As the Montreal Canadiens hosted their end-of-season media availability, general manager Marc Bergevin said the team is engaging in talks with Dominique Ducharme to officially become the team’s head coach.
It was a tale of two seasons for Montreal under Ducharme. While Montreal started strong out of the gate, a short string of unexpected losses led to the firing of head coach Claude Julien. On February 24, 2021, Ducharme was named the team’s interim head coach. It didn’t seem that Julien’s firing had made much of an impact on the team’s performance, however. Under Ducharme in the regular season, the Habs posted just a 15-16-7 record, clinching a playoff berth as the league’s 18th-ranked team due to this year’s divisional alignments. It all makes Montreal’s run to the Stanley Cup Final, in which the team still went 13-9, even more impressive.
What Montreal saw from Ducharme this season, in their eyes, has been enough to earn him the job. While the team’s on-ice performance may not have blown off doors immediately, Ducharme was able to guide the group through a tough first-round matchup against the Toronto Maple Leafs and onwards. Under his tutelage, the team gelled at the right time, losing to a team that’s now won back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in the Tampa Bay Lightning.
As Montreal makes an effort to bring back their core next season, things may look a little different. The flat salary cap may have an effect on who they can and can’t afford to bring back. Montreal is hoping that by potentially retaining Ducharme in his role, they can catch lightning in a bottle once again moving forward.
Unfortunately there aren’t really any other French coaches available that they haven’t employed/fired multiple times so Ducharme is the de facto HC. We all know they don’t hire English head coaches because a speaking French is more important than winning.
Tu Es Fromage les Bouche!!!
Kotkaniemi weeps
The unfortunate (or fortunate depending on what team you root for) outcome from this surprising playoff run is that the Habs will keep both Bergevin and Ducharme in the fold.
Just listen to the praise from the Canadiens players and you will understand why both Bergevin and Ducharme were both great managers and important to the success of the team. Shea Weber and Brendan Gallagher lauded Bergevin. Corey Perry and Nick Suzuki went out of their way to praise Ducharme. Pretty much unanimous, but the haters out there still hate. When you win it brings out the worst in some individuals.
They were an 18th place team with no cap space – that doesn’t exactly scream well-constructed roster. Sometimes mediocre teams get hot at the right time and go on a deep playoff run – the 2006 Oilers come to mind.
Also, virtually every Habs fan I know was clamouring for Bergevin to get fired when the team was down 3-1 to the Leafs.
Name a couple of teams that were in the playoffs that didn’t have cap space issues. Tampa used LTIR and bent the rules as much as possible because they were multi millions over. Was their roster well constructed? You sound like sour grapes to me. There is no more demanding place in the NHL than Montreal for a GM and Coach. You have a dominantly French speaking fan base, the most successful franchise in history, and an expectation to be competitive every single year. There is no reset in Montreal. Bergevin garnered more 1st place votes for GM of the Year than anyone. His peers respect him and so do knowledgeable people.
I thought they played their best hockey the few games Richardson was behind the bench. Incredibly small sample size and Price was on fire at that point. But it’s not like Ducharme was coaching them into a juggernaut. Would be nice to see someone who doesn’t speak French get a chance there.