Louis Leblanc has been recalled from Hamilton for the Canadiens game in New Jersey Thursday night.
Ryan White will not return to action against the Devils.
Travis Moen is still out, and Andreas Engqvist – who played 4:12 and was on for the winning goal in that Tuesday stinkeroo against Buffalo at the Bell Centre – was sent back to Hamilton.
The Canadiens began their Wednesday practice with some hard skating.
The thrust of the practice, randy Cunneyworth said, was getting pucks on net.
Possible line-juggling: AK46 with Plekanec and Bourque, Leblanc with Eller and Blunden, Gomez with Darche and Weber
Andrei Markov skated on his own for 20 minutes.
AUDIO from Wednesday practice: Max Pacioretty I and II | Lars Eller | David Desharnais | Randy Cunneyworth | Ryan White
• Upset! Max Pacioretty won the Carey Price Cup for January.
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Have to say tonight’s posts were some of the best I’ve read in a while
Off to bed for me…good conversations, all.
Cheers.
Such great analysis, you need your own blog or forum… something
I like it too much here.
I’m not witty or clever enough for a blog. I rely on other people to keep me honest and force me to elaborate or justify.
Writing a stand-alone piece is really freaking hard. I have all the respect in the world for the people who can right insightful and entertaining articles, columns or blogs on a consistent basis.
Im sure Its been brought up on HIO these last few weeks: … Could be interesting if Julien Brisebois becomes GM, and some way or other Boucher becomes our new coach…. think about it, he knows Subban very well, coached the Bulkdogs to finals and the Lightbing to ECF…don’t know anything bout his 1-3-1 trap, but hey anything that involved SOMEBODY up the ice is better than what we had before ……. And the kicker: they can speak French to the press. (perhaps in 2000 years when humans have evolved into mutants and the NHL is still around, the Habs will still need to hire aliens that speak French..)
Have to agree with a lot of posters about wrong system for the kind of roster we have… I think JM did not like working with the individual as a strength, but rather forced a collective plan that sacrificed individual strength…. In any case, JMs gone, and this season’s a write -off.
A good coach adjusts to the horses he has, not the imaginary ones in his head. A great example is Pat Burns, successful with 3 different teams.
Just as you can’t plow a field with a race horse, neither can you win with a Clydesdale.
And for that reason, JM was a fool. Sorry.
JM would of had this team in the playoffs. And JM almost had this team by the Stanley Cup champs last season, and JM regardless of Halak, and Cammaleri had this team in the Conference Finals the season before that. Interesting how there all gone now though.
PG is that you, your the one sounding like quite the ignorant fool.
Sorry.
Agree about using the ” real” horses but prove thet the team´s decline had anything to do with JM. Cunneyworth´s record so far is worse than JM.
With Markov on the point, the PP would´ve produced more goals, and if the team does just average in shoot-outs, which everyone agrees is a coin toss, the habs record wouldv´ve been considerably better.
Cunneyworth so far has a worse record than JM, what does that say?
Ok. The main goal of the GM in montreal, since there’s no need to lure people into the seats, is to scout, draft, grow and acquire hockey talent that jives well with the overall chemistry of your current roster, and when necessary, to prune the dead weight. So all that being true, who do you think players want to play for, a lawyer or a cup winning hockey player/coach. I’m a programmer and I know I’d way rather work for a programmer than a lawyer. What do you do and who would you want to work for?
“Let’s be clear on the facts…”
Sorry, dude, programmers are often brilliant, but they are so narrow focus like a laser beam that they are worse than useless, in fact dangerous, outside of their realm. I wouldn’t have a programmer in a meeting without a very, very short leash and taser close to hand.
The advantage of having a lawyer is that 1) they are used to dealing with OTHER lawyers and 2) a law degree trains you in analysis and what they call “issue spotting” which is essentially sorting through a load of crap and finding the diamond.
As for McGuire, he is so unqualified it’s embarrassing that we are even discussing him.
I’m not advocating for having a lawyer per se, a good GM can surround himself with the specific expertise he needs, but the term GENERAL Manager means just that. Someone with some freaking vision and perspective who doesn’t go down the black hole of minutae, knows how to hire experts and knows how to let them do their job.
I wouldn’t hire a programmer to do anything except write code. Sorry, nothing personal. I’ve worked heavily with both programmers and lawyers, I’m married to a freaking lawyer, I play hockey with about 5 lawyers and I know whereof I speak.
amen.
I disagree.
The main role of the Director of Amateur Scouting (presently Trevor Timmins) is to identify the right players to draft. Hiring Christer Rockstrom, the architect of Detroit’s European scouting division who then built up the same system for the Rangers, was a good move….this is the guy that drafted Lidstrom!
The main role of the Director of Pro Scouting (presently Doug Gibson, I believe) is to identify the right players to acquire via trades.
The main role of the Director of Player Development is to ensure those players develop. The Habs have cheaped out and doubled up this duty on Timmins.
The assistant GM runs the AHL team and helps with the contract negotiations and the salary cap.
The GM oversees the whole mess. They make the final call, they take the fall when the team fails, but they rely on a host of people along the way. THEIR job is to make sure they’ve hired the best possible people to avoid failing.
A few of you have jumped on the idea of lawyers. Understand that the “lawyers” we are talking about are, like McGuire, former players and coaches. They are hockey people. The difference is that they are hockey people who have sought out legal degrees due to the increasing complexity of contract negotiations and cap circumvention that the top teams are all engaging in.
My last two cents regarding McGuire:
If people were touting McGuire to replace Trevor Timmins, I might be able to understand it more. I still wouldn’t support it, as I think Timmins is a good evaluator of talent, but it at least makes sense.
What irks me about the suggestion is that it somewhat ignores the major roles of the general manager. I’ve looked through the experience immediately before being hired for the general managers of Anaheim, Boston, Buffalo, Calgary, Carolina, Chicago, Colorado, Columbus, Dallas, Detroit and Edmonton before I ran out of steam. That is more than 1/3 of the GMs in the league. Of that list, every GM with the exception of Joe Nieuwendyk had served for a few years as an assistant GM or GM in some capcity. A significant number of them (and growing) had law degrees. Nieuwendyk had acted as a special assistant/consultant to the GMs of Toronto and Florida before getting his job. In essence, he was being groomed for a front office executive position.
The assistant GM’s usually negotiate contracts, deal with salary cap issues, study the comparables and prepare the team’s case for arbitration hearings and (usually) act as the general manager for their team’s AHL affiliate. This is absolutely crucial experience for the GM who must shoulder the bulk of these duties at the NHL level.
Most NHL general managers are relatively “hands off” when it comes to the draft. They of course make the final say, but in most cases, they do as Gainey did and trust the scouting staff that they assembled and paid to do that exact job. The #1 strength of McGuire, as I have heard it, is that he would be great at identifying junior players for the draft. If this is what fans feel we need to bring him to the franchise for, it should be as the Director of Amateur Scouting and **not** the general manager position.
If McGuire really wanted a GM job, I suspect that he would have to take an apprenticeship as an assistant GM for a year or two and learn the ropes in the AHL. Perhaps he’s willing to do that, perhaps not. It is a risk for him, because he would be counting on a team hiring him after that time.
But just as I wouldn’t want a political journalist to walk into the Prime Minister’s office or a business columnist to walk into a Fortune 500 company as CEO, I don’t know that McGuire’s qualifactions are current or relevant enough to justify the risk that would be inherent in handing him the reins in Montreal.
