Does the Future Look bright for the Habs... or Not?

Trevor Timmins, what has he done for our Habs since taking over as head of scouting in 2003?

As any one who follows hockey will tell you, getting the draft selections right can make you a Stanley Cup contender.

However, if you get them wrong too many times then you will be a perennial bottom-half dweller.
So getting back to Mr. Timmins, how has he done?

His first go around was in 2003, a stacked draft year. In my opinion he real messed it up at his first draft. At the 10th pick overall, he selected Andrei Kostitsyn. At the 40th and 61st picks he selected Cory Urquhart (who you ask) and Maxim Lapierre. Andrei was okay when he played with Kovy and Pleky a few years back, but then disappeared. Lapierre was never more than a fourth liner at best and Urquhart is a no show.

Who could have Timmins selected? Well, it is an impressive list I am about to share, and it makes you cry when you think we could have had even one of these guys instead of what we did get. How about Jeff Carter, Dustin Brown, Brent Seabrook, Zach Parise, Ryan Getzlaf, Ryan Keslar, Corey Perry, Patrice Bergeron, Shea Weber, and David Backes. Anyone of those guys would be a huge help to our Habs today. How he could have missed this talent pool and picked what he did I will never understand.

However, I will give him a little bit of a break since it was his first time at the draft table. What about his second sit down at the draft table? In 2004 he selected Kyle Chipchura at the 18th selection. Who could he have selected instead and was still available instead of Chipchura? How would Travis Zajac look with the CH on his chest? What about Andrej Meszaros, Jeff Schultz, Mike Green, or David Krejci. So in my opinion year two was another big bust.

In 2005, we had the 5th pick overall and selected Carey Price. Nicely done Monsieur Timmins. Our next pick at the 45th spot was Guillaume Latendresse. Big G. never did pan out now did he? Who could be in a Habs uniform instead of Big G.? How about Kris Letang, Adam McQuaid, Keith Yandle, or Mason Raymond. Anyone of these guys could have been had instead of Latendresse.  But he did give us Carey Price, so we will forgive him for 2005 misses. Can you imagine Letang and Subban on the power play today, man that would be something special to watch. And throw in McQuaid's mean streak (which we dearly lack in our line-up today), boy would Price drool at having those two defend his crease today instead of what we currently have.

In 2006, Timmins' fourth time at the draft table. What did he do this time? So far the only good thing he has accomplished is Carey Price. Well in 2006 Mr. Timmins did not do well again. He had the 20th pick and he selected David Fischer. Another colossal failure. He followed that selection with Mathieu Carle (not Matt Carle) and Ben Maxwell. Neither of these two are doing anything significant today to warrant any excitement at their future contributions to the Habs. Now who could  have Monsieur Timmins giving us instead? How would Claude Giroux fit our needs today? Or how about Nick Foligno? And here is a real kicker; as much as I despise these two because they play for the Bruins I would have loved to have them join the NHL in a Habs uniform. Picture what a difference a Milan Lucic and a Brad Marchand could have done for us if they were selected instead of Maxwell and Carle. As much as I detest Lucic now, I would have loved him in a Habs uniform from day 1. So 2006 is another bust of a draft year for Mr. Timmins.

In 2007, his fifith draft I would say Mr. Timmins redeemed himself. He had the 12th pick and selected Ryan McDonagh. (Unfortunately Mr. Gainey in his infinite wisdom traded him away for a bag of hockey pucks (Gomez) to the Rangers.) He followed that up with Big Max Pacioretty and PK Subban. So 2007 was a win no matter how you look at it. He gave us two of our present day superstars who should be around for a long time.

For 2008, we did not have any first round picks because we traded those away. In the second round we received from Mr. Timmins, Danny Kristo and Steve Quailer. Neither of these two would make the Habs's current edition. Who could have been selected in this weak draft year? Well Zack Smith was available along with Adam Henrique and T.J. Brodie. I know, no big super stars but again much better than what we received. So 2008 we can say was a white wash since we never had a first round pick.

Mr. Timmins once again had a weak draft in 2009. We had the 18th selection and picked Louis Leblanc. Leblanc as his name may suggest was a huge blank. Never materialized into anything resembling a prospect. The very next pick was a guy named Chris Kreider. Remember him? He totally destroyed our cup dreams last year when he ran over Price and over our defense every time he entered our zone. After Leblanc we received Joonas Nattinen and Mac Bennett. Who could have been selected? How about Marcus Johansson or Ryan O'Reilly. So 2009 a lost draft year for the Habs.

