“The plan was not to sit back at all. The best defense is offense.” — Jacques Martin

Martin has tried to sell us many good yarns this year, but this one is really a shocker coming from the King of Passive hockey. But if we are to believe what the Coach said in the aftermath of a game blown to the Buffalo Sabres last night, then certainly he must have recent memories and statistical evidence track record that speaks to that belief, right?

Let’s take a look and see what the Coach may be talking about.

In 2009-10, his first season in Montreal, the Canadiens scored 217 goals. That was good for 10th overall in the Eastern Conference, 23rd overall in the NHL and the 2nd lowest of any Eastern playoff team. I know, I know. The Canadiens went to the Eastern Conference Finals, so stuff it, right? Blah blah blah. Spare me your circular logic. As I’ve said before, we know how the Canadiens got to the Eastern Conference Finals and it had little to do with a spectacular offense.

In 2010-11, his second season in Montreal, the Canadiens actually slipped to 216 goals, good for 12th in the Eastern Conference, 24th overall in the NHL and the LOWEST of any Eastern Conference playoff team. I can hear the homers already: “But they took the eventual champs to overtime in game 7…and the injuries…..THE INJURIES! ARGH!!!!”. Where’s the snooze button, because I’m going to push it. Hard. There are no moral victories in the playoffs, and there were plenty of other teams that had more injuries than the Habs last season. In fact, the Canadiens were pretty much right in the middle of the pack in terms of man games lost to injury.

This season, the Canadiens have scored 42 goals through 17 games. That’s 2.47 goals per game on average, and projects out to 203 goals for the season. So if the Coach think that a best defense is a good offense, his team is going in the wrong direction, and has been going in the wrong direction for what is now a 3rd consecutive season. The addition of Erik Cole, a full season of Max Pacioretty and a bounce back season for some vets were supposed to set the stage of a more potent offense, was it not? Aside from Markov, who has been a gigantic question mark for many months now, the team has been relatively healthy. Cammalleri and Kostitsyn have missed a few games apiece, but certainly not enough to be the sole reason for the Habs’ continued inability to score goals.

Going back to what the Coach said: “The plan was not to sit back at all. The best defense is offense.”…how exactly does the Coach practice what he preaches? As the moribund powerplay continues to circle the drain, the Coach still affords Mathieu Darche precious minutes while other more talented, more deserving players sit and watch from the bench. Does having Tomas Plekanec on the point help or hurt? Does the Coach get his team to continually push the pace? Does he encourage and motivate them to play the same way that put them in a position to have a 2-goal lead to begin with? Or rather does he stand pat while his passive 1-2-2 system kills any offensive momentum his team may have had? If he in fact does not preach sitting back to protect a lead, then why does he continue to let it happen? It’s his job to change his players’ habits, is it not? If the players come out and talk about how they sat back, yet the Coach says that wasn’t the plan, then where’s the disconnect from the Coach to the players? Are the players stubborn? Incompetent? Is the Coach’s message not getting through? Is it not properly delivered? No matter, getting the best from his team and ensuring that his message is getting through is HIS job.

We’ve taken a look at some of the things we can see with our own eyes, but now let’s delve a little deeper in to some stats to try and help paint a clearer picture.
The Canadiens have 14 third period goals this season, which puts them in a logjam with the likes of Phoenix, Columbus, Nashville, Winnipeg and Detroit for 21st in the NHL. Red Wings aside, those aren’t the teams I think of when I think of “offense” and pushing the pace. Until last night, the Canadiens were actually 5-0 when leading after two periods, so a 5-0-1 record this morning should not be the end of the world, and truly it isn’t. The record and team are not on trial here. But that 5-0-1 record still only places them 18th overall in the league when leading after two periods. Since a near-perfect record ranks them a mediocre 18th, it can only mean that more than half of the teams in the league have had more leads to protect after two periods than the Habs, which speaks to the Habs overall inability to score at any point in the game. But the Habs ranking of 21st in the NHL in 3rd period goals means two thirds of the league still manages to score more goals in the final frame. When you put these seemingly disparate pieces of information together, it tells me that the Canadiens don’t push the pace in the third period, whether they are leading or trailing (Habs remain winless when trailing after two periods with an 0-6-2 record) and do in fact sit on leads going in to the third period when they have a lead to protect.

The final analysis says that if Jacques Martin believes that the best defense is a good offense, he does almost nothing to prove it. Is the Coach simply stating what he believes, but is unable to implement? Or is he trying to make us believe (similar to him telling us that young defensemen are to blame, or that his team plays puck possession hockey) what he wants us to believe? Given his track record, we know he’ll probably throw his friend and boss, General Manager Pierre Gauthier to the wolves for failing to provide enough talent. Hmm, that is curious, isn’t it? Tomas Plekanec, Michael Cammalleri, Brian Gionta, Max Pacioretty, Lars Eller, David Desharnais, Erik Cole, Andrei Kostitsyn, PK Subban, Yannick Weber, Raphael Diaz…does that sound like a talentless roster to you? Is that a list of names that evokes “can’t score goals” to you? It’s not to me.

It’s a slow news week with the Canadiens killing time until Friday’s match-up in Ottawa. During a slow news week, the go-to topic for local media has been “what to do with Scott Gomez when he’s healthy again“? It’s an easy topic to flog & blog, since everyone and their goldfish has an opinion. You can fill many pages and hours of air time with the myriad viewpoints out there. But aside from the whole “dead horse” angle of the debate that has raged virtually since the Habs traded for Gomez, it is an interesting topic today because the Canadiens have seemingly turned around their season since his absence from the lineup. The Canadiens are solid 3-1-1 without him, and a putrid 1-4-1 with him. Pretty stark difference, isn’t it? Is it that cut & dried though? Clearly, it’s not solely Gomez’ fault that the team got off to a near-disastrous start, but in calling a spade a spade, he did positively nothing to help. Like most die hard fans with a blog, I also have my thoughts on the situation and as you may very well guess, they are not “give him time and he’ll come through”.

While fixing the player would be the ideal scenario given all of the circumstances surrounding the player, the team, and the contract, that doesn’t seem to be possible anymore. After a thoroughly and deeply embarrassing 2010-11 season, he vowed to redouble his off-season efforts to come back strong for 2011-12. So far, no dice.

It’s one thing for him to look good while carrying the puck up the ice and gaining the offensive zone. Indeed, watching him fly up the ice with the biscuit is a sight to behold. It would be one of the things worth getting out of your seat for, except more often than not, the whole thing ends in disappointment. He’s a terrific skater with excellent speed and an intimidating stride. But that’s all null and void when the result is a predictable fade to the left side. If you’re a playmaker, it’s up to your linemates to finish the chances provided to them, but it’s your role to set them up in prime scoring positions. If the league has figured out the way you roll, adapt or you’re toast. It’s unfortunate that he has suffered an early season injury, since it only serves to further muddy the waters: his few remaining supporters trot out his ailment as yet another excuse for his slow start (and will continue to do so) while his critics point out that he’s simply picking up where he left off last year when he was healthy. He said, she said. Nobody wins.

So what is the solution?

The Canadiens won’t buy him out (or more aptly, they shouldn’t buy him out), so let’s just forget that right now and forever. Who wants millions of dollars of dead weight on the cap for the next several years when you’re the GM of a team that already has to allocate a large percentage of salary cap space solely for overpayments to UFAs because of the various reasons we blame: high taxes, language, schooling, fishbowl environment…

If somebody a lot smarter than me would come up with a figure that zeroed in on what percentage of cap space was dedicated solely to compensatory overpayments to UFAs, I think we’d see that the Habs start each season way behind the 8-ball. How would adding dead weight in the form of a Gomez’ buyout help that situation? It’s the cap world equivalent of blowing your brains out with a bazooka.

