Canadiens' Ducharme 'so happy to be back' after mandatory quarantine

July 02, 2021 - 12:04pm

Montreal Canadiens head coach Dominique Ducharme speaks about his time spent away from the team due to COVID-19.

Head coach Dominique Ducharme said he’s “so happy to be back” with the Montreal Canadiens ahead of Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday.

Ducharme: "I don’t think the last two weeks changes what it means to me. That’s everyone’s dream, to be playing or being involved in a Stanley Cup Final. I’m just so happy to be back."

— Nick Cotsonika (@cotsonika) July 2, 2021

Ducharme tested positive for COVID-19 on June 18, ahead of Game 3 of the Canadiens’ semifinal series against the Vegas Golden Knights, and was required to isolate for 14 days. Friday marks the end of that quarantine period, with Ducharme getting the official go-ahead Thursday to rejoin the team for Friday’s morning skate.

Dominique Ducharme is officially back with the @CanadiensMTL ahead of Game 3 tonight. #ItsOn | #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/8RifkAEsam

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) July 2, 2021

He’ll now resume his role behind the bench in Montreal as the Canadiens look to cut their 2-0 Cup Final series deficit in half Friday night.

During Ducharme’s absence, assistant coach Luke Richardson stepped in and guided the club past Vegas, winning two of three games to close out that series.

Two weeks dealing with Luke Richardson was tremendous. Intelligent, passionate, positive and incredibly respectful. He did an excellent job, and it was very easy to see why Canadiens defencemen have raved about him for the last few years. His time as a head coach is imminent.

— Eric Engels (@EricEngels) July 1, 2021

On Friday, Ducharme also expressed to reporters his disappointment that the team won’t be permitted to open up the Bell Centre to more fans.

"Disappointing. Really disappointing…It was a way to compensate our fans, who have been through 15 months of isolation…We'll have 3500 people inside, probably 25,000 outside…It's hard to understand," said Dom Ducharme about rejected proposal to increase Bell Centre capacity

— Eric Engels (@EricEngels) July 2, 2021

The Canadiens’ home is currently limited to 3,500 fans inside. The organization submitted a request to open up to 10,500 fans for the Stanley Cup Final, but that bid was denied by Quebec’s public health authorities earlier this week.

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