Last month, Montreal Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin held a press conference to let everybody know that he stood by head coach Michel Therrien.
“It’s been a hard time for all of us, but I believe in Michel Therrien and his coaching staff. Nobody is going anywhere.”
Those were the words uttered by Bergevin during the presser as the Habs had recently fallen out of playoff contention.
Fast forward one month and things have gone from bad to worse in La Belle Province. Still, Therrien has moved from EVEN odds to now +150 at online shop Sportsbook to be fired by the Canadiens before the end of the regular season. “NO” is presently -200 at the shop.
The Canadiens now sit 12th in the Eastern Conference, have lost three-straight games and relationships between coach and players seem to be deteriorating.
Therrien called out defenseman and leading-scorer P.K. Subban for one play in particular during the Habs’ 3-2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche Wednesday night.
“An individual play cost us the game tonight,” Therrien reportedly told reports in French after the game. “We played a solid game and it’s disappointing that we lost because of an individual mistake.”
The play Therrien is referring to was a Subban turnover near the Avs’ blueline that lead to a Jarome Iginla goal. Watch it here.
Sportsbook also has odds on Bergevin’s fate to go along with Therrien’s. “YES” (for Bergevin to be fired before the end of the regular season) is +400 while “NO” is -700.
Yes, injuries have taken much away from the Canadiens’ once-promising season, but the team should have been good enough to remain in the playoff hunt without Carey Price. Now, with rumors circulating that they may shut the Hart and Vezina Sportsbook down until next season, the team is basically finished.
Whether Therrien and Bergevin are finished in Montreal is all that remains to be seen.
- YES +150
- NO -200
- YES +400
- NO -700
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Following their 4-1 loss to the Boston Bruins at the Bell Centre Tuesday night, the Montreal Canadiens now find themselves on the outside looking in when it comes to the Eastern Conference playoff picture.
The result has the Habs now sitting in 10th in the conference and their head coach Michel Therrien sitting on the hot seat. Online shop Sportsbook has released a prop whether Therrien will be fired before the end of the regular season with “Yes” at EVEN odds and “No” currently -140.
This is Therrien’s fourth season of his second spell in charge of the Canadiens. He was the head coach from 2000 to 2003 but was fired after guiding the team to a 18-19-9 record to begin the 2002-03 season. In those first three seasons in Montreal, the team went 77-77-37.
Therrien has guided the club to much better records his second time around. Montreal has won a pair of division crowns and owns a 125-64-23 record since he took over the team in 2012.
Montreal has been snake bitten for much of the season with injuries playing a large part in the team’s struggles. Star goaltender Carey Price has played in just 12 games but has led the team to a 10-2 record in those dozen games. Sparkplug Brendan Gallagher has missed 17 games but is still second on the team in +/- at +5.
While injuries are part of the game and coping with those injuries is sometimes what separates the elite from the rest of the pack in the NHL, the Canadiens just haven’t been able to find success as Price watches from the sidelines. Whether their recent freefall down the Eastern Conference standings is on Therrien or not, Montreal is a franchise that has made knee-jerk reactions in the past and is certainly not shy when it comes to pulling the trigger on a coaching change.
Visit Sportsbook for all your hockey betting needs, including whether or not you think Therrien will survive in Montreal or not.
