Am I serious? Absolutely! I believe that the Montreal Canadiens are a much better team than the standings currently indicate. At the moment of this post, the Canadiens sit in 13th place out of 15 teams in the EASTERN Conference. Only Carolina and the Islanders have worse records, and while they are tied with Tampa Bay, the Lightning actually hold a game in hand, regardless of their match up against the Canadiens tonight at the Bell Centre. Perhaps more importantly, the Habs are 8 points behind the Toronto Maple Leafs, who sit in the 8th and last playoff position.

I am not suggesting that they will win the Stanley much, much less winning their division, let's just clarify that point right now. The Canadiens sit in last place in the NORTHEAST division, 16 points behind the Boston Bruins who also have 3 games in hand. Barring injuries, suspensions, and maybe a doping scandal, the Bruins may have to face all three challenges in order not to repeat as Stanley Cup Champions, they way that they have been playing over their last 27 games (23 wins).

Several days after Pierre Gauthier made the move to "relieve Jacques Martin of his duties" and replace him with his uni-lingual English speaking assistant coach Randy Cunneyworth for an interim basis, people are still talking about language, rather than hockey. This is despite the fact that the Canadiens have lost both games since Cunneyworth took over, that the Habs have lost their last 3 games, that the team is moving further away from playoff contention and that the Team owner, President and CEO Geoff Molson clearly said in a statement that "the ability for the head coach to express himself in both French and English will be a very important factor in the selection of the permanent head coach".

So let's clarify the situation for people who have more passion than sense right now when it comes to this debate. The official language of Quebec is French, and businesses who cater to 80% of the public that has identified their mother tongue as french, must do so in French. This goes beyond websites and press releases, but does not drill down to the player level because they are not considered management. Coaches however, are part of the management structure. Part of the coach's role is to communicate to members of the media, who act as windows for the 80% of the population that want to know what is happening their team.

If fans believe that a new General Manager can just walk in and trade unwanted assets for high value stars, they need to get a reality check. But so many callers, emailers and bloggers continuously live in a world where players who have undergone ACL injuries can be traded before they even play their first game, or that defensemen masquerading as a 4th line forward can be traded for Eric Stall if you throw in maybe a Kostitsyn and a 3rd round pick...but not a 2nd because that would be way too much. What they are missing is that the other GM has to want your offer as much or more as you want their player.

I will examine the trades that were made by Pierre Gauthier since he took over as GM of the Montreal Canadiens. I am aware that a significant percentage of the criticism lies not in the moves he made, but in the moves he has not made. Specifically in not acquiring a big center...or 2. Plekanecs and Desharnais are good, but under 6’, Gomez has been a bust, but Eller has shown promise.  The other issue fans have is this regime’s refusal to sign players during the season; a policy they feel will bite them when it comes time to negotiation the contracts for high value players like Price, Subban and even Gorges.

Some have said that Gauthier lacks the courage to pull off a big trade, but to say that about a man who traded Halak at the height of his popularity, and hire the Canadiens’ first unilingual English speaking coach in decades is wrong.

Here is what I consider a list of positive moves made by Pierre Gauthier (in chronological order) since he took over as General Manager of the Montreal Canadiens:

1 - February 8, 2010: Center Dominic Moore in exchange of a second round draft pick in 2011

Fans may hate the fact that the Canadiens gave up a high draft pick, but the truth is that was the going rate for “rental” players. The fact that Moore scored the series winner against the Washington Capitals more than made the trade worthwhile.

2 - June 17, 2010: Montreal Canadiens trade goaltender Jaroslav Halak to St. Louis Blues for prospects center Lars Eller and right winger Ian Schultz

This is one of the key examples of the kind of the kind of guts Pierre Gauthier has as a GM. Carey Price was coming off the worst season of his young career, and Halakamania was running rampant in the streets of Montreal. Fans were photoshoping Halak’s face over that of family members, and he as the clear people’s choice at the time of this trade. Now, Halak is back to being a backup goaltender, and Lars Eller has turned into a legit 3rd line big center with the potential for being a top 6 forward.

3 - June 23, 2010: Canadiens re-sign pending UFA Tomas Plekanec to a 6-year 30M$ contract

Plekanec would have made more than 5M per year on the open market. He has been consistently one of the team’s most consistent point producers, and is extremely versatile on the PP and PK.

