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Pascal Vincent admits he wasn’t sure he wanted to practice before arriving in Laval

Originally posted on Dose.ca | Last updated May 16, 2025 8:48 PM ET

Pascal Vincent is in his very first year at the helm of the Rocket. The coach, who succeeded Jean-François Houle, became available just as the Rocket was looking for a coach… and he ended up taking the job.

It was seen at the time as a high-quality hire… and the last few months have (really) confirmed it.

In 2023-24, Vincent found himself at the helm of the Columbus Blue Jackets shortly before the start of the season, following the dismissal of Mike Babcock. This put him in a rather perilous situation… and he pulled out all the stops.

The new boss of hockey operations in Columbus, Don Waddell, fired him… and Vincent found himself out of a job. And by the coach’s own admission, it put an end to what had been a very, very trying year.

It had been so trying that, before arriving in Laval, he even went so far as to ask himself whether he still wanted to be a coach.

He agreed to talk about the difficult context in which he found himself last year https://t.co/pzSQbtcjtB

– TVA Sports (@TVASports) May 16, 2025

It was a time of great soul-searching for the coach… until the Rocket called him. A local lad, he saw the Rocket job as a great way to get his career back on track…

And almost a year later, here he is, tied to several NHL head coaching positions for a possible return after having blown it with his club in the AHL. Clearly, he was right about this one.

In Laval, he rediscovered the pleasure of coaching, as he praises the Canadiens organization for the way it is managed and organized. And we agree that with the Rocket, he was placed in much better conditions than in Columbus, where he found himself head coach of the club “by default” a few days before the start of the season.

Let’s see what’s in store for Vincent now, but it’s nice to see that the coach has been able to get back on his feet after such a trying year.

Of course, the Habs would probably like another year of Vincent at the helm of their club-school… but if the NHL calls, it’ll be hard for him to refuse, we agree.