GAINEY WORKS PLAN TO PERFECTION

It was a brilliant strategy on the part of Canadiens’  General Manager Bob Gainey.  Whether or not it pays off on the ice, however, remains to be seen.

After striking out time and time again in his efforts to lure big-name, free-agent talent to Montreal, Gainey went out and locked up four UFA’s yesterday,  completely changing the face of this franchise in the process.

For the better, in my opinion.

The key to it all?  The acquisition of Scott Gomez from the New York Rangers in the deal that sent Chris Higgins and prospect Ryan McDonagh to the Broadway Blueshirts, 24 hours earlier.  By locking up a number one centre, Gainey was able to sell Montreal as an attractive free-agent destination to the likes of Gomez’ former teammate in New Jersey,  Brian Gionta, and Mike Cammalleri of the Calgary Flames, and picked himself up a top line in the process. 

Gainey finished up a whirlwind day one  of Free Agent Frenzy, by signing Jaro Spacek of the Buffalo Sabres, giving the Canadiens a bonafide puck-moving defenceman who can quarterback the power play while playing major minutes, and Hal Gill of the Pittsburgh Penguins, who, if nothing else, replaces the beef the Canadiens lost along the blueline when Mike Komisarek turned his back on an offer from Montreal to sign with (drum roll, please) the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Toronto Maple Leafs?!?!?!  What does THAT tell you about Komisarek’s lack of interest in remaining with the Canadiens?  In fact, Gainey said he never even received a counter-offer from the Komisarek camp, leaving the Habs’ GM with no sense of what it would take to keep Komisarek in Montreal.  Ultimately, it was a long-term deal worth 4.5 million per season.  It never became a negotiation with the Canadiens.  Does that sound like a guy who was interested in staying in Montreal?

Interesting, though.  With the inflated dollars being tossed around yesterday, I would have thought Komisarek would have demanded $5 million-plus per season.  In the end, Komisarek could prove to be a bargain for the Leafs, but not based on his play of last season.

Back to Scott Gomez.  At 5-11, he is certainly not a “big centre” in terms of stature.  But to Gainey, he’s a big centre in terms of talent.  The other two acqusitions up front don’t exactly provide the Canadiens with much size at the forward position, either.  Cammalleri is 5-9, and Gionta is a smurf-like 5-7.  Gainey claims he’s not worried about the size of his forwards and wasn’t about to let those statistics get in the way of what he called a “good day.”

I agree with Gainey.  It was a good day for the Montreal Canadiens.  It was a day fraught with the possibility of failure, after Gainey put this organization into a position of  “both strength and vulnerabilty” as a result of his decision to close out last season with 10 potential unrestricted free agents on his roster.  Sure, he had a ton of money available to him.  However, as Mats Sundin, Daniel Briere and Brendan Shanahan will tell you, cash isn’t necessarily king when it comes to attracting UFA’s to Montreal.  Gainey could have come away empty handed.  He didn’t.  He came away with a total of five players over a 48-hour period; four of whom represent an upgraded nucleus to this team.

Of the 10 unrestricted free agents on this Canadiens’ team at the conclusion of the season, don’t look for ANY to be back. That includes the captain, Saku Koivu.  Gainey acknowledged the writing was on the wall for Koivu, when the Canadiens did not make him a contract offer prior to July 1st.  The Habs were prepared to move on with life without Koivu, regardless of whether or not they were able to land a front-line centre; which they did, in Gomez.  The Canadiens DID make Alex Kovalev an offer, but that offer is now off the table.

Despite the dollars dished out by Gainey over the last 48 hours,  the Canadiens’ GM still has about $4 million in his wallet to spend on a seventh defenceman, if there is one out there that meets his needs.

In the meantime, Gainey has to hope that his latest acquisitions can take their place in the Canadiens’ locker room and help players like Tomas Plekanec and the Kostitsyn brothers rebound from spotty seasons, and lead the way for youngsters like Matt D’agostini, Max Pacioretty, Kyle Chipchura and Ryan O’Byrne to step in and take on added responsibilities on a team that has changed course like no other in the history of this franchise.

GOOD-BYE CAPTAIN K

It’s over.

Saku Koivu’s career as a member of the Montreal Canadiens effectively came to an end yesterday, when General Manager Bob Gainey announced that Koivu was not among the team’s potential unrestricted free agents to receive a contract offer from the Habs.  That honor went to Mike Komisarek and Alex Kovalev.  More on those two, in a moment.

