Carbo not Starry-eyed:
Canadiens' assistant coach turns down Dallas job

Canadian Press, May 15, 2002

Guy Carbonneau didn't want the job as head coach of the Dallas Stars because he wasn't comfortable with the idea of coaching his former teammates, according to a Wednesday report in a Montreal newspaper.

Carbonneau, an assistant coach with the Montreal Canadiens, told the newspaper he informed Bob Gainey he wasn't interested when the former Stars general manager approached him out about the coaching job in January.

On Tuesday, new GM Doug Armstrong told a Dallas newspaper that Carbonneau was not a candidate for the coaching job in Dallas, which was filled on an interim basis by Rick Wilson when Ken Hitchcock was fired on Jan. 25.

"It would have been difficult for me to coach a team that had a family member and several of my old teammates," said Carbonneau. "I'm not so crazy as to get into a situation in which I wouldn't have full control. "That was five months ago. Would I be able to work in that context now? I don't know. I'm going to wait. Other options may come up."

Carbonneau's daughter Anne-Marie is engaged to Stars forward Brenden Morrow and several players remain from the Stars team with which Carbonneau finished his playing career after the 1999-2000 season.

New York Rangers GM Glen Sather, who let coach Ron Low go at the end of the season, is expected to ask the Canadiens for permission to interview Carbonneau. Herb Brooks is reported to be the leading candidate in New York.

There are also head coaching jobs available in Washington and Anaheim.

"If I get an offer that's impossible to refuse, I'll have to think about it," Carbonneau said.