CFN – I like Ted Bird; always have. Today he wrote about why Jacques Martin should be fired and probably never have been hired by the Habs going as far as to suggest the kindly coach is “out to lunch” .
When Bob Gainey took the reins of this time he did a lot of the right things to go from the horrible Rejean Houle days to where they are now. Things are better, but in Montreal the media can be brutal and you can’t always hire the best person for the job; especially if they don’t have a French name or heaven forbid can’t give non-interviews in French.
It’s a double edged sword. The passion and fanaticism of not only the fans,but the French media have les boys replacing religion for many.
Bob had a plan. He put his guy in there, Guy Carbonneau, but Guy was chased out of his position because there are those in Montreal who will accept nothing else than winning the Stanley Cup every year.
Even Scotty Bowman had his detractors and in the end why wasn’t he given the GM job only to leave and continue his Hall of Fame career elsewhere.
Mr. Gainey himself was eventually chased upstairs leaving Pierre Gauthier to ruin the team. Jacques Martin was never the best choice to run the Habs, but he was the most politically correct which is why on a night, as Mr. Bird shared; that Louis Leblanc, a home town kid who scored his first goal of his career against a very tough Philadelphia Flyer team that beat Montreal 4-3 in their own barn, was essentially benched after the goal.
I don’t necessarily agree with Mr. Bird on that call. It was a touch and go one goal game and you can’t afford vanity when you’re job and season hang on potentially one win with parity in the NHL.
Philly btw, showed their own grit after receiving news that their heart and soul Chris Pronger is out for the year. It was interesting watching Jaromir Jagr notch another point as he logged over 19 minutes. I’m sure it was not lost on Tomas Plekanec who has never truly benefited from having stable line mates help him produce like he can.
Louis Leblanc’s First NHL Goal!
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctVT6ZK3Z1k
Of course this all comes down to Geoff Molson and how he wants to run his team. I, like many that bleed bleu, blanc, and rouges are watching and waiting to see if Mr. Molson wants to up the ante and turn this club into a true contender or if he’s just content selling over priced beer to the punters who’ll show up no matter how bad the team becomes?
Jamie Gilcig is editor of The Cornwall Free News and former Video Statistician for the Montreal Canadiens.
well Jamie would like togive you an orange and black crying towel, but i think as the year progresses i may need it myself….
Montreal has learned from Toronto, no matter how bad they play we can still make money….