New Leadership Needed?

[Kingbobert]

Nothing against Gionta,

but I personally never felt "inspired" by gionta as a captain, but the guys in the locker room picked him so i'm not going to say he's a bad captain, i just think we need someone different to get to the next level.

This season I noticed something. Alot of times, when going got tough, other teams seemed to find another gear to switch to and get the job done.
The habs as a team did not have another gear. We lost many games in the second half of the game, and add that bad stretch at the end.

There were games where the team came back and won but usually that was on the coat tales of Gally, Chucky, Subban, Prust, sometimes Markov.

Our "leaders" did not play like leaders all season.
They didnt inspire, if anything i think throughout the season it's the kids that inspired the "leaders"

This is just an opinion though, meaning its just how i feel. Please keep that in mind

Click to read more...

 

[That Habs Fan]

I was just thinking about this the other day actually.

Nothing against either Gionta or Koivu, but it'd feel great to finally have a captain who wasn't constantly injured (especially at key points of the season).

sigh.

 

[MSLs absurd thighs]

Trade Gorges/Gionta, Buyout Kaberle, Let Ryder, Halpern, Armstrong go

Sign Clowe, Torres, Doug Murray

C: Markov
A: Prust
A: Gallagher

There you go. Once Markov is gone, Tinordi should be ready for a bigger leadership role.

 

[coolasprICE]

He has captain qualities but I think we can all agree that Gionta isn't the type of player that comes to mind when we think of a Captain for the most storied franchise in all of hockey

 

[That Habs Fan]

I was just thinking about this the other day actually.

Nothing against either Gionta or Koivu, but it'd feel great to finally have a captain who wasn't constantly injured (especially at key points of the season).

sigh.

Trade Gorges/Gionta, Buyout Kaberle, Let Ryder, Halpern, Armstrong go

Sign Clowe, Torres, Doug Murray

C: Markov
A: Prust
A: Gallagher

There you go. Once Markov is gone, Tinordi should be ready for a bigger leadership role.

 

[JLP]

Agree with the OP Gionta doesn't seem the guy for it IMHO. Want more passion and physicality.

 

[MSLs absurd thighs]

Oh, who would you suggest? Gorges?

Yeah right. Kill me now. And Markov deserves it more than Gionta. Is the player with the most games played with this team, and definitely more relevant as a player than Brian ****ing Gionta. Should have been that way since the very beginning, anyway. Not the biggest fan of the guy, but Gionta has nothing you're looking for in a captain.

 

[stubbadub]

As long as Subban isn't even wearing an A I'm happy. Zero leadership qualities there. Had we kept Cammalleri, he'd have been a quality captain.
Eventually it'll probably be Morgan Ellis or Jared Tinordi in my opinion. Michael Bournival or Gabriel Dumont, once they've made it, could also be candidates. Personally I would love to see Galchenyuk or Gallagher with the C and give the A's to Leblanc if he's still in the system and one of the former who aren't wearing the C.

 

[Monctonscout]

Nothing against Gionta,

but I personally never felt "inspired" by gionta as a captain, but the guys in the locker room picked him so i'm not going to say he's a bad captain, i just think we need someone different to get to the next level.

This season I noticed something. Alot of times, when going got tough, other teams seemed to find another gear to switch to and get the job done.
The habs as a team did not have another gear. We lost many games in the second half of the game, and add that bad stretch at the end.

There were games where the team came back and won but usually that was on the coat tales of Gally, Chucky, Subban, Prust, sometimes Markov.

Our "leaders" did not play like leaders all season.
They didnt inspire, if anything i think throughout the season it's the kids that inspired the "leaders"

This is just an opinion though, meaning its just how i feel. Please keep that in mind

A team can't surivive a 28th place year and bounce back to 3rd overall without a ton of good leadership. You are making comments about stuff you have no clue about in terms of the leaders not inspiring others. Without strong ledaership young guys like Gallagher Galchenyuk Subban Diaz Eller would not have made such strides this year and the team wouldn't have been as good at bouncing back from bad losses.