They can try to bury him in Hamilton in order to gain cap relief, but not one single person can claim to know whether or not Geoff Molson would approve of that. A 7 million dollar man in Hamilton? Yikes! And then to presume that Molson would follow up the demotion by green lighting the spending of the recovered cap space on his eventual replacement or other upgrade(s)? Again, nobody can claim to know how liberal Molson is with his spending. Yes, he has lots of money. Tons of it. But we cannot assume that he’s a willy-nilly free spender. He still has a budget-conscious board to report to. Everyone has a boss, including Geoff Molson. Regardless of how rich you are, it’s tough to justify an additional expenditure of 7 million dollars. You may reply with “yes, but a deep playoff run would offset that”. Probably, but you can’t guarantee a deep playoff run, and neither can Molson.

If Gomez were demonted to Hamilton, what negative effect would it have on Bulldogs? Not to say that Gomez is a locker room cancer. In fact, all indications are that he’s very popular in the room and a great teammate to have. But if Gomez is in Hamilton, is he their first line center? Probably, and that would flat out suck. He’d then be taking 20+ minutes per night away from what should be an important role for a developing player. Wade Redden has to be gobbling up a prospect’s minutes…ask the Rangers how they feel about that.

The best option, as it always has been, is to try and trade him. To anyone, for anyone. Cut losses. That possibility becomes tantalizingly possible at the end of this season (changes to the new CBA notwithstanding), especially when you consider that the salary cap will probably make another big jump for the 2012-13 season, making it even more difficult for cash-strapped teams to hit the cap floor. How? Gomez will be paid $5.5 million for 2012-13, but his salary cap hit will remain high at $7.36 million. An attractive option for restricted-budget teams that perpetually struggle to reach the cap floor; they get the high cap hit to help reach the floor, but they don’t actually have to pay out the big number.

But that doesn’t help the Habs today, does it?

It’s pretty clear to me that Lars Eller and David Desharnais can replicate Gomez’ offensive numbers. They aren’t as well rounded in other aspects of the game as Gomez has been, but they’re rapidly improving, especially in the case of Eller. The question is whether or not Head Coach Jacques Martin will take a “global view” and do what’s best for the team’s success today…or will he go back to the old “Coach’s prerogative” refrain and put Gomez back in to a situation that clearly is not working? Can Gomez be made a healthy scratch? Would a Coach noted for favouring his veterans do that? Would such a move provoke anger among his teammates and disrupt team chemistry? In this blogger’s opinion, players want to win, period. If you asked any member of the team if they want to have success or have their pals around (both isn’t an option here), they’d choose success every time. As Head Coach, it is up to Jacques Martin to put the best possible team on the ice to help deliver success. Anything less should be a fireable offense. Right now, the Canadiens are very much looking like a team that can not only compete, but thrive without Gomez.

What’s your take on Gomez?

Since the firing, the Canadiens have been the polar opposite of the group that slimed their way to a 1-5-2 record after the first 8 games. They’ve gone 3-0 since the axe dropped and have looked good in doing it. How much of that has to do with the “weak” opposition? The Flyers stink without Pronger and the Bruins are a shadow of a shadow of their former selves. But that’s not the Canadiens’ problem. They took control of the things that they can control, and have put badly needed points in the bank.

They may not be out of the woods yet in terms of avoiding the perilous 7% rule, but they’ve given themselves a chance. If the 1-5-2 start turns out to be too damaging in the long run, and the playoffs end up being a mirage then at least it appears as though the Canadiens doomed the Bruins to undertake the task of being one of the teams forced to overcome the dreaded 7% rule.

Clearly, knocking the Bruins out in the first round last spring would have been nicer, but putting nails in the coffin of their 2011-12 season is a decent consolation prize.

Off to a dismal 1-5 start, good for last in the Eastern Conference. This wasn’t part of the plan was it? You know what they say about best laid plans, but I think even the most optimistic of Habs fans ought to be gripping their blankets a little more tightly this morning.

Yesterday, I brought to light some statistics that Elliotte Friedman posted on his blog (the work was done by an unnamed NHL GM). I won’t rehash those stats again, but needless to say, the Canadiens have about 9 days to pull their act together or acording to the historical statistics, the playoffs may be a fantasy this season. If you did read up on those stats, and don’t put any stock in them, let’s take a different route, but I assure you that neither will leave you wanting to turn to online betting. If you do fancy yourself as an online betting afficionado, perhaps you can place a wager on the Habs chances here.

Last night I had a conversation with a member of Montreal’s media, who triggered the inspiration for this blog post.

If nobody wants to put any stock in to what the unnamed NHL GM dug up, then I offer this as reasoning to be close to hitting the panic button. Last season, the New Jersey Devils got off to a dismal 9-22-2 start under the tutelage of rookie head coach John Maclean (3-8-1 October, 5-6-1 November, 1-8 December). He was mercilessly (mercifully?) fired and replaced with Jacques Lemaire just before Christmas. It took some time for Lemaire to work out the kinks, but he coached the Devils up to a 29-17-4 record, or good for 62 out of a possible 100 points. Included in this stretch was a dominant stretch where the Devils went 22-3-2. The Devils eventually faded and were eliminated from playoff contention in early April. They finished the season a distant 12 points behind the 8th place Rangers.

So what’s it all mean, and how does it apply to the Habs? Well, let’s look at where the Habs are today, and where the Devils were when they canned John Maclean: Last place in the Conference in each case. The unnamed NHL GM’s stats strongly, almost unanimously indicate that being more than 3 points out of a playoff spot on November 1st is insurmountable. Sounds crazy, doesn’t it? You would imagine, as I did, that with 5+ months of hockey left to play, that a deficit of 3+ points would be made up for more than twice (TWICE!) since the lockout. But that’s what history says. As for the 2010-11 Devils, a stretch of 50 games under Lemaire where they took 62 out of a possible 100 points was not nearly good enough to get them in to the playoffs. The Devils were on pace for a 102-point season under Lemaire, just to put in to context how well Lemaire had them playing. Are the Habs even capable of playing near that 102 point clip?

Since the lockout, it has taken an average of 92 points to make the playoffs. The most was 94 pts in 2007-08, the lowest was 88 in 2009-10. To hit 92 points today, the Canadiens have to earn 89 out of 152 possible points remaining. That’s a winning percentage of 59%. Not impossible, but certainly very, very tough.That percentage will climb with each successive loss.

So perhaps it may be a touch early to be pushing the panic button, but there are obvious and telling signs that we should at least be worried. I may be offending some people, but anybody saying that “they aren’t worried” is likely willfully ignoring reality. At the least, we should certainly have our fingers primed for some serious button mashing within the next 2 weeks if the team doesn’t turn it around in a big way, for even at the 102-point pace that Lemaire had the Devils playing at, it wasn’t nearly enough to get the Devils in to the post season.

What this all means is that the Canadiens margin for error is nearly completely gone – and that’s just to squeeze in to 8th place. We all know that 8th place teams rarely, if ever realize any true success. But perhaps simply making the playoffs is all this team is capable of. The thought of that, on October 21st, is truly depressing.

