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.
No comments:
Post a Comment