Good Riddance!!!!
June 1st, 2009 by FrankIt has been reported that Florida Panthers General Manager Jacques Martin (Uncle Jack to you) will be announced as the new head coach of the Montreal Canadiens at a press conference this afternoon that is scheduled for 2:00 pm.
YIKES! I mean what are the Canadiens thinking? If it is just because Jacques speaks french, there certainly are other candidates out there. The normally high flying Canadiens are now to become a defensive minded bore!
According to Sun Media’s Bruce Garrioch, Jacques has stepped down due to the financial instability of the Florida Panthers and that there is a possibility that the team may be sold.
Personally I think he does not want to stick around for the lambasting he’s going to get for losing Jay Bouwmeester for nothing, but who am I? Plus he must feel more comfortable as a head coach than a GM.
The only problem with this is that this decision/announcement has come one day too late. I think that Joe Nieuwendyk who just took the GM post with the Dallas Stars would have been perfect.
I have not heard, or seen yet as to who the candidates are for this position, however I can only hope that it is someone with experience who is going to at least let Peter DeBoer stay on as coach.
Who would be a good person for this position? Well someone that comes in is going to have to know that this organization can be referred to as a circus, country club, tragic novel, or just a complete joke of the NHL. Not sure who is going to want to step into that.
Possible candidates? Rick Dudley (hope not), Randy Sextion (hope not), Jacques Lemaire, Doug McClean (hope not), Pierre McGuire (hope not).
It would be kind of ironic if Cohen brought back Mike Keenan who is available, but I seriously doubt that would happen. It is going to be curious to see who the candidates are and who ultimately gets the job.
The reality of it all is that the future of the Florida Panthers is probably riding on this decision.
Which brings me to close by saying, I’d be happy to take the position at a discount. Plus I live 10 minutes from the Bank Atlantic Center!
Stay tuned!
Thanks for reading!
P.S.Uncle Jack, if you need help cleaning out your office, and getting a ride to the airport I will gladly arrange my schedule and help you out! It’s the least I can do.
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2 Responses to “Good Riddance!!!!”
By Jason Chen on Jun 1, 2009
Jacques Lemaire I believe has retired from hockey completely so I think you can cross him off the list. One guy I think that the Panthers might contact is, following the trend of hiring former players as GMs, is Scott Mellanby, who has worked in the Canucks’ front office for the past year.
On another note, could you imagine if the Habs get Bouwmeester? Martin and Bouwmeester didn’t get along famously in Florida, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility.
By Frank on Jun 1, 2009
I am not sure that Jay wants to play for Jacques again, plus there has always been the talk that Jay is not suited personality wise for a market like Montreal.
I would hope for someone with experience, but not someone like Milbury or McGuire.
I do believe that this decision/choice is one of the most important ones that this franchise makes.