Put your Habs hopes on ice

The problem with the Canadiens starts at the top with general manager Marc Bergevin and his assistants.

Management is responsible for the makeup of the team, while the coach is left to work to the best of his ability with the players he is given.

I consider Larry Robinson to be the best defensive coach in the NHL. He wanted and was available to join the Canadiens in that capacity. And yet he was not hired.

There have been bad decisions on draft choices and trades in the last five years. Younger players have been let go and replaced with older players whose best years are behind them.

The defence has been depleted with the loss of P.K. Subban, Andrei Markov and others. First-round draft choice Mikhail Sergachev was traded for Jonathan Drouin, who is not the big, 30-goal centreman the Canadiens really need.

NHL teams that develop their young players will be the future Stanley Cup champions. I predict the Toronto Maple Leafs will win the Cup in 2018.

Habs fans should not to expect too much from the team this year. I doubt they will even make the playoffs, given the lack of foresight in developing a long-term plan. Bob Cornforth, physiotherapist, Montreal Canadiens, 1955-1964