AUDIO: Pierre Gauthier
Canadiens general manager Pierre Gauthier just announced that Josh Gorges will require an operation on his right knee, ending his season.
Gorges joins all-star defenceman Andrei Markov on the long-term injury list. Markov is recovering from his second major knee injury in less than a year.
Gorges was injured on Long Island on Dec. 26 in a game against the Islanders, then placed on injured reserve on New Year’s Eve. He had been the Canadiens’ ironman when he missed the game Dec. 28 in Washington, his streak ending at 150 matches.
Gauthier said he knew surgery seemed inevitable when Gorges’s knee locked on the ice in Long Island. There’s no word yet on where and when he’ll have his surgery, but Gorges will meet the Montreal media at the Canadiens’ practice at the Bell Centre on Friday.
Loading ...
I don’t disagree. But it being a sellers market is advantageous for the Habs, not the other way around. Gorges doesn’t require an elite replacement. The only way this hurts is that Hamrlik will be counted on even more than he was being counted on already.
If the right trade is there, the team will make it. I don’t see them pursuing a big name defenseman for the sake of filling a #5 hole.
…blocked shots, hits, PK percentage, TOI…
Those are not intangibles.
—Hope Springs Eternal—
? Come on Tony, not even you are that thick.
***Subbang!!!***
Why do we have to have him play in order to sign him in the off-season as a UFA? He’s not top flight talent – we could have signed him with or without this trade, or signed someone else of similar caliber.
Jim Rutherford is an old school guy who never makes moves like that. Or at least hasn’t that I can remember.
I’m not even going to consider the first part of what you said, but Wiz is not a rental if he signs with us next year.
—Hope Springs Eternal—
Gorges is out for the season….
And you think this is the best news of the day ?
You do realize MAB is Lightning property now … right ?
And that MAB is pretty much the polar opposite of Gorges ?
I view “tank” as noun more than a verb if I acknowledge the word at all.
I do not advocate actively pursuing to ice the worst team possible in order to garner a lottery pick. If by making logical and long term management decisions the team has a few bad seasons, that is sound management not “tanking”. Sometimes like people, teams have to hit bottom before recovering to past heights of success.
To purposely “tank” is a cheat and not what the Montreal Canadiens would ever do. Playing our young players will give them experience and allow management to properly assess what they have moving forward. It is reasonable to assume a fall in the standings might occur this is to be expected. You might call that actively “tanking”, obviously I beg to differ.
“I don’t like to keep kids like that out of the lineup. They need to play; that’s how they’re going to get better.” Jacques Martin
Gorges isn’t going to go home to Saskatchewan and sulk for the next three months. He’ll be around the team for support. Shot blocking isn’t exactly a science, anybody willing can step in and do that job.
Gorges is probably in my top three favourite players on this roster, but he isn’t irreplaceable and like I said, there won’t be a dramatic rise or fall in the standings with his absence.
Look it’s Mr.Freeze!
May become Gauthier’s greatest acquisition?
The problem is Tom 29 NHL GMs know what MTL needs badly and has a foot on PG’s neck when it comes to getting a deal done. It is a seller’s market for defencemen as far as MTL is concerned right now and the Canadiens can’t let themselves get taken just to make a run at this year’s playoffs but avoid contending in future years because they gave up prospects or good picks.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu. Habs and Hockey.
If i’m carolina and want to put the screws to the team 3 points ahead of me who i’m trying to catch and it will only cost me about $200,000? I would do it.
A top 10 pick is wishful thinking(if you support the tanking deal). I say it’s wishful thinking due to Carey Price and the defensive abilities of our forwards(well, all but Cammalleri).
This team is 10 game over .500 team as is in my mind.
If Price gets hurt(knock on wood). Then you can count on that top 10 pick.
BWAA HA HA.
….Hab4life….
Are Web and Suby going to provide the heart and blocked shots that Georges did.
….Hab4life….
