Montreal Canadiens: Coach Jacques Martin Will Be Tested

It seems that the most contentious issues with regards to the Montreal Canadiens involve either Scott Gomez's performance, Andrei Markov's health or the effectiveness of coach Jacques Martin.

Since whether Gomez will rebound or not is impossible to predict, as is Markov's knee, I'd like to focus on the coach for the time being.

The minute Martin was hired, he was criticized for being boring. His defensive system was pretty much the opposite of the Guy Carbonneau free-for-all that brought the team to the top of the Eastern Conference in the 2007-2008 season.

But because there was no system, the players didn't have any boundaries to work within. It was as if chaos ensued and the coach was but a meaningless figurehead position.

Bob Gainey brought in Jacques Martin, who had previously been unable to take the Ottawa Senators deep into the playoffs after several strong regular season performances in the early 2000s. Many thought that the Sens' collapses were due to their lack of a good goaltender—no offense to Patrick Lalime. (His stint as GM/coach of the Florida Panthers shall go unmentioned: Everyone, including himself, was happy when Martin left.)

In his two seasons as coach of the Habs, Martin has been blessed by two stellar goalies.

Jaroslav Halak had a great 2009-2010 season and looked immortal in the Canadiens' Cinderalla playoff run. Carey Price contended for the Vezina until late last season when his team may have arguably let him down. Fatigue may have been an issue or perhaps Lady Luck wasn't on his side, but Price and the Habs were one goal away from downing the Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins in overtime of Game 7.

We all know that story, though.

With all of Martin's curious line shuffles, benchings and inability to see the things that every serious fan could, his team came pretty close both years he was behind the bench.

However, with assistant coach Kirk Muller leaving the team for a head coaching job with the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL, this year can prove to be a tad more difficult for Martin.

Jacques has been dumped on for his inability to communicate—especially with younger players. That was a role that Muller embraced.

Andrei Kostitsyn has already (allegedly) voiced his displeasure with the coach and the role that he wants him to play.

Martin can take a few different approaches this season. He can rely on his veterans to convey his brand of hockey—which, albeit boring, is effective, in my opinion—to the younger players on the team, he can hope that new assistant Randy Cunneyworth can fill the void that Muller is leaving or he can try to communicate with his players himself.

As much as I think that the last approach is the best one, I highly doubt that Martin will employ it.

If the system wins the Canadiens hockey games, fans should be happy with the coach. Still, though, I understand the reticence that comes with a man that players don't just dislike, but are unable to speak to.

I hope gaps are bridged one way or another and all of the players buy into "The System."

Jason is on Twitter: @jhytel