By not extending a new deal to Koivu, Gainey essentially told the Habs’ captain not to sit around waiting for the phone to ring with an offer from the Canadiens.  Certainly not before July 1st.  Gainey suggested that his stance did not preclude the possibility of a discussion with Koivu, or any of the other pontential UFA’s on this team, after July 1st.  But the GM’s words rang hollow.  The reality is, after 13 years as a member of the Montreal Canadiens, the only team he’s known during his NHL career, Saku Koivu has played his last game with the Habs.

I’m not surprised that Koivu will not be back as a member of the Canadiens.  However, I AM surprised with the way this scenario played itself out. 

At the conclusion of last season, Koivu said that he needed some time to assess his situation as a potential UFA, and the opportunities that unrestricted free agency have to offer.  As I walked away from Koivu, and Koivu walked away after the team’s nightmare season came to a close, I was convinced that Koivu had played his last game with this organization. 

I would have understood had Koivu, at the end of the day, made the decision to continue his career elsewhere.  Perhaps in Minnesota; with an opportunity to play with little brother Mikko, for example.  Perhaps with a Stanley Cup contender, which the Canadiens clearly are not.  I would have understood if Koivu left Montreal, on his terms.

Gainey, however, insists that Koivu would have been interested in listening to an offer from the Canadiens, although that’s not to say the offer would have been accepted.   That the Canadiens have decided not make number 11 an offer, at this point at least, is surprising to me.  At a time when the Canadiens are woefully thin at centre, with no Vincent Lecavalier in sight, why would the Habs effectively shut the door on their top centre, a player who brings it, game in and game out, season in and season out?

I don’t know the answer to that question.  But I don’t have to know the answer to that question.  Bob Gainey does.  And when it comes to pursuing the players who might be able to best help this club, and the dollars available to spend on them, Gainey felt that Koivu and the Canadiens were no longer a match.

Count me among those who will be sorry to see Koivu go.  Count me among those who feel, as Gainey himself does,   that Saku Koivu is a champion who has yet to win a championship.  Count me among those who believe, like Guy Carbonneau does, that if someone like Steve Yzerman deserves to have his jersey number retired by the Red Wings, then Saku Koivu deserves the same honor from the Canadiens’ organization.  

However, that’s a conversation for another time.

As a result of Gainey’s decision not to talk contract with Koivu, the door is now wide open for the Canadiens to hand the Captain’s “C” to Alex Kovalev on a full-time basis.  The Canadiens want Kovalev, and Kovalev wants to remain in Montreal.  It’s a no-brainer; a marriage made in heaven.

As for Mike Komisarek, once thought to be next in line to wear the ”C” on his Habs’ jersey, the contract offer made to the big defenceman is worth less than the paper it’s written on, through no fault of Gainey’s.  Mike Komisarek is represented by Matt Keator, who does not believe in players accepting “hometown discounts.”  If there is a single dollar more to be made by playing somewhere else,  Komisarek will be on the first plane out of Montreal.  Someone will pay Komisarek $5 million-plus per season, for a good many seasons, to patrol the blueline. 

However, that “someone” will not be Bob Gainey.

LECAVALIER’S SUMMER OF DISCONTENT

Seems no matter where Vincent Lecavalier goes, he can’t escape the rumours and reports that link him to the Montreal Canadiens.

And it’s clear the Montreal-area native is growing tired of it all.

Lecavalier was in Montreal today for a fund raising initiative at a local car dealership, where he expressed his frustration of not knowing where he will end up next season.

“The worst part of it, is being really uncertain about your future, I guess,” said Lecavalier.  ”Just from reading the papers, and hearing all the reports.  It’s not the best situation you want to be in, but I guess that’s part of the game.”

Lecavalier has been twisting in the wind since before the 2009 All-Star game, when reports surfaced that Bolts GM Brian Lawton was prepared to deal his superstar, with the Canadiens being the likely destination. As it turned out, the All-Star game was played in Montreal.  And as an Eastern Conference All-Star, Lecavalier was on hand for the proceedings.  And when he arrived in town for All-Star weekend, he was bombarded with questions about the trade rumours linking his name to the Canadiens.  To his credit, Lecavalier answered every question, but could shed little light on the rumours.  In reality, he was nothing more than a victim of these rumours.

As for Lawton, he vigorously denied the reports, and, sure enough, when the March trade deadline came and went, Lecavalier remained, and still remains, in Tampa.

Then, at the conclusion of the season, in Bob Gainey’s state-of-the-union address, the Canadiens’ GM dropped a bombshell.  He admitted to having conversations with Lawton three months earlier about a deal that would have brought Lecavalier to Montreal for Chris Higgins, Tomas Plekanec and Josh Gorges.  Gainey said Lawton ended up going public with the three players names in an effort to leverage the situation with other teams.  At the time, Gainey said it was “disgraceful” that Gorges, Plekanec and Higgins “had to read that stuff.”

