The Jacques Martin hiring by the Canadiens: I like it

The only news I had out of Montreal this morning was live coverage from Toronto’s Q107.

The story of the day was their coverage of the 40th anniversary of John Lennon’s ‘Bed for Peace’ sit in at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel.

What a difference a few hours can make, eh?

The Canadiens’ Bob Gainey pulled off another “off the radar” move this afternoon.

It was announced that the Florida Panthers’ Jacques Martin would become the Habs new head coach.

Personally I like the move.

Martin will bring a trap system to a team whose defense failed in the playoffs and made goalie Carey Price look like the goat.

Many will say “boooooooooring”, but would you rather see 2-1, or 1-0 wins over a team whose offence all but disappeared over a one-year period anyways?

Yeah that’s what I thought.

Martin will be able to bring structure to a team that could, in turn, revitalize offensive stars such as Tomas Plekanec and the Kostitsyn brothers.

If there’s any doubt to that, you can look at his track record with the Ottawa Senators.

In all likelihood though, it could be a style that Alex Kovalev may not like.

With his pending UFA status on July 1, it could be the end of the AK27 show in Montreal.

On the other hand, it could also mean that a certain UFA player, who would benefit from Martin’s system, will stay.

The captain will be back, folks.

Count in Alex Tanguay and Christopher Higgins, UFA and RFA respectively, to be eager to come back as well.

With a trap system in front of him, Carey Price and Jaroslav Halak will thrive between the pipes.

Roland Melanson’s dismissal as goalie coach is another step in the right direction.

The assistant’s positions are yet to be decided on, but I just hope the Mario Tremblay rumor is just bad joke.

Martin’s hiring could be an inside track to sign Jay Bouwmeester in the event that Mike Komisarek leaves for bigger dollars.

Regardless, Andrei Markov, Josh Gorges and Roman Hamrlik will all be back, and Alexei Yemelin is rumored to be ready to sign with the Habs.

In any event the team’s defense is already strengthened with their new coach.

The most important skill that Martin brings to the team is his discipline.

Dissention in the dressing room and off-ice criminal connection stories and trade rumors made a mess of the team this past season.

Hopefully, Jacques Martin can rectify these problems in a way that’s better than taking them bowling after a few losses.