 

[Compile]

As long as Subban isn't even wearing an A I'm happy. Zero leadership qualities there. Had we kept Cammalleri, he'd have been a quality captain.
Eventually it'll probably be Morgan Ellis or Jared Tinordi in my opinion. Michael Bournival or Gabriel Dumont, once they've made it, could also be candidates. Personally I would love to see Galchenyuk or Gallagher with the C and give the A's to Leblanc if he's still in the system and one of the former who aren't wearing the C.

How convient my that you named a bunch of AHL québécois.

The C belongs to either Eller or Gallagher as they show leadership qualities on the ice and lead by example.

Better yet how about let the players choose??

 

[Strik_IX]

As long as Subban isn't even wearing an A I'm happy. Zero leadership qualities there. Had we kept Cammalleri, he'd have been a quality captain.
Eventually it'll probably be Morgan Ellis or Jared Tinordi in my opinion. Michael Bournival or Gabriel Dumont, once they've made it, could also be candidates. Personally I would love to see Galchenyuk or Gallagher with the C and give the A's to Leblanc if he's still in the system and one of the former who aren't wearing the C.

Cammalleri, really? He steps up in the playoffs big time, but he's definitely not a quality leader, he's more of a cry baby/vengeful ***** than anything. Subban will have a letter on his jersey sooner than later if you ask me. He's top notch on the work ethic side of things, never gives up and performs at an elite level. He does have a few things to learn when it comes to leading by example, but we've seen how far he's come in that department within a season. He's also great in front the cameras , he says the right things and stays humble (minus a few celebrations).

Also, major lol @ Leblanc, Bournival or Dumont getting an "A", we don't even know if any of them will have an actual career in the NHL.

TBH the way I see it leadership does need to shift. If we do get rid of Gionta I would go with three "A's" for a year while grooming some of our young players into leadership roles and give the "C" to whichever one of them best exemplifies the captain's role.

 

[WhiskeySeven*]

I rag on Gionta more than anyone on this board - but we're not in the room and we don't know what his leadership qualities really are. Most of you have never played competitive team sports (I don't mean to be mean but let's be honest here, it's a very primal and competitive world and keyboard warriors are very far removed from it) so it's really ineffective to think that we have the full glimpse of anything regarding Gionta or Koivu or anybody's captaincy.

That said, I think he's a captain for reasons beyond the locker-room. I think he's a good hockey player but a god-awful fit to our team and salary structure:

He's a smurf on a team with long-term size issues up front,
He's non-physical on a team that has two physical modes: beaten to a pulp or dirty, cheap-shot artists (as we saw in Game 2).
He has terrible offensive instincts on a team that's missing gamebreaking talent up-front,
Given his stature on the team, he is given the best centre and powerplay time when he cannot produce in kind. A 1st line RW on a #2 team should have more than 0.5ppg,
He is a mercenary who went for the highest contract offer from a dangerously inept and small-minded GM,
He has no ties to the city, does not speak french (language debate aside, the Habs represent Montreal and Quebec and our shared history. A captain has to make an effort) and he isn't even Canadian. This isn't really an issue to many but I find that recent Habs squads don't really understand the tradition of the Habs and what it means to be playing for this team. I'm not saying we only need local boys but we definitely need people who get it. Koivu got it, Cammy got it, Erik Cole got it... Kovalev didn't seem to, and neither did Gomez or Gionta.
His high cap hit and incoming lowering salary cap make him even less attractive as a contract and as a trading asset.
He is aging and injury prone. You can't lead from the press-box.

I've been hating on him for a long time and I think I'm mostly justified. He had a bad year, and bringing up that he was X goals from leading the team in goals or points does not make a difference. With my own eyes I can see him for what he is: good defensively, gives an effort, but utterly useless for our team. We don't need him and Plekanec plays better without him, Desharnais cannot play with him and Eller doesn't deserve to be saddled with him. He doesn't fit in the post-Gomez, post-Jacques team and his defenders are getting fewer and fewer as his bad performances increase in number. He had maybe 7 actually good games all year, the rest we're mediocre or utterly putrid and in hockey effort doesn't make a difference if the execution isn't there.

