked yesterday at l'AntiChambre, and for once it was a good one: What would people in Ontario think if the Maple Leafs coach was a French-speaking, unilingual Quebecer? Of course, the problem would be two folds, with the media and in the dressing room. The fact is that French-speaking coach are all bilingual. In Quebec, with three million coaches second-guessing the coaching staff every night, or even after a practice; with the medias making big stories out of nothing every now and then, a unilingual English-speaking coach has a strike against him right from the start. I know it is frustrating, but there's nothing we can do about it.

I hope Cunneyworth will do the job. As I wrote earlier, I like the guy, but he has to produce, otherwise he won't be there next season.

If a francophone coach brought a Cup, I doubt they'd complain, and since everyone on the planet except Maple Leaf fans know that no English coach is going to bring a Cup to TO, then I suggest that those fans might want to beg, borrow, and steal for a francophone coach.

[TheDriveFor25]

The answer has to be Marc Crawford, with Patrick Roy as his assistant. Crawford could groom Roy much like the coaches did with Muller.

[BlueKross]

Hard to compare Montreal to Toronto. The reality is that most NHL players speak English... English is the predominant language of the league; so you are never gonna hire someone in Toronto who doesn't speak English.

Making English a job requirement doesn't limit the pool of available talent to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Making French a job requirement puts the Habs at a handicap before the search even begins, we eliminate a ton of qualified candidates.

It may not be right, but thats the reality of the situation. The political aspects here are costing the team wins.

Europe is a country rich in soccer tradition... most european clubs hire the best coaches availble and get translators, but this isn't acceptable in Montreal. It can't be a translation, it has to honour the tradition, culture, and history of the club. (A club whose greatest or 2nd greatest coach is a unilingual anglo in Toe Blake, but I digress).... Still its really bullshit. And I agree any English coach in Montreal is faced with being behind the 8 ball from day one. I don't agree with it; but it is what it is, and it probably isn't changing any time soon.

I wish the nords had a club, and they could deal with this bullshit and we could be about trying to win again.

You are on the Money. I think it ironic that the French press tout their liberism in anything they write, but support a hiring bias based on language when it is illegal to do so based on race, religion or culture. Psst - Language doesn't trump those three! Another psst- English is an official language in Canada. Montreal needs to think out of the BOX. I have to believe that their are excellant coaches out there who speak neither language. Montreal needs to include some of them in their thinking.

[Kaboom]

You are on the Money. I think it ironic that the French press tout their liberism in anything they write, but support a hiring bias based on language when it is illegal to do so based on race, religion or culture. Psst - Language doesn't trump those three! Another psst- English is an official language in Canada. Montreal needs to think out of the BOX. I have to believe that their are excellant coaches out there who speak neither language. Montreal needs to include some of them in their thinking.

I said the same thing!!! language counts for nothing in the standing and with all the different languages in the league who cares what they speak if we are holding number 25 up high.

[Commandant]

The answer has to be Marc Crawford, with Patrick Roy as his assistant. Crawford could groom Roy much like the coaches did with Muller.

I can almost guarantee that Roy will not take an assistant job. He turned down the head job in Colorado insisting that he wanted to be coach and GM. I can't see this happening.

[BlueKross]

My first pick right now is Cunneyworth. He needs to get a fair shot. His Americans beat up on our Bulldogs more times than I care to remember. Truthfully, I don't think we are that far away, that good things couldn't happen for the rest of year. Basically for me, he has to coach his way out of contention or he's the man. I used the word rebuild, in a previous blog. Maybe a "Grand Tweak" would capture my thoughts better.

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

JC Petit is quite right that a unilingual French coach would be ridden out of Toronto on a rail. There is no end to the English-Canadian hypocrisy on questions of language. All that being said, I still oppose the 'affirmative action' policy for bilingual coaches and, even though I think the Martin firing stinks of ownership interference, I'm happy that the Habs took even a provisional stand on the language question.

[Willey101]

I think the answer to this question is simple. It depends on who the GM is. If Gauthier remains then it is going to be a francophone coach. Clement Jodoin perhaps or Patrick Roy?

if however Gauthier is let go then again the answer depends on who is named GM. If it's McGuire then I really think he will try to go with the best coach available regardless of language.

Personally I would like to see a guy like Carlyle because I have always been a fan of his style of play but realistically I want to go with he best available. Will Lindy Ruff be available for instance?

