Here’s my theory: Glen Sather felt guilty.
When Brandon Prust became an unrestricted free agent last summer, the Rangers general manager could have re-signed his rugged winger.
Instead, Sather let Prust walk. And the Canadiens signed him to a four-year, $10 million deal.
Most of the punditocracy thought GM Marc Bergevin had overpaid for a role player.
But with half the season completed, Prust is one of the main reasons your astonishing Montreal Canadiens are in first place in the Eastern Conference.
Where does the guilt come in?
The well-traveled Sather played the 1974-’75 season in Montreal. He became a good friend of the legendary Red Fisher; and in subsequent seasons, as an NHL executive, Sather has savoured the delights of our beautiful city, including the great steaks at Moishe’s.
So perhaps it weighed on Sather’s conscience after he unloaded Scott Gomez’s toxic contract on Bob Gainey. Maybe he figured he owed us one and made good by letting Prust leave the Rangers.
OK, that’s a totally idiotic idea, even by my standards.
But Prust has been the revelation of the season to date. And this franchise was WAY overdue for a pleasant surprise.
In the 4-2 win over Carolina Thursday night, Prust had the first three-point game of his career. The goal he potted to open the scoring was Prust’s fourth. In 82 games with the Rangers last season, he had five.
Prust never takes a shift off. He kills penalties. He’s fit in seamlessly with a variety of linemates – including rookies Brendan Gallagher and Alex Galchenyuk. He leads the team at plus-13.
And he’s not afraid of Milan Lucic.
At this point, $2.5 million – prorated for a 48-game sked – makes Brandon Prust a bargain.
And value for money is something else we’re not used to in Montreal.
Prust’s line was the Canadiens’ best in Carolina.
I don’t know what team psychologist Sylvain Guimond told Lars Eller, but for the last week the Dane has been great. Eller had a goal and two assists against the ‘Canes. He was part of a penalty-kill that pitched a shutout. Eller went 13-9 on faceoffs and had a couple hits. Possibly emboldened by the proximity of Prust, Eller is using his size effectively.
Galchenyuk did not show up on the scoresheet, but the kid’s game is coming along and he fits in nicely with Eller and Prust. I liked Galchenyuk’s intensity on the puck during some third-period shifts when the line kept Carolina bottled up in their end.
The Canadiens got two points for 40 minutes of hockey thanks in no small part to their goaltender. During a second-period onslaught that was the team’s worst 20 minutes of the season, Price made 19 saves and foiled Eric Staal on a penalty shot.
But this being Montreal, someone will phone TSN 690 Friday morning to criticize Price’s glove hand on the Drayson Bowman goal.
Give it a rest, peeps. Price made a season-high 42 saves in Carolina. He is one of the main reasons this team has not lost consecutive games in regulation time this season.
And with the exception of the woeful second period, Price got help from his teammates. An injury to Yannick Weber forced Michel Therrien to go with five defencemen, and everyone stepped up.
Andrei Markov and P.K. Subban each played in excess of 27 minutes. That’s still a tad high for Markov; but Subban, who had a goal and an assist, continues to play some of the best – and, this season, most disciplined – hockey of his career.
On L’Antichambre, Michel Bergeron praised Subban effusively.
“You can’t coach a P.K. Subban like a Gorges or Bouillon,” Bergeron said, pleased that Michel Therrien seems to have loosened the reins on his flamboyant young defenceman.
“P.K. is a thoroughbred,” Bergeron added, and extravagantly talented players screw up once in a while. “Larry Robinson made big mistakes … after he made 100 great plays.”
Josh Gorges, of all people, had a goal and a assist. Scoring to give the Canadiens a 2-0 lead in the first period, Gorges converted a perfect pass that Prust gleefully described as “backhand sauce – my specialty.”
Alexei Emelin executed a Savardian Spinorama at the Carolina blueline before firing a shot that Justin Peters could handle cleanly, with Prust burying the rebound. Emelin also dished out eight hits.
Some Canadiens had off-nights in Carolina.
The David Desharnais line was invisible. Michael Ryder was benched for the third period, ceding his spot on the Tomas Plekanec-Brian Gionta line to Travis Moen. Ryder, Ryan White and Colby Armstrong played single-digit minutes.
But the Canadiens survived 20 minutes of horror to bag two more points.
They head south to Tampa Bay with two wins in three games on the longest road trip of the season.
Carey Price has his mojo back. And Brandon Prust might make us forget the last former Ranger to pass through these parts.
Loading ...
Getting a look at pateryn.
http://thereuschblog.com/?p=23221
It will be nice to see another big body to help keep the crease clear. Hope he steps up an makes a case to stay. We need bigger d.
Just found out today is International Women’s Day. Here’s to all the ladies out there…especially our family members.
“You’re always, always, always looking to make your team better. Always.”- Marc Bergevin
Agreed to evereyone women who has been there for us here’s to them!
http://nickolaisblog.wordpress.com/
Couldn’t possibly name them all but folks like L Ellie, Secretdragonfly, JF and Mavid among many others add much value to this site. We’re fortunate indeed that they are here.
And thank you for respecting the fact that women can know their hockey just as well as men.
I knew I’d forget some. Sorry. My hockey knowledge pales in comparision to the women on this site. And I am honored to consider some my friend. CHeers.
The diversity of fans we have at this site is what makes it awesome!!!
Helloooooooooooooooooooooo ladies!
Didn’t they just have Valentines day? (kidding… sort of)
So getzlaf gets 8.25 a year on the cap? Is that right ?
When the NHL argues that players are getting paid to much and lose half a season and then a contract that big gets signed something is wrong.
http://nickolaisblog.wordpress.com/
Owners/GMs are their own worst enemies. Nothing changed, except they get to roll back existing contracts… pretty sweet deal
I just want to say I love this site.
Keeps me sane at work and makes my weekend even better when I have time to check it out.
The Gazette should be very proud of all the guys who work on it.
Reminds me of TSN690….imagine if there was a threat to close this site, regardless of the reasons behind it, we’d all be pissed and want to save it!
Cheers boys…keep up the great work!
Go Habs Go!!
“Fans are great, but the quickest way to start losing is to listen to them.” – Sam Pollock
Well said. It provides entertainment, therapy, knowledge, frustration and sometimes all of that at the same time. Some great folks here as well. CHeers.
Most of all it provides good laughs. Some intentional. Some not.
LMAO.
Oh ya…the posters too. As much as some annoy me, I still like them.
I’ve had “run-ins” with a few, but I respect everyone’s opinion, believe it or not…and I still have a feeling that, desbite the differences in opinion, they are good people that I could have a beer with….without getting beat up
Go Habs Go!!
“Fans are great, but the quickest way to start losing is to listen to them.” – Sam Pollock
Is that your way of saying you could “take” anybody on here?
lol
Actually the opposite. I get the feeling that even though some of you may not agree with me, you’d be easy on me!
Go Habs Go!!
“Fans are great, but the quickest way to start losing is to listen to them.” – Sam Pollock
I’m sure Anaheim can fit Perry into next year’s cap. However, is the Anaheim owner willing to spend to the cap or do they have a budget? I don’t know historically if Anaheim is a team that spends to the limit.
This year they are spending $14.5 million shy of the cap. That’s even roughly $9 million short of next year’s reduced cap.
Going by this season’s self imposed cap hit of $55.6 million, next season they have roughly $11 million to sign 8 players. To reach the cap limit, they have roughly $19 million to spend.
Listening to radio this afternoon. The talking heads were saying if amnesty buy out is used they could sign perry. either way its going to be a challenge.
Can Jessica ask Therrien what the F was it with playing Weber last night?
At least he wasn’t playing 4th line RW.
Gotta give him a run-about, and he didn’t play that badly, he was put in some pretty bad positions by others, like on the breakaway, which I don’t think was a penalty.
He injured himself on that play, which might suggest that he wasn’t in top shape.
—Hope Springs Eternal—
Does anyone know if Pauline Marois is attending Hugo Chavez’ funeral and if not why not?
Can we please show El Comandante a little respect?
How many games has HE stolen for us?
!
Why would she attend the funeral of her gardener?
“You’re always, always, always looking to make your team better. Always.”- Marc Bergevin
do we care about marois.
Not enough French.
—Hope Springs Eternal—
Getzlaf’s extension is the Ducks way of saying: “Quack you, Glenn Sather!!”
They will sign Perry, too.
They will become the Anaheim Islanders because of no cap space for supporting cast. Selanne and Koivu will likely retire after this season, leaving the Ducks no secondary scoring unless one or two of their prospects suddenly become 20 + goal scorers.
The cap hit on Hiller will make him hard to move, but no harder than Bryz(byhimintothenet)galov.
http://calshabsongparodies.weebly.com
Say what you want about Getzlaf’s contract, but the realistic thing here, is that, there is a premium in the league for big/scoring centerman..I thought he got market value, to tell you the truth..
——————
Yes, I’m a Hab fan..Wanna fight about it?
If the cap goes up during the term and he plays well…yes he got market value.
“You’re always, always, always looking to make your team better. Always.”- Marc Bergevin
What am I missing here? The idea that the Ducks can’t sign Perry now is incorrect.
If Selanne and Koivu are set to retire that’s $8.3 million gone. And even if they don’t they can trade any of……
Bobby Ryan
Francois Beauchemin
Bryan Allen
Jonas Hiller
They have $19 million in scheduled cap space for next year. They’re hardly under the gun financially.
