An Identity Crisis In Montreal?
The Montreal Canadiens have made themselves successful over the last decade by being a small, fast and skilled team, but that same success has left them seemingly unable to take the next step. Since winning the Stanley Cup in 1993, they have reached the playoffs in 11 out of 17 seasons, but aside from a remarkable run to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2010 as the #8 seed, they have enjoyed little postseason success. This is a franchise that has also managed just one 100-point regular season since that Cup winning triumph.This season’s struggles have not come as a big surprise to many. The Canadiens were seen by analysts as a team that would only need a key injury or two, or a couple of important players to have down years to be in trouble. They are on course for their worst season since 2002-03, and there isn’t really a bright side for this organisation right now.
Internal difficulties have added to their misery. Jacques Martin was fired as coach, though it is pretty debatable whether that was a fair decision. New coach Randy Cunneyworth hasn’t been given much of a chance by the fans. When it emerged that he was not bi-lingual, there were protests and public pressure with management noticeably failing to stand up for the new man in charge. Player issues, most notably with Mike Cammalleri, now traded away, and PK Subban have not helped either, and the recent saga with Scott Gomez being jeered has come to symbolise this club’s struggles.
GM Pierre Gauthier must be considering the possibility of shipping a few of the team’s veterans out and looking for a semi-overhaul before 2012-13. The addition of Rene Bourque makes this team bigger up front, and on the positive sides of things, Max Pacioretty, David Desharnais and Lars Eller have all shown their potential at times during a difficult year. The Canadiens don’t have a tremendous amount of depth or top end forward talent, but the likes of Aaron Palushaj, Andres Engqvist and Louis LeBlanc all look set to make an impact as solid top nine players at some point in the near future.
On the blue-line, Alexei Emelin and Rafael Diaz have emerged as solid contributors throughout the season. Subban has had his difficulties, but he is unquestionably a top end talent. Defense is a position of strength for this organisation’s prospect base with Nathan Beaulieu and Jarred Tinordi both projecting as excellent players, though they are both probably at least a couple of seasons away from playing NHL hockey.
Montreal could well end up with a top five pick, and they have one of the weaker prospect bases amongst NHL teams, but it isn’t all doom and gloom around the Bell Centre. They have the most valuable asset that any organisation can have in one of the league’s most talented goaltenders. Carey Price is only 24 and looks set to occupy the crease for at least a decade in Montreal. This is a hockey city, which won’t have trouble attracting top free agents this summer; they will have money to play with and a new top prospect as well. Gauthier should be able to strengthen prospect and pick depth at the deadline if he deals his assets effectively.
If this team is willing to change its identity adding more size up front and more depth to the blue-line, then it is very possible to see them returning to the playoffs promptly. It is unlikely that the Bell Centre crowd will tolerate a total re-build in the fashion that Edmonton have under-gone, but a simple re-stocking won’t make the Canadiens into a Cup contender. Gauthier has to work towards a more balanced roster, and it would perhaps be better for the long-term development of this franchise if they did get a top five pick with which they could select a new star.
115 Responses to An Identity Crisis In Montreal?
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Sources…
[...]check below, are some totally unrelated websites to ours, however, they are most trustworthy sources that we use[...]……
Related……
[...]just beneath, are numerous totally not related websites to ours, however, they are surely worth going over[...]……
Visitor recommendations…
[...]one of our visitors recently recommended the following website[...]……
Websites we think you should visit…
[...]although websites we backlink to below are considerably not related to ours, we feel they are actually worth a go through, so have a look[...]……
Awesome website…
[...]the time to read or visit the content or sites we have linked to below the[...]……
Recommeneded websites…
[...]Here are some of the sites we recommend for our visitors[...]……
Great website…
[...]we like to honor many other internet sites on the web, even if they aren’t linked to us, by linking to them. Under are some webpages worth checking out[...]……
Websites you should visit…
[...]below you’ll find the link to some sites that we think you should visit[...]……
Recent Blogroll Additions……
[...]usually posts some very interesting stuff like this. If you’re new to this site[...]……
Links…
[...]Sites of interest we have a link to[...]……
Links…
[...]Sites of interest we have a link to[...]……
SEO…
I love your wp theme, exactly where would you down load it from?…
Websites worth visiting…
[...]here are some links to sites that we link to because we think they are worth visiting[...]……
Sources…
[...]check below, are some totally unrelated websites to ours, however, they are most trustworthy sources that we use[...]……
Websites worth visiting…
[...]here are some links to sites that we link to because we think they are worth visiting[...]……
Great website…
[...]we like to honor many other internet sites on the web, even if they aren’t linked to us, by linking to them. Under are some webpages worth checking out[...]……
Visitor recommendations…
[...]one of our visitors recently recommended the following website[...]……
Recommeneded websites…
[...]Here are some of the sites we recommend for our visitors[...]……
Cool sites…
[...]we came across a cool site that you might enjoy. Take a look if you want[...]……
You should check this out…
