|
Gauthier's Accountability |
|
|
|
|
|
1) Point of contention: If you're staunchly opposed to having a unilingual, anglophone coach, why would it make things better to know the guy can at least express his content over being hired, en francais?
That's like arguing a two-game suspension would've calmed all the fury over Zdeno Chara's hit on Max Pacioretty last season.
It's stupid.
What's the point in having such an adamant viewpoint only to be so flexible on the principles it's based on?
2) Lars Eller, like P. K. Subban before him, stood up and took the blame for the loss to the Florida Panthers on New Years Eve.
Alright. Eller was responsible for failing to apply enough pressure on the back-check on Shawn Matthias.
He certainly wasn't responsible for Subban backing off the line instead of controlling the gap between he and Eller, and having his partner back him up.
Eller certainly wasn't to blame for Price fanning on the puck.
But most of all, Eller wasn't to blame for Plekanec's selfish and lazy play throughout the night.
3) Plekanec has 29 points in 39 games. Good for him.
He used to be the hardest working player in Montreal. Operative words: "used to be".
Instead, he's a frustrated player, one who's never had the benefit as the team's number one centre of having a solid second to support his efforts, and as a result, he's a team-leading -10.
He's a big-time minus because he's content to play at the end of his stick instead of with his body.
And he's hurting this team more than he's helping it.
And I promise to give him the chance to disagree with this assessment, perhaps even with his play over this extended home-stint leading up to the all-star break.
It's o.k. that he has 29 points, but that puts him on pace for 60, and he's being paid for more than that.
4) And then he gets into it with Subban in practice.
And now we have to hear about how everyone on the team hates P.K. Subban.
Lets put the conspiracies to bed.
I feel terrible for anyone who hasn't got a chance to see HBO's 24/7 over the last couple of seasons. The day-to-day operations of a hockey-family (team) are so clearly outlined. The dynamics between players, and players and their coaches, players and the GMs, players and the officials, it's truly eye-opening.
It puts every "locker room" controversy into a context that never comes with the news delivered of a "locker room divide".
These guys spend more time with each other than they do with their families.
As cliche as it might be to hear two players talk about a practice skirmish as a fight between brothers, and a sign of competitiveness, it's true.
Not to say Plekanec and Subban are best friends, and not to say Subban is loved by all of his teammates, but those are family dynamics for the majority of the world.
When I hear about Andrei Markov getting in Carey Price's face after a loss to the St. Louis Blues two seasons ago, without any context applied to the situation, I laugh and consider the absolute banality of reporting such incidents.
Markov and Price didn't hate each other then, and they certainly don't hate each other now.
24/7 really puts "locker room controversy" into perspective.
5) I'm not behind the scenes and in the room when it matters, I'm only there for the show the players put on for the public.
But even in that context, it's been pretty clear to me that the Canadiens were built in a day, and they came together nearly as quickly to band against very low expectations of their ability to ice a winning product.
They fought against the world to take down Washington and Pittsburgh in the playoffs, and get to the Conference Finals for the first time in 17 years.
They built on that the following season, and may have enjoyed similar success if they'd been on the better side of fate against Boston, or had they drawn another opponent in the first round.
And it's hard to imagine that chemistry, determination, leadership and cohesion has all but dissolved in this year's room.
6) Let's face it, the Canadiens aren't proving to everyone that they're a lousy team. If we're to accurately label them, we'd consider them to be the league's biggest disappointment.
Whether you want to believe it or not, they're much better than they've shown so far. They have to be.
But they have weathered too many storms, and it's taken it's toll on the physical and mental health of the locker room (the latter factor being more pressing than the former).
Rebuilding that health could be as simple as winning five consecutive games. But that task is monumental for a team that's struggled to manage two straight without a disastrous collapse.
7) Pierre Gauthier signed Josh Gorges to a 6-year deal at $3.9 mil/season. No question, as Gorges' agent Kevin Epp confirmed to La Presse after the deal was struck, this would've cost less last summer.
Fine. Take Gauthier to task for that. It's not as if I haven't slammed him for far more stupid moves thus far.
But I'll give him credit for two things:
1--The deal is a fair one for a player who's now blocked more than 500 shots for the Canadiens. Gorges' annuals amount to less than Mike Komisarek's. And he's here for longer.
2--Whether he spoke the words or not in his little press conference, this January 1st signing is the first admission of a mistake this manager has made since taking over. Actions speak louder than words.
8) Which is why Gauthier's quasi-apology for causing an uproar by hiring Randy Cunneyworth rings hollow. His regret is a slap in the face to Cunneyworth, but worse, it's a very clear sign that Gauthier doesn't believe he's done right by the franchise with this move. And the longer he allows Cunneyworth to keep the job, the more he reinforces a situation that isn't good for the team.
9) Buyers or sellers (obviously "sellers" wins the argument by a landslide at this point), why should Gauthier be trusted to make decisions that will largely impact the future of the club?
His accountability for the present situation is next to nothing, and his track record lends no support to him retooling the team accordingly so that it can succeed.
10) Out of the Canadiens UFAs, I see two as majorly attractive for teams looking to make an extended playoff push: Travis Moen (who's really overachieved so far) and Hal Gill.
Both of them are Stanley Cup winners, both of them could be inexpensive but brilliant moves for other GMs, and both could fetch second round picks if the right GM is pulling the trigger on shipping them out of town.
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»