The NHL definitely seems to have a problem on their hands, related to their newfound regulations regarding the Covid-19 Vaccine. For the most part though, the Montreal Canadiens have managed to steer clear of such an issue.
I don’t wish to get into the ethics behind the Vaccine or certain people’s decision to not receive it, as that’s a topic for a different website/paper. What I am here to talk about, however, is former Hamilton Bulldogs, St. John’s IceCaps and Laval Rocket head coach Sylvain Lefebvre, who has now inexplicably found himself at the forefront of this vaccine controversy. After spending the past three seasons as an assistant coach with the AHL’s San Diego Gulls, Lefebvre was hired as an assistant coach for the Columbus Blue Jackets, marking a mostly clean slate behind the Columbus bench after a disastrous 2020-21 season.
Yet, after deciding to not get the Covid-19 vaccine, Lefebvre was promptly fired, thus ending his all-to-brief return to an NHL bench. With an uncertain, if not entirely grim future should he continue to abide by this decision, it almost makes you forget about Lefebvre’s lengthy and rocky tenure as head coach of the Canadiens AHL affiliates, one which, when looked back upon, only adds fuel to the fire in regard to Lefebvre’s current controversies.
A former undrafted pickup by the Canadiens out the QMJHL’s Laval Titan, Lefebvre spent 14 seasons in the NHL with five different teams, his first three seasons of which were spent in Montreal. In between a Stanley Cup Ring with the Colorado Avalanche in 1996, Lefebvre finished his career in the Swiss-A league after a mostly forgetful stint with an identity-crisis ridden, mid-2000s New York Rangers team.
Originally being named an assistant coach with the Lake Erie Monsters, Lefebvre found his way back to Montreal after a three-season stint as an assistant with the Colorado Avalanche. Almost immediately, things got off to a rocky start, and try as he might, that would be the precedent for Lefebvre’s entire six-season tenure as the bench boss of the Habs farm teams, from 2012-13 to 2017-18. As an oft-mentioned fan of the AHL and it’s history, I became all-too familiar with Lefebvre’s tenure as it dragged on and on with little results.
The Canadiens AHL rosters from this period were definitely a product of Montreal’s still dubious reputation for development, throwing top prospects and or first round picks to the Wolves against a backdrop of middling veterans, with the occasional talented roster being depleted quickly by a less-than talented Canadiens roster. The trickle effect that a number of NHL organizations have struggled with, has reached something of a precipice in Montreal time and time again, which naturally made things difficult for Lefebvre and his staff.
In his first season, the Bulldogs roster was little more than some inexperienced rookies mixed with a few underachieving AHL veterans. Long-time offensive options in Joey Tenute and Mike Blunden did their best but had little to work with beyond an impressive breakout season from former fifth round pick Gabriel Dumont. Future A strong start from WHL product Brendan Gallagher (yes, that Brendan Gallagher) resulted in a call-up to Montreal thus leaving Hamilton scrambling. Aside from a few surprises from ECHL pick-up Alex Belzile (yes, that Alex Belzile) and a six-goalie juggling act that saw Scott Darling get into a game (yes, that Scott Darling), the Rocket limped to a 29-41-6 record after a Conference Finals appearance the season prior.
Over the next two seasons, this penchant for mixing unproven rookies with both under and overachieving AHL veterans would make up the Bulldogs final two seasons, with long-time AHL all-stars in Martin St. Pierre and T.J Hensick making up the bulk of Hamilton’s offense. Offset this with the emergence of rookies like Sven Andrighetto, Greg Pateryn, Charles Hudon and Nathan Beaulieu, and there was reason to believe that Lefebvre would eventually be able to turn things around. Come the 2015-16 season, the Canadiens announced they would be moving affiliates to St. John’s, where they would maintain the name of the Winnipeg Jets prior affiliate, the IceCaps.
Now at the forefront of the NHL’s Covid-19 vaccine controversy, here’s a look back at Sylvain Lefebvre’s history as head coach of the Canadiens AHL teams.
While there was hope that a new location would produce some improved results, things ultimately wouldn’t come that easy. Once again, the IceCaps were led by an unassuming AHL veteran in George ‘Bud’ Holloway, whilst fresh prospects like Michael McCarron and Nikita Scherbak made their professional debuts. However, as I mentioned earlier, the lack of success from the Canadiens that season led to St. John’s roster being thoroughly depleted by call-ups and trades. In the end, Lefebvre turned to ECHL call-ups in Andrew Yogan and Stefan Fournier to get the job done, with AHL contracted goalie Edward Pasquale taking the starters reigns after a disappointing start from top prospect Zach Fucale.
In his final two seasons, Lefebvre wound up on completely opposite ends of the spectrum, subsequently leading a Canadiens affiliate to the playoffs, and then swiftly to the cellar. The 2016-17 IceCaps was the first time I truly followed one of the Habs affiliates closely over the season, and they were a fun team to watch. Couple this with strong seasons from both the Canadiens (led by KHL import Alexander Radulov) and ECHL affiliate, the Brampton Beast (led by Fucale) all three Canadiens affiliates made their respective post-seasons. While their season was far from perfect, the Rocket benefited from a solid defensive system and reliable offense, coupled with the addition of franchise forward Chris Terry, who finished second in AHL scoring behind Kenny Agostino.
With rookie Charlie Lindgren bringing consistency in goal, the IceCaps nearly upset the top seeded Syracuse Crunch in a hard-fought qualifying round, after clinching a playoff spot on the last day of the regular season. With the Canadiens switching affiliates once more, becoming the Laval Rocket heading into the 2017-18 season, expectations were high, yet things couldn’t have gone more wrong. I’ve talked about this in detail in the past, but I still cannot over-emphasize just how poor the Rocket’s inaugural season was.
Over the time I’ve been covering this professional hockey landscape more closely, I’d rank it up there as one of the worst seasons I’ve had the displeasure of witnessing, culminating in a season ending 12 (yes, 12) game losing streak. While early returns were great as the Rocket iced a star-studded roster featuring the likes of Peter Holland, Scherbak, Daniel Carr, Jakub Jerabek, Terry, and Adam Cracknell, another poor start for the Canadiens led to the Rocket roster being thoroughly drained in every sense of the word.
By season’s end, Lefebvre was struggling to ice a full roster each night, at one point resorting to SPHL call-ups and even U-sports players when all else failed, given us such notable names as Jackson Leef, Etienne Boutet, and Tye Felhaber. While it ultimately gave a few players some great opportunities (with Terry winning the AHL scoring title in the process) Lefebvre’s fate was set in stone. At season’s end, he was relieved of his duties, as the Rocket finished dead last in the entire AHL.
In the modern day, the Rocket have managed a complete 180 under former head coach Joel Bouchard, clinching a Canadian Division title in 2020-21 with one of the best winning percentages in the AHL. While Bouchard has now taken the reigns in San Diego, new head coach Jean-Francois Houle has some promise behind him, with assistants in veterans like Kelly Buchberger helping round things out. While Lefebvre did his best to give the Habs competitive AHL teams, he obviously didn’t try hard enough, and it unfortunately set a precedent for mediocrity concerning the Canadiens and their affiliates, which Bouchard has managed to turn around.
With an emphasis placed on development as the AHL heads into 2021-22 and beyond, the future looks bright for the Rocket as the Canadiens continue to develop their top prospects close to that fabled Bell Centre Ice. Yet, just as quickly as Sylvain Lefebvre has found himself out of a job once more, at the forefront of the NHL’s Covid controversies, the Canadiens affiliates could similarly return to a time I’m sure most Bulldogs, IceCaps, or Rocket fans, would like to forget.