Carbonneau a bad fit with current Canadiens
CBCSports.ca
Posted by Elliotte Friedman
My first real “beat” in the sports media business was reporting on the Raptors for The Fan 590, a Toronto all-sports radio station. That was 1995-96, and it was an incredible learning experience.
One of the lessons came from head coach Brendan Malone. He explained that “the most important guys on your roster are the best four players and the four who play the fewest. If they buy into what you are doing, the middle group falls in line. If not, you’re in trouble.”
Malone knew what he was talking about. Despite a surprisingly competitive inaugural season, the players couldn’t stand him and openly cheered his firing – something I’ve never seen since.
I thought a lot about Malone’s insight as the Canadiens’ season unravelled. There are only 12 active players on an NBA roster and up to 23 in the NHL, so the numbers get skewed a bit, but the philosophy still fits. Carbonneau clearly was having trouble at both ends. He’s brutally honest which, as a media member, I will never criticize, but players don’t appreciate it as much as we do.
Alex Kovalev’s situation was discussed to death, but look at what happened at the bottom of the roster. Steve Begin, Mathieu Dandenault and Georges Laraque were publicly miserable and that just tears apart your dressing room. Begin was traded, but the damage was done.
Truth is, Carbonneau was a bad fit for this group. This is the man who, after Game 1 of the 1993 Stanley Cup final, walked into Jacques Demers’ office and demanded the job of shadowing Wayne Gretzky. This is the man who, after a Game 1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche in the 1999 Western Conference Final, walked into Ken Hitchcock’s office and asked for the same responsibility on Peter Forsberg.
Both of those seasons ended in Stanley Cup victories.
These Canadiens – aside from Saku Koivu, Tom Kostopoulos, Maxim Lapierre, Mike Komisarek and Josh Gorges – just aren’t the same. With Laraque totally disinterested in fighting, Montreal may be the most pushed-around team in the NHL. It had to drive Carbonneau crazy. I’m not sure he could relate.
Carbonneau must share some of the blame for that as it’s a coach’s job to make the necessary adjustments. His other problem was continuing the development of the younger players. That’s why Don Lever is being promoted from Hamilton, to figure out what on earth has happened. You understand that, unless you’re dealing with Sidney Crosby or Alexander Ovechkin, the young guys will hit walls.
But what’s happened in Montreal is extreme. Several of them – Gainey mentioned Ryan O’Byrne by name – have seriously regressed. That’s not to say it’s entirely the coach’s fault.
I can’t stand some of the reporting we’ve seen in Montreal this season, but the bottom line is that a group of players have allowed themselves to be put into a position where their dedication can be questioned.
If anything can save this season, it’s Gainey’s presence on that bench. If you believe that players are at their best when they’re uncomfortable, imagine how they’ll feel with his intense stare and poker face right behind them.
They can no longer use Carbonneau as an excuse.
That article is a joke. Begin, Dandeneault, and Laraque were unhappy? That is because they are all journeyman players in their 30s who were being phased out. Then Freidmen goes on to say that Carbo also hindered the development of younger players. Like maybe Tomas Plekanec, Andrei Kostitsyn, Chris Higgins, Maxim Lapierre, Gui Latendresse, Josh Gorges, Carey Price, Jaroslav Halak, Sergei Kostitsyn, Kyle Chipchura, Matt D’Agostini, Max Pacioretty?
Everyone raves about the Habs great young talent, and virtually all of the players came up, or came of age, during the past 3 seasons. Under Carbonneau. Even Mike Komisarek finally developed into a top defenseman in the past 3 seasons, after languishing in the league for 3 years.
Someone tell Freidman you can’t have it both ways, either you play your younger players and sit the older journeymen, or the other way round. Or petition the NHL to expand the rosters and make the games 120 minutes long so that everyone gets their playing time.
Fact is that Carbo had an excellant winning percentage during his time as coach, and he had the team safely within the playoff group at the time of his firing. On a winning streak.
Gainey OTOH, is a lifetime loser as a coach, and has a losing record in his latest stint. Under his “firm hand” the club has fallen 2 spots closer to playoff elimination, despite getting some key players (Tanguay and Latendresse) back off the injury list.
You can’t get away from the reality that Gainey waited UNTIL THE TEAM SEEMD TO BE ON THE UPSWING, AND WAS GETTING HEALTHIER BEFORE FIRING CARBONNEAU. Presumably to MAKE HIMSELF LOOK GOOD if the team CONTINUED TO PROGRESS.
Karma is a bitch, Bo, you will end up as a bad joke in Montreal.
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