Lecavalier was none too pleased to see his name come out in public that way, either.

“Maybe there were talks.  I don’t know how far they went with them. Obviously it’s disappointing to hear that.  I’m sure all the names of the other players … they were disappointed, too.  But what can you do?”

If you’re Vincent Lecavalier, not much. Just sit, and wait.  However, the situation is not totally out of his control.  Lecavalier said if the Lightning do approach him with a trade, he will provide them with a list of teams that he would consider going to.  And the Canadiens would be on that list.

“Of course.  There is no way I could ignore them,” admitted Lecavalier.  ”Myself being from here, family and friends, it would be pretty hard not to put them on the list.  But we’re not that far yet.  They haven’t called me to do that, so we’ll see, I guess.”

By publicly calling out Brian Lawton, the feeling is that Bob Gainey and his counterpart from Tampa Bay will now never be able to sit down at the table and work out a deal for Lecavalier, if there’s a deal to be had.  But don’t be too sure about that.  I don’t believe for a moment that egos would get in the way of a trade involving the Habs and the Bolts for Lecavalier, if both GMs felt the deal was the right one for both organizations.

Let’s assume the two GM’s do come together on a trade.  The intense scrutiny that Lecavalier would be under in Montreal would be suffocating; the pressure, enormous.  Canadiens’ fans have been salivating over the prospect of Lecavalier coming to Montreal for years.  The expectation that  he, alone, could somehow lead this club to the promised land would be completely unrealistic. But that’s never stopped Habs’ fans.  

“When you look at Montreal, it’s pretty special.  The history of the team, and the people going crazy for the sport.  It would be a challenge, but something that every player has to go through when they come here.  If other people can do it, why not?

Sounds good.  On paper, at least.  Now all Lawton and Gainey have to do is make it happen.

GAINEY GETS HIS MAN

“What was Gainey’s rush?!?!”

“Boring, defensive hockey comes to the Montreal Canadiens!!!”

“The guy has as much personality as a wet noodle.”

…and so it goes.  Just some of the reaction to this week’s hiring of Jacques Martin by the Montreal Canadiens as their new head coach.  Personally, I think Jacques Martin is just what the doctor ordered for this ailing franchise.  But apparently, I may be in the minority here.

For starters, let’s look at the three above-mentioned criticisms.

What was Gainey’s rush?

I’ll tell you what was Gainey’s rush.  Gainey was in a rush to put a head coach into place with some time to spare leading up to the NHL Entry Draft, that will be held June 26-27, at the Bell Centre.  Gainey was in a rush to finally add a sense of stability to a franchise that had been drifting without a full-time head coach since Guy Carbonneau was fired on March 9, and a franchise further set adrift with word that team’s ownership is about to change  hands. Finally, a sense of direction from the Habs as they now move into high gear to assess the 10 potential unrestricted free agents they have on this team, and they players they will need to find to replace the UFA’s who don’t come back.  I’d say Gainey had several good reasons to be in a rush, wouldn’t you??

Boring, defensive  hockey comes to Montreal.  

And this would be a bad thing?!?!?  The fact that Jacques Martin had a large measure of success as a defensive-minded coach, largely with the Ottawa Senators, is something I’m thrilled to see on his C.V.  The Montreal Canadiens were a terrible team last season when they weren’t playing with the puck.  The fact that they weren’t much better when they DID have possession of the puck, is another story.  Defense wins championships.  Okay, Jacques Martin hasn’t won any championships in his lengthy tenure as an NHL head coach, but that’s because he didn’t have a goaltender in Ottawa who could win a playoff game.  Martin’s system turned a mediocre Ottawa team into a very good Ottawa team.  That works for me.  Hopefully, it’ll work with the Montreal Canadiens.

Jacques Martin’s personality, or lack of same.

Apparently this is an issue with some fans. Hmmm. Let me see now.  The last coach of the Montreal Canadiens, Guy Carbonneau, had a pretty fiery temperment.  Carbonneau was an emotional coach who wore his heart on his sleeve.  He spoke his mind and took no prisoners.  And where did it land him?  On the unemployment line.  Jacques Martin isn’t a politician.  He isn’t a stand-up comic (although a few laughs were sorely needed in what was a disastrous Centennial Season.)  He’s a head coach.  A professional head coach.  A head coach with experience.  Lots of it.  A head coach who finally brings to this organization a body of NHL knowledge that the Canadiens have been lacking since the days of Jacques Demers.  

