There is a lot of talk these days about the crest of the wave. Unlike Omicron, has the Canadian finally bottomed out? In other words, can he really experience a second half of the season worse than the first?
Posted at 4:40 p.m.
The bar isn’t set high, mind you, but Minnesota’s 8-2 beating reminds us that some nights this team just isn’t of National League caliber. Among the questions that arise for the second half of the season, there is this one: will Dominique Ducharme be in office by the end of the season? Jeff Gorton has already said yes, but will he be able to endure many more of these evenings where the opponent shoots the goalkeeper forty times? We wonder about the future of the coach, but also that of Ben Chiarot, Artturi Lehkonen and Jeff Petry. Changes are inevitable at the Canadian, and for very different reasons, we could hear about these three.
In this episode of the podcast Area exita collaboration between The Press and on 98.5, host Jérémie Rainville receives Guillaume Lefrançois, Stéphane Waite and Mikaël Lalancette.
Listen to the full episode
What I notice is the total lack of structure. It does not exist anymore. As soon as we feel that it’s gone, that the goalkeeper no longer makes spectacular saves, there is a total abandonment of the structure. We cannot continue 41 games like this again.
Jeremie Rainville
A business is sure, it is that there is, a structure. They are coaches of the NHL and they are competent guys. The problem is that players don’t seem to buy the structure. If they don’t buy it, forget it.
Stephane Waite
From Geoff Molson’s point of view, you want results fast, on the other hand, he didn’t take two people on their knees to take that job. Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes arrived on their terms. It allowed these men to come with a vision. If you arrive as a new administrator at the head of an organization, do you arrive saying: “We will patch to be correct next year”, or do you arrive with a vision where you say: “We will suffer two years, but we want to build for the long term”?
Guillaume Lefrancois
The detail of the episode
Block 1
- 0:50 – End of 16 day road streak. 8-2 defeat against the Wild, it’s a shame to end with such a bad game.
- 11:40 – Primeau, McNiven… no keeper miracle, no game?
- 19:48 – Canadian mid-season: injuries, COVID-19, lack of veterans, does all this justify the 23 points in the standings? Could the next 41 games be worse than the first 41?
Block 2
- 21:15 – Should Kent Hughes get rid of Lehkonen, Chiarot and Petry?
- 33:07 – Emilie Castonguay with the Canucks. How to explain that she had no contact with the Canadian?
- 38:03 – Overview of Team Canada roster at the Olympics
Block 3
- 43:53 – Elsewhere in the NHL