What's Next For Les Canadiens?

So New owner? New GM? New Coach. New Scouting staff? This will take another "5 year" re-building plan and who knows if it works this time.

504Heater wrote:I would like Higgins please. Release him from your evil clutches. :fighting:

I echo that sentiment :fight:

504Heater wrote:I would like Higgins please. Release him from your evil clutches. :fighting:

Why?

He's had 'promise' ever since he came into the league...hasn't fulfilled it.

davetherave wrote:

504Heater wrote:I would like Higgins please. Release him from your evil clutches. :fighting:

Why?

He's had 'promise' ever since he came into the league...hasn't fulfilled it.

Look at what happened to Ryder. Perhaps we can perform a similiar reclamation project on Higgins?

Cap'n Clutch wrote:

davetherave wrote:

504Heater wrote:I would like Higgins please. Release him from your evil clutches. :fighting:

Why?

He's had 'promise' ever since he came into the league...hasn't fulfilled it.

Look at what happened to Ryder. Perhaps we can perform a similiar reclamation project on Higgins?

Ryder went to play for Julien who had coached him at several levels.

Not sure what you can do with Higgy. His work habits are apparently less than exemplary.

I wonder if that's the norm now: A habs player flourishes once he leaves the "Je Me Souvien" province in his rear-view mirror?

but all jokes aside, I wouldn't be opposed to seeing what Higgins can do in a Sens uni under Clouston's tutelage.

Summer of change for Habs

"There could be a new owner, GM, coach and lineup come September."

By PAT HICKEY, The Gazette April 23, 2009

The Canadiens did their part to combat global warming on Earth Day.

By losing to the Boston Bruins last night, they eliminated the need to board a gas-guzzling, carbon-emitting charter flight to Beantown for Game 5.

The Canadiens did expend a fair bit of energy but, with four regulars out of the lineup because of injuries, they were unable to match the superior talent of a Boston team that ran roughshod over the Eastern Conference during the regular season.

If the Canadiens were going to win this series, their hopes had to rest on goaltending, but Carey Price never appeared to look like the second coming of Patrick Roy or Ken Dryden.

Check that. Price did do a fair imitation of Roy when he stopped a shot by Mark Recchi from just across centre ice with a little more than four minutes remaining in the second period.

The sellout crowd greeted the stop with an ovation that dripped with sarcasm and Price responded by throwing his arms in the air.

When head coach Bob Gainey was asked why he didn't use Jaroslav Halak, who was limited to 20 minutes of perfect relief work in Game 2, he suggested it wouldn't have been fair to the Slovak because he hadn't started a game in 7-10 days and that it wouldn't have been fair to Price, who had carried the load coming into the playoffs.

In fact, Halak had been on the shelf for more than two weeks, but I'm sure he would have embraced a chance to make a difference during this series.

We'll never know whether Halak could have stemmed the tide, but the numbers suggest he couldn't have done worse than Price, who finished the four-game series with a 4.09 goals-against average and an .878 save percentage.

It would be unfair to heap all the blame on Price for last night's loss.

The Canadiens coughed up the puck in their own end and allowed breakaways and odd-man rushes. But a goaltender must be judged on the body of his work and that was found lacking.

There was one suggestion that Gainey didn't want to destroy Price's confidence, but how much confidence can he have as he heads into the summer holidays riding an eight-game losing streak stretching back to the regular season?

The summer promises to be a season of change for the Canadiens.

By the time the team gathers for training camp in September, there could well be a new owner, a new general manager, a new coach and enough new faces that the players will spend the first month of the season introducing themselves.

Price is one player who should be back. He's 21, the much-heralded goaltender of the future. But it should be obvious that his performance has regressed during the past season. Price and the Canadiens have to realize the necessity of getting his career back on track and that means taking a hard look at the way he works - on and off the ice.

The work during the next few months could determine whether Price is remembered at the end of his career as another Ken Dryden or another José Theodore.

phickey@thegazette.canwest.com

Crumpits and tea, that what's next lol ;0

Cronie wrote:I wonder if that's the norm now: A habs player flourishes once he leaves the "Je Me Souvien" province in his rear-view mirror?

but all jokes aside, I wouldn't be opposed to seeing what Higgins can do in a Sens uni under Clouston's tutelage.

quite a few ?'s in the Habs organization right now, right from the top of the top with owners right down to the players that will be at training camp come the late summer, Gainey will be told to do nothing I imagine as he might not even be the one that pulls the strings come the draft on June 26.

With a mass exodus coming in Montreal, I wouldn't be surprised to see them re-sign Higgins for a couple of years and trade him before he hits the open market.

Unfortunately.

What is all this Komisarek to the Islanders I keep hearing everywhere. Why there?

With Celine Dion buying the team, who knows what's coming? LOL

504Heater wrote:With a mass exodus coming in Montreal, I wouldn't be surprised to see them re-sign Higgins for a couple of years and trade him before he hits the open market.

Unfortunately.

What is all this Komisarek to the Islanders I keep hearing everywhere. Why there?

Hometown boy. And an area of need as Brendan Witt is nearing the end of his contract. Also, lots of cap space.

davetherave wrote:With Celine Dion buying the team, who knows what's coming? LOL

Tax evasion and possibly another sale to settle René's gambling debts.

SeawaySensFan wrote:

davetherave wrote:With Celine Dion buying the team, who knows what's coming? LOL

Tax evasion and possibly another sale to settle René's gambling debts.

A disco remix of "Allez Allez" LOL

RobbyJ wrote:
Hometown boy. And an area of need as Brendan Witt is nearing the end of his contract. Also, lots of cap space.

Meh...2 more years of Witt for 3 million per and 1 more year of Sutton at 3 million.

Too much of one kind of D-man?

davetherave wrote:With Celine Dion buying the team, who knows what's coming? LOL

free Celine CD's for the first 10,000 fans..Hello...Montreal Canadian ticketing....I want to cancel my season tickets.

davetherave wrote:With Celine Dion buying the team, who knows what's coming? LOL

Montreal in VEGAS confirmed :****:

Seriously, new owner, new GM, new coaching staff, new Captain, 14 new players... I heard from a few sources (M4) they are trying to resign the Zamboni driver but his agent said he needs the confirmation that he won't clean all the blood that Komisarek spreads all over the ice trying to intimidate Lucic again.

Mass Exodus LOL