The Tuesday night game is important to Florida.
The Panthers are holding off Washington for the top spot in the Southeast Dvision.
For your Montreal Canadiens, not so important.
• Pat Hickey on allocation of ice time
• Claude Giroux: The one who got away
• François Gagnon on Saturday night fever
• Marc De Foy on Tomas Plekanec
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People on here talking about the Heritage, eh? Good bar!
It blows my mind that ppl are suggesting trading Eller. He has the highest ceiling of DD, Plek and himself. Are people not watching the games? people complain Plekanec has played with garbage. Guess what Eller never got the chance to play with Gionta and Cammelleri
Plekanec couldnt do much with them. Eller is physical (still getting bigger) and makes his linemates better, I haven’t seen Plekanec do that this yr. AK Eller Moen was the only line that played strong and had chemistry aside from the DD line.
Does anyone believe there is a chance that DD could have outscore Eller this yr if they switch roles, linemates and pp time? Absolutely no chance.
Oh and Plekanec, -19, Eller -4, Eller has played against the top lines just like 14.
Different players improve at different ages.
Just because Eller was better at age 20 than plekanec does not mean he is going to a better player than Plekanec. I don´t think he will be.
I certainly think the habs need to start the year with Plekanec and DD as their top two centres.
I think Eller right now is a decent third centre. Hedoesn´t seem to have, at this point, great decision making skills which accounts for his low assist totals. Someone posted below that he could be better placed as a winger (a highly unpopular view). But I could see him doing well as a winger. He doesn´t seem to have great play making ability or vision . But he has a lot of raw skill. So two things could happen;
1) he could remain a centre and develop into a second line centre at some point (no one knows when); but I don´t think he will ever be a star.
2) he try his luck on the wing and could develop there quite fast and become a real good winger…or he possibly he will never fully adapt to the change.
I find it´s very difficult to know how to optimize Eller´s particular type of skill.
In any case, as the achiles heel of this year´s team going in was the defence, the area which most concerns me next year is the third line. I think the team will grab a good D and a winger to help Gio and Pleks, and am therefore quite optimistic about next year.
But the third line is an area of concern. Not because of Eller(if he stays there) but because of the wingers who seem to be in place.
Bourque scares me and they are stuck with him, and Leblanc to me needs to bulk up to be effective in the long term, and is over-hyped (and possibly a natural centre). And, no, I don´t think Moen is good enough as a routine third liner, though i think he´s a great fill-in and I like him.
We know statistics can lie like a rug – for instance people use them to state that Kaberle is a good hockey player – but here is a fun one: Tom Pyatt has as many goals as Enqvuist, White, Gomez, Blunden, Palushaj, Gorges, Emelin, Markov, Geoffrion, Campoli, and Staubitz put together.
Ouch! and Pyatt is no Crosby!
Promote the Youth, Support From The Veterans and Remember the Heritage!
…Boone’s column “Canadiens likely to get high draft pick”, is one of His better ones …Claude Giroux was off mosts’ radars, pure & simple …today, he is the second-best player in the NHL …or third-best if Sid had played a full season
…indicating ‘what is’ today, ain’t necessary it will be tomorrow
…He mentions something I have thought about as well, trading Our 2012 draft-choice to Florida for Jonathan Huberdeau
…it likely would make sense to Tallon only if it was a guaranteed first-overall to assure Yakupov …therefore, that will likely be a last-minute trade on the day of the draft
…or, Tallon will prefer to keep Huberdeau because of Florida’s dependence on Quebec snowbirds …like Lecavalier, Huberdeau will represent a guaranteed draw during periods of local fan apathy for hockey
…but, if Tallon is interested, I would trade for Huberdeau
_________________________________________________________
HIS’ Official Habs’ Fan Theme Song: Morrissey ‘There is a light that never goes out’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjObvIQtsLk&feature=related
Habitant means PASSIONATE HOCKEY
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=423049
Why, just because he’s speaks French? I’m so fed up with the French BS that is hanging around the Habs neck like a 200 pound wet Gomez, that we can’t even look past someone elses developing player to doing it ourselves. Why not get a Russian heavy couple of lines that can crack skulls as well as skate and stick handle?
Promote the Youth, Support From The Veterans and Remember the Heritage!
…
‘Remember the Heritage !’ ??? …hmmm, am I missin’ sumptin’ ??? 
