A New Hope

Emerging from this season's dark clouds has been a couple of rays of sunshine including the obviously phenomenal play of the Canadiens first line and more specifically David Desharnais and Max Pacioretty.  And although Erik Cole has also been a stud throughout this season, the hope was that he would be - just that - considering the contract that he was signed for.  But what I wanted to focus on was another bright light, a light that may not have shown earlier on in this season and may have faded a tad more recently but that light is just as important to the future success of the Montreal Canadiens and is there new hope, Alexei Emelin.

Alexei Emelin has shown that he can play in the NHL and play well.  Has he made mistakes?  Most definitely.  Has he looked lacked consistency?  He most certainly has.  But what he has shown is the ability to play important minutes against top-tier players and adjust to a North American game in a relatively short period of time.  It's important to note that it takes longer for a defenseman to develop than it does a forward in this league and at the ripe old age of 25, Alexei is just entering his prime.

"You're Not a Wartime Consigliere, (Pierre)"

From the Godfather (an exchange between Michael Corleone and his lawyer/advisor Tom Hagen)

Michael: "You're out Tom."

Tom: "Why?"

Michael: "You're not a wartime consigliere, Tom. Things may get rough with the move we're trying."

In a nutshell, that summarizes Pierre Gauthier's reign as General Manager of the Montreal Canadiens.

"Le Club de Hockey Canadien" is Really A Public Relations Company

When Geoff Molson lead a group of investors to buy the Montreal Canadiens, I was optimistic about the direction that the Montreal Canadiens were going to go in.  I thought the George Gillett era was a resounding success.  He took one of the most recognized franchises in sports from a beleaguered and non-profitable state and brought them back to a respected, successful and extremely profitable state.  Not bad for an American who had a number of detractors fearing that he would pick up and move the team altogether below the 49th parallel.  Not only did he not do that, but he hired Pierre Boivin to run the 'business' of the Montreal Canadiens as he saw fit.