The 1992 Montreal Canadiens

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

That's what this team reminds me of, weirdly.

The 1992 team was built around a nucleus including Shane Corson, Russ Courtnall, and Stephane Richer.

Coached by Pat Burns and with Patrick Roy in nets, they were first overall for a good chunk of the first half of the season. But in the second half, the wheels fell off.

By the time we hit the playoffs we were a team in near-total disarray...we barely scraped by the pathetic Hartford Whalers in a seven-game series won in OT...then got swept by, I think, the Bruins, with the whole team looking just awful, from Roy out.

Now, 15 years later, we have a low-rent version of that team. Not as good, of course, which is why we spent the first half of the season competing, not for first overall, but for top-four position in the Conference; and why our second-half collapse will leave us out of the playoffs. But still, the parallel is interesting.

In the offseason after the 1992 debacle, Serge Savard masterfully transplanted the core, brilliantly trading Richer, Corson and Brent Glichrist and bringing in Muller, Damphousse, and bellows - a nucleus that won us a Cup.

Here's hoping Gainey can perform a similarly miraculous surgery this summer :puke:

[MAK]

wouldn't that be awesome ?!! however I don't think that gaineys has the assets to bring studs à la muller or damphousse in montreal right now.

I'm not sure of the who will be ufa this summer but we'll money and cap space to go for a big name. I know briere would look good in montreal but I don't see it happen.

[Wamsley01]

That's what this team reminds me of, weirdly.

The 1992 team was built around a nucleus including Shane Corson, Russ Courtnall, and Stephane Richer.

Coached by Pat Burns and with Patrick Roy in nets, they were first overall for a good chunk of the first half of the season. But in the second half, the wheels fell off.

By the time we hit the playoffs we were a team in near-total disarray...we barely scraped by the pathetic Hartford Whalers in a seven-game series won in OT...then got swept by, I think, the Bruins, with the whole team looking just awful, from Roy out.

Now, 15 years later, we have a low-rent version of that team. Not as good, of course, which is why we spent the first half of the season competing, not for first overall, but for top-four position in the Conference; and why our second-half collapse will leave us out of the playoffs. But still, the parallel is interesting.

In the offseason after the 1992 debacle, Serge Savard masterfully transplanted the core, brilliantly trading Richer, Corson and Brent Glichrist and bringing in Muller, Damphousse, and bellows - a nucleus that won us a Cup.

Here's hoping Gainey can perform a similarly miraculous surgery this summer :puke:

Only problem being that when your main core is a guy named Patrick Roy...anything is possible.

Muller came over in 1991, and after getting smoked by the Bruins Corson and Courtnall were traded for Damphousse and Bellows.

But the Stanley Cup 1993 edition were in first place overall with 6 weeks to go and ended up finishing in 3rd place in the Adams. I am sure they had some must win games that they came out flat in.

If we can pull it together this weekend a mini streak will put us back in the 4th-6t seed.

Pittsburgh has played .850 hockey for the last month

Toronto has played .700 hockey for the last month

NYIslanders are playing .660 hockey for the last month

1 if not all 3 of those teams are going to thud back down to earth in the last 25 games.

Anything can happen.

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

wouldn't that be awesome ?!! however I don't think that gaineys has the assets to bring studs à la muller or damphousse in montreal right now.

I'm not sure of the who will be ufa this summer but we'll money and cap space to go for a big name. I know briere would look good in montreal but I don't see it happen.

No, there's no chance of Gainey's 'trading the core' to generate a Cup contender next season. He's not working from a hand nearly as strong as Savard was. A comparable feat, in context, would be turning us from garbage into a consistently good second-tier team, 'not quite ready to contend' but almost there. Clever management of our UFA assets, adroit off-season signings, and development of our young players could make that happen - but it would take a ton of luck and I ain't holding my breath.

One thing that just drives me to despair about the way this season has turned out is that it will reinforce players' prejudices against playing in Montreal. It looked as though we were on the verge of establishing a rep for ourselves as up-and-comers...which is attractive to many players...but now we just look like the same loser organization that has sucked ass for the last decade. We'll be lucky to resign our existing UFAs, let alone new ones, given the negativity around the franchise at this point.