The Champions and Challenge Cups will resume in April with a knockout round of 16, after the final two rounds of pool matches in January were cancelled.

Any team who won two pool games on the pitch will get a home fixture.

The last-16 draw will take place on 9 March with the matches being played on the first weekend of April.

Knock-out stages come early to Europe

Concerns from the French government regarding cross-border travel led to the suspension of pool matches in January, with Premiership Rugby confirming last month those matches would not be rearranged.

The initial plan had been for the quarter-finals to be played over two legs, but this has now been scrapped in favour of a round of 16 followed by one-legged quarter-finals the weekend after.

Clubs who won their two matches - without either being affected by Covid-19 - will be at home in the round of 16. Therefore Racing 92, Leinster, Wasps, Bordeaux and Munster will all have home advantage.

The other clubs to qualify for the knockout stages are Lyon, Toulouse, La Rochelle, Scarlets, Clermont Auvergne, Bristol, Exeter, Edinburgh, Gloucester, Toulon and Sale.

Clubs from the same league cannot be drawn against each other in the round of 16, but clubs from the same pool can be drawn against each other.

In the Challenge Cup, the round of 16 will comprise the eight highest-ranked clubs at the time of the suspension of the tournament along with the eight clubs which have not qualified for the last 16 of the Champions Cup.

London Irish, Ospreys and Leicester will each be guaranteed a home fixture.

Cardiff Blues, Zebre, Agen, Benetton, Newcastle Falcons, Ulster, Connacht, Northampton Saints, Bath, Montpellier, Dragons, Harlequins and Glasgow will make up the rest of the Challenge Cup round of 16.

The semi-finals of both competitions are scheduled for the weekend of 30 April, with the finals in Marseille on Friday, 21 May and Saturday, 22 May.

Scotland's Six Nations match with France is set to go ahead as scheduled on Sunday, despite a Covid-19 outbreak in the French camp.

But subsequent rounds of testing on Tuesday and Wednesday revealed no further positive cases.

The Six Nations confirmed they plan to stage the match in Paris as planned.

"We continue to monitor the situation very closely and are in regular contact with both unions," a statement read.

Gregor Townsend's men sit fourth in the table, having followed their historic victory at Twickenham with a one-point home loss to Wales, while unbeaten France top the standings.

The hosts will be without a slew of key players, including captain Charles Ollivon and star scrum-half Antoine Dupont, who are now isolating.

Galthie has been involved in coaching sessions remotely while isolating, and several players have been called up to replace those ruled out.

A postponement could have left Townsend without over 10 members of his squad, who would have to return to their clubs in England and France due to World Rugby player release regulations.

MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Prior to Tuesday’s NTT IndyCar Series test at Barber Motorsports Park, the last time Romain Grosjean was in a race car, he was lucky to be alive.

It was on the first lap of the Nov. 29 Bahrain Grand Prix when Grosjean’s Haas VF-20 F1 hit a guardrail barrier at full speed, splitting the car in half and engulfing it in flames.

The Formula One veteran exited the car unaided and was helped away from the crash scene by Alan van der Merwe and Ian Roberts, with minor burn injuries to his hands and ankles before being airlifted to a nearby military hospital.

It was his last Formula One race.

Grosjean began the next chapter of his racing career with Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware in the NTT IndyCar Series Tuesday at the Alabama road course.

Grosjean will driving the No. 51 Honda in the street and road courses races this year, plus the oval contest at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Ill.

“It felt like home,” Grosjean said of his return to a race car. “(My children) were actually super-excited. I’ve been sharing with them a lot and showed them the car. They were happy. I sent them pictures and they were able to follow on social media.

“They know that daddy is doing what he likes and that is the most important thing to him.”

The Indy car is much different than the highly technical Formula One car that Grosjean has competed in. Most notably, there is no power steering in an Indy car.

“It is the hardest thing to cope with,” Grosjean said. “The first few laps, the muscles weren’t ready for the steering, but it got better as the day went on. That’s always a good sign. I know what I need to work on in the gym. I think I can fine-tune my training.”

Grosjean’s burned left hand continues to heal and he was able to endure through the challenge of the test, while making the transition to the DCR Honda.

