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Jacques Robert, your usual Montreal Correspondent, was
unavailable to file a final team report. So that means I will
try and fill in as only I can. Yes, that's right. Through
Haiku.
Boy, did the Habs suck
Suck, suck, suck, suck, suck, suck, suck
Have you seen my pants?
TEAM MVP: It's kind of hard to pick an MVP from a team
that missed the playoffs and whose leading scorer had just 44
points. But Jeff Hackett did everything in his power to try and
carry the Canadiens into the postseason. Hackett was extremely
strong in net after arriving from Chicago, finishing the season
with 26 wins, a 2.49 goals-against average, a .907 save
percentage, and five shutouts. He gave the club the veteran
leadership in net it didn't have with Jocelyn Thibault or Jose
Theodore.
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Jeff Hackett
by Meredith Martini
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SURPRISE: It was surprising that a team from Montreal
could suck this bad.
DISAPPOINTMENT: Throw a rock. Everyone was
disappointing, but Martin Rucinsky (73-17-17-34, -25), Shayne
Corson (63-12-20-32), and Brian Savage (54-16-10-26) led the way.
OFF-SEASON CHANGES: The Habs are already shaking things
up. With Mark Recchi and Vincent Damphousse traded away at the
end of the season, the club needed a veteran scorer to help take
some of the load off li'l Saku Koivu. They decided to go out and
get Trevor Linden. Um, that's kind of bold. Linden is a swell
guy and all, but he had only 18 goals and 47 points in 82 games
for the Islanders last season. He's not exactly a marquee player
anymore. He should be able to settle into the number two center
role behind Koivu, though, as long as the fans and media don't
expect too much from him. Linden might even be offered the
captaincy, but why would he want it? The last few captains,
including Mike Keane, Pierre Turgeon, and Damphousse, haven't
lasted in town long after getting the C.
The problem with Montreal is that its a team without an identity.
The Canadiens should be a free-wheeling, French-Canadian squad.
They should have never traded Turgeon or Damphousse. As far as
I'm concerned, they should have 20 French guys on their roster.
If you're going to lose, at least lose being yourself. As the
kids would say, keep it real. If I was the GM, you wouldn't be
able to wear the Montreal sweater if you pronounced the s at the
end of words or considered Jerry Lewis anything but a comedic
genius.
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