Have Spoken to Claude

barry33 · Guru

Have Spoken to Claude

Pablo Honey · Veteran Member

barry33 wrote:

Wasting a 5th overal;l pick on a goalie..horrible.

I know it's only a small portion of your post, but how can you say it's a horrible move? With Theo struggling and good goalies always being a rare commodity in this league, how can you judge the effectiveness of this move BEFORE Price has even set foot on the ice in a Habs uniform? I just don't get it.

barry33 · Guru

Pablo Honey wrote:

barry33 wrote: Wasting a 5th overal;l pick on a goalie..horrible. I know it's only a small portion of your post, but how can you say it's a horrible move? With Theo struggling and good goalies always being a rare commodity in this league, how can you judge the effectiveness of this move BEFORE Price has even set foot on the ice in a Habs uniform? I just don't get it.

because Price was not even rated to go in the first round let alone fifth. We have Danis in Hamilton. And we passed over players that could have addressed pressing needs like defence and scoring. Why draft a goalie 5th an dthen sign Theo to a big contract? makes no sense to me. Besides, Price could not crack the National Junior team this year and is having a horrible year with his own team.

davidb · Guru

Barry, I responded to the other post. "Coaching Change" I hope you read it. i think it sume up my feelings and I hope the feelings of a lot of other posters. Who knows what will happen. Bruins are now poised to dump Sullivan. maybe they will ask Clauded to coach. At leate there the coach makes the on ice decisions

Nil d · Guru

Barry: I just got home and read the news about Claude. I am stunned. Claude is a victim of a harsh reality - you can't fire 20 players, so you fire the coach.

I will argue with you, Barry, on one point: The Habs' lineup is NOT AHL calibre. This is a team with talent, and to the extent they are underachieving (which most of them are this year), then the coach has to take some responsibility for that. Having said that, I believe Claude did all the right moves (within the constraints put on him by Gainey) and said all the right things. The fact that the players did not respond is more a reflection on them than on Claude, and for that I feel very badly for him.

This I believe: The man is the best coach the Habs have had since possibly Bowman, and is a class act all the way. I think very highly of the guy, and through you, Barry, almost feel that I know him personally. If I did, I'm sure I would love the guy, and I feel badly for you that a friend has been a victim of other people's shortcomings.

Let these people (the players) look in the mirror, and they'd better not like what they see. They should reward Claude's class and loyalty by playing up to their capacity and bringing a work ethic and excitement back to this storied franchise.

Habhead · Veteran Member

As far as Gainey's moves - the fifth pick on a goalie looks to be like a good one considering Theo has gone awol talent wise and *probably won't be back, just MHO of course. The Bonk trade was bad, we could really use Garon now (who I preferred over Theo to begin with) and Bonk has done diddly. But the worst move BG has done was sign Theo to that rediculous contract, Theodore is NOT Roy, and never will be. I was shaking my head upon learning of that signing.

As far as CJ, I thought he was a good coach. But, the team has definitely quit on him. I agree a change had to be made for the sake of change, nothing against Julien the HC or the person. These things happen all the time of pro sports. I would've much preferred to have seen a trade or two (Theo/Ribs), but I'm not surprised there were no takers.

Tonights game should be interesting, to say the least . . .

Go Habs!

Figaro · Guru

At the time, the Bonk trade looked good. How was Bob to know we'd get 1 goal out of it? At the time, it was alright. I admit, though, I was one who would rather have kept Garon, but just because Bonk has been useless doesn't mean that at the time the trade seemed alright.

So Barry, if I understand you, CJ has been on the board and either reads the posts and calls you or has he posted here secretely? (I think Habarounie disappeared around the same time CJ took over in MTL...just maybe :P)

Ando · Guru

Coaching in Montreal sure must be a difficult job...and CJ did EVERYTHING he could to carry the torch...and And-o knows that CJ will land on his feet!

...but Bob is in charge now - so let's just sit back and see what happens!

ray · Senior Member

I agree with Barry about drafting Price, yes one day this kid may be good, but to draft him fifth overall when he have bigger concerns, was in mind a really bad mistake, who knows he may prove me wrong. Yes he is a Kid but he didn't make the Juniors and has had a bad year in the WHL. we could of had Luc Bourdon or Gilbert Brule. I was shocked when the habs selected Price, especially after watching the Lotto balls and Montreal kept climbing the ladder to a fifth pick. One I is was excited to see the Leafs logo go 22nd and then the Habs fifth. but when they drafted Price instead of a player we need in another position i was very disappointed. Our draft picks have been scary, reminds me of the Lindsay Vallis, Brent Bilodeau and Terry Ryan picks. Wow our draft guys can't get any worse, can they?

Habtastic · Guru

ray wrote:

I agree with Barry about drafting Price, yes one day this kid may be good, but to draft him fifth overall when he have bigger concerns, was in mind a really bad mistake, who knows he may prove me wrong. Yes he is a Kid but he didn't make the Juniors and has had a bad year in the WHL. we could of had Luc Bourdon or Gilbert Brule. I was shocked when the habs selected Price, especially after watching the Lotto balls and Montreal kept climbing the ladder to a fifth pick. One I is was excited to see the Leafs logo go 22nd and then the Habs fifth. but when they drafted Price instead of a player we need in another position i was very disappointed. Our draft picks have been scary, reminds me of the Lindsay Vallis, Brent Bilodeau and Terry Ryan picks. Wow our draft guys can't get any worse, can they?

