From an article I wrote back in November:
Now after 50 games and a 27-18-5 record, the team has seen its lead evaporate due to poor play in the last 19 games, going 9-8-2 and allowing at least 4 goals in the last 4 games.
Let’s see why Michel Therrien needs to be fired if GM Marc Bergevin and owner Geoff Molson have any hopes to see their team make the playoffs this season.
Below you will find 10 reasons why the Canadiens must get rid of Michel Therrien:
1. Therrien has openly criticized his all-star defenseman P.K. Subban for his turnovers and his lazy penalties, calling him out publicly for his mistakes, which is something you just don’t do if you want your star players on your side. Therrien has also stifled Subban’s creativity. As a result, the Subbanator has only 1 goal and 1 assist in his last 8 games, posting a -6 rating playing alongside Josh Gorges.
2. His consistent use of Francis Bouillon on the second power play instead of using Subban for the whole two minutes just like the Penguins and the Senators do with Kris Letang and Erik Karlsson respectively. Now with the arrival of Nathan Beaulieu, Bouillon’s playing time on the power play should diminish, but he was still out there last night vs. the Penguins. Since the 2011-12 season, Bouillon has played 147 minutes with the power play and has collected a single assist during that period. A SINGLE ASSIST.
3. His constant line juggling and questionable decisions regarding his offensive lines and defensive duos. For example, veteran Daniel Briere was clicking nicely with two-way forwards Tomas Plekanec and Brian Gionta but as soon as sophomore Alex Galchenyuk went down with a broken wrist, Therrien started juggling his lines inserting different players in that spot, namely Travis Moen, Lars Eller, Brandon Prust.
4. His return to a dump-and-chase style of play with a passive forecheck is not working. Because of the small size of the club’s forwards, the Habs would be better suited to adopt a west-east approach instead of a north-south strategy that is simply not working. The team needs to penetrate the offensive zone with the puck instead of dumping it and failing to retrieve it. The Habs need to forecheck with two forwards and use their speed to create turnovers in the offensive zone instead of letting the opposing teams come out of its zone too easily and enter the neutral zone without any pressure. The team is also always sitting on their leads without much success, dropping at least three 3-0 leads in the last month, 3!
5. Therrien’s hidden hatred of veteran Daniel Briere. When Briere signed a two-year pact worth $8 million in the off-season, he did not imagine he would end up playing 10:00 on most nights, despite being one of the best talented forwards this team has. Therrien did not like that Briere came to his office to have more playing time and play at center back in October. Since then, the relationship between the two men is tense.
6. His over-utilization of unproductive winger Rene Bourque on the man advantage and at even strength. It took 36 games for Therrien to finally scratch Bourque on Saturday in Toronto despite the fact that Bourque had only 6 goals and 1 assist in 36 games before potting his first road goal on the season on Wednesday.
7. Poor defensive positioning had led to numerous scoring chances from the opposing teams and if it were not for Carey Price’s and Peter Budaj’s stellar play, the Canadiens would have a far worse record. The defensemen have a hard time making a good first pass, often icing the puck because of an inaccurate pass or clearing the puck by the boards with the wingers having no real opportunity to catch the pass and make a clear exit of the defensive zone. The team is so discombobulated in the defensive zone that the opponent have been able to take advantage of this flaw, scoring at least 4 goals against the Habs in their last 5 raod games.
Therrien is clueless most of the time.
8. His poor decisions regarding defensive pairings such as splitting Subban and Markov, playing Alexei Emelin on the his wrong side, and dressing Douglas Murray and Francis Bouilloninstead of Alexei Emelin and Raphael Diaz.
9. The utilization of George Parros despite the fact that he’s not fighting any more and not playing physical at all. Parros has fought only 3 times in 10 contests, getting a mere 10 hits in the process and posting a miserable -6 rating in spite of playing less than 5 minutes per game.
10. His inability to adapt during games and to match-up his lines, especially at home where he is supposed to have the advantage with the last change. We have often seen the Canadiens get caught with their fourth line on the ice while the opponent’s first line jumps on the ice; situations that often led to a goal.
Below you will find the Habs’ expected lines for Friday’s match-up against the Detroit Red Wings:
Max Pacioretty – David Desharnais – Brendan Gallagher
Brandon Prust – Daniel Briere – Rene Bourque
Lars Eller – Tomas Plekanec – Brian Gionta
Travis Moen – Michaël Bournival – Louis Leblanc
Max Pacioretty – David Desharnais – Brendan Gallagher
Brandon Prust – Daniel Briere – Rene Bourque
Lars Eller – Tomas Plekanec – Brian Gionta
Travis Moen – Michaël Bournival – Louis Leblanc
Once again I am puzzled at the hockey decisions made by Michel Therrien and his coaching staff.
As for the defensive pairings, nobody has a clue what the duos will be and who is going to play or be scratched…
While there is still time to make the playoffs, the Habs are on a free fall and now have only a five-point lead over the 9th place team… who happens to be the Red Wings. A win by Detroit on Friday but shrink that tiny lead to a mere 3 points…
It sounds like Therrien is quickly losing his dressing room as a result of poor decisions this season… When do you think he gets canned? During the season or after the playoffs (if they make it)?
