Personally i think people get too wrapped up in the whole concept of Gainey reverence. I don't think anyone is above or below criticism, however I do believe that people should be afforded the right to do their job and make decisions that they feel are right. In the GM role there are so many factors that can play out behind the scenes and I believe it is almost impossible to judge someone as closely as we do sometimes. The criticism is sometimes so apparently well researched and definitive as if to portend that we are unequivocally right. With so many factors unseen how can anyone do that unless they too are in the same boat. We can definitely offer well thought out opinions and different viewpoints but to comment on Bob's performance would be nothing more than an opinion as it is not really a fair assessment. Unless you are Bob's boss and see his work day in and out you really don't know what went into his work/decisions. It would be sort of like me commenting on your Job performance based on your Job title (Judging a book by it's cover).
You make a call based on the best knowledge you have at hand you add a dose of experience and intuition and hope that everything comes together and works out as planned. Nothing in life ALWAYS works out as planned. Perfection is the ability to achieve your goals despite being wrong sometimes...struggling through it. Perfection, meaning NO mistakes is a fantasy, it simply does not exist! Making a perceived bad move is normal and moreso IT IS ACCEPTABLE. All it means is you have another opportunity to get it right. I don't for a minute believe that Gainey believes all the Hype or the negative sentiment out there, in fact i don't even think he bothers with it. I do however believe that he is confidant in his abilities and has the mindset that slow and steady will win the race. It may not be flashy and it might miss out on some really good opportunities but at the end of the day if we hoist the cup then all ot this criticism is moot! I can assure you that none of this will EVER cross your mind if we find ourselves running along Ste. Catherine's street yelling "go Habs Go" and "we are the Champions". From my point of view as long as we get progressively closer to the cup and there is a plan in place to bridge the remaining gap then i'm ok with that. Other's might not be but i am and that's only MY point of view. As long as i see progress then that's a positive sign. I don't think people are against judging him i think they are saying let him do his job he's doing it well. What to us might appear as dropping the ball could be construed as a calculated act or a sign of waiting for the bigger fish or the implementation of a plan that we are not privy to, the bigger picture.
So while i don't think Gainey is God i do believe that he is in a much better position and has the chops (knowledge, maturity, experience and intuition) to make the right decisions on our behalf (lol
OOPs i was too wordy and it cut off the balance of my spiel. Probably a good thing anyway. Sorry if it doesn't make total sense anymore i didn't save it and i'm not retyping it....
Great post. One of the best I've read on this site in the last ~year. Cheers.
Thanks Che. Always nice to receive a compliment.
Geoff, where to start? No one could say you're not a huge Habs fan if you wrote that much and it got cut off.
As usual, I think we agree on most accounts, with some misunderstanding mixed in.
Please be assured that my issue is not with Bob Gainey, it is with the press. I often take issue with what is written, and it drives me to write a response like this one. My take on rhetoric, misinformation, hyperbole, wrongly quoted numbers and all that good stuff is wrapped up in this piece about Gainey. The thread holding it together, i suppose is the In Bob we trust, a statement for which I am reserving judgment until I see some games.
Thanks for the clarification although it wasn't really addressed at you so much as it was to the whole notion as per your post. As always well written and well thought out, i just had a reaction and thought i'd post my point of view.
Keep up the good work...
I didn't think that article was that bad. After all, it compared Bob to the rest of the GMs in the league. As far as that goes, he's definately not in the bottom tier. He is very good at building from scratch. Proof is in the puddin' (or in our case, the playoffs) but we're beyond that now. Now we need a GM who's got the ability to add a few pieces and make a good team, great. So far, he hasn't quite hit the mark in that respect.
Commenting by HaloScan
