Remember that the 55-year-old former defenseman set the bar extra high for this group when training camp began, especially with the offseason additions of veteran forwards Tyler Toffoli, Josh Anderson and Corey Perry, defenseman Joel Edmundson, and goaltender Jake Allen to share the workload with Carey Price.
It shouldn't come as a surprise, then, that Bergevin addressed the team privately after Julien and Muller were relieved of their duties, and he basically put the onus on them to return to form under Ducharme's leadership.
"I was clear. The bar is high. I have confidence in them, but all players who wear the Montreal Canadiens uniform must give more," insisted Bergevin. "I said that everyone here, to a man, needs to be better, needs to raise his game, every single guy. That was my message. That's what needs to be done."
Why Ducharme?
When Bergevin contemplated installing a new bench boss, he was sold on Ducharme immediately.
Citing the 47-year-old Joliette, QC native's modern approach and extensive resume, Bergevin considered him the ideal candidate to take the helm ahead of an important two-game set against the Jets.
"Quarantine or no quarantine, Dom was my guy from the time I made my decision. The reason why is that he's a new model of coach, the young coach who came a long way. He had success at the Junior level, had success at the World Junior level," mentioned Bergevin. "I feel that the new voice, that's what this team needs, and also he's a good communicator. Lots of times that's what the players, I feel, based on what I saw, that's what they're looking for."