“It went OK, the hand is not perfect,” Grosjean said. “There is a nice big blister on my left thumb which is not pretty. Driving wise, it wasn’t painful. I was careful on some of the curbs, but generally it wasn’t a limitation.”

According to unofficial times compiled by TrackSide Online, Rinus VeeKay of Ed Carpenter Racing was the fastest driver in the test session with a fast time of 66.518 seconds around the 17-turn, 2.38-mile Barber Motorsports Park.

Grosjean was the slowest of the 12 drivers at the test with a fast lap at 67.478 around the course but was just 0.96 seconds slower than VeeKay.

VeeKay was followed by Sebastien Bourdais in a Chevrolet (66.633), Graham Rahal’s Honda (66.721), Will Power’s Chevrolet (66.902), Conor Daly’s Chevrolet (67.021), Josef Newgarden’s Chevrolet (67.039), Scott McLaughlin’s Chevrolet (67.065), Simon Pagenaud’s Chevrolet (67.166), Dalton Kellett’s Chevy (67.238), Ed Jones’ Honda Takuma Sato’s Honda (67.448) and Grosjean.

“It felt good,” Grosjean said. “It really felt like home at the beginning. It’s a new car so I had to adjust a little bit to my new driving position, but things very quickly felt smooth.

“The car doesn’t have as much power as a Formula One car, but the mechanical grip is pretty outstanding, and you can drive different lines in the car. I could go on for a long time to compare the two cars, but what I found here is a lot of mechanical grip and less aero, but with less power. The drivability of the engine worked very well.”

Grosjean is with one of the smallest teams in IndyCar and believes the team is highly motivated and works well together.

“I think we can do a great job, and that is why I took the challenge,” Grosjean said. “Yes, there are less people, but generally I have been getting on very well with everyone and haven’t felt any limitations on the car.

“We tried different setups on the car just to give me a different feel. We didn’t look at finding the perfect balance; it was so I knew what was happening when we changed big things on the car.”

For Grosjean, the most important thing was climbing back into a race car.

“It felt like home, to be fair,” he said. “I didn’t have any apprehension whatsoever.”

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Trackhouse Racing announced Wednesday that Camping World will sponsor its No. 99 Chevrolet Camaro and driver Daniel Suarez at several races during the NASCAR Cup Series season.

Camping World, the nation’s largest network of RV and outdoor lifestyle centric locations and sponsor of the NASCAR Truck Series, makes its first appearance as the primary sponsor of the No. 99 on Sunday at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway.

The sponsorship brings together three visionary entrepreneurs in Trackhouse Racing team founder Justin Marks, Grammy Award-winning global superstar and Trackhouse co-owner Pitbull and Camping World CEO and Chairman Marcus Lemonis, who also stars in the CNBC reality show, “The Profit.”

“This has been a pretty amazing start to our young organization,” said Marks, whose Trackhouse team debuted in this year’s Daytona 500. “It is an honor to have someone with the stature of Marcus believe in what we are doing and want to sponsor our team. We are building the foundation that will keep Trackhouse strong on the track and in the community for years to come.”

“Daniel Suarez and Pitbull are great marketing partners and will help communicate our company’s offering effectively and efficiently to the ever changing and fast-growing Hispanic market,” added Lemonis.

Pitbull was Grand Marshal at the Daytona 500 on Feb. 14 and plans to attend the Homestead race on Sunday.

Suárez, 29, a native of Monterrey, Mexico, notably stands out as the only foreign-born national series champion in NASCAR history with his 2016 Xfinity Series title.

“I met Marcus a few years ago when he sponsored me in the No. 19 car and it is amazing that we reunite with the Trackhouse team,” said Suarez. “I consider Marcus a friend, but also consider him one of the great business minds in the world. We will definitely help tell the story of Camping World and its products and services and he will help tell the story of Trackhouse and our efforts on and off the track. This is exciting for me.”

Camping World joins CommScope, iFLY, K1Speed, PUMPiTUP, Coca-Cola and Chevrolet as sponsors on the No. 99.

HOMESTEAD, Fla. – Denny Hamlin will lead the field to green Sunday when the NASCAR Cup Series hits the track for the Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Hamlin received the Busch Pole Award courtesy of the highest metric score among the 38 cars entered to compete.

Lap speed is weighted at 15 percent, previous race finish at 25 percent for the driver and owner results and owner points position at 35 percent to calculate the final metric score.

