Canadiens defenceman Alexei Emelin is a world champion with his native Russia.
Martin Rose/Bongarts/Getty Images
The brooms came out a little early in Los Angeles, it seems.
The airtight goaltending of Mike Smith and Shane Doan’s pair of goals gave the Phoenix Coyotes a 2-0 victory over the Kings Sunday afternoon, pushing the Western Conference final to a fifth game.
On Monday, the New York Rangers look to put a headlock on their Eastern Conference final against the New Jersey, up 2-1 with Game 4 tonight at the Prudential Center. The Rangers will be without forward Brandon Prust, who on Sunday was suspended for one game as discipline for elbowing Devils defenceman Anton Volchenkov in the head.
• Canadiens defenceman Alexei Emelin will be back in Montreal on September as a world champion, Russia having knocked off Slovakia 6-2 Sunday in the gold medal game of the IIHF World Hockey Championship. Habs forward Tomas Plekanec earned a bronze medal with the Czech Republic, thanks to a 3-2 win over Finland.
• In French, from the Memorial Cup in Shawinigan: An interview with Trevor Timmins, the Habs’ director of procurement and player development. Timmins, the Canadiens’ chief scout, was largely muzzled during the previous regime; we recall that he does, indeed, have a voice.
• Also from the Memorial Cup: former Washington Capitals coach and London Knights co-owner Dale Hunter suggests that Patrick Roy should make any career choice for the right reasons – that is, assuming Roy is part of the Habs coaching equation.
• And playoff-free Canadiens fans should take heart that their heroes have at least through the ages set a number of postseason records that never will be broken: Stubbs
Below: Captain Tomas Plekanec (wearing his Canadiens turtleneck) and Petr Nedved celebrate the Czech Republic’s bronze-medal win Sunday at the IIHF World Hockey Championship.
Alexander Nemenov/AFP/GettyImages
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Say the Habs made a deal with the Rangers, trades their no.3 pick for McDonagh, wouldja wanna see it happen??
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way I see it, our pick this year may take 1-3 years to develop and make the team (Unless Timmins has a surefire guaranteed instant NHL ready player at #3) im intrigued by Seth Jones and or Nathan Mckinnon who may already be ready quicker than any top picks from this years draft…
i dont know much about them but i know they should be in the top 3 picks, just wondering what the reaction would be if that trade was made
Well, say the Habs gets 2 affordable, reliable d-men in return for example, would you take that trade?
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No, we have lots of prospect defencemen coming up.
We need a home run offensive superstar.
These guys are almost never available by trade or free agency (and when they are the price is huge).
Let Timmins do his thing and swing for the fences to find that franchise top liner.
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Thanks, really appreciate your input, i like the cut of your jib
Cherry “white devil”?
Gray Devil more like it!
Tough guy that NY Boyle is goes after the smallest player on the ice Steven Gionta…..
Wow, a punch to the face of Brodeur, what an idiot! Can’t do that.
What a cheap shot by Rupp
Rupp is an idiot
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And that White Devil Don Cherry is going to celebrate him for “Gettin’ em going!”
Wow! Thorough explaination.Thanks Commandant!
3-0 Joisey.
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If you could trade this years 3rd overall pick to Edmonton or Columbus in order to get their 1st round pick next year considering the better pool in next years deaft…would you do it and what would be (realistically) included in that trade?
I wouldn’t, especially with Edmonton. I think Edmonton is gonna improve a lot very soon.
Columbus i might consider but its such a risk.
I’d rather use the #3 right now…. even with next year being better #3 this year is better than #10 next year.
Its such a gamble and not one I take with our highest pick in 30 years.
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The downside is, that no. 3 pick could take a few years to crack into the NHL. It’s a crapshoot whether or not fans are patient enough to watch him blossom into an elite player.
Keep in mind Benoit Pouliot was drafted fourth overall. Draft picks may or may not work out.
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Sure, every draft pick is a risk, but trying to predict which team will get you a shot at MacKinnon or at Seth Jones is a crapshoot at best two.
I’d rather let Timmins be the one scouting and rolling the dice, than counting on another team to lose.
Who picked Phoenix to make the playoffs after losing Bryz, or the Senators to make the playoffs. Most experts had both these teams in 15th place.
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That’s the thing. Even no. 1 picks could go down in flames due to unforeseen circumstances. It’s all about balancing the draft picks and signing the right guys.
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I’d say at this point in balancing signing the right guys and draft picks… the Habs are on the wrong side of building a pool of top-end prospects (by trading away 2nd round picks like candy and giving guys like McDonagh away). So keeping that top 3 pick becomes all the more important in my opinion.
Sure, even #1 overall picks fail.
But you have to trust that your scouting staff will be able to find the right guy.
Especially when you have a guy whose done pretty well in drafting.
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How is Beaulieu doing? Seems like he’s a bit mistake-prone. His strength seems to really be rushing up the ice with the puck.
Kid can skate like the wind… would be an elite level skater in the NHL right now. Such a beautiful skater.
Great offensive player in general.
Overall i like his defensive game but he needs to learn. He makes one bad giveaway every other game or so, and he really needs to cut that out of his game. He does that, and he’ll be great.
