I'm not sure you can associate Carboneau and Gainey that easily, they both have different coaching styles. Gainey is calmer and more cold-blooded than Carbonneau and he's more appreciated by the players. Either way, like you, I doubt the problem was with the coach, but I still have faith that Gainey can do something about it.
Also, I think Montreal is more than an average team. We finished 1st in the East last year and the team didn't change that much since then. We have very talented players, but some of them are just way too lazy (thinking about K brothers here). Anyway, you're probably still living in the past with the Nordiques and all that.
OK, I've already talked way too much about hockey with friends today and this is starting to feel like a Ron Fournier show.