Canadiens to announce (former) Florida GM Jacques Martin as Habs coach, 2pm
by Donny Rivette on Jun 1, 2009 11:51 AM EDT
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From TSN:
The Montreal Canadiens will hold a news conference this afternoon at 2pm et when the club will introduce Jacques Martin as their new head coach.
Montreal will be Martin's third NHL stop after working as head coach for the Ottawa Senators and head coach and general manager of the Florida Panthers.
Sun Media's Bruce Garrioch:
League sources say Martin has stepped down from his post as GM of the Florida Panthers because of the financial instability of the club and the possibility they may be sold.
A bit more from On Frozen Pond, as well:
Florida has plenty of offseason business to take care of, with Jay Bouwmeester (whose
agent told The Miami Herald that he hasn't spoken to the Panthers in a long time) a
pending free agent on July 1. Backup goalie Craig Anderson and wingers Radek Dvorak and
Ville Peltonen are also free agents.The Panthers also are in negotiations with restricted free agent David Booth -- a
third-year forward who led the team in goals this past season.
I'll post up anything new that may appear, but indications are this is all sealed up. Waiting until the press conference before trying to make any sense of where this may be headed regarding the Panthers, since presumably they will issue a statement around the same time (2 pm).
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Craig Anderson’s available…
I saw that comment about “instability” as well and though similarly. Sounds like a weak excuse.
Forget whatever issues the Cats may have: JM was offered his dream job, and like any of us, he took it.
As for successors, I’m looking into that, but for the moment I’ll go with Richards’ theory on Sexton going “interim”.
Strange day.
Gee, when has there been an article about the Panthers without the words “being sold” not included. Maybe he likes coaching better & wants this opportunity again. I hightly doubt it’s about the instability of the club….just the ususal speculation from the peanut gallery….IMO
Standard line. Certainly among the Canadian media.
by Donny Rivette on Jun 1, 2009 1:38 PM EDT up reply actions
Yeah,
because of the financial instability of the club and the possibility they may be sold.
…has to be code for “offered dream job, didn’t think twice,” right? Hopefully he’s up front about that.
Btw, I hear Keenan is available — any takers? /ducks
Lighthouse Hockey: Side effects may include Weight gain and frequent game loss.
Successor
Do you guys think the Panthers will stay in-house (Randy Sexton) or look elsewhere for his replacement?
Wyshynski mentioned ex-Lightning GM Jay Feaster, who might be an inspired choice.
by Donny Rivette on Jun 1, 2009 1:38 PM EDT up reply actions
Not a bad choice. I think he got a bad rap for his last few years in Tampa and is certainly a capable GM. I wonder though, how much the team is willing to spend on a new GM, and if an in-house cheaper candidate might end up being the answer?
by Illegal Curve on Jun 1, 2009 2:37 PM EDT up reply actions
Feaster got rapped with a skin-tight budget to work with when it came time to re-sign Vinny, Richards, Boyle, and St. Louis, who ultimately gobbled up an astounding portion of the payroll. That is precisely the reason Khabibulin was not retained following the Cup win in ’04.
He ran into a new ownership group who had no intention of retaining him one year ago.
If there’s any validity to the accusations of his being irresponsible or not a solid GM, it’s that he held on to too many of those high-ticket players and should have spread the wealth a bit more evenly among the second- and third-tier guys. But the fans demanded to keep the core together, and he obeyed (his boss maaaaay have played a part as well).
Given a reasonable budget – and the lack of five deserving players looking for an ATM – Feaster could be a tremendous resource. Don’t know why but he always reminded me of Bill Torrey in some imprecise way.
by Donny Rivette on Jun 1, 2009 2:57 PM EDT up reply actions
Totally agree. Obviously the Khabibulin move was a miscalculation but he basically had to sign Richards after that Conn Smythe season and who really could have had the foresight to see his eventual fall off in play? Not likely very many. I realize he was a liability defensively but he was a tremendous offensive force.
As you said, at least he gave the money to players who could play. Other teams have had money locked up in players who don’t contribute much and they are serious liabilities not assets. I think all the players he had signed, while adding too much to payroll, were still assets.
Richards turned into a very good netminder (in my opinion) in Mike Smith and Jussi Jokinen and Jeff Halpern. That trade was really an underrated move if you ask me. Boyle was a new ownership trade and I still believe Lecavalier would generate a heck of a return; never mind St. Louis who was pretty coveted at the deadline.
All in all, I think Feaster did a pretty solid job. Not A+ but not C+ either.
by Illegal Curve on Jun 1, 2009 4:14 PM EDT up reply actions
Re: Boyle…they’ll be groveling in the mud over that one for a long time to come. The fans – yes the same ones Feaster may have paid too much attention to – are still on management and ownership over it.
by Donny Rivette on Jun 1, 2009 4:25 PM EDT up reply actions
Really was one of the worst trades I’ve seen in a while.
by Illegal Curve on Jun 1, 2009 5:34 PM EDT up reply actions
I brought up Feaster over at darsys’ unofficial board (not going near the official boards on this). Haven’t gone to check the fallout yet. I think he may be the best choice among who’s available. His biggest mistake in Tampa was letting Khabibulin go and trying to replace him with Marc Denis for way too much money. But that Richards trade was good. The new management tossed away Jussi Jokinen and look what he did for Carolina in the playoffs. I would be happy if they hired him. He’s pretty solid.
The Darsys “unofficial” board is the “official” board for many of us, so don’t sweat it.
Until I’m informed that he’s harmed puppies, Feaster is the guy for this club as far as I go (but dissenting opinions are always welcomed…I beg for a challenging opinion).
A joke that they tossed away Jokinen, but the system in place (whatever system it may have been) didn’t promote his style of play. Thought he would have torn up with the Cats, but apparently JM didn’t agree.
by Donny Rivette on Jun 1, 2009 10:55 PM EDT up reply actions
Not so sure it was a Martin-Boynton feud as much as a DeBoer/Boynton feud. I’d expect the defenseman to be gone no matter who’s running the show.
by Donny Rivette on Jun 1, 2009 2:48 PM EDT up reply actions
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