written by Bailey, AllHabs.net
TORONTO, ON — Call it what it is, but I don’t think sarcasm is going to help me right now.
It’s no secret that I am a Montreal Canadiens die-hard. I live, breathe, eat Habs, and to be perfectly honest, I am okay with that. At the same time, however, I am not delusional, nor do I let things roll off my back when it comes to mistakes. I am tolerant, to a point, but there is only so much that one can take, before there is the tipping point.
Last night was my tipping point.
I’ve been annoyed – and really, that is putting it mildly- with the way the organization has been handling a lot of the issues that surround this team. And I get that what might be going on behind closed doors can be different to what we hear or see (and might, is the key word here), but as fans, and as smart fans, all it has shown, to me anyway, is that Geoff Molson and Pierre Gauthier have little to no faith in its fanbase.
I also think they believe we’re stupid.
At the beginning of the season, when the Habs were losing, and we were all calling for heads to roll, I was incredibly surprised at the move they did make, with the firing of Perry Pearn. In my eyes? Perry Pearn was the sacrificial lamb, the assistant coach who needed to go, just to take the heat off of Jacques Martin, and Pierre Gauthier. What, exactly, did it change?
If you look at the games after the firing of Pearn, the Habs are no better now, truly, than they were in October. I’m sorry, if this is an unpopular opinion, but truly, the things that need to be done, are not being done.
I had a conversation with the very smart, very insightful @kyleroussel not too long ago about this very thing, when I was ranting about the Toronto Blue Jays and their new logo unveiling. Yes, a new logo is nice and pretty and shiny, but it was a ploy – a very smart ploy, mind you – to gloss over the real issues. I can’t tell you how much it frustrates me to see teams such as the Jays, who, have HUGE potential to do amazing things not address the issues that loom over them like a dark shadow.
It is the exact same thing with the Montreal Canadiens. And whether fans want to admit to them, or not there are a lot of things that they simply do not address.
Watching the Columbus – Montreal game on Tuesday, I looked at it from a different perspective. I took away my bias towards my team, and watched it, as if I was simply a fan of the game. Hard for me, considering how big of a Habs fan I am, really, but the more I watched, the more I realised just how MUCH is wrong with this team, and this organization. And here are a few of the things that went through my head as I watched:
We should not have even made it to overtime. We did not deserve to win. No shots, no movement. There were players (Alexei Emelin, Andrei Kostitsyn) who had fantastic games, but two players aren’t going to get us points. No drive, no heart.
The more I watched the bench, the more I realised that the players have taken on a new stance, and that stance is very much like that of Jacques Martin. Deflated, uninspired, demotivated. All they’re missing are little notebooks. I could go on.
Louis Leblanc had his first game at the Bell Centre, and he was put on the fourth line with Petteri Nokelainen and Mathieu Darche. And you know what the worst part about that was? Leblanc played 4:48. The whole game. He had a fantastic game the night before, playing with Lars Eller and Kostitsyn and then… that happened. I didn’t get it.
Carey Price had every right to be annoyed. I would be annoyed too.
There is a lot of finger pointing that comes from the coach, and rarely, if ever, does he actually lay the blame upon himself.
There is a lot wrong with the way this team is managed. And there is that saying ‘attitude reflects leadership’, and it’s starting to show. Lack of communication, lack of passion. Lack of trust in the younger players, and there is now also a lack of trust coming from the veterans, towards the coach. The coaching style is dated. There’s no life in the players, there’s no room to make mistakes – because heaven forbid if you do – you’re essentially stapled to the bench, or up in the press-box.
There is unrest from the fans, and I don’t know if the organization is unwilling to see it, or has their blinders on, but there will come a time where more fans will start to realise what is going on – and will want something done.
But is it enough? Is it enough to have the fans start an uproar? To be honest, no matter what we think, what our opinions are, there is only so much water we hold, to the Canadiens. Should we? Of course we should. We’re the ones who pay to go to games, who pay for merchandise and for Centre Ice (for those like me who live out of province and don’t get to see games very often.) We hold stock in a certain way, and when the team is under-achieving, we want to see change.
And going back to my earlier question: nothing has changed.
That’s not to say that the TEAM needs to change. I like the team. I like the group of players we have, and don’t think that trading away players is the answer to the cornucopia of problems that surround us right now. What I have issue with, is the way the team is handled. From top to bottom. And personally, if I was Geoff Molson? I’d be worried, too.
I’d be worried about the fact that your fans – the ones who love and support this team, and have done so for 102 years – are starting to see through the smoke screen that they’ve created this year, and are watching you turn what is a historic franchise, into a circus. It wasn’t just the Columbus game that pushed me over the edge, it’s all the things in the past three months that have lead up to me writing something negative about my team.
Stop pretending that all is well in Habsland. Stop trying to tell me that there are no issues. Stop with the nicely-worded press announcements. I hate when all I hear from the team are rehearsed lines off a pre-made script. Admit that there are things that need to be addressed, that need to be fixed. Admit that there are problems. Admit to the things that we, as fans, already know, instead of skirting around the issues and making yourselves look like idiots. Which, you’re really starting to look like in my eyes.
