Posted by Kyle Roussel
If you’re anything like me, you were surprised to see rumours pop up early on Monday morning on Sportsnet.ca regarding the Habs interest in Jacques Martin . At first, I treated it as just that – a rumour. After all, Martin had moved up to a GM role and had 3 years left on his deal in sunny, warm Florida, where Quebecers go to die. No way would Gainey bring in a guy that could do his job, right? No way would Martin give up his role in a pressure-less market like Southern Florida, right?
Apparently not. Less than an hour after reading that rumour, and listening to hypothetical chatter on the Team 990, Tony Marinaro (host of the Montreal Forum on the same station) said that his sources were telling him that this was a done deal.
Talk about faster than a speeding bullet!
From rumour to done deal in a matter of mere hours. Happy Monday Habs fans – fresh news to salivate over. And the salivating has not stopped since then. For such a boring couple of guys (referring to Gainey and Martin), they’ve really shaken the bee hive. Prospective Habs owner Pierre-Karl Péladeau even chimed in to show his displeasure that the team made the move so fast. Probably not the smartest thing for a prospective owner to do, since nobody wants a meddling owner, nevermind a meddling prospective owner. That’s another story for another day.
From relief, to joy, to frustration to anger, Martin’s hiring has sparked the whole gamut of emotions from Habs fans.
There was a long and varied list of candidates who were rumoured and/or coveted for the vacant head coaching position: Larry Robinson, Jacques Lemaire (both not interested), Patrick Roy, Marc Crawford, Bob Hartley, Don Lever, Gainey himself, Mario Tremblay all had their names bandied about to some degree. I don’t recall once seeing Martin’s name. But that’s Gainey’s hallmark isn’t it? He’s exceptionally good at making moves behind the scenes and only revealing them once they’re done.
What exactly were the criteria for the next head coach?
- Bilingualism, as President Pierre Boivin said
- Experience was another
- Someone who can instill responsibility both on and off the ice
- Someone who can work with young players
- Somone who is a good communicator
Martin fulfills all of these criteria, so what’s the problem? In essence, he’s the antithesis of Guy Carbonneau, who apparently could not do any of those things. It seems Martin’s spotty playoff record is what all the anger is about. He has a 38-47 record in the post season despite being the coach of some excellent Ottawa Senators teams from 1997-2004. A part of me already thinks that Habs fans are thinking ahead to the time when the Canadiens and Leafs meet up in the 1st round with the Leafs inevitably winning simply because Martin is the man behind the Canadiens bench. A nightmare scenario to be sure, but can’t we let the guy first assemble his coaching staff (the fates of Lever, Muller and Jarvis are still up in the air, although Lever appears to be safe for now), and get a full, revamped roster before we start worrying about the playoffs and potential first round failures?
The other major gripe that Habs fans have with this move is that this signals the start of boring defensive style of hockey that will be about as exciting as watching a soccer game between one-legged players. I don’t necessarily buy this, but it’s hard not to believe. The evidence that the Habs won’t all of sudden become the ’95 Devils lies in the fact that Martin’s Senators led the league, or were near the very top of goals scored for several years. Granted, the Canadiens don’t have any Spezzas, Heatleys or Alfredssons, nor do they have any on the farm, but with roughly $30 million in cap space to play with, this is Gainey’s chance to go out and get bonafide scorers, even if he has to overpay to get them. Additionally, with a glut of young defensemen waiting in the wings (Yemelin, McDonagh, Subban, Weber, Fischer), it will be crucial to have someone in place who can teach these guys defensive responsibility at the NHL level. And of course, defensive responsiblity, as well as off-ice responsibility will do wonders for Carey Price, who has the talent to take the Canadiens a long way. Price is far better than any goalie that Martin ever had in Ottawa, and if you’re like me, you also feel that Patrick Lalime is more to blame for Ottawa’s post-season shortcomings than Martin was.
Third reason for the anger, and maybe more in the background, this may be the start of another “5 year plan”. I think Habs fans have been patient with Gainey’s plan to build a contender for the centennial season, which obviously crashed and burned. They aren’t going to be so happy with another 5 year plan, or even a 3 year plan. This has to be a “pick yourself up and get back on the horse” type move if management doesn’t want to be eaten alive by fans and media. Of course, a new coach does not necessarily mean the start of a new plan, but a new coach in addition to a significantly overturned roster very well could.
Personally, I don’t see a downside to this hiring, but at the same time I have a feeling of uneasiness. It’s not the playoff record. I think it has more to do with the speed at which this came about, and with the ownership situation still being up in the air. I totally agree and understand that a new coach had to be in place before the draft and before free agency begins on July 1st. UFAs will especially want to know who they’ll be playing for before signing with a team. (This move at this time could be the trigger in the minds of guys like Koivu and Kovalev. If in fact Martin will stress defense, these guys are more than likely gone.) On the flip side, if Gillet decides to sell the team, what if the new owner wants his own guys in place? We could be going through this drill again very soon, and further set the franchise back on the grounds of instability.
I’m crossing my fingers
In a city that is “Stanley Cup or Bust”, Martin has a lot of work to do, and even more expectations on his shoulders. Early playoff exits will not be tolerated from an experienced coach, regardless of who’s on the ice. For years Habs fans were frustrated with the philosophy that young, unproven, inexperienced coaches were the way to go. (My theory always has been that the Habs were pollinating the league with bilingual coaches so that they can again one day call on them to work behind the bench. From Mario Tremblay, to Michel Therrien, Alain Vigneault to Claude Julien, all cut their teeth in Montreal, were fired, and found work & success elsewhere. I’m certain that some day at least one of these guys will work for Montreal again.) Hell, the inexperienced coaches could get this team to the playoffs just to lose in the first round. The Habs now have a well seasoned coach in place that surely represents Gainey’s last chance to get it right. Gainey started with Julien, fired him, hand-picked Carbonneau as his replacement, fired him, and now has hired Martin, all in a few short years. This to me is very erratic behaviour from a man known for his poise, steadiness and thoughtfulness. If this doesn’t work, Gainey will surely find himself looking for alternate employment. But his plan is clear: avoid the wild ups and downs we saw over the past 2 seasons and build slowly, steadily towards contention.
The pain train has made its first stop, and pulled away from the station. The next stop is free agency. Will the train arrive at, and pull away successfully from that station? Stay tuned!
Note:
As the NHL season comes to a close in the next few days, it’s time to make sure you don’t forget about the Montreal NHL Draft Tweetup. Click here for the invitation, and be sure to join us. More details will follow, but we’ve got a lot of huge hockey fans coming from all over the continent for the festivities…don’t be one of those people who wishes they were here but just didn’t want to get off the couch, especially if you live in Montreal. All you need is to be an active member of the Twitter community, and the desire to have a good time with other hockey fans. Simple enough right?