alexstream Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 2001-2002 Montreal Canadiens 82G 36W 31L 12T 3OTL 87PTS Michel Therrien Lost in round 2 2002-2003 Montreal Canadiens 82G 30W 35 8L 9OTL 77PTS Multiple coaches Out of Playoffs 2003-2004 Montreal Canadiens 82G 41W 30 7L 4OTL 93PTS Claude Julien Lost in round 2 NO HOCKEY (theorical "off-year") 2005-2006 Montreal Canadiens 82G 42W 31L 6OTL 3SOL 93PTS Multiple coaches Lost in round 1 2006-2007 Montreal Canadiens 82G 42W 34L 1OTL 5SOL 90PTS Guy Carbonneau Out of Playoffs 2007-2008 Montreal Canadiens 82G 47W 25L 4OTL 6SOL 104PTS Guy Carbonneau Lost in round 2 this season, to date : 64G 34W 23L 7OTL 75PTS on pace for 95-96 pts in 82 games... The habs are on and off. year after year. we have a good year, the year after, the journalists praise us, we think we're too good, that we don't have to make any effort to win... and we have a bad season... After that bad season, we have things to prove, the journalists rank us in the back of the pack... we think that we should them wrong... and we have a good year. Do you see what I see? Is that really a pattern. Do the habs really have a psychological problem? Or is that just a coincidence? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chicoutimi Cucumber Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 Fascinating post. One thing I'd point out is that I only see ONE good year there - 2007-08. From 2004-2007 the numbers show a bubble team. Why is a team that makes the playoffs with 93 points 'good,' when a team that misses the playoffs with 90 points is 'bad?' If you're medicore, then making the playoffs will be a crapshoot. That you happen to squeeze in one year doesn't mean you're any less mediocre. Second point. The big picture with this team, it seems to me, is that we spent three years bringing along young talent, and it finally bloomed in 2007-08. What we've seen this season has been a massive regression in nearly all of the young players, which goes some way to explaining our falling back, if not quite to 'bubble' status, something just above it. So I think in some ways it's healthier to see 2007-08 as a fundamental break with teams of the past. That was the season when the core officially changed. (The change actually started the year before, when Pleks, for instance, led us offensively down the stretch - without the help of Kovalev, incidentally). Those earlier teams didn't have a veteran Komisarek, a Higgins and Plekanec with 2-3 seasons of experience under their belt, Lapierre and Latendresse as reliable regulars, Carey Price, or the Kostitsyns. Looking for too much continuity with those earlier teams obscures the fact that the bulk of this club is made up of completely different players. Otherwise put, the 2009 Habs are much closer, in terms of composition, to the 2008 Habs, than the 2006 team. The REAL question, IMHO, is why this new core - our young players - have nearly all regressed. What happened? Is this something that was, in retrospect, predictable, part of a typical arc of development whereby blossoming young players hit a speed bump? Or does it relate to a deeper problem? Were these players, for instance, highly motivated to play over the heads in order to establish themselves as NHLers, and are now 'settling in' to middling NHL careers? (Kosty, Pleks, Higgins, Komisarek)? In which case they're just not that good. Or were they spoiled by last year's success, in which case they might be learning valuable lessons this season? Or was last year the result of a kind of youthful enthusiasm that is hard to reproduce annually - in which case these talented young guys need a strong coaching system that will give them a fundamental platform from which to succeed - and Carbo isn't supplying it? The various explanations lead to various 'solutions.' If the young guns aren't that good, then we have a grave problem and need to start upgrading them ASAP or else hope that the next wave is better (or some combination). If the young guns are still works in progress who are right now learning invaluable lessons about how to be NHLers, then we need to tough it out, stand by them, and reap the benefits of these hard-earned lessons over the next couple of seasons. If the young guns are suffering because of bad coaching, then Carbo needs to go. Before the inevitable 'blame Koivu' debate begins, let me try to pre-empt it. The other explanation is that Koivu and Kovalev have been there all along, continue to define our core, and so there is in fact a deep continuity with those earlier bad teams. I wouldn't deny the importance of these two players. But I find it hard to explain that the performance of 16 other guys is contingent on the mood swings of these two. Look at the rosters of 2004 and now. Big, big, big difference. I say we're a different team, a team that emerged in 2007-08. The question is how we can get back there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexstream Posted March 6, 2009 Author Share Posted March 6, 2009 I think our young guys are all "work in progress" as far as CONSISTENCY is concerned. Why can't Higgins get it in? (7-8% success on his shot) Why can't Komi suddenly keep his position, play the man instead of the puck, etc? Why did both Kost lost their "drive"? It's all in the head. They're still all relatively young and still haven't acchieved a satisfactory level of consistency. The other thing is that D'Agostini would NEVER have played 40+ games on the 2nd line, would we have been fully healthy. I don't blame it 100% on him... but -14??? goddamn, that's awful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habsfan Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 The REAL question, IMHO, is why this new core - our young players - have nearly all regressed. What happened? Excellent question. Out of all these names, tell me which one has progressed (compared to last season) in the right direction? Komisarek, Higgins, Plekanec, A. Kostitsyn, Lapierre, Latendresse, Price, Gorges Out of all these