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Montreal Canadiens: Sylvain Lefebvre may remain as the AHL head coach

By Omar L

LAVAL, QC - FEBRUARY 14: Assistant coach Nick Carriere (left) and head coach of the Laval Rocket Sylvain Lefebvre (right) look on from behind the bench against the Belleville Senators during the AHL game at Place Bell on February 14, 2018 in Laval, Quebec, Canada. The Laval Rocket defeated the Belleville Senators 3-2. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
LAVAL, QC - FEBRUARY 14: Assistant coach Nick Carriere (left) and head coach of the Laval Rocket Sylvain Lefebvre (right) look on from behind the bench against the Belleville Senators during the AHL game at Place Bell on February 14, 2018 in Laval, Quebec, Canada. The Laval Rocket defeated the Belleville Senators 3-2. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) /
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Despite a disappointing inaugural season, Sylvain Lefebvre’s job as head coach of the Montreal Canadiens AHL team in Laval may be safe.

Hockey within the Montreal Canadiens organization is no more. The Laval Rocket wrapped up their season on Saturday and conducted their end of the season media scrums Sunday morning. There are a lot of question marks around the makeup of the team as many are without a contract, however, the biggest has to be around the head coach Sylvain Lefebvre.

Lefebvre, who appears to be very aware of the talk involving his position, was confident in his ability to coach this team and his desire to return. The odds are against him there though as the results speak to himself. If there was ever a change to occur within the Habs organization, Lefebvre’s removal would be the one that would surprise the least.

However, that may not be the plan moving forward. Laval Rocket general manager Larry Carriere mentioned that he was pleased with the work done by coaching staff this season. In particular, he pointed to the young players on the team who were called up and had an impact with the Montreal Canadiens. Nikita Scherbak, Daniel Carr, and Noah Juulsen fall into that category.

Carriere, as well as Lefebvre, didn’t fail to bring up how the number of recalls and injuries could’ve impacted the possible performance of the team this season. You never want to put words or thoughts into anyone’s mouth/head, but the Rocket may not be looking for a coaching change. Granted, those comments from the Laval GM could’ve just been words to ‘calm’ the masses for the time being, but that would be doing the complete opposite considering the overwhelming pull for a change.

Additionally, if there’s been a decision not to fire him from Carriere, you have to wonder whether Geoff Molson and/or Marc Bergevin step in. Either way, adding Dominique Ducharme or Joel Bouchard should be a move the Laval Rocket make if it’s still available.

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Having their expertise within the coaching staff could be something that benefits the team in the long run. That way if the day comes where Lefebvre is let go, there are two names in waiting familiar with the program and players set in place.

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