2008-2009 Montreal Canadiens

It’s been 100 years for the Montreal Canadiens. One of the most successful teams in all pro-sports. An amazing list of incredible hockey players. An amazing legacy. In their 100th season, what do produce? A big ol’ F- of a team. The non-Habs fan in me is happy they suck, but I’d much rather have my team put them down because its no fun watching a team implode. The 2008-09 version of the Canadiens deserved to impode because:

• Guy Carbonneau was a wimp. I’m sorry but the coach does matter quite a bit. When the coach and the star players aren’t on speaking terms that’s gonna screw up the team chemistry for sure. Tone from the top matters, A LOT.
• The fans are even worse than Leaf fans. What I mean is they are even more fickle, extreme and chant soccer chants. I love the passion, but the stupidity that accompanies the passion is sometimes too much.
• Over relied on a very young goaltender (Carey Price). Goaltenders generally take a while to really develop. Very very few are elite level at Price’s age and he was overused this season.

I’m not a Habs fan in general. Most of the time they aren’t a team I care about one way or another. Even as a casual observer of the Canadiens, I could smell the stench of failure. Getting swept in the first round of the playoffs is a better send off for this disaster of a team. One thing to keep in mind, there are 11 unrestricted free agents on the team, so hopefully they can remake this team so it contains less suck. The ball is in your court Mr. Gainey, don’t screw it up.