AFP/Montreal, Canada
Michel Therrien (PICTURED), who guided the Montreal Canadiens within two wins of this year’s Stanley Cup final, received a four-year coaching contract extension from the National Hockey League club yesterday.
The deal will keep Therrien, who had one season remaining on his contract, with the team through the 2018-19 campaign.
“Michel is an accomplished and experienced coach who has instilled a culture of hard work in our organisation while helping develop our young players,” Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin said.
After taking over a Canadiens squad that finished last in the Eastern Conference the season before, Therrien guided Montreal to a playoff spot this past season.
The Canadiens upset top seed Boston and advanced to the conference finals, losing to the New York Rangers.
Therrien, who previously had served as the Canadiens coach from 2000-2003, has won 75 of 130 games since replacing Randy Cunneyworth in June of 2012.
Between stints in Montreal, Therrien spent four seasons as coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins, guiding them to the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals but was fired midway into the following season after a 27-25-5 start.
Therrien, a 50-year-old native of Montreal, has an overall coaching record of 287-224 with 81 draws or overtime losses.
