Pascal Vincent : what could save the CH and prevent it from going elsewhere

Pascal Vincent is an excellent hockey coach.

The Canadian, due to circumstances, was lucky to hire him this summer. The late departure of Jean-François Houle as pilot of the Rocket and Vincent’s dismissal in Columbus made the stars align.

And today, the Lavallois leads the best team in the LAH.

By the force of circumstance, there are undoubtedly teams that will want to consider him in the NHL in a few months, whether as a head coach or as an assistant. We knew it was a possibility, but his beautiful season opens the door even wider to such a scenario.

And since we can think that the Canadian is not among the teams that will want to transform their coaching staff, there is a chance to see him leave Quebec (and the Canadian organization) this summer.

This is obviously not guaranteed since it will depend on the teams that are looking for staff. But it will also depend on the timing.

Because as Anthony Marcotte reminds us (on the airwaves of BPM Sports this morning) on the subject, if the Rocket has a good run in the series, Vincent could miss the window to discuss with other teams for a position in the NHL – like the coach of the Hershey Bears every year.

This will obviously depend on the circumstances, but it is quite possible that he will be too busy in the series in the LAH to be able to have interviews in the NHL at the same time.

Note, however, that if it’s as an assistant in the NHL, it can happen later in the off-season. We are mainly talking about one of the 32 head coach positions in the Bettman circuit.

But it’s still early for that. And it’s not a certainty either, since if a club really wants him, they can wait for the end of the Rocket’s season.

For now, Vincent and his players should not think about the NHL: they must focus on the race for the series. And I am convinced that the experienced coach knows this very well.

In rafale

– Ah yes?

– Rays: pressure from the commissioner to sell the club. [Passion MLB]

– News from CF Montréal.

A lot of news from #CFMTL this Monday morning, live from Marie-Victorin :

Several players are NOT on the field today: Owusu, Neal, Adedokun, Jabang and Gazdov.

Virus? Ready? Injury? Only Laurent Courtois can answer us officially (when?)… and… pic.twitter.com/G66YxcZsb2

— Maxime Truman (@MaximeTruman) March 10, 2025

– Mikko Rantanen file: Pierre LeBrun updates the file. [NYT]

– To read.

Canadiens notebook is out…and is old news already! Anyhow, it came out just before the Roy recall but explains why I feel the whole notion of protecting Laval’s roster right now might be a bit overblown, plus more! www.nytimes.com/athletic/618…

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— Arpon Basu (@arponbasu.bsky.social) March 10, 2025 at 10:15