Defenceman Hal Gill and Andrei Kostitsyn were the only impact players on the ice this morning as the Canadiens held an optional on-ice practice following a team meeting.
The other players scheduled on the Mathieu Darche, Sergei Kostitsyn, Glen Metropolit, Ben Maxwell, Jaroslav Spacek and backup goaltender Carey Price.
AUDIO: Hal Gill | Scott Gomez | Tomas Plekanec | Mathieu Darche | Jacques Martin
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They didn’t go all out in the 2 period: they only got 4 shot on goal
No, I get the point completely. My point was explain why he may have not used Darche. But, I do get your point – I just don’t think it’s a very significant, that’s all.
In Game 2, the 4th line was on the ice and gave up a goal instantly because of poor coverage. Easily a good reason to bench them in a playoff game.
In Game 3, Metro and AK46 were 2nd and 3rd last in ice time with 5:12 and 11:16. More than enough for “4th liners”. Again, it just goes back to Darche.
In Game 7 against the Caps, Metro was the only forward with under 10 minutes.
So, it seems Martin uses his 4th line more strategically then other teams, and instead of using them together, he uses them more to cycle players in and out of the lineup. If Andrei Kostitsyn goes into a fog, Moan moves up and a 4th liner moves into his spot.
He’s using the lineup this way because of the personnel he has to work with.
The problem with Pleks is this. He IS good. He is still fairly young. Mostly because he is good on the PK, PP and 5 v 5. He is extremely useful, quick and smart. The only two dowside to Pleks are he is smallish and he isnt a great face off man.
He is worth 4.5 million for 3-4 seasons as a home town discount. Especially with Gainey giving him MORE than his worth after the unproductive season. Maybe 5 million in a good market and 5.5 million on a losing team.
Given this teams history, and our base of players. I would not hesitate to sign at 4.5 million for the next 3. We went out ang got guys to play with him, and Cammalleri seems to do well with him.
There may be other teams, but only ONE Club De Hockey…
You have to understand, Plekanec isn’t being asked to play an offensive role in this series. He’s being asked to shut Crosby down. Has Crosby done much in the last three games? No? Well, maybe that’s because your “girl” is actually doing his job properly. Do you see Crosby smashing his stick and whining incessantly? Yes? That’s because Plekanec is frustrating the hell out of him. In the playoffs, it’s not all about numbers. There are different assignments, and Plekanec is capable enough to play many roles. This one isn’t glamourous, but it’s important, and obviously thankless. He tried to switch it to offence last game and got robbed by Fleury. It’s not that he can’t do it, or that he’s MIA. He’s just primarily assigned a shut down role right now.
What is Pleks really worth?
I brought this up last week and a few of you jumped in right away defending the guy. I wasn’t saying he was bad, just asking. I think he is a very good player, awesome on the pk, has his chances offensively….. but we really need him now in the goal department and he’s not there.
So just curious – how much in the off-season before he’s too expensive?
We really need some on the scoresheet from the lesser guys. Cammaro, Gomez, Giionta, Gill, Gorges, Halak, Lappy and even Bergeron are doing everything we can ask. Poulliot, Big Tits are awful.
We need a chip in from Metro. Just one and we can win the next game.
Go Habs from the Cali!!!!
Get over it dude. There is NO LOGICAL reason for dressing Darche.
“Good judgement comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgement.”
Yup, the NHL should use our ideas instead.
“These head movies make my eyes rain” -Simple Jack
Creating scoring chances by it’s very nature means taking risks in the offensive zone. That is not part of the system. Hard to score when you are barricading the doors for two periods. JM’s system seems to be to go all out to try and get the lead then sit back and protect. Cammy has been out of this world but is it realistic to expect him to score every game?
“Good judgement comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgement.”
lol, yeah, rewind from the goal celebration to him dropping his gloves
I didn’t know they were on NHL website, my bad.
I agree with you, though, they’re making videos of any goal or play, now.
If Pleks thought he played like a little girl in the playoffs two years ago, I would have to say he’s playing like a girl in this series. I haven’t heard his name more than maybe twice a game and that’s not a good sign. your best point-producer in the regular season going completely MIA.
In his defense, he isn’t always getting Cammi on his wing and AK46 seems to be in a funk but still there has to be some impact because Gionta getting 7 shots although it’s good, it’s disappointing.
“I gotta feeling…that tonight’s gonna be a good night!”
Better yet, feature a video of Buttman and go “What if the NHL was run by a guy who cared about hockey?”
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu.
http://habsandhockey.blogspot.com/
Seriously, I’d rather see an Evgeni Malkin commercial about last night’s game..
One where they show him celebrating his goal, and then the black sreen appears to the words:
“What if Malkin was in the box for fighting?”………History Will Be Made.
That makes more sense to me.
“These head movies make my eyes rain” -Simple Jack
110 percent agreed
They haven’t made one with Crosby’s hack attack and javelin toss yet? I, for one, am shocked.
I’m talking about the ones on tv realeased by the NHL, and available on NHL.COM
Those are not fake. Those are a desperate attempt to make something out of nothing. Pathetic.
But I know there are a bunch of fake ones on youtube.
“These head movies make my eyes rain” -Simple Jack
Couldn’t agree more.
There a ton of fakes floating around, but these are NHL-made commercials that they feature on their own website and are professionally done, the faked-up ones are generally spotted because of how they’re edited and the text on the ‘what if’.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu.
http://habsandhockey.blogspot.com/
Never said it was intentional, nor did I imply that it was a penalty. However, getting a stick to the ear sometimes hurts.
Strongly agree, they started off this brilliant ad campaign, they just started grabbing every highlight clip from this year’s playoffs like these were more amazing moments than anything that had happened in the last 40 years.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu.
http://habsandhockey.blogspot.com/
Thanks Mike…thought it was Gorges but I wasn’t paying too close of attention.
You fail to get the point. These are little things that our coach fails to do properly int he game. Not playing a fourth liner (no matter who it is, look at their time on ice), is not a laugable reason as you claim. This has effect on the whole team. You shorten your bench without any valid reasons and you tire the players you play the most and you can’t expect these guys to give you a 60 minute effort.
Darche’s skill level is not in question here. A plumber is a plumber. Your fourth liners don’t necessary have to be skilled, that’s why they are fourth liners. You are obviously not going to put a guy like Gomez or Gionta on the fourth line. You can’t have that on the fourth line. It could have been anybody, Maxwell was playing in game 2 because JM needed “more speed” and he dropped Metro. How long did Maxwell get to play? If you are not going to use the guy, why do you dress them. Every succesful team in the NHL gets 7 to 10 minutes of solid ice time for their 4th liners, they don’t expect to play 20 minutes of hockey, 7 minutes is good enough, what are we doing about that?
By making my comment focus on “Darche” only, you are not doing my point any justice.
According to La Presse, most of them are fake.
If you can read french, here’s the article: http://www.cyberpresse.ca/sports/hockey/201005/05/01-4277283-passer-a-lhistoire-et-sur-youtube.php?utm_categorieinterne=trafficdrivers&utm_contenuinterne=cyberpresse_aujourdhui-sur-cyberpresse_267_accueil_ECRAN1POS1
Congratulations to the NHL…
You have once again managed to screw up something great. You released awesome, superb commercials about the Stanley Cup playoffs this year. They highlighted great moments in the history of this sports. Ray Bourque’s Cup win, Patrick Roy, Bobby Orr, etc….
But now, it’s seriously too much. Today, a commercial came out with MA Fleury making a save vs the Habs last night. R u serious? History will not be made with that save. Cammalleri’s commercial is garbage too. I love the guy and the Habs, but wtf…Halak’s commercial did mean something, it made history. It was a game 7 win in maybe the most unexpected come-from-behind series victory in postseason history. That was history. Datsyuk’s commercial, well alright. It was game 7, so I guess if you really want to make one that’s enough of a reason.
Joe Pavelski did not make history. Kris Versteeg did not make history. Neither did Cammy or Fleury in our series now. Great job NHL, you’ve made a joke of something great once again.
“These head movies make my eyes rain” -Simple Jack
JM says the shifts were too long. Well what do you expect when you spend all your time in you’re own zone. The players can,t just jump off the ice after 45 seconds. When you only get 9 shots in 2 periods means the puck wasn’t down in the pens zone too much. If we would stop just dumping the puck out and start making plays with the puck at least we’d have posession and the pens couldn’t score.How can you score if you don’t have the puck
Habs hockey = Smart hockey we work as a team, and we win as a team. we play 5 man defence – not just 2. we play with energy, we play with Subban in Markov’s place (for now) – Pk could have been with us since the Olympics, but nevermind that.
A possible explanation of why Darche was dressed and did NOT play.
why was he dressed? because he was a logical choice over maxwell and SK
why he didn’t play? because he was ill, or somewhat injured.
they wanted to have him on the bench for an emergency only, but really, at game time, it was decided he should not really play.
I have seen that before.
Isn’t that possible??
Please…you know how many times Mike wrote that the Kostitsyns were done last season? Mike writes his blogs off the cuff. He would be the first to tell you that.
If it was written in one of his columns in the Gazette, then I would give it more credence. But I take Mike’s blogs as the postings of a fan watching the game, which can explain a lot of the other themes that creep into his blog that would NEVER show up in print in the Gazette.
If I see something from Dave Stubbs, Red Risher or Pat Hickey IN PRINT, then I give it credence.
But those jackals at La Presse are idiots that seek scandals for sales. Couldn’t care less about what those morons write. And yes, some of them are undoubtedly excellent journalists, but as long as they write for that garbage rag, I couldn’t be bothered to read what they have to say.
Like I said before, I don’t doubt that Sergei Kostitsyn will leave in the off-season…he is desperate to get away from Jacques Martin. And I couldn’t blame him one bit. That demotion you mention was nothing more than a public humiliation of a player…you do realize that Sergei couldn’t actually physically report to Hamilton at the time anyways, because the Bulldogs were not even on the continent? What is the purpose of demoting one of your top young prospects when he’s going to sit on his rear end for a few days waiting for the Bulldogs to get back? Why not demote him with the rest of the Hamilton-bound players when the Bulldogs came back into town a few days later, saving some humiliation for one of your only NHL-calibre forward prospects?
There was a lot of malice in what Martin did to Kostitsyn. Whether that is justified or no is a different conversation, and one that I’m not particularly interested in starting because I have no facts with which to debate. But you can pretty clearly see why the player was furious.
