Michel Therrien would have tolerated the Triple Low Five if he had coached in 2024

When you think of Carey Price and P.K. Subban, you think of two guys who had a great time in a Habs uniform. After all, both guys represented the core of the team a decade ago, and while they didn’t win the Stanley Cup in town, they came close in 2014 before Chris Kreider derailed the Tricolore’s plans.

And on an individual level, both guys still won individual honors. They were among the league’s elite for a few years.

That said, when we think of these two players, we also think of the famous Triple Low Five, the two guys’ celebration following a victory. It left a lasting impression… until Michel Therrien put an end to it in 2013.

It didn’t go down too well at the time.

Tonight, on JiC, Therrien went back over the whole thing… and admitted that if he’d had to deal with the same situation as coach in 2024, he wouldn’t have put an end to the celebration.

“Triple Low-Five”: Michel Therrien would have accepted it today https://t.co/91Sf0vC440

– TVA Sports (@TVASports) April 22, 2024

Therrien, who doesn’t regret having done it back then in order to change the club’s culture, says that the reality in 2024 is completely different from that in 2013. He would therefore have had to change his mentality, and admits that he would probably have made a different decision at this level in line with this new philosophy.

The league is much more open to these “individualistic” behaviors in 2024 than it was 10 years ago, after all. The comparison isn’t perfect, but imagine a guy like Trevor Zegras 10 years ago: he would have been the victim of dirty hits at every turn for every spectacular action he attempted.

Today, for example, we see the two Bruins goalies celebrating after every win (both hugging each other on the ice), and nobody sees a problem or anything. It’s a bit like what Therrien said: the league isn’t the same today as it was ten years ago.

And it’s good to see that Therrien is aware of this, even if it has unfortunately deprived Habs fans of a rather nice tradition back in the day.