Now that it's happened, let's ask for real, who will be our GM?

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

I think you guys are kidding yourselves. The 'he's a winner' argument might work for a while. But the minute he hits a rough patch, the knives will come out and the issue will not disappear thereafer (unless he wins the Cup, in which case it will disappear for six months). There are too many people with public platforms whose jobs depend on stirring up sh*t. Forget Babcock, he ain't French.

[Davehab]

I just cant wait for Quebec to come back into the league so it can take all this language pressure away Montreal.

Let them try to deal with all the political Language BS, and just let us have the best people for the job.....

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

I just cant wait for Quebec to come back into the league so it can take all this language pressure away Montreal.

Let them try to deal with all the political Language BS, and just let us have the best people for the job.....

Are you kidding? Quebec will just make it worse. It will create a whole new line of public relations debate: which team is more French? If they have more French players/coaches/managers than us, that will be a PR problem; if they have more French player/coaches/managers than us and do better on the ice, that will be a PR disaster. If you think things are bad now, wait until Quebec City gets a team - they'll get 10X worse.

[Fanpuck33]

I think you guys are kidding yourselves. The 'he's a winner' argument might work for a while. But the minute he hits a rough patch, the knives will come out and the issue will not disappear thereafer (unless he wins the Cup, in which case it will disappear for six months). There are too many people with public platforms whose jobs depend on stirring up sh*t. Forget Babcock, he ain't French.

They're called French lessons. And what to do before he gets comfortable enough speaking French? Hire a freaking personal translator. Not only will he be showing he wants to go the extra mile to reach the French-only speaking fans, he'd be employing a French speaking person during tough economic times!

What other teams would be after Babcock? If Vancouver ditches Vigneault they would be, Calgary (we'd probs beat out them) doesn't have a coach, who else?

Who wouldn't be after him? Anyone without a coach or a coach who is the least bit shaky would pursue him.

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

They're called French lessons. And what to do before he gets comfortable enough speaking French? Hire a freaking personal translator. Not only will he be showing he wants to go the extra mile to reach the French-only speaking fans, he'd be employing a French speaking person during tough economic times!

Who wouldn't be after him? Anyone without a coach or a coach who is the least bit shaky would pursue him.

Hey, don't shoot the messenger! There is no way the Habs coach can get away with speaking through a translator, no way at all - any more than a prime minister could. It will be seen as yet another slap in the face to the long-suffering people of Quebec. As for French lessons, I agree that they're an option, but if you're Babcock and you have the pick of teams lining up to hire you, are you gonna choose to go to the city where they make you take lessons like a schoolboy, let alone makes job security contingent upon good grades?? FORGET BABCOCK. He ain't bilingual, it ain't happening, the end.

[Fanpuck33]

Hey, don't shoot the messenger! There is no way the Habs coach can get away with speaking through a translator, no way at all - any more than a prime minister could. It will be seen as yet another slap in the face to the long-suffering people of Quebec. As for French lessons, I agree that they're an option, but if you're Babcock and you have the pick of teams lining up to hire you, are you gonna choose to go to the city where they make you take lessons like a schoolboy, let alone makes job security contingent upon good grades?? FORGET BABCOCK. He ain't bilingual, it ain't happening, the end.

As long as the team makes language more important than winning, they will never win. They should just hire a coach and never make him available to the media. Show the sports media how unimportant they are in the grand scheme of things. It's just like the Cincinnati Bengals - the owner runs the team and he is not a football guy. They've been a joke for the vast majority of the last 20 years. Same thing in Montreal letting the media control who makes decisions about lines, strategy, etc.

If you are going to live or work in Quebec, I am 100% behind making a person learn French to do so. Just as anyone who moves to any country should have to learn the native language. That being said, the players and coaches communicate in English. Bob Gainey wasn't French, but he adapted to the culture and became an icon. You show respect to the culture and you make an effort and people will accept a coach who speaks only English upon his hiring. Just as we all accept star European players who come over and have to talk to the media initially through interpreters and later in fractured English, people will accept a coach who does the same with French. If they don't, then they're just a bigot.

P.S. The fact that the head coach of the Montreal Canadiens can in any way be compared to the Prime Minister shows just how ridiculous the conversation is. One leads a country and the other leads grown men playing a game for a living.

