Canadiens goaltending coach Pierre Groulx recently sat down with The Gazette’s Dave Stubbs for his first in-depth interview since he joined the Canadiens in the summer of 2009. He talked about the maturation of Habs cornerstone Carey Price: from the goalie’s arrival as a young phenom in 2007 to his development into an elite netminder, from his insecurities of losing the starter’s job during the 2010 playoffs to the quiet confidence he’s since developed, in Groulx’s eyes having become a top-flight netminder from those playoffs during which he warmed the bench.
Below are links to this week’s Hockey Inside/Out special section stories as we wait for the puck to drop Thursday night in Florida when the Canadiens take on the Panthers (7:30 p.m., TSN-HABS, RDS, TSN 690 Radio).
General manager Marc Bergevin announced on Thursday morning that the Canadiens have acquired goaltender Dustin Tokarski from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for Cédrick Desjardins.
Tokarski, 23, played 33 games with the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch this season, posting a record of 18-8-4 with a 2.46 goals-against average and .900 save percentage. Desjardins was a member of the Canadiens organization from 2006 to 2010 before returning to the Canadiens on July 1, 2012 as a free agent. He had a 7-13-2 record this season with the Hamilton Bulldogs along with a 2.94 goals-against average.
(Photo by Allen McInnis/The Gazette)
Price and coach Groulx form strong partnership, by Dave Stubbs
Preparing backup goaltenders a challenge for Groulx, by Dave Stubbs
Habs need to get bigger, tougher, by Jack Todd
Pep talk leads to results for fourth liners, by Pat Hickey
Killorn’s journey goes from West Island to Tampa Bay, by Pat Hickey
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Didn’t we already trade Desjardins to TB? hahaha
nah that was another regime…this is MB’s first time trading Desjardins.
It’s the trade of Valentine’s past come to haunt us.
Well folks, it’s that day we set aside and pretend to be romantic. Time for the Chairman of the Board to straighten us all out:
http://calshabsongparodies.weebly.com
Keep in mind Syracuse is alot better than Hamilton, so Tokarski’s stats must look better.
The Lightning are also very high on Andrei Vasilevski, so this move makes space for this prospect.
I realize that as much as I come here to read sane, logical, well writen and reflective pieces, I also come here for the train-wreck ramblings that go like this (as per the Simpsons)
” I want a couple of tough d men surrounded by a couple of soft d men to to make the tough guys look tougher … ”
So, you can’t complain that you have Emelin and Diaz …
and Victor Hedman aside, you can’t punch the puck into the net so getting a thug to play 3 shifts a game and punch people when you are losing is mindless.
Why didn’t the Habs pick up Kassian? same reason the other 29 teams didn’t
“Don’t crush that dwarf Alex Henry, hand me the pliers”
i’m here, as charles dickens pointed out, “To fan the sinking flame of hilarity with the wing of friendship; and pass the rosy wine.”
ex nihilo nihil fit
Great Firesign ref in your sig.
***SUBBANGIN’ NOW BABY!!!***
That’s for you Punkster
“Don’t crush that dwarf Alex Henry, hand me the pliers”
Shoes for industry!
***SUBBANGIN’ NOW BABY!!!***
Think we definitely win this trade. Tokarski has a much higher ceiling and is younger.
Obviously not a franchise defining move, but a good omen as far as MB goes. A good deal
It looks that way on paper at least. Time will tell. With all the picks the Habs have this draft. I wonder if they will draft a potential goalie of the future? With Price being 25, the Habs should have at least 2 or 3 more years before they need to find a goalie to groom, but it wouldn’t hurt to have a potential number 1 goalie in the system. Something they have been lacking for a while, with the exception of Price. A solid back up at the very least!
Habfan17
From Wikipedia:
“On February 14, 2013, Tokarski was traded from the Tampa Bay Lightning to the Montreal Canadiens for Cédrick Desjardins,yet another questionable decision by Bergevin that the Hab fans sheep are all ready kissing his butt for.”
This will change obviously… but I want to know, if Tokarski is so good (Memorial Cup MVP etc), why did Tampa take Desjardins for him?
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Listen to the Smart Dog. He knows his poop!
it’s already been edited.
Tokarski is cheaper, even just in the AHL, that might be a factor?
Indeed, it has been edited. It now says that he was traded for a bag of pucks.
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Being a Hab fan is like buying real estate: only over the long-haul will you appreciate the true value of your investment.
Have to admit, I’m surprised too. I don’t follow these guys in the AHL, but I definitely know Tokarski is highly touted.
Perhaps Boucher influenced? He knows Desjardins from the Bulldog days. And TB do seem to love former Habs…
As a show of good faith so that the Habs will kick the tires for Lecavalier and send Eller as part of the package …
rumor spreading … it’s really that easy
“Don’t crush that dwarf Alex Henry, hand me the pliers”
Let’s wait until after he’s bought out for us to pick up Vincent.
This summer should be fun to see who is bought out. With two buyouts each, it will add a new dimension to the free agant market!
I hope we see more than a couple.
Habfan17
Kovalchuk is 10th in league in icetime at 26 plus minutes per game….that is ridiculous to ask of a forward on a nightly basis. OF the top 20 heis the only forward…if he is at all “floating” it is for good reason
Could be this is the sign the Budaj won’t be a Habs next year. I get that Tokarski is not a top flight goalie, but he’ll be cheap and has room to grow.
I think it’s a little early to say that Budaj’s being replaced. Put on notice might be accurate though.
Well it’s more pressure than Desjardins was exerting.
Reading the TB boards it seems the move was about making space for next season, as they have a logjam of goalie prospects. Still if that’s the case they are basically letting the rights of Tokarski go away for nothing if they don’t re-sign Desjardins.
I think Bergevin should hire Scotty Bowman as the Coaches Coach, then the development team would be complete.
Habfan17
I have a realistic trade scenario too:
The team trades Lars Eller’s development for David Desharnais
Love it!
Habfan17
Swap David’s hockey sense, vision and effort into Lars.
No thanks I wouldn’t make that trade as I prefer Eller’s hockey sense at both ends of the rink, the vision from his higher pespective is better and the effort level is equal if not better than Desharnais’ even though it doesn’t have to be. .
Desharnais is a good player…..and I applaud for everything he has done…and will do…he is just not the best available option right now with the Canadiens with Eller there IMO.
Jack Todd says we need to get tougher? what an idea? Pretty sure Staubitz was coveted, to assume we could have signed him with no competition in MTL is not accurate. He got decent money in Anaheim, would have cost more in MTL. Zack Stortini is useless but Matt Kassian is not and is on waivers, for free….
So I flipped on the TV last night just in time to see Chris Neal beating on Matt Cooke. I heard the announcers mention Karlsson was hurt and Neil was getting some retribution. I thought that sounded pretty good and hoped Karlsson wasn’t hurt too badly.
Then I saw the replay and learned more about what happened. Matt Cooke is pure scum. I thought it was intentional at first glance but after seeing it broken down 100 times I’d have to lean towards it being a mistake.
However, I think Cooke should be suspended based on reputation. If there’s a 1% chance he did it on purpose, suspended that prick.
Excuse my French.
Hobie,
I know and dislike Cooke, but this time around it was pure accidental. And besides Matt has worked hard at changing his game around from being an complete idiot to where he is very effective without spending big time in the box. But I still don’t like him.
Ian
YA I agree…
Ian, would you feel the same way if it was PK Subban that Cooke injured,rather than Karlsson?
+1 on Hobie’s French.
I think we should sign Ron Jeremy.
are you saying the team has big holes to fill?
He’s saying we need more guys with long sticks.
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Listen to the Smart Dog. He knows his poop!
Understand he’s good in the room.
Mr. Biter
No Guts No Glory
I think we should hire Scotty Bowman as a coaches coach!
Habfan17
Maybe Ron James! to keep things light as well/.
Haha. Good one.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dustin_Tokarski
Someone was optimistic!
But… it’s on the internet, so it must be true!
Sad to see Carey go….
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Being a Hab fan is like buying real estate: only over the long-haul will you appreciate the true value of your investment.
Habslads!
What were you doing at 18 years old, if your that age yet!
The kid would be in Junior and nothing to prove if he were not up with us. Yes he was brought in at a very young age, and his eagerness and heart is admired by all in the room, and motivates the older guys to excel playing with such speed.
On the Karlsson injury: First of all, there is no way this was intentional. Hockey is dangerous. Guys flying around the ice wearing 2 razor-sharp blades on their feet, and runnng into each other at full-speed. Guys are going to get cut! Just ask Robert Lang, Andrei Markov, Richard Zednick, Clint Malarchuk, Borje Salming, Pat Stapleton, and hundreds of other NHLer’s. I once had a guy accidently step on my face in a beer-league game (fortunately, I wear a cage).
For years I despised Matt Cooke, just like most other fans. But, you know what? He actually got the message (finally), back in 2011. He knew he wasn’t going to get another chance, and had to change his “style”. He re-invented himself, and lat year had 44 PIM and nothing even close to an incident. Of course, he’s like an Alcoholic, he could fall off the wagon tonight, but I really think that he’s not the cheap-shot artist he used to be. Guys like Mike Richards, Brad Marchand and others could learn a thing or two from him. He was just finishing a check (cleanly) like you see dozens of times every game.
