New Habs coach Jacques Martin is sending a message by demoting talented winger Sergei Kostitsyn to the Hamilton Bulldogs of the AHL. The 22 year old heads to Hamilton after an inconsistent training camp which saw him get publicly berated by coach Martin during drills. The demotion comes right before Martin and his troops head to Teen Ranch in Caledon, Ontario, in a move Martin hopes will bring the team closer together. “This type of team building is something I’ve always done with my teams,” said Martin. “I think it’s a great way for the guys to get to know about each other and develop their leadership skills. There will be training sessions in the morning, both on and off ice, and then in the afternoons and evenings we’ll do some activities, including some physical ones, which will be aimed at developing responsibility and leadership.”
By excluding the younger Kostitsyn, Martin is sending a message to the team; including older brother Andre, that a poor work ethic and inconsistency will not be tolerated. This should include some of the younger Habs who seem to enjoy their new-found fame. Carey Price needs to put last season behind him, and he will be pushed by Jaroslav Halak if he doesn't. Maxim Lapierre is a hard worker, good skater with decent hockey skills, but he occasionally takes games off. I find it laughable that people are anointing him the next captain. Max should maybe take some tips from junior rival Maxim Talbot, who won a Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins last summer. Although smaller and probably not as fast, Talbot plays a bigger game and is more of an "in your face" type of player. While Lapierre has 0 goals and 3 assists and is a minus 8 in 16 career playoff games, Talbot took his game to another level during the playoffs, scoring 8 goals and 5 assists during last seasons Stanley Cup run, including the glorious Cup winning goal in game 7. I like Lapierre as a player, he brings energy and is hard to handle down low with his speed, but I didn't like what i saw in the last 2 playoffs series: Max disappeared. Giving him the captaincy will only put more pressure on him and inflate his ego even more; stick to Hockey Max.
I don't know what to say about Lapierre's sidekick Guillaume Latendresse. I think people are putting up too many expectations on this guy... I don't think he's that good. He's not Guy Lafleur and never will be. Don't get me wrong, Guillaume has size and soft hands for a guy his size... but unfortunately he doesn't use it. Newcomer and one of the league's smallest players Brian Gionta plays in traffic more than Latendresse. I think he can be an effective guy from the blue line in... lets hope he can become something like John Leclair. The Habs sorely need a power forward, and Latendresse has to start crashing the net and start making a name for himself in the NHL. Other guys like Matt D'agostini must also keep up their work ethic. I think coach Martin will not have much patience with guys on the bubble... and the boys in Hamilton better be ready if their name is called, because there will be opportunities to play with the big club.
Opening night is 3 nights away in Toronto, and hopefully the Habs will have gotten to know each other better, and will stick up for each other when the going gets tough. One things for sure, the Maple Leafs will not make it easy on the Habs, lets hope the Habs show up for the challenge and prove who I feel is the superior team. Until next time...
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