Hamlin earned the pole with a metric score of 2.15, factoring in his third-place finish at the Daytona Road Course, the second-fastest lap from the event and his top seeding in the point standings after two of 36 races this season.

Daytona Road Course runner-up Joey Logano will join Hamlin on the front row Sunday, followed by Christopher Bell, whose win this past Sunday was his first in the Cup Series.

Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch start fourth and fifth, respectively, followed by Daytona 500 winner Michael McDowell, Brad Keselowski, Ryan Preece, Martin Truex Jr. and Cole Custer.

Defending Cup Series champion Chase Elliott starts 11th, while Kyle Busch – a two-time winner at Homestead – rolls off from the outside of row 12 in 24th place.

To view the full starting lineup and metric performance breakdown, click here.

Sunday’s Dixie Vodka 400 goes green at 3:30 p.m. ET, live on FOX, the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.

CONCORD, N.C. — Diamond Creek High Alkaline Water will serve as the primary sponsor of Spire Motorsports’ No. 77 Chevrolet, driven by Justin Haley, in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Dixie Vodka 400 at Florida’s Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Diamond Creek formulates and bottles ionized 9.5pH high alkaline natural spring water, sourced from the highest quality, award-winning springs in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee. Spire Holdings LLC, the parent company of Spire Motorsports, is also a key stakeholder in Good Hemp, Inc. Good Hemp has entered into a letter of intent to acquire Diamond Creek.

Haley made his first Cup Series start of the season in last weekend’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 253 on the 3.61-mile road course at Daytona International Speedway. Despite battling handling issues for much of the 70-lap event, the Indiana native finished 24th.

While this weekend will mark Haley’s first Cup Series start at Homestead, the 21-year-old has three NASCAR Xfinity Series races at the 1.5-mile south Florida oval. Haley started inside the top 10 in each of those starts with his best finish being sixth.

In two Homestead NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts, including a trip to the series’ 2018 Championship 4, he finished in the top 10 on both occasions.

Bayern Munich teenager Jamal Musiala has decided to play for the Germany national team instead of England after a talk with head coach Joachim Low, he said on Wednesday.

The 17-year-old attacking midfielder became the youngest English scorer in the Champions League when he netted for Bayern in Tuesday's 4-1 win over Lazio in Rome. Hours later he announced his decision to play for Germany.

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"I have a heart for Germany and a heart for England," Musiala told Germany's ARD Television. "I thought about it a lot but at the end I listened to the feeling that it is the right decision to play for Germany."

The Stuttgart-born Musiala played almost his entire youth career at Chelsea from 2011 before joining Bayern in 2019 and thus was eligible to also play for England.

He has also represented both Germany and England at national youth level but said a chat with coach Low helped swing the decision in Germany's favour.

"I had a very good an honest discussion with Joachim Low. We met in Munich and he showed me clearly my way to the national team," Musiala said.

He said Germany team director Oliver Bierhoff had also been present.

"I was impressed by how well informed they both were. Mr. Low analysed very well my style and my weaknesses. He sees me in the future in my strongest position, that in the attacking midfield," Musiala added.

Germany have advanced to this year's European Championship and Low said Musiala would be called up next month for their three World Cup 2022 qualifying matches.

"I see huge potential in him," Low said. "Obviously we had him in our sights for some time.

"No one can give a guarantee at this stage, that would not be serious. But I think that we will call him up in March especially as the squad will be bigger due to the three international matches."

Germany host Iceland on March 25 before travelling to Romania for another World Cup qualifier three days later.

They also play North Macedonia on March 31.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has said he is still in touch with Erling Haaland and refused to rule out the possibility of bringing the striker to Manchester United in the future.

Solskjaer, who worked with Haaland at Molde, missed out on the Norway international when he chose to sign for Borussia Dortmund from FC Salzburg in January 2020.

However, Dortmund are facing a battle to qualify for next season's Champions League after slipping off the pace in the Bundesliga, raising the possibility Haaland could be allowed to leave as early as this summer.

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"When you have had kids and players through as a coach, you follow them and I keep in touch with Erling," Solskjaer said at a news conference on Wednesday.

"It's great to see him become the player he has become and [how] he works to improve all the time. He's a Dortmund player -- we just wish him well there and let's see what life will bring later on."