The big question we should be talking about today, is what head coach Jacques Martin can do to get this team back on a consistent winning beat. Constant line juggling isn’t working. Passive, defense-first hockey with inexperienced young defensemen isn’t working. Motivation, communication, drive, finish, cohesion, discipline, sustained energy, and execution are sorely lacking. It’s a tall order for Martin to fix considering these are problems he’s had since the beginning of his tenure in Montreal and has been unable to address. Can he fix it in a hurry now that the playoffs are quickly becoming out of reach? Or does Molson have to pull the trigger? Bring on the Leafs!

1- Habs need size up front

Yes, Jagr is big, but so was Peter Popovic. When folks say that a team needs size, it’s also implied that the size comes with grit and nastiness. Jagr brings neither. The Habs need a guy who can throw a few punches, score goals and lay the body. Is Jagr that guy? Was he ever? Nope. Yes, he can protect the puck and stick handle and shoot. Big deal, so could Alex Kovalev.

2- Mercenaries needs not apply

Jagr apparently wants to play with 5 teams (Montreal, Detroit, New York, Pittsburgh, Washington). Note how they’re all deep-pocketed teams with the exception of Pittsburgh, who instead just happen to have (hopefully) a recovered Crosby, Malkin and Staal. Want a guaranteed all-star center? Sell your services to the Pens. Otherwise, he’s knocking on the door of teams he’s played for, or that have lots of cash. You want a guy with all world skill, size and previous chemistry with Plekanec? Then go get *gasp* Alex Kovalev (there’s that name again). At least we know he WANTS to be here. And he’d be cheaper. Crazy eh? We’ve been down this road once, and I’m dumbfounded that Habs fans want to venture down it again. Stay away from both players in fact. Besides, do we really have interest in a guy who’s trying to leverage teams and leagues against one another? It’s obvious that he’s trying to squeeze top dollar out of somebody, somewhere. Don’t take the bait.

3- Chemistry

The Habs are a tight room. Jagr’s mere presence throws that in to chaos with all the attention he’ll bring to himself. He can say all he wants that he’ll be a good soldier, and do his best to help the team. But we know that when things don’t go his way, he sulks, he pouts, and most importantly, he sucks. And he’ll drag his mates down with him. He doesn’t fit with this team in any way. If the NHL allowed for a “special teams player”, then maybe. If he had 6-8 minutes per night on the power play ONLY, then perhaps it could work. On a regular shift, he’s wasting everyone’s time.

4- “The System”

Has Jagr ever met his own goaltenders? Can he name one goalie for any team that he ever played for? How will this guy fare in a demanding Jacques Martin system that requires responsible play without the puck? That demands that he actually presents himself in the defensive zone? Jagr can’t spell backcheck if you spotted him the b-a-c-k-c-h-e-c. Backczech? No, thank you.

5- Endurance

He looked good in the Olympics and in the World Championships. Wonderful. He’s also been playing in the KHL for the past several years (for 10 million dollars per year I may add). The KHL is not nearly as rugged or grueling as the NHL is, especially today. There’s less travel and way less games. The KHL’s regular season weighs in at about 50 games. An NHL regular season consists of 82, an increase of more than 60%. Then there’s the playoffs where the tough really get going. The Bruins just played 25 games en route to a Cup win. Added to the 82 game regular season, they played 107 games. Roughly double that of the KHL schedule. How on earth does anyone have confidence that Jagr can simply step back in to NHL action – at 39 years of age, play in a defense-first system, and help the team in areas that he no longer excels in?

6- Habs need even-strength help

Jagr can certainly help a powerplay, I’ll admit that much. But the Habs don’t need help on the power play. They need to learn how to succeed at even strength. The Canadiens were among the very worst teams in the league at even strength scoring. In case you hadn’t noticed, the majority of a hockey game is played at even strength…you’d be well served, and the Bruins just amply proved, to be a team that does well 5-on-5. To do that, they need players who will drive the opposing net, and force other teams to think twice when they retrieve the puck in their corners. Does Jagr fit that bill? Only if you make him do that on your PS3.

It Makes No Sense

Even at a reasonable cap hit on a 1-year deal, I strongly believe that a gamble on Jagr is a wasted one. He addresses none of the Canadiens needs, while at the same time creating new problems and potential controversies. I believe Pierre Gauthier would be wise to give the “thanks but no thanks” reply to Jagr’s agent Petr Svoboda. I think too many Habs fans are under the spell that he can come back in to the NHL and be a 40 goal, 100 point guy again. He can’t. Not in Montreal, not under Jacques Martin, not at 40 years old. He’s not Teemu Selanne. The Habs don’t have Bobby Ryan, Ryan Getzlaf, or Corey Perry, so don’t cite The Finnish Flash as a guy who can still bring it. This isn’t to say that Jagr can’t fit in with the Pens, or Caps or elsewhere on his wish list. It just can’t work in Montreal. He’s too much of a me-first mercenary that completely flies in the face of the Habs style.

So here’s your turn. Tell me how Jaromir Jagr can help the Habs.

Pierre Gauthier has presented with an opportunity that would make John Ferguson, Jr. drool with envy: the chance to sign an over-the-hill mercenary. Given the credentials of this particular mercenary, I’d consider it if he wanted to come for REAL cheap, for one year, and as a third liner/power play specialist but I don’t think this mercenary is down with any of that. In any scenario, Jaromir Jagr probably wants a multi-year deal, and clearly would only sign after being promised significant ice time with a given team’s top offensive talent.

We can concoct any number of reasons as to why it would or wouldn’t work in Montreal, but one fact that I personally can’t ignore is the sincerity of a guy who’s doing his negotiating and leveraging through the media. Giving a potential short list of NHL teams he’d be willing to play for (NYR, PIT, MTL) just smacks of putting a bunch of male betta fish together in the same bowl and seeing who comes out on top. And by on top, I of course mean reaching deeper in to his pockets. Jagr is trying to play teams against one another, if not leagues against one another. Frankly I don’t think he wants to play in the NHL at all where he will surely get less money and less playing time than he would get in the KHL. The idea of a one last romp for the future hall of famer is cute and will have many fans dreaming of the flowing mullets of days gone by. Leave it in the past where it belongs; we can always look fondly back on pictures like this and romanticize about the phenomenal skills that Jagr brought to the rink.

As far as the player himself, circa 2011, I don’t think he has the legs, stamina or desire to compete as a 2-way forward in a Jacques Martin system. For the same reasons I don’t think Kovalev and Martin would have worked, I don’t think Jagr would work, either. It’s just that cut & dry for me.

But I’m willing to look at the other side with an open mind and see how and where Jagr would fit. Assuming for a second that Habs GM Pierre Gauthier pulled the trigger on the former NHL superstar, how would this affect the roster? Well for starters, it would likely mean that given their chemistry, Jagr would be paired with Plekanec at center, and Cammalleri on the opposite wing. This bounces Max Pacioretty or Andrei Kostitsyn down to the line featuring Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta. Would YOU want either of those guys playing on the black hole that is Scott Gomez’ wing? Would you even want to take the chance that Gomez just had a bad year and will bounce back? Think long and hard about that one. The other option is to put Jagr with Gomez…but there isn’t enough bleach in the world to dissolve that horrifying vision from my head. The only scenario in which this could work is to pair Jagr with Lars Eller on the 3rd line. But then we come full circle to the argument that Jagr likely wouldn’t want third line ice time & duty. If Gomez struggles again in the first half of the season, Eller could very well supplant him as the team’s full time second line center, but then we arrive back in the situation where Jagr is back where he can no longer play – among the top 6 forwards.

