How do you Rebuild... The Montreal Canadiens?

[SotasicA]

Trade away the entire roster. Get a bunch of scrubs and rejects in return, and sign a couple more to fill a roster. Literally start from nothing. Then just win your division and sweep your 1st round opponent.

Worked for the Knights.

 

[Church Hill]

Management is garbage. Poor personnel decisions for years despite having some talent.

 

[DKH]

Management needs to stay off social
Media

 

[Lshap]

Yes, inevitably. That's why Montreal's list of coaches reads like a list of current or future hall of famers. That's why all NHL teams are rushing to hire European coaches, because they don't want to end up with lesser talent. They want "the best!" regardless of all other factors... Give it up. It just isn't true. There are more quality candidates than there are jobs. There is absolutely no proof than Montreal's francophone policy has hurt them. I challenge you to find proof. And when you're searching, try to remember Randy Cunneyworth. Try to remember that this is not a team in Arizona.

Montreal's coaches are Hall of Famers?? In what hall?

Once again, the goal is not to hire a "Quality candidate"; it's to hire the best candidate. A language policy prevents that from happening, because by eliminating a large portion of the talent pool you eliminate potentially superior people.

Your request for "Proof" is ridiculous. Prove to me that francophones are always the best candidate.

 

[Lshap]

You've just described a policy...
If Joel Quenneville or Barry Trotz become available, or any other top coach, the team would IMO be able to make the fans accept it. But those guys are available once a generation, the Habs would have to have a vacancy at the time, and they would have to beat out the other teams with vacancies. It's not as if you snap your fingers and the best coach in the league suddenly works for you. The Habs have had great coaches. Whatever they're doing, language has not been a factor. Once again, prove me otherwise.

Once again, prove to me that the best candidates are always francophones. If not, then there should be no reason to hire anyone for GM or coach.

EDIT: To be clear, I'm fine with Julien. However, Bergevin needs to go. Get Lombardi, Fenton, Brisebois, or Guerin to replace him. As far as language, it's a requirement for the job of communicating with the fan base, however it's irrelevant for the job of being an NHL GM. The guy who talks to the francophone media does not have to be the same guy responsible for making trades and signing contracts.

 

[Lshap]

While language is an obvious part of a discussion about the team's decision-making, let's stick to the Habs and avoid straying into cultural waters.

 

[ismelofhockey]

Your request for "Proof" is ridiculous. Prove to me that francophones are always the best candidate.

Prove to me that any coach is the best candidate. It's impossible. But I have done my best, and I believe I have been successful, in showing that Montreal's coaches have almost all been high quality candidates. That should not happen in your version of reality. I have also given an example where picking an anglophone coach was a disaster. What have you brought to the discussion other than hammering on your opinion that language has hurt the Habs? You have no proof. You don't even have supporting arguments. You have your opinion, and you are sticking to it even if there is nothing to support it. That's your right I guess. But it's lazy.

 

[sharknado]

Prove to me that any coach is the best candidate. It's impossible. But I have done my best, and I believe I have been successful, in showing that Montreal's coaches have almost all been high quality candidates. That should not happen in your version of reality. I have also given an example where picking an anglophone coach was a disaster. What have you brought to the discussion other than hammering on your opinion that language has hurt the Habs? You have no proof. You don't even have supporting arguments. You have your opinion, and you are sticking to it even if there is nothing to support it. That's your right I guess. But it's lazy.

Your proof was Cunneyworth. An assistant coach selected as interim coach in a tanking season. It took the Francophone media no more than 2 hours to cause a big fuss just because he was not able to talk to that one reporter in his language. That was followed by the most embarrassing public protest in the history of the NHL.

 

[Lshap]

Prove to me that any coach is the best candidate. It's impossible. But I have done my best, and I believe I have been successful, in showing that Montreal's coaches have almost all been high quality candidates. That should not happen in your version of reality. I have also given an example where picking an anglophone coach was a disaster. What have you brought to the discussion other than hammering on your opinion that language has hurt the Habs? You have no proof. You don't even have supporting arguments. You have your opinion, and you are sticking to it even if there is nothing to support it. That's your right I guess. But it's lazy.

I'll ask again: Do you believe the best candidate is always francophone?

You response is meaningless until you answer that fundamental point.

 

[Lshap]

Your proof was Cunneyworth. An assistant coach selected as interim coach in a tanking season. It took the Francophone media no more than 2 hours to cause a big fuss just because he was not able to talk to that one reporter in his language. That was followed by the most embarrassing public protest in the history of the NHL.

And following that protest, guess what happened...

Nothing.

Cunneyworth went back to work as coach, the fans went back to the game, and the media went back to their usual post-game interviews with him. Aside from one small grumble, it ceased to be a news story. And that was with a poor coach. The Habs could hire any legit GM or coach and the fans and media would be fine. An anglo GM would be a story for a few days, then everyone would forget about it.

 

[Fire Sweeney]

Unless that imbecile Molson sells the team, they will remain mediocre.

 

[DowntownBooster]

Stop being lazy and find a decent argument. There are more than enough quality candidates who speak French. Bergevin was a rising star when he was hired. There were no obviously better candidates.

It's not lazy to suggest that they should consider candidates that are not bilingual. If there are some quality French speaking candidates then all the power to them. My main point was that they shouldn't limit themselves to only selecting bilingual individuals but also consider all the best candidates even if some only speak English.

