Montreal Canadiens: It’s More on the GM Than the Coach
By Omar L
Montreal Canadiens fans have been looking for someone to blame for the team’s recent struggles but Claude Julie shouldn’t be the one to get it.
It can’t be a good feeling for the Montreal Canadiens right now. Last season ended prematurely for them, based on their expectations, and the hope was they could start from where they left off this year. The team’s record has been a complete 180 from what it was at the beginning of the 2016-2017 season. Montreal was undefeated in their first six games then, but now they are 1-5-1.
Most fans have had the same question running through their minds: Why? What is this team doing so wrong to warrant such a bad start to the season? Some of the answers are easy to pick off. The team as a whole hasn’t looked their best at all. All except for Jonathan Drouin and Victor Mete who have been improving each game.
There are some who are calling for Claude Julien‘s job because of this. Sure it’s the coach’s role to make sure that the team is ready to play, but there is only so much he can do. Additionally, he just got here. Keep in mind that Julien has only coached the Montreal Canadiens in 36 games (disregarding his previous stint with them from 2002-2006). That’s far from enough time to gauge his ability to manage the team.
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There are some changes to the lineup he’s made that I personally haven’t agreed with, but firing him won’t solve anything. Especially when you take into account that there is no better coach out there available to replace him.
Defensive lapses has been plauging the Habs since the start of the season and Carey Price hasn’t looked himself at times. That being said, the main issue for the team has been one that is all too familiar.
It’s On Bergevin
According the Natural Stat Trick, the Montreal Canadiens have been getting the higher percentage of regular and high danger scoring chances. There were only two games where this wasn’t the case. Those being the matchups against Buffalo and most recently San Jose.
The team is getting their chances to put the puck in the net, but have only scored five. This is the exact same problem that got the Habs eliminated in the playoffs last season. Marc Bergevin stated many times over the summer that the priority was to improve goal scoring. Then it changed when he told TSN’s Bob McKenzie that the team just needs to capitalize on their opportunities.
Related Story: Key Details From the TSN Bergevin Interview
The fact of the matter is this: if the loses and the lack of goals continue, the finger of blame has to be pointed directly at Bergevin. This isn’t to say that he should be fired. It’s gotten to the point where management can’t afford to wait and see if the players can figure it out. They need help. They need something or someone who can help them convert on those chances.
Bergevin didn’t do a well enough job in the summer to add that, and the team is suffering from it now. We are seeing the aftereffects of not having Andrei Markov and Alexander Radulov. The Canadiens GM did say that he did his best in trying to get them signed so we can’t be too critical on him for it. However, the replacements haven’t done much.
This losing streak won’t last forever as the team will work things out eventually. At the same time, Bergevin can’t sweep this under the rug. There are signs that he may have some kind of move coming and it’ll be interesting to see how it impacts the team moving forward.
Who do you think it’s right to blame? What can be done to fix things? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.