Dominique Ducharme always believed in a return to the NHL (even after his dismissal)

Even though Dominique Ducharme didn’t even spend 365 days at the helm of the Habs, it’s easy to think it lasted longer than that. After all, he arrived under special circumstances (on an interim basis following Claude Julien’s dismissal during the pandemic), took the club to the finals and was fired a few months later after a difficult start to the season.

In the end, the change of GM proved fatal.

That said, even if Ducharme didn’t really have time to prove himself and had a very difficult start to the 2021-22 season, he has just been given another chance in the NHL, as he will be Bruce Cassidy’s assistant with the Golden Knights next year.

In my eyes, it’s a role that might suit him better, especially sincehe’s coming into an environment where he already knows Kelly McCrimmon, the club’s GM.

And what’s interesting is that, even though he had a rather difficult end to his career in Montreal, he never thought he wouldn’t return to the NHL one day. That’s what he told 98.5 Sports.

After his dismissal, Ducharme was well aware that he would have to progress as a coach. He was aware that he was partly responsible for the end of his Montreal adventure, but that never stopped him from believing that he would return to the NHL sooner or later.

And in the end, he was right.

In Vegas, he found himself in a far more enviable situation, joining a team that had just won the Stanley Cup. And unlike the CH following the team’s run to the finals in the summer of 2021, the Golden Knights will have relatively the same club next year, and the guys are healthy.

In fact, only Reilly Smith has left (and Phil Kessel, but he didn’t play in the playoffs) and only Mark Stone seems to have health issues. But otherwise, the club really isn’t as banged up as the CH was following the summer of 2021.

In short, this is great news for Ducharme, who will have the opportunity to relive the NHL experience this season under conditions that are, in my eyes, favorable. He was right to believe that a second chance was waiting for him, and it’s now up to him to make sure he seizes it.

Bunch of news

– Not to be missed this week.

This week, don’t miss a series of interviews with former QMJHL commissioner Gilles Courteau conducted by @anthonymarcotte.

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Kirby, true to form

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– Montreal Canadiens (@CanadiensMTL) July 17, 2023

– We wish him well.