Another day, another contract for someone behind the bench. On Wednesday, the Canadiens announced that they’ve signed assistant coach Luke Richardson to a three-year deal. His contract was set to expire later this month.
With the Habs making it to the Stanley Cup Final, it was only a matter of time before the interim title was removed from head coach Dominique Ducharme. That happened Tuesday with the announcement that the bench boss has signed a three-year deal.
What a month! An inspiring mix of kids and veterans was just one of the many storylines for a group that had a different hero almost every night on the way to eight postseason wins in June. Here is who our readers voted as the three stars.
As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end and that was the case for Montreal’s playoff hopes. While they were able to avoid the sweep, the offence dried up as they were blanked in Game 5, giving the Lightning their second straight Stanley Cup.
After the playoff run that the Habs had, there is a justifiable case to be made to ‘run it back’, bringing as many pieces back that they can afford and trying again next season. But that would come at the expense of progress, meaning GM Marc Bergevin will deftly have to navigate the best of both worlds.
With his contract with Montreal now complete, Joel Bouchard became a free agent this month and has found his new home. The now-former Laval head coach has been hired by Anaheim to take over as the bench boss for their AHL team in San Diego.
The Habs have invested a lot of time into revamping their back end in recent years. However, in spite of all of the signings and draft picks used, there are still some holes in the system to address.
The Habs played with tons of courage in Game 5 on Wednesday night, but the Lightning got a goal from Ross Colton in the second period and were able to trap their way to a 1-0 victory to take home the 2021 Stanley Cup.
Of the three lineup changes that Dominique Ducharme made on Monday, the one to sit Jesperi Kotkaniemi was the most controversial. However, with the lineup composition they were seeking, it was the right one.
In a game that likely took ten years off every single Habs fans’ life, Montreal blew two different one-goal leads before finding themselves shorthanded for four minutes with the game on the line. Price was heroic, Suzuki was on another level, and Anderson scored two huge goals as the Habs forced Game 5 with a 3-2 overtime victory.