VANCOUVER – His exposure to the NHL may be a bit sporadic, but at least Louis Leblanc is picking up frequent-flyer points.
Two days after he was assigned to Hamilton, Leblanc has been recalled from the Canadiens’ AHL farm team.
He will be available for the Saturday evening game against the mighty Canucks at Rogers Arena.
The recall of Leblanc suggests David Desharnais will not be able to play against Vancouver, a theory confirmed by Randy Cunneyworth after the team’s Friday afternoon practice..
Desharnais sustained a lower-body injury in Edmonton and played only five minutes against the Oilers.
Tomas Plekanec moved up to take DD’s spot between Erik Cole and Max Pacioretty. Lars Eller replaced Pleks between Rene Bourque and Ryan White, while Scott Gomez centred Aaron Palushaj and Blake Geoffrion. Leblanc will join Petteri Nokelainen and Brad Staubitz on the fourth line.
Andrei Markov, who was down with the flu in Edmonton, returned to practice but will not face the Canucks.
AUDIO from practice: Tomas Plekanec | Josh Gorges | Carey Price | P.K. Subban I and II | Randy Cunneyworth
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I still think it will take at least a couple of years to evaluate Price vs. Halak. It´s difficult to do because you have to account to an extent for the effect of the team in fron of them. Right now, the only safe thing that can be said is that they are both above average goalies.
But I believe that the habs are a better team with Price and Eller than they are with Halak alone (and I´m not as high on Eller as most here). More importantly, Price and especially Eller still have not reached their peak. So, to me, that trade strengthened the team.
Ouch. This hurts big time on the cap.
http://capgeek.com/buyout_calculator.php?player_id=624&buyout_y=2012&buyout_m=06&buyout_d=15
And if he was bought out at the end of next season…
2013-14: $4,357,143
2014-15: $1,500,000
That’s why he needs to go to the minors, unless there is a penalty free buyout opportunity with the new CBA as some are predicting.
____________________
Keep Hope Alive
Wow. I was just looking at Detroit’s roster again. A few things stand out.
First of all, it’s not really a “wow” roster. Obviously Zetterberg and Datsyuk and Lidstrom are awesome, but after that … lots of grinders.
Second of all, 16 of their 22 regular roster players were drafted by Detroit. Wow.
Third, of their top seven scorers … every one was drafted by Detroit.
It’s how you play the cards you’re dealt, right?
Makes me rethink HH’s all Habs-drafted team below, haha.
Full Breezer 4 Life
There is no cap on Scouts. Throw piles of money at Hakan Andersson. And then develop players in other places before they are expected to step in to Montreal and produce.
Remember when we were touting Chipchura as the next thing? Or Higgins was going to be our capt.? Man… When we finally rid ourselves of Gomez, we’ll gave a whole new problem. Must be the money. (or management)
We?
“A proof is a proof. What kind of a proof? It’s a proof. A proof is
a proof. And when you have a good proof, it’s because it’s proven.” – Jean Crooktien
Chipchura’s potential was aborted by injury, unfortunately. Even so, he was only ever projected as a good third-line centre with leadership potential. And Higgins has talent galore, unfortunately, he squandered it due to lack of discipline.
I’m not arguing with you, by the way, just mulling over the depressing facts of those players’ careers.
Full Breezer 4 Life
March 9, 2009…3 years ago today..stock market hit its bottom…Guy Carbonneau fired as head coach by Bob Gainey.
Memories…
Gainey really screwed up at the end … fired Carbonneau during his first rough stretch … did the whole Gomez thing … sad.
Full Breezer 4 Life
Cole fined for slew-foot;
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=389913
I would have carried an extra body knowing the team was out west playing 3 games in 5 days.But thats just me. You can’t predict injuries but it just seems like common sense to have either an extra forward,extra dman or both when going on a road trip. Especially when it involves going to the west coast.
Molson is watching is dollars. He didn’t want to have to pay for Leblanc’s breakfast, lunch and supper yesterday. He has to save every dollar to pay Gomez.
think there is a limit on call ups going forward , may have something to do with it
I think this falls under an emergency call up due to injury which i believe doesn’t cound against your call up limit.
Perhaps, but calling somebody up as an extra body to have on a west coast road trip would count against the call up limit. I agree with the team’s approach with this one. Let the young players stay and play in Hamilton until they are needed instead of sitting out in case of an injury.
We would not have burned a recall because he was already with the team on tuesday on an emergency recall(with engqvist).He was sent down on wednesday then recalled today. I get the development part of what you are saying but when you are going on a 3 or 4 game trip with only a day off in between games i feel you should have at least one extra body around. What if a couple players came down with the flu on thursday hours before the game?Awful tough to get a player or 2 out there on time. To me its just being prepared for a worst case scenario and its not like something like this hasn’t happened to us numberous times in the past.
For those of you thinking and banking on Molson buying out Gomez and Kaberle at the end of the year, dream on folks. This is real money we are talking about, not Canadian Tire money.
Molson is still paying Carbo, Martin, Pearn, and he will still be paying Gainey and Gauthier when he fires their a$$es. Plus he will need to pay the salary of a new coach and new GM. Molson’s dollars can only go so far, especially without the playoff windfall this year.
So I don’t think he will buy out GOmez and Kaberle and then also spend up to the cap next year. So it looks like we are stuck with both of those anchors on the ice again next year.
Looks like the Canadiens are going to cost him a billion dollars. That is if you also factor in all upcoming the beer sales losses, which are inevitable.
just got back from hooters and i read your post , i dont know which one of us is drunk more , i better roll one to even it up
Why the hell would Montreal buy out Kaberle, when Marek Zidlicky was just traded for Washington’s second round pick in 2012, Nick Palmieri, Stephane Veilleux, Kurtis Foster, and a conditional 3rd round draft pick in 2013?
Canadian tire money has more value than many countries currency. Just pointing that out.
Go! Hockey! Go!
Michael Ryder-Mike Ribeiro-Max Pacioretty
Matt D’Agostini-Tomas Plekanec-Guillaume Latendresse
Sergei Kostitsyn-Mikhail Grabovski-Andrei Kostitsyn
Ryan White-Maxim Lapierre-Chris Higgins
David Desharnais
Ryan McDonagh-P.K. Subban
Alexei Emelin-Andrei Markov
Ryan O’Byrne-Mike Komisarek
Ron Hainsey-Francois Beauchemin
Yannick Weber
Carey Price
Jaroslav Halak
Tomas Vokoun
The only thing good about that lineup is the top 4 D (and what makes you think Markov will be all of a sudden healthy) and the goaltending. The rest is not very good, especially your second line. Plus, this team would be about 40 million over the salary cap and still out of the playoffs.
That team is not 40 million over the cap.
Michael Ryder 3.5M – Mike Ribeiro 5M – Max Pacioretty 1.625M
Matt D’Agostini 1.65M – Tomas Plekanec 5M – Guillaume Latendresse 2.5M
Sergei Kostitsyn 2.5M – Mikhail Grabovski 2.9M – Andrei Kostitsyn 3.25M
Ryan White 0.625M – Maxim Lapierre 1M – Chris Higgins 1.9M
David Desharnais 0.85M
Ryan McDonagh 1.3M – P.K. Subban 0.875M
Alexei Emelin 0.985M – Andrei Markov 5.75M
Ryan O’Byrne 1.8M – Mark Streit 4.1M
Carey Price 2.75M
Jaroslav Halak 3.75M
Tomas Vokoun 1.5M
= 52.76 Million way under
Calculate it, you will see it is.
Plus
Komisarek = 4.5
Hainey = 4.5
Beauchemin = 3.8
Weber = 0.85
Over.
I meant to say your team would be about .40 Million over the cap. LOL
I just did.
who do you think your talking to
Wow, time on your hands, haha!
That team sucks, by the way
Full Breezer 4 Life
you could add wisniewski to the list the player tha the team traded assets for only to not attempt to retain him ala tanguay
Yeah Markov’s coming back Dorothy.
“A proof is a proof. What kind of a proof? It’s a proof. A proof is
a proof. And when you have a good proof, it’s because it’s proven.” – Jean Crooktien
Dorothy? This is an allusion gone terribly awry. Dorothy saw through lies and had the courage to stand up against them. What were you even trying to say here?
Full Breezer 4 Life
I`d squeeze Arron Ashom on that fourth line. Lapps won`t drop the gloves.
That my friend is one hellava lineup ……good researching !….drollin’ now Partner !!!
That lineup would give the Leafs a good battle for the 25th spot.
I think they’d be better than that. Funny that the current team isn’t good enough to battle for 25th.
I agree with you. I think they’d be better, a lot better.
Question marks for me would be Lats (he always seems hurt) and Grabovski playing with the brothers (considering they seem to despise each other).
I’d take a healthy Gionta over Ryder, Lars Eller over Mike Ribeiro, Eric Cole over D’Agostini, Bourque over Latendresse, Moen over Lapierre and Louis Leblanc over Higgins.
Your third line might be good but only one out of every 5 games…
On D, Ryan McDonagh would be great but Gorges is better then O’Byrne, Komisarek, Hainsey or Beauchemin…
In goal, yes in a perfect world keeping both Price and Halak would have been great. But there was only room for one numder one and the habs got it right by keeping Price…
Meez tinks that team is all habs prospects.
Gionta’s a bust. A Smurf who goes 20+ games without scoring and who has become fragile and is more interested in tanning in Florida (but not Edmonton) and the NHL “Let Them Shop” campaign than being a leader.
Good thing we got rid of Halak he says as Jaro glides past Lundquist into 2nd in the league.
“A proof is a proof. What kind of a proof? It’s a proof. A proof is
a proof. And when you have a good proof, it’s because it’s proven.” – Jean Crooktien
You’re such a fraud. When has Gionta gone 20+ games without scoring? When has this occurred?
Haha, brutal. Hey, who’s ahead of Halak by the way?? Oh right, his “backup”.
Full Breezer 4 Life
I like what we’re hearing bout Holland. One thing about Cammy trade: seems to me he’s getting injury proned… trading him mid-game is pretty classless, but it maybe reflects how the management team sees him as damaged goods. That plus shooting his mouth off. So in the end, we get Bourque, a 2nd rounder, and a good prospect in Holland for Cammy etc etc…. I don’t think the guy’s shoulder has healed properly over the last few months since last season. (or whatever upper body injury he may have)
Carlyle on Sportsnet re: benching Luke Schenn: “I think he needs to be more physically challenging”.
