Is there something rotten in the state of Habland?

Sorry about that weak Shakespeare referrence, but it was my attempt at cleverness. Guess it didn't work out too well, eh? Much like Kyle Chipchura's career with Montreal didn't work out too well.

Nice segue! Heh. But I digress...

Kyle Chipchura - selected 18th overall in the 1st round of the 2004 NHL draft - was picked by Montreal as much for his tangible as his intangible skills. While there is no question that Kyle was never supposed to be a 30 goal scorer, his leadership skills were seemingly his biggest asset. This guy had been a captain at almost every level he had played, most recently at the helm of the Prince Albert Raiders. When the 2006 World Junior Championships came around - those are the ones where Carey Price made a name for himself and won tournament MVP - Chipchura was again named captain of the team, further illustrating why the Habs chose him. The kid had leader and future captain written all over him.

The problem started for Chipchura when in 2005 his achilles tendon was cut, in practice, by an errant skate blade. This sent his season, and by extension his career, into disarray. Skating was never Kyle's strongest skill and while he would make a full recovery from the sliced tendon injury, it would take a notch off of his already weak stride. This, I believe, was ultimatley his undoing - at least in a Habs uniform.

Since joining the Canadiens AHL affiliate - the Hamilton Bulldogs - in 2005, Chipchura has failed to solidify a spot on the big club. Having taken part in three Habs training camps and not being able to hold down a spot each time, you had the sense that this year would be his last kick at the can. This year, due to his tenure and contract, Montreal no longer had the option of sending Chipchura back to the minors without him having to clear waivers. A situation which would surely have seen him claimed by another team. As such, when he was hurt during training camp, he stayed with the team and started the year in Montreal.

Well, needless to say, his time in Montreal this season was horrible. So far, this year, Chips has played in 19 games and has 0 goals and 0 assists and is a -10. As you can see, these are horrible numbers. This culminated in last nights 3-0 shutout at the hands of the Toronto Maple Leafs, where Chips had less than two minutes of ice time and ended the night a -2. Brutal.

Now, Chipchura is gone and the sad part of it is that this is yet another 1st round draft pick that Montreal has seemingly squandered. From Chris Higgins, to Mike Komisarek and Kyle Chipchura, Montreal is either picking the wrong player or letting the good ones get away once they have them. This is not the way to build a contender. Chipchura's downfall was ultimately his ankle injury which left him permanently affected. Recently, on the Team 990, hockey analyst Pierre McGuire explained how Chips could have been a very useful Brian Skrudland-type player if it hadn't been for the injury. Unfortunate, but seemingly true.

Looking at this trade at face value, Montreal traded a non-achieving 1st round pick for a 4th rounder. That is just brutal. However, there could be more to this than meets the eye. This trade relieves the Habs of 500K of cap space. That, by itself, is not that great but if Gainey is preparing to make soem kind of major move, then cap space is a necessary commodity. Again, this is no guarantee that a trade is immenent, however given Montreal's lack of scoring ability, I wouldn't be surprised if Gainey was looking to make a change. Only time will tell.

The final piece of this Chipchura story has to do with the dismantling of the team that Gainey undertook, starting at the draft this past summer. He evaluated the team that HE had put together and thought that it was filled with bad apples. This is evidenced by the departure Kovalev, Koivu, Higgins, Komisarek, Tanguay, etc. Now, starting this year, I believe that there were a few players who were on the bubble, namely Latendresse and Chipchura, both of whom are no longer with the team. So are there any other bubble boys on the team now?

I think so...

If there is one thing we have seen with Martin it is that he wants people to work hard and play smart. The other thing we have seen is that when you do not play as Martin wants you to play, your ice time quickly gets reduced and you end up on the 4th line. The next step after that is being shown the door. This was the fate the befell Latendresse and now Chipchura. The only other player on the team that is going through a similar fate is Lapierre, and he might be the next bubble boy.