In 2010, Timmins' 8th try was a good one. He gave us Gallagher and Tinordi. So it is safe to say that no matter who else was available we are definitely happy with Gallagher and the big potential of Tinordi.

As we get to the present years of 2011-2014 the jury is still out on the talent selected. Here are the highlights of those draft years. In 2011, we drafted Nathan Beaulieu in the first round and then did not have a pick until the third round. In 2012, that is when we had the third pick overall and selected our future #1 center in Alex Galchenyuk. That same draft we selected some high potential players in Tim Bozon and Charles Hudon. Both are doing very nicely in their present clubs (Kootenay and Hamiton) and should challenge for positions on the big club in the near future.

2013 saw the Habs get bigger with the 25th pick on Michael McCarron who says he wants to be compared to a Milan Lucic type of player). The next selection was Jacob De La Rose followed by Zachary Fucale and Sven Andrighetto with Martin Reway shortly after. Each one of these selections has high potential to make the big club and make an impact soon. Andrighetto already has several points in his short stint with the big club and showed he has NHL calibre speed and the hands to go with it. Reway had an excellent juniors tournament over the Christmas break as did De La Rose. The only knock I have against Reway and Andrighetto is they are both small players, neither stands over six feet. 2014 saw the addition of Nikita Scherbak, a big fast forward that the Habs need. So far he is excelling with the junior team (Everett Silvertips of the WHL) and looks to have huge potential in the next year or two, plus his 6' 2" frame will definitely be welcomed to the Habs line-up.

So the jury is still out on the last few draft years. We will wait and see how these selections mature and if they can contribute to the big club; and not as a fourth liner either. We have an abundance of fourth liners. Our best draft years were 2005 with Price; 2007 with Max Pac and Subban and 2012 with Galchenyuk. Other than that, the selections by Timmins have not really helped our club. Now I know there are some out there who say Timmins has one of the better records on his selections making the NHL. Yes but how many fourth liners does a club need. The draft is where you find your future stars. Other clubs have done a much better job at selecting players who can be a top-six forward or a top-four defenseman. Just review all the missed opportunities we have had with Timmins in charge. I say he needs to re-evaluate his scouting team because they are not up to were they need to be if the Habs are going to win another Stanley Cup.

What do you think? Are you happy as a Habs fan with what Timmins has brought to the table since 2003 or do we need to revamp the scouting department? Let me know your thoughts. Thanks.

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Exclusive Interview With Habs Prospect Nikita Scherbak

Habsaddicts.com reached out Nikita Scherbak after one of his summer workouts. “I’m now practicing in Calgary”, Scherbak told in Russian after the session. “I’m training with the Crash Conditioning program with their coaches. It’s the first time I’m working with them and all has been great thus far”. The 2014 Habs’ first round pick is definitely not sparing himself: “I’m working on everything. And I’m having sessions both on and off the ice,” he said.

The Moscow, Russia native had quite a busy off-season as he decided to get on shape as much as possible in sight of the next season. “This summer I didn’t have true vacations. I practiced the whole time. I simply spent a couple of weeks at home in Russia after the season, that’s all.”

Moving from Russia to Canada and getting drafted by the Habs, of course, has been quite a feature for the then-19-years-old forward. “It is a new step and a new challenge not only for me, but for my parents too.” Also in the past, Scherbak has been very vocal in how his father was important to him. And he confirmed it once again: “Of course my father is the most important trainer for me. It has always been and it will always be. I got to my successes thanks to the hours of practice I had with him.”

Just as one can imagine, Scherbak is very excited to be part of the Habs organization. Also, he is glad to have been picked up by a team with rich traditions in Russian players as the Canadiens are. “It’s much better when you have the chance to play with such great players, even more so if they are Russians. And what’s even better is that probably in Canada I’ll have more trust from the coaches.” Scherbak also added that he did not talk with Andrei Markov or Alexei Emelin yet.

The young man arrived in Canada pretty much without any English knowledge, but now is well adapted to living abroad. “I’m happy about everything here in Canada. Moscow is where I was born and it will always be my favorite city, but I love it in Canada and I’m very satisfied,” Scherbak added. “At the start it has been very hard. The very start. I didn’t know the language and all. Now I understand much more and I can also speak much better.” And he also wholeheartedly agreed to consider hockey as an universal language.