Toronto ? hope not
Fans pay hundreds per seat and you want them to try to lose? What if they’re playing another team in the same position and mindset? Both teams keep shooting the puck into their own nets?
I blame no one for the impending failure due to the D injuries, and am not going to second guess wisdom of moving insurance like O’Byrne, etc. I do think we should avoid further trades and see where we end up. We’ve played very poorly for the last month and adding someone isn’t going to make us a contender. I’d rather take our medicine and pick it up again next year with a reasonable draft pick. It could easily be top 10. I think the Wiesnewski trade was also not worth it for a rental.
Thank god we picked up Brett Festerling… (sarcasm)
If Carle got claimed I would be SHOCKED
WTF!
I just heard the news on TSN. There are intangibles that Georges provided that cannot be replaced.
Here we go, let’s hope Web, Suby and the Wiz can replace Markov, Georges and the Hamr.
….Hab4life….
I think carle is subject to recallable waivers. We risk losing another dman if we do call him up.
MAB, MAB, MAB….yes, yes, yes. C’mon PG throw your 5th rounder at Stevie Wonder and get him to habville, stat!!!!
Shaker
This is their 8th year here. They won exactly one series after the 1st round in all those years.
Ruined no, but certainly not a good job.
I would bet he’s coming to Montreal or going to Toronto.
Time for PK and Weber to shine
Yeah…..With MAB in their lineup last night Tampa would have lost 11-2 instead of 8-1
Right on. MAB would definitely have filled JG’s shutdown PK shoes.
Definitely.
—Hope Springs Eternal—
LOL…I can’t believe I’m actually saying this, I’d let MAB suit up for the Habs right about now. LOL. With what we’ve got in our system on defense that’s ready to play…if Bergereon was still available I’s actually sign him. I might rather see Henry before MAB but it’s close.
Agreed. Hammer will be back soon. So, Picard or Weber can take turns in the press box. It will good for them to fight for the 6th spot. We still have five proven Dmen, even if the Old Czechs are getting a little creeky. They are both +2, playing top minutes against the best in the league.
Silver lining? If Subban and Weber really step it up, this, plus The Wiz, will make our backline a lot more offensively geared than it has been in some time.
Note: If you listened to the audio on Martin today his phrasing hinted that The Wiz was actually a replacement for Gorges = they new this was coming and acted.
Langenbrunner not playing tonight after being ask to lift is no trade ? may be they want Gomez back
They still can and will get him…….this is awesome. And to think I almost handed over my MAB fan club presidency to Hector Bolton down in Tampa……phew, that was close. C’mon MAB #47 is ready to rock.
Best news of the day!
Shaker
I think this is a perfect time to panic.
(puts down pen, pushes out chair, stands up, clears throat, removes shirt, removes pants, folds them neatly, walks to front door, opens it, runs into the street screaming and waving arms, runs over horizon towards sunset)
—Hope Springs Eternal—
The season was never on Gorges’ shoulders. His injury hurts but shouldn’t result in a dramatic rise or fall in the standings.
Unbelievable! Gauthier has no choice now – a major shake-up trade or this season is over.
You guys with your “Let’s Tank” attitude make me laugh.
This site would implode if we go on a 42 game losing streak.
still has another year left,i think.
Like Rafalski?
http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=4438
Does Francis Bouillion come to mind. Completely disagree with you.
See… they should have gotten MAB when they had a chance. The lack of foresight from the management is incredible.
Right on, RJ, they ruined it right to the Conference Finals last year, and top of the division until injuries to key players caught up to us.
Keep on ruining!! They’ll ruin us right to the cup!
—Hope Springs Eternal—
So when I quote you here you’re not advocating they tank?: “With luck we find some gems and a lottery pick at the end of the
season. Why let Edmonton be the only Canadian team to get some star
players?” I just want to be clear on this TX. Yes or no?