…You Guys are a hoot 
_________________________________________________________
HIS’ Official Habs’ Fan Theme Song: Morrissey ‘There is a light that never goes out’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjObvIQtsLk&feature=related
…the Montreal Canadiens organization and Our Fans, as a whole need to feel this current cold frigid splash of reality, …this process will, hopefully, give Us a long needed sense of humility, not humiliation …and help to revive and renew Our tattered culture of high hockey ideals, and ultimate success in the near future
…ride the wave, is all We can do as Fans: …Ownership must make the right choices, persevere, and act not talk
Habitant means PASSIONATE HOCKEY
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=423049
…some players look quite normal with gap-toothed dentures …Eller, whom lost a tooth at practice, ain’t one of them
_________________________________________________________
HIS’ Official Habs’ Fan Theme Song: Morrissey ‘There is a light that never goes out’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjObvIQtsLk&feature=related
Habitant means PASSIONATE HOCKEY
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=423049
This draft talk is making me lol thinking that a pick is going to make this team good. April 13 2012 the axe has to fall Molson has to clean house someone in the press should ask him if TAP stock dropped say to 10 bucks a share would he still have his job? no his ass would be bye bye. If Molson does not clean house he is nothing more than Ballard 2.0 and for those who think Roy is coming to save the day think again he would love nothing to stick it to Montreal as the coach of the Quebec team.
I think it is pretty clear regarding molson now. He is useless. Axe may fall but probably not where it should. I have a feeling that the Goat will weasel his way into retaining his job. RC and his crew will be gone. Probably some other useless positions primarily as cost cutting measures.
Team will still suck in 2012-2013 and the only 2 things that can kick off proper rebuilding is a) people stop coming to the games b) people stop buying molson piss. Until then, if not this Goat, it will be another just as bad.
Btw, Roy coaching Mtl has Mario Trembley 2.0 written all over it.
Seconded!
All about himself!
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What does the Commissioner of the NHL do?
In short, a league commissioner is the action man for the Board of Governors.
They tell him what they want done and he works to make it happen through his subordinates while making sure that individual franchises play by the rules.
******** Translated if you haven’t won the Stanley Cup in 40 years your NHL team is becoming irrelevant in a sports mad city long behind MLB, NFL and NBA teams, you just tell the commissioner(who you gave a new contract at 7 plus million per) to make it happen and the rules are bent sufficiently to action the command.
Here is what’s going to happen with our high pick this year – he will be traded to Tampa for MAB. I mean, how can you not?
If Plekanec is more talented than DD, would Cole and Pax have been even more productive with Plekanec?
Who is the full time third line center on this team next year? if it is Plekanec, should he be traded to a team that could use him as a first or second line center?
If Pax and Cole are on the top line and Montreal is building for the future, is there any room for Gionta on the second line, or should Leblanc, Eller or a potenial draft pick take his place?
Blue, blanc et rouge. Red and White for Canada. Blue for Smurfs.
different types of centres. DD is an extremely gifted play maker but isn’t as good defensively as pleks. Pleks is a great play maker but not as good as DD.
The top line all compliment each other and are all having career years. That says a lot. I have seen DD play with the bulldogs and he is a great playmaker. His vision is awesome. I was more impressed watching DD with the dogs than Pleks.
In saying that I also really like what Pleks brings to the team. He really needs to write this year off and come back with some decent wingers
“Like Canadian Hip hop..check us out http://www.groovecontrolmusic.com“
I like Desharnais as much as the next guy but Pacioretty and Cole can make a guy look a lot better than he is.
This much can’t be disputed. Desharnais was given the teams’ two best wingers for the majority of the year and the organization has a much bigger investment in the two centremen who were given linemates as a result of a musical chairs game.
people keep saying that same argument Tom but DD was on the third line and was the highest point producer from the all star break on last year….he was also awesome in the AHL helping Max P finally break out. He is an awesome play making centre. Give him a little more time and I am sure you will see it as well. He is a great centre
“Like Canadian Hip hop..check us out http://www.groovecontrolmusic.com“
DD has impressed me with the puck, he can fly and has great vision and patience with the puck. He’s a keeper.
As for Pleck, it’s hard to denigrate the man’s play this season with the unfair situation he’s been put in this year. The musical chair winger game with him has to stop…
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Kiss my hAbSS!!!
DD slows the puck down, draws opposing teams in, and creates time and space for his linemates.
Pleks bombs around the ice at top speed, gains the zone, fires a shot, one and done.
Because Ryan White hasn’t entered the offensive zone by the time Plekanec has circled around the net.