Jacques Martin was even criticized by some over the suit he wore to the Bell Centre when the Canadiens introduced him as the 29th head coach in franchise history.  THE COLOUR OF HIS SUIT, FOR GOODNESS SAKES!!!!  LIKE THAT’S GONNA MAKE A DIFFERENCE WHEN IT COMES TO HIS QUALITIES AS A HEAD COACH!!!!!!

For the record.  It was a brown with faint pinstripes.

Listen to me.  Jacques Martin doesn’t have to impress us with his wit or his charm.  Or his wardrobe.  He has to take the players he has in that dressing room and get the most out of them.  End of story.

Actually, the story is just beginning for Jacques Martin, who may have come out of left field in all of this.  But he is the right man for the job.

HABS’ BRASS GET UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL WITH DRAFT PROSPECTS

It hasn’t been much of an off-season for Habs’ general manager Bob Gainey, Trevor Timmins, the club’s director of player development, and the rest of the team’s hockey staff. 

The ink has barely dried on a completely forgettable 2008-2009 campaign, and Gainey and Company are already busy preparing for next season.  Not that there has been much in the way of earth-shattering news to show for it. 

There WAS the signing of  free agent forward Mikael Johansson to a two-way contract for next season.  Johansson won the Swedish Elite League playoff championship with Farjestads this season and picked up four points in 11 playoff games. 

I’m told he’s a pretty good talent. 

Still, it’s hard to get excited about another small forward on this team.  The 23-year old stands 5-10 and weighs 181 pounds.  However, let’s reserve judgement until we see him on the ice at the NHL level.  Johansson was drafted in the ninth round by Detroit in 2003.

These days, Gainey, Timmins and the rest of the hockey staff have been busy watching some 100 prospects sweat it out in a series of conditioning tests being done during the NHL combine at hotel near the Toronto airport.  The Habs’ brass are all taking copious notes, no doubt, in advance of the NHL Entry Draft, which will be held June 26-27 at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

The NHL combine continues through Saturday.  The Canadiens will then hold their own mini-combine this Monday at the team’s practice facility at Brossard, where some 40 prospects, many of them from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, will attempt to impress Canadiens’ management. 

So, Habs’ fans can chew on that.  They can also chew on a Soviet report that’s making the rounds when it comes to the future of three members of the Canadiens, three potential unrestricted free agents: Alex Kovalev, Saku Koivu and Mike Komisarek.  The report suggests that the Canadiens are preparing for life without Koivu, and one way they’re doing that, is by offering Kovalev the captain’s “C”, along with a one-year contract worth in the neighbourhood of $6-7 million.  The Soviet report also suggests that the Canadiens have offered defenceman Mike Komisarek a deal worth $4 million a season.

Let’s address Kovalev first.

I believe he’ll be back in a Canadiens’ uniform.   Despite a very uneven 2008-2009 season, the Canadiens need Alex Kovalev.  And it’s no secret that he wants to return.  He’s always scoffed at suggestions that he’s a better hockey player when he’s replaced Koivu as captain, as he has in the past, when Koivu has been hurt.  But you know that Kovalev would wear the “C” with pride, if it ends up on his chest.

Is Kovalev worth some $6-$7 million?  Not a chance.  Then again, is Roman Hamrlik worth the  $5.5 million a season it took to get him to Montreal?  Nooo.  Bob Gainey has been forced to overpay to attract and keep talent in the past.  It’s bound to happen again, with Kovalev.

As for Koivu, it was very clear to me, after talking to number 11 at the end of the season, that the Captain was going to go through some serious sole-searching during the off-season.  And it wouldn’t surprise me if that sole-searching leads him to another team.  There’s only one way I would be happy to see Saku Koivu in another city playing for another club: if it’s on HIS terms.  Otherwise, I want him back. As Captain.

As for Komisarek, I truly believe he’s played his last game for the Habs.  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again.  Someone will cough up $5-$6 million for his services.  But it won’t be the Canadiens.  I’d be sorry to see him go, but not as a result of anything he did last season.  Komisarek was an all-star in name only in 2008-2009.  He struggled on the ice, and he struggled with injuries.  However, he’s too good a hockey player for the Canadiens to simply wash their hands of.  Except if it’s going to take $5-$6 million to keep him here.  The Canadiens will not overpay for number 8’s services.

In the meantime, no one really knows how much money Bob Gainey is willing to throw in the direction of any of the three above-mentioned players.  But it’s certainly something to chew on.

