HABASTARD

Upon quick consideration I would suggest3 main reasons for the downfall: Ronald Corey, R. Corey + R. Corey!! But seriously here goes: !- The "Living in the Past" syndrome. Corey wanted to copy the historical Habs blueprint...the Flying Frenchmen. This is evident strarting when he pushed Serge Savard into trading Chris Chelios for an obviously declining Denis Savard. Perhaps the most obvious example is when he hired Houle AND Tremblay to run the whole organisation as though the two retired players were the best candidates based on the fact that they were ex-habs. 2- This syndrome continued to plague them by trading with a clear bias towards Francophone players as w Thibault + Richer for example. More importantly, the trading history was pitiful period. These trades were often based on poor player evaluations, both re players on other teams and especially on their Own team ! (And again, with myopic bias towards French players). Throwing Captain Keane in w the trade for Thibault; Odelein for Richer; leaving Turner Stephenson UNprotected in the waiver draft so we could keep Patrick Poulin!! (Apparently Stephenson wasn't good enough for the Habs yet the New Jersey Devils specifically traded w the 2nd or 3rd team picking in order to acquire him because he was good enough for the CUP champions) !! 3- Very poor drafting, especially earlly on, but again they were allways biased towards Francophone players which, I think at least, caused them to overvalue some over others. PLEASE don't think I'm prejudiced against Francophones; I'm well aware of the understandable desire of LES GLORIEUX to have French players on the team. But this desire led to ALOT of bad decisions during the "Dark Years" imo. off to work now!

Yeah...too early to write these guys off yet, though I agree w GUY that next year is more critical for Milroy for sure. Ineresting that no D men were in this group yet....well I guess Sanford was .... but I'm surprised Archer survived the first cut. And I wouldn't be pencilling in Danis in Mtl quite yet like some folks seem to be.

I have to agree w those who feelwe need a better defense. But not necessarily a no.1 guy imo. We still need a 'closer'; a solid, strong, dependable Defensive D man who you put out in important situations and Know you can count on them to shut down anyone down low and in the corners. I always thought Rivet could be that guy but he just hasn't lived up to that role in a very consistent manner. I'm afraid I've lost my faith in Rivet to fill that role right now but i still believe/hope that Souray can achieve this. So yes we can wait and see how the team developes but we'd be wise to find a D man who can fit this role imo. Hopefully Souray will and in a few years Komi as well........ And let me add that I agree w those who remember how well Markov can play Really solid D...break up plays in his own zone and get the puck out quickly. Hopefully this will be his break-out year!!

Re: Bouillon.....for what its worth...I think he's under-utilised and under-appreciated by habs fans. He was one of our most consistent and steadiest D during the last season. But I have to admit, against the Big forwards along the boards and in front he can get out-muscled....still,he brings so many positives otherwise, I think he should have the 5/6th spot.....unless of coarse someone outplays him for it ! At least Julien truly makes players earn their spots and seems open minded enough to make fair and objective evaluations. With so many spots up for grabs this year I'm the most excited I've been about the Habs for years !!

They forgot Michael Renberg , Reichel + that " knee destroying d- man " (whats his name ?!!) .

Until today I never even considered Latend would actually have any real chance to make the big club , but after reading Juliens comments today (day 2 , main camp) I'm starting to believe that this kid may have a real shot !! and I stress the word "may" . Most importantly , its based on performance + not on P.R. or pandering to the Fracophone press + fans ! I'm well aware that its only the first day of srimmages but even Julien seems to be a believer now , at least in acknowledging that Lat's play hasn't dropped at all in main camp today + the kid is cool as can be out there , despite his age. " I got a feeling , a feeling deep inside..... oh yeah..... oh Yeah ! "

They may have some grit but can they lay on the muscle when you need to send a message or even up some robust hitting from a team like Philly or toronto? Thats where players like Langdon are also important; not just for fighting. I guess Vandemeer can play a role like that presumably. I do worry how we'll handle teams like Bos,Phil,tor,etc. when they start their intimidation crap. We can't afford to have Rivet + Souray (remeber his bad wrist!) in the box continually for example. A guy like Travis Green would've been valuable imo.

The best team since 95 certainly. I think our weakness is on defense. We lack a bonafide defensive "closer" so to speak; a true defensive D man who you can put out in crucial situations when you need to protect a lead or box out big strong forwards like Thornton,Murray,Lecavalier,Sundin etc. Plus we need some more size + grit on the 4th line as well IMO. What happens if Begin gets injured for example?!

FULLY agree: Corey was the moron who was really responsible for castrating the greatest sports franchise in the world. One can sympathise w Houle in that he was given a job he wasn't qualified for, but corey just sat back and watched houle and tremblay destroy the team step after step. I can honestly say that I absolutely DETEST that man!! He also should have fired Serge Savard after that INSANE trade he made; Chelios (AND a second round draft choice....can you believe it ?!!) for a clearly declining Denis Savard. For 14 years I've been screaming for the Habs to hire Scotty Bowman as GM. I"m convinced Scotty would have delivered at least 2 more cups to Montreal since 93 had he been in charge of the team. (I'm happy with Gainey though I think he's too conservative, eg: our defense is an obvious weakness but he's resting on the hope that our D will play up to and beyond their abilities +/or , that the young guys will develop very quickly...Komi, Hains + Streit. Yet we lack a bonafide #1 or even 2 D man in my opinion). Good discussion you started Beckam...... even though you obviously enjoy stirring the pot !