Ha!
Touché.
—Hope Springs Eternal—
??? Sorry, which Pleks are you talking about here?
The one who’s on every 1st line PK?
The one who retreats faster to our GOAL line faster than any other forward on the team?
The one who’s played with 21 different wingmen this year?
The one who never complained about any of it?
The one who shows up every game, every practice, every interview?
Do your homework!
DD has been good, but I’d wait to see if he can keep it up before I judge him as great.
Pleks has a much more complete game. DD is not at Pleks level yet. And may never be.
IMO DD is a better playmaker than Pleks. Give him time and it will show even more.
I do like Pleks though as well. He is just having an off year
“Like Canadian Hip hop..check us out http://www.groovecontrolmusic.com“
You know what, Joey? I as much as anyone want a large tough skilled center, what is your problem with DD? He’s performed wherever he’s been used, unlike MANY of our millionaires.
Making the players around you do well goes both ways. Yeah Cole’s been great, but give credit to the whole line. And FYI, Plekanec is not the reincarnation of Jean Beliveau or even Damphousse, which is who we need and we should trade anyone except PK, Max, and Cole to get him or the equivalent pick. And I include Cary “Shoot Out” Price on that list. I was OK with Price until I watched too many shoot-outs.
The shoot-out has gone long enough in my opinion. I hope they eliminate the gimmick this summer.
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Kiss my hAbSS!!!
I agree. Admittedly it’s occassionaly exciting to watch, but it distorts the nature of a team sport.
Problem it’s caught on down here – 8 and 9 year olds are doing shoot-outs in tie playoff games because the rink calendars are so clogged they can’t extend a game for overtime. The coach’s just said who wants to go? My kid went (and hit the post) but some of his buddies, who are good, were too nervous to try. My point is it’s becoming part of the culture of the game so the NHL will have to kill it fast or it will be too late.
Just want to see more than one season before I judge. Didn’t say I had a problem with him. But it is his first full season. He has MaxPac and Cole to score. So we will see.
I’m not saying we should keep Pleks over Stamkos. But anyone who we want like that won’t become available until we can sign them as a UFA. They will want too much.
As for your Carey Price bash. Try to remember that you must actually score in a shootout in order to win one. So before you are too quick to judge someone, try to remember our shootout goals for. But then again, I heard that in St.Louis they have Jaro taking the 3rd penalty shot cause he can do it all on his own. So maybe we should get Carey a shooting stick, and see how that works out for us.
Astonishing how dumb some comments can be. We are ranked 25th in the league in scoring percentage in shootouts and 17th in save percentage. But yeah…. Keep stupidly blaming Price for a shootout loss where we fail to score. Maybe if he made more spectacular saves, they would bring in judges to decide the winner.
if we keep Plekanec, he should be used as a “shut down” 3rd line center, against the #1 line, and on pk duty.
he is still crafty enough to put up about 40+ points in this role.
he could be another guy carbonneau type of player for us.
I would promote Eller and play him the first 40 games as the 2nd line center behind DD.
After Eller puts up about 30 points in the 1st 40 games – assuming he gets 3 minutes of pp time like the other top 6 – we will not be having this discussion any longer.
Eller is very talented.
It is time to give him much more responsibility.
if they insist on playing Eller on the wing, all bets are off.
that is the stupidest thing we could do to Eller.
THANK YOU
My only issue with that is Eller is still very raw. He is getting better but defensively he has a lot of brain cramps and offensively is still growing. I am not sure he is ready for that just yet. He should have been the ahl last year developing instead of playing 10 minutes a game with JM
“Like Canadian Hip hop..check us out http://www.groovecontrolmusic.com“
I disagree, Ed.
I think Eller would be better used on the wing.
As I mentioned yesterday, his decision-making speed and his vision of the ice aren’t as good as they should be for a top line center. He commits a lot of giveaways and in addition often tries to do things on his own, which is more in line with a scoring winger.
I know that people don’t agree with me on this, but perhaps next year Eller will develop further and he’ll fit into the center role. Which would be great, but then we’d have too many centers.
LL on the wing then?
—Hope Springs Eternal—
I could see that Matty. I think LL has more offensive upside than Eller….that is just me though
“Like Canadian Hip hop..check us out http://www.groovecontrolmusic.com“
Yes, Eller should have been in the AHL but management felt they had to play him to justify the Halak deal.
Another reason we need a night of the long knives around here.
