The Canadiens’ head coach seemed both in good spirits and shape as he fielded the question from the media today at lunch time. There is no doubt that he will be back behind the bench come training camp and this is what I took away from his press conference.
On his health He did not have a heart attack, he experienced chest pains. (There was some confusion on this after Bergevin used the words “cardiac arrest… in his presser on Saturday but the coach set the record straight). He woke up the nigh after game 1 against Philadelphia and didn’t feel right. At first, he thought it was heartburn but as it just wasn’t going away he consulted with the team’s health professionals; Graham Rybend and doctor Mulder. Both encouraged him to seek medical attention at the hospital and after weighting the options and considering the consequences (coming out of the bubble and leaving the team), he elected to go because health and family has to come first. He received great care at St. Michael’s hospital, they saw that one of his arteries was partly blocked and that a stent needed to be put in place which was done by 1:00 PM on that day.
Julien now feels 100% and there are no medical reasons to prevent him from coaching next season. He will have to make some adjustments, exercise and nutrition wise but that’s about it. He said that other coaches in the NHL have had the same procedure and they are fine. Had the Canadiens made it to round 2, he would have been back behind the bench.
On the coaching after he left the bubble Essentially, he stated that Muller, Richardson and Ducharme did a great job. The plan which they had in place was followed and he ensured to step back a bit because there’s nothing worst than a back-seat driver. He wanted to make sure that Muller was comfortable coaching and considering both he and the other 2 coaches have head-coaching experience, it wasn’t hard to do.
On Danault’s comments In today’s hockey, you need everyone to be able to produce. I’m never going to tell Philip Danault that he needs to focus solely on defense. You need secondary scoring, we’re headed for a situation where we’ll be better at centre than we’ve ever been. He’s able to play good hockey at both ends of the ice and I want that to carry one.
On the increased role of the young players and the possibility that veterans will feel threatened Young players will be taking on a bigger role that’s a fact but as a coach you want to install a mindset. You do not want your players to be more concerned about themselves and their stats than the results or the team. The youngsters will help us win at the end of the day. Our goal is always to win, this is when our jobs are the most fun, ask a 90 points getter whose team’s always losing, he won’t tell you he’s having fun. We’re not yet satisfied with what happened because the end game is to win a championship, but we’re seeing encouraging signs.
On if he’s concerned about having so many players in a contract year next season It’s not my job to deal with contracts, my job is to get the best out of our players. When players are on a contract year, they want to be at their best to increase their opportunities, they want to maximize the contract they’ll be able to get. Marc has never told me how to coach players so I certainly will not tell him how to deal with contracts.
On whether he’s been involved in the discussion for what’s to come Not so much about the draft no because that’s not my role. I haven’t seen the prospects play. But as far as discussions about where we’re headed and the direction we want to take, of course. We’re always going to try to improve our team by whichever means necessary. It can be through young players taking a step forward or even through trades. Of course, that’s easier said than done but we always want to improve our team.
On Jeff Petry’s comment that a big body who could create havoc in the attacking zone would be useful It never hurts to be bigger but you have to be efficient too. We’re going to try to improve in any possible way. What happens with free agency, the development of young players all that can have an influence. I think Kotkaniemi play in the bubble is sustainable. Maturity has played a huge role (for him), he went away and he took matters in his own hands. You have to remember that he came into the league at 18, from Europe, not used to playing as many games as here. Here he’s been playing with men and guys who were also mentally more mature. He worked hard and progressed in his development and that is all down to him.
On whether Max Domi is on the same page as the organization and on Nick Suzuki: Domi came to Montreal very excited to be here and it did transpire in his first season, it can happen that a guy has a great season followed by one that isn’t as good as the last. That being said, he still had a decent production. He just didn’t shoot as much, he likes being a playmaker and he went away from that shooting mentality, that’s what needs to change, it’s a small adjustment to get him back on track. He’s definitely a better player at centre. We tried to have 4 lines to roll in the playoffs so we put him on a line with Weise and Weal but it didn’t work. Eventually, we had to put him on the wing to try and get some production out of him. Nick Suzuki is also much better at centre than on the wing, he’s been a very good centreman for us. You don’t necessarily like to make comparisons but a comparable that comes to mind is David Krejci, he’s a really cerebral player, really smooth that does everything right. He comes up big in important games, it was Krejci who lead the Bruins in points during their 2011 cup run.
Second of the game for Nick Suzuki (@nsuzuki_37), fourth of the #StanleyCup Playoffs.
— NHL (@NHL) August 22, 2020
🇺🇸: https://t.co/L2548FYPJB @NHLonNBCSports
🇨🇦: https://t.co/iAkKU3F5y3 @Sportsnet pic.twitter.com/PyufjIh5j8
On the team “turning a corner… Yes, we’ve seen a team that’s starting to turn a corner. The guys never gave up, our young guys are starting to bridge the gap with our vets when it comes to their impact on the game. But if you recall, we didn’t have a bad start to the season, things went south when we lost Byron and Drouin in the same game against Washington. The young guys weren’t quite ready to take over yet but it was different in the playoffs. What’s important is to keep pushing forward and finish turning that corner. We knew what was coming at training camp, the guys looked really excited to be in the playoffs. KK was skating well, he had found his rhythm, Suzuki was well rested. Price and Weber…we saw a team that wanted to perform well. Our veterans did well as leaders and the young guys did what they needed to do to be part of a winning team.
On what the team needs going forward Some adjustments need to be made. We feel that a well rested Carey Price is an unbelievable goaltender and that’s what we need in the playoffs so we need to be mindful of that when we chose his back-up. We need someone who’ll be able to take some of the workload off him. Romanov coming next year will also help, it will make our D core deeper. Our team when it’s at its best has 4 lines pushing the pace. Hopefully, we can get a bit of depth up front to do that.
So, what are the highlights of that press conference? Clearly, the team is putting a lot of value in the information it gathered on its players during the playoffs. Julien’s comments also made it quite clear that Max Domi’s future is probably elsewhere. When asked about Domi, he said that he was a better player at centre but when he was talking about his team’s depth at centre, he mentioned Suzuki, Danault and Kotkaniemi. In fact, his comments on Domi almost sounded like a sales pitch to other teams, highlighting his strong sides so that Bergevin’s phone rings. From his other comments, it’s likely that Domi will be used to get some much needed help on the wings. It’s no secret, I would like to see Domi stay with the team as a winger but if he can be used properly as a bargaining chip to get an impact player for the wings, then I’ll be fine with it. It remains to be seen what he could fetch if he was traded while unsigned but there’s always the possibility of a sign and trade as well…
In closing, props to Tony Marinaro for asking the tough question about Max Domi. That was the last question taken and probably the most revealing one. It probably wasn't Julien's favorite question but it was definitely one that interested the fans. While Julien sidestepped the part about Domi's social media, he did say enough for us to be able to draw our own conclusions.