Now this criticism is one I have of him in this tournament (2 games) but not one I’ve had before. He is trying to do too much right now, trying to deke everyone and score end to end all by himself. He needs to use his teammates better, and play within himself more. He’s trying to do it all right now, and no one can play that way.
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Thanks for the analysis. Sounds a little like Subban…
At the same age, Subban is a very apt comparison (though Subban was better defensively by the time it was his last year in the OHL than Beaulieu is now).
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One of the best Habs last pre season.
tony-mclean.blogspot.com
With all four teams at 1-1… here is what it means.
Every team has at least two games remaining.
Edmonton plays London.
Saint John plays Shawinigan.
The losers of those two games will play in the 3rd place tiebreaker Friday night.
The winner of those two games will go to the semi-final and final (who goes where will be based on tourney goal differential).
The winner of the Friday night 3rd place game, will go to the semi final, where they will play the 2-1 team with the worst goal differential.
The winner of the semi final will advance to the final against the 2-1 team with the best goal differential.
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So every team is playing .500 in Mem.Cup.
Yaaa, Over, Dogs win 5 2!
Tiesink empty netter makes it 5-2
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Galiev and Jurco with great work down low and they set up Zach Phillips out front.
4-2 should do it.
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Of all the coaching candidates I like, poster Commandant has kinda thrown cold water on one with a frighteningly true reminder.
“Carbo has had 2 coaching jobs since 2009, one in the QMJHL and one with Team Canada at the U18s. Both were absolute disasters.”
When you read that you cant help but hope that Bergevin includes that in his pros and cons re Carbo and forces Carbonneau to answer satisfactorily.
I had been giving Carbo a pass on those two stints but when I see it in black and white it is hard not to raise serious doubts.
His last shortened year with the Habs was also a bit of a disaster.
Carbo did a fine job with the Canadiens, was fired with a winning record (after a win no less).
2006-07 42W – 34L
2007-08 47W-25L
2008-09 35W-24L
Pretty disastrous.
tony-mclean.blogspot.com
His team fell off a cliff in 2009. That team was the definition of disaster. Yes, he was fired after a win… but that was only Gainey waiting for a win to fire the guy, … The Trip to Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver was a complete disaster, and the game in Atlanta right before Dallas was a complete no-show by the team too.
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What did the CBC announcer say about “… since the Habs traded Gomez for McDonagh.” ????
So if the Dogs win today, every team will have 1 win after 2 games.
Pretty sure it was more along the lines of “… haven’t been this bad…” but, whatever.
Just walked in from final weekend yard work… How is Beaulieu playing in Dogs-Edm game?
So I expected to see people frothing at the mouth, going nuts about Bergevin’s comment that he would trade our 1st Pick.
… or was this discussed already?
—Hope Springs Eternal—
What comment?
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They were discussing it on RDS. Apparently he said that.
—Hope Springs Eternal—
If it happened, I’m sure it would be for a player(s) beneficial to the team.
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He made this some weeks ago.. just the general nondescript GM speak that he was prepared to listen to all offers.
I was only half-listening, but they seemed to say that he reiterated it this weekend.
Who would you take for it?
—Hope Springs Eternal—
I don’t mind a “we’ll listen to all offers” kind of comment because no one is untradeable, and he should listen to all offers.
However i want a massive overpayment to part with our highest pick in 30 years.
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Oh dear!Cherry showing off a silver plate and an old picture of the Queen! Tried to follow his conversation but he lost me. Poor bugger.
Yet you’re glued to the set LOL!
tony-mclean.blogspot.com
Second intermition Dogs 3 Edm 2
Why didn’t we sign Gauthier? He would be another top prospect in Hamilton next year. How does Tbay keep getting guys we should sign
Never heard of him referred to as a top prospect before, just an overager playing with a bunch of future NHL’ers.
Legault scores a beauty… 3-2
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Coyle sets up Gauthier… 3-1 Dogs
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I wouldn’t mind watching Torts blow a gasket or two. hehe
Good to see the Habs are gona have some toughness in a few years!
Woot Woot! 2-0 Devils!
1-0 Devils! Salvador
Dirty goal by Huberdeau.
What a dangle.
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Oh boy! Kevin Lowe making excuses why Team Canada sucked so bad this year.
What is the Ottawa cookie story regarding Gauthier.
Google is your friend.
http://www2.canada.com/topics/sports/story.html?id=6394192
“Reporters who went to Ottawa when Gauthier was GM of the Senators will remember that even though reporters pay for their meals, they were allowed only one cookie for dessert. Why is the general manager of a team in the NHL worried about how many cookies reporters eat? Because he’s the worst kind of control freak, that’s why. Micro-managing every detail of his operation, simply to exercise his authority.”
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In the very long view, it is important that kids growing up in Québec love the Canadiens and recognize themselves in the team, and a bit of the team in themselves. There must be a strong, visceral, emotional connection between the fans and leurs Glorieux.
http://relentlessineptitude.blogspot.com/
…wish I was younger and into smoking illicit materials …it sure would make the sight of those red and yellow zambonis a little more trippy and entertaining
List of teams Gomez had on no trade list: NYI, Edm, Wpg
List of teams who had GOmez on their no trade list: NYI, NYR, NJ, Pit, Phil, Bos, Buff, Ott, Tor, Wash, Car, TB, Flo, Wpg, Chi, Nash, Det, Stl, CBJ, Van, Cgy, Edm, Minn, Col, LA, SJ, Ana, Dall, Phx
LMAO!
