Montreal Canadiens: Going Down Hill From Here

Before I begin this article, I would like to say one thing.

I know that most of you are aware that I am a fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs. This article is me speaking not as a Leafs fan, but as a hockey fan. Therefore, I am not trying to bash the Montreal Canadiens, and this is certainly not one of those rants that some fans of one’s team would go on about a rival club.

With that being said, I am assuming that you all know about the recent struggles of the Montreal Canadiens.

Since Feb. 1, the Canadiens have went just 10-15 since Thursday March, 26th, and since Bob Gainey took over behind the bench for Guy Carbonneau, they have went just 3-5.

Goaltending is the one position that the fans of any team can pick at the most. The Canadiens have two young goalies; Price, who is 21, and Halak, who is 23. Chances are, in a market like Montreal, where the fans are tough and the building is sold out, and loud, every game, this goalie tandem isn’t going to work.

That is not the only position that the Habs are struggling with.

This is what the 24 time Stanley Cup winning team looks like at centre:

Plekanec

Koivu

Lapierre

Metropolit

Perhaps the Habs’ best centre was Robert Lang, who got injured before the trade deadline. Therefore, Bob Gainey, the general manager and head coach, had plenty of time to make a trade, bringing in a new centre.

Instead, they claimed Glen Metropolit of waivers.

Clearly, the Habs are going down hill.

However, the 100-year-old Habs do have a somewhat bright future.

With prospects like Kyle Chipchura, Olivier Latendresse, Ryan McDonagh, P.K. Subban, Nichlas Torp, and Pavel Valentenko, and some of them with NHL experience, the Habs have no shortage of good, young players.

However, the same thing happened to the Maple Leafs.

Before the lockout, the Maple Leafs were playing well and it was able to get through to the second round of the playoffs. They had good prospects and a good goalie. Prospects like Nikolai Kulemin, and Mikeal Tellqvist both looked promising, along with a couple others.

It turned out that Tellqvist was traded to the Phoenix Coyotes for Tyson Nash (who is no longer with the club), and Nikolai Kulemin isn’t playing up to expectations.

The Maple Leafs also had a good goalie, in Ed Belfour, but he never re-signed with the hockey club.

My point is this. The Montreal Canadiens are struggling up front, and behind the bench, it’s not exactly “set” when it comes to its goalies, and it is definitely not the best team when it comes to centre men. Also, just because its prospects look good on paper, and they play well now, doesn’t always mean that they are going to be good in the NHL.

In conclusion, the 100-year-old Montreal Canadiens are not officially out of a playoff spot, nor are the screwed for the future. However, as of now, it looks as though the Habs are going nowhere.