Translation: Truculence!!
Thank you, Leafs, for this. Thank you.
Full Breezer 4 Life
How’s that for modern hockey double-speak?
Physically challenging? That’s not even grammatical, nor does it make sense. If you want him to crosscheck and elbow the opposition, and drop the gloves, say so. Don’t mealy-mouth it.
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How about it NHL? No fighting, just hockey?
http://relentlessineptitude.blogspot.com/
The hiring of Randy Carlyle for this version of the LEAFS may be the biggest blunder of Briank Burke’s GM Leafs tenure. Just give it time before it explodes. Pure mismatch of team and coach.
Morgan Ellis looks like a man among boys out there. Big beard, big shot on the powerplay to score a goal, big right hand to bring a Maxime Lapierre-Alex Burrows wannabe back to earth. I’m impressed. I thought he was more of a Brian Engblom type, he’s looking like Guy Lapointe out there.
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How about it NHL? No fighting, just hockey?
http://relentlessineptitude.blogspot.com/
Here I was thinking a bigger but slower Josh Gorges.
Wow, two pretty widely varying opinions…
Much better than I expected.
Full Breezer 4 Life
Let’s call the Guy Lapointe reference hyperbole (def: exaggeration for the sake of emphasis, but not intended to deceive), I’ll ratchet it back down to “he’s looking like a Rod Langway out there, except with an offensive upside.”
How’s that?
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How about it NHL? No fighting, just hockey?
http://relentlessineptitude.blogspot.com/
Rod Langway + offensive upside = … Guy Lapointe, no?
Full Breezer 4 Life
oui
All right, all right!….
Let’s call him a shorter Hal Gill but with the skating stride of a Phil Housley and the offensive vision of a Paul Coffey, augmented with the orneriness of Scott Stevens.
Satisfied?
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How about it NHL? No fighting, just hockey?
http://relentlessineptitude.blogspot.com/
Wow. I JUST found out that the Habs-Canucks game is tomorrow, not tonight. Boy do I feel stupid. Been waiting all day for this.
Full Breezer 4 Life
You sir are obviously a victim of the Time Change this weekend!
Or it could be that week of Saturdays thing
I don’t know if this clip has been posted, so my apologies if it has been. It’s of Viggo Mortensen dedicating his Genie award to the Habs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7c36R9Z9D7I
Why doesn’t Louis Leblanc get some top 6 ice time?? What do we have to lose??
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Jack Edwards is a clam, Bruins are pukes.
Well, as Jaques put it, well, he is a fine player and very dependable in his own end, but we also have to consider our veterans, monsieur Gomez, whose an excellent skater and once was a rookie of the year and won a Stanley Cup in NJ, and is a former 33 goal scorer, we have to turn to our leaders to be leaders and show the young guys the ways it is down right…..BAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Archambault returns after being out with a concussion for 6 weeks and has scored a goal.
Have to say Ellis is looking good tonight. I heard some negative things about him from some fairly reliable Maritime hockey guys, so I am pleasantly surprised!
Full Breezer 4 Life
Could be faster but plays smart IMO.
Yeah, I can see him getting torched by speedier AHL forwards next year, let alone what NHL players could do.
Then again, there have been plenty of successful NHL D-men with suspect foot-speed who get by on positional play. He’s certainly got toughness and skill.
Full Breezer 4 Life
Watching the U of Minnesota. Those Atlantic cod commercials are kinda scary.
So what does Kishel look like?
Going to game tomorrow night!! I get to see them play live once a season, so I’ll definitely be there for warm up… Maybe I’ll get to see our $7.5M man score…….
I’ll take him not doing dick for size coin!
Let’s assume we end up with the first pick. Is it Yakupov, Grigorenko, Forsberg or maybe a defenseman?? If we don’t have the first pick do we go all out for a forward or draft in our postion and take the “best” player available?
Only Timmins knows??
Rather than make a mistake, I’d pick my nose!
Hope Yakupov is not another Samsonov.
Tmmins doesn’t know dick let alone suspect it!
My russian is rusty. Does Nail mean Dick in english?
Forsberg looks more and more intriguing. He’s almost a year younger than guys like Yakupov or Murray: barely makes the cut for draft eligibility. That’s significant at their age. And he’s been playing pro hockey the past two years … looks like a winner. Wish he were a centre, but still …
Full Breezer 4 Life
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Hopefully there is a management team in place that will take this year’s first pick and wrap it up with whatever it takes (maybe a #2 and a prospect or Diaz/Weber) and trade it to Florida for Jonathon Huberdeau. That kid is amazing to watch. And Quebecois to boot, as that seems important to some. I’d take him in a heartbeat rather than gamble on a Russian that may be great for years to come or never play a day in the NHL. Regarding the draft, Bettman will be sure the Habs get their lowest possible pick, therefore picking one spot below their rank assuming they don’t surprise us and pull out of the bottom 5 rankings. /conspiracy theory. Though by the look of things the laffs are trying hard to claim one of those spots.
He’s a special player alright … so why would Florida want to trade a sure thing for the Habs draft pick? Lol, I don’t think Weber or Diaz sweeten that up enough.
They might take the #1 plus a GOOD established player. But at that point the price is too steep. Safer and better to keep the core they’ve got and just go with their own pick!
Full Breezer 4 Life
The first pick will be Yakupov or somebody is asleep at the wheel, and We’d be very very lucky to get him. After that I think you have to take the best player available, invest the time to develop them properly and then keep them or trade them depending on the team needs once they have proven value in the NHL.
____________________
Keep Hope Alive
I’m afraid of Russians…
I’m afraid of American high school defencemen…
I’m afraid of Trevor Timmins…
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Jack Edwards is a clam, Bruins are pukes.
Leading scorers, all-star D, and great drafting records scare you? Seems odd for a fan of hockey.
Hanging your hopes on Louis Leblanc? At least he can go back to Harvard if it doesn’t work out!
Are you READY to RUMBLEEE!!
Bring it on boyo! The Albatros has my back!
Find it to always be a hoot when you do Sybyl! Noticed you did 5 about a week back and that was the first time in awhile. Even funnier when some poor sap gets in the middle
I got banned for some reason. I find it a hoot as well! Especially considering how pathetic this team is.
Who cares what the Habs do? They have become a fart at Oktoberfest! Hardly noticable.
nyuk, nyuk, nyuk…definately no more than a fugitive emission.
Just a passing gas…
Just wanted to comment on the Cammy trade “sucking”..Bourque was just 1 part of the deal..Ramo and the 5th are nothing..The 2nd round pick is good, but nobody is mentioning the the kid by goes by the name of Patrick Holland…This kid is 6th in the WHL in scoring and will not back down from a tussle..Albeit, his ability to fight isn’t where it should be, but he does play with an edge..He has to put on some weight before making the NHL, but he has all the tools…He has put on 8 lbs. of muscle since being drafted..He alone has the ability to win that trade, IMO..
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Yes, I’m a Hab fan..Wanna fight about it?
Posted this last night and the day after he got his signing bonus (believe $90,000). Seems to not take himself too seriously.
Via twitter;
Nine year old Patrick Holland wants to know how many 5cent candies I can now afford. Twenty year old version is also curious.
Patrick Holland keeping it real.
Haha, that’s pretty funny, actually.
Full Breezer 4 Life
Holland was a late-round pick, and it’s not unusual for 3rd-year juniors to put up gaudy numbers that won’t ever translate into NHL ability. Calgary traded him while he was tearing up the WHL, suggesting to me that their internal analysis was that he was not going to pan out into anything big.
So we have to hope they were wrong, which as everyone knows, is extremely possible. It’ll be interesting in Hamilton next year, to say the least.
Full Breezer 4 Life
I watched Patrick Holland play on Wednesday in a game against the Vancouver Giants and Brendan Gallagher. My impressions in the post linked below.
http://relentlessineptitude.blogspot.com/2012/03/vancouver-giants-1-tri-city-americans-2.html
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How about it NHL? No fighting, just hockey?
http://relentlessineptitude.blogspot.com/
So I’m watching the Sarnia, SSM game. Yakapov is invisible so far at the half way mark.
Holy crap Morgan Ellis just handled this Lavoie kid with a couple of right hand bombs
Looked like he was trying to start the lawnmower there. Bournaval looks pretty good as well.
Do you have a link where I could watch the game?
Its on all of the sportsnet channels right now, RIM is up 3-1 though.
Ellis with a one-timer from the point.
Agree. Also watching Tinordi’s Knights against the Storm. Not too much to report other than a 4-0 London lead after 1.
Ellis just needs and assist for the Gordie Howe Hat Trick.
Ha. I just drafted Yakupov in NHL12…. they have him listed as 5’3″.
Just wondering if we’re still considered smurfs?? That seems to have left with Cammy oddly enough.
The Smurf tradition is going strong on the blue line.
You gotta do a roster update. They got him to 5′ 11″ in the latest build. Also I drafted both Yakupov and Grigorenko. Grigorenko took an extra year in junior, but he far outperforms Yakupov… EA sports knows all right?
“Let’s be clear on the facts…”
I’m kind of catching up on the comments on the last thread, and see a lot of bellyaching over players that were lost to other organizations. Guys like Ron Hainsey, Chris Higgins and others lesser lights. I understand the angle that we sometimes traded these guys for essentially nothing, but the argument that we could build a better roster than our current one with these discarded players doesn’t hold up.
We sometimes use a microscope to focus in on the minutiae of our organization’s errors, and fail to understand that every other team has made the same mistakes repeatedly. Living in the Vancouver area, I can observe the average deluded Canucks fan dispassionately, as Jane Goodall observed her tribe of chimps. I can report that they have the same tales of woe of players who the team gave up on and who then blossomed elsewhere, but they also benefited greatly when they were the happy recipients of young players about to blossom into stars.
