Montreal Canadiens Roster a Familiar One for Interim Coach Kirk Muller

For Montreal Canadiens coach Kirk Muller, his last head coaching job, with the Carolina Hurricanes, is one that is very reminiscent of this current roster.

In my opinion, there’s no better example of the Stanley Cup hangover, than the 2005-06 Carolina Hurricanes. Prior to this season, the Canes had developed a reputation as a solid at times team who had gone through a rough patch the past two seasons. Following the firing of Paul Maurice nearing the end of the 2003-04 season, new head coach Peter Laviolette took a group of young, unproven forwards to a 52-22-8 record and a subsequent Stanley Cup Championship, led by rookie backup turned starter Cam Ward.

Despite this, in the 14 years since that Cup victory, Carolina has only made the playoffs three times, ending a nine-year drought last season off the back of 2005-06 captain Rod Brind’Amour. In that span, the Hurricanes went through four coaches, struggling to move on from the roster of that championship team.

In the middle of that drought, however, sat a familiar face to Montreal Canadiens fans. The news of Claude Julien’s health scare, and subsequent hospitalization that will keep him away from the Habs first round series against the Philadelphia Flyers, is one that definitely shocked most fans. In his absence, associate coach Kirk Muller has been named interim head coach, and he looked good in his debut, leading the Habs to a 5-0 win in game two on Sunday.

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Muller has his fair share of experience as a coach in the NHL, starting from being named an assistant for the Habs in 2006-07, to his only NHL head coaching job, with the Carolina Hurricanes. Following a mediocre three-year tenure under current Jets head coach Paul Maurice, Muller was giving the reigns following a 10-6 start to the year with the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals.

In his three-year tenure with the team, the Canes never made the playoffs, suffering from the same woes that plagued them up until the days of Sebastian Aho and Dougie Hamilton. A roster mainly made up of underwhelming first round picks and former stars was the order of the day for the team, and its one that got stale rather quick. Despite leading the club to a solid 25-20 record in the second half of the 2011-12 season, Carolina never managed more than 36 wins in a season under Muller.

In many ways, this is a situation reminiscent of the Canadiens at the moment, who for most if not all of this year remained trapped in the .500 bubble. They were unable to go on any lengthy winning streaks to push them further into a playoff picture. In the end, they made it into the NHL qualifiers as the 24th and final team, upsetting the Pittsburgh Penguins in four games to get where they are now. However, that doesn’t mean the issues the Canadiens have struggled with aren’t still issues, and they are ones the Hurricanes themselves once dealt with.

In modern day, Carolina has been one of many NHL teams utilizing a two-goalie system, with former Detroit Red Wings starter Petr Mrazek having split duties with Curtis McElhinney last year and James Reimer this year. Before this, Ward was taking most of, if not all starts, playing 60 games or more five times in his 13 seasons with the team. Similarly, Carey Price has been the Canadiens sole option in net this year, with the team’s last proper backup being Al Montoya in 2016-17. At the moment, long-time AHL starter Charlie Lindgren is the “backup”, but its extremely unlikely he’ll see any action as long as Price is healthy. So far in these playoffs, Price has been playing some of his best hockey, recording a 4-2 record with a 1.46 GAA and two shutouts.

The youth movement of the modern Hurricanes is something the NHL is seeing more and more of these days. Carolina has become one of the more exciting teams in the NHL, utilizing an offense made up of Aho, Hamilton, Teuvo Teravainen, and Andrei Svechnikov just to name a few. It’s a drastic change from Canes team of the past, which, as stated, were comprised mainly of first round projects who simply never worked out. Forwards like former 13th pick Jiri Tlusty and 21st pick Riley Nash had their moments, but just served as examples of a roster that was lacking in offensive star power.

Eric Staal, the 100 point-man in 2005-06 watched as his stock fell further and further on these Hurricanes team, resulting in an underwhelming 2015-16 season. For the most part, the Canadiens roster is built around similar first round projects, like Max Domi and Philip Danault. This, for the most part, is starting to pay off off huge dividends, with both becoming key pieces of Montreal’s lineup. It’s a strategy which requires good coaching and scouting to work, as increased playing time and a subsequent larger role within the team can lead to players finally realizing their potential, as has been the case with Domi, Danault, and the majority of the Canes core.

In the end, it will be interesting to see how things play out for both teams, with the Habs set to play the Flyers in game three Sunday night, and the Hurricanes set to play the Boston Bruins in game four of their series on Monday. If Friday’s game showed us anything, its that Muller can certainly be trusted in a head coaching role for the time being, as the Habs look to take the series lead in game three. Experience is the name of the game in these NHL playoffs, and Kirk Muller has certainly had his experience with a Hurricanes roster similar to this current Canadiens team.