 

[CanadianPensFan1]

1. Fire Bergevin
2. Relax on the Francophone issue
3. Profit

 

[Perfect_Drug]

Getting the Habs on the right track is pretty easy.

Start by Fixing the defence.

Trade Shea Weber for a younger cheaper Norris Calibre Dman like PK Subban.
Shore up the D by trading a winger like Drouin for a high end D like Sergachev.
Then for depth, sign a KHL Stalwart LHD. Someone like Andre Markov.

Then with one of the strongest D, and goalie tandems in the league, make an offer to Jonathan Tavares, who will get to play with his childhood friend PK Subban.

With remaining Capspace, sign another high end Forward. Maybe someone like Radulov.

 

[McShogun99]

I would build around Drouin , Galchenyuk and Price. I would then keep veterans like Galagher, Petry and Alzner. Then trade Patches and Weber for a package of prospects/picks. Sign a couple veteran UFA's as stop gaps while the young players develop and hope for a few high draft picks and home runs in the later rounds.

 

[ponder]

It's honestly a tricky situation. If you look at the pieces they have:

• Elite goalie (he had an off year, but he's still one of the best IMO)
• Legit 1D (Weber)
• A solid top 4D (Petry)
• Some good forwards (Patches, Drouin, Chucky, Gallagher, Lehkonen, Scherbak, Danualt, Hudon, etc.), many of whom are pretty young
• Some decent prospects (Mete, Poehling, Juulsen, etc.)
• Lots of great picks in the upcoming draft (their own pick could be VERY high, and they've got what, four 2nds?)

Is it such a flawed core that they need to do a scorched earth rebuild? I'm not so sure. But on the other hand, that core has some promise, but ... is there a clear path to building a contender around it? It would take some very good drafting/trades/signings, and with mediocre management it'd be easy to fall into longterm mediocrity, or worse (think the Leafs for about a decade after the 04/05 lockout, or the Calgary Flames basically always). At the same time, with strong management that's probably a good enough core to start building around.

The best answer is probably to bring in a really great hockey guy at the top (regardless of what languages he speaks), let him build out his dream management team (regardless of what languages they speak), and let them decide the best path forward. Basically, a similar approach to what the Leafs did, when they hired Shanny, and he brought in Hunter, Dubas, Babs, Lou, etc. They decided a pretty severe rebuild was the way to go, shipping out the core vets (#1 forward Kessel, #1 dman Phaneuf, #1 and #2 goalies Bernier and Riemer, etc.), and tanking quite hard in the Matthews draft, but I think the most important decision was to break in great hockey people, and let them focus on a longterm plan. The best path may be a bit different for the Habs than it was for the Leafs, they've got a better group of vets than the Leafs had when Shanny took over.

 

[jetsforever]

Nice try Bergevin... Can't figure out how to fix the Habs so you create a thread on HFBoards

 

[Honour Over Glory]

For one - Hire the best people for the job, not the best french speaking people.

Honestly, that should be it. The rest would just fall into place because the idiocy that is attached to that mentality would stop them from the bias towards francophone players and what not.

 

[BerlinBlueShirt]

It all starts with two moves to bring back former glory.

1- fire Bergevin. Hire Gainey.

2- fire Julian. Hire Vigeneault.

Then to cover your bases. Cue up Pierre Gauthier and Michel Therrien to come in if this doesn't work.

As an aside did anyone else notice how much Julien looks like Bill from King of the Hill?

Hiring Vigneault in a rebuild situation is the worst you can do. He can't work with young players

 

[Devonator]

What you guys badly need is a amnesty in the next collective bargaining agreement so you can either rid yourselves of the Price or Weber contracts....those have the potential to keep your franchise in terrible shape for years to come.....

 

[Chuck Norris Trophy]

Stop giving preferential treatment to French Canadiens

This is the absolute first thing they should do, it is so huge organizational flaw. It won't happen during my lifetime, though.

 

[Deluded Puck]

1. fire whoever decided to trade Subban away.
2. Look for the next Subban'ish player to build the franchise around.

They traded him already!

 

[Pestilence]

1. Sign your GM and coach to a long term contract done
2. Sign players to expensive long term contracts and trade prime players for aging veterans done
3. Publicly imply to the public that the reason team didn't succeed this year is because of the attitude of players done
4. Trade your high draft picks for roster players
5. Sign veteran UFA:s to long term contracts in the summer
6. Publicly say that the team is now built around grit and leadership

Stanley Cup winners 2019, Montreal Canadiens.

 

[snipes]

Tank and/or trade everything in the organization including futures for Alexis Lafreniere in 2020.

 

[ismelofhockey]

I'll ask again: Do you believe the best candidate is always francophone?

You response is meaningless until you answer that fundamental point.

For Montreal? Almost always. Like I've said, there are a few clear cut exceptions. But in most cases, there are more quality candidates than there are jobs, so teams have the leisure of picking the best fit. Think of it like a draft. Teams pick BPA in the early rounds, and pick more based on need in the later rounds. It's not a perfect science where you can go this guy is the best beyond a doubt, again with a few exceptions. The fans will accept an anglophone coach who wins. Montreal is already a high pressure environment. Do you really want to add to that pressure by hiring an anglophone coach? You'd better be damn sure he's the best, because he's starting with an extra load on his shoulders.