The pressure is on Montreal GM Bob Gainey, left, to get the team back into the playoffs and past the first round. (Ryan Remiorz/Canadian Press)

Bob Gainey had an undeviating plan to restore the Montreal Canadiens to perennial Stanley Cup challengers from the day he was hired as general manager in 2003.

The strategy, as Gainey envisioned it, was to shrewdly improve the team with young players who would become the team's cornerstones, and specifically, bolster a roster littered with underachievers.

Yet, excluding the NHL lockout, Gainey, 53, has witnessed declining returns to this point, as he enters his fourth year. In his first season, Montreal advanced to the second round of the playoffs before succumbing to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning.

Two years ago, the Canadiens were ousted in the opening round by yet another title winner, the Carolina Hurricanes, and last season the team missed the playoffs altogether.

While no one is claiming Gainey's job is in jeopardy for the 2007-08 season, the Hall of Famer can expect heavy scrutiny by the media and fans should the Canadiens fail to make the post-season a second consecutive year.

"He had a five-year plan and if you look at [Montreal's young roster] he's sticking to it," said Montreal Gazette columnist Pat Hickey. "But I think the honeymoon period is over and he's expected to improve this team this year. There is going to be more pressure placed on Gainey to get the team back into the playoffs and get them past the first round."

Even long-time Montreal captain Saku Koivu created a minor stir in the off-season when he suggested the Canadiens were a playoff calibre team, but couldn't compete for the Cup - a statement Gainey refuted during the team's annual golf tournament in early September.

"I think we have a team that can make the playoffs - and if you make the playoffs, you have a chance to win the Cup," Gainey told reporters, pointing to the recent post-season runs by Calgary and Edmonton.

Free-agent dilemma

Gainey, a five-time Stanley Cup champion during the Canadiens' heyday, is forced to take this approach because top end free agents don't view Montreal as an ideal destination. Once the envy of the hockey world, the Canadiens are continually spurned by big-name talents.

In 2006, Gainey seriously recruited veteran Brendan Shanahan, only to see the grizzled veteran take his scoring exploits to the Big Apple. Shanahan went on to have a very productive year for the New York Rangers, scoring 29 goals in 67 games last season.

And this past summer, Montreal made significant offers to speedy centre Daniel Briere and rugged forward Ryan Smyth, who opted for Colorado.

In fact, Briere admitted the Canadiens offered more than the $52-million US deal he signed in Philadelphia, but still joined close friend Martin Biron in the City of Brotherly Love. Hickey discounts the reports that Briere rejected the Canadiens because Gainey wouldn't promise him a chance to play with talented scorers Chris Higgins and Michael Ryder.

In addition, Hickey thinks Gainey is handcuffed by free agents concerned with family and money matters - a dilemma his predecessors never had.

"Convincing the wives to come here is not an easy thing," he said. "School in the Quebec system is tough, especially the language [barrier]. Taxes in Quebec are higher here than in any other province. "[In Briere's case] I believe there were a number of factors including taxes and schools [as he] has several school-aged kids."

Sticking with the plan

So the Canadiens, who haven't won the Stanley Cup since 1993 and are in the midst of the longest title drought in the club's glorious history, must stay the course and rely on a number of younger players to take the next step.

Higgins and Ryder will team with Koivu to supply more scoring on the top line. Tomas Plekanec could see time on the second unit with the enigmatic Alexei Kovalev at some point, but will start the season as the third-line centre.

The enigmatic Alexei Kovalev has yet to live up to his four-year, $18-million US deal he signed with the Canadiens two years ago. (Paul Connors/Associated Press)

"They have high hopes with Higgins, Ryder and Plekanec," Hockey Night in Canada analyst Scott Morrison said of the trio, who combined for 72 goals last season. "I say those three forwards are guys that they're looking for to lead this team. They've got to become at least 80-point guys."

On the blue-line, Gainey made Andrei Markov the highest paid player (four years, $23 million) in team history and signed veteran Roman Hamrlik. The 33-year-old Czech native had a plus-22 rating with Calgary last season, and replaces the defensively challenged Sheldon Souray.

"They paid a lot of money for Markov," said Morrison. "He's a very good defenceman, but he has to become a great."

Montreal appears solid in hockey's most important position: goaltending.

Cristobal Huet had a respectable goals-against average (2.81) despite being limited to 42 games by injuries, and is backed up by the highly regarded Carey Price. While the fifth-pick overall pick in 2005 is clearly the team's future, Gainey admits his prized prospect could play 30 to 35 games this year.

He also hopes to erase the blunder of signing free-agent bust Sergei Samsonov from the Oilers in 2006.

Samsonov failed miserably in his attempt to gel with Kovalev as the two Russians provided little offence. Samsonov, traded to Chicago in the summer, clashed with coach Guy Carbonneau on a number of occasions and managed only nine goals in 63 games.

Meanwhile, the skilled Kovalev, who netted 18 goals in 73 games, has yet to live up to his four-year, $18-million deal he signed two years ago.

"Samsonov just didn't work out," said Hickey. "They wanted him to mesh with another Russian, but [Kovalev] is an incredibly selfish player."

Gainey not in danger - yet

Owner George Gillett Jr. gave Gainey his vote of confidence at the team's golf tournament. Usually, that kind of endorsement doesn't bode well for most GMs or coaches, even though Hickey feels Gainey is in no immediate danger of losing his job.

"If they don't make the playoffs this year, it will be three of the last four years under Gainey that the Canadiens will be watching from home," said Hickey. "But I still think he'll be given a chance to come back next year."

As Morrison points out, Gainey won't need to be shown the door.

Three years before helping guide the Dallas Stars to the 1999 Stanley Cup title, Gainey held the dual role of GM and coach. However, he relinquished his bench duties to Ken Hitchcock because he felt the players stopped responding to him.

"Bob's the kind of guy who's so brutally honest with himself that I think if he wasn't the right guy for the job, he'd get out of there," said Morrison. "You wouldn't have to push, he would be honest and true to the team in that regard."