Guy Carbonneau Didn’t Expect to Get Fired

It took a week but Guy Carbonneau has finally talked about being fired as the head coach for the Montreal Canadiens.  “I’m definitely not happy,” he said yesterday in a press conference.  “I didn’t expect it.  I thought we were going in the right direction, despite the fact that we were struggling for a while. Upset? It’s the first time I got fired, so it’s new to me. But everybody that knows me knows I’m a pretty positive person. The sun always comes up… I definitely didn’t see this coming because I felt we were going in the right direction. But Bob Gainey decided otherwise and I must accept his decision.  I’d like to turn the page and move on.”

I have to admit that, I too, was surprised when they let Carbonneau go.  I thought that the team had hit a rough patch, for sure, but that it was part of the normal ups and downs that teams go through in a season.  I know the coach is in charge of the team but the players need to be held accountable too.   It’s a fact that, before the All-Star break, they had won just three of 15 contests but then they started to recover.  Right before Carbonneau was fired, they won five of the seven games they had played.  Plus, Montreal had some real problems with injuries for a while so I’m sure that played a role as well.  I think sometimes GMs just get so engrossed in the whole push to the playoffs that they start making changes without fully thinking them through.

Since GM Bob Gainey took over the team, they have gone 1-1-2 and the Habs fans have been chanting “Car-bo! Car-bo!” during games.  I don’t blame them – this was a really stupid mistake.  Carbonneau called the support “flattering” and added “It meant I did a lot of good things. Maybe not all great things, but good things. I’m happy for that.”

I don’t know what is going to happen now.  Some are saying that Gainey should stay on as head coach through next season (MISTAKE!) or find a new guy.  I know that Don Lever was brought up from the AHL as an assistant coach but the man doesn’t speak French.   I am a native Montrealer and, let me tell you, hiring him as head coach would be a HUGE catastrophe.  Montreal is a serious hockey town and if he can’t attend press conferences and answer questions on his own, there is going to be a riot.  Doesn’t anyone remember when there was that huge ruckus over Habs captain (and native of Finland), Saku Koivu, not being able to speak French after all these years?  If you thought that was ridiculous, wait till you see the nightmare that will erupt when a Canadian-born coach can’t parle français.

When asked about this, Carbonneau joked that “if he spoke only Chinese it may be easier (the man’s got a point – seriously).  Look, we live in a place where 80 per cent of the people speak French. For sure, it’s a plus. For many years now, it was something very important and it’s still important, but it depends on the candidates. They should chose the best one, no matter what language he speaks.”

I say Gainey should swallow his pride, apologize and ask Carbonneau to take his job back.