The Montreal Canadien’s Goaltender Operations

The Montreal Canadien’s Goaltender Operations

Written by Fred Arshoff

I’m writing this article as many seem confused with the Montreal Canadiens General Manager Marc Bergevin announcing on July 30, 2021 that the Habs have hired Eric Raymond to be the goalie coach.

Explaining Things

To explain everything we will have to first go back in time to March 1, 2021 when GM Marc Bergevin, in the middle of a game against the Ottawa Senators, fired Stephane Waite as Goalie Coach and Director of Goaltender Operations. Yes firing Waite at the end of the second period was very strange, instead of waiting till after the game, but the Canadiens have done things like that before such as December 20, 2012 when they traded Mike Cammilleri in the middle of a game. We can expect the unexpected from the Canadiens.

Then on or around March 3, 2021 Marc Bergevin announced that Sean Burke had been promoted from Western Scouting for the Canadiens to Director of Goaltender Operations. No where it said Mr. Burke would be full time goalie coach of the Canadiens. I would think, and I have no way of knowing but, when Bergevin spoke to Burke he informed him it would be on an interim basis. He would be the Goalie Coach of the Habs till the off season when they could hire a new full time Goalie Coach, and keep him just as Director of Goaltending Operations.

While Mr. Burke was in quarantine, upon arriving in Montreal from Arizona where he lives with his family, Marco Marciano who was and still is the Goalie Coach of the Laval Rocket (the Canadiens AHL affiliate) was acting coach of the Habs both Carey Price and Jake Allen. Burke while under quarantine in Montreal was speaking to Marco Marciano and telling him what to do to help Price with his game. At the time Price was going through a bad stretch.

Once Burke finished his quarantine he went to be goalie coach of the Canadiens and Marco Marciano was returned to the Laval Rocket.

With Eric Raymond being the new goalie coach, it does two things actually. Yes I did say two things. This allowed Head Coach Domenique Ducharme to hire a coach of his choices, instead of having coaches appointed by former head coach Claude Julien. It also allows Sean Burke to fully concentrate on his duties as Director of Goaltending Operations.

Eric Raymond

Raymond is 49 years old. He served as Goaltending Coach with the Hartford Wolf Pack in the AHL from 2016-17 through 2019-20, in addition to assuming a goaltending development consultant role with the New York Rangers during the same period. He worked closely with goalies Igor Shesterkin and Alexandar Georgiev with the Wolf Pack during his stint with the Rangers organization.

The Montreal, QC native enjoyed a successful career in the QMJHL before making it to the NHL, coaching the Halifax Mooseheads goaltenders between 2010 and 2018 after having played the same role with the Montreal Junior in 2008-09. Canadiens head coach Dominique Ducharme was at the helm of the Mooseheads for most of Raymond’s association with the team. Together, the pair won the President’s Cup as QMJHL champions in 2012-13, following a memorable campaign that ended with a 58-6-4 record in 68 games. Both men also won the Memorial Cup that same year, capping the prestigious tournament by defeating the Portland Winterhawks. Along with Ducharme, Raymond was also a part of the Gold-Medal winning squad at the IIHF World Junior Championship in 2018.

“I worked closely with Éric for many years. Along with being an excellent communicator, he has a modern approach and emphasizes modern techniques. He creates genuine chemistry with his goaltenders and has an excellent track record. Éric also has a lot of experience at all levels, most notably on the international scene. I’m excited about his addition to our group” said Ducharme.

Raymond On The Pressure That Comes With Being A Goalie Coach In Montreal:

I’m going to build a kind of bubble with my goalies. We’ll work together. I’m confident in my abilities because of all my experiences over the years. It’s normal for people to have their own opinions, but that isn’t something that will affect me.

Raymond On Working With The Club’s Director Of Goaltending, Sean Burke:

I was just hired, so it’s something new. We’ll talk and meet in the coming weeks. I can’t really elaborate on that subject right now, but we’ll definitely build a plan.

Raymond On Joining Dominique Ducharme’s Coaching Staff:

First off, I’d like to thank the Montreal Canadiens for the opportunity. It’s a dream of all Quebecers to work for the Canadiens. Dominique and I have a lot of history together. We have a lot of trust in each other. We played together and worked together in Montreal, in Halifax, and at the World Junior Hockey Championship. Things couldn’t have worked out better. He’s a very good coach and a very good person. We have a good relationship. It’s easy to work with him. We understand each other. That’s a plus. We have a special relationship.

