There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, learning from failure. – Colin Powell
MONTREAL, QC. — Take a flashback to September 2011, when the the start of the 2011-’12 NHL season was only weeks away. “It is October yet?” was on everyone’s lips, eager for the season to start, and for the Montreal Canadiens to show their fans what they could do this season.
Rise Together
Andrei Markov
- Pierre Gauthier had not deviated from his previous statements that Andrei Markov would be ready for the start of the season.
Health Factor
- Many Habs fans felt this would be the year, the year where a much healthier team than that of the previous season’s team, would undoubtedly have what it takes to do better than the previous season, where they had lost to the Stanley Cup champions, in overtime, of the seventh game of the first round.
20-Goal Scorers
- I also remember arguing with a friend, who felt it was possible for the Montreal Canadiens to finish the season with seven 20-goal scorers, who would be:
- Tomas Plekanec (22 goals in 77 games last season)
- Mike Cammalleri (19 goals in 67 games last season)
- Erik Cole (26 goals in 82 games last season)
- Max Pacioretty (14 goals in 37 games last season)
- Brian Gionta (29 goals in 82 games last season)
- Andrei Kostitsyn (20 goals in 81 games last season)
- P.K. Subban (14 goals in 77 games last season)
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The Cold Hard Truth
And here we are, with the Montreal Canadiens having only 16 games left to play in their season, and they sit dead last in the Eastern Conference.
- Why is it that in a season where everyone was supposed to “Rise Together”, it seems that everyone has done quite the opposite.
- Why is it that in a season where Andrei Markov was supposed to be back in the early part of the season, he’s had to undergo an additional surgery, and has still yet to play one single game this season?
- Why is it that the Montreal Canadiens are one of the two teams who’ve undergone the most injuries this season?
Some of these questions we already have the answers for, others we can only speculate, and in the case of Markov, apparently a knee that’s exploded twice is a complicated thing in itself.
Oh and Those 20-Goal Scorers
If we go back to that argument about the 20-goal scorers, here’s the current tally for all seven aforementioned players:
- Tomas Plekanec: 12 goals in 65 games this season.
- Mike Cammalleri: 15 goals in 59 games this season.
- Erik Cole: 23 goals in 66 games this season.
- Max Pacioretty: 26 goals in 63 games this season.
- Brian Gionta: 8 goals in 31 games this season.
- Andrei Kostitsyn: 13 goals in 55 games this season.
- P.K. Subban: 5 goals in 65 games this season.
Although we can already say it’s mission accomplished for Cole and Pacioretty, in the case of the others, only Mike Cammalleri has any real chance of hitting the 20-goal mark, unless either Kostitsyn or Plekanec go on a surprising goal streak, and in the case of Cammalleri, he now plays for the Calgary Flames, is currently injured and out of tonight’s lineup against the Canadiens, after receiving a puck to the head.
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Where Did It All Go Wrong?
Let’s move all the way back to the start of the Bob Gainey era in 2003 (Bob Gainey’s tenure as GM began Jun 2, 2003). It’s important to do so because he became the Montreal Canadiens’ general manager when the lockout occurred, and was a key figure in deciding how the team would move forward, in a league that promised to crack down on hooking and holding.
Here are a few examples of trades that were performed under Bob Gainey by the Montreal Canadiens (a big thank you to @HabsWatch for this information):
- March 2, 2004 – Jozef Balej and a 2nd round pick (Bruce Graham) in 2004 traded to New York Rangers for Alex Kovalev
- June 26, 2004 – Mathieu Garon and a 3rd round pick (Paul Baier) in 2004, previously acquired from San Jose, traded to Los Angeles Kings for Radek Bonk and Cristobal Huet
- March 8, 2006 – Jose Theodore traded to Colorado Avalanche for David Aebischer
- September 30, 2005 – Marcel Hossa traded to New York Rangers for Garth Murray
- February 25, 2007 – Craig Rivet and a 5th round pick (Julien Demers) in 2008 traded to San Jose Sharks for Josh Gorges and a 1st round pick (Max Pacioretty) in 2007
- September 30, 2006 – Mike Ribeiro and a 6th round pick (Matthew Tassone) in 2008 traded to Dallas Stars for Janne Niinimaa and a 5th round pick (Andrew Conboy) in 2007
- July 12, 2006 – Richard Zednik traded to Washington Capitals for a 3rd round pick (Olivier Fortier) in 2007
- June 16, 2007 – Sergei Samsonov traded to Chicago Blackhawks for Jassen Cullimore and Tony Salmelainen
- September 12, 2008 – 2nd round pick (Jared Knight – Boston) in 2010, previously acquired from Toronto and later traded to Boston in the Phil Kessel deal, traded to Chicago Blackhawks for Robert Lang
- July 3, 2008 – Mikhail Grabovski traded to Toronto Maple Leafs for Greg Pateryn and a 2nd round pick (Jared Knight – Boston) in 2010 which was later traded to Chicago, back to Toronto and then to Boston in the Phil Kessel deal
