No one really saw it coming, but Alex Burrows will not be back behind the Canadiens bench next season. The assistant coach has decided to step down, citing family reasons. He will occupy another, as yet undetermined, position within the organization.
It’s not yet certain whether he will be replaced, team general manager Kent Hughes said during a press conference organized to comment on the opening of the free-agent market and the contract extension granted to Juraj Slafkovsky.
Martin St-Louis was due to arrive in Montreal on Monday evening for the development camp which will take place from Tuesday to Saturday, and management wants to assess the situation with him.
“We already have two assistants,” warned the GM, referring to Trevor Letowski and Stéphane Robidas. Eric Raymond, a goalkeeping specialist, completes the group.
“We’re really going to sit down with Martin to discuss it and [trouver] the best way to approach the issue.
Hughes also said that all of last season’s assistants have signed new contracts – except Burrows, of course. The latter, in recent seasons, was notably responsible for the power play.
As soon as his 900-plus-game NHL career ended in 2018, the Quebecer became an assistant coach with the Laval Rocket. During the winter of 2021, the Canadiens brought him back to give him the same role in Montreal. He then survived the changing of the guard that saw St-Louis arrive as head coach in 2022.
Hughes said Burrows, a father of young children, now wants to spend more time with his family.
“The life of a coach, during a season, is intense in terms of the time you have to give to your job,” he explained.
With Burrows living “an hour from Montreal,” the long commute and complex logistics of two games in two days weighed heavily on his daily life.
The organization, however, wants to keep him in its fold and will be “flexible” with him. He will act as a player development consultant and will work in particular with the Laval Rocket players, but also with the management and coaching staff in Montreal. It is understood that several details still need to be clarified on this subject.
Downstream
If we agree to look for a replacement for Burrows, this hiring would be added to those that still need to be made in Laval.
The surprise departure of Jean-François Houle, who accepted a position at Clarkson University a few days after signing a contract extension with the Rocket, complicated things for the CH managers, who were already looking for an assistant for the American League farm club following the departure of Kelly Buchberger. Only assistant Martin Laperrière will be back behind the bench.
John Sedgwick, Hughes’ assistant and Rocket GM, conducted a series of interviews at the draft held last weekend in Las Vegas. Vincent Lecavalier, special advisor to hockey operations, and Eric Crawford, director of professional scouting, assisted him in this task.
A second round will take place soon. Hughes and Jeff Gorton, vice-president of hockey operations, will this time be around the table.
Last week, RDS journalist Stéphane Leroux indicated that Sylvain Favreau and Carl Mallette, respectively head coaches of the Drummondville Voltigeurs and the Victoriaville Tigres in the QMJHL, as well as Stéphane Julien, assistant coach of the Grand Rapids Griffins in the American League, were in the running.
Although the Rocket will rely on an extremely young roster next season, even more so than in 2023-2024, the candidate’s experience with the pros will not be a discriminating criterion, noted Kent Hughes.
“We are looking for the same qualities that we were looking for when we hired Martin St-Louis,” he assured.
The aim is to find “a good hockey head” and a good communicator who knows how to accept feedback from his bosses and colleagues, but who has enough self-confidence to “go against this advice, from time to time, when he really believes that his point of view is the best.”
In any case, the focus will be on “development,” not the Rocket’s position in the standings.
“Winning at all costs does not serve our interests,” the CEO concluded.