[JoeLassister]

As long as the team makes language more important than winning, they will never win. They should just hire a coach and never make him available to the media. Show the sports media how unimportant they are in the grand scheme of things. It's just like the Cincinnati Bengals - the owner runs the team and he is not a football guy. They've been a joke for the vast majority of the last 20 years. Same thing in Montreal letting the media control who makes decisions about lines, strategy, etc.

If you are going to live or work in Quebec, I am 100% behind making a person learn French to do so. Just as anyone who moves to any country should have to learn the native language. That being said, the players and coaches communicate in English. Bob Gainey wasn't French, but he adapted to the culture and became an icon. You show respect to the culture and you make an effort and people will accept a coach who speaks only English upon his hiring. Just as we all accept star European players who come over and have to talk to the media initially through interpreters and later in fractured English, people will accept a coach who does the same with French. If they don't, then they're just a bigot.

P.S. The fact that the head coach of the Montreal Canadiens can in any way be compared to the Prime Minister shows just how ridiculous the conversation is. One leads a country and the other leads grown men playing a game for a living.

But guess who gets the most media exposure and articles about him in a full year ? You guessed it right : Habs coach. It's been scientificaly proven year in year out.

[BlueKross]

But guess who gets the most media exposure and articles about him in a full year ? You guessed it right : Habs coach. It's been scientificaly proven year in year out.

What you are saying here is that the media articles are more important than the success of the team. Fan puck33 has hit a home run. I guess coming in third last still sells papers.

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

I don't agree with the 'bilingual only' policy, but I do somewhat sympathize with the bind the Habs are in. Not even a team as beloved as this one can afford to fundamentally alienate its customer base - especially not when there is a potential local competitor on the horizon (the Quebec City franchise, whose existence some posters on this board are foolish enough to support). Like it or not, the Habs are part of the mythology of Quebec, and while they have made millions trading on the notion of themselves as 'public trust,' the downside is that their fan base feels entitled to 'see itself' - including its linguistic identity - reflected to some degree or other in the team.

So the bilingual-only policy is a straight-up matter of business.

You can also argue that, under these conditions, hiring a unilingual coach is a recipe for failure anyway, because it puts that coach in an untenable position. Bereft of any support in the community, and indeed openly demonized in some quarters, he will come under intolerable pressures whenever the team hits a rough patch, as any team and coach inevitably will.

In other words, blame the wider culture of Montreal/Quebec for this policy, not the Habs. The team is responding to the business environment it's in.

[Habsy]

It won't be Jim Nill, as per TSN

[BlueKross]

I don't agree with the 'bilingual only' policy, but I do somewhat sympathize with the bind the Habs are in. Not even a team as beloved as this one can afford to fundamentally alienate its customer base - especially not when there is a potential local competitor on the horizon (the Quebec City franchise, whose existence some posters on this board are foolish enough to support). Like it or not, the Habs are part of the mythology of Quebec, and while they have made millions trading on the notion of themselves as 'public trust,' the downside is that their fan base feels entitled to 'see itself' - including its linguistic identity - reflected to some degree or other in the team.

So the bilingual-only policy is a straight-up matter of business.

You can also argue that, under these conditions, hiring a unilingual coach is a recipe for failure anyway, because it puts that coach in an untenable position. Bereft of any support in the community, and indeed openly demonized in some quarters, he will come under intolerable pressures whenever the team hits a rough patch, as any team and coach inevitably will.

In other words, blame the wider culture of Montreal/Quebec for this policy, not the Habs. The team is responding to the business environment it's in.

I think you are probably correct. I would say this, it is illological to forfeit potentially superior management candidates and still expect some degree of success in a very competive league. CC is probably right in that this is probably a done deal for this time. However it may not be this time or next time or twenty times from now, but that door will not shut, because it impedes the success of the team. Until the french media and the province of Quebec realize that inclusion of such a policy is detrimental to the teams success we can expect the results that limitations will bring. I got a thought. Why don't the reporters become bilingual?

[JoeLassister]

What you are saying here is that the media articles are more important than the success of the team. Fan puck33 has hit a home run. I guess coming in third last still sells papers.

