The domino effect will roll through Hamilton

Decisions, decisions, decisions. There are many that have to be made regarding the Hamilton Bulldogs this summer. Unfortunately for the American Hockey League club and their fans, many of those decisions can't be made for a while. The dominos will fall in Hamilton but not until they start falling first in Montreal. It's the very nature of the pyramid structure. The Montreal Canadiens are the parent club and the Bulldogs are the farm team. So whatever has to be sorted out, has to be sorted out up top first. For starters, the Canadiens ownership situation has to be resolved. If George Gillett does sell the team, and the indications appear to be that he well may do that, then the new owner may decide to come in and clean house. Some in the Montreal media are already clamouring for the head of vice-president-GM Bob Gainey over the Habs disappointing season and early exit from the playoffs. If Gainey is ousted, does the new GM bring in his own people with him? Bulldogs' GM Julien BriseBois, who is based in Montreal, is also the Habs vice-president of Hockey operations and is considered a rising star in the organization. Nobody is suggesting his job is in jeopardy, but stranger things have happened. One of the first jobs that will fall upon whomever is running the Hockey operation will be deciding on a new head coach. Among those who are up for consideration will probably be Don Lever. When the Habs fired Guy Carbonneau late in the season, Lever was brought up to help Gainey try and turn things around. Lever has been the Bulldogs bench boss for five seasons and his contract is up at the end of this year, as is the contract of Ron Wilson who became the interim head coach when Lever went up. If Lever doesn't get the job in Montreal, and the fact that he's not a francophone will definitely work against him, do the Habs bring him back to Hamilton as head coach again? They also have to decide on the future of Wilson. The Dogs went 10-3-2-0 after he took over and caught and passed Grand Rapids for second place in the North Division before falling to the Griffins in the first round of the Calder Cup playoffs. If Lever is back, does Wilson become the assistant coach again? And if Lever is gone, does Wilson become head coach on a permanent basis, and if that's the case who becomes his assistant? Sergio Momesso would be the leading candidate. He'd been working as a consultant for the Habs, keeping tabs on the minor-league prospects and took over as the assistant here late in the season when Wilson became the interim head coach. Last, and certainly not least, the Habs have to decide what the lineup is going to look like both in Montreal and in Hamilton next year. Montreal's unrestricted free agents include Patrice Brisebois, Alex Tanguay, Saku Koivu, Alexei Kovalev, Robert Lang, Tom Kostopolous, Francis Bouillon, Mathieu Dandenault, Mike Komisarek and Mathieu Schneider. In Hamilton, defenceman Dan Jancevski most certainly will be gone. He's actually Dallas Stars property and was only here because the NHL club didn't have an AHL affiliate and had their players spread throughout the league. All indications are that Dallas will have a full AHL affiliate in Austin, Texas, next season. Here's the list of unrestricted free agents on the Bulldogs roster: Marc Denis, Alex Henry, Chad Anderson, Steve Gainey, Mike Glumac, T.J. Kemp, Doug Janik, Ryan Flinn, Yanick Lehoux and Thomas Beaureard. Restricted free agents include: Greg Stewart, Kyle Chipchura, Mathieu Aubin, Shawn Belle and Olivier Latendresse. The Habs, as a rule, make qualifying options to the their RFA's, so the only way any of them are going elsewhere is if they're traded. Next season is also the final year of the Bulldogs agreement to be the Canadiens affiliate team. gMcKay@thespec.com 905-526-3242