[...] Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine a few unrelated data, nevertheless really worth taking a look, whoa did one learn about Mid East has got more problerms as well [...]……
Gems form the internet…
[...]very few websites that happen to be detailed below, from our point of view are undoubtedly well worth checking out[...]……
Sources…
[...]check below, are some totally unrelated websites to ours, however, they are most trustworthy sources that we use[...]……
Recent Blogroll Additions……
[...]usually posts some very interesting stuff like this. If you’re new to this site[...]……
Websites you should visit…
[...]below you’ll find the link to some sites that we think you should visit[...]……
Blogs ou should be reading…
[...]Here is a Great Blog You Might Find Interesting that we Encourage You[...]……
Visitor recommendations…
[...]one of our visitors recently recommended the following website[...]……
Gems form the internet…
[...]very few websites that happen to be detailed below, from our point of view are undoubtedly well worth checking out[...]……
Recommeneded websites…
[...]Here are some of the sites we recommend for our visitors[...]……
Visitor recommendations…
[...]one of our visitors recently recommended the following website[...]……
Blogs ou should be reading…
[...]Here is a Great Blog You Might Find Interesting that we Encourage You[...]……
Blogs ou should be reading…
[...]Here is a Great Blog You Might Find Interesting that we Encourage You[...]……
Related……
[...]just beneath, are numerous totally not related sites to ours, however, they are surely worth going over[...]……
Superb website…
[...]always a big fan of linking to bloggers that I love but don’t get a lot of link love from[...]……
Sources…
[...]check below, are some totally unrelated websites to ours, however, they are most trustworthy sources that we use[...]……
Great website…
[...]we like to honor many other internet sites on the web, even if they aren’t linked to us, by linking to them. Under are some webpages worth checking out[...]……
Superb website…
[...]always a big fan of linking to bloggers that I love but don’t get a lot of link love from[...]……
Online Article……
[...]The information mentioned in the article are some of the best available [...]……
Sources…
[...]check below, are some totally unrelated websites to ours, however, they are most trustworthy sources that we use[...]……
Read was interesting, stay in touch……
[...]please visit the sites we follow, including this one, as it represents our picks from the web[...]……
You should check this out…
[...] Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine a few unrelated data, nevertheless really worth taking a look, whoa did one learn about Mid East has got more problerms as well [...]……
Superb website…
[...]always a big fan of linking to bloggers that I love but don’t get a lot of link love from[...]……
Websites we think you should visit…
[...]although websites we backlink to below are considerably not related to ours, we feel they are actually worth a go through, so have a look[...]……
You should check this out…
[...] Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine a few unrelated data, nevertheless really worth taking a look, whoa did one learn about Mid East has got more problerms as well [...]……
Awesome website…
[...]the time to read or visit the content or sites we have linked to below the[...]……
Check this out…
[...] that is the end of this article. Here you’ll find some sites that we think you’ll appreciate, just click the links over[...]……
Recommeneded websites…
[...]Here are some of the sites we recommend for our visitors[...]……
Cool sites…
[...]we came across a cool site that you might enjoy. Take a look if you want[...]……
You should check this out…
[...] Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine a few unrelated data, nevertheless really worth taking a look, whoa did one learn about Mid East has got more problerms as well [...]……
Cool sites…
[...]we came across a cool site that you might enjoy. Take a look if you want[...]……
You should check this out…
[...] Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine a few unrelated data, nevertheless really worth taking a look, whoa did one learn about Mid East has got more problerms as well [...]……
Gems form the internet…
[...]very few websites that happen to be detailed below, from our point of view are undoubtedly well worth checking out[...]……
Superb website…
[...]always a big fan of linking to bloggers that I love but don’t get a lot of link love from[...]……
Cool sites…
[...]we came across a cool site that you might enjoy. Take a look if you want[...]……
Read was interesting, stay in touch……
[...]please visit the sites we follow, including this one, as it represents our picks from the web[...]……
Links…
[...]Sites of interest we have a link to[...]……
Websites worth visiting…
[...]here are some links to sites that we link to because we think they are worth visiting[...]……
Superb website…
[...]always a big fan of linking to bloggers that I love but don’t get a lot of link love from[...]……
Check this out…
[...] that is the end of this article. Here you’ll find some sites that we think you’ll appreciate, just click the links over[...]……
Online Article……
[...]The information mentioned in the article are some of the best available [...]……
Recent Blogroll Additions……
[...]usually posts some very interesting stuff like this. If you’re new to this site[...]……
Websites we think you should visit…
[...]although websites we backlink to below are considerably not related to ours, we feel they are actually worth a go through, so have a look[...]……
Visitor recommendations…
[...]one of our visitors recently recommended the following website[...]……
Great website…
[...]we like to honor many other internet sites on the web, even if they aren’t linked to us, by linking to them. Under are some webpages worth checking out[...]……
Related……
[...]just beneath, are numerous totally not related sites to ours, however, they are surely worth going over[...]……
Cool sites…
[...]we came across a cool site that you might enjoy. Take a look if you want[...]……
