Sylvain Lefebvre is the third longest tenured AHL head coach in the history of the Montreal Canadiens, and has just finished his fifth season behind the bench. Now he faces an uncertain future, with the spotlight being shone on lack of players graduating from the AHL to the NHL, and lack of overall success during his reign.
The primary role of a farm team coach is simple: develop the organization’s prospects to help them succeed at the NHL level. This often comes at the detriment of the farm team’s success, which was certainly evidenced in Lefebvre’s case by a lack of participation in the playoffs for four consecutive seasons.