October 26, 2009 -- The Flying Frenchmen have been grounded. The Montreal Canadiens, winners of 23 Stanley Cups, a franchise which has yielded numerous Hall of Famers over the years, including, but not limited to, Maurice Richard, Henri Richard, Jean Beliveau, Guy Lafleur and Larry Robinson.

Montreal's Guy Lafleur, during his "Flying Frenchmen" days. (Photo: Getty Images / Photographer: Bruce Bennett)

After Lafleur led the Canadiens of the 1970's to four straight Cups (1976-1979), the “flying” was all over. The flying ones have been grounded for nearly 30 years and almost no one seems to understand why. Yes, the Habs have managed to hoist the trophy twice since the end of the Lafleur era (1986, 1993), but very little flying was done. In fact, a name like grinding Frenchmen would now be much more fitting.

What happened? The answer is really quite simple.

From the 1917 founding of the NHL through the mid-1960s, the Canadiens benefited from the league's rule that each club had preferential rights to players within a fifty-mile radius of their arenas.  As a result, Montreal snapped up the vast majority of Quebeckers destined to play in the NHL, including Maurice "Rocket" Richard and Jean Beliveau.  This led to Montreal's development of countless smooth-skating, juggernaut teams which hung championship banners with a regularity unparalleled in any team sport. The runoff from that unfair advantage was finally drained in 1980 when the New York Islanders won the Cup to begin their own dynasty which yielded four straight Cups.

I mention all of this because it seems the entire hockey world seems to still be waiting for the Canadiens to return to those old glory years. Well, it ain't gonna happen again, ever.

The best the Canadiens and their legions of fans can hope for is to just stay somewhat competitive, and maybe win a Cup when the chips fall in their favor - just like every other NHL team.

Since the NHL leveled the playing field, this organization has had to work just as hard as every other, instead of just salivating over which blue chip prospects are going fall into its lap.

During the club’s two most recent championships, the team relied on complete team effort in all three zones, and great goaltending from the incomparable Patrick Roy.

There were very few All-Star players on either the ’86 or ’93 rosters (only Larry Robinson and Mats Naslund, in ’86, made the second team), and neither team was truly the most talented in the league when they won the Cup. Oh, there were some Frenchmen on both squads, but none really flew, rather they just worked hard. That said, what better hard-working, team-oriented guys to bring in than Cammalleri, Gionta, and Gomez? More than a few eyebrows were raised by GM Bob Gainey’s housecleaning, which brought the trio to Montreal over the Summer. But with the myth of the “Flying Frenchmen” in decline since around 1980, the acquisition of these three hard-working players marks a validation of the idea that the playing field has been leveled. Who would know this better than Gainey himself, whose resume includes four titles during the late-70s “Flying” days and one in 1986, all with the Habs.

It is time that everyone got over the supposed "mystique" of the Canadiens. The bottom line is, 21 of their 23 championships were, for all intents and purposes, the direct result of the NHL having given the franchise an unfair advantage via the draft (The Habs won 16 Cups in the 29 seasons preceding 1980, but only 2 in the 29 seasons after). The NHL, the Montreal fans, and the entire league should really deal honestly with that simple fact, get rid of any unrealistic expectations, and just move on.

There have also been rumors of Canadiens GM Bob Gainey being on the proverbial "hot seat" should the Canadiens falter this season. This may or may not be true, but in any case it would be ridiculous to replace Gainey and begin the search for another GM to return them to a stature which in today’s NHL simply cannot happen. Waiting for this franchise to return to it's pre - 1980's glory years would be akin to waiting for gasoline to go back down to it's pre-1980's price.

On the bright side, tales of the Flying Frenchmen will be enjoyed for generations to come, as will tales of the Flying Dutchman and the flying monkeys of Oz.

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