Times are tough for the Montreal Canadiens and for head coach Dominique Ducharme, who no longer knows which way to go to win.
Ducharme, which has seen dozens of players fall into the fray for a variety of reasons including COVID-19 this year, claims an average of 0.264 for this regular schedule. His forces conceded five consecutive losses and his 7-24-5 record, good for 19 points, is the worst in the ring.
Since arriving to lead the team, replacing Claude Julien on February 24, 2021, the Quebec driver has suffered a large percentage of defeats, except of course during the playoffs which saw Habs reach the Stanley Cup Final. However, when it comes to the regular season, it is very difficult for Ducharme.
In fact, as seen on specialist site Hockey Reference, as of Friday, he had the third-worst point average in Canadian history among top coaches. His career record of 22-40-12 earns him a low average of 378. Pit Lépine (260) and Sylvio Mantha (344) are the only two who have performed worse, leading 48 games each, compared to Ducharme’s 74 so far. In Lieben’s case, he was in office only for the 1939–40 campaign, the last during which the club finished in the National League general classification vault; It had seven formations at that time.
Below the line of respect
After taking over from Julien, the Quebec driver was unable to show a record .500 before entering qualifying. His men were satisfied with 15 wins in 38 games, but that was enough to qualify for the playoffs.
Three other coaches in Bleu-Blanc-Rouge history were unable to average an average equal to or above the respect threshold during their stay with the team. They are Randy Connworth (450), Alain Vignolet (483) and Newzy Lalonde (498).
