Did Hurricane Debby keep Larry Robinson from landing a job in Montreal?

Larry Robinson landing a new gig as associate coach in San Jose makes for another great turn in his post-playing career, one where he spent the bulk of in Montreal. The Canadiens too were interested in bringing Robinson aboard Michel Therrien‘s staff but talks never got far.

Why? Apparently Mother Nature determined a return to Quebec wasn’t in the cards as Dave Stubbs of the Montreal Gazette shares.

It was no secret that a number of NHL clubs had expressed interest in Robinson’s coaching talents. Complicating matters with the Canadiens was the fact that he was unable last month to come north for a face-to-face interview, tied down in Florida dealing with the onslaught of Hurricane Debby and the torrential rains that overflowed his swimming pool and swamped the 12-acre polo farm he co-owns, stabling and training polo horses.

As Stubbs notes, Robinson kept in touch with Habs GM Marc Bergevin but an interview never happened as Therrien wanted to bring J.J. Daigneault so badly, they hired him before even speaking to Robinson. Alas, romanticism only goes so far when it comes to getting business done.

Robinson landing his gig in San Jose, however, should turn out pretty good for him given the defensemen he’ll get to work with there in Dan Boyle, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, and Brad Stuart among others.