Even with all his potential, though, it’s not a given fact that Nikita will start the season with the Habs. “Let’s see what happens. I’ll work very hard because I really want and hope to start the season in Montreal, but we’ll see,” he said.

Crossing the ocean, Scherbak also had to do with the more physicality on ice that European players eventually encounter once they move. “I think that anyway fights are a part of the game. Hockey is a men’s game.” Scherbak said that he had fights before moving to North America, and also that he had one last year. “But I did not win. I fought against an enforcer,” he said.

Back home in Russia, many were surprised to see a player who scored only 14 points the year before explode with a 78-point regular season the next season. But Scherbak has no doubts regarding leagues’ classification: “I really think that the CHL is the best junior league in the world.”

Just as most players, Scherbak has a good time remembering his first goal for his new team, particularly so if the new team was some 4,700 miles away from home. “I was skating on the corner, then I gave the puck to my team mate on the face-off dot. He gave it back to me and I was all alone in front of the crease. I shot the puck and it went in on the far post side. Of course, after the game I collected the puck and brought it home.”

Scherbak has been picked up pretty high with the 26^th overall pick, but probably many teams decided not to draft him due to the infamous Russian Factor, who has become much more prominent since the creation of the KHL in 2008. But Scherbak wanted to make clear that he does not intend to move back home any time soon: “The KHL is a good league, but I kind of have enough of Russia for now.” That is, Habs fans can be sure that Nikita will not bolt back to the Mother Land, and he is very determined to make the team as soon as possible. He also said to appreciate a lot his nickname in Saskatoon, Scherbinator. “I love it,” he said with a big smile. So maybe Habs’ fans found a way to call him properly.

Follow Nikita Scherbak on Twitter @nikscherbak.

Special thanks to Alessandro Seren Rosso for doing this interview on behalf of HabsAddict.

@AlexSerenRosso 

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Montreal Canadiens Rumors Round-Up: Draft Edition

Now that the Canadiens have re-signed impending UFA Andrei Markov to a three-year deal worth $17.25 million, the dominoes should start falling down pretty soon, especially with the 2014 NHL Entry Draft only 72 hours away. What is new this year is that impending free agents now have a one-week window to negotiate with teams and get a better feel of the market ahead of July 1st, which marks the beginning of free agency.

For those Habs fans who missed it, GM Marc Bergevin also re-signed RFA Dale Weise last week to a two-year deal worth $2.05 million (or $1.025 million annually). The 25-year-old winger was acquired mid-season in exchange for rearguard Raphael Diaz from the Vancouver Canucks.

With the draft looming, the rumors are swirling that the Canadiens and the scouting staff, headed by Trevor Timmins, would like to move up in the top 10 of the draft if possible, or at least in the top 16, if not. The team is willing to sacrifice a young defenseman (not named Jarred Tinordi) to make it happen. Currently slated to draft 26th overall, the Bleu Blanc Rouge is really eager to move up in this year's draft since it's a very shallow draft and a late-round draft pick is unlikely to pan out. The Canadiens are looking to add a power forward blessed with a combination of size and talent, and Alex Tuch, which is ranked 17th on TSN Draft Rankings would be the perfect draft pick. Tuch is a 6'4'', 215-lb right winger who plays a physical and rugged style of play while contributing offensively as shown by his 32 points (13g, 19 a) in 26 games with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program. However, these kinds of deals happen most of the time during the draft right on the floor when teams realize the player they want is gone or is still available at a specific moment. 

In other news, Stephen Bartlett, who is the agent of team captain Brian Gionta, sounded cautiously optimistic that Gio would be back with the team next season as the organization is very interested in retaining his services. A favorite of head coach Michel Therrien, Gionta tallied 18 goals and 22 assists for 40 points in 81 games this season with the Habs, reaching the 40-point plateau for the third time during his five-year contract with the team. Since Gionta is longer able to play in the top-six and is more suited to play a shut-down role on the third line, Bergevin will make him a substantially lower contract offer. I'm hearing that a two-year pact worth between $2.5 to $3.0 million annually is the offer on the table. The 35-year-old winger is still hesitant on accepting the deal and will most likely see what the other 29 NHL teams want to offer him before making a decision, but he likes the city and the organization.