Gauthier does not have a law degree… I understand you don’t like McGuire as you have posted this all day. Maybe you would like Pat Brisson he has a law degree.
No, but Gauthier has been negotiating contracts for years. McGuire has not.
And I understand that you do like McGuire as you’ve been replying to posts about it all day. Does that make us even?
No, I would not want Pat Brisson. Although Mike Gillis worked out in Vancouver and Mike Barnett has somewhat successfully made the jump to hockey executive, so perhaps an agent wouldn’t be a terrible choice.
He (McGuire) would not be my number 1 pick for the new GM.. But at this point not much else to pick from.. (A) he has to be french and how many good GM’S are french? The state of why this team is falling fast to the bottom and I said this sometime ago, it is the ownership group the Molsons.At this point all he cares about is profit and not what is on the ice wearing the best jersey in the NHL.He is the one I blame for the mess right now and he sits around as the team becomes a joke.
I’m willing to give them a mulligan on this season. I fear you might be right, but the Markov situation makes it hard to really judge the team that they have.
The Cunneyworth situation was extremely poorly handled, and some of his comments to the media have come dangerously close to being interfering with the hockey people he has hired.
Other teams (Boston, Philadelphia) have had one-off bad seasons and regrouped. If they get off to a slow start next year, then I would say fire away…clean house.
Nice, but you have it backwards.. The GM’s responsibility is to build a good team. I would rather have a GM that knows talent and is “hands on” in the draft with that knowledge in hand, than a GM with all that “crucial experience”.. And as you said, that’s what Assistant GMs learn.
Now I can’t stand McGuire. Not the way he talks, his sayings, his flip-flopping opinions on teams and players, nor his camera whoring. If he can find the talent and convince the talent to sign in MTL, and make decent trades and build a strong team year after year then who cares who he is.
I still wouldn’t be able to listen to him.
Give me a good team!!!
There is no executive alive that can do it alone. You’ve got to trust your people…if you don’t, replace them with people that you do trust.
The biggest areas of concern to me (and many others, based on past conversations) are Pro Scouting (which Gauthier deserves blame for) and Player Development. Bringing in a well-regarded former player to help the kids develop and learn how to be pros would be a good start. Philadelphia has Derian Hatcher, Detroit has Kris Draper and San Jose has Mike Ricci, Vancouver has Dave Gagner.
Montreal has nobody listed for Player Development. We’re one of the richest teams in the league and yet have one of the paltriest front offices. That is absolutely shameful. If I was to pick somebody, I’d go after Mike Keane. I thought of Brian Skrudland, but he is now in Florida in that role. I half wonder if Claude Lemieux might be an interesting guy for such a role…ultra-competitive and a guy who played for a lot of teams in big roles.
I couldn’t agree more Jarat
Great post about player development.
Chris,
You really write some excellent posts. Always well thought out and non-emotional. This is another example, logical and succinct, well done.
So who would be on your short list if the Habs show PG the door? I was once on the fire PG bandwagon, but I’m actually less sure as the season progresses. Sure he’s had a couple of gambles backfire, but that goes with the territory. Some of his moves have been excellent (Bourque, Cole, Diaz, Emelin for e.g.). I’m not sure that anyone could have foreseen the rash of injuries and sub-par performances of some of the veteran players that were supposed to be the core of this team. So I don’t think it is a foregone conclusion that he will be fired, but if he is, do you have any candidates in mind?
How about Julien BriseBois from Tampa Bay? He seems to fit the profile Chris described.
A young, city of Montreal alumn…I don’t know a whole lot about him, but he seems like an interesting candidate.
As somebody else pointed out earlier, I think you have to look at the executives who are working for the most successful franchise.
Part of what made the Montreal Canadiens so great in the 1960′s and 1970′s under Pollock was the amazing collection of front-office talent that they spun out.
Ron Caron was Sam Pollock’s assistant GM and went on to a nice career of his own in St. Louis. Cliff Fletcher was a scout for 10 years in Montreal before going on to a long successful career as a GM. Al MacNeil, the former coach for the Habs and their farm club, would join Fletcher as his assistant GM in Calgary and helped the Flames with the Stanley Cup in 1989. Former players John Ferguson, Serge Savard and Ken Dryden would also go on to prominent front-office jobs.
Success breeds success, in many cases. So look to the successful team. Detroit, San Jose, Philadelphia and Vancouver have been amongst the most consistently good teams over the past decade. Detroit’s front office and roster has churned out Holland, Yzerman, Howson and Regeir are all current NHL GM’s that spent time together in Detroit. Who’s there now? Jim Nill has been in Detroit for the past 14 seasons as their GM and oversees their amateur scouting. He had previously served as an amateur and pro scout for Ottawa in the early 1990′s.
San Jose’s assistant GM is Wayne Thomas. He’s served in pretty much every role imaginable but, at 62, might be a bit long in the tooth and unwilling to move from San Jose.
Philadelphia’s John Paddock has had a long career as a coach (primarily), scout and most recently as an executive. Philadelphia has impressed me with the willingness to make bold moves and their ability to continually unearth talent in the draft from later rungs.
Vancouver’s Lorne Henning is far too into his career to likely consider moving, but he has an outstanding resume of experience in every aspect of the game.
Jim Benning from Boston is another who should get a look at this point. He’s been heavily involved in player evaluation, trades and FA signings under Chiarelli, and I would argue that the Bruins have generally done well in that department. Prior to that, he earned a ton of experience working in Buffalo as the director of amateur scouting for a department that drafted well from 1999-2006 under his leadership.
And since French must be a consideration, Claude Loiselle (Toronto) and Julien BriseBois (Tampa Bay, formerly Montreal) will almost certainly be front-runners. BriseBois isn’t as much of a “hockey person” as I’d like to see, but Loiselle is definitely an attractive option; he was a hard-working player who has worked his way up the ladder. Good article on him here if you hadn’t already seen it. What appeals to me, in addition to his front-office experience, is that he was a prominent executive with the NHL office. In a market with a perception of bias against it from the NHL head office, perhaps having an “insider” as the GM might help.
And of course, I don’t think Gauthier has done so poorly. He’s made some astute moves, in my opinion, but got horribly burned by the Markov situation. It might end up costing him his job, but I’d be okay with it not. He certainly hasn’t shown a reluctance to make tough decisions. I just wish he was a little less wooden…that can’t go over well with the players. But a cheetah is not going to change his spots…Gauthier once famously banned vanity numbers in Ottawa. He’s just a bit of an odd duck.
Just read your link to Loiselle. I’m sold. I’m F’n sold. This is our man. Please Molson, get this guy. Thx for the link. I’ll be praying for this guy to come here.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Kiss my hAbSS!!!
The GM problem is severe (and I am on the fence about PG) because of timing. The trade deadline is imminent, the draft is in June, and the potential for disaster in both will extend our recovery for years yet.
If PG is a seller at the trade deadline, then I think that proves he knows we suck and I will have confidence in him. If he panics and tries to band-aid us (“Kaberle us”) into the playoffs then I know he has to go. That’s how I’m going to weigh things.
How are you guys going to evaluate things?
I hope he trades Kaberle. Geez.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Kiss my hAbSS!!!