guys, I only see Lapierre who has made any significant improvements over last season! That is part of the reason why the habs are struggling this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexstream Posted March 6, 2009 Author Share Posted March 6, 2009 Excellent question. Out of all these names, tell me which one has progressed (compared to last season) in the right direction? Komisarek, Higgins, Plekanec, A. Kostitsyn, Lapierre, Latendresse, Price, Gorges Out of all these guys, I only see Lapierre who has made any significant improvements over last season! That is part of the reason why the habs are struggling this year. Latendresse too. Used the body and played a sound defensive game. Was also way faster () Kost at times is better. "at times" is when he's not with Kovalev (proven with stats by some posters) Price's first 20 games were also pretty excellent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habsfan Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 Latendresse too. Used the body and played a sound defensive game. Was also way faster () Kost at times is better. "at times" is when he's not with Kovalev (proven with stats by some posters) Price's first 20 games were also pretty excellent. Yes but in all three cases, their progression has only been for short periods of time...it hasn't been a constant improvement...and In all three cases, i'd say Latendresse has improved the most from Last year! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easy Ryder Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 Habs are bipolar and the whole city slumbs back into his mediocrity. This twon lost it's losing MLB club because they didn't support them. They brought up the Alouettes CFL to a representative team in a Canadian market, the fans and media just left the boat two years ago. The Impact are trying to make a splash but their only lost will cost against better team level will cost them a lot next year. There will be ho hype there. They lost F1 Formula race because they simply never renewed the rats paddocks and transforming it on a modern race track. The habs are the only chance to have some glory, we have been behid this team in mediocre line up and this year promises of greatness just make people angry to see there is nothing great coming out of this town. The habs are bipolar because they can win but they are influenced by an environment thtat is urging them to be heroes to forget how deep they are in the sport circus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brobin Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 Excellent question. Out of all these names, tell me which one has progressed (compared to last season) in the right direction? Komisarek, Higgins, Plekanec, A. Kostitsyn, Lapierre, Latendresse, Price, Gorges Out of all these guys, I only see Lapierre who has made any significant improvements over last season! That is part of the reason why the habs are struggling this year. I wonder.. while many blame the coach, could it be the vet leadership. You hang around with those softies for a year and you forget how to hit, back check, or prepare for a game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fanpuck33 Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 This team isn't just bipolar year-to-year, it's often game-to-game and even period-to-period. Bipolar is exactly how I've described this team all season. Start off well, then play horribly for two weeks. Play well for a couple months, play terrible for a couple months. And when they're not on either of those streaks, it's great one game and then terrible the next. And now our trend is to be bipolar within games. Come out strong in the first and then vanish in the second. They alternate between good and bad third periods. Total lack of consistency. I wonder.. while many blame the coach, could it be the vet leadership. You hang around with those softies for a year and you forget how to hit, back check, or prepare for a game. We'll find out now, I suppose. If the coaching change doesn't get this team deep into the playoffs, I think it's finally time to point the finger at the core leadership instead of the coaching. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habsy Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 Habs are bipolar and the whole city slumbs back into his mediocrity. This twon lost it's losing MLB club because they didn't support them. They brought up the Alouettes CFL to a representative team in a Canadian market, the fans and media just left the boat two years ago. The Impact are trying to make a splash but their only lost will cost against better team level will cost them a lot next year. There will be ho hype there. They lost F1 Formula race because they simply never renewed the rats paddocks and transforming it on a modern race track. The habs are the only chance to have some glory, we have been behid this team in mediocre line up and this year promises of greatness just make people angry to see there is nothing great coming out of this town. The habs are bipolar because they can win but they are influenced by an environment thtat is urging them to be heroes to forget how deep they are in the sport circus. Buddy, stick to hockey. The paddock has NOTHING to do with F1 being taken away. It's all about cash, and the blank cheques that are offered to F1 by other countries who want to hold a race. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habsfan Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 Buddy, stick to hockey. The paddock has NOTHING to do with F1 being taken away. It's all about cash, and the blank cheques that are offered to F1 by other countries who want to hold a race. He's right. the city had invested 5-10 million dollars in 2007 to redo the paddocks area, with a brand new media centre. Other GP countries like France and Belgium have lost their GP's because of ecclestone's greed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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