The Canadiens de Montréal have been floundering the last few years, yet the GM is one of the best in the business. What gives? In this newest installment of the lauded stir-the-pot series we will examine the diss...err dysfunction that is in Montreal.
Welcome to the hottest series on Hockeybuzz. Here are some kudos and reviews of our earlier installments....
On Kevin Lowe and Edmonton
You have no clue. You must be from the east. Your article reeks of manifest destiny.
- skompie
BD get the footlong sausage out of your mouth loser
- Oiler4Life
You sir, are a born loser.
- GSOilers99
Does this guy even know what the sport of Hockey is? Wow, one of the worst commentaries I have ever read.
- mr.t
Man, some of the Oilers fans here need to get some thicker skin. It's satire. Stop taking it so personally and seriously.
- Leafer93
Then on Toronto's John Ferguson Jr
B.D. Gallof, you sir, are an bumhole........
- leafhead
"BS article, one sided and uneducated created for the sole purpose of "sparking controversy"."
- 13sundin13
Being a fan makes you biased, sorry but that's that fact...Gainey didn't quite cut it, but he's about to get painted by the same hack...
- ULF_55
Now, without further ado...Bob Gainey....
Author's note: The following is either satire, hockey prognostication, an angry rant or just errant observations...anything factual or actually insightful is unintended
Bob Gainey is one of the greatest defensive specialists to ever play this game. Viktor Tikhonov, the legendary coach of the Soviet National team was in awe of him calling him one of the best technical and well-rounded players in the world. His pedigree is impeccable. He was the first recipient of the Selke trophy. In fact he won it three years in a row after that too. As a player he has won 5 Stanley Cups. He's even won the Conn Smythe.
As a coach and then later as GM he took the Minnesota North Stars and under his guidance they took 5 division titles and as the Dallas Stars...a cup. But then after they faltered, and UFA signings tanked, and coaching began to flail, and a burnt out Gainey had to fire his coach Ken Hitchcock, and then basically, fired himself. Montreal is his 2nd role as GM, taking the mantle in 2003. However, this is where things go a bit awry.
Montreal since Gainey took over...
2003-2004 season: 7th place - Exited in the 2nd round
2004-2005 LOCKOUT
2005-2006 season: 7th place again - Exited in the 1st round
2006-2007 season: 10th place - misses the playoffs
What was a young team has actually faltered in the moves under his reign. What should have been a team that should be pushing past the 2nd round fell off the playoff map last season. What should be the gold standard of Canadian hockey has slowly slid. And in those gaps of some failed UFA signings, like Samsonov and even the ever mercurial Kovalev ...Gainey had gone out loaded for bear, trying to make a difference this offseason, but only come back with Hamrlik, Smolinski and Kostopoulos.
We all know Gainey will always be revered in the hallow halls of hockey legends as a player, and he certainly has had success in Dallas previously. And just last year he received a contract extension through the 2009-10 NHL season. But, will Montreal break the slump it's in? Can these free agents, along with the current core of players, be enough to turn the tide? And what exactly is Bob Gainey's vision for the Habs? This seems to be the biggest riddle of all for fans and those who watch from afar.
We all have heard that Gainey has gone hard at free agents, but faltering on the front-loaded deals, or simply been watching those players choose elsewhere, it has to be tough for Habs fans to see star after star choose another place to play. Montreal has been known to be a tough place when things have gone bad. But it is also a place that is electric when things are going good. Montreal is the most lauded team in all sports, besides the Yankees, and thus, as such, everything gets magnified. Yet the Yankees have no problem filching star after star from the league to stay on top. Montreal has not been able to do the same.
But the biggest issue that haunts Montreal is its lack of toughness, as well as it's lack of sizable men. But what it DOES have is a rich youth influx and a depth it did not have before Gainey came to the city formerly called Ville-Marie.
If Montreal shifts to a pure youth movement, will fans be patient, and most of all, will Gainey? Is this snide only temporary? Is the real truth, that despite Gainey's chasing of free-agents, is that youth will be served, albeit a bit slower due to his inability to bring in key cogs like Briere to help them along? And instead, the stopgaps he did bring in to plug weaknesses will serve until that youth takes control and the Habs return to glory.
The riddle is not really Bob Gainey, but in his perceptions of how it must be done. That locked within his head is the architecture of victory, but can his team answer the following riddle...
What have fans have sought since 1992-93 and the 23 times before that. ..
The cup. Montreal wants their cup back.
B.D. Gallof
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