- Jun 24, 2012
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We were promised changes and how no stone was going to left unturned. How according to Geoff, every aspect of the organisation was going to be reviewed. Geoff said as much in his year-end presser of April 10th.
Unfortunately, Geoff chose to entrust the review and retool of management personnel to the individual who produced the current mess.
There was a lot of awkwardness produced by the year-end presser. And contradictions, as Philippe Cantin highlighted in an interview he gave on 98.5 FM last evening, as I mentioned elsewhere.
Cantin says that the Lefebvre firing is disturbing in that Carrière is quoted as having been consulted, which suggests that Carrière's job is not in peril.
Then Cantin adds, it's all fine and dandy to fire Lefebvre, but change is only real if it also involves those who are the closest to Bergevin: Mellanby, Dudley, Lapointe, etc. When are we going to get an announcement about these guys? Why do we have to wait more time for the clean up to take place?
Cantin took more shots at Bergevin and Molson, reminding us how at the PC, Bergevin was asked what he would do with those players that don't fall into line. Bergevin was non-committal, at which point Molson interrupted him and asserted that these attitude problem players would simply be dispatched somewhere else.
And then you had Molson preaching a new era of transparency followed by his GM, eating away at it by not committing to ending the upper and lower body injury charade and invoking the secret plan and how other teams are listening and didn't want to give away company secrets.
Other awkward situation: the Habs fire Lefebvre but allow all the assistant coaches to remain, including the son of Larry Carrière. How is this supposed to play with a new coaching hire? "I don't want Nick Carrière but I'm going to be forced to keep him otherwise it'll look like I'm being too difficult." The Habs just can't provide a clean slate, always have to make life difficult for themselves and for potential candidates.
While we're awaiting to see whose heads are going to roll in Habsland, I thought it might be interesting to see what other organisations are contemplating:
The Isles are shopping for executives and while Garth Snow has not been fired as of yet, there will be a new GM named in the coming weeks. Some of the names are familiar ...
Since current Islanders President/GM/Alternate Governor Garth Snow has not been relieved of his duties more than a week since the end of another disastrous season, it is believed that the new hire would become Islanders GM while Snow would remain President (or given a new title).
The process includes asking other NHL teams for permission to speak to some of their executives. Among those expected to be on Malkin and Ledecky's list of highly-regarded hockey people to interview are Julian BriseBois (Lightning), Paul Fenton (Predators), and Tom Fitzgerald (Devils), who are assistant general managers with their respective clubs.
One source said that Malkin and Ledecky will wait for the completion of the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs -- to see which executives become available -- before intensifying the process. A conversation with Maple Leafs GM Lou Lamoriello, whose son Chris is the Islanders' assistant GM, should also be of interest to the Islanders' owners if the legendary ex-Devils boss becomes available.
Islanders looking to hire top hockey executive
So, what's taking so long? Why are heads not rolling any faster? Can they really afford to wait while other teams are targeting the same type of quality candidates that could have provided real change within the Habs?
We've already heard Ducharme this week:
How is it that with a vacant position with the Rockets, a logical candidate like Ducharme, hasn't even been contacted yet, while other teams have already shown interest?
Why is it taking so long for them to make the most logical of moves? The longer it takes, the more it feels like this ...
Ray Lalonde said the same thing recently -- the Habs don't react quickly enough, he sees the same trend in other aspects of the organisation.
Geoff, we have a problem. And the problem is you.
Given that Bergevin won't be moving soon, whose head should roll and how quickly?
What can they do to get it right at the draft, given that they're not going to be able to add scouts who are being counted upon by other organisations and who may only become available after the draft.
And why is Larry Moobs-Chuckles Carrière still being counted upon to make personnel decisions? Simple. Molson entrusts the review of all staff to the guy who brought them in, so Bergevin does the same thing -- entrusts review of personnel to someone who is long in the tooth and deserves to be fired.
Thoughts?