Dominique Ducharme wants to return to the NHL

Dominique Ducharme has gone to three wins from a Stanley Cup, and he would like to have the chance to recover.

Richard Labbe
The Press

This is the clear message that the former head coach of the Canadian repeated Wednesday morning in Joliette, as part of his annual golf tournament.

“I still have the sting, that’s for sure, he started by admitting. I’ve done this all my life and I want to go back as a head coach in the National League, for sure. A year ago, we were here at the same tournament, and we were three wins away from winning the Cup… My goal is to be able to get those three victories that were missing. It’s a test right now, and it will continue to make me grow as a coach. »

There are still two years left on Ducharme’s contract with the Canadiens, and so far, no serious offer has been made to him, there have only been “discussions”, according to the principal concerned, who also admitted to having refused an offer from the Saint John Sea Dogs just before the start of the last Memorial Cup tournament. “I want to come back, but in the right conditions,” he took care to specify.

What he also would have liked was a slightly more elegant exit from the Bell Centre. Fired in February, Ducharme did not really have the opportunity to make known his vision of things to the new bosses.

Small irony in this case: Martin St-Louis, his successor, had been approached by Ducharme himself last summer about an assistant position.

Finally, some veterans of the Canadiens, including Jeff Petry, mentioned last winter a breath of fresh air at the Bell Center following the arrival of St-Louis behind the bench, compliments that have often been interpreted as reproaches to the place from coach previous.

But Ducharme does not do this reading.

“I had a good relationship with the players… In Jeff’s case, for him, it was a difficult situation; with the start of the season and his family situation, it was not easy for him. There was perhaps an aspect of the game where he did not feel comfortable, and yet we had made this adjustment during the series against Toronto… At the start of the season, Jeff felt less comfortable with it . But there was nothing personal. »

In short

Byron is not recovered

Paul Byron did not have the expected season in 2021-2022. Having had surgery on his left hip last summer, he had to miss the first three months of the season, but he also had to deal with persistent pain, and in the end he was only able to take part in 27 matches. At 33, and with a final year of contract in his pocket, he is now trying to prepare for a comeback, but he admits that it is not so easy. “I am not where I would like to be in terms of my fitness, but there is still a lot of time,” he said Wednesday at the Dominique Ducharme golf tournament. I still have a lot of work to do. My only goal is to play an injury-free match, and then we’ll see. Of course, I really like Montreal and I would like to stay here if possible. But I have to stay healthy. This is an important summer for me and for my recovery. »

Team Canada 2018: Ducharme and Bouchard know nothing

Joël Bouchard and Dominique Ducharme were respectively general manager and head coach of the Canadian junior team at the 2018 World Championship. But they say they know no more than the rest of the hockey world about this sordid business. alleged sexual assault. “In the following weeks, I was asked if I had heard of something, but there was nothing more on my side, replied Ducharme on Wednesday. I had no other information. I was there at the gala, but I received no other information. »

Joël Bouchard made similar comments. “I don’t know how the investigation process was done,” he replied. As long as I don’t know how it happened, I’d rather not talk about it. I am not aware of anything. I saw the same things as you on television. I saw a situation that isn’t cool, that isn’t fun, but I’d rather not tell stories: I’ve never told one, and I won’t start to. »