4 - December 29, 2010: Canadiens acquire defensemen James Wisniewski from the New York Islanders for a 2nd round draft pick and a conditional 5th round pick.

Not only did “The Wiz” endear himself to HabsNation quickly after his acquisition, it could also be argued that had Wisniewski not been playing as injured as he was, he could have better helped the Canadiens get past the eventual Stanley Cup winning Bruins.

5 – February 17, 2011: Canadiens acquire defensemen Paul Mara from Anaheim Ducks for 5th round pick in 2012

He helped Montreal maintain the kind of veteran presence that was needed by Jacques Martin and his system.

6 – February 24, 2011: Canadiens acquired defensemen Brent Sopel and forward Nigel Dawes from Atlanta Thrashers for Ben Maxwell and 4th round pick in 2011

Bringing in players who have won a Stanley Cup is important to Pierre Gauthier, and he hoped that having a few more veterans like Sopel who have won it all could be a positive influence on his young players who were obviously not being supported by their coach. Maxwell was never going to make it with the Canadiens, and Dawes provided a big scoring punch to the AHL franchise.

7 – May 13, 2011 – Signed free agent Raphael Diaz to a 1 year 900k contract

Pierre Gauthier knew going into the 2011-2012 season that defence was going to be an issue. 2 of his top 3 D were coming off major knee surgery and there was no way to know how well either of them was going to play once they came back.

8 – June 23, 2011 – Signed Andrei Markov (32) to a 3 year 17.25M contract

Pierre Gauthier identified Andrei Markov as a key player, who even with diminished skills, would still be worth more than 5M per year on the open market. Some question this move and feel like it was too much money and too long a term to give a player who suffered his 2nd severe injury to his right knee. People seem to forget that the Canadiens do have options should Markov get injured again, that allow them cap relief either on a temporary basis by keeping him on the Long Term Injured Reserve, or would wipe his salary off the books should he retire.

9 – June 29, 2011: Traded negotiating rights for James Wisniewski to Columbus Blue Jackets for 5th round pick in 2012

I felt that this was an important deal because of the criticism Paul Gauthier gets from not getting anything in return for past players like Sheldon Souray, even though Bob Gainey was the GM at the time. In this case, it was clear that “The Wiz” thought the yellow brick road was made out of gold and wanted way more than what he was worth

10- July 1, 2011 Signed Free Agent Eric Cole (32) to a 4 year 18M deal

After Brad Richards, Eric Cole was one of the best offensive power forwards UFA’s available. Some teams may have been scared away by Cole’s lack of success, but he played for an Edmonton Oilers team which finished 11th in the Conference.

11 - September 26, 2011 Signed Free Agent Chris Campoli to a 1 year 1.75M deal

This follows the vision that I believe Jacques Martin shared with Pierre Gauthier, and where the two were fully aligned. Campoli contributed to a Blackhawks team which won the Stanley Cup, and could provide the kind of veteran presence and stability needed in Martin’s system

12 – Acquired Tomas Kaberle from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Jaroslav Spacek

The most recent and perhaps still one of the most disputed trades made by Mr. Gauthier. The detractors point to Kaberle being soft and exposed during the playoffs on a Bruins team which won the Stanley Cup (most would say despite Kaberle), and 2 years left on a contract paying him 4.25M per season.

I differ from that opinion simply because Kaberle has been a superior defenseman throughout his entire career, and the problems that he supposed had were only during a very short timeframe. Has Caroline improved since Kaberle was traded? No. But Montreal has improved with him on the power play, and he has played very responsibly with his defensive coverage.

The following are a list of trades where unfortunately, Pierre Gauthier’s insistence of sticking by a coach who refused to give most young players a legitimate chance to develop, forced him to make the following trades (in chronological order):

1 - March 2, 2010: On trade deadline day, Canadiens trade right wing Matt D’Agostini to the St. Louis Blues for right wing prospect Aaron Palushaj

Palushaj was seen as a better fit for Jacques Martin’s defensive system. He has shown an ability to be a 2 way forward at the AHL level, but has failed on both ends of the ice in Montreal.

2 - June 29, 2010: Canadiens trade winger Sergei Kostitsyn to the Nashville Predators for pending UFAs center Dustin Boyd and goaltender Dan Ellis.

