By Paulo Cerqueira, Special to All Habs Hockey Magazine
MONTREAL, QC. — For many people the chilly air of a September morning is the first sign that Summer is behind us and that Fall is knocking on our door. However for many diehard Habs fans, the first real sign that summer is over is the Montreal Canadiens annual golf tournament. So now that BBQ’s and lawn chairs are yielding prime garage space to road hockey nets, what can we anticipate the Canadiens 2013-2014 will season bring us?
Taking a look at the off-season, it can be said it was one of tinkering and adjustments. Habs General Manager Marc Bergevin and his team went about their work the same way they have been since taking over in May of 2012. ‘Slow and steady’ is clearly the motto for this management team but can we really argue with what they seem to be building? Yes, the eternal optimist who wishes to see ‘Les Glorieux’ hoist the cup year after year might be disappointed that millions of dollars weren’t spent on major acquisitions, but the real fan has to be happy and most of all impressed the way this team is being built.
Daniel Briere, George Parros and Doug Murray all come fill to voids with the latter two players here to address an issue that was glaringly apparent during the quick elimination of the Habs to the hands of the Ottawa Senators. The Canadiens needed to be much tougher. During that short playoff run on most nights Montreal was run out of the building physically.
It started with the Eric Gryba hit on Lars Eller and included the 10-man line dance during game 3 that left all five of the Canadiens players mending their wounds after being tossed around like rag dolls by the Sens gladiators. Bergevin and his crew brought in players that they hope will help in making sure things like that never happen again.
George Parros arrives with the reputation of being one of the NHL’s toughest enforcers. Some will argue that fighting has no place in hockey and the role of the enforcer no longer is important. A case can be made for those arguments. However it’s a boost to be able to count on a player like Parros for five to seven minutes a game, someone who doesn’t really hurt the team and a player who does help to make the rest of his teammates just a little bit bigger.
How often this summer have we heard Brandon Prust say how happy he was with the acquisition of Parros? If there is one guy who gave all he had in the toughness department last year for this team it was Prust. But one player could not do everything on his own. That was evident as the season was winding down and Prust was enduring injury after injury. He was no longer as effective as he had been. The heart was there but the body couldn’t follow anymore. So for this reason alone, picking up Parros should be praised as a good move.
Next on the list of pickups is Doug Murray. A hard-hitting, shot-blocking, rugged, stay-at-home defencemen. Yes, Murray has lost a step or two with age — there might be some nights this season when everyone complains about how slow he is. But let’s all just take a stroll down memory lane and remember a certain Hal Gill.
Gill’s first few games with the Habs were horrendous. The boo birds were out in full force night after night. Then, slowly but surely things began to change. People started to notice all the little things Gill did on the ice that usually are never seen but are so important to a championship team. No one can argue that Gill became very a popular figure in Montreal.
The Montreal penalty-kill was even tops in the league when Big Hal was around. How fast was Gill? Plus, Murray has one thing Gill never had and that is a mean streak. Murray is a lot more physical than Gill ever was. I think we can call this also a good move that helps the team in an area that is greatly needed. Especially when you consider that Alexei Emelin won’t be in the lineup to start the season. Murray fills that void left by the absence of the Russian.
Which brings us to the first move made by Bergevin this summer and the one that had most people shaking their heads at: the signing of Daniel Briere. Some will say it comes six years too late but maybe this version of Briere might be a better fit for the Habs. Okay, before you rush to the comments section, please hear me out.
Briere comes in now in a more diminished role. He will not be looked upon as the star francophone saviour of this team. That should reduce the amount of pressure on his shoulders immensely. Briere will be asked to bring some scoring to the group of top-9 forwards but his main job will be to help the powerplay return to the top of the league.
In it’s own way a good powerplay is also a deterrent to stop other teams from taking liberties with some of the smaller players on this team. Briere, unlike Murray and Parros, will not hurt or intimidate other teams physically. What he will do is keep the opposition honest if he is able to hurt them on the scoresheet.
So is the present version of the 2013-2014 Montreal Canadiens a Stanley Cup favourite? Highly unlikely! Sorry to disappoint everyone who already planning their ‘drive for 25’ parties. Without being a Cup favourite, this team will bring their fans an entertaining brand of hockey like it did for most of the shortened 48-game season last year.
One major difference with this squad is that no team will be able to do what the Senators did in the playoffs. These Habs are much more prepared to physically battle night in and night out with any team in the league. October 1st can’t get here fast enough because I think we are in for a great season!
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