The Cam Neely-Barry Pederson trade is the classic example of a team trading away a young homegrown talent in return for a current star on the downslope of his career. Mr. Neely had been drafted by the Canucks in 1983 and showed promise, but not quickly enough for the team. They wanted a scoring 1st line center to compete with the Oiler’s Wayne Gretzky, the Jets’ Dale Hawerchuk among others, and thought they couldn’t compete without that building block (sound familiar?). They set their sights on Barry Pederson, a Boston Bruins center and prolific scorer, as well as a Canadiens killer. Mr. Pederson was a B.C. product and had had a couple of rough seasons after a shoulder surgery to remove a tumor from his shoulder had diminished his production. The Canucks thought they’d trade for him when his value was low, and swapped Burnaby-born Cam Neely for him. Of course, the Canucks being the inept organization that they were, were convinced to sweeten the deal for the injured and unproductive Pederson by chipping in a first-round draft pick, who turned out to be Glen Wesley.
Most of you know how this story turned out. Barry Pederson, as productive as he was for a time in Boston, never regained his magic touch in Vancouver. Meanwhile, Cam Neely had a Hall of Fame career and terrorized Montreal fans to an even greater degree than Mr. Pederson. Glen Wesley developed into a mere All-Star, he was obviously a ‘throw-in’ in this deal. To this day, mentioning Cam Neely to a Canucks fan elicits howls of frustration.
What they don’t go on and on about is the Markus Naslund for Alex Stojanov heist they pulled off with Pittsburgh. The Canucks drafted Mr. Stojanov 7th overall in 1991, and hoped he would develop into an even bigger meaner Cam Neely. His claim to fame was his fights with Eric Lindros in the OHL, and a nice scoring touch to go with that. After a couple of seasons in the minors and a shoulder surgery however, they realized that he probably would never develop as expected, and shipped him off to the Pittsburgh Penguins in return for Markus Naslund, who had been drafted 16th overall in ’91 as well. Mr. Naslund had oodles of talent, but a fractious relationship with the Penguins as related to his contract negotiations and ice time. The Penguins lost patience and decided to re-trucculate™ by swapping him for Mr. Stojanov.
The rest is well-known. You never heard from Mr. Stojanov again, but Markus Naslund would go on to be the team captain, set the franchise scoring record, have his jersey retired, and to be considered as maybe the greatest Canuck. Somehow, when Markus Naslund comes up, Vancouver fans don’t focus on how they fleeced the Pittsburgh fans, they just talk about how great he was and how dominant his line with Brendan Morrison and Todd Bertuzzi was.
So when we worry about dealing away the Kostistyn brothers or Matt D’Agostini, let’s keep a sense of proportion. Sure it would have been nice to receive fair value for Mike Ribeiro, but deep down we are probably all glad he’s gone. It would be great if the salary cap hadn’t forced the departures of Sheldon Souray and Marc Streit and James Wisniewski, but that’s the world we live in. The Sharks’ fans are probably looking at highlights of Max Pacioretty’s 30th goal and rueing the Craig Rivet for Josh Gorges and a first-rounder deal. Win some, lose some. Yin yang.
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How about it NHL? No fighting, just hockey?
http://relentlessineptitude.blogspot.com/
Very logical Mr Spock!
And a good post
Lets be clear here …you are happy Ribero is gone and your typing your viewpoint!
I guess you don’t remember his fish flapping faking. Sean Avery was an effective player, but how he goes about it matters too.
Who cares. Folly of youth. He is very good player and the Habs traded him for squat.
I guess every team goes through these things, but that doesn’t make it feel any better when it happens. John Leclair haunted me for years.
Full Breezer 4 Life
That was bad, but I hated the Chris Chelios and Patrick Roy trades even more. I’ll always remember simple, overmatched Réjean Houle crowing at the time that he insisted on Jocelyn Thibault instead of Stéphane Fiset in the deal, as if that really mattered, as if we hadn’t traded away a Hall of Famer and the soul of the team for a garbage bag full of spare parts.
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How about it NHL? No fighting, just hockey?
http://relentlessineptitude.blogspot.com/
Ugh, I just retched a bit … tasted like 1995. Blech. God, and they threw in Mike Keane. Man, I still talk about Kovalenko in therapy.
Full Breezer 4 Life
Bye Bye Grigorenko… WELCOME Galchenyuk
To Buffalo:
2nd overall pick(Grigorenko)
To Edmonton:
9th overall pick(Radek Faksa)
24th overall pick(Tom Wilson)
Gauthier-Leduc
To Winnipeg:
Sam Gagner
32nd overall pick(Frk or Sissons)
Brandon Davison
To Edmonton:
13th overall pick(Griffin Reinhart)
Oilers come out of the draft with Faksa, Reinhart, and Wilson.
Future Edmonton Oilers:
Hall-Nugent Hopkins-Eberle
Paajarvi-Faksa-Hemsky
Wilson-Pitlick-Omark
Hartikainen-Lander-Jones
Ewanyk
Reinhart-Petry
Smid-Klefbom
Marincin-Musil
Gernat/Blain/Gauthier Leduc
Fair? What would the Oilers have to add
Go HABS GO
Morgan Ellis and the Shawinigan Cataracts playing on sportsnets right now…. He’s number 4 in yellow.
And Bournival wears 78 in yellow.
Watching Morgan Ellis tonight on Sportsnet as his Cataractes play against Rimouski.
Are we still bashing Gauthier? That’s so 4 hours ago…
“Let’s be clear on the facts…”
Haha, some people still bash Carbo. Not to mention Houle and Tremblay. We’ll be bashing Gauthier until the Gazette pulls the plug on the site.
Full Breezer 4 Life
Just checking.
“Let’s be clear on the facts…”
@24cups.
Saying I can’t even tie the skates of a guy in an argument who thinks Kaberle is a bad hockey player is easily one of the daftest things I’ve heard in a long time.
4 GMs in the last 5 years thought him good enough to sign. One of them won a Stanley cup.
Bruins paid a first round draft pick and a 2nd round for his services as a rental. So clearly by LOPAZ standards the GM should be fired.
The genius who hired Kirk Muller gave him a big contract. So their GM, fired.
But of course, ED LOPAZ is correct and these professionals are wrong. When was the last time Lopaz won a Stanley CUP?????
Posters have become so jaded in here, they actually start to think they might actually be a better judge of NHL talent than those who currently get paid for it. Especially when they get to look back and judge afterwards.
Actually Ed scouts elite midget and junior players for some time, so believe that is 24cups point.
And a valid point it is. Ed reads kaberle correctly, regardless of PP percentages.
Saying “he stinks” isn’t much of a read. The guy’s played over 900 games in the best league in the world and put up 560 points and counting.
Kaberle should play third-pairing even-strength minutes against 3rd/4th lines, and pull a lot of power-play duty. Use him right, and you get your power-play working decently, and he doesn’t hurt you defensively.
Full Breezer 4 Life
And when do you go back to work?
560 points in 900 games is a Vncouverhab-Gomez argument. Kaberle might have been a good player a while ago. He is not today.
I don’t believe that a team should carry a defenseman that is so awful in his own zone that he can only play small minutes against bottom 6 forwards – and preferably with a good partner. I strongly believe that the habs had no room for this type of player.
I have already outlined why I think kaberle is awful. I’m sure Ed, were be so inclined, could do the same.
^^I don’t even know what day it is right now, haha! It’s been a week of Saturdays.
Oh, and Twilight, every team has players with strengths and weaknesses. The Rangers don’t have six flawless D-men. Their minutes get managed effectively, that’s all.
Full Breezer 4 Life
Then he doesn’t do it well, cause to say a player of Kaberle calibre is awful, is not a very good assessment. His assessment of Kaberle is off, hopefully he does an more unbiased job on the midget and junior players.
Lotsa crapping on Kaberle during his time with Boston but what people forget was Kaberle led The Bruins defencemen in scoring during the playoffs take away Kaberle’s points Boston does not/may not get through a series or two since three went seven games and no Stanley Cup……..
The Kaberle move was horrific. It was ineptitude personified. The jury is still out on Markov. If he comes back as good as he was it might be considered a good move. If he is worse or doesn’t come back at all it will be deemed a failure.
Look at Gauthier’s record. He has never been a good GM. Ever. He isn’t a good one now. I doubt he will be in the future.
As for the power play, there are other factors involved but I don’t see Kaberle as being that critical in the improved numbers. The Habs PP was always best when there was a booming shot from the point. Think of Souray, Streit, Schneider, MAB and Wisneiwski.
Markov was not the PP either. Those booming shots were.
As for Halak-Price or Wisniewski-Markov, the jury is still out on what were the better moves. One thing for certain. The Habs acted like classless clowns letting Halak go and didn’t fair much better with regards to Wisniewski.
Signing Markov was a huge gamble. Up to now it is looking like it was a major miscalculation.
disagree about the booming shot theory. many teams have big booming shooters and yet there power play is average or below average. all those years that we interchanged big booming shots from the point there was one constant – kovalev. the ability to control the half boards and allow an unobstructed shot was the difference. love him or hate him, our power play benefitted from him.
Whoa. Check your stats, cowboy. In Markov’s full seasons, Souray was the only d-man to score more powerplay goals than Markov. 2008-09 Markov 7PowerPlayG, Scheneider (ATL and MTL) 6PPG 2007-08 Markov 10 PPG, Streit 7PPG
2006-07 Souray 19PPG, Markov 5PPG
2005-06 Souray 7PPG, Markov 6PPG
In 2009-10 MAB had 7PPG in 60 games while Markov had 4PPG in 45 games.
Not only that but Markov had 32 PowerPlayAssists in 08-09, 22PPA in 07-08, 27PPA in 06-07 and 18PPA in 05-06. Only Souray in 06-07 (29PPA) and Streit in 07-08 (27PPA) had better and not consistently. IMO Markov was the powerplay quarterback.
Markov may have been the quarterback, but I think he got lots of those points on the PP because of how other teams defended a booming shot. It leaves open ice for others when facing such a threat. Stats aren’t everything.
we have a booming shot in subban put him on the ice with weber it will create even more space for subban as teams will be forced to respect to shooters
LOL, did he actually say that? Wow, it does get childish in here sometimes … next we’ll be hearing about whose dad could beat up whose.
This place is great and I love the debates … that’s what sports fans like to do, right? Adolescent insults just bring everything down.
Oh, and Joey, I was talking to an NHL scout the other day, and he said basically the same thing as you: he added that it’s the coach’s responsibility to see that players are used to their strengths.
Full Breezer 4 Life
Full disclosure bill: Joey did offer to “dumb it down” for Ed. You think there was some hostility or adolescence in that statement?
