The Montreal Canadiens dismissed head coach Guy Carbonneau on Monday, two-thirds of the way through his third season. Executive Vice President and General Manager Bob Gainey will coach the Canadiens for the rest of this season. Do you think this is the right move by the Montreal Canadians hockey club? why or why not?
#1 by redsox_ws on February 21st, 2012
Quote
The Habs are heading int he opposite direction right now. Their star players (*cough* Kovalev *cough*) aren’t performing and the coaching is overusing players and tiring the team down. A coaching change is the best for the Habs, especially with all this pressure on their 100th anniversary to do good. Heck, before the season they were Stanley Cup favorites, now they are just a loss or 2 from falling out of the playoff race completely. I guess we’ll hafta wait and see what happens down the home stretch now.
GO B’S!!!
#2 by Jason B on February 21st, 2012
Quote
This late in the season? Bad move. Sounds like they are throwing in the towel.
#3 by SPACEBOY on February 21st, 2012
Quote
Terrible move. The message you send the players by firing the coach this late in the season is either “We pack it in” or “STEP IT UP”…most of the time this backfires and the team goes down the tubes. This (from the outside) doesn’t seem like a positive…the last months or so the team has been in ruins.
#4 by The Crow on February 21st, 2012
Quote
Very good move. The Habs need a kick in the butt right now and I was never a Carbonneau fan to begin with. I don’t think he had his players focus or respect. Go Habs Go
#5 by Da Dude on February 21st, 2012
Quote
This is a move that had to pain Gainey greatly. He and Carbonneau have been friends since the early 1980s, playing together with the Canadiens until Gainey’s retirement in 1989, then working together in Dallas with the Stars when Gainey was that club’s general manager — up to Carbonneau’s hiring by Gainey, first as an assistant coach in 2005-06 and then taking over as head coach in 2006-07.
Carbonneau would receive a nomination as NHL Coach of the Year, guiding the Habs to a first overall finish in the Eastern Conference in 2007-08.
Expectations were high for the Canadiens this season. The team was celebrating its centennial and many experts (including yours truly) not only saw the Canadiens as having the potential to finish atop the East again, but also as legitimate Stanley Cup contenders.
Unfortunately, the season hasn’t panned out as expected for the Canadiens and their demanding fan base. Following a strong start to the season in which the club was fourth overall in the conference by the All-Star break, the Canadiens have struggled through an 8-11-1 record in their last 20 games.
It does suck seeing Guy Carbonneau gone…. but he did struggle a bit after the all star break and i think it was a good move.
#6 by anyxotherxdayx on February 21st, 2012
Quote
I thought it was hilarious! Go Sabres!
#7 by mwm0788 on February 21st, 2012
Quote
Carboneau lost the room, he had no choice.