Time to watch the Dogs and Oil Kings.Drop The Mitts,Ding Ding!
You’re almost an hour late.
And thats a dumb penalty by Nathan Beaulieu.
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PS: Sea Dogs 1; Oil Kings 1
…Zach Phillips for ‘Dogs
You will be live blogging the rest of the game I hope.
…only the ice girls segments Frank
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HIS’ Official Habs’ Fan Theme Song; Morrissey ‘There is a light that never goes out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjObvIQtsLk&feature=related
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What I WANT ! is an aircraft carrier at centre and nuclear destroyers on each wing going to the net like bats out of Hell !, …NO MORE rubber duckies !!!
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Habitant means PASSIONATE HOCKEY
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=423049
…for anyOne interested …try the sportsnet.ca live stream online …it’s a single ice-level camera located in a corner of rink …minimum to zero play-by-play of Sea Dogs Oil Kings’ game in Shawinigan
…but, for a single camera it provides an excellent alternate perspective of the play …powerful zoom ability to see both ends of rink
…ability to see almost 100 % of ice surface is great …very intimate
I use Google Chrome or Firefox as my browsers, and couldn’t get the live feed. I just tried with Microsoft Exploder and it came on.
Why does Sportsnet not just provide the feed they are broadcasting? This is so bush league, no wonder no one watches that channel.
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In the very long view, it is important that kids growing up in Québec love the Canadiens and recognize themselves in the team, and a bit of the team in themselves. There must be a strong, visceral, emotional connection between the fans and leurs Glorieux.
http://relentlessineptitude.blogspot.com/
So……This Gomez rumour might have legs?
Even the HabsTV…or NHL is getting into profiling the top prospects;
http://video.canadiens.nhl.com/videocenter/console?catid=1288&id=175584&lang=en
Evening folks…anyone know if Mr. Boone is live blogging tonight?
***Subbang Baby!!!***
Have not heard so Dave.
This is outrageous! I want my free blog and I’m going to tear up asphalt chunks and pitch them through windows until I get my way!
***Subbang Baby!!!***
Can you still watch the play-offs, Memorial Cup or draft in confinement? Mind you, at your age hopefully you should be safe from the predators!!
That’s it? No smoke bombs in the metro?
I guess you really don’t want a live blog after all!
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“Bring it on home, Bring it on home to you…” – Plant/Page
Bring it on Home
PrimeTime had a fit so Boone aint gonna Blog no more!
Where did that Gomez rumour come from? Any legs to it?
Probably not.
Came from a few people last year, that Gomez was nearly traded to the Isles but they were on his list of three teams.
I think they were generally unreliable sources though.
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Another rumor is that Pearn told him about it in the summer allowing Gomez to hastily switch his list.
When Habs brass found out that was it for Pearn.
I stress I am just repeating the rumor for your information. I don’t think it’s true.
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Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.
Wow, that would be quite the cloak and dagger stuff. I’d be skeptical too, Mr. Gomez has a certain date each year, which must be July 1, to specify which three teams he wants to veto. It can’t be a revolving list that changes as the trade winds blow. In any case, I think the Islanders and Edmonton must be on everybody’s list these days, he wouldn’t have had to fiddle with it after being tipped off.
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In the very long view, it is important that kids growing up in Québec love the Canadiens and recognize themselves in the team, and a bit of the team in themselves. There must be a strong, visceral, emotional connection between the fans and leurs Glorieux.
http://relentlessineptitude.blogspot.com/
WOW! Now this is so intriguingly good that I think we should just give it the ‘pass’ test. Fabulous rumour.
Look at that. Pleky. Captain of the world champions.
Good for him.
Captain of the bronze medal team, but still, good for him…
Just looked at the final stats of The Worlds. Malkin won the points race with 19, followed closely by a Patrick Thoresen from Norway with 18, and he played 2 less games. Anyone know this guy? Getting 18 points on a bottom teir team at The Worlds is pretty impressive. A lot of knowledgeable posters on this site; so is he worth a try out???
Edit: To put Thoresen’s accomplishment into perspective, Lars Ellar on an equally bottom teir team, Denmark, got 5 points….
Thoresen used to play in The NHL with his claim to fame being he almost lost a ball blocking a Mike Green slapshot…….
Norway played much better than Denmark and had one game more. To put his accomplishment into perspective he also scored 6 of his points against a ridiculous bad German team. The game ended with a score of 12-4.
And no, he´s already 28, plays in the KHL and wouldn´t be of much help.
The situation in Quebec as viewed in the rest of Canada.
Places in the world where students are prevented from going to school by violent mobs:
1. Afghanistan
2. Quebec.
Any others?
–
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.
Difference is that the mobs in Afghanistan aren’t comprised of the students themselves. The students in Afghanistan have the good sense to realized that having the cheapest education is not something to protest over.