It was condescending, and I would certainly hope he doesn’t do it again
Full Breezer 4 Life
This is an excellent point that made me laugh. You got me there. I think it was both hostility and adolescence.
this is my favorite comment.
please, i am a stone’s throw from Vancouver (ferry trip)…..if they practice in Rogers Arena and i can’t get in…where do they stay in Vancouver and/or where do they party after the game on Saturday night? anybody know the goods?
beaverislandguy, that is vaguely stalkerish/creepy.
———————————
How about it NHL? No fighting, just hockey?
http://relentlessineptitude.blogspot.com/
ok someone explain to me how LL or anyone from the bulldog gets paid when coming up to the habs. I mean one day he is up , the next day he is down, a week after he is up, a week later he is down. Does LL get NHL pay for each game up? how much does that work out to per NHL game pay ? Or does he get a weeks worth of NHL pay then a weeks worth of bulldogs pay when sent down then when he’s called up for a couple of games he gets another weeks worth of NHL Pay lol
Its a daily prorate. For the days he is called up to the Habs he gets those days paid at 900K per season. For every day he gets sent to Hamilton he makes 67.5k per season. Also this is based on NHL season days.
Same as what Joey said. This year it is 185 days and there are 29 left. According to Capgeek, Leblancs daily rate is $6324.
WTF is going on???????????? I am detecting a groundswell to keep PG. PLease Please for the love of GOD bring this nightmare to an end!
OK! I am gonna cry uncle! PG was our BEST GM in the last 10 yrs. Now lets give him a god watch and retire him.
Please I cant think of 2012-2013 with PG at teh helm.
Jameson, none of us here have a vote and I don’t believe our opinion will affect Geoff Molson’s final decision.
Now despite my arguments, I do not wish to see PG as our GM next season.
In my opinion the fact that he fired an experienced coach with no real backup plan is the reason he should be fired. He put in an inexperienced coach only a few months after we lost Kirk Muller to an AHL team. We should have fired JM in the off season and promoted Muller, or let Muller coach Hamilton the same way Carolina did.
Worst case he should have kept JM till the end of this season.
Makes no sense bringing in the guy’s assistant with no experience and actually expect better results.
That, and that alone is why he should be fired.
Let’s simplify the Gauthier analysis with the old “proof is in the pudding” approach. He took over a team that had been to the playoffs for several seasons in a row and that had done relatively well during the season. Two years into his reign, the team is in a race for last place in the league. Enough said.
The problem with incompetent administrators at any level is that by the time you figure out you’ve made a mistake in hiring them, it’s too late and the damage is done. With the loss of revenue this has already cost the Canadiens, I’m not sure Molson will gamble on losing out on the playoffs several seasons in a row.
It really is mind-boggling and defies logic. I can’t believe how delusional these Gauthier apologists can be. Well, I am happy for them with respect to the obvious lower stress level which must permeate their lives. Having such a low standard of acceptability for performance must contribute to a somewhat tranquil life experience. That said, I do empathize with fellow sane Hab fans who would have to continue to support this currently broken team if the Goat stays on.
Slow down, cowboy. If the next side-of-the-page poll is “should PG be fired at the end of teh season, I’m guessing you’ll see 90-95% vote YES. But the fact is that he has done some things right and some things wrong. If, in one person’s opinion, he’s done 5 minor things right and 1 major thing wrong, it’s not incorrect to point out that he’s done more right things than wrong things and still want him fired. IMO the discussion is not about should he be fired. It’s about what has he done right and what has he done wrong.
I agree, he has done some things right, and yeah, I probably should rein it in a bit. I guess, from my vantage point the things that he ‘s done wrong have been more impactful than the things he has done right.
Don’t care if he stays or goes. All I want to know from you who are adamant on letting him go, is who is the reasonable replacement. If you come up with ridiculous names then leave it alone.
@Bill on Gautier.
1) I also agree with the Markov signing. Seemed to be ready to come back, the teams most accomplished home grown player, good signing, bad luck.
2) Cole, great move, or addition.
3) Gorges signing was great.
4) Price decision, I’m happy.
Now, my issues with Gautier.
1) The change from Koivu Kovalev to Gionta Gomez. FAIL.
2) If injuries were the main factor this year, JM was fired unjustly.
3) Overestimated the Defense of the team. Signed Campoli. mistake.
4) Desperation move to get Kaberle, a panic move to “save the season.” FAIL. However, I don’t think Kaberle is as bad as people make him out to be, I don’t think he is a great fit with this club.
5) Cammalerri trade. Panic move. Fail. Look what Jeff Carter brought back, Gautier did not get an ample return.
6) He has done a shitty job supporting RC (who should be fired)
Re: your issues
1) not so upset about this. Kovalev is out of the league and koivu nearly so. You cant stick with the players who rolled over so easily in 2009. Obviously gomer and gionta weren’t the right replacements but that doesn’t meaning keep K,K
2) fair enough. But JM’s handling of the players and ice time was curious at best.
3) yep.
4) he is exactly as bad as some of us make him out to be, and his salary is egregious for what he brings.
5) cammalleri is exactly as what he appears to be. A one-dimensional, streaky scorer. Carter may once again be good or return to form. I doubt cammalleri ever will. And a poison in the room? Perhaps, with gusts to likely.
6) yep and yep.
You make good points, except I don’t blame the Koivu/Kovalev to Gomez/Gionta/Cammalleri shift on him. That was Gainey all the way.
True, JM probably was not to blame. That is REALLY hard for me to admit. But from that experience of wrongness I take away the lesson that it’s simplistic to blame everything on one person in an organization of 22 players, a bunch of coaches, and a gaggle of staff. So maybe JM WAS unjustly canned, and that would indeed be on Gauthier.
Campoli wasn’t a good acquisition, indeed, but I don’t anyone could’ve known he’d be that bad. Also, as a cheap, stop-gap D replacement, I don’t know what else was out there. Mara?
I just disagree about Kaberle. In the right role, he’s a useful player.
Cammalleri trade has sucked so far … but Bourque might turn it around, and he did get a good pick out of it, and we’re saving cap space. And no-one thinks Cammalleri is as good as Carter, so …
He totally failed RC. Completely agree. Should’ve supported him, didn’t, and I’m sure it sent a bad message to the team.
Full Breezer 4 Life
Pros:
1.) Agree on the Markov signing … bad luck on a gamble that had to be taken.
2.) Cole is gold.
3.) Disagree, see below.
4.) Price is right, agreed,
Cons:
1.) Wasn’t this on Gainey’s watch?
2.) Martin should have been replaced BEFORE the season started.
3.) Campoli was another “oh, look, it’s shiny” signing when a big, plodding stay at home guy would have sufficed. However, having signed him, I cannot understand why Campoli hasn’t been experimented on at wing.
4.)Kaberle for Spacek is a GF for GA wash but his contract is why Goat gets an F for this one.
5.) We got robbed for Cammy unless we can find a coach that can motivate Borque.
6.) He is not the face of the franchise that Habs fans require, for sure.
Gorges should have been signed earlier for less. His status with the team should never have been in doubt.
@ed lopez.
Ed you spend a lot of time following the players in the Q. What is your take on Grigorenko?
grigorenko has skill that is off the charts!!
he controls the game, controls the puck, makes everyone play at his pace, its a remarkable and unique talent.
he creates offence from situations that look harmless, and he finishes like a player ready for the NHL.
he is a man playing with boys this year – in a class by himself.
his character has been questioned, and I am not in a position to judge a players character.
Is he your first choice, Ed?
my first choice from Quebec – but Yakupov plays in Sarnia and I have only seen him twice.
apparently, Yakupov is better.
Thanks, I have seen him play twice and neither have been impressive. Good but not dominate, in fact your boy Duclair was much more dominate in one of them (noticed he has 30 goals now).
duclair is like Taylor Hall, straight lines, direct hockey, 3 zones, complete player!!
Is Markov ready to return?
In the tradition of Yannick Weber, he hobbled Emelin with a shot off the ankle today in practice.
practice in vancouver? you lucky fellow
If not already posted Ellis and Bournival on the Sportsnet CHL game tonight at 7pm.
Now doesn’t it feel better to win then to lose!!
No offense to HH and the Tank brigade but nothing sucks worse then sucking
Sucking sucks arse. But at least maybe suckitude will bring eventual goodness.
I disagree. Sucking is bad but being mediocre over 2 decades is no consolation prize. This is short term pain with the potential for long term gain versus long term pain with no potential for short term gain.
The Habs wouldn’t need to tank if they hadn’t squandered so many assets in the past. This season is karma.
The reason Pierre Gauthier should be fired is that he should have never been hired.
The Senators were last place in their division for the first few years that Gauthier was GM. It was only when Martin started coaching them that they improved. But we all know their play-off record under Martin.
Gauthier then went on to be GM of the Ducks. They missed the play-offs each of the 3 years he was there. Once he left they made it to the Finals losing to the Devils.
Now he has presided over the worst Habs team since the 1940′s.
I hope Gauthier stays on. It will mean another high draft pick. The whoever comes in to clean up the mess will immediately reap the benefits of this idiots ability to Tank a team.
Don’t get me wrong. I hate Gauthier. I just like that he will bring the Habs a few awesome draft picks due to his ineptitude.
The reason he should be fired is that he should never have been hired? That’s like saying the reason you should die is that you should never have been born. It makes no sense.
What he did with other teams is not relevant to me. Scott Gomez was a good player for two other teams. Meaningless.
He’s “presided over the worst Habs team” in decades: yes, in this one, specific, injury-plagued season … tell me what he should have done to prevent those injuries, I guess?
Full Breezer 4 Life
Bill are you for keeping PG then? Just so I am clear. And if you are please give me permission to call you on it, in not so nice words, if we keep PG in 2012-2013 and he does as bad a job. You have my permission to call me on it if PG turns out to be a good GM, if he is kept.
Wow, no-one ever asked for permission to call me on anything before, haha.
I don’t care if they keep him or not, except I would prefer a more stable organization. I just don’t think there’s anything he could’ve done to save this freakish season, and I have a hard time dealing with the shallow, knee-jerk vitriole that gets thrown around here about it.
