Long time Therrien assistant coach Clement Jodoin opts to leave Canadiens

AThe Canadian Press

ssistant coach Clement Jodoin is leaving the Montreal Canadiens.

Jodoin, who has been an assistant coach for 10 years in two stints with Montreal, decided on his own to resign, head coach Claude Julien said in a statement.

“At our post-season meeting, we offered Clement to remain on our coaching staff, but he indicated to us that at this stage in his career, he would be looking for a change and would like to explore other challenges,” Julien said.

Jodoin, 65, served as an assistant coach in Montreal from 1997 to 2003 under Alain Vigneault and Michel Therrien.

He returned when Therrien began his second stint as head coach in 2012 after serving as head coach for one season of the Hamilton Bulldogs, then the Canadiens top farm club.

Julien replaced the fired Therrien on Feb. 14. He was expected to bring in some of his own assistants, as most head coaches do.

Jodoin was an assistant coach with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1987-88 and for two seasons with the Quebec Nordiques in the 1990s.

He is a two-time coach of the year in the Quebec Major junior Hockey League, where he served as bench boss in Halifax, Lewiston and Rimouski.

Pictured on the right: Clement Jodoin is shown in a 2006 Hockey Canada handout photo. Assistant coach Jodoin is leaving the Montreal Canadiens.