DANDENAULT PLAYS WAITING GAME

While his old team, the Detroit Red Wings, spent the day preparing to play host to the Chicago Black Hawks in game one of the Western Final this afternoon,  Mathieu Dandenault of the Montreal Canadiens spent HIS day, yesterday, at an amusement park.

But clearly, he wasn’t amused.

Dandenault was on hand for the opening ceremonies which kicked off the summer season at La Ronde.  Obviously, he would rather still be playing hockey.  But the Boston Bruins spoiled those plans when they swept the Habs in four in the opening round of playoff action.

So now, Mathieu Dandenault waits for a phone call that might never come, from general manager Bob Gainey.

Truth be told, Gainey has bigger fish to fry than Mathieu Dandenault, as the Habs’ GM looks to come to grips with 10 players who stand to become unrestricted free agents on this Cananadiens’ roster, as of July 1st.  You wouldn’t consider Dandenault to be among Gainey’s priorities, not when the Montreal GM stands to lose the likes of Alex Kovalev, Mike Komisarek, Mathieu Schneider, Saku Koivu, Alex Tanguay and Robert Lang to free agency.  Let us hope, however, that re-signing Dandenault is a bigger priority than, let’s say, bringing Patrice Brisebois back into the fold.  There are those who are probably hoping that Gainey makes Dandenault a priority ahead of big Mike Komisareak, what with the sub-bar season that Komisarek had, and the salary that number eight will demand on the open market.

Indeed, it was back in March, that Dandenault, himself, ended up on the open market, with Gainey making the veteran available to teams at the NHL trade deadline.  There were no takers, which was a good thing for the Montreal Canadiens, and ended up being a good thing for Mathieu Dandenault.

You see, Mathieu Dandenault would like to remain a member of the Montreal Canadiens.  ”So what”, you ask?  Well, over the years, as Bob Gainey has found out, in his effort to lure UFA’s to this town,  precious few players have made Montreal their number one destination.

Remember where Mats Sundin ended up, despite a full-court press by Gainey to sign the former Leaf?  Not Montreal.

Daniel Briere before him?  Not Montreal.

And Brendan Shanan before HIM?  Not Montreal.

The list goes on and on.

Mathieu Dandenault originally signed with the Habs as a free agent, and wants to remain in Montreal.  There’s something to be said about that.  But there’s more to be said about the way this veteran handled himself  last season; a season which saw him miss a ton of action because of a serious arm injury, and a season which saw him emerge as one of the most effective players on this team, down the stretch.  All because no one wanted him at the trade deadline.

“I enjoy this city, I enjoy this town, I enjoy the fans,” said Dandenault yesterday. 

“I’ve had some good times in the last four years.  But we’ll see what happens. It’s got to come from both sides of the table.  The one thing is, I’m pretty proud of what I’ve done and to have been part of this great organization and hopefully it continues.”

Dandenault has good reason to feel proud of his contributions as a member of this team. Last season, it didn’t matter if he was playing with Chris Higgins and Glen Metropolit on the so-called “shutdown line”, or on the blueline, where he belongs, Dandenault was a valuable contributor at a time when there were way too many passengers on this Montreal club.  But please.  If Dandenault DOES return as a Hab next season, put him back on the blueline, where he spent most of his time winning not one, not two, but THREE Stanley Cups as a member of the Detroit Red Wings.

Ah yes.  The Detroit Red Wings.  Dandenault’s old team, still playing hockey.

Dandeanult’s NEW team?  We’ll know the answer to THAT, and other questions,  in the weeks ahead.

HABS ON THE MEND

The final line in a medical update recently released by the Montreal Canadiens reads as follows:

All three players are expected to fully recover in time for the Canadiens’ training camp in September.

The three players are Alex Tanguay, Sergei Kostitsyn and Max Pacioretty.  The question is:  Will all three players be MEMBERS of the Montreal Canadiens when training camp rolls around in September?

Tanguay underwent successful arthroscopic shoulder surgery on April 28.  He missed 32 regular- season games due to injuries in 2008-2009 and was out of the lineup for the last two games of the playoffs against the Boston Bruins because of a shoulder injury.

He was missed.  Particularly, after coach and GM Bob Gainey put him on a line with Saku Koivu and Alex Kovalev down the stretch and into the playoffs.  The fact that Gainey did not keep those three players together to start the series against the Bruins left many Habs’ observers scratching their heads.  But that’s ancient history.  As we look ahead to NEXT season, the question begs to be asked:  Will Tanguay be in a Canadiens’ uniform next year?

