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.

Jacques Martin Falls in Montreal but Markov, Gomez, and Kaberle Remain ??

Looks like the curtain has finally fallen on the Habs circus; at least for coach Jacques Martin.  The beat goes on in Montreal and the unusual moves by Pierre Gauthier continue.  Just a short time after getting Tomas Kaberle in an unexpected trade from Carolina; the Habs put the coach on the chopping block and Martin is history.   

The move to fire the coach was not unexpected but questions remain.  The trade for Kaberle and the fact that Gomez and Markov are still riding the pine with their big salaries calls into question the management skills at the top level in Montreal.  Management never owned up to mistakes that were made with Markov and tried to mask it by getting the highly paid but under performing Kaberle. The ship is sinking fast in Montreal and Gauthier is hiding behind PR stunts to shield the obvious.  This guy is not being upfront with Habs fans.  The Habs have officially entered a rebuilding period and chances of real competitiveness are years away.  Salary cap issues have got this team tied in knots thanks to the three horsemen of the financial apocalypse (Markov,Gomez,Kaberle) the Habs face the real possibility of losing Georges, Eller and others.  That's right; they will be losing the young guys who can win games and be stuck with a team of oldies but goldies who watch most of their games from the press box.

Carey Price and PK Subban are brilliant young players but they are not and cannot be an entire team.  Molson has to clean house and get rid of  Pierre Gauthier before it is too late.  Maybe Martin, Gauthier, Gomez, and Markov can form their own golf foursome.  Hmmmm....Habs on golf carts.  I think it is funny (sad) but I am not laughing. 

Habs Drop Another One to the Blue Jackets - This is Getting Old

The Habs suffered another humiliating loss at home to the Columbus Blue Jackets. The  Canadiens have the worst home record in the NHL at home so the loss to the Blue Jackets should come as no surprise.  What is a surprise is the lack of action in the GM's or management group's office in Montreal.  The team may not have money or room to make moves but they certainly owe it to fans to change the coach or the GM.  The players on the ice are not responding to Jacques Martin's leadership on the bench and it is starting to be reflected in their play on a nightly basis.  

In the post game interview with TSN, Carey Price looked lost.  He was talking about the Habs' quest for the Cup yet they can't seem to find enough gas in the tank to beat the dormat Blue Jackets.   The team has no focus.  You have to walk before you run.  If they could string wins together like the Bruins then they could talk about winning the Cup. 

Habs fans are loyal but not stupid.  This team is going nowhere.  There , I said it.  The Markov and Gomez fiascos have tattooed this team as basement dwellers.  If they don't get their act together; the Habs will be looking back to the Alex Kovalev days with fondness.  The team has some talent but they need leadership.  A move to replace Gauthier and Demers is a good start for the rebuilding process.  Time to bite the bullet Mr.Molson and get this ship moving in the right direction.  The story with the Habs is getting old and no one likes an old story.

Carey Price can't do this #### all alone !!! Come on Habs, WAKE UP !!!

November is behind us now and unfortunately for Montreal Canadiens it is the same old; same old. The team has really struggled this year.  It was easy to blame Carey Price out of the gate for the early season problems but it has become evident to everyone in the NHL that the issues in Montreal have nothing to do with the play of their star goalie.  

A quick look at team stats gives you a good indication in terms of what is ailing the Habs.  If you looks at the NHL leaders in plus/minus; you can't find a Hab until you hit 15th with Josh Georges at +12.  On top of that there are no Habs in the top 30 for league scoring.  The soft hockey in front of Price has to be playing with Carey's head.  Every time Carey Price goes to the rink he knows that he is going to be under the gun.  If you watch the Habs in action; Price is often out of the net playing the de facto third defenseman.  This unneeded play leads to bad goals which saps everyone's confidence on the ice and in the stands.   

