Jump to content

Habs new head coach


titanfan

Recommended Posts

Ducharme is expected to finish the season, but who will be behind the bench when the rebuild really starts this fall?

 

There are several possible candidates, and Gorton and Hughes will definitely want to find 'their coach'.

 

Obviously Ducharme is a candidate.  But, given the team's struggles this season I am convinced the odds are slim he is back.

 

My number one choice is - Guy Boucher.

 

He has shown he can get a lot out of young players and teams.  Although, honestly, his pro success has been short lived.

 

Assistant coach for the Rimouski Oceanic, and worked closely with Sidney Crosby during his two years in the QMJHL.

 

Went on to coach the Drummondville Voltigeurs and, in addition to taking that team from last overall to first overall in one season, he was instrumental in the development of Sean Couturier.

 

Becomes head coach in Hamilton and leads the Bulldogs to a 52–17–11 record.

 

Hired by Tampa Bay and took the Lightning to to game 7 of the Conference finals in his rookie year after the team missed the playoffs three consecutive years before.

 

Hired by Ottawa and took the Senators, who missed the playoffs the year before, to the Eastern Conference Final in his first season, losing in double overtime in game seven to the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins.

 

Both Tampa and Ottawa struggled their next year, but in both cases he took struggling teams to new heights by getting players to buy into his system.  And in Tampa's case he set the table for Cooper and the success they enjoy today.

 

And granted, in Tampa that system was 1-3-1 which was pretty boring, but in Ottawa his system was much different as it had been in Drummondville.

 

What he does is take young teams and get them to elevate their game. 

 

Is he a long-term solution in Montreal?  History says no, but history also says he IS a great short term solution (at the very least) who could be instrumental in getting the team off to the right start next year.  Getting this group to play together and buy in is the start to a rebuild.  They won't win it all next year, but if the building blocks can be set in place - then the future has a chance.

 

And, oh yeah, he speaks French...

 

So Boucher is my choice.

 

Who is yours?

 

 

 

Edited by titanfan
Edited for spelling mistakes
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Commandant raised a VERY interesting option earlier today ... Joel Bouchard ... Habs need a development coach if they are truly rebuilding ... that is reputedly his strength ... Pascal Vincent has been often mentioned and Benoit Groulx also has a good resume ... both have QMJHL and AHL experience as a HC, with Vincent also having NHL experience as an assistant ... I won't pretend at this point to to have enough knowledge off possible candidates to propose a selection

 

As for Boucher ... his pro history is declining results each full season with a new team ... IMO, Boucher might be an option when the team is considered "ready to win" ... but not next season

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, IMHO, we need to keep DD and hope for a simular result. Bedard or Michkov will make us contenders for years to come. 

Sell everyone you can this year for 2023 picks. We have a top pick coming this year, that is enough from this year's pool. Next year is a much better class. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, GHT120 said:

Commandant raised a VERY interesting option earlier today ... Joel Bouchard ... Habs need a development coach if they are truly rebuilding ... that is reputedly his strength ... Pascal Vincent has been often mentioned and Benoit Groulx also has a good resume ... both have QMJHL and AHL experience as a HC, with Vincent also having NHL experience as an assistant ... I won't pretend at this point to to have enough knowledge off possible candidates to propose a selection

 

As for Boucher ... his pro history is declining results each full season with a new team ... IMO, Boucher might be an option when the team is considered "ready to win" ... but not next season

I was a Boucher fan earlier in his career. But think the game in Philly were Philly sat back, and Boucher’s team didn’t even forecheck (can’t remember which team he is as with than), sticks more in my mind than his playoffs successes. I think he’d bring more structure than DD, but it would be to the opposite extreme, so I’d pass on him.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

20 hours ago, johnnyhasbeen said:

Well, IMHO, we need to keep DD and hope for a simular result. Bedard or Michkov will make us contenders for years to come. 

Sell everyone you can this year for 2023 picks. We have a top pick coming this year, that is enough from this year's pool. Next year is a much better class. 

 

 

I'm OK riding out the season with DD, but renewing him thereafter is another story. Our top prospect (CC) has stalled completely under his oversight and the team is a mess. It's not all on DD, but as Commandant argues, part of it is. Letting our young players fester in a disastrous environment for more than a temporary basis is unwise. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Euh🤔 Poehling, Romanov, Suzuki, Montembault (lately), they are not that old IMHO and they seem to be doing ok

 

maybe expectations were unrealistic about Caufield to begin with and blaming the coach is way too easy :spamafote:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Welcome our new coach and AGM, Patrick Roy!

