It's on me

Well reading all the habs pundits and habs fans on twitter there is really one major problem with the team and his name is Michel Therrien. Without Therrien at the helm this team would challenge for first place. Another coach could easily make the lines magically become productive especially with Galchenyuk as the number one center. The likes of Beaulieu, Pateryn and Andrighetto could be headed for stardom but are being held back by Michel Therrien's stubborn refusal to play young players. Once we rid ourselves of the rot known as Desharnais, Gilbert, and Weise this team will challenge for the Cup. Seriously.

If we look at the talent level on this team it is abundantly clear that this team lacks in many departments. We have three players that are bona fide stars or productive players in Price, Subban and Pacioretty. We have one player who is close to them in Gallagher. Galchenyuk has for 2 years shown inconsistent bursts of offensive talent and may be headed to stardom. After these players we have a problem.  

Putting it another way can Price, Subban, Gallagher, Pacioretty, and Galchenyuk compete on par with Quick, Doughty, Carter, Kopitar, Toffoli, and Lucic, or with Crawford, Toews, Kane, Hossa, Panarin, Seabrook, and Keith. Seriously. I haven't even discussed other very good teams like the Stars, Blues, Caps, and Lightening.

I have to agree with Marc Bergevin. It is on him. Honestly, I like Bergevin he looks and dresses as a bon vivant. However, as everyone blames Therrien for the collapse maybe we should scrutinize more carefully the record of one Marc Bergevin. 

First, we can start with the organization he has in place. He hired Sylvain Lefebrve as his AHL coach. He hired Michel Therrien as his head coach. I have to ask myself has any player developed under Lefebrve to become a bona fide NHLer? First round picks like Tinordi and Beaulieu were never NHL ready  playing under Lefebrve. Beaulieu lucked out by sticking with the big team and has slowly started to develop. Galchenyuk really lucked out by never playing for him. A couple of defencemen like Morgan Ellis and Darren Dietz who had great final junior years, have steadily gone downhill under the tutelage of Lefebrve. I worry that somebody like Mike Mccarron who improved dramatically every junior year will steadily decline under Lefebrve and become a big Palooka. 

Bergy hired three Assistant GM's, Rick Dudley, Scott Mellanby, and Martin Lapointe. These three were all very good character players in their day. However, did we need all of them? Did their hockey knowledge translate into correct player evaluation and did their contacts lead to great trades? Well no.

When evaluating Bergy we have to start and finish with his decision-making and player moves. The players that Bergy has brought in under his tenure are Ryder, Prust, Vanek, Briere, Petry, DSP, Sekac, Kassian, Semin, Scott, Barberio, Weaver, Bouillon, Parros, Lessio, Thomas, Budaj, Scrivens, Murray, Weise, Drewiskie, Armstrong, Parenteau, Gonchar, Malhotra, Mitchell, Flynn, Byron, Tangredi, Gilbert, Allen, Holloway, and Fleischmann. Hallejulah these were the players that were going to get the habs to the promised land. Seriously. 

I think the time has come for Bergy to show cajones and make serious player moves. Yes that means taking risks. The core of the team is in their prime except for Plekanec and Markov. Since neither of these players are going to get better in the future it is time to try and trade them. Plekanec should have some value for a cup contending team. Markov may have less value but he brings invaluable experience. We should consider what other teams are willing to give us for Emelin, Beaulieu and Eller. Yes the latter two could potentially be stars in this league but considering how inconsistent they are maybe it is time to see if we can get players that could fit better with our core players. Yes Marc we are waiting for the big trade. Time is ticking...