prabby Posted October 11, 2003 Share Posted October 11, 2003 October 11, 2003 Youth movement moving slowly By Arpon Basu The Montreal Canadiens are obviously having trouble grasping the concept of a youth movement. When general manager Bob Gainey took the job this summer, he said there was a need to get the young talent in the organization on the ice. He specifically mentioned AHL stalwart Jason Ward and hulking defenseman Mike Komisarek as two players he had noticed. He even bought out the contracts of the ineffective Randy McKay and Mariusz Czerkawski to create spots for some new blood. But here we are at the start of the season, and Ward is penciled in to play out of position at center on the fourth line, while there is a logjam of veteran defensemen in front of Komisarek on the right side, namely Patrice Brisebois, Craig Rivet and Stephane Quintal. Gainey must realize his dreams of a young, hard-working team are on hold for this season, largely because of former GM Andre Savard's personal game of Who Wants to be a Millionaire. Over the last two years, in an attempt to stem the tide of rebuilding and in reaction to a rash of injuries that befell the team two years in a row, Savard inked high-priced veterans Yanic Perreault and Joe Juneau, and re-signed Brisebois to a ridiculous three-year (plus a team option), $13 million contract. He also brought in Donald Audette at $3 million a year via the trade route, and handed players like Andreas Dackell and Karl Dykhuis million-dollar deals. Even Marcel Hossa, a talent who remains unproven, is a millionaire. LOL! One look at the Habs season-opening 5-2 loss in Ottawa gives a good idea of how the organization's hands are tied. Montreal's best offensive player on the night was easily Mike Ribeiro, who, in captain Saku Koivu's absence, is centering the top line between Hossa and Richard Zednik. Yet Ribeiro, 23, and Hossa, 22, were the only players under 25 on the top three lines, and head coach Claude Julien will have to find room for Ribeiro in a veteran-laden lineup when Koivu returns from a knee injury. Ron Hainsey was a surprise starter after a so-so training camp, and came through with a goal off a Juneau feed on a nice backdoor cut to tie it 1-1 in the first period. He also logged 18:59 of ice time and didn't look the least bit out of place, finishing the game at plus-1. Meanwhile the veterans didn't show that much intensity. Audette led the team with five shots on goal, but was also a minus-2, as were linemates Perreault and Jan Bulis. But the 25 year-old Bulis was far more effective in the third period on a line with Ward and Michael Ryder, who spent the first two periods playing with Gordie Dwyer. It's not wise to read too much into the fact Ryder led the team in pre-season scoring, but the 23 year-old from St. John's, Newfoundland brings elements the Canadiens sorely lack, like a willingness to battle in the corner and go to the net hard. He also has a lightning-quick release on a heavy shot, and likes to throw his body around. The problem here is that the Canadiens are paying far too much to players they would rather not have, so those players have to perform if Gainey is to have any hope of shedding some dollars. In order to perform, you need ice time. So, for the time being at least, Ryder and Ward will have to wait while Audette and Dackell play ahead of them. The contracts of Perreault, Juneau, Dackell, Niklas Sundstrom, Richard Zednik and a score of others are up at the end of this year, just in time for the premiere of the new NHL reality show: Lockout. Brisebois and Audette are both signed for another season, though, in the case of Audette, Gainey has no one to blame but himself. He handed Audette that free agent contract when he was running the show in Dallas. Their extended deals make the pair very difficult to move without eating more salary, something owner George Gillett shouldn't be thrilled about after buying out Czerkawski and McKay's contracts this summer. But the departure of some veterans should allow Gainey and, possibly, Julien to begin the true about-face of this once-storied franchise when (or is it if?) they start playing hockey again in the post-lockout NHL. Until then, a lottery pick in the draft is not such a bad thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habsaku Posted October 13, 2003 Share Posted October 13, 2003 Even Marcel Hossa, a talent who remains unproven, is a millionaire. LOL This has got to be one of the most ignorant comments I've read. Where did you get that article, the guy obviously hasn't thought it through and only said what is already known. I wonder if he's aware of how Gainey works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habs77 Posted October 13, 2003 Share Posted October 13, 2003 AS's "who wants to be a Millionaire"... couldn't said it any better myself. He really had no clue what he was doing when it came to contracts... and also never recognized the fact that the time of accumulating assets was over. All you and up with then is an overcrowded roster and nobody to take those extra contracts off your hands. I can't wait for next year, when we will have finally turned the corner in terms of useless & overpaid vets in our roster. Audette should be bought out at year end, leaving Dykhuis & Breezer as the only stupid AS contracts left. Juneau, Perreault, Dackell, Sundstrom, Traverse, Quintal will all be gone.. leaving us with something like: Ryder-Koivu-Perezhogin Hossa-Ribeiro-Zednik Higgins-Kilger-Bulis Langdon-Begin-Ward Dwyer, Plekanec Markov-Rivet Hainsey-Breezer Souray-Komisarek Bouillon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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