But like most things in the world, there is always a chain of events that leads up to an epic dive down the standings. It doesn't just happen one morning over breakfast or in one game that sees Carey Price leave during the 2nd intermission. No. It doesn't work like that. This historic fall happened in the long hours of trade deadlines, through frantic and fruitless discussions at the draft table and during the summer months of negotiations and courtships. All in an effort to troll the bargain bins and get younger. However, the problem with this is twofold: bargains are usually a bargain for a reason, and youth doesn't come with experience or Stanley Cup rings.
Now, the brilliance of the Chicago Blackhawks is their payroll. They have 6 big money players and the rest are just plugs. Albeit they have some really good plugs through some excellent scouting and contracts, but every season, those plugs are changed out and the 'Hawks carry on. While Marc Bergevin is from the Chicago School of Plugs, he seems to be operating under the guise that his top 6 guys are as good as Toews, Kane, Hossa, Crawford, Keith and Seabrook. Well asides from Carey Price and maybe PK Subban, they aren't. Marc Bergevin, referred to often as "Bargain Bin" Bergevin, doesn't have a good enough core to buy a Cup in the sale bins. A reluctance to spend has cost the Montreal Canadiens dearly. Last I checked, Ovechkin makes $9.5M, Corey Perry $8.6M, Patrick Kane makes $10.5M and on the very same team is Jonathan Toews, who also makes $10.5M. When Steven Stamkos hits free agency on July 1st, he's going to be looking for something in that range. He scores a lot of goals. The Habs need someone who can score a lot of goals. He'd solve one problem.
Unfortunately, you don't find Steven Stamkos in the same place you're picking up Alex Semin and Tomas Fleishman. Two are in Wal Mart sale bins with random items like mitts, socks and headphones; the other one is in a boutique downtown folded neatly on a glossy white table with lights shining on it. But Bergevin has been unwilling to make splashes since he's taken control of things in 2012, gambling once with Vanek and swearing to never do it again after he became a healthy scratch in the playoffs. So the Habs, unwilling to spend money on a free agent, have tried to do their best Billy Beane and cleverly find goals that no one else could.
Okay yes, Bergevin did sign PK Subban to a monster contract last summer, but it seems quite obvious that Geoff Molson had to twist his arm to get it done. Meanwhile, Montreal has cleansed themselves of anything above the age of 30 or anyone that owns a Cup ring - their second big problem. The past two seasons, Montreal's roster has had over 50% turnover, seeing the likes of Gionta, Gorges, Moen, Prust and Budaj all gone. So when they handed over the torch to Max Pacioretty and things went south, he didn't have much to lean on.
Now, it's not that any one of those specific players mentioned would be great on the Habs roster right now (though anyone could be good on the Habs roster right now), but they need players like them. Grit, leadership, experience - these are things you typically don't remove but add to a team that is so close to the promised land. But rather, Montreal went bargain shopping, testing out the likes of Alex Semin, Tomas Fleishmann, Jiri Sekac and Torrey Mitchell. Alex Semin certainly hasn't been noted for his character or grit, Fleishmann scores a little bit...I guess. Sekac and Mitchell - ummm, who were they before they were Habs? And so a team that needed goals, sprinkled in some wishful contracts with attractive 'best case scenarios', and continued to bank on their star goalie. Except this season their star goalie went bust.
Jaromir Jagr publicly wanted to sign in Montreal with the asking price of $3M/season, which now looks like a bargain. Justin Williams almost signed in Montreal, having pen to paper, but he changed his mind and signed for $3.2M in Washington...the same Justin Williams that came up clutch time and time again for the Kings in the playoffs. Brian Gionta wanted to stay in Montreal, but was lured to Buffalo to wear the 'C' there. All of these departures and failed courtships have left a vacuum of experience and leadership in the Habs dressing room, and the attempts at filling these voids in the bargain bin have been fruitless on the ice and in the room. It's quite possible Max Pacioretty will become a great captain, but not having a veteran voice in the room to lean on has hurt him and his team. Looking lost on the ice, it's not only a coaching failure as much as it is a failure in leadership. Being stripped of all things veteran and experience, the Habs look like they're drowning in expectation and need a lifeboat before they go down completely.
Perhaps that lifeboat is Carey Price. But even if it is, it's still a lifeboat, while Chicago is getting around on a Cruise ship. And cruise ships aren't cheap, nor are they easy to lead. Currently, Marc Bergevin looks like he's having a tough time commanding a life boat. Granted the waters are rough, but he has only himself to blame for being in a lifeboat. If he had a better ship, ironically the waters probably wouldn't be so rough.
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