CJ better start worrying!

AB Habman · Guru

CJ better start worrying!

barry33 · Guru

I agree AB. The fact that CJ was hired by Gainey's predecessor and not hand picked by Bob put Claude behind the 8 ball right off the bat. Is Jarvis the answer? Not in my opinion but perhaps a change of personalities may be enough. One other factor is the fact that Jarvis is not Francophone nor bilingual. Aside from Scotty Bowman and Bob Berry (who lasted 3 months I think) off the top of my head I do not remember too many Habs coaches who were anglophone.

One thing I will point out is this. Anyone who knows Claude and his coaching style would call him anything but mild mannered. No you do not see him waving his arms and screaming behind the bench at every call the ref misses. But I can tell you that in the dressing room when you are not playing well you hear it.

I have been a coach for alot of years and one thing that I did learn was this. That you do your team no good as far as getting the calls from the officials by being an idiot and hollering after every call.

flowerpower · Veteran Member

Getting rid of CJ is not the answer - he is a good coach. The players have to start playing hard if we lose than we lose. We need all the guys on the team to play 110% - then we can start making evaluations. I think making trades right now it jumping the gun. I said it another post - Montreal will be fighting for the 7th or 8th spot at the end of the year. Thats okay as long as we make the playoffs I'll be happy

JohnM · Guru

CJ will not be fired nor should he be fired. We are 8 games above .500 without Theo playing good hockey, Souray being our worst defenceman and only 1 line firing right now. As many people have mentioned, this is a long season and there will be ups and downs. We will get into the playoffs and who knows from there. As long as CJ figures out what's wrong right now and points the ship in the right direction we will be ok. On a positive note, the Habs played a good 40 minutes yesterday, just wasn't enough to beat the Leafs, AGAIN!

barry33 · Guru

JohnM wrote:

CJ will not be fired nor should he be fired. We are 8 games above .500 without Theo playing good hockey, Souray being our worst defenceman and only 1 line firing right now. As many people have mentioned, this is a long season and there will be ups and downs. We will get into the playoffs and who knows from there. As long as CJ figures out what's wrong right now and points the ship in the right direction we will be ok. On a positive note, the Habs played a good 40 minutes yesterday, just wasn't enough to beat the Leafs, AGAIN!

I felt last night it was not so much teh Habs getting off to a slow start as it was the Leafs coming out firing on all cylinders. Unfortunately, as good as Theo was later in the game, we needed him to be sharp early until the boy sgot their legs under them. Momentum is a funny thing and it is almost impossible to keep momentum for 3 periods (especially with the amount of penalties in the new look league). Toronto definately had the momentum early on but Montreal got it back for the most part and had it until the chincy call against Rivet.

hockeyman · Senior Member

Fu**ing McCabe clutched and grabbed all night and the idiotic referees were turning a blind eye. I don't know what game they were watching. And then low and behold the cheap call on Rivet.

Nil d · Guru

barry33 wrote:

ne other factor is the fact that Jarvis is not Francophone nor bilingual. Aside from Scotty Bowman and Bob Berry (who lasted 3 months I think) off the top of my head I do not remember too many Habs coaches who were anglophone.

Scotty Bowman is from Montreal and is fluently bilingual, so he doesn't even count. Toe Blake was anglophone, as was Dick Irvin, but we're going way back now......

Jay1982 · Guru

It's all politics now a days. We won't be getting a coach that doesn't know how to speak French, what do you think one of the reasons was that got Mike Keane traded to Colorado.

I hate it that the french media plays a part in the Habs game.

Muller93 · Guru

it's ironic that the politics involving the Montreal Canadians is exactly why the habs have been an average team now for about 20 years. Back in the glory days the habs had access to a majority of francophone players. Thus a powerhouse was born during those era's.

Those times are gone. That kind of politics does not work for any franchise or company. The best players or coaches should be selected, without worrying about language( not that I don't like CJ, I actually think he is very very good).

AB Habman · Guru

I hope you guys are right and that the ship is corrected before CJ has to pay the price! I like him also!

What is Gainey's expectations? Was it really to get 7th or 8 th spot and squeek into the playoffs? I think he expects more then that! If so, we will know soon enough by how he reacts to the loses!

Johab · Guru

AB Habman wrote:

With Gainey taking some serious notes, it could also mean that CJ might take the fall for the poor play! Whether he's responsible or not, coaches are usually amongst the first casualties! With Gaineys good friend and x-teamate available, Gainey will not hesitate to hand the job to Jarvis! I like CJ! Overall a good positive coach but maybe too mild manored and the players may be taking that for granted! There has to be more recourse for their poor play of late! If Gainey is having problems making a solid trade and the Habs keep losing then goodbye CJ!

Hey AB, dont take any offence from my post about someone mentioning the team turing on CJ. Its from a post i read a few days ago and i know for certain it wasnt from you. This post makes sense and i agree with you. Coaches are sadly the first to go when teams start to struggle. But i dont think Claude is going to be packing any time soon. Claude has a good team bond and to throw a new guy in and a new system wouldnt really help the team. Plus Jarvis is already Assistant coach. So in a way he would be to blame partially too.

Johab · Guru

Montreals goal this season is not to win the Stanely cup but to get as close as possible and make as much a profit in the playoffs as possible so during the off-season we can acquire more players ( better players) to make a stronger push next year. The re-building period is over and it is now reaching the its this year or not at all. MAny teams have had that these past years and have dropped. Philidelphia is going to be the next New Jersey. Clarke is getting deserate cuz he has beento the finals more than once and failed...with good teams. Im confident in Gainey. He did it in Dallas, he did it with the habs on the ice. The guy will get us up there again. LEts just be happy for whatever out habs get this year. As long as we are reasonable. I think a 4-6 place finish is reasonable. Above 7th place which is an inprovement from the previous post season appearance. And a 1-3 finish in the conference would be an over-achievement and any assessments would be false for the next season because we really wouldnt know how good this team is. Look at Carolina Anehiem Calgary Washington etc....

barry33 · Guru

Johab wrote:

Montreals goal this season is not to win the Stanely cup but to get as close as possible and make as much a profit in the playoffs as possible so during the off-season we can acquire more players ( better players) to make a stronger push next year. The re-building period is over and it is now reaching the its this year or not at all. MAny teams have had that these past years and have dropped. Philidelphia is going to be the next New Jersey. Clarke is getting deserate cuz he has beento the finals more than once and failed...with good teams. Im confident in Gainey. He did it in Dallas, he did it with the habs on the ice. The guy will get us up there again. LEts just be happy for whatever out habs get this year. As long as we are reasonable. I think a 4-6 place finish is reasonable. Above 7th place which is an inprovement from the previous post season appearance. And a 1-3 finish in the conference would be an over-achievement and any assessments would be false for the next season because we really wouldnt know how good this team is. Look at Carolina Anehiem Calgary Washington etc....

Finally! The voice of reason from a teenager! Well put Johab. By the way there are times I wish we were in the "Southleast" Division. No question I think our division is the toughest in the league and all the increased emphasis on inter-division play makes it onlly tougher. As for Claude being worried. He told me this summer it is the least thing he worries about (being fired). He has a contract and security and knows that if not Montreal, someplace else. But I have seen no evidence of the team turning on him or not playing for him. In fact, quite the opposite. I see him hollering encouragement back there. I see him giving it to the ref when he needs to. Last night he is almost on the ice chasing the officials. I have said it before. If the players we have need to have their hand held and babysat perhaps the coach is not the problem. But sadly as AB says, the coach pays the price.