Carey Price and Brandon Prust from Auto Trade Show

Geoff Molson: First An Owner Then A Fan

It is every sports fan dream to be a player, coach or a general manager for their favourite professional sports team. If you are fortunate enough, the ultimate scenario is to be the owner of the team. A perfect example is Mark Cuban, owner of the defending NBA champions, Dallas Mavericks. The sheer joy that he had this past June made up for the years of anguish and thousands of dollars in fines due to his strong attachment to the team as a fan.

Fast-forward to the present and the situation that Geoff Molson finds himself in and the key decisions he has to make in the next few weeks and months to come. (First, as an owner and then a fan).

Do you give up on the 2011-12 season?

As an owner - Of course not. As long as the team is mathematically in contention for the playoffs, you support your organization until it is impossible. Why? Possible playoff revenue thanks to a minimum two home playoffs dates plus the cash from all the Habs gear that usually flies off the shelves in April.

As a fan - For the good of the team going forward, you fold up the tent and try to position the team for a decent draft pick and shed some contracts at the trade deadline. Yes, you want to hold out hope and believe the team is still in the hunt but it will take an implosion of 2 to 3 teams for the Habs to make the playoffs.

What do you do with general manager, Pierre Gauthier?

As an owner - Gauthier's management of the team is poor at best. His role in the signing of Scott Gomez has fans pissed off not to mention his panic prompted trade for Tomas Kaberle to make up for Andrei Markov. The recent Cammalleri - Bourque trade has indicated that there is still trust in Gauthier's abilities to improve the 12th-placed team (as of January 14th, 2011). With this in mind, you have to keep Gauthier in place until: a) you have THE person to take over as general manager that will revamp the entire organization or b) Gauthier's contract expires. Do you want to pay for two GMs at the same time? You are already paying for two head coaches in Cunneyworth and Martin. Yes, you are cash rich; however, when does the necessary expenditures stop? Fellow owner, Eugene Melnyk gave the GM of the Ottawa Senators, Bryan Murray a second chance to rebuild and look at where the team is in standing to date.

As a fan - Gauthier's track record does not bode well for the future of the club. Even with Cammalleri's contract off the books, there is still Gomez to dump, possibly dealing P.K. Subban (if he is a distraction in the dressing room) and signing the franchise, Carey Price. Do you let the GM clean up the mess or wish for someone else to rebuild the team? Pierre McGuire?

Blog posts, tweets and phone calls are demanding for Geoff Molson to act now to change the fortunes of the club. Although he maybe the ultimate fan that bleeds bleu, blanc et rouge, he is an owner first and will make the right business decision that will impact the bottom line.

Final Taughts

• Jacques Martin as a scout? If you were not a big fan of Martin as coach of the Canadiens then you might not be too pleased at the thought of him as a scout. If Martin is not able to change his mindset of how hockey should be played in the "New NHL", he will probably be evaluating young talent based on how the players could fit into his "system" and not the future identity of the hockey club. Moving Martin from head coach to scout is like firing cook of a greasy spoon diner. Although you want to change the diner's menu, you still have the same cook doing the shopping for the ingredients with the same menu in mind.
  
• The Blue Jays were here? Really, who cares? Speaking as jaded Expos fan, I wasn't thrilled at the news that Jays were in town to win the hearts of remaining baseball fans. Well, I guess it was a question of time before the geniuses in the Jays marketing department pounced at the opportunity. They could offer me season tickets and a jet to travel back and forth, I will NEVER be a Jays fan. After the organization voted to contract the Expos, I could not support the team in any fashion. When (and not if) the Jays has a pre-season series versus the Red Sox, I will hoping that nobody shows up to the game even if Denis Boucher comes back and starts on the mount.

Related Posts:

• Cammalleri Habs trade tells us one thing - Pierre Gauthier will probably stay
• Fail for Nail: the next step for the Montreal Canadiens

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Cammalleri Habs trade tells us one thing - Pierre Gauthier will probably stay

Job security for Pierre Gauthier?

Alright, rabid, irrational, thirsty-for-blood Habs fans, you wanted a move, you got one. The Thursday night bizarre trade of Mike Cammalleri during the Canadiens vs Bruins game was interesting - to say the least! What, if Cammy scored twice in the first period, you wouldn't have traded him? Talk about micro-analyzing a player's performance.

Unlike the 4,431 self-proclaimed hockey expert bloggers, who read something in the newspaper and then simply reiterate it on their own little blog, I have my own take on the Canadiens-Flames trade. And no, they didn't bring in Rene Bourque thinking he was French, only to realize he speaks less French than the coach.

I'm sorry to say to those who wanted Mr. Burns, AKA Pierre Gauthier to leave town - he is staying as Habs GM in to next season.

Hold on a second. Get off the ledge. Step back and take a deep breath. Oh, I meant what I said, it's just not worth the jump.

By allowing Gauthier to make the move, Montreal Canadiens owner Geoff Molson sent a clear (okay, it's more like a subliminal) message to the world: I am keeping my GM for next season. If Gauthier were simply dead man walking, Molson wouldn't even let him near the Bell Centre, let alone trade away assets and further put his stamp on this team. It's just common sense.