And the notion that players do as they are told is long-gone in the NHL, which is more than ever a player driven league. Players and their agents hold far more power than ever before…teams can not afford to play hardball out of principle if they hope to maximize the value of their assets, either for their future development or for their potential trade value should the team deem it necessary to make a change.
you raise good points – best of all is confidence…. but alas i will try to support ther team and the coach best i can. i do not really think the habs will win the cup this year…. heck i did not give them a chance against the caps or the pens… but IF (big IF) they win game four i’m be a happy dude. i wont even mention what happens IF the habs get past the pens because for now thereis only one game on teh schedule – thursday baby!!
secret mod
Habs hockey = Smart hockey we work as a team, and we win as a team. we play 5 man defence – not just 2. we play with energy, we play with Subban in Markov’s place (for now) – Pk could have been with us since the Olympics, but nevermind that.
I think you are right. I think that someone behind the bench will make sure JM adjusts.
Muller is on top of everything back there.
Muller is an excellent hockey guy.
I think we will adjust.
They tried for the knockout punch in the first period, and except for some great saves, we would have had it.
You’re hating the coach for a ridiculously stupid reason. If what he does works, what in the heck is the difference if a career minor leaguer is benched? Seriously. Darche is an okay grinder, but he was exposed in the Washington series. He’s a very marginal NHLer. He does what he does well, but when the going gets tough, his skills don’t allow him to be as effective as usual.
Darche reminds me of Steve Begin, without all the banging and hitting. Darche knows what he has to do, which is why Martin liked him, but sometimes his skills don’t allow him to do what he wants. Darche, like Begin, doesn’t have a very good “stick”, and sometimes struggles to clear the zone. This is the polar opposite of a guy like Tom Pyatt, who lacks the jam of a Darche or Begin, but he has a great stick, and can clear the zone with ease.
So, there’s much worse you could be raggin on a coach about. Claiming he should be fired for not playing a 4th liner is laughable.
Don’t think I have ever said he is the best coach in the world. I have had the same opinion for a long time, we need to get rid of this coach. Coach has Muller to help him. If anything, Muller is just Awesome.
Habs hockey = Smart hockey we work as a team, and we win as a team. we play 5 man defence – not just 2. we play with energy, we play with Subban in Markov’s place (for now) – Pk could have been with us since the Olympics, but nevermind that.
I know one thing for certain. Sergei was sent to Hamilton and refused to report.
When you play for the Habs, unless there is a miraculous turnaround in your attitude, you do NOT show up the organisation like that.
The 3 Amigos were run out of town because of their selfishness. The Habs have a short fuse.
When SK returned to Montreal he played well at times, and poorly other times.
Now he is not played at all.
When Mike Boone starts to write in his blog that a player is done, he is getting his info from very high up – people that are “in the know”.
Red Fisher, Francois Gagnon, Mike Boone, these guys follow the team for a living.
Sergei is done.
The Habs are trying to give Andrei a chance – as seen by his ice last night.
And to Andrei’s GREAT CREDIT – I thought he had some excellent moments of intense hockey last night.
The 1st period was great, the problem was the top two lines don’t have the kind of energy needed to maintain that over 60 minutes, nor should they be expected to have it. Penguins come back and hit the Canadiens with 4 lines, we’re back at them with maybe 3 tops. It gives them an advantage, their star players are more rested on a more consistent basis.
The game could’ve been won, but the backing off and offensive domination by the Pens over the 2nd and most of the 3rd period did the team in. Team can’t keep shooting for the early lead and expect to get one, they will face goalies ‘in the zone’ as much as Halak has been and they’ll need to press harder. We’ve had the short bench too often lately and it’s catching up with our best players, we all can see they’re doing everything possible to make something happen but they’re just spent by the end of the game unfortunately in some cases.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu.
http://habsandhockey.blogspot.com/
I have no issues using our top two lines when we are down a goal, but when we are NOT down a goal, do you really want to tire the hell out of your top two lines and not play the players at your disposal?
You are killing the confidence of these players by not playing them, you are making them feel inadequate. I mean, you dress a guy up and you sit him? What the hell did you dress him up for? I would like to see where Darche made mistakes. The first Pens goal in game 2 was not his fault, more like AK letting his player (Cooke) go, after the faceoff, passes like that can happen, Darche was not alone on ice and if you bench him because of that, there is no justification. JM may be a good coach, and whether we win the cup or not, I sincerely think he needs to make way for another coach in our team that can nurture talent, the young talent that we have.
Hamrlik made mistakes, did he not subsequently get to play a lot more? Sure he was benched the next game, only a few shift in the third period, but then he was put on ice more and more. If you started benching players after eveyr mistake they make, we would have no body playing on ice.
So what if tomorrow, Pens score because of PK, you gonna bench him for the rest of the game? Is MAB not playing a lot more than before (as we don’t have any more defensemen) despite being -10 in the series?
Ridiculous. The coach has personal issues against SK and Darche. He needs to man up and accept the roles players can play and let them play it.
One day he’s the best coach in the world…the next day we want him gone. Our fans are pathetic and no wonder every other teams fans hate us!
It wasn’t Gorges’ stick. It was Gionta’s. Gorges was the guy standing next to Crosby when he looked up, so he assumed it was Gorges.
Clang…nail on the head. AK isnt much better unoftunately. Plays great for a short time period and then takes a vacation and won’t go into the hard areas like in front of the net. He has the size and can hit he just doesn’t do it.
You have a snowball’s chance in the Sahara of getting Dave Stubbs, Pat Hickey or anybody else to verify wha the players think. Not because they don’t know, but because the Gazette sports policy has historically been to not cite “anonymous” players. I have zero respect for Francois Gagnon for running that crap, and any player that he is citing for not having the courage to actually say it aloud if they want it to get out into the media.
If it was an off-the-record comment, shame on Francois Gagnon for reporting it. Given his affiliation with La Presse, I have almost no respect for him anyways after the character assasination piece last year. The Kostitsyn’s were cleared by the police, but La Presse still ran with it hoping that scandal would sell. It did, but at the cost of any shred of journalistic integrity. The days after that “scandal” broke were some of the darkest days in the history of the franchise: everybody was apologizing as if the two kids had murdered somebody, only for us to find out they were guilty of nothing more than having made a really bad choice in who they hung out with. And if you think they are the only ones, try reading around the web about some of the posses that some other pro athletes hang out with…it is far more common than people think.
As for Muller, he is the “good cop” to Jacques Martin’s “bad cop”. On almost every NHL team, there is an assistant coach that acts as the go-between for the players and the head coach. That assistant is usually on good terms with the players, and is often a former player himself. This comraderie is part of the reason why assistant coaches that fulfill that role can rarely make the jump to the head coach position for the same team. Dave Lewis, who the players loved as an assistant coach for the Scotty Bowman coached Red Wings teams of the late 1990′s, was a terrible coach in Detroit because he couldn’t pull off the transition from player advocate to head coach, where you have to make really tough decisions.
That being said, I think that many head coaches, Martin and Carbonneau being the most recent examples, COULD communicate with the players a bit more. The NHL is a player-driven league now…non-communication is a quick way to the firing line as your team will quit on you.
Not allowed to question a coach ? Why Cause JM is God ? Perhaps in some people’s minds. He has alot more to go before he gains that status. If you believe in him, than by all means continue believing and I’ll support y’all. If you are content with going a couple of rounds in the playoffs, that’s cool too. But I for one am not happy unless a cup is raised, and IMO I find the odds are against us with the way the coach is going about his business. If he conducted his business a little differently than mabey I wouldn’t question him so much (which I beleive every fan has a right to). He isn’t a hockey Head coach for me….he’s a coach that tries to stop the other team from scoring, he would probably be a better special teams guy or a tournament style coach, but not 4 best of 7 series Coach IMO. He takes things to personal and is too old for the new game. If it wasn’t for the old boys club he’d probably be unemployed.
As for me being a horrible coach……….you are probably right. I won’t be quitting my day job anytime soon and if I ever did coach a hockey team it would be my first time. I’ve never played the game but I love watching it (i.e. the Habs, The Knights and Team Canada) more than anything !
That’s all I’ve got.
Habs, OLE !
shortening the becnch work in games 6 and 7 right? and IF the habs had scored instead of the pens early in the third last night and then won … well you know…. i do not understand the hatred toward the coach. what if the fourth line plays 10 mins and gives up 3 goals… is that better? these are all IF because neithor you nor I or the coach knows for sure what would happen….. i do know if i am down by a goal i am going to use my first and second lines till they are exhausted because that gives me a better chance to win.
this is the playoff – everygame must be played like it is the last if it is close.
secret mod
Habs hockey = Smart hockey we work as a team, and we win as a team. we play 5 man defence – not just 2. we play with energy, we play with Subban in Markov’s place (for now) – Pk could have been with us since the Olympics, but nevermind that
Serious Fan – you know that JM is not working alone back there. If the team was gassed, Muller would be picking that up.
If you are right, and the 3 lines can not continue, I am sure the team will adapt.
I thought we had some great chances last night. We could have won that game 2, 3 or evne 4-1.
We killed them in the first period but could not finish the job.
I thought we had our share of chances throughout the game- even though we had only 18 shots, there were at least 5 or 6 EXCELLENT scoring chances.
But, if the team is tired, I am confident you will see a 4th line play about 8 or 9 minutes.
I know which one I believe in.
Jean Perron also won a Stanley Cup. So has Bob Hartley. Just because a team wins doesn’t mean the coaching is automatically good. Sometimes the players win despite their coach.
yes crybasby got hit in the head but he was falling down while crashing the front of hte net – it’s just a hoceky play… he has played hockey before right?
secret mod
The funny thing about this is that the same thing was said last year about Sergei and Andrei Kostitsyn, especially after the “story” about their “mob connections”. The fact that more BS about Sergei Kostitsyn is being reported by Francois Gagnon, who works for the same rag that published that crap last year (the Kostitsyns were cleared by the police and were guilty of nothing more than having a disreputable friend) lends me to file it in the entirely uninteresting department.
Until Sergei Kostitsyn, Andrei Kostitsyn and any other member of the team are traded out of town, nobody here knows squat about where their future lies. I also think that Sergei is probably on his way out of town because he and Jacques Martin seem to loathe one another, but I certainly wouldn’t go so far as to claim that I know anything.
ok SK lovers (and yes i am a supported of Sk)
if you told your kid NOT to touch brealable items in a store and they did touch and break one would you bring that kid back to that store again…. well if you gave your kid another chance and yet again they touched and broke an item on a different day…. would you brng tham back a third time?… sooner or later they need ot learn the message or the situation needs to be avoided.
while i would like to see SK shine, he is not doing what he has been asked and now it appears JM is “avoiding the situation” in my example above.
now i am not bashing SK, there is nothing more i would like than to see hte brothers K on the same line and each pot a goal or two…. but not going to happen
secret mod
From the camera, I thought he DID get hit by a stick while lying on the ice…haven’t watched the replays too carefully, but it certainly looked like Gorges’ stick accidentally hit him. It can’t really be called a high-stick when you are lying on the ice though, and it was accidental, so there was no big deal.