Tanguay is one of 10 Habs eligible to become unrestricted free agents as of July 1st.  He was a terrific off-season acquisition and paid immediate dividends playing on a line with Saku Koivu;  the two found instant chemistry.  Bringing Tanguay back won’t be cheap.  The contract the Habs inherited paid Tanguay $5.25 million this season, making him the club’s most expensive forward.  Tanguay would like to return to Montreal, and at age of 29, this guy still has plenty of upside.  With the lack of success that Gainey has had attracting UFA’s to this city (it’s not as if he hasn’t tried), I suspect the Canadiens will overpay in an effort to keep Tanguay right where he is.

The second player mentioned in the Habs’ medical update?  Sergie Kostitsyn, who was scheduled to undergo arthroscopic shoulder surgery May 1st.  Kostitsyn missed six regular-season games due to injury this season. 

The Canadiens missed him.  Not strictly as a result of his injuries.  They missed him because Sergei Kostitsyn was a no-show far too often in the 56 games he did play.  Far too often, S.K. was simply a passenger with this team.  He showed none of the spark, hustle and desire he exhibited when he was called up midway through the 2007-2008 season, and he ended up back in Hamilton with the Bulldogs toward the end of the campaign.

Yes, S.K. will be back next season.  But which Sergie Kostitsyn will show up at training camp?  The one who showed up at training camp this season and started the campaign like a house-afire?  Or the Sergie Kostitsyn who finished this season on the bench?

The third player mentioned in the Habs’ medical update was Max Pacioretty, who underwent successful surgery to repair a torn muscle in his abdominal wall on April 29.  Pacioretty missed all six Bulldogs’ playoff games against the Grand Rapids Griffins after being sent down to Hamilton on Mar. 23.  Pacioretty had been called up by the Canadiens earlier in the season at a time when the injury bug was biting this team hard, and the 21-year-old showed some real flashes of power-forward promise during his stint in a Canadiens’ uniform.  It’s ironic that Pacioretty played his two most effective games while playing on a line with Tomas Plekanec and Andrei Kostitsyn as a replacement for Alex Kovalev, after Kovalev had received, from Gainey, an unscheduled two-game vacation.

Pacioretty’s performance as a Hab will no doubt offer Gainey much food for thought as he grapples with his 10 potential UFA’s, and looks for replacements for the likes of, let’s say, Alex Kovalev, should Kovalev take his act elsewhere as one of those 10.

Regardless, I think it’s safe to say that Pacioretty’s performance this season will earn the Connecticut native a long, hard look when this Habs’ team gathers for the start of training camp in four months time.

MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS

Some 24 hours after the dust settled on the Montreal Canadiens’ centennial season, head coach and General Manager Bob Gainey addressed a packed media contingent at the team’s practice facility at suburban Brossard.

Those Habs fans who were hoping Gainey would emerge and announce that he was throwing in the towel, following the team’s humbling sweep at the hands of the Boston Bruins, will be disappointed to learn that Gainey isn’t going anywhere.  Unless his boss has other ideas.  And with the Canadiens in the process of  perhaps being sold, that’s a scenario that bears watching.

Quit?  That is not Bob Gainey’s style.  There is work to be done in the weeks and months ahead.

Gainey acknowledged a season that began with realistic and rather lofty expectations, only to end with a sickening thud and a 4-1 series-ending loss to the Bruins last night at the Bell Centre.

Clearly the rest of hockey world didn’t stop to smell the roses while the Canadiens set out to enjoy their Centennial Season.  Other teams improved.  The Canadiens, at the end of the day, did not.  Indeed, in the case of players like Tomas Plekanec, Andrei Kostitsyn and, at times, Alex Kovalev, they took a step back after leading this team last season.

When did it all begin the come apart for this team?  Well, do you remember the rumours back in January that had the Canadiens working on a deal to bring Tampa’s Vincent Lecavalier to Montreal?

They were true.

Gainey, who is notorious at keeping his cards close to his vest, opened up in a big way when he revealed that the Canadiens were left reeling when Tampa Bay GM Brian Lawton shopped around Gainey’s shopping list while the two were talking trade.  Gainey claimed Lawton let other GM’s know that the Habs were offering Chris Higgins, Josh Gorges and Tomas Plekanec for Lecavalier, in an effort to drive up the asking price.

Higgins, Gorges and Plekanec were left twisting in the wind, as a result.  And Gainey clearly wasn’t amused; in January, when it was all coming down, or today, as he spoke of this betrayal of trust.

Is that to suggest that Gainey and Lawton are done when it comes to talking trade?  Don’t count on it.  The Canadiens want Vincent Lecavalier, and the Tampa Bay Lightening, despite Lawton’s countless denials, want to trade Vincent Lecavalier.