But I WILL say that I think he’s made mostly good decisions. I love how he’s set the Habs up with tons of draft picks this year and next, and if he is kept on – and if the Habs don’t lead the league in injuries again – the Habs will be much better next year. And yeah, you can call me on it!
Full Breezer 4 Life
So you are saying that you like the Spacek for Kaberle trade?
Actually I do. Spacek was a goner, and Carolina couldn’t even get a draft pick for him. The Habs can keep Kaberle and use him right, or they can trade him for an asset. Either way, they have something instead of nothing. Which I like.
Full Breezer 4 Life
I dont remember back when the habs didnt have injury troubles. Someone has to be responsible for the lack of resistance of the players. Also the supporting cast (depth) is seemingly never good enough and are often the ones that get the blame. But I say it is the core that is weak and is failing to carry the supporting cast. Not saying the supporting cast gets absolved, but that the core is not near pulling its weight.
[Disclaimer]: I’m a hockey fan. I care about the habs, but probably not as much as you.
Well, I can remember when the Habs weren’t first in the league in Man Games Lost. And I remember that the last time they were was also the last time they missed the playoffs. The year they finished first in the East? Almost no injuries. But I’m sure that you and Ed and HH are all correct and that is just a big coincidence.
Gauthier’s “core” moves are actually his best: keeping Price over Halak, locking down Gorges, and adding Cole. If Markov comes back healthy next year, that’s another good core move. He’s also piled up draft picks to add to the core in the future.
I don’t blame him for Gomez, Gionta, and Cammalleri: that’s Gainey’s core, and it sucked.
Full Breezer 4 Life
For sure it was due to not many games lost, the other massive help was the PP was clicking at and over 30% for the whole year almost…Its never just one thing responsible. I lump Gainey and Gauthier together, I think its been a tagteam GM affair.
[Disclaimer]: I’m a hockey fan. I care about the habs, but probably not as much as you.
Then I guess we agree, because all I’m saying is that this terrible season is not all Gauthier’s fault!
Full Breezer 4 Life
This year Mtl is second in man-games lost to injury.
Last season Mtl was 17th .
In 2010, MTL was 9th.
In 2009, Mtl was 21st
In 2008, Mtl was 28th.
All of these numbers are unofficial but James Mirtle’s stats seem the most likely to accurate.
Bill now you are just sounding like a kid. My statement is logical. He should be fired because he is incompetent. He should never have been hired because he is incompetent.
To say that he should be fired because he never should have been hired is just that.
Haha, well I do like to keep in touch with my inner child.
No, if you’d said he should be fired because he’s incompetent and should never have been hired for the same reason, that I would’ve understood.
Full Breezer 4 Life
@ ed lopaz
You are clearly a pick and choose stat kind of person. Well you are correct then cause I don’t speak stupid and cannot reason with the ridiculous. By your reasoning obviously MaxPac is the worst PP player in the entire league cause he has almost no PP goals. Maybe if MaxPac could score we wouldn’t suck so much on the PP. Including the teams stats without KABERLE in the stats with Kaberle does not give you a correct number. Its a misleading and erroneous stat. Its like you saying Bob Gainey was an excellent GM because his team ended up in the Conf finals and won the East. But it doesn’t tell the whole story does it?
We had a HUGE increase in PP goals since Kaberle has joined this team. He also would be on pace for 47 points for Defencemen if he had of played all his games with the Habs. So by those numbers he would currently be 10 in the NHL for Defensive scoring. So a top 10 Dman was brought in by Gauthier for an old spacek. GENIUS.
@joey.
kaberle stinks.
By the way, when someone says the PP was at 11% before and 19% with, it doesn’t mean that Nhl.com can skew their stats like you do and only include with Kaberle. So I’ll dumb it down a bit.
12% is 30th in the league.
19% is top ten in the league.
With Kaberle on the PP the whole season we would have 10 extra PP goals. 4th in the league for PP goals. And with an extra 10 goals we would be 6th in the East in GF.
Dude. Kaberle is awful. He is useless. The sooner he is gone the better. Unless of course the Habs want more lottery picks.
That trade was idiotic. People who support that move would support the Habs trading Price for Twinkie LePew. Basically your average mindless and blind adherent.
Sometimes I wonder if the Habs are a hockey team or a religious organization.
The Spacek for Kaberle trade was win for the Canadiens.
“Patch the holes, ride it out, Play for 2015″
- Sean Bonjovi
Trading a great player like Price for “Twinkie LePew” ( I assume you mean a bad player) is not like trading a washed-up UFA for a useful PP specialist. It’s not even remotely the same thing. How can you compare the value or worth of Price to that of Spacek? But I’m mindless, right.
Full Breezer 4 Life
Some people just refuse to see the truth Hardhabits. Maybe he was one of the posters who kept assuring us that it was only ‘pre-season’ when we came out of the gate looking as disorganized as a kindergarten xmas play.
But remember the phone was ringing off the hook for Spats at trade deadline..a 2nd rounder I think
joey, please do not dumb it down for me.
we were 28th in the league before kaberle and 26th today.
its very simple, and real.
We were at 12% the day of the trade, by the way.
And we hit 19% last night, and we have scored several PP goals the past 2 weeks when everyone, including you, knew that the season was over and done with.
I can read the numbers, and they are 28th and 26th.
after 40 years of following this game, I do not need you or anyone else dumbing anything down for me.
your hypothetical is B.S by the way. – taking Kaberles numbers and STRETCHING them out over an 82 game schedule needs a strong dose of reality to make it come true.
that is not a statistic.
that is a hypothetical based on assuming all other factors, every player, every team, every situation, remains exactly the same.
Kaberle stinks.
.
Right on bro!! Tell it like it is. Keep it real. School these suckas.
I agree. Kaberle stinks.
[Disclaimer]: I’m a hockey fan. I care about the habs, but probably not as much as you.
So basically what you are saying is that YOU can take the numbers from the ENTIRE season including the ones WITHOUT Kaberle and attribute them TO THIS PLAYER WHO WAS NOT ON THIS TEAM at the time.
But I can’t take the same formula for estimating this same players points if he was to have played the entire season with us.
In that case my friend, YES, you absolutely need me to dumb it down for you.
You are misleadingly and incorrectly counting numbers from when a player was on another team. You are using those numbers to show this players production on our team.
Please explain to me why your statistic is realistic when it does not exclude the games Kaberle spent as a Carolina Hurricane. And my statistic of using his exact production in the time he has spent on our team is Hypothetical.
Guess what? Halak has yet to save a single goal for the San Jose Sharks this season. Man does he ever suck on that team.
PK was on those PP and is improve shot part of the increase
ed,
the issue with your calculations, is that we cannot hold kaberle responsible for our 12% PP efficiency prior to his arrival… The fact that we are still 26th with a 15.3% efficiency, is that we SUCKED before kaberle..
What we can credit him with is:
improving the PP efficiency by 7%, all the way up to 19% (a top 10 efficiency).
putting up high general offensive numbers. Scoring at a RATE that, if sustained, would see him amass 47 points over the course of a full-length season with us.. Not bad production for a defenseman on a 28th place team.
Kaberle may stink, indeed, but that would be a function of defense related issues, not PP.
It dawns on me that maybe you think that we are currently at 19% as a team for the whole season. WE ARE NOT. We are currently at 15.2% on the PP for the entire season.
If we only count the games Kaberle has played with us, we would be at 19%. This would place us in between 10th and 6th place.
You understand this team is not currently at 19% for the entire season… See they HAVE to include all the games. And our PP before Kaberle was awful. Now its pretty good.
James Wisneiwski was our second highest scorer last season. But he was still a -14 on the year. Does that mean he is WORSE than Kaberle???
No, because he accumulated (got) most of those minus numbers playing for the New York Islanders.
He committed at least two giveaways last night and one cost his team a goal. Shot the puck up the middle. Is he or is he not a veteran DMan?
Sure didn’t look like it.
Richard R
joeybarrie – I never get into sword fights on HI/O but when you call out a guy like Ed Lopaz I just have to laugh. You couldn’t even tie up his skates yet alone go head to head with him in a hockey debate.
Except for the fact that a 10 year old knows not to include numbers that a player spent on another team in with the players numbers on this team.
So wow, our PK has really gone down in the last few weeks. Gill has really been sucking it up lately hasn’t he.
I also don’t understand how we have been losing games lately, I mean AK is doing so well, 4 points in 5 games and Cammi having 8 points in 11 games. I’m surprised to see how little all this extra scoring is affecting our overall point total.
You know, Joey, it might just be that a player’s impact on the team reaches further than just PP point totals.
It absolutely does. However there are offensive D players and defensive D players. Kaberle is an offensive D player. We have been judging him for his shut down style. He doesn’t have one.
Offensively one of our top performers. If we had a decent partner for him, it would be great.
Gill was one of our most important players. But offensively terrible. But on the PK. A guy who can really help you win a Cup.
Rather than talk about Gauthier, lets talk about something less divisive: Has anyone noticed how Halak and the blues are on fire lately?
[Disclaimer]: I’m a hockey fan. I care about the habs, but probably not as much as you.
Best team in the league right now.
Its interesting to see in that stacked Central division, that Nashville is the better away team so far.
[Disclaimer]: I’m a hockey fan. I care about the habs, but probably not as much as you.
With an outside chance that Radulov may join the team…..
Halak has gone .938/1.59 since Hitchcock took over. Having Perron and McDonald back in the line-up sure doesn’t hurt.
Two of St Louis, Detroit and Nashville will play each other in the first round. Somebody is going to be very unhappy two weeks later.
That is very unfair that one of either No4 or 5 team has to leave, it could be a cup final otherwise, at least a conference final anyway.
[Disclaimer]: I’m a hockey fan. I care about the habs, but probably not as much as you.
david perron is a fantastic hockey player with an even better story.
he was drafted as a 19 year old.
his first year of midget hockey he played midget B.
because he was cut from all of the double letter teams by coaches who thought he was a terrible kid who was uncoachable.
http://www.tradingmart.net/Chroniques-Articles/davidPerron_ascension_indesirable.htm
The guy that wrote mentions that Gainey made the monumental error of drafting Pacioretty over Perron…I wonder about that story, maybe Perron was an intolerable douchebag. I know a player like that, very talented, difficult parents, coaches keep quitting etc…Its why I always say bring hockey to the schools and may the coaches be paid.