Hell no. I totally despise how hockey is covered in Montreal. I hate how the sports often comes 2nd after entertainment and press coverage.

Doesn't matter if a player is on a 17 games streak with a goal, if he's caught drunk at a bar yelling at someone, this will make front pages in every media.

I was responding to Fanpuck who said "The fact that the head coach of the Montreal Canadiens can in any way be compared to the Prime Minister shows just how ridiculous the conversation is. One leads a country and the other leads grown men playing a game for a living."

Was just saying that every year, Habs head coach IS the personality who gets the most coverage in the medias, not the Prime Minister.

[Machine of Loving Grace]

It won't be Jim Nill, as per TSN

"I had two great talks with Montreal," Nill told mlive.com. "I was interested, they were interested. But it's not the right time."

Good to see they talked. "Two great talks" tells me Montreal pushed. Should quiet some people down... likely not.

[ehjay]

Hell no. I totally despise how hockey is covered in Montreal. I hate how the sports often comes 2nd after entertainment and press coverage.

Doesn't matter if a player is on a 17 games streak with a goal, if he's caught drunk at a bar yelling at someone, this will make front pages in every media.

I was responding to Fanpuck who said "The fact that the head coach of the Montreal Canadiens can in any way be compared to the Prime Minister shows just how ridiculous the conversation is. One leads a country and the other leads grown men playing a game for a living."

Was just saying that every year, Habs head coach IS the personality who gets the most coverage in the medias, not the Prime Minister.

thank whatever power you want for that. I would be a straight up sucide death, should the media cover Steffen Harpsicor as much as the Habs language issues with a coach said to be gone at season end.

I know that this convo of language has very real political undertone message attached to it and that it is very difficult to seperate this from the team yet as metioned several times here: all of us fans want a winning team.

I just hope, wish and pray the team`s brass unerstand their loyalty should be to the WINNING history of the team and not the eternal political BS that surrounds it ever since.... well ever.

CC you are on to something when you voice concerns that a unilingual anglo coach would stir the pot of language $h!t stew but I really want the team to remember that a VERY competive team on the ice year in, year out and every year will stuff a real sweaty jock strap down the mouths of the likes of Bergy and any other idiot bigot. Just my opinion.

[Habsy]

The language issue has been beaten to death for years. We all know that mathematically the team is limiting itself, when the new coach has to speak French. Whatever. Nobody ever adds anything new to the debate. We'd all prefer they hire the best possible coach. But even that is difficult to qualify.

[Machine of Loving Grace]

I just hope, wish and pray the team`s brass unerstand their loyalty should be to the WINNING history of the team and not the eternal political BS that surrounds it ever since.... well ever.

CC you are on to something when you voice concerns that a unilingual anglo coach would stir the pot of language $h!t stew but I really want the team to remember that a VERY competive team on the ice year in, year out and every year will stuff a real sweaty jock strap down the mouths of the likes of Bergy and any other idiot bigot. Just my opinion.

Controversy will come no matter what. Controversy wasn't dead when the team was 2/3rds French with a French coach and GM right after winning a Stanley Cup. It was actually magnified to the point where Guy Carbonneau had just captained the Canadiens to a Stanley Cup the previous season and one bad moment on a golf course got him traded for Jim Montgomery. You will never escape it no matter who speaks what on the team.

However, a good coach and GM who can speak THE LANGUAGE OF THE MEDIA can deflect the attention from the team and place it on themselves. This is about the most useful asset of Brian Burke. He was able to keep both Toronto media and Toronto fans hanging onto his every word for four seasons and it's only now where they've realized all of his changes still kept the team with massive weaknesses that kept them right where they were with John Ferguson Jr and Richard Peddie running the team. That's because Burke confronts the media and puts them on their toes instead of the other way around. There are other GMs and coaches who do this like John Tortorella.

This is what the team truly needs. If a Jim Nill was the GM it wouldn't matter if he doesn't speak French if Patrick Roy is the head coach, a man with an enigmatic personality who will engulf the attention of the media onto him and speak up for his players. Same goes for if Roy was the GM. There are a few others I think could be that passionate orator in our GM pool (Bergevin) but we need either the coach or the GM to be able to speak both French and English to keep the media at bay and let slumping players or a slumping team work out their problems without the media stirring up the pot like we saw this past season.

