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Wednesday, November 8, 2000
How the mighty have fallen
By Nancy Marrapese-Burrell
Special to ESPN.com
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Anybody want to buy a hockey team? The bleu, blanc and rouge are on the
block, with Molson bailing out of the hockey business. But it won't be an easy
sell. Despite leading the league in attendance the last two seasons,
season-ticket sales are down significantly and the arena continues to lose
money.
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Wed., Sept. 27
Goaltending will be the key for the Canadiens this year. Despite a rash of injuries to front-line players last year, the goaltending of Jeff Hackett and Jose Theodore had the Habs fighting for a playoff spot right up until the last day of the season. If Saku Koivu and Trevor Linden are able to stay healthy, this is a team that will compete for a playoff spot again. But the goaltending has to be as good as it was last year. If not, all bets are off.
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As we've seen on Long Island, whoever buys the club will make a huge
impact on how much cash gets pumped into the roster.
If you're looking at the team using the status quo, they should be about
the same as last year – which is bad news if you're a Canadiens' fan,
considering they were 10th in the Eastern Conference and missed the playoffs.
Watching the decline of this franchise is like seeing Superman lying on the
pavement, rendered mortal by kryptonite. It's too hard to watch.
Their defense is solid and reliable and has been their calling card the
last few years. What's holding up a complete endorsement is their goaltending
situation. With Jose Theodore sitting out training camp in a contract
dispute, that weakens the Habs' chances of success right away. Veteran Jeff
Hackett won't hurt Montreal if he's called on to carry the bulk of the load, but he seems to be more equipped as the able backup, not the go-to guy.
Among blueliners, this should be a breakout year for hard-nosed Sheldon
Souray. As a corps, Montreal has been weakened a bit by inuries to Karl Dykhuis and Patrice Brisebois. Veteran Eric Weinrich is the most steady of the group and arguably could be the club's MVP. The Habs are hoping rookie defenseman Andrei Markov can fill out the group, although he's not as strong defensively.
If the Canadiens were challenged by injuries last year, their biggest
liability this year seems to be a decided lack of toughness. Gone are Shayne
Corson, Scott Thornton, Turner Stevenson and Jim Cummins. That's a lot of grit.
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Bottom Line on the Canadiens
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Strengths
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Weaknesses
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Defense
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Depth
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Toughness
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SEASON OUTLOOK: Despite all the man-games lost to injuries last year, the club
actually scored more goals than the year before. It stands to be a long haul
again with Toronto a better team and a healthy Hasek in Buffalo, along with Yashin
back in Ottawa. In a nutshell: uh oh. |
Nancy Marrapese-Burrell of the Boston Globe writes a weekly national NHL column for ESPN.com.
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ALSO SEE
Toronto Maple Leafs preview
Ottawa Senators preview
Buffalo Sabres preview
Boston Bruins preview
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