28 comments:
Let's look at the last 20 years..How any coaches and GM's has this team had?? Too many..The coach can only ice the team ownership and those in charge give him..No Coach would be able to do a better job than Therrien, the Habs Top 6 fowards that includes, Bourque, Briere, Desharnais and Gionta is a joke..A Good chance No Habs foward will finish above 50 points..So keep believing what you want, MT is doing a good enough job with what he has, which isnt much..
Looks like Habs fans have to face facts, you are an Over taxed city so the better players want out, you lost Chelios and Langway because of finances..How come Montreal gives illions to the league with the Revenue Sharing, AND still pays the most taxes in the league?? Maybe the team should pay Less to balance the tax situation.
Saw a comment at Hockey Inside Out recently and it read..
I am giving scout. director Timmins the benefit of the doubt, I want to see how players from the last few drafts pan out, or fizzle..Players like Beaulieu, Tinordi, Ellis, Collberg, Bozon, Leblanc, McCarron, Fucale, De La Rose, Leikkonen...etc...If the majority of those players dont make the big team and contribute, Timmins has to go!!
I totally agree at 10:33 pm, I actually want him gone Now.
What I really want to see happen is start getting rid of soe of the Deadwood on this team, which wont be easy..I also am a Realist and since this team may not even make the playoffs, in a very WEAK Conference, and they are miles away from contending, maybe it's time , say after next year, to trade both Carey Price and Andrei Markov, what good is having these two excellent players on a really bad team. Think what you can get for each, also add another player in two separate deals, would b=we be able to Pry a Claude Giroux for say Pleks and Markov?? Teas get desperate trying to make the playoffs, and a Few teams ay be Really desperate if they think they have a shot at a Stanley Cup. Rebuild this mess, look at what the Avalanche did, one season the worst, now contending for the top spot in the West..And yes, ontreal, led by a coach our fans said would be Terrible as an NHL coach..
I would trade Subban and get a first line centre. Subban isn't worth the money he will be asking for and he's a selfish player. He tries to do too much. He has stretches where he's really solid and then he has stretches where he makes mistakes and takes dumb penalties. Since the perception out there is that he's an all star franchise player, then i'd like to see the Habs get a Kopitar, Taylor Hall or an Eric Stall for him plus a draft pick.
I thought the Habs were going to compete when they looked like they were getting bigger. With Prust Bourque Leblanc etc. Then they get a washed up Briere who didn't want to go to Montreal in his prime. Now the team plays like a small team the players brought in to bang don't .Moen hasn't hit anyone in 2 months. Prust was brought in to be tough but changed his mind thinking he has to provide offense because no one else can. I love Prust but its not his role to be an offensive leader. This team was getting bigger and better than they got washed up small players that don't seem to have the energy day in and day out some days they just look slow Stick with the game plan to get bigger. Its a grind everyday for little guys and they know it.
Have to keep Subban you need a core to build around. and they have that . But they don't hit because they are to small. Gallager is the only little guy I would keep. Time to get physical.
Beaulieu is going to be good ,real good.
Some Habs fans want to get a Petition going, and send it to the Owners at Molson..If you connected the Disgruntled Habs fans at Habfans.com..Hockey Inside Out..Eyes on the Prize etc we could get something going, Tell them we want a competitive team, a strong GM better scouting director..We dont Care about the French vs Anglo nonsense, all we care about is stopping the embarrassing teAMS tHAT have been iced for the last 20 years, as well as telling them we Wont go to games by your beer or team merdhandise until this happens..We need to stop being a Disgrace to those that came before and held the torch high.
@ Anonymous at 11;22 You said something both Interesting, and yet a poor reflection on what this team does wrong at draft time by mmentioning.players like Bourque, Prust and Leblanc, Sure Decent size, but with very little talent..Have you noticed we cannot seem to find decent sized players that also have Skill, we either have Midgets that are Supposed to be skilled or Bigger players that have very littlr skill..Again, we need to find more players that combine Both..
1-10 Right On Fire coach.
What's up with this recent number of articles calling for the coach's head, its complete nonsense. Give time to Bergevin and Therrien to build their team, its a 5 year plan and we are not even at 1.5 year into it. It's gonna take time. In the meantime, our team is in the top teams in the standing. Ca va moins bien de ces jours ci mais cest ca une saison d'hockey
I agree with many of your points. But here's why I don't think Bergevin will fire Therrien just yet. http://topshelfwithbk.wordpress.com/2014/01/25/does-michel-therrien-survive-the-weekend/
Fans like DBast are the type that keeps the Habs organization from trying to win..WHAT Five Year Plan, we.ve been hearing this for Two decades now..And if its a five year plan, why werent fans told this, and why sign older, useless players like Briere and Parros, those signings Contradict any thoughts of a rebuild.