Haaland, who has scored 43 goals in 43 games for Dortmund, has a release clause in his contract that can be activated from June 2022.

The 20-year-old has a host of admirers and, even though he could not be convinced to move to Old Trafford a year ago, Solskjaer has left the door open.

"You know I can't speak about Erling, he's with Borussia Dortmund and it's disrespectful to talk about it apart from I know him and speak to him," Solskjaer added.

"Who wasn't interested in him a year ago? Everybody would say you take the best players in the world."

Solskjaer is preparing his team for the second leg of their Europa League round-of-32 tie against Real Sociedad on Thursday.

Paul Pogba, Edinson Cavani, Donny van de Beek and Scott McTominay are still sidelined with injury but Amad Diallo and Shola Shoretire are set to feature as United attempt to finish the job after winning the first game 4-0.

"I have to say it could be almost impossible to go through but I believe that my team can compete," Real Sociedad manager Imanol Alguacil said at a news conference on Wednesday.

"I think we can clean our image, win the game and learn from what happened in Turin.

"We really have to be down to earth and know who we are facing.

"It's the best Manchester United in the last 10 years. They're battling with Manchester City for the Premiership. They're really world class physically and quality-wise they're really good.

"We know how difficult it is to cause nerves in Man United even if we score that first goal. But we want to be competitive."

Back in 2005, DaMarcus Beasley didn't think of himself as a trailblazer. He wasn't thinking about being the first American to play in the semifinals of the UEFA Champions League, or how doing so might eventually pave the way for future U.S. players. He was just a 22-year-old midfielder trying to make his way through his first season in Europe with PSV Eindhoven.

"I didn't know the significance of it until now," he told ESPN by telephone. "I was just trying to win, trying to play well in Europe at a big club. There was no media really around my run, so it was pretty easy to kind of not get caught up in the hype."

Jump to: A few minutes with Richards | Stock watch: Weah, Dest, Holmes, Gioacchini | Scouting report: Dike

Sixteen years on, Beasley marvels at how far just about everything surrounding the game has come. The players are faster, the attention greater, social media is pervasive. And American players are making even deeper inroads into Europe.

It's a bit mind-blowing to think that the 2004-05 campaign was a high-water mark for American players at the time, with six getting minutes in that year's Champions League. But closer inspection revealed that those roots hadn't yet taken hold. Only Beasley, and then-Rosenborg defender Robbie Russell, could be considered full-time starters with their teams.

Jermaine Jones spent the bulk of that campaign with Bayer Leverkusen's reserves, and was still five years away from making his U.S. international debut. Landon Donovan played just seven games for Leverkusen before returning to Major League Soccer. Tim Howard wasn't a full-time starter that season, nor was his Manchester United teammate, Jonathan Spector. In fact, including the nine who have played a minute in the competition this season, only 28 Americans, starting with Jovan Kirovski in 1996, have ever appeared in a UCL game.

There's almost no comparison to what is taking place now. Not only have nine Americans played in the Champions League this season, but the likes of Juventus' Weston McKennie, RB Leipzig's Tyler Adams, and Barcelona's Sergino Dest are key contributors. And while Christian Pulisic is going through a difficult spell with Chelsea at the moment, he certainly has the talent to make a significant contribution.

The others to suit up in Europe's premier competition: Borussia Dortmund midfielder Gio Reyna, Man City goalkeeper Zack Steffen, Club Brugge 'keeper Ethan Horvath, Barcelona winger Konrad de la Fuente, and Bayern Munich defender Chris Richards, who has since been loaned out to Hoffenheim. How much has changed since 2004-05? In all, Americans have combined to play 3,032 Champions League minutes -- nearly 34 full games -- over the past two seasons.

"As you already see, the success of a lot of the current national team players is leading to more clubs wanting to explore the crop of young Americans that we have and the talent that we have," Adams told Bundesliga.com last week. "I think they're just starting to trust and have confidence in the ability of American soccer players and with that, you're going to see more and more players given opportunities at big clubs."

Beasley can still recall how earning that trust of teammates, as well as coaches, was the most difficult part of his initial foray in Europe. He can easily pick out the early games where he struggled, but Champions League goals against Red Star Belgrade in the second leg of the third qualifying round, and later in a 1-0 group stage win over Rosenborg won his teammates over, and he went on to make 44 appearances in all competitions that season.