Habs have a policy, and I agree with it, that you draft by skill level, not need. Price was a top-ten prospect and Montreal thought he was the best of what was left and so they took him. He was beat out by more experienced goalies for the Junior team, dissapointing, but not career ending. He is still believed to be a top notch prospect and I will give him a few years before I think he is Terry Ryan with a mask.

Habtastic

Johnny USA · Veteran Member

So I admit that it is difficult for someone in Boston to have a feel for the pulse of a team in Montreal (99% of what I know about our beloved Habs I read about on this web site), but from where I stood it did not appear to be a lack of coaching talent or coaching effort that has the Habs in their current tailspin. I liked CJ from the start, and still do. Gainey, I guess, had to do something, and what's easier than canning the guy with the whistle?

CJ will land on his feet somewhere. The guy is too good to languish for long, and I for one wish him nothing but the best in his future endeavors. Montreal lost not only a good coach, but a good guy as well.

-- Edited by Johnny USA at 14:31, 2006-01-14

Pablo Honey · Veteran Member

barry33 wrote:

because Price was not even rated to go in the first round let alone fifth. We have Danis in Hamilton. And we passed over players that could have addressed pressing needs like defence and scoring. Why draft a goalie 5th an dthen sign Theo to a big contract? makes no sense to me. Besides, Price could not crack the National Junior team this year and is having a horrible year with his own team.

Not true. He was rated in the top 10.

Signing Theo to a contract was done because Price is still years away from starting. No one believed Theo would have the type of year he's having. Obviously the scouts saw something in Price that says he's the future. Just because he didn't make the junior team, doesn't mean his career is over. This is probably the earliest I've ever seen a fan quit on a prospect.

Sooner or later we'll all be hanging out at the hospital, at the maternity ward and writing off new-born babies as future busts.

plouf · Guru

Habhead wrote:

As far as Gainey's moves - the fifth pick on a goalie looks to be like a good one considering Theo has gone awol talent wise and *probably won't be back, just MHO of course. The Bonk trade was bad, we could really use Garon now (who I preferred over Theo to begin with) and Bonk has done diddly. But the worst move BG has done was sign Theo to that rediculous contract, Theodore is NOT Roy, and never will be. I was shaking my head upon learning of that signing. As far as CJ, I thought he was a good coach. But, the team has definitely quit on him. I agree a change had to be made for the sake of change, nothing against Julien the HC or the person. These things happen all the time of pro sports. I would've much preferred to have seen a trade or two (Theo/Ribs), but I'm not surprised there were no takers. Tonights game should be interesting, to say the least . . . Go Habs!

This post, and Nil d's before, are both levelheaded and right on. Gainey has been a fairly conservative GM so far, but things have gone fairly well in terms of a general talent upgrade, really, considering the crap he had to work with when he arrived. Montreal is rated consistently as having one of the best crops of youngsters in the league by writers from other cities. I disagree that they are mostly AHL-level.

As for Julien, great coach, class act. Really, I wish we were able to keep him. But the team does seem to have quit on him. This reflects poorly on the players, and probably some bad eggs have to be weeded out. But as many have pointed out, getting rid of players who are passengers is tricky, very tricky if they are media darlings in Montreal. If it had been up to me though, I probably wouldn't have fired CJ but would have continued to give him more time...I'm even more slow to act than Gainey I guess.

One final thing (for Barry)...I'm curious which players (the ones who Barry said would be surprising) were the ones Julien thought of as showing too little effort. It could be a lot of different people I suppose, except maybe Koivu, who kills himself out there. If Julien had unkind words to say about Koivu then I lose a lot of respect for the man, because Koivu's effort was always visible on the ice.

barry33 · Guru

Habtastic wrote:

ray wrote: I agree with Barry about drafting Price, yes one day this kid may be good, but to draft him fifth overall when he have bigger concerns, was in mind a really bad mistake, who knows he may prove me wrong. Yes he is a Kid but he didn't make the Juniors and has had a bad year in the WHL. we could of had Luc Bourdon or Gilbert Brule. I was shocked when the habs selected Price, especially after watching the Lotto balls and Montreal kept climbing the ladder to a fifth pick. One I is was excited to see the Leafs logo go 22nd and then the Habs fifth. but when they drafted Price instead of a player we need in another position i was very disappointed. Our draft picks have been scary, reminds me of the Lindsay Vallis, Brent Bilodeau and Terry Ryan picks. Wow our draft guys can't get any worse, can they? Habs have a policy, and I agree with it, that you draft by skill level, not need. Price was a top-ten prospect and Montreal thought he was the best of what was left and so they took him. He was beat out by more experienced goalies for the Junior team, dissapointing, but not career ending. He is still believed to be a top notch prospect and I will give him a few years before I think he is Terry Ryan with a mask. Habtastic

Yes and certainloy that policy has worked very well for us to date....

Nil d · Guru

Johnny USA wrote:

So I admit that it is difficult for someone in Boston to have a feel for the pulse of a team in Montreal (99% of what I know about our beloved Habs I read about on this web site),

That's OK, Johnny; 100% of what we know about you comes from this site!