You can have a coach and GM who make great on-ice decisions and great managerial decisions but if they do nothing about the media and fans those factors will seep into the team and handicap your on ice performance. This is less about finding a guy who can make good decisions. This is about finding a guy who can facilitate a winning organization. That's why I respect the Detroit Red Wings so much. They've accomplished it for over 20 years now.

[ehjay]

Controversy will come no matter what. Controversy wasn't dead when the team was 2/3rds French with a French coach and GM right after winning a Stanley Cup. It was actually magnified to the point where Guy Carbonneau had just captained the Canadiens to a Stanley Cup the previous season and one bad moment on a golf course got him traded for Jim Montgomery. You will never escape it no matter who speaks what on the team.

However, a good coach and GM who can speak THE LANGUAGE OF THE MEDIA can deflect the attention from the team and place it on themselves. This is about the most useful asset of Brian Burke. He was able to keep both Toronto media and Toronto fans hanging onto his every word for four seasons and it's only now where they've realized all of his changes still kept the team with massive weaknesses that kept them right where they were with John Ferguson Jr and Richard Peddie running the team. That's because Burke confronts the media and puts them on their toes instead of the other way around. There are other GMs and coaches who do this like John Tortorella.

This is what the team truly needs. If a Jim Nill was the GM it wouldn't matter if he doesn't speak French if Patrick Roy is the head coach, a man with an enigmatic personality who will engulf the attention of the media onto him and speak up for his players. Same goes for if Roy was the GM. There are a few others I think could be that passionate orator in our GM pool (Bergevin) but we need either the coach or the GM to be able to speak both French and English to keep the media at bay and let slumping players or a slumping team work out their problems without the media stirring up the pot like we saw this past season.

You can have a coach and GM who make great on-ice decisions and great managerial decisions but if they do nothing about the media and fans those factors will seep into the team and handicap your on ice performance. This is less about finding a guy who can make good decisions. This is about finding a guy who can facilitate a winning organization. That's why I respect the Detroit Red Wings so much. They've accomplished it for over 20 years now.

I like where you went with your thoughts. It makes tones of sence. I had totally forgotten about the Carbo golfgate insident. I still believe the handicap the Habs are forcing upon themselves in the hire of a french coach or gm is prone to lead us to a golf course before playoffs 1 out 4 years (maybe even 2 out of 4) if the choice relies mostly in filling this critiria. Best men (or women) for the job is what I like to see as the number 1 demand from GM and SS.

[Commandant]

Excellent points by MoLG there. One of the reasons I really want to see Roy back with the team.

[thib46]

I believe that Roy could have the temperament/constitution to stand up to the Media in Montreal, that in itself is needed to shield the players from the media. That said, I wonder how long it would take Roy to tell the media to take a hike with their stupid questions? I can see Roy saying to a journalist, do you have any more stupid questions? Then the fun starts...

[Machine of Loving Grace]

I believe that Roy could have the temperament/constitution to stand up to the Media in Montreal, that in itself is needed to shield the players from the media. That said, I wonder how long it would take Roy to tell the media to take a hike with their stupid questions? I can see Roy saying to a journalist, do you have any more stupid questions? Then the fun starts...

Burke has done this many times. It keeps the media talking about Roy and less the team.

[Toronthab]

As long as the team makes language more important than winning, they will never win. They should just hire a coach and never make him available to the media. Show the sports media how unimportant they are in the grand scheme of things. It's just like the Cincinnati Bengals - the owner runs the team and he is not a football guy. They've been a joke for the vast majority of the last 20 years. Same thing in Montreal letting the media control who makes decisions about lines, strategy, etc.

If you are going to live or work in Quebec, I am 100% behind making a person learn French to do so. Just as anyone who moves to any country should have to learn the native language. That being said, the players and coaches communicate in English. Bob Gainey wasn't French, but he adapted to the culture and became an icon. You show respect to the culture and you make an effort and people will accept a coach who speaks only English upon his hiring. Just as we all accept star European players who come over and have to talk to the media initially through interpreters and later in fractured English, people will accept a coach who does the same with French. If they don't, then they're just a bigot.