Just realized. We haven’t seen the”tit gars de Shawinigan(Jean Chretien) at the rink yet.Remember when he gave that protester his”Shawinigan Handshake”?Hilarious!
Not sure just heard it !! Hopefully true lol
I’m rooting for the underdog Cataractes. Drop the mitts,Ding Ding!!!
Gomez trade talk with islanders ?
For PA Parenteau’s rights?
Jonnyp, are you just trying to wind the rest of us up on this glorious long weekend? Where did you hear this?
For the proverbial bag of pucks?
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Heard it last year. Isles are on Scotty’s list of 3, trade doesn’t happen.
Two things here
1) The Isles might have been willing to take a chance on a guy coming off one really bad season. Even if that rumor was true (we can’t be certain), but assuming it was true, it is now 1 year later, and Gomez has had an even worse season, so I doubt they still have the same interest.
2) Again assuming the rumor that Gomez vetoed the deal was true last year, would he veto a deal again? I doubt it, because going to the Isles means he keeps his contract and stays in the NHL, where in Montreal there is a good chance he’ll either be an amnesty buyout or riding buses.
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Have to agree with commandant. If it means playing in the NHL rather than in Hamilton, Scott Gomez may not veto the trade.
Islanders would be crazy to take him on, but that’s how saving 2 mill to get to the salary floor will warp your thinking.
If they do trade for Mr. Gomez, we can start the countdown to John Tavares free agency.
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In the very long view, it is important that kids growing up in Québec love the Canadiens and recognize themselves in the team, and a bit of the team in themselves. There must be a strong, visceral, emotional connection between the fans and leurs Glorieux.
http://relentlessineptitude.blogspot.com/
An attempt at a unbiased look at head coach candidates:
Michel Therrien – Has coached 7 seasons with the Habs and Pens and has made the playoffs 3 times. He made the Cup finals with the Pens in 07/08, but was fired the next season.
Marc Crawford – Has coached 15 seasons with the Avs, Van, La, and Dallas. He won the Stanley Cup in his second season, with a stacked Colorado team. He’s not very impressive and his haircut is stupid.
Bob Hartley – Coached 10 seasons with Colorado and Atlanta. He won the cup in 2001 but was awful in a terrible Atlanta organization. He coached a championship team in Switzerland last year which some writeoff because it was Switzerland. However, I see it as a positive showing he is able to adapt and coach under any circumstances.
Patrick Roy – Has no NHL coaching experience, but has had success coaching 7 seasons for the Quebec Remparts and winning a Memorial Cup in 2006. Has had some off ice issues, but seems like he may be more under control now.
Mike Keenan – Tons of experience but only one championship ring. Is known as a hard ass who has had a ton of conflict with star players. He last coached in 08/09, and seems like a dick.
Craig Mactavish – Coached 8 seasons for Edmonton in what may be the darkest years in Edmonton history. They made the Stanley Cup but lost out to Carolina. It is still remembered as the worst playoffs in decades. Mactavish is stupid.
Terry Murray – Born in Quebec, and has coached for 15 years with Was, Phi, Fla, and most recently with LA. He was fired from LA earlier this year after a disappointing start. Has made it to the Conference Finals twice, and Cup Final once.
Larry Robinson – Big Bird has coached 8 seasons with La, and NJ and has 1 stanley cup as a coach. He resigned as head coach in 05/06, but returned as an assistant coach the following year where he remains. Not sure he wants to leave NJ.
Tony Granato – Coached three seasons with Colorado. Two seasons from 02- 04, and then went back to being an assistant coach. In 08 he had one more season as head coach. After that season he moved to Pittsburgh to be an assistant.
Pascal Vincent – Had a very strong career as a head coach in the QMJHL where he won awards as Top Coach and Top Manager. In 2011 he signed on to be an assistant coach with the Winnipeg Jets.
Guy Carbonneau – Coached two and a half seasons. Missed the playoffs the first year, but led the Habs to a first place conference finish in 08 but lost out in the second round. Started the 08/09 with an impressive start, but unfortunately the team then came down with a terrible case of Satan’s wrath and the season from hell began, which saw the Habs fall from 1st down to 8th. Also, the annual lead the league in injuries began this season. Carbo took the axe for this season due to pressure from the fans and media. He hasn’t really done anything hockey related since.
Sylvain Lefebvre – Lefebvre was named as assistant coach of the American Hockey League’s Lake Erie Monsters. On June 4, 2009, the Colorado Avalanche announced that Lefebvre will serve as an assistant coach.
Daniel Lacroix – Had a successful run with Moncton as an assistant coach with Moncton from 02-06. He was then named head coach of Moncton. In 09/10 he was made an assistant coach of Hamilton, and he followed Guy Boucher to Tampa.
Gerrard Gallant – Spent three unsuccessful years as head coach of Columbus. He then moved to NYI as an Assistant. He then moved to be head coach of St. John Sea Dogs, which have been a mini dynasty of the QMJHL. Ottawa had him as a top candidate in 2011, but the job ultimately went to Maurice.
Anyone I miss?
Nice compilation. I didnt know the likes of Keenan, MacTavish were in the mix. The evil poster in me wants Keenan! HIO would go beserk.