Trivia question (assuming Cole gets at least one goal in the last 6 games).
Who centred Erik Cole the year he scored his highest goals total?
a) Eric Staal
b) David Desharnais
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Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.
couldn’t agree more
“Like Canadian Hip hop..check us out http://www.groovecontrolmusic.com“
DD > Eric Staal, right?
RC : “Merci beaucoup.”
At age 20 Lars Eller got 18 goals and 39 assists in the AHL in his FIRST year of North American hockey. At age 20 DD played in the qmhl…at age 21 DD played his year in the ECHL at age 22 DD played in 77 games in the AHL and got 24 goals, 34 assists and 58 points, at age 23 he played 60 games and got 27 goals and 51 assists.
Tomas Plekanec at age 20 played 77 games in the AHl and got 19 goals and 27 assists for 46 points, at age 21 he played 74 games in the ahl and got 23 goals and 43 assists for 66 points, at age 22 he played 80 games again in the AHL and scored 29 goals and got 35 assists…..
NOW…you tell me that Eller does not project as well as either…he is clearly ahead of both at the same stage of their careers…factor in his size, his work ethic…and we should have what everyone has said all along…a larger version of Tomas Plekanec…and YES…with offensive potential to boot.
this is an old post I have put on here 2 other times toillustrate that Eller is ahead of both Pleks and DD at teh same age…
http://canadiens.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=624374
So the team’s official page acknowledges it’s tryouts for next year and then proceeds to not mention the name Blake Geoffrion. I guess leaving him in the pressbox to eat hot dogs and make paper airplanes is the plan eh?
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GO HABS GO! 2011-12 is probably not our year!
“Scott Gomez is an elite NHL player” – VancouverHab
Chat with me on Twitter @TheRealRGM81
I’m not optimistic about our young players lacing up for Cunneyworth and Ladcouceur. I don’t know that any of them have done anything that would warrant such punishment.
Great Thread today, lots of nice draft talk and analysis.
I would love to see us get lucky, win the lottery and grab Yakupov #1.
If we don’t, I hope we take Galchenyuk, this guy has incredible upside and i believe has intangibles making him more valuable than Grigorenko whom I would pick 3rd.
I have posted before and will post once more. Galchenyuk to you NFL fans reminds me of Dan Marino, knee injury in college, and everyone freaked out about oh he is done. Well he had absolute talent and my freaking Steelers ended up trading with KC to get Todd “fricking” Blackledge from Linebacker U, instead of drafting Marino, who was playing in their backyard.
If the Habs end up with 3rd overall and pass on either Galchenyuk or Grigorenko, they will have passed up on the 2 players with the absolute highest topend ability available.
My opinions only….
how many super bowls did marino win?
And he should still be seen as the second best quarterback to ever play the game.
Agreed, if you are suggesting Elway was the best !
Habs, OLE !
No I’m not. Peyton Manning.
And I’m a Green Bay fan.
Manning, at his best was better than anyone I’ve ever seen play quarterback.
So you can pretty much include everyone other than Otto Graham.
Joe Montana.
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Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.
Tom Brady
EDIT: That post was just for you, HB!
I don’t know how to make a spit sound, but I am at Bri right now! lol.
Dan Fouts.
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Kiss my hAbSS!!!
Here’s to you, Gerry! LMAO!!!!
shakes head and says no.
Why don’t you tell me about all the All Pro Defensive players that team had, why don’t you name for me all the All Pro running backs he had as well.
After you have made that list, give me all the Offensive passsing records that he held at the time of his retirement.
Let me guess Troy Aikman your boy?
Edit: I hated the Dolphins, but Marino’s ability as a quarterback are undeniable.
100%
Aikman vs Marino… throws you back a few years, eh?
what a stupid comment. The best players in the NHL, Ovechkin, Stamkos, Cory Perry, Kovalchuk, Sedin sisters — make your list – and it’s long – don’t have cups. It’s a team game, like football is a team game.
You want to bag on tennis players or golfers, go crazy, but don’t insult people who know hockey.
Sedin sisters…ouch, but quite funny.
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Kiss my hAbSS!!!
Zinger…!
it will be tight. There are a few teams still challenging for number 2 pick. Time to bench Cole DD and Max P!
“Like Canadian Hip hop..check us out http://www.groovecontrolmusic.com“
Let the flu bug reign!!!!