Sean Burke’s Role

Burke as head of goaltender operations will have to oversee the work of Raymond, Marciano and Riendeau. For those who don’t know Riendeau is the Canadiens goalie scout. Riendeau before being goalie scout was the goalie coach of the Laval Rocket and was a former NHL goalie.

Burke will have to monitor all the goalies in the Canadiens system, not only with the Habs but also with the Laval Rocket and the Trois Rivieres team, plus watch all the goalies they have drafted but not playing professionally such as Joe Vrbetic in North America, or any other goalie they drafted that is playing in a European league.

Burke will continue to report to Marc Bergevin, the Canadiens and Laval Rocket General Manager, so there is no change there at all.

I don’t know if Burke will be moving to Montreal with his family or live with his family in Arizona. Where ever he works from isn’t the key but ensuring the progress of all the goalies, is what counts, as we saw last season a phone or zoom call can resolve issues. Also out of home he can also easily watch video of any goalie the Canadiens may wish to trade for or possibly draft in the 2022 NHL Entry draft.

We would like to wish Eric Raymond the best of luck on his appointment as goalie coach and wish Sean Burke the best of luck in his continuing role as Director of Goaltending Operations.

Why Michael McNiven Was Qualified By The Canadiens

Why Michael McNiven Was Qualified By The Canadiens

Written by Fred Arshoff

As some of you may, or may not know, on July 26, 2021 among the six players that Montreal Canadiens General Manager Marc Bergevin gave qualifying offers to was Michael McNiven.

Some people are surprised by this, as the Canadiens do have Price and Allen locked up. They also have Primeau locked up in Laval and he is the heir apparent to Price at some point.

Charlie Lindgren is as of today July 29, 2021 a UFA and has just signed with St. Louis for pretty much the same amount of money if he plays in the NHL. His pay for the minors has dropped by 450K so I’m sure he was promised playing time with the big club or at least as a backup. In contrast, he was not playing for the Habs only suiting up for 7 games since he signed his last contract in 2018-19. He only played 52 games over that span for the Laval Rocket. We wish him luck moving forward.

Now let’s march ahead to the 2021-22 season. What happens if Price or Allen get injured, it means to me unless the Canadiens sign another goalie that Primeau would be called up to the Habs. That would leave the Laval Rocket with just Kevin Poulin who just this off season signed a one year contract with the Rocket. The Laval Rocket would need another goalie. For more information on Poulin please see this article I wrote https://montrealsportsblog.wordpress.com/2021/07/01/what-the-signing-of-kevin-poulin-means/

McNiven has had very good numbers in the OHL (Ontario Hockey League) and in his last season there was the Goalie Of The Year. I admit that doesn’t mean success in the NHL. He spent most of the past 3 seasons bouncing between the AHL and ECHL. My feeling is if he spends the entire season in Laval he can develop but wouldn’t move ahead of Primeau. If another team needed a goalie we would be able to trade McNiven, as long as the team had other goalies in the farm system, and get a good asset for him. You can’t give up on any player without giving them a full chance to develop.

Don’t forget when McNiven started, with Laval, Lindgren was already there and they played Charlie a lot to try and develop him. Last season (2020-21) Primeau was in Laval except for the games he was called up to the Canadiens. Lindgren was sent down to Laval to get playing time but it stopped McNiven from playing. McNiven, while playing in Laval, his salary wouldn’t count against the salary cap so there is no problem there.

The Canadiens at this year’s NHL Entry draft did draft goalie Joe Vrbetic but my feeling is he will be playing Jr. Hockey for the 2021-22 season. Don’t forget he played in the OHL and that was shut down for the 2020-21 season, due to Covid, thus he hasn’t played much so playing Junior would be the best thing for his development.

It would be best to have three goalies able to play, in case of injury or in an emergency have to sign an ECHL goalie to a PTO (Professional Try Out) to have two goalies for Laval. Until the Canadiens could return the goalie, most likely Primeau, back to Laval.

Montreal Canadiens Sign Mike Hoffman

Montreal Canadiens Sign Mike Hoffman

Written by Fred Arshoff

To me this looks like an excellent signing as we still don’t know if Corey Perry is coming back and the goals do have to get scored. Let’s face it if you don’t score goals you won’t win games.

