REV-G
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Posts posted by REV-G
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I thought when Carbonneau was let go he had our team in first place???? I thought he was a good coach? Wasn't he nominated for coach of the year the previous year? He didn't suddenly lose his abilities.
As much as I like and respect Bob Gainey it has taken me this long to admit that as our GM he made some very bad choices and decisions. He fired both Carbonneau and Claude Julien, and look at how well Julien has done wherever he went. Gainey traded for Scott Gomez with that contract! He gave up Ryan McDonough and then turned things over to Pierre Gauthier.
My point? Because there were so many bad judgement calls and decisions that seriously affected us, I wonder if Guy Canbonneau should ever have been fired. In an email 6 months ago Pat HIckey of the Gazette, who obviously has spent a lot of time with and around the team and it's coaches, wrote that he thought Carbonneau would make a very good choice as our next coach.
If neither Quenville or VIgneault are available my next choices would be Lemaire, Hartley or Carbonneau. I would put Roy next and personally I wouldn't consider Crawford.
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Well, the Canucks wisely extended GM Mike Gillis's contract, so this almost certainly means that Vigneault is off the market. The main page includes a link to a TSN report that Quennville isn't going anywhere either - another wise move by that organization. This takes the two top candidates out of the equation. I'd expect the speculation now to centre on Crawford, Hartley, Denis Savard, and of course our old pal Patrick Roy. Carbo has, I suppose, an outside chance, but given dubious results the first time around, this'd surprise me.
The non-move of the Phoenix Coyotes takes Quebec City off the table for an NHL team, at least in the short term. This may remove one source of pressure to sign Roy. So, some interesting developments of late.
Anybody know if Bergevin has a prior relationship with any significant bilingual coaching candidates out there, other than Crawford? And are there any strong, bilingual AHL coaches that haven't been mentioned?
I still wonder about VIgneault. Today at noon one of the sports talk shows in Toronto interviewed one of Vancouver's sports announcers or writers, I can't remember his name, but he said that the anti-Vigneault feeling among the fans was fairly strong. When talk of Vigneault's name being linked to the coaching position in Montreal came up he said that many fans felt that would be a great fit and a good opportunity for Alain. So he seemed to fell that Vigneault's position was still very much up in the air.
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This morning a Gazette sports writter suggested that Jacques Lemaire be lured back as our coach because he is one of a few elite coaches still around in hockey today. Interesting name that I haven't heard anyone suggest yet. But there are some obvious questions:
1. Is Jacques Lemaire too old school? He certainly wasn't for the New Jersey Devils last year.
2. Would he even consider coaching Montreal? While the media heat in Montreal would be greater than anything he had in NJ, there still would have been a lot of attention to the team while
he was coaching there. So maybe at this point in his life this wouldn't be as big a deal as it once was.
3. Would it ever work to have Lemaire as the head coach for say, two years, and have Patrick Roy and Larry Robinson as his assisants with the understanding that Roy
would be the first one considered for the head coach position at the end of the two years? This could work, if Patrick was willing to be an assistant. But would it put us
in a very difficult spot at the end of two years if Patrick proved to not be the right fit for the job?
What do you think??
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Since we're talking about who is potentially going to be the next coach of the Montreal Canadiens let me say that my feeling, based on what our new GM said about him being only a piece of the puzzle and that he would surround himself with strong hockey people and then make his decisions, is that we may be two months away from knowing who our next coach is going to be.
In putting together all that Bergevin said in his first news conference, I think he will first assembly his inner team, we're hearing names like Rick Dudley and Martin Lapointe, and with them, not alone, go over all aspects of the team. I think they will discuss and decide what kind of team they currently have, what and who they want to add to it, and subtract from it, to make up the kind of players and team they want. The worst kind of situation is what's happened in Toronto where Burke has assembled one kind of team and then brought in a new coach whose style and philosophy is very different from that of many players currently on the team. Now it seems Burke has to again make some major changes to his players to fit the coach. So I don't think Marc Bergevin will make any decisions regarding a head coach until he assembles his own "team" of assistants and department heads and then together they will decide what kind of coach they want and who is available.
