Why would the Habs let frontline free agents walk away for nothing then throw all that money at second-line players?
When the 2008-09 NHL season kicked off, I could be counted among those who believed the Montreal Canadiens had set themselves up as a Stanley Cup contender for years to come.
I marvelled at the way general manager Bob Gainey had constructed a team, mostly through the draft, that boasted an impressive combination of skilled veterans and eager youngsters who could push one another in a winning direction. The Habs had speed, skill and, based on his play as a rookie, a dependable young goaltender in Carey Price who had people mentioning his name in the same breath as Dryden and Roy. Not bad.
Less than a year later the Canadiens are in shambles. The 100th anniversary victory parade? Never mind.
Gainey is now in a rebuilding mode following a horrible season in which the Canadiens not only didn't win the Cup, they didn't make it out of the opening round of playoffs. Based on what he did on the first day of free-agent season, the job is far from over. A team that was so close to being a bona fide Cup contender is now just another team hoping to get back to the postseason.
That is going to be a huge challenge unless you think the likes of Scott Gomez, Mike Cammalleri, Brian Gionta, Jaroslav Spacek and Hal Gill can suddenly transform into frontline players. Gainey, for some ungodly reason, allowed 10 of his players to become unrestricted free agents and then overpaid for second-line talent while his team's best player, Alex Kovalev, remains unsigned. Based on the money the Canadiens paid for replacement players, there probably isn't enough left in the kitty to bring Kovalev back -- that is, if he's even interested in returning.
It is almost incomprehensible what has happened to this organization, which, by the way, was recently sold to the Molson family. A year ago the Canadiens were being held up as one of the league's model organizations. Many believed glory days were just around the corner. They drafted well, patiently groomed their youngsters in the American Hockey League before promoting them to the parent club, and had a clear-cut vision of where the team was going.
So where is this team going now?
Well, some of the youngsters the team was looking at as a foundation on which to build can no longer be counted on. If you believe the rumours that circulated around Montreal last winter, the kids were more interested in partying than playing. And it showed.
Price has gone from being a phenom to a question mark. Based on his shaky play this past season there is no reason to suggest he'll snap out of his funk, although that possibility should not be dismissed as unthinkable. But he needs to prove to the hockey world, especially those based in Montreal, he still has it.
In the past few years the Canadiens have also let too many frontline players walk with nothing coming back in return. Sheldon Souray, Michael Ryder, Mark Streit and now Mike Komisarek were all valuable assets the Habs elected to keep at the trade deadline in an effort to make the playoffs only to lose them for nothing in the summer. They also lost Francois Beauchemin and Ron Hainsey to waivers. There is no possible way to justify this. Lose one or two players, sure, but how about learning from your mistakes? That is simply bad management.
And what do Habs fans have to look forward to?
Let's see. Gomez is a nice player, but he is also the poster child for players who are vastly overpaid. The two years he spent with the Rangers were miserable, unless you count back-to-back 16-goal seasons at more than $7 million a year to be a wise investment.
To Cammalleri's credit, he joined the Calgary Flames last season and did what every impending UFA dreams of -- he went out and produced a career-high 39 goals. The question is can he do it again? To justify the $6 million a year the Canadiens will pay him for the next five years, he'd better come darn close.
Gionta, meanwhile, welcomed the new NHL following the lockout with a 48-goal season. Since he has had years of 25, 22 and 20 goals, yet Gainey gave him a whopping raise, $5 million a year for five years.
By my count, that is $18 million a year committed to three second-line players.
As for Gainey additions on defence, Spacek and Gill, well neither has ever been mistaken for a Norris Trophy candidate, although they are decent, hard-working chaps who should be able to play a role on the club. That said they are a drop down from Komisarek, Streit and Souray.
One can only assume Gainey is not finished. He'd better not be because this rag-tag collection of players won't make the playoffs, let alone win a Cup to kick off the franchise's second century.