Although Hoffman’s salary cap hit is $4,500,000 per season for the next three seasons the Canadiens have already shed salary cap as Danault has signed with the Los Angeles Kings. Also I’m not expecting the Habs to extend Tatar so that’s a saving. And Weber is still listed on the salary cap. I’m sure once the season gets under way Bergevin will move him to the Long Term Injury List as well and that would remove $7,857,143 from the cap. With Weber still listed on the salary cap the Canadiens have $973,630 left to play with.

This a very small raise for Hoffman, in the 2020-21 season his salary cap hit was $4,000,000.

Hoffman hasn’t played enough playoff games to compare his playoff production to Tatar’s but we know Tatar’s was low and I expect better things from Hoffman.

Also Hoffman has played in Canada specifically the Ottawa Senators so he knows what the media pressure is like in Canada.

I’m sure Hoffman will speak to his fiancée, or wife, about what she says or does as that’s one of the reasons he was traded from the Senators back in 2018.

We look forward to your contributions to the Montreal Canadiens Mike Hoffman.

Joel Armia Extended

Joel Armia Extended

Written by Fred Arshoff

Late Tuesday afternoon July 27, 2021 the Montreal Canadiens announced they came to an agreement with Joel Armia for a four year contract extension, he was going to be a UFA on July 28, 2021.

As I said in my article https://montrealsportsblog.wordpress.com/2021/06/21/the-case-for-joel-armia/ Armia is one of the players I would extend.

Armia’s extension comes out to a salary cap hit of $3,400,000 for each of the four years. On his previous contract his cap hit was 2.6 million. So it’s a small raise but to a worthy player. With some other contracts coming off the book the $800,000 raise will fit in easily.

Armia is 28 years old, and has played seven seasons in the NHL, thus has experience and not afraid of going into the dirty areas.

Armia skated in 41 games with the Canadiens in 2020-21. He registered 14 points (7 goals, 7 assists), while also serving 10 penalty minutes and posting a plus-10 differential. The 6’04” and 212 lbs right-winger enjoyed a solid playoff run alongside veteran linemates Corey Perry and Eric Staal with whom he formed a highly effective trio. He contributed to the team’s success with five goals and three assists in 21 postseason contests, helping Montreal advance to the Stanley Cup Final.

Armia was selected in the first round (16th overall) by the Buffalo Sabres in 2011. He was acquired by the Canadiens in July 2018 along with goaltender Steve Mason in return for defenseman Simon Bourque and two draft picks in a trade with the Winnipeg Jets. The Canadiens promptly bought out Mason’s contract, Armia played the 300th game of his NHL career on January 21 in Vancouver.

Bob Gainey

Bob Gainey

Written by Marlene Wall

Bob Gainey announced his retirement, after 16 seasons, all with the Montreal Canadiens on July 17, 1989.

He was taken by the Montreal Canadiens with the 8th overall pick in the 1973 NHL Amateur Draft.

Gainey scored 239 goals and 501 points, in 1160 career games, but he is still recognized as one of the best defensive forwards ever to play the game.

Gainey won the Frank J. Selke Trophy, given to the best defensive forward in the league 4 straight times between 1978-1981. He was a member of 5 Stanley Cup championship teams in Montreal, including 4 consecutive times between 1976-1979. He won the Conn Smythe Trophy in 1979, for being MVP of the playoffs, scoring 6 goals and 16 points in 16 games played. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, as a player, in 1992.

His hockey career was far from over, Gainey was named the Head Coach of the Minnesota North Stars in 1990 and took them to the SCF in 1991. In 1992 he added GM to his title. He remained with the organization when they relocated to Dallas in 1993. He coached through the end of the 1995-96 season. He served as GM until 2002 and built the team that won the Stanley Cup in 1999.
Gainey returned to Montreal on June 2 , 2003 when he was hired as GM. He held that position for nearly 7 years and even coached the team for 2 short stints.

Some of his draft picks included Jaroslav Halak, Alexei Emelin, Carey Price, Ryan McDonagh, Max Pacioretty and P.K. Subban. Gainey is currently a team consultant for the St. Louis Blues.