I want this coach gone. Really. I don’t understand him. What the heck is his problem with Darche? Forget SK. I was disappointed that SK was not playing at all or he was benched constantly, seems more like a personal issue with JM than anything else but Darche?
The same guy that JM touted as being an intelligent player during the season, used him in key situations, PK, PP, the guy who came and gave our team some energy when we needed it, goes in front of the net, battles in the corners, he doesn’t play him a single shift? WTF is this?
Why dress a guy if you are going to sit him all day? Seems like something to do to just piss the K brothers off.
This coach needs to go, I dont’ care whether we made it to the second round, doesn’t matter if we go past the Pens, this coach is not going to be good for our young players, his system, whatever it is, sucks as he can’t even get proper ice-time from his fourth-liners. He can’t expect to win a cup by shortening his bench, one game, fine, two games, fine, but every game? You are going to tire your first two lines miserably and they won’t have any juice left in them come the end of the game, when you need them to play 60 minutes in a game, not 10, not 20.
Someone ask JM what the heck is his problem?
I wrote in a post yesterday that team 990 reported that the team (players) were fed up with SK regarding his nonchalant attitude and the team supposedly pulled a mutiny on him, not wanting to see his gloomy face anywhere near the dressing room or ice.
Supposedly the players… Fired him?
Habs hockey = Smart hockey we work as a team, and we win as a team. we play 5 man defence – not just 2. we play with energy, we play with Subban in Markov’s place (for now) – Pk could have been with us since the Olympics, but nevermind that.
I don’t need a direct line to the PG.
The whole town knows it.
Every reporter. Every fan. Everyone except a few of you guys on HIO.
I have seen this happen before – and when a young guy with talent is benched over and over, its because the coach AND THE GM have agreed that the player is no longer in their current or future plans.
Hopefully, for the Sergei fans out there, he will end up in a hockey hotbed like Sunrise Florida, where he will score 25 goals a season for a team that never makes the playoffs.
Florida would be perfect for Sergei!!
Did not realize you have a direct line to PG? Is he still planning to trade Halak? LOL
“Good judgement comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgement.”
Hmmm…did you ever stop to think that perhaps, just maybe, he’s playing a different role in this series? Plekanec, if you haven’t noticed, has been matched against Crosby pretty regularly. He actually stole the puck from Crosby in game two to set up the Cammalleri game winner. And you’ll notice Crosby hasn’t been doing much either. That’s because he’s battling Plekanec on every shift.
Crosby’s a whiner, but a very good one. He has to constantly practice so he is in game-shape for game 4 when he whines to the officials so much that they call a penalty just to shut him up.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu.
http://habsandhockey.blogspot.com/
Listening to team 990. They keep playing this clip of Crosby in kind of a saucy tone asking a reporter… Did you see what happened at the end of the period? Josh Georges stick hit me in the head!
What a fckin liar,and a pussy. Does he know there are cameras now?
Habs hockey = Smart hockey we work as a team, and we win as a team. we play 5 man defence – not just 2. we play with energy, we play with Subban in Markov’s place (for now) – Pk could have been with us since the Olympics, but nevermind that.
SK is done in this town – live with it.
It takes more than talent to play for the Habs – and I’m glad that we are building a team around guys who care.
Because our top two lines are gassed by the 3rd period. The short bench is not holding up right now and it’s not going to work any better as we go further into the series. You need extra legs to take up some time by other forwards and give your top players some chances to rest.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu.
http://habsandhockey.blogspot.com/
Halak has gotten the team this far along with unbelievable scoring by Cammy. In the FIVE wins the Habs have, the FIRST STAR in each game was HALAK.
Great coaching or great goaltending? I know which one I believe in.
“Good judgement comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgement.”
Darche has played ONE shift in TWO games. Is he following the system or is he part of this great system of the genius JM?
If JM is such a genius how do you explain the first round exits of the powerhouse Senators teams, and the fact they made the FINALS only after replacing him.
SK can’t help us? Thanks for that. Playing 11 forwards is always a good coaching decision.
“Good judgement comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgement.”
Why do you still question his decisions…hasn’t he prove you guys all wrong by getting as far as we have? Your not the coach for a reason!
Habs hockey = Smart hockey we work as a team, and we win as a team. we play 5 man defence – not just 2. we play with energy, we play with Subban in Markov’s place (for now) – Pk could have been with us since the Olympics, but nevermind that.
Fellow Habs fans of HIO, can you please put this Sergei lovefest to bed for the rest of the playoffs?
Here is the issue – its very simple.
Sergei is NOT playing the system that Jack Martin has implemented, and the same system that has us playing in May.
The other forwards, who get to play, play the system.
Sergei is either too stupid or too thick headed to play within the team concept.
If the system breaks down, and 1 player ignores it, than we do NOT have the talent to compete against the Pens – and we would not have beaten the Caps either.
Sergei makes 800,000 $ to sit in the press box.
Don’t feel badly for him.
And he can NOT help us now.
He is NOT even that great a hockey player. He’s talented – but he’s not nearly as talented as Semin on Washington who is exactly the same type of selfish player.
Many teams have players that care about themselves over the team interests.
Sergei is not being permitted to do this on Jacques Martin’s team – and we are winning nicely without him.
So, will it be Maxwell’s turn on Thursday to sit on the bench in full equipment? Someone ask JM if he would bother dressing 18 skaters if league rules didn’t require it.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu.
http://habsandhockey.blogspot.com/
The gill clip is pointing at Plex : http://www.gazblogs.com/habsinsideout-files/2010%20May%205%20Canadiens%20practice/R09_0002.MP3 might work.
–
You’ll have to speak up – I’m wearing a towel.
Gill was trying out new skates dude! OMG….Gill is playing better than I could believe possible but this adulation is bordering on the ridiculous.
“Good judgement comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgement.”
Doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to dress someone and not play them . Unless the player is a goon with a few screws missing.
Big George could sit on the bench and not play – but he is like Ferdinand the bull he smells the flowers.
Next year I would like a ? Nielson ? Conboy to sit on the bench and not play or go on the ice for 30 seconds and rub Cookes face or take out Gonchor. Isn’t that what other teams do?
I think that Gill is showing the leadership and dressing room presence that Gainey wanted and is trying to give the black aces a shot in the arm.
I am concerned about JM’s use of Sergei. We all know the kid has attitude and maturity issues but this kid is an asset that needs to properly managed and nurtured. All Jm is doing is pissing the kid off and subsequently affecting his brother’s play. Why in the world he would waste an asset is beyond me.
As for Maxwell and Darche…Maxwell is not developing in any sort of a timely manner. His career is stalled at the AHL level and keeping him up with the big club is not helping either the team or Ben. Darche meanwhile is a career minor leaguer with no upside, no toughness and no leadership ability. When lack of depth is metioned these two are the symptoms of the problem.
Yeah I was hoping…hahah
Do you believe?
sk = grabovski
Great post, I can’t argue with any of it. Sergei probably deserves a fair ice time chance, hard to prove yourself with 3 shifts a game on the fourth line or from the press box, but perhaps the playoffs isn’t the time probably should have done it during the regular season and made a decision either he stays and contributes or he is gone by now. I guess Darche is just a line up filler, hard to believe we can’t dress someone who can contribute even a little bit. Good comment about Muller, looks like he gives a rats a**, and he survived the 2009 blow up, maybe he can coach this team someday.
Its a tradition in Montreal not to recognize talent and an even greater one to not be able to adapt to youth. So we bring up for a few years, piss them off and trade them for peanuts and in some cases watch them bloom elsewhere. I like SK74 but the coaches ego may not allow him to find a positive way to deal with him. Also treating Metropolit and Darche poorly. Especially with what Metro has brought to this team since his trade from Philly. I’d be surprised if he chooses to re-sign here.
If I was the cook on duty……
“These head movies make my eyes rain” -Simple Jack
Other than the second half of your last sentence your comment is quite valid. As a fan you have a right, indeed in this case a duty, to elevate it to a complaint. We can’t win with 2.5 -3 lines.
Went to Schwartz’s for lunch today…Saw the a couple of pens players…hopefully they ordered extra speck.
Do you believe?
Went to Schwartz’s for lunch today…Saw the a couple of pens players…hopefully they ordered extra speck.
Do you believe?
Ok, so we have a split in games on the road and a split at home, no big deal. I hope people didn’t think we were going to take them in 5 games. Great series so far and I am having fun watching.
This is just a comment not a complaint. I can’t for the life of me understand Jacques thinking behind the bench.
First of all he has a fantastic fore check going in the 1st period. Why not keep it going in the second. Instead he abandons that style of play to play the dump in game with a 1,2,2 defensive trap in the second, letting Pittsburgh off the ropes.
We took two stupid penalties late in the 2nd because of fatigue to playing only 2 lines mostly and the 3rd line very seldom with no 4th line at all.
In the 3rd our best players had fried legs and could not muster up enough. 18 shots is not nearly enough pressure to win in this league. Defensively we played a great game, but when the time came to turn on the offence, our legs were done like dinner. Needs to play the whole bench or leave them all in the press box.
He has done well to date, but if Martin wins this series playing this style, I will be surprised, but I will be one of his biggest backers if he can pull it off.
Yes, question was this series which is now 3 games.
Tonight we skate with them, Tonight is our night!
To Hickey et all.
Is it fact that the team does not like Sergei? I mean he is young, everyone knows that and he might have an attitude issue, but most young rich guys do
Hey Price had issues with Markov not too long ago right?
You have to give certain players more ice time to produce, and on a consistent basis. Crosby played over 22 min and had 1 shot and was +1. One shot by the best player in the league in the playoffs? I am sure Sergei would have at least 1 shot for 10 min of play (and his passes have been great, go youtube it or something, we know we’ve all seen it…no ice time = waste of talent). Andrei was showing signs last night and should have played a lot more than 11 min.
Is Jack the problem, not entirely but…
I find it strange and a little worrisome how Jack coaches his players. Some questions/thoughts.
In the end, Habs can still do this, I believe in them.
GO HABS GO!
At first, I said to myself “what a brilliant idea” then i remembered he was traded to st-louis….thanks again BOB…traded away another gem
D<Agostini isn’t with the Habs anymore (traded to St-Louis for Palushaj. But there’s Pacioretty in line before him.
“I gotta feeling…that tonight’s gonna be a good night!”
Just got finished reading up on some posts and it’s hard to imagine people debating about Sergei Kostitsyn. Why are people debating about him? I don’t even think he deserves to be debated about. He is not a team player. Or may be he is “sometimes”. Players that only show up when they feel like it are players we don’t need. So JM wants you to play a certain style. Suck it up buttercup. Do what your told and then when your a UFA then you can do as you please. When your boss at work presses you for more do you pack it in or do you suck it up and work harder and be a success. Mybe thats what JM wanted to see. If he would fold under pressure or succeed. We want people who will play the role they are giving within a system and not sulk about it. I wonder if Pyatt is sulking. Probably not because he most likely appreciates being in the NHL.