 

Kidding, kidding. Regarding Bouchard, didn't Weise or some other vet kind of voice that he was a bit old school, attitude wise? Seems the Rocket did well with Bouchard overall, though. Maybe he's also potentially like Boucher, good for short term, tuned out long term.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, alfredoh2009 said:

Euh🤔 Poehling, Romanov, Suzuki, Montembault (lately), they are not that old IMHO and they seem to be doing ok

 

maybe expectations were unrealistic about Caufield to begin with and blaming the coach is way too easy :spamafote:

 

Plumbers are one thing, top-line talent another. And one could argue Suzuki isn't doing that great either.

 

I have no real opinion on the next coach, but I will say that I don't care that Boucher has a limited shelf life. The new guy is a transitional figure anyway, here to develop the youth. Once we move into "contending" status (if we ever do) we will likely need someone else.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

... Letting our young players fester in a disastrous environment for more than a temporary basis is unwise. 

 

1 hour ago, alfredoh2009 said:

Euh🤔 Poehling, Romanov, Suzuki, Montembault (lately), they are not that old IMHO and they seem to be doing ok...

 

Suzuki is not IMO "doing OK" ... I'm not saying he has regressed but I don't know that he has progressed ... while admittedly the ranks of NS's possible wingers have been short-handed more often than not, but this would hopefully have been a season where he  began to initiate/drive more offence on his own ... while Romanov has improved I fear that, like Mete in his rookie season, his play may look better than it actually is because of how bad the rest of the defence has been ... Poehling is doing better, and hopefully will continue his progress next season, but it is a low bar given his history ... as for Montembeault, he is also clearing a very low bar. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, GHT120 said:

Suzuki is not IMO "doing OK" ... I'm not saying he has regressed but I don't know that he has progressed ... while admittedly the ranks of NS's possible wingers have been short-handed more often than not, but this would hopefully have been a season where he  began to initiate/drive more offence on his own ... while Romanov has improved I fear that, like Mete in his rookie season, his play may look better than it actually is because of how bad the rest of the defence has been ... Poehling is doing better, and hopefully will continue his progress next season, but it is a low bar given his history ... as for Montembeault, he is also clearing a very low bar. 

Linemates do matter. And with Caufield struggling in the early season, that didn't help Suzuki, either. He has looked much better recently between Toffoli and Lehkonen, let's see what tonight looks like.

 

# Ugh, our injured list is back up to eight players again ...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 minutes ago, tomh009 said:

Linemates do matter. And with Caufield struggling in the early season, that didn't help Suzuki, either. He has looked much better recently between Toffoli and Lehkonen, let's see what tonight looks like ...

 

My point was that I'd hoped that Suzuki's development would lead to his being less impacted by who played on his wings this season.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

 

Plumbers are one thing, top-line talent another. And one could argue Suzuki isn't doing that great either.

 

I have no real opinion on the next coach, but I will say that I don't care that Boucher has a limited shelf life. The new guy is a transitional figure anyway, here to develop the youth. Once we move into "contending" status (if we ever do) we will likely need someone else.

It’s not the short shelf life that concerns me. It’s a concern that he had a rigid sit back conservative style, that has been figured out, and he never adapted. 
 

When he was our minor league coach, I thought it was a huge loss when he went to Tampa. I just don’t know if has adapted, since no one else has given him a chance again.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

41 minutes ago, GHT120 said:

 

My point was that I'd hoped that Suzuki's development would lead to his being less impacted by who played on his wings this season.

your point was circular

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, GHT120 said:

 

 

Suzuki is not IMO "doing OK" ... I'm not saying he has regressed but I don't know that he has progressed ... while admittedly the ranks of NS's possible wingers have been short-handed more often than not, but this would hopefully have been a season where he  began to initiate/drive more offence on his own ... while Romanov has improved I fear that, like Mete in his rookie season, his play may look better than it actually is because of how bad the rest of the defence has been ... Poehling is doing better, and hopefully will continue his progress next season, but it is a low bar given his history ... as for Montembeault, he is also clearing a very low bar. 

Agree. Suzuki has not been bad, but doesn’t look like the dominant player he was in playoffs. It doesn’t help having any other decent centre, or decent dman on the team. He team is crap, and other teams can zero in on him. But I would like to have seen a lot more progress this year.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, tomh009 said:

The decision to play Caufield with the Habs (rather than the Rocket) would have been Bergevin, wouldn't it?

injuries forced him into the lineup. Ducharme sais in a couple of interviews that he was playing him because he lacked players due to covid and injuries; but he stopped short of saying he would prefer he was in Laval.

