Am I the only fan that thinks this is a good thing....
We have a guy that built a year in-year out contender in Ottawa (without a goaltender) and though he was gone when they went to the Cup final, he built that team from the bottom up and developped guys like Alfredsson and Spezza since they came into the league....
He is top 10 all-time for wins by a coach, 4 time finalist of the Jack Adams, but he's a brutal coach as per everyone else's opinions....come see me in December when the HABS are fighting for the conference lead with a bunch of no-name youngsters.
I am also glad that Rollie the Goalie is gone....he is obvisouly the reason that last 12 years of Montreal goaltenders have gone downhill....c'mon, Thibault was a top 10 prospect in the mid 90's, Theodore was a former Hart and Vezina trophy winner...it's a definite that your skill doesn't disappear overnight.
I would love to see Francois Allaire back with the HABS. He is the best goaltending coach of all-time, and showed St. Patrick the ropes, and he became the best clutch goaltender of all-time in the playoffs...with Allaire backing Price in his development, expect Price to be fighting for the Vezina for the next 15 years...
This guy has connections to Bouwmeester, Havlat, Hossa and knows the ice from a GMs perspective as well, which will help in his return to the bench (you hear many players that sit down for a few games, and view the game from "up top" and they have a new found love for the game)....he is bilingual which is a necessity in Montreal, and knows other GMs and players around the league that he may believe can fit into his system in Montreal....expect more Canadian and francophone talent over the UFA season.
Can't wait for our second ranked (in the NHL) prospect system to develop under an actual NHL experienced coach who is good with the young guys....everything is positive with this hiring....
Personally, I would rather see a boring, trapping defensive 2-1 win for Montreal (and many other wins of that kind) over high-scoring 6-5 contests where Price is left out to dry (like most of last year).