Tuesday evening at the Bell Centre was the perfect encapsulation of the modern-day Canadiens.
The soiree began with a perfectly-planned suitably-uplifting tribute to the great dynasty that was the Montreal Canadiens in the second half of the 1970s, a squad that won four straight Stanley Cups and is generally considered to be the best team in the history of hockey.
“We needed to win and we loved to win,” said Ken Dryden, in his pregame speech.
It was a moving moment. The game that followed not so much.
The Habs were soundly trounced by the New York Rangers, losing 7-2, the team’s fourth straight loss. To say it was an embarrassment is being kind to the hometown team.
That’s the 21st-century Habs in a nutshell. They do pregame presentations like no one else. The one on opening-night was also spectacular, highlighting the rich history linking the team and its Québécois fans.
But there’s a major disconnect between the pregame shows and the games. The team isn’t very good and hasn’t been for a long, long time. And they can highlight the Québécois stars of eras past — like Rocket Richard, Jean Béliveau, Guy Lafleur and Patrick Roy — but the team hasn’t been the Flying Frenchmen for over 30 years.
It’s a remarkable thing that Canadiens management has pulled off here. They keep fans focused on the glorious past with these endless ceremonies and at the same time they successfully sell the same fans on a glorious rebuild that is all about the promise of some future success. For now, it’s all about losing but hey, they say, there’s a pot of gold at the end of the process.
With the Canadiens back in a familiar position — dead-last in the Atlantic Division — the thing worth remembering is that some rebuilds work and some don’t. There are no guarantees. The Rangers rebuild, orchestrated in part by current Habs hockey boss Jeff Gorton, is working. It doesn’t hurt that you have a superstar forward in Artemi Panarin and maybe the best goalie in hockey in Igor Shesterkin.
Montreal doesn’t have a Panarin or a Shesterkin. Their team is led by captain Nick Suzuki, a very good hockey player, but is he the guy to lead them to the Promised Land? Many of us have our doubts. He said after Tuesday night’s nightmare on Canadiens-de-Montréal Ave. that “it didn’t feel like a 7-2 game” and Gilbert Delorme on BPM Sports deserves a raise for cracking: “Yeah it didn’t feel like a 7-2 loss, it felt like a 10-2 loss.” BOOM!
I can be as patient as the next person, sort of, but I have to see progress in the process and I’m not seeing it so far this season for a team that has a 2-4-1 record. Their one very good game was the win over Ottawa.
Yes there are bright spots. Cole Caufield has regained his swagger and is once again scoring like the sniper he was in Year 1. And obviously Lane Hutson is a star in the making. Oh and Suzuki finally got his scoring mojo going Tuesday and that second goal sure was a thing of beauty.
Management set expectations low, saying they wanted to be in the mix, near a playoff spot. But seven games in, this team just looks mixed up. The D is a mess. One Habs journalist said after the game all the D-men are five to eight years away from their prime. So maybe the big playoff run will be in 2030! I mean, c’mon.
I’d also like to see a coach who actually looks upset when his team is humiliated on home ice and who reacts to what’s going on in front of him. Two goals on the first three shots of the game? I think that warrants a few choice swear words at the very least. Instead Martin St. Louis looked like he was mulling over his post-game bon mots.
But Montreal’s notoriously fickle fans are buying into the patience mantra preached by management. At least that’s what they were saying outside the Bell Centre before Tuesday’s game.
“I think they’re pretty good for the start of the season,” said Gilles Bergeron. “They were good in the first game against Toronto. And the power play has improved.”
“We don’t need to worry about the Canadiens, the season is just starting,” said Réjean Fortin. “Things will fall into place. But Suzuki has to start producing.”
Well, a few hours later he did. So that’s one step in the right direction.
“No we don’t need to worry, the future is in front of us,” said Manuel Moscatel.
But they just lost three games, I noted.
“The season is young. Don’t worry, be happy,” said Moscatel.
And there it is. A new slogan for the Canadiens. It used to be “No excuses”, until former general manager Marc Bergevin ripped that off the dressing-room wall. Now the slogan can be “don’t worry, be happy.”