 

Many times, when commenting on the NHL roster, he stops mid-sentence and pauses before re-rating what he just said.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, alfredoh2009 said:

your point was circular

Not certain how ... but OK

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, hab29RETIRED said:

It’s not the short shelf life that concerns me. It’s a concern that he had a rigid sit back conservative style, that has been figured out, and he never adapted. 
 

When he was our minor league coach, I thought it was a huge loss when he went to Tampa. I just don’t know if has adapted, since no one else has given him a chance again.

 

I thought the same thing, he looked liked a rising young star as a coach,  excellent coaches generally aren't out of work too long unless they want to be.  

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, huzer said:

Kidding, kidding. Regarding Bouchard, didn't Weise or some other vet kind of voice that he was a bit old school, attitude wise? Seems the Rocket did well with Bouchard overall, though. Maybe he's also potentially like Boucher, good for short term, tuned out long term.

 

Yes, Weise had some pretty strong negative comments about Bouchard's coaching ability.  It's also worth remembering the mini veteran mutiny from two seasons ago (Peca, Varone, and Barber).  I don't think he'll have a lot of success in the NHL with the approach he uses.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, alfredoh2009 said:

injuries forced him into the lineup. Ducharme sais in a couple of interviews that he was playing him because he lacked players due to covid and injuries; but he stopped short of saying he would prefer he was in Laval.

 

Many times, when commenting on the NHL roster, he stops mid-sentence and pauses before re-rating what he just said.

 

Injuries forced him in the lineup.

 

Talented kid, lets play him on line 3/4

 

Don't give him much of a role on the PP. 

 

Good coaching!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We need centres. 

 

We have no one who can play against other team's top lines. 

 

Lets put Evans, who is good defensively on the wing... can't try him with that responsibility on a club that is going nowhere.

 

Good Coaching!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Commandant said:

We need centres. 

 

We have no one who can play against other team's top lines. 

 

Lets put Evans, who is good defensively on the wing... can't try him with that responsibility on a club that is going nowhere.

 

Good Coaching!!

i've been pissed about that as well. They guy was a solid centre up to the finals, they have no centres, but evans is on the wing. back at centre tonight scored some nice goals.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 hours ago, GHT120 said:

 

My point was that I'd hoped that Suzuki's development would lead to his being less impacted by who played on his wings this season.

 

I don’t like the “blame with wingers” argument either. Whenever I hear either that, or the argument that the reason a guy isn’t generating anything is that he is not a top-line role, I get worried. It’s the player’s job to make things happen. I always remember Koivu’s rookie year when he was paired with cement-handed Turner Stevenson. What you saw was, suddenly, Stevenson getting all sorts of chances and his line creating havoc in the opposition zone. Koivu made stuff happen, because he was the real deal, and he didn’t wait around like a hot house flower requiring just the exact right conditions to make a difference.

 

Now Suzuki is not Perezhogin or Eller or Galchenyuk - i.e., a player fans feel some endless need to make excuses for (“it’s Therrien’s fault Eller isn’t a #1C!”). Suzuki has established himself as a legit top-6 C beyond any doubt. The question now is whether he will plateau out as a nice #2 guy, 50-points+, or whether he can be a legit #1 pivot, gusting toward 70 points. 

 

I think he can certainly be a #1A and quite possibly a straightforward #1 C. The problem right now, IMHO, is that the Habs have no other C the opposition needs to worry about. It is not a coincidence that he looked great in the playoffs when Danault was at his peak. In other words, the kid is the singular shutdown focus of other teams night-in and night-out. Superstars can rise above that, but Slick Nick is not a superstar talent. What he needs is not wingers, it’s to be on a team that has other centremen.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 hours ago, Commandant said:

 

Injuries forced him in the lineup.

 

Talented kid, lets play him on line 3/4

 

Don't give him much of a role on the PP. 

 

Good coaching!!

Caufield didn’t deserve to be on any NHL’s team top line to start the season. He wouldn’t have been the Kraken’s top RW and shouldn’t have been the Hab’s

 

he was a black hole defending and not a threat to score 

 

he played himself out of the lineup despite coaching staff sheltering him

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm not talking about October, I'm talking about now (well at least before he was put on the COVID list). 

The season is a lost cause, playing him on the 4th line right now does nothing for his development and does nothing to get him going. 

 

He's a finisher.  He needs players who can pass him the puck. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...