Habs in trouble...I saw it coming

Friday morning: I'm making breakfast for my youngest son; I will leave for work soon. Past couple of days have been crazy. When the Canadiens lose, the callers can get pretty emotional. However, no solution seems to drastic right now to get the team back on track. The team has been talking the talk for the past week promising to make a push to get them into the playoffs. If you haven't figured it out yet, talk is cheap if you can't back it up. Tomorrow the Canadiens will play Game 5 of their 5 game road trip. After 4 games, 4 losses and outscored 21-8. Ouch, thats really ugly! After the whole Kovalev-LaPresse saga, the team still didn't rebound. Alarming, to say the least. Before we move on, I still would like to hear the tape......

Now, I want to take this opportunity to paste some statements from my previous blogs below.

Wednesday, February 7, 2007
1) Folks, what happened in the first half was a ‘mirage’ because the team overachieved.

Friday, February 9, 2007
2) The dressing room is not what it used to be. IMO, Things started to "unravel" when Guy Carbonneau made Craig Rivet a healthy scratch. That, was a damaging strategy to date. Rivet, was indeed struggling on the ice, but he has alot of credibility in the dressing room. Why? Because he gives you everything he's got every night, night after night, season after season. That means alot to teammates.

3) Im not going to blame just the coach for the Habs struggles. Its time for the leaders to step up and for the guys to pull in the same direction. There is not enough scoring and raw talent on this team for guys to take nites off.......Once again, remember what I have told you since October 1st; this team will battle for a playoff spot.....

Tuesday, February 13, 2007
4) The System: The Transition Game, is non-existent because most of the defencemen can't make a tape to tape pass. As for the forecheck: where is the speed everyone talks about? The problem is the team is playing a 1-2-2 system. Carbonneau, prefers this system because it insulates the defence and better protects the goaltender. However, when you have fast players, you should adopt a 2-1-2 system and be more aggressive on the forecheck. This system will help you create more turnovers and help create offense.

5) Management: Last year when Claude Julien lost 18 of 25; Gainey fired him. One year later, Gainey now knows it wasn't the coaches fault. This team just doesn't have the horses and there are 3 areas the GM needed to improve: Size, Depth at Center and Scoring.....3 years later, those 3 things are still missing.

Wednesday, February 21, 2007
6) I guess you are wondering if Bob Gainey is talking to other teams? The answer is YES. Gainey, talked to Minnesota two weeks ago and has been talking with San Jose this week. But, Gainey won't make a deal just to shut people up. If he does pull the trigger, I think it will be with a western conference team.

Thursday, March 1, 2007
7) It's official, Bob Gainey didn't make a move. I wasnt really surprised; but if i was in his shoes, I would have been a seller.

8) In the meantime, the players were all coming down and went outside, where they waited for the team bus, set to leave 15 minutes later.....the players seemed down......they said they didnt expect the team to make a move, but deep down I believe they were hoping GM Bob Gainey would have added a player or two. Outside the players were split up in many groups....the whole time I was thinking where is the team spirit here? The players were talking with the media and the fans and signing autographs. Where is the focus? The guys were on their way to play Game #66 of the season and you would never know it.

9) Canadiens lose 4 nothing vs NYR. The guys werent very happy, especially Koivu. He was still disappointed that Rivet left.....it will take a while for him to get over that one. I can understand his disappointment, but at the same time, he's the Captain and he has to lead the team.

10) I asked another player if he was confident the team could finish strong. The player said, ''We are batttling for our playoff lives. There is pressure from the city, the fans and pressure we put on ourselves. Some players can handle it, it's obvious other players cannot.''

Ok, let's recap my 10 points above from my previous blogs.
1) No question; the 1st half was definitely a mirage.
2) The dressing room did start to crumble when Rivet was scratched.
3) The Canadiens best players have to be their best. It hasn't happened and thats why they're losing.
4) They still play the 1-2-2 and don't impose their footspeed or their rythm at all.
5) GM Bob Gainey didnt address the weaknesses of his club and they are paying for it.
6) Gainey did talk to San Jose, he traded Rivet there.
7) I definitely would have been a seller and would have tried to move Souray, Markov, Bonk and Kovalev. The first 3 are UFA's and you still have a chance to sign them if you want them back. As for Kovalev: they could do better things with the money. And, I would buy out Samsonov's contract at 66%.
8) The players were dejected and have been for a while. And, the focus clearly is not there.
9) Koivu hasnt been the same since Rivet left; it's about time he steps up. But, he'll need some help.
10) It's obvious this team has a lot of players that either dont care or cant play under pressure.

I am not here to toot my own horn, but I think it's obvious my points have been, as Pierre McGuire says, ''Bang On.'' The only mistake I made was when I said, ''This team will battle for a playoff spot.'' Sure, they are still in the hunt, but they are definitely not, ''Battling.'' Pretty sad, if you ask me. Be well everybody.