A funny thing happened on the way to the farm part 2 (January 2003)
What is it they say about the best-laid plans? They gather no moss. No, that's not right. They go astray! That's it. And that is exactly what happened to me this past weekend.
It was all planned to a tee. I was going on a road trip to see Montreal's farm team in action. The Hamilton Bulldogs are the cream of the AHL crop and I was sick and tired of watching the Canadiens lately. I wanted to see a winner, not a team of middle-of-the-pack players striving for mediocrity. It felt like a perfect time to take the show on the road and tackle the story of the Habs from a different angle. After all, the Bulldogs were 33-6-3-3; their coach and 5 players were going to the AHL All-Star game; Hab-not Mariusz Czerkawski was just named AHL player of the week for goodness sake! This was truly a story!
I figured after weeks of rather negative columns this one would have a hopeful theme like "while there's trouble on the big team, the future looks bright" or something equally clever.
That'll teach me for trying to be clever.
The tank full of gas, the compass set west, a map of Steeltown on the passenger's seat, I was heading off to gain some fresh insights into the Canadiens. I was going where the story begins. And then I heard the radio bulletin. Coach Michel Therrien had been fired. Bulldogs Coach Claude Julien was heading to Montreal to take over.
And I was stuck in between on the 401. You know, with my luck, when my ship comes in I'll probably be at the airport.
So while I was driving straight through limbo, I thought about Therrien and two interesting points about his fate this season. First, Andre Savard gave him a 2-year contract extension in the summer as a reward for taking the Habs into the 2nd round of the playoffs. Second, he was ultimately fired for being the very coach he was last spring. Almost like he was hired and fired for the same reason.
Not that I've all of a sudden jumped to his defence, but it seems quite clear to me that Therrien simply made the best of an exceptional season by Jose Theodore and then looked pretty bad when Jose wasn't saving the team. The coach had done nothing to improve the Canadiens beyond Theodore and it's amazing Savard didn't notice that sooner. Bob Hartley might be behind the bench if he had.
The shoulda's and woulda's might be the undoing of Andre Savard. Isn't it about time the Canadiens brought some experience behind the bench? Since Jacques Demers was fired in 1995, the Canadiens have seen a parade of nobodies learn on the job. Michel Tremblay, Alain Vigneault, Therrien and now Julien. It's like management trolls through the bargain basement rather than looking for the best available man.
Yet I don't want to cut Mr. Julien down before he's had a chance to prove himself. After all Bob Hartley, Paul Maurice and Dave Tippett all had to start somewhere too. And he's a winner who has won championships at every level. Julien has been a big factor in the development Ron Hainsey and Marcel Hossa.
But that might be where the problem lies. The line between the NHL's Canadiens and the AHL's Bulldogs has blurred even more. I watched new Hamilton coach Geoff Ward beat the Saint John Flames with a line up consisting of Benoit Gratton, Jason Ward and Francis Boullion. Bill Lindsay was the fastest guy out there. The farm team seems full of solid AHL players (think Crash Davis in "Bull Durham") who just can't make it in big show. In fact Gratton and Ward are 1-2 in scoring in the AHL, both going to the All-Star game. You've seen them in Montreal and you know they aren't coming back anytime soon.
I also saw the typical Montreal draft picks: Josef Balej is quick and exciting, but he's skinny and gets pushed around; Tomas Plekanec may also be exciting, but at 5' 10" and under 200 pounds, can he make it? The Habs already have plenty of speedy little guys. Move on.
The road trip was not a complete disaster. The bright spots were 2 other Montreal picks that are also All-Star bound. Mike Komisarek is one strong, confident defenceman. No question. Between him and Ron Hainsey the Habs' blue line future looks terrific. And Mathieu Garon stopped all 28 shots and recorded his 11th win and 2nd shutout of the season. These 2 guys will be great NHLers.
So perhaps the hiring of Julien is indeed about the future. The Canadiens look like a good AHL team at the best of times this year, so maybe time and a young, patient coach who knows how to make the guys produce will work in Montreal's favour. Czerkawski scored in his first night back with the big club with his AHL coach behind the bench. Certainly that bodes well, doesn't it?