With the move from St. John’s to Laval, Montreal’s AHL affiliate had an opportunity to wipe the slate clean, and fix some of their very obvious development issues.
They decided to maintain the status quo in terms of coaching, which means Sylvain Lefebvre will return behind the bench next season.
Sylvain Lefebvre first head coach of the Laval Rocket and Larry Carrière appointed general manager. #GoRocket
->> https://t.co/TGl2G7r7Yo pic.twitter.com/kUeDI0BuDt— Rocket de Laval (@RocketLaval) June 29, 2017
In five seasons as Montreal’s AHL affiliate head coach, Lefebvre has managed to earn a playoff berth just once – this past season – earning only one post-season win in the best-of-five series.
That being said, winning shouldn’t be the first priority for AHL teams. The major responsibility resides in developing talent. Unfortunately for the Habs, they have no players that were developed in the AHL under Lefebvre on their current roster, except perhaps Brendan Gallagher who spent half a season with the Hamilton Bulldogs during the lockout. Bringing Lefebvre back into the fold is questionable at best, considering the Canadiens desperately need to do a better job developing their drafted talent.
In other news, Larry Carriere will now officially take over General Manager duties from Marc Bergevin, which means the AHL team will finally have their very own GM. This may not seem major, but having one person in charge of the team will focus more energy on improving the club, which should yield better results in the long run.
With the team moving much closer to Montreal, look for the Canadiens to play a more active approach when it comes to their prospects. Not to mention more opportunities for players to prove their worth, given the proximity of their AHL affiliate will be roughly 2,000 KM closer than it previously was.
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A very early look at the Rocket’s potential lineup