Hey the Habs are in 14th place and 61% of the season is done!
..
We have to be almost perfect throughout the rest of the way to have a decent ranking by the end of the season.. WILL IT HAPPEN?
NOPE.
CAN WE SELL ALREADY.
Value goes up substantially as the trade deadline approaches. We’ll likely see some moves, a lottery pick and securing PK and Price will be the important moves going through the rest of the season and the offseason.
How Gauthier and Gainey still have roles in this organization is beyond me. But I guess it’s all good for molson. Bell center is full and beer is flowing. Good times.
And they don’t have a law degree. Good times lol
I miss Gillett that man was a good owner that looked like he actually gave a crap about the team. Molson is the owner of this team to make money and I doubt he’s the savior of this mess of an organization. As long as people fill the Bell every night things won’t change. I hope and pray he proves me wrong but not liking the vibe coming from him this year.
If given the chance, would it be a good idea to draft another Subban brother?
No. Malcolm Subban is a goaltender, and we’re rather set in that position.
I hope Subban goes top 5 though.
No chance. He’s good, but he’s still a bit of a diamond in the rough.
I’ll be a bit suprised if he goes top-20.
If available in second round, would you take him then?
I think i would take him if he was still around in the 2nd round. But if he is the highest ranked goalie in the draft i don’t know if he will be around come round 2.
It’s really hard to say. It’s a mixed signal to Price…Price wants to play a lot, as evidenced by who they’ve brought in to back him up.
On the other hand, they do need an insurance policy in case Price ever gets hurt or bolts town. You don’t want the system to be empty. I’d consider it, but warily.
I think because it’s Subban, Price would be more at ease with the pick. He’s always at ease but atleast then he knows they drafted the brother of a teammate.
Who cares what Price or any player thinks. You draft accordingly. We need goalies in the system. Period.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Kiss my hAbSS!!!
We are set now but we have no depth in that position. We would be absolutley screwed if price ever went down with a serious injury.
I agree. But Subban isn’t going to be a back-up goaltender. He’s still 2-3 years away from the NHL (at least), but he’s going to be a #1. Price might not like the message sent by having another projected #1 goalie in the system.
I definitely think they’ve got to take a goalie in the draft this year somewhere, just not sure I would use a 1 or 2 pick on one. Definitely a good year to scour the European leagues for the next Backstrom or Hiller, an undrafted goalie that could perhaps come over.
With Price and… ?
Excuse me? I like Price, don’t get me wrong. But until he wins us a playoff series we weren’t supposed to win (a la Halak) we are not “set” at all. Price could equally be the next Joe “Choke” Thornton. He hasn’t prove squat till he’s proved it in the playoffs – oh yeah, we aren’t going to be in the playoffs.
Now if we have the choice of a male center over 6′ with soft hands, yeah, that’s the priority, but if we could take Subban further down? Hell yeah. Price needs the pressure or he’s not the “thoroughbred” everyone claims he is.
Bitter but not broken.
A goaltender does not have to steal a series…that would be nice, but it isn’t required. The best teams are the ones that surround a solid goaltender with good players.
Price is a solid goaltender, therefore we are set. Now we need to surround him with good players.
I’ve been reading some comments here about Bowman’s credibility as a GM visa his credibility as a coach.
I’m one of the few here who believe McGuire MAY have a shot as GM of the Canadiens. But if you talk about Bowman, its hand down to me. Why? There’s no other person who knows the former glory days of the Habs and someone WHO HAS the potential of bringing back that “flambeau” than Scotty Bowman.
Let’s take into account that without his guidance in the 96-97 season with the Red Wings as assistant GM to Ken Holland, Detroit would never have a Stanley Cup nor Holland would never have any way to sign veterans who have those long contract extensions and are now players at the highest levels possible in the NHL. Look at the tenure of the remaining 4 players there in their current lineup: Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Holstrom, and Lindstrom – the all have 3 Stanley Cup trophies and during the span of their careers. And, they went to the Playoffs every season. That spells success.
I am convinced (I maybe wrong so don’t take my word for it) that Holland’s way of thinking and how he helped the Success of the Red Wings was due to the past examples of what the Canadiens did during the days of Richard, Dryden, Robinson, by copying Frank Selke and Sam Pollock’s philosophies. And who would better educate him that but who else, Scotty Bowman himself.
EDIT: Not that I’m demeaning Serge Savard’s credibility as GM, He’s excellent but Bowman’s time as GM should’ve happened after Pollock stepped down in ’78. Bowman as possible Canadiens GM is long overdue but still doable in my opinion.
You are strangely leaving Jim Devellano, a long-time and very respected general manager, out of the equation for that 1996-97 team. He was still very much working with the management group.
Furthermore, Bowman never served as assistant GM…he was the Director of Player Personnel for a couple of years.
In part chris he is right as it was the GM team of Devellano,Bowman and Holland in 1996-1997. And Devellano as a GM by himself did not fair so well.
Devellano was the guy who sunk the time and money into building the best European scouting department in the NHL.
Devellano convinced owner Mike Ilitch to hire Scotty Bowman in the first place (he had worked with Bowman in 1967 with the Blues). He was also the one who pushed for the Islanders to hire Al Arbour as coach in the early 1970′s. So I’d say he had a good eye for coaching talent.
Under Devellano, the Red Wings drafted very well. And he basically built the team that Bryan Murray would tweak before Devellano came back to finally win the Stanley Cup. Given the poor state the Red Wings were in when he took over in the 1980′s, I find it hard to say that Devellano didn’t do a great job. Holland and Bowman were definitely critical, but it was Devellano’s executive skills that put the whole architecture in place to create the NHL’s one existing dynasty.
I would look how he drafted from 82-90 before saying he did a good job. C+ is the grade I would give him and hey not bad for a man who never played high level hockey.
His first draft as GM was 1983, when he drafted Steve Yzerman 4th overall. That pick alone was a home run. But then he also drafted Probert, Klima, Kocur and Grimson, 4 players who would all go on to player more than 700 games in the NHL. That is a pretty solid haul.
1984 and 1985 were a bit weak (although McKay and Chiasson had nice careers), but 1986 was solid given the weakness of that draft on the whole: Joe Murphy was the clear cut #1 choice who was a decent player who never quite realized that potential while Adam Graves was a great pick at #22 overall.
1987 and 1988 were terrible, but 1989 might have been one of the best drafts in NHL history: Nicklas Lidstrom (53rd) and Sergei Fedorov (74th) were both Hall of Fame calibre players. How many GM’s pick 3 Hall of Famers in 7 drafts?
His 1990′s drafts were much weaker, but by that time the team was loaded for bear. I’d give him an A-, only diminished by striking out in 4 of 7 drafts.
I have the utmost respect for Scotty Bowman for what he did for the Habs organization and what he’s done for other teams. His record speaks for itself, but reading all the comments today about him endorsing Pierre MaGuire as a good GM and all the posters on here eating it up makes me realize that even great men can be mistaken at some times in their life. This is one of those times. Giving that idiot the reins of the future of the Montreal Canadiens would set this franchise back so many years that it would be impossible to recover from for decades to come.
Pierre would be far from a “monster” GM. I guess I have to add “please don’t let Pierre MaGuire be the next GM of the Montreal Canadiens” to my nightly prayers.
“They don’t hang Conference Championship Banners from the rafters here”
Carey Price
If Pierre is picked as our GM I’ll become a Bruins fan…Egad, I just puked in my mouth.
