Rocket:
This is a first on this blog for me: a postscript to last night’s game review.
I simply want to make it clear that I stand by the comments made in last night’s review. I actually saw a lot of positives in the game. I believe that the Canadiens lost the game via the failure of their special teams and the inability of their star offensive players to put away their chances. In particular, the play of Alexei Kovalev was poor for the reasons I described.
Do I think that Kovalev should play on the 4th line?; be sent to the press box?; or traded? No, no and no! But something is clearly wrong. He was playing like this two years ago and it turned out to be a conflict with the coach that required Gainey’s intervention over the summer. If that’s the case, do it now…or find a new coach who will motivate him. It’s not all about Alex Kovalev and there are plenty of other reasons right now to demand that the coach do a better job or be replaced. And there are a number of other players who in several games this year have stopped playing for this coach.
Now on to the some of the errors in last night’s game. None of them alone were responsible for last night’s defeat. The major failures above should be receiving more focus. Ryan O’Byrne’s mistake was excusable as mentioned by Eklund. It was a mistake by a good young defenseman who requires the coach’s confidence to play error-free. In my opinion, the play by Brisebois was far worse because it was selfish. Brise took himself out of the play (not very quickly) for a minor ‘injury’ which left his team short-handed. To tolerate a bit of pain to support your teammates is a small price to pay, and it apparently Brisebois wasn’t willing to do that.
I prefer team players; guys who will stand shoulder to shoulder or step in for a teammate when necessary. The Canadiens have those guys: Bouillon, Kostopoulos, Komisarek, Sergei Kostitsyn, Koivu..and it has nothing to do with country of origin (quite a United Nations type group). Brisebois is not one of them, and he no longer has the skill to compete at the NHL level.
I’m sure that the rest of the league finds the reaction to the O’Byrne incident quite fascinating. Some players may find it humorous or feel some sympathy for Ryan. For certain, many forwards would relish the opportunity if O’Byrne is benched or plays with broken confidence. Who would they rather meet in the corner or at the top of the crease: Ryan O’Byrne or Patrice Brisebois?
Some players such as Jay Bouwmeester are probably re-evaluating their options getting a chance to see how non-francophone players are treated by fans and some media in Montreal. It has certainly been a negative factor in attracting free agents to this city in the past.
And then there are GM’s around the league who are salivating at the chance to trade for Ryan O’Byrne if he is run out of Montreal. O’Byrne was one of the players like Higgins and McDonagh who is highly coveted and mentioned by other GM’s in trade talks last Spring. Does anyone seriously believe that teams around the league have a similar interest in Patrice Brisebois? The truth is that the Montreal Canadiens are the only team in the league who would employ Brisebois.
It’s time to put the loss, the failures and the mistakes in context and get on with the job of ensuring that this team plays at its maximum potential.
TSN: Ready To Bounce Back
previous articles published on this topic:
Look Inside the Habs Room, After O’Byrne’s Unfortunate Mistake
That was a pretty funny play. Oh No! O’Byrne brings some qualities to the rink, but puckhandling and instinct aren’t the ones that stand out by any means. He gets way overhyped on this site as far as I am concerned, I don’t think he will ever be a top four NHL defenseman. They have to find their fourth guy in the system, I think, although Josh Gorges has been solid all season. But he is playing on his off side due to the imbalance that exists on the parent team and in the system.
It took the team forever to prop up the left wing at the NHL level by acquiring Alex Tanguay, although they are still unbalanced with a couple of players playing out of position up front to compensate. It seems like General Manegership 101 to assemble a team that has roughly equal talent on both sides up front and among the blueliners, but I guess Gainey skipped that class.
rob, I’ll reply to both of your comments here.
you said: “O’Byrne gets paid … NOT MAKE PEE WEE PLAYS. It was such a screaming boner”; and: “I don’t think he will ever be a top four NHL defenseman.”
Quite a number of people in and around the NHL with a lot more hockey knowledge than you or I have said that Ryan O’Byrne has the talent and potential to be a top four defenseman in the NHL.
If there is a chance that is true (even a remote chance as you might say) what purpose does it serve to ridicule O’Byrne (or verbally abuse him as McGuire terms it)calling what he did a “screaming boner” or “pee wee play”? How exactly does that further O’Byrne’s development?
And by focussing so much attention on the incident, as if it is the gaffe of the year, how does that help to illuminate the serious problems that are plaguing this team right now?
I was laughing at the play, Rocket, in case you missed the first couple sentences of my post. I’m pretty sure that most of the players on both teams were, even though the Hab players couldn’t do it outright. Stuff happens, but if it does, you have to deal with it. Especially at the salaries these guys get for playing a child’s game.
My opinion of O’Byrne as an NHL player had nothing to do with that particular play. I’m sure if you go back on this blogsite you’ll see that I’ve said the same before.
Then we can agree on that point rob. As I said in my article, I think that many players would find the situation humourous.. and probably no big deal as long as it didn’t happen to them.
I think some soccer player in South America was shot to death after he scored an “own goal” at the World Cup. It just deflected off him or something, as well. So O’Byrne should probably consider himself fortunate if he only has to go through a little verbal abuse.
Rocket, O’Byrne screwed up. There is no denying it. You can blame whoever you want for the loss. O’Byrne should have made it 6-3 by scoring in his own net. But it doesn’t change the fact he is responsible for his own mistakes.
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