Yes i know that i had a sarcastic tone… i guess i should have precised it :p
Flyers…Flyers..
This is why you need a goalie.
I was sarcastic as well. Sarcasm is hard to read. LOL!
“I gotta feeling…that tonight’s gonna be a good night!”
Yeah, let’s play Price when Halak is leading the league with .933 save percentage. Just ride the hot goaltender.
EDIT: Oops, read the post below and realized you were joking. Sorry bud!
tell me about it….Price???
hahaha common! Price is HOT! have you not seen him in warmup?
If we can get a top six forward or a potential top six forward, why not.
Price is not the starter right now, and he has enough talent to be a starter. He is not a backup goaltender. He can fit in Philly. But I don’t want him to go to flyers. those dicks don’t deserve a goalie. Some other team, in western conference if possible.
yeah i gotta agree
Hopefully, we will never trade our goaltenders to a team from the eastern conference.
sorry i screwed up
Oh i didn’t see the Pacman part :p But i would take Pacioretty over akost any day now after his recent lack of work in the series.
man, Jennifer Hedger is lookin smokin’ tonight
for sure, but I can’t think off the top of my head a team that needs a goalie that badly, edmonton maybe?
Kevin Bieksa of the Canucks just opened the scoring, the problem is he put the puck into his own net…
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu.
http://habsandhockey.blogspot.com/
So, anybody wanna slag a goalie here tonight?
Exactly. And we can sure use their number one draft pick. I would package the Tits bros.
All your guys sarcasm aside, Palushaj looks like a decent prospect, he’ll look good in a Habs uniform in 2-3 seasons…
XXIV…and counting
All sarcasm aside, i agree with you.
That would be nuts….Pollack probably coulda made that deal…he was unreal
DAMMIT! I cant work the interwebs
lets do it…. lets go with Desjardins or Sanford just to change it up a bit
Dallas
daaaamn I know how that feels
Pacman is out injuried.
Imagine if Jacques Martin believed what Guy Lafleur said of the Habs at one time, that they had four fourth lines?
Who would play then? He’d have to bench everyone.
what a game, Niemi is standing on his head…too bad the score clock is all f***ed up
new jersey
Three hawks go to the net for the rebound. Result, a goal. 2-0 hawks. Nucks suck.
how about “Canada’s Team”
Looks like the Habs are as a team getting the message out that they feel Crosby is getting away with murder, which he is but which the league is truning a blind eye to. That’s what they need to do. Just like the Caps in the crease needed to be brought to attention, the Habs need to call the refs on what Crosby and Cooke are getting away with: unsportsmanlike conduct, embellishment/diving, hits after the whistle… all things the Habs have been called for consistently since the start of the playoffs. Let the public know that our team won’t take this two-tiered behavior and then the league suddenly has to decide if they want to protect CRosby and the Pens or deal with yet another public scrutinization. It’s what needs to be done. I say Habs come out firing again tomorrow and that this time they pop a couple of early goals. The Pens looked pretty flat for the Pens last game, and as red fisher said, they are ther eto be taken. Prediction for tomorrow: Habs 4-1 victory.
ya, thanks bob!!! wait, didnt that happen after he resigned?
oh, and Thanks Bob! for this Playoff ready Team!!! Beat out the #1 team in the NHL!!!
what makes you say they are getting this message out? just saying, i havent heard or seen anything other than arguing with the refs about crosby.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Puck-Daddy-chats-with-Montreal-rsquo-s-Sergei-Ko?urn=nhl,137306#remaining-content
from last year. hes a quiet kid with aspirations of becoming a big star in the nhl. he loves playing with his bro, and likes TO PLAY. so much is made out of little attitude problems. i say we be patient with this one. and his bro. not everyone can bite his tongue and suck it up and whatever. a lot of the guys do so because at the end of the day they’re sitting on a half mil paycheck. this kid doesn’t care about the money, he just wants to play!
Hal Gill stated that he didn’t think what he did was a penalty and that it was likely the refs were protecting Crosby. JM said he didn’t want to say anything but that it looked like the refs were giving Crosby special treatment and that he couldn’t say more but that “you saw exactly what I saw”, etc. The Habs are obviously aware the Pens stars got off easy last night and are doing their best to get the word out without being fined. Woudl love it if we had someone come out and give a Brian Burke-like speech about how the Pens have 18 captains talking to the refs…
Just not in JM system….
Package them and see if you can get something like a BIG forward with toughness….
In Guy Boucher I trust.
Pac-Man over K Senior?
Ridiculous. In one playoff game, K Senior scored more goals for the Habs than Pac-Man did ALL YEAR.
Please.
The guy is a most dangerous weapon and at any moment, he can win a game for us.
He stays in the lineup.
Superfluously redundant, I remain
L.Bugs Potter, esq. Assistant-Director of St-Habbie’s Hospital for the Blind, Head Physician of Neuroflannelogy Unit, and Occupational Therapist in Habsbros Emergency Ward: http://habsbros.blogspot.com/
well i’m glad they haven’t made a spectacle of it, as a team, but perhaps its time for upper management to
JM may be around 1 maybe 2 more years. these kids have 15 years left in them. Personally I don’t think Jm is sick of them or anything, he just wants them to learn D. i am sure he is well aware of their offensive skills, but doesnt care for them when they cost you goals. i can see these 2 sticking around next year, i can also see them learning a bit from the great examples on the team. then whne JM is gone we will still have 2 great talents to work with on the team.
There are only so many chances one can be given.
“I gotta feeling…that tonight’s gonna be a good night!”
they are both just having a kovalev hangover. 1 year to get their heads straight on a new team isn’t so bad. Next year there will be a new culture engrained on the team. they will fall in line i am certain.
I think they will be gone. The reason is that “russian”, I know they are not russian per say,players now have an option if they don’t like their situation. So they might not be willing to compromise.
We’ll see at the draft. If they get something interesting PG will listen very closely….
In Guy Boucher I trust.
Philadelphia, Chicago, Washington (probably – Varlamov hasn’t matured yet).
Edmonton and New Jersey maybe. I am sorry but Brodeur’s prime time is over.
This is a good one too: http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Sergei-Kostitsyn-is-rather-underwhelmed-by-threa?urn=nhl,102505
Has anyone noticed how Luongo is slow with his lateral movement ? Is he injured ?
In Guy Boucher I trust.
Your comment sucks. Are you drinking again? Canucks just are getting the bounces – yet
of course things change, but sergie stated he wants to play in the nhl, not khl, in that interview. Who knows how he feels now. but i doubt hes thinking to himself that because he’s been benched he wants out. he has some pride and it shows up a bit. big deal. its not as if he plays a bad game. JM just doenst see him playing the right game. dont lose faith in these 2. talent like theirs is hard to come by.
nothing that I do as far as superstitions are working for this series. The only game we won on Sunday, I woke up late and had a cup of coffee, well I sure can’t do that again during the week. I have no clue, maybe I was just missing my Halakarita that I made every game of our last 3 wins against the Caps! (1 parts tequila, 3 parts Margarita mix, and 1 part anxiety…I will try it.
lmfao!!! when chicago scores in vancouver, on the powerplay, they play sabotage by the beastie boys, not a bad idea!!!
Stupid Nucks undisciplined penalty leads to a Hawks PP goal. Nucks Suck.
thats hilarious. the kids pretty articulate. KEEP HIM! work with him. hes 22 for god sake. Not every teener in the nhl turns into a young mature ass kisser (crosby) within 2 years. hes immature. so what. there may be no garauntees on his skill, but i garauntee you he will be a mature adult in a couple years. when he wakes up and realizes there is more to hockey than raw talent, we will have a great player in SK.
it looks like it, hes been really slow to get up a few times as well
Dude, I hope so, but I don’t think so. After what I heard about Price’s comment to him and his reaction. SK is probably out of here. He has been wanting to leave. Hopefully, Andre will stay and be better without his brother around.
I always take off my left sock when watching habs playoff games but last night i was at a party and had to wear both socks lol, so i will take full responsibility for this one, sorry guys
Bugs. With all due respect, have you not read or heard what is happening recently with skost? Even his own teamates are fed up with him! He is no longer an option his disgusting work ethics has ruined his career in mtl.
You said akost, not skost.
Yes?
Superfluously redundant, I remain
L.Bugs Potter, esq. Assistant-Director of St-Habbie’s Hospital for the Blind, Head Physician of Neuroflannelogy Unit, and Occupational Therapist in Habsbros Emergency Ward: http://habsbros.blogspot.com/
I’d say “Canada’s Team” will suffer the same fate as last year and get humiliated by “America’s Team” in game 5.
A lot of things can change in 2 years.
IE 2 years ago, SK74 was playing better then he has this or last season.
2 years ago his brother was also playing a lot better.
Things change.
And ultimately when what appears to be the entire team does not like you, end result is what it is.
Why, cause they don’t boo anthems like you girls?
Sergei should get the chance tomorrow night, need speed and plays well with Moore. Can’t pass up an opportunity.
After being fully engaged in the discussion, I am still patiently awaiting the arrival of Yeats to justifiably berate us all for belabouring the Sergei Kostitsyn thing as if a third or fourth liner is really going to make THAT big a difference anyways.
The Habs have scored 6 goals in 3 games (including a garbage goal at the end of Game 1 when the game was already out of reach). That’s the story, and the Penguins deserve a lot of credit for shutting down the Habs offence that was counter-punching fairly well against the Capitals.
Fleury has faced 70 shots over 3 games (23.3 per game). Unless he gives up some timely soft goals like Varlamov or Theodore did, it’ll be hard to beat the Penguins in a seven game series. Hard, but not impossible…the Penguins aren’t playing like Stanley Cup champions themselves, at least so far.
i find we can skate with the pens no problem. i think we’re slowly coming out of our capitals gameplan into a penguins gameplan and that’s going to help us.
the lack of depth on the penguins is interesting. when crosby, malkin and staal aren’t firing…kennedy, guerin, fedotenko, ponikoravsky, and kunitz aren’t scoring.
malkin’s having a sub-par season and we’ve kept crosby off the scoresheet lately, and staal’s injured, so the pens aren’t firing, so we have to capitalize on that.
- What if Jaro Halak’s hand was indeed shaking? What if you took the CHOKE out of Ovechkin? — History Will Be Made
Maybe you missed this event called “the Olympics” Sergei is so much more than a 3 or 4 liner…ask Patrick Kane!
Praise the day that Lapierre is placed on waivers!!!