Regardless of whether or not Gainey pulls the trigger on a Lecavalier deal, one thing is certain: the 2009-2010 edition of the Montreal Canadiens will be a vastly different team than the one that took to the ice this season.  With 10 players eligible to become unrestricted free agents, Gainey must now pull out his calculator and determine which of the 10 players he wants to keep, and what it will cost to keep them.

Among those players on that list: Alex Kovalev.  Say what you want about temperamental Russian, the Canadiens will be hard-pressed to make up his production, if they let him walk.

Saku Koivu is also on that list.  The Captain clearly did not want to speculate on his future as the players, like Gainey, met with the media today.  Koivu says just as management has decisions to make when it comes to the future of this club, Koivu says he has decisions to make when it comes to HIS future.  If both sides can meet in the middle, great.  But Koivu wasn’t willing to take it any further than that.

Memo to Bob Gainey:  don’t let Koivu get away.

Newcomers Robert Lang, Mathieu Schneider and Alex Tanguay also stand to become UFA’s.  Lang was a solid citizen before an Achilles tendon injury ended his season, and put a serious damper on the Habs’ season, as well.  However, there may be better, and younger, bargains out there come July 1st when teams go free agent shopping.

Schneider?  A valuable addition at the trade deadline who provided an instant boost to the power play.  Worth keeping around as a 5th or 6th defenceman with added responsibilities on the P.P. Just don’t expect him to log 25 minutes of ice time per game.

Tanguay? Worth the effort it will take to re-sign him.  A homegrown talent, and a good one, with plenty of productive years left.

Mike Komisarek is also on that list.  Komisarek did not live up to his all-star billing this season.  Too many awkward moments in front of his goaltender, and not enough thunderous body checks out of that big frame of his.  Komisarek will get a contract that will pay him five million per season.  But not from the Montreal Canadiens.

Will any of the above-mentioned players be back?  If not, who will replace them?  And who will eventually replace Guy Carbonneau behind the bench?  And when the puck drops on next season, who will own this team??

Like I said.  More questions than answers.

Stay tuned.

HABS ON THE BRINK

I suppose, in hindsight, the Boston Bruins are delivering exactly what we all should have expected.

A beating.

After all, how could any of us have expected this Montreal Canadiens team, who managed to squeeze into the playoffs with a LOSS (remember that single point in the Habs’ 5-4 overtime defeat in Boston April 9th?) to compete with a very talented Boston Bruins club.

How could any of us expected these Canadiens, who haven’t won since Andrei Markov went down with a knee injury, to have a hope in hell of beating a Bruins team that finished first in the Eastern Conference?

Yet, Habs fans held out hope, after a game-one loss that saw the Canadiens outplay the Bruins, right in their own backyard, through 40 minutes, before losing 4-2 on an empty-net goal.

THAT was the game the Canadiens had within their grasp. THAT was the game the Canadiens needed to steal.  THAT was the game the Canadiens could have won.  Win that one, and who knows what this series would like like now?

Well, I can tell you what this series looks like now: a sweep waiting to happen, following last night’s gutsy, but losing, 4-2 effort to the Bruins at the Bell Centre.

But, really, what did you expect from the Canadiens, who dropped a bombshell during the warmup skate, when it became clear that neither Mathieu Schneider nor Alex Tanguay, two of their best players, would be in the lineup because of upper-body injuries.  The only thing as surprising as that announcement was the fact that Bob Gainey opted to go with BOTH Ryan O’Byrne and Yannick Weber on defence, leaving veteran Patrice Brisebois as a healthy scratch.

Truth be told, those young men both performed admirably. Weber, after some soft play along the boards deep in the Montreal zone that led to a goal by Shawn Thornton, set up Chris Higgins with a lovely outlet pass for Higgins’ second goal of the playoffs.  And Weber scored the other Montreal goal himself with a snap shot from the point.  The goal by Weber tied the game at two early in the second, after Higgins’ marker had put the Habs ahead 1-0 in a first period that saw the Habs produce their best 20 minutes of hockey in this series.

While guys like Roman Hamerlik at minus 3, and Mike Komisarek at minus  2,struggled all night (although to be fair to Hamerlik, both he and Josh Gorges played monster minutes last night), O’Byrne seized the opportunity to deliver one of his best performances on Bell Centre ice.  He was poised and in control of his game, and delivered a huge blow-up hit on Mark Recchi that sent the veteran into next week.

