Anything to thus?

[John Corbin]

http://www.habsetlnh.com/divers/un-membre-de-letat-major-du-lightning-en-visite-a-montreal/

I have heard his name bandied about as a possible MB replacement

[Chuck]

What makes Brisbrois a potential candidate ?Name recognition? He has lurked amongst the management of both Montreal and Tampa. With Montreal he was known as a Cap Guru. He has had the tag assistant. But what has he shown to prove his worth as a judge of talent? Isn’t he much like MB was with Chicago, that being part of a successful management team. So do we want a GM whose experience hasn’t included having his butt on the line when making choices for the future of the Habs. Do we want a GM sure to surround himself with retired players who cling to the past

[Mike]

On 2017-12-31 09:36 PM, Chuck wrote:
> What makes Brisbrois a potential candidate ?Name recognition? He has lurked amongst the management of both Montreal and Tampa. With Montreal he was known as a Cap Guru. He has had the tag assistant. But what has he shown to prove his worth as a judge of talent? Isn’t he much like MB was with Chicago, that being part of a successful management team. So do we want a GM whose experience hasn’t included having his butt on the line when making choices for the future of the Habs. Do we want a GM sure to surround himself with retired players who cling to the past
>

He passes THE most important aspect - he can parlez vous la ding dong.

[Chuck]

I want a GM that is knowledgeable enough to make the hard choices himself when needed rather then hog tied by any lack of consensus amongst his inner circle (Minions) or feel obligated to give the minions little pieces of the team plan to manage. It’s fine to consider advice, but the total ownership belongs to the GM. No loyalties to anything other then the team. So if anyone underperforms, there is never any hesitation to fire the offender, due to any past friendship. A GM only has employees working for him, not friends. Maybe a sign on his door stating “I don’t care what you did last year, I don’t care about what you can do in the future but I do care about what you can do today, and it better impress me!”

[mike]

I wonder if perhaps he might be hired as President. That would be Molson taking a step back and in the meantime allowing Brisebois to supervise Bergevin's dismantling of the team. It would also be greasing the skids for Bergys eventual removal.

[Gerry]

Sounds like quite a leap to spin his holiday travel into that kind of rumour... but that's what happens in Montreal. Personally I don't see Bergevin's job in any jeopardy no matter how bad this season goes. But of course, that is based on nothing but The Gut.

Past that, then sure, I would think Brisebois would be a legitimate candidate. I like that he's not a former player. He's a lawyer and MBA, career hockey front office guy, still very young. He'll have ties to some people he has worked with before, anybody would, but I would like the odds of those ties being based on competence and ability. It seems like only yesterday he was with us and getting touted as "capologist". But he oversaw the last successful incarnation of our farm system, I presume he had a big hand in contract negotiations since that's his background. He's had a long stretch now of the same in Tampa, and they aren't looking too bad in the standings. He's still very young in GM years... I would look at that as a good thing too, hopefully no dinosaur thinking going on there.

So sure, Brisebois ought to make the short list, whenever a list is compiled.

l8r,
Gerry

[Chuck]

If he was hired, I would hope his whole management team is rolled out at the same time, just to make it clear who’s whispering all the hockey moves to him. If the current set of minions remains it would not be a good sign of real change. Let’s see him surround himself with fullout offence advocates, no grinders or 3rd pairing defencemen. More emphasis on across the board skill sets and ability to complete passes while under pressure. No more one tool puck dumpers whose primary skill is to make the flow of the game more akin to a nil to nil soccer game. That offence is just as important while playing 5 on 5 as it is on power plays especially now where PPs are often rare in third periods. And stop over playing anyone who has the habit of taking lengthy scoring vacations. And get rid of ones where that style is their norm rather then the exception. At this point in the season time for more creative solutions ie linemates who don’t suck when it comes to retaining possession or getting open, or passing the puck with a purpose other then simply clearing it. And get more quicker shots on net from the face off circles out, enough of thinking every scoring attempt must come from as close to the crease as possible = stop trying to pass the puck by the goal, blast it more often

[Chuck]

And I hope he hires a coach with this mindset.

