posted by Rocket
AllHabs.blogspot.com
This is the third and final article in the weakest link series. The first appeared last April as Guy Carbonneau stumbled through his rookie playoff appearance as a coach.
Without rehashing everything from the two previous articles, it was for some, the first time that Guy Carbonneau’s coaching deficiencies set off alarm bells. After coasting through a season under the radar and benefiting from a roster relatively free of injuries, Carbonneau’s coaching abilities were tested. The rookie playoff coach failed miserably.
When opposition coaches dissected and defended Carbonneau’s feared power-play, the coach did not respond. When his pet fourth line center bobbled an exchange, he threw his rookie goaltender to the media wolves.
Carbonneau who had been successful coaching from the gut was left exposed as he had nothing to draw upon. Old wounds were re-opened and exploited: his feud with Kovalev; his disappointment when Huet was traded. As the Canadiens floundered, Carbonneau scuttled the ship but made sure that the media sights were set on Kovalev and Price as the scapegoats.
In truth, the Canadiens were unprepared — Carbonneau went golfing before the Canadiens final playoff game. The Habs were outcoached in every playoff game. When other teams countered their system, the Canadiens’ coaches were slow to make any pre-game or in-game adjustments.
During the playoffs, we did not see the coach as a tactician nor someone who came well-prepared nor someone with the coaching experience to draw upon. Carbonneau isn’t a motivator nor a coach who could communicate with his players. Instead, we saw his well documented traits of bitterness and stubbornness.
This season has been a huge disappointment. Carbonneau was given a roster that was significantly better than last year. But, by November, it was already clear that he had lost the team. The team, as a whole, has been under performing.
The Canadiens have lost more man-games to injury this season. Injuries require the coach to make decisions.
The ‘how-to-defend-the-Canadiens’-power-play’ manual used by Boston and Philadelphia during the playoffs last Spring was copied throughout the league. Devising a new power-play strategy requires coaching skill.
Given their performance last year and publicity of the centennial celebrations, the Canadiens could no longer fly under the radar this season. The team needed to be well prepared for each game with focused practices. An intelligent game plan was required from the coaching staff.
As the team struggled, the players needed a good communicator and motivator. They needed their coach to be a leader who inspired confidence and stability.
Guy Carbonneau did not have the skill, aptitude, experience or interest to be effective in any of those areas. Motivation, communication, preparation were all areas of weakness. Carbonneau’s team was unprepared for games because he was unprepared to be a head coach.
When communication with his players was required, Carbonneau painted a bullseye on his players to focus media attention. When he should have been doing an analysis of his opponent and preparing game strategy, he used a roulette wheel to form line combinations. When players needed to trust in the skills of their teammates, he took them bowling. When he realized that his coaching cupboard was bare, Carbonneau turned to a lucky tie.
As a result of Carbonneau’s mismanagement, the Montreal Canadiens are now a very fragile team with razor-thin confidence. It has produced inconsistent performances. The players were given a confused set of expectations. Good play often meant a trip to the press box and poor play was rewarded with extra shifts. Third line players were given first line minutes. Fourth line players found themselves on the power-play.
It is clear that Guy Carbonneau had very little respect for his players and vice-versa.
Throughout his coaching tenure, Carbonneau was blessed with a smart and loyal general manager who intervened to clean up his messes. Carbonneau blamed players for the conflicts but there was a such long list: Kovalev, Higgins, Ryder, Price, O’Byrne, Kostitsyn, Dandenault, Begin, Laraque, and others. Finally, it became clear to Gainey that the players had not been the problem.
Guy Carbonneau will likely move on to a front office position with another team. Carbonneau craves the attention and the media spotlight. His cozy relationship and reliance on the Montreal media did not serve him well. One would hope that he has realized that he cannot simply rely on the skills that made him such a successful and adored player. He should be willing to work hard to learn a new craft rather than simply coast on his name.
Carbonneau’s coaching legacy should be separated from the greatness that he achieved as a player. He will benefit from a 2007-08 team who surprised people (without the need for a great deal of coaching intervention). He may not be put in the Mario Tremblay category of coaches but his negative effect on the team will take quite some time to reverse.
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It’s so nice site. We love to see more on this site. Keep on updating… MonkAreYou Bali *sgghw
Love the site. Hate the article.
I’ll agree with you here:
– Carbo was too stubborn to adapt his broken systems (PP)
– Carbo was unwilling to try new tactics and push his top players… he went looking for 4th line help.
But to suggest that he fed Kovalev and Price to the wolves, or that its his fault Price couldn’t make a glove save on Umburger in the playoffs is ridiculous.