Assuming Perry will sign. I heard Elliot Friedman on the radio speculate that he thinks Perry will want to move east to be closer to his family.
Yeah I wouldn’t be shocked if he leaves. But suggesting the Ducks can’t afford him is silly and wrong.
Tons of room.
If Friedman is right, it would be nice if it was with the Habs, but then someone would need to go and Ryder would not be resigned in my opinion. Perry is a right wing ans Gallagher and possibly Kristo will be on the roster, that means Ryder will be gone and possibly Gionta! I would prefer to see Bourque on the right side, but if they sign Perry, having Bourque as the 2nd line left wing seems to be working. He did have his two best seasons at his natural right wing.
I wonder if the Habs would be better off targeting Stalberg.
Habfan17
I would be surprised if Ryder stayed, he is not a Therrien type of player, he floats too much, so there will be some cap room. It would be nice to get a sniper like Perry.
It would be nice. I am still of the mnd that Stalberg would be a better and possibly less expensive was to go He is 27 plays left wing, has size 6’3″ 209 lbs, is very fast and can score. 22 goals last saeson on pace for 26 points this season. Then the Habs could move Bourgue to his natural right side where he has twice scored 27 goals. Let Ryder walk, bring in Kristo on the 3rd line, trade Gionta.
Habfan17
This is working out perfectly for MB. Get rid of cole’s cap and the sell out of gomez? Check. The Ducks sign Getzlef for eight years and wont have enough money to sign perry? Check. Now the Ducks are not gonna just let Perry walk so they are gonna want to get something in return but they know they wont get exactly what they want. Here it is folks. A 1st round pick or two, Markov, Eller, either Tinoridi or Nathan Beaulieu or if not the two Dmen either Bourque or gionta cuz MB will not give up the Gally’s or Maxpac.
The ducks have teemu and koivu coming off the books …have a new goalie in fasth and could move hiller if need be…they can make it work…will perry want to play there?
Are you insane? Perry isn’t worth a 1st rounder Markov Eller and a high-end prospect. Nash isn’t even worth that much and I’d argue he’s better than Perry.
OK
so you want to get Perry a few months early, and risk having him walk in the offseason as a UFA
Brian Burke? Is that you? this smells very similar to the Phil Kessel deal (except one nut was traded for at the start of the season).
We have the money to sign perry then cuz we didnt pay out the ass for pk subban and we really dont have a lot of players to resign in the offseason with the exception of DD and this could be an excuse to let him go and put eller or Leblanc in his place plus we get BIGGER in size
I wasn’t debating the money available… but aside from putting a gun to his head and forcing him to sign a contract, how do we know all that stuff we give up will be worth it and he will sign long term.
Hey coach, you wanted to see me?
Oh, Hey Marc. What are you doing here.
Why are you tie-ing my arms to the chair. The game starts in 15 minutes, shouldn’t I be out warming up???
WHat is that piece of paper? a contract? Fair market value you say?
Can I read it at least?
Whoah, whoah… is that a gun????!!!!!
OK, THERE I SIGNED IT!!!
Wait, WHAT? YOU want me to promise a Hat-Trick tonight as WELL?!
also… CUZ?? Really?
how hard is it to type proper words? Or Punctuation?
Try some of these:
. , ? !
Hmm, then who would the Habs have left in the system. Gut the team for one guy, I don’t think so!
Habfan17
I didnt say get rid of both of them just one prospect. Markov is old and will likely retire in 2 years and eller is BUST.
Eller is a bust, at 22, Eller was in the NHL with 28 pts in 79 games, at 22, Pleks was in the AHL. At 23, Eller has 18 points in 22 games which projects to 67 points in a full season, Pleks had 29 points at 23 years old. Pleks didn’t get 69 points until he was 25
I am glad you aren’t GM. Why give up anything, just take a chance he is available in the off season. Worst case, trade for his rights at the draft.
Habfan17
We are clearly dealing with someone who has zero idea about the team, aside from the names on the Jerseys.
Whose talents and contract would be good for the Habs:
Ilya Kovalchuk 100 miil/15 yrs.
Roberto Luongo 64 mill/12 yrs.
Alex Ovechkin 124 mill/13 yrs.
Vincent Lecavalier 85 mill/11 yrs.
Zach Parise 98 mill/13 yrs.
Ryan Suter 98 mill/13 yrs.
Ryan Getzlaf 66 mill/ 8 yrs.
Not included are Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jonathan Toews, and Alex Galchenyuk because these players are likely to win future Stanley Cups.
“May you live in interesting times.”
Sorry Twilight for omitting proper punctuation?
“May you live in interesting times.”
As I mentioned below if we could restructure contracts I’d take ovie
http://nickolaisblog.wordpress.com/
Getzlaf, the rest of those contracts are trouble in a cap world.
None of the above!
Habfan17
Pateryn is one of our taller defencemen with Emelin at 6’2 you think we’ll see him play tomorrow night? I don’t think he’ll be a scoring threat but a solid young d-man would be cool
http://nickolaisblog.wordpress.com/
I would hope so.
Yup.
“You’re always, always, always looking to make your team better. Always.”- Marc Bergevin
He is a defensive dman with sandpaper and leadership. Not a scorer per say, but he can get the odd points.
Habfan17
So do you think Anaheim will re-sign Corey Perry as well?
Yes.
Full Breezer 4 Life
Nope.
“You’re always, always, always looking to make your team better. Always.”- Marc Bergevin
yes I do too…if he wants to that is. They have more cap room than people think…Teemu will free up 4.5, if they let saku walk that is 3.5 they could move Hiller and go with Fasth and that is millions of space potential year still keeping their team core in tact.
You know who is not happy? The owner of the Wild.
His team is 10th and only 4 points out of last place.
Zach Parise has 15 points in 22 games and is -2.
Ryan Suter also has 15 points (very good) but is -6.
Dany Heatley ($7.5M cap hit) has 13 points and is -7.
And just for H I/O:
Zenon Konopka has 0 points in 16 games.
Hmm … Konopka, you say? Good idea. What would it take to get him??
Full Breezer 4 Life
Don’t want him..Magnet for bad penalties..
——————
Yes, I’m a Hab fan..Wanna fight about it?
Me want me want!
ONLY Galchenyuk and a first.
DO IT MB!!
Heatley sucks big time now
“Keep your stick on the Ice”
Hard to imagine but he may have a tough time ever getting to 500 career goals …needs 143 … gonna be close for a guy who should have been a shoe in for 500.
Sounds like he hit a wall….
too soon?
It is crazy to think but you are correct. He has lost his game a bit
“Keep your stick on the Ice”
It’s been a while since he’s killed anybody. A bit of blood lust will turn things around for him.
___________________________________________________
Being a Hab fan is like buying real estate: only over the long-haul will you appreciate the true value of your investment.
Ouch.
“Keep your stick on the Ice”
Hey Chuck. How about an edit there, please?
Thank you! Mods???
Forget him…he was one of the biggest proponents of the lock-out.
“You’re always, always, always looking to make your team better. Always.”- Marc Bergevin
He may be mad, but he was stupid in letting them sign Parise to Crosby-like money. Parise is a good player no doubt. But no one goes to a game going “oh man Parise’s in town I want to see him play.” If you’re getting paid coin like Crosby you better be one of those players that creates excitement on road games.
“His team is 10th and only 4 points out of last place.”
And only 4 points out of the division lead, with a game in hand.
I hate long posts so will try to keep this short. Regarding coaching – how many new coaches to a team have the benefit of watching and analyzing and talking about the team for years before they are hired to coach. I think Therrien is also doing well because he knew what was being done wrong, what needed to improve and what type of players he thought the team needed. He KNEW this team. I think that gives him a huge benefit over any other coach going into their first year with a new team.
Very good point, and one presumably not lost on Bergevin.
I also hate long posts… and still always write them…
I remember Getzlaf disgraced himself with a dirty hit in last spring’s World Ice Hockey Championships, the tournament P.K. couldn’t participate in due to a rib injury in an exhibition game.
“May you live in interesting times.”
and don´t forget about his hair.
missed that one!
“May you live in interesting times.”
Nice to see Carey Price bounce back in a major way last night. He even made some reflex saves. He seemed somewhat interested last night. Maybe he needs more shots to stay focused? He looked good last night anyway. I’m happy to see it. I’d say with that 2nd period the score could have been a LOT worse. Good for him.
and the cockroaches scattered when the lights turned on.
So only “hockey fans” are allowed to vote or have an opinion on fighting in hockey? This argument defies all logic.
What is a hockey fan?
Is it he?
Is it she?
Is he/she Canadian? (After all americans know nothing about hockey right?)
Is he/she European? (Obviously those wusses don’t appreciate fighting!)
Has he/she played the sport at a competitive level? At any level?
Does he/she understand the latest information about concussions in sport?
Do his/her kids play the game?
I could go on.
Fighting in hockey must be banned.
“If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.” (anon)
Anyone can have an opinion, but the owners are only going to listen to their paying customers. And that would be hockey fans.
Phil, I suggest that the only condition under which the owners would even begin to think about listening to their customers would be if the customers stopped paying. It’s just business, and only the bottom line matters. Not even winning, certainly not player safety — just the bottom line.
The decision to ban fighting at the NHL level will influence all levels of the sport.
A general outcry against fighting in hockey will affect the paying fans. They are sisters, brothers, neighbours and friends aren’t they?