***Subbang!!!***
Wisniewski, Subban, Hamerlik, Spacek, Gill, Webber… unless
Subban and Webber all of a sudden show they’re ready for major primetime, the
Habs must make a move or miss the playoffs.
I mean anything is possible but I’ve seen this script
before. Wisniewski just arrives and everything is pinned on his shoulders, the Habs
are scrambling around in their own end, the fans get restless and the team
panics…season over. It’s like a bad dream.
We’ll see what happens though. I don’t advise making some ridicules
move as a band-aid solution to the Gorges problem. If we miss the playoffs we
miss the playoffs. Kinda sucks not watching Habs playoff hockey though.
If Gauthier can make some sweet deal for a tough top six
forward and a steady defenseman without completely damaging the future of this
team than he should go for it. If he is just trying to fill a hole and has to
give up too much than he should pass and let the season ride out.
Tough pill to swallow without Markov & Gorges.
You’ve certainly got to have some nuts to make a comment like that.
Show me the short-lived d-men you mean, and I’ll show you ‘tall’ defenders with equally short careers.
What a boneheaded comment.
—Hope Springs Eternal—
What about Souray – it would cost $$ only / no prospect(s), roster asset(s) or draft pick(s) - ?
His contract ends same time as Hamrlik’s, no ?
ALWAYS Habs -
D Mex
Well that’s just fan-fyckin’-tastic.
Our best and most reliable d-man out.
Sunnuva…
—Hope Springs Eternal—
Like I said before smallish Dmen get injured lots and have shorter careers….Can’t remember Gill ever geting injured in his career unless from a blocked shot.
I think the Wiz trade was partially to address the Gorges issue. This was probably expected but not made official until his knee was further evaluated. I agree not to panic until we have had a chance to assess our D as a hole, which I think they have been doing for the last 1 1/2 to 2 weeks.
It depends on the player and expected return Robert. We have very few left handed defensemen and left wingers in the system but if the plan is to keep Kostitsyn, Pouliot and Pacioretty long term we don’t really have a need there. That fact is magnified by the number of centremen in the system who could move to the wing.
As for defensemen we have in the system. Tinordi, Festerling and Nash are really the only left handers we have who are expected to or have a realistic shot at playing for the Habs. Alexei Yemelin could make the position less of a priority going forward but if nothing changes we’re going to have to add to that position via trade or free agency anyway considering Gorges is the only long term option we have who is NHL caliber today.
Dealing from a position of strength is always a good idea and moving a centreman or two for an NHL defenseman wouldn’t be a bad idea at this point.
Maxwell, Desharnais, Dumont and Fortier are all unfortunately players that very likely won’t be needed and a package involving a couple of those four could land the team a defenseman who could play in a limited if not significant role soon or immediately.
You are probably right on that one. Stuck between a rock and a hard place once again. To be in the middle of the pack in the current NHL is purgatory.
“I don’t like to keep kids like that out of the lineup. They need to play; that’s how they’re going to get better.” Jacques Martin
I am advocating a long term approach to building this franchise. Trading away draft picks for a short term band aid in hopes of playoff dollars, is imprudent.
Do you think this team as constructed and especially with the current injuries is a contender? Tanking like racism, is a misused and inflammatory word, whose main purpose is to end any further discussion on a topic.
I advocate a sober and reasonable long term view of this franchise, that will best result in a real Cup contender at some future time.
“I don’t like to keep kids like that out of the lineup. They need to play; that’s how they’re going to get better.” Jacques Martin
Tough blow to an already fragile team. We could loose a lot of our forwards and never really notice but Georges will be missed big time.
the weakest links on the d-corp so far this season have been spacek, hammer and gorges (obvs cause he was playing hurt and now its costing him his season)but this is good, now we get to see what gauthier is made out of, hopefully some aggresive d men who like nailing bodies to the back boards ^_^
As predictable as grey slush in January…
Too many points in the bank for a lottery pick.
Best we can hope for is a 6th or 7th.
