Montreal Canadiens part ways with coach JF Houle | Is Pascal Vincent the top replacement candidate?
hello everyone and inside today’s emergency lockedown Canadians the Canadians and the rocket are looking for a new head coach you’re locked on Canadians your daily podcast on the Montreal Canadians part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day hello everybody and welcome to a very very slightly panicked episode 1095 of locked on Canadians we are your daily Montreal Canadians podcast part of the locked on podcast Network where you get your team every single day of the week on Google Apple Spotify wherever you get your podcast or on youtube.com and we are also brought to you by ultimate hockey GM today if you’ve ever dreamed of being an NHL GM and managing your own hockey franchises well now you came with ultimate hockey GM it’s completely free and locked on users get 100% free boost to their franchise when using the promo code locked on NHL in the Game Store to download the game just visit hockey gm. apppp or look it up in the App Stores ultimate hockey GM start your Dynasty today I am your host I am Scott Mata and I am trying to wrap my head around a whole lot of things today I’m actually working a half day my regular job today but this news came in and I dropped everything because this was something that we had to get to very quickly uh it’s been quiet in Montreal there were a lot of AHL signings then and all of a sudden things kind of slowed down a little bit the the big news of today is less than a full month after signing a three-year contract extension to remain as head coach of the Laval rocket uh head coach Jean franah hul has uh mutually agreed to part ways with the Montreal Canadians and the lval rocket uh for a new opportunity at Clarkson University uh we’ll get into the candidates and such uh in our second segment there this might just be you know one and a half segments of just kind of free flowing Consciousness on things because there’s a lot to kind of process with this because it came out of nowhere and the first question is well you know why why would the Canadians and the rocket agree to bring this coach back if he was going to up and leave the biggest thing is he took a job at Clarkson University his Alma where he played hockey and a team who just lost their own head coach to Cornell University and they were looking to bring things in so they can uh kind of staunch that bleeding a little bit uh in terms of losing potential players in the transfer portal and such and bringing in a guy who played there and has professional coaching experience a lot of professional coaching experience now is a big deal uh it’s tough timing but also I think what people might be missing in this is this Clarkson job did not exist when H um resigned with this organization they went through the uh press conference and the reintroductions and everything like that this was not a job that existed out there at the time it came up in the last week or so after uh Clarkson’s coach left to go to courland or not courland Cornell like I was saying and I they like very likely reached out and uh Chris Peter said this on Twitter is that College Hockey coaching jobs pay very well likely very very well compared to AHL coaching jobs and I was having this discussion with some folks in the eyes on the prize slack chat as well as that it’s not that the Montreal Canadians and the rocket could not afford to match what he is getting paid there is probably more that leads into this that’s kind of important in the press release from Clarkson it says you know Hol Sun plays lacrosse at Sunni Potsdam which is in the nearby area there it allows him to be closer to his family and it also quite frankly is a lot less travel uh all for several months out of the Year there because you look at when College hockey season starts and how in the window for that compared to the AHL season which he’s going to be starting his coaching duties basically going into develop or would have been into development Camp a little bit of a break then you have rookie Camp into the main training camp or he would have been around for that into AHL training camp into the regular season then potentially the playoffs and everything with that it’s a long time and it’s a lot of time on buses too it’s a long long time to be sitting on buses and to be away from your family as well and like I said he played hockey there which is a big deal that is someone for them to come in and he’s been there he’s been as part of the program and he wants to help get them back to being a more prominent uh face in the NCA I should say and it’s a tough pill to swallow because it is now we are as of the time I’m recording this in when you were hearing this it is Friday afternoon when I’m recording this you will hear this by Friday midafternoon we are a week from the NHL draft there are signings to be made AHL like input to be made and this is now two coaching positions that the rocket need to fill now they uh Kelly buckberg went back to uh be closer with his family which we knew they have to fill his role he mostly worked with the defense and now they need a head coach for the Laval rocket heading into development Camp season the draft and free agency no less they need input from people to hey who should we be bringing back into this AHL lineup and who you dealt with it’s that’s a tough