MONTREAL — Eric Raymond was fired by the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday.
It was a move that was anything but shocking, given the disappointing results of the goaltenders he was overseeing this season, but also one that highlighted just how fickle this profession can be.
“It’s part of the business we’re in,” Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said to reporters gathered in Brossard, Que., at the team’s practice facility.
It is an unforgiving one, as highlighted by Raymond’s steady rise and rapid decline with the Canadiens.
He was hired in 2021, and it was a no-brainer to give him a two-year contract extension in July of 2024.
That was Raymond’s reward for helping Jake Allen maintain his market value — which the Canadiens eventually cashed in on — and for coaching up Samuel Montembeault from waiver-wire pickup to reliable starting goaltender.
Roughly six months later, with Jakub Dobes notching wins in his first five NHL starts and Montembeault trending towards becoming one of the top goaltenders in the league in the most relevant statistical category — goals saved above expected — there were calls from the fanbase to promote Raymond to director of goaltending so that his voice could be the most influential one in how all goaltenders in the organization were being developed.
But with Montembeault stumbling out of the gate this season, and then all-too-briefly catching his balance before losing it again, that became a distant memory.
Dobes failing to perform to his ability in between was cause for concern. And Jacob Fowler’s sudden dip in his last two starts, after an impressive first eight games in the NHL, heightened that concern.
So, with the Canadiens firmly in a playoff spot through all 53 games despite ranking 25th in team save percentage (.879), president of hockey operations Jeff Gorton chose to amplify a different voice.
It is a familiar one, belonging to Marco Marciano, who’s been with the Canadiens’ minor-league affiliate since 2013.
Marciano was a video coach for two seasons with the Hamilton Bulldogs before continuing in that role for one year with the St. John’s Ice Caps. He then took over as goaltending coach for the Ice Caps and has been thriving in the position for the Laval Rocket ever since their inaugural season in 2017-18.
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“Marco’s an intelligent guy, works hard, he’s got a good rapport with his goalies, everybody we know speaks highly of him,” said Gorton. “We’ve had interest from around the league for Marco, so we’ve sort of held him back. It’s just time. We just felt like this was his time.”
Gorton made it clear the clock was already running out on Raymond before he and general manager Kent Hughes officially stopped it Wednesday.
There was pause on making such a move earlier this season, with concern it might further destabilize both Montembeault and Dobes at the peak of their struggles.
But Gorton and Hughes deliberated further in discussions with St. Louis and decided waiting any longer didn’t make sense after they were in consensus that Raymond’s expiring contract wouldn’t be renewed in the off-season.
Firing him to promote Marciano was a logical next step at this juncture.
It was taken with the hope Marciano can be as good an influence on Montembeault as he appeared to be before Christmas, when the goaltender accepted an eight-day conditioning stint with the Rocket to mentally and technically reset before returning to win four of his first five starts back with the Canadiens.
Marciano previously helped Dobes quickly ascend to the NHL after coaching him up through 51 AHL games, and the work he did with Fowler this season had to have influenced some of the success the 21-year-old immediately enjoyed with the Canadiens.
So, it’s anything but a wild bet that the 43-year-old coach can be effective in his new duties.
Marciano is assuming them on an interim basis, though, giving him little time to either affirm his reputation or potentially undo it.
Raymond’s plight should serve as a cautionary tale to him. Things change fast in this business, as Gorton would attest to.
“Today is a difficult day when you have to let somebody go that’s been a big piece for you,” said Gorton, who brought Raymond to the Canadiens after overseeing his work with Igor Shesterkin and Alexandar Georgiev when he was general manager of the New York Rangers and Raymond was goaltending coach of the AHL’s Hartford Wolfpack.
“He’s done a lot of good things for us,” Gorton continued. “But at the same time, we’re moving forward with Marco, and that’s the decision we made.”
No other ones appear to be on the front burner.
When asked if he still had faith in Montembeault and Dobes, Gorton responded, “We believe in our goalies, and yeah, we’re very comfortable.”
Still, Marciano has an opportunity to help them be more predictable and consistent.
That’s what the Canadiens need, especially as the team that’s scored the fourth-most goals (180) in the league this season.
The Canadiens would be higher in the standings if not for giving up the sixth-most (177), and while Gorton said that’s not all on the goaltenders, firing their coach spoke for itself.