Considering the talented players in that PSV side, it was no small feat. There were the likes of Mark van Bommel and Philip Cocu. Competition on the wings came from Jefferson Farfan and Park Ji-sung. The task of turning those individuals into a cohesive unit was left to legendary manager Guus Hiddink, and the American learned early on just how big the Champions League nights were. The buzz in and around Eindhoven on those days was off the charts. If you were injured, there was a mad dash to get back to fitness; what happened the previous weekend didn't matter.

"Everyone worried about Tuesday or Wednesday, Champions League nights," said Beasley. "Everyone knows what those types of games mean, just the heightened awareness throughout the city."

Beasley recalls how in the Champions League that season PSV benefited from being perpetually underestimated. After getting past Red Star Belgrade in the third qualifying round, PSV finished second behind Arsenal in a group that also included Panathinaikos and Rosenborg.

"We were a big-small team, if that makes sense," he said. "Obviously, the Netherlands isn't one of the top five countries in European [club] football. No one really gave us a chance. I just remember going into those games, so confident. It's about us and blocking out all the noise."

PSV dispatched AS Monaco 3-0 over two legs, Beasley scoring in the second leg, and then got past Lyon on penalties to set up a semifinal showdown with mighty AC Milan. It ended in heartbreak. After falling 2-0 in the first leg at the San Siro, PSV came back in the return leg, leading 2-0 as the game headed into stoppage time, only for Milan's Massimo Ambrosini to strike. Cocu grabbed a goal back, but Milan advanced on away goals. Beasley was injured the weekend before the second leg and was forced to watch the dream end from the stands.

"After Cocu scored that goal in the 93rd minute, I thought we had a chance to get another, but it just didn't happen," he said.

It took 15 years for Adams to become the second American to reach the tournament's semifinals, having scored the decisive goal last season for RB Leipzig in the quarterfinals against Atletico Madrid. With seven American players still alive in this year's competition, that feat may yet be equaled, or even exceeded. Regardless, Beasley is excited about what's ahead.

"It's given fans and even the players hope and confidence that we can be a big football country," he of the inroads by American players. "We can play good football, we have good players, and we can show that on a bigger stage. But I'm ecstatic, and I'm really happy to see the growth of the game, and these players. It's really fun to watch." -- Jeff Carlisle

A few minutes with ... Chris Richards

USMNT defender Chris Richards recently joined Hoffenheim on loan from Bayern Munich.

ESPN's Tom Hamilton recently caught up with the 20-year-old to discuss his decision to go out on loan, his future at Bayern and the excitement around the future of the USMNT.

Stock watch: Assessing the ups and downs of Americans abroad

Tim Weah, Lille -- On the rise: The PSG academy product is getting back to his best after a disappointing and injury-plagued debut season with Lille. Weah, 21, has factored in six goals (five goals, one assist) in 26 appearances this campaign for the surprising Ligue 1 leaders, scoring in three of his last four starts, and four of six starts overall.

Last week, Weah scored Lille's lone goal in a 2-1 Europa League defeat to Ajax and due to his recent form, he's seemingly a lock to start the second leg on Thursday in Amsterdam. "He is improving quickly and has been really good for us. He is a good kid who works hard at training and in games and I play him in different positions, which is very valuable for us," Lille manager Christophe Galtier told ESPN.

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Sergino Dest, Barcelona -- Trending down: After a brilliant start to life at Barcelona, Dest has endured some adversity as of late with the Blaugrana. First, there was the nagging thigh injury that caused him to miss some time; then there was his one-sided recent duel with PSG's Kylian Mbappe in the Champions League.

While Mbappe exposed some of Dest's defensive shortcomings in a 4-1 defeat for Barca -- as he has done for many a defender -- the club still believe in the defender long-term. Sources tell ESPN that Barca believe this was a bit of a "wake-up call,' and that Dest's hot start to the season might have made him a little too confident in certain aspects of his game. Still just 20, Barca want the ex-Ajax man to continue to work on not "switching off" and were impressed with how the youngster bounced back at the weekend in the 1-1 draw vs. Cadiz.