Agreed. Cooke should have been thrown out of the league long time ago but it is impossible to prove intent. Hockey is inherently dangerous. If I played hockey today, I would look like Iron Man…
I’m actually surprised that this type of injury doesn’t occur more frequently given the speed of the game and the razor-like sharpness of the players’ skates.
The only thing I can definitively say about this Tokarski trade is that it’s always good to trade for a goalie from a team that isn’t good at evaluating them.
Usually when they think they have a good one it turns out poorly and when they move on from another that one turns out to be good.
Looks like Desjardins will never be more than an AHL goalie. Tokarski is still young so who knows? Good gamble by MB.
I Like Tokarski’s background,
2008-09 WHL – West Second All-Star Team
2007-08 Memorial Cup – Stafford Memorial Trophy (MVP)
2007-08 Memorial Cup – Hap Emms Trophy (Top Goaltender)
2007-08 Memorial Cup – All-Star Team
Habfan17
Wonderful article by Jack Todd from the Gazette.
I have to agree with Jack 100%, we need to get bigger and not small and soft in today’s NHL.
I agreed with how the team was assembled when Bob Gainey came at the helm, but the experiment failed. This was a sign that firewagon hockey is not built no more in Montreal and today’s NHL game.
And I think our future motto should..”big is better” than “rise together” from last season or “raise the torch” from this season.
Poor marketing I say.
“We will win the Cup one day only with ? in the nets “
“we need to get bigger and not small and soft ”
Jesus – we are actually beyond parody now.
Jesus would agree…David would be tumbling down now by the mighty Goliath in today’s world.
“We will win the Cup one day only with ? in the nets “
Here’s a realistic trade for you:
DD + Moen to Washington for Chimera, Erskine, and Galiev (prospect; played for Gallant in the Q)
Bourque-Pleks-Gio
MaxPower-Gally27-Gally73
Chimera-Eller-Cole
Prust-White/Nokia/Dumont-Army
Gorges-Subban
Markov-Emelin
Cube/Diaz/Erskine
Another option: send a mid-round pick to Colorado for O’Byrne
Not sure Chimera is an upgrade over Moen, but it would be a good short term solution for Habs to get some added size and grit.
Colorado has been hit by injuries on defense. They would probably want a roster player. I would send Diaz for O’Byrne. St. Denis could take Diaz’s spot if need be, He did pretty well last season
Habfan17
I agree — both St Denis and Dumont looked good during their times with the club.
You just want a full line of Gallys.
With Backstrom and Ribiero, why would WSH want DD?
Washington has two top 2 centers already (Backstrom and Ribiero). Unless you believe DD can be a 3rd line center, no one with two top 2 centers will want him.
(i) It’s a little odd that we have decided that Ottawa is doomed without Karlson when we thought that we should get along without Markov.
(ii) If there are penalties for high sticking, perhaps there should be a penalty for high stepping.
Markov never won the Norris….and Spezza is also out for the season. Karlsson also doesn’t have PK backing him up and Kaberle in the pressbox. Ottawa is also missing Cowan for the year and Latendresse is out right now as is Michalek. That is like the Habs last year. Unless Craig Anderson wins the Vwezina they are screwed
They’ve also benefited greatly from a lot of secondary scoring from average talents since last season.
Says more about MacLean than the talent on the team.
(ii) Interesting idea. A high sticking penalty assessment does not consider intent either.
Dustin Tokarski was the goalie who lead Norfolk Admirals to the AHL Championship last year. He is younger than Desjardins, to me this deal while only an AHL exchange is a very good deal for Montreal.
It’s a puzzler. Tampa know what they’re getting in Cedric, he’s played there before. Why would they take the older goalie with less upside who’s having a bad year? Is this a settling of accounts, an unwritten ‘future considerations’.
I wonder if it is Tampa letting a young guy like Tokarski go to give him a chance elsewhere because they have no future plans for him.
I wondered the exact same thing Normand. Having said that, Desjardins has been battling injuries all year, perhaps they believe once healthy he provides better depth at NHL backup level than Tokarski presently.
While not a significant move, I do like it.
Desjardins must feel like a ping pong ball
Habfan17
Or a Boomerang given he keeps flying back to Tampa.
This team is a work in progress. Over $10 million of salary is in the press box or San Jose. In the offseason, the team did not upgrade its top 10 roster spots. Of those top 10, half (Markov, Gionta, Plekanec, Cole, Bourque) are past their prime. A good GM can upgrade those roster spots through trade or player development.
My issue with MB is that he committed significant money to role players whose effectiveness is limited by their minutes. He felt it was worth getting more gritty. While he may be proven right, I think it is pretty obvious that White, Armstrong, Moen and Prust have not changed the on ice equation.
The big problems are faceoffs, third period leads and dumb penalties. Prust is a great shot blocker. Prust, Plekanec and Bourque are the forwards I most trust on the ice in the third period. The problem is that Prust is either spending the third period in the penalty box or babysitting G&G. The team needs to make some adjustments to their game in the third period. The bench needs to be tightened and Prust needs to earn his salary.
MB needs to create the salary flexibility to upgrade the top 10 roster spots, slowly but surely. He has a goalie which is by far the trickiest. He needs to address the weakenss up the middle. I have suggested trading DD and Eller for someone like Dubinsky, a left handed center with size who fights, can score 20 goals and wins faceoffs. Obviously this is easier said than done.
Tinkering with the bottom of the roster during the season will not be impactful. I am hopeful that LL will get another shot this season. He can be more impactful than White or Armstrong. The team does not have the flexibility to address the current shortcomings by taking on additional bad contracts.
Blue, blanc et rouge. Red and White for Canada. Blue for Smurfs.
Bergevin ony sogned Armstrong and Boullion to one year $1 million contracts. Just to allow some young players to develop. I doubt they will be back next season. Prust is the only one he signed to big dollars for significant time and he is not past his prime. He can play and although not a heavy weight, will stand up to anyone when needed. The Habs always pay more due to the tax rates in Quebec.
Habfan17
Moen got four years and is past his prime. Prust worries me because he is not going to last four years fighting as often as he does. He needs to be much more selective. He is going to get hurt and miss big chunks of time if he keeps leading the NHL in fights.
My issue was more that the team brought on four guys who can fight but no one who can win a faceoff. Their fighters do not win fights and the faceoffs are still being lost. I feel like MT tried to overcompensate for one perceived weakness but failed to address a real weakness.
Blue, blanc et rouge. Red and White for Canada. Blue for Smurfs.
Were the Habs as bad at faceoffs as they are now? I don’t remember.
Habfan17
sigh
last time I saw Louis Leblanc he was being pushed around in the AHL. he showed no toughness, no push back whatsoever.
if Louis doesn’t make the NHL as a 2nd line point producer, he will need to get significantly tougher as a hockey player.
There isn’t an organization, company or sports franchise that is a finished product.
They’re all works in progress.
This excuse for mediocrity has always bothered me. The Blackhawks are near unbeatable right now and have an embarrassment of riches in the talent department. Think they wouldn’t make a trade if it improved their team? Think they aren’t trying to improve?
Patience is a virtue and in the Habs’ case required due to a change in leadership. But the work in progress mentality applies to every team atmosphere. Not just those with lower expectations than normal.
I would say the Gallagher and Galchenyuk line would be considered an upgrade through “player development”. And I think Prust was a factor in changing the “on ice equation” for this line.
Most of the money you are whining about is Gomez, which has been dealt with. What more is the “good GM” supposed to do about that?
Dumb penalties have also been addressed by Therrien through benching White, who took the lion’s share of them.
… and time to change your signature. Smurf line was Camalleri, Gomez, and Gionta… 2/3 of which are now gone.
Cooke gets tied up with a guy, accidentally cuts him – outrage.
Malkin tomahawks a guy on the head a week earlier – (crickets)
Is the rest of their previous actions the same also? Malkin did indeed get away with one, but Matt Cooke made his reputation.
But Cooke doesn’t swing sticks at guy’s heads… at least he throws cheap, dirty and dangerous hits.
The silence from league, fans and media around the Malkin clubbing was infuriating.
He did get away with it Luke, I dont dispute. This league has always had double standards, Chara alone is living proof.
at least people talked about Chara…
Why didn’t Habs sign a big hulking Dman this past summer. I suppose it is a fair question. However, lets look at two examples of players in this description signed in the offseason.
Tim Gleason, 4 year contract 4Million cap hit
Bryan Allen, 3 year contract 3.5Million cap hit
Both players signed in the States (tax implications) and still required that kind of contract and commitment. MB is currently still sorting out Salary Cap Hell from the past GM and couldn’t afford to make that kind of commitment to players on the downside of their careers.
While I don’t dispute we need this type of dman, I am hopeful that he is hopeful (lets all be hopeful) that he can acquire such a player through a trade perhaps. We need to get through this year and probably next before the troops in Hamilton are ready.
Signing 3 and 4 year contracts only makes Salary Cap Hell continue.