I had to laugh though re your introductory sentence. The agents of Crawford, MacTavish and Keenan have gtten together and sent you a pocket dictionary with the word ‘unbiased’ highlighted in red. LOL!
I think the crucial word there was ‘attempt’. Nice work Stev.R.
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In the very long view, it is important that kids growing up in Québec love the Canadiens and recognize themselves in the team, and a bit of the team in themselves. There must be a strong, visceral, emotional connection between the fans and leurs Glorieux.
http://relentlessineptitude.blogspot.com/
I put “attempt” in after I wrote about Mactavish. I’m not sure if Keenan is really a candidate, but he’s available so I put him on the list.
Carbo has had 2 coaching jobs since 2009, one in the QMJHL and one with Team Canada at the U18s. Both were absolute disasters.
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I was having fun with it.. I couldnt help laughing .
Tony Gallagher of the Vancouver Province:
“Bettman could have problems with his owners in that he can’t afford to push the well-off teams too far in this. He doesn’t want them thinking about forming their own league, taking the top players and referees and actually having a circuit where talent counts for something and people could actually watch the games. He likes it just fine the way it is, with checkers competing for the top prize.”
http://www.theprovince.com/sports/null/6650792/story.html
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In the very long view, it is important that kids growing up in Québec love the Canadiens and recognize themselves in the team, and a bit of the team in themselves. There must be a strong, visceral, emotional connection between the fans and leurs Glorieux.
http://relentlessineptitude.blogspot.com/
must be a lot of pressure to play in L.A. http://deadspin.com/5912030/the-los-angeles-media-market-continues-to-not-know-the-la-kings-play-hockey
Embarrassing.
Meanwhile in Phoenix there are a ton of tickets available for Game 5 apparently.
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did I miss anything exciting? Was at the cottage with no TV and very limited internet..I saw that the Rangers won..and the Yotes ya!! I also see above were some Habs took some hardware at the worlds..great picture of Plec’s..how were the games…
Go Smitty! Go Yotes! Go Big Bird! Go Devils! Aaaarrroooooooo!
Lovin’ the Memorial Cup…only problem is we don’t have a prospect on the Edmonton team…then it really wouldn’t matter who won the Cup…
But, our prospects are looking good so far…and who knows, maybe we draft one of the other elegible kids playing here…
Either way…it’s good honest hard hockey by kids still wanting to move up in their careers.
Looking forward to seeing Beaulieu again tonight. Hope to see a better game from Saint John
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I’m with you on that…I think the Sea Dogs are going to kick some ass tonight. They just weren’t very disciplined in their forst game.
I love that Plecs wore his Habs turtleneck under hs sweater at the Worlds…great team guy. Congrats to Plecs on the Bronze and to Emelin for the Gold…well played guys.
Reposted from last night, on the subject of Trevor Timmins:
Okay, so relatively recently, I stepped forward, in the name of HIO poster accountability, whereby one’s opinions are attached to oneself and one must defend them or repudiate them when they are demonstrated to be false, and admitted to having offered an opinion on this forum that was not as bang-on as practically everyone of my other posts. It was a trifling matter, not a big deal at all, I’ve held my personal glasnost on this matter, everyone else was allowed to Air their Grievances, we’ve moved on since then, and we’re all better friends for it.
I am now moved to attend to another matter. After last year’s draft, many posters decried Pierre Gauthier’s organizational decision that he would speak to the media about the draft, not Trevor Timmins. These posters stated that this was Mr. Timmins’ one opportunity to shine each year, and he was the most well equipped to speak on the prospects that were chosen by the Canadiens, so that to prevent him from doing so was a disservice to him and the team.
I took the opposite view. I have worked in many organizations where the policy is that only the President or his designates or the person ultimately responsible on scene is allowed to speak to the media. This ensures that the organization can shape its message and that it speaks with a united voice. Right or wrong, this practice is familiar to me, so it didn’t faze me that Mr. Gauthier would decree that the Canadiens would function that way. I argued that his head was on the chopping block if these decisions don’t pan out, so he should be the one to speak for the organization. It made sense to me at the time.
I now officially retract that statement, and concur with the others that Mr. Timmins should be allowed to speak on matters of the draft and the team’s prospects. Marc Bergevin’s way of doing business, of decentralizing decision-making and of allowing subordinates to spread their wings is a much preferable climate than Mr. Gauthier’s now-revealed Reign of Terror.
I still think that both communications strategies have value, but what the posters decried last June, and they were proven right, was that Mr. Gauthier was micro-managing, behaving in an imperious manner, and was clipping the wings of those in what should have been his entourage. In this they were proven right. Since he was let go, we were told the Ottawa cookie story, the fact that his players feared/detested him, the Mike Cammalleri game-worn jersey story, the knee-jerk quality to some of his decisions, instead of a committee approach… I defended his management style as nothing to worry about, as an accepted business practice. The detractors were proven right that this behaviour was symptomatic of something fundamentally wrong with his management style and his persona. I wanted to come forward and admit that.
So I was wrong on that count. That’s two that I’ll admit to. I kind of forget what was the first one, maybe I’ve blocked it out. We do what we can to preserve our self-image.