As for shot-blocking specialist, Mike Weaver, negotiations seem to have hit a snag between the organization and Weaver as per Renaud Lavoie and Jimmy Murphy. It seems like the right-handed defenseman, who proved to be the steal of the trade deadline, is not a priority right now for Marc Bergevin. Weaver was a force to reckon with on the penalty kill and a shot-blocking machine throughout the series. He would make for a cheap veteran presence on the third pairing and he could mentor youngsters Nathan Beaulieu and Jarred Tinordi. Weaver earned $1.1 million last season and will be looking to sign a two-year deal in the same salary range.

Finally, the Canadiens have yet to start negotiating with all-star defenseman P.K. Subban, who is expected to break the bank after signing a two-year bridge contract worth $5.75 million before the 2012-13 season. According to his agent Don Meehan, the two parties will meet at the draft in order to set a meeting schedule to get the negotiations going to finally reach a long-term deal. Subban, who recorded 10 goals and 43 assists for 53 points in 82 games, will more than likely earn at least $8 million annually over eight years (the maximum number of years allowed under the last CBA).

Don't be surprised if Marc Bergevin is named the GM of the Year tonight at the 2014 NHL Awards live from Las Vegas, Nevada. Our own P.K. Subban will be among the award presenters during the ceremony.

What do you expect from the Canadiens and their GM Marc Bergevin?

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Developing for the Future - A Look Back at the 'Trade'

With Max Pacioretty’s six-year contract extension in the books, Marc Bergevin has continued to lock-up his young core that promises to make the Montréal Canadiens a formidable opponent in the coming years. Add to that a much-deserved extension for Trevor Timmins— Director of player procurement and development for the past 11 seasons — and the future looks bright for Bergevin’s club.

Such a holdover from the previous regime hints at a specific focus on player development, and after a draft that saw prime, young talent added to Montréal’s already improved prospect pool, Timmins’s new title as ‘Director of amateur scouting’ suggests a move towards a Pollockian era that would see old, veteran bodies shipped out for high draft picks.

It would be nice to see aging and offensively inept veterans swapped for prospects and high draft picks. Just imagine waking up tomorrow to learn of deals involving Rene Bourque, Tomas Kaberle and Scott Gomez. In Montréal, the reaction would be of utter, euphoric joy. Across the hockey world, such deals would ignite laughter and confusion, similar to the sentiments shared during the initial transactions.

Yet unfortunately for Habs fans, the modern NHL — the salary cap world — deters financially stable teams from shipping off prized draft picks for temporary band-aids. Though these types of deals spontaneously occur — Bob Gainey, Scott Gomez, Ryan McDonagh — to really appreciate a good ol’ fashioned fleecing, look no further than the legendary Sam Pollock.

It’s no secret to any knowledgeable Canadiens fan, that when forced to choose the best GM in Montréal’s storied history, Pollock’s name immediately comes to mind.

And with a second NHL lockout in the past ten years looming, sometimes it’s best to look back to a dynasty instead of forwards to an inevitable lockout.

The year, 1970, the primary focus, the 1971 NHL Entry Draft. In a 12-team league, it was relatively easy to separate the bottom feeders from the cream, and during the 1970-71 regular season, Pollock looked towards Oakland and planned for the future.

Why? In the late 60s and early 70s, a teenager from Thurso, Québec was making noise for the Québec Remparts. Amassing 170 points in his final season in Québec, Guy Lafleur was a young prospect that seemed destined to dominate the NHL for a decade, and with it all but inevitable for the woeful Los Angeles Kings to finish in the cellar, Pollock schemed and manoeuvred his way into the first-overall selection in the 1971 NHL Entry Draft.

The draft, and more so the events that led up to it, helped paint Pollock as one of the greatest and most creative General Managers in NHL history. Here’s the short-form of how the Canadiens wound up with Hall-of-Famer and NHL legend, Guy Lafleur.

Prior to Lafleur’s draft year, Pollock managed to convince the California Golden Seals to swap their first-round pick and Francois Lacombe for Montréal’s and Ernie Hicke. With the Seals finishing fourth in their division and ahead of the Kings a season earlier, the trade bettered Pollock’s chances in drafting Lafleur. But Pollock didn’t stop there.

With the 1970-71 season in full swing, much to the chagrin of Pollock, the Kings were beating out the Seals for the basement title, a battle that would force Montréal’s GM to craft another trade that would help Los Angeles ascend the standings and leave the Canadiens with the No. 1 overall selection, and more importantly, the chance to draft Lafleur.

As a result, on January 26, 1971, Pollock sent scoring centre Ralph Backstrom to the Kings for Gord Labossiere and Ray Fortin for the sole purpose of improving the Kings roster and thus helping them overtake the Seals in the standings and ensure the number one overall pick for Pollock’s Canadiens.

