The firing, over four years ago, still stings

Guy has done a special interview with the Quebec newspaper La Presse, concerning his firing from the Canadiens in March 2009 and his relationship with Bob Gainey.

The Google translation to English is wonky; I've tried to clean it up to the best of my ability.

I can understand the pain felt by coach Peter Laviolette, who was fired by the Flyers earlier this week.

The memories of my own dismissal are still fresh in my memory, even four and a half years later ...

Coming back from Dallas on March 9, 2009, I was happy on the plane, because we had won the match against the Stars, and things seemed to get back into place after a slump in January.

We would play 11 of our last 16 games at home, where we had a good record. I foresaw the end of the season with optimism, especially as our injured players began to return to the game.

When we landed in Montreal around noon, I received a call from Bob Gainey, who did not accompany the team to Dallas.

I took the call, expecting to receive congratulations from him for our game against the Stars. He asked me to meet him as soon as possible at the Bell Centre. I told him that I would spend some time at home before we met.

When he told me he would meet me at home, I asked why. I experienced great emotions with this man. I was with him when his wife died. I was one of the first people he called after the tragedy of his daughter. I thought he had serious things to discuss.

But I was not expecting bad news about my job.  We had, after all, 104 points last year, and despite our slump during the winter, our record was 35-24-7. I coached in the All-Star Game as assistant to Claude Julien.  Nothing allowed me to believe that my job was in danger.

When I opened the door, I felt something strange. He sat at the table, my wife was with me. Bob told me that he wanted to make changes and I was relieved of my duties.

I was in shock. I said "what?"  I was fired for the first time in my life.  I tried to find out why, but when I saw that it was useless, I thanked him and I said goodbye, saying that he had made a mistake.

I went on a very long walk.  That was in March and it was cold, but I did not freeze ...

What makes it worse today is that I still don't know the reason why Bob fired me.  I wish I had a reason.  Because of our long friendship as coaches, as former teammates, I believe I deserved a reason.

I would have preferred him to say: we tried you, but you're not a good coach.  Nothing like that. He fired me without telling me why.

We have spoken twice since.  It was cordial, and I agreed to meet him in the hope that I would finally learn why he fired me.  This has not happened.  I do not know if it will happen one day, probably not, but for me, it would allow me to finally close this chapter of my career. 

Interview by Mathias Brunet

Guy at NHL FaceOff

Guy was present at yesterday's NHL FaceOff festivities in Montreal.  Here is a photo of him signing the jersey of a lucky fan, published on NHL's official Instagram account:

(photo source:  Instagram / NHL)

Guy talks poker and hockey

Full Tilt Poker.net has posted this wonderful interview with Guy, done at a recent Montreal poker festival.  

Enjoy!

Rest in peace, Denis Brodeur

Denis Brodeur, longtime official Montreal Canadiens photographer and father of legendary goaltender Martin Brodeur, passed away last week at age 82.  The elder Brodeur was also a goaltender, between the pipes when Team Canada won the bronze medal at the 1956 Olympic Games in Italy.  

Dave Stubbs of the Montreal Gazette tweeted this wonderful Denis Brodeur photo of Guy with Brodeur's young son Martin, at the old Montreal Forum.

(photo source:  Twitter / @Dave_Stubbs)

A new -- and really neat -- Guy hockey card

(photo source:  eBay)

In terms of Carbonneau collecting, I've never been a big hockey card person, though I have quite a few of cards featuring Guy.  With the boom in cards featuring NHL alumni, every once in a while something comes along that really catches my eye.  Like this card, for example.  It's a limited issue of only 500 cards from the Elite Rookie Anthology series.  The photo is of Guy in the Heritage Classic MegaStars alumni game, which was played on November 22, 2003 in Edmonton.  It's quite a nice card and I may very well pick one up to add to my own collection.  

Nice IIHF.com piece about Carbo and Maccabi

Guy's been back in the limelight lately due to bringing home hockey gold at the Maccabi Games in Israel a few weeks back.  Here's what IIHF.com had to say:

METULA, Israel – Guy Carbonneau’s 18 NHL seasons produced three Stanley Cup Championships, three Selke Trophies and profound hockey acumen.

But a gold medal on the international stage remained elusive for the defensive specialist from Quebec never afforded the opportunity to represent Canada during his playing days.

But, that is no longer the case for the 53-year-old Carbonneau who led Canada’s hockey team to gold at the recently concluded Maccabiah Games (or so-called “Jewish Olympics”).

Canada defeated familiar foe USA 7-1 in the final of the open division at the games. Ukraine and Israel also fielded sides in the four-team tournament.

“Anytime you get a chance to get behind the bench, coach and represent your country it’s a thrill,” Carbonneau noted after the tournament.

“I love competition and never got the chance to play at the Olympics or World Championships. Whenever you get a chance to be part of Hockey Canada, it’s a tremendous opportunity,” added Carbonneau, who was coaching the Canadian U18 national team in 2010.

The Maccabiah Games are held every four years in Israel and are open to Jewish and Israeli athletes, promoting competition and the opportunity for participants to further explore Israel and Jewish history.

Hockey made its first and most recent appearance at the Maccabiah Games in 1997 but had a comeback in the 2013 Maccabiah Games.

The event took place in the northern Israeli city of Metula near the Lebanese border. Metula possesses the only full-sized ice rink in the country fittingly called the Canada Centre Ice Rink.

Canada also won the tournament in the junior division, while the United States claimed gold in the masters division.

Previous international coaching engagements for Carbonneau include serving as head coach at the 2010 IIHF U18 World Championship and assistant coach at the 2001 World Championship and at the U18 World Championship the same year.

Yet, Canada failed to medal in all three of Carbonneau’s experiences, while gold at the Maccabiah Games almost never materialized.

Legendary coach Mike Keenan was scheduled to be behind the bench for Canada until he took over duties for Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the KHL in mid-May.

“I got a call two months ago asking if I was interested,” Carbonneau explained. “They could’ve played it anywhere and I would’ve said yes. I really enjoy having the opportunity to travel and coach internationally.”

Not only did the tournament produce a long-awaited gold for Carbonneau, but it might have also rekindled his passion for coaching.

“I’d love to coach again. I’m passionate about working with players, but the situation must make sense,” said Carbonneau.

“It’s not a money thing. The lifestyle must make sense for me as well,” he added.

Currently, Carbonneau serves as an analyst for French-Canadian broadcaster RDS on hockey telecasts, a role he relishes due to the cerebral nature of watching and analyzing the game.

Someone entrenched in the game for so long offers a unique perspective on the future of the game both in terms of quality and expansion.

“Being in Israel, you notice how much the game is growing in non-traditional places. It’s a lot like my time in Dallas, or places like Phoenix or Los Angeles. It’s hot, you’re already sweating on the way to practice, but hockey is still being played there,” Carbonneau remarked.

Carbonneau went on to explain how the game at the youth level is constantly improving and how impressive it is to see hockey played in places like the Middle East.

He used Switzerland’s inclusion in the gold medal game at the 2013 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship as a prime example of how countries not typically considered major hockey powers are now putting their stamp on the game.

Events similar to the Maccabiah Games and the inclusion of quality hockey characters such as Carbonneau will continue to drive the game into previously unchartered territories.  (link)

An oldie but a goodie

I was going through an old camera tonight, and found this picture from half a decade ago:

Carbonneau fan back then too, and will always be.  :)