Habs fans have blind faith in their team but the screams for change will start to be heard before the end of the year. The Habs have made some very bad decisions in the last few years.  They signed Markov to a massive contract despite his history with injuries and they failed to make a splash in terms of trades.  It is incumbent on management to shake things to at least remain even in the newly competitive NHL.  Montreal's GM has backed the team into a corner. They are saddled with the Gomez and Markov contracts and it would not surprise us to see Price ask to be traded.  Price would be a big asset to any team making an end of year run for the Cup. It could be fire sale time in Montreal if the Habs don't make the playoffs. Everyone loves the boys in red, blue and white but even but you have to feel sorry for them a little bit.  They are bending under the pressure of playing in Montreal and it doesn't look like it will get any better soon.

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

Marky Markov and the Habs' Funky Short-on-Defensemen Situation

Everything was going so right for the Montreal Canadiens... the team was winning, Scott Gomez finally put himself on pace for a seven-goal season, and even everyone’s favourite whipping boy in Carey Price was stringing together a few performances worthy of the NHL’s first star of the week (which he got awarded on Monday). And then this.

Now comes news that Andrei Markov will be out anywhere from one game to three months to the end of time, which, if you haven’t seen the movie, is apparently in just two years’ time (and the Toronto Maple Leafs were sooo close to winning it all again!).

Now, Markov hasn’t been the team’s best defenseman in a good, long while (that distinction probably belongs to Josh Gorges), especially with the recent rash of lower-body injuries, but he is its most talented, and to lose him for three months would be a huge blow to a team that has gotten a lot of heads shaking so far this year (shaking as if saying: “No. NO! There’s no way in hell this run of luck will continue all-season long for this team of dwarves! There’s just no way!”).

However many non-believers are shaking their heads, the Habs have found themselves in a very difficult predicament. I’m not going to get into how they traded away Ryan O’Byrne last week, because let’s face it: implying O’Byrne could come in cold and even carry Markov’s jock is like saying Brent Gretzky could have put on his brother’s jersey way back when and no one would have been able to tell the difference. O’Byrne’s size (6’5”, 234 pounds) is not a factor, because the two are very different players. One is a good all-around defenseman, unfortunately entering the twilight of his career a few years too early, while the other is barely worth the amount of money it takes to put his name on the back of a jersey.

As such, rumours have been swirling that the Habs are in the market for Vancouver Canucks defenseman Kevin Bieksa. While I would have been the first to discredit these rumours last week with the Habs boasting an unflashy, but solid top-six, I will also be one of the first to admit that things have changed drastically. So, the Canadiens are in a position where they need a defenseman, any defenseman... sorry, any capable defenseman (to exclude O’Byrne), to take Markov’s place, and if Bieksa is that guy (not even close, but for the sake of the argument let’s assume he is), so be it.

It’s no secret that the Canucks have a surplus of defenseman with an otherwise top-pairing guy like Keith Ballard being a healthy scratch last week (ironically against Montreal). Of course, Ballard hasn’t been good enough thanks to recent surgery and will reportedly sit again tonight for the fourth-straight game on Monday. This again changes things, with the Canucks perhaps no longer willing to let Bieksa go.

If that is the case, other possible avenues are in short supply, with Marc-Andre Bergeron representing the most viable option, with him having signed last year for $750,000 and the Habs now having over $1.5 million in cap space. Of course, this is a less-than-ideal scenario with Bergeron being a one-trick pony that has been so ineffective at selling his services on the street corner that he probably couldn’t give it away at this point. But it is something. And then there’s Mathieu Schneider, who at this point is like Bergeron but with even less mobility... clearly a free-agent purchase aimed towards the fickle consumer in your life who has a fetish for golden-agers... and not the Habs, who are searching for a way to replace arguably their best player.

"It's alright dude (patting him on head). You'll get one soon."

So, where does that leave the Habs? Either putting their season squarely on the shoulders of Carey Price, which is a bad idea, or making an ill-advised trade with the Edmonton Oilers for Sheldon Souray, which is a worse bad idea. But, as for the salary going the other way, I do hear Gomez will still probably end up with fewer goals this season than the injured AHLer. Bottom line: I wouldn’t want to be Pierre Gauthier right now (but, really, when have I ever?). Good luck, dude.