Of course that is just my opinion. I have not bought a ticket in two years so maybe I shouldn’t speak.
“If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.” (anon)
@TSNBobMcKenzie: Eight years with AAV of $8.25M for Ryan Getzlaf with ANA.
Can they sign Perry?
Glad to see the lockout changed things.
Dumb.
“May you live in interesting times.”
wow that is a over payment. That will hurt them with the cap. Getzlaf is good but not over 8.25 mill good. He hasn’t even cracked 80 points since 2009.
He is playing much better this year though but I still wouldn’t pay him that much
“Keep your stick on the Ice”
The problem is that it isn’t Getzlaf or someone else.
If you let Getzlaf go it’s not like you can go out and sign Evgeny Malkin with the money you saved.
And Anaheim has serious attendance issues. They let Getzlaf, Perry leave, and Selanne and Koivu retire, and they are at risk of becoming the West coast Islanders.
A lot of people think cap space is better than a player. They forget that there is more money than talent to spend it on out there.
Full Breezer 4 Life
PLEASE MAKE THAT YOUR SIGNATURE
I understand what you are saying but I don’t think it really matters if Getz is on the team or not. They still don’ thave fans
“Keep your stick on the Ice”
4th highest cap hit in the league?
–Go Habs Go!–
So in a couple of years there’ll be rumors about him coming here to montreal like vinny right?
http://nickolaisblog.wordpress.com/
On Getzlaf
Nick Kypreos @RealKyper
Not confirmed but the number I heard last nite was in the ball park of 66M over 8 yrs. Aav of 8.25 for #ducks Getzlaf.
Quick note, how does Subban have 1% with 0 votes?
he’s that good
Haha the real MVP
“backhand sauce-my specialty” might be the greatest phrase of all time. Sounds a little like a kitchen-porn title.
not about hockey but still ridiculous http://www.mytacotruck.blogspot.com
Leafs (as much as i hate them) still looked good losing to the bruins. Leafs appear to be a playoff team. built on speed and toughness. Its time all teams in our divsion start fighting back against the bruins…its going to be a very interesting off season. Iam thinking ahead but not that far.
the sad part is it is because it is “if you can’t beat them join them”. Hence why the habs have got tougher as well as the leafs
“Keep your stick on the Ice”
Bruins have this coming over, TSN says he will centre the second line or play wing in the top 3 lines:
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/teams/players/bio/?id=4805
A Swede playing for the Bruins? My world is turning upside down.
Full Breezer 4 Life
Getzlaf signed by Ducks…
http://ducks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=659201
“You’re always, always, always looking to make your team better. Always.”- Marc Bergevin
wow
8 years.
Thank god, now the rumors of him ending up in Toronto can cease.
Let the Perry to Toronto or wherever rumours begin.
Kessel, JVR, Lupol…I think they need a #1 center (Kadri#2).
“You’re always, always, always looking to make your team better. Always.”- Marc Bergevin
8.25 mil. for 8 yrs. wow that’s alot. 66 mil
Exhibit A for those who like to dream about signing a top UFA: the vast majority don’t actually make it to FA, but are resigned by their teams.
Full Breezer 4 Life
Lotsa of re-signing to do in Anaheim, maybe a decent UFA slips from their finger?
Perry is the other big gun, I imagine he resigns too.
Full Breezer 4 Life
That could be the grounds for Perry’s contract
http://nickolaisblog.wordpress.com/
Please please please temper expectations on Pateryn my friends.
His point totals in my opinion are what should be referred to as the sun shining on a dogs rump.
Expect sound positional play, a bit of muscle in front of the net and on the boards.
Everything else is a crapshoot.
“Expect sound positional play, a bit of muscle in front of the net and on the boards”
That’s all I care about Loon! We are sorely lacking in that dept.
I think that’s all anybody expects of him.
He’s not a point producer, be absurd to judge him as such.
He will probably not even play. Just a warm body to sit in the pressbox in case someone else goes down.
He’s almost certainly in the press box. Kaberle played very well the four games he got into.
Full Breezer 4 Life
There is little to no offensive forwards in Hamilton, very hard for any D man there to have big offensive numbers.
I know but Pateryn has never had or demonstrated offensive upside. To expect it now is unrealistic.
If it comes it’ll be a nice surprise.
He did a nice job on the Power Play in Michigan in the few games I watched.
I only expect a mix of Nik Lidstrom, Zdeno Chara and Bobby Orr.
and no low-fives.
You are a Habs fan. You left off a very important example (hint, not Gaston Gingras).
“May you live in interesting times.”
Murray Baron?
Who are some names Greg Pateryn plays like?
Josh Gorges but with the physical tools to be more effective.
Maybe I’m trying to convince myself that Pateryn will play out of blind hatred for Kaberle, but… Kaberle plays and we lose our first regulation game in a while, so MT throws in Weber since we seem to win without Kaberle, cudos to MT for noticing that. Wouldn’t it make sense for them to keep following this trend and play Pateryn? I feel like under the new management they wouldn’t call someone up to sit but who knows because I guess Dumont is sitting…
Win without Kaberle? You miss that Boston game? Heck, he was a plus player in the Pittsburgh loss.
I honestly hate watching him play, but I didn’t notice him against Boston which is a good thing.
He’s been much better this year than last, even with the limited ice time.
He trained all summer with Pleks, and apparently reported to the team in very good shape.
I won’t say he was great, but he didn’t make any mistakes on the three games, and was smart and patient with the puck.
He’s making a case for himself.
It’s true.
I dreaded him returning, but he has contributed. Easy to forget that players can change.
March 8, 2013
The Canadiens have a day off today in Tampa ahead of their Saturday night match up with the Lightning.
- Defenseman Greg Pateryn will join the team today in Tampa. The 6-foot-2 rearguard has registered eight points this season in 22 games with the Bulldogs.
YES!!!!
Hopefully, this guy keeps improving and redeems the Grabo trade.
Getting rid of Grabo redeemed the Grabo trade
Go Habs Go!!
“Fans are great, but the quickest way to start losing is to listen to them.” – Sam Pollock
A great article by Damien Cox on the Leafs, worth the read, especially the last 2 sentences.
http://www.thestar.com/sports/hockey/2013/03/08/maple_leafs_fighting_is_in_teams_dna_cox.html
Bloody marvelous
They way things are going, the leafs are likely to be a first round opponent. Not sure I like that because they will goon it up for sure. I like Montreal’s chances against them, but it would tough to emerge unscathed from injury. Might be an incentive to finish first instead of fourth. Then Boston and Toronto could beat the stuffing out of each other in the 4/5 series.
If history has taught me anything regarding the Leafs it’s that they win until the pressure is on.
If they buck that trend good on them, but I’ll believe it when I see it.
It’s time to play “you be the GM”.
If you were Tampa’s GM would you buy-out Vincent Lecavalier this summer?
Here is some data.
His cap hit is $7.7M.
His contract runs until 2020 or whenever he retires.
A buyout would cost you … gulp … $30M.
He is your 2nd line centre, but has 20 points in 24 games. That amounts to a 70 point season prorated to 82 games.
If you buy him out in 2014 it will cost you $23M but you would have to pay him $10M that year and $10M the next anyway.
–
In my opinion buying him out this year makes no sense. The difference between buying him out in 2013 and 2014 is only $3M. So the question becomes: would you pay him $3M for one season? Of course you would.
In 2014 however a buyout starts to make sense. I don’t know how equalization works but I guess Tampa gets some of that money back in any case. (It will count as an operating loss.)
I’d wait for the next CBA negotiations to provide another amnesty buyout.
Then I would use it.
Isn’t that 8 years from now?
It will be worth the wait.
Haha. Yes. It was a joke.
I wouldn’t buy him out of I were Yzerman. Too good of a player.
Why pay $30 million to not have his contract on the books when the cap is just going to sky rocket after next season’s conclusion.
The only things prohibitive about that contract are the cap hit and length.
If Vinik had a problem with the salary he wouldn’t have purchased the team.
HA!
I like it!
Honestly, that contract is tough. He is definitely servicable for the next few years, and the value of his contract makes it tough to buy the whole thing out now (or next year).
However, in about 3 years, that contract becomes a huge burden…
It sounds silly, but I might buy him out now, with an understanding that they would re-sign him for the difference. Is that allowed??
They still pay him the money owed, he is still seviceable but his new contract gives them so much more flexibility in terms of the cap.
that seemed crooked and illegal for some reason.
I don’t believe they can sign him for a full season after buying him out.
and that makes perfect sense.
I am not familiar with what the new CBA says about buyouts this year, next year, and beyond.
If it is as you state, and the difference between this year and next year buyout is only $3M, then I would agree that a buyout makes more sense next year for the GM.
However, if I was the owner, I would tell the GM that he can take it out of his paycheck if that’s what he wants to do. I imagine TB is losing money hand over fist. So your plan is to add about $23M to that? I would not sign off on that if I was the owner. TB is not Montreal in terms of hockey.
Vinny is not getting “bought out”.
he helped win a Cup in Tampa;
he’s a terrific player for them, a leader, and very popular in the community.
His number will be retired in Tampa one day – he and Martin St louis
You gotta look at the hockey market you’re in. If you’re in Montreal/Toronto/New York it could make sense because it’s all about making the team better. In Tampa Bay they cannot afford to pay that much with no player in return. He’s still good anyways, it’s a no-brainer in that market to keep him.