part because the other coaches also got extended with this I believe uh it’s it’s just just the timing is tough and people are going to ask well what’s you know Jean franell who was Legacy with the Laval rocket and I think that he did a very good job building on what Joel bushard had started Joel bushard had kind of gotten he took over this team and they were in a rough spot coming off their first few years under San Lefay uh where the prospect pool wasn’t deep and there were games that I talked to buard went I’m playing with call-ups and guys that are on try out contracts there’s only so much I can do and ask of them against one of the top teams in the league after certain games and then in Bard’s last full season he really got them clicking and started this and then John franah came in and he kept this team rolling got them into the playoffs again made a Deep Run Eastern Conference Final which is impressive it was a team that was well oiled it was deep they were playing for each other there was an intensity a good mix of vets and guys of coming and then some of those veterans moved on and the next year there were some Growing Pains new guys in the forward group some new pieces on defense Kaden Primo was still there sneak into the playoffs at the end of the regular season there losing two games to a UDA team that was firing on all cylinders at the right time in a series where it was Kaden Primo doing everything with the offense just looked tired from playing what it was a essentially playoff hockey for two months trying to make up lost ground and then coming into this year this is the year where I think that people who are on the fence coming into of the season the rocket started poorly a lot of young guys a lot of mistakes and Jean fretz who said it himself give me until December and you’ll see what this team is supposed to look like because guys need time to settle and to adjust and then December rolled around the calendar ticked over and the rocket were one of the best teams in the AHL and then injuries and then just probably some fatigue down the stretch they just barely missed the playoffs in the last few games of the Season it was tough they were a good team but they were inconsistent at places but I think that he really was getting he was getting down to where they needed to be as a team overall uh it’s going to be tough to replace him there are some quality candidates out there but I think the Legacy for someone like Jean Fran H here is that he came in he had to follow a guy that a lot of people liked in this fan base I was a big fan of Joel bushard he was always very honest and upfront with me about a lot of things and he did a good job bouncing them out of what was a huge hole uh in the AHL after almost what five or six years in just error after error by keeping svan lefave there in the mark ban era it wasn’t ideal and bushard started and then who kind of got him to that next level and I think that is a truly impressive thing and now they need someone to continue their work there’s more prospects joining this team you have flori and Jacky you have guys like sha frell and Riley kidney who might need to take that next step you have David reinbacher you might have Logan Mayan you’re gonna have Adam angstrom you’re going to have uh yakob doish in year two there’s a lot of opportunity it’s an appealing job for someone because you’re going to be in a very you’re going to get all the support in the world for the monreal Canadians here and I think that there’s a lot of people who should be potentially lining up for this job we’re going to discuss coming up next who I think some of the top candidates are and what I would hope to see out of that higher and that’s all coming up next but first as I said off the top of the show today’s show is brought to you by Hockey Ultimate GM and if you locked on Canadians fans think you can manage a team or franchise better than an NHL GM well guess what your dream can come true and this game is definitely for you because with Hockey Ultimate GM or ultimate hockey GM you can manage every strategic aspect of your team play through the seasons lead your team to Glory hire the right coaches and staff trade players or draft picks navigate free agency and the NHL draft all in a challenging and realistic game world as a Habs fan you know there’s no offseason we are constantly busy GMS are constantly making moves at every point to improve their team’s chances and that’s why I think you going to love this game and it’s completely free and available to play offline so play on the go whenever you want to and locked on network listeners get 100% free boost to their franchise when they use the promo code lockedown NHL in the game store so make sure to check that out to download the game just visit hockey gm. apppp or look it up in the App Stores ultimate hockey GM start your Dynasty today we are back here at lockon Canadians this is a rocket Centric emergency episode uh if you for some reason skipped the first segment which how dare you I can’t believe you’ve done this to me Johan franah hul and the Canadians have parted ways we are a week from the draft about a week and a half two weeks from development Camp there is no AHL head coach there’s no AHL defensive coach right now the biggest thing with this is and I didn’t want to hint at this too much in the first I wanted to kind of get