Review Of The Montreal Canadiens Entry Draft 2021

Review Of The Montreal Canadiens Entry Draft 2021

Written by Fred Arshoff

Overall this was a very good draft by the Canadiens although they traded away some of their draft picks for draft picks in next year’s NHL Entry draft. To me that makes sense as there may not have been a player they had on their radar at those draft positions. Or they saw a player they wanted and hoped he would slip down to where they would have their next draft pick. To defer more draft picks for the 2022 NHL Entry draft that most experts claim will be a much deeper draft. I’m sure they made the trades just as the 2022 NHL Entry draft is supposed to be in Montreal. Also the scouting hopefully will be much easier to do for the 2022 entry draft that the scouts will be able to attend the games, in person, instead of watching the games on video. In person they could see player’s reactions on different thing’s that happen so they can get a better feel of player’s reflexes.

I also don’t feel any player picked in the 2021 NHL entry draft, by the Canadiens, will be in their lineup for at least two seasons. We can’t blame the scouts for that as the HABS, due to being in the Stanley Cup Finals, had a very low draft position. Being so low meant it was like the first picks of the following round. That’s the price you have to pay for success unless the general manager can make trades to get higher draft picks.

The Canadiens drafted nine players with a mixture of positions. 4 defencemen, all are right handed, 3 centers, 1 right wing and 1 goalie. I’m expecting all the Junior players to be playing for their respectful Jr team for the 2021-22 season. For the European players we will have to see if they wish to play in the minor leagues here e.g. Laval (AHL) or Trois Rivers (ECHL). The European players may wish to play in Europe to be closer to their family and friends.

Some might say the Canadiens already have many defence under contract but defenceman take longer to develop than forwards and with Weber out and Petry getting older Bergevin is planning for the future. With the goalie although Primeau will be staying put in Laval, barring injuries on the Canadiens, they will need goalies for Laval in a year or two down the road. As for 3 centers it would be easier to convert a center to play wing then vice-versa and if we do have an abundance of centers they can trade one for someone who plays a position where we have a shortage.

I would think some of these players will attend the Montreal Canadiens Development camp so we can get a better picture of how these players are. Some may get invited to the Montreal Canadiens rookie camp although, as I stated above, I don’t expect any to make the jump yet, but it will give the team a chance to evaluate the players better.

Before grading this draft we have to wait several years as all the players selected will need several years to develop. I’m very sure Jean-Francois Houle and his assistants with the Laval Rocket, and with the help of the Canadiens player development department headed presently by Rob Ramage, will develop these young men into good quality hockey players.

Making Sense Of The Andrew Ladd Trade

Making Sense Of The Andrew Ladd Trade

Written by Fred Arshoff

Although the majority of my articles are on the Montreal Canadiens I wanted to write about the Andrew Ladd trade on Saturday July 17, 2021 as it’s not a very common trade when a team gets no return at all.

The Montreal Canadiens and the Winnipeg Jets made a similar type of trade in 2018, the details of that trade are at the bottom of the article.

At a first look it looks like the New York Islanders traded away Andrew Ladd and two draft choices and got nothing in return. True, in some ways, but the Islanders did get something in return. They removed Ladd’s contract and salary cap hit for the next two seasons. Ladd’s contract terminates July 1, 2023 and has a salary cap hit of $5,500,000 per season. With this contract gone the Islanders will have extra money to sign players who are free agents or extend contracts of players they already have.

By trading Ladd, now, the Islanders have roughly 12 million dollars of salary cap space. They have 18 players under contract for the 2021-22 season. They have 34 of 50 players allowed to be under contract.

Ladd since the 2018-19 season has played in only 30 NHL games. He also, in the 2015-16 season, only played in 19 games. Before then he played in the majority, if not all, of the team’s games. I can see the Islanders feeling they aren’t getting a full bang for their money with Andrew missing so many games and taking up so much cap space.

By accepting Ladd, although he has been injured and hasn’t played, it helps the Coyotes in a different manner. They still have a bit more than 27 million dollars of cap space left, so it’s not going to hurt them at all it would seem. They have 12 players on their roster at this time. They have 28 of 50 players allowed to be under contract. Ladd is listed as if he will be playing in the AHL (Non-Roster Forward).

Beside getting Ladd the Coyotes also get draft picks and here they are with the conditions marked.

