The Hapless Habs
There’s a newly created Facebook page titled “FIRE Jacques Martin”. It features the Canadiens coach dressed as a McDonald’s employee. There was a time when Martin was being chatted up as a coaching genius… that was two seasons ago when his defensive system along with Jaroslav Halak’s clutch goaltending produced a nice postseason run.
So what’s gone wrong? Is it really time to send Jacques Martin to the fry station? The biggest difference is behind the bench. Jacques Martin lost his deputy, Kirk Muller, who was clearly the players guy. He helped run special teams, he communicated between the coaching staff and the team, he was a key cog in the wheel, and we’re missing him right now. Players seem to be unaware of their role on the team. Line combinations are sometimes changed after every shift… centers play wing, defenseman play forward. It’s not a chess match. In the mind of the coach, he is playing checkers with equal, interchangeable pieces. There has been no opportunity for chemistry to develop and the result is confusion and chaos. It’s clear Jacques Martin is no master. Hey Jacques, do some research and repeat this over and over… “Would you like an apple pie with that?“