Montreal Canadiens fire Coach Guy Carbonneau

Cronie wrote:believe me, something tells me Murray is only ALL too aware of that. I can't help thinking Murray wouldn't have done that deal if he didn't know something others and the league perhaps didn't about LeClair.

Cronie wrote:hahaha! Well said SF.

Gainey will have a LOT of work ahead of him this off-season, and in terms of this season falling apart, he could start with taking a good long look in the mirror.

SensFan71 wrote:

Cronie wrote:I have to agree with Wprager.

When I was younger, being an Ottawa boy born and raised, I was a leaf fan, but my mother's side of the family who are 110% Quebec french were hardcore Habs and I remember hearing the stories of the Rocket, and watching the occasional hab game with my grandfather and uncles and back then they were a fantastic org and something to be envied for sure. In fact, I've met Guy LaFleur on 3 occasions (he's done charity work in partnership with the RCMP and so my father (a mountie) would bring me along knowing I'd get a chance to meet him and others, like Mahovolich, etc...

This Habs team of late is, to reiterate a previous poster's post, NOTHING at all like the Habs of past. the passion, the dream and fire is NOT there and that must fall on Gainey's head. Carbo deserves some blame, but at the end of the day, Gainey is the fella bringing these players into the fold and while it is and was Carbo's job to get the best out of them, well, especially in Kovalev and the Kostitistin's cases: you can bring a horse to water...

oh definitely the roster of the modern day Habitants is nothing compared to the historical rosters, but that may have ended with not having a preference on drafting the french quebecer players (was there such a thing for the Habs or am I wrong?) Most of the historic players from the dynasty days of the habs, they were I am sure, if not all, then mostly french canadians.

davetherave wrote:

Cronie wrote:hahaha! Well said SF.

Gainey will have a LOT of work ahead of him this off-season, and in terms of this season falling apart, he could start with taking a good long look in the mirror.

Don't underestimate Gainey.

He gave Carbo a golden opportunity, and Carbo blew it. So he canned him.

Now, with the economic downturn, all the players who are auditioning for new contracts know they are screwed if Bob tells them to take a hike...because the gravy train has left the station.

More than a few of them will be taking skinny deals just to stay in the NHL next year.

Hate the Habs if you want, but Gainey's as smart a GM as he was a player.

davetherave wrote:I'm not from the 'In Bob We Trust' camp--and certainly not a Montreal fan by any means--but I understand why he does what he does. Not to support his actions, but just to recap...

Theodore had to moved because his play was deteriorating along with the off-ice problems involving his family and the Hells Angels.

Huet was traded because he was about to become a UFA. You remember he signed with Chicago for the mega deal.

Kovalev got re-upped because of his regular season bounce back.

At the time, Price was highly regarded and he was, after the Habs' #1 draft choice. Pitt did the same thing anointing Fleury as their go-to goalie.

Gainey gave Carbo the horses. Carbo couldn't handle them.

In any case, Gainey owned up to his mistake in hiring Guy; and he has never shied away from admitting some of his moves were gambles.

Such is the life of a GM, and there are more than a few examples around the league of moves that can be second guessed.

wprager wrote:

davetherave wrote:I'm not from the 'In Bob We Trust' camp--and certainly not a Montreal fan by any means--but I understand why he does what he does. Not to support his actions, but just to recap...

Theodore had to moved because his play was deteriorating along with the off-ice problems involving his family and the Hells Angels.

Huet was traded because he was about to become a UFA. You remember he signed with Chicago for the mega deal.

Kovalev got re-upped because of his regular season bounce back.

At the time, Price was highly regarded and he was, after the Habs' #1 draft choice. Pitt did the same thing anointing Fleury as their go-to goalie.

Gainey gave Carbo the horses. Carbo couldn't handle them.

In any case, Gainey owned up to his mistake in hiring Guy; and he has never shied away from admitting some of his moves were gambles.

Such is the life of a GM, and there are more than a few examples around the league of moves that can be second guessed.

Huet was a UFA, true, but the Habs were finally playing well heading into the playoffs. Their last two playoff appearances (their *only* two in the past decade or some such) were short Cinderella runs. This time they were actually good enough (and expected to) win a few rounds. That is *not* the time to trade the goalie who borught you the regular season success unless you have something even better. Price proved Gainey wrong with his meltdown in the playoffs. Pinning your hopes on a rookie is a sign of a desperate GM, nt a confident one. I really don't see how it can be interpreted differently.

Pittsburgh with Fleury was another situation where some pundits are still on the fence aboue, but at least Fleury was a 1st overall, not a #5 (?) that people were scrambling trying to figure out how the hell he got into the top 10. And, in any case, Pittsburgh was a young team on the rebuild. They gave the 'C' to a 19 year old kid, after all.