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Kiss my hAbSS!!!
I agree with the theme of your post, I believe that Bowman left with recipe and now the Wings seem to have it, when I look at how the Wings are run from the management, coaches, scouting, drafting, the farm team and player development they all mirror the Habs back when Selke, Pollock were in management and ToeBlake and Bowman were coaching. It is a real shame that we watched Bowman leave when he should have been the successor to Pollock. The Habs have not been the same since and I watch what the Wings are doing and think they remind me of the Habs of old. We need our recipe back.
why did they bother bringing Leblanc up and he’s gonna be sitting?
I doubt leblanc will be sitting. He will at worst be getting 3rd line minutes
Blunden on the fourth line is fine but i still dont get how did he make the junior national team. dont you have to have some high level skill talent beyond being a banger?
What don’t you get? He ended up with 46 goals and 84 points in 60 games that year. Sure had enough talent at the Junior level. Check out the forward roster from that year, only Toews has shown much “high level skill” in the NHL.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Canadian_national_ice_hockey_team_rosters#2006_World_Junior_Ice_Hockey_Championships
Blunden, Chipchura, Latendresse, Pouliot, Pyatt.
We had all the good ones.
Junior scoring doesn’t equal pro scoring… we need young cheap 3rd 4th liners….
Every year there is somebody at the top or near the top of Jr scoring that will never make it in the NHL as a scorer. For some reason I see Marc Stone being one of those guys. Probably because he played for Brandon.
While the nhl is deluted now it is still the best and toughest league in the world…weber and diaz are really meant for the large european ice surfaces where they can excel in short schedules and 6 game tournaments..you just cannot have 2 of these guys on the same team in the nhl in the regular season and dont even mention playoffs with them..
No, but you can keep Weber and/or Diaz in Hamilton and see how he/they perform(s). If he puts up great numbers in the AHL he could be valuable in a future trade.
That leaves Markov, Kaberle, Subban, Georges, Emelin.
Hire Colin Campbell as GM.
Colin trades Gomez to Gary in Phoenix for Kyle Chipchura.
Fire Colin Campbell.
brilliant, throw in Kaberle as well
I was going to post something like that, yours is more to the point. I agree, though Malkin is the exception
For you anti-tankers: Ottawa dumped players and salary last year in Feb (Fisher, Kelly, Ruutu, Elliott) brought up or gave more ice time to soon to be NHLers (Cowan, Greening, Butler, smith, Winchester). After they did this, they finished the last half of Feb to April at 14-9-1 and picked up a bunch of high draft picks along the way. They are now in a solid playoff position this year.
Trade the guys you don’t want to rebuild with for some high picks. Take the pressure off, have some fun &restock the cupboards and flush out the bad salaries.
Tell LL to buy a house, keep spots for Gallagher, Tinordi, Beaulieu. Have some cash for a couple of free agents and suffer one more year (but maybe a Sens like surprise season) and bring the excitement back.
We have the core and goaltending that with the addition of 1 star player…. Toews, Kane, Malkin, Stamkos, syd, Ovi, the Sedins… Were all drafted by crappy teams. We can’t hope for the next Alfie or Datsuk seeking a diamond in the rough.
Start the trading, I’m sure we will all be happily surprised at the results. It won’t be a dreary Feb and march. I live in Ottawa and the city exhaled after they moved some key and loved players and the players played hard and fun.. And won games Some tough and unpopular moves to make, but Fisher is now forgotten and the Persian Prince is who Sens fans can’t wait for (nice OT winner for the swedes in the World juniors)
Most insightful post i’ve read on here in months. Nobody’s saying throw hockey games – it’s addition by subtraction. The moves made in the next month should reinforce the foundation that has been built for a strong future. If players aren’t in the teams plans for the future, then now is absolutely the perfect time to part ways and let the kids get their feet wet.
“Of course I’m crazy, but that doesn’t mean I’m wrong.”
- Robert Anton Wilson
Except…
Fisher wasn’t a dump…Ottawa wanted to keep him, but sent him to Nashville as that is the home base for his wife, country singer Carrie Underwood.
Brian Elliott was traded for Craig Anderson, who was 4 years older and who had a cap hit that was 5 times larger.
Ruutu was traded for a 6th round pick, Kelly was traded for a 2nd round pick (that ended up being 61st overall) and Kovalev was traded for a conditional 7th round pick.
The picks obtained in exchange for Fisher were used to draft Stefan Noesen (not Zibanejad…he was their own pick) and Matt Puempel (obtained by packaging two 2nd round picks for a late 1st rounder). I like Puempel, but he’s years away. I don’t know much about Noesen.
Who is left to bring up here in Montreal? We’re **already** playing a bunch of youngsters: Eller, Desharnais, Pacioretty, Subban, Diaz, Emelin and Weber are all regulars getting a fair amount of ice time. The cupboard is bare in the minors…we’ve tried Palushaj and Engqvist, the best of the bunch in Hamilton, and they weren’t ready. The only other players worth calling up are Louis Leblanc, who was called up, and Frederic St-Denis.
So I’m not sure exactly what Montreal should do differently.
And Nash, who may have been our most ready AHL prospect if he had not gone down with a shoulder injury.
We’re already pretty loaded with youngsters at the back. If Gill is traded, I think they will need to bring up St-Denis more than Nash, even if he’s healthy.
Nash is 24, and is a big 2 way dman. He put up 30 points in his first AHL season. I would have thought he would be higher up on the depth chart. Is St Denis more reliable in the defensive zone?
Nash is more offensively gifted, whereas St-Denis is better defenisvely. I like Nash a lot, but I’m not sure where he fits in with Diaz, Subban and Weber ahead of him on the offensive blueliner depth chart. I haven’t seen Nash enough, but he didn’t strike me as being particularly physical.
I’d like to see him get another call-up at some point, as he is an interesting prospect that the team needs to make a call on in the not so distant future. I’m just not sure if that time is now, especially if he’s rusty coming off a shoulder injury rehab. That’s not putting him in a position to succeed.
Well I don’t believe Nash will get a chance this season but I’m rooting for him to make an impact next season
Montreal tends to let players overdevelop in the AHL before they get called up. Montreal is a tough place to play and if you aren’t absolutely ready, you could get crushed. In my view all we need are a star number 1 center, a solid top 6 winger, a fourth line shutdown center, and maybe a new veteran shutdown dman. Then we lose Gomez, Gill, Campoli, Darche and one of our three centers we have now. Then we just hope for no more injuries.
I knew there was something odd about that photo of Leblanc so I took a closer look. Do you see?! He’s stickhandling WITHOUT ACTUALLY TOUCHING THE PUCK!
Now is it Louis or the stick that’s responsible for such magic?
Is it psychokinesis or the prototype of a composite stick containing the latest generation of methylethylpropylbutyl adapted to hockey?
If it’s psychokinesis, I hope it works out better for the Canadiens than the PK they’ve grown accustomed to. Or not.
But if it’s a methylethylpropylbutyl, well, that presents problems, too, as any baseball fan will tell you. It used to happen every spring.
There are some things man should not meddle in.