Pollock ended up with the first selection and despite an initial sense of hesitancy — Marcel Dionne was also eligible to be taken in the 1971 NHL Entry Draft — he chose Lafleur with the Seals’ pick.

In the modern-day NHL, such a trade, especially for a high-end draft pick with franchise potential, is nearly impossible to come by. In comparison to Pollock’s Lafleur deal, imagine hearing of a lowly team like Columbus, with — hypothetically speaking — the first overall selection in the 2013 NHL Draft and the opportunity to select either Nathan Mackinnon or Seth Jones, trades it away for a fringe NHL forward and a middle-of-the-pack first round draft pick.

Such a transaction would cripple a franchise’s fan base.

In terms of economics, and in the salary cap era, small-market and even big-market teams depend on cheap, high-end production. There isn’t any better opportunity to acquire that type of player than through the draft. And when it comes to drafting players, as Canadiens fans have become well aware of recently, the ability to properly develop them becomes a monumental task for any management team.

Fortunately, when Bergevin put his finishing touches on the Habs’ front office, adding names like Martin Lapointe — director of player development — and a familiar face in Patrice Briseboi s—player development coach — he placed a special focus on progress and growth in Montréal’s budding prospect pool that will hopefully speed up the development process and help them better understand the physical and mental demands of the NHL.


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Derek is a Queen’s University student, contributing writer for OTwinner, HabsAddict.com, and freelance journalist for print magazine SportsXpress. His passion for the Canadiens was solidified on April 9, 2002, when Saku Koivu returned from Burkitt’s lymphoma and became an emblem of perseverance and strength.

Follow Derek on Twitter

(Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images North America)

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Montreal Canadiens Roundup - January 14, 2011

by Kamal Panesar

The Montreal Canadiens are enjoying a few days rest right now and, according to Tomas Plekanec, not a moment too soon.

The Canadiens looked listless in their 5-2 defeat at the hands of the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday and won't play again until Saturday night against the New York Rangers.  But according to the Habs' top center, many of the players are suffering from a milder form of whatever flu is ailing sniper Michael Cammalleri.

As such, many of the players are both physically and mentally tired so the rest should do them all some good.  The problem is so bad that second line winger Max Pacioretty had to skip practice this morning due to illness.

As for Cammalleri, he was back playing soccer with his teammates this morning at the Canadiens' Brossard practice facility and should be back in the lineup for practice this morning and against the Rangers on Saturday.

That's a good thing for a team that has been having all kinds of trouble scoring of late.

With only 12 goals through 41 games, Cammalleri is currently on pace to pot 22 goals this season.  That would be his second lowest goal total in his last six seasons and clearly a disappointing total for the Habs' top sniper.

Hopefully these few days off will go a long way towards clearing Cammalleri's mind and freeing him of whatever baggage that's been making him grip his stick too tight.  If so, then maybe we'll see a resurgence by Cammalleri similar to the one Gomez experienced after missing a few games earlier in the season.

On the trade front, the name of Andrei Kostitsyn has been floating around the rumour mill for a while now.  That's not really surprising, either, since Andrei is having an abysmal season and is currently on pace to score only 19 goals.
More importantly, however, in recent games, AK46 looks like he has already checked out of town. He is showing zero intensity and really just looks like he is going through the motions.

According to RDS, GM Pierre Gauthier has been knocking on everyone's door in an effort to move the enigmatic winger.  But as of yet, no one is interested in Kostitsyn and his $3.5 million salary.

RDS also went on to say that Jacques Martin no longer knows what to do to motivate Kostitsyn.

AK46 won't yield much in return by himself so maybe the Canadiens can figure out some way to package him with other players, prospects or picks in order to try and get something of value in return.

If the Habs are unable to move him by the deadline, they will likely try to move him at the June NHL entry draft or just leave him unsigned, making him a UFA during the summer.

The failure on the Canadiens part to properly develop Andrei Kostitsyn into a bonafide 30-plus goal scoring winger is one that has been haunting them for the last five years.  If they aren't able to get anything of value in return for him, it is a wasted draft pick that will continue to haunt for the foreseeable future, as they now have a gaping hole on the top line that is not easy to fill.

Hopefully for Habs fans Gauthier has another rabbit up his sleeve, but somehow I doubt it.

So what do you think will happen to Andrei Kostitsyn?  Will he be traded?  Are the Habs stuck with him?  What about Michael Cammalleri?  Will he bounce back once he returns to the lineup?