As you scoff while reading my opinion on Mr. Gauthier's future (as everyone I've told my theory to already has), consider the parallel that happened in Ottawa last season. Bryan Murray was supposedly on his way out as well as Senators GM. He had a flailing team, he had just fired another coach and most thought he was nearing the end of his tenure. Meanwhile, Murray traded away veteran after veteran, stockpiling picks and young players, and owner Eugene Melnyk kept him on this season. The results have been nothing short of impressive. Clearly, Murray got his mojo back.

And again, had Melnyk really wanted to replace Murray, he wouldn't have allowed him to jettison so many players and continue to mold the team to his own liking. It's simple logic, really.

As for the trade itself? Well, Cammalleri was an expensive player for little return in the regular season. And if you don't make the playoffs, it's hard to be a postseason hero. Meanwhile, Bourque is what you see. He's not flashy, has a decent shot, is tough and will get suspended every now and then. The knock on Bourque is his inconsistency. He'll score no goals in ten games and then five in three. Wonderful. Montreal already has a player like that. I refer you to AK46.

At the very least, the move clears some cap space and leaves more room for Montreal to lock up Carey Price and P.K. Subban - that is if they too aren't on the trading block.

So expect more moves and a few more boring Gauthier press conferences.

And as for the notion that Gauthier isn't make the decisions himself, that it's trade-by-committee featuring Bob Gainey, Molson and possibly a fan or two? Nonsense. If your owner has lost confidence in you to the point where he wants others helping to make GM moves, then you wouldn't be employed.

This is Gauthier's show right now - and possibly in to 2012-2013 as well.

Catch Matthew next on TSN 990 Radio in Montreal, Tuesday at 9pm. Follow him on Twitter @gamepointsradio @matthewrossmtl

Major Reality Check: The Canadiens are just not that good

Upon the conclusion of Montreal's 4-3 shootout loss to the Vancouver Canucks, a couple of thoughts re-occurred to me.

It's hard to tell rabid Canadiens fans that their team isn't all that good. Invariably, there's a reason for any prolonged period of winlessness. It's the coach's fault. It's the special teams. It's injuries.

But sometimes, it's just that the team isn't all that good. Period. End of story.

Here's the honest truth about winning the Stanley Cup and contending in the National Hockey League. First, you need a redhot, lights out goaltender, one capable of putting up back-to-back shutouts, one who intimidates shooters. The Canadiens have a good goalie in Carey Price. Lights out? No. Intimidating to the opposing forwards? No. Capable of standing on his head and carrying a team for long stretches? Unknown.

The truth about Price is he seems to be an unfinished product. There are brilliant and boneheaded plays from him on a regular basis. Clearly, the good outweighs the negative. But to call him an elite goaltender on the same level as Tim Thomas or some of the other consistent stalwarts, would be a mistake.

Next, a team needs elite offensive finishers, players who have that special knack of scoring the timely goal or hitting the top corner instead of putting the puck into the netminder's pads. These electric players are always key in a cup run and to contending. Stamkos, Crosby, Malkin, Sedins, Perry, Toews, Kane. You get the idea. Who does Montreal have? NO ONE. They have Cammalleri, a guy who can't stickhandle his way into space in order to get off a shot. He's also not the most consistent guy in the world, either. Cammalleri gets a free pass because he was clutch in the postseason a couple of seasons ago. Fine. Impressive. But what have you done for me lately? Anyone else in the supposed killer-instinct, elite scorer category on the Habs? Didn't think so.

Okay, so if you don't have either of these preceding elements, then you need a lockdown system, kind of like what Guy Boucher had going last season for the Lightning. Montreal doesn't have this, either. You can blame it partly on the inexperience of the defense or even on the injuries. But the bottom line is the coaching staff mixes and matches the lines and defensive pairings so much, the players can never really get into a rhythm.

Add in things like Price not making saves in a shootout, the team giving up shorthanded goals, the taking of too many men penalties, no hard, consistent forecheck and a lack of energy and passion, etc... and you have a team that should miss the playoffs.

So what do you do then? Well, you have faith in Price that he will grow into an elite netminder. You continue to let the youth grow and you build around your core players, such as Subban, Pacioretty, Plekanec, etc...

If Habs fans were realists and truly understood the plight and ceiling of this team, they'd encourage the team to jettison veteran players in favor of tanking the season and getting some picks, including maybe even landing a lottery pick come next June.

Let's not be stupid, Canadiens backers, let's take advantage of this wasted season and use it to the team's advantage in the future.

Otherwise, if they go all-in to simply make the playoffs, other than the home postseason payoff for the owners, what's really accomplished? It's not like they're capable of winning a series with this roster.

Remember when they missed the playoffs AND didn't trade Sheldon Souray? I bet they wished they could have that one back, huh?


You can follow me on Twitter @gamepointsradio and listen to us on TSN 990 Radio Montreal this Sunday, 6pm EST.