Carbonneau talks with GM Houle
Canadiens aren't prepared to offer their former captain a job, but plan to talk with him again

by Pat Hickey for The Montreal Gazette, 7/7/00

Rejean Houle and Guy Carbonneau took a few hours to become reacquainted yesterday, but the Canadiens aren't prepared to offer their former captain a job.

"We had a general discussion about what Guy wanted to do," said Houle, who was Carbonneau's teammate for one season in the early 1980s. "We just talked about, well, getting back into the real world."

Carbonneau, who is 40, announced his retirement from the Dallas Stars last week after 18 seasons in the National Hockey League. The Stars have said they would like to talk with Carbonneau about remaining with the organization. Carbonneau said he would consider that offer, but also expressed a desire to return to Montreal.

The Canadiens have several openings in their front office, with Jacques Lemaire and, most probably, Mario Tremblay moving to Minnesota, while Dave King has joined the Columbus Blue Jackets as their first head coach. There is also the possibility that head coach Alain Vigneault will add another assistant coach, with Rollie Melanson splitting his time between the Canadiens and the American Hockey League's Quebec Citadelles.

"We had a good talk and I imagine we'll talk again," Houle said. "One of the things Carbo has to do is talk to his family about what they want to do."

Carbonneau was part of the Canadiens' Stanley Cup wins in 1986 and 1993. He was traded to St. Louis in 1994 after making a rude gesture to a photographer on a golf course after the season ended with the Canadiens missing the playoffs. He was traded to Dallas a year later, and was part of his third Stanley Cup winner in 1999.