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"Guy had a half hour to decide"

Guy Carbonneau has never feared a challenge. That’s why, when he accepted a post behind the Canadiens’ bench only a few months after hanging up his skates, no one was surprised. Certainly not his wife…

by Jean Bouchard with Line Boivin
for 7 Jours, December 9, 2000
posted on the web June 4, 2001

When Guy Carbonneau was named assistant coach of the Canadiens last Monday, November 20, his return to the hockey world, behind the players’ bench this time, did not surprise his wife Line. They have been together for over 20 years, and she knows him well. However, she believes this change could have been made a bit later. It’s just that this turn of events took place only a few months after Guy had accepted a position in player development, which would have permitted him more time with his family. Line Boivin laughs at the circumstances. This mature businesswoman is astonished by nothing. She has only two regrets about it: their plans for the holidays are in disarray, and their younger daughter, Kristina, who loves to see her father home more often, will be a little disappointed.

Q: Line, how are you two dealing with this new twist in your husband’s career?

A: I believe Guy will be happy in his new role. He’ll be nearer to the ice and the action. It seemed to me that he was missing it. It’s a terrific challenge. He seems very excited about it.

Q: Yet, last summer, he was content with his new job, which required less travel. As he said, he had already dedicated twenty years to professional hockey…

A: Me too, that’s what I understood, that’s what Guy explained to me. (Laughs.) I can’t give the reasons for his return. He told me he wanted to spend more time at home, and I thought that was the end of it. (Laughs.)

Q: Did you have a chance to discuss it before he made his decision?

A: Not really. It happened so fast. In the world of hockey, you often have only a half hour to think about a proposal. A half hour of reflection, that should be long enough! (Laughs.) I remember the day that Guy was traded to Dallas, during waivers in the month of October. He called me to say, "Line, Dallas is interested in me, but on the condition that I take a cut in pay from what St. Louis pays me. I have two minutes to make my decision. What do you think?" Oh great! That’s fun, two minutes! That’s plenty of time to decide his fate. Therefore, we were lucky this time, we had a whole half hour! I find that a long time. (Laughs.) I’m exaggerating a bit, but not much. But I’m used to it.

Q: Does Guy view this new challenge optimismistically?

A: Of course. He’s not the kind to complicate his life or look too far ahead. He takes things step by step, day by day, one game at a time.

Q: And as for you, are you worried to see him embark on such a challenge?

A: No. We’ve already lived through glory and defeat here, in Montreal. I’m confident, it will go well.

Q: Still, the "slide" of the Canadiens these past few years is troubling. We seem bogged down; we don’t have a very promising future.

A: I can’t answer that. I haven’t seen enough games to formulate an opinion. All I know is the organization believes it has a team which deserves better than to be in last place in the NHL.

Q: It takes a lot of patience; does Guy have that?

A: Yes. He’s very patient. He doesn’t panic. Not only that, he sticks with things and is an excellent teacher. I’ve always said that he had the qualities of a coach. He thought he was sick of traveling and he wanted to take a couple of years off…but his quick about-face made me laugh and didn’t really surprise me.

Q: How did he react when you predicted he would have a career in coaching?

A: He laughed at me. Honestly, I didn’t believe this would happen so quickly. I gave him a couple of years, not two months! The only thing that bothered me briefly was that he would be gone for the holidays. We had planned to spend a family Christmas in Texas with our daughter Anne-Marie, from December 16 till January 2. But the Canadiens go on the road from December 26 to January 6. If he can, Guy will join us for December 24 and 25.

Q: Speaking of, how is it going, being separated from Anne-Marie?

A: It’s going well. With time, I’m getting used to it. I went to see her in October and on November 11, when the Dallas Stars honored their recently retired veterans, that being Brian Skrudland, Craig Ludwig and Guy. Anne-Marie came to visit us for Thanksgiving (the American Action de Grâces), November 22 to 25; she benefited from the fact that her boyfriend (young Dallas Stars player Brenden Morrow) was on the road with his team. She will get him back December 16. Her being so far away is easier to accept when I don’t go for long periods without seeing her. As for her, she’s managing quite well. I think it bothers her less than it does me! Her studies in business administration at Southern Methodist University keep her very busy.

Q: Was she surprised to see her father accept a coaching position?

A: No. Oddly, that didn’t surprise anyone. My daughter Kristina liked very much getting to see Guy more often, but he didn’t give us the time to get used to having him around! (Laughs.)

A: Did you get the impression that he was bored around the house?

Q: No. The amount of traveling he’ll have to do in the course of his new job is not a positive point with him. And he did really enjoy his work developing the young players. He would have been able to continue that way, but he chose to go behind the bench. It’s the experience and the new challenges that appealed to him. We were rapidly getting used to our new way of life. Sure, he will be subjected to more pressure than in his former role, but it’s not good to have negative expectations. Guy has confidence in the people he works with. If the standard passes between them, things should work out. That won’t happen today or tomorrow, we know that, and we will live with that pressure for awhile, that’s all.

A: Was having to replace a colleague a distressing choice for Guy?

Q: That’s a difficult aspect of his new career. It makes for a sad situation for those who leave. We’ve already lived through that. But we’re going to find ourselves going through that ourselves one day. It’s very sad, but…