If Staal is gonna play in this next game or any other this series, than we will have to change the game plan yet again, but slightly. Staal is one of their workhorses, his abscence was maybe why we won some board battles in game 2. Pittsburgh figured our game plan out, but don’t get me wrong folks, they got lucky to stop it. MAF was very good, we just didn’t provide enough pressure. Just because they know our strategy doesn’t mean they will stop it. If we would have scored on those first period great chances we had, we won!!!
Don’t give these Pens that much credit!!!! I don’t think they would have beat Washington if they had them first round.
Sergei could definitely be used in place of his brother who is sucking right now. Cammaleri, Pleks and Sergei should be given a whirl.
Staal as a third line center for the Pens highlights what we are missing. Size at centre ice.
The guy is big and can play. We have a third line center who can play but isnt big. That is a huge difference.
Moore is good at what he does but without some size on his wings he is limited.
And he would be correct in that statement Chris. I know, we’re likely deperate to try anything but SK would not be a difference maker in this series. But it all makes for great drama on a slow night when we’re anxiously awaiting game 4. I can’t even get into the Bruins-Flyers game tonight.
2010-2011 Habs Defence Pairs
Markov – O’Byrne
Spacek – Subban
Gorges – Gill
Just a thought
-Halak it alot because the Price is right-
maybe playing for the mother country, but not for the Habs. It’s just not working in Mtl. Maybe it’s a coach/player misfit, but the K brothers aren’t bringing their A game for the CH and they’ll both be gone soon.
Are we still going on about Sergei ?
During the last game he played the tv host said that during his long shift in which he was on for that goal against that Martin had yelled at him 3 times to get off the ice, and that Sergei ignored him all three times. Why is there suh a mystery ? When you do this kind of thing you end up having a very hard time getting in the line up. Is everything cleared up now ?
I also think Sergei is more than a 4th liner. But with Gionta, Cammalleri and Moen/Pouliot holding down 3 of the 4 scoring line winger positions, the only one Sergei could vie for is that of his struggling brother.
And as much as I think Sergei has potential, Andrei has more and is a better player. Plus he is a scorer, while Sergei is a playmaker…we’ve already got one of those on each of the top 2 lines.
I understand what you mean but I disagree. Dominic Moore is not afraid to go balls to the wall no matter how big he is and he is the 3rd line as far as I am concerned, they have been very good, I think all we need is to finish the play and continue bringing the physical play, they are worried when we are bringing it. We must and and win the puck more often.
LOL sounds like the fourth line is really going to be the difference….lol this site is getting ridiculous
Giant killers Mark Recchi and Miroslav Satan….that’s what happens when you got Brian Boucher in goal (not only his fault but still!).
“I gotta feeling…that tonight’s gonna be a good night!”
As usual most of you are missing the salient point. NO, SK alone is not going to make the difference.
The point is that as part of an effective fourth line with Metro and perhaps his brother it gives relief to those that WILL make a huge difference. Proper time management of Gomez, Gionta, Cammy and Pleks means they will be more effective for 60 minutes rather than 20 minutes.
This is not about SK! It is about JM finding a way to not have to play the top four for 20+ minutes a game every game. Get over your irrational hatred of SK and try to think about what might be good for the team.
“Good judgement comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgement.”
Habs hockey = Smart hockey we work as a team, and we win as a team. we play 5 man defence – not just 2. we play with energy, we play with Subban in Markov’s place (for now) – Pk could have been with us since the Olympics, but nevermind that.
we win game 4 and take back the big MO!
Pouliot is not doing any scoring…has 0 (zero) goals in 10 playoffs games this year. He has 2 assists and is -2.
Duh? Another one unable to see outside his small box.
“Good judgement comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgement.”
Take time to read comments and understand where the discussion stems from. See post from TripleX above.
Why not Pouliot as a centre. Size, play making ability, skating ability and a good skill set.
“Good judgement comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgement.”
Guys, I really think Martin needs to start Price tomorrow, I mean common, he deserves a shot.
Please stop posting!
How’s the fishing trip going so far?
Habs hockey = Smart hockey we work as a team, and we win as a team. we play 5 man defence – not just 2. we play with energy, we play with Subban in Markov’s place (for now) – Pk could have been with us since the Olympics, but nevermind that.
Ok – you got me – go ahead – ask Sergei if he wants to play that “team” role you just identified for him.
I bet you a loonie he tells you to stick it where the sun don’t shine.
don’t take it personally.
Sergei does not strike me as the guy who will agree to play the 4th line depth player role who plays 7 or 8 minutes.
its not the character of the selfish player to give himself up for the better of the team.
that’s just my opinion though- I might be wrong – I think Sergei has already been put in that role for 1 game and it did not go very well.
Yo man you just prowl this site and whenever you read something you don’t like, you put the person who wrote it down? do you have a life? From the number of posts you write, maybe not…Anyhow, I know you think ur really witty and cool with ur little quips but honestly, if you were to speak to people in real life the way you write to them online, you wouldn’t get very far.
hahah its going great
dude im kidding, cool avatar
He played 1:10 in that game. JM put him on the ice after he had been sitting cold for six minutes to face OVI. Great chance.
It was almost as if JM wanted to see him fail. Of course that is silly.
“Good judgement comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgement.”
what are you talking about?! He’s TripleX! You know….the GAME!!! He’s probably a big mofo who’d kick anyone’s ass if they tried to take him on. At least that’s what I assume?
ohhh the wrestler, i didnt know, sh*t ur probably right!
haha this made my day
Can’t stand either one of these teams (Bruins-Flyers). Love to see them take it to game 7 and then triple overtime as they hammer each other. Too bad the Flyers are not bringing it and are about to go down 3-0.
Another internet bully, how surprising. NOT!
From reading your posts I believe you think yourself quite the comedian and satirist. Sadly you come across as boorish and less than funny.
As to whether I have a life and the quality of said existence, I have the distinct feeling it would not interest you in the least.
“Good judgement comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgement.”
My friend even the players don’t want him anymore… read this http://www.hockey30.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=891:bye-bye-sergei&Itemid=18
Habs hockey = Smart hockey we work as a team, and we win as a team. we play 5 man defence – not just 2. we play with energy, we play with Subban in Markov’s place (for now) – Pk could have been with us since the Olympics, but nevermind that.
So do you think Sergei would accept your proposition?
If you’re right, and Sergei would be happy to play 6-8 minutes on the 4th line, then i would be very surprised.
I have been around sports for a long time, and guys who get themselves “suspended” by their teams, usually, and i say usually not always, are not going to give themselves up for their team.
its not in their character.
I think you have a good team character.
You want what’s best for the team.
I’m just not so convinced that that;s what Sergei wants.
bud, you missed a good comment by someone below saying that on the broadcast, the announcer said that Martin was telling him to get off the ice three times and he didn’t listen….so please…enough with the cold legs
Sorry, Fish on!
How about bringing D’Agostini back? I’m sure he’ll be the electrifying player he always was!
how do you think you come across?
I agree, maybe they will do the ol’ double knockout
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cm9APLkGy7M
I never threatened physical violence dude.
I do admit I over reacted and for that I apologize. I was just getting PO’d with all the comments saying SK will not make a difference. They are all missing the point. So when I saw your comment I just vented. Sorry.
“Good judgement comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgement.”
It’s all good my friend…. I think from time to time we all need to remember that were all on the same side
You have brought up the same thing about a 100 times in the last two days. Players don’t want him on the team? Which players? Names?
ONE journalist writes this story and you take it as gospel truth. Why haven’t Mr. Boone, Mr. Hickey or any other journalist confirmed this story? In fact I have not read a single thing on HIO about this so called mutiny against SK.
I find it hard to believe professional hockey players who are in a UNION by the way, would tell the coach to NOT PLAY a team mate.
“Good judgement comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgement.”
DUDE HOW HARD Is IT TO BELIEVE THAT…THIS IS SERGEI WE’RE TALKING ABOUT!
“I think I will be traded. I am going to wait until the end of the
week, and then we’ll see,” he said. “I was told I would be traded, and
that is what I am hoping for. I am not thinking about anything else.”
Coming
up, Sergei Kostitsyn talks about the factors behind his demotion to the
AHL; how he and his agent handled the stunning news; and whether or not
last year’s media
scandal involving him and his brother Andrei Kostitsyn(notes)
had anything to do with it.
Q. At the end of a season
coaches usually have meetings with players to talk about future plans.
Did you have one at the end of last season? And what did the coach tell
you?
S. KOSTITSYN: No, I didn’t have such a meeting. I
had a surgery and it just didn’t happen. Moreover, we didn’t even have a
coach at the end of last season because [Guy] Carbonneau was let go,
and we had Bob Gainey behind the bench.
What is your
relationship like with Bob Gainey? Did you have a meeting with him
before the start of this season to discuss what expectations he had for
you?
We have a good working relationship with him. Well,
we met a few times during the summer when I came to Montreal for the
surgery and to check on my shoulder, the coach told me: ‘Get ready. We
have a spot for you. You will play.’ And I got ready.
You
were told you’d definitely have a spot?
Well, I wasn’t
told I’d be on the first or second line, but I was told that there was a
spot on the team for me and that I should get ready for the season.
This is how it was.
And then you were informed that you’d
be sent to the AHL.
Yes. And I can’t understand why.
But you refused to report to
the AHL.
Yes, I called my agent right away to tell him I
wouldn’t go there.
Why?
Because I know how
I can play. I don’t know why I was sent there in the first place. I
played alright during the pre-season. I don’t know why I was sent there,
that’s why I didn’t go.
So, you don’t see your future
with Montreal anymore?
I don’t think so.
What
did your agent advise you when you told him you wanted to change teams?
My
agent supported me right away, because he understood that I shouldn’t
be playing for the [farm] club. And they agreed with me that I should be
traded right away.
didn’t report to the AHL?
I didn’t talk to anyone at the
club. My agents spoke with the club and talked about a trade. And it
looked like Bob Gainey agreed to it.
Do you know of any
teams that are interested in you? Did your agent talk with anyone?
I
will talk to my agent in the coming days. I think my agent spoke with
some teams. I don’t know yet. He hasn’t told me anything.
Do
you want to stay in the Eastern Conference?
I really
don’t care. The most important for me is to play. Of course there are
teams that I like, but it’s not like I am choosing when there is a
trade. But I am not going to name them. I just want to play in the NHL.
Do
you think maybe there is your fault in being sent to the AHL? Maybe you
didn’t work hard enough? Or other reasons?
I have
absolutely no idea. It looked like I played alright during the
pre-season. Initially I couldn’t practice fully because my shoulder was
still bothering me and I couldn’t have full contact. And then I played
in the last two games, I scored a goal. And then I wasn’t dressed for
the very last game [of the pre-season] and right after that game I was
told that I should go to the AHL. I just couldn’t understand at all why.
