Bruce Cassidy offered Dominique Ducharme a second chance in the NHL by giving him an assistant position alongside him in Vegas.
Meeting with Cassidy on the eve of Ducharme’s return to the Bell Centre.https://t.co/SmYZ6sjFF8
– J-F Chaumont (@JFChaumontJDM) November 16, 2023
![Golden Knights prevent Dominique Ducharme from speaking to Quebec media](https://dose.ca/app/uploads/2023/11/dominique-ducharme-800x416-1.jpg)
There’s a wind of nostalgia blowing through Quebec today. The loss of Karl Tremblay is being felt everywhere. This will certainly be the case at the Bell Centre tonight, when the Golden Knights visit Montreal.
It’s a shame the media didn’t get a chance to talk to Ducharme about his return. As reported by J-F Chaumont, Golden Knights policy prevents assistants from giving interviews.
This isn’t the only team with a similar policy, as Guy Boucher, Sheldon Keefe’s assistant coach in Toronto, didn’t talk to Montreal reporters at the start of the season either.
So it exists throughout the NHL, but it’s a shame nonetheless.
What about the Habs? We’ve already heard assistants speak to the media during the season, whether at press conferences or in one-on-one interviews.
I understand the need for a certain rigidity when it comes to assistants. It’s not up to them to take the blame for a defeat, for example. However, on special occasions like tonight’s game, we should be able to talk to Ducharme.
Extension
For a long time, he was blamed, rightly or wrongly, for Cole Caufield’s failure.