OT: The state of the Montreal Canadiens

It tough to watch two guys you really admire going through some really tough times.

Bob Gainey and Guy Carbonneau are two hockey guys that all Stars fans should feel incredibly grateful for. Gainey helped build the Stars into what they are now and also was man enough to step down as coach when he realized he wouldn't get things done. He stayed on as G.M. and and with Ken Hitchcock as his coach built a Stanley Cup Champion. Carbonneau was the epitome of the type of player the Stars needed in those years and was a key veteran on the Stanley Cup and Presiden't trophy teams. His classiness and grit endeared him to the city and he quickly became a fan favorite.

Now the Montreal Canadiens, under the leadership of Gainey and Carbonneau, are coming apart at the seams. After starting the season so well and looking like a contender for the top spot in the East, the Habs are just 2-7-1 in their last ten and have fallen to sixth in the conference. The team has put its players on notice that no one is safe of being sent down and they are desperately trying to institute a new mindset in the team. Asking Alexei Kovalev to take a few days off was a widely controversial move.

And now it's come out that several players on the team might have ties to organized crime members in Montreal.

Wow.

The Canadiens are like the Dallas Cowboys of the North. Massive media coverage, incredible scrutiny and an overwhelming pressure to succeed. And now things are collapsing around them.

It's sad to watch. I just Carbs and Gainey can find a way to climb out of this mess and still maintain the respect they deserve.