[Disclaimer]: I’m a hockey fan. I care about the habs, but probably not as much as you.
I agree about bringing hockey to schools and paying the coaches.
disagree with the author about drafting Max Pac, obviously, he is the real deal. max is a great hockey player!!
The story is quite real.
Perron was tough kid who rejected authority.
He made some enemies along the way.
I have watched him play several games on TV.
He plays like Giroux, Stamkos, Seguin, and of course Crosby, who is at a level of his own.
These guys bring top NHL talent, vision, stickhanding, and decision making at tremendous speeds all over the ice.
Their speed alone makes them very difficult to defend.
But then all of the other qualities kick in and that makes them unstoppable.
these guys are particularly susceptible to concussions from open ice hits.;
because they carry the puck so often, and with such speed, in the open ice areas.
It’s the guaranteed 1-2-3 seeding for the division winners. Often time the team that gets the 3rd spot would normally be 6th-8th.
It raises an interesting question, why does the NHL, and most professional leagues for that matter, do it that way? I understand that they want a representative from each division, by why should a crappy team from a crappy division get home ice advantage over a better team? Would it not be possible to have them make the playoffs in whatever seed their record would dictate. If they would have finished 10th, then they’re seeded at 8, but other wise, they just fit in where their numbers dictate.
Maybe it has something to do with the unbalanced schedule? Does anyone know?
I haven’t crunched the numbers yet but I think that might get even worse if the proposed re-alignment and new playoff formula gets done
EDIT – Yup Buffalo (70 pts) would be in and Washington (72 pts) would be out. In the west one of Los Angeles (74) or Colorado (74) would be in while Chicago (79) would be out.
With unbalanced schedules, it’s hard to compare records from different divisions. Last year, the Canucks feasted on the Avalanche, Wild, Flames and Oilers and inflated their point totals. Meanwhile, the Sharks were beating their brains out against the Kings, Ducks, Stars, and Coyotes. The second best team in the Northwest, the Flames, had fewer points (94) than the lowest team in the Pacific, the Stars (95).
Since the Canucks play so many of their games against weak sisters, is their 117 point total really indicate that they are better than the Sharks, who played so many games in their tough division and ended up with 105? The unbalanced schedules preclude direct comparisons of records in some cases, so the decision is to award the team that battles out of its division with the top record a top seeding. When you know this ahead of time at the start of the season, it doesn’t constitute an unfair situation. You know what you have to do, win your division for a top seed, or else take your chances.
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How about it NHL? No fighting, just hockey?
http://relentlessineptitude.blogspot.com/
As much as I don’t like Gauthier as a figure head for the organisation – his attitude, secrecy and personnel handling – I don’t think the deals he’s made have made the season the disaster it has been.
Most people here seem to agree that the Habs have a potentially REALLY good core group of players who have been let down by coaching deficiencies and poor decisions at the key times. Note 3rd period collapses.
Much of that can be laid on Gauthiers shoulders in terms of how he has handled the coaching situation; sticking by a coach who’s system was inflexible and by throwing his replacement under the bus by labeling him ‘a mistake’.
Does that mean he hasn’t provided the horses to get the job done?
I don’t think so.
A healthy roster next year, a good NHL ready draft and another solid Dman along with a coach who is flexible enough to play to the strengths of his team (the horses provided) and we’re back in the game.
That’s the way I see it through my gloriously rose tinted glasses.
No answers, just opinions. Bite me. Och.
He provided some of the horses – Cole, Emelin – but not enough. Even if Markov had been able to start the season, our defence would not have been good enough. He also did not put together an effective fourth line, so our fourth line for most of the season has consisted basically of spare parts. I think Gauthier is guilty of over-estimating the talent at his disposal. He thought he had an NHL lineup to start the season. We saw how that turned out. I don’t think he’s done as much damage as Gainey did, but enough that he should lose his job. But somehow I don’t think that will happen, and I’d actually rather have Gauthier than some of the names that have been thrown into the debate.
Bad contracts, unfavorable deals, poor overall results, and bad communication skills aside, Pierre Gauthier is the best GM the Habs have had this year – and one of the top 30 in the NHL.
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Listen to the Smart Dog. He knows his poop!
Easily the best GM to sit in the GM’s office since gainey.
I concur!
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Listen to the Smart Dog. He knows his poop!
A giant among pygmies
Sounds like Glen Sather for the first 10 years in NY.
Ok, SD, I’ll bite.
What are the bad contracts and unfavourable deals you refer to?
I don’t care about his communication, and the results are about injuries, but I’d like to hear about the former!
Full Breezer 4 Life
Bill and others: are you proposing Gauthier keep his job? If so, why? In what areas has he done well? In what area does he need to improve?
Gauthier does not have to do well.
as long as his team underperforms and is injured, his job is safe.
apparently the teams overall performance is irrelevant.
laughable!!
Ed, I haven’t missed your point. I might even agree with you. Or bill. I just want to see the justification as to why he should keep his job.
I know you havent missed my point, it was just a figure of speech.
I will edit it. It was not meant to offend.
I’m not exactly arguing about whether or not he should keep his job: I think I lack the professional hockey experience and inside-information about the Habs that would be required to make that decision.
But I am saying that Gauthier inherited a 6th-8th seed team, which is what it was in his first year as well. And I am saying that it would almost certainly have been about the same this year, except for the inarguable fact that the Habs have had a freakish number of injuries, and key injuries at that.
It seems really hard for people to accept that the biggest factor in the Habs poor record this year is, in fact, simply having had more injuries than everyone else. They’d rather believe it’s Gomez, or Price, or the GM.
Okay, here are the Gauthier moves I like:
1) Locked up Gorges, a steady D-man in his prime who has responded by bringing his game to a level I didn’t know he could have. Future captain.
2) Price over Halak. Difficult decision to make, after that playoff run. But he chose the right horse there, IMO.
3) Picking up the Wiz for a 2nd. Yeah, he was a rental, but that move saved the season, and the Canadiens were a goal-post away from knocking off the eventual champs in the playoffs last year.
4) Signing Markov. I like this move because the alternative was to walk away, and I don’t think you walk away from your team’s best player when the medical evidence is that he will be fine. It hasn’t worked out this year, but when Markov returns all will be forgiven. Worst case scenario, he can never play again: well, in that case, his salary comes off the books, and the Habs can still say they dealt with their best player, a long-time Hab, in a classy way.
5) Signing Cole: Best FA signing of last summer by any team, period.
6) Getting Kaberle for nothing: this is one that people get hysterical about, but he has improved the power-play, which is what he’s here for. Two more years at 4.5 is neither unreasonable nor crippling, no matter what anyone says. It’s up to the coach to keep Kaberle out of pressure defensive situations: but even so, he’s actually been middle-of-the-road for the Habs defensively. Weber, Diaz, and Campoli are all worse, IMO. And again, Kaberle was essentially free.
7) Getting Eller: turning into a decent return. Not many 3rd line centres have better numbers than Lars … and this is his second year in the league.
People say Kaberle is the Worst Player in the League and Gauthier is an idiot for getting him. Okay, whom should he have traded for then, especially at the price of a mediocre soon-to-be UFA?
People say he shouldn’t have signed Markov. I just disagree.
It’s like this: the influence of a GM is felt over a time-frame of years, not a single season, especially an injury filled one like this. I would say Gauthier has some key decisions to make this year, and if the Habs have an average number of injuries next year, he’ll have had two full years to make his mark and we can more fairly see the results.
Full Breezer 4 Life
Way too thoughtful. At least for some in this crowd. When Stephane Richer stated that the Montreal media and some of the fans “they hurt me” on Michael Landsberg show on depression it moved me. Wish Richer had always stayed a Hab or at least returned. The callousness endures and there is not a shred of difference between those types of fans, and the ranters who cut up the TML’s, the team they claim to support.
“May you live in interesting times.”
P.S. Stephane won a second Stanley Cup with the Devils, two years after Captain Kirk won his one and only with us.
“May you live in interesting times.”
Thanks bill.
I’m on the fence about Gauthier. But here’s what I thinks regarding your specific points:
The team has injuries. They are an important factor. Maybe the most important factor. Thing is: other teams don’t get injured as much. Is that a function of the habs’ team composition and style of play? Or is it unlucky? I tend to believe it is a mixture of both. Also, other teams have suffered drastic injuries (notably penguins) and continue to perform. Yeah, so the pens had 5 years to build depth. I don’t really care. Other teams can withstand injuries, why can’t the habs? This ties into Ed’s results argument. Basically, no excuses, just get it dne.
I agree on 1,2,3.
4. I don’t agree on Markov. Gauthier almost certainly knew more than we did about markovs knee. Even if he knew the same things we knew, he still shouldn’t have thrown that kind of money at a player for that long. This may resolve itself next year or it could cripple the team. It’s 50-50 on this one.
5. Totally agree
6. Vehemently disagree. Kaberle is a one-trick pony. The pp has been very good lately, i will grant you, but he,s been here since early December, and it took until recently for the pp to turn it around. He didn’t save the pp immediately, which was what the team needed. Now that it’s too late, they are half decent (top half of league). But his flaws vastly outweigh his one positive. I won’t go too far into detail but a player like that is often not well respected because he makes everyone else work so much harder on defense and also refuses to go to battle the same way everyone else does. How can he line up next to gorges? He refuses to take a hit, bails on every play, coughs the puck up, and asks the 4 other guys to fix his mistakes. If all he is good for is a Pp guy, I’d rather have MAB. At least he was cheap.
7. Jury is still out, but I’m ok with it.
You didn’t mention bork, but I actually like this deal.
I completely see Ed’s point. How can it possibly be acceptable to take a team that went to the semis two years ago and turn it into a 28th place squad? Injuries or no injuries, this shouldn’t sit well. It is a results oriented business.
I think – at best – he gets one more year. Another missed playoff and he is certainly gone. He is still likely gone this year.
I have no idea who his replacement might be. This scares me too.
Bill,
Excellent post. It won’t play well with the rabid masses that need, indeed, must find someone guilty for this season, but it’s well thought out and nicely balanced. I would add the Cammy trade and the AK trade to your list. I liked Cammy but for whatever reason he was done here. Bourque and a second round pick was a good, solid, long term move. AK wasn’t playing well and wasn’t signed, so that’s a second round pick for free. Again, a nice but not spectacular move. If I have a beef with PG it has been his handling of the coaching situation. He needs to get that sorted for next year.
