BROSSARD – While it certainly wasn’t a season to remember, the Canadiens’ brass firmly believes things will turn around with the staffers already in place – and a healthy lineup, too.
On Monday afternoon, owner, president and CEO Geoff Molson and general manager Marc Bergevin confirmed that head coach Michel Therrien and his assistants would all be returning next season despite the club’s lacklustre play since early December and their inability to secure a playoff berth for the first time since the 2011-12 campaign.
Given everything that transpired on the injury front between October and early April – including being deprived of Carey Price’s services since late November, Jeff Petry’s help since early February, and a heart-and-soul player like Brendan Gallagher on two separate occasions for significant periods of time – Bergevin simply wasn’t prepared to move forward with anyone else but Therrien behind the bench come September.