Canadiens Hire Gallant and Jodoin as Assistants to Therrien
Fitzgerald Cecilio
Montreal, Canada
The Montreal Canadiens have tapped veteran junior hockey mentor Gerard Gallant and Clement Jodoin as assistants to Michel Therrien.
With the hiring of Gallant and Jodoin, Therrien now has four coaches on his staff, including goaltender coach Pierre Groulx and video coach Mario Leblanc and he is hoping to add one more to work with the defensemen.
Therrien returned to the Canadiens for a second stint as coach last week. He coached the Canadiens in 2000 until he was replaced by Claude Julien in 2003
Gallant spent three seasons with the powerhouse junior team Saint John Sea Dogs, who recorded three straight 100-point plus season and reached the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) finals each year, winning twice. They won a Memorial Cup in 2011.
"That's the tough part. Saint John was a good situation," the 48-year-old Gallant said. "It's hard to leave."
Gallant led the Sea Dogs to a stellar 161-34-9 record in three years but junior hockey glory failed to overshadow his ultimate goal of making a comeback to the big league where he starred as power forward for 11 seasons.
"As a coach, it's no different," he said. "You want to be part of the best hockey in the world. To come back with a franchise like Montreal is incredible."
After his playing career, Gallant worked as an assistant with two clubs and as a head coach for parts of three seasons with the Columbus Blue Jackets from 2004 to 2006.
"When I was hired I thought of him right away, even though I really didn't know him. I think he's a perfect fit, I like the career path he's taken," Therrien said of Gallant.
"I've heard nothing but good things about him. When you don't know someone, you try to find out as much as possible about him. I couldn't find a single person who had one negative thing to say about him. And when we met, we had instant chemistry," he added.
Prior to his appointment, Jodoin was head coach of the Rimouski Oceanic in 2010-11 and his 10th season as a bench boss in the QMJHL. During his four-year tenure with Rimouski, the Oceanic posted a 140-112-8-5 record (.553) in 265 regular season games.
Jodoin is in his second stint with the Canadiens organization where he worked from 1997 to 2003 in various capacities. He first joined the club in 1997 as an assistant coach.
In 2000-01, he was named scout and later Director of Player Development. He returned behind the Canadiens' bench as an assistant in 2002-03.
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