(Photo by Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images North America)

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Montreal Roundup: Habs Fire Six Scouts, Columbus Speaks to Boucher

It has been about a week since the Montreal Canadiens were eliminated from the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs, and things have already started percolating in their offseason.

News surfaced a few days ago that the Habs brass had given the Columbus Blue Jackets permission to speak with highly touted Hamilton Bulldogs' head coach, Guy Boucher.

Boucher, if you didn't know, is the wundercoach who took the Canadian Juniors to the gold medal during last years World Junior Championship.

He is also the guy who was appointed head coach of the Habs' AHL affiliate, the Hamilton Bulldogs, last summer.

During his first year in Hamilton, Boucher led the Bulldogs to a second place over all finish with a 52-17-3-8 record good enough for 115 points. In addition, Boucher was credited with being a master at the psychological end of coaching; helping disgruntled players like Sergei Kostitsyn regain their footing.

With screams for Jacques Martin's head all season long from the fanbase, many people were hoping that Boucher would be the one brought in to take over the reigns.

As unlikely as Martin's possible dismissal was before the playoffs, after the Habs excellent run it is safe to say that he ain't going nowhere!

Boucher, on the other hand, if not snatched up by the Jackets will surely find himself in the NHL in the not too distant future and it is very unlikely that it will be with the Canadiens.

He is a talented, up and coming coach, who has a track record or success and, once the right opportunity presents itself, he is as good as gone.

The Canadiens, on the other hand, have three more years on Jacques Martin's contract and Boucher is sure to be gone before it's up.

And good for him.

Getting to the NHL, in any capacity, is about excelling and working your butt off and making the most of your chance when you get it. It would be wrong of the Canadiens to try to protect the asset that Boucher is by denying other teams the right to speak with him.

So, while he might be a great fit for the Habs, and could possibly do a great job working with the likes of Benoit Pouliot and P.K. Subban, when he time comes the Habs will rightfully let him walk.


Trouble in the Hen House
According to Tony Marinaro of the Team 990, the Canadiens today fired six members of their scouting department—five amateur scouts and one professional.

The list of dismissed scouts is as follows: Dave Mayville, Denis Morel, Pelle Eklund—no not the guy from HockeyBuzz.com—Nikolai Varoutov, and pro scout Gordie Roberts.

While the timing of the firings is a little surprising given that the Habs open their development camp tomorrow in Brossard and that the entry draft is about three weeks away, it is a reflection that the Habs brass was not happy with their drafting results.

While these six members were singled out, there is no question that this is an indictment of the Canadiens draft track record.

As Marinaro pointed out on the Team 990 today, the Habs greatest failing is in their first round pick: Carey Price, Andrei Kostitsyn, Max Pacorietty, David Fischer, Kyle Chipchura, Chris Higgins, Alexander Perezhogin and Ron Hainsey.

While some of the players mentioned above still have time to develop and become impact players, there is no question that Andrei Kostitsyn, Chris Higgins, and Kyle Chipchura have just not worked out.

The Habs couldn't get Hainsey working hard enough, Perezhogin ran off to Russia, Fischer has not progressed as expected, and Chipchura was a bust.

In later rounds, the Habs have done a pretty good job finding player like Sergei Kostitsyn, Michael Ryder, Andrei Markov, Jaroslav Halak, Ryan O'Byrne, P.K. Subban and Maxim Lapierre who range anywhere from being serviceable to elite.

In moving 5 amateur scouts out today, Gauthier is in essence admitting that. Moreover, I believe that while Trevor Timmins job as head scout is probably still secure, I think that if the scouting continues to slip he could find himself in the unemployment line too.

I wonder how long Gauthier had planned to make these moves and if this was something he wanted to do to make his mark on the team.

Aside from bringing in Dominic Moore at the trade deadline, Gauthier has not had a chance to do much.

Now, however, Gauthier enters his first offseason at the head of the team and will get a chance to put his stamp on the team.

In a lot of ways, I find it appropriate that he is first looking to make changes internally before making them in his player lineup. I like it. Get your house in order before making player decisions.

And there will be no shortage of difficult choices for Gauthier this summer with pending UFA Tomas Plekanec, RFA's Jaroslav Halak and Carey Price, the Habs limited cap space, and their desperate need for size up front.

If today's move in anything it is a step in the right direction. Let's hope that Gauthier's subsequent moves continue that trend.

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