all that info in here is who are the top candidates then who can they reasonably hire to fit what this team is looking for because I think Jean franah H did a very good job working within the system that the Canadians had uh and this comes from Anthony marcott play-by-play voice of the Laval rocket someone who’s a lot more plugged in with potential coaches that fit both a team in uh franchise need in terms of development but also the market they are in they need someone who speaks French a a coach of cuqua background and I have to agree that I think the Canadians were very okay with this following the departure of Pascal vinon from Columbus earlier this week or last week time is a flat circle and such that I think he is someone who is absolutely in the running for this job here he’s coached for a long long time in the uh in the AHL before he’s been a qm jhl head coach he’s been a Winnipeg Jets assistant coach he’s been a Manitoba moose uh head coach he’s been an assistant and then a head coach with Columbus as well he’s coached a lot of teams uh he coached Kate Breton from 2000 to 2008 coached the Montreal Juniors from 2008 to 2011 when I believe then they became the blaneville Barry and Armada which I then believe Joel bushard succeeded him after that point when they went to Blainville ban uh went to the Winnipeg Jets was an assistant from 2011 to 2016 then went down took over the Manitoba moose and these are his this is his five-year run as a moose head coach 76 games 29 and 37 10 overtime losses or ties out of the playoffs next year 42 and 26 lost in round two uh following after that 393 and 7 out of the playoffs there were no this was covid canel season there was no uh postseason here for uh that they were 27 and 33 and W in 61 games the following year 2020 2021 which I also believe there was not a postseason uh 36 games 18 wins 13 losses five overtime losses that was I believe just the all Canadian division uh for the AHL there and then he was promoted to work with the Columbus Blue Jackets for the following three years taking over his head coach and then being let go after this season I think that if they want someone with experience who spent time working with prospects this is probably your best chance to uh this is probably your best hire because I’m looking at some of the team that he worked with in his good years uh in Manitoba and there’s a lot of younger guys in there or Prospect players in there the AHL is always a little bit of a mix if we’re being very honest like his last year you know he coached Cole Peretti to just below a point per game uh David gustofson just below a point per game CJ C was very and current Habs defenseman Jonathan kovich was on this team there were a lot of young players on these teams that he seem to get a decent amount out of and that I’m not opposed to this option here uh Anthony marott expanded on this to also Stefan Julian silan FAO JS buard Louie robotti who I believe was in the running originally for the rocket job when Jean Fran wul was hired Eric veu Carl mayette and Bruce Richardson and the last name is surprising you you should know that he came second behind Hol for that position a few years ago and that’s not a name I had actually heard as well that I actually want to take a look and see hey who is Bruce Richardson and he played for a long time he started his Junior career in 9394 finished playing over in in the United Kingdom in the eihl in 2011 and he spent a lot of time recently was a player assistant with Fort wind comets took some time off to go back to play hockey was a head coach at Victorville for two years and then took over the Blainville barie and Armada got them into the playoffs he was one of the coaches that they really liked uh as well and then Eric veu is also the other name that I had that has been kind of in the back of my mind because he was a coach with if I’m remembered correctly the Syracuse Crunch as well I’m just trying to load up his profile here and yes he was an assistant coach with Ben wagu in Syracuse for uh several years and then went to Quebec he was the REM part’s head coach last year a lot of time in the qmjhl sometime in the AHL and ECHL all as a head coach a guy with experience my my big guess with this is I do do not think the Canadians would have potentially parted with uh John Fran so easily if there was not a readymade player or a readymade coach to come in and I do think that Pascal V Sal is one of those guys I absolutely believe that if he was not if he was not the guy I think that they would have you know maybe fought harder to keep him or to uh maybe rework his potential contract as well uh I’m looking at JS bushard as well he played for a team called the asbestos Aztecs which is an incredible name on several levels but that’s not the point here uh J bushard was coached with royon Nunda for in 2013 2014 uh as a head coach won the qjl championship in 2015 2016 2016 2017 all the playoffs was a Syracuse Crunch coach for five years alongside Beno greu and then coached the sherbrook Phoenix last year and I just want to double check uh the team that he was with here because I want to say he took over the Run Nunda team from uh forget his name off the top of my head Jo bushard again but regardless their options out there I do think that this might actually move very quickly my concern with pascaline insult is not that he