I agree with the size on D issue. We might be seeing Tinordi sooner than later though.
http://bleublancetrouge.ca/
Good free agents don’t often sign with last place teams,especially those will new GM’s and coaches, unless they get hugely overpaid. Montreal did not have the cap flexibility to overpay.
Blue, blanc et rouge. Red and White for Canada. Blue for Smurfs.
There are a few teams with injures on defence which will probably drive up the price for one in a trade. It may help the Habs unload Kaberle and Weber and get something for them.
It is a short season and the Habs are not close to being true contenders, so I would rather they not make any trades as you say, for defencemen on the decline that would eat up valuable cap space.
If the Habs could trade Kaberle and get a tough defenceman that has a low cap hit for one or two seasons to allow the young guys some time to develop, I would do that! Again, the problem is, the teams that do have a legitimate chance to go for the cup will also be looking for the same thing and will drive the price up.
I still believe the right thing to do would be to wait for the trade deadline and then see who needs what and what they would be willing to give the Habs for some of the older vets like Cole, Gionta, Kaberle, and even Pleks.
Before anyone disses me for mentioning Pleks or Gionta I love hi them both as players but the reality is by the time the Habs can contend, Gionta will be gone and Pleks has the most value of any player not named Subban, Price, Galchenyuk, or Pacioretty.
The Habs are in this mess now because of bad decisions an we all want Bergevin to build a cup contending team for years.
The Habs traded Koivu and in my opinion should never have done that. So why not Pleks or Gionta?
Habfan17
I wish they had traded Koivu, at least they would have gotten something in return instead of just letting him walk as a UFA.
True, I git got up on the point that captains and orignal drafted players can be moved. Thanks for poitning out my mistake
Habfan17
Plekanec, Gionta, Cole, Moen and pretty much every veteran has an NTC. Though I agree with your sentiment.
Blue, blanc et rouge. Red and White for Canada. Blue for Smurfs.
That is the one thing I think agents screwed the GM’s on, the NTC. What a load of garbage. How can anyone improve their team if they can’t trade anyone?
Habfan17
Gleason is 6’1″, 210lbs. Not exactly hulking, but that’s not really the point. Good player, tough as nails too… I like him.
The point, I suppose, is:
Did they want to sign in Montreal? Did they approach MB and were rebuked?
Did Montreal try and sign them? Did they say: “Yuck! Poutine and Strippers. Gross”?
I would say Gleason is surprisingly tough as he held his own against Lucic 2 weeks ago.
yah, thats why i thrwew in the “tough as nails” part.
he’s just not “hulking”.
jesus, i’d take paul mara back right now.
Funny. Tokarski is my backup to Price a few years down the road in NHL13
http://bleublancetrouge.ca/
Darren Dreger @DarrenDreger
Habs announce: CANADIENS ACQUIRE GOALTENDER DUSTIN TOKARSKI FROM THE TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING IN RETURN FOR CÉDRICK DESJARDINS.
Guess that answers my question of whether or not Bergevin is willing to trade a Quebecois.
Good news.
I’m not so sure about that, Tom. Desjardin is strictly cannon fodder. Tokarski is 4th on Tampa’s depth chart. This is basically an AHL trade.
But Tokarski was great at the world Juniors. He’s gonna push Price. Trade Price. Trade Halak. Trade Tokarksi.
Where does Tokarski fit on Montreal’s depth chart?
If Price gets hurt, my assumption is he backs up Budaj.
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DOOOOOOOOOOOOMED!
we have Price and Budaj.
there is no one else in the system that will ever play in the NHL.
that’s our “depth” chart.
Bergevin showing a willingness to move any Quebecois is a sign of encouragement for me.
Not because I want a predominantly Anglo team, but because I wanted to know that he would do this regardless of the talent level or expectations of the player.
I think Desjardins isn’t from Quebec. The Canadiens already traded him once to Tampa for Ramo who they traded to Calgary with Cammi.
I’m pretty sure Cedrick Desjardins is from New Brunswick.
2nd time Tampa has acquired him from us. He hasn’t looked good in Hamilton this year, Mayer has been outplaying him. Toskarski has more upside I believe, but no loss here in my opinion.
I wonder why? to play in Hamilton or is Buddha going to Hamilton?
Would make no sense for Budaj to be sent to Hamilton, he has a one-way contract.
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“Obviously it would be great, but they don’t really hang conference titles in this rink. They raise Stanley Cup banners.” – Carey Price
We need a better backup goalie. Price has been blowing leads and his confidence is shaken. Too bad we had to let Halak go. I wonder how hard it would be to get Halak back?
Seeing that he’s injured, highly unlikely. Easy to fault Price though, let him be the scapegoat.
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DOOOOOOOOOOOOMED!
With a comment like that, obviously you never got over the Halak trade.
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“Obviously it would be great, but they don’t really hang conference titles in this rink. They raise Stanley Cup banners.” – Carey Price
Halak is injured.
Didn’t the Habs trade Desjardins to the Lightening before for Ramo, who they sent to Calgary!. Musical goalies!
Habfan17
Re the Kaberle trade idea. Did the amendment pushed by Brian Burke that aplayer’s salary could be shared go through … if so Kaberle becomes even more attractive for Ottawa.
Yes. Teams can retain half of the cap hit and/or salary.
But in Kaberle’s case Bergevin shouldn’t be willing to eat either of the two in a trade because he can buy him out with no cap hit in June.
Yes but that by out still costs Molson. This way the actual cost is reduced. And also better take the trad einstead of having a player on the bench not playing ever. We could then add a stay at home mid-level D.
09/10 – Eriksson was 23rd in the entire league in scoring
10/11 – Eriksson was 18th overall
11/12 – Eriksson was 20th overall
I would call that elite, Tom.
Elite and consistent, wouldn’t you agree?
30 teams in the league.
I consider elite to be in the top 3 in the role the player happens to be in.
As a two way forward, I believe Eriksson is close but not in the league’s top three.
He’s great but he weighs 193lbs and his PIM put him in line for the Lady Byng. We need a big guy with an edge on D. Someone that can clear guys out of the crease and crack skulls when needed. We don’t have one tough guy on the blue line and they all weigh about 200lbs, excluding PK and Emelin neither of which can fight.
why have we not claimed Kassian? WTF is Bergevin waiting for? maybe next time Orr can pound one of the Gallys.
Or Matt Cooke does something bad to the Gallys, for that matter.
Richard R
Price is an oyster. Unfortunately not all oysters produce pearls.
Crosby has quietly got himself back near the top of his game…actually his play has not looked very Corsby like at times this year but he is still that much better than everyone else. He is now tied for 2nd in the league. He doesn’t look as sharp with the decisions and I have noticed several turnovers that are not very Crosby like but he is still incredible out there….shaking off the rust ad hopefully for the good of the game he can stay healthy because he is a treat to watch. Glad he is back and performing again.
So Markov hasn’t looked good since teams decided to pressure him on the blue-line.
I think Diaz needs to establish himself as a proper trigger-man for Markov. Once that happens, penalty-kilelrs won’t be so quick to charge towards him; they’d be more interested in helping block shots or clearing out rebounds
Remember Markov-Souray?
Insane.
Markov-Streit?
Almost as good.
Let’s get that going again!
—Hope Springs Eternal—
Diaz is a righty….everyone else was a lefty with a cannon.
Hmm, true.
But still!!
—Hope Springs Eternal—
Diaz-Markov was much better than Markov-Subban. Diaz moves the puck much better than Subban which is very important on a PP, especially with all the shot blocking, its the only way to open up shooting lanes. It’s not the same dynamic that worked in the past with a left-handed hard shooter on the point, but it was very effective in January. The Habs still have Bourque who can provide the hard shot on the right half wall.
Okay.
A realistic(sorry) trade that involves Desharnais…….
To Dallas…..
Desharnais
Kaberle
2nd round pick
To Montreal……
Loui Eriksson
In your dreams.
Cody Eakin is their second line centreman right now. They have a dire need for an upgrade at that spot even though he’s playing well.
In addition, they’re a very competitive team in a tough conference who also happen to need to produce more offense from the point.
I dont think there is a player on the Habs not named Price or Subban that would bring Eriksson.
In that case I feel you’re overvaluing him. I’d love him in a Habs jersey and I’m sure Dallas is happy they have him.
But he isn’t a franchise player and the two Habs you mentioned are.
Loonie, i wouldnt trade either of those two or Gally27 for Eriksson but I’d let Dallas pick any player other than those guys from Habs current roster.
Pacioretty?
Absolutely.
Trading Patches for Eriksson would be like trading 6 oranges for 6 oranges. they both play left wing and the Habs need a 2nd line left wing, not to just exchange 1st line left wings. Patches is younger so that would be a bad trade for the Habs
Habfan17
Here is an article from Dallas News, describing their current problem of being poor in 2nd games of back to back. More aging vets may not be welcomed as much given this.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/dallas-stars/headlines/20130213-heika-back-to-back-failures-becoming-more-than-just-a-little-problem-for-dallas-stars.ece
Didn’t know about that abysmal record in back to backs. With that knowledge I agree that sending them a Kaberle or them moving an Eriksson becomes a long shot at best.
