I have to admit that, I too, was surprised when they let Carbonneau go.  I thought that the team had hit a rough patch, for sure, but that it was part of the normal ups and downs that teams go through in a season.  I know the coach is in charge of the team but the players need to be held accountable too.   It’s a fact that, before the All-Star break, they had won just three of 15 contests but then they started to recover.  Right before Carbonneau was fired, they won five of the seven games they had played.  Plus, Montreal had some real problems with injuries for a while so I’m sure that played a role as well.  I think sometimes GMs just get so engrossed in the whole push to the playoffs that they start making changes without fully thinking them through.

Since GM Bob Gainey took over the team, they have gone 1-1-2 and the Habs fans have been chanting “Car-bo! Car-bo!” during games.  I don’t blame them – this was a really stupid mistake.  Carbonneau called the support “flattering” and added “It meant I did a lot of good things. Maybe not all great things, but good things. I’m happy for that.”

I don’t know what is going to happen now.  Some are saying that Gainey should stay on as head coach through next season (MISTAKE!) or find a new guy.  I know that Don Lever was brought up from the AHL as an assistant coach but the man doesn’t speak French.   I am a native Montrealer and, let me tell you, hiring him as head coach would be a HUGE catastrophe.  Montreal is a serious hockey town and if he can’t attend press conferences and answer questions on his own, there is going to be a riot.  Doesn’t anyone remember when there was that huge ruckus over Habs captain (and native of Finland), Saku Koivu, not being able to speak French after all these years?  If you thought that was ridiculous, wait till you see the nightmare that will erupt when a Canadian-born coach can’t parle français.

When asked about this, Carbonneau joked that “if he spoke only Chinese it may be easier (the man’s got a point – seriously).  Look, we live in a place where 80 per cent of the people speak French. For sure, it’s a plus. For many years now, it was something very important and it’s still important, but it depends on the candidates. They should chose the best one, no matter what language he speaks.”

I say Gainey should swallow his pride, apologize and ask Carbonneau to take his job back.

Post from: Hockey Beat

The Canadiens, who currently sit in second place in the Northeast Division, started 10-4-2 but are 25-20-5 since November 17, 2008; 17-16-1 since December 22, 2008; and 7-8-1 since February 2, 2009. They were 5-4-1 in Carbonneau’s last 10 games.

Last year, the Habs won the 2008 Northeast Division for the first time since 1992 when Carbonneau was the team captain (they won the Stanley Cup the next season).

This comes just weeks after the legendary Guy Lafleur (Canadiens, 1971-1985) ripped the team leaders (both Carbonneau and Gainey) for benching Alex Kovalev for a couple games: "If I were in (Kovalev’s) skates, I’d have played my last game for the Canadiens.  No player with his talent would accept being humiliated like that. … I don’t know what Gainey is trying to prove in front of everybody. If you’re paying guys $4 million, $5 million a year, give them the tools to make sure they’ll produce. You just can’t switch lines and try things every night and hope something will come out of it. I don’t think this club has a team spirit. They don’t play for each other. They’re not playing as a team and they’re not ready to sacrifice themselves to win."

Gee, Guy.  Tell us how you really feel.  Oh wait, he does.  Here’s some more of what he said – this time in regards to Carbonneau’s coaching style: "He is operating like he has four (equal) lines, they play 1-2-3-4 every night.  You just can’t do it. Even if the fourth line was the best one night — they have to play to give the others a chance to relax, but your best players, let them play 25, 28 minutes a game if they can. (Carbonneau) won’t change his style. He should have done that before Christmas, even from the beginning of the season. Give your best players the ice time they need to play well, to get their confidence back, to prove to the organization what they can do."

image: TSN

Post from: Hockey Beat