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Dans les coulisses

A director has just left the Canadiens, and no one knows why.

Just reading the title of an article isn’t enough to fully understand what it’s all about.

I know, some people will say that if you can’t sum it all up in eight words in your title, you’re clickbait…

But if there’s one thing the NY Times and TheAthletic don’t do, it’s clickbait. No offense to lazy people who wish they could learn everything by reading just a hundred words a day (the equivalent of 12 or 13 headlines)…

On Sunday, Arpon Basu wrote a 2,000-word text in which he tried to put himself in the shoes of Habs executives two or three weeks before the NHL amateur draft. Which player will Kent Hughes, Jeff Gorton, Martin Lapointe and Nick Bobrov select with the fifth overall pick?

Reading Basu’s text, however, we learn something interesting towards the end (after about 1,800 words): Adam Douglas no longer works for the Montreal Canadiens.

“Very quietly, without announcement, the Habs recently parted ways with their director of sport science and performance, Adam Douglas.” –Arpon Basu

Douglas’ name has completely disappeared from the Canadiens’ website.

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In recent “shenanigans”, it was Douglas who was responsible for analyzing the results of the various prospects in NHL physical tests. This year, that work was done by the Canadiens’ (Dale Lablans) and Rocket’s (Stéphane Gervais) fitness coaches.

According to Basu, everything points to Lablans, who was the number two in this department, taking over from Douglas, but it’s unclear how this will work from now on.

Will Lablans be named director and a new fitness coach hired? Will the position of director be abolished altogether? We’ll see.

Douglas joined the Habs in 2021, shortly before Marc Bergevin’s departure. He wasn’t the man for the new management. Did his contract simply end, without being renewed? Maybe…

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Did Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton feel that the guys’ physical preparation was inadequate? That’s another possibility…

In the end, I think the Habs will call it a mutual decision if they ever talk about this separation.

Note that Lablans was hired at the same time as Douglas. He had been working with/under Adam Douglas for about ten years(York University, Hockey Canada, Canadien, etc.).

Douglas had been called upon to replace Pierre Allard in 2021, when the latter headed to Europe as assistant coach.

In bursts

– In true Quebec fashion, Mathieu Choinière went to Florida to watch an NHL playoff game.

– Speaking of Mathieu Choinière, his agent must be salivating this morning…

– They found her.

– You’re allowed to do that in hockey.