I can say I'm sad and a little disappointed, but I'm ok with the move. I supported Carbo maybe more than most fans did, mainly because I liked him better than the recent failed coaches of Therrien and Julien. Naturally I questioned his choices, like why Rhino wasn't playing when he was called up after doing good work on the farm (though he finally did put him in the line up and the young lad proved to be a monster in a good way) among other line choices. I questioned him tossing the goalie schedule out the window with a "content to ride the hot hand til it breaks" instead of cracking the whip and fixing the bigger problem: DEFENSE. I had a feeling the lack of Bob sightings at practice this season was weird considering last year he was out there and on the ice, making me believe that Bob took a step back after giving him a hand to work this ship and gave his full reins. But one has to realize, Gainey and Carbo are extremely close friends and to do this now is probably the most difficult decision in his already hard luck life. And for Carbo? The man who has the CH engraved in his heart and soul? Yea, I bet he's feeling pretty crappy right now...
I'm just happy it was after a very glorious win in Dallas instead of a terrible embarrassing loss. Carbo looked so very happy.
This comes only moments after the papers published a "Gainey's bucking the NHL trend to fire coaches right away". In a way he did. Some were screaming for Carbo's removal earlier in the season. The fact he stayed with him this long is proof to me that they at least tried to rectify whatever was going wrong. And yes Gainey said hiring Carbo was one of his best moves... It seemed the day after he said that, the Canadiens started tanking.
And while people scream and cry that Gainey did nothing on the deadline (François Gagnon, you're a tool)... I'm happy he didn't release the farm for Jokinen. I'm actually appalled at what Calgary let go for him. Hell I'd have traded something for Lombardi, but not Jokinen. Nevertheless, the trades were all fringe characters and specialists that the Canadiens have plenty stock off already. Nothing out there was appealing to this team's need. And forget about Lecav already, please.
I like that Don Lever is getting a taste of the Bell Center bench by Gainey's side. If things go well, he may be the next coach in line. Screw the language shit. Gainey wants the right man for the job regardless of his mother tongue, and frankly all the operations are done in english anyway. He can get the man a translator if they need one. What Lever brings is his own NHL experience and a long history of coaching, as well as being the key component to raising many of the current stars on this team. He was able to work with an extremely depleated roster for two seasons now and still keep them up in the race. Last season the Bulldogs barely missed the playoffs, but last season was a mess as the farm lost most of it's players to graduation and the rest to injury at the worst possible moment. This season hasn't been any different, as he saw his best players sent up to fill in and stay, and many of his cogs cut down with season ending injuries to the point where they've had to sign players to Try-Out contracts. And yet they're still in the race, still competitve.
It's true the most difficult job in hockey is goalie for the Canadiens. But following close behind? It's coaching the Canadiens. But I can tell Bob's patiences were done.
"Our performances over the past eight weeks have been below average. We need to perform better especially against teams which we are superior to on paper. The responsibility for a player to reach their potential is not up solely to the coach, but the player as well. We’ll make sure of that."
And while Bob is not without his own faults, a statement like that speaks volumes.
So to Carbonneau I say thank you for all you've done. You're crazy ties will be missed, but now it's up to Bob.