Dominique Ducharme. Interim head coach of the Habs thread

[Kriss E]

Kk back on wing...Caufield on 4th...I dont get how panicky coaches get, and make changes for the sake of doing something different.

 

[DAChampion]

Dear Ducharme, please try the following:

Caulfield-Kotkaniemi-Anderson
Toffoli-Suzuki-Armia
Tatar-Danault-Staal
Lehkonen-Evans-Perry

Edmundson-Petry
Weber-Romanov
Gustafson-Chiarot

 

[David Suzuki]

Caufield with Evans and Lehkonen at practice.. unreal.

I think that's fine honestly. Evans has more speed then our other centres and Lehkonen can go to the net and create space for Caufield, something he hasn't had.

 

[habdynasty]

Dear Ducharme, please try the following:

Caulfield-Kotkaniemi-Anderson
Toffoli-Suzuki-Armia
Tatar-Danault-Staal
Lehkonen-Evans-Perry

Edmundson-Petry
Weber-Romanov
Gustafson-Chiarot

imagine another 5 years with Danault being announced the number 1 Center.

 

[MD thaivuN]

Julien: Never changed his lines even when things got stale.
Ducharme: Changes the lines so much no one has any idea who they're playing with, in the next game.

Trying to change a wrong with a wrong is still pretty wrong.

 

[sandviper]

Dear Ducharme, please try the following:

Caulfield-Kotkaniemi-Anderson
Toffoli-Suzuki-Armia
Tatar-Danault-Staal
Lehkonen-Evans-Perry

Edmundson-Petry
Weber-Romanov
Gustafson-Chiarot

You know what? Despite the trash scattered throughout the lineup, that doesn't look bad at all.

 

[WinterLion]

I think that's fine honestly. Evans has more speed then our other centres and Lehkonen can go to the net and create space for Caufield, something he hasn't had.

Yeah plus I'm sure CC will get some time on the power play. Evans has been one of the better players lately tbh

 

[WinterLion]

I hope he proves me wrong but I get the feeling Ducharme is being schooled by every other coach in the division.... it's ugly

 

[swimmer77]

Fans get upset when lines are not changed and get upset when they are. LOL

Caufield hasn't impressed a whole lot. Caufield with Lehks and Evans may not be that bad. And the lines in a blender can't be much worse than what has been out there lately. Can't fault the coach for at least trying.

 

[Miller Time]

Fans get upset when lines are not changed and get upset when they are. LOL

Caufield hasn't impressed a whole lot. Caufield with Lehks and Evans may not be that bad. And the lines in a blender can't be much worse than what has been out there lately. Can't fault the coach for at least trying.

what is this, boy scouts? "Do your best"?

Come on... this is the pro game. You don't get brownie points or credit, as a coach, manager or player, for just "trying".

What he's trying has not worked. I would 100% agree that he was put in a very difficult situation to begin with, and can also acknowledge that the injury run of late makes it even worse.... AND... he's not helping things by the way he managing his lines nor many of the in-game adjustments or lack thereof.

Pretty disappointing audition, not seeing much that would warrant full time promotion even with the external factors considered.

 

[clarke19]

Outside of finding a way to break our breakouts by putting too much responsibility on the D and giving them no down low support, and those 3-5 games where it seemed the Habs figured out how to use the soft ice in the offensive zone (before going 100% back to point shots), what has Ducharme done to earn the full-time coaching job of this team?

The forecheck has become extremely passive and it's clear the forwards are not on the same page with the "reads" and "options" they have for applying pressure. The neutral zone has become easy ice for opponents to skate through and gain possession of the offensive zone. I'm not sure the changes Dom made are going to bring this team success.

Bring in some more experience, make Dom an associate coach playing the old Muller role. Put Burrows back in Laval if you need the space behind the bench.

 

[Grand Admiral Thrawn]

Poor Dom is out of ideas. He's lost and doesn't know how to get his message through.

Either a bad coach or the team has already checked out!

 

[Guess]

Kk back on wing...Caufield on 4th...I dont get how panicky coaches get, and make changes for the sake of doing something different.