As far as the love for Mr. Timmins tonight, I agree that he’s shown a good eye for talent, but what has me even more excited is the statement by Mr. Bergevin that he will beef up the scouting team, and Mr. Molson’s assertion that the team will not spare any effort or resources to win. Taken together, this is a very positive development.
We sometimes pine for the days of Sam Pollock, for a wizard who would routinely pull a rabbit out of a hat, and would outfox other organizations. Those days are over, we won’t be able to fool other teams as we have in the past, there is too much available info out there for us to rely on that to succeed. What we can do is build a solid organization, with strong teams in the scouting and player development areas. We can have young lieutenants getting their feet wet and being groomed to take over if the next Guy Boucher or Julien Brisebois is cherry-picked by another organization. With these strong management teams, what we can do is outwork the other teams, and ensure that we get the best prospects possible and then give them all the advantages they need to reach the NHL and contribute to our next great dynasty.
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In the very long view, it is important that kids growing up in Québec love the Canadiens and recognize themselves in the team, and a bit of the team in themselves. There must be a strong, visceral, emotional connection between the fans and leurs Glorieux.
http://relentlessineptitude.blogspot.com/
From everything I’ve read recently the head scout, Timmins, is in charge of the drafting and any trades will be on the GM and ass’s. The trades generally depend on who we did and didn’t get and who, by moving up, the scouts think is a steal, such as Tinordi. The draft is all on the scouts so why not have Timmins do the speech after the draft?
…if available, and no Patrick Roy as Our Coach in October ? …THAT officially, for Myself, would end Marc Bergevin’s short honeymoon period as Our General Manager
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Holy flashback Batman, a Petr Nedved sighting! I didn’t know he was still playing.
You think Montréal suffers from draft revisionism, from first pick remorse. You should hear them here in Vancouver. Alex Stojanov, Jason Herter, Dan Woodley, they play the same broken record we play. And Dan from Edmonton has the same tale of woe, post 1990.
The 1990 draft, whenever it is brought up, is always referred to as the Great Miss, and the bellyaching commences ipso facto. First, the Canucks drafted ‘hometown hero’ Petr Nedved, since he played in their backyard with the Seattle Thunderbirds. The Canucks have had the same luck drafting Thunderbirds in the first round as the Canadiens have (see, Vallis, Lindsay; Stevenson, Turner; Bilodeau, Brent) it seems. Instead of taking Hall of Fame and Stanley Cup winner Jaromir Jagr, or at least rugged centre Keith Primeau, they chose small, surly diva Petr Nedved, he of the contract holdouts and trade demands, the guy who couldn’t play in traffic they said since it would make him drop his purse.
Then late in the first round, the Canucks chose physical winger Shawn Antoski, a guy who was going to be the second coming of Cam Neely, only bigger and stronger, and a faster skater. Trouble is, he had hands of stone, and chosen immediately after the career plugger who was beset by injuries, were Keith Tkachuk, who would have filled the role of scoring tough forward nicely, and Martin Brodeur, another guy who the Canucks could have used. “Imagine Brodeur instead of Cloutier in nets”, they moan.
So it’s kind of a shock to see a smiling, happy Petr Nedved, a guy who is blamed for some lean years in Vancouver, much as we may look at Scott Gomez in years to come. He’s Andrei Kostitsyn to Vancouver fans, only way way worse, the guy they ended up with instead of the guy they should have got, and the guy who left town with a ‘Goodbye and good riddance’.
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In the very long view, it is important that kids growing up in Québec love the Canadiens and recognize themselves in the team, and a bit of the team in themselves. There must be a strong, visceral, emotional connection between the fans and leurs Glorieux.
http://relentlessineptitude.blogspot.com/
As a long suffering Frontenac fan,I find it hard to cheer for the Knights.Except of course for Tinordi and homeboy Harrington. Still love the way they ring the bell in Shawinigan just before the boys tilt!
@ trini…think we can be proud of both.
- Eller’s TOI against Italy was a team high while his total TOI led all forwards in the round robin. His 21 shots on net led all Danish forwards, as did his total ice time and total points. He was voted one of the teams’ best three players as selected by the coaches.
- Plekanec’s 6 assists led the Czechs while his 266 shifts led all forwards on that team. He was voted one of the teams’ best three players as selected by the coaches.
Trevor Timmins all class. Gonna be a GM some day. As for the Canadiens Coach. we can only hope for a good one. Roy or Hartley are my choices. other names mentioned. not interested.
what is it about Patrick Roy’s system that makes him your choice? And Hartley?
I’d be MUCH more confident hiring Jacques Martin back then either of those two.
Mr_MacDougall it has nothing to do with Patricks system that’s junior hockey your talking about. I would give him a chance, remember coaches are hired to be fired unlike players. should it be the case we have at least six forwards that would be looking for work in the up coming season. Hartley out of all the names mentioned. can’t see him doing worst than any of the others and he’s still active. Maybe there’s a good coach out there somewhere who hasn’t coached in the NHL before if not . Roy is the man and he speaks better french than Hartley.
Kind of interesting how the Memorial Cup allows us to hear the sound in the Replay room when goals are reviewed. I can just imagine if they ever let us listen in on the Review Orifice (oops meant office) in Toronto when reviewing goals etc….