MaxPac – Desharnais – Cole
Bourque – ______ – Leblanc
AK – Eller – Moen (unless it’s a solid move)
Blunden – ______ – White
Markov(Please! For F’s Sake Please!) – PK
Emelin – Gorges
Diaz – ______
Price – ______
I could live without Pleks if we got a good return, his Mid season disappearing acts are getting to me, despite the fact that I dig on the turtleneck . If something isn’t done about Gomez, Oh man, I don’t even want to think about it! We could get something for that kind of money! There’s got to be something out there! Goodbye Weber! Sorry kiddo, you just ain’t got it. Otherwise, not so bad really. I just hope it ain’t PG filling the blanks!
u gotta put gomez on that team then its playoff contender
I support Scott Gomez
What happened to Kaberle, Gionta, Gomez, and Plekanec? Tough to get rid of $55,000,000 worth of contracts without taking any back…..
So Markov skated today. Well, whooptie ding-dong. My 9-year-old skated too and my grandma walked to the fridge by herself and, and both of them did the Habs just as much good as Markov. And my son didn’t need millions of dollars to skate a few circles, and you know what? If I want an autograph, he just gives me one! I’m sick of Markov, sick of “specialists” who obviously are not THAT special. I’m sick of players playing with the wrong guys, players not big enough, not skilled enough, players playing on the wrong side, players not playing 60 minutes, feeling snake-bitten, getting benched, getting traded – I’m sick of it all! I want the f-n draft lottery! I want Pierre McGuire’s SISTER as GM! I want a cheeseburger made just how I like it – and I want you to know just how that is without me asking! Is that too much to ask?
I’m so dang tired of guys getting pushed around and doing nothing but yapping. tired of winning two periods and losing the only one that counts. I’m tired of duos and trios and top 6 forwards, top 9 forwards, how about top 15 forwards – I mean let’s be HONEST! I’m tired of coaching changes and too many men on the ice penalties (okay that’s the one thing that’s gotten better), tired of losing face-offs, losing fights because we DON’T fight, losing games to teams way uglier than ours. Tired of media guys and dumb questions asked of hockey players in scrums. I’m tired of f-n Sydney Crosby (sorry Croz) updates, tired of TSN… I’ll say that one again, TIRED of TSN, and especially of creating so much drama over things that are not dramatic (did you know that they say the laugh track only works on things that AREN’T actually funny). I’m tired of James Duthie, who, if he has any brains and taste by now is also tired of himself. I’m tired of Pierre Gauthier calling the players “Mr.” like their last name is Rogers or like he doesn’t really know them very well, which is exactly what it seems like. (Their names are “skilsy” and “pleky” and “pricey” Goaty – go be a doorman or a waiter or something that suits your pasty demeanor.)
And I’m really freakin tired of thinking we can win when we lose, tired of expecting the guys who took it to another team one night, to show up again the next, or even in the same week. I’m tired of people explaining how we can make it to the playoffs when we can’t, tired of waiting for that extra goal we need to tie, when it’s not gonna happen. I’m tired of Molson writing letters about whatever and doing nothing about overpaid useless hockey players on this team. I’m tired of the dumb moves Gauthier has made gambling on guys no-one else wants (Campoli? Kaberle? c’mon!!!), tied of a GM who knows quality in hockey players about as well as he knows how to cook a steak. I want a high draft pick. I want a coach that ONLY speaks Farsi if he’s the best available professional coach on the planet – and I want him to thumb his nose at French AND English speakers when he wins.
What I really want is to have confidence in the team management. Because if we don’t have it, how do you think the players feel? And what kind of season are we going to have next year. All we can hope is that Gauthier is gone before he can do any more damage with one more dumb trade, and someone with a NEW plan is in place. Cause the old plan, and the old planner don’t work. And Molson – spend some of your hard-inherited zillions to put this team right. Or sell it to someone who cares more about sports and the pride of a nation of fans, than they do about selling stuff to people so they can get hammered, maybe laid, and just as likely barf their guts out, and now and then to kill someone by accident because they had too much of your product. Seriously, pay BACK or sell this team to someone who’ll do right by it.
I want goals and wins, and a team that WORKS. And some sort of sign it’s on the right track. And I’m still waiting.
————————————-
Listen to the Smart Dog. He knows his poop!
So, what’s up? /kidding/
Great rant.
LOL
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Listen to the Smart Dog. He knows his poop!
Brother Smartdog, you are preaching to the choir. Oh the days when we would win, and not whether but by how much. Alas, alas.
It’s a sad state. Another thing I’m sick of is this idea that we can’t be smarter than the GM. He’s got all this experience and amazing resources and thank god with all that help he makes some good decisions but some of the things he does are so obviously dumb it’s unbelievable. This team finally has a decent foundation, which is more than you can say for awhile but too many OBVIOUS gambles have sunk it. It’s sad. It needs someone else to fix it.
————————————-
Listen to the Smart Dog. He knows his poop!
Hab fans hate losing and too proud to Tank…hear your wolf wolf bowser!!
Sounds like a bad case of Habbin’ fever. Is your nose warm?
Yeah but I had it in the toaster for awhile. Is that bad?
————————————-
Listen to the Smart Dog. He knows his poop!
I hear ya, brother. It’s been that kind of season. It’s all about the crumbs now.
to many coffees.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGIY5Vyj4YM
Damn straight! Great clip.
————————————-
Listen to the Smart Dog. He knows his poop!
Brother Bripro, enjoyed the link. I also love my dear Montreal Canadiens. We live in dark days.
Well, I just opened the window and screamed to the world: “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore” and now the cops are pulling into the driveway! Seems the neighbours are mad as hell as well. And they did something about it.
Jezz JB, next time you go to the window remember to wear pants.
***Subbang Baby!!!***
Good grief, you’re right! The cops showed me the bylaw! Whodda thunk?
Well just tell them to watch my newscast, for God’s sake!
You always come up with excellent clips. Thx for the laugh.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Kiss my hAbSS!!!
The Buddhists are still looking for monks. It’ll give you time to meditate and get in touch with your inner point of light… which clearly isn’t working while watching hockey.
Actually, if you decide to go that route, bring Gauthier, Gainey and anyone else in management that ok’d the trade for Gomez with you…
Thanks for a good laugh… it was quite cathartic… maybe even therapeutic…
That made me lol SD. I think there are more sports journalists/reporters, etc., “reporting” hockey than there are civil servants.
Other than that how is your day ?
Great post!!
I agree.
I agree.
I agree.
I agree.
And I agree.
And I’m still waiting too, as we all are.
I could say I am tired of whingers, lol
The time it took you to write this post, you could have visited an elderly person who is lonely, or call an old friend you haven’t seen for a while. Maybe THEY are tired of you spending so much time on HIO, and maybe your wife is tired of you leaving the toilet seat up!
Cheer up mate and remember we are in a 30-team league and in a 196-country world. Not every country can be rich and not every person has food to eat. Watch hockey for the pleasure and don’t worry if they don’t win the Cup – it’s hockey that matters, not winning.
wow, he sounds so tired, so very tired.
“I complain but nobody listens” ;-(
you are righteous slovakHab
Impressive, doggy.