This is one thing I liked with Julien, he didn't change his lines that often compared to other coaches we've had, helped the players to show consistency

 

[Captain Mountain]

Dear Ducharme, please try the following:

Caulfield-Kotkaniemi-Anderson
Toffoli-Suzuki-Armia
Tatar-Danault-Staal
Lehkonen-Evans-Perry

Edmundson-Petry
Weber-Romanov
Gustafson-Chiarot

And if Tatar is still hurt:

Caufield-Kotkaniemi-Anderson
Toffoli-Suzuki-Armia
Lehkonen-Danault-Staal
Frolik-Evans-Perry

I'm not sure why that hasn't been considered.

 

[DAChampion]

And if Tatar is still hurt:

Caufield-Kotkaniemi-Anderson
Toffoli-Suzuki-Armia
Lehkonen-Danault-Staal
Frolik-Evans-Perry

I'm not sure why that hasn't been considered.

I hate to say it, but it's because Danault is the new Desharnais.

 

[Captain Mountain]

I hate to say it, but it's because Danault is the new Desharnais.

Danault is not the new Desharnais. He's a fantistic defensive center and Montreal is very conservative when it comes to putting young players up against top competition.

I think they might also want Danault back and want to make sure he plays with offensive wingers. Not a major issue when you have a healthy group, but with Tatar, Gallagher and Drouin out, its different.

 

[MTL-rules]

Poor Dom is out of ideas. He's lost and doesn't know how to get his message through.

Either a bad coach or the team has already checked out!

Or both.

 

[lamp9post]

Remember when Ducharme was the forward thinker credited for our (at times) successful uptempo play and Julien was holding him back with his conservative approach? The shine sure wore off quickly.

 

[durojean]

If we are to put KK on the wing, I'd go all in

KK Suzuki Caufield

The lets be young and fun line.

Ducharme : T'es pas game !

Pair that with the

Perry Staal Frolik

The lets be old and cold line.

 

[DAChampion]

Danault is not the new Desharnais. He's a fantistic defensive center and Montreal is very conservative when it comes to putting young players up against top competition.

I think they might also want Danault back and want to make sure he plays with offensive wingers. Not a major issue when you have a healthy group, but with Tatar, Gallagher and Drouin out, its different.

There will always be injuries. You can't assume "when everyone is healthy."

 

[JackZap]

I never thought Id say this but I miss Claude

 

[Archijerej]

Outside of finding a way to break our breakouts by putting too much responsibility on the D and giving them no down low support, and those 3-5 games where it seemed the Habs figured out how to use the soft ice in the offensive zone (before going 100% back to point shots), what has Ducharme done to earn the full-time coaching job of this team?

The forecheck has become extremely passive and it's clear the forwards are not on the same page with the "reads" and "options" they have for applying pressure. The neutral zone has become easy ice for opponents to skate through and gain possession of the offensive zone. I'm not sure the changes Dom made are going to bring this team success.

Bring in some more experience, make Dom an associate coach playing the old Muller role. Put Burrows back in Laval if you need the space behind the bench.

All of this is correct, although I though the opponents have figured out our breakouts when Julien was still the coach. It actually improved for a stretch under Ducharme. But yeah, he does not look good.

 

[salbutera]

Poor Dom is out of ideas. He's lost and doesn't know how to get his message through.

Either a bad coach or the team has already checked out!

WTF?

5-regulars are missing from the lineup on almost every given night (33% of the regular lineup) - including speed quotient (Tatar, Drouin, Byron) and energy (Gallagher)

 

[1909]

Julien: Never changed his lines even when things got stale.
Ducharme: Changes the lines so much no one has any idea who they're playing with, in the next game.

Trying to change a wrong with a wrong is still pretty wrong.

Just a reminder: Gallagher, Tatar, Byron and Drouin are out of the line up. Line juggling is pretty normal.

 

[Sorinth]

Poor Dom is out of ideas. He's lost and doesn't know how to get his message through.

Either a bad coach or the team has already checked out!

To be fair the condensed schedule makes it so that it's very difficult to make drastic changes in strategy so all he really has to play with is usage. But I don't think he's handled usage well so it's questionable whether he would do better even if he could bring a new system in.