The jury's still out on Bob Gainey's wholesale makeover in Montreal, but a look at the former Habs and their performance almost one month into the NHL season perhaps shows some prescience in the Canadiens GM's offseason decisions.
Christopher Higgins is in John Tortorella's dog house in New York, Saku Koivu has struggled to get it going in Anaheim, Alexei Kovalev has been so-so for Ottawa except for his one game against the Habs, Alex Tanguay has been dumped from the top line in Tampa Bay, and Mike Komisarek leads Toronto … in minor penalties.
Here's a comparison between the new faces and the departed Habs as of Monday afternoon:
New Habs
F Mike Cammalleri: 11 points (5-6) in 10 games, plus-3 rating
F Scott Gomez: 7 points (2-5) in 10 games, plus-1
F Brian Gionta: 6 points (4-2) in 10 games, plus-4
F Travis Moen: 3 points (2-1) in 10 games, minus-2
D Paul Mara: 5 assists in 10 games, minus-3
D Marc-Andre Bergeron: 3 points (2-1) in 3 games, even
D Jaroslav Spacek: 3 assists in 10 games, plus-4
D Hal Gill: 0 points in 10 games, minus-4
Former Habs
F Kovalev, Ottawa: 4 points (3-1) in 9 games, minus-4 rating
F Koivu, Anaheim: 3 points (1-2) in 9 games, minus-4
F Tanguay, Tampa Bay: 2 assists in 9 games, minus-3
F Robert Lang, Phoenix: 4 points (1-3) in 9 games, minus-1
F Higgins, N.Y. Rangers: 2 assists in 11 games, minus-2
F Steve Begin, Boston: 6 points (2-4) in 10 games, plus-1
D Komisarek, Toronto: 0 points in 8 games, minus-4
D Francis Bouillon, Nashville: 0 points in 10 games, minus-4
D Mathieu Schneider, Vancouver: Just played his first game after missing the start of the season because of injury.
Yes, we all knew Begin would be the player the Canadiens missed the most, right? The gritty fourth-line forward has been a pleasant surprise in Boston. Overall, not a pretty picture for the former Canadiens (although it's early in the season, so let's not get carried away).
Still, the point behind Gainey's massive overhaul was as much about changing the culture on his team as it was trying to improve the team on the ice.
While this hockey writer still isn't sold on the new-look Habs, you can't argue that Gainey has to feel better about things in late October than he did last April, when the former edition of his team went out meekly to Boston in one of the worst playoff performances in recent memory.
The one area Gainey didn't touch was in goal, where Carey Price and Jaroslav Halak returned as the tandem from last season. But what has clearly changed under new coach Jacques Martin is that Halak will get every chance to carry the load if he delivers, which he did with three straight wins this past week.
The most important holdover, however, is the player the Habs miss the most. All-Star defenseman Andrei Markov (out four months) is irreplaceable. As much as the new-look Canadiens have found their mojo of late, his long-term absence may very well be the biggest difference-maker in the team's bid to make the playoffs.
Pierre LeBrun
