Habs Roundup: Assistant Coaches and Management Team Finalized

What a busy week in the world of the Montreal Canadiens.

On a nearly daily basis for the last seven days, announcements have followed each other at a seemingly unending rhythm. In the end, the dust settled and the organization's hockey operations underwent a major upheaval.

Clement Jodoin and Gerard Gallant named Assistant Coaches

The question of Michel Therrien's assistants was quickly answered, as a blast from the past and a new face completed the revamped coaching staff. Now, Therrien will also be counting of Clement Jodoin and Gerard Gallant to guide the rebuilding Canadiens.

As you will recall, Clement Jodoin was an Assistant Coach with the Montreal Canadiens between 1997 and 2003, namely working under Michel Therrien during his first tenure in Montreal. He also coached extensively in the QMJHL, compiling a 297-277-20 record over his junior career.

Gerard Gallant also comes with significant QMJHL experience, having most recently coached the Saint John Sea Dogs to back-to-back championships and the 2011 Memorial Cup. Unlike Jodoin, though, Gallant coached almost 150 games and played over 600 at the NHL level.

It should also be noted that, at some point, Gallant was even rumored to be in contention for the Canadiens head coaching position.

One almost has to wonder, should Michel Therrien's return prove to be less than a success, is Gallant in place as a bit of Plan B?

Sylvain Lefebvre named coach of Hamilton Bulldogs

The club also announced that former Habs blueliner Sylvain Lefebvre would be the new head coach of the American Hockey League's Hamilton Bulldogs. With Clement Jodoin's move to Montreal, the position had become available. 

Lefebvre was an assistant for three seasons to head coach Joe Sacco with the Colorado Avalanche after having worked as an assistant in the AHL with Lake Erie.

Patrice Brisebois and Martin Lapointe join organization

After announcing the appointments of Scott Mellanby and Rick Dudley in recent weeks, Marc Bergevin also added Patrice Brisebois and Martin Lapointe to his management team.

Patrice Brisebois, who played all but two seasons of his NHL career in Montreal, was named to the position of Player Development Coach. 

Although he appears to have little experience in the way of coaching or development, Brisebois' sometimes challenging tenure in Montreal could certainly bring welcome perspective to some of the team's younger players.

As for Martin Lapointe, he was slotted as Director of Player Development. In the past, this role was held by top amateur scout Trevor Timmins.

Up until this post, Lapointe had been professional scout with the Chicago Blackhawks since 2009. He also played almost 1000 NHL games, winning two Stanley Cups as part of the Detroit Red Wings.

What do you think of the recent slew of hirings? 

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Louis is an Associate Editor and Senior Writer at HabsAddict.com. Born in Chicago, Louis grew up in Quebec City where he earned Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration from Université Laval. He is also an occasional guest on CKCU's Red Zone program.

Find him on twitter @LouisMoustakas


(Photo by Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images North America)

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