You may have also noticed a missing name from that list: Andrei Kostitsyn. Now, I’m fairly certain that the majority of Habs fans would cut Kostitsyn loose at the drop of a hat. They would not lose a wink of sleep if he ended up elsewhere next season as many have had enough of his see-saw performances. But I believe that as a cost-controlled RFA, he’s in the Habs plans for 2011-12, and he will once again figure in to the top-6. His final 20 regular season games salvaged an otherwise subpar season, and his physical presence cannot be dismissed. In other words: something would have to give if Jagr were brought in…but what? Jacques Martin is not the most creative coach in the world, and I can’t see him meshing with a wild card like Jagr.

I believe that the Habs are closer to Cup contention than most people think. It’s not that outlandish a thought when you get right down to it. They have the goaltending. With Markov and Gorges back in the picture, they have the main ingredients on the blue line. Up front, they’ve got to add some grit and size with skill, but beyond that, this is a fairly complete team with as good a shot as anyone. With some health next year, a key trade deadline acquisition or two may be the final pieces…maybe at that point Jagr would work to shore up the power play, but then again, he’s such a big name you’ve got to wonder what his presence does to a locker room at that point of the season?

But to me the Habs biggest and most glaring problem is even strength scoring, and I really, really can’t see Jagr as the answer to that problem. The Habs were ranked 15th out of 16 among playoff teams this year. They ranked near the bottom of the 30-team NHL in terms of even-strength scoring. Jaromir Jagr still has hands and he still has some ability to produce offense. But in a defense-first Jacques Martin system, how would a guy who has never adhered to a “system” fit in?

In the end, bringing in Jagr is too much of a gamble. He’s another ill-fitting piece to a puzzle that doesn’t need what Jagr has. Jaromir Jagr is like a denver boot to the Habs lineup. Just say no.

Let’s start from the bottom of the barrel and finish on a high, shall we?

The Ugly

The Pacioretty/Chara incident. This will certainly be one of the infamous moments in Habs history, for all the wrong reasons. Everyone has their own personal opinion on whether or not Chara intended to severely injure Pacioretty, but the fact will always be that Pacioretty came within fractions of an inch from losing his career, his ability to walk, or perhaps even worse. That he luckily escaped severe handicap is a blessing, but it also fuels the knuckle-draggers who think the whole thing was overblown. Pacioretty was out cold on the ice – that by definition is a severe concussion. That he seemed to avoid post-concussion symptoms is what has Dr. Recchi, Boston media, and Bruins fans in such a confused tizzy. Any way you slice it, this was a horrific incident that touched off a frenzy in Montreal unseen in decades. Predictably, the rest of the hockey world points and laughs. Thankfully Pacioretty will be back next year and looking to pick up where he left off.

Injuries to Markov and Gorges. Why, oh why can’t the Habs stay in one piece for one year? If you spend any time reading here, you know me as somebody that doesn’t buy the injuries as an excuse for underachieving, or failure. Everyone suffers from injuries, and the Habs were somewhere in the middle of the pack in terms of man-games lost to injury. Yeah, yeah, the whole quality vs quantity argument. Given the importance of Markov and Gorges to the team, it seems grossly unfair that both would be shelved for many months. Will either be back next season? Time will tell, but I would like to see them both return, for the right price of course.

Scott Gomez. No breakdown of the Habs season would be complete without looking at Gomez’ horrific season. After his putrid start, his supporters said that he’s a second half player. When he didn’t get going after the all star break, his supporters entrenched themselves deeper and said he was a playoff performer and we should be patient. When all is said and done, he never really got going at all. 38 points, -15. Underwhelming playoff performance aside from a strong first game. His last goal would come in early February, while all other facets of his game tumbled to appaling levels. The Canadiens can’t afford another season like that from a guy who eats such a large chunk of cap space. It will be tough to move him in any scenario, but its safe to say that his nightmarish season could have single-handedly cost the Habs a playoff spot if not for Carey Price’s brilliance.

Booing Carey Price. What’s the matter with the people who booed Carey Price – in the preseason no less? The real work hadn’t yet begun and those who sleep in Halak jammies were already out with their pitchforks. Needless to say, within weeks they no longer had any credibility, as Price forcibly duct taped every single one of the haters mouths shut. Booing the home team is never smart. Singling out a young player who needed support more than scorn was borderline criminal. In the end, all Price needed was confidence and he’d take care of the rest. On many nights, he was left on his own and snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. It’s what the greats do, and Carey Price is already great. When it’s all said and done, his name will not look out of place with the likes of Plante, Vezina, Roy, and Dryden.

The rivalry with Boston. For the better part of a century, the Habs and Bruins built one of the greatest rivalries in sports. In 2011, however, it went from an on-ice rivalry, to outright vitriolic hate in all directions. The players don’t like one another, but the fans and media have helped propel this rivalry to very nasty, unfriendly places. There’s no need to rehash it all, as it all cuts so close to the bone but it’s safe to say that this rivalry, which had cooled slightly in recent years, even with several playoff matchups has been renewed. We hope that it stays on the ice and produces exciting hockey, but I somehow doubt that. Winning with grace has eluded certain fanbases and the teams they follow.

The Bad

Opening round loss to the Bruins. After the tumultuous season that the Habs suffered at the hands of the Bruins (despite winning 4 of 6 games), roaring out to a 2-0 series lead had everyone thinking about the 2010 playoffs and another Cinderella run. Surely, with a 0-26 record when falling behind by two games, the Bruins were toast, right? Sadly for Habs fans, the Bruins fought back, broke through the barrier that was so successful last year for Montreal and eventually won the series. In seven games. In overtime. It doesn’t get worse than that for Habs fans who were around when the Canadiens hadn’t lost to the Bruins in the playoffs for 40 years. Yes, 40 years.

Inability to score at even strength – ‘The System’. Listening to the season ending post-mortem press conference, Jacques Martin would have you believe that his puck possession system in fully in place, and that the Habs do not struggle to score goals. Those paying attention know that he is simply deflecting, avoiding and outright lying about the type of hockey he has his team playing. It was tough to argue with him as the Habs hobbled through the season and still hung on to 6th place in the East. But again, when looking at all of the stats and evidence, the real system is Carey Price. Without 70+ games of terrific hockey from the Habs netminder, it would have been lights out after the regular season. It’s dangerous to rely solely on special teams and goaltending, and hopefully everyone now realizes that.

Underachieving forwards. All 6 of the top forwards had sub-par years. Starting with the aforementioned Gomez, but filtering down to each and every one of Plekanec, Gionta, Kostitsyn, Cammalleri and whoever the 6th forward was on any given day. None had what I’d call a strong year. Aside from Gomez’ putrid performance, the others all had decent, but underwhelming performances. We’ll never know how Pacioretty would have affected things if not for his head-first dive in to a stanchion, but it’s clear – the system prevents the Habs best offensive talents from reaching their potential. We’ve long forgotten what it’s like to have a forward finish among the league leaders in terms of production, and as long as the defense-first system lives, the Habs will struggle to score – regardless of the PR spin the coach and management decides to sell us, and regardless of what talent may be lured to town.

Moving Ryan O’Byrne, then trading to acquire more defense. This is a sticky one. The coach didn’t trust O’Byrne, which is his prerogative. I have to admit that I didn’t have much faith in O’Byrne, either, but I did want him in the lineup on a more consistent basis so that he could develop the confidence that fans would then absorb by osmosis. The organization didn’t see it that way, and shipped him to Colorado – where he played quite well – for another small prospect forward in Michael Bournival. We can only ponder how management reacted once O’Byrne was no longer available once their defensemen started to drop like flies. Would O’Byrne have drawn back in to the lineup, or would coach Martin continue to select others like Alexandre Picard over him? We’ll never know, but what is certain is that there was no rush to move him as quickly as they did.

