But nope, it's not Sylvain Lefebvre that's leaving.
Despite a dismal 96-105-27 over his three seasons helming the Hamilton Bulldogs bench (and zero playoff qualifications), the Montreal Canadiens seem as committed as ever to Lefebvre being the right man to guide the organization's prospects through the professional ranks.
Instead, a report from JP Bertrand of TVA Sports indicates the Habs have parted ways with Stephan Lebeau after two seasons in the AHL, citing "philosophical differences" with Lefebvre. Lebeau is the second assistant coach to be let go for these reasons during Lefebvre's short tenure, following Ron Wilson, which calls quite a lot into question. Who is making these staffing decisions? Why wasn't the philosophical difference discovered before the hiring? What part of Lefebvre's "philosophy" do others diverge on?
For all we know, the real reason may simply be Lebeau not wanting to move with the team to St. John's, but what is clear is that a team with a roster far too good to not make the AHL playoffs significantly underperformed last season. And that instead of any blame or pressure being put on the head coach, the organization is found a scapegoat for another year.
Those that defend Lefebvre will point to the players who he has helped graduate to the next level. He has coached Brendan Gallagher, Dustin Tokarski, Nathan Beaulieu, Michael Bournival, and Jacob De La Rose, amongst others. But how much credit does he truly deserve for their progress?
In the cases of Gallagher and De La Rose, both performed much better after being called up to the Canadiens than they had been playing in the American League (not to mention each spent only half a year with Lefebvre). For Beaulieu, blame whoever you want - the player himself, Michel Therrien, JJ Daigneault, Marc Bergevin, or Lefebvre - but it's taken a rollercoaster of call-ups and send-downs for him to confidently cement himself on the Montreal blueline. As for Bournival, a training camp star seems a flash in the pan that lost his way, to the point where the Habs didn't even want him around post-trade deadline this year (albeit in the end it was a concussion that kept him out).
What of players like Jarred Tinordi, or even Morgan Ellis, who showed plenty of potential at the junior level but have failed to live up to the hype? Or players like Alexander Avtsin a couple of years back, or Dalton Thrower this season, who weren't given chances to develop? Christian Thomas? Stagnant. Greg Pateryn? Good development, but was solid right from his American League debut. Sven Andrighetto? Progress, but has butted heads with the coaching staff in the past, and disappeared down the stretch run this season. What will happen with Charles Hudon next year, provided he doesn't make the Canadiens? Would a regression (or lack of improvement) in his game be a final straw towards ending Lefebvre's reign?
Signs say no. If 24CH is any indication, Bergevin has a lot of trust in Lefebvre's judgement. Just like he does in Michel Therrien's coaching ability. If there can be a criticism of the GM's job thus far, it may be that his assessment of coaching ability isn't close to at part with his assessment of on-ice talent.
And on that note, there's an opening for an assistant coaching job with the St. John's Ice Caps for next season. Hopefully the Canadiens can find someone who will either help propagate this alleged philosophy that Lefebvre hasn't had the support needed to roll out, or someone who is a strong enough influencer to get Lefebvre to change his own ideologies.
Despite a dismal 96-105-27 over his three seasons helming the Hamilton Bulldogs bench (and zero playoff qualifications), the Montreal Canadiens seem as committed as ever to Lefebvre being the right man to guide the organization's prospects through the professional ranks.
Instead, a report from JP Bertrand of TVA Sports indicates the Habs have parted ways with Stephan Lebeau after two seasons in the AHL, citing "philosophical differences" with Lefebvre. Lebeau is the second assistant coach to be let go for these reasons during Lefebvre's short tenure, following Ron Wilson, which calls quite a lot into question. Who is making these staffing decisions? Why wasn't the philosophical difference discovered before the hiring? What part of Lefebvre's "philosophy" do others diverge on?
For all we know, the real reason may simply be Lebeau not wanting to move with the team to St. John's, but what is clear is that a team with a roster far too good to not make the AHL playoffs significantly underperformed last season. And that instead of any blame or pressure being put on the head coach, the organization is found a scapegoat for another year.
Those that defend Lefebvre will point to the players who he has helped graduate to the next level. He has coached Brendan Gallagher, Dustin Tokarski, Nathan Beaulieu, Michael Bournival, and Jacob De La Rose, amongst others. But how much credit does he truly deserve for their progress?
In the cases of Gallagher and De La Rose, both performed much better after being called up to the Canadiens than they had been playing in the American League (not to mention each spent only half a year with Lefebvre). For Beaulieu, blame whoever you want - the player himself, Michel Therrien, JJ Daigneault, Marc Bergevin, or Lefebvre - but it's taken a rollercoaster of call-ups and send-downs for him to confidently cement himself on the Montreal blueline. As for Bournival, a training camp star seems a flash in the pan that lost his way, to the point where the Habs didn't even want him around post-trade deadline this year (albeit in the end it was a concussion that kept him out).
What of players like Jarred Tinordi, or even Morgan Ellis, who showed plenty of potential at the junior level but have failed to live up to the hype? Or players like Alexander Avtsin a couple of years back, or Dalton Thrower this season, who weren't given chances to develop? Christian Thomas? Stagnant. Greg Pateryn? Good development, but was solid right from his American League debut. Sven Andrighetto? Progress, but has butted heads with the coaching staff in the past, and disappeared down the stretch run this season. What will happen with Charles Hudon next year, provided he doesn't make the Canadiens? Would a regression (or lack of improvement) in his game be a final straw towards ending Lefebvre's reign?
Signs say no. If 24CH is any indication, Bergevin has a lot of trust in Lefebvre's judgement. Just like he does in Michel Therrien's coaching ability. If there can be a criticism of the GM's job thus far, it may be that his assessment of coaching ability isn't close to at part with his assessment of on-ice talent.
And on that note, there's an opening for an assistant coaching job with the St. John's Ice Caps for next season. Hopefully the Canadiens can find someone who will either help propagate this alleged philosophy that Lefebvre hasn't had the support needed to roll out, or someone who is a strong enough influencer to get Lefebvre to change his own ideologies.