O.M.G.
(
)
Haha.
I don’t see this as realistic, He is an alternate captain in Dallas and has size, they already have the “geriatric connection” so why ad another over the hill defenceman, and a smurf centre that does not win battles. They already traded for Roy for points and he is small. Not to mention they have depth at centre and just drafted Faska. the only thing they would like, which I would not give up is a second round pick in this supposedly deep draft.
Habfan17
They don’t have anything close to depth at centre.
And with all of those veterans they’re in win now mode as it is.
this would not be considered seriously by Dallas.
desharnais is a question mark.
kaberle is a bigger question mark.
Eriksson is a perfect fit for us, and for 29 other teams as well.
3 consecutive seasons of over 70 points – that places him in an offensive category that is elite by NHL standards.
I guess it depends on your definition of elite Ed.
If I’m Nieuwendyk I’m shopping for a second line centreman and an offensive defenseman right now.
I’d be very hesitant to give up Eriksson and with what Burly shared above I’d be looking for youth but those positions both need addressed if signing the veterans they did is going to result in anything other than futility.
Sorry, I don’t buy it! No team gives up a core player for a potential flash in the pan, an out of shape overpaid defenceman and a pcik that won’t be part of the team for at least 2 years, if at all.
Eriksson and Benn are the Dallas Stars. Benn and Roy are the top two centres so DD would have to play 3rd line and they have no one to replace the hole that losing Eriksson would make.
When they play tough teams in the playoffs, Eriksson would be way more valuable than DD. They do have 9 centres in the system. Not to menion those already with Dallas. Fiddler is playbg the wing now, but he is a centre.
Sorry, still unrealistic as neither of these players would make them better for a playoff run.
Habfan17
Benn hasn’t played centre this season and is a natural winger.
As for the supposed depth at centre. There isn’t any. Derek Roy is the only scoring centreman they have on the current roster.
Radek Faksa is an excellent prospect but remains a maybe. Scott Glennie is looking more and more like a bust every day.
And just because you and I both like Eller, it doesn’t mean Desharnais has no value.
He’s an offensive player and valuable to any team in the league. It’s a question of how much. In the case of the Dallas Stars, it would be paramount with their lack of scoring centremen.
Edit: I see he played centre last night. I suspect out of need.
I don’t think there are any teams ligning up to trade for a small centre, who does not win faceoffs, has had one good season and who is struggling this season. Don’t say it is early and there was no training camp, because other talented players seem to be doing just fine on other teams. If he has so much talent, he would have found a way to be putting up points by now.
Benn may be playing the wing, but he is listed on the Dallas site as a Centre and Glennie is listed as a right wing, so I did not count him. If dallas was going to make a move for a centre, I would think they would be more interested in trying to get O’Reilly than adding DD.
Habfan17
We have to figure Eller out first before we make a move for a center. too many centers now and we maybe ruining Eller by not giving him steady ice time at center on a good line. See what he can do first than make a decision.
Wow, you have been very critical of DD, now you suggest he could fetch us Eriksson. I’m starting to think you are a closet DD fan.
They will ask for Eller
“Don’t crush that dwarf Alex Henry, hand me the pliers”
I have been a Frankie Bouillon fan in the past and so it pains me to write this.
the 2 spots that were filled by Therrien “supporters”, Bouillon and Armstrong, are exactly the 2 spots that I think need significant upgrade.
Neither player can be expected to play very tough against the big forwards or d-men in this league,
and both those spots, the #6 defenceman and the #12 forward,should have been filled by 2 significantly meaner and nastier players for the same cap hit.
those players were available in the summer, they were not any more expensive then Bouillon and Armstrong, and the Habs purposely chose to bring in these two because they were “known” to Therrien – which is code in the Pro sports world for – they would be supporters of the coach no matter what.
Bad moves, in retrospect, both of them.
Umm…..yep.
I second that yep.
Richard R
Price is an oyster. Unfortunately not all oysters produce pearls.
Frankie is the only defenceman save Kaberle who is a plus on this team, and has played very well overall. He is not the problem. Armstrong, well – I agree with you on that one.
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☞ The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool. ~ Richard Feynman ☜
Bouillon isn’t a problem but better options could have been brought in.
People want the rugged and tough forward who can contribute anywhere and fight. The simple solution is that defensemen of that cloth are much easier to find and less expensive to acquire.
What is your problem with Armstrong?
did he cause the 6-0 drubbing by the Leafs or any of the last three 3rd period collapses?
______________________________________________________
“It’s just an opinion – I could be wrong”
I don’t have a problem with him per se. I just think he’s not an upgrade on other players who filled that role for us. Pyatt, for example, or Mathieu Darche.
*Edit* I’m not losing any sleep over Armstrong filling this role though – I was just responding to a posting.
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☞ The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool. ~ Richard Feynman ☜
You may indeed be correct Ed. Perhaps MT only remembered his time with these players from years earlier. I suppose the question one has to ask though is, how crucial for getting the new message/culture across this roster were Frankie and Armstrong to MT’s cause.
We don’t know how things were in that dressing room, just as we don’t know now. Clearly MT had a plan with Frankie in that he has become PK’s shadow.
Your point though is valid.
completely agree they are not the best options out there to fill those roles but it helps to have loyal, friendlies around in any business.
You’re way off about Frankie, Ed.
He consistently stands up to bigger forwards, and almost always stops them in their tracks, and he is one of the toughest d-men in the league, which people would see if they could look past his height. He will drop the gloves with anyone in the league, you know.
Added to this, Frankie bleeds Bleu-Blanc-Rouge, which means he will put his body on the line until his last breath on a shift. He’s also a hometown boy who is extremely popular with the fans.
If all you can see in him is that he ‘supports’ the coach, then you are missing a lot, or choosing not to see it in order to back up an Anti-Therrien agenda. I don’t know.
Also, which ‘significantly meaner and nastier’ defencemen were available this summer?
—Hope Springs Eternal—
Also hasn’t Frankie been pretty good so far?
I agree…less eloquently than you (see above), but agree nevertheless. I’ve always been a fan of the Cube.
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☞ The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool. ~ Richard Feynman ☜
May the Cube be with you.
Richard R
Price is an oyster. Unfortunately not all oysters produce pearls.
Agreed Matty.I have no problem with the Cube and his one-year contract. The Two Swiss guys and Mr.Mini Stick,well………..
Mr. Mini-Stick!!
HA!!
—Hope Springs Eternal—
Both were signed for what is turning out to be a shortened lockout season. Good moves, the both of them. Your “code” for being a coach “supporter” is a little ridiculous. Both are known to the coach, sure, but do you honestly think they’ll sit in the room proselytizing Therrienism?
Maybe, just maybe, both are doing the job and don’t cost a lot.
When are people going to stop focusing on a 4th line winger who plays 10 minutes a night and a #5 d-man who are doing the job they were hired to do at a small cap hit?
Worry about your top 3 lines and your top 4 D who are at the moment having issues with consistency and are making (some) huge sums of money!
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“It’s just an opinion – I could be wrong”
It’s as if folks need something to complain about. HIO GMs never make mistakes and are prescient in all things.
I agree! and I also like Boullion, but he is not quite what he was 5 yrs ago. Armstrong is no longer a strong arm, as a matter of fact, he is the weakest link on the team! But we do not have anyone else ready to bring up yet! maybe Leblanc if he has cranked it up a couple notches yet in Hamilton.
Who else is ready down on the farm Gerald??
Good morning to all.
Long time reader. Former poster. P*ssed off subsequent poster. Absenteer for a while.
Life’s been a little hectic, so I’ve had to prioritize, and reading convoluted fantasies from hockey fans who suffer from occasional disloyalty was not a priority (oh no! Say it isn’t so!)
I’ve checked in to read everything from the voice of reason to outright hilarity!
Trade Subban, promote Subban!
Trade Eller, give Eller the key to the city!
Price is useless, Price is prime candidate for the papacy!
Fire MT, hey… MT is proving himself!
Send Chucky back to Sarnia, Chucky should centre the first line!
Trade DD, Webber, Diaz and 17 minor leaguers to Calgary for Iginla, Cammy and a lifetime membership to the Calgary Stampede!
But I’ve found the solution to all of our problems.
My grandson (I know… he’s only 3, but hear me out) plays hockey on the Wii game, and has unbelievable vision. The kid can deke left, deke right, and he took Malkin out the other day…. I was so pround.
OK so the kid’s only 3 foot nothing ( let no one call him a smurf or I’ll find you…), but he’s got potential à la Martin St Louis.
Anyhow, it’s nice to be back. I’ve put in my 2 cents worth. Now I have to go back to my life, and get to work.
I hope you all enjoy today’s debate.
The question of the day:
On this 2013 Valentine’s day, which hockey player’s wife would you solicit if you were a multi-talented multimillionaire athlete?
For me? I’ll stick with my wife, thanks! (riding the safety of the fence here….)
Welcome back Bri, was starting to worry about you buddy.
Great summary of the past few weeks, could have saved me hours and hours if you had posted sooner though.
Too early to make the call on the Grand kid though, lets give him a few more games, especially once the teams have finished gelling. Then we’ll see.