Yeah Lecavalier would be nice but his cap hit is awful, its too bad you can do what they did in the NFL and restructure the contracts, but since we can’t i’ll pass on Vinny
http://nickolaisblog.wordpress.com/
3 out of 4 of Canadian hockey fans want to see fighting banned, according to a poll by Angus Reid.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/majority-of-canadians-want-fighting-ban-in-hockey-survey/article9496814/
The tide is turning.
Ask Gary Bettman how much Canadians’ opinions about hockey are worth.
—Hope Springs Eternal—
Bettman: “What’s a Canadian?”
Interesting, but given what Damien Cox says in The Star today, the only opinion that Bettman cares about in Canada is that of The Leafs, and they don’t appear to want fighting removed.
I posted mostly because alot of people were claiming a majority of fans wanted to keep fighting in the game, so I bring a survey done by Angus Reid that shows a clear opposite.
I understand Shiram, and I wasn’t disputing the results the poll showed amongst average Canadians. But I think Phil makes a good point about lumping average Canadians in with hockey fanatic Canadians.
Interesting result, but I am a little skeptical of the numbers because they reported the same results for Canadians in general as compared to self-identified hockey fans. Usually, support for fighting is much higher among hockey fans compared to the general public.
agreed. Who did they ask and where did they ask it?
Was it in the paper, on the street, in the arenas?
I am pretty sure, at least from what I see when I was in Buffalo, Montreal, and Calgary arenas for NHL games, that over 75% of the people stood cheering when a fight broke out. I am not sure how that correlates to not wanting or liking fighting…. maybe they were all yelling at the players to stop! Please stop!!
I don’t buy it.
Pk Subban.Incredible potential. Loved this guy from the very beginning. I remember people laughing when he commented during the playoff when he first came up that the Habs were going to win the Stanley Cup. The “Rocket” would not have laughed. He would have said that is the only goal for any Canadien player in the playoffs is the Stanley Cup. Why else are we here? WE don’t even know what the Prince of Wales trophy looks like and we don’t want to know! Pk was displaying that old Canadien spirit. Loved it. This young man has an intense desire to win. GO HABS!!
Carey Price “They do not hang conference championship banners here”
Interesting to note that the Habs are approx. 10 wins away or 20 points away from clinching a playoff spot. With 24 games to play.
Meanwhile the Blackhawks are only 5 wins or 10 points away from doing the same.
(Last year after 48 games, 8th place teams had aprox 55pts.
“I think I may have found a way to get us Bonds and Griffey, and we really wouldn’t give up that much” – Costanza
The stretch drive commenceth.
Richard R
Price is an oyster. Unfortunately not all oysters produce pearls.
Interesting that we are now talking (somewhat) about who could be brought in at the trade deadline to help for a playoff run. Before the season we were arguing about whether the Habs could make the playoffs or not, with quite a few on the not side. None of us expected the Habs to be what/where they are right now: at the mid point of the season, first in the east with a 15-5-4 record. We may now proceed with complaining about how our team/players suck.
Horrible second period, yet so many great things!
Josh Coffey! (Someone else coined that). Can ONLY have been a response to his domination of HIO discussion for three days. Can we have a rumour about someone else now, please?
Prust! What can you say? However, his value has now emerged as so multifaceted, I’m hoping he has no more fights. Not good for us to lose him for 2 or 5 or more, not good for us to lose him to injury.
Irrationally, the win prompted similar elation to a come-from-behind victory!
Is Emelin evolving before our eyes?
Welcome back, Price. Nice game, PK.
Nice game, coach.
Emelin has been doing extremely well lately. Really glad to see that.
“I think I may have found a way to get us Bonds and Griffey, and we really wouldn’t give up that much” – Costanza
To me it looks like he wanted to establish all his basic defensive duties at NHL speed before starting, recently, to involve himself more in offense.
(And follow Josh Coffey’s lead! I’m still beaming over that!)
Remember when JM refused to play him at the beginning lol. It took around 6 years to bring the guy over from Russia. Finally we had a d-man who could throw a hit! and JM has him in the pressbox. what an idiot that coach was
Agree Mark. I am happy to see a bit of offence from him as well. Didn’t see that coming.
Standing up to Chara the way he did gave him back the Mojo which I think he lost in that Malone BS last year. IMO. Saludos!
Interesting observation, Emelin did have some swagger in his game last night.
Mikey Ribs playing for Washington? When did that happen?
On June 22, 2012, during the 2012 NHL Draft, Ribeiro was traded to the Washington Capitals for Cody Eakin and a 2012 2nd-round draft pick (54th overall).
As soon as Gainey came back to Dallas.
Where have you been?
We may not want that answered Bri.
About coaching and its impact:
It is often the case that the coach gets too much credit for a team winning and also too much blame when they lose.
A great example is a couple season ago when the Habs won the first two games in the opening round of the playoffs in Boston. before the series started few ,if any , people gave them any shot at alll at winning a single game,let alone the series. many were proclaiming Jacque s Martin as doing a great coaching job to get thi steam ahead in the series, and many also felt confident that the Habs would go to win the series.
I, for one, felt less confident AFTER we won the first two games than I did before the series started. JM was using Scott Gomez on the PP and David Desharnais to kill penalties.
During the cours eof the season DD was FAR more effective on the PP than was Gomez, and furthermore Gomez was actually the best penalty killer on the team during that entire season. Sure enough we lost the series and I din`t think we scored a single PP goal in any of the last 5 games.I believe that in that series Ryan O’byrne was a healthy scratch the first two or three games despite teh fact teh Marc Andre Bergeron was playing hurt and struggling. and tehfact thatteh Bruins were manhandling the smaller Canadien team. Jm finally puts Obyrne in the linup and rather than have him sit oon the bench for the first shift or two, he starts him. The crowd noise is deafenning and the pressure is immense. Sure enough the puck finds its way to Obyrne’s stick and he proceeds to lift it over the glass and takes a delay of game penalty. JM glues his ass to the bench the rest of the game. Whether we won or lost the game, it was bad coaching. A good coach puts players in a position where they have the best chance of succeeding, not as JM did put him in a spot where he was likely to be nervous make a mistake just so the coach could say to those that questioned his roster choices, “you see, I was right to have this bum in the pressbox”
Move forward to this season. Todd Mcllelan does no do his homework and he p;lays Scott Gomez on the PP for nearly 3 minutes each game. In a total of 44 minutes of PP time the Sharks have scored a total of ONE PP goal while Gomez has been on the PP unit. This is bad coaching.
To begin this season Diaz was NOT on the PK despite having been BY FAR the best penalty killer on the Habs last year. Way better than Hal Gill , Josh Georges, and PK Subban. That was bad coaching, even though the team was winning. HOWEVER, when the team was not effective killing penalties early in the season, to his credit MT made some changes.
Last year when the HABs were stinking up the joint, and their PP was god awful JM continued to play Gomez on the PP. Bad coaching, he deserved to get fired. Along comes Cunneyworth and , unbelievably he also continues to play Gomez on the PP. Bad coaching, he too deserved to get fired. In fact, I doubt that anyone will ever hire him again to coach in the NHL, and deservedly so.
Bottom line is that you cannot judge a coaches moves simply by wins and losses. The game is often decided by luck, fluke goals, referees blown calls, hot, or cold, goaltending etc. What you can do is look at the moves a coach makes and determine if they make sense.
For the most part that is what this forum is good for, in my opinion. There are, of course, many unknowledgeable posters here who simply look at the results of one game or one poor performance, and sometimes even one bad turnover or stupid penalty, and scream for players to be traded or put in the press box, but there are many here who make some really good points and offer some very keen insight
regards,
Steve O.
On the Diaz/penalty killing comment and how he was better than Gill. Did you know that opposing teams were 2 for 27 in 5 on 3 situations with Gill on the ice last season?
awesome post! I actually thought JM was an awful coach. Refused to take his timeouts, didn’t talk to his players and had an almost blind sort of favoritism towards veterans. This is what drove me nuts. Veterans were able to get away with doing diddly squat, while if a rookie made a mistake it was game over. During the boston series, I remeber the futility of Gomez being unable to do anything. He couldn’t win a face off (neither could any hab center), got pushed off the puck and was just god awful. I do remember JM made one adjustment, by game 5 it was eller taking the faceoffs and trying to shutdown bergeron/krejci.
Another thing that pissed me off was how much off a d!ck head JM was to that reporter, who asked him a legit question. What kind of moron of a coach plays a fringe 4th liner on PP’s and 5 -3.
I have no problem with Cunneyworth’s firing. Like Hal Gill stated the guy was the same as JM. He came in and NOTHING changed. He just did the exact same thing JM did.
Diaz “Way better than Hal Gill , Josh Georges, and PK Subban” on the PK? Sorry…completely disagree. Diaz has played on the PK this year while Subban hasn’t and the PK is worst than last year. Also, Diaz can’t clear the front of the net. Would prefer if the Habs got another large defensive defenseman.
“You’re always, always, always looking to make your team better. Always.”- Marc Bergevin
Stevereno – as you can see from the comments and some posted stats, Hal Gill was not only the best PK person on the Habs last year, I would argue the league.
Some players are true specialists, and Skillsie just has this incredible comfort thing with sprawling on the ice, effectively taking the pass through the crease and the high slot off the table.
