This was a huge surprise to Carbonneau considering the Habs ended a two game losing streak with a 3-1 victory over the Dallas Stars.  Also surprising is that assistant coaches Doug Jarvis, Kirk Muller and Roland Melanson will not be fired and will stay behind the bench.

Carbonneau, who was in his first head coaching job, had a 124-83-23 record in two-plus seasons with the Habs. He’s the seventh NHL head coach to lose his job this season.

The Canadiens had high expectations this year after leading the Eastern conference last year with 104 points. Also, experts are saying that because of the HABS 100th anniversary season, this added extra pressure on Carbonneau and because he did not produce, he was fired.  The Canadiens brass wants this year to be a memorable one, and because it was headed in the wrong direction, they made the decision to fire Guy.

In the past couple of days, the New York Rangers who are tied with the Canadiens for 5th spot in the conference have just fired their head coach Tom Renney. With the amount of pressure and expectations the city of Montreal brings to their team, one would think that Carbonneau is under a lot more pressure compared to other coaches around the NHL. Especially since it’s the Habs 100th year anniversary celebrating the development of the team, everyone around the National Hockey League including fans are expecting a very successful season from the Habs.

I personally hope that Guy Carbonneau remains head coach for the Montreal Canadiens for this season, and for many more seasons to come. Carbonneau including his assistants Doug Jarvis, and Kirk Muller have been a part of the Montreal Canadiens organization for years. If Bob Gainey were to relieve Guy of his duties, who else could he possibly find as a replacement to match such a character behind the Canadiens bench? Who else knows more about the organization? Who else played as many games and is considered a hall of famer around the city of Montreal who can coach for the Les Habitants?

I believe every team goes through a downfall at some point in their season (the Kostitsyn brothers involved with the mob and Carey Price loving to party) unfortunately it has now come for Guy Carbonneau and the Canadians, and at a crucial time.