A lot being made out of Gaustad saying something to Patch about “where’s Chara?”. Jeez man, guys say some awful things on the ice or pitch or wherever you are playing sports. Doesn’t make you a bad guy, necessarily. I am sure anyone who has mucked it up a bit at a decent level of any sport has heard worse and likely said worse, I know I have. Stuff that is said is just sh*t, that’s it. You’re allowed to be rude, be a proper bastard, it stays out there and it should. There is always a line and most guys know that. Racism for example is never on. You can’t talk about a serious, current situation either personal or family. If Maxpac wasn’t playing and was still injured, nothing like that gets said. Talk about making a lot out of nothing. I would take Gaustad on this team anyday, though he should have done something during the Miller/Lucic thing.
Pacs & Gaustead stuff would have stayed on the ice if the media did not ask what was being said – So instead of a no comment being said, The truth was spoken what’s wrong with that with its
15 minutes being close to being over I hope……..
I don’t know if anybody has posted this but it is a pretty decent read.
I sit firmly in the #3 camp.
Nothing revolutionary in that article, except that they don’t realize that 2012 draft is really deep in D. What franchise centers are available in top 5?
So we don’t want a scoring winger instead?
Good link, thanks. #3 is really the long-view best option, but I take 2 issues: Firstly yo have to sell this to Eric Cole. He chose to come play for the Habs, gives monumental effort night after night and now you’re going tell him “thanks but we’d rather suck”. All the other players are either young so they’re part of the future anyway or old and on their way out anyway. Pleks and Gio are in between but I don’t think selling them on putting 2011-12 in the rearview would be difficult. Cole is having a career year and is a leader on the team. Tough to tell him it was all for nought.
Secondly, I am not convinced the player a top5 pick/player is the guy for this team. Grigorenko is the only centre, Yakupov is highly skilled yet a winger. Would the Habs draft another highly touted d-man. Not exactly addressing the future needs. The next best centre ( and Canadian) is B. Gaunce rated 12. If the habs end up with the 5th then perhaps trying to trade down? Risky.
Just some alternate arguements, looking forward to watching the prospects game.
Did you write the article?
Ok all you GM’s. Eller, Beaulieu,Gallagher,Kaberle for Rick Nash?
Mr. Bad Example!
Find somebody other than Gallagher.
You have to give to get.
Mr. Bad Example!
Well, that is just another “Bad Example”!
This site has become Pathetic. Your getting the best player in the trade and all your giving up is hope. Hope is for LOSERS!
Mr. Bad Example!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTf8QyFZBsM
Nope.
Take out any 2 of the 1st 3, add the 2nd rd pick from Cal in the cammy deal. Then I like it better. 4 NHLers for 1 is disproportionate
But it’s 2 NHLers, one of which we got in exchange for a salary dump.
–
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.
No.
Chris, re: Mcdonagh.
I know you have been following him and you liked him because I have read your posts in the past.
Here’s what I had read, heard, and seen myself.
I read and heard that the Habs were becoming concerned that he was not developing at the rate that they had hoped
I believe that he was cut (or not chosen) for the U.S Junior his first year and then he made it his second year.
I watched that tournament and Mcdonagh every time he was on the ice.
He was not one of the US top 4 d-men and I saw him struggling in his d-zone coverage on several occasions.
I’m not a scout – but my own view of his play coupled with the reports I had seen that the Habs were not that high on him, I was not at all surprised that he was traded.
I should mention that I went to a training camp at Jacques Lemaire arena in Lasalle where the Habs youngsters were skating and Mcdonagh was good, but not at all great at that camp.
It turns out that Mcdonagh, like Gorges and others, have a unique talent to play defence.
Their offensive skills do not stand out.
But they have great defensive instincts, great poise, and they make great decisions under pressure.
I was just making the same point that many have made.
When we drafted him there were some other very interesting players on the board.
Kevin Shattenkirk was ahead of Mcdonagh on the WJC team.
Ian Cole was ahead of him on the WJC team
Both were still on the board.
So Mcdonagh has had a break out year and good for him.
But it is not fair to call out Mcguire or anyone else for not seeing this on draft day.
Many people in Montreal wanted Esposito.
Pierre flipped out because Gainey picked Price over Brule…just saying!
Ed: Using the World Juniors to assess defensive defencemen is really difficult. I’m pretty down on that tournament because it is more of a showcase of offensive talent than anything else.
A defensive stalwart like McDonagh excels by always being in position. The book on him is that he was mobile, controlled gaps well and could throw his wait around when necessary. But most importantly, he played safe and he played in control.
A big part of that style of play is that you MUST be comfortable with your teammates, especially your defence partner and your goaltender. Communication is absolutely key, especially when you are playing against a glorified all-star team in terms of talent.
The World Junior teams typically get about 1-2 weeks to develop that familiarity before the games begin. That is not much time. Adding to that problem, if I recall correctly McDonagh suffered an injury (I have charleyhorse in my memory bank, but it has been a while) and while he played through it, he was slowed.
The reports I saw out of Wisconsin were always very good. People have to remember that NCAA Division I is not like the CHL; in the CHL, you will never see anybody over the age of 20. In the NCAA, it is not uncommon to be red-shirted in your freshman year and not see anybody YOUNGER than age 20. So for McDonagh to earn a top-4 spot on one of the powerhouse programs in the country as an 18 year old was impressive.
That, and the continued glowing reports I saw from Timmins in various places regarding McDonagh’s development, were why I was so high on him.
As you say, one can never be 100% certain that these kids will work out. But I saw nothing in McDonagh to make me question his development, and he certainly was VERY highly touted in his draft. Some of the rankings I saw had him as the best defenceman in the draft that could go as high as top-5, depending on need. When you looked at the Habs blueline, they had Markov and Komisarek at that time and they thought they had a lot of offence up front. McDonagh was a perfectly natural and reasonable pick, both in terms of talent and organizational need.
Esposito was viewed as a talented player who represented a huge risk/huge reward. Unfortunately for him, it hasn’t worked out.
Why would Columbus make that trade though? If they decide to trade Nash they need a big return. A very high pick and a prospect at least.
They don’t want or need Kaberle.
So they would be getting one potentially good player in Eller and two longshots in Gallagher and Beaulieu.
Still it’s better than the ridiculous trade rumour to the Leafs: Nash for Grabovski (pending UFA), Kadri (longshot), Schenn (way overpaid), and Komisarek (haha).
–
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.
Hell no.
Nash is a born loser – he belongs in a Leafs uniform.
I went to the CHL Prospects / Skills Competition last night. Fastest skater, hardest shot, most accurate, shootout etc. The closest they got to game action was 30 minutes (run time) of 3-on-3 / a good mix of events. Grigorenko looked OK – he and others saving it for the game tonight I suspect.
Dr Recchi was standing in on the Team Cherry bench. Being from Kamloops gets zero traction in Kelowna but he was greeted, altho a few folks almost upchucked when Rob Faulds asked him to flash the cup ring – and he did.
Can’t think of too many former Habs I would ignore, but this knob is a guaranteed exception to that : should have kept his size XXL yap shut about the MaxPac injury last season (maybe he’s a buddy of Gaustad’s) …
ALWAYS Habs -
D Mex
I used to like Recchi when he was a Hab but after those comments from him about Maxpac I hate his guts now.
I would hope someone lays him out at an oldtimers game.
One can dream…
Now that’s funny!
I got a visual of 80 year old Stan Mikita taking him out from behind!
To the music of Rocket Mat
They packed their bags last night, post-bite
Now all zeros at nine a.m.