…unless there is a hidden gem Timmons has identified not on other scouts radar, if either Galchenyuk, Yakupov or Dumba are chosen I will be a satisfied camper
…Galchenyuk for physical size & skill We desperately lack at centre
…Yakupov for a consistent elite goal-scorer
…Dumba to add for an incredibly dominating, mobile D
…Malcolm Subban is projected for possibly the second round by some, …would grab Him if still on the board, although THAT may create another Price/Halak conundrum down the road
…do We still have Our original second round position Gerald, or was that traded ? …I don’t follow those details, He says red-faced
_________________________________________________________
HIS’ Official Habs’ Fan Theme Song: Morrissey ‘There is a light that never goes out’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjObvIQtsLk&feature=related
…the Montreal Canadiens organization and Our Fans, as a whole need to feel this current cold frigid splash of reality, …this process will, hopefully, give Us a long needed sense of humility, not humiliation …and help to revive and renew Our tattered culture of high hockey ideals, and ultimate success in the near future
…ride the wave, is all We can do as Fans: …Ownership must make the right choices, persevere, and act not talk
Habitant means PASSIONATE HOCKEY
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=423049
Yah we have ours and Nashville’s, next year ours and Calgary’s, I think….
It is an interesting debate on Erik Karlson being up for the Norris. Some people say he is not that great on d and it is supposed to be for the best d man….. He plays 25 to 27 minutes a game and is currently sitting at 75 points as a defensemen and is a plus 18, 5 game winners, over 245 shots….this kid is the real deal and helps teams win games. I think he should win it personally
“Like Canadian Hip hop..check us out http://www.groovecontrolmusic.com“
Did you share the same opinion of Mike Green a couple of years ago?
I’m still on the fence about this year’s awards. I think the Norris should probably go to Zdeno Chara. He’s probably going to finish the season around 50 points and is probably the most complete defenseman in the game.
I maintain that Lundqvist should get the Hart trophy but since they didn’t give it to Thomas last year Hank won’t get near it this season. They set a terrible precedent last year by not giving the MVP to Thomas.
Landeskog or Henrique should get the Calder and I’d be okay with a split.
Lundqvist for Vezina
Trotz for Coach of the year.
Datsyuk for Selke.
he is top 7 in the league in scoring….is playing against tough d assignments…Chara may get to 50 points but in my opinion Karlson to Ottawa this year has been more valuable than Chara. Chara is a good d man but in he can also look like a pylon quite a bit.
I would still put Karlson over Chara this season.
I agree about the vezina, Lundqvist hands down has been the best.
For coach of the year I think that Tortz with the Rangers should also be up there.
Datsyuk for selke could be ok. For the calder it is still pretty tight
“Like Canadian Hip hop..check us out http://www.groovecontrolmusic.com“
I understand the case for him.
I’m curious if you would have voted for Mike Green two years ago however. If you weren’t prepared to give Green your vote then you shouldn’t be prepared to give Karlsson your vote today.
That’s my point.
I answered below….I missed it in the first response.
“Like Canadian Hip hop..check us out http://www.groovecontrolmusic.com“
sorry missed your point on green…the answer should have been yes. Green means a ton to the Caps. It has shown even this year. their record when he is in the line up is significantly better than when he is not. it is much easier to play in the other teams end than your own
“Like Canadian Hip hop..check us out http://www.groovecontrolmusic.com“
Fair enough then. Norris candidates are very subjective. Much more so than any other award.
Not saying I agree with the selection but his offense can’t be ignored. I do think that some people(not you) in the media have been very defensive when his defensive game has been critiqued and have made the argument that he plays defensively with his stick. I think they’re reaching quite a bit.
He deserves consideration and his nomination would have merit. Media and fans don’t need to ignore the weaknesses in his game for a case to be made for him. Shea Weber and Zdeno Chara are slow and don’t pass the puck in a way that elite puck movers do, yet they get consideration, and deservedly.
No need to cover up the shortcomings in his game.
I don’t like Mike Green, but the Capitals winning percentage with Green in the lineup is much higher. His defence is very suspect, but he is the straw that stirs the Ovechkin/Backstrom drink.
What about Hitchcock for Adams Award?
And if the world was fair, Quick for the Vezina!
“There’s genius everywhere, but until they turn pro, it’s like popcorn in the pan. Some pop… some don’t.”
- Jerry Maguire
Fair enough regarding Hitchcock. I do think though that the book is still out on whether Hitchcock is that good or if Payne was that bad.