Scattered, disorganized, immobile defense. Valiant warriors one and all: Hal Gill, Roman Hamrlik, Jaroslav Spacek, Brent Sopel, Paul Mara. All are guys with guts, and all performed as well as they could. In the end, it was clear that they were asked to do more than they were capable of – whether through lack of skill, or the slow erosion of age, these guys simply couldn’t do the things necessary to win for long enough. Opponents know that if they press on their older, slower bodies, they’ll end up with the puck in the Canadiens zone, and they’ll force these older players to take penalties. And take penalties they did; the Habs were near the summit of the league in terms of minor penalties taken; another blight on ’the system’. It’s tough to score goals when the puck is always in your own end. Individually they all seem like terrific teammates, but in order to get better, some changes will need to be made, and hard decisions taken. It’s hard to do, but teams don’t get better by “being nice”.

Picking on PK. I would have put this in the “ugly” section if PK showed any signs of caring what other think of him outside of his locker room. Instead, Pernell Karl turned the corner at midseason and, given the ice time he received because of injuries to Markov and Gorges, he opened eyes across the league. However, not all eyes are as tolerant as we would like them to be in 2011. Racial slurs became common, and the league feigned horror at the “disrespect” the Habs young rearguard displayed on the ice. What a load of trash. Brad Marchand and Cam Fowler pulled similar stunts to what Subban did this year, and yet received no criticism. Racial undertones aside, PK gets a lot of flack simply because he’s GREAT and still a long way from his full potential. This scares other teams and their fans. Almost all non-Habs fans would admit to wanting him on their team, and this is a testament to PK’s resolve, evolving maturity, and lastly, to Trevor Timmins, who has hit a grand slam by drafting this kid in the second round. For once, it’s awfully nice having a player that everyone else says “how did we miss this guy” about.

The Failure of Pouliot. Benny, Benny, Benny. Last year I referred to you as Jimmy Olsen on a team of superheroes. You did nothing to change that this year, even though I thought you may be turning a corner at a few points. Have a nice career in some other jersey. I can’t devote any more space to you and your underachieving ways.

The Heritage Classic. Everyone loves an outdoor game, right? The mystique, the roots of the game, the fresh air. Yeah, sure they do. On this cold February evening, the Habs, decided that being in front of a gigantic, captive North-American audience was the right time to play one of the worst games of the season, being blanked 4-0 to the Calgary Flames at McMahon Stadium. It was a flaccid performance, coming off the heels of an equally putrid loss to the bottom-feeding Oilers.

Departures we hate to see. It hasn’t happened yet, but it certainly appears that Kirk Muller is on his way out of Montreal. What a shame that the Canadiens organization should lose two young coaching talents in Guy Boucher and Kirk Muller in consecutive years. If there’s one argument for Habs brass in keeping Jacques Martin around it’s that if they cut him loose any time soon after losing Boucher and Muller, they’ll be roasted. Other players potentially on their way out include Andrei Markov, Hal Gill, Roman Hamrlik and a few others. Some are near and dear to Habs fans, and we’d hate to see them go. In some cases, it’s necessary, but in the case of Kirk Muller you’d hope the Canadiens would do whatever it takes to keep a guy that the players reportedly adore. The fans seem to like him, too.

The Good

A new captain for a new era. After going through an entire season with no captain, the Canadiens decided it was time to name a new one to replace Saku Koivu. Raise your hand if you don’t like Brian Gionta as Captain. Nobody? I thought so. Stoic, heart of a lion, non-stop motor…what’s not to like about Brian Gionta? Nothing, that’s what.

Price’s rebirth. Carey Price had been, until this season started, a very controversial figure. How refreshing it is then, that under more pressure than ANY player in the league, Price responds with the type of season he had. There’s a case to be made that he should have been nominated for the Hart Trophy as the league’s MVP. Certainly there is no post-season in Montreal without his consistently solid play. Each and every single Habs fan should be in awe of how he played and conducted himself this year. And General Manager Gauthier should lock him up for a very, very long time as soon as possible. Don’t wait until Price increases his value even higher.

Subban’s emergence. He’s already been mentioned, but how amazing was PK Subban this season? He’s clearly the best rookie defenseman the Habs have had since the mid-80′s, and there are whispers that he’s gone and made Andrei Markov expendable. I don’t necessarily believe that, as the sophomore jinx has bitten the best of them, including Tyler Myers and Drew Doughty. Subban could easily have a setback next year, but what is clear is that at 21 years old, Subban is going to be the Canadiens top defenseman in a couple years from now, and will be for a long, long time. As with Price, Gauthier should lock up Subban immediately, before his price tag is elevated with Norris credentials.

Weber shines. Below the radar, and in Subban’s immense shadow lies the solid, versatile Yannick Weber. He may never be a top pairing defenseman, but he can be an effective power play specialist, while not embarassing himself on defense. He also proved that he could play a fourth line role, bringing back images of another Swiss-born, under-the-radar, jack-of-all-trades former Hab in Mark Streit. I believe he’s been underrated all season long and has earned a permanent spot on the blueline.

Pacioretty’s promise. Where’s our power forward? How many times had you heard that over the past decade? Safe to say that if you had a dime for every time you heard that from a fan, or member of the media, you’d be living the sweet life out in California’s beatiful San Fernando Valley (hat tip to Dr. Venkman for that beauty). Before being savagely injured, Pacioretty was just entering his own. He was the Habs best forward at the time of his injury, and seemed to be the answer to the gaping hole among the top 6 forwards. When Pacioretty revealed that he would have been ready to face the Capitals should the Habs have beaten Boston, fans sighed in disappointment. So close. On the other hand, he gets a full off-season to stregthen his neck and be absolutely certain that he wasn’t rushing back. Then again, it took a wicked slap shot to the ribs and a trip to the hospital before Pacioretty really heated up in the first place, so who knows, maybe he would have been even better after recovering from his neck problems.

Discovery of Desharnais. Talk about found money! Everyone knew about his skill, and his pal Pacioretty said he was the best center he had ever played with. It didn’t take long for Habs fans to see what he was talking about. Though he’s another small forward on a team of small forwards, I think Claude Julien got it right on when he said that Desharnais looks like he could be another Martin St-Louis. Let’s hope the Canadiens are able to find a permanent and fitting role for this pint-sized dynamo. It will be tough, as the Habs have Gomez, Plekanec and Eller at center already. Eller is ill-suited to play wing, and it would be a shame for Desharnais to toil on the fourth line with all that skill being devoted to a checking role. The answer, as hard as it may be to accomplish, is to somehow move Gomez. As much as I’d like to give him the chance to redeem himself (and this likely will be the path we go down), I’d spit nails if young talent was sacrificed for overpaid underachievers. Young homegrown talent is raring to go, and shouldn’t be stifled or discarded. If Habs management is intent on letting fresh coaching talent walk away, as well as prime prospects in low salary brackets in favour of bloated, stale contracts in Jacques Martin and Scott Gomez, then they should be immediately fired.

BAMF Ryan White. Finally, a player with wheels, and a willingness to get his nose dirty. Every team needs players like Ryan White. When members of the team come out and publicly state that White should have been on the team since the start of the season, that’s a criticism on the coaches and management, who were either asleep at the switch, or ignorant of their team’s needs. Either way, it’s a huge compliment to Ryan White, who, despite not being a heavy weight, finally brings accountability for other teams who feel like they can take liberties on the Habs without having to answer for it.

