Ducharme on his work behind the bench:
We're going to meet as a staff to discuss what we did. We really wanted to make sure that things were clear and there weren't any grey areas in terms of the way we played, the way we behaved, or the way we responded to adversity. I don't really like to talk about myself. We do what we can to bring out the best in our players and our team. We want to work with the players and help them. We had a good playoff run. We want to use this situation the right way and use it to become better. We want to finish the job.
Ducharme on his success after being named interim head coach:
In the role I had as an assistant, I still had to communicate with the group a lot. We established a certain relationship. I felt comfortable right from the start. The first day I spoke, I mentioned that I felt like a student who studied and was ready for the exam. Reflecting on everything we did and reaching the Stanley Cup Final, it waas a crazy year. I didn't have a lot of time to think about what happened. I think it'll hit me in the coming weeks.
Ducharme on the players meeting with Bob Gainey at the start of the playoffs:
We created something internally that measured our work ethic. We always talked about playing the right way and playing our style of game. It was a way to calculate everything we did in that regard. It allowed us to generate a percentage, and there was a winner every game. The trophy we invented for that internal competition was related to Bob Gainey because he was tough to face and he had good habits. Our trophy was called "Gritty Bob." That's why Bob Gainey came to talk to the guys and present the award.
Ducharme on the development of Jesperi Kotkaniemi:
We've seen progress over the last three seasons. He has nearly 200 games under his belt. At his age, there are a lot of players who haven't even played a single game yet. He has to use that experience the right way. We like what KK is doing. He has shown a lot of good things. Now, he needs to take a big step forward. We're working with him. We want him to become a dominant player and to reach his potential. We simply took the time to explain to him the way we see things. I'm confident that he'll come back having taken a big step forward.
Bergevin on Ducharme's contract situation:
The day I made the change, my intention was to keep him in Montreal long-term. It was important to attach the interim tag to start, like Dallas did last season with Rick Bowness. He did great work to help the team reach the Final, but internally we already believed in Dominique Ducharme. We don't have anything signed right now. We finished the season two days ago. We didn't have the time, but it's one of the first things to resolve. The day it'll be settled, you'll all know about it at the same time.