Love how people are even bashing Gauthier for bringing up Leblanc to replace an injured player.
Haha, so not only are the injuries his fault, but so is his inability to psychically foresee them!
Full Breezer 4 Life
in response to the post on the previous thread, regarding all of the moves gauthier made these past 12 months and why he should keep his job:
every GM at the NHL level, and there are only 30 in the world, can justify and explain all of his moves
they all make sense in some way or another, otherwise why would an experienced hockey man, who is at the top of his field worldwide make those decisions.
Even Milbury could justify his trades and his draft picks.
but, explaining the decisions, understanding that they were logical and understandable at the time, does not tell the story.
the story is told by RESULTS, more wins then losses, a playoff birth, and playoff success.
When you are given the privilege of running the Habs, it comes with 1 major proviso – succeed, or leave.
This is a 500 million dollar business generating a few hundred million in revenue every year.
Success is the only acceptable result – no matter the circumstances, the misfortune, the injuries, and all of the other excuses.
Gauthier has failed.
His moves might be explainable, even rational, and some of them have worked out well (Cole and Emelin).
But overall the team has not been this low in the standings in years.
Gauthier must be held responsible for the RESULTS of his moves.
Gauthier will be fired the day after the season ends.
His RESULTS are a HUGE FAILURE.
Gauthier : he is responsible for the Habs injuries.
What else can one conclude?
Full Breezer 4 Life
every team has important injuries.
the team must be built by a GM to withstand injuries.
its called depth.
It’s also called being the team hit the worst by injuries in the whole league.
you mean like Pittsburgh losing Crosby, Letang and Staal, all for substantial periods of time – and managing to withstand those terrible injuries and still winning.
^^ RIGHTTTTT, because Gauthier should have made the team as deep as the Penguins, who tanked for what, five years, in his less than two years as GM?
Sure, that is a really reasonable expectation.
Full Breezer 4 Life
No, because the Pens have lost less man games to injuries than the Habs, and they had better depth than the Habs before this season even started.
You can’t blame injuries on a GM….
Yeah, if it was acceptable to tank for 8 years, collect 5 consecutive top 5 picks and wait a few year…. Yes. Easily done. So basically we just have this season for the next 10 years and all will be well…
No other team could withstand out injuries other than the pens.
Look at the Capitals.
The injuries were important but that isn’t the main problem this season. If we had our full squad right now we’d still he a fairly poor team. The real downturn in our season came when the only njuries were to Gionta and Moen, and Gionta was not playing well before being injured.
I don’t count Markov because he was signed injured.
Another reason Gauthier will be fired is he doesn’t get that the job has a major PR component.
–
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.
Pre-season moves that did not work out are to be considered as well, he tried to bring in Blair Betts and Jeff Woywitka, but one was hurt, and the other claimed on waivers. After that, the free agent pool was basically dry.
As for Pittsburg Yes they had big name injuries as well but they also had someone step up (Malkin)
Lets face it Cole and Pax are producing as expected DD is a pleasant surprise WHO else has stepped up
to paraphrase Nixon: If the Bruins do it, it is not illegal
400 man games important?
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“You cannot petition the lord with prayer!” – James Douglas Morrison
Yes, I’m familiar with the concept of depth, actually, but thanks. Look, the Habs are at the top of the league in man-games lost, and the injuries have been to significant players. Not sure what another GM could have done about it.
Full Breezer 4 Life
another Gm would have kept some experience on defence to balance the moves he was making bringing in emelin and diaz
that was a huge mistake
and there were several others.
You have to stop spitting into the wind YOU are NOT going to win the argument.
Not only did we lose all the games to injuries we had (have) key members that did not produce as expected.
Cammy only 9 goals while here. Gomez another brutal year. Plekanecs numbers are off because of no quality wingers.
AK’s numbers were down
to paraphrase Nixon: If the Bruins do it, it is not illegal
I guess the question really is were there better moves available in this situation. The failure this season is due to the teams injuries. With Markov alone, we could be a playoff team.
So Gauthier goes out and gets Kaberle. Offensively not a bad move. PP improves and he gets a lot of points. But we have no other shut down D to help his defensive errors.
Why, cause Gomez is being paid 7.3 against the cap to produce less than Josh Gorges.
So far I don’t hate any of Gauthier’s moves and we are looking good draft wise.
I think they will give him another season to see where this goes.
power play was 28th before kaberle and power play is 26th today, and was 28th up to last week.
12% to 19% effectiveness with Kaberle. Just hard for them to move up because of the ineptitude on the PP before Kaberle. You’re really twisting facts around here for some reason.
Full Breezer 4 Life
where am I twisting facts – 28th to 26th is a fact.
its right off the stats page of nhl.com
power play is relative to other teams you are competing against, not just an absolute number.
if 19% is still 26th, we still suck on the power play compared to the rest of the league.
^^ You actually don’t understand what I’m saying? Forget it.
Full Breezer 4 Life
what he’s trying to say is the our post-kaberle PP% of 19% would actually place us in the top 10 teams in efficiency. Our current 15.2% is good enough for 25th place.
Defensive shortcomings aside, kaberle has been an effective catalyst to the PP since his arrival.
That’s like saying the team was ranked 28th with Hall Gill, and also Ranked 28th with Kaberle. So offensively they are both similar.
The team has stayed the same with and without both Gionta and Leblanc. So Leblanc must be as good as Gionta.
So by your logic when Gainey was GM this team ended up first in the East and went to the Conf Finals. So Gainey was an excellent GM….
Wow, never thought I would hear Ed Lopaz say Gainey was an excellent GM…
what are you talking about – 26th out of 30 teams is a terrible result.
kaberle has moved us from 28th to 26th place!!
yay!!
“the story is told by RESULTS”
Results are relative to potential alternate outcomes.
“Patch the holes, ride it out, Play for 2015″
- Sean Bonjovi
It’s good and well to fire PG. But here you are guessing for your next GM. If he doesn’t improve this team immediately, we are going to want his head. Let’s be honest really, none of us armchair owners have a clue who to hire next. To me the real problem is hiring a great coach.
PG’s post season review with the boss is gonna be rated NC-17… see what I did there?
“Let’s be clear on the facts…”
If a business fired its management after every setback, it would be a totally dysfunctional entity. Sure, Gauthier has to assume responsibility for the failures of this season, but they are not all of his doing, and extenuating circumstances need to be taken into consideration when grading his overall performance.
We can postulate all we want, but obviously it is Molson’s call. Maybe he will feel that Gauthier has scrambled to correct past mistakes, has failed, and should be fired. Maybe he will feel that this year was simply a write-off attributed to injuries and under-performance, will see an attempt at improvement, and give Gauthier a chance to finish the job. Maybe Gauthier’s contract status will play into his decision. We will find out.
I for one don’t care if Gauthier stays or goes. I just want the Habs to be a better team, and I think that the pieces are there for them to be one next year (given some luck with injuries). Who gets the kudos in the end doesn’t much matter, but like it or not their success will be based in part on the pieces they inherit.
Am I the only one who’s curious what PK Subban could do as a crash the net style winger?
I’ve often wondered the same…
Like Byuflin (?) did for Chicago 2 years ago.
to paraphrase Nixon: If the Bruins do it, it is not illegal
Tell you what he COULDN’T do as a winger: play 25 minutes a night shutting down the other team, move the puck out of the d-zone, and create offence from the blueline, where the Habs would be sorely lacking.
Full Breezer 4 Life
I know I know…. but we’re done so… I’d like to see them have some fun out there =) or rather I’d like to command them to do random stupid things so I can have fun.
“Let’s be clear on the facts…”
Maybe they can give Carey his wish and let him play a game on the wing, haha.
Full Breezer 4 Life
Ha. Let him stand in front of the net annoying the other goalie and redirecting pucks.
“Let’s be clear on the facts…”
Okay, then, as a shut-down crash-the-net winger then.
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Listen to the Smart Dog. He knows his poop!
So the Canadiens put on a stellar performance last night after DD gets injured. Well I think it clear now that the problem was not in fact Gomez, But DD. Undefeated playing without him in the tail end of a season on a western swing in the first half of the month while a key D is out with the flu.
MaxPac Gomez Cole this will ensure we go undefeated the rest of the season and make the playoffs.
PK Subban heard this earlier this morning and said “SO YOU’RE SAYING THERE’S A CHANCE…”
tomorrow we start the drive for 25.
i know much of the blame of the season has been pointed towards gomez and no matter what fans will have a disdain for him. however, he was really good last night. not saying that the habs should keep him, but give him some skilled wingers and he can be productive in the nhl. if he can take advantage of all the ice time he will get down the stretch and put together a string of good games, he may be tradable in the offseason. the free agent market this year is terrible and there are no quick fixes. a sellers market.
I, too, was very impressed with Gomer Pyle last night. Wish we could see that out of him every game. I suspect a lot had to do with the open ended style of play and the poor Oiler defensive coverage.
Doubt we will see that against the Canucks.
_____________________________________
They brought their f____ing toys with them!
Ya…Edmonton saw what Gomez could bring to their table…if only they had the courage to go after him.
I take it you are a follower of Saint Jude Thaddeus.
No no no…. don’t post that kind of rhetoric here. You will get all the dumb dumbs thinking it is possible to trade Gomez based on 3 weeks of good hockey.
I doubt there is a GM stupid enough to do that deal. He is even worse than when BG picked him up.
I guess the only caveat being a team who needs 7 million in cap hit to meet the cap floor…. ah, now I am contributing to it!
Watch Pleks get 10 points in his next 5 games playing between Max and Cole :p
I’m sure DD will be back next year in fine form, no need to rush him back at all this year.
That’s if RC does not play Leblanc or Eller between MAx and Cole.
Hmm.
Full Breezer 4 Life
I admit not having alot of faith in RC right now, he’s been puting Plekanec with bottom pairing guys for quite a while, so nothing would surprise me.
Pleks has been a trooper about it too.
Full Breezer 4 Life
From the little I saw from last night, he still has jump in his step, and plays with energy.
From your profile you say you are not attached to any player on the Habs, Pleks is that guy for me.
DD is hurt so they recalled Leblanc, what’s so hard to understand about that?
Have you seen some of the posters around here?
