Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Habs Press Release - Assistant Coach Perry Pearn Relieved of Duties

Perry Pearn relieved of his duties

MONTREAL (October 26, 2011) – Montreal Canadiens general manager, Pierre Gauthier, announced today that assistant coach Perry Pearn has been relieved of his duties.

“I want to thank Perry Pearn for his contribution to the Canadiens’ organization over the past three years. He remains a very knowledgeable coach with a strong work ethic and is a true professional. I offered Perry to remain with the organization in a different role,” said Canadiens general manager Pierre Gauthier.

Perry Pearn joined the Canadiens organization as an assistant coach on July 6, 2009. This was his third season with the club. A native of Stettler, Alberta, Pearn made his NHL debut as an assistant coach with the Winnipeg Jets in 1995-96.

7 comments:

Well that fixes everything and should take the pressure off on JM and PG. The culprit has been identified and moved to a different position within the organization. The season should be saved.

@anon: LMAO!!! Good thing you're not sarcastic or anything. Tell us how you really feel! ;-)

In all seriousness though, apparently Martin tried, real hard, to convince Gauthier NOT to fired Pearn.

Sounds like the beginning of a rift between the two long-time buddies. Depending on how the Canadiens fare this week, this could be move No.1 of many...

@kamal; So, what was that all about, fire the assistant? I guess Gauthier couldn't bring himself to sack his friend Martin and wanted to send a message to him and the players that changes will have to be made if they don't shape up. Well, they played well and won, but I still believe that Martin and Gauthier need to go. Over 2 summers the need for some skilled size with sandpaper hasn't been addressed and the decisions about the defence have been questionable. Having 2 players coming off knee surgery. Spacek should have been shopped for whatever teams were willing to offer and Wisniewski signed. He was good on the power play, fit in quickly and has an edge to his game.

Time for change, not be mislead by one solid game.

@stsicard: Beats me! If you watch Gauthier's post-firing press conference he seems like he is covering up the truth. It's just a feeling you get when you listen to him.

The one thing he said that stood out, to me, was that it was his decision and Martin tried to talk him out of it.

So how exactly does that work? The GM singles out an ASSISTANT coach to be fired because there is, in his estimation, something seriously wrong there even though the coach doesn't agree?

Sounds like the start of a rift between the two old friends...

I think, more importantly, it is a shot across Martin's bow. Win, or you're next type of thing!

Oh and yes, it was just ONE win yesterday. The Habs still have a deep hole to dig themselves out of. That said, I think they'll pull out the win tonight in Boston.

@stsicard John Madden and Mike Grier are still looking for work. I'm not saying that they would make 100% difference but a couple big quality vet checkers who also pk, AND could be had for less than a mill each, would take some of those duties off Pleks etc... Brian McCabe might be useful as well...

@Sharpsh00ter: Big fan of Madden, even though he's not the player he once was. He could help the Canadiens without question.

I think McCabe is someone the Habs might look out if Markov is out long term. Right now, word is Markov is back in Montreal on Friday. Still no timeline for his return but he was pushed REAL hard by doctors and physio therapists in Florida, and his knee has responded well...

I'm thinking he should be back by mid-Nov...

As much as the Pearn firing remains a mystery, it is true that the coaching staff was becoming a bit overcrowded. That is indeed something that has been pointed both in the articles and the comments on this site. On that level, the move makes some sense. As to why now, in-season, as opposed to during the summer? Beats me.

As for Madden, he could be an interesting option and could allow Montreal to convert Nokelainen to the wing and send back Blunded to the minors. Madden-Nokelainen-Darche. Decent 4th unit. But, as players slowly return to health and with Blunden as well as Nokelainen playing well, it seems the bottom-six is sorting itself out.

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