“Don’t crush that dwarf Alex Henry, hand me the pliers”
I beg to differ: here are the actual numbers:
Player / MIn shorthanded toi/ PP Goals against/ ave TOI Per PPGA
Diaz – 79 – 2 – 39.5
SUBBAN 211-12 – 18
Georges – 319- 23 – 14
Gill – 263 – 19- 14
So it is quite apparent that when Subban was killing penalties a goal was allowed every 18 minutes, With Gill and Georges every 14 minutes. With Diaz every 40 minutes. Diaz was better than twice as good (albeit in a smaller sample size) than any of the others.
That is why the Habs penalty killing IMPROVED when Gill was traded. Diaz and Subban got more time on the unit.
Is Gill an excellent penalty Killer, yes , I believe he is among the best. He also blocks a lot of shots, but teh play is on the zone more often when he is on the ice. PK and Diaz both have the abilitiy to clear the puck down the ice much more frequently than Hal Gill.
To answer Loonies point, Gill may well be the best at 3 on 5 situations but those are not as common as the 4 on 5. The reason for his proficiency on 3 vs 5 is probably because he is playing as a second goalie.
regards,
Steve O.
When the Habs made it to first place, I figured we’d better enjoy it while we could because it was unlikely to last. But they’re still hanging in there three weeks later, with the exception of last Saturday-Sunday before the Boston game. Extremely impressive. And the Bruins have such a packed schedule – 27 games in about 60 days – that it’s not a given they’ll overtake us. If we can avoid an actual losing streak, keep getting points in most games, we just might stay on top.
The best thing about the way the team is playing is our 5-on-5 scoring. Goals used to happen on powerplays and only occasionally otherwise. Now they’re a regular occurrence, and they’re coming from all three top lines.
That said, an occasional loss is not a bad thing. When you’re winning or putting up points in every game, you tend to think that what you’re dong is fine. A loss forces you to realize that there’s always room for improvement and to focus on the areas of your game that need work.
Does anything else think it could be detrimental to galchenyuk playing so few minutes every night?!
He’s learning the pro game which includes how to play when not scoring 2 points every game. Easily dominating in Sarnia doesn’t teach him anything.
Last night he had a regular shift, at least he is not on the fourth line.
Last night he played 15:09 vs his average of 12:30. Habs are managing his time well and it compares with other high profile rookies over the years on teams that didn’t need a kid to sell tickets
“Don’t crush that dwarf Alex Henry, hand me the pliers”
Any idea why St. Denis hasn’t been called up?
—Hope Springs Eternal—
I think he’s injured.
.
Maybe its because he’d be exposed to waivers if they sent him back down? From all accounts Pateryn has been playing very well.
No, he’s on a two-way contract.
Maybe injured, as JF says..?
Anyone else know?
—Hope Springs Eternal—
I have read that St.Denis and Blunden are the only 2 players currently on the Dogs who have to clear waivers to get sent back down (if they were called up).
–Go Habs Go!–
Pateryn called up. 6 ft.3in ,215lbs. He has had only one tilt,a narrow loss to Bagnell.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJhy5ySUD70
Not a fighter but stood up for his teammate…good sign.
“You’re always, always, always looking to make your team better. Always.”- Marc Bergevin
It’s not so much the fighting… how is he at hurting people who stand in front of the net?
Thats why we have Diaz amigo.
Good discussion below on skills and coaching with Loonie et al.
How about specialised skills? For example, we sure could do with improving our ability to win face-offs. Is that something a coaching programme can influence? Or are pro players old dogs that can’t learn new tricks?
Yanic Perrault – Assistant Coach (Faceoffs)
There’s a name…
But is being a faceoff wizard a gift or something you can develop?
(Remember Doug Jarvis?)
I think there are definitely things that can be taught to improve, but to be consistently a top guy probably just comes down to superior hand-eye coordination and reflexes.
I really like the Galchenyuk/Prust/Eller line…but it does create a lineup trickle down effect….that line has three lefties….and forces one to their off wing. That in turn meant Ryder played his off wing and I am not sure I have ever seen him do that before.
Prust did alright on his offwing I guess offensively. I can’t help but wonder if this wasn’t part of the reason the Canadiens had such difficulty getting out of their end.
I noticed Ryder not getting pucks out early (did it on the goal too)….having two lines that eat many minutes with players playing their off wing may have been a factor.
Has Ryder EVER played his off wing? can anyone ever remember him doing that?
Did you hands swell overnight, Krob?
Off wing or not, the difficulty that they had moving pucks out of their zone reminded of the most glorious JM days. It was painful to watch.
Ryder is just a bum.
I think he suffered a stroke while typing.
lol…client came in..had to go before editing
With the season pretty much half played here’s my prediction on teams having a chance to make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference ….
Montreal
Pittsburgh
Boston
Ottawa
Philadelphia
New York Rangers
New York Islanders
Washington
New Jersey
No Toronto in that list?
I’m no fan of Toronto…but i think at the midway point….Toronto is showing that they might very well make the playoffs this year.
“I think I may have found a way to get us Bonds and Griffey, and we really wouldn’t give up that much” – Costanza
big time miss
Ever since Brandon was a walk on with the London Knights he has exceeded expectations. It is a priviledge to know him through my daughter and son-in law. Many thanks to him for getting Mike in to have my anniversary jersey signed by thirteen players last week. it is currently getting framed and will be up on my wall sometime next week.I will have his buddy Darrin send him a pic when I get it back.
Irish! Are you here in Ireland?
Or a post-Celtic Tiger economic migrant?
Or a Plastic Paddy?!
So you obviously know him, I would assume he is as good a guy off the ice as he appears on it I am sure!
Interesting article on North Dakota hockey.
http://undhockey.areavoices.com/?p=93684
Nice to get a glimpse of Kristo’s skating and wrist shot. Thanks Jim.
“May you live in interesting times.”
Looking at the pictures and tweets Stubbs is sending out, pretty obvious he is bored having no access to the players today. He really needs to pickup Golf for these off days in Florida.
Poor Stubbs, nothing to do on a bright sunny Florida day…
Gotta say we’re having a beaut in Montreal too.
Gorgeous sunny day here in Southern Ont. as well. So glad February is over.
Just finished shoveling here. Nearly a foot of very heavy snow. Fingers crossed the plow man can make it up my driveway. And to think I had visions of fishing dancing in my head. Yuck.
Hey Jim, I’ve got one of those!
Tough life of a hockey reporter covering the team. I don’t think I could do it.
Just on the Habs all time stats page.
For you old timers
Carey Prices numbers are almost identical to Gerry McNeil’s
Games 271 vs 276
Wins 124 vs 119
Losses 104 vs 105
Ties 35 vs 52 for Price used overtime losses
SO 16 vs 28
GAA % 2.56 vs 2.36
ANNNNDDDD
Peter Buiday’s next win ties him with Alex Auld
Like the DODGERS “Wait till next year”
So yesterday it was on TSN that BGL is talking comeback…. Has he run out of money already? Is the Green Party not paying his bills?
I for one would love to see BGL back in the league. Not with the Habs of course.
THe rumour was he was about to sign with Ottawa then the lockout occurred.
So you’re saying Ottawa dodged a bullet?
Well a bullet inflicts damage, I would say a blank.
I can think of one or two other teams I’d prefer him not to play for.
You think quinoa, soy protein and ‘Only You Can Help Stop The Badger Cull In Northumbria’ t-shirts pay for themselves these days…?
—Hope Springs Eternal—
Someone has to uphold “The Code”.
Off topic…..
THANKS A LOT GERRY!!!!
I finally managed to hide that blasted Sesame Street CD from my grandson… who played the count over and over and over…’till the coating wore off, and here you go, putting that *&^*%^ song back in my head.
I can’t take it anymore!!
I’m scarred for life!!!
Big Georges played for Michel Therrien’s Memorial Cup winning Granby Predateurs alongside captain Francis Bouillon.
“May you live in interesting times.”
As happy as you all are, Habs still played crappy defense last night. I lost count the number of time they attempted to clear the zone and it resulted in the Canes cycling the puck for close to a minute.
The 2nd period reminded me of the 2002 playoffs vs the Canes.
It’s never a true win unless MAB gets the goal winning goal.
GOAL WINNING GOAL, GOAL WINNING GOAL
The Eric Staal line is tops in the league for a reason, they were unstoppable at times last night.
In actual fact, they were very stoppable .
And a good morning to you.
Time to put back the Sesame Street Count tape in the VCR Timo, no excuse for you to lose Count man.
Uncompromising.
It’s the Burly way.
—Hope Springs Eternal—
This has been going on for a while. My friends and I had a good laugh at 2-0 in the first. “They’ve been killing it in the first period all year. Let’s hope they make it through the second with at least a tie on the scoreboard.”
Sure enough, with some help from Carey Price, they did, and won, which we expected. I think we’ll see this pattern pretty much all year.
“thoroughbred”
Thanks, Eyeore.
No doubt about it.
I kinda like when they have things to work on though. Wins, especially one-sided ones, can often camouflage problems. Games like last night are good for the 2 points, but also to show clearly that there is still a lot of work to be done.
Go Habs Go!!
“Fans are great, but the quickest way to start losing is to listen to them.” – Sam Pollock
Anyone else a little worried about Ryder fitting into MT’s system?
HE seems to be flat footed quite often in the D zone and on numerous occasions blindly tries to backhand the puck off the glass which consistently goes straight to the opposing team’s d man at the point. It’s reminding me of Rivet his last couple years here.
I am not worried. I flat out know he doesn’t fit into any system that requires players to work their asses off night in and night out. Same goes for Moen, Armstrong et Co.