To defend players under-performing because their coach isn’t fluffing them constantly in the dressing room is completely unfair.
And to call the team under-prepared because the coach wasn’t trying is ludicrous.
There is no way the same coach takes a team to 1st place one year and then 5th the next, despite the recent losing skid, and can be accused of being unprepared. Last year the team looked really well coached; this year, they started off that way; then the PLAYERS stopped skating. The PLAYERS stopped passing. The PLAYERS stopped going into the corners and digging the puck.
You can blame Carbo for losing his bench, and for being too stubborn or inexperienced to change his system – I AGREE; but equal blame has to go to a team that was behaving like a bunch of snot-nosed little brats, who one day decided to sit in the corner with their thumb up their __s, because Lang wasn’t there to score goals for them.
This team is rotten from the inside: and a new coat of paint (coach) isn’t gonna fix anything.
They might make the playoffs, but I would be as shocked as a Murder in Texas if they make it passed the second round — how are you gonna blame Carbo for that?
I’m so sick of everyone throwing Carbo under the bus for their own incompetence.
(PS: i should say I’m a huge Carbo fan, BTW, so I am just as biased to his good side as you are to his bad :) )
Hey Monk..thanks for the compliment. Check back daily for updates.
Hi Ninja..
Glad that you love the site. Its not a surprise but I do too! :)
Just as you hate the article..I hate some comments. Actually that’s not true..too strong a word but you get the point. :)
I will say this, I am a Carbonneau fan too..as a player. But he clearly just doesn’t have the qualities that make a good coach.
Funny thing is, he has said he really doesn’t like coaching but he knows that it is a path to a GM job. Unfortunately, the Canadiens had to put up with his learning on the job mistakes.
Carbonneau attitude has changed from last year. Because of the success of the team, he is more strident and even more stubborn.
But I don’t think his game preparation has changed much. The team wasn’t well prepared last year either. Two mitigating factors were a lack of injuries and being under-rated by teams. That hasn’t been the case this year.
Carbonneau has had to do more coaching this year..and given that he is a poor coach..the results are worse.
After a game, how many dozens of times have you heard Carbonneau say, “We weren’t ready to play.” The thing is that is HIS job to ensure that the team is ready.
There are many to choose from but let me give you one example from last year — March 2008 — about a lack of preparation.
The Canadiens had just beat the Islanders on a Saturday night. They had 3 days to prepare for a game against the St Louis Blues. The Blues were near the bottom of the league and were on a long losing streak.
Jaroslav Halak, in his usual candid way, said that the coach wasn’t too concerned about their opposition. The only game plan preparation was about 15 mins of video on game day.
Andy Murray, a superb tactician, had his team well prepared and the Blues won in an upset.
And so it goes. Of the 60+ games this year, I can think of only 1 game that Carbonneau outcoached the opposing bench boss. And that was against another coach who was fired.
I don’t think that these players are all rotten to the core as you say. Carbonneau didn’t convey expectations, didn’t give nor receive respect, didn’t motivate or fairly discipline, etc.
In short, Carbonneau didn’t connect with the players to get the best out of them.
You list the things that the players weren’t doing. When its one of two players, its the players fault. When its the whole team who is underachieving, its the coach’s fault.
Let me turn your statement around a bit: I got so sick, as did the players, and did Bob Gainey, of Guy Carbonneau throwing people under the bus for his own incompetence.
Article is completely braindead in my estimation. Makes it sound like the Habs were on a 20 game losing streak and firmly mired in the cellar of the NHL.
Carbo, as I mentioned elsewhere, has the best winning percentage as coach of the Habs going all the way back to Scotty Bowman.
Adams finalist a year ago. A real hopeless case, obviously.
How was the lineup “significantly better” this season? Through the 39 points that Robert Lang will finish the season with? Through the similar amount that Alex Tanguay will deliver? Through the eyepopping contributions of Georges Laraque? Through a washed up Mathieu Schneider who can’t be trusted anywhere outside a powerplay? Those are the main newcomers, aside from D’Agostini and Pacioretty who haven’t done a thing for the last 3 months or so.
The first four players average around $4 million each per season, and will produce less than 100 combined scoring points for the team this year. None are being paid for their defensive skill, either.
Speaking of brain dead, how lovely to hear from you again Rob.
It is somehow gratifying to me that I have been elevated to the level of the Russians that you love to hate and insult.
If you had any credibility, you lost it by trying to put the names Carbonneau and Bowman in the same sentence. Next you will tell me that they had a similar shoe size.