Dime a dozen Grinder “Hey coach, Pierre Larouche isn’t finishing his checks or backchecking hard enough”

Coach “As long as he keeps scoring 50 goals a season and spends most of his shift in the offensive zone, I don’t care

[Mike]

See, I'm not as hard on the coach as you Gerry. I mean, the guy has
nothing to work with. The D consists of one legitimate #1 D a #2 D and
5-6 pilons. We can say we want them to move the puck with aggression,
skate it out, make great passes but this D is not capable of doing that.
They're just an awful D. The forwards consist of 6-8 players who would
have a hard time cracking the lineup of any good NHL team and the ones
that are true top 6 material are perimeter players who cannot play tight
to the net. They float outside all the time. Honestly, this is just a
really bad hockey team and the blame for it rests on the GM's shoulders
and the owner who allowed him to fuck it up as bad as he did. Toe Blake
or Scotty Bowman wouldn't turn this team into a contender. Certainly
Bergy has to be shown the door and the new GM hopefully has the vision
to begin a rebuild with good talented players. I think Julien is a smart
enough coach to be able to do something with talented players -
something lacking on this team.

[Gerry]

Ha, that was Chuck. Generally speaking, I would agree with you Mike... I didn't like Therrien, but at times he had a lot more to work with. A coach can make a difference, or not much, and I basically just thought Therrien didn't seem like much of a thinker or capable NHL coach in general, despite some of the decent regular seasons they had.

But Julien on the other hand... he does seem intelligent and is not just a capable NHL coach, but actually a very good one. He also has even less to work with than Therrien did, and as you say, the decimation that has happened on the blueline is a major starting point. Julien garnered a bit of a reputation for a lunchpail/grinder type of approach in Boston, but I still think of him as a smart enough guy to try to tailor his style to his roster moreso than some. The current Habs lineup doesn't have much skill, has almost no puck moving ability from the back end. They're also smallish and not especially physical, so less able to "grind"... so they do what they do.

I'd be tempted to just open the floodgates and go all-out run-and-gun style with this team, just for entertainment value, although I am under no illusions that such an approach would produce any better result in the standings. There simply isn't enough talent. Relying on Carey Price in that scenario would probably make his GAA soar and SvPCT plummet, even while he stood on his head and played spectacularly. There isn't enough talent to actually out-gun many teams in the league. I'm just thinking it might help develop offensive skill and a certain mindset for down the road, as opposed to offering any hope of salvation in the present. But I understand why Julien would be trying to make the playoffs and employing the style he does instead.

So yeah, while I'd pretty much clean house on the whole front office, the head coach is possibly the only guy anywhere in the hockey ops department I'd actually keep. Or at least, I'd give the new GM the option of keeping him. And Waite.

l8r,
Gerry

[Chuck]

Look at the defence they have now, do they really do much of anything to make things easier for Price. What would be different under a run and gun system? They spend far too much time back on their heels.

[Gerry]

Honestly, I don't know. Maybe if the players knew they were supposed to make plays with the puck and wouldn't be benched or berated for taking chances or getting caught up ice, it would at least look a little different. For a few of them. Guys like Alzner and Benn, I don't think they have any much different way they *can* play. Petry, maybe, maybe not. Schlemko seems to skate pretty well, but I don't have a gauge on how much more he can push the play. Mostly it would be a case of giving Jerabek, Mete (if/when he comes back), and any other younger guys on D more rope and opportunity to show their stuff. And then the forwards would probably have to carry more of that run and gunning responsibility, with more time and opportunity to the skillsier guys there.

But yeah, they'd probably just get crushed. The main hope would be that some at least learn a different mindset for forthcoming years when hopefully more talent comes on board.

l8r,
Gerry

[Chuck]

It could be a Win Win choice. If it works they win. If it doesn`t work, they solidify their chances for an even higher lottery pick, another win. When Weber was heathy, his shot totals were a little pathetic, for someone who is supposed to be the team's cannon from the point. Its a tool they have failed to maximize. I'd like to see Mete back and partnered with Weber, I think he would be good at getting that Cannon going. Petry just looks like he has no confidence to do anything with the puck when he handles it the point, nor deliver a shot that will hit the net, unfortunately while Weber is out, he's their offensive go to defenseman. Yet to see him do anything to justify that role. Extra icetime for him has no gain, at -22 worst on the team.

I would like to see them carry the puck more rather then just dumping it in all the time. They claim they have sat down with Max Pac and watched his old game videos. I think he scored most of his goals, off the rush, going to the net as quickly as possible after entering the zone. He doesn`t score off puck battles in the corners, from which even his shot totals remain anemic. Simple dump ins may chew some time off the clock, but for the Habs, it doesn`t create quality scoring chances.