written by Iain Carnegie, AllHabs.net
“I don’t mind saying Alexander Semin’s name because he’s one guy who has so much talent, he could easily be the best player in the league, and for whatever reason just doesn’t care.” ~ Matt Bradley on the Team 1200 in Ottawa
If you’ve been reading the last three posts that I’ve contributed here (including listening to the audio portions), you’ll know that there was a tremendous amount of time devoted to player character and the depth that’s required by a team as they head down the stretch and into the playoffs.
It’s one of the many reasons that I have such high hopes for the Canadiens upcoming season; barring tremendous injury, and a re-enactment of last years performance by Scott Gomez.
I don’t want to re-hash my feelings about the Habs chance at a Cup run this coming season. Everyone here knows my thoughts on that, and my reasoning for them. But when I heard this interview with the ex-Washington Capitals winger (now suiting up for the Florida Panthers), I was immediately taken back to a discussion that I had recently about the lacklustre performance of the Caps over the past two post-seasons.
“When you’ve got a guy like that you need him to be your best player, or one of your best players, and when he dosen’t show up, you almost get the sense that he wants to be back in Russia.” ~ Matt Bradley on Alexander Semin
There are so many facets to the game that are required to take a team to that coveted moment when they get to hoist the Stanley Cup as champions. Talent is clearly a very important segment, and something that the Montreal Canadiens are improving on this off season.
Erik Cole’s addition to the top six forwards should clearly allow better lanes and increased opportunity for both Michael Cammalleri and Tomas Plekanec. With the right attitude, and some skilled coaching, there is reason to believe that Andrei Kostitsyn should bring more depth across the top nine as he’ll most likely get shifted to the third line.
Scott Gomez made a commitment to the team and the fans, that he would improve his game for the coming year, and he’s taken that commitment to heart over the summer. Using a personal trainer to get himself back in shape was imperative, and it seems that Gomez is undertaking the right measures and taking his promise seriously.
The team has clearly found themselves fortunate enough to have one of the best goaltenders in the league. A repeat of last season could even propel Price into the top spot in the NHL. PK Subban, Josh Gorges, and Andrei Markov all are leaders in the defensive category.
All in all, a very strong and talented team.
Many would argue that the overall skill-set of the Washington Capitals outshines that of La Flanelle. Players like Alexander Ovechkin, Niklas Backstrom, and Alexander Semin placed them as Cup contenders last year even before the season began.
So what is it about the playoffs that turns a Presidents trophy-winning team into a roll-over franchise? There is a lack of cohesion in the room, between the players, in the place that it counts the most. There is no room for individuality in the game of hockey, especially not after the initial 82 games are played, and the pressure get’s taken up a notch.
“If there’s one thing the playoffs do to a player, it’s expose them!” ~ CTV Montreal’s Brian Wilde on the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Two seasons ago, that was what set them above the Washington Capitals and the Pittsburgh Penguins, helping them to get to the Eastern Conference final. I wonder how that final would have looked with the infusion of Max Pacioretty and Erik Cole into the line-up.
Last season Les Boys took the eventual Stanley Cup champions to a seventh game, and came up only one overtime goal shy of moving on– this being a team that dressed twelve different defenders during the season and faced devastating injury.
The difference lies in the room, that sacred place where silence between players can often be as strong as words. It’s a place where teams come together for one cause, and a place where one mans victory takes a back seat to the needs that are paramount to the team as a whole. It’s the same place where the words of Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae hang over the players heads:
“To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.” ~ In Flanders Fields
Matt Bradley had some strong words about his old team-mate. They are words that have resonated around the hockey world all day. They are words that can’t be adhered to any of the players that reside here in Montreal because in our room, the players care.