The Sad Spiral of the Montreal Canadiens - Something has to change

The Montreal Canadiens are the New York Yankees of hockey.  They have won more championships than anyone else and they are the heart and soul of the original NHL.

This hockey tradition of excellence has been respected by players, coaches and hockey people for decades.  This storied franchise has given the game high quality superstars like Richard, Beliveau, Cournoyer and Lafleur.  Names like Patrick Roy and Bob Gainey were the faces associated with Habs teams which ended up Cup champions in the 80s and 90s.  

These superstars played for the Canadiens and excelled in the toughest hockey market in the world.  That tradition of excellence is under threat with this latest edition of the Habs.  Montreal has gone into a tailspin which seems to gaining speed.  The team is disorganized and they lack direction.  Management seems out of touch.  They haven't been able to draft and keep the team deep in talent but they did succeed in saddling the team with over priced players like Markov and Gomez.  

Carey Price is losing his edge as one of the best goalies in the league.  Who can blame him ?  He doesn't really have anyone playing in front of him.   The youngsters on the team are getting rattled in frequent blowouts. Players don't seem to realize that wearing the Habs jersey is a responsibility and that staring at your navel has no place in the NHL; let alone while you are playing in Montreal.

On top of the bad play on the ice; the Habs are dealing with the language issues which are too familiar for anyone living in Quebec.  The recent hiring of Randy Cunneyworth as the Habs' coach has set everyone into hysterics because Cunneyworth doesn't speak English.   

French nationalists should not be worried about the Habs' coach's language skills.  Hockey is a business and a tradition in Montreal; not a political football.  These clowns have to realize that the furor over Cunneyworth's inability to speak French has to reflect on Gill, Gionta, Gomez, Eller, ect.... You get the picture.  If they are dumping on Cunneyworth; how do you think the other guys feel representing the city and the team?

Management is on the clock.  They have to make tough decisions here.  Gauthier has to go and the rebuilding has to start.  It would be a very sad day to see the Habs at the very bottom of the league but it could happen if something doesn't change fast.

BIENVENUE A MONTREAL BLAIR BETTS!

Today, the Habs claimed Blair Betts off waivers. Not too bad for a team that needed a little toughness and 4th line presence. The Canadiens now have a much better PK unit because of this move. Think of Betts as the forward version of Gill when it comes to the penalty kill. Except the difference is he is great at faceoff’s and can actually skate. Big difference, actually. This claim also helps them at even strength, giving the Habs their much-needed “bigger” centre. He’s bigger in size, but not big when it comes to his skill. Look at this as a special teams move, that can’t hurt 5 on 5. He’ll probably be gritty in the corners when needed, and for sure in front of the net. This move means that the Habs have cut both Palushaj and Engqvist, finalizing their 23 man roster, with the forward lines looking like this:

Pacioretty-Gomez-Gionta

Cammalleri-Plekanec-Kostitsyn

Darche-Desharnais-Cole

Moen-Betts-Weber

When Eller is healthy, which looks like at most about 2 weeks, it looks as though Weber will be the odd man out, and with Diaz and Yemelin making the team as defensemen, it looks like Weber will spend some time in Hamilton. Woywitka also looks to be cut, having been put on waivers today, the 5^th of October. With Markov still out, the defense looks like this:

Gorges-Campoli

Gill-Subban

Spacek-Diaz/Yemelin

In my opinion, when Markov is healthy, it should be Diaz that sits, as I think the whole team was impressed with Yemelin, and his physical side to the game. He also has a very strong first pass, and Diaz has a more offensive minded game.

The goalies have been set since Day 1, as Budaj looks to backup Price. Price said he is more ready then ever for this season, which looks good for the Canadiens and their fans. Look for the Habs to finish in about the 6^th spot in the East this year.

By Noah Goren

O'Sullivan and Eller Score Garbage Goals for Their Firsts with Their New Teams

They say that the first cut is always the deepest, but when it comes to goals scored in hockey, unless you're Edmonton Oiler Jordan Eberle, they may very well end up being something best locked away in the attic upstairs for fear of remembering something truly ugly. Case in point would be Montreal Canadien Lars Eller and the Minnesota Wild's Patrick O'Sullivan's first goals with their new teams, each being scored on Wednesday night.

Contrary to popular belief, that wasn't Eller's first career goal. He had scored two with the Saint Louis Blues last year. Meanwhile, it may as well have been the first of O'Sullivan's long road travelled of a career. It's somewhat ironic that he'll be looking for a fresh start the same place he got his first ever... only to be tossed aside before ever actually playing a game with the Wild.

It's safe to assume that if he continues to score as he did last night, he'll not only get more ice time to go along with the projected-first-round-pick status he had going for him back in 2003, but also a relatively high spot on the team's depth chart along with some pretty big-name talent: Leading-goal-scorer Cal Cluttberbuck (7)? Kyle Brodziak? Matt Cullen? Eric Nystrom? John Madden? Antti Miettinen? Guillaume Latendresse? Chuck Kobasew? They had all better watch out. There's a new glorified third-liner on the block.