Bob Gainey Report Card
The Montreal Canadiens have been steadily improving over the last few seasons, and I for one feel that GM Bob Gainey is extremely under-valued for the job he does. While I don’t agree with all of his decisions (*cough* Samsonov!) I am happy to see a Canadian franchise playing well now while still maintaining an eye to the future. Here are a few highlights of Gainey’s reign:
Best Coaching Staff in the NHL
I’m not just talking about the head coach here, though an argument could certainly be made for Guy Carboneau being the best young coach in the league. What I’m really impressed with is how well Kirk Muller, Doug Jarvais and Roland Melanson have done with this team, particularly on special teams. This team is simply among the best led in the league, managing to squeeze some production even out of the likes of Alexei Kovalev, Sergei Samsonov and more. Even more impressive is that this team wins even when two thirds of its second line - and the two players in question here are paid like first liners - aren’t scoring, this team still wins.
Gives up Little when Trading
Janne Niinimaa hasn’t been all that great and Mike Ribeiro has surged in Dallas. But few people have any problem with this trade, even in hindsight. Gainey helped his team significantly in the short term (remember how banged-up the blueline was at the time of this trade) and while Ribeiro has had some success in Dallas, it will be perfectly in character for his production to wax and wane.
Perhaps losing Jose Theodore is even a better example. Gainey convinced the Avalanche to take on a huge risk and a huge salary when they swapped David Abeischer for Theodore, and at times it looked like Colorado had made another steal. Theodore played like a Hart Trophy winner in the first round of last year’s playoffs and the Canadiens have ridden Christobel Huet and not Abeischer for most of this year. However, Huet was a question mark and having an experienced goaltender to back him up was smart and had no negatives. Make no mistake: Abeischer will likely be gone after this season and Montreal will have nothing to show for the trade that sent Theodore away.
Oh yeah, except for $5 million in cap space and cash next year.
High Risk Additions Without Subtraction
I would not have signed Samsonov, certainly not for $3.5 million per season. However, Gainey is brilliant at taking risks without giving up his future. The Habs gave up zero, zip, nada to give Samsonov a try in a summer when top 6 forwards were nowhere to be found. If Samsonov truly turns into a car wreck, Gainey can throw him on waivers and try plan B without having to watch the player he sent away blossom in another city.
The upcoming summer is a huge one for the short-term future of this franchise, and Montreal fans should be breating a sigh of relief for having such a smart man at the helm. With Craig Rivet, Sheldon Souray, Andrei Markov and Janne Niinimaa all slated for unrestricted free agency this summer, the very solid blueline the team features this year could be mostly or even entirely gone by September (this is the primary reason, by the way, that I object to Samsonov’s contract. Imagine how useful that $3.5 million could be when trying to sign Souray).
If only John Ferguson Jr. could manage to trade himself for Gainey. 