The Montreal Canadiens have fired head coach Dominique Ducharme, according to an announcement from general manager Kent Hughes. The Canadiens are expected to make an announcement later on Wednesday regarding who will be the franchise's head coach going forward.
"We would like to sincerely thank Dominique for his work and contributions to the Montreal Canadiens organization," Hughes said in a press release. "At this point in the season, we felt it was in the best interest of the club to make a change."
Ducharme was the only causality on Wednesday as the team plans to retain assistant coaches Alex Burrows, Eric Gravel, Mario Leblanc, Trevor Letowski, Éric Raymond and Luke Richardson.
The Canadiens promoted Ducharme to head coach in February 2021 following the firing of Claude Julien. Prior to the promotion, Ducharme had been an assistant coach for two previous seasons in Montreal. Ducharme originally joined the Canadiens coaching staff in April 2018 after 10 seasons in the QMJHL.
During his time as Montreal's head coach, Ducharme put together a 23-46-14 record in 83 regular season games. In addition, the 48 year old compiled a 13-6 record in the postseason and helped lead the Canadiens to their first Stanley Cup Final appearance since 1993.
Entering Wednesday, the Canadiens have a 8-30-7 record (23 points), which is the worst mark in the NHL. Montreal has lost seven consecutive games, including a 7-1 loss at the hands of the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday.