Duane Holmes, Huddersfield Town -- On the rise: The 26-year-old has made a significant impact since returning to boyhood club Huddersfield in January and is fresh off a two-goal outing -- including this golazo (U.S. only) -- in a 4-1 win over Swansea City at the weekend. Normally accustomed to pushing for promotion from his time at Derby, the Georgia-born midfielder's task this season is to help keep the Terriers up.

"For Holmes, it was important for him to have this performance today," Huddersfield manager Carlos Corberan told reporters over the weekend. "Because he shows he is adapting to the team. It takes a bit of time sometimes, especially for him to play so many games in a row because before he arrived here he didn't have enough minutes. Sometimes the player needs a little bit of time to adapt and perform like he did today."

Twice-capped by the United States, Holmes will hope his move to Huddersfield can help him play himself back into the national team fold.

Nicholas Gioacchini, Caen -- Trending down: Gioacchini's stock was at an all-time high after his brace against Panama in November, but boy, have things changed since. The centre-forward hasn't scored a league goal for his club side since Dec. 18 and was handed a suspension following a red-card tackle against Chambly at the end of January.

Despite the recent struggles Caen continue to play and rely on the Missouri-born forward. "He will get back on the score sheet soon. We have faith in him. He has a great future ahead of him. We fought hard to keep him at the club in the summer when clubs wanted him" a source tells ESPNFC.

With the USMNT's striker situation still unresolved, Gioacchini will be keen to find some form and earn another look during the side's European friendlies in March.

Scouting report: Daryl Dike

Having impressed during his debut season in MLS -- eight goals from 15 starts is an impressive tally for a rookie -- the 20-year-old was loaned out to Barnsley last month. Before settling in Yorkshire, Dike also found time to grab his first USMNT cap -- his brother and sister have both been capped by Nigeria -- with a second-half substitute appearance against Trinidad and Tobago on Jan. 31.

With two starts in the Championship to his name, Dike has yet to get on the score sheet for his new club -- he came close against Bristol City at the weekend, but his close-range effort was spectacularly scuffed wide -- but has made his mark with a powerful presence and readiness to "mix it" with Championship centre-backs. Indeed, Dike can be described as something of a '90s throwback centre-forward.

On the evidence of his debut season in MLS, he's also excellent at protecting the ball, holding off his marker, and flicking the ball on with layoffs. He also features a vicious strike on the ball with his right foot plus the ability to head the ball with power and direction.

While the Championship is not renowned for being kind to young new arrivals from abroad, the Oklahoma-born forward has already shown occasional impact and, regardless of where he plays his football next season, this experience will be priceless for his further development. -- Tor-Kristian Karlsen

The Montreal Canadiens fired coach Claude Julien on Wednesday.

Dominique Ducharme was named the interim coach, and the team added longtime NHL winger Alex Burrows to the coaching staff. The Canadiens also fired assistant coach Kirk Muller, who served as interim coach in the 2020 playoffs after Julien was hospitalized with chest pains and underwent a heart procedure.

The Canadiens were one of the hottest teams in the NHL to begin the season and looked like serious challengers for the North Division. However, the Habs have won only two of their past eight games and were demoralized by losing back-to-back games in the shootout to the bottom-dwelling Ottawa Senators.

Montreal is 9-5-4; although the Canadiens are eight points behind the division-leading Toronto Maple Leafs, they are still comfortably in the fourth spot, which would qualify for the playoffs.

Expectations were heightened this season after general manager Marc Bergevin was extremely active in the offseason. Bergevin upgraded at every position, bringing in veteran backup goalie Jake Allen, trading for defenseman Joel Edmundson, and bringing in several new forwards, including Tyler Toffoli (team-leading 12 goals) and Josh Anderson (fourth on the team with 12 points).

Julien, 60, was one of the highest-paid coaches in the NHL, earning $5 million per season. His contract ran through the 2021-22 season.

Julien led Boston to a Stanley Cup in 2011, and he ranks 13th in NHL history with 667 career wins.

"I would like to sincerely thank Claude and Kirk for their contributions to our team over the past five years during which we worked together," Bergevin said in a statement. "I have great respect for these two men whom I hold in high regard. In Dominique Ducharme, we see a very promising coach who will bring new life and new energy to our group. We feel that our team can achieve high standards and the time had come for a change. "

Ducharme, 47, has been an assistant coach with Montreal for two seasons.