Past few weeks? I think he meant just today
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☞ The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool. ~ Richard Feynman ☜
Hey Gerry.
I honestly debated whether or not it was worth arguing over non-issues. Some really know how to pull one’s chain. Lunacy! So I took a breather.
Then our friend Jim fired me off a few emails and reminded me to put it into perspective.
I’m good now thanks. I’ve taken my new prescription of V5, and I’m raring to go.
We’ll discuss later. Cheers!
What”s V5? Any good amigo?
Prust’s wife.
Hands down.
No argument.
(and about your grandson, don’t bring him up too quick!)
—Hope Springs Eternal—
http://www.playerwives.com/teams/nhl/page/7/
Marian Gaborik’s girlfriend Ivana Surovcova
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☞ The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool. ~ Richard Feynman ☜
Hi Bri. Funny how our Grandchildren become our rocks, huh?
———————————–
After the Karlsson injury last night being the latest on-ice incident,
when is the NHL going to smarten-up?
Referees obviously need to be calling the games from home on their televisions!
What can they possibly see-hear-sense- when they are standing 6 feet away?
______________________________________________________
“It’s just an opinion – I could be wrong”
Or wear 3D glasses.
Richard R
Price is an oyster. Unfortunately not all oysters produce pearls.
I gotta think that for the cheap price of some really late picks that Ponikarovski could have helped us and added some size and grit.
If you mean he could have helped us attract size and grit, then perhaps. But he plays with zero size and grit in my humble estimation. Watching him play for the Leafs in his prime, he was very very soft.
Ponikarovski in the same sentence as grit?
I don’t think so.
Big, yes. Gritty, no.
Ex-Leafs carry a curse though. Better not to take the chance…
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☞ The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool. ~ Richard Feynman ☜
I would not trade Eller until he’s given regular ice time on the best line and has proven he can’t get the job done than he’d be gone.
I would only trade DD for a player that is bigger and tougher and just as good or better than.
We have made too many bad trades and I don’t want to see anymore. Build a team that can compete every year for the Stanley cup ….
Posted without comment:
http://tweetwood.com/frankieboyle/tweet/302029408930250752
HA!!
—Hope Springs Eternal—
So what is the chance we see a lineup change tonight and Kaberle is inserted, and what if one of Bob Barkers Beauties introduces him onto the ice under the guise of Showcase #1? Is this possible?
I think not playing him has been the best showcasing they can do. Leave rival GMs to consider his previous seasons instead of where he is today.
Let’s hope. But then who sits?
I say play 7 D, and insert Kaberle in the best possible situations for him to look good.
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☞ The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool. ~ Richard Feynman ☜
Just put an ad on Craigslist ” Over the hill defenceman available for a 7th round pick”
Habfan17
Come on down!
You’re the next contestant on The Halak Is Right!
Or..words to that effect…
Do we use the red headed Barker Beauty or the Blonde?
No difference.
Barker probably nailed them both.
The Karlsson injury is maddening! Regardless of Cooke’s intent there should be a suspension… IMHO.
Ottawa now understands how it felt for us when we lost Markov the first time. I don’t say this with vindiction, but rather just how significant it was when we lost him.
Only now Markov looks like crap since PK has returned.
Not crap, just… older.
—Hope Springs Eternal—
How can there be a suspension if there is no intent?
Surely the point of suspending people is to punish them for intentionally doing dangerous things…
—Hope Springs Eternal—
I think blatant disregard for safety should also constitute a suspendable offense though, regardless of intent.
I’m also not saying this qualifies for that category…just that intent shouldn’t be the only criterion.
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☞ The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool. ~ Richard Feynman ☜
Playing hockey is a blatant disregard for safety!
Staying home out of direct sunlight and eating a balanced diet is a way of staying safe.
—Hope Springs Eternal—
Well…yeah.
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☞ The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool. ~ Richard Feynman ☜
Agreed.
Maybe Cooke is a sociopath !!!
… and here’s a novel idea … Habs need to get bigger, tougher, by Jack Todd …. Damn !! Why didn’t we think of that ??!!??
Wow.
Not even sure how to repsond to this… but you have Cooke being suspended for an accident (you said regardless of intent, so you must assume NO intent). I suppose we should suspend everyone who hits players in the head with the puck… regardless of their intent.
To me it looked like Cooke’s skate blade gets caught on the (ironically) Achilles Guard as he is trying to put it back on the ice.
Point 1: Regardless of intent because one cannot prove intent. If you drive drunk and kill someone, you are punished ‘regardless of intent.
Point 2: The NHL in their unpredictability used the resultant non-injury as ‘justification’ for minimal or no punishment before. Therefore the seriousness of this injury should warrant suspension.
Point 3: Cooke’s penchant for recklessness is well established.
1) Your drunk driving analogy doesn’t work. That act is illegal, the death is a result of an illegal act. You didn’t intend for someone to die, but you were still commiting an illegal act.
Cooke’s comparable to your Drunk Driving is: Skating. But it’s legal.
2)The severity of injury is taken into account when the action commited is deemed illegal (boarding/slashing etc) not legal.
So if someone takes a shotthat is too high and hits someone..suspend them, if someone shoots when someone clearly was in front trying to block it and hurts them suspend him,etc,etc,
Cooke did nothing wrong…if it was any other player it wouldn’t be discussion worthy
I don’t think we need to get tougher , I believe what we need is that superstar forward that can produce for us on a constant basis.
Let’s say that John Davidson really likes Eller. It appears that most
H I/O posters think the Habs need to get better and bigger down the middle. I like Eller but would you, if Davidson wanted to trade;
DD, Eller kristo and Weber to Columbus for
Brassard, Chaput and Dalton Smith
Habfan17
?
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☞ The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool. ~ Richard Feynman ☜
The King of Crazy Trades has spoken.
—Hope Springs Eternal—
Tom should have put periods for emphasis though, like so;
Oh. My. God.
*…and, he edited his post, making this one make no sense.
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☞ The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool. ~ Richard Feynman ☜
Sorry. My post was purely reaction and after reading the follow up comments decided it could be hurtful.
That’s why I deleted it.
No worries…it made me laugh though.
__________________________
☞ The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool. ~ Richard Feynman ☜
LMAO!
Oh dear.
Well, size queens, Jack Todd is one of you now. He’s outed himself in today’s column.
Perhaps now you will realize the … colossal (snicker) … error of your ways.
When you say size queens, why do I get the impression this isn’t positive. Also how do I change my height?
Hang from the rafters 60 minutes a day.
You’ve obviously never seen Burly…
—Hope Springs Eternal—
I wore lifts at the SUmmit Matty!
I thought I saw you totter at one stage.
(just thought it was the Bell Centre beer. How wrong I was…)
—Hope Springs Eternal—
I just watched the Karlsson/Cooke incident on TSN. I’m not sure you could ever say that it was an intentional attempt to injure.
Ottawa is really behind the eight ball now. Montreal can pass them tonight with a win against Florida.
I think it’s safe to say that Boston, Pittsburgh and the Rangers will make the playoffs. A southeastern division leader makes it four. That means there are four spots open for all the other teams. Can Ottawa make it without their best two players? I somehow doubt it.
I think it’s fair to say that Anderson would have to continue to play at the level he has so far. And that would be a runaway Vezina quality season.
Highly unlikely.
They need (NEED!!) Kaberle to bolster their D!
At least, I hope we can convince them of that.
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☞ The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool. ~ Richard Feynman ☜
Man, I would take a 7th-round pick in exchange for that guy, and be filled with glee.
Further to the Kaberle to Ottawa possibility. Who are some other offensive puck carrying Defencemen whom would be available to Ottawa at an inexpensive trade cost.
I don’t think Ottawa will want to do much or anything with its young players or prospects. I suspect all they will be willing to give up is either a low draft pick or a proverbial bag of pucks (career AHL player). Because they are already without Spezza and Cowan they probably realize great playoff success is shattered, but they won’t want a complete shipwreck to finish the season either.
I’d wager a tall glass of stout that Campoli goes to Ottawa
“man, I love winnin’; you know, it’s like better than losin’?”-
Ebby Calvin “Nuke” Laloosh
Didn’t he just sign a contract in Europe somewhere? Although probably has an out clause if so.
He did, but has an out if there is an NHL offer.
“man, I love winnin’; you know, it’s like better than losin’?”-
Ebby Calvin “Nuke” Laloosh
Yah, I wouldn’t bet against you then, well actually I would just to have the excuse to go have a pint with you. But no wager of money on it.
Why the commentariat is great:
“I don’t think firing Therrien is the right way to go,”
After our best start in how many years?, 12 games into the season, without even the benefit of a training camp? Hard to disagree.
Yet, on H I/O, suggesting that firing the coach at this juncture might be a tad … premature … you end up sounding like the voice of reason.
It just goes to show that anything is a ‘valid discussion topic’ on here, unfortunately.
Hey! Who’s interested in changing our uniform? Let’s use a new alternate jersey with a Pac-Man eating a puck! It’s the same concept, but, you know, different. (which means ‘better’)
—Hope Springs Eternal—
Will it make us ‘better’ persons?
