Slumping Montreal Canadiens show head coach Jacques Martin the door -NHL Update
Jacques Martin was freshly inducted on the list of fired coaches in the 2011-2012 National Hockey League (NHL) as the Montreal Canadiens showed their head coach of three seasons the door on Saturday, December 17, 2011, making him the sixth to go this season
and the second in this week alone.
It was certainly a tough call to make for the Montreal Canadiens who have also seen many good days with Martin, but seeing where their team is currently headed, there was possibly no other way of starting the process of rejuvenating their team.
“There’s never a right time or a fun time to do this,” said Montreal general manager, Pierre Gauthier. “I don’t mind admitting I didn’t sleep very much [Friday night].”
At the moment, Montreal is having a tough time doing anything progressive in the season as they stand at the number 12 position in the Eastern Conference with 33 points, tied with their American counterpart, the Washington Capitals in the South East division,
who also let their coach go this year.
Players were also surprised to hear about the decision that really took them right back into reality and take this as a check that they should begin to take the situation seriously if they want to keep their jobs in the future as well when their contracts
expire.
“I’m very surprised, you never want to see anyone lose a job, I know Jacques gave everything he had to this team,” said Montreal defenseman Hal Gill. “This has to be a wake-up call for us.”
Taking this as a time to think hard about how his team is playing, Montreal captain, Brian Gionta, believes that the need of the moment is change.
“Everybody needs to be on board,” said Gionta. “If they’re not, it doesn’t matter what kind of system you have.”
Montreal will be coached by assistant general manager, Larry Carriere, for the remaining of the season for now if they see some improvement or could also find a more suitable replacement if he does not fit the portfolio either.
Seeing Montreal with a different coach will take fans and players time to get acquainted with, but the Canadiens team had to do what they taught was right in respects of team interest.
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