Right now Gainey has not fixed the real weaknesses of this team, a quality center, a scoring winger and another puck moving defenceman. At this point Gainey is counting on Koviu and Markov staying healthy and being able to play a full season, Huet not being a flash in the pan, and the younger players not regressing, and another young player (Kositysn,Grabvosky) stepping up with an unexpected contribution. If all these combinations do not come together then this team as presently constructed does not make the playoffs.

To writeoff Gainey and the habs at this point though seems premature. Last year the Oilers did not make major moves until August, when they acquired Pronger and Peca via trades. They did not even address the most glaring weakness, goaltending until the trade deadline when they got Roloson. Gainey has some major assets (some very highly regarded young prospect ssonly a year or two away) that he can move to address the teams needs. A year ago at this time,Buffalo, Edmonton,Aneheim were teams with major holes in their lineups and counting on a bunch of below the radar young players to carry them. in each case those young players gave their gm's the ability to make moves that pushed them deep into the playoffs. It is only July 10th, the Habs could look much different come opening night.