Michel Therrien is the new head coach of the Montreal Canadiens, and that's a very easy decision not to like.
Therrien, after all, has already had a run in Montreal, coaching the Canadiens from 2000 to 2003 and guiding them to the Eastern Conference semifinals in 2002. He came in as a midseason replacement, and he wound up being replaced mideason himself. When a team is searching for a new coach, the pressure is often on to make an inspired choice, rather than give another shot to a "retread," and certainly, the decision to hire Therrien is short on "out of the box" thinking.
All that having been said, however, Therrien may not be the inspired choice, but he could very well be the right one. Given where the Bleu, Blanc et Rouge currently stand, Les Habitants may not be ready for the inspired choice.
The Canadiens are still recovering from the disastrous two-year tenure of Pierre Gauthier, whose actions as general manager included firing an assistant coach hours before a game, announcing during the season that his interim head coach would not be back because he doesn't speak French, and most glaringly, pulling Mike Cammalleri off the bench in the middle of a game and sending him back to the hotel to pack because he'd been traded. New general manager Marc Bergevin should help matters, having worked under Stan Bowman with the Blackhawks as assistant GM and director of player personnel. However, he has limited front-office experience, so it's uncertain that his leadership will be successful. In that environment, it's hard to imagine the next hot coach being eager to dive in to an uncertain situation.
In addition, the Canadiens have a young team with a lot of growing to do, and a plethora of free agents to re-sign this summer, led by goaltender Carey Price and defenseman P.K. Subban. As an experienced teacher who has coached three teams in the AHL and was highly successful in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Therrien could certainly be the right coach to help build up this Canadiens team, and even take a matured group further, as he did when he guided the Penguins to the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals.
Mediocre first run in Montreal aside, there's a lot to like about Therrien as the Canadiens' new coach, and given that the team is limited to French-speaking coaches - as management was so painfully reminded following Randy Cunneyworth's hire as interim head coach - Therrien may indeed be the best man for this particular job.
Then again, maybe he's not. Maybe in a couple of years, the Canadiens will try again, with more options available due to stability under Bergevin. For now, though, Michel Therrien may not be an inspired choice, but there's reason to believe he's the right one.
