Habs : No shortage of opinion from dejected Habs fans

Source : Montrealgazette.com

 As dejected Canadiens fans grappled with the fact the Habs won’t play again until next season, many shared their thoughts about the team on The Gazette’s HockeyInside/Out website.
There was no shortage of opinion about what the Canadiens need to do to get better, after getting bounced from the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs Thursday. The Ottawa Senators won the best-of-seven series 4-1.

There was also appreciation for what the Canadiens accomplished this season, finishing second in the Eastern Conference after occupying the cellar last year.

Here are some excerpts of what fans had to say at hockeyinsideout.com:

joeybarrie: My mind says I’m happy with our team and its general direction … Happy with most of the season. I just have to give my heart and stomach time to catch up.

New: I really enjoyed watching the team this year. Rather than showcasing Galchenyuk they let him learn. The guys played really hard and the team played to win most games. Yes, a couple times they played not to lose and lost, but it was a refreshing difference from last year. The turnover in pro hockey is incredible, whole teams can change in a few years. Some of the guys won’t be there when
the season starts again. I will miss them. They really gave it their best this season.

HardHabits: Put Price behind the Sens defence and Anderson behind the Habs defence and the Sens still win. Sens bigger defence kept the Habs smaller forwards to the periphery and the Habs small and mobile defence could not contain the Sens forwards. Those are the facts. Size. Defence.

ihabto: Ottawa did not win this series because they were bigger and stronger. They won because they had a great goaltender who kept them in every game while being dominated through the first 40 minutes and they finally showed up in the third period. Not sure what Montreal has been doing during the second intermissions, but they need to do something different.

Shawn Carpenter: It’s that time of year again, line up the players and line up the buses. We don’t care if you were injured, get under that bus! We don’t care that hockey is a team game, get under that bus! We don’t care if you can or can’t carry the team on your back, get under that bus! We don’t care if you exceeded expectations, get under that bus! No wonder the best free agents don’t want to play in this town. And you probably thought it was the high taxes!

smiler2729: Let’s stop harping on the freaking goalie situation already!! Carey Price is good, not great, but better than average. But (it) seems like some of you expect him to score goals too, for Pete’s sake!! So Price gets dealt, who do you want in there to replace him??? Fleury? Miller? Jaro, Steve Penney, Halak??? Let’s worry about the team in front of the goalie for a change and quit beating this dead horse!!! Patrick Roy was a once in a lifetime goalie and we, the spoiled fans, booed him outta town over one bad game!! So yeah whoever the goalie is, Price or not, let’s quit expecting the unrealistic from the position!!

commandant: As for the size with skill argument ... Yes, we need players who combine that. But Rome wasn’t built in a day, and all 30 teams covet these players and make them go high in drafts, cost money in free agency, and cost assets in trades. You cannot take the team that (Marc Bergevin) inherited and convert it overnight. This is where I don’t see the season as a “problem” but as a step forward as there are a number of good things on the horizon in the continued development of P.K., Pacioretty, Galchenyuk, Gallagher, Tinordi, Beaulieu, etc …

Alex_425: The REALLY good thing among all this is management has, IMO, a pretty clear picture of what needs to be done in the off-season, as our woes during the Ottawa series were SO evident.

liberjon: In all, this was a great season. Although the outcome in the playoffs was not what we had hoped for, this team was fun to watch! They made it easy to forget about last year. Because they were so good and entertaining to watch, we forgot where they were last year and hoped for a long playoff run. It is great to hope, but in reality this was a great step in the right direction.

Dr. Rex: Great season, sad ending. This team is exciting to watch but to go through four rounds of the playoffs we need to protect our stars, especially Subban. At the rate this team was getting injuries in another week Blunden would be on the 1st line. NO team is afraid to knock us around and taking these type of hits leads to injuries.

The Chicoutimi Cucumber: Anyone looking *rationally* at this team would be fundamentally optimistic. Tons of good young talent — including truly elite talent in Subban, Galchenyuk and Gallagher. As for size, yes, we need to get bigger, but if Eller and Emelin played in this series, the size factor doesn’t get nearly the same amount of play. We had a team eviscerated with injuries and still outplayed the Sens for much of this series. This team is not far away from contending. The pessimists are in for a big surprise, either next year or the year after.

Price07: We need wingers! Our prospects: Kristo (5’11), Hudon (5’10), Collberg (5’11), Gallagher (5’9), Leblanc is hulking at 6’0 185 … wingers plz!

Dirtsteed: Go get (Chicago Blackhawks winger) Bryan Bickel. Give him the same contract as Prust: $10 million over 4 years (whatever it takes). He will not disappoint.

habs-fan-84: Great season!... I would love to see (New Jersey Devils’ forward David) Clarkson on the Habs!

habsfan0: It’s hard to believe the next meaningful game played by the Habs will be in mid-October. By that time, the Buffalo Bills will already be 0-5 on the season.

Habfan10912: I know how you feel. I now get to turn my undivided attention to the Mets. Sigh.