We all know about the media and why Carbonneau was nominated for the award. Bottom line: he didn’t win.
This year’s roster is significantly better than last. Its obvious everyone else. I can’t wait to hear you espouse the attributes of Bryan Smolinski. Perhaps you will tell me he used the same stick tape as Wayne Gretzky.
A coach is paid to create an atmosphere to get the most out of each player. How many Canadiens are having career years? Perhaps one: Lapierre and only because he was playing 20 mins/game under Carbo. That alone should tell you what kind of coach he is.
Rocket — your response to my comments were very analytical and insightful — and as such, I have to like them!
We can disagree on who’s fault it is for not being ready to go, and whether or not this team is capable of success, etc…
But we can certainly agree on one thing: Carbonneau got fired. Not much to do about it except build a bridge, and get over it :)
The players they let go over the summer (including the retired Brian Smolinski), Mark Streit, Michael Ryder, and Mikael Grabovksi have combined for around 125 points with their new teams.
The four players they brought in to replace them, Robert Lang, Alex Tanguay, Georges Laraque, and Mathieu Schneider, have combined for about 75 points. I don’t see how that makes the Habs “clearly a better team this year”. I think the talent level is relatively the same, but they have had more injuries this season. You can’t pin that on Carbonneau.
P.S., don’t try to pin my contempt for Kovalev and Andrei Kostisyn on the fact that they are “Russians”, although I don’t think Kostitsyn would be too happy to be called a Russian given the tensions between Russia and Belarus.
Andrei Markov is one of my favorite players on the team, and I liked Perezhogin and Valentenko while they were here. What bothers me about Kovalev and A. Kostistyn are their personalities and their playing styles. Both have lots of natural talent, but neither has the intelligence or maturity to make it work for the benefit of the team.
Hey Ninja!
That was a great comment, and what you suggest is a really good approach.
The decision has been made and it’s time to move on. Gainey is a good teacher and has provided a good assessment of the problems that this team faces. Its not not going to be easy to correct all the mistakes of the past in such a short time. We can only hope that the turnaround will begin before the playoffs.
Rob,
I have read your comments over the year and many relate to the IQ or appearance of players like Kostitsyn or Kovalev. I think it clouds your impression of their hockey ability.
I’m glad that you mention players like Grabovski or Ryder. The fact that they are so successful with their new teams and weren’t last year can directly be pinned on Carbonneau.
Carbonneau used one of his favorite phrases ‘personality conflict’ to describe his relationship with both of these players.
When Koivu was injured at the end of last season, and the Habs needed a center, Carbonneau refused to use Grabovski.
When the Habs powerplay was sputtering at season’s end and in the playoffs, who was banished to the press box more often than not: Michael Ryder.
Oh man, let’s not get crazy! Grabovski is a train wreck, a mess of a player, and a complete liability. If you watch highlight reals, its true, you might see him from time to time; but if you are (un?)lucky enough to live in Leafs Nation and actually watch what this guy brings to the Blue-and-White — its aweful.
He has 14 goals, 18 assists this year. Hardly a good numbers for a first/second line center. He is a Kovalev in training the way he tries to carry the puck through everyone, only to turn it over. Not only does he have a hate on for Sergei K, but he gets into with his own team aswell. This guy is poison, and the smartest thing we did was get hom off the team.
As for Ryder, maybe I’ll give you him — but he is lucky to be called a “30 goal scorer”, and although on pace for a “typical” year, I don’t think he’ll get to 30 this year. The Habs have enough “would-be-30-goal-scorers” — with little else to bring to the table — Ryder is not missed.
Oh, Its Drunken Ninja, BTW, finally got around to switching my profile :)
Hello again Ninja Twit! :)
(much less confusion now that you changed your profile name!)
There seems to be a misunderstanding about my comment. I was simply responding to Rob’s position about last year’s roster and the current roster. It’s a jaded comparison because two of the players were Carbonneau’s whipping boys and didn’t play much with with the Canadiens last year.
Also I wasn’t advocating that Grabovski should still be a member of the Canadiens. I’m glad that he was traded. You are right about his mental instability and tension with the Kostitsyns.
I’m simply saying that Guy Carbonneau could have made better use of a player who could have contributed last year when needed. As well, the return for Grabs could have been higher had Carbo not found a permanent place for him in the doghouse.
As for Ryder, I’m not sure that he wasn’t missed. Clearly he wasn’t going to get a chance to succeed under Carbo, but playing for a different coach, he can be a legitimate power-play threat.
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