After spending the 2020-21 regular season and playoffs as interim head coach of the Montreal Canadiens, Dominique Ducharme is now officially the Habs head coach. The team announced Tuesday that they've signed Ducharme to a three-year contract extension and he officially becomes the 31st head coach in Canadiens' history.
"Dominique has managed to set his system in place and establish himself as a head coach in a very unusual season with challenging circumstances. While our team has gone through its fair share of adversity, he has shown a lot of control over the situation as well as showing calm and great leadership. These are important qualities that we look for in a head coach and he fully deserves the chance to lead our team and take it to the next level", said Montreal GM Marc Bergevin.
Ducharme, 48, was promoted to the role of interim head coach on February 24, 2021 after serving as an assistant coach for two seasons under Claude Julien. Under Ducharme, the Canadiens posted a 15-16-7 record in addition to qualifying for the playoffs.
Ducharme became the first coach since Jacques Demers in 1993 to lead the Canadiens to the Stanley Cup Final. The team initially overcame a 1-3 deficit in the first round to beat their archrivals, the Toronto Maple Leafs, in seven games before sweeping the Winnipeg Jets. The Canadiens finally secured their ticket to the Stanley Cup Final by eliminating the Vegas Golden Knights in six games in the third round, winning the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl for the first time in team history.