And they’re gonna be cryyyyying by then, when the truth sets in
I miss the cup so much, I miss its sheen
It’s lonely in last place
Or for what coooooould have been
And I think it’s gonna be a long long time
Till the Habs raise Stanley holding a fine wine
They’re not the team we think they are at home
Oh no no no, they’re the tanking men
Tanking men burning out their bridges on their own
The Show ain’t the kinda place to raise your kids
In fact it’s cold as hell
And there’s no one there to stop the concussion hits
And all the bullshit from Buttman and gang
It’s just his throne five days a week
Oh Tanking men, the tanking men
And I think it’s gonna be a long long time….
A trip down memory lane for you…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EkEQk-z0eU
What a great series eh?
That was the year my wife realized how hockey mad our family was.
I have celebrated 13 Cups. My oldest son has only two and my youngest this one only. Middle son is a “Make me Laugh” fan so doesn’t get to celebrate any…maybe ever. Nah, love my son despite his flaw in CHaracter so hope he gets at least one…after I’m gone!!
You’re lucky in having been able to celebrate a few cup wins with your boys. My son was born the year the Habs won the last cup.
But not worries (for him). He’s already celebrated one. He’s a Bruins’ fan! I know….it’s tragic!
The Rocket wrote a song??!! Did not know that.
What about scores? Did he ever do those?
You forgot your…
Exclamation, Footnote, Mandatory superscripted happy face
Sorry, sir. It won’t happen again.
Exclamation, Footnote, Mandatory superscripted happy face
The only thing that really bugs me about the Habs Tanking™ and everybody accepting it is that I am going to have to come up with a new shtick now. Problem is I don’t know what could possible shock y’all at this point.
OK. I got it. I think the Habs should win the Cup. That’s right. In 2015.
So sue me!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHFDa9efCQU
Don’t worry, HH…I will never accept the Tank and therefore you can keep this schtick as long as you’d like.
A few diehards like me don’t believe that losing is winning. Must be my sanity gene. HaHave fun.
Just for the record, your Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning was selected with the #1 pick in the draft.
The only reason the Giants got him, and won the SB, and are back again, is because they tanked. If they hadn’t tanked, they’d have some medicore retread at QB, like most other NFL teams, and like the Giants did every year before Eli (Kerry Collins), and never sniff the title.
So yeah, sports leagues give losers the best chance to win in the future. We need to tank like the Giants did.
Cough!!!!! What are you talking about? The Chargers selected Manning and the Giants selected Rivers. Manning did not want to play for the Chargers and the trade was made. I wish people would have the facts on here before making posts.
What Storm Man said. Fact check first, then spout off.
I received a great gift today! George Burnett, coach and GM of the OHL Belleville Bulls gave it to me today..
An original Hab’s 100 year team anniversary home (RED) PK Subban sweater. From the PK kid himself.
He signed it on the 7 and his two brothers Malcom & Jordon playing for the Belleville Bulls signed it on the 6.
I guess I had better get a frame for it.
That is very cool Ian. Enjoy it!
Wow what a great gift! Good for you bud!
What a great gift, Ian. Don’t wash it!
BTW, did he say anything about Brendan Gaunce drafted by the Habs? I think he would be a great fit. Looking forward to seeing him play tonight, he is playing isn’t he?
Out of curiousity, what do you base his being a great fit off of?
i scored 100 level seat center ice for the Sens Bruins game later this month..the big question is who do I cheer for..or should I say who do i boo louder?? decisions..decisions..
Don’t cheer for either team – boo the Brooms at will.
ALWAYS Habs -
D Mex
I know it doesn’t look good but I believe there’s still a good chance the Canadiens can make the playoffs – and, yes, I’m talking about this season.
They’ve played 50 games and have 47 points. I’ve looked at the schedule and of the 32 games remaining, there’s a whole bunch of four-point games to be played. If Montreal wins just 12 of them, that will give the team 95 points (12 X4 + 47) – which should be good enough for eighth spot.
And if the Habs give 110 per cent the rest of the way, the markup from the extra effort – 48 pts X 10 per cent = 5 pts (the NHL always rounds up) – would push Montreal to the 100 point level and first round of the playoffs,when anything can happen!
This kind of positive thinking should put an end to all this talk of tanking.
You’re welcome.
I can see that your mathematics is made of 50 percent formulas, 50 percent proofs, and 50 percent imagination.
And 99 per cent perspiration
Carry the knot.
————————————-
Listen to the Smart Dog. He knows his poop!
Did Yogi help you with this John?
You forgot the loser point. You know. The 3 point games. So, using your logic,
that would mean potential 6 pointers against teams the Habs are chasing.
Habs could finish with 120 points if they play their cards right.
I briefly considered that but I didn’t want to be dismissed as a dreamer.
Are you sure you’re not my financial adviser?
Uncle Earl, is that you????
TANK!!! TANK!! Haha just kidding. What is sad is that they don’t really need to try to tank, they just do it. I’m positive about the future. The young talent Montreal has, the potential to get a Grigorenko…but getting excited about maybe getting the eighth spot, just to get beaten down in the first round and get a middle round draft pick – no thanks.
gilis way too old and slow dump him
Mike?
weve been in a 19 yr rebuild allready look how thats going
The most intriguing thing to happen this season was Cammalleri being traded during a game. lol
Losing, or not winning makes the team and all the talk around the team boring and petty. imho
If the biggest story out of last night is Gaustad and he said – he said, things are even worse than I thought.
Is this team not competing, or do they just not have the depth to win games? Sadly, I believe it is the latter.
I’ll still watch and hope for a miracle. As much as I love all those great saves Price makes, I equally enjoy watching our forwards make beautiful passes leading to beautiful or ugly goals, who cares.
I have been on PG’s side until now, but the GM is the only one with the power to change the fortunes of this team. If he can’t or won’t, it’s time for new leadership.
You might still watch LL but yesterday, as I was waiting for the Habs game to start, I noticed that the Bruins-Sens game was on. I hate the Bruins and am here nor there with the Sens. But the excitement of watching the Habs has been lost on me this year. I spent the evening wanting the watch the Bruins-Sens game over my beloved Habs. That was a sad realization for me. As long as the Habs have Gomez, I can’t really get excited to watch.
Well put LL. I am so discouraged with the teams lack of effort on many nights outside a few players. We know who they are. Are you comfortable with PG managing the rebuild? I don’t think I am.
I guess ProHabs, you and I are bored watching the same old, same old. (No goals)
As well as discussing the same old, same old. (Gomez)
You know when things are going badly, heads roll. Even though the guy losing his head is not always at fault.
Markovgate, unfortunately, may ultimately cost him his job.
That’s a Lotta Lip, LL, from someone who just turned 26!
Respect your elders!
.
.
.
Oh, BTW,
LMAO…
Based on yesterday’s experience, I see you’ve adopted a safe strategy.
Comment
Exclamation, Footnote, Mandatory superscripted happy face
OK I’ll respect the geez…I mean my elders.
In our day, we called them geezers.
I guess that’s a new generation sayin’….
(as he bends over and horks in his spittoon)
Just watching That’s Hockey and they just showed Alex Radulov on the bench in the KHL. Having a disagreement with his coach behind him so he smokes him in the face with his stick! Makes PK and RL thing seem a little tame now, doesn’t it?
I just youtubed it that was crazy, the weirdest thing is he goes right back to shuffling his papers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLkOLptnPAI
I don’t believe it was a disagreement.