doesn’t have a proven AHL record it’s I look at Columbus this year and this is a two-fold coin Columbus was a mess with injuries and uh Management Group which is now gone and out the door here that did not really set him up for success but also he did not cover himself in glory with some of the way prospects might have been treated uh during the season I look at Kent Johnson guys like Adam Fant Tilly who were not getting a lot of ice time who were getting scratched getting sent down to the AHL things like that concern me because they’re similar issues that I had with John Francois was that hey why is this player not playing and Olivier galipo uh for example is playing more than a guy like Matias norer now obviously Matias norer is not maybe hit those goals but if they are bringing Vin salt in can you mold him into the system that you are looking for here that’s the big question I think above anything else in the world Pascal V is going to be the next head coach of the Laval rocket and that is why they were able to so quickly move on this right now it’s and Anthony marot actually is answering questions on this right now about something is hey why are we holding a bad NHL situation against an AHL coach we’ve seen good AHL coaches be bad NHL coaches sometimes it just works out uh that way I’m curious to see what happens I think they’re going to move very quickly on this to get somebody in place Vin has a lot of experience and he may also bring in somebody to work on this coaching staff and I also do wonder and this is a long shot if Paul Byron now reconsiders his I don’t want to be behind the bench kind of stance here there’s a lot that could happen it’s going to be a very busy week for the Canadians Kent Hughes is probably already on the phone John Cedric actually may be on the phone he is the GM of that team well we’re going to keep an eye out and as soon as we have a new coach you’ll find out all the details here at lockon Canadians but we have preseason stuff to talk about too and that’s all coming up next but first Passion drive and patience it’s the formula for winning championships is also what keeps your ride or die alive and at eBay Motors they have everything you need to maintain your vehicle and level it up to Peak Performance from Super Chargers to roof racks exhaust kits LED headlights and more whether you’re into speed power or style eBay Motors has you covered with over 122 million parts for your number one Rider die you’ll find exactly what you’re looking for and with eBay guaranteed fit your part is guaranteed to fit your ride every time or your money back because with eBay Motors you’re burning rubber you’re not burning cash and with all the parts you need at the prices you want it’s easy to make your car the MVP and bring home huge wins so keep your ride or die live live at ebaymotors.com eligible items only exclusions apply eBay guaranteed fit available only to United States customers we are back here at lockon Canadians and we’re going to switch this a little bit here I was kind of I was sitting around kind of trying to figure out hey what are we going to talk about and I got in late last night admittedly H which is why there was not a show out for you all this morning that is on me it was a late night I kind of overcommitted at work and I know people don’t want to hear this you want hey Scott talk about hockey or nonsense or shadow of the earth tree which is loading on my Xbox over here which is what I’m going to go do when I am done editing and posting this podcast for all of you lovely folks but we can talk about the preseason schedule here because usually the AHL coaches are kind of involved a little bit in this with the practices getting into the preseason and the Habs preseason starts September 23rd that’s three three months from now which is a wild thing to think about and the best part is they’re not playing 9 million games this year they are playing six preseason games just six unfortunately four of them are against some of the worst fan bases I’ve ever had to deal with on Twitter but that doesn’t matter all that much right now let’s kind of run down what the preseason looks like they’re going to open it at home against the Philadelphia Flyers and then have a back-to-back they’ll be playing against the new New Jersey Devils on September 24th have a couple of days off and then play a home and Home Series on the 26th and 28th of September with the Toronto Maple Leafs and then a home and away series with the Ottawa Senators ending their preseason on the road October 5th at Ottawa which it feels like their preseason games are running very very late into there uh the Canadians are also holding two rookie games they are not doing the rookie showcase in Buffalo this year so I unfortunately will not be there it is uh usually one of my few chances to cover the team for you but they will be doing two rookie games at the Bell Center I assume probably Toronto and Ottawa maybe it’s it’s hard to say but that mean and I believe training camp itself opens on September 18th so rookie Camp being before that couple of days of training two games rookie Camp will disperse right into regular training camp and then a week later right into preseason games which giv us so much time to debate things which we will get plenty of this summer especially after the NHL draft happens uh I’m kind of a fan of the shorter