BROSSARD, Que. — Coach Michel Therrien gave a sly smile when asked if Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau’s return to the Montreal Canadiens lineup had anything to do with a tweet sent by his agent.
"We saw the tweet from his agent and that made us think seriously about bringing him back to the lineup," a tongue-in-cheek Therrien said after confirming the winger would return for a game Thursday night against the Ottawa Senators.
Parenteau, who has only six goals and 15 points in 41 games this season, has been a healthy scratch in five of the last six games after returning from a concussion.
After a 1-0 overtime loss to Tampa Bay on Tuesday night, his agent Allan Walsh sent a tweet that read: "Montreal is goal starved and PA Parenteau with 196 points over the previous 4 NHL seasons is a healthy scratch."
Therrien said he felt the timing was right to get Parenteau back in the game. He skated on the second line with Tomas Plenkanec and Alex Galchenyuk.
He said he met with Parenteau to tell him there was no pressure on him to score but he needed to work hard, make good decisions and make plays.
Parenteau had no comment on Walsh’s tweet.
When asked if a agent putting pressure on a coach would affect the team, Therrien smiled again and said "I don’t think so."