A 2nd-round pick in this summer’s draft (2021, 60th overall, originally from the Avalanche in last summer’s cap headache pill, the Devon Toews trade)
• A conditional 2nd-round pick in the 2022 draft (the condition being that it is the better of the two they currently possess, according to Arthur Staple)
• A conditional 3rd-round pick in the 2023 draft (the condition being that the Coyotes get it if Ladd appears in at least 1 game in 2022-23, according to Cap Friendly)

The Montreal Canadiens and Winnipeg Jets made a similar type of trade on June 30, 2018 when the Jets traded Steve Mason and Joel Armia to the Canadiens for Simon Bourque. Within minutes of the trade being completed the Canadiens bought out Mason. Bourque retired from hockey, although only 21 years of age, to go back to University. Winnipeg made that trade as they had no salary cap room while the Habs had plenty.

Replacing Shea Weber

Replacing Shea Weber

Written by Fred Arshoff

To replace Weber you actually need three things, leadership ability, a captain of the team and a solid defenceman. In my way of thinking we can combine leadership and captain into one thing, even if the leadership isn’t the team captain ‘per se’. The person in leadership can be given the “A” as alternate captain, and also like the captain speak to the officials on behalf of the team.

Leadership

With Weber lost it is more important than ever that Montreal Canadiens General Manager Marc Bergevin give Corey Perry an extension for at least this season. Perry was a former captain and all the players, on the Canadiens, respect him and saw although when he signed for the 2020-21 season it was to be on the taxi squad he always showed up to practice early, worked out on his own and kept himself in excellent playing condition and when injuries struck and given the chance to play Perry made the most of it and they couldn’t take him out of the line up. Perry already expressed his desire to return to play for the Habs for the 2021-22 season. I’m sure he would accept a one year contract for between 1.5 million to 2 million for the season this would be a nice pay increase for Perry from the $750,000 he earned for the 2020-21 season. I wouldn’t go above a one year contract as Perry is 36 years old and if he gets injured there is no salary cap relief even if it’s long term. Don’t forget the Anaheim Ducks have to pay Perry $2,000,000 a year until the end of the 2022-23 season. So taking a smaller salary than he is used to getting knowing he still is getting that 2 million might well be enough to keep him happy as he liked Montreal. The salary info can be found at https://www.capfriendly.com/players/corey-perry

Captain

I would name Brendan Gallagher as captain of the team. I’m almost certain if by any chance Weber would return Gallagher would gladly give up the “C” and go back and be happy wearing the “A”. As there is room for one more letter if they can extend Perry, like I’m hoping, they can see above for those details I would give Perry an “A”. He did wear the “A” for a few games last season, being a former captain he knows what it’s about wearing a letter and the duties associated with it.

On The Ice

There are some who considered Weber as a first pairing defenceman in the past season, 2020-21. I considered Weber a second pairing D-man, not by any fault of his own, but getting older and with his many injuries has lost a step or two.
I would use Petry and Edmunsdon as my top pairing defenceman. As Weber was also used on the powerplay and penalty kill I would also employ Petry there and he already has done those things so it’s not adding any pressure on him or him learning new things.

For my second pairing I would keep Chiarot and hopefully he won’t take as many penalties, as he did, 50 minutes in 41 games. I would put Romanov on the second pairing as when he was drafted they all said, and he has shown in the 2020-21 season, he can play big minutes and not afraid to use his size to check opposition players.

My third pairing would be Brett Kulak and a partner to be determined as I have no way to know if the Canadiens will be signing any free agent defenceman or if any defenceman, who is invited to training camp, will rise above others who were above them on the depth chart.

With Weber out for at least the 2021-22 season it may influence Bergevin to extend either Merrill or Gustafsson. Only time will tell. They are both UFA’s so they also will have a say if they wish to return to the Canadiens or not.

There is also Xavier Ouellet and Josh Brooks who are under contract. I feel for Brooks one more year in Laval would be best for him, as normally a defence takes three years to develop fully when turning professional. This would be Brooks’ third season as a pro. With new Head Coach Houle in Laval they may decide to have Ouellet play for the Rocket to help Houle learn about the defenceman who are returning to them. Also Ouellet is the captain of the Laval Rocket and having a new head coach it would make sense to me to keep some stability moving forward.

Losing Cale Fleury To Seattle In Expansion Draft

Losing Cale Fleury To Seattle In Expansion Draft

Written by Fred Arshoff

In the NHL expansion draft held on July 21, 2021 the Montreal Canadiens lost, as I’m sure all of you heard, defenceman Cale Fleury to Seattle.

