Fans just don’t get it — so say columnists who face the coach everyday. They say critics of Martin should look at the big picture — the bottom line is winning — and HE is getting the job done in the win column. They also point to the injury-riddled lineup as proof-positive that coach Martin is the lynch-pin of this team, and the only reason that the Canadiens are headed to the playoffs.
Well, case closed.
I suppose that I better start the draft of my “Jacques Martin, Runaway 2011 Winner of the Jack Adams Trophy” article.
There’s nothing more to discuss.
Except, … No, I shouldn’t ask. I feel like such a contrarian.
There is one question that the placard-carrying Martin-boosters haven’t answered yet. To me it’s akin to “Don’t O-rings fail to seal when they get cold?” So here goes: Which Canadiens player is having a career season?
Why is this an important question? It is the responsibility of the coach to create the conditions for success and maximize the performance of his players. If Martin isn’t getting their best, then how is he the reason for the Canadiens wins?
Or perhaps better illustrated: If every student is under-achieving, does the person at the front of the class deserve to be nominated for Teacher of the Year?
So, career seasons? Hmmm… None of the Habs top six forwards will come close to their career-best year. (We need not discuss the bottom six forwards. That’s just way too obvious.)
Only Andrei Kostitsyn has more points than last season and that can be attributed to the winger being healthier this year. While fans complain about Scott Gomez’s lack of goals, it is 19 fewer assists that evidence his ineffectiveness. Numbers for Tomas Plekanec and Brian Gonta are down but the biggest drop comes for Mike Cammallleri — 10 fewer goals.
Even further removed from any personal bests are the defense. While some may single out P.K. Subban, his current level of play appeared only in the last half of the season. Significant improvement was the result of the misfortune of Josh Gorges’ injury and Hal Gill’s mentoring and had little to do with the intervention of the coach.
There is one player who is surpassing all his previous marks: Carey Price. This runs counter to the notion that Martin’s superior defensive system deserves the accolades for the Canadiens success. Frankly, the leaky system has required the goaltender to be the first star for the Canadiens to have a chance to win.
Price has done just that being the Molson Cup winner for October, November, December and February. These are not the hallmarks of a locked-down defensive system. Instead it describes a strategy of passive hockey and a team which spends far too much time in their own zone.
Coach Martin deserves none of the plaudits for the extraordinary goaltending his team is receiving. Give the credit to Price whose talent, preparation and mental toughness has produced what many in Montreal thought was impossible.
Price has also been mentioned as a candidate for the Hart Trophy, recognition that the Habs would not be in the playoffs without superb goaltending on a nightly basis. The Canadiens have been near the bottom of the league all season in goal support. They are currently 24th in the NHL in goals per game — no other playoff-bound team ranks as low.
I was amused when one columnist wrote that Montreal’s number one goalie hasn’t stolen many games lately. In Price’s last four starts, the Habs have scored one goal in total. Price would have needed a string of shutouts just to get his team to a shoot-out, and then lined up as one of the shooters.
Another disturbing category where the Canadiens are on the wrong side of the ledger is penalties, taking the second-most minor penalties in the league. They are tied for the most bench minors assessed. Both statistics are measures of team discipline.
Montreal has spent far too much time killing penalties which could explain, in part, why two-way players like Plekanec have seen a drop in their offensive production. Also, offensive-minded players sit for long stretches on the bench which breaks up their scoring rhythm.
While it’s always difficult to predict how a team would react under different leadership, we can be assured that discipline would not be an issue if Jacques Lemaire or Mike Babcock was behind the bench.
We know that coach Martin has difficulty making in-game adjustments — his only tool seems to be shuffling his lines. Although he has been described as a good teacher, communication is an obvious issue as Martin is not getting the best from his players. He may be a strong “X’s and O’s” coach but his strategies may have been better suited to the style of play in pre-lockout years.
Player management is also an issue. Here’s a often-referenced example: Roman Hamrlik offers less offensive upside and is more of a defensive liability on the power-play than P.K. Subban or Yannick Weber. The extra special team’s duty runs up the minutes played clock on an aging body.
It’s been suggested that the Canadiens rash of injuries can be partly attributed to fatigue and a lack of recovery time. If accurate that would be an indictment on how the coach deploys personnel. Then there’s Martin’s nasty habit of breaking up line combinations just when they are at their peak.
Many are ready to cut coach Martin some slack given all the injuries experienced by the team this season. In fact, the Canadiens rank near the middle of the pack, 17th in the league to date, in terms of man-games lost to injury. Montreal has lost key players, but so have other teams — Pittsburgh is a prime example with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin sidelined.
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.
While coaching is not the only problem in Montreal (think Max Pacioretty), it is an issue. There is a clear disconnect between the coach and the talents of the current crop of players. Crediting Martin or his system with the Canadiens being a playoff-bound team is pure nonsense.
Anyone casting a vote in Martin’s favor for a Jack Adams honour is simply in a fog. Then again perhaps masking the truth is the price that has to be paid to be on the opposite side of the coach’s podium everyday.
These same columnists are the ones who call Habs fans “uneducated” when they demand accountability from the Martin. Perhaps fans are the ones who are more accurately seeing the big picture. And it’s not flattering for the coach with the notepad.
(photo by Le Devoir)