barry33 wrote:

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To answer a few points..yes I am fully and fluently bilingual. Although English, I am well aware of the situation in Quebec. It is not alot unlike the situation in New Brunswick. NB is a bilingual province where it is virtually impossible here to get a decent job without speaking french and english. It is just a fact I learned to live with many years ago and rather than whine about it and make excuses, I chose to learn another language. How do you think a guy like Lacavalier felt when he moved to Tampa and could hardly speak English? If your argument is true then in theory, all french players would want to play in Montreal because it would be so hard to play in an English city? The bottom line is getting the job done. If a team is losing , no one cares if the team is riddled with injuries or bad luck..if they do not win the coach gets canned. Do your points have some legitimacy (ie language, media, taxes)? Absolutely. And I do not mean to discount them. They are factors...not reasons. However, we cannot continue to use them as a crutch or an excuse. Gainey has to be more creative. Kovalev has said that Montreal is the best city he has ever played in. Koivu the same. Doug Gilmour and Kirk Muller the same when they were there. These are world class players. Gainey is one of the most well respected hockey minds in the business. He has connections with guys like Arnott and Langenbruner, yet they chose to sign elsewhere. Arnott for 4.5 mill. I refuse to say that Montreal is that bad a place to play that Arnott could not have been a hab for 5 mill (well worth it). Sydney Crosby said he would play in Montreal in a heartbeat. Whenever we fail to sign someone I hear things like "Weight- over the hill performer" (All he did was help Carolina win a Cup), Jovonoski- overated etc etc.. Obviously 75% of the other teams in the league chasing them did not think so?  In closing let me say this. If these overpaid millionaires are so sensitive that they worry about the media, or fans..or an extra 50 grand in taxes..we do not want them anyway and maybe that is the approach Gainey is using.

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Sorry I have to correct you Barry, but Lecavalier was as bilingual as you or I are, by the time he reached Tampa.  He played his development hockey at Notre Dame College in Wilcox, Sask., then tried out for a Jr. A team in Hawkesbury, Ontario. He could communicate quite well in the English language.

Perhaps 75% of the teams were chasing these free agents, but I'm curious to know why the teams that they originated from did not come to terms with a new contract. Perhaps the teams they were playing for did not feel that they were worth their weight in gold. Doug Weight did absolutely ziltch for the Canes yet they paid him 7 million. Is that the type of player we want in Montreal. If he was so wonderful, how come the Canes didn't re-sign him?

Martin St. Louis played part of his Junior Hockey in Ontario, before going to an English University in Vermont. He is another French Canadian who had to learn the language in oder to progress in hockey. English is the main language used by professional coaches. These young French Canadians know that they have to develope the ability to speak English in order to make the move into the ranks of the Professionals.  Once A Pro player has reached these ranks, he no longer has to do so unless he wishes to improve himself. Yes Sdney would love to play in Montreal, he speaks the language to some extent. He is capable of handling that extra pressure- he had to during his development years in Rimouski. 

I guess my point Barry is, if you or I were  professional hockey players with young families and an English speaking wife, and you had the opportunity have your family live in a warm climate and your children and wife did not have to concern themselves about the language they spoke, what would you do as a husband? You have 3 job offers - all paying very similar money.

Habtastic wrote:

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Lecavalier went to HS on the very English West-Island and went to John Rennie which is part of the English School Board that I work for. He brought the Cup there after Tampa won it. Considering how hard it is for us to get FAs, imagine how hard it would have been for Quebec if they were still around! Habtastic

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Lacvalier is a poor example..but I am sure there are many players who never left the province of Quebec, played Junior there, and landed in some fluently french city like Dallas or Carolina. Not to mention the poor buggers that have to come over here from places like Russia and Sweden.

Add Shanahan to that list..looks like he will sign in Beantown (he lives there in the summer). Boy if that happens look for us to wave buh bye as Boston blows by us in the standings.

Jay1982 wrote:

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barry33 wrote: Add Shanahan to that list..looks like he will sign in Beantown (he lives there in the summer). Boy if that happens look for us to wave buh bye as Boston blows by us in the standings. Just like Pittsburg was gonna do to everyone last year?

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At least Pittsburgh TRIED to improve their team..I would rather try to do something and lose then sit on my ass and lose anyway.

barry33 wrote:

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How do you think a guy like Lacavalier felt when he moved to Tampa and could hardly speak English? If your argument is true then in theory, all french players would want to play in Montreal because it would be so hard to play in an English city?

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Nonsense. In Tampa they think it's cute if you're a guy from Quebec who speaks lousy English. Not the same thing at all if you're a guy in Montreal who speaks lousy French. Pretending Montreal is same as any other place is like pretending small-market teams started equal with everyone else in the pre-cap era. Yeah you can overcome the odds, but that doesn't mean they aren't against you.

I don't see how it's an excuse to acknowledge the pretty obvious fact that any GM is going to have a tougher time in Montreal than any other city these days. Especially when you consider that Gainey's already attempted to make some of those big deals we want from him but couldn't even when offering extra cash, you have to realize that we have a unique dilemma here with the Habs. Instead of blaming Gainey, let's see what he tries to do about it.

So far I'm confident things will be all right (although I actually haven't liked many of Gainey's moves or draft picks, I do like the way the team is improving as a unit via his relatively risk-free and gradual approach)...

Anyway the endless attacks on Gainey around here remind me vaguely of precisely what makes Montreal a tough prospect at times: noone gives you a pressure-free moment. I don't think Gainey's got a free ride, and if he has, maybe that would be good for a few years. Look at the teams that have been winning lately: Carolina, Dallas, New Jersey, Colorado and Tampa Bay account for all of the non-Detroit cups since 1994. Let's not be in denial about the fact that NON-HOCKEY TOWNS are winning most of the cups right now. Why? not only because players want to play in a less pressure-cooker environment, but also because GMs were given a chance to rebuild gradually.

I still think Gainey is a guy who will find a way to overcome this situation.

By the way.,..great to see you all are keeping the debates alive. PEI's so mellow in summer I almost forgot about hockey....