REV-G Posted May 26, 2021 Share Posted May 26, 2021 This thread isn't primarily about Marc Bergevin and what his future should hold although you can't discuss the coach without overlapping into what he was given to succeed with. But I thought this would be the right time to begin to ask about our head coach position for next season. I think we would all say we are disappointed at the results we've had over this shortened season. With the additions MB made in the offseason many believed this team would challenge for first place in the Canadian division. I heard well known hockey insiders say back in January that Montreal should challenge for top spot, so it wasn't just us diehard fans believing and hoping for great things. We started out great, as we've done before, and then the wheels seem to fall off from what may have been our not realistic lofty expectations (hindsight). Is it the team? Is the older core possibly past their "best by" date? Or is it the coaching, or a combination of both. I believe MB brought in what was needed in the offseason. But maybe it's too little too late. Maybe our older core really has declined that quickly? The coach: My sense is that Dominic has not risen to the occasion and has not surpassed or done as well as his fired predecessor. Is is because he inherited a system that wasn't his, or was it the brutal schedule with little to no practice time, or the many injuries to key people? Probably all of that contributed. Here are my takes on the coach. Nothing personal, I'm sure he's a great guy, just a realistic look and a fan's evaluation at the head coach position. I have this sense that's he's not ready or maybe not suited to be the head guy at this point in the NHL. I feel, for the first time in a long while, the opposite regarding Toronto's head coach. Maybe not a fair comparison given the talent disperity between the two teams. But I have been impressed with Toronto's game plan, their execution and most importantly, they all seem to know their roles and what they are expected to do. They look well organized, for me that means well coached. So I don't think DD should be our head coach next year. Would it work to bring up Joel Bouchard and put DD back as an assistant? I don't know. On another note, maybe it's time to trade off the older guys and spend 2-3 years letting our young guys grow and begin a genuine rebuild. With other teams working hard to constantly improve we can't just sit in no man's land, in the middle of the pack, and not do something dramatic, one way or the other. That's what I think. Agree or disagree? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXx..CK..xXx Posted May 27, 2021 Share Posted May 27, 2021 I expected the Habs to finish 3rd in the division, so they fell one spot short of that by 4 points. I was happy with the off season but I am not sure why it should have led to 1st in the division predictions when Edmonton has players like McDavid and Draisaitl, and Toronto has a player like Auston Matthews. The players we acquired were second tier level compared to them, although Toffoli had a superstar worthy goal scoring season. I am also sure some people we could take a top heavy team with our “roll 4 lines” depth. Long story short, the Habs have played this season to about my expectation, though I do hope they continue to put up a fight versus the Leafs and prolong this season. Regardless of the outcome of the series, I was never a fan of the Ducharme hiring so would not mind it if someone else is introduced. The problem is I don’t exactly have a specific solution as to who I’d prefer. I’ll let the higher powers work on that one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prime Minister Koivu Posted May 27, 2021 Share Posted May 27, 2021 I don’t have much to say on this subject other than HELL NO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDriveFor25 Posted May 27, 2021 Share Posted May 27, 2021 I don’t think so. He seems to have uninspired the uninspired even further. I’d hire a new coach - who that is I don’t know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GHT120 Posted May 27, 2021 Share Posted May 27, 2021 55 minutes ago, TheDriveFor25 said: I don’t think so. He seems to have uninspired the uninspired even further. I’d hire a new coach - who that is I don’t know. Torts ... he might love the challenge of learning French so he can abuse media in two languages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habsfan89 Posted May 27, 2021 Share Posted May 27, 2021 If Bergevin is staying on as GM he will be our coach because he was hand pick to be CJ replacement. If Bergevin gets fired "let go" then he won't be back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chicoutimi Cucumber Posted May 27, 2021 Share Posted May 27, 2021 I don’t see any case for bringing DD back. True, he has not had the time he normally would have to put his stamp on the group. But more telling to me is that he *did* have a good long break after the season to work with the team and they still look like human garbage. There are no signs of improvement. The deeper question is what to replace him with. I dunno, is there any hope of Vigneault being fired? Do we *really* want to bring up Bouchard, a guy who is doing well with the young players and has far less big-league coaching experience than DD? Who else is out there who is bilingual and might do they job? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GHT120 Posted May 27, 2021 Share Posted May 27, 2021 28 minutes ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said: ... The deeper question is what to replace him with. I dunno, is there any hope of Vigneault being fired? Do we *really* want to bring up Bouchard, a guy who is doing well with the young players and has far less big-league coaching experience than DD? Who else is out there who is bilingual and might do they job? Also with Bouchard, does he want to be a NHL coach or in management? Two, possibly three, coaches who speak French were included by ESPN a couple of weeks ago among their 5 top NHL HC candidates ... Patrick Roy and Pascal Vincent ... the potential third is Rikard Gronborg, ZCS Lions head coach and longtime head coach of the Swedish national team (lots of Europeans are multi-lingual) ... their "up&coming coaches" list included Louis Robitaille, Andre Tourigny and another potential, Troy Mann (NB native, which has a significant French speaking population) ... in the final group of "coaches they would like to see in the NHL" was another potential, Jukka Jalonen (another European and Finland's head coach). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DON Posted May 27, 2021 Share Posted May 27, 2021 I dont know enough to say if should or shouldnt be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chicoutimi Cucumber Posted May 27, 2021 Share Posted May 27, 2021 34 minutes ago, GHT120 said: Also with Bouchard, does he want to be a NHL coach or in management? Two, possibly three, coaches who speak French were included by ESPN a couple of weeks ago among their 5 top NHL HC candidates ... Patrick Roy and Pascal Vincent ... the potential third is Rikard Gronborg, ZCS Lions head coach and longtime head coach of the Swedish national team (lots of Europeans are multi-lingual) ... their "up&coming coaches" list included Louis Robitaille, Andre Tourigny and another potential, Troy Mann (NB native, which has a significant French speaking population) ... in the final group of "coaches they would like to see in the NHL" was another potential, Jukka Jalonen (another European and Finland's head coach). I rather like the idea of bringing in a European coach. They might have different assumptions and ideas - the Habs need some fresh thinking for sure, and it would be good to see us actually being innovative. It would also open up some new options going forward, as opposed to fixating on "bilingual" as a synonym for francophone, which does narrow the talent pool. If they Habs are condemned to hire bilingual coaches, and anglo North American hockey people refuse to learn French, then perhaps the Canadiens should think much harder about Europe as a potential source of coaching and managerial talent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neech Posted May 27, 2021 Share Posted May 27, 2021 From the bizarre challenge to sticking with Eric Staal, to now apparently choosing Gustafsson over Romanov, it doesn't seem like Ducharme calls all the shots that a coach normally does, and instead is an extension of Bergevin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlbalr Posted May 27, 2021 Share Posted May 27, 2021 2 hours ago, GHT120 said: Torts ... he might love the challenge of learning French so he can abuse media in two languages. I know it'll never happen but just picturing Tortorella going on a rant in French made me laugh. He might put some of the media in their place too and wouldn't put up with some of the nonsense. 1 hour ago, Habsfan89 said: If Bergevin is staying on as GM he will be our coach because he was hand pick to be CJ replacement. If Bergevin gets fired "let go" then he won't be back. This is my take as well. 1 hour ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said: The deeper question is what to replace him with. I dunno, is there any hope of Vigneault being fired? Do we *really* want to bring up Bouchard, a guy who is doing well with the young players and has far less big-league coaching experience than DD? Who else is out there who is bilingual and might do they job? Chuck Fletcher in Philly has ruled out changes to the coaching staff which takes Vigneault and Therrien (just to put some minds at ease) off the table. For the sake of this, let's say there's a GM/coaching change. If whoever comes in doesn't think Bouchard is ready but thinks he will be down the road, then they might be looking at a transitional coach. Someone who will make an impact but have a short shelf life. That would put Bob Hartley and Guy Boucher into play, people that could instill a certain structure but moving on from them a few years later wouldn't be a bad thing. Of course, if it's Patrick Roy as GM, he'll probably name himself as coach, vice-president of hockey operations, alternate governor, and a whole bunch of other titles he's not remotely qualified to do. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commandant Posted May 27, 2021 Share Posted May 27, 2021 I said he should get time to implement a system. He had a week to work on things between the end of the season and playoffs Our pp is worse Our breakout is worse Zone entries are worse Pk is worse. This is him getting practice time. Add bizarre personnel decisions and Im done. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted May 27, 2021 Share Posted May 27, 2021 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prime Minister Koivu Posted May 27, 2021 Share Posted May 27, 2021 No offence to the human being Ducharme. The hockey Ducharme is an idiot 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomh009 Posted May 27, 2021 Share Posted May 27, 2021 3 hours ago, Habsfan89 said: If Bergevin is staying on as GM he will be our coach because he was hand pick to be CJ replacement. If Bergevin gets fired "let go" then he won't be back. I think convenience played a big part in that pick. Although I was not in the room when Bergevin made his case to Molson! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prime Minister Koivu Posted May 27, 2021 Share Posted May 27, 2021 How can you not agree? Awful coaching 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomh009 Posted May 27, 2021 Share Posted May 27, 2021 2 hours ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said: I rather like the idea of bringing in a European coach. They might have different assumptions and ideas - the Habs need some fresh thinking for sure, and it would be good to see us actually being innovative. It would also open up some new options going forward, as opposed to fixating on "bilingual" as a synonym for francophone, which does narrow the talent pool. If they Habs are condemned to hire bilingual coaches, and anglo North American hockey people refuse to learn French, then perhaps the Canadiens should think much harder about Europe as a potential source of coaching and managerial talent. I agree with this thinking. Whether the Habs are willing to take the leap is another matter. Mind you, the Blue Jackets' choice of Kekalainen, the first European GM, has not been working out so badly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prime Minister Koivu Posted May 27, 2021 Share Posted May 27, 2021 We all know that our only option is to rehire Therrien or perhaps Carbo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GHT120 Posted May 27, 2021 Share Posted May 27, 2021 11 minutes ago, Prime Minister Koivu said: We all know that our only option is to rehire Therrien or perhaps Carbo Jean Perron is still available is he not? Would LOVE to hear Chris Nilan's reaction were that to happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habs Fan in Edmonton Posted May 27, 2021 Share Posted May 27, 2021 27 minutes ago, GHT120 said: Jean Perron is still available is he not? Would LOVE to hear Chris Nilan's reaction were that to happen. Don't forget Allain Vigneault. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDriveFor25 Posted May 28, 2021 Share Posted May 28, 2021 Burrows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commandant Posted May 28, 2021 Share Posted May 28, 2021 Just now, TheDriveFor25 said: Burrows. What part of the current PP that he is in charge of makes you want him as head coach of this team? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prime Minister Koivu Posted May 28, 2021 Share Posted May 28, 2021 Bouchard is the best French option unless we are all missing someone that we haven’t talked about. If Bergevin is back Bouchard is a good choice. I’m sorry Ducharme but you are not ready for the big job yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commandant Posted May 28, 2021 Share Posted May 28, 2021 Benoit Groulx (Tampa AHL Coach) is the only guy I'd put on the same level as Bouchard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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