Sites we Like……
[...] Every once in a while we choose blogs that we read. Listed below are the latest sites that we choose [...]……
Recommeneded websites…
[...]Here are some of the sites we recommend for our visitors[...]……
Gems form the internet…
[...]very few websites that happen to be detailed below, from our point of view are undoubtedly well worth checking out[...]……
Great website…
[...]we like to honor many other internet sites on the web, even if they aren’t linked to us, by linking to them. Under are some webpages worth checking out[...]……
Related……
[...]just beneath, are numerous totally not related sites to ours, however, they are surely worth going over[...]……
Recent Blogroll Additions……
[...]usually posts some very interesting stuff like this. If you’re new to this site[...]……
Visitor recommendations…
[...]one of our visitors recently recommended the following website[...]……
Blogs ou should be reading…
[...]Here is a Great Blog You Might Find Interesting that we Encourage You[...]……
Cool sites…
[...]we came across a cool site that you might enjoy. Take a look if you want[...]……
Cool sites…
[...]we came across a cool site that you might enjoy. Take a look if you want[...]……
Great website…
[...]we like to honor many other internet sites on the web, even if they aren’t linked to us, by linking to them. Under are some webpages worth checking out[...]……
Blogs ou should be reading…
[...]Here is a Great Blog You Might Find Interesting that we Encourage You[...]……
Awesome website…
[...]the time to read or visit the content or sites we have linked to below the[...]……
Blogs ou should be reading…
[...]Here is a Great Blog You Might Find Interesting that we Encourage You[...]……
Great website…
[...]we like to honor many other internet sites on the web, even if they aren’t linked to us, by linking to them. Under are some webpages worth checking out[...]……
Recent Blogroll Additions……
[...]usually posts some very interesting stuff like this. If you’re new to this site[...]……
Recommeneded websites…
[...]Here are some of the sites we recommend for our visitors[...]……
Awesome website…
[...]the time to read or visit the content or sites we have linked to below the[...]……
Awesome website…
[...]the time to read or visit the content or sites we have linked to below the[...]……
Links…
[...]Sites of interest we have a link to[...]……
Sources…
[...]check below, are some totally unrelated websites to ours, however, they are most trustworthy sources that we use[...]……
Websites you should visit…
[...]below you’ll find the link to some sites that we think you should visit[...]……
Recommeneded websites…
[...]Here are some of the sites we recommend for our visitors[...]……
Online Article……
[...]The information mentioned in the article are some of the best available [...]……
Sources…
[...]check below, are some totally unrelated websites to ours, however, they are most trustworthy sources that we use[...]……
Websites you should visit…
[...]below you’ll find the link to some sites that we think you should visit[...]……
Sources…
[...]check below, are some totally unrelated websites to ours, however, they are most trustworthy sources that we use[...]……
Blogs ou should be reading…
[...]Here is a Great Blog You Might Find Interesting that we Encourage You[...]……
Websites you should visit…
[...]below you’ll find the link to some sites that we think you should visit[...]……
Recommeneded websites…
[...]Here are some of the sites we recommend for our visitors[...]……
Recommeneded websites…
[...]Here are some of the sites we recommend for our visitors[...]……
Websites worth visiting…
[...]here are some links to sites that we link to because we think they are worth visiting[...]……
Read was interesting, stay in touch……
[...]please visit the sites we follow, including this one, as it represents our picks from the web[...]……
Visitor recommendations…
[...]one of our visitors recently recommended the following website[...]……
Links…
[...]Sites of interest we have a link to[...]……
Websites we think you should visit…
[...]although websites we backlink to below are considerably not related to ours, we feel they are actually worth a go through, so have a look[...]……
Visitor recommendations…
[...]one of our visitors recently recommended the following website[...]……
Websites we think you should visit…
[...]although websites we backlink to below are considerably not related to ours, we feel they are actually worth a go through, so have a look[...]……
Read was interesting, stay in touch……
[...]please visit the sites we follow, including this one, as it represents our picks from the web[...]……
Check this out…
[...] that is the end of this article. Here you’ll find some sites that we think you’ll appreciate, just click the links over[...]……
Check this out…
[...] that is the end of this article. Here you’ll find some sites that we think you’ll appreciate, just click the links over[...]……
Sources…
[...]check below, are some totally unrelated websites to ours, however, they are most trustworthy sources that we use[...]……
Sites we Like……
[...] Every once in a while we choose blogs that we read. Listed below are the latest sites that we choose [...]……
Related……
[...]just beneath, are numerous totally not related sites to ours, however, they are surely worth going over[...]……
You should check this out…
[...] Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine a few unrelated data, nevertheless really worth taking a look, whoa did one learn about Mid East has got more problerms as well [...]……
Blogs ou should be reading…
[...]Here is a Great Blog You Might Find Interesting that we Encourage You[...]……
Blogs ou should be reading…
[...]Here is a Great Blog You Might Find Interesting that we Encourage You[...]……
Recommeneded websites…
[...]Here are some of the sites we recommend for our visitors[...]……
Awesome website…
[...]the time to read or visit the content or sites we have linked to below the[...]……
Online Article……
[...]The information mentioned in the article are some of the best available [...]……