Montreal Canadiens: Ghosts of 1991-92

One point away from clinching a division title for the first time in over 15 years...for a team that was at one point the epitomy of successful franchises, it has been a long time coming for the Montreal Canadiens.  Since clinching the Adams Division in 1991-92, the Habs have fallen from grace, despite a 93 Cup win, the season and playoffs have been cruel on the Canadiens.

How could such a great franchise with past players who defined the very game itself fall into being just one of the "middle-of-the-pack" sort of teams?  Since the demise of Serge Savard as GM of the Canadiens in the mid-90s, the Canadiens have flopped around players like dead fish.  Trading away future superstars before they could even develop destroyed Montreal's future in the latter part of the decade.  Sending away future 50-goal man John LecLair when he was coming into his own.  Patrick Roy, all-time winningest goaltender gone because of coaching complications with Mario Tremblay.  Captains dealt one after another...Carbonneau, Damphousse, Muller, Keane, and Turgeon.  Future superstar rookies Valeri Bure, Tomas Vokoun, and others also dealt before even having a chance in the system.

As the GM overhaul continued through the late 90s and into the 21st century, Montreal was becoming the perennial cellar-dweller in the NHL's Eastern Conference and more importantly the Northeast Division.  Not being able to cope with the rise of the Ottawa Senators and their strong forever rivals from Toronto, the Habs found themselves with their leading scorer only having 49 points some years (Rucinsky, 99-00).

The curse seemed to turn around during Andre Savard's reign as GM when he dealt Joceyln Thibault & Alain Nasserdeine to Chicago for Jeff Hackett & Eric Weinrich.  Never had such a good deal been made in years on Montreal's end.  Even though Hackett proved to be a bust as a starter in Montreal, it finally opened the way for Jose Theodore to put the Canadiens back into the contender they once were.  After finally making it back to the post-season for the first time since a rude 1998 second round exit via Dominik Hasek & company, the Canadiens seemed to be back in the thick of things.

Since then, they have been "rebuilding still".  Yet the 07-08 Habs have finally come into their own.  The word "rebuilding" does not apply to this season's Canadiens club because their rookies are finally here.  Andrei Kostitsyn: 25+ goals, Carey Price: bonafide #1 goaltender, 20+ wins, Sergei Kostitsyn: solid two-way performer with great hands.  Not to mention others such as Mark Streit (50+ points as a defenseman), Andrei Markov, (2008 All-Star), Mike Komisarek (leads league in hits & blocked shots), and a rejuvenated Alex Kovalev have led this team to the top.

 The next question is: can they do it this year?  Or will the ghosts of 1991-92 still be haunting the rafters of the Bell Centre?