So, in your opinion, you practiced well and approached
your duties like a professional should.
Yes, of course.
What
are you doing now? Are you keeping yourself in shape?
Yes,
of course. I practice on my own. I have a personal coach here with me
as well.
Do you think the scandal last season involving
you and alleged ties to some criminal somehow affected your game or your
relationship with Montreal, or the way you were viewed at the club?
Maybe
it did have some effect. I don’t know. It is the media writing all of
these things. Overall 90 percent of what the press writes is not true.
Maybe the club believed them. I don’t know.
Did the fact
that something untrue was written about you affect you personally? Maybe
psychologically?
No, I don’t think about it. I don’t
read what is written. Occasionally someone tells me what is said by the
media, but I don’t think about it.
But overall you were
treated well by Montreal.
Yes, there were absolutely no
problems. Everything is alright. I just didn’t understand why this all
happened. I simply didn’t expect it. Otherwise, everything was good.
Or how about this little article about price not liking sergei’s commitement.
http://www.radio-canada.ca/sports/hockey/2010/05/04/004-habs-skostitsyn-price.shtml
Cause he doesn’t care about the team and the players don’t want to play with him. It’s as if I told you: You can have sex with these 4 hot girls and a skunk. The skunk will turn you off no matter how badly you might want to perform!
nice analogy.
He was breaking in new skates dude. I did not realize that is called leadership now.
“Good judgement comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgement.”
Thats strong leadership by Gillsy…He needs his rest more than anyone, but he’s showing the team what it takes to win. I hope it will resonate on to the ice for game 4.
Win with the Habs, Die with Habs… GO HABS GO for Life
Hopefully some of his team mates take notice and join him for the next “optional”!
Tonight we skate with them, Tonight is our night!
U-20 is largely irrelevant as far as I am concerned as well…most of the rest of the world couldn’t care less about it.
Well played sir!
For right now, JM is getting the job done. However, as I’ve already stated in previous posts, even if we by some GIGANTIC miracle win a stanley cup this year, we are still not going to be a perennial contender. We need a coach who can develop young talent, and JM with his “make even the smallest mistake and youre on the bench” mentality is not the man for the job. Bring on Guy boucher, the guy clearly knows what hes doing. He took bad attitude sergei, basically fixed him, only for JM to ruin him again.
D’agostini, Paccioretty, Latendresse, Sergei Kostitsyn, and now even benoit pouliot cant get anything going. BAsically any young player with offensive upside cannot seem to flourish in Montreal lately (sure JM has Tommy Pyatt playing solid defense, but the last thing we need is another 4th line checker). Clearly theres a trend emerging here… So either we just draft the most awful players, or we just have no idea how to develop them. Also, seeing as canada finished in the RELEGATION round (!!!!) at the under-18 tournament this year, clearly Carbonneau wasnt so good with young players either.
Habs hockey = Smart hockey we work as a team, and we win as a team. we play 5 man defence – not just 2. we play with energy, we play with Subban in Markov’s place (for now) – Pk could have been with us since the Olympics, but nevermind that.
Maybe you are right about Boucher. I have said over and over that I prefer Boucher over JM – any one would.
I have been around the block a few times.
I have seen guys like Sergei – they have all the talent in the world – but its a negative talent.
Sergei is just like Kovalev.
he does well only in special environments (like with boucher in the AHL), and usually for short periods of time.
that’s the pattern of the selfish player.
when things are going HIS way, he plays well, and everything is fine.
when things goi bad, instead of thinking of the team first the selfish player sulks, goes into a shell, becomes negative, drives the team into a downward spiral.
exactly like Kovalev – same pattern.
teams LOSE with selfish players.
A lot of teams have won Stanley Cups with some selfish players on their rosters.
It would be beyond wonderful if we had 20 guys with the heart, desire and professionalism of Subban, Gionta, Cammalleri and the like. But we don’t and no Stanley Cup team ever has. So sometimes you have to compromise and just bring in the guy who can get something done even if you and he aren’t your best buddies in the world. You don’t fill the team with those sorts of guys, but having 1 or 2 doesn’t kill you, it might just give your team a bit extra that they need to make something happen.
You put 20 guys in a room, there will be problems. You can as many veterans and eager youngsters as you like, but chances they all will not always get along and sometimes it’s better to have the brooding talent at the end of the bench than the eager benchwarmer.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu.
http://habsandhockey.blogspot.com/
” Also, seeing as canada finished in the RELEGATION round (!!!!) at the under-18 tournament this year, clearly Carbonneau wasnt so good with young players either.”
Or maybe the pool of kids that he had to work with isn’t so good relative to the rest of the world. It happens every once in a while, especially in the U18 World Championships where many of the other players are playing against higher competition at a younger age. For example, Canada has 2 Gold Medals and 1 Silver Medal to show for the 9 U18 tournaments in which we have participated. Not a stellar record.
Habs hockey = Smart hockey we work as a team, and we win as a team. we play 5 man defence – not just 2. we play with energy, we play with Subban in Markov’s place (for now) – Pk could have been with us since the Olympics, but nevermind that.
we have 18 guys with heart and 2 brothers Grimm.
the team is excellent – we are very close.
don’t get me wrong – I hear what you’re saying as well.
I know every team has problems – but we should have guys like Louis Leblanc on our bench – guys who have the WINNING attitude at 19 years old – not selfish players.
I think that’s primarily based on the timing of the event. Many of our best under-18s are still in their major junior playoffs in the Q, O, or WHL. It’s kind of like not having your best available for the world championships, another “major” tournament that means nothing. The only international tournaments that mean anything are the Olympics and the under-20 world juniors, because those are the true “best-on-best” tournaments.
Leblanc is at best, along with Kristo likely only to sign pro contracts for the 11-12 season and that will likely be the start of their AHL time to prepare them for NHL hockey, as they’ll have to toughen up, build muscle and get used to playing against men in a tougher hockey environment with less penalty calls. Love that he’s such a highly regarded prospect but let’s be realistic, he wouldn’t stand a chance in NHL action right now.
There will be time for our other top-ranked prospects to hit the NHL when their time comes and they are sufficiently prepared and ready to engage in NHL play but that time isn’t yet. The last college kid we dropped into the NHL before he was ready was Max Pacioretty and god love him he tried his best but he wasn’t ready and I’m sure he was all about winning as well. Too many rushed prospects in the last five years and the results are not coming up.
Team’s short of bench strength and we really need to have 18 active skaters against the Penguins, right now, Sergei is the best option to soak up some shifts so our top skaters are more rested, especially if he can eat up some PK shifts and relieve Pleks, Gio and Gomez. Not asking anyone to love the kid, just acknowledge that he might solve a depth issue for a bit because this short bench stuff is running out of steam.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu.
http://habsandhockey.blogspot.com/
Habs hockey = Smart hockey we work as a team, and we win as a team. we play 5 man defence – not just 2. we play with energy, we play with Subban in Markov’s place (for now) – Pk could have been with us since the Olympics, but nevermind that
“ Not asking anyone to love the kid, just acknowledge that he might solve a depth issue for a bit because this short bench stuff is running out of steam.”
Ok – you got me – go ahead – ask Sergei if he wants to play that “team” role you just identified for him.
I bet you a loonie he tells you to stick it where the sun don’t shine.
That’s my point!
I even think the Habs already “tried” to get him to play that role the last game he played.
So he decided to turn the puck over at the other team’s blue line with a no look back handed blind pass – a killer turnover in the NHL – not as dangerous if he does that move in Hamilton.
But ya – I think the Habs have already offered Sergei that 4th line role – and as you put it perfectly
“solve a depth issue”
and I think Sergei, THE SELFISH PLAYER, is refusing to play that role.
But now I’m speculating. I admit it.
Kovalev won stuff and proved himself in his career, was our best player for multiple years. He never got a chance to play with good p layers, he had to make players around him better.. Kovalev is not a selfish player, thats just the way he plays, he tries to do more for the team sometimes it fuks up, but you really think Pleka or AK can dangle like he did and klee p the puck in the O-Zone for long…. Pleka can’t do that in the playoffs and it shows in thsi series, AK46 cant do it either. Kovalev made the other team D freeze when he touched the puck, not many players in the league can do that.
You can win cool Hockey Canada stuff just by visiting Dennis Kane’s blog.
“Hey Richard, two minutes for looking so good!”
Scott Oake always asks like seventy questions when he interviews a player
I f*cking hate Chicago.
Koivu – You will be missed.
Sidney,your so persecuted …poor baby I feel for you…Golf will help you and you’ll be crying bout that real soon too!
just keep running to mommy Mario he will make it all better.
The playoffs ain’t for the faint of heart. I’m pumped. Getting psyched for tomorrow’s game. I hope the fans bring the house down. They need to turn up the volume, gotta have a sound like game 6 with Wash.
Come on now Habs, make this a 2-2. Don’t loose tomorrow otherwise the slope is too steep to climb. Use your hometown to make it happen.
The moment in now.
GO HABS!
beating washington was great and causing pitts problems shows that in todays nhl all habs need is a little tinkering…all season and in the playoffs we are probably one of the worst teams in secondary scoring…yet we are doing well…pouliot one goal last 24 games ..one thing i noticed on this site is that many posters overate our talent and when one player has one good game or goes on a streak he is seen as a top 6 forward…almost all of the contenders have forwards that they have produced between the ages of 21-23 that have some scoring ability we have failed on this. we are loaded with forwards that have 0 or 1 goal in the 10 playoff games ….
is there anywayone else who thinks that P.K. and O’Byrne would make agood pairing?
Is Spacek back for game four?
Word is Boston’s David Krejci has a broken wrist, added in with the Sturm injury, Boston may have serious trouble on their limited offence before hitting Conference Finals, if Flyers lose game 4, I have a feeling they won’t let Boston go quietly to the next round. The Flyers may lose, but I think they’ll ensure Boston loses the next one as well.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu.
http://habsandhockey.blogspot.com/
That would be a huge blow for the Bruins. For me, the biggest surprise of the playoffs has to be the play of Satan. I thought he was totally washed up earlier in the year.
Hab fans go on and on about Halak (and rightly so), but the play of Rask in Boston is just as impressive. At least Tim Thomas hit paydirt in terms of his future financial security.
I hear what you’re saying but they both shoot from the right side. I wouldn’t mind seeing Subban play with Spacek next year which would allow Jaro to return to his natural position on the left flank.
So our reward for eliminating the Pens would be a well-rested Bruins team that may just be coming off a sweep
There’s only so many times they can overcome a 1-3, so they’d better make sure not to let it get there.
There’s only so many times they can overcome a 1-3, so they’d better make sure not to let it get there.