Would be a great way to show transparancy, I am guessing that is why that will never happen in the NHL.
+1
never ever cheer for a team that employs Justin Williams
?
I believe it was Justin Williams who high-sticked Saku in the eye causing his detached retina back in the 2006 playoffs. I’m guessing that’s why that comment was made.
- Honestly yours
Twitter: @de_benny
oh ya… completely forgot it was him… tnx for the reminder!
Nonetheless the Kings have always been my secret team crush so GO KINGS GO!
I am going to go out on a limb here and suggest that the Habs will be a very good team and organization from top to bottom is less than 3 years.
Whereas I was highly critical of Geoff Molson in the past I am hereby giving him my full support and a vote of confidence moving forward.
That must have been some party last night! You’re going to feel it mid afternoon when you start to sober up so start hydrating now
Someone got laid last night.
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“Bring it on home, Bring it on home to you…” – Plant/Page
Bring it on Home
You guys know me all too well.
Drunk and laid. I think Hartley is going to be the coach. He is probably getting an interview daily at the Memorial Cup.
Lucky HH!
Drunk and laid? I know the fee… hell who am I fooling…it’s been too long.
Maybe he will blog about it.
I feel the need to concur with what Habfab and ZepFan had to say. Either way, glad you had a great night HH
I agree. I was not impressed by his role in the hiring of Randy Cunneyworth; it would have been so easy to defuse criticism beforehand. But my mind has been changed by the way he fired Gauthier and Gainey, by his obviously exhaustive search for a new GM, and by the way he presented Marc Bergevin: “C’est la première étape dans la construction d’une équipe gagnante.” Just words, but they rang with conviction and passion. His smile as he introduced Bergevin was almost triumphant; he knew he’d made the right choice. I feel absolutely confident that the dark days of the last couple of decades are over, and in two or three years we’ll be contenders.
Jarrod Maidens today.
http://lastwordonsports.com/2012/05/21/nhl-draft-prospect-profile-45-jarrod-maidens/
Go Habs Go!
Visit Your NHL Draft Headquarters
http://lastwordonsports.com/category/lastwordblog/nhldraft/
Interesting to see if he shows at the Combine.
Anybody else impressed with the spirit shown by the Cataractes last night against the Knights?I sure was!
So was I.
Yaaa PLekSSSSS
SIR PLEKERS
Bob Hartley might be the Ken Hitchcock of available candidates. If he’s learned to Be down with the kids, maybe he’s the right choice?
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Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.
Of all the candidates being highly mentioned I like Bob Hartley the best. I think he brings the widest scope of experience and is apparently now able to connect with the young players and get his ideas across to them.
You’re respected on this site so less likely to have barbs thrown your way re: Stanley Cup winner Hartley. Hey, wasn’t it great and telling that the brass at Hockey Czech Republic gave Tomas the “C?”
“May you live in interesting times.”
I’m not a fan of Hartley at all.
Actually I’m not a fan of the various “experienced” candidates. Hartley, Carbo, Therrien, have all been out of the NHL a long time and there is a reason for that. Crawford has the legal issues which will create a circus in Montreal.
I’d rather go with someone else.
Go Habs Go!
Visit Your NHL Draft Headquarters
http://lastwordonsports.com/category/lastwordblog/nhldraft/
While I completely trust Bergevin, and I will accept whomever he chooses, I am in same boat as you Ben. I am hopeful there is a darkhorse we don’t know about. We shall see.
I think at this point I’d look long and hard at Patrick Roy, and do whatever it takes to make sure he has grounded, experienced assistants with him.
Larry Robinson on Defence would be perfect for that role, former head coach, someone who Patrick played with and respects, and he’s doing a great job in Jersey. Pull out whatever money is necessary to bring him on board.
At the other end of the bench, a guy like Benoit Groulx would be a good addition, and another guy who Roy has a lot of respect for.
Go Habs Go!
Visit Your NHL Draft Headquarters
http://lastwordonsports.com/category/lastwordblog/nhldraft/
You shoulda been here last month.
Today’s HIO Bierberbach Conjecture… or the heat has gotten to me!
That, based on the WHC tournament, Lars Eller is not a bonafide #2 centre in waiting and Thomas Plekanec will indeed be a top notch centre given proper scoring wingers.
Evidence:
At the WHC, both Eller and Plekanec would have been assigned offensive pre-emminent roles on their team.
While Eller did score 3 goals, his name figures very minimally on the score sheets… especially blaring is his ‘lack of’ assists. He did not make his teammates better, which is what a centre should do.
Conversely, Thomas Plekanec’s name was consistently on the score sheets. Especially in the assists totals.
Theorem: That Thomas Plekanec is our number #2 centre and should not be traded and maybe we should be re-evaluating Lars Eller and probably seeing what we can get for him while his ‘potential’ is still spoken of in positive terms.
Consideration: Plekanec did disappear (offensively) in the ‘big game’… the girlie girl factor.)
Just like my old hookey pal, Ludwig Bieberbach, I cant prove this conjecture YET. But neither can YOU prove I am wrong.
