Post by Score on Oct 23, 2007 6:48:54 GMT -4
Firing shocks former Rocket head coach
Veteran QMJHL coach Guy Chouinard to replace Yanick Jean behind the bench
The Guardian
Veteran Guy Chouinard is in, Yanick Jean is out.
Fifteen games into the 2007-08 Quebec Major Junior League season, the P.E.I. Rocket fired Jean as its head coach on Monday.
His replacement is Chouinard, 51, a 17-year QMJHL coaching veteran who owns league records for games coached (988), wins (515) and championships (four). He will be introduced at a press conference today in Charlottetown.
Jean’s dismissal came after P.E.I.’s 6-2 win over league-leading Cape Breton in Sydney, N.S., on Sunday.
It was the team’s third straight win and gave it nine points in its last five games, following a 4-7-1 start.
“I didn’t know. It wasn’t even a concern for me. It’s a shock,” Jean, 31, told The Guardian. “I don’t know if anyone got fired after a five-game (point) streak.”
Serge Savard Jr., Rocket president and general manager, axed Jean, who leaves with a record of 68-82 in 135 games, after the team returned to Charlottetown early Monday.
“We needed a change,” said Savard. “I wanted to go with more experience. We hadn’t won a (playoff) series the last two years with Yanick, but it was not easy for him. He followed one of the best coaches (Alain Vigneault). I don’t feel that the franchise moved up.”
Jean joined the club in 2005, agreeing to a three-year contract, but Savard said he told Jean he wouldn’t offer the coach a new deal when the season ended.
“We had taken a decision at the end of training camp, no matter what happened, that it was Yanick’s last year,” said Savard. “We were not going to renew (his contract).
“Obviously we’ve won a few games lately, but the decision was not taken on the last few games.”
For Jean’s part, he said he wasn’t aware his status was in limbo until Savard told him Monday, but added he’s not angry about the timing.
“There’s no point in being mad or anything. It happens. When you’re the boss, you’re the boss. The only thing I knew was that the team had turned around and was on the right track.”
In 2005, Jean inherited a Rocket team in disarray after former head coach Alain Vigneault bolted to the AHL’s Manitoba Moose (he’s now the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks’ head coach) before the Rocket training camp.
Jean, who left his assistant coaching job with Chicoutimi that year, led the squad to a 25-40 record and finished 15th overall, losing in the first round of the playoffs.
Last season, Jean took a more experienced team to an eighth overall finish with 80 points but again lost in the first round.
Chouinard, who has coached Longueuil, Victoriaville, Laval and Quebec teams in the QMJHL and played in the NHL with Atlanta, Calgary and St. Louis, has signed a three-year deal through 2010.
Calls for Jean’s job were rampant almost from the beginning on Internet talk boards and grew stronger after P.E.I.’s start this season. Complaints of his over-playing the two top lines and rewarding favoured players were the most posted remarks.
While Savard admits Jean might develop into a top QMJHL coach, he doesn’t regret his firing or not hiring an older coach in 2005.
“I like Yanick very much and I still think he’s going to coach in this league. I don’t like to look at the past and say ‘I’m disappointed I didn’t hire somebody else’. I don’t regret things I do. It’s not the way to look at a business. I thought at that time it was a good thing to do. It just didn’t turn out the way I expected. For that we have to move on.”
The club will pay out the remainder of Jean’s contract. Savard didn’t disclose the amount.
Jean said he and his wife, Annabelle, and their two children will stay on the Island for awhile as he looks for a new job.
Chouinard will be behind the bench for Wednesday’s home game against Cape Breton. Game time is 7 p.m. at the Civic Centre.
Veteran QMJHL coach Guy Chouinard to replace Yanick Jean behind the bench
The Guardian
Veteran Guy Chouinard is in, Yanick Jean is out.
Fifteen games into the 2007-08 Quebec Major Junior League season, the P.E.I. Rocket fired Jean as its head coach on Monday.
His replacement is Chouinard, 51, a 17-year QMJHL coaching veteran who owns league records for games coached (988), wins (515) and championships (four). He will be introduced at a press conference today in Charlottetown.
Jean’s dismissal came after P.E.I.’s 6-2 win over league-leading Cape Breton in Sydney, N.S., on Sunday.
It was the team’s third straight win and gave it nine points in its last five games, following a 4-7-1 start.
“I didn’t know. It wasn’t even a concern for me. It’s a shock,” Jean, 31, told The Guardian. “I don’t know if anyone got fired after a five-game (point) streak.”
Serge Savard Jr., Rocket president and general manager, axed Jean, who leaves with a record of 68-82 in 135 games, after the team returned to Charlottetown early Monday.
“We needed a change,” said Savard. “I wanted to go with more experience. We hadn’t won a (playoff) series the last two years with Yanick, but it was not easy for him. He followed one of the best coaches (Alain Vigneault). I don’t feel that the franchise moved up.”
Jean joined the club in 2005, agreeing to a three-year contract, but Savard said he told Jean he wouldn’t offer the coach a new deal when the season ended.
“We had taken a decision at the end of training camp, no matter what happened, that it was Yanick’s last year,” said Savard. “We were not going to renew (his contract).
“Obviously we’ve won a few games lately, but the decision was not taken on the last few games.”
For Jean’s part, he said he wasn’t aware his status was in limbo until Savard told him Monday, but added he’s not angry about the timing.
“There’s no point in being mad or anything. It happens. When you’re the boss, you’re the boss. The only thing I knew was that the team had turned around and was on the right track.”
In 2005, Jean inherited a Rocket team in disarray after former head coach Alain Vigneault bolted to the AHL’s Manitoba Moose (he’s now the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks’ head coach) before the Rocket training camp.
Jean, who left his assistant coaching job with Chicoutimi that year, led the squad to a 25-40 record and finished 15th overall, losing in the first round of the playoffs.
Last season, Jean took a more experienced team to an eighth overall finish with 80 points but again lost in the first round.
Chouinard, who has coached Longueuil, Victoriaville, Laval and Quebec teams in the QMJHL and played in the NHL with Atlanta, Calgary and St. Louis, has signed a three-year deal through 2010.
Calls for Jean’s job were rampant almost from the beginning on Internet talk boards and grew stronger after P.E.I.’s start this season. Complaints of his over-playing the two top lines and rewarding favoured players were the most posted remarks.
While Savard admits Jean might develop into a top QMJHL coach, he doesn’t regret his firing or not hiring an older coach in 2005.
“I like Yanick very much and I still think he’s going to coach in this league. I don’t like to look at the past and say ‘I’m disappointed I didn’t hire somebody else’. I don’t regret things I do. It’s not the way to look at a business. I thought at that time it was a good thing to do. It just didn’t turn out the way I expected. For that we have to move on.”
The club will pay out the remainder of Jean’s contract. Savard didn’t disclose the amount.
Jean said he and his wife, Annabelle, and their two children will stay on the Island for awhile as he looks for a new job.
Chouinard will be behind the bench for Wednesday’s home game against Cape Breton. Game time is 7 p.m. at the Civic Centre.