But after a splendid opening period, the tide began to turn, with the Bruins, at one point in the second period, enjoying a 16-4 run in shots on goal.  And after Michael Ryder (?!) beat Carey Price at 17:21 of the middle frame to give the Bruins their first lead of the night, at 3-2, this one was effectively over.  The Canadiens had officially run out of gas.  Held to just five shots on goal, the Canadiens, along with their inept 0-for-3 power play, failed to generate any serious pressure over the final 20 minutes.

But, really.  What did you expect?

And so, the Montreal Canadiens are one loss away from closing the book on this wretched 100th season.  Even during the darkest days of this season (and there were plenty of them) things never looked as bleak as they do right now for this Habs’ team.  There’s the obvious reason, of course.  Down 3-0 in this series, the Canadiens must now try to mount a comeback that, if actually successful, would be as monumental as their Centennial Season, itself.

The other reason?  

Through all the turmoil, both on and off the ice,  through all the injuries, through all the rumours, through all the accusations, through all of it, Canadiens fans held out hope that at some point during the season, the Habs would somehow find the answers that have eluded them since day one, and live up to their billing as the team to beat in the East. 

They didn’t.

Now Habs’ fans are looking at sucking on the bitter aftertaste of a season filled with hope and promise, and one that, barring a miracle on ice, will end tomorrow night with an eighth straight loss.

GAME TWO MELTDOWN FOR HABS

We knew the Boston Bruins were going to be better in game two.

They were.

We knew the Montreal Canadiens needed to be better in game two.

They weren’t.

The end result: a 5-1 victory by the Bruins over the Habs Saturday night at the Garden that leaves the Canadiens in a very deep hole.  Trailing 2-0 in this series, the Canadiens must now win four of a possible five games to get out of the mess they’re in.

When was the last time the Canadiens won four of five?  In mid-February, when Jaroslav Halak was in goal during a four-game winning stretch.

More on him, in a moment.

After showing the same lines at practice following game one,  Bob Gainey shook things up in a big way for game two.  First, Francis Bouillon was airlifted into Boston for his first taste of action in almost two months, as a result of a lower-body injury.

He didn’t last two minutes.

Bouillon had to leave the game after 1:46 of ice time when  he pulled up lame.  His spot on the blueline was taken up by Yannick Weber, who was dressed in place of Patrice Brisebois, a  healthy scratch.

The other healthy scratches?  Tomas Plekanec and Matt D’Agostini.  The other addition to the lineup?  Sergei Kostitsyn.

As the final score would indicate, the changes didn’t help.  Neither did Montreal’s undisciplined play.

A steady stream of Canadiens’ penalties led to three power-play goals by the Bruins, beginning with a hooking call on Sergei K. midway through the opening period that resulted in a goal by Marc Savard, his first of two power play goals on the night.  The Bruins would go on to score three with the man advantage.

These were bad penalties.  Penalties you take when you’re trying to slow down opposing players.  Penalties you take when you’re feet stop moving.  Penalties you take when you stop working.

Schneider: interference.

Metropolit: hooking.

Tanguay: hooking.

Kovalev: hooking.

And then there was the unsportsmanlike penalty taken by Maxim Lapierre midway through the third period.

Memo to Maxim Lapierre:  Stop Yapping.  And start playing hockey.

Alex Kovalev managed to get one back in the opening minute of the second period, but that’s as close as the Canadiens would get.  There would be no comeback on this night.  There would be no “moral victory” on this night.  There would be nothing to build on, going into game three Monday night at the Bell Centre.

There would be nothing but a sixth straight loss; their longest losing streak of the season.

Even during the dog days of mid January to mid February, when the Canadiens were busy spending time in the bowling alley trying to cure themselves of the west-coast blues,  they didn’t lose six straight.

The timing isn’t great, is it?

Oh yes.  Jaroslav Halak.  He finally saw his first taste of action since an April 6th losing effort against Ottawa.  That’s because Carey Price was pulled after giving up five goals on 26 shots through the opening 40 minutes.

Not exactly playoff goaltending.  But then again, this wasn’t exactly a playoff performance last night.

This was a team that featured that no less than a dozen line combinations up front.  Yes, much of that was due to the injury to Bouillon, which forced Weber to full-time duty along the blueline, removing him from possible fourth-line duty.  And clearly, much of the line juggling was done in an effort to squeeze some offence from this team. But the line changes came  at a truly dizzying pace.  At least we got to see Alex Tanguay back with Saku Koivu and Alex Kovalev for a brief period of time.

Let’s hope they’re back, full-time for game three.  That’s not to take anything away from Georges Laraque.  But put him somewhere else.

And put Halak back in goal.