Koivu 2.0: Enter Lars Eller. Somebody said it on Twitter, and I think it’s totally appropriate (if you know who said it, please let me know). Eller is Koivu in a bigger body. What a dream come true for Habs fans! For a decade we wished that Saku could have been a little bigger and a little more durable. As big as his heart was and still is, he always wore down as the seasons took their inevitable toll. Lars Eller may not have had the numbers to prove it, but he has playmaking skills, skating ability, defensive awareness and size down the middle – one of the Habs missing key ingredients. We would love to see him develop his finish around the net in coming years, but it’s clear to me that the Habs have won the Halak trade hands-down. With Eller in the fold, and a reborn Carey Price, it’s in fact a steal and Gauthier deserves credit, despite what Pierre McGuire’s bitterness will tell you.

Mike Cammalleri - playoff wizard. Two seasons. 26 playoff games. 16 goals. 13 assists. 29 points. Any questions? Many thought that they could throw Cammalleri under the same bus that Gomez found himself under all season. While Gomez apologists tried to tell us that he would produce in the playoffs, and that Cammalleri hadn’t proven anything, we now know better. Cammalleri is a gamer, and brings his best to the post season. While he’s merely average defensively, he’s the Habs go-to guy on offense in the playoffs. He simply gets it done unlike any Hab player in recent years in the post season.

Small package, huge heart. The small forwards may get beaten up, but they simply don’t go away. Time and time again they fought back this season, led by guys who punch much higher than their weight. Captain Gionta certainly leads the way with his fearlessness, and never say die work ethic, but others like Plekanec, Cammalleri and Desharnais showed no fear when it comes to facing adversity. Young players like Eller, Desharnais, Subban, Weber, Pacioretty are soaking in some extremely vital lessons. They see smaller guys working their tails off, and the attitude is infectious. This bodes very well for chemistry and identity of the Habs’ future.

Departures we like to see. Pierre Boivin. Thanks for making the Habs more relevant than they’ve ever been, during their longest Stanley Cup drought in history. Your business acumen and marketing prowess (along with Ray Lalonde) is to be commended. You guys made the Habs a glossy, flashy, only-show-in-town behemoth. Your work has enlivened the Habs for a new generation and has somehow made the Canadiens even more of a religion than they already were. However, your sociological policies have held the Canadiens back where it counts most – on the ice. You honoured the past glory of the franchise to the point of distracting fans to the mediocrity of recent teams. We’re all grateful for what you did in honouring greats like Geoffrion, Robinson, Cournoyer, Savard, Gainey, Roy and others, and we thank you for that. Really, we do. The ceremonies were touching, classy and the gold standard by which all sports teams should aspire to. Good luck in your future endeavors, but I can’t say that I’m sad to see you go.

Mathieu Darche. What more can be said about this guy? Bemoaned by nearly all Habs fans for signing a one-way deal, I was in the minority who thought this was a wise, value-packed signing, and I’m glad that I was proven right. He filled in admirably on the second line when Pacioretty went down, scoring several big goals in areas on the ice where Habs have feared to tread for years. He has to be a tremendous influence on young players who have more skill and upside than Darche, but may lack the work ethic required at the NHL level. Darche spent time all over the lineup, and even spent time in the press box. Without having access to the locker room, I’d bet my last penny that he did everything with a smile on his face.

Triple low-fives. How much fun is the post-victory ritual between Subban and Price?

This post is brought to you by Quality Plus Tickets. If you’re in need of Habs tickets next season, be sure to check them out!

1. Injuries
2. “They’re still ahead of last year’s pace”
3. “Look at what happened last year”

Spare me. These are all weak arguments that do nothing more than slather plaster over gaping cracks.

Let’s dismantle the arguments one by one, shall we?

1. Injuries

By now we can all agree that the Canadiens have been the walking wounded this year. Just about every defenseman has been on the shelf…even the guys brought in to replace injured regulars have found their way to the shelf. But we Habs fans tend to look at things with a very narrow lens. When one looks at the full picture, it shows that the Habs are actually in the bottom half of the league when it comes to man-games lost to injuries – that is to say that 16 teams (including 7 playoff teams as of last week) have suffered more man games lost to injuries than the Canadiens have. You can cite the quality over quantity argument if you’d like, but the fact is that Markov and Gorges have both been “replaced” with acquisitions (Wizniewski, Mara, Sopel) and while those 3 likely aren’t quite as good as the other two combined, the drop off isn’t so severe that it should affect the team’s fortunes to any significant degree. Up front, it’s pretty evident that Plekanec, and Cammalleri aren’t themselves, but as I mentioned here, when a player decides to play wounded, he is signing an implicit agreement that he’s good to go, with no excuses. If the player is hurt badly enough to prevent him from being a productive member of the team, stay home. Rest up, and come back when healthy. Having Pacioretty out of the lineup is also a big blow, no doubt. He was the Canadiens most productive forward at the time of his injury, and any time a guy like that is lost, there’s bound to be some pain. However, the loss of Pacioretty does not in any way explain why the Canadiens are 4-7 since losing him, while being badly outplayed in nearly every game over that stretch (the only games in which the Habs looked good, are games in which the opposition was dreadful – Pittsburgh and Minnesota). It also in no way begins to describe the lifeless, emotionless, complacent manner in which the Canadiens have taken to the ice in many games. Are they exhausted? Some guys probably are…in which case we need to ask the coaching staff why some guys were so foolishly overused. Nevertheless, who did the Penguins have to turn to in the absences of Crosby and Malkin?

No matter how you slice it, injuries are not the reason why they’re in such a funk. The Canucks have lost more than a hundred man games above and beyond the Canadiens. While they are certainly deeper offensively, their defensemen have been ravaged WORSE than the Habs all year. This has not prevented the Canucks from not only continuing to play well – but they are running away with the much tougher Western Conference, and will easily win the President’s Trophy as the top poing getting team in the league. They haven’t used injuries as a crutch. What’s that? They play in a weak division? Ok, ok, you got me. Sort of. It is a weak division, but the Canucks have beaten up on everyone all year, regardless where they play. Many teams have sacked up and played on to success - why can’t the Habs? Is it talent? Is it coaching? Uncontrollable circumstances? It’s certainly your right to decide. I simply choose to look at stats, and try to take a bigger look around before making blanket statements.

2. They’re Still Ahead of Last Year’s Pace

Today, the Canadiens sit 5 points ahead of their pace from last season. Is that really relevant? I’m not so sure. Last season, the Canadiens mark of 88 points in 82 games was enough to get them in to the playoffs, but it was the lowest point total for any playoff-bound team since the lockout ended. So if you want to measure this year’s team against a team that had set the bar so very low – more power to you. But let’s continue the charade.

The Habs are up 5 points over last year. Goodie! Again, using a wider lens, here’s how the other seven playoff-bound teams in the Eastern Conference (as of today) stack up in terms of points earned when compared to this point last year:

Philadelphia: +20
Capitals: -13
Bruins: +14
Penguins: +3
Lightning: +21
Canadiens: +5
Sabres: -19
Rangers: +7

Of those teams, only the Capitals and Sabres have had a big drop. Yet most would agree that this year’s Capitals team is much more balanced and well-rounded than last year’s juggernaut. As for the Sabres, well if you’re one of those that leans on injuries as the grand reason behind the struggles, the Sabres can also use that excuse – they sit in 18th in terms of man-games lost to injury, right behind the Canadiens.