In my opinion they’ve had the personnel for a deep playoff run for three years now. And with that in mind I probably wouldn’t vote for Hitchcock. But there is certainly a strong case for Hitch.
Hitchcock is Coach of the year, Tom
.
Not that cut and dry Ed. What if Dallas makes the playoffs? Glen Gulutzan should get strong consideration.
How about Tortorella? Unlikely with the talent he has but he still deserves a thought.
Peter Laviolette? His team is among the most dangerous teams heading into the playoffs and he got elite results with a complete roster overhaul.
Kevin Dineen?
This season there are probably close to ten coaches who deserve their own Jack Adams trophy.
There is only one candidate for coach of the year, and he’s coaching our old buddy Jaro.
–
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.
I must agree with you HF, whether the team was setup for it or not, he has been the one to push the buttons and put them where they haven’t been in a long long time.
Agreed. The kid is pretty amazing.
Sorry Tom. Chara IMO isn’t that complete.
It’s easy to put a wall at the blue line and have him block everyone, but he gets out-manoevered fairly often.
Chara isn’t complete? Put personal feelings aside and consider that without him his team is a mess defensively. He contributes positively in every area of the game.
He and Shea Weber would get my vote before Karlsson, Lidstrom probably would be ahead of him on my ballot too.
Karlsson, very much like Mike Green is high risk and high reward.
The other players don’t present much risk, it’s almost always reward.
There is only one category of which Chara is a complete example.
And it isn’t defenceman.
–
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.
Bri, I hate to say this but Chara is the single biggest reason Boston won the CUp last year and have a chance this year. Without him, that team is completely vulnerable. I hate him, but would love to have him on our squad.
I have to disagree. Thomas is number one, Bettman is number two.
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Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.
LOL, okay aside from the Jacobs/Bettman obvious gift, I stil think Chara more important than Thomas. Rask last year also had great numbers. Thomas was unconscious, but Chara helps make that possible. Did you forget Chara’s big save against us in the first round? Not that CHara felt it, given he has no emotion or human feelings.
I agree. Montreal should have put Boston out but couldn’t beat Thomas…same with Tampa.
Chara is a damn good d man but def can be beaten. Thomas when is he is hot is an awesome goalie
“Like Canadian Hip hop..check us out http://www.groovecontrolmusic.com“
He is a complete douche.
Is it just me or are Mayor Régis Labeaume and Alan Eagleson separated at birth?
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How about it NHL? No fighting, just hockey?
http://relentlessineptitude.blogspot.com/
I know! I was thinking about that a while back! Hopefully he’s not as crooked as the Eagle!
And just as Eagleson screwed the NHLPA, so is Régis screwing us, the taxpayers, with his window dressing.
You have to tell them apart by their heights.
In the same theme, Doug Jarvis (the older version) and François Gagnon also look somehow alike.
Nice, good catch.
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How about it NHL? No fighting, just hockey?
http://relentlessineptitude.blogspot.com/
A question for the Hioletartiate.
Leaving out the first line (Cole, DD, Patches) and the obvious (Pleks, Eller, Gionta), which other forwards IN ORDER do you want back next year?
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Listen to the Smart Dog. He knows his poop!
Leblanc
Bourque
White
Palushaj
Geoffrion
Nokelainen
Staubitz
Moen, Leblanc, White and Bourque.
Geoffrion/Palushaj should be in the AHL.
Staubitz, I don’t care for him, sure he fights, but he does not play hockey well.
RC : “Merci beaucoup.”
Who would I like to see back?
White, Leblanc and Moen.
Who will we see back….with no depth?
White, Leblanc, Moen, Bourque, Palushaj, Geoffrion, Saubitz, Noki and yes, even Gomez.
Leblanc, White, Moen, Blunden. Then, Geoffrion and Staubitz. Looks like Bourque didn’t make the cut. Ooops.
Or two more opportunities to get cut to get cut from the WJC team.
Maybe pressure gets to him. Who knows?
Nothing is certain
Who are you referring to?
I’m assuming you’re referring to Dumba. Funny thing here is that you’re putting down my opinion that he’s essentially clone of what Subban was at that age. If you’re going to put down the comparison, you shouldn’t be saying that Subban made the WJHC squad twice with a more difficult field when Dumba hasn’t had the opportunity to duplicate the effort. I don’t believe Subban even got a camp invite at Dumba’s age.
We now have 71 pts and 6 games to play. If we continue playing as we have recently I would predict 7 points from those games: say 3 wins two losses and one OT loss.
So we end with 78 points.