P.S. The fact that the head coach of the Montreal Canadiens can in any way be compared to the Prime Minister shows just how ridiculous the conversation is. One leads a country and the other leads grown men playing a game for a living.

I agree that the coach has a more important job than Harper. Who could argue otherwise?

I also agree with your comments on language. The coach of les Canadiens must speak French. We are talking about the wonderful city of Montreal in the wonderful province of Quebec.

This I offer from the depths of hell.. . Toronto.

[Toronthab]

Controversy will come no matter what. Controversy wasn't dead when the team was 2/3rds French with a French coach and GM right after winning a Stanley Cup. It was actually magnified to the point where Guy Carbonneau had just captained the Canadiens to a Stanley Cup the previous season and one bad moment on a golf course got him traded for Jim Montgomery. You will never escape it no matter who speaks what on the team.

However, a good coach and GM who can speak THE LANGUAGE OF THE MEDIA can deflect the attention from the team and place it on themselves. This is about the most useful asset of Brian Burke. He was able to keep both Toronto media and Toronto fans hanging onto his every word for four seasons and it's only now where they've realized all of his changes still kept the team with massive weaknesses that kept them right where they were with John Ferguson Jr and Richard Peddie running the team. That's because Burke confronts the media and puts them on their toes instead of the other way around. There are other GMs and coaches who do this like John Tortorella.

This is what the team truly needs. If a Jim Nill was the GM it wouldn't matter if he doesn't speak French if Patrick Roy is the head coach, a man with an enigmatic personality who will engulf the attention of the media onto him and speak up for his players. Same goes for if Roy was the GM. There are a few others I think could be that passionate orator in our GM pool (Bergevin) but we need either the coach or the GM to be able to speak both French and English to keep the media at bay and let slumping players or a slumping team work out their problems without the media stirring up the pot like we saw this past season.

You can have a coach and GM who make great on-ice decisions and great managerial decisions but if they do nothing about the media and fans those factors will seep into the team and handicap your on ice performance. This is less about finding a guy who can make good decisions. This is about finding a guy who can facilitate a winning organization. That's why I respect the Detroit Red Wings so much. They've accomplished it for over 20 years now.

Excellent post MOLG. Emotional intelligence.

[Commandant]

Why Nill turned it down.

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120424/SPORTS0103/204240459/1361/Wings--Jim-Nill-decides-to-put-GM-aspirations-on-backburner

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

That was indeed a good post. I agree, as I said before, that a unilingual coach is in an untenable position. We saw Bob Gainey do something similar to what MOL advocates when he took over, calling out the Brisebois-bashers, anthem-booers, and generally being the sponge absorbing blows that would otherwise be delivered against the players. Of course, the effect wore off after a while, as Gainey began to wear the problems that ailed the club. The same fate awaits whoever takes up that role going forward.

Which is why it's a combination of factors. You still need, first, to find the best person for the job. I wouldn't accept lesser qualifications or competence just because the guy is likely to take up a lot of media space. That may buy the players breathing room, but in the long run it's a recipe for disaster. Thus: no McGuire, and we need to think long and hard before anointing the under-qualified Roy as coach.

Also, the Habs could be doing MUCH more to protect their players irrespective of the GM's or coach's identity. Unlike 2/3 of NHL teams, we do not even have a Director of Player Development separate from the Director of Amateur Scouting. This means that we, in effect, left the entire generation of Gainey 1.0 (Ribeiro, Higgins, Komisarek, Price, Sergei Kostitsyn, Latendresse, Grabovski, etc.) to 'develop' in the most temptation-filled and pressure-packed environment in all of hockey with less supervsion and support than the Nashville Predators offer their prospects. This explains, to my mind, a lot of the problems those players had, and also why Gainey felt it necessary to 'solve' the problem by blowing up the team and bringing in proven veterans. http://habsloyalist....owing-hope.html

Before we go basing crucial managerial and coaching choices based on their ability to distract the media, we probably should emulate best practices elsewhere for supporting players.

[Machine of Loving Grace]

You know, I think Patrice Brisebois would be great for a Director of Player Development role.