Bob The Builder: A Habs Post Mortem

100 years of excellence, a Ring of Honor representing the 24 Stanley Cup banners, 15 retired jerseys, 44 legendary players and 10 Great builders…and capped off by a run at the 25th Stanley Cup...wait a second.…it didn’t happen…Bob the Builder was silent.

So what happened?  

The 2008-09 edition of the Montreal Canadians was to be a year of celebration on and off the ice. Unfortunately, on the ice, the celebration came to a crashing halt after a four-game sweep at the hands of the Boston Bruins in the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The blame game starts the moment Game Four ended, and the blame is squarely directed at one of those 44 legendary players, the GM, and Coach Bob Gainey.

Five areas of blame should be looked at...five areas that Bob Gainey was silent on:

1. Veteran Goalie

Prior to the 2008 playoffs, Bob Gainey shipped veteran goalie Cristobal Huet to the Washington Capitals for a second-round draft pick. All of his confidence in nets would be placed in the hands of Carey Price, anointed by the fans and the media as the “next one”.

Price's performance in the 2008 playoffs deteriorated in the Bruins series, and fell apart in the Flyers series. The need was clear: Price required mentoring in the form of a veteran goalie, and perhaps a new goaltending coach.

Price needed someone to show him the ropes as a pro in the NHL, and to take off some pressure. Price has won at every level relying on his natural talent, and at the tender age of 22, that talent is not enough in the pro’s…Bob the Builder was silent.

2. Power Forward/Big D

The 2008 playoffs also uncovered the need for a power forward up the middle with some skill. The Flyers manhandled the Habs, and the need was obvious. Bob’s response was Laraque, Metropolit, and Lang…nice guys with little skill other than Lang, who has traveled by way of many teams in the NHL for a reason. The 2009 trade deadline came and went….Bob the Builder was silent. 

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