So my guess is that we may be a month, maybe even 2 or 3 months, away from knowing who our next head coach is going to be.
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My choices would be: Alain Vigneault [if available]
Claude Julien [if available]
Bob Hartley
Joel Quenville [if available-does he speak french?? If he doesn't-scratch him]
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Thinking more about it, I really want Patrick Roy to be the head coach. I don't care about inexperience. I don't expect this team to win the Cup next season. But Roy and Bergevin just sounds like the kind of Canadiens front office I want to see, especially with the right management and coaching surrounding them.
I have a feeling that since this is his first position as GM Bergevin is not going to go with a coach who has no NHL experience unless all those people he is going to bring in to surround him really push and encourage him to go with Patrick and personally I don't see that happening. But who knows. We don't know a lot about him yet and from a few pieces I've read I think Serge Savard feels Patrick is ready to make the jump.
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Vigneault, I would believe the fact he has had very good teams and yet could not get them to win the big prize may be held against him. I know in some sports it is not good enough that you get close you have to win. Not saying he should not be considered but just wondering if the people making the choice would look at the results in Vancouver and hold that against him, maybe, maybe not. I for one like new faces and with that i mind, Hartley, Crawford, Therrien would not be my first choices. The child in me says I would like to see the passion of Roy behind the bench, I am just glad I am not the one who is making the decision. I just want Montreal to be a winner again.
This may be the classic case of whether a glass is half full or hal empty. You can see Vigneault as last year doing a terrific job of coaching a really good team and getting them ahead of the 28 other teams and then not being able to win the championship series, so the glass is half full. But if you see him getting that far and then not being able to win it all, then your glass may be half empty.
Personally looking at his over all record over the years and having the highest winning percentage of any other Vancouver coach, and with their first place finishes and going to the cup finals last year, I see Vigneault's glass as half full. I'd take him over any other available coach.
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I don't understand the logic over why we would buy him out and keep a large hit on our cap for a number of years instead of freeing up that money by sending him to Hamilton. Why pay someone to not play for us while at the same time hinder our ability to sign other players by not having that money available. Why not send him to Hamilton and, while we'd be overpaying him, let him play for us down there.
Question: What is the advantage for us to buying him out versus sending him to Hamilton???
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I heard this morning that according to Sportnet's Louis Jean, the Montreal Canadiens will buyout Scott Gomez's contract. There has obviously been lots of discussion over what we would do with Gomez. The viable options seemed to be to either buy him out or send him to the AHL. Any other info on this??
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I also heard Pierre McGuire this morning on the radio, he said he had just hung up from talking with Geoff Molson 20 minutes earlier. He was very complimentary about the way Montreal handled the process. He spoke highly of the people involved in the interview process. He said he thought Montreal had a number of the key needed pieces already in place and with the right tweaking it could be turned around, he thought, fairly quickly.
Interestingly the one area he pointed out as needing immediate fixing was our pro-scouting department. He said that was a very important area that needed to be changed and fixed. When you look back over the past few years and see trades for Gomez, Kaberle and Bourke, to name just a few, it isn't hard to understand that may be the first place to start making changes? So thererfore, who is head of our pro-scouting?
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If it came down to two candidates for GM position, Marc Bergevin or Pierre McGuire, who would overall be the best qualified for the position?
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I think CC has hit the nail on the head with the point that what we often perceive as star GM candidates have often not done as well as other not as hyped up candidates, as per the examples he gave. However we also know there are some star GM's whose reputaion is deserved, but they have done it and put together strong teams over a period of years. Personally I am excited over this process and some of the names that we are discussing. Although I hope we don't go for someone who has done the job elsewhere and had mediocre results. I'm looking for some fresh approach by someone who is eager, knows the league and has a history of competence and success at whatever they have done.
Let me ask again a question I posed at the beginning of this thread.Do you think there's any chance Dale Tallon could be our man? If, and that's a big question, he is interested, would Florida be willing to let him go and would he do a good job for us?? What do you think?
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Why Nill turned it down.