So there!!!!!!!!!!!!
Eller plays for a country that has two NHLers.
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Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.
But then again ‘every goal’ that the Danes scored should have had Eller’s fingerprints on it.
the slovaks had only 4 NHLers and that was enough to beat the canadians, the czechs and go to the finals.
numbers, rosters…..the play on the ice is what counts!
Denmark scored 13 goals in 7 games so Eller was involved in 38.5% of his team scoring.
Czech scored 32 goals in 10 games so Plekanec involved in 21.875% of his team scoring.
Not exactly comparing apples to apples…
Come on Frank, you know that assertions based on limited statistics are overwhelmingly popular here!
I know, just a party pooper I guess.
Hope you have had a great long weekend bud. CHeers! I am off to a patio with cold beer after doing yard work since the sun came up this morning.
You may be right, but who has just turned 23 and who will fairly soon turn 30? And who would give us the greatest return if we were to trade him? While your main point, that Pleks is better than Eller, may be correct and it certainly is right now, I wouldn’t judge them on these stats.
Another Trevor Timmins interview at the Memorial Cup;
http://tvasports.ca/video/1648051944001
How the Hab players did at the Worlds;
Pacioretty – 2+10 8GP (+5)
Plekanec – 1+6 10GP (-1) won bronze
Eller – 3+2 7GP (-2)
Emelin – 2+2 9GP (+12) won gold
Hey HabFab just read your stats post. I see you, accidentally or not, have been in the lab hard at work on my conjecture as laid out above.
Good work sir! Me thinks you are halfway there to the proof… or not!
Or maybe we should both just get outta the sun eh?
Really don’t think it means a thing
Maybe the Habs should try Emelin on the PP. Seems like Team Russia uses him there.
Plekanec was wearing his Habs turtleneck shirts in that picture!
Good on Emelin and Plekanec for their success in the World Hockey Championship.
I did not follow the tournament so I don’t know how much of a role they played in the success of their respective teams. I hope that their success will follow them into the upcoming regular NHL season(in hopes that there is one).
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“Can we lose the parade float?…..Thank you!”
-This Old House, GMC commercial-
I still didn’t think it would take this long to get a head coach ? I also think the hab should try and bring in jordon tootoo , he would amp up the team and would be a fan favorite ? Also price n pk better be signed long term goin into the draft !! Ole ole
How often does Mom clean your room for you?
And, do you pick up your own underwear after she cleans it, or does she bring it to your chest of drawers for you?
You know it’s pretty pathetic to denigrate someone based solely on their age. One can no more choose their age than the identity of their parents.
I think the Habs should sign Petr Nedved lol
_______________________________________
Calling it like it is:
Jack Edwards is a clam.
Boston Bruins, gutless diving weasel pukes.
I was shocked when I saw his name . Is this the same Petr Nedved?
Kopitar/Todd
“May you live in interesting times.”
I’m not clicking on that link but I am willing to bet that Todd did not write an article on Kopitar without mentioning Carey Price, and not flatteringly.
Am I right?
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Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.
OMG! You are right!!!!!
Ok…I read the article, and Todd said nothing about Price that was unflattering at all. He was just realistic, and fair – saying that we may have made the right choice if Price meets his potential, but, if not, Kopitar would have been better. What’s bad about that?
I know some people here have a negative hard-on for Todd, but let’s not skew the truth with propaganda.
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☞ “Wow, that’s a nice lookin’ pair of Crocs!” Said no one ever.☜
Thanks for chiming in, Clay. People probably know I like Todd and this article demonstrates how journalists have to dig and come up with fresh information which this article is rife with.
“May you live in interesting times.”
I like Todd as well Andrew – or at least, tend to be more indifferent than otherwise. He gets quite the bad rap around here though, and it’s mostly undeserved, in my opinion.
And I agree – this article had a lot of fresh info, and was well worth a read. It also made me realize I can’t pronounce the capital city of Slovenia…
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☞ “Wow, that’s a nice lookin’ pair of Crocs!” Said no one ever.☜
First I dont have a negative hard-on for Todd. I think he is a competent writer/journalist. And I agree with the assessment of Clay above re the article.
But, based on the extract below, to say that he is ‘balanced’ re Price and Kopitar would be stretching it.
They were drafted the same year and have both had detractors re their careers so far. But Todd certainly wants you to believe that Kopitar is fully accomplished while Price’s ability is up for debate.
Here’s the extract.
“If Price is really the goaltender the cheerleaders would have you believe, the Canadiens did well when they chose him fifth overall. If he is going to go on keeping his team in games but lacking the fire to be a really dominating goaltender, then the Habs should have gone with Kopitar – particularly because they had José Theodore under contract at the time.
Still, better Price than Pouliot, Brule, Skille or Bourdon.”
Aside: I must admit a certain impotency fabricating a mental picture of a negative hard-on.
George Costanza-esque shrinkage?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEnKLhi83J8
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In the very long view, it is important that kids growing up in Québec love the Canadiens and recognize themselves in the team, and a bit of the team in themselves. There must be a strong, visceral, emotional connection between the fans and leurs Glorieux.
http://relentlessineptitude.blogspot.com/
Poultry feces!