Montreal Canadiens To Be Renamed The WIPS (Work In Progress)

When the 09-10 season began, there was indeed an air of hope for Montreal Canadiens fans.

Bob Gainey had aquired some big names like Gomez, Gionta, Cammalleri. Fans were excited, the organisation preached patience in allowing the "new" Habs time to gel as a team.

What happenned? It all begins with what is common knowledge right now about the dressing room. There is strife! Lapierre and Cammalleri, Gomez and the Kostitsyns, Price and Markov. They may have publicly shown signs of having made-up, but any man or woman who has played or been involved in sports at a high level knows...once conflict arrises between team-mates, it is very difficult to overcome and get past. Maybe if the Habs had a Captain, that might ease things in the locker room, however at this point in the season, it's too little too late.

I'm not going to mention to much about Gainey's resignation following his unending and seemingly failed quest to create a harmonious dressing room environment, because as it stands right now, it's Pierre Gauthier's problem to deal with.

The thing is though; he can't deal with it right now! Not with the trade deadline hours away and no cap money to spend! What can he possibly do? Two Goalies that want number one status and both deserve it for different reasons. An underperforming Gomez that makes $8 Million per year and an ageing Defensive squad that doesn't come cheap!

How did such a promising season go awry? We can all look at the pieces of this complex puzzle and try to guess, but in the end, much of it has to do with the player's commitment and the pressure of playing professional hockey in Montreal.

It will be a frenzied next 27 hours for NHL players, journalists and fans around the league, but i think that Habs fans should resign themselves to somewhat of a status quo. The only bright spot is that miraculously, the Canadiens are still in a spot to make the play-offs. Once there, almost anything can happen.