Our Stanley Cup chances are being hindered by an extremely weak captain.

[Monctonscout]

Agreed and when used properly he can be effective. Problem is Therrien plays hi too much and that's what pisses us off. Not Gio's fault!

He's been 3rd line for most of the playoffs. That only changed recently with Plekanec struggling a bit and MT trying different linemates.

 

[Habs 4 Life]

He's been 3rd line for most of the playoffs. That only changed recently with Plekanec struggling a bit and MT trying different linemates.

Which is fine, but on the pp, Gionta doesn't belong there and Therrien needs to stop putting him out there

 

[Darkstorm]

Before Saku, Carbs was my favourite Canadien. Not just captain but hab. The way the habs treated Saku is a disgrace. Could you imagine Saku on this team 5 years ago. Give him Patches and Vanek..LOL we would win the cup. All heart, never surrender. I doubt Vanek plays as lame as he has with saku on his line, even if he is injured.

Eric Desjardins, Patrick Roy, Pierre Turgeon, John LeClair (the guy was good, but wasn't used properly), Mathieu Schneider, Kirk Muller, I could go on and on..

 

[Tyson]

Gionta has clearly lost his ability to play at a high level but won't question his leadership skills. 1 goal in 16 games is unacceptable though.

 

[Monctonscout]

Which is fine, but on the pp, Gionta doesn't belong there and Therrien needs to stop putting him out there

Therrien agrees with you, Gionta is 13th on the team in PP TOI. 0.22 minutes per game.

 

[Habs 4 Life]

Therrien agrees with you, Gionta is 13th on the team in PP TOI. 0.22 minutes per game.

It wasn't the case during the season, and that's where all this Gionta hate started

 

[Monctonscout]

It wasn't the case during the season, and that's where all this Gionta hate started

He barely had any PP time 2nd half...which is where the PP struggles came.

Hating a player because he is on the PP is dumb on many levels.

 

[Tyson]

I hope this playoff has shown MB that it is time to go in an another direction regarding Brian Gionta.

 

[Habs]

Gionta has clearly lost his ability to play at a high level but won't question his leadership skills. 1 goal in 16 games is unacceptable though.

Oh? What about if Vanek, Eller, Pleks and DD actually did their jobs? Counting on Gio for scoring, is hilarious at this point.

 

[NativeHockey77*]

Never wanted Geo as the captain. Wanted Cammy as the captain but now he is gone I want Gorges or Subban wearing the "C" AINEC

 

[hockeyfan2k11]

So Saku was a great captain and Gionta isn't. Gionta has captained 2 teams through to the conference finals twice. Saku has done what exactly? Not harping on him, but Saku being a great captain is something I never understood. It's as if people are in the room to know who's good and who isn't. Saku coming back from terrible injuries and illness does not make him a great captain. Playing hard doesn't either. I never talk about who's a good/bad captain because I'm not in the room.

 

[NativeHockey77*]

So Saku was a great captain and Gionta isn't. Gionta has captained 2 teams through to the conference finals twice. Saku has done what exactly? Not harping on him, but Saku being a great captain is something I never understood. It's as if people are in the room to know who's good and who isn't. Saku coming back from terrible injuries and illness does not make him a great captain. Playing hard doesn't either. I never talk about who's a good/bad captain because I'm not in the room.

saku never captained teams as good as geo did though.

saku > geo AINEC

 

[Tyson]

Oh? What about if Vanek, Eller, Pleks and DD actually did their jobs? Counting on Gio for scoring, is hilarious at this point.

Eller has actually scored. Gionta should be "counted" upon to score more than one goal in 16 games....

 

[Haburger]

Eller has actually scored. Gionta should be "counted" upon to score more than one goal in 16 games....

Eller is just as guilty as the rest of the forward this series.if they dont show up again tonight we are done.

 

[Habs]

Eller has actually scored. Gionta should be "counted" upon to score more than one goal in 16 games....

You mean that 1 goal in 8 games? Thats amazing. Have you checked Plekanec's stats? Need a reminder how he has been doing in the last 8? Gio has 2 pts in this playoff series.... same as your boy Lars...plus he has 10 shots... unlike ...Eller..who ..has... 3

 

[Nynja*]

So what you're saying is the Rangers have found a way to contain our players, and our coach is doing nothing to open them up.

 

[Blind Gardien]

So what you're saying is the Rangers have found a way to contain our players, and our coach is doing nothing to open them up.

Well, in Gionta's case at least, he gets chances and hits the goalie in the chest, and doesn't really seem to fight for additional chances in traffic anymore. I don't feel like the Rangers are especially containing him. He's just no longer a scorer. But he can still be a good leader and quasi-decent 2-way player. He knows the NHL game and most folks in the NHL seem to respect him. That and 18 goals doesn't invalidate him as an NHL player, nor even as a captain. But that and 5'7" does of course make him a less comfortable fit for our team.

I still think the Habs will re-sign him. But I won't be disappointed if they don't, for sure.

 

[Habs]

Jesus, Josh Gorges is more of a problem.

 

[Price My Man Crush]

So Saku was a great captain and Gionta isn't. Gionta has captained 2 teams through to the conference finals twice. Saku has done what exactly? Not harping on him, but Saku being a great captain is something I never understood. It's as if people are in the room to know who's good and who isn't. Saku coming back from terrible injuries and illness does not make him a great captain. Playing hard doesn't either. I never talk about who's a good/bad captain because I'm not in the room.

Koivu's a great captain because of this (1min07s):


Btw about your point of having success in the playoffs...it's a team sport, don't you already know this? I guess but you never know with some people on this board...they seem to love more individual players than the team itself...

 

[Ohashi_Jouzu*]

So Saku was a great captain and Gionta isn't. Gionta has captained 2 teams through to the conference finals twice. Saku has done what exactly? Not harping on him, but Saku being a great captain is something I never understood. It's as if people are in the room to know who's good and who isn't. Saku coming back from terrible injuries and illness does not make him a great captain. Playing hard doesn't either. I never talk about who's a good/bad captain because I'm not in the room.

You don't get to be a captain in the NHL for a decade without good reason. The fact that he wasn't just a hard worker, but THE hardest worker on just about any night was just a bonus on top of the fact that he was also a top scorer every year. Ever take a look at the most productive Habs over Koivu's tenure in Montreal?

1. Koivu - 641
2. Markov - 329
3. Rucinsky - 297
4. Brisebois - 293
...

You get the point. No one with more than 5 seasons wearing the CH even comes close to him in PPG, either. What about the playoffs, you might be wondering?

1. Koivu - 48
2. Kovalev - 31
3. Recchi - 24
4. Brisebois - 17
...

You get the point. Surely someone can provide links to all the past explanations on the greatness of Koivu, and you could probably even pose your question(s) there instead. Bottom line is, imo, that Koivu wasn't ever part of the problem, and probably didn't need to be shipped out of town. Probably.

 

[hockeyfan2k11]

Koivu's a great captain because of this (1min07s):


Btw about your point of having success in the playoffs...it's a team sport, don't you already know this? I guess but you never know with some people on this board...they seem to love more individual players than the team itself...

And yet people are in here blaming Gionta.

Completely missed my point that the C on the chest is overrated by fans. I don't even like Gionta.

We have people in here ragging on Gionta because the team has gone further than any other Habs team in 2 decades...then you come in here and talk about it being a team game. No ****ing **** sherlock. The C on the chest is overrated. You don't need to be captain to be a leader and have an effect on the team.

 

[Fazkovsky]

Subban next captain pl0x

 

[Lemons]

ugh so bad.