^ What he said ^
plus…. Ryder will not be back next year.
“thoroughbred”
Bergevin taking Cole from Therrien and giving him Ryder instead … did Therrien steal Bergevin’s parking spot or something?
Full Breezer 4 Life
Well, I heard that Bergevin is a team guy so presumably such move would not have been made without consulting with Therrien first. The only time I see Bergevin going for it without any consultation is when MAB becomes available.
For those wondering about Weber.
Dave Stubbs @Dave_Stubbs
Colleague @RenLavoieRDS reports a knee injury ended Yannick Weber’s night in Raleigh #Habs
Could a trade have been in place for him, but nixed because of the injury? Wild speculation here.
Shucks! I was really looking forward to that conditional 7th rd pick in 2014.
We could have drafted another Gallagher with that pick.
Or Johan Whitehall
Gallagher was a 5th, Andrei Markov a 6th, Sergei Kostitsyn a 7th, Michael Ryder an 8th, Jaroslav Halak a 9th….sheesh! (keep the facts straight campaign)
“May you live in interesting times.”
Wow just noticed this…. early Cy young candidate in Jeff Carter out in LA…..he has 16 goals and 2 assists..
Carter is the most upright skater in the league. Maybe his impeccable posture hinders his peripheral passing vision.
Jack Adams talk is interesting, because the Habs could be in the running.
Boudreau, Maclean, Therrien, Quenneville and yes even Carlyle could considered candidates for that honor right now.
Quenneville wins the award – terrific coach.
He had his own TV show out in Colorado discussing hockey once a week, and he was well liked out there.
Colarado made a mistake letting him go.
You just like his moustache.
—Hope Springs Eternal—
moustaches are directly proportional to success.
But if he loses in the first round we will be talking about him possibly getting the axe.
You’re gonna make Julien cry.
Hope he doesn’t send Chara after me.
Therrien is doing a very good job, but his players are buying in and displaying talent we have not seen in a while.
I think Martin & Carbo did alot of things wrong, but makes you wonder a little if they may have lasted a bit longer if they had Gallagher, Prust and Galchenyuk on their rosters.
Ok…maybe not.
Go Habs Go!!
“Fans are great, but the quickest way to start losing is to listen to them.” – Sam Pollock
JM was a good coach, his longevity in the league proved that. Having said that, it was no longer working in Montreal, the dressing room appeared to start falling apart (despite Gomez being there).
But the three players you mention would not have fit with JM. He really struggled to trust rookies, and players who had an edge or fights to their game didn’t fit his system. Funny how those same three players are by and large the biggest three changes from last season and look at our record.
Change can be good.
Gomez is what was holding all that thing together in the first place. WIthout Gomer, JM is out in less than a year.
We really should have been calling him Elmer.
http://www.elmers.com/products/glues-and-adhesives/
Gone from last year’s starting D. Hal Gill, Jaroslav Spacek, Chris Campoli. Frequent substitute Frederic St. Denis has been used once or not at all this year. Emelin is now a core defender, who should have turtled, but didn’t. Hope Pateryn fits in well.
“May you live in interesting times.”
Burly, he may have been. The reason I’m glad he’s gone is because he played not to lose which a) is so not Habs culture; and b) because its highest achievement is likely to be a respectable season, never the Cup. What do you think?
Preaching that style, he would be very welcome crossing the water and coaching in the English Premiereship!
Yah you make a good point. And perhaps that is why BG hired him, he knew at the very least the team would be in the playoffs, bringing some success back to team.
People seem to believe Carbonneau lost his job because he was playing Halak. Funny they don’t mention the ridiculous losing streak that preceded his dismissal or the fact that players came out and said he didn’t communicate with them.
I thought the Habs had just won before he got canned…? There was a pretty bad losing streak just prior, I guess, right?
Definitely think it had a lot to do with his lack of communication though. I used to really like Carbo as a player and even thought he’d make a good coach cause he seemed to be a student of the game. I didn’t lose respect for him for not being a good coach the first time around, but I did when he didn’t try to coach at any other level, for the most part. He coached his own team for what seemed like about 10 games, then went to RDS. He also coached the U18 if memory serves and had no success there.
Recently, on L’Antichambre he hinted at sorta kinda wanting to coach again, but all the pieces need to fall into place as he thought they had in Montreal. He doesn’t seem to want to work to get back there.
Go Habs Go!!
“Fans are great, but the quickest way to start losing is to listen to them.” – Sam Pollock
They won the game immediately preceding his dismissal against Dallas.
It followed a very long losing streak.
i believe the won one game after losing a ton of them
Happened to meet Chipchura’s aunt’s husband a few years back. He said that never, not even once, did Carbo ever speak to Chip while he was there!!
That is unreal…boggles the mind.
Go Habs Go!!
“Fans are great, but the quickest way to start losing is to listen to them.” – Sam Pollock
I have read here and heard elsewhere, what ? 10 millions for that guy Prust ? Way overpaid !
Trade Eller now that he has value…
I would like Price to steal a game, to make a difference…
Just to name a few…Now these days it looks like we would like to overpay for a goon that would play 3 minutes a game even though we still are in first place in the conference. Every year at this time the goon need comes back !
This year`s team is different. Everyone is involved in the succes of the team. Some evenings some seem to be unbeatable and the day after they are invisible. It is all part of the recipe i think cause others take over and make small plays that make all the difference.
Meanwhile the kids have the luxury to take their time to develop either in the AHL or with the Habs without the pressure to be the ones to make a difference.
Maybe Bergevin will make a move maybe not but i think that he is way ahead of us and even though he must be very happy with this years roster, he must be looking way ahead to next year and the year after.
Yeah but we still want 3, 3 min. goons. That way we can wear out the rest of the guys. But they will feel 2 inches taller with those guys around.
Interesting that Canadian born players are top four in points and top four in goals. Crosby, Carter, Kunitz, Stamkos, Neal, Tavares and St. Louis make up the group. Of those seven, only three or perhaps four are consensus picks for the Olympic team. Carter, Kunitz, St. Louis and perhaps Neal are not mentioned by the media as likely candidates.
Since being named an alternate to the 201 team, Jeff Carter won a Cup, tying for the lead in playoff goals scored and has returned to his pre-injury form. If his play continues, he is back in the discussion. Although, there are at least 15 legit candidates for the last seven forward spots.
Blue, blanc et rouge. Red and White for Canada. Blue for Smurfs.
Bashing Price is like Voodoo Magic. You don’t need any concrete evidence to supprt it, you just do it.
Worked like charm, didn’t it?
ahhh, I see the angle.
Bash Price, wake him up and then reap the rewards of a highly motivated keeper.
In that case…. Stats be damned. Price, you suck worse than Rick Dipietro!! (that should get us 1 goal or less on Saturday)
Don’t know if anyone noticed but Subban is awesomely good right now compared to other defenders around his age or should I say, comparible players stats and contract.
Del Zotto has 8pts with 0.40PtsPG
Carlson has 10pts with 0.45PtsPG
Doughty has 10pts with 0.40PtsPG
and the elite defender Duncan Keith has 12pts with 0.50PtsPG
plus Karlson (before he was injured) had 10pts with 0.70PtsPG
While Subban has….are you ready for it?
Subban has 15pts with 0.83 PtsPG.
“Responding to the media , or playing to the media, or listening to the fans is the quickest way to start losing” – Sam Pollock
Tied for 1st in Goals by Dman.
PK is awesome. Will make mistakes, just like everyone else, but he brings so much.
I truly hope he’s a Hab for life. I tend to look for him when I watch the game….”when’s PK getting back on?” .
He’s a joy to watch, mistakes and all.
Go Habs Go!!
“Fans are great, but the quickest way to start losing is to listen to them.” – Sam Pollock
The only thing that bugs me about Subban is that hes not a team player! Only joking Ed.
[Disclaimer]: I’m a hockey fan. I care about the habs, but probably not as much as you.
Only outpaced by Letang. And he’s playing less minutes than last year with an average of 21 per game.
Gotta earn that next contract!
You can compare Subban to just about anyone on D and he looks good. This is why it would’ve been a good idea to sign him to a long term deal and get a discount on a couple of his UFA years.
Full Breezer 4 Life
2 things I can’t stand reading here:
1) Eller was playing “lazy” because Therrien “implied” it.
2) Subban is not a team player.
most other things posted don’t bother me. but those two really get under my skin.
We don’t know exactly what MT said to Eller, but regardless of what was said, it appears Eller is playing well and MT appreciates it. This is all that should matter.
Subban is playing very well and MT is giving him minutes.
I completely agree.
I think we’ve only scratched the surface in witnessing what both Eller & Subban are capable of.
For all we know, it couldve been just a slow start, but theres something inexcusable about a youth not ready to eat the boards from the get-go, unlike say a Erik Cole.
[Disclaimer]: I’m a hockey fan. I care about the habs, but probably not as much as you.
how about “nothing” was said.
Eller was interviewed by Cassie Campbell just last week after a Habs win and asked, “what was said to you by Therrien that helped turn your season around?”
Eller replied, “the coach has not spoken to me since before the season started”.
I though he said he hadn’t spoken with Therrien since the benching. But I don’t know exactly. Also, I have to believe that Turk (Gallant) has indeed been talking to him.
BUt all I know is that Eller is playing great hockey and seems to be enjoying it. That is good enough for me.
