Habs News: Montreal Canadiens, Habs, Week In Review, Dominique Ducharme, Alex Burrows, Claude Julien, Marc Bergevin, Kirk Muller

ROCKET SPORTS MEDIA | LAVAL, QC. — It’s been an emotional seven days around the Montreal Canadiens. It started on Tuesday, when the Canadiens lost to the Senators (again) 5-4 in a shootout. Montreal thought they had the game won with 2.1 seconds remaining when Ben Chiarot‘s shot was deflected into the net by Brendan Gallagher. The goal was waived off when it reviewed by the officials.

“I’m still searching for an explanation that makes sense. We sit down at the start of every season and the NHL prepares a video for us. The referees see the exact same video. We’ve seen clips,” Gallagher said visibly upset. The National Hockey League’s (NHL) explanation was that Gallagher impaired Matt Murray’s ability to play his position in the crease prior to the puck entering the net.

“This play, I’m knocked on my ass, I have time to reset, you can’t tell me the goalie doesn’t have time to reset. The other explanation I got was that I was in the blue paint. I’m working my way out of the blue paint. We’ve seen, in that same video, plenty of examples where the player’s working his way out, he’s pushed into the goalie, and the goal counted.”

It’s hard to disagree with Gallagher. That goal should have counted, and it ended up costing the Habs a second point in the standings.

Julien Fired

The next morning at 9:30 am ET, the Canadiens announced that Claude Julien and Kirk Muller were relieved of their duties. Did the disallowed goal cost Julien and Muller their jobs? At the end of the above video, there’s a shot of a relieved Marc Bergevin celebrating what he thought was a win. The general manager didn’t provide a precise answer when asked if a win would have made a difference.

“The effort was always there. It proves that Claude didn’t lose his locker room, but I saw a team that was lost, that was lacking in terms of their sense of direction,” Bergevin explained. The general manager made the decision after the game and announced it in the morning.

“These things happen in pro sports. Coaches keep on giving instructions, but after a while, the message doesn’t get through anymore. Based on what I saw over the last week, and with what happened last year, in a short season, I made the decision to make a change.”

Bergevin had to make a move. He added Josh Anderson, Tyler Toffoli, Jake Allen, Joel Edmundson, and Corey Perry to the roster in the off-season. Five Stanley Cup winners. It’s the deepest roster that Bergevin assembled for his coaches in his tenure.

The expectations for this season are high. The coach, general manager, and the owner said so publicly. We praised the organization for setting high expectations and not settling for a playoff spot.

It’s important to keep in mind that Bergevin’s current contract expires at the end of the 2021-22 season. His contract extension is likely dependent on the team’s performance this season.

The Canadiens missed the playoffs three times in the last five years. It would have been four times if the pandemic didn’t interrupt the 2019-20 season. Those aren’t good numbers for Bergevin’s resume.

Ducharme Takes Over

Bergevin gave the reins of the team on an interim basis to Dominique Ducharme until the end of the season. Results will dictate the next steps. Bergevin repeated several times during his Zoom call that he has confidence in Ducharme despite the title.

I’m happy that Ducharme is getting an opportunity to coach in the NHL. He worked his way up through the ranks of the hockey world. In the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, and for Hockey Canada, he had stints as an assistant coach before being promoted to coach.

Ducharme joined the Canadiens organization at the conclusion of the 2017-18 season. His main responsibility was to pre-scout opposing teams, in addition to helping Muller and Luke Richardson with special teams.

There’s a lot of pressure being placed on Ducharme. He has a team that’s barely holding on to a playoff spot, and has to steer it back into the right direction. If he doesn’t, it can cost him his job at the end of the year. The NHL is a tough business that may not give him another shot at being a coach.

“[Dominique] was my guy from the time I made my decision. The reason why is that he’s a new model of coach, the young coach who came a long way,” explained Bergevin.

“I feel that the new voice, that’s what this team needs, and also he’s a good communicator. Lots of times that’s what the players, I feel, based on what I saw, that’s what they’re looking for.”

The Canadiens appointed Alex Burrows to the coaching staff and took over responsibility of the power play. Burrows spent the past three seasons as an assistant coach with the Laval Rocket. He joined Joel Bouchard‘s staff the same day he announced his retirement from the NHL.

Fresh Start, Same Results

Ducharme has a reputation of being an offensive minded coach. The Canadiens started the season averaging 4.3 goals scored through 10 games. In the last 10 games, the average dipped to 2.1 goals per game.

“I want a team that plays the right way, and plays fast. I like offence. To create offence, you need to have the puck, you need to retrieve it. We want to spend less time in our zone, we want to create more turnovers, we want to counter quick, we want to have solutions when we have the puck,” Ducharme said.

The first two games under the new-era didn’t result into victories. On Friday, the Jets easily won 6-3, and on Saturday, the Habs lost 2-1 in overtime.

“We applied the things we talked about and we saw the results immediately. We saw that our confidence was building as the game went on. The guys even did the things that we didn’t have the time to practice. I really liked the way we handled ourselves during the game,” Ducharme said on Saturday.

“We want to create a different attitude. The players are ready to listen. I’m very happy with our progress over the last few days. We still have a lot of work ahead of us. We haven’t touched on all the key points, but it’s an excellent start.”

The team’s busy schedule is an obstacle for the rookie coach to implement changes quickly. He will need to get creative to accomplish his goals.

This week, the Canadiens will attempt to get back on track as they host the Senators on Tuesday, and the Jets on Thursday and Saturday.

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By Chris G., Senior Writer
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