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NORTHEAST DIVISION 5 Montreal Canadiens Team Page | 2000-2001 Schedule | Roster Sports Illustrated Ranking: 23 By Eric Duhatschek
How tough are times in Montreal? The NHL's most storied franchise is for sale, and no one is rushing to buy a team that has won a record 24 Stanley Cups. Once upon a time, every game in the the Forum was a sellout and the waiting list for seats stretched to Atwater Street. Now, Pierre Boivin, the team's new president, laments that with a capacity of 21,273, the Molson Centre is too big to sell out 41 times a season. After missing the playoffs the last two years, the club knew that changes had to be made, and they were. The only problem is that the Canadiens' three major off-season acquisitions -- Guy Carbonneau, Pierre Mondou and André Savard -- all work in the front office. In 1999-2000 Alain Vigneault was a finalist for coach of the year, guiding his undermanned team to a 23-11-4-3 record in the second half. He accomplished that despite the lengthy absences of forwards Saku Koivu, Trevor Linden and Brian Savage and defenseman Vladimir Malakhov, all of whom contributed to the league-high 536 man-games lost to injury. "What will it take to make the playoffs?" asks Linden, who missed 50 games with a variety of injuries. "Keep Saku in the lineup. Keep Savage in the lineup. Last year our goaltending was good, our defense was good, we just didn't score enough goals. The key is keeping our guys healthy." The 5'8", 181-pound Koivu has proved to be a point-a-game center when he plays, but he hasn't put in a full season since his rookie year, in 1995-96. Savage, who had 17 goals, missed 44 games because of fractured neck vertebrae. Compounding last season's difficulties is that in the off-season the team lost hard-nosed wing Shayne Corson to free agency and dealt rugged wing Turner Stevenson. The Canadiens were sound defensively as goalies Jeff Hackett (.919 save percentage) and José Théodore (.914) combined for eight shutouts and the NHL's fifth-best goals-against average (2.34). "You can't afford to get caught up in scoring more goals, because before you know it you're also allowing more goals," says Linden. "We have to choose an identity and go with it." For years the identity of the Canadiens was as clear as fresh ice: winners. Alas, there's no reason to believe it can restore that image this year. Issue date: October 16, 2000 Click here to look back at CNNSI.com's training-camp previews.
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