But will it make us ‘better’ persons?
Two for the price of one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Hd4SGyF3TE&NR=1&feature=endscreen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=5-P_R1Z_YL0
Richard R
Price is an oyster. Unfortunately not all oysters produce pearls.
Anyone not happy with a 7-4-1 mark 25% of the way through the season? Clinging to a playoff spot i sbetter than 15th place right?
And on a really possitive note the Habs easily could have had some more points. More positive is the Habs leading scorers from last season (well 3 of them) have yet to get back to form.
Yes there are some negatives, and there always will be…. but at this pint I can’t complain (too much).
How can a tanker be happy with that record?
DD and Kaberle to Ottawa for Mark Stone?
Why don’t we just ship them off to San Jose for Gomez?
Tom – Speaking of trades, it looks like your boy Tangradi is down for the count. Quite a drop to be sure.
What happened?
Tangradi to Winnipeg for a 7th round pick.
Yeah I knew that and like the move for the Jets and Tangradi. Anytime you give up a 7th round pick for a 2nd round pick you’ve done good business in my opinion.
Seemed like a steal to me as well Tom, Jets already replaced the pick and got a 4th for Ponikorovsky to Jersey also.
I doubt Ottawa would do this, maybe Diaz and DD, and Stone is a right wing, which the Habs have many of in the system. They would have to move someone else out at some point.
Habfan17
Steve buddy,
Please don’t take offense but if Ottawa turned down Desharnais and Kaberle in their situation for Mark Stone they’d be nuts.
They have cap space for miles(this season and next) and immediate and long term needs at both positions(C,D).
Kaberle and a mid round pick should be enough to get Mark Stone. If that.
I’m looking at it as an opportunity to dump Kaberle.
So why package Desharnais in a Kaberle dump when you can just buy Kaberle out in June?
No Offence taken, but knowing Murray, he would rather have Diaz wh fits better as a replacement. Maybe Diaz straight up. I thought Stone was a furst round pick, I had him confused with another player. They are also hurting up front with Spezza being out. On team 1200, they did say that Murray is hot on O’Reilly and could be putting together a package including Zibanejad.
At the dn of the day, I don’t think the Habs would want Stone. They have too many right wings now, including Collberg, Holland, and probably Leblanc
Habfan17
Nothing like a big right handed shooter playing the off wing.
Stone can go to Hamilton for a year or two.
WRT the Cooke/Karlsson incident, Aaron Ward on TSN did a good job explaining that bringing the knee up on a player is a very common play in the NHL as a way to try to contain a player and pin him to the boards, which is something you would want to do with Karlsson because he could make you look bad otherwise. So now I am more in the “accident” camp after that explanation.
Ward’s comment start at the two minute mark.
http://video.tsn.ca/?dl=main/latest/1/0/864713/clip/500
No way it was intentional…I don’t even view it as careless as some have suggested..it was just a coincidence and unfortunate. This is not the first incident of this nature and surely there is an equipment solution out there…kevlar? why these assets worth multiple millions of dollars are not forced into wearing the best available equipment is lost on me….
It seems to me that this type of injury is more common than it used to be. I wonder if the those new Reebok socks do not offer the same protection as the old knitted sock? Or maybe the steel is harder in the blades now and they stay too sharp?
Not sure, but I hope the Habs make sure all their players get kevlar socks now.
UCe provided an excellent example earlier in the thread of how a Kevlar sock cannot prevent this when the skate is that sharp with that degree of impact. It is freak, but it would require chain male (sp?) at best to prevent such a unique accident.
I saw that but I have also seen people get hurt wearing helmets, legs broken despite wearing shin pads,etc,etc…it may not be 100 percent but it would have to dramatically reduce the odds of getting hurt. We don’t know how they would have responded but the socks are marketed as specifically designed to protect achilles injuries.
I finally saw that, it looks like a freak accident and not something he did on purpose. Cooke has a bad track record and thats whys people are flipping out if Crosby or Malkin did it people wouldn’t cry foul
http://nickolaisblog.wordpress.com/
MT is the MAIN reason for Habs losing streak? Why? MT hasn’t learned anything from before. If a team player makes a mistake during the game, His as$ is strapped to the bench for rest of game. It’s a bloody shame. IMHO, don’t like the way MT is handling any situation that has a negative out turn as a results of each game loss do to benching.
Can this coach take a timeout or get his team prepared to start a game or beginning of a period? MT isn’t using some of his key players very well IMO. PK seems to be in his doghouse quiet often since PK has returned to the Habs lineup. PK should be paired with Josh Gorges as 2nd D pairing. When is MT going to make this happen? Can anyone else see this? Where there is smoke, a possible fire is on the inside dressing room about to start soon? Get rid of this BUM immediately and bring in a coach that can mentor the young guns to play their game. Time for change IMO.
I don’t think firing Therrien is the right way to go, but I do think he needs to adjust. It seems he has a double standard and if we see it, the players see it and it will likely cause problems.
I refer to the fact that Subban was benched after his mistake that lead to a goal. Plekanec took that lazy penalty that also lead to a goal yet he was not benched and did get to play on the PP in overtime. That is an issue to me. His discipline needs to be handed out in the same manner to all. Just like Eller, he has done everything that was asked and has been one of the best players since his stint in the press box. Others have not played to what based on last season is their potential.
Therrien needs to make some adjustments or Bergevin will need to have a closed door meeing with him.
Habfan17
COle has had his ice drasticaally reduced…Patches too. That was a weak call on PLkes…but as I tried to explain the other day people are misisng the point with PK. PK’s play was awful …he made 3 effortless plays in a 5 second span taht cost taht goal….all horrible on their own but collectively it was a slap in the face to the team and definitely needed discipline. When he made the decision to sit himt he game shouold still have been in hand…2 goal lead with 5 minutes to go….and the benching is a non issue. Once the decision was made to bench him he could not back down.
THe difference sometimes between vets and kids is that kids are still being prgrammed if you will and are learning good habits…vets are what they are for the most part and are usually disciplined for lack of effort or poor results….kids are often becnhed in order to rid them of the bacd habits that they cannot have at the pro level.
This is why I have an issue with Eller as I have not seen the errors or lack of effort but COle and Patches were not playing the way they did last eyar and he disciplined them too….those were the teams top two scorers so saying he isn’t taking action on vets is completely false.
I have some issues with him …Eller, the pp (I don’t think he should break up Markov/Diaz and think he should not use regular lines and should load his pp) but for themost part he has done a great job thus far.
Please keep in mind that he just took over a 15th place team. I wasn’t thrilled with the hiring either, but I have to admit this team is doing much better than last season’s.
And we won the last game, so technically there is no ‘losing streak’. The team is 7 – 4 – 1. which is a respectable record.
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☞ The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool. ~ Richard Feynman ☜
Looks like the HI/O executive firestarters are out again!
Is that you, Boone? Stu?
—Hope Springs Eternal—
Yah but what about our current losing streak, you do remember the score in the Tampa game right Matty?
You’re right.
The Big Loss that added to our Losing Streak.
It’s true that it’s very rare this season to see teams go on losing streaks, considering the condensed schedule.
We should really fire the coach we just hired.
Due to the ongoing and seemingly-neverending Losing Streak.
—Hope Springs Eternal—
In fairness, some people were calling for Therrien to be fired before the season even started. The ones who have waited this long before calling for his head are positively Solomonesque.
Incredible restraint.
Laudable, even.
—Hope Springs Eternal—
I hate that it happened this way regarding the Senators. Don´t want anyone to get injured like that. But i can´t avoid the thought that it means one less team for us to climb over. The Senators are effectively done.
we have been extraordinarily lucky with injuries so far, and if we stay this healthy there really is no excuse to not make the playoffs.
Cammalleri with three goals yesterday (one was an empty net, though)
What’s pretty obvious from Cooke’s play is that he has a blatant disregard for what a skate blade can do. Intentional or not, he would have known that his blade is landing on the guy and not on the player’s skate or on the ice. And he’s not laying off as would be the natural tendency or giving it a second thought. He’s applying pressure and skating away.
Presumed innocent, sure. But it’s classic Cooke. Injure a guy and skate away unperturbed. Right up there with Ulf Sammuelsson and that prick Chara.
Watching the replay it look like he cut him on the hit and not when he was skating away
I hope Bettman and his partner “Jerry Jacobs” don’t screw this up.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/14/sports/hockey/nhl-roundup.html
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If they were in USA or back in Canada this wouldn’t even be an issue. Done deal.
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That’s what scares me Shane. I really hope the league office doesn’t screw this up.
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the NHL players need to get their butts to Russia and participate in the Olympics.
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☞ The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool. ~ Richard Feynman ☜
Agree. Some of the best hockey we’ll see all year.
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To be honest, there’s part of me that really doesn’t care. The thought of watching Olympic hockey from time zones in Russia and South Korea doesn’t thrill me.
No comment.
http://aol.sportingnews.com/nhl/story/2013-02-13/evander-kane-black-the-hockey-news-money-photo-flod-mayweather
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The article is absolutely right. Not every criticism sent in his direction is race related but he’s a black athlete in hockey. That’s going to draw the ire of the good ol boys whether they’re executives, teammates or fans.