schedule here eight games was too much and when you’re playing half of them against Toronto and you’re still playing half of this schedule against or a third of this schedule against Toronto and a third of it against Ottawa but when you have like five preseason games against the Ottawa Senators it’s too much because then you play Four regular season It’s Too much exposure to the Ottawa Senators here uh I’m kind of grateful that they didn’t go all divisional Rivals they’ve started playing New Jersey more often in these as well I believe they’ve played Winnipeg a few times I might be mistaken on that uh Philadelphia is a new one though which Speaking of teams that I don’t know what they’re going to look like coming into this season that’s going to be very very interesting uh there’s just so much that’s now changing on this it’s uh it it feels kind of wild that it feels like the NHL season isn’t even over yet it as of the day recording this it is game six of the Stanley Cup Final the draft is in a week free agency is in uh a few days after that and somehow we are not done with things yet uh the season should be over at this point if we’re being quite honestly at this of right now uh it’s kind of wild that you know I I I don’t know if I’m just I’m not trying to be a boomer and complain that oh wow the season should be over but the season should be over by now if this series goes seven games the winning like teams coaching staff and like staff that deserves to be celebrating at the Stanley Cup Parade won’t be able to because they will need to be in Vegas for the draft which is just a wild sentence to say so hopefully Florida wins tonight uh when they do this because if they don’t I don’t think they’re going to win game seven but that’s neither here nor there I’m I’m curious what this roster will look like too by this point because we’re getting in that time where teams are we’re starting to see things happen more and more and more things are starting to happen in terms of uh trades and move player movement and everything else I am very intrigued to see hey who is the new face here was Kirby doc the year before it was Alex new hook last year you’re gonna have guys like Ry Bacher now you’re gonna have Lane Hudson uh coming into this organization now you’re going to have a second Jack ey which uh just what the pre season needed is another Jack ey thrown into things there’s a lot of potential in of things to really be sussed out here I don’t think this roster is going to be settled until at least that last week of games here there’s a lot of battle for competition here there are spots up for grab we saw last year this is not a Management Group afraid to wave someone who did not perform in the preseason Yol Aria did not play well in the preseason and was down with the rocket to start the season I don’t think they’re afraid of waving a vet if they think that one they will clear waivers and that they haven’t earned a spot there among the Defenders there there’s going to be a lot of guys uh battling for spots we know that seard may or may not be here if we’re penciling him in you have mat you have sart you have ghouly you have kovich you have have Hudson you have Jacky you have you have you have there’s not a lot of spots but guys are going to battle for every inch there I’m really really intrigued to see what this team the composition of this team looks like three months from now because it’s gonna be totally different than it is now uh I apologize to this is going to be a little bit shorter episode like I said I wanted to get that coaching stuff out there as things happen if there are trades this weekend I will try to get an emergency show out for anybody if anything happens obvious ly stick with us here at lockon Canadians your number one daily Montreal [Music] Canadians kind of taken back by all of this without any heads up and warning make sure you follow us on Twitter at Lor Canadians lockon Canadians gmail.com you can follow me at Scott Mata we will be back to regularly scheduled program next week we’re looking at trying to lock down a guest for the draft week getting a big two-part draft episode out there we are doing a live show after the second day of the draft because we want to hang out with y’all and just hang out and chill and talk about the draft Laura will have live reactions on Friday night when she is back until then thank you all so much for tuning in and we will see you all next time [Music]
Inside the latest Locked on Canadiens
WE HAVE BREAKING NEWS
Laval Rocket head coach, JF Houle and the Montreal Canadiens have mutually agreed to part ways on Friday afternoon, with Houle opting to take a newly available job at Clarkson University. Scott dives into the reasons around the move, and also reflects back on the legacy Houle leaves behind after three years on the bench in Laval.
Also, who is going to coach the team now?
Scott dives into some of the top candidates who might be available and what the Canadiens might be looking for in their next coach. Pascal Vincent appears to be the leading candidate, but there appears to be a deep field of potential options, Scott goes over it all.
Finally, the preseason schedule has been released and Scott takes a look at the breakdown, and wonders how different the team might look by the start of their preseason games.
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