![It’ll be interesting to see what Lecavalier’s role becomes with the Habs](https://cdn.buminteractif.com/2024/07/GettyImages-2159742173-660x450.jpg)
It’s already been a few years since the Habs’ hockey staff underwent a major overhaul. Of course, Jeff Gorton, Kent Hughes and Martin St-Louis are often mentioned as headliners, but they’re not the only ones.
One of these is Vincent Lecavalier, who has joined his good friend Martin St-Louis and his former agent Kent Hughes. Officially, he’s a “special advisor to hockey operations”, and in practice, he’s known to lend a hand to the GM when Hughes needs his advice.
However, we know that, at the moment, the Habs are looking for coaches within their organization… and in response to a reader’s question about a potential replacement for Alex Burrows, Stu Cowan(Montreal Gazette) wrote the following sentence:
It will be interesting to see what Vincent Lecavalier’s role eventually becomes with the Habs. – Stu Cowan
My weekly #Habs Mailbag answering some questions from @mtlgazette readers about Juraj Slafkovsky, who will be first player to earn more than captain Nick Suzuki, management’s offseason work and Michael Pezzetta #HabsIO: https://t.co/C3rJiFAVWG
– Stu Cowan (@StuCowan1) July 13, 2024
In fact, his sentence doesn’t necessarily suggest that Lecavalier will be hired tomorrow morning as Martin St-Louis’ assistant. That said, to see a journalist on the team beat bring Lecavalier’s name into the conversation (without it having been raised in the question in the first place), raises the possibility that this is a rumour circulating behind the scenes.
Especially since, as Cowan notes, Lecavalier scored 127 power-play goals in his NHL career. A good player doesn’t necessarily make a good coach… but it also doesn’t hurt to have someone who’s been successful on the power play to run a power play.
The question remains, however, whether this is a position that would interest Lecavalier. After all, his current position means he doesn’t have to be involved on a daily basis and travel constantly, which would be different if he were to become a coach.
Could the lure of doing it with his good friend Martin St-Louis entice him to take the plunge? Possibly… but considering that he’s already in a second-floor position and still lives in Tampa Bay on a regular basis, we have to wonder if it’s realistic.
We don’t yet know if the Habs intend to replace Burrows, but if they do, giving Lecavalier a new role (which would be a simple internal hire) is an intriguing idea.
All that remains is to see if it’s something he’d be interested in.