There are literally thousands of girls, Habs fans or not, waiting outside Sid’s Old Montreal hotel and trying to sneak in when he is in town, so how bad could he possibly feel? And if the Pens really were to get eliminated, rest assured golfing would not be one of Sid’s priorities … lol
Habs won’t be in the next round daehkcuf
childish attempt deewkcid.
I did. Good to see your memory is intact tiwkcuf
ouy kcuf
Call timeout Alain, talk to your players to focus…… at some point…
In Guy Boucher I trust.
Patrick Sharp is friggin’ good. Can play centre, wing, point on the PP. PK. Wouldn’t mind seeing him in a Habs jersey. And while we’re at it, let’s get Dustin Byfuglien too.
“I gotta feeling…that tonight’s gonna be a good night!”
How about trading the brothers, Hammer and Desjardin for both of them?
I’ve been saying that about Sharp for quite a while. Wouldn’t he be a good fit for us?
Is anyone surprised to see Boston up 3-0 ?????
In Guy Boucher I trust.
No, cause they were playing Philly and Philly does not have a playoff-ready goaltender to fight with the Booins. Flyers can kill the Devils but not Satan.
“I gotta feeling…that tonight’s gonna be a good night!”
Woo-hoo how about Chi-Town? Hopefully they can hold onto this lead.
EDIT: Sh*t.
Off topic. Are you on antibiotics?
Alex B, the player I thought Max lap was going to be.
To me both teams were pretty equal, until Carter and Gagné became injured. Then I knew Boston was in.
Somehow, I see Boston vs SJ….
In Guy Boucher I trust.
Yes! And almost done. Thank you very much Dr. Habs
, I feel 100% better - I have been back on the trails all week. Like I said, I owe you one.
Always happy to help a fellow Habs groupy.
How about guaranteeing a win tomorrow by wearing your lucky Habs socks?
Is it time to use them now? They are being called upon again? I am actually flying to Toronto tomorrow for a couple of days, no need to panic though I downloaded TV for my Blackberry – I can’t miss such a game. Socks will be on… we need this one.
TO is enemy territory. Wear a Habs jersey as you walk around town to rub it in.
Hawks just scored and lead 4-2
Just make sure to never wash these socks, no matter how many times they may have been used.
Otherwise, they might lose their powers.
Man I’m so jealous of the players the Hawks have, I’m not talking about Kane, Hossa, but I’d love to have Ladd,Kopecky, and Hjalmrsonn.
imagine if they had one of our goalies ??
In Guy Boucher I trust.
Down 2-1, we got ‘em right where we want ‘em. Keep the faith Habs brothers and sisters, we’ll be playing a few more weeks.
-Dustin-
We’ll have them right where we want them when we’re down 3-1.
Oh man, if they can somehow get rid of the Huet and Solep contract to sign guys like Ladd and so forth and get a decent goalie, they are going to be something special for a long time imo.
I love Sharp but I since our our 6 six is undersized, I think a guy like Ladd would be best for us.
http://www.torontosun.com/sports/hockey/2010/05/05/13838966.html
What kind of trash is this? Habs fans lost some of their swagger? Reality?
Sorry but I LOVE my team and love the effort they’ve put in. Get over it you leaf-fan rag, our team beat Washington. The 1st in the east, best in the NHL. We’re down only by 1 game to the cup champs.
What, pray tell, is there to be negative about? Boy must suck to be a leaf fan.
What kind of trash is this my friend? it’s a newspaper that ends in Sun, that’s what kind of trash it is.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu.
http://habsandhockey.blogspot.com/
screw that..”bandwagon will fill up again if we even the series” haha.. We invented the Wagon! There is no getting off once you are on it..we are passionate..F’ off Toronto Sun!!
Hab fans haven’t lost their swagger- the weight of 24 Cups gives us all that confident strut.
If they have, then how do laff fans walk, with a limp?
Man for some reason I really hate the Canucks, not as bad as the leafs but still!
Because they’re the worst team in pro sports history? Because the fans thought they were a lock to win the stanley Cup Because the Sedin Sisters & Luongo are “so great players, man”? Because Vancouver media don’t know that there’s a chasmic difference between regular season & playoffs?
Because they have four different ugly uniforms?
It’s an overdetermination of reasons to hate the Canuckleheads!
So did what Burrows do warrant a suspension ? Something under the passing a message rule?????
In Guy Boucher I trust.
I hate him, but I think it doesnt, just playoff hockey.
Chasmic? That word may be new, but it appropos.
Luongo didn’t cover his rebounds all night. Some playoff goalie, eh?
Amen to that … So let’s hope the boyz get the job done tonight and make it 1-3 to give the media and the haters something to talk about when we eliminate them in 7.
I can tell we lost last night. The sniping is back. Gripes about the coaching, the NHL commercials, the use of SK and Darche, its a nice change from Price vs Halak. LOL Take a pill people. Try to find something to smile about.
Help! can someone tell me how to install icons on my tool bar. Somehow I lost them. Spell check and my printer is not there any longer. Must have hit something wrong.
Thanks
right click on an empty spot on the tool bar, should be a customize option, then goto Add or Remove command (if you’re talking about Internet Explorer’s Tool Bar) you should see print and all that in the list on the left, i dont have spell check on my list tho… highlight what you need and click Add
thanks, I’ll give it a go. I have yahoo and google tool bar.
People, there is no need to look for reasons why we lost. We missed on our many opportunities to score, and the Pens scored on their only one…..They got lucky and that’s hockey 101 for ya.
They Call Me Shane
Shots on goal: 7-3-8…….hardly inspired fear in Fluery. We lost because we could not put any offensive pressure on the Pens. Luck had very little to do with it.
“Good judgement comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgement.”
Next time you’re driving through the east-bound Ville-Marie tunnel, keep an eye out where they’re fixing the walls just before the St. Laurent exit. Somebody on the construction team put up an actual HALAK stop sign. Noticed it this morning – of course, its a pretty tough place to stop for a picture.
but its a stop sign… you gotta stop!!!
That’s awesome! God I miss Montreal.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu.
http://habsandhockey.blogspot.com/
Anyone else think Gill went out there to perhaps talk a little bit with Kostitsyn the Elder?
He was breaking in a new pair of skates…..no big deal. You are trying to make something out of nothing dude.
“Good judgement comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgement.”
Yes, because the only time players talk to each other is when the media is watching intently.
—–
Their defenses are broken! Let the slaughter begin!
wow, that’s a first for this site….
“Without the strength of the past, the team may face a choice – to win, or to be French-Canadian?” — Ken Dryden
LOL…..true enough
“Good judgement comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgement.”
So was Spacek there or just scheduled? How was he doing?
–
You’ll have to speak up – I’m wearing a towel.
or because we hti the post twice, and got robbed twice and couldnt elevate a couple other shots that would’ve beat fleury up high.
It’ll be interesting to see if Sergei actually makes it onto the ice today.
_____________________________________
Cheer for the crest on the front of the jersey, not the name on the back.
Tough loss last night. We played pretty well in the first, and for parts of the third. Probably our second best effort of the post season. We can beat this Penguins team. Believe it!!
A lot of the debate today is how JM’s system has got us this far, so he is beyond criticism. Let’s be clear, Halak is the one who got us this far.
JM’s system is tailor made for a team that is over matched. You can teach mediocre hockey players to play defense and keep a game close against superior opposition. All the criticisms of him not playing the right players, treating younger players unfairly, and over playing certain guys, are totally fair criticisms. The issue here is that if we play our best team, we are not totally overmatched, and if we attack a little more (instead of changing lines every time we put the puck in their end) we can beat these guys.
SK should be playing, he would be a hell of 4th line player. With respect to his brother, you have to play him for his gifts (shot, playmaker, moves) and compensate for his weaknesses (terrible one on one, too many turnovers). He is what he is until he learns to be more consistent with the puck (fewer turnovers) and better in the corners. That can be taught and practised. He is a potential game changer, and we can certainly use that.
Well said!
Just look at florida when he was coaching there. They were always an awful team, but whenever we would play them it was always a ridiculously tight and low scoring game. Doesnt mean anything. Trapping the neutral zone, collapsing around the goalie and than dumping the puck down ice the second you get posession is not how you win hockey games! If it wasnt for halak being a freakin WALL, we probably wouldnt have won a single game in the playoffs! He basically made a system to work around a STELLAR goaltender because we are letting the opposition take those outside shots. Its been working, but doesnt mean its the right way to play the game. Trade the stellar goaltender for a simply average goaltender and his system becomes a disaster.
Gill audio link points to Pleks…
Habs hockey = Smart hockey we work as a team, and we win as a team. we play 5 man defence – not just 2. we play with energy, we play with Subban in Markov’s place (for now) – Pk could have been with us since the Olympics, but nevermind that.
Some here are claiming that Sergei should play because he proved he was a star in junior.
wow!!
Junior hockey is galaxies away from the NHL.
There are guys that light up Junior and never amount to anything in the NHL.
Oh ya, and who were Sergei’s linemates when he lit it up in junior?
Anyone ever here of guys named Sam Gagne and Patrick Kane???
It was Patrick Kane that made that line what it was – its Kane who is a pure phenom.
Its like when Angelo Esposito lit it up for Quebec Remparts. Esposito’s linemate was Radulov.
Turned out Radulov was the huge mega star.
Sergei has skill. I have admitted that over and over and over.
But we are better off without him – just like this team is better off with OUT alex Kovalev.
He had excellent junior stats, his AHL stats were pretty good and then he came up in his first season and was at .5 PPG about, that’s not bad at all and evidenced clear NHL-calibre ability.
Our development coach in Hamilton reported no issues, worked with the kid and said he was ready from his point of view for NHL action. This development coach has led a season that saw all kinds of team records broken and excellent progressive numbers from most of the players that are considered prospects by the organization. JM who barely has a leg to stand on this season when it comes to developing the young players on the Canadiens thinks he’s useless. I tend to think that Boucher’s assessment of Sergei is more accurate since he seems to know something about player development, or at least more than JM does.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu.
http://habsandhockey.blogspot.com/
Ed, I agree with you. None of us KNOW whether he will be good or not.
What I’ve been trying to communicate is that we can’t judge how his career is going to end up based on his first two or three seasons. There are tons of guys (such as the ones I listed below) that got off to slow starts in their careers. They all continued to plug along and eventually found NHL success, although in some cases a change of scenery or two was required.
We’ve also seen lots of young kids break out of the gates early, put up great performances and then disappear. Andrew Raycroft and Jon Carey come to mind as goalies, and as Habs fans we all remember Gilbert Dionne.
But I think the argument many of us are making is that this is a terrific waste of a POTENTIAL talent. He’s not developing, and therefore not improving his trade value if he is, as you believe, unquestionably gone after this season.