We’ll give up on those prospects too. How many players have been shipped out of here in the past three years? Gainey and now Gauthier have ruined this team.
“My face is my mask,” Gump Worsley
Saying this right now:
I do not want to see a trade to address
the Gorges injury, the team does not have the luxury of dealing more
futures to put a band-aid on a season where True Contender status was
eliminated the second Markov’s knee went. Give Mathieu Carle a look from
HAM, maybe pick a 7-8th D off of waivers but this team is honestly
better off potentially missing the playoffs than giving up more
picks/prospects to try and patch giant holes in their D-core.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu. Habs and Hockey.
First our best DMan and now our best defensive DMan. People are really going to have to step up their game. The next month before the trade deadline will definitely be used to evaluate what we need to do about our defence. Makes it less likely our top priority will be a proven top 6 forward.
So you’re advocating that they tank, is that correct?
***Subbang!!!***
Please PG no panic moves. This was a bubble team with Markov and Gorges.
Let the kids play and find out what we have. With luck we find some gems and a lottery pick at the end of the season. Why let Edmonton be the only Canadian team to get some star players?
“I don’t like to keep kids like that out of the lineup. They need to play; that’s how they’re going to get better.” Jacques Martin
While I’d rather have Gorges than Picard, I’m not that worried. Very glad we have him and that Hammer is hopefully getting a bit of a rest right now.
Gorges was our guy for the penalty kill and just overall one of the best dmen we have. This is a huge blow to our team just like losing Markov was.
Dear PK Subban, here you go bro. You have the skills.
Great…season officially over. Going nowhere with our current d-corps. Thanks alot 2011, starting off well….
“These head movies make my eyes rain” -Simple Jack
I got AK at under 64.5 pts, with Triple X and Tom Nickle.
Oh man. This blows.
To our Steady Eddie, our unsung hero, our iron man: hope you have a full and speedy recovery, we’ll miss you and your heart.
Is that supposed to make it better or worse?
Hamrlik?
- Gomez is holding down the suck button
Gorges and Markov out for the year.
Our D is Gill, Spacek, Subban, Weber, Picard, Wisniewski.
OUCH!!
This is DISASTEROUS news, both for the team and Josh, A great player and a great person.
“My face is my mask,” Gump Worsley
you say he’s one of your favourite players but don’t give him the credit he deserves, his lose is going to hurt, believe it. We have no one in the system to replace him
I don’t think that’s what Trip is saying, Dave. I think he’s saying stand pat take a chance that the team as it is can pull through and if it doesn’t, then build for the future. But don’t panic and damage the long term prospects for short-term gain. A team can be in rebuilding mode, and accept the consequences of that, without consciously losing.
Only 6 days in, there hasn’t been much competition, I guess…
Thankyaverymuch.
—Hope Springs Eternal—
I’m too lazy to research the many examples that could prove you wrong.
Let me know when you get back from left field.
If we lose 4-2 tonight to Pittsburgh, does that make us twice as good as Tampa or half as bad?
Liles was even when O’Byrne got there, all of his points prior to that were on the powerplay. Liles credits O’Byrne with giving him the freedom to get up in the rush, as he knows O’Byrne has the back end.
Even the coach said on NHL radio the other day that O’Byrne was the most underrated defenseman on the team.
I have watched a few Colorado games lately, and O’Byrne is out on every penalty kill and for the starts and ends of every period.
Season officially over. For the love of god please hold on to the assets we have and retool for next year.
Every team eventually has to struggle through major injuries to key and semi-key players. The Habs are no different. Last time I checked, it’s still a team sport.
For most of the season, the Habs have done a good job keepin’ pucks away and out of the net. The former due to a full O-line commitment to the backcheck, the latter Price. If these two key elements regain their schweppesian effervescence, then game on. Add some consistent finish from these same forwards – it’s not like they aren’t gettin’ their chances – and now you’re talkin’.