[Commandant]

JC Petit is quite right that a unilingual French coach would be ridden out of Toronto on a rail. There is no end to the English-Canadian hypocrisy on questions of language. All that being said, I still oppose the 'affirmative action' policy for bilingual coaches and, even though I think the Martin firing stinks of ownership interference, I'm happy that the Habs took even a provisional stand on the language question.

No doubt a unilingual french coach wouldn't work in toronto. But he wouldn't work in Montreal or anywhere else either. The fact remains that the language of lockerrooms in the NHL is English.

The leafs aren't limiting the pool of quality experienced candidates as the way we are.

[Commandant]

I think the answer to this question is simple.  It depends on who the GM is. If Gauthier remains then it is going to be a francophone coach.  Clement Jodoin perhaps or Patrick Roy?

if however Gauthier is let go then again the answer depends on who is named GM.  If it's McGuire then I really think he will try to go with the best coach available regardless of language.

Personally I would like to see a guy like Carlyle because I have always been a fan of his style of play but realistically I want to go with he best available.  Will Lindy Ruff be available for instance?

The actual hire may be the GM's decision, but the question of whether the GM would be allowed to break team policy and hire an anglophone is one that falls to Geoff Molson, IMO.

[Willey101]

The fact that language is brought into this equation at all is ridiculous. Hire the absolute best coach out there whether he is English, French, Swede or any other language you can think of. As long as he wins who the hell cares what language he speaks. This is so ridiculous it;s not funny.

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

No doubt a unilingual french coach wouldn't work in toronto. But he wouldn't work in Montreal or anywhere else either. The fact remains that the language of lockerrooms in the NHL is English.

The leafs aren't limiting the pool of quality experienced candidates as the way we are.

I should amend that to: a unilingual French coach would be ridden out of TO on a rail regardless of his merits. Anglo-Canadians are way too smug about their supposed moral superiority on language questions; the real difference is that their language is so dominant they never have to worry about it and so cannot imagine anyone other than an imbecile worrying about it. In any case, I agree with the narrower point that the affirmative action policy foolishly hamstrings the talent pool for coaches and is dumb. I'm tired of the psychodrama in Montreal. I just want the team to win. Regrettably, much of the media and fanbase do not share this perspective, whether it be on questions of language or other questions (bitching about JM's 'boring' style, etc.); many would rather lose with flair, or lose with French, than win.

[Willey101]

The actual hire may be the GM's decision, but the question of whether the GM would be allowed to break team policy and hire an anglophone is one that falls to Geoff Molson, IMO.

I think that if Gauthier is let go however that a GM would not take the reigns if he has that ownership interference and told he had to hire this coach. Every GM< has their Go-to guys and rely on them because of a similar philosophy. If a GM is selected and is told to hire this coach, then they are doomed for failure

[hab29RETIRED]

This is a dumb analogy. A Unilingual French coach has no business coaching in the NHL. This had nothing to do with the media and everything to do with the players.

A coach has to be able to communicate with his players. How many hockey players speak French on a hockey team?? Usually at most 2 or 3. How many speak English??? Usually 100%, with the exception of 1 or 2 new players from Europe, Russia or Quebec who may not INITIALLY speak English, but will eventually need to learn - they really don't NEED to learn French, even if they play in Montreal or Quebec City. This has nothing to do with being able to communicate with the media or the people in the city you live in and everything to do with being able to communicate with your teammates and coaches.

Like it or not, English is the language of North America - not French, so that is the language that is required.

JC Petit is quite right that a unilingual French coach would be ridden out of Toronto on a rail. There is no end to the English-Canadian hypocrisy on questions of language. All that being said, I still oppose the 'affirmative action' policy for bilingual coaches and, even though I think the Martin firing stinks of ownership interference, I'm happy that the Habs took even a provisional stand on the language question.

[JoeLassister]

The "buzz" surrounding the hiring of an non french speaking coach is HUGE.

I never thought that it would hit like that. The medias are unanimous on how it is a bad move. Nationalist associations are all over the news as well.

Cyberpresse, RDS, the radio, surveys ... everyone hate the move. The word "boycott" is included in every articles. Not only the Habs product but Molson beers as well. This is sick...

(For my part, I don't care about that at all)

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

This is a dumb analogy. A Unilingual French coach has no business coaching in the NHL. This had nothing to do with the media and everything to do with the players.

A coach has to be able to communicate with his players. How many hockey players speak French on a hockey team?? Usually at most 2 or 3. How many speak English??? Usually 100%, with the exception of 1 or 2 new players from Europe, Russia or Quebec who may not INITIALLY speak English, but will eventually need to learn - they really don't NEED to learn French, even if they play in Montreal or Quebec City. This has nothing to do with being able to communicate with the media or the people in the city you live in and everything to do with being able to communicate with your teammates and coaches.