Now that his wingman - Latendresse - is gone, Lapierre has been removed from his comfort zone. He showed last year that he can be an excellent 3rd line center, but this year he is lacking the jam. If he can't get his game back in order he might be the next one out the door. With Gainey at the helm of this organization, you never know what to expect. So I say that you should just expect the unexpected. That is the only safe bet here!

K.

Read More

Lack of proper player development is killing the Habs

Having been a Habs fan for my entire life and watched the supposed renaissance of the team, under Gainey, it is apparent that something is amiss. Well, many things are amiss, actually, but the thing that stands out the most to me is our seeming lack of proper player development. I don't know if it is because of the media pressure in this city or the nightlife that makes young players lose their mind, but it is evident that Montreal just isn't able to turn raw, talented players, into stars. With the exception of Saku Koivu - who skirted the line between being a star and a non-star for his entire career in Montreal - and Andrei Markov, who has Montreal drafted, molded and turned into a star over the last 10 years? If you answer that question honestly, the response you come up with has to be 'no one'.

When Gainey started his five-year rebuilding plan six years ago, one of the main things he spoke about was rebuilding through the draft and it was about time! If one were to look at the Canadiens farm system, when Gainey took over, one would see a system that was devoid of any top-tier - and largely second-tier - talent. The cupboards were empty as a decade of bad management and managers traded away picks and prospects in an effort to bandaid a winning team together. When Gainey started drafting players like Higgins and Komisarek and Carey Price, it was evident that by holding onto his first rounders, Gainey was in the process of putting together a decent crop of youngsters.

Sadly, one by one, each of the prospects that Gainey has brought on board has either quickly hit a low hanging ceiling, regressed or been traded away for scraps, only to prosper in another city. Umm, Mike Ribiero anyone? He was traded for Janne Ninnema by the way, just in case you were wondering.

How'd that trade work out for us?

If you look at last year's team - before the season started - there were a ton of young, talented prospects on the team and in the minors. Higgins, Plekanec, Komisarek, Price, McDonough and Max Pac, to name a few. However all of them took a step back last year while young guns on other teams seemed to be excelling.

How did Milan Lucic do last year?

Exactly.

It seems that looking around the league, teams are seemingly draft players who get better and better. But not in Montreal. Lapierre was ascending last year. This year he is invisible. Kostitsyn looked like he was a great 10th overall pick, two seasons ago, and this year his is lost out there. Chris Higgins was hitting his stride two years ago, but fell, mightly last season. Carey Price had his sophomore jinx, Komisarek looked like a defensive liability, D'Agostini couldn't put the puck in the net, Latendresse forgot how to hit people and McDonough was traded for Gomez.

Why? Why are other teams able to draft the same calibre players and have them turn into stars? Johan Franzen anyone? What about Thomas Holstrom. What about us? Where are our stars? Where are our Crosby, Stalls and Nash?

I don't know what the answer is, but everything points to some kind of organizational malaise that is deeply imbeded within the Canadiens system and it is causing us to burn our prospects and/or not being able to help them reach their true potential.

Look, I am not saying that this is a team of underperforming stars, but it would take a blindman not to be able to see that Latendresse has an infinitely higher ceiling than where he is currently playing. Whatever the problem is, the blame has to lie squarely at Gainey's feet. This is his system, his ideology and his process in place. The team is running as he has set it up and the results, whether positive or negative are his to bear. He is the guy steering the ship and it is ultimatley his responsibility to fix, and so far, apart from getting rid of everyone, he has yet to show that he has the ability to do so.

The more the hole in this team becomes apparent, the more the spotlight is flashed in Gainey's direction and if he, or any other GM for that matter doesn't see that 'through the draft' is the only sure-fire way to rebuild, then they are missing a large component of the salary cap era. Gainey excelled as a pre-lockout GM, when you could throw as much money at a roster as possible. With the salary cap, GM's have to constantly be producing good, cheap talent through their draft and their farm system in order to keep a good balance on their team of highly paid veterans and lowly paid rookies. It is the only way to put together a winner in this age and if Gainey doesn't realize that by now, then his days with this team are truly numbered.

K.

Read More