Montreal suffered through a year of exaggerated expectations.
They snuck into the playoffs past a mediocre Florida team on the basis of having a better record against them in the regular season. They were then swept by arch-rival Boston in four games.
This all happened after a first place finish in 2007-08 and a trip to the second round of the playoffs. The fans were anticipating another first place finish and a trip to the Stanley Cup Finals.
The disappointment was palpable.
As a result of this step backwards, Bob Gainey and the Canadiens decided to rework their entire lineup.. He fired Guy Carbonneau, the coach last year, and took over the job himself. Jaques Martin was brought in to coach this year. They didn't resign their captain, Saku Koivu, their leading scorer Alexei Kovalev, ...
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Article written by Scott Weldon
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