Ken Hitchcock can give you all the proper explanations as to how Guy Carbonneau made the leap from thinking man's NHL player to winning head coach, one whose team, the Montreal Canadiens, sits atop the Eastern Conference.
Carbonneau learned from the greats when he played in Montreal, Hitchcock said; learned how to compete and how to shoulder the weight of expectations. He also learned how to play the game in various roles, as a scoring centreman, then defensive specialist, then veteran leader.
But the real reason for Carbonneau's successful transition?
"He's stubborn," said Hitchcock, who coached Carbonneau for five seasons with the Dallas Stars. "He's determined and stubborn, and those are good traits to have as a coach."
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Carbonneau was called many things last season — ineffective and inexperienced to name two — but this spring he's produced beyond imagination by guiding Montreal to a record 76th playoff appearance, not to mention first place in the East.
No one in his right mind saw that coming. On a list of hockey's most improbable acts, the Canadiens' jumping from playoff outsiders in 2007 to conference leaders in 2008 has to rank at the top, way ahead of Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Bryan McCabe scoring into his own net.
In his second season as Canadiens coach, Carbonneau has learned to listen better, yet act decisively. He will sit players who aren't performing, break up forward lines, reassemble old ones, all with the understanding he is operating in the NHL's most demanding marketplace — operating as a head coach should, he said.
"You tend to think as a player [after a 19-year career], but I'm acting more as a coach," Carbonneau explained on a media conference call yesterday. "I understand the impact more of my decisions. I knew how to prepare a little bit before [as a coach], but there are quick decisions to make behind the bench. You learn how to use the players. Last year, everyone was new to me. Now, I know who to play on the penalty kill, when we're up one, down one."
Carbonneau's playing background made him an obvious candidate to coach one day, and in Montreal, too. When he was appointed captain of the Habs, he grasped the importance of it. He had played alongside Larry Robinson, Guy Lafleur and Bob Gainey. He knew the names of the players who had occupied his stall in the Montreal Forum's dressing room.
In Dallas, he helped the Stars win the 1999 Stanley Cup. Even before that, Hitchcock saw the true makings of Carbonneau as coach.
"Our penalty killing was over 90 per cent one year and for guys like Carbo, Mike Keane and Kirk Muller, that was very important," Hitchcock said. "We got scored on late in the season and our penalty killing went under 90 per cent. Carbo went ballistic because we allowed that goal. I remember him going over that goal 10 times the next day on the ice with the guys to make sure it didn't happen again."
Carbonneau is not the least bit shocked that the Habs have risen so far, so quickly. Last season, there were injuries, a botched Christmas road trip and the ever-disruptive Sergei Samsonov situation, which ended with the brooding winger being traded to the Chicago Blackhawks.
This season, the Habs stayed healthy, survived their Christmas road trip and never batted an eye when winger Alexei Kovalev questioned Carbonneau's bench management by saying someone should have called a timeout to try to prevent a late, game-tying goal by the Florida Panthers.
Carbonneau's response was to the point: "There are some things that have to stay in the room." End of controversy.
"I talked to a few guys in the summer — Jacques Lemaire, Ken Hitchcock, Lindy Ruff, Mike Keenan," Carbonneau said. "It's not advice as much as stories. We all have the same problems, just in different places — a player is unhappy, how [the other coaches] deal with it.
"I've been like this as a player. I watched how coaches interacted with players. You take the good and learn from it."
The learning will continue next month when Carbonneau, despite his 231 games of playoff experience as a player, enters the postseason as a coaching rookie. He understands it will be different and that to be a success in Montreal, you have to win when it counts.
Still, he is counting on his team to carry on as it has this regular season, with secure defensive play and solid goaltending.
"I knew with the player additions we had [in training camp] we'd be a better team," Carbonneau said. "I don't deny I take a lot of pride in proving people wrong."
Stubborn and determined; good traits for a good coach; likely the NHL's coach of the year.