He said that Eller needed to bring up his intensity. That’s not necessarily lazy but it implies that he needed to work a little harder.
Why is it so bad to point out a player’s possible weakness, especially once it has been, for the most part, corrected?
You’re lucky there are only 2 things here you can’t stand lol
Go Habs Go!!
“Fans are great, but the quickest way to start losing is to listen to them.” – Sam Pollock
lazy is an insult – a terrible insult to a hockey player.
picking up intensity is not lazy – at least not the way I see it.
It’s just a polite way of saying lazy.
I don’t think any NHL’er is lazy, but they can look like they are.
Go Habs Go!!
“Fans are great, but the quickest way to start losing is to listen to them.” – Sam Pollock
Oops! I left out Ryder before when I was contemplating 4 real hockey lines.
Plek – Gionta – Bourque
Desharnais – Pacioretty- Gallagher
Eller – Prust – Ryder
Galchenyuk- Dumont – Leblanc
(or any ocmbination of the above)
The 5th line could be Moen , White and Armstrong, who are all pretty much as useful as tits on a bull.
regards,
Steve O.
What’s with Dumont and Leblanc?
Plus I think we need to standardize the fantasy line format:
LW – C – RW
Some people seem to have this idea that coaches are responsible for the skills that players possess. I have news for those people and I’m sorry that this sounds arrogant.
Players develop their skills. They’re certainly taught tips and tricks in skill development, but not at the pro level. They’re at the pro level BECAUSE of the skills they have.
The coach does a good job when the correct combination of players is built. When the systems and adjustments they employ result in success and when they keep morale up in times of adversity and focus on getting better at all times.
Tomas Plekanec isn’t a faster skater because of Michel Therrien any more or less than he was under Jacques Martin. Therrien utilizes Plekanec’s speed in a better way than Martin.
That’s the difference. To say that Therrien is responsible for the success of individual players is somewhat correct in that they are part of the team he’s coaching. But to suggest that they are good players because of him is ridiculous.
Dan Bylsma isn’t the reason Chris Kunitz is a good hockey player. The way he uses him brings out the most in him, that and playing with the best player in the World.
I would make one correction to your post, the good coaches are responsible for getting the talent from the player. Chris Pronger has imense talent, but he did say if it weren’t for Kennen, he would have flopped. Coaches do more than shuffle lines. Pronger was on the wrong path as was Jokinen, He also credits Keenen for getting him to be a better player. Yes, players have the skills ( tools), but they don’t always have the tool box to carry them in or know how to use them.
Habfan17
That’s fair. But when it comes to Subban and Eller Therrien is getting far too much credit in my opinion. And I don’t mean in how they’re used, but for their individual numbers.
Eller’s production has come on the third and fourth lines and the guy had a four goal game.
Subban tied the team rookie record in scoring for defensemen.
The idea that these players can’t be successful without Therrien is foolish.
Again, he’s doing a great job. But saying he’s the reason for their individual success in part of a team effort is like saying the same of Price.
Joke.
What is far too much credit? Any at all?
The team last year without Therrien sucked. Is he the only reason for the turnaround? Hell, no, but he’s not the only reason when players play like crap. Like the Habs did all last season.
Give Therrien his due. He has the Habs playing well as a team, despite some piss-poor nights. For a rebuild job, he has them top 5 in the league.
Am I not giving Therrien his due?
When I say that he’s getting the most out of his players and he’s done a great job. Something I’ve been doing consistently since the five game mark of the season I think that qualifies Cal.
I’m not ready to compare him to Scott Bowman. I guess that means I don’t think he’s doing a good job.
I would agree with that.
Habfan17
Well said, the only skill a NHL coach needs is to be a good psychologist, and know how to pull the strings of each different personality.
[Disclaimer]: I’m a hockey fan. I care about the habs, but probably not as much as you.
and most players hated playing for Keenan.
verry good post thats right on the money
sorry ur right on the money long night coffe is not working yet
You are correct, coaches aren’t responsible for skills a player possess. However, a coach is responsible in holding players accountable for laziness, as Eller often showed last year and in the first game of the season. Ryder is another player that better get with the program, or as Matty said below, he will soon be making paper airplanes in the press box.
Rene Bourque returning could put him in the press box.. if he ever returns that is.
And some of us just want to say, that it seems like Therrien is doing a nice job. But that can be soooo hard to say here for some.
I’ll say it as soon as Timo does.
It isn’t hard for me to say it Gerald. It’s hard to read that he’s THE reason for individual players performing. Can we give the players some credit too?
That okay?
Hey I don’t care, I just know that while I never thought I would say this, MT appears to have been the right choice to coach this team.
I was 100% deadset against it at the time of announcement. I did rather quickly decide to give him a fair shake based on things MB said, and I am now happy with the choice. Simple as that.
I am too. And I was wrong about him and about Bergevin choosing him.
I’m just not ready to give him a Nobel Prize(not that you are).
Think you meant Jack Adams award.
While the season isn’t over yet, so far it appears he has done a more than acceptable job.
He would have my vote for the award today.
Wow….arrogance shows its ugly head.
You’d have us believe that coaches have nothing to do with a player’s improvement. You can have all the skill in the world, but a coach can get it out of you.
Ask most of the world’s best players and 99% of them will credit their coach(es).
And as I said in my post that this is likely a reply to, these players have talent (or they would not be in the NHL for the most part), but there is nothing wrong with admitting that some coaches get more out of players than others, whether or not they have an unbelievable amount of talent. Talented players can be lazy. In effect, that is what Therrien said of Eller before benching him. There are many ways to help a player reach their potential. To say it will just click on or off on its own is, well…just wrong in some cases.
Go Habs Go!!
“Fans are great, but the quickest way to start losing is to listen to them.” – Sam Pollock
Jesus. I’m saying specifically that Therrien’s getting more out of these players than Martin and all you see is that I’m saying he isn’t doing a good job.
I’m saying that he isn’t the only reason for them being good individually, he’s one of many.
Well, duh. Nobody ever said he was the ONLY reason. I’ve said in every post today that Eller has skill. Therrien just got it out of him a little more than others have.
Go Habs Go!!
“Fans are great, but the quickest way to start losing is to listen to them.” – Sam Pollock
My post wasn’t directed towards you and that’s the difference. You see my post that Therrien isn’t the only reason that Eller and Subban have been successful as an attack of Therrien but when somebody posts that Therrien’s THE reason for their success it’s ridiculous hyperbole that takes away from the credit the players deserve.
This street goes two ways my friend.
Bring back Count Chocula.
“May you live in interesting times.”
Ask and you shall receive buddy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3e7yYBDHOgg
Burly, good stuff, you, the Cat, and a few others have to ratchet up the humour on the site today! Man, is it ever sunny outside.
Alexei Emelin has more points this year than all last year in which he played 67 games. This is primarily due to Markov’s presence (and not coaching in some people’s opinion).
“May you live in interesting times.”
You’re progressing Tom.
At least this time you apologized before embarking on your rant.
Why do a lot of you posters out there try or want to change things around? (change lines, trade players and all kinds of fantasy ideas?) when we are a winning hockey club?
I can never understand this. We are the 2nd best team out of 30 teams right now. And that is after finishing at the bottom of the league last season.
After what we have all been through the past few years, sit back with a drink in your hand and enjoy each shift. It is fantastic hockey we are playing. Enjoy!!
Hey Ian, I am trying to add to the depth, free of chatge, see post below! I agree, for now leave things as is, look to the off season to make some tweaks
Habfan17
+1
Because complaining about stuff is more virile than fawning over them.
[Disclaimer]: I’m a hockey fan. I care about the habs, but probably not as much as you.
Ian your post needs tweaking! ™
Yes Gerald, but she has gone out for the day my friend!
LMFAO!!! Touche Mr. Cobb!
A lot of posters are tweakers. If you’re not on top of your game it’s time to move on. Players on other teams are always the ones we want, until we get them. Like last night, the comments, how could we let Cole go for Ryder? The week before it was, we have to move Cole.
@Ian it’s hilarious isn’t it, old friend
Eller has a good game and the DD/Eller debate pops up again. Price has a couple bad games and the Halak/Price crap bubbles to the surface. Ryder struggles and he’s a bum and a Cole is elevated to saint status again. On and on, it’s like a grade one argument of my dad is tougher than yours.
Last night’s game was won on the back of the 3rd line, and that is something Montreal hasn’t had since 2007/2008. A productive 3rd line that can win games when the first 2 lines are having an off night. This team is deep because of the the addition of a bunch of good hockey players by MB and the kiddie corps have matured quicker than expected.This season is an absolutely a joy to watch so far.
Ryder has had a bit of trouble fitting in but still has 4 point in 5 games and has helped the PP to be more efficient since he arrived. Cole is still struggling in Dallas, and all Ryder has to do to make this trade a win, is out produce Cole, so far he has by a bunch.
Ryder needs to take a good look around himself and figure out what he needs to do to be a part of a winning team.
I imagine that backchecking is a big part of it, and that’s never been a strong point in Ryder’s game. He’s going to have to change that or he’ll find himself throwing paper airplanes again.
I have faith in him, I loved him when he was a Hab first time round, but he’s got to pull his finger out.
Also, he was always a very streaky scorer with us. Once he pots one or two, they’ll start coming more regularly.
—Hope Springs Eternal—
Im pulling for him too, likeable dude, as with all Newfoundlanders.
[Disclaimer]: I’m a hockey fan. I care about the habs, but probably not as much as you.