That means TO, Carolina and Anaheim only need three points from 6-7 games to finish above us.
I think we will likely finish 3rd or 4th from the bottom (Minny being the main threat), but could go as low as 5th.
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Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.
The good news is the Habs just tweeted:
“The Habs’ last six games will be spent evaluating their young players and focusing on the future.”
That bodes well for 29th.
Focusing on the future.
A euphemism for tanking.
–
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.
I’ve said for two consecutive years after strong starts from Minnesota that a shrewd GM would trade something to them for a first round pick.
Feeling like Kreskin today.
Carolina is playing well now under Muller and Toronto plays well when their season is over. I would agree with you in saying the Wild are the main threat for the #2 overall selection. And maybe Edmonton with their inconsistent defensive play and goaltending.
fingers crossed!
“Like Canadian Hip hop..check us out http://www.groovecontrolmusic.com“
One possible fly in the ointment: Cunneyworth has had a pretty good stretch the last couple of weeks. If he can put together another 4 or 5 wins, he’ll be much more likely to get another head coaching job (or as a long shot stay on here).
The players may be playing for pride (only) but Cunneyworth’s playing for his future and has been doing something right. (Or wrong from the perspective of our coming draft pick.)
————————————-
Listen to the Smart Dog. He knows his poop!
Make no mistake. That nice stretch for Cunneyworth has coincided with Markov’s return.
in his defense it is hard to make a champion out of crap. the depth and current roster have more to do with where we are than cunny
“Like Canadian Hip hop..check us out http://www.groovecontrolmusic.com“
I don’t think anyone had visions of Cunneyworth leading this team to the playoffs. In fairness, he was cut off at the knees and made a lame duck coach. However, he has mismanaged a good portion of the player personnel and Randy Ladouceur shouldn’t be allowed in the building one minute after 10pm on April 7th.
Their coaching and management leaves a lot to be desired. They would be very well suited for junior hockey….maybe.
The holly-er than thou crowd and their play-off predictions for next year sound like this years forecast for a finials appearance by the same group,which make’s me laugh! It’s so HOOD of them when they gang up on realist and end up being sooo wrong bout everything hockey! But hey,I unlike them have respect for others and feel sorry for a group of Holly people who can’t see over there belt buckles and if they could would find such lil givens,lol.The last game vs Philly was an undeniable dose of reality yet these braindead ‘s think there helping the Habs with their fiction and they’re insults too others…..
Are you aware of the definition of the word “irony,” sir?
———————–
GO HABS GO! 2011-12 is probably not our year!
“Scott Gomez is an elite NHL player” – VancouverHab
Chat with me on Twitter @TheRealRGM81
If you’re going to throw a generalized slam out to all who have an opinion, the least you could do is spell it out properly.
He’s moved on to glue…
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Kiss my hAbSS!!!
Clone of Subban?
Subban made a much stronger WJC team.
Dumba was the first cut?
And Dumba will have two more opportunities to make the WJHC team and play the same amount of tournaments than Subban did.
Just had a quick look at the 2006 draft… Anaheim! Yikes!
Only one player, Beleskey, played in the NHL!
What a fail.
Actually, TB weren’t much better…
—Hope Springs Eternal—
for 24 Cups:
I got a chance to watch Sarnia play last night.
Galchenyuk played the whole game on LEFT WING.
Yep and Yakupov and Grigorenko are both left handed.
Forsberg talk for a team drafting in the top 5 is nonsense. If Timmins selects him I’ll go off of the deep end Ed.
all three are left handed.
Yakupov looks very comfortable on the right side, classic Russian left handed shot playing right wing.
Galchenyuk looks real good.
big, strong, excellent skater, very comfortable with the puck, scored on his first shift by going to the net without the puck and using a quick release once the pass came from behind the net.
Yakupov is so smooth, so fast, such a great puck handler, lightning fast hands;
Yakupov is the best junior I have seen this year.
I believe he(Yakupov) is the most skilled player entering the draft since Stamkos.
Right now I estimate we have a 1 in 6 to 1 in 7 chance of getting him.
–
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.
Yeah jumping ahead of Columbus is very unlikely to happen. Having said that, if somebody can screw up a 1st overall pick it’s Scott Howson.
There’s hope. But I’d be more than comfortable settling for Grigorenko or Galchenyuk. Anything else is a fail in my mind.
yes – exactly – Yakupov has that Stamkos explosiveness as well.
How was he?
–
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.
