The Montreal Canadiens have signed head coach Dominique Ducharme to a three-year contract extension through 2023-24. The deal comes on the heels of Montreal’s valiant, but unsuccessful effort in the Stanley Cup Final. The team made the announcement late Tuesday morning.
The Canadiens have agreed to terms on a three-year contract extension (2021-22 to 2023-24) with head coach Dominique Ducharme.#GoHabsGohttps://t.co/aU6y2F5NEB
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) July 13, 2021
Canadiens Extend Dominique Ducharme
It’s safe to say that Ducharme had one of the most tumultuous seasons of any NHL coach in 2020-21. He took over the head coaching position mid-year. That was when the team moved on from previous head coach, Claude Julien, in February. The team rewarded its new leader by struggling mightily over the last few weeks of the year, but they recovered and won several thrilling series in the postseason. It would have been shocking for ownership to not reward the man who led the Habs to glorious victory over the rival Toronto Maple Leafs and upstart Vegas Golden Knights.
This past season was Ducharme’s first as an NHL head coach. He went 15-16-7 as the team’s interim leader. Before that, he led Canada’s 2017 and 2018 World Junior teams and has many years of experience with various organizations in the Quebec League. Ducharme is still just 48 years old, so we will be seeing a lot of this man for potentially the next years to come.
What This Means
The most obvious benefit to this extension is stability. Now that Montreal definitively knows who is coaching in 2021-22, they can turn their attention elsewhere. General manager Marc Bergevin could use a new contract and there is a bevy of pending free agents to manage. Ducharme’s input will be a factor in the eventual futures of key pieces such as Joel Armia and Phillip Danault. It is especially important to have everyone on the same page as expansion is fast approaching. The Canadiens are by no means done with offseason moves. Signing Dominique Ducharme is merely the first step towards competing for a Cup again next year.
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