Guy Carbonneau is one of the three finalists for Coach of the Year. His competition is Bruce Boudreau of the Capitals and Mike Babcock of the Red Wings. My personal pick would be Claude Julien of the Bruins. He proved what an outstanding coach he is during the regular season and the playoffs, taking the Bruins far beyond anyone's expectations. Guy Carbonneau doesn't belong in the same league as these gentlemen. His idea of coaching has been to wear a lucky tie, give his players the day off every time they lose, and break up Montreal's best, most consistent line of Kostopoulos-Begin-Smolinski.
Watching him behind the bench last night I saw the clinching proof that he is not respected by his players, and has been completely tuned out. During Montreal's time-out, he was trying to speak to the players, while captain Saku Koivu was talking at the same time. The players were all ignoring Carbonneau, paying attention to Koivu's directions. Carbonneau kept yelling, and Koivu kept talking, and the players were all taking their directions from Koivu, not the coach.
Carbonneau has had enough time to get a handle on things. If he's already being tuned out, and is in a power struggle with Montreal's captain and best playoff performer, he has no business being coach of the Canadiens.
If Guy Carbonneau is overrated as a coach, then Bob Gainey has to take the prize as Most Overrated GM in the History of the NHL. His Curriculum Vitae makes him look more suited to be the GM for the Blackhawks than the Canadiens. He has managed to make ONE good trade during his time in Montreal. He brought in Kovalev to bolster a 7th place team and provide an upset against Boston in 2004. After that, he has only made moves that have helped Montreal's bottom line. When faced with the impending free-agency of two excellent defensive forwards in Radek Bonk and Mike Johnson, he let them walk. Whether or not he should have signed Sheldon Souray, he foolishly lowballed him, cementing his reputation as a cheapskate among other NHL players. One phrase that has factored into nearly every one of Bob Gainey's decisions has been "Salary Dump." Jose Theodore, Mike Ribeiro, Sergei Samsonov, Cristobal Huet, were all traded for a song with the implicit promise that the money would be used to sign free agents or make room for deadline-day game-breakers. The problem is, Chicago has operated the same way for years, overpaying for duds, and clearing salaries for nothing.
I *almost* wish Boston had beaten Montreal in the first round this year. Then Bob Gainey would have no choice but to admit that 1) his coach is a fraud, and 2) his "value-added" philosophy of sitting on his ass and hoping that a group of rookies and third-liners can go all the way is completely unrealistic. (I say "almost", because my friends in Massachusetts would never give me a moment's peace should the Bruins beat Montreal in a series.)
My prediction is that, even should Montreal lose on Saturday, Bob Gainey will go into the post-season very pleased with himself, give all sorts of platitudes about a great season (News Flash: The Cup is all that matters), and sit on his ass and do nothing to improve the team in the off-season. He will describe this year's playoffs as a learning experience for his young team, and that they will all do better next year, and require no help from blue-chip free agents or deadline-day acquisitions.
Actually, I think Gainey will make one big off-season signing. Pierre Turgeon will come out of retirement and sign a $750,000 deal to play in Montreal.
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