- June 20, 2008 – 1st round pick (Greg Nemisz) in 2008 and a 2nd round pick (Stefan Elliott – Colorado) in 2009 which was later traded to Colorado, traded to Calgary Flames for Alex Tanguay and a 5th round pick (Maxim Trunev) in 2008
- December 1, 2009 – Kyle Chipchura traded to Anaheim Ducks for a 4th round pick (Magnus Nygren) in 2011
- November 23, 2009 – Guillaume Latendresse traded to Minnesota Wild for Benoit Pouliot
- June 30, 2009 – Chris Higgins, Ryan McDonagh and Pavel Valentenko traded to New York Rangers for Scott Gomez, Tom Pyatt and Michael Busto
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What stands out to me is a couple of things here, throughout Bob Gainey’s tenure:
- He appeared to be attempting to change the face of the team by trading arguably key players away. (Theodore, Rivet, Ribeiro, Zednick, 2nd round pick, Grabovski)
In the summer of 2009, not long after the trade which brought Scott Gomez to Montreal, players such as Brian Gionta and Mike Cammalleri were signed, again supporting the argument that quickness and skill were being preferred over size, and this now six years after the lockout.
(…) he [Gainey] became the Montreal Canadiens’ general manager when the lockout occurred, and was a key figure in deciding how the team would move forward, in a league that promised to crack down on hooking and holding.
Bob Gainey gambled after the lockout. The league promised a whole lot, and the argument could be made that a small team, with quickness and skill, could beat out tougher and grittier opponents, in a league that promised to provide stiffer officiating, allowing those players to use their skill all over the ice.
The changes did bring about some of this, it’s not all bad. But overall, if this was the Canadiens direction and it appears to me it was, Bob Gainey lost on his gamble, and the league continues to prove to this day, that a small team of skilled players cannot compete in an 82-game season, and then 16-28 additional playoff games against bigger, tougher teams.
It’s tough on the players, the grind takes its tole, and the punishment they suffer on a nightly basis does not make them immune to injuries. The Montreal Canadiens know this all too well.
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Now if I go back to the quote at the beginning of this article, Colin Powell states, in very simple terms that there are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, learning from failure.
Where do the Habs fall in these three categories?
Preparation
- The Montreal Canadiens prepared for the post-lock out era, gambling on a team of small of skilled forwards and sacrificing size in the process.
Hard Work
- Worth ethic both on and off the ice has not something the Montreal Canadiens have been renowned for in recent years.
Learning from Failure
- Six-years after the lockout, with the Canadiens still unable to provide a dominating force on the ice, Bob Gainey continued with the same formula, of going after small skilled players, rather than opting for size at the forward position. Perhaps the fact the Canadiens finished 1st in the East during the 2007-08 season clouded his judgement.
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Are the Canadiens on the right track?
With the acquisition of players like Rene Bourque, a big size forward who can score goals, and Brad Staubitz, a renowned great teammate who’ll drop the gloves and go toe to toe with anyone, you could argue that the Canadiens have finally understood, and are finally making that size change that so many Habs’ fans have for so long been dreaming of.
At the same time, you could also argue that this is just a general manager’s attempt at keeping his job.
Speaking of the general manager, it makes little sense that Pierre Gauthier is still in office today. When a team and organization go through a transition phase where they are attempting to get the team bigger in size, as admitted by Pierre Gauthier himself, the change in philosophy has to be shown at all levels.
I don’t see how Gauthier, who essentially mimicked Gainey in continuing to acquire small skilled players, can be the master chef who will lead this transition.
Many believe Gauthier will be replaced during the offseason, but with him having been at the heart of the trade that brought Rene Bourque to Montreal from Calgary, in exchange for Mike Cammalleri, and also having had the green light to trade away players who would have been unrestricted free agents (UFAs) like Hal Gill and Andrei Kostitsyn, it really makes you wonder what Geoff Molson’s ultimate plans really are.
Whatever they may be, one can only hope that going forward, more emphasis will be put on finding the right mix of size and skill on the ice.
It’s not about one or the other, it’s about finding the right balance between both, and wrapping it all nicely with a pink ribbon of chemistry.
If however, one is looking to blame this season’s mishaps on events that happened this season alone, I beg to differ, the real problem started almost 10-years ago.
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You can follow the author on Twitter here: @stevofarnham