Guy Carbonneau wore the captain’s “C” and won the Stanley Cup in 1993 with the Canadiens. In his second career, Carbonneau found himself behind the CH bench in the role of head coach for nearly three years (2006-2007 to March 2009).
“Carbo”, who was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in November 2019 in Toronto, has already put on Claude Julien’s shoes.
When Le Journal contacted him to react to Julien’s hospitalization due to chest pain, the 60-year-old had a good thought for the current head coach of the Habs.
“Everyone wants Claude to be healthy,” said the former number 21 who was on a golf course. We will wait to know the results. We hope it will not be serious. It is never an easy thing. The coaches, we are a small fraternity. We all want to support each other. I think of Claude, I wish him to get up quickly. ”
Carbonneau knows full well that coaching in the NHL comes with a fair amount of stress.
“When you are a head coach in the NHL, regardless of the team, there is a great level of stress,” he replied. In Canada, it’s probably on another level. Hockey is a religion for us. We eat, we sleep, but we are not always able to forget this job when we come home. We always think of our team when we coach in the NHL. ”
Muller will do the job
In Carbonneau’s eyes, Marc Bergevin made the right decision by handing the team on an interim basis to Kirk Muller.
“I know Kirk very well, as a teammate, but also as a coach,” said Carbonneau. Kirk previously served as a head coach in the NHL with the Hurricanes. He has a job. At this time of year, in the midst of the playoffs, they’ve already put together a good game plan. He has a good idea of Claude’s strategies. I trust Kirk will be able to do the same. ”
► Before obtaining the position in Montreal for the 2006-2007 season, Carbonneau had acted as assistant twice with the CH. A first time in 2001-2002 with Michel Therrien and a second time for the last months of the 2005-2006 season. That year, Bob Gainey fired Julien and replaced him behind the bench. He had invited Carbonneau to join him as an assistant before giving him the team the following year.
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