*sigh* Here I was thinking that I could do this without resorting to name calling.
Right now, this is like a bad relationship. You want to love them with all your heart, but how can you, when all they do, is continue to disappoint you? And Habs, I really do love you – but you seriously need to get your act together before I can trust you again.
You know, sports are always about cycles. I believe Habs are at the end of one of these cycles.
In the past few weeks, four of my friends have decided to stop watching games. They’re bored with this team and style of play.
That’s dangerous.
You’re not alone, we are all waiting for change. We really are.
Agreed. I’ve been a Habs fan since Cournoyer made me jump up and cheer as a kid. This year, I’m maybe watching every third game, and those give me little to jump up and cheer about. Sad, really….
The NHL is a very different league than when you were a kid, and the Habs will never be a dynasty again or come anything close to that greatness. It’s unrealistic to expect to relive anything like that.
I don’t know but reading that some Habs fans are “sad” or consider the Canadiens as “sad” is pathetic. I Living in the past and/or not appreciating what we do have is for losers. I think it’s time for you and all the other sad and/or angry fans to grow up and let go or find another past time.
GO HABS GO!!!
You’re most welcome to hand in your Canadiens membership card at any time. Habland doesn’t need fickle fans like you.
If the ownership finds that many fans are become ambivalent about the team, they’ll act. I can tell you right now that I’m not wasting my saturday afternoon watching this trash when I could be with my family.
Right now, I’d rather watch the Leafs. At least they’re fun to watch.
Kyle, you’re a good guy and a good Habs fan but this post makes you look like a very fickle fan. Not good.
I’m a proud Habs fans and season ticket holder. I invest my heart and money into this team and there’s no way I will ever give up on them, no matter where they are in the standings. Only selfish and fickle fans think about jumping ship.
You know, Canadiens fans are the biggest whiners and babies in professional sports. It’s one temper tantrum after another. It’s very unbecoming and embarrassing for the whole Canadiens community.
Thanks for the advice, Malm. It’s so spot-on that I’ve already filed it in the round bin.
If you think I’m alone in how I feel, guess again. Good luck in your search for a soap box tall enough so that you can lecture all of us on how to be better, more tolerant fans that will accept anything with a smile.
I guess your sermon stems from having to tell yourself whatever is necessary in order to feel justified in your season ticket investment. Congrats, it seems to be working.
I’m sorry if you have trouble handling the truth. In time you will understand what I mean.
Isn’t it funny to see that the fans who criticize and bash the Canadiens are easily upset when smilar behaviour is directed at them?
malmn, you are as entitled to your opinion on this matter, as anyone else is who wishes to comment on where the Canadiens are. And I have every right to reply and defend my piece (even if it’s a little sad that I might have to), and I am going to do that.
Nowhere in my article did I bash the Canadiens. Criticize, yes. Bash, no. But then again, this is a Canadiens website, it’s about opinion, and it is how I am feeling about this team right about now. I will defend and protect the Habs at any cost, but I believe that I, or anyone else, is allowed to be critical of the deals, the trades, or anything else that goes on within the organization. They are OUR team, we WANT to see them do well, want to see them win the Stanley Cup.
This doesn’t mean you have to like it, but it also doesn’t mean that you should be coming on here and telling other people that their opinions are wrong, or that we’re not good Habs fans. I think that behaviour is a little bit more unbecoming, than you might think it is.
Here at All Habs, we are a vast, strong community. Every one of our writers have great knowledge of the game and this team, and are just as big of fans as you claim yourself to be. And we’re given the free RIGHT to be able to speak our minds and have a place to do that. We’re fortunate to have a platform on which to express our opinions, and we expect other people to respect them even if they don’t agree. We’re all for open discussion, but we don’t want any personal insults, so please don’t leave comments until you learn to respect the opinions of others.
In any case, thanks to those of you who really read the article, it is greatly appreciated, and I hope that people can read it for what it is, and not delve any deeper into it.
That’s funny. So Canadiens fans can bitch, whine, and cry about how the team stinks and that the way they do things is wrong, but it’s not right to do the same to the fans? How hypocritical. What a joke.
You know, if Canadiens writers/bloggers can’t stand the heat then they better get out of the kitchen.
Malm, you’re nothing but a troll. You’ve offered nothing to the debate other than reveal how brainwashed to accept mediocrity you’ve become. None of us demand a dynasty. We just want the talent on the roster to be given its best chance at success. Right now, management is too self-interested in protecting their hides to bother.
LOL! I’m no troll. You just don’t like what I’ve written. This article was about the fans. I shared my views regarding the team’s fans. I guess you feel targeted.
Listen Malmn, reading your comments all over the place today reminds me of something the great Hubert H. Humphrey once said: “The right to be heard does not automatically include the right to be taken seriously.”
You’re a smart person. Discuss the topic and try leaving the personal attacks against other people out of it. Remember that great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people. Which one are you? It’s up to you to chose. :)
I’ll let you chose.
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