At least the first two things have to happen for the playoffs to remain on the radar screen. The third if the Habs hope to make a deep run of it. Otherwise, all bets are off.
Based on the timin’ of everythin’, I have to wonder if Gorges played through the pain in order to give PG a bit more leverage when he went after Newsy. Would not surprise me one bit. As for Newsy, my based-on-nothin’-other-than-a-bunch-of-loose-end-speculation hunch is he’s stickin’ around.
Some 30 members of Team Russia and presumably its entourage were denied boardin’ by Delta Airlines yesterday because they were completely and thoroughly trashed. Awesome. Barfarians At The Gate, indeed.
Langenbrunner sucks. Maybe ten years ago. Today, no thanks.
Ugh, i know right?
Don’t be surprised if Kostitsyn goes the other way.
It’s hard not to see it that way.
The other factor is that with Gorges and Markov gone for the year, all three of our older guys will be overplayed and wornout.
If our goal is to win a Cup in a few years, then it would be best to be sellers instead of buyers.
What…? No, it’s not over! There are 4 months left!
I even checked on the NHL website.
—Hope Springs Eternal—
Well that is the worst news. This team just lost some major pieces.
Liles was +6 when O’byrne got there and 4 of Lile’s eleven points were pp’s before O’Byrne got there. But your point is still well taken.
Certainly not for a 26 year old AK46. I can’t stand the guy but at least he has some value for now and the future.
Langenbrunner only makes sense if you can make a run for the Cup.
Totally agree (and the team’s 125th anniversary is still a ways off).
I sense a terrible panic trade coming where we lose a young player for a past his prime veteren..yay
We can only hope. But with the present G&G in control, long term thinking is doubtful. Geoff Molson has a large loan to payoff and playoff dollars are a strong incentive.
Ownership has to be committed to winning the prize.
“I don’t like to keep kids like that out of the lineup. They need to play; that’s how they’re going to get better.” Jacques Martin
Ak46 will not be a hab next year. I am not sure it would be a good trade for JL from NJ but he will be gone either at the trade deadline or in the off season
Gorges was playing on a bum knee for a while and his game just got worse. Now he also goes under the knife.
So now we play with our kids from Hamilton, both up front and on the back end. Bring them all up, and let learn on the job. There are sure a lot of old timers to be replace by next year anyway.
Maybe we should bring up their coach as well.
christ talk about bad luck for Josh…PANIC MOVES ANYONE.
lol
If this were come to fruition, which I doubt, the Devils will be asking for prospect(s)/picks…They won’t be taking salary..
Don’t get me wrong, I like the Wiz alot, but Markie is Markie.
Habs, OLE !
Re: Markov…………Not even close.
Habs, OLE !
Shake n Bake chicken, not that type of…chicken lol!
You are correct, sir. My mind is not what it used to be. O’Byrne was the one at even, but he has caught up to Liles with both of them at plus 10.
I was watching one of the Altitude broadcasts streaming at firstrow.net (the best streaming site by the way, forget about atdhe) an Avs “Unsung Hero” poll with O’Byrne being one of the three choices.
Its definitely turned into a developmental season. Trade Hamrlik and Gill for prospects and run with what we have.
504 Gateway Time-out!!!!!!!
The server didn’t respond in time!!!!!!!!!!!
If they’re sending back more than Langebrunner, like say Salvador or Greene they would be.
Well, this is terrible. Gorges and Markov down we are done.
Let’s play the kids lots, let them make mistakes and learn, teach, practice teach.
At the trade deadline dump the femme forwards and our clapped out D-men for whatever low picks we can get, keep Weber, Wiz, PK of course. Accumulate cap space.
I would also trade Cammi and AK for draft picks or prospects.
Dump Count Chocula and get a coach who is good with young ‘uns, or bring up Boucher… oh crap…
The goods news, Plex, PK, Price, Poo are a couple of years out from their prime. We have Leblanc, Tinardi, Desharnais in the pipeline. Next year let’s pray we get Gorges and Markov back.
