Habs/Bulldogs Lose a Tremendous Talent, Columbus Gains One
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Updates will appear at the bottom
According to
Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch, the Blue Jackets have concluded their search for a new coach and have settled on the head coach of the Montreal Canadiens AHL affiliate, the Hamilton Bulldogs.
That man, of course, is Guy Boucher.
Alot of talk has transpired over the last few weeks whether Boucher would opt for greener pastures in the NHL or if he was simply going to stick it out for another year in Hamilton before being given his shot behind the Canadiens bench.
The general thought was that the Habs were not going to remain committed to Martin for too long and that eventually Boucher and his staff would wind up in Montreal.
But these expectations were contingent on Boucher wanting to remain in the Canadiens system. Clearly, when given the chance, Guy did not want to pass up his first opportunity to coach at the highest level possible.
It's hard to blame him for leaving Hamilton in the AHL for Columbus in the NHL, but Habs fans will certainly be disappointed.
It was never said publicly, but everyone knew that Boucher had been tabbed as the "next" coach of the Habs.
Yet management and the franchise were never going to stand in the way of Boucher's ability to grow as a coach and to seek greater opportunities elsewhere.
So, to the dismay of Hamilton Bulldog and Montreal Canadiens fans everywhere, Guy Boucher has departed for greener pastures(or is that bluer?).
For Columbus fans, you can start to get very excited about getting an extremely personable, well-liked and extremely relate-able coach.
Boucher was hailed in Hamilton this season for the work he did with all of the Canadiens prospects and for leading the Bulldogs to the of the AHL and all the way to the Conference Finals.
His lack of NHL experience shouldn't be of that much concern as Boucher has seen success at every level of coaching in his career thus far. Columbus is certainly a "project" in terms of Guy being able to put together a teat that meets his standards, but that process will begin immediately upon his introduction to the team.
With the draft coming up and Free Agency looming, Columbus GM Scott Howson will have to give Boucher a crash-course on everything that is the Blue Jackets franchise, but this may be the best move that Howson can make this summer. If anything, Boucher's addition will give Howson better insight into the players that they will pursue this summer.
The fact that the search for a new coach in Columbus has already come to an end is a great sign for the franchise. An even better sign is the man they have hired to guide the team.
The Blue Jackets have a gem of a rookie coach on their hands and, as much as having a 'rookie' behind the bench can be nerve-racking, Boucher won't let you down and fans will quickly learn that he is the right man for the job.
With this news today, here are a couple of questions for Blue Jacket fans and Habs fans:
- One very interesting aspect of the Boucher hire in Columbus will be to see whether or not he gets to bring any of his staff from Hamilton with him. Namely, my former elementary gym teacher, Martin Raymond. As pleased as I am to see Guy earn a chance in the NHL, I hope that Marty gets his chance to. He was an extremely successful coach of the University of McGill Redmen in Montreal and worked in perfect synch with Boucher in Hamilton.
Update 12:50pm: According to Mr.Portzline, Boucher has not yet formally accepted the Blue Jackets offer and will be mulling it over the weekend. He will likely make his decision by early in the week.
I expect Boucher to accept the offer.
If he doesn't accept the chance to become the Blue Jackets head coach I can only imagine that it means that the Canadiens have other plans about how to use him next season, either as an assistant or, perhaps, the head coach in Montreal?
Update 1:50pm
It would appear that Boucher has seemingly accepted the position with the Blue Jackets as the Canadiens appear to have already offered the Head Coach job in Hamilton to Kirk Muller. According to Eric Engels, Muller has already turned down that offer and is now mulling a 2 year deal with the Habs and a possible opporunity to become the next head coach of the Lightning.
It's all very confusing just now, but given that information has leaked that Muller has rejected the job in Hamilton, that all but guarantees that Boucher has accepted the job in Hamilton.
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