Losing assets with no return is a bad, bad road to travel. You can sustain yourself for a while with free agents and trades, but eventually the house of cards collapses.
Bob Gainey and Andre Savard combined to turn the franchise around after a decade of bad asset management and horrific drafting. Getting back into the practice of losing assets for little or no return is counter-productive, particularly for a franchise like Montreal that appears to be somewhat starved of offensively-gifted two-way forward prospects that are ready to make the jump to the NHL over the next 2-3 years.
Hey Mr. Ed
I agree with alot of your posts and I appreciate the insight that you bring to this forum. I’m sure you have way more hockey knowledge than I do but I have to respectfully disagree with your SK POV.
First, I don’t think he is a liability on this team. JM has turned him into one and now his brother as well with the way he has handled the whole situation right from the first day of training camp.
Secondly, I’ve seen Gomez and Cammy make bigger and more frequent mistakes throughout the year than SK (I appreciate the fact that they are on the two top 2 lines and are playing against more dangerous opponents but they also have been around alot longer and are established players in the league).
Thirdly, I am pretty sure I remember D. Hunter say that SK was the most NHL ready player from that line and he was the key ingrediant to making that line click (Although, IMO Kane is obvioulsy too good and the best of the three)
Fourthly, I don’t know why I get all caught up in this SK stuff but I think its because I smell injustice and there’s somethin’ up with the whole situation and my curiosity is gettin’ to me. He’s not my favourite player on the team(although I am a big fan cause he played in my home town and he’s an amazing player to watch when he’s on – that’s my bias with him) Markie, Plekie and Cammy are FTR.
All in all, if managed properly by JM he would have contributed alot more, but instead…….we’ll you know and we’ll have to wait and see what becomes of all this, but ever since we gave away and 2 stanley cups to the Quebec Nordiques (aka Colorodo Avalanche) I’ve been weary of management and their agenda’s (and yes I know COL had an awsome team when they won and in no way am I comparing SK with the great # 33, I am just trying to draw a analogy)
Habs, OLE !
Can someone teach Gilly how to use his size to pound people along the boards like Chara does? PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEZ!!!
“Without the strength of the past, the team may face a choice – to win, or to be French-Canadian?” — Ken Dryden
“Impact player” and Andrei Kostitsyn used in the same paragraph.
Pat Hickey has a very dry sense of humour.
Habs hockey = Smart hockey we work as a team, and we win as a team. we play 5 man defence – not just 2. we play with energy, we play with Subban in Markov’s place (for now) – Pk could have been with us since the Olympics, but nevermind that.
But I think the argument many of us are making is that this is a terrific waste of a POTENTIAL talent. He’s not developing, and therefore not improving his trade value if he is, as you believe, unquestionably gone after this season.Losing assets with no return is a bad, bad road to travel. You can sustain yourself for a while with free agents and trades, but eventually the house of cards collapses.
Ok that point, about trade value is correct and accepted.
that’s very unfortunate.
but we can NOT worry about that this week.
This week we need to play the TEAM PLAYERS.
The selfish players (and its only Sergei on this team) MUST SIT.
I would bet you money (if I had any) that Gill, Gionta, Moen, and Gomez – our Stanley Cup players – are all in agreement with the coach on this one.
They know that the team can NOT win with selfish players on the ice – no matter how talented.
We will package Sergei and get value from the package.
He will score 25 goals (useless goals) for Florida next year.
Habs hockey = Smart hockey we work as a team, and we win as a team. we play 5 man defence – not just 2. we play with energy, we play with Subban in Markov’s place (for now) – Pk could have been with us since the Olympics, but nevermind that.
I spent some time this year with Stephane Lebeau – listed as one of your favorites, Chris.
He is heading up the hockey program at Bishop’s College.
My son was there being interviewed for their Varsity Team, which Lebeau coaches.
He struck me as a very good and sincere man.
Saw that he was coaching now…read somewhere that he was thriving at it too, although it is always hard to tell after a year or two.
Always liked him because he was a smart guy that overcame being a small player to be productive in the NHL. I’ve always admired guys like Lebeau, Naslund, Petrov, and Koivu, as they had to have a lot of drive and grit to maximize their potential in a big man’s game.
Habs hockey = Smart hockey we work as a team, and we win as a team. we play 5 man defence – not just 2. we play with energy, we play with Subban in Markov’s place (for now) – Pk could have been with us since the Olympics, but nevermind that.
You could also add Gionta and Cammy to your list.
Quick story about Naslund – one of my all time favorite habs. i was golfing years ago when he was still a hab.
and a short guy with his bag over his shoulder, playing alone, comes up to my tee and asks to play through.
well my group knew it was Mats right away – so we said he could play through no problem.
he gets up, no practice swing, and crushes his tee shot about 285 right down the middle!!
he picks up his tee – looks at us – smiles – and says. “thanks boys, have a nice day” and just keeps walking.
Mats was a GREAT HOCKEY PLAYER, and a great athlete.
I predict that the Kost brothers, Hamrlik, and I think Price too will be gone next year. They all would make good trade bait as a package or a combination of packages. I am sick and tired of the Kost brothers Kosting us games because they sulk about their brother not getting enough ice time. Trade them. That way you get rid of some under-performers, a couple of clowns who would rather hang around a gangster wannabe, you eliminate the risk of them bolting to the KHL and getting nothing in return and you get rid of the last couple of remaining bits of the team that brought the habs to implosion last year. Habs need strong character guys, not insecure sulkies.
old saying…be careful what you wish for.
Starting from “I am sick and tired…….” until the end of your post, you basically shot down any possibility of them going anywhere.
If you can see that, immagine an NHL scout. They probably feel even more harsh about them.
“These head movies make my eyes rain” -Simple Jack
When I checked the ice-time stats this morning, I felt so bad for Matty D.
I’m not going to get into a whole debate about “well he should’a played here or there”. But man, just put yourself in his shoes. Immagine playing Crosby and the defending Cup champs in your building at home in the playoffs, with the series tied 1-1. Immagine how he feels when he gets on the ice and the music is blasting and the fans are going nuts in the pre-game. Must have been one of the best feelings of his life. He’s busted his behind all year for this. And then, he plays a total of zero minutes. Zilch…
Try tell that story to your grandchildren….
“These head movies make my eyes rain” -Simple Jack
it was a waste of a roster spot….why not put sk in then instead of letting him sit there.
From the Toronto Star :Habs look for legal ways to keep Crosby under wraps.
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Ya! The Habs Rule! now on Twitter!
… one question for Stubbs or Hickey: what is the status of Spacek? He skates with ‘the scrubs’, so is there any indication he could be back in uniform soon?
… oops; I just noticed that ‘wotever’ asked the same question. That signifies that inquiring minds want to know.
“Whenever you have the puck, and don’t know what to do with it, put it in the net.” – Toe Blake
when the clip came out with sergei driving away in his porsche after the habs game 7 win over the bruins, I called him a cocky “rhymes with” mustard. people razzed me for it saying he’s just a kid.
i think the only guy that understood sergei in our organization was bob gainey. SK asked for a trade, gainey was patient and sergei turned in great performances to keep us in the playoff race. (he and moore were our best players during a 6 game winning streak in mid-march).
what upsets me is that martin is not making use of his depth. a 3-line hockey team will not win championships and he is not letting players contribute. it’s frustrating when we need a goal and we have no offensive skills to get that goal
when carbo went looking for a goal, he would put AK and SK together and they worked some sweet magic together. not once this season has martin gone with the natural chemistry between the brothers.
it says something when both kostitsyns are mismanaged by martin, but gainey won’t trade either of them. but when d’agostini and latendresse were mismanaged, gainey went out and got something in return, that says how the kostitsyns are evaluated on this team in terms of depth and potential.
the question is how does pierre gauthier feel about the kostitsyns now? are they expandable now that gainey’s not protecting them? question gainey all you want, but he always knew what he wanted even if he couldn’t find a way to get it together.
- What if Jaro Halak’s hand was indeed shaking? What if you took the CHOKE out of Ovechkin? — History Will Be Made
Habs hockey = Smart hockey we work as a team, and we win as a team. we play 5 man defence – not just 2. we play with energy, we play with Subban in Markov’s place (for now) – Pk could have been with us since the Olympics, but nevermind that.
Hey Jadester – no problem that we disagree – I’m totally fine with that.
you guys are making excellent point all around.
we are now in the middle of a war.
I accept that JM could have handled things better this year – I am NOT a big fan on how he has handled the young players- as I have told Serious Fan ’09 many times.
I accept that JM is freakin dinosaur – and I am a huge fan of Boucher – and I follwoed his success up in Drumondville.
But we are in the war – and in my opinion – Sergei is not going to help win the war.
I do agree that we need a 4th line.
I do agree that we need to get more rest for our top guns.
I do not see Sergei on that 4th line – he is too selfish to play THAT ROLE.
But good post – we agree to disagree – and I’m totally OK with that.
off-sergei topic.
i find that whoever plays with dominic moore becomes a good player. dominic moore’s not the best talent, but he plays both ends of the ice, and he made SK, lapierre, and moen better players. he works hard and with his speed, he makes it easier for everyone else
i find moore was a good moev at a 2nd round pick, and we should re-sign more for at least 3 years, he would be our ideal 3rd line pivot. this pretty much signifies the end for metropolit (only one out of two can be re-signed). i think moore likes it here too and has generally had a tough time finding a contract. we should reward him for what he’s given us. he had 11 pts in 21 games with us, and he’s 3rd on the team in the playoffs with a +/- of 0.
he could stand to contribute a bit more offensively in the playoffs (2g, 0a) but we can’t forget his game winner on varlamov being a huge contribution.
coming into game 4, i wouldn’t mind seeing martin be daring and start the game with both Kbros with moore and see how that pans out having 3 lines that can contribute offensively. when the going gets tough and we need to protect a lead, the 4th line still has lapierre and pyatt on it, who can slip in with moore and the bros go on the bench.
- What if Jaro Halak’s hand was indeed shaking? What if you took the CHOKE out of Ovechkin? — History Will Be Made
I think that is a fine suggestion. I too, have enjoyed the acquisition of Moore, great hustle and CLUTCH scoring
(that was a beauty)
My buddy the Laffs fan was making such a big deal when we signed Moore. I was like “dude you have no idea about hockey outside of T.O” ….boy was I wrong! I’d sign Moore in a heartbeat.
Praise the day that Lapierre is placed on waivers!!!
True, but there is a sucker born every minute he heh….seriously though, trades have been made between GMs knowing that the player they are getting didn’t have a good year(s) on their previous team but that a change in scenery may prove to be beneficial to the player coming in and his new team. However, I think this would be a case where a GM trades for Kost brothers based on their past performance rather than what they potentially can do for their new team. Therefore, I doubt the habs would get much in return.