Breaking down the numbers further, the average playoff team from this year is 4.75 points ahead of last year’s pace. Also of note is that 4 of them (Rangers, Penguins, Flyers, Capitals – 2 division leaders, don’t you know?) have had more injury troubles than Montreal. Can we round up 4.75 to 5? Presto!

So while the Canadiens remain ahead of their pace from last year, it doesn’t make them any better of a team relative to the other playoff teams in the conference.

3. Look at What Happened Last Year

There’s not much that can be said here. The Canadiens surprised everyone with their improbable 7-game upsets over Washington and Pittsburgh. The Canadiens discovered that a suicidal game plan can work – and it did - for a while. Offensively gifted (selfish?) players like Ovechkin, Semin, Backstrom, Green, Malkin, Crosby were totally befuddled by their inability to beat Jaroslav Halak. It wasn’t for a lack of trying, it was mostly panic that forced them to shoot from the outside, and they allowed Habs defenders like Hal Gill and Josh Gorges to block a large portion of their shots. Halak, for his part, was unbeatable when he was on, but was awful when he was off. I don’t care what era you’re playing hockey in, when you ask your goalie to stop 40 to 50 shots in the playoffs, against some top players in the world - you’re asking for trouble. When they hit a deep, skilled, big team like the Flyers, they were summarily trounced, being shut out in 3 games of the series.

There’s a well-known adage that lightning doesn’t strike twice in the same place. Hoping for the Habs to get hit again when they go up against the likes of Philly, Boston or Washington may be ok for some, but it doesn’t work for me. Yes, I will be there cheering for the team as hard as I can and willing them to whatever success I’m able to.

But I’m not going to blindly join those who ignore signs of concern, or choose to stay quiet about it since words (of any blogger/journalist/fan/twitterer) are for naught. It doesn’t make one a bandwagon jumper, nor does it make one a bad fan if they choose to shine a light on what they perceive to be some serious issues. Some would rather see nothing but unicorns and ice cream type posts. “Stay positive!” Sorry, that’s not for everyone. Some of us bring a critical eye to the web when it comes to the Habs, and that’s ok. The glass half-full crowd is fine, too. Where the whole house of cards falls apart is when both sides attack each other and resort to personal attacks. It isn’t a sin to expect better from the Habs, who had their eyes on 3rd place in the conference less than 2 weeks ago, only to drift lifelessly in to 8th place without a whimper. Some are satisfied with 8th, and more power to them for it. Others aren’t. We have to live with each other’s viewpoints, or employ the unfollow button (or any other form of avoidance that is available to everyone).

Solutions?

Today, there aren’t any outside of the Habs locker room. This is the team that will enter the playoffs (so indicates this site). The coach is the guy that will rubber stamp the game plan. The players will have to deliver, stifling system be damned, or hit the links early. The solutions lie in the room. That’s why I won’t hit the panic button.

Looking ahead to next season, it is in my view imperative that if he isn’t going to be replaced by a more progressive-thinking coach, somebody needs to convince Jacques Martin to loosen the reigns and allow his offensively-minded players to explore and maximize their talents. It’s been proven that his system sacrifices offense in the name of defense. With a goalie like Carey Price, you can afford to open things up. The Canadiens also desperately need more size up front. Even with a system that focuses on speed, the small forwards would skate themselves to death trying to go around much bigger defensemen before long. They also need size in order to penetrate opposing defenses to make life miserable for the other goalie. It goes without saying that they also need somebody with that nasty demeanor, too. This means that a player or two from the current top 6 is likely going to have to leave to make room. That’s a post for another day. Martin must also improve his in-game management skills. Put players in positions to succeed. Let Halpern, a league leader in faceoffs, take faceoffs whenever possible. Use Subban on the powerplay as often as possible. Use timeouts appropriately. Make discipline a priority. Show some emotion once in a blue moon!

Injuries will always be an issue. That’s not going to go away for anyone, so the Habs need more depth to replace battered bodies when they can’t play. With all due respect to guys like Halpern and Moen, they aren’t top-6 players any day of the week, on any team in the league. The Canadiens are certainly heading in the right direction in terms of depth, but they aren’t there yet.

Listening to call in shows, and reading fans on twitter, it’s as if the sky has already fallen for some. Others simply shrug and wait for mid-April. Again, it’s all good, but for everyone’s sake we all need a thicker skin at this time of year.

On one side, there’s the rabble rousers who resort to the trade everyone, fire everyone rhetoric. On the other side, there are the kumbaya types that don’t see any reason to panic; being outscored 12-0 over 3 important games is no different than being outscored 12-9 in those 3 same games. A loss is a loss is a loss, after all.

The rioters are expecting hellfire and brimstone to fall at any moment now, while the calm, zen-like members of Habs Nations look back to last season as proof that anything can and will happen.

The crazies are willing to throw everyone under the tank treads for lack of results – blow the whole thing up (again!); the peace & love crowd cite injuries as the reason for poor performances and promise a better showing in the playoffs.

My take?

Let’s start with the coach and get him out of the way. Anyone who has spent any time here knows that I’m not a fan of Jacques Martin’s system, nor a fan of his monotone approach. Never have been, not since he took over as coach. I hear he’s been vocal, nasty and angry during some practices throughout the year, but it would be nice for some of that ire to be directed at the officials once in a while. I get the feeling that the Coach does not even care to give the perception that he is publicly willing to stand up for his team. Does he deserve to be fired? No, not today he doesn’t…or more aptly put, firing him today would be counterproductive, as a massive shitstorm of controversy would swarm and overwhelm the team. The Habs organization has made its bed with this staff, and we’ll have to live with it for now. No coach has made it through 4 full seasons as head coach in Montreal since the late Pat Burns about 20 years ago, so chances are that Martin is closer to the end of his tenure than to the beginning. Injuries aren’t the reason why his passive system has been in use for so long; he’s employed it since taking over the job (despite saying that he would install a speed game based on puck possession). I had gotten off of his case recently, as I had rationalized that as players drop, the system can make lesser replacement players productive in a very simple way. But once the real talent comes back in to the mix, the system stifles, as offensively minded players struggle to think defense first. I feel that a coach – one man plus his staff – ought to adjust to the strengths of his 20+ players rather than force those players to swallow a system that doesn’t suit them. Simply put – the coach does not adapt. It’s one size fits all, take it or leave it.

As for the players? I think it’s fair to say that they’ve under delivered, with the exception of Carey Price, PK Subban and perhaps Andrei Kostitsyn. Others like Mathieu Darche, Hal Gill, David Desharnais, Max Pacioretty and Alex Auld have all made valuable contributions to the team (and why some of those names creep up in discussions for the Jacques Beauchamp award for unsung hero), but either haven’t been around long enough to be part of the core or don’t have the responsibility to carry the heaviest of loads. Unfortunately the players that have had the worst seasons are the ones paid the most money to produce. Whehter they’re playing hurt, or been overused, you have no choice but to take them at their word: when they lace up their skates to hit the ice, they are doing so with an implicit agreement that they are healthy enough to play and produce. By suiting up, they themselves eliminate the injury excuse.

