A Winning Habit
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Montreal Canadiens: Five Potential Head Coach Replacements For Claude Julien

By Ken MacMillan

MONTREAL, QC - JANUARY 09: Head coach of the Montreal Canadiens Claude Julien looks on from behind the bench against the Edmonton Oilers during the third period at the Bell Centre on January 9, 2020 in Montreal, Canada. The Edmonton Oilers defeated the Montreal Canadiens 4-2. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
MONTREAL, QC - JANUARY 09: Head coach of the Montreal Canadiens Claude Julien looks on from behind the bench against the Edmonton Oilers during the third period at the Bell Centre on January 9, 2020 in Montreal, Canada. The Edmonton Oilers defeated the Montreal Canadiens 4-2. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) /
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SUNRISE, FL – FEBRUARY 13: Head Coach Guy Carbonneau of the Montreal Canadiens gestures to the referee during his game against the Florida Panthers on February 13, 2008 at the Bank Atlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida. The Canadiens defeated the Panthers 2-1 in overtime. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
SUNRISE, FL – FEBRUARY 13: Head Coach Guy Carbonneau of the Montreal Canadiens gestures to the referee during his game against the Florida Panthers on February 13, 2008 at the Bank Atlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida. The Canadiens defeated the Panthers 2-1 in overtime. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

5. Bob Gainey / Guy Carbonneau

Claude Julien has been hired to be the head coach of the Montreal Canadiens twice. The first time, he replaced Michel Therrien midseason in 2003. The second time, he replaced Michel Therrien midseason in 2017. Julien was fired midseason in 2006 and replaced by Bob Gainey who took on an interim role while Guy Carbonneau was groomed as the associate coach and then took over full time the next season.

I supposed Carbonneau would not need to be mentored again so Gainey would not need to be the middle man for the rest of this season and Carbonneau could take over directly from Julien this time.

Carbonneau had a respectable run as the head coach of the Montreal Canadiens. He was there for two full seasons. In 2006-07, the Habs just missed the postseason after losing the final game of the year to the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Habs power play is a huge problem right now but certainly wasn’t when Carbonneau was the team’s head coach.

Carbonneau’s second full season as bench boss of the Habs was one of the most successful regular seasons we saw in Montreal in many, many years. The team unexpectedly finished first overall in the Eastern Conference standings with 104 points. The Habs hosted Game 1 of a playoff series for the first time since they won the Stanley Cup in 1993.

The Canadiens beat the Boston Bruins in the first round but fell in round two to the Philadelphia Flyers. The terrific regular season led to some unrealistic expectations as the Canadiens entered their centennial season.

The team was off to a 35-24-7 start which had them on pace for 96 points. That wasn’t good enough for a team that had Stanley Cup aspirations, though they were decimated by injuries and their 21 year old starting goaltender Carey Price was having a difficult time dealing with the Stanley Cup or failure expectations during his first full NHL season.

With the Habs unable to meet the sky-high expectations Carbonneau was let go and Bob Gainey stepped back behind the bench. The Habs had a record of 124-83-23 in two and a half seasons with Carbonneau as their head coach. He inherited a team that squeaked into the playoffs and was fired because he couldn’t win the Stanley Cup in three years.

Carbonneau has not been busy working with NHL teams since he left Montreal. He worked in the media for some time but would be jumping back into coaching after being on the sidelines for a few years.

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