There are a number of black players in the NHL who don’t act like punk ask kids. He’s bringing most of the hate on himself. His facial expressions, the way he walks, and talks just rubs me the wrong way. I don’t hate him (I don’t know him) but I’d never ask him over for supper he were my neighbor. Then there’s Iginla who you could be around 24/7 because just looking at him makes you feel like a better person.
You shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover, but if the cover looks like crap it’s not going to be bought.
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Interesting perspective. I just had Iginla on the brain and thought to myself, how has he endeared himself to the majority of NHL fans?
The answer that crossed my mind is that everything he says publicly is cliché. He’s a superstar worker and great leader, but he doesn’t rub people like you the wrong the way because he doesn’t say anything of substance, ever.
Kane may have held up stacks of cash, he may have some weird haircuts, he may also have a brash personality. But you wouldn’t know it to watch him on the ice.
Chris Neil’s a good Canadian Boy for being an absolute punk on the ice and runs his mouth consistently. If he were black, he’d be a villain.
By the same token, if Subban were white he’d be seen as a player with youthful enthusiasm instead of a selfish player.
It’s one thing to be indifferent towards somebody because your personalities don’t mesh, it’s quite another to completely ignore the plight of a black athlete in a game dominated by white people.
If I had to invite Neil or Kane, I’d take Kane. I absolutely hate players like Neil. But every team has at least one mouth. Not as bad as Avery but I’m not a fan of his style of play.
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I’d invite all of them. Diversity is the key to a lively night’s entertainment.
Richard R
Price is an oyster. Unfortunately not all oysters produce pearls.
Oops – wrong place!
__________________________
☞ The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool. ~ Richard Feynman ☜
The issue isn’t the colour of his skin, its being an idiot at his age showing off his money when a lot of people don’t have anything near the amount he makes
http://nickolaisblog.wordpress.com/
He was in Vegas.
It isn’t as if he showed off the money from his living room couch.
Just so we’re on the same page.
Evander Kane = bad black man
Jarome Iginla = good black man
Evander Kane is a kid who makes a ton of money. There are tons of white hockey players caught on camera around the league flashing their financial muscles in nightclubs and bars and nothing is made of it in the majority of cases.
I could also add that a certain Hab owns a very nice recreational vehicle that somebody in his financial position shouldn’t own. Does that make him an idiot? Probably more so than Kane who can actually afford to hold up stacks of cash.
Except Kane wasn’t “caught” on camera, he tweeted the picture himself. Big difference.
What’s the difference? You think players who go out to bars and nightclubs don’t expect to have their pictures taken?
My favourite NHL player Jonathan Toews drives a $200,000 car. That’s showing off your money as much as literally showing off your money is.
Toews is white though so nobody says anything.
I think the timing hurt…it was during the lockout…not exactly the best pr move
He deserves the criticism for the money stacks. But being black does effect some old school thinkers perceptions I think. It’s one of the main reason I think PK has all this supposed “attitude” or “cocky” stigma, people associate him with the Terrel Owens types when it’s just not even close to the case.
Brad Marchand plays the game with an “edge” and is celebrated, but apparently PK needs to be a better person because he celebrates a little more than the average guy with his goalie.
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Lars, PK, Galchenyuk, Pac, Emelin – @J_Perez22
I got to hit the road. Prediction for tonight. Price gets his first shutout of the season. 4-0 Habs win.
Go Habs Go!!!
Did you have to use that word that starts with shut and finishes with out?
It’s ok to do it this early in the day. lol. I just hate the nimrods that bring it up with 5 minutes left in the game.
I’ve got a shoutout prediction too G. I LOVE MORNINGS
oh shut, I see
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I’m sure this won’t be popular but I’m a big believer in karma.
Chris Neil is among the dirtiest players in the league and after what Matt Carkner did with Brian Boyle in last year’s playoffs an incident like this while unfortunate doesn’t surprise me at all.
Kinda like Sidney Crosby suffering a severe concussion on the heels of Matt Cooke running wild all over the league trying to decapitate everyone in his path.
So when is it Boston’s turn?
Doesn’t Karma only seem to apply to humans?
Ha.
I can hardly wait for our friend Chris to chime in with his theory of Karma.
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Sorry, the tea leaves this morning informed me that it was not my destiny to opine on this matter, and I haven’t got to my Tarot reader yet for a second opinion.
If there was such a thing as karma, terrible things would be happening to Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld – as well as all of the Wall Street bankers – as we speak. Since they all seem to be enjoying life, I’ll assume karma doesn’t exist.
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☞ The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool. ~ Richard Feynman ☜
In baseball news, as a huge dog lover I can understand Buerhle’s frustration with the current dog law preventing him from bringing his entire family into Ontario.
I have never owned a Pitbull and probably won’t, but I am sure he is a great dog owner and therefore has a great dog. I once shared my house with a wonderful huge Rottweiler. He was a great dog, but he did have a guard dog mentality. He never presented a problem, but I also provided him a great home and never put him in a bad situation. It really comes down to the dog owner, and just as their are poor parents in our society there are poor dog owners.
BUt i can empathisize with Buerhle’s frustration.
I agree to an extent Gerald. But Pit Bull’s have the tendency of snapping at any given moment regardless of whether or not they’ve been well tempered for as much as a decade.
I understand, and I am not questioning the law per se, but rather understand where Buerhle is coming from in his frustration with the law. As I said, I will never own a pitbull, in fact I won’t get another Rottweiler, but my guy was great.
As dog parents we do get choice.
I am in a neighbourhood where over the space of ten years, 3 leashed dogs were attacked by 3 different pitbulls and the result was same: 3 horrified dog owners and onlookers unable to stop the pitbulls from killing the leashed dog. Pitbulls should be banned, period. They are too dangerous and owners can’t control them.
Hence the new law in Ontario.
Buerhle is leaving his family for the entire season so they can keep the dog back in the States. So for the sake of a pitbull, he doesn’t see his kids for 7 months. I hope his arm is better than his brain.
Mutant mutts. Something goes terribly awry in the breeding process. Perhaps a cure is possible? Like Alex in Clockwork Orange?
Richard R
Price is an oyster. Unfortunately not all oysters produce pearls.
Cooke had intent! Personally I don’t usually mind how He plays. I think he’s a dirty idiot, but he’s entertaining. And when push comes to shove, he usually is pretty stand up about squaring off and answering the bell to except the ass-kicking he’s going to receive.
But this was something I’ve never seen before. I believe he actually tried to step on the back of his leg. He’s going to get suspended, and should. There was no need to lift his skate up like that. And if it was just a balancing act, or something unconsciously done, there would not have been enough pressure to slice him up like that. Totally awful, and disgraceful.
Its very hard for me to tell if he intentionally did this or not. What’s not hard is that Cooke does not deserve the benefit of the doubt so it’s hard to argue your point. Last night he was not a stand up guy as you noted. He turtled like well, like a turtle.
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You’re right, last night he did turtle, and another good point is him NOT deserving any benefit of the doubt. He lost that privilege many seasons ago. If he’s let back in the league (hopefully next year) Neil will get him! I hope anyways!
I don’t see him getting suspended, there is no way to prove intent. It is one of those plays where slow motion makes one believe every movement is pre-meditated. However, players off balance trying to pin the opposition tend to lift their legs. I just think he was reckless in his foot going back down.
It is almost like karma and irony are what makes this happen with Cooke as the villain.
I don’t like Cooke, but I just don’t see how it is suspended.
Maybe you’re right about there not being enough to prove anything. And I hear ya about bad things following Cooke around. Thing is, It’s Cooke who causes them. Like I said, I could take, or leave Cooke as a player. But if I was Shanny, Cooke needs a vacation. Just to many “Ironic” situations involving him as the villain. Just my opinion..
Didn’t know you were HIO’s resident mind reader.
I hate Matt Cooke, too, but he’s not a split second surgeon.
Hahaa, I’m not, and I don’t really know how much pressure it would take. It just seems to me, most of these accidents happen when somebody’s down on the ice, and the players full weight is on the victim. This incident looked to me like a intentional push down of the skate towards the back of the leg. No saying he meant to slice the Achilles, but what a terrible move…
Terrible for the kid and the Sens. I am hoping for a good outlook because Kyle Chipchura came immediately to mind.
See Dave Stubbs tweet regarding Alex Kovalev’s production since that big early game. Also noticed the chatter to bring AK back has died down, is there a correlation?
Morning Gerald. It is amazing to see how ex Hab players get better in our eyes once they play for someone else.
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Morning Jim, Kovy has really tailed off. Appears age has finally caught him, although I am sure he will have another game or two where he shows that magic.
Forget Kovalev, the whole Florida team seems to be a mess. Weiss only has 3 points after 8 games and is minus 9.After the season they had last year, I’d have thought they would be better.
Having said that, Kovy will probably come out flying trying to show the Habs they should have signed him. I just hope that Mtl does not come out flat like they did against the Leafs, thinking it will be an easy game.
Habfan17
I hope they stay a mess for at least one more night.
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Me too, the Habs need another lopsided win!
