Coaches in the habs organization: we can expect some changes

The group of coaches at the four corners of the Tricolore organization is a subject we don’t discuss enough.

And yet, now that we’re halfway through the season, it’s fair to wonder whether any changes will be made any time soon. After all, not all of the guys in place are the men of the new management.

Martin St-Louis and Stéphane Robidas are the only coaches to have found employment because of Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton.

St-Louis is here to stay (even if his contract expires after the 2023-2024 season), but what about the others?

In their podcast Bon match! Danny Dubé and Martin McGuire take a look at the question.

McGuire wonders if management will consider stabilizing its coaching staff this summer. The journalist hears that an assistant coach will be extended. Will it be goalkeeping coach Éric Raymond?

Taking over from Stéphane Waite, he has done an excellent job with the many goalkeepers he has worked with.

Since his hiring in January 2022, Hughes has had good things to say about his coaches, especially those at the Rocket. Will the development of guys like Logan Mailloux, Arber Xhekaj and Jayden Struble convince the big boss to bring back the coaches in question? Perhaps. Jean-François Houle and his gang have nothing to reproach themselves for.

But then again, they’re not the new management’s men.

So how does management intend to build its coaching group around Martin St-Louis?

The case of Alexandre Burrows is very interesting. He was hired to revive the power play, but he’s not doing well at all. The former Canucks forward was signed on February 24, 2021. It wouldn’t be fair to blame him for the power play’s failure in the 2020-2021 season, then.

But here are the power play rankings in the two-and-a-half seasons with Burrows behind the bench:

• 2021-2022: 31st out of 32
• 2022-2023: 29th out of 32
• 2023-2024: 21st out of 32 (in 45 games)

In short, I’m not convinced that his work has convinced management.

As for Danny Dubé, he’s almost 100% convinced there’s going to be a change. He doesn’t know if there’s going to be change behind the bench per se, but there’s going to be change in the structure, the hierarchy or the organization chart, according to him.

In short, these are issues to keep an eye on. Usually, coaches take office in July. In any case, in Montreal, this seems to be the norm.

In bursts

– Hopefully nothing too serious for Habs.

– Mathias Brunet would bet more on David Reinbacher than Lane Hutson. [BPM Sports]

– To be continued.

– Weird season for them.

– Too bad.

A rare mistake by @MikaelKingsbury

The King of Moguls fell on his first jump at the World Cup in Val Saint-Côme! He’ll be able to bounce back tomorrow in the parallel moguls event.

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– Radio-Canada Sports (@RC_Sports) January 20, 2024