Before going into my thoughts, just as a quick reminder, in the last expansion draft for Las Vegas on June 21, 2017 defenceman Alexei Emelin was claimed. This does show one thing the expansion teams feel the Montreal Canadiens have good young defenceman, that makes it worth them drafting one of the them.

To say I’m not sorry we lost Fleury, I am very sorry, as felt with Weber supposedly going to miss a lot of time to start the 2021-22 season I had Cale pencilled in to replace Shea. The reason being Fleury is a big body, just like Weber, at 6”1 and weighs 213 pounds.

Fleury was the third round draft choice of the Montreal Canadiens in the 2017 NHL entry draft and was the 87th overall player selected.

Fleury, in the 2020-21 season with the Laval Rocket, in 22 games had no points and two minutes in penalties. The reason for so few games was he was on the Canadiens taxi squad, to start the season, so was sent down later and then also missed time due to injuries.

Seattle will have to extend Fleury as he is an RFA just ending his ELC that had a cap hit of $771,666 including his signing bonus for the first two seasons of $92,500 and this past season $80,000. Fleury also had a performance bonus clause in his contract and I don’t know if he achieved them or not. For more information on Fleury’s salary please see https://www.capfriendly.com/players/cale-fleury

To replace Weber, if it’s true he will miss time, the Canadiens do have several options. If they wish to go with experience they have Ouellet, or if they wish to go younger Josh Brooks. Ouellet is a left defence while Brooks is a right. If it’s to be the seventh defence and get no game action I would prefer to have Ouellet so Brooks can play and continue his development. If it’s to play then I would turn to Brooks. We will have to see their play in training camp to see where the pieces fall.

The Canadiens also have three defencemen who will be starting their own professional careers, so the cupboard isn’t completely empty.

It is in my eyes, although I see a lot of potential for Fleury, it’s better to lose him than Price as I feel Primeau still needs one more season of developing in Laval.

In closing I would like to wish Fleury the best of luck with Seattle and a long productive NHL career. As we noticed at the end of the draft that Cale’s brother Haydn was also chosen. We can only hope they’re able to suit up together and not flipped. Good luck to both.

Getting To Know Jean-Francois Houle

Getting To Know Jean-Francois Houle

Written by Fred Arshoff

First of all I’d like to thank Matine McGuire for informing me on July 20, 2021 that the Montreal Canadiens and Laval Rocket General Manager Marc Bergevin announced they have hired Jean-Francois Houle to be the next Head Coach of the Laval Rocket.

For those who don’t know, right off the top, Jean-Francois Houle is the son of former Montreal Canadien player and general manger Réjean Houle.

Jean-Francois was born January 14, 1975 in Charlesbourg, Quebec, Canada.

Houle attended Clarkson University where he played NCAA Division I hockey with the Golden Knights men’s ice hockey team. Houle was selected by the Montreal Canadiens in the 4th round (99th overall) of the 1993 NHL Entry Draft.

Houle never played in the NHL. He played mostly in the ECHL between the 1997-98 season to the end of the 2001-02 season. During that period of time he did play 69 games for the Fredericton Canadiens of the AHL where he registered 8 goals and 22 assists, and accumulated 109 penalty minutes.

In the 2003-04 season Houle turned his attention to coaching and was an assistant coach at Clarkson University until the end of the 2009-10 season.

Houle went to the Lewiston Maineiacs of the QMJHL (Quebec Major Jr. Hockey League) for the last 33 games of the 2009-10 season as head coach and coached them in their playoffs where they were eliminated in round one. He returned for the 2010-11 season as head coach they made the playoffs but were eliminated in round three.

In the 2011-12 season he was head coach of the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada where he coached until the end of the 2013-14 season, each season they made the playoffs.

As a side note when Houle left Blainville-Boisbriand Armada they hired former Laval Rocket head coach Joel Bouchard.

Houle then went on to be head coach the Bakersfield Condors of the ECHL as head coach for the 2014-15 season. They didn’t make the playoffs.

From the 2015-16 season to the present he was an assistant coach of the Bakersfield Condors of the AHL. The Condors are the AHL affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers.

With this Houle does have 20 years of coaching experience so it’s not like having someone who is just learning the ropes.

Coaching Award and Achievement

2011-12 won the Ron Lapointe Trophy as the QMJHL coach of the year

Welcome aboard Jean-Francois Houle and we trust you will do an outstanding job of developing players drafted or traded to the Montreal Canadiens organization.