Like it or not, English is the language of North America - not French, so that is the language that is required.

I agree, but read my next post on the subject where I clarify what I meant.

[Habsy]

Went to breakfast this morning, and read that fish wrap, the Journal de Montreal. It's embarrassing. I'm born and raised here, with any luck, I've got another 40 years until I take my final dirt nap here. I don't like what this has become. The media has too much power. It's as if the Molsons have no say. I noticed it when Kirk Muller was hired in Carolina. Nice words for him, but not a single hint that he'd be considered for the job here. And today, everywhere I look, the list of replacements is nothing but francophone Quebecois. I read people suggesting an all Quebecois staff. Cunneyworth has no chance in hell. In a way, I feel sorry for him. He get's the job of coaching the worlds most famous hockey team. But no matter how well he does, he'll be replaced in April. At least I can say I was at two Stanley Cup parades. Because you just get the feeling we have no chance anymore. Not if this hockey team isn't an actual hockey team. But some sort of beacon for French hope.

[Commandant]

I should amend that to: a unilingual French coach would be ridden out of TO on a rail regardless of his merits. Anglo-Canadians are way too smug about their supposed moral superiority on language questions; the real difference is that their language is so dominant they never have to worry about it and so cannot imagine anyone other than an imbecile worrying about it. In any case, I agree with the narrower point that the affirmative action policy foolishly hamstrings the talent pool for coaches and is dumb. I'm tired of the psychodrama in Montreal. I just want the team to win. Regrettably, much of the media and fanbase do not share this perspective, whether it be on questions of language or other questions (bitching about JM's 'boring' style, etc.); many would rather lose with flair, or lose with French, than win.

I agree and its bs though because you can say it now, but the same people will still bitch when the team is losing with flair or french, the complaints themselves will just change.

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

Went to breakfast this morning, and read that fish wrap, the Journal de Montreal. It's embarrassing. I'm born and raised here, with any luck, I've got another 40 years until I take my final dirt nap here. I don't like what this has become. The media has too much power. It's as if the Molsons have no say. I noticed it when Kirk Muller was hired in Carolina. Nice words for him, but not a single hint that he'd be considered for the job here. And today, everywhere I look, the list of replacements is nothing but francophone Quebecois. I read people suggesting an all Quebecois staff. Cunneyworth has no chance in hell. In a way, I feel sorry for him. He get's the job of coaching the worlds most famous hockey team. But no matter how well he does, he'll be replaced in April. At least I can say I was at two Stanley Cup parades. Because you just get the feeling we have no chance anymore. Not if this hockey team isn't an actual hockey team. But some sort of beacon for French hope.

Well, I don't think the 'French coach' policy in and of itself warrants THAT level of pessimism. While there are only a couple of Great coaches out there - Byslma (sp?), Lemaire, maybe Trotts - there are plenty of 'good' coaches, and some of them are bilingual. Jacques Martin and Marc Crawford are two examples. So while the affirmative action policy prevents us from signing the superstar coach, it does not prevent us from being a well-coached team, and well-coached teams can win the Cup.

There is definitely a wider issue with psychodrama in Montreal, though. And I believe this contributes to transforming slumps into total season-ending meltdowns (2009, possibly this year). If Molson is receptive to the psychosis, we are doomed.

[Habsy]

Well, I don't think the 'French coach' policy in and of itself warrants THAT level of pessimism. While there are only a couple of Great coaches out there - Byslma (sp?), Lemaire, maybe Trotts - there are plenty of 'good' coaches, and some of them are bilingual. Jacques Martin and Marc Crawford are two examples. So while the affirmative action policy prevents us from signing the superstar coach, it does not prevent us from being a well-coached team, and well-coached teams can win the Cup.

There is definitely a wider issue with psychodrama in Montreal, though. And I believe this contributes to transforming slumps into total season-ending meltdowns (2009, possibly this year). If Molson is receptive to the psychosis, we are doomed.

It goes deeper. Some people want an all Quebecois lineup. Call it pessimism, but it's tough to take.

[Commandant]

I think that if Gauthier is let go however that a GM would not take the reigns if he has that ownership interference and told he had to hire this coach.  Every GM< has their Go-to guys and rely on them because of a similar philosophy.  If a GM is selected and is told to hire this coach, then they are doomed for failure

its been happening for 25+ years since Bob Berry, and through changes in GMs and even owners. Some GM will be found. But Geoff will decide the policy.