Carbo is well aware of dangers for coach

by Herb Zurkowsky for the Montreal Gazette, January 29, 2002, excerpted

Now that two National Hockey League coaches - Dallas's Ken Hitchcock on Friday and New Jersey's Larry Robinson yesterday - have been fired within 72 hours, the floodgates have opened and more dismissals could soon follow, according to Canadiens assistant coach Guy Carbonneau.

But the firings, Carbonneau insisted, won't affect his plans in the game. The 41-year-old, an 18-year NHL veteran, has been considered one of the hot young coaching prospects since his retirement as a player in July 2000.

Indeed, Carbonneau's name was mentioned almost immediately following Hitchcock's firing as a candidate to eventually coach Dallas. Carbonneau is in his second year as an assistant to Michel Therrien after returning to the Canadiens organization as the supervisor of prospect development.

"When you get into hockey, you think you'll play all your career in one place, but it rarely happens. Similarly, every coach is fired at least once, and the truth is, more are getting fired now. If I take a job, I'll know what to expect," said Carbonneau, a former Canadiens captain who retired after capturing three Stanley Cups and three Selke trophies as the NHL's best defensive forward.

"If the occasions comes, I'll sit down, look at the issues and make a decision; I'll see if I'm ready," Carbonneau continued.

"I won't take (a coach's) job just because everyone feels I should be a head coach."

While Carbonneau said it was important for him to remain in the game once he retired, he isn't driven to be a head coach and he's satisfied remaining in the background.

"It certainly makes you think a little more when you see what's happened," he said.

"When I was 20 and thought about doing other stuff, I had a list of 30 things I wanted to do in life. But with every year that passed, I'd scratch off one or two of the things. Now I'm 40, and there's not many things on the list I still want to do.

"I wanted to stay in hockey, and I did. I'm gaining experience and I'll see how I feel."