He didn’t mean to hit the goaltending coach. Which is why he raised his hand after.
That guy’s tough!
—Hope Springs Eternal—
Not sure if this was posted here, but some sad news:
Daughter of NHL great Phil Esposito dies
The Canadian Press
TAMPA, Fla. – The daughter of former NHL superstar Phil Esposito has died.
Carrie Selivanov, 43, died Monday in Germany of an unknown illness. She had been living in the German city of Krefeld with husband, former NHL player Alex Selivanov.
http://sports.sympatico.ca/nhl/daughter_of_nhl_great_esposito_dies/88ed729f
My biggest fear with having PG still in the position is that he’ll make the same mistakes as last year.
1. We have the makings of a perfect fourth line. If healthy, Moen, White and Blunden would work really well in my opinion. If we let Moen go, someone who fits in and is valuable, he will not be replaced via free agency because it’s PG’s MO to try to fill the void with someone from Hamilton. A big, physical guy who can kill penalties, fight, and score 10-15 goals a year is not available in Hamilton. LL is not a fourth line player.
2. AK cannot be replaced via FA or thru Hamilton. If we lose him, we are a weaker, not stronger team. Next year will be a replay of this year if we still have players like Darche, Moen, and Blunden (even though I love the guy) playing in the top six, or even top nine.
3. Anyone remember JM playing Darche on the PP for the first twenty games of the year, in….sane.
4. We cannot start next year relying on Markov to run the PP. Even when healthy, he’s not a shooter. I fear for Markov the first time he gets nailed, in Boston…..or anywhere. We need a big Stud D man. Period, someone who can shoot and hit, and stand in front of Price with balls.
5. Some changes need to be made, but the biggest mistake may be letting AK and Moen walk. If I were a guessing man, PG thinks Blunden is Moen’s replacement. I almost gaurantee it. Just like he thought PK would score from the point, and White would shore up the fourth line. Not all his fault mind you, but his decisions have come up snake eyes one too many times for my liking.
6. The Gomez contract needs to be let go, I don’t even hate the guy. He is skating, but there’s simply no production. Kaberle’s deal is hampering us now like Spaceks did last year. He’s playing better , but unless Markov doesn’t come back, which I think is a real possibility, Kaberle has to go.
7. Gill has been a warrior for us in the playoffs, and should be remembered as such.
8. It’s time for Pleks to get over the baby hangover. Come on man, if your hurt, sit, if not, get it going.
9. PK’s lack of success this year will help with his contract, probably a blessing.
This should be our best opportunity in years to put a real play in action, starting from the top. I’m not sure PG is the guy. I like the Cammy trade, but PG’s bad decisions regarding personnel all year have cost the team dearly.
Good post CF
Point 5. I agree that we let people walk too easily. I realize that a certain amount of a GMs job is guessing but take your example about Blunden taking Moen’s place – whatever happened to a guy winning the job? If Blunden outperforms Moen then Moen becomes tradable.
I’d like to see a little more certainty and less hoping.
If we become sellers at the deadline that’s OK. If we get some good picks back that’s OK too but please, let’s not get back under-performing project players in the hope that they just might need a change of scenery.
Cheers.
I feel you canèt make steps forward by simply letting good people go and filling the void with players of lower talent. It doesnèt work.
Good post. Thought I’d weigh in…
1. We have the makings of a perfect fourth line.
They’re OK. I wouldn’t overrate them. Moen has been good this year in his UFA… I’d get something for him now. We can replace him. Keep the other two because they should give you some good return vs price. I’d want a strong faceoff winner in the circle though…
2. AK cannot be replaced via FA or thru Hamilton.
True. But you can’t resign him at any price.
3. Anyone remember JM playing Darche on the PP for the first twenty games of the year, in….sane.
Yep. The real problem was the absence of a gun at the point or a true QP for the PP. Everything else is cosmetic, imo.
4. We cannot start next year relying on Markov to run the PP.
Disagree. We’re committed now. Accurate 94 mph slapper. Pinches when he needs to. One of the best first passes in the League. Good skater. Great vision. I’d play Weber with him. He’ll make that guy look good (provided he’s healthy).
5. …the biggest mistake may be letting AK and Moen walk.
Biggest mistake would be not to bury Gomer and addressing our PP shortcomings. Moen can be replaced. AK… not so much. He’d be a significant loss.
6. The Gomez contract needs to be let go. Kaberle has to go.
Yes and yes. Tough to do, but hopefully do-able.
7. Gill has been a warrior for us in the playoffs, and should be remembered as such.
Yes. And he should be traded at the deadline for a pick. With our thanks…
8. It’s time for Pleks to get over the baby hangover. Come on man, if your hurt, sit, if not, get it going.
That’s up to the coaches. His performance is unacceptable. Complete lack of leadership there and really disappointing from that guy (who has delivered a solid effort for so long…)
9. PK’s lack of success this year will help with his contract, probably a blessing.
Can’t hurt. He’s all over the place. Needs a big brother who he can look up to (ie, a player of similar skill…)
Keep the posts coming. Very topical… I suspect you’ll get an answer on most of those issues very soon.
size up front with talent: max-pac, cole, kostitsyn, eller, bourque that’s what you need to win today. the remaining forwards see what you can get for them. players with size and can score. that’s when you’ll see a decent team in montreal again. anything less. you’ll be looking at what you’re looking at right now for the next 20 years.
it would be a comforting thought if PG login into this site and took a look at the last two pole [85% rebuild the team and 92% keep Subban] and realize what people want. perhaps PG could save his job by just saying the habs are rebuilding and then do a decent job of it.
g
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We are rebuilding. We have 8 players on the team now who are in their first or second full season in the NHL. That’s not including Blunden, Leblanc, and Engvist. Plus we have Gallagher, Bournival, Beaulieu, Tinordi, Holland, Ellis, Nash and several others developing.
Someone on the other page said the drafting of Patrick Roy was a bit of a crap shoot. I dont think it was. Savard knew what he was doing. Having had the privilege of seeing the expansion Granby Bisons, Roy was facing close to 70 shots per game for them. Despite the not so great win/loss record, Savard figured such peppering would make him a good goalie one day and that was his logic for drafting him.
[Disclaimer]: I’m a hockey fan. I care about the habs, but probably not as much as you.
yea, bring back serge
You really think Markov is gonna turn the team around? dream on. Get rid of him? with a bum knee? Without even seeing if he still has it? I say give the guy a chance WHEN he is ready and get off his damn back. Maybe you need your knee f’d up like he had it and see how you go on.. I’ve had that injury, it’s not an easy one to get past. It takes a lot of time most of the time. He already rushed back once and look what happened.
Engqvist down and Leblanc up. Engqvist had a good game and on for a goal with 4 mins playing time. What are these coaches smoking man! This coaching staff hasn’t got a damn clue. You can’t just keep swinging players in and out, they need a fair shake not this BS come up for 1 or 2 games, oh you didn’t do exactly what I said, you’re going down BS. That’s a clear sign the coaching staff hasn’t got a clue.
Season is a write-off, face it. It’s time to rebuild but get rid of Gauthier first.
I agree about markov but how do you get rid of that contract, its kinda like the kaberle one.
You had the same injury as Andrei Markov? Is that where you became so smart? While convalescing you read dozens of encyclopedias and journals about the latest towels.
I do agree though the coaching staff is clueless.