What is a little confusing to me is, why did Jim Nill even sit down and have two interviews with Geoff Moslon if his wife has cancer and moving isn't an option or the right thing to do right now?? Didn't he discuss and talk this through with her before he agreed to an interview. You would think the decision about whether they are willing to move would have taken place before he even met with us. Certainly caring for his wife and thinking of her is the highest priority for him, but why did he agree to talk to us if the time isn't right for them?? Sounds funny to me!
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Vancouver is now down 3-0 in games. So the question is, if they lose this series 4-0 or if they just lose in the first round by whatever margin, is Vigneault's job in jeapordy?? I would have to say yes. They can't, and probably won't, change the core of the team, but if they get knocked out in the first round they likely will want to change something. So the coach may be the answer. He would then become my first choice to be our coach, by far!!
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What about Montreal pulling a deal to lure a guy like Dave Tallon.
Tallon was my choice when I started this thread. But you'd obviously have to ask, why would they let him go? To me the only reason would be if he really wanted to come back to Montreal and he went and asked to be released, almost as a favour. I don't know if that has ever happened before, but I think he'd actually be the best choice of everyone we have on our list.
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Renaud P Lavoie @renhockey
Vincent Damphousse is getting out of the running for the next #canadiens GM. Family reason.
One candidate down.
I'm starting to like Brisson the more I think about it. Brisson as GM and Roy as coach.
I really like that combo. With maybe Savard around for a few years as a consultant. To me that would be a great team going forward!
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This morning TSN radio in Toronto reported that Daren Dreger was quoted as saying that the Montreal Canadiens have asked permission from the Toronto Maple Leafs to speak to their assistant GM Claude Loiselle. He said that the Leafs were expected to give permission to the Canadiens to interview Loiselle.
I guess this isn't a surprise to anyone. But I'm glad to see that they are not wasting any time. Last week after Gauthier was released I read or heard somewhere that Molson and Savard were going to meet Monday and begin the process. If that's true, and this is only Tuesday, they are not wasting any time, wanting to take advantage of those extra days they said they wanted to gain by letting Gauthier go last week and not waiting till the end of the season. This also points to the fact that this isn't going to just be given to someone, but there is going to be a complete and solid search. Great news!
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Advisor/Vice President - Serge Savard
General Manager - Pat Brisson
Assistant GM - Vincent Damphousse
Head Coach - Patrick Roy
Assistant Coach Defence - Larry Robinson
Assistant Coach Forwards - Randy Cunneyworth
Assistant Coach Goalie - Pierre Groulx
I think this would be a great team with room to train/mentor people and build a great team for years to come. I wonder if Pat Brisson would be interested??
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So now that the process has started for real, let's begin in earnest discussing who ends up being our next GM. Maybe instead of all of us listing all the names that are out there, can I suggest that we each just choose one name, the very best in our opinion, as to who we think would make the best GM for us. Let's think outside the box, even if someone seems to not be available right now, for whatever reason, pick a person, who you think could potentially be a great fit as our next GM and lead back to the Stanley cup. And if someone has already listed your top choice, give us your 2nd pick.
I'm going to name somone who I would not have thought of on my own but I heard Bob MacKenzie mention him and I thought this guy would be a great fit for us. He is currently under contract, but stranger things have happened [especially this year]. So my choice for our next GM would be Dale Tallon. Currently under contract to Florida, but he did a great job in laying the groundwork in Chicago, has rebuilt Florida fairly quickly, was a former player [which may not be a prerequisite] and he speaks french. So if we could negotiate a deal and somehow pry him out of Florida, Dale Talloon would be my top choice. What do you think??
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Interesting that this morning on a Toronto Sports talk show Jacques Demers was being interviewed and they asked him who he thought should be the next coach of the Canadiens. He said that for him it was obvious who the next coach should be. Patrick Roy. He said Patrick knows Montreal, is a very knowledgeable hockey man, is very competitive and wants to win and has worked hard at learning how to coach. He said he knows for a fact that while he has been coaching the Remparts Patrick has on at least 4 occassions called NHL coaches to ask them about certain areas of coaching. His final commment was if that if Montreal didn't hire Patrick, then he would end up coming here with another team and beating us. I was a little uncertain at first but I think that Patrick might be the right guy for us.
