In all honesty this article is a losing situation for me regardless of how the Habs season plays out. If my predictions are correct, then my favourite hockey team is a failure, and if I’m completely wrong, then you can imagine the people and the responses that will be posted here.

A few people have made their opinion be known regarding this posting, and I have done the same, but opinion is simply all it is. I can’t see into the future, and neither can anyone else, so who knows what the Canadiens will do this year?

I appreciate the feedback, even though no one is agreeing with me.

I still feel strongly about the words I’ve written, but if I’m completely incorrect with this article, then I’ll apologize for the poor judgement at the conclusion of the 2009-10 season.

Both Striet and Souray were one dimensional players. How many times a week was Souray the center of the TSN play of the day getting turned inside out by Spezza? Teams didnt exactly line up to sign him once the silly season arrived, and as far as I can tell the only really serious bidders were the Oilers.

Striet while gifted offensively isnt exactly a defensive stalwart and is way over paid at 5mill per season. Had he been willing to play defense/forward as needed by the team he’d still be on the team.

Komisarek will be missed especially if ever returns to the form that he showed in 2007-2008, but the version from last certainly won’t. After returning from the Lucic beating, Komisarek was a turn over machine. Based on the treatment Komiserak recieved from the team during his days in Monteal I would have expected better than him bolting for 500k a year. But c’est la vie.

To say Camellari will not do as well because of the lack of Iginla is a farse. Gomez has always been a good setup guy, as good as Ignila in my opinion. Cammelari didnt have the luxury of Iggy in LA. Also Martin might be a defensive minded coach but no more so than Keenan.

This years edition of the team will be better than last years team for a couple of reasons, in my opinion. They may not challenge for first in the division, but they will be good enough for a top 5 finish.

1. The finally have a coach that can institute a defensive system. This means that maybe, just maybe once in awhile they will be able to get the puck out of thier own end – a task that seemed to be beyond last years crew.

2. The team is far more mobile than they were in the past and better offensively in adding Camellari, Gomez, and Gionta.

Just One Man’s Opinion

Cheers.

Wow, Serge Savard built two Stanley Cup winning teams and you’re saying that he made one bad decision after another? Aren’t you confusing the Serge Savard era with the Réjean Houle era?

As others in the comments have mentioned, there were things within the core of the team that needed to be addressed. Gainey opted to rebuild the team’s core.

Quite honestly, I believe he’s done the best that he could. There were many changes that needed to be made.

I’m not a coach or a GM or a scout…etc. But I’m a rabid fan who not only enjoys watching the Canadiens but hockey in general.

I’ve watched practically every game for the last 3 years (at least). It became clear to me as it did to many fans that there needed to be a change on several levels.

The team’s core was aging, there were other elements lacking such as physical toughness….etc…

Gainey has actually addressed many elements this summer. The only question is what it will look like halfway through the season.

We can predict all we want but hindsight will decide if any of Mr Gainey’s decisions were good or bad.

If you ask any player around the league that has played with Kovalev they’ll say he’s the most talented, I feel his criticism is unfair, he’s able to win games by himself, and he does it more than once during a season. No one ever stops to think that maybe it’s just not possible to single-handedly do that for all 82 games in the schedule. It’s the NHL, the greatest players in the world play in this league, instead of being praised for having the talent to win games unassisted from time to time, he gets blasted for not doing it all the time. I think the Ottawa Senators got a steal at $5,000,000 for Kovalev and I’m betting he’ll thrive with their club.

Your comment on Koivu being a cancer in the locker room surprised me, I read up on the Canadiens all season long and I did not once hear anything remotely close to that, if you still have the link, I would love to read it. Now having said that, I did read multiple stories on a few players being heavily involved with cocaine and the night life in downtown Montreal, and I do still have the links to those articles if anyone is interested. Maybe the young players on the team who were acting like Ray Emery off the ice, were distracting the veterans such as Kovalev and Koivu on the ice. When Kovalev was sent home last season for not producing, he mentioned that some of the young players and their life style choices away from the rink were a distraction.

I’ve been a Montreal Canadiens fan my entire life, I’m not attacking them for pleasure, I’m passionate and disappointed with the direction Gainey has gone. I hope I’m wrong, I hope they are successful this season. I hope Gomez can crack the 20 goal mark for the second time in his career.

I apologize for the Jagr mistake, he was traded to New York at the end of the 03-04 season for Anson Carter.

I appreciate your feedback WangChun.

The Habs core was imploding. Gainey opted for a younger roster (Kovalev and Saku were no spring chickens) that will at least TRY every night. Gomez, despite his seeming inability to score these past few years, at least looks like he’s doing something, which is more than could be said for the likes of Kovy. There were also many a rumour swirling around that Koivu was something of a cancer in the locker room.

Souray had to go, it was him or Markov. The loss of Streit does still sting, as Gainey clearly underestimated his place on the team (look to the dismal PP from 08-09). Something bigger than Bob Gainey most likely drove Komisarek away. Probably the treatment he got from fans and the media after having such a garbage season.

Also, Jagr was on Washington for the 02-03 season. Just sayin…

You said in your comment that it’s about finding players with the right chemistry. I completely agree with that, but how are the Canadiens expected to do that when they haven’t kept a roster together in years. I mentioned in my post that I felt having Souray, Streit, and Komisarek on the blue line would potentially guide them to a Stanley Cup, if you look at the teams who have won Stanley Cups over the years, they always have a “big three” on the blue line. Bob Gainey has somehow found a way to lose all three of those guys. I just don’t understand how that happens.

Maybe the Canadiens will surprise me this year and be a top team, but if history proves anything, it proves that signing multiple overpaid players all at the same time does not work.