The Mario Tremblay Memorial Trophy:

Awarded to the league's worst coach

And the winner is:

Guy Carbonneau/Bob Gainey



Carbonneau came into his coaching job with reasonably high expectations. He had been a successful captain on a Cup-winner, an important leader on another Cup-winning team, and had done well as an assistant GM.

So what happened? Carbonneau became quickly famous for his sarcastic smirk every time the Habs received a penalty. That, combined with a penchant for whining at every single call, earned the ire of NHL referees.

Carbonneau contributed to a lack of cohesion on the Habs by constantly mixing lines. Defensemen often appeared on the number one and two forward lines. Rather than rewarding good play or finding chemistry, Carbonneau's line-shuffling was used to punish mistakes. (Hint: a good coach doesn't coach mistakes. he coaches habits.) Carbonneau's particular habit only got worse, and by the time he was fired on March 9, the line shuffling had made the players so tense and nervous that they had forgotten how to play intelligently.

Of course, by then the damage had been done, and Bob Gainey was completely unable to motivate the Canadiens, and with a 6-6 record for the remainder of the season, the Habs were unable to rise above 8th place. The playoffs were not even worth considering, as Montreal was swept without ever looking like they had a chance, or that the players even cared.