When you play in a system that emphasizes defense, any reduction in offense is going to have a major effect at some point. As fellow blogger HabsWatch points out, when it comes to playoff success it is indeed offense that wins, not defense, as is the popular belief (I highly recommend reading both part one and part two if you have not yet done so). While its easy to blame the lack of offense (Habs rank 24th in the league in goals per game) on the Coach, the truth is that not even Coach Martin wants this little offensive production to work with, and that’s where accountability to the players comes in. That the Canadiens are still in a tie for 6th place, and a few points ahead of last year’s pace can almost be entirely attributed to Carey Price, who has earned a star in 25 of his 34 wins (12 1st star selections, 8 2nd star selections, 5 3rd star selections). Just call him Mr. Spackle. What other conclusion can one arrive at? As Rick at All Habs points out, it is the responsibility of the Coach to create the conditions for success. No player among the top 6 is delivering a good return on their significant salary. Don’t look to injuries to try and deflect all criticism of Martin; the Canadiens are 17th in the league in man-games lost. Yes, yes quality over quantity…but again, as Rick points out:

Martin-apologists claim that coaches of teams who experience injuries, all revert to playing a more defensive game. Statistics don’t support this argument. Of the top five teams in the league in terms of goals scored, four of them have lost more man-games to injury than the Canadiens.

We can argue until we are blue in the face over relative terms of talent missing from rosters but there’s no question – based on statistics – that the Canadiens don’t have it as bad as we think when it comes to injuries, and that they must adopt a defensive system as losses pile up.

All told, responsibility is shared from the Coach, down through the players on the bench. Whenever the season ends, blame (isn’t that a nasty word?) will be shared throughout the team. The big question is what will happen in the off-season to rectify the issues?

Peering in to my sometimes right, often wrong crystal ball, there’s a couple ways this season plays out.

1- The Canadiens make the playoffs, but get trounced by a much stronger opponent somewhere along the way. The angry mob resumes their act on the call in shows and on twitter, while the other side divorces themselves from that segment, saying that the frustrated, emotionally compromised vocal ones are not “true” fans. They claim that the team that has too many bobos and too many tired bodies to make a dent in the playoff picture…they say that they are proud of their team just for getting there considering the injuries (again, never mind the fact that 16 other teams – more than half the league – have it worse than the Habs. It also can’t be ignored that 7 other playoff teams have had more injury trouble than the Canadiens). These arguments hold some validity and merit. In my humble view it also gives a free pass to a team that doesn’t quite have its act together.

2- The Canadiens make the playoffs, and lightning strikes in the same place again. Cinderella descends on Montreal again and douses the angry mob with cold water. They fall in line, sing ‘olé’, loot stores and burn police cars, while the do-gooders do the Balky dance of joy, thumbing their noses at those who were ever worried or angry in the first place. Staking out the high ground, so to speak.

Despite my opposition to the chosen style of play, and despite my reluctance to swallow the excuse of injuries, I am not hitting the panic button – nor will I hit the panic button, even if the Canadiens get shut out in each of their 6 final regular season games. The panic button is something to be pushed when desperate solutions are needed. The fact is that there is no trade, signing or firing that can be done at this point that will vault the Habs in to being a Cup contender. The key to the Canadiens success lies where it always has: in the dressing room. This group of players will need to figure out how to score and how to win again. With 6 games left, there’s still time for David to refocus and find the confidence necessary to stand up to Goliath. The Canadiens haven’t forgotten how to play hockey in the past week. They will win again, and they almost certainly will get on the board tonight vs the Thrashers.

The world is not coming to an end. As we should have learned last year, there is always a reason to have faith, but we should also recognize that lightning typically doesn’t strike in the same place twice. Despite how the two poles behave, the true believing eternal optimists are to be envied for the ability to roll with the punches and enjoy the ride wherever it goes. On the flip side, it is possible to have faith, while looking closely at the statistics with open mind and go against the grain of popular opinion. It doesn’t necessarily make one uneducated or a bandwagon jumper to voice concern or shine a light on some of the ugly truths.

Without Plekanec, Halpern, Gill, and a litany of others in the infirmary, Habs nation couldn’t be blamed if they thought the end was nigh after Friday’s drubbing at the hands of the Rangers. Nobody looked good in that match, including Habs (and perhaps league) MVP Carey Price. All we fans could do is shrug in resignation…what else could the Habs have done? Sure, injuries and fatigue are no excuse in today’s NHL, but at some point, you need to call a spade a spade, right? The Habs have relied so heavily on the Bulldogs organization to keep filling the roster that Hamilton is now in danger of sliding out of the playoff picture, where once they were gliding along comfortably. When does the camel’s back break? Apparently not any time soon. Fast forward 48 hours, and the Habs would take the same team that was trounced in New York and proceed to hang 8 goals around the Wild’s neck. Go figure.

The Habs keep coming. They fill holes, and when they fall behind they don’t quit. They rebound from losses very quickly. All of this speaks to the character, guts and yes, coaching of the team. Guys like Gionta, Gill, Hamrlik, Kostitsyn and many others keep the team aloft while Price provides Hart-trophy-caliber goaltending. Meanwhile, behind the Habs bench, a frequent target of my ire has to be given much credit. Jacques Martin may not be the type of coach that makes a good team great, but he is the type of coach that can make a depleted team competitive, and keep them that way over the course of a long season. You can read more on that by Steve here. While my frustration with Martin has been that his strict system prevents his team from maximizing their skills, one has to wonder what happens when a progressive, aggressive coach loses the lynchpins of his team. Mike Babcock and Dan Bylsma immediately spring to mind as guys who thrive in almost any scenario, but there are only so many Babcocks and Bylsmas out there, and that’s precisely the reason why Pittsburgh extended this Jack Adams candidate (and winner in this blogger’s opinion) for another 3 seasons. Nevertheless, the Canadiens have a good teacher in Jacques Martin, which is a good consolation at a time like this. With any luck, he’s also in the middle of shedding the dubious mantle of being a guy who doesn’t develop youth properly. Looking up and down the Habs roster, it doesn’t take a genius to see that the kids are contributing more than their fair share to the Canadiens’ recent success. Pacioretty, Eller, Subban, Desharnais, Weber and now White are all contributing to the Habs success in a big way on a nightly basis. If Martin is going to get the flames when he bungles youth management, he needs to be praised when they play well.

Martin may not be the guy with the intangibles of creativity, and adaptability that are so essential in the playoffs, but if not for his dull, boring system, the Canadiens are likely not where they are today. While Price’s spectacular play is far and away the biggest reason why the Habs are 1 point behind the Bruins with 10 games to go, “the system” is the second reason. I’m ready for an appetizer of crow, as I’ve spent a lot of time hammering Martin over the past two seasons. Results count in this league. Everyone is accountable for their results, and people should be praised and reprimanded appropriately. He’s still not “my guy”, and I would still like to see him replaced with a more progressive coach before his 4 year contract expires, but for now, the Canadiens are winning and that shouldn’t be tampered with. Should the Canadiens repeat last season’s playoff success, I’ll be ready for the main course of crow.

There’s a lot to like about this Habs team. An awful lot. While fans of other teams may not see it that way, and may accuse the Habs of being a team that relies on underhanded stick work to defend themselves instead of doing things the “honourable way”, we know better. The Canadiens were a soft, easy team to play against for too long. Opposing teams used to love coming to Montreal to play. The atmosphere was great, and quite often the visitors left with 2 points in the bank and basked in Montreal’s nightlife afterwards. We don’t hear that as much any more. Now the Habs are developing some top-end skill, they have elite goaltending, and they’re becoming difficult to play against. This may irritate other teams and their fans who had become accustomed to seeing the Habs retreat in the face of adversity, but what this tells me is that the Canadiens are very much heading in the right direction.

Now, if only the Alaskan Albatross would get his act together.