I’m not worried about Ryder at all.
It does take a new player some time to acclimatize himself to a new system,and I believe this is what Ryder is experiencing now.
I think he picked up 3 assists in the loss against the Islanders and he might have gotten a point last night too.
Yeah, that’s true.
Forgot about that.
I don’t think he’s playing badly, but he needs to be more responsible in our zone. That’s the Therrien Way!
—Hope Springs Eternal—
The College free agents will soon be available
Here is one listed as one of the top 5. Played in Chateauguy.
Antoine Laganiere
Fourth-year F, Yale
Age: 22. Height: 6-4. Weight: 215.
Hometown: Ile-Cadieux, Que.
The skinny: Plenty of NHL scouts have visited Yale’s Ingalls Rink this season and have come away impressed with his “pro-type body” and how much his skating has improved during his time at Yale… He attended prospect camps for the Edmonton Oilers and Penguins last summer and with the Vancouver Canucks in 2011 … He helped the Chateauguay Patriots Midget AAA win the 2005-06 provincial Quebec title and the Patriots finished third at the Telus Cup national championship.
Here is the link
http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/opinion/2013/03/the-nhl-prepares-for-us-college-free-agent-time.html
Maybe worth a look,
Andrej Sustr
Third-year D, Nebraska-Omaha
Age: 22. Height: 6-8. Weight: 225.
Hometown: Plzen, Czech Rep.
The skinny: He has Zdeno Chara-type size, but is considered a project … Came over to North America in 2009 to play for the Youngstown Phantoms of the USHL and also suited up for the Czech Republic at the 2010 world junior … His offensive stats have improved every year at Nebraska-Omaha … He attended prospect camps for both the Pittsburgh Penguins and Tampa Bay Lightning last summer … Plenty of NHL teams will be in the mix this time around.
Habfan17
Lar”s Viking Juices are flowing!
nice to see him playing phsyical and not backing down from anyone …i suspect he drops his gloves some time this year..he is getting closer with each passing game it seems
Egad. I hope he takes a seminar from Prust beforehand.
It still boggles my mind that a talent like PK Subban wasn’t drafted until the 2nd round,43rd overall.
I know draft selection isn’t an exact science, but PK is a rare talent who has all of the attributes which will make him,IMHO,a future James Norris Trophy winner.
When he was selected by the Habs,PK immediately thanked Bob Gainey,telling him that he won’t regret his decision.
Gainey has taken a lot of flak from fans,a lot of it deservedly so,but in this regard, we can all thank him as well.
Can also thank him for Gorges, Patch and Price.
Let’s not forget Janne Niinimaa and David Aebischer,however.
Wow, the hand that giveth is also the hand that taketh away. haha
Let’s add AK27 to the list – that was a great deal at the time. Of course, Timmins evaluates the talent, but the buck did stop with Gainey, for better or worse.
PK was picked in the second round because his defensive game (at the time) was woeful.
When he was drafted one of the TSN guys said “You don’t spell PK with a D”.
He worked hard and learned to play defense.
Many players have holes in their games that cause them to be picked in the later rounds. It’s working to improve them that makes them draft day steals.
For example, Lucic was also a 2nd rounder because his skating was awful. It’s still poor, but it’s much better then it was.
I see it written all the time that PK had zero defensive abilities but threre is nothing to back up such claims. I watch PK play around 65 games in the last 2 seasons in the OHL and aside from a few mistakes all junior player make I never saw the “glaring weakness” everyone referred to while he was in junior.
Ian, you must have seen an awful lot of PK in those years as well. What’s your take?
GMs don’t draft players. Scouts draft players. They strictly follow a list made by committee prior to the draft. GMs are too busy to follow hundreds of teenagers around the world. They pretty much just watch the big tournaments and rely on the scouting staff.
Sort of.
Ultimately the final decision is the GMs. Hopefully, he is wise enough to listen to the advice of the scouts…
The GM is part of the committee when making the list, but they don’t deviate from the list on draft day. The GM is responsible for ultimately deciding whether to move up or down to select a certain player and ofcourse whatever is involved in the transaction.
Shea Weber was also drafted in the second round. D are much harder to predict than forwards. In almost all drafts, the best defenseman is not the one drafted the highest
i hate saying this but ryder is a turn over machine, hes soft like butter on the puck in all games hes played so far
Ryder is a pending UFA, better than having salary for the next two years.
Blue, blanc et rouge. Red and White for Canada. Blue for Smurfs.
Andrei Markov enjoyed his best offensive season under Guy Carbonneau and therefore Carbonneau is the reason for Markov’s success that year.
The PP that year was lights out.
[Disclaimer]: I’m a hockey fan. I care about the habs, but probably not as much as you.
where are you trying to get someone to take this? Subban?
No. Therrien’s THE REASON for individual performances of our players. Doesn’t matter if they’ve had the skills for ten years or two. It’s all him baby.
Sure overlook my contribution. And as soon as I have done my Pateryn chant over his v-doll, I am sure MT will get all the credit again.
That argument is a bit of a joke. Why is it we can only shit on the coaches and never give them any credit for getting the team, one player at a time, to play better?
Of course, the player’s talents got him to the NHL. A good coach helps a player stay there.
I agree. But with regard to Eller and Subban specifically it’s getting pretty sickening reading posts that attribute their success to Therrien.
Therrien’s done a GREAT job. But to suggest they’re successful because of him is a joke. They’re great tools that he’s using to make the team better.
Depth is the main reason but Therriens accountability holding is better than anyone in recent memory behind the bench. I am a hgue Ryder fan but I was happy to see him benched after that lack of effort on the goal off the wall. His handling of Subban has been great as has the kids handling in general. Subban was palying 5 or 6 dman minutes…but as he has been eliminating more and more unecessary plays his time has been creeping upwards. I was not a fan of his early handling of Eller as I did not see the holes in his game…but he has given him more of a chance with better players than Martin ever did and it is paying dividends.
HE is spreadingthe wealth on the pp and using it as a carrot ….lines/players that are performing end up on the pp….in a sense it is hurting the pp as there is consistent unit but at the same time he has a pretty clear reward system in place which is nice…we were all sick of Gomezs trotting out on the pp time and time again.
No, Eller again. He refuses to give MT any credit in waking Eller up. Just as he’s always ready with the list of excuses when Eller is not playing well.
I was among the first to point out that Eller’s first game of the year was god awful when others were taking up for him. I was also quick to point out that he wasn’t playing particularly well last week.
But you seem to somehow turn that around and suggest I make excuses for him. It isn’t an excuse to not produce offense due to being on a fourth line, it’s a reason.
Erik Cole and Michael Ryder are great examples. 35 goal scorers who can’t score on a fourth line. Wonder why that is?
Prustie is first half MVP. Plays in all situations, always around the puck, fights, great in the corners. I knew this guy was gritty but I did not truly realize how good of a hockey player he is.
“My face is my mask,” Gump Worsley
Yup, Prust deal looking better all the time. Also shows really well how a tough gritty player can influence the rest of his teammates.
Can I come out from under the covers now?
Is the second period over? WOW…. that was brutal.
But knowing the luck of the Habs’ Irish this year, they still manage the two points.
I just got here, having only read a few posts, including Shiram’s astute perception of Eller the Beast.
And I’m positive that the mood is positive.
Why? Because we didn’t lose a game again, to upset the finicky and woeful fans who have their finger firmly sitting on the doomsday button.
Not a great win, but a win nonetheless, and MT was smiling after the game.
That’s a good sign.
And why did they win? Ohhh I dunno….
Maybe a player or two Prusted themselves off and Carey’d them to victory.
Well played sir.
CHeers Bripro, gotta enjoy the good times this team is giving us!
Getting close to having to put the Therrien Avatar on the shelf and pulling out the Prust pic. Problem is, they’re both two of the major reasons Montreal is in first place right now. Tough choice.
The best of both worlds:
Photoshop their faces onto The Creation of Adam.
That is well done Oz!
I was thinking of MT holding Prust as the baby Jesus. Or, MB, MT and RD as the three Kings in the adoration scene at the manger.
Richard R
Price is an oyster. Unfortunately not all oysters produce pearls.
Need some photoshopping magic to get Bishop Brandon in the pic with Pope Michel.
That’s Cardinal Prust. (He plays baseball and football in the off-season.)
Therrien was battling sickness during last night’s game too, a real trooper! Gotta admit he is doing great and changing my opinion of him drastically.
If there is a debate, it should really be DD v. Galchenyuk.
Eller: 6’2” 200lbs, 23 years old, good in the faceoff circle, solid defensively, kills penalties, plays a physical game, 14 points in 22 games – many of which he spent on the 4th line. He’s the perfect 3rd line center, with upside.
Pleks: He’s their best forward, and a centerman.
Galchenyuk: Future 1st line centerman, hopefully.
IMO, DD has played well enough to earn himself a new contract. I think he’ll play in the middle until management thinks Galchenyuk can do a better job. In other words, Galchenyuk has to be ready to play center AND be better than DD (in management’s eyes). I think the contract length will reflect when they think that will be. I’m guessing 2 or 3 years.
Sorry.. just dont see the correlation between Galchenyuk and DD… now or in the future. Galchenyuk’s future with the HABS is assured.. his contract monies and term will depend on how he progresses of course. It will never be an option between DD or Galchenyuk.
he is saying DD and Glaschenyuk are primarily offensive centers