HOCKEY.ONTHEWEB MENU

Your browser is not Java capable or Java has been disabled.


This website is protected by copyright. Any use of the materials contained herein without the consent of Hockey.Ontheweb is strictly prohibited.

Google

The top site for Hockey.Ontheweb

http://www.hockey-ontheweb.com
http://www.hockeyontheweb.com

The Top Site for Hockey.Ontheweb!

THE MIGHTY HABS FALLEN
Originally posted November 19, 1999: Volume 2, Issue 7

When it appeared impossible for the Montreal Canadiens to suffer any more than they already have, the team learned that captain Saku Koivu will be out for at least three months recovering from shoulder surgery. It was only the latest in a well-documented but unforgiving series of injuries that has debilitated this team. Montreal has been without forward Benoit Brunet and defencemen Vladimir Malakhov and Patrice Brisebois for the entire season. Shayne Corson missed ten games before returning. Add Koivu to the list, and fate appears heartless to the Hab faithful. In commenting about the loss of Koivu, Corson -- now acting captain -- told reporters, "It's a big blow to us, but it will give our guys a chance to step up and play a bigger role on our hockey team." The Canadiens had just lost 6-1 to the lowly Nashville Predators.

The glory days began with Georges
For a brief period in November, the Canadiens were in last place overall. It had been 64 years since they had been in last place overall so late in the season. And in those days, there weren't 28 teams in the league. Even now, Montreal is two points out of the league's basement. They lead the league in losses. Only Atlanta and the New York Islanders have scored fewer goals. For a proud team that has won 24 Stanley Cups during its illustrious history, this has been a terribly humbling season.

Even without the injuries, this edition of the Canadiens was not comparable to those great teams of the post-war era. The team's three most productive forwards -- Koivu, Linden and Savage -- have not been productive. The departure of Vincent Damphousse and Mark Recchi created a gaping offensive hole that could not be replaced by the mere acquisition of Trevor Linden -- no disrespect intended to Mr. Linden. (To add to the pain, those two players are having career seasons, while Mr. Linden is not.) Not since his rookie season has Koivu been free of injury. The expectation that he would be the team's new star was tempered by the awareness that the number of games this brittle Finn played would be challenged by the number of visits he made to the doctor. All expected Brian Savage's torrid October pace to dissipate. He did not disappoint those expectations.

Recchi doesn't live here anymore
There is some irony to the fact that when the Habs left the Forum, they left their best days in that building. It is too easy for the Canadiens to blame the modern realities of the NHL for their present plight. The Habs do indeed pay more property tax than all the American teams combined, approximately $10 million per season. Like all Canadian teams, they suffer the exigencies of a weak Canadian dollar. The inability to sign both Damphousse and Recchi is probably attributable to the team's shaky financial situation. But it is bad management which must take the fall for this team ineptitude.

Would they take him back?
The slow disintegration of this great team began almost from the moment GM Rejean Houle traded Patrick Roy in 1995. Only Rucinsky remains from that trade, and that does not say much for it. Other questionable deals followed that one. Pierre Turgeon was dispatched to St. Louis. Without insulting Shayne Corson, it is safe to say that the team did not receive equitable value in return. Lyle Odelein was dispatched for the enigmatic Stephane Richer, who lasted little over one season with the Habs. The team almost certainly could have signed one of Damphousse or Recchi, but signed neither. The team has not drafted well in the four years Houle has stood at the helm, so there is no one in the Habs' system worthy of optimism.

If one were compelled to choose, it seems more likely that Mr. Houle will be fired before coach Alain Vigneault. Vigneault is popular with his players and can justifiably point to the team's bad medical fortunes as responsible for the team's excessively poor play. However, the most likely scenario will see both dispatched to the unemployment line and replaced by Jacques Lemaire, who is employed by the Canadiens in an advisory capacity and has been waiting for this opportunity for almost a full season.

[Photos courtesy of Pictures Now!.]