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GO HABS GO! 2011-12 is probably not our year!
“Scott Gomez is an elite NHL player” – VancouverHab
Chat with me on Twitter @TheRealRGM81
Nevermind the fact that every NHL team flies into a city, plays a game and then flies out again.
In fact they do this at least 41 times. LL is just getting a taste of the NHL lifestyle.
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“You cannot petition the lord with prayer!” – James Douglas Morrison
Gauthier changes his mind every hour….
Even the airport driver is confused.
You’d be confused too if someone asked you to drive an airport.
- Honestly yours
Twitter: @de_benny
Unless you drive an aircraft carrier….
_____________________________
Don’t let the wultures getcha.
LMAO! Well played!
- Honestly yours
Twitter: @de_benny
Wouldn’t you pilot and aircraft carrier?
Meh. That’s neither a here nor a there. Creativity trumps it.
- Honestly yours
Twitter: @de_benny
Wouldn’t it be more like ‘helm’ or ‘steer’?
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How about it NHL? No fighting, just hockey?
http://relentlessineptitude.blogspot.com/
He would still be in Hamilton if DD hadn’t got hurt. I think the experience will be beneficial to him down the road
Habs have scored 2 more goals than the blues and only 2 less than the rangers…goals for and goals against we are about 20th in both categories…goals for vs the league has improved a bit but ga has a major drop off from last year…
crapole, crapoli, craper (weber), crapaz (diaz), emilin
price’s gaa is higher in a year when gaa’s are lower. the blame can be shared with a gm that provided the team with neither defensemen nor a defensive center.
Blue, blanc et rouge. Red and White for Canada. Blue for Smurfs.
This is outrageous! Instead of making the kid travel back and forth, wouldn’t be better if Louis Leblanc stay with the Habs just as an insurance 13th forward if ever something happens again?
Give this kid a break! The Bulldogs will be fine and Leblanc should use this time as an opportunity to learn more on NHL-level hockey.
Better to have him play lots in the AHL than sit in a press box in the NHL.
I’ve been saaaaved!!
—Hope Springs Eternal—
I’m not thinking about him sitting in the pressbox, its his body handling travels and jetlags that could tire him.
If they want someone to substitute, then call someone else like Engqvist to help the team. If LL needs to flourish in Hamilton, then let him stay there.
We’re talking Hamilton to Montreal here. It’s probably easier on his body than riding that AHL bus…
Still, I’d say leave him in Hamilton and have him play 20 minutes a game instead of 9-10 here. We know he’s good. He just needs time to develop.
Actually Hamilton to Vancouver game is out west.
But still not bad Hamilton to Toronto Pearson 1 hour, 2 hours to sit and wait. 5 hour flight he’s al set for tomorrow night
to paraphrase Nixon: If the Bruins do it, it is not illegal
You’re right about all the traveling and constant call-ups/send-downs they’re putting the kid through being a pain in the ass, but they are trying to ensure that he gets ample playing time whether it be with Montreal or with Hamilton.
Having him as a 13th forward and sitting in the press box would be wasting a developmental opportunity.
- Honestly yours
Twitter: @de_benny
The only reason he was recalled was because of the injury. They didn’t PLAN for to send him and call him back a few days later.
That would make too much sense. This ownership cares only about dollars!
….really? They want LL to get some NHL games in, so that must mean it’s all about the money? Where is the logic in that… a spot opens for him, so management brings him up to get more NHL experience. I’m sure he’s used to traveling being a hockey player and all, and while he gets lots of minutes in the AHL, I’m sure he enjoys coming up and getting more NHL experience.
Man losing is as bad as the summer on the this website.
Injuries injured the Habs season.
Only three more victories since the start of the season and the Habs would still be in the hunt. Bummer.
Richard R
Meh… first pick is far off, as long as we pick top 3 it’s ok.
It is a lottery….the last place team actually only has a 48.2 percent chance of winning the lottery. 29th has an 18.8 percent chance, 28th is 14.2, 27th is 10.7 and 26th is 8.1 percent.
You never know, it could be tradeable, to a low-revenue team with salary cap floor problems … it actually could happen.
But it probably won’t, so instead I guess we keep praying for the return of that mythical, 50-assist Gomez that used to exist.
Full Breezer 4 Life
My dad can beat up your dad!!!
For the “Remove fighting from hockey gang”, on Sportsnet there will be a talk starting momentarily on the “OHL looking at removing fighting”.
EDIT; should be above.
Kinda sounds like you do like to brag. Maybe I’m not reading your post correctly, which is entirely possible
“man, I love winnin’; you know, it’s like better than losin’?”-
Ebby Calvin “Nuke” Laloosh
No way that’s all you’ve said this year
Nobody likes a bragger..
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Yes, I’m a Hab fan..Wanna fight about it?
You need to embrace proper English son. This crap might work while texting with you friends and others in high school, but others will think you ignorant. Might want to get a coach before you go on a job interview as well.
No he can’t.
***Subbang Baby!!!***
Hahaha
Full Breezer 4 Life
Bulldog Freddy verses ??
Bill and HabsFanSince72 must have their VCRs warmed and ready to go.
One more ,,,,,,, in his post might help?
Man, my VCR broke and I can’t find a good replacement. Bummer. All my hippie/pacifist VHS tapes are just gathering dust.
Hahaha, what’s so bad about not wanting teenagers beating each other up anyway?
Full Breezer 4 Life
LOL. Just checking if you were awake? I do tend to agree that there is too great of a separation both physically and mentally between a 19-year-old and 16-year-old kid for them to be fighting in the CHL.
^^Awake? Haha, it’s March break and I post constantly right now. Not much else to do after the kid goes to bed. Anyway, yeah, fighting in the CHL is going away at some point in the not-distant future. As for the NHL, well, they’re big boys, professionals, and they can do what they want. I’ve watched hockey fanatically all my life, and honestly I would never miss fighting if it disappeared: it’s not why I watch. If I want to see a fight, I’ll watch Boxing, or MMA, or the next election.
“Fly on, Lesbian Seagull!”
Full Breezer 4 Life
You are a nice person to try and help like that. Makes me feel bad for just walking by and averting my eyes. I hope he appreciates your effort.
Full Breezer 4 Life
You know what, I searched high and low, and can find no evidence that Pierre Gauthier is a French citizen. Every source I refer to indicates that he was born in Canada and is a Canadian citizen.
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How about it NHL? No fighting, just hockey?
http://relentlessineptitude.blogspot.com/
He played in the exhibition game against Boston in Halifax BUT I thought he was one of our best D’s in a poor team performance.
You are right base don the game tonight. Neither HABS prospect stood out or even looked special on the ice.
I also watched some OHL hockey tonight…. absolutely a level or two above the Q.. again based on the games tonight.
I support you learning the difference between then and than because they are significant.
Whatever scouting report you’ve read on Morgan Ellis is outdated. When the Canadiens drafted him he was a responsible defensive player in the mold of Josh Gorges with a good chance to turn pro and an outside shot at the NHL, but this season, even before the trade to Shawinigan, he turned into a very productive offensive player as well. There’s no question now that Ellis will play in the AHL an he looks likely to become an NHLer based the significant improvement in his hockey skills over the last year.
“Patch the holes, ride it out, Play for 2015″
- Sean Bonjovi
trinifan, I’m surprised you weren’t impressed by Morgan Ellis. He seemed to have more maturity and talent than anyone else out there. He still has a lot of developing to do this year and then the AHL, but it’s a good start when a guy you draft in the third round is progressing so well. This is how we develop depth. Remember the old days when we’d get an injury and call up a Rod Langway, a Donald Dufresne, a Lyle Odelein, and keep plugging along? I want us to keep working in that direction, and having a Morgan Ellis in our system is another step that way.
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How about it NHL? No fighting, just hockey?
http://relentlessineptitude.blogspot.com/
On the other hand, when a Junior age player seems as if he is playing like a “man against boys” it means that he may have physically matured sooner than many of the others. The down side is that we may be fooled into thinking that this is indicative of an ongoing situation, forgetting that the others will eventually mature as well resulting in many over-taking him in that respect. The end result being that the gap will have closed and his effectiveness will have diminished as it will now be men against men.
I agree, since he is older than most of the guys on the ice, he should be performing at a higher level, that’s to be expected. I’m not getting carried away. The guy couldn’t crack a weak Team Canada defence corps at the World Juniors, although seeing him now I wonder if they miscalculated, if they could have used him. In any case, it’s good to see one of our prospects progressing nicely, it’s a pleasant change from the David Fischers and the Ben Maxwells. This guy is a third-rounder who looks more than ready to step up to the AHL, that’s a plus.
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How about it NHL? No fighting, just hockey?
http://relentlessineptitude.blogspot.com/
You trade the 1st round pick and add a little more to the Islanders for John Tavares.
I definitely think you are definitely thinking too much, way too much
“They don’t hang Conference Championship Banners from the rafters here”
Carey Price
I would guess (and it´s pure guess work) that late next season, possibly Tinordi, and one of either Gallagher or Kristo, depending on how they are doing, could make the club. The rest are not nhl ready.
But you can´t count on any of them having significant impact, even if they do get called up. Look at Leblanc this year. Certainly didn´t embarass himself, but didn´t fill a significant hole, if that´s what you are expecting.
we can still get the first pick…
Thats the way the cookie crumbles
google…. 2012 nhl draft prospects and make your pick
ability is what you’re capable of doing.
attitude determines how you do it
A “little” more? Oy…
Agreed on all points and while Eller is a good player we should have gotten more. The prospect cupboard in St. Louis is loaded and we got less than we should have gotten for Halak.
“My face is my mask,” Gump Worsley
You are wrong. Halak is playing for a top tier team. Price is playing for a team with 6-8 legimitate NHL players (on a Stanley Cup contender). Stop this nonsensical debate..it’s over…move on.
Been a while reading stuff from El Guapo. Call it a draw in that the Habs would have gotten superior goaltending from either Jaro or Carey. Even if a T.J. Oshie or Chad Stewart were sent this way, our current underachievements would have still occurred. We need better defencemen.
“May you live in interesting times.”
Where was Halak against the Flyers when he had the “magical” run. Please stop with the Halk vs. Price talk.
Agreed!
He got them into the playoffs and to the flyers
ability is what you’re capable of doing.
attitude determines how you do it