Habster’s take:
Here we go again, Hab fans!!!!! Patrice Brisebois will start the season on the second pairing with Roman Hamrlik….GHEEZ!!! give me a break!!!! What has Guy Carbonneau been inhaling these days!!! Brisebois hasn’t played a preseason game yet and barely practiced until a few days ago.
What kind of signal/example is Carbonneau trying to send to his team when a player has barely earned the right (yes, I realize he was injured) to be on the third pairing or in the stands yet will probably start the season on the second pairing. I have a hard time believing that Gainey or Carbonneau made no promises to Brisebois about his playing status or amount of ice time. Let us not forget that Gainey and especially Carbonneau were teammates with Brisebois during some of his playing days in Montreal which could explain their loyalty towards him.
How do you think Mark Streit, Francis Boullion, Josh Gorges or even Ryan O’Bryne feel about a player moving past them on the depth chart who hasn’t played an NHL game in over a year and has a history of injury problems? It will only discourage these players who have played/practiced hard during training camp. They have earned the right to be on the second pairing or at the very least, remain with the team.
There will be some Brisebois supporters (don’t laugh!!, there are 2 or 3 of them left) who will point to his 16 years of NHL experience as a big reason why he doesn’t have to prove anything for Carbonneau’s loyalty but I beg to differ. Yes, Brisebois has lots of playing experience which earned him the NHL one way contract that he signed with the Canadiens, it doesn’t give him the divine right to a spot on the second pairing.
In the end, Carbonneau has set a bad example for his players and has placed Brisebois in a difficult situation to start the season without the benefit of preseason or practice time. It could only set Brisebois up for a disastrous start to the season from which he might not recover.Will Brisebois thrive on the second pairing with 18-22 minutes a game? Will his back hold up playing that many minutes? Can he build some chemistry with Roman Hamrlik? We’ll find out tomorrow in Ottawa and when the season begins in Raleigh on October 3rd.
seriously man, learn to trust some sources and not others.
Journal de Montréal is part of those you can forget about.
I saw the interview this was quoted from. It said that Brisebois will play with Hamerlik ON THE LAST PRESEASON GAME. Brisebois then said that he doesn’t care if he start as a 7th, 6th or 5th defensemen, he has his dignity and will play hard to earn more ice time.
Hardly what those “journalists” reported. Dumb bastards.
As for what happens when the season start, I don’t know. Because this last preseason game will be one without Markov.
And since it will be his only preseason game, and his first game in a long time, it makes perfect sense to have him on the second pairing, giving him more icetime and getting a good chance to look at his physical condition, his game and his synchronism.
And just between you and me, if O’byrne is sent down to Hamilton (which I now believe seeing how it look so easy to breeze right past him) then I would be totally fine with Brisebois playing along Hamerlik.
It’s a lot better than pairing him with anyone less reliable defensively.
Hey Jean-Francois,
You make some good points and I must admit that I was not against the signing of Brisebois with the understanding that Carbonneau would use him on the powerplay and limit his ice time to start the season(third pairing).
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to watch RDS or TVA today (which is something I try to do on a daily basis)to get the direct quote from Mr. Brisebois. I do agree that the print press can mislead and in this case it misled me (if you are correct about his quote).
I just hope Brisebois is not placed in a difficult situation and is utilized in the most beneficial way possible.
As far as Ryan O’Bryne is concerned, I agree that he will probably be sent down to Hamilton as he has options available to pass through waivers whereas Gorges doesn’t. He will be a solid # 4-6 defenseman for the Habs one day (Marco Sturm move or not!!). Time will tell.
Anyhow,thanks for your comments!!!
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