I'm sick of seeing our team try, try, try and have no results to show for it.

If you think he's a good captain, compare him to Yzerman, Sakic or Crosby and then tell me if the Habs deserve to have Brian Gionta as their captain.

 

[Coldplay]

He played through a torn left biceps.

Keep questioning his leadership.

 

[sandysan]

He has captain qualities but I think we can all agree that Gionta isn't the type of player that comes to mind when we think of a Captain for the most storied franchise in all of hockey

is it because he's american or because he doesnt speak french ?

I kid, I kid. I dont know if we need a big bruiser as captain but I'm also not sure if this is something that the fans should weigh in on. I think that 90% of the chances for " leadership" happen beyond the eyes and ears of the public. Id be far more confident with the players/management chosing their leadership than the fans ( who surprisingly can be both fickle and vindictive ).

 

[Simerc]

Will a new, maybe temporary captain be named for tomorrow's game, in the hope that he will be able to inspire his team that is on the edge of elimination?

 

[Young Gun]

gionta is just playing out his days here that's all, he thinks he can pile up goals with his
(over powering) slap shot from the blue line. He needs to go, he's not worth his salary any more.

 

[Kingbobert]

He played through a torn left biceps.

Keep questioning his leadership.

i didnt question his leadership, i just dont think we will make it to the next level with him at the helm...
i personally never said he was a bad captain, even made a point to say he's not a bad captain, and i can guarantee he is respected loved and listened to in the locker room, i just think he might lack that little something extra to take us to the next level.

 

[MSLs absurd thighs]

He played through a torn left biceps.

Keep questioning his leadership.

Koivu outclassed/outmuscled Joe freakin' Thornton with torn ribs to help his team beat the Bruins in 7 games in 2004, leading his team in scoring along with Kovalev in the process.

Come and tell me this crybaby is "exceptional".

 

[hockeyfan2k11]

He played through a torn left biceps.

Keep questioning his leadership.

This. Of all guys to rag on. Gio?

 

[hockeyfan2k11]

Koivu outclassed/outmuscled Joe freakin' Thornton with torn ribs to help his team beat the Bruins in 7 games in 2004, leading his team in scoring along with Kovalev in the process.

Come and tell me this crybaby is "exceptional".

C'mon man.

 

[NoNachoNoParty]

You guys are ****ing clueless. The guy played a game with a torn bicep, talk about leading by example. How much more can you ask from your captain ? Thank **** none of you work for the Habs, i would shoot myself in the nut sack

 

[Stephpa10]

I agree but i don't see Markov as captain material, to quiet.

i want a leader who will be leader on and off the ice

Subban not ready, Patches not ready

Georges would get my vote but his play has been pretty bad last couple of weeks.

Pleks could be the only alternative right now. Prust with one A, Markov the other A

 

[Haburger]

subban will and should be captain of the canadiens.he's the one guy on our team who shows up every single game and delivers.gionta has 1 more year then its pk's team.

 

[Monctonscout]

Dave Stubbs@Dave_Stubbs

8m





Tell me there is ANYONE, with half a brain, who still believes Brian Gionta is not worthy of #Habs captaincy, body and soul?

 

[Coldplay]

Dave Stubbs@Dave_Stubbs

8m

Tell me there is ANYONE, with half a brain, who still believes Brian Gionta is not worthy of #Habs captaincy, body and soul?

Dave knows where it's at. Amen.

i didnt question his leadership, i just dont think we will make it to the next level with him at the helm...
i personally never said he was a bad captain, even made a point to say he's not a bad captain, and i can guarantee he is respected loved and listened to in the locker room, i just think he might lack that little something extra to take us to the next level.

Fair enough. I think you overrate how much more important a captain can be though, if all is to be believed about the fact he is respected, loved, and listened in the locker room. Unless you have a word-class, generational talent like Crosby.