One of the more blatant losses in his career, “You got that?” Sergei Kostitsyn got it plenty from Jacques Martin during his time with the Habs, and perhaps has used that animosity to go on and have a very productive career so for with Nashville.

3 - November 11, 2010: Canadiens trade defensemen Ryan O’Byrne to the Colorado Avalanche for center Michael Bournival

O’Byrne had been in the perennial dog house of Jacques Martin, and it was clear early into the 2010-2011 season that Martin simply had no more use for him. While Bournival may prove himself to be a quality NHL forward in a few years, Gauthier clearly drew the short end of the stick in this deal

4 - December 31, 2010: Canadiens trade forward Maxim Lapierre to the Anaheim Ducks in return of defenseman Brett Festerling and a 5th round pick. Festerling was later traded on February 28, 2011 to Atlanta Thrashers for Goalkeeper Drew MacIntyre

Lapierre had just about all that he could stand, and he couldn’t stand Jacques Martin anymore, and simply wanted out of Montreal. Lapierre was clearly a NHL calibre player...Festerling and the chances of a 5th round player were not. .

One positive side about Pierre Gauthier is that he will try and keep his farm club competitive, and Drew MacIntyre was a big part of the success for the Hamilton Bulldogs in clinching their Division title.

Conclusion:

This is by no means a comprehensive list of all the moves made by Pierre Gauthier as GM of the Montreal Canadiens, and I am sure some will question my thoughts on a few of the positive moves I mentioned, and have their own negative views of other moves, or non-moves.

But in the words of someone famous, “Haters are gonna hate”. Has Pierre Gauthier been able to build an elite team that will compete for the Stanley Cup by the end of his second, and possibly his last season as GM? No. But I do believe the rumours that he is a “control freak”, and quite frankly, I think his hiring of Randy Cunneyworth is his way of ensuring that the players he acquired like Cole are used on the power play, rookies like Louis Leblanc are rewarded with more than 4 minutes of ice time in a game where he scored his first NHL goal, and PK Subban is not used so extensively when he is having subpar season.  I also believe that he has sufficient time to gauge how well players respond and he will not be afraid to do something with a player like Scott Gomez who has become irrelevant to this team.

I had the pleasure of hosting my 1st ever media call for the Ringside MMA organization on Wednesday, October 12th. The call was to promote Ringside MMA 12 that will take place at the Bell Centre on October 21st. Former UFC veteran Paul "Semtex" Daley was the main attraction as he will in the main event against Luigi Fioravanti. The introduction is biligual, followed by an English Q&A with Paul Daley and a french Q&A with President of Ringside MMA, Eric Champoux.

“I want my belt back!!!” is the catchphrase for this headliner between Jon “Bones” Jones and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. Both have been at the center of controversy individually, and with each other.  Jackson had a well documented “Rampage” through city streets after he lost his title on a questionable decision by the judges to Forrest Griffin.  Jones’ decision to go for a title created a split with longtime teammate Rashad Evans, who left the Greg Jackson camp. And now Rampage has been on record with accusing people close to Jones of spying on him during his training camp for this fight.  On a recent episode of Jimmy Kimmel like, Jones called this match “Spiderman vs Frankenstein”, and said he could hit Jackson’s magnificently large head even with his eyes closed.

Jon “Bones” Jones vs Quinton “Rampage” Jackson

But as soon as the bell rings, all that prefight hype goes out the window, and the fans will see one of the best that there ever was versus arguably the best that ever could be...or at least that’s how the UFC wants you to see it. I view this fight as a battle between the old guard, the one dimensional fighter who has adapted to new training styles, but not techniques, versus the kind of fighters who are considered athletes and well rounded. Rampage Jackson is perfectly capable of beating the younger, more inexperienced Jon Jones. He may be able to frustrate him, get into his head, and create an opportunity where Jones makes a mistake he can capitalize on. But Jones knows full well what to expect out of Rampage. Basically, neither he, nor his camp, really have to watch a lot of tape on Jackson. For Rampage to  win this fighter, he either has to 1- have trained something new and effective, 2- go hardcore into his wrestling style and try and steal a round or 2 for the decision, or 3- connect with a power shot. Gameplan for Jones? Don’t allow either 1, 2 or 3 to happen.