Carbonneau returns to Montreal Canadiens to take his dream job

by Arpon Basu for The Canadian Press, 1/14/06

MONTREAL (CP) - Over the course of Guy Carbonneau's stellar 18-year NHL career as a player, the league's ultimate shut-down centre always had the reputation of being like another coach on the ice.

So when his former captain and linemate with the Canadiens Bob Gainey contacted him last week to see if he would be interested in helping him coach the team this season before taking over the reins next year, Carbonneau's decision was easy to make.

"I was always a player who liked analyzing the game, after games, during games, talking about systems, or changing things on the power play," a beaming Carbonneau said Saturday at a news conference to announce his hiring.

"Everyone who knows me has been telling me the same thing for a long time, that I would make a good coach. And it's not every day that you have a chance to become coach of the Montreal Canadiens. It's like (managing) the New York Yankees."

Carbonneau's official title for this season is associate head coach, a role he will share with current assistant coach Doug Jarvis. While Gainey made it clear Saturday that he would be in charge until the end of this season, he left no doubt that Carbonneau will take over next year.

"I really feel that Guy Carbonneau is going to be a dynamic head coach," Gainey said. "But there really was no reason to drop him in a pot of boiling water when we could drop him in and warm it up gently. Guy will grab on to where we are and where we're going and what is needed quickly, I have no hesitation in believing that."

Carbonneau said he signed a "long-term" contract to serve as head coach, though he would not say for how many years.

With Gainey, Jarvis and Carbonneau, the Canadiens have three of the best defensive forwards in team history running the bench. Gainey and Carbonneau alone combined to win the Frank J. Selke trophy seven times in the first 14 years the award existed.

"It'll be tough to say we'll play an offensive style of game," Carbonneau said with a laugh.

Carbonneau won two Stanley Cups in 12 seasons playing for the Canadiens, serving as a team captain his final five years in Montreal. He was traded to the St. Louis Blues in 1994 and played one season there before moving on to Dallas, where he played the final five years of his career and won his third Stanley Cup in 1999.

This is Carbonneau's second stint behind the Canadiens bench, serving as an assistant coach under Michel Therrien from November of 2000 until the end of the 2001-02 season. He then returned to Dallas, where he served as an assistant to Stars general manager Doug Armstrong the last three years. He says that experience has prepared him for the challenge he is about to face.

"I didn't leave here on bad terms," said Carbonneau, who still has a home in Montreal. "The timing was good for me to go to back to Dallas in another role. I liked the experience, I travelled a lot and saw another aspect of the game that is completely different from playing or coaching. So I think that will help me in the future, understanding how it works upstairs."

As for this season, veteran Montreal defenceman Craig Rivet hopes Carbonneau can help the Canadiens snap out of a funk that has seen the team lose 18 of its last 25 games entering Saturday night's home game against San Jose.

"He's been a captain for a long time in this league, a well-respected player and a well-respected coach when he was here," Rivet said. "We missed him a lot when he decided to move on.

"He's a guy who has won in the past, and with the attitude and the type of player he was, guys are going to have to be accountable and work because that's certainly the type of player he was. Hopefully he can guide us in the right direction."

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