Montreal would Most definately Trade either Markov or Subbaan , along with a player like Bourque or Gionta, who could help a conat least one or two should get playing time tending team, but for one thing..We had a replaceent all ready in Ryan McDonagh and Gave him Away in the Scott Gomez deal..That ove will haunt this team for years..I am also worried about Timmins picks Tinordi, Beaulieu and Paytern ,
The question isn't will Therrien get fired but when. He's lost the team and is regularly out-coached by opponents. Bergevin has to pull the trigger and bring in someone that the players will respect.
Pateryn was not a Montreal draft pick. He came via a trade
I guess that really ade your day, correcting where Pateryn came from and Not where the Habs are going!! Loser.
all in all,habs are just too small.even dmen are undersized by pro standards
habs have 3 forward 5'6"5'-7" and a couple 5'10"5' 11" probably a couple of more with Bournival and Leblanc.not a very big team at all.la kings have 5 forwards atleast 6'3" and bigger.while watching the Kings/Ducks game lat nite.commentators saying they both have massive forwards/players
When teams like the L.A., Anaheim, Carolina win the Lord Stanley and the Habs have a hard time making the playoffs. There is definitely a problem within the organization. Size is there biggest problem. We have said it many times this team is too small. The old teams of the sixties size was o.k. all the teams then were small. Today they are giants, and we are no David! My thoughts are these. regardless of the tax situation, regardless of the language issues...the Bell Center is always filled and as long as the team is sold out each game, year after year, there will be no change. The business is successful without winning a Stanley Cup!
Mr. Molson is happy, Bell Center is happy, Tax man is happy, the fans well, we accept what they give us and we continue to support a mediocre team! Go Habs Go!
hes doing well with what he has.the top brass need to sign dsome real talent indtead of hasbeens like they always do.i mean come on,briere?he sucks period.
Malheureusement, il fallait agir avant de tomber dans le trou au fond duquel l'équipe se trouve en ce moment. En effet, à l'heure actuelle, la valeur de nos joueurs est au plus bas. Il serait stupide de les échanger, à moins de trouver un DG encore plus épais que le nôtre. C'était donc il y a quelques mois que Bergevin devait bouger, du moins si telle était et si telle est toujours son intention... Pour ce qui est de Hamilton, le club école du CH est vide, comme chacun sait. Pour ces deux raisons, je ne vois pas d'autre "solution" pour l'instant que de congédier l'abruti qui nous sert d'entraîneur... Quelles ont été les erreurs de Therrien?? En voici quelques unes: 1) des changements dans la composition des trios trop fréquents; 2) au moins deux linchages publics de notre meilleur joueur (Subban, sans parler du fait que Therrien a osé dire que Subban n'aurait pas été sélectionné sur Équipe Canada sans son coaching!!!); 3) des traitements de faveur réservés à certains joueurs (Gionta est pourri et il n'a jamais été benché ou mis sur la passerelle); 4) Bouillon sur la deuxième vague de l'avantage numérique au lieu de faire jouer Subban deux minutes (Bouillon a récolté une seule petite passe depuis les mois qu'il y est); 5) une mauvaise utilisation de Parros qui se retrouve trop souvent sur la glace au mauvais moment; 6) pas assez de temps d'arrêt pris lors des matchs où le CH éprouve des difficultés et pourrait bénéficier d'une petite pause pour se regrouper (Par exemple, hier, pourquoi Therrien n'a-t-il pas pris de temps d'arrêt pour parler à ses joueurs alors que le match pouvait encore être gagné à 2-0 ou même à 3-0?????). Et s'il vous plaît, Mr. Bergevin, cette fois, engagez quelqu'un d'intelligent, qui sait tirer le meilleur de ses meilleurs joueurs, et qui ne fait pas passer son ego avant le succès de son équipe...
Those of you talking about trading Subban are idiots....Trade him for what? And replace him on defence with whom.
If he's allowed to play his game, and not be hand cuffed by an idiot coach, his point total would be way more than it is right now.
The guy has the most assists on the team, and he's selfish? Unfortunately sometimes he has to take some risks....without his scoring, where would the team be?
Therrien has to go, plain and simple, NOW, if there is any hope of saving the season. People can comment all they want about lack of talent on this team, but remember, that same "lack of talent" went 9-0-1 during one stretch earlier this season. So yes, even though there are no superstars, these players are capable of winning a lot of games. The Habs play during the last 3 weeks has been puzzling to say the least, and they have been playing with no system or consistency. It's like they're going out on to the ice with no direction whatsoever. If I were a betting man, I would say Therrien has lost the room. If this team shows no signs of improved play in the next 5 games, Therrien HAS TO GO. Otherwise, the season WILL BE LOST. A season played without making the playoffs is a waste of time!
Thank you all for your comments./Merci à tous pour vos commentaires. It's almost unanimous. Therrien will be fired, the question is simply when! My bet is he will be fired during the Olympics if things don't improve fast.
And what about firing Therrien now...???!!!
So? Where are we now with the Fire Therrien Choir?
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