Carbo returns to Stars

by Red Fisher for The Montreal Gazette, May 28, 2002

Former Montreal Canadiens assistant coach Guy Carbonneau says there are four reasons why he's back with the Dallas Stars, including a lengthy, losing battle with the Quebec education department that prevented the future Hall of Famer from enrolling his daughter, Kristina, in an English school program.

"Obviously, the first is that it's a great challenge," said Carbonneau, whose three-year deal as a special assistant to Stars GM Doug Armstrong was announced yesterday. "Then, there's the three years ... the money," he added. "Bringing the family back to Dallas (Carbonneau played the last five of his 18 NHL seasons with the Stars) is another. And there's no question that getting my daughter back into an English program influenced at least part of my decision."

Carbonneau had hoped to have Kristina, 14, continue in an English school program when he was hired by the Canadiens on Aug. 3, 2000. The province's education department ruled against it, but Kristina was allowed to be part of an English program while Carbonneau appealed the decision. His daughter had to transfer into a French program last January after the appeal was rejected.

Carbonneau's decision to return to Dallas wasn't made until Friday, even though Stars management had received permission from the Canadiens to talk with him some time ago.

"I've been here (Dallas) since Thursday," said Carbonneau. "We went over a lot of things, but it wasn't until Friday that I made up my mind to move. That's when I called André (Canadiens GM Savard) and Pierre Boivin. I mean, they've been really nice to me."

The decision didn't surprise Savard.

"I made it very clear at the end of the season that we wanted all of our assistant coaches back," Savard said yesterday. "We would have liked to have Carbo back, and if it wasn't Dallas making the offer, he would have been back. It's a great opportunity for him."

"The other assistants (Roland Melanson and Rick Green) know they're coming back. Now I'll have to sit down with Michel (head coach Michel Therrien) to see who's out there to replace Carbonneau. There was no point looking into the situation until he made up his mind whether or not he wanted to move.

"There's no time limit on it," said Savard, "but if the right situation comes up, we'll move on it."

As you'd expect, Carbonneau's departure was described by coach Therrien as a "big loss for the players."

"It's a big loss for me, too," said Therrien. "It's not easy for someone to go from playing to coach, but he learned very quickly. He was a huge help for me, a huge help for the guys, but I understand why he's moving. His family will be together in Dallas."

In July, Carbonneau's other daughter, Anne-Marie, weds Stars forward Brenden Morrow.

So who's out there as a replacement for Carbo?

"To tell you the truth, I haven't thought about it," said Therrien. "This week, I expect to sit down with André and come up with the best name we can find."

Carbonneau returns to Montreal today and plans to spend the summer in the city - with time out to handle assignments in his new role with the Stars.

"Obviously, I'll be at the June draft," he said, "and there may be other things I'll be asked to do. Like I said, it's a new challenge and I'm looking forward to it for a lot of reasons."

It's also obvious the Stars are happy to have him back in the family. In a prepared statement yesterday, GM Armstrong, who replaced Bob Gainey during the season, said: "When I became general manager, Guy was the name at the top of my list of people to join our management team. His experience and knowledge of the league will provide me with a strong sounding board."