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http://prohockeytalk...rtley-to-coach/
NBC Sports is reporting Roy as GM and Hartley as next coach...
You should post this as a separate thread on it's own. It will likely create a lot of interest. I thlink this could be a great team. Roy is unproven as an NHL GM but Hartley has had lots of experience as a coach, and he won a cup.
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I noticed in the HW poll concerning whether Patrick Roy should be our next coach or GM or both, that over 60% voted for him to either be our coach, GM or both. Personally I think I would like him as our coach, but not GM, yet. Maybe after we see how he does as a coach first.
But in the Toronto Star Rossie DeManno interviewed Roy recently and there were two interesting points that I picked up from her article. First, when she brought up to Patrick that a Montreal media person was reporting that Jeff Molson had a signed letter of intent for him to be the next coach in Montreal she said he didn't deny it but laughed it off. She noted he did not deny it. Maybe nothing, but maybe getting close to the truth???
Secondly, I heard either Doug McLean or another hockey insider this week say that they were convinced that the Phoenix Coyotes would be in Quebec city next season. Rossie noted that if that is the case Patrick Roy would be the perfect fit for some position with that new Quebec team.
So if there is some truth to all this, and I know these are a lot of if's, then Molson may have locked Patrick up so as not to lose him to a potential new team in Quebec city. What do you think?
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Given the situation we're in right now, with a coach that is only interim until the end of the season and a GM that most people seem to assume will not be our GM beyond this season, I wonder what the right time is to make these changes?
Actually the coaching change is probably obvious. Wait till the end of the season, then get a feel for who is available among biligual coaches, and who could be available during the summer, and then decide who to approach. But if you're bringing in a new GM then he would be the guy to make that decision so the coaching decision will likely be dependant upon when a new GM would be named. So likely sometime in July for a coaching change.
But what about the GM? Let's assume it's a done deal and Molson has decided that Pierre Gauthier is finished and a new GM will be named. When is the right time to make that change. It could be now. The trade deadline is gone. We're out of the playoffs. If you've made the decision to make a change, you don't want the existing GM to still be in place while you're preparing for the draft and potential trades and free agent signings in June and July. And you want the new GM to have time to get a feel for the team, it's prospects, who to keep and who to trade or let walk.
But perhaps there is benefit to waiting until the season ends, so the players are gone and there are no distractions or circus like atmoshere that could engulf a team during the season, who has already made two coaching changes during the season. So in my mind, if there's going to be a change we should see it happen sometime during the two weeks after the end of the season. What do you think?
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Hey nickm, welcome. I agree with a lot of what you said. We are a much better team than our record shows this year. WIth injuries and coaching changes and as you pointed out all the one goal and late-game losses, I think we should be improved next year.
There are some concerns I still have, as follows:
1. That Molson doesn't keep Gautheir in place and does in fact make a change and bring in a new GM, and who this person will be.
2. Who our new coach will be?
3. I've read that this year's crop of free agents is not very strong at all. We have some real holes that we need to fill, so who can we sign?
4. That there is an amnesty clause and will that allow us to buy out only one player where we need to buy out two [Gomez and Kaberle].
Once these decisions are made, and trusting they are the right ones, then I'll feel more hopeful goling forward.
But If Gauthier returns, and if there is no amnesty clause, then I believe there will still be some major issues that will stay with us. Hopefully not.
2012 NHL Entry Draft talk
in Habs & Hockey Talk
Posted
I agree wholeheartedly! Mike Boone has a good article in the Gazette today about the Canadiens #3 pick and he says HE LOVES Alex Galchenyuk and hopes our new GM picks him. Boone suggests that we google Alex Galchenyuk's name and read what many are saying about him. Plus he's a center and as you already pointed out a fitness nut and is working very hard in order to get better. He would be my choice for us hands down. The only question would be how well he has recovered from his knee injury. I think he is what we need and if he is available, my money is on us drafting him.