Montreal Canadiens

[ericdaoust]

The Habs problem start at the top of the organization. From Molson allowing the Subban trade to happen, to Bergevin constantly lying to the fans and media.

To that point, why do fans need a French-speaking guy as GM when his words mean nothing?

[ericdaoust]

Scherbak and McCarron were recalled

[Thunder]

The focus should be on putting the best possible candidates for the Job of winning Hockey games. Language should have no bearing on the equation any more than Color of skin or Nationality should.

The fan base can listen to translations. I am sure they would rather that than see the team with one of the worst starts in history

My point was simply that a person can have an opinion that is different than yours without necessarily being an "idiot."

Unlike "color of skin" proficiency in a given language can be a valid job requirement. It is also a skill that can be acquired. I would submit that I'm proof of that. Bob Gainey is also proof of that.

It's fine to disagree that it should be a requirement. I'm not even 100% sure it should be. But it's not idiotic, nor is it discriminatory. No more than it is for every sports organization in English-speaking markets to require that their GMs speak English.

[yougo]

To that point, why do fans need a French-speaking guy as GM when his words mean nothing?

I never really understood it. It should be a bonus, not a requirement.

[Thunder]

Scherbak and McCarron were recalled

I guess Hensky is going to IR.

Scherback's numbers looking good. Curious to see if he can have more success this time.

[Axeman33]

I guess Hensky is going to IR.

Scherback's numbers looking good. Curious to see if he can have more success this time.

That should help the Habs actually.

[ericdaoust]

Anything that takes Hemsky away from the team helps the team.

[ericdaoust]

Hemsky has a concussion so we'll see where that goes

[ericdaoust]

Practice lines:

Byron - Drouin - Lehkonen
Shaw - Danault - Pacioretty
De La Rose/Hudon - Plekanec - Gallagher
Scherbak - McCarron - Galchenyuk
Mitchell


Mete - Weber
Alzner - Benn
Davidson - Petry
Morrow

[Jouko-Pouko]

Practice lines:

Byron - Drouin - Lehkonen
Shaw - Danault - Pacioretty
De La Rose/Hudon - Plekanec - Gallagher
Scherbak - McCarron - Galchenyuk
Mitchell


Mete - Weber
Alzner - Benn
Davidson - Petry
Morrow

They really know how to utilize talented offensive players like Galchenyuk and Scherbak - put them on the 4th line!

[Axeman33]

They really know how to utilize talented offensive players like Galchenyuk and Scherbak - put them on the 4th line!

Compared to the way their other three lines are going, that 4th line could end up being the best of the bunch.

[Jouko-Pouko]

Compared to the way their other three lines are going, that 4th line could end up being the best of the bunch.

Indeed it could be as long as they get some minutes. But if they play just 10 minutes, then that's going to be difficult to do.

[agentzero]

Indeed it could be as long as they get some minutes. But if they play just 10 minutes, then that's going to be difficult to do.

You beat me to it. If they end up playing 17 minutes, then that'll be the 1st line!

[agentzero]

The demise of the team is the fact that management caters to the idiots who think they must always have a francophone coach. Push french players into positions they are not suited for(Desharnais was given top PP time for 30 games without registering a PPP 2 years ago)

They have to promote the Gars de Chez nous at all costs. Forcing Drouin into C when he is WORSE defensively than Galchenyuk.............Galchenyuk you could at least see was in his wheelhouse while playing c. bad defensively yes, but a threat. Drouin looks like a fish out of water at C. But they will keep saying "We have found our #1 C" and continue being racist/Prejudiced and demoting Galchenyuk because he is not french.

Until the team becomes business first, heritage and francophone second, they will continue to be a cluster#@$%^.

But when they hired Anglophones, they have protests outside the Molson center, Boycotts on Molson beer, and politicians bashing the move in the media.

Its insane. And my mom is Quebecois but even she thinks they are nuts.

Oh Lord not this again.

Language has absolutely nothing to do with why the Habs suck. They suck because they have a slow, overhauled blueline, players out of sync, forwards who are snake-bitten and a frustrated goalie who is pretty well the best in the World at his position, but is not "with it" right now. The prospect pipeline has failed to develop enough elite talents for the team to stay competitive. We have traded younger assets or draft picks to bolster the bottom 6 in some kind of "win now" mode over the last several seasons. It is only a matter of time for teams with these problems to lose lots of hockey games. Bergevin hasn't made bad decisions because he made them in French. He has just made bad decisions.

[rataylor22]

Oh Lord not this again.

Language has absolutely nothing to do with why the Habs suck. They suck because they have a slow, overhauled blueline, players out of sync, forwards who are snake-bitten and a frustrated goalie who is pretty well the best in the World at his position, but is not "with it" right now. The prospect pipeline has failed to develop enough elite talents for the team to stay competitive. We have traded younger assets or draft picks to bolster the bottom 6 in some kind of "win now" mode over the last several seasons. It is only a matter of time for teams with these problems to lose lots of hockey games. Bergevin hasn't made bad decisions because he made them in French. He has just made bad decisions.

Correct. Language has nothing to do with why Bergevin is bad. Bergevin is bad because he is bad. When he was hired, was he the best candidate for the job, or the best francophone candidate for the job? Right this moment, is he the best available person for the job, or is he the most viable francophone option for the job?

It would be completely asinine to suggest he is bad because he is francophone, or french, whichever I don't really care. However you said language is not the reason the Habs suck, and that would be where I disagree. The Habs suck because they have a GM who has made a lot of bad decisions. It is very unlikely, both now and at the time of his hire, that he was truly the best candidate for the job. Since his hire, 13 GMs have been hired. I would speculate that Botterill, Treliving, Kekalainen, Nill, Hextall are all better GMs than Bergevin. Additionally, I would think that there are arguments that Francis, Chiarelli, and MacLellan might be. None of them would be given considering their lack of francophone status.

Frankly, the Montreal Canadiens have to accept that their GM is likely to make more mistakes then lots of other GMs, and more bad decisions than other GMs, because their hiring restrictions prevent them from hiring the best possible candidate. It impacts their current roster, their prospect pipeline, their trades, everything.

No, Bergevin does not suck because of his language status, but it would also be incorrect to say the current quality of the Habs has nothing to do with language.