Out with the old…. (PHOTO: Jim McIssac Getty Images North America)
….In with the New in Montreal (PHOTO: Ron Albertson The Hamilton Spectator)
Jacques Martin was relieved of his duties as the head coach of the Montreal Canadiens Saturday morning, and the former Senators head coach is being replaced by a former Seantors captain, Randy Cunneyworth.
Martin is the winningest coach in Ottawa Senators history, and has 613 career wins in parts of 17 seasons as an NHL head coach with St. Louis, Ottawa, Florida and Montreal. Martin was in his third season as coach of the Canadiens, but management and fans were unhappy with the club’s 13-12-7 record.
Martin is known for his defensive style of coaching and his inability to allow skilled players to display their skill offensively at times. He is also known for his inability to get playoff success with teams that were expected to go deep in the playoffs. He made it past the 2nd round of the playoffs twice, once with Ottawa in 2002-03 and once with Montreal in 2009-10.
Replacing Martin will be former Ottawa Senators captain Cunneyworth, who after years of being a hot commodity in the AHL and developing many players to NHL calibre, gets his first shot at an NHL head coaching job. He was the head coach of the Hamilton Bulldogs, Montreal’s AHL affiliate for the 2010-11 season before joining Montreal as an assistant this season.