Habfan17
I don’t believe for a minute that Cooke “Tried” to cut Karlssons achilles, however, I also don’t think he gave a flying fadoo about where his skate landed. Not to say he tried to cut anything, just that he didn’t appear concerned about what his skate landed on.
With that said it is impossible for me to hide my Bias against Matt Cooke as he has proven to have zero regard for the health of his opponents as it relates to his actions.
Exactly. He gets no benefit of the doubt nor should he. I don’t see a suspension coming though. It’s just unfortunate that one of the games young stars in a league thirsty for young stars was taken out by a creep like Cooke.
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This is a case of a player who does the Don Cherry-approved ‘little things’, a grinder, a warrior, a gamer, a tough guy who’s difficult to play against, doing the only thing he can, which is beat on the more talented opponents he faces. So while this specific incident is not an intentional attempt to injure, it’s an inevitability. We see pluggers and checkers taking runs at Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin all the time, eventually a stray stick or rut in the ice brings down the star that we buy tickets to see.
Why the NHL doesn’t pro-actively protect its investments is bizarre. These guys should have a bubble around them that if you lift a finger the wrong way you get five and a game, automatically.
So perhaps one of the biggest storylines from the past Summer Olympics appears to be the lead suspect in the murder/death of his girlfriend in South Africa.
Bizarre.
http://espn.go.com/olympics/story/_/id/8946820/olympic-sprinter-oscar-pistorius-involved-shooting-home-woman-dead
Crazy. A gun enthusiast, an enthusiastic enthusiast, involved in some domestic incidents with his girlfriend, ends up using his gun to murder her. And he tries to disguise the incident as an accident where he was using his pistol for home defence against an intruder.
Good morning everyone, been away for a couple days. Just saw what happened to Karlsson on Sports Center. Brutal. As a good Hab fan I hate the Sens but Karlsson is truly a special talent that the NHL needs more of. I hope he fully recovers. It was a total accident. Cooke is an idiot but there is no way he did that intentionally.
Habs need to get bigger on D. While many of you dislike the fighting, the Habs also need a heavyweight. We play the Bruins , Leafs, Sabers, Sens and Flyers a lot. We need someone to stand in there with the big boys or the team will get run over many more times. I don’t understand how management, and many of you, can’t see that.
Cammalleri got a hattie last night. His first 3 goals of the season. He also got a helper. 4 point night, maybe he will start lighting it up.
Welcome back Jols. Hope you were doing something enjoyable the last few days. Cammy has always been a streaky goal scorer, huh?
We talked a lot about the Hab defense and their size the last several days. I still think the bigger problem is getting the puck out of our own zone. Teams applying pressure on our defense are producing turnovers after turnovers leading to our Dman chasing the puck in our own end.
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Cammy truly is a streaky player. When he is on, he is great and a pleasure to watch.(playoffs 2010). But when he isn’t into it he is just flat out terrible. I was happy when we traded him but I do miss the magic he can bring when he is fired up.
Interesting change of avatar. Is that in celebration of Valentines day?
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Lol. Just celebrating our boy Galchenyuk(chucky). He has been pretty quiet the last few games. Such a young kid. He will be a special player. I am so excited we have him on our team.
Un Canadien errant
And you know Ray Lewis is guilty because you were there am I right? Amazing the bravado of nameless faceless bores on Internet forums.
If something looks like s**t and smells like s**t, it’s probably s**t. Ray Lewis looks an awful lot like s**t regarding the homicide. The fact is, millionaires don’t get convicted of murder in the USA.
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☞ The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool. ~ Richard Feynman ☜
He was guilty in the civil suit and did pay off the family of the victims. Obviously none of us know exactly what happened, of course we also don’t know exactly what happened with O.J. Simpson….
Ask marlboro. He knows.
Please read the evidence in the case, and then explain how Ray Lewis was not guilty.
If you want to argue on generalities, about how one is innocent until proven guilty, or about beyond reasonable doubt, go ahead, but those facile platitudes are airy-fairy and ignore the facts at hand. You’d be advancing the Hollywood “It wasn’t me, it was the one-armed man” defence.
Look, I wasn’t there, but that doesn’t mean I have to turn my brain to neutral and accept the stonewall silence of Ray Lewis as evidence of his innocence. The overwhelming likelihood is that he got away with a double murder. The reason he got off is that he is imbued with enough amorality and shamelessness, and has enough financial resources that he could successfully game the system.
Un Canadien errant
anyone think the habs would trade markov to vancouver for a player like burrows?
I wonder if the habs are over working markov on purpose in order to make a trade? what do u think? its kinda weird how they are using him so much after what hes been through, and the lack of production on 5×5. meanwhile pk is growing as a player, he younger too, yet they play him less i dont get it. I know hes a great dman but it seem like misuse by the coaching staff, or managment is asking for this…
although cap geek says he does have a modifieD NTC.
We already have a bucket load of middle weight agitators, but only one true PP quarterback on D. You’d need a D coming back the other way or a much better forward (no offence to Alex).
So… No way.
Right now, Subban is scoring. But Markov makes other players score, and until PK matures as a player and develops that vision and skill, trading Markov would weaken the team in a very serious way.
Subban is an incredible cannon out there, but if you compare his miserable goals total last year to his excellent one this season, you see the effect of an experienced playmaker and scoring threat on him. Subban as part of a team could someday score 20. Subban as Subbanator scores 7-10 at best.
Boy that’s terrible for the Sens and their fans. Hope Karlsson has a good recovery. Sucks to see quality players go down like that.
Ouch, that laceration to the back of Karlsson’s leg looked so painful. Watching him try and take that step after made me cringe. I hope he didn’t completely tear the tendon by taking that step.
that’s my worry too.. I suffered a foot injury right after new year, and walking on it before I went to the hospital made it even worse
This Cooke/Karlsson incident is it enough to get Cooke into the top ten of NHL Most Hated Players List that SI put out recently & had PK Subban at number one ?
Best shooting % on team PK and DD both at 23.08…Eller at 4.55…
Eller definitely needs some shooting lessons.
The reality is that shooting % is an unsustainable stat.
Defencemen are gonna be between 6-10% in their career, forwards 8-12%.
Any outliers from that will inevitably revert to the mean, either by rising or falling over the long run.
Go Habs Go!
Check out Top Shelf Prospects, my Team by Team prospect reports
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Definitely? Sometimes I´m just amazed how much bs is being written here. A shooting % over 10 games says absolutely nothing. You might check his shooting % over the last couple of years and relax: http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/teams/players/bio/?id=6418
If season ended today Habs vs Bruins lol
As bad as cooke is. I don’t think he’d stoop that low to put a guy at risk of a season ending injury. Chara might. He already tried but didn’t succeed.
I wonder if this was PK would some posters who say it was an accident change their minds?
Not me – I would still think it was an accident.
That said, I don’t think Cooke should be anywhere near an NHL game because of past transgressions. He’s one player I think needs a lifetime ban.
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☞ The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool. ~ Richard Feynman ☜
Gallagher,Prust,White and Galchenyuk only Hab forwards plus..Kaberle and Bouillon only plus d…
Kaberle is a plus because he sits on the bench most of the time.
Richard R
Price is an oyster. Unfortunately not all oysters produce pearls.
I have truculence and pugnacity, even though I shower twice a day.
Bring back Paul Mara!!!
I don’t know if Cooke is that smart that he would know to sever a tendon.
On the other hand it is really weird how he brought his knee up to Karlsson’s mid-back and then slid it down his leg.
I have never seen that. So I wouldn’t put it past him.
Tough loss. He’s really talented.
It’s an odd kind of play, but I figure he was just trying to make sure that Karlsson didn’t squirm out of his check. Trying to pin him to the boards.
—Hope Springs Eternal—
The important thing to note is that he’s jousting/wrestling with Mr. Karlsson, so he’s off-balance and not even looking at the guy’s leg. At slow-mo, it looks incriminating, but at game speed it really looks like a freakish accident, both guys being a little bit off because of the presence of the other.
To be smart enough to target the tendon and minimize the gesture that show the intent is hard to believe Cooke would be able to do. But the dirty play he is capable of doing like the cross check on Markov makes you wonder.
And then again as people mentioned below, who in the world would target a tendon. That is a twisted mind.
I doubt there was intent here, but why does this stuff never happen TO Cooke? (Evander Kane incident excluded).
Could anyone make the case beyond reasonable doubt that what Cooke did was with intent to injure? No.
Could anyone watching the play and knowing Cooke’s history have reasonable suspicion that, in lifting the foot the way he did, he meant to give a bit of oomph to taking his foe out of the play? I think so, however quickly it happened.
The serious injury was a by-product of that aggressive attitude which compels certain players to finish their checks in the most disagreeable manner possible, usually with forearms and elbows head-high.
Subban is often a target who’s run at, which he avoids by spinning out of the way. Karlsson wasn’t able to in this instance.
I doubt it was intentional but it sure is no coincidence that it was Cooke injuring yet another great hockey player. Depressing.
Potential Eastern Conference playoff teams got reduced by one thanks to Karlsson injury – Unfortuate one of NHL’s better players is probably out for the season……