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A possible addition to the Montreal Canadiens coaching staff in the future?

By Omar L |
MONTREAL, QC - OCTOBER 15: Tomas Plekanec #14 of the Montreal Canadiens raises his arm in appreciation for playing in his 1000th career NHL game against the Detroit Red Wings at the Bell Centre on October 15, 2018 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Montreal Canadiens defeated the Detroit Red Wings 7-3. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
MONTREAL, QC - OCTOBER 15: Tomas Plekanec #14 of the Montreal Canadiens raises his arm in appreciation for playing in his 1000th career NHL game against the Detroit Red Wings at the Bell Centre on October 15, 2018 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Montreal Canadiens defeated the Detroit Red Wings 7-3. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)

Tomas Plekanec’s time with the Montreal Canadiens will never be forgotten, and with coaching on his mind, he may be a bench addition of the future.

One of the scariest questions for anyone is, “What’s next?” That question has hung around the Montreal Canadiens organization without a clear sign of an answer as of it.

It’s equally as alarming and confusing for professional players who choose to hang up the skates, shoes, or cleats. However, some find a way to keep themselves emersed in the game, whether it’s in management, broadcasting, or coaching.

If you take a look around the league, many names in each field are former players. Kevin Bieksa has just started doing work for Sportsnet while Steve Yzerman was a hockey star now turned star general manager. Montreal’s own general manager Marc Bergevin played over 1000 games in the NHL while Rod Brind’Amour is setting his mark as the Carolina Hurricanes’ head coach after bringing a championship to the city as a player in 2006.

So it would make sense for Tomas Plekanec to want to pursue a similar path.

This comes from TVA Sports, who had an interview with the 37-year-old who voiced his desire to coach after he retires. The plan is to play another two or three seasons before taking courses in the Czech Republic to pursue coaching.

One of the interesting things about the interview was who Plekanec said he would emulate in his coaching.

As a coach, I will certainly not be in the same style as Michel Therrien! I will be a mix between Jacques Martin and Claude Julien (translated).

Not a surprise to see Therrien get the cold shoulder here. His time with the Montreal Canadiens was long and polarizing that led to years of playoff hockey, including the deep run to the Eastern Conference in 2014, but there was a lot of negativity that came out with it.

Therrien’s relationships with his players didn’t appear to be as clean as fans hoped it would, and it showed up in their play. So much so that Bergevin pulled the plug on him halfway through the 2016-17 season even though the Canadiens were first in the Atlantic Division.

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That Montreal team started the year strong going 13-1-1 and unfortunately fizzled out afterwards with an 18-18-7 record.

Plekanec mentioned in the interview that it was the pressure he put on players that made things difficult. The pressure model worked to some extent. Again, Therrien got Montreal and Pittsburgh into the playoffs more often than not, including a trip to the Stanley Cup Final in 2008 with the Penguins.

However, the “pressure model” of head coaching has a short shelf-life. Therrien was out of the coaching scene for two years but is now an assistant head coach with the Philadelphia Flyers.

Fast-forwarding things a bit, could Tomas Plekanec ever find his way behind a Montreal Canadiens bench as a coach?

Plekanec and the Habs have a long history that started in 2001 when they drafted him 71st overall. He went on to play 1001 NHL games, 984 of them with Montreal. And even when he was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs, he returned in the offseason wanting to finish things in the NHL as a Montreal Canadien.

Having Plekanec behind the bench in Montreal would conjure a similar warm feeling having Brind’Amour behind the bench does in Carolina. It wasn’t smooth sailings to get to where he is, though. Brind’Amour was an assistant and development coach with the Hurricanes for seven years before taking the main mantle in 2018.

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At the same time, not everyone is suited to coach, especially in the NHL. But if Plekanec has shown fans, anything is how resilient and determined he can be. Getting a feel for the role in the Czech Republic will be a likely route, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Montreal Canadiens extend a helping hand down the line to get his feet wet.

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