Until last saturday, I was hoping (against all hope) that somehow we’d pull it off and find a way to reach 8th in the division.
Yeah, I know, distorted dreams…
Anyhow, as François Gagnon points out, now that the team wakes up in 29th spot this morning, and has the potential for the 1st overall lottery draft pick, will they do their homework or choose as they did the last time they had no. 1 pick (1980) when they skipped over Denis Savard and picked Wickenheiser?
Only time will tell who will be the best player in the draft this year, I trust Timmins, hopefully the higher ups do too.
RC : “Merci beaucoup.”
So did we find out who he was scouting in Qc. city last night?
I was not even aware he was scouting in the Quebec City last night…
RC : “Merci beaucoup.”
You mean when they picked the consensus #1 prospect in the world? The one who led the WHL in scoring, carried his team to the Memorial Cup, and was named CHL player of the year?
Please… ANY team would have taken Wickenheiser first overall that year.
It just goes to show, you never know.
In this morning’s Gazette, Boone’s perfect example was when they picked David Fisher in 2006, when Philly picked Giroux with their 22nd pick. Giroux was a little guy, at 5’10″, 160 lbs soaking wet. Apparently, Mtl were confident he would still be there in the second round, when they planned on picking him.
It certainly didn’t work out the way they planned.
That was at a time when there was almost an embargo on Quebec Junior players. His production and skill spoke for itself and this was post-lockout. Almost everyone who passed on Giroux was blind.
But, but, he wasn’t a Francophone!!
Therein lies the big mistake.
———————————————————————-
“You cannot petition the lord with prayer!” – James Douglas Morrison
The Soft Parade
Wickenheiser was picked because he was big. That was the logic then and its the logic now.
–
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.
Wasn’t Wickenheiser the consensus #1? The draft isn’t an exact science, especially 30 years ago.
Denis Savard was a local hero. The Canadiens actually planned ahead and engineered to get that first round pick specifically to pick him.
Everyone in QC expected him to be the pick.
Then they went with Wickenheiser supposedly because of his size. I can tell you there was great consternation that day.
Interestingly, it recapitulated an earlier and perhaps bigger blunder when the Habs once again passed up a highly touted Quebecer to pick Mark Napier instead.
I’ll give you one guess as to who the Quebecer they passed up was.
–
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.
Mike Bossy?
(I had to look up the 77 draft)
Yes.
Imagine if Bossy and Savard had spent their entire careers with the Habs.
And this isn’t the usual draft revisionism.
Our chief QC scout at that time was one Claude Ruel who knew a bit about hockey and he pushed very hard for both players. He desperately wanted them to pick Bossy and Savard but he was over-ruled.
–
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.
Sweet indeed.
The dynasty would have continued through the 80s.
Did Ruel not resign as a result of the two being overlooked?
Bossy, anyhow…
I guess he had had his fill by then.
And he was replaced by Bob Berry. Wow, now that’s impressive!
lost by 2 minutes
Mike Bossy
I remember attending a ceremony honoring Mike Bossy and Gerry Datillio (CFL) at the old Chomedey Stadium.
Bossy was just drafted by the Islanders.
It was said of him that he was “too soft”. that’s why he went only 15th in the 1st round
1st year in the NHL, 53 goals, and then went on to score at least 50 in his first 9 NHL seasons – a record that will never be broken.
his last season, with his back inflamed, he scored 38 in 63 games and then retired.
573 goals in only 752 NHL games -
I was looking at an old Gazette on line from 1980, and the word was the Habs needed that “big centre” at that time. Sounds familiar?!?!?
Even worse, Winnipeg took Dave Babych 2nd overall, and Savard went to Chicago 3rd.
Of course in 1977 the Habs took Napier 10th overall and Mike Bossy went 15th to NYI. I believe there was a lot of concern by 14 teams about Mike’s “defensive abilities”. But who cares about defense when you score 50+ goals every season!
Frick, you HAD to bring that up.
This year they’ll pick Hayley Wickenheiser, and she’d be better than Gomez.
Sorry Brad… I was just thinking out loud.
Same Dumba who couldn’t make the 2012 WJC team?
Why it appears he’s overhyped.
Not overhyped. Just an incomplete player. Almost a clone of PK Subban at that age.
The only thing I’ve seen of Dumba was YouTube video of hits, about half of which were dangerous hits that would be suspendable in the NHL.
Obviously not enough ofba sample to go on, but if that’s the main thing he brings, I don