We need to be wise and smart and patient. IF we are smart, wise and patient, in 1 or 2 years we will have an excellent team that is fast, strong and balanced.
Not a bunch of clapped out smurfs(tm)
I dont’ blame all the players. I blame management for letting us be so thin, threadbare and soft.
We will overcome this, but we had better not have any delusions and let’s get started.
Big loss, Gorges was solid night in night out but all for not right now, how come that a day to day or an injury measured in days or weeks is almost considered good news in these days of long term injuries becoming the norm, not just the Habs but all over the league. Obviously PG knew this was coming when he started trading for all the Dmen he could gather up.
Only thing left to do now is call Burkie and see if he will give Komisarek back!! …….Wait I take that back, I should, at the very least be beaten with a shovel for even thinking that.
*Hands you a shovel* Go nuts
Huge loss on the D-side. What’s even more bizarre is how all our D’s that are out generally have injured knees that require surgery. What are they DOING to their knees?!
♪Your cares and troubles are gone. There’ll be no more from now on. From now on happy days are here again, the skies above are so clear again. So let’s sing a song of cheer again. Happy times, happy nights, happy days are here again♪
I think there are a lot of people on here who can’t read. The caption says “Gorge’s Season is Over”, not “Habs season is over”. Before people start jumping ship, maybe they should see how this team plays without him. The acquisition of the Wiz was in preparation of this. The team has played well the last 2 games without him. I personally think that Josh was our best defensive DMan, but I’m not giving up on this season and no one else should be.
I know the news is not great, but all along we were saying that we need to see what we have on the farm and how far along or ready these players are, well now is check time. The DD and Weber along with anyone else the Habs may bring up is time for to show what they got.
The habs brass can then determine what they have both on the team and on the farm. This may be a silver lining in the cloud. It will give the Habs many answers to what they may have to do with regards to trades for the rest of the season or the moves they would have to make over off season.
I personally think, the Habs will suck it up and player harder for each other and will create a plesant suprise for us. Main thing is not to panic. Panic only creates bad trades and bad decisions. Let’s all set back and look at the whole the picture to get a better idea of what is next.
To you from failing hands we throw the torch, be yours to hold it high.
PG tradedOB to keep Picard and then JM benches Picard. Hal Gill -8 and about 19 mins per game.Ob , same amount of ice time and a plus 10
Did you just post “choke” & “chicken” in the same phrase ?
Ouch Gorges that hurts.
The Habs were in a fight to make the playoffs with Gorges in the lineup. His loss will only add to the difficulty of reaching the post-season. The question is, does Gauthier trade to avoid missing the playoffs, perhaps at the expense of seasons to follow, or does he accept the fact that this is turning into a star-crossed season and that the focus should be on building for the future.
Getting the Wiz was prudent but only if he continues to play as he has AND he signs a contract. I don’t know how realistic a template that is for rebuilding the club.
The team could benefit from trading some of its underperforming players but their market value isn’t high and the team’s bargaining position has now been weakened.
If the team plays like a wounded animal over the next 10 days, what the heck, start using those AHL players. We’ll find out just how much potential the farm system contains, and if the young players show any spark it will give them an early start on preparing for life in the NHL.
Man the news just keeps getting worse doesn’t it? First our Junior team melts down last night and now arguably our second best d-man is out for the season. I just heard the news on TSN while having supper and I almost choked on my chicken. Why can’t we just have the day-to-day type of injuries instead of these end-of-season ones? This REALLY SUCKS! Better pull up yer socks Habs! GO HABS GO!!!
Damn, 2 D down all season? Not good, not good at all.
The D gets worse in front of Price. We are gunna need to score like maniacs
I think many people are missing the true tragedy in this story: The impact on my pool.
I was forced, FORCED, I tells ya, to pick up Rotislav Klesla to replace Josh. Not a suitable substitute by anyone’s measuring tape.
