Pierre Gauthier: 7 Reasons Montreal Canadiens GM Needs to Go

How many mistakes does it take to realize there’s a problem?

Apparently for Pierre Gauthier and the Montreal Canadiens brass, that number is a lot.

Gauthier, the general manager of the Canadiens, has been criticized lately for some of his decisions he has made during his time in power with the Habs. It seems fans in Montreal are fed up with Gauthier and want him gone.

Gauthier has been at the head of some poor trades, bad contract negotiations and questionable firings. And it seems there is no more patience for him.

Gauthier has made some good moves, including the Hal Gill trade, the Jaroslav Halak trade and the Erik Cole signing, but the negatives largely outweigh the positives.

And now the team sits in the bottom of the Eastern Conference.

It’s time for a change in La Belle Province—here are seven reasons why it’s Pierre Gauthier who needs to go.

1. The Mike Cammalleri Situation

How Pierre Gauthier handled the Mike Cammalleri situation is definitely one of the lowest points in his tenure with the Montreal Canadiens.

First, trading one of the Habs’ top players was not the smartest move.

Second, trading Cammalleri after he said some honest things about the Habs losing because they were “playing like losers,” also is questionable, especially since Gauthier said the trade had been in the works for weeks.

Was this just a coincidence? Doubtful.

Third, how he embarrassed Cammalleri by taking him off the bench in the middle of the game, telling him to jump in a cab and go back to the hotel because he had been traded, was absolutely classless.

For at least an hour, Cammalleri didn’t even know what team he was being traded to.

This whole debacle was a poorly handled by Gauthier.

2. Trading for Tomas Kaberle

Yes, getting rid of Jaroslav Spacek was a good thing.

He was becoming quite ineffective, so he was deemed expendable, especially with all the Habs' young defensive talent.

But acquiring an older defenseman who is almost the same type of player as Spacek, in Tomas Kaberle, wasn’t the smartest move.

Why not get a young prospect? Or a few good draft picks?

Instead, Gauthier brought in a washed-up defenseman who was also ineffective on the power play, which was the main reason Kaberle was brought in.

Kaberle is just taking valuable ice time away from other defensemen who deserve it more.

3. Firing Assistant Coach Perry Pearn

The Habs were on a losing skid, so Gauthier deemed it was assistant coach Perry Pearn who needed to go.

Gauthier believed that since the Canadiens special teams were not performing as well as they should be, Pearn should be let go, because he must be the problem with the lack of scoring on the power play.

Well, the Habs' power play hasn’t improved since then, and the team are out a reliable, respected assistant coach in Pearn.

On top of that, Gauthier fired Pearn just hours before a game in October.

4. Also Firing Jacques Martin Hours Before a Game

The firing of Jacques Martin was not necessarily a bad decision.

What was a bad decision was the timing.

Gauthier fired Martin right before Christmas and just hours before a game against the New Jersey Devils.

Martin was replaced with Randy Cunneyworth. Gauthier felt the team was under-performing and he wanted to bring in a younger coach who was less defensively focused.

Martin was a coach who took the Habs to the playoffs in the last two seasons, yet he was deemed to be so easily expendable.

Maybe Gauthier should have looked in the mirror at the time and really saw who needed to go.

Or at least waited until a day off.

5. Replacing Martin with Randy Cunneyworth

Cunneyworth is not the solution for the Habs, and most believe Pierre Gauthier knew that going in.

He fired Martin and then appointed Cunneyworth as the interim coach.

Why couldn’t he hire a new coach like Brian Burke and Toronto Maple Leafs did after they fired Ron Wilson and hired Randy Carlyle?

Then, just days later, Gauthier throws Cunneyworth under the bus by apologizing to fans and media for not hiring a French coach and then saying the Habs will not bring back Cunneyworth next season because they need to hire a bilingual coach.

The general manager should have the coach’s back. Interim or not.

6. Trading Sergei Kostitsyn for Nothing

In 2010, Gauthier traded Sergei Kostitsyn to the Nashville Predators for goalie Dan Ellis, forward Dustin Boyd and future considerations.

Well, Ellis never played a game with the Habs, and Boyd only played 10.

Looking at the trade now, with how well Kostitsyn is doing in Nashville (42 points this year), it seems the Habs could have gotten a lot more from a young player who just didn’t fit in Montreal.

7. Not Keeping Kirk Muller or Guy Boucher

Both Kirk Muller and Guy Boucher are now head coaches for NHL teams and doing quite well.

Both guys were in the Habs organization, but they were just allowed to walk from the team.

The Habs did not fight hard to keep these guys around and promise them a solid future with the team, in a larger role.

Now, the Habs are without a solid head coach and will need to find one this summer.

With either one of these respected men, the Habs would not be where they are: in the basement of the Eastern Conference, dreading a painful offseason where several big changes will need to be made.

And the first one: getting rid of Pierre Gauthier.

Follow Taylor Shire on Twitter: @TaylorShire