Montreal. The city where hockey is not even considered a sport, but a lifestyle. No team is under the media-microscope more than the Montreal Canadiens. Their fans are passionate, vocal, and some would even say ruthless.
Regardless, Montreal is also known as the hockey mecca. The storied franchise has won 24 Stanley Cups (and trust me, their fans will remind you) yet as of today they have lost some of that swagger that once took them to the promised land.
More on what went wrong...after the jump!
More on what went wrong...after the jump!
This past season was one riddled with problems for the franchise which included the following:
- The Coach was fired.
- The GM was fired.
- Arguably the team's most prolific scorer at the time, Mike Cammalleri, was traded MID GAME (you can't make that stuff up) for Rene Bourque who failed to be an offensive presence.
- Their top defenseman, Andrei Markov, was injured (yet again) for most of the season. He suited up for a whopping 13 games.
- In the 2010-2011 season, the team had the 7th best power play in the league, clicking at a respectable 19.7%. This past season their power play dropped to 28th in the league scoring at an abysmal 14.3%.
- Carey Price, the team's franchise goaltender suffered a concussion towards the end of the season forcing the team to play backup Peter Budaj. Budaj put up decent individual numbers but in 17 games played, went 5-7-5
- They were also victim to 16(!) OT and shootout losses.
To conclude a season that most Montreal fans would prefer to forget, the team finished dead last in the Eastern Conference.
Over the summer, the Montreal Canadiens hired Marc Bergevin to be the new General Manager. Bergevin has been searching for a new head coach for the club after interim coach Randy Cunneyworth was told he would not be returning in that capacity.
The search has been mired with controversy right from the beginning.
Just when it appeared almost certain that former Atlanta Thrashers coach, Bob Hartley would be hired as the new head coach, he signed on as the head coach for the Calgary Flames.
Former Montreal great, Patrick Roy was also reported to be in the running for the head coach job. However today it was reported on sportsnet that Roy wanted the power to veto the GM's trades, transactions and draft picks. Not exactly the best negotiation tactics to get the job there Patty.
Marc Crawford's name has also been thrown around as a candidate, however in Dallas, he was asked by management to change his coaching philosophy... he didn't. This might not sit well with a club that clearly needs to retool with a younger team and a coach who is expected to be a good communicator.
Regardless of who the new coach of the Montreal Canadiens is, it is imperative that this coach comes in with the right attitude. GM Marc Bergevin will have pressure on him coming from the fans, the ownership team and even the media to get the right guy...a winner.
In Montreal, hockey is more than a sport. To the fans there it is a way of life. The city revolves around the team. Winning is expected and failure is not an option. It's safe to say that the new coach needs to be a winner otherwise the franchise appears to be on a very slippery slope that could take years to get off of.
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