Woe is me. Sympathy cards, well-wishes, and condolances can be addressed to this forum; cash gifts can be delivered to The Guy At The End Of The Bar at the Verre Bouteille on Mount Royal (corner des Erables). I’m wearing a striped hoodie.
—Hope Springs Eternal—
I almost did that earlier, but my g/f came home.
—Hope Springs Eternal—
i drafted Markov, Derek Roy and Getzlaf…
I didn’t catch that, but it’s pretty funny
O’Byrne is paired with Liles, the 5th leading point getter among D. That has alot to do with it.
Gill plays almost exclusively against the other teams top pairs.
I wouldn’t put so much stock in +/- until you look at the other factors.
that was a major clusterf*** last nite for the juniors.what a horrible and heartbraking way to lose a championship game.first,markie now josh
.2 key members of our dcorps done for the year hopefully they can find a replacement son.
I only ask one thing of G&G. Please don’t trade away any more assets in a vain attempt to take us back to October. Go with the guys we have and let the chips fall where they may.
You have to feel a bit sorry for these two guys seeing that they are going to be UFAs this summer.
Well that was stupid of you…
—Hope Springs Eternal—
It was a major chore to make the playoffs before Gorges went down. Now its a crapshoot. Time to move some old guys and play the youngsters for the rest of the season.
Trading prospects or draft choices for rental players is the wrong way to go. Its time to deal Hamrlik and Gill and prepare for next year.
Langenbruner on the move heard the habs are very intrested, i would love him here some size grit good leadership big improvment over that plug Moen
haha good clip. Try telling that to some people here though.
He’s irreplaceable from within the present system
So, name whose going to replace him from within the system
Oh my, listen people. As much as Josh is a good defenseman., he can be replaced. So I say, who’s coming in and get well Josh, you’re a good trooper.
They Call Me Shane
AARGHHHHHHHHHHHH
A trade needs to happen now, and it’s not the Wiz. They need a top 6 dman because without Gorges for the PK and no Markov…..the D just plain sucks. It’s starting to show big time.
Chris Phillips from Ottawa would be good.
Geez, no wonder he was struggling. Poor guy. See you next year, Josh. I hope….
That is in serious doubt now, along with Markov. Damn it all to hell.
Just heard the news on the team990, let me second that sentiment Teach.
Fiddlesticks!
More than Madonna at the NBA All-Star game after-party.
More than Bill Clinton in the oval office.
That’s how f***ed we are.
Turning into a bit of a lost season eh? We’ve officially entered “just making the playoffs is a success” territory.
Well on the bright side, it should mean that both he and Markov should come a bit cheaper this off-season. Also, might as well take the training wheels off Subban and Eller – let’s see what’s under the hood
You know damn well Martin won’t. He’d rather play as if they actually have a chance. Personally I agree, this season will go nowhere without those warriors on our D so why not give full confidence to the rookies? There’s a good chance they can handle it, seeing as PK did amazing in the Pens series.
I like that THF. There will be more than enough doom and gloom about this news over the coming weeks to drive even a positive fan over the edge. Give the kids a chance because we have no other choice. Could be the best thing that ever happened to PK, Weber and maybe another Bulldog (who?). it will definitely mean another purchase/trade for a good D, likely an experienced but young-ish one (who?). This should add a whole new element of “fun” to this season.
***Subbang!!!***
Let’s tank. Mess up Garth Snow’s plans.
Phuuuuuuuuuuck that sucks…
You know as well as I do that Picard is unfortunately the guy to step in. Bleeeehhhhhhhh
(Gulp) oh…yeah…right (gulp). But like I said this is an opportunity for these young guys.
***Subbang!!!***
Yeah, well, what ya gonna do? That many injuries on D make it pretty difficult to compete in the this league. Besides, we knew going into this season that we were gonna have quite a few decisions to make on D in the off-season. Might as well see if Weber/Wisniewski/Picard/Subban/Festerling/Carle/Nash have the game to play big roles next year.
As it stands now, only Spacek and Subban are signed through next year.
And further along the silver-lined theme…starting next year, there’s only 3 years left on The Contract!
So how long before the Beauchemin trade rumours start?
Oh dear god. Not the tanking talk again.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMk5sMHj58I
I wonder if Cook’s ‘personal reason’ for not playing tonight is ‘Doesn’t Want to Get His A$s Kicked’.
—Hope Springs Eternal—
massive bummer. here’s hoping he recovers well
-”People have to really suffer before they can risk doing what they love.” Chuck Palahniuk
Every time these injuries happen, the “names” are always the players that pop up as trade possibility. Given the struggles of a lot of the aging players these days, I will take a pass.
The Habs are not devoid of guys that can fill in. In Hamrlik, Spacek and Gill, the Habs have three veteran left defenceman that know how to play in the NHL. Wisniewski is an NHL calibre right defenceman, while Subban and Weber are a pair of young right-handed defencemen that are of course a work in progress but who might not be a disaster if paired with a smart veteran told to cover for them. If another injury strikes, the team still has Alexandre Picard, Mathieu Carle, Brendon Nash (who played out 4 years at Cornell in NCAA Division 1 hockey) and Kyle Klubertanz as insurance.
Is it ideal? Of course not. But it is not a disaster. Gorges had not been playing all that well for some time, so it’s not as if the team is breaking up something that was working with the injury.
There is more pressure than ever before on the forwards to carry this team. Given that the team has an expensive veteran core up front, those guys are clearly aware of their responsibilities. Now we will find out whether those big cap hits are worth the investment.
Chris, I like your point but I think you’re taking it too far, which says quite a bit about the degree to which others are taking it in my opinion.
This isn’t doomsday. Gorges is a really nice player, but he’s far from irreplaceable.
hi chris – good to see you.
i think that the last month’s play has basically coincided with the time that gorges has been injured, and we’re about 3-5 games under .500 in that stretch, so i think the “we’re not losing anything we hadn’t already lost” part is right, but that we started losing when we lost it.
holy &%$!….how unlucky can this team get
A shitty day just got shittier.
“Hey Richard, two minutes for looking so good!”
Gauthier is at least keeping his head high on tsn.ca in his video interview…He’s a good GM.
so what’s our D with Hammer out tonight?
spactch – weber
wiz – gill
subban – picard
as much as i like weber and subban and can tolerate picard, none of the three replace either hammer or gorges.
my real worry though is even when hammer is back, wiz, weber and subban are all offensive d-men. Price is going to have to be on his game for the rest of the season.
Bit overly simplistic to pin it solely on Gorges’ injury. No question that is a factor, but so is the returning to Earth of Carey Price, the struggles of P.K. Subban, the struggles of Andrei Kostitsyn and even the struggles of Tomas Plekanec, who has 4 G and 5 A in 16 games since December 1 after starting the season with 8 G and 15 A in 23 games prior to that.
Roman Hamrlik (3 points in 12 games) has struggled of late, as have Jaro Spacek (3 points in his last 16 games) and Jeff Halpern (0 points and -9 rating in his last 11 games after starting with 13 points and +8 rating in his first 21 games). Travis Moen has been a disaster (2 points and -9 rating in his last 21 games). Benoit Pouliot has no points in his last 8 games, Lars Eller has nothing to show for his last 11 games.
Mike Cammalleri has no goals in his last 7 games.
This is a team-wide slump, with the possible exceptions of Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta. The team was able to withstand the early season slumps of those two players because it got good production from Kostitsyn and Plekanec and some timely secondary scoring. Gomez and Gionta fill in for Plekanec and Kostitsyn so the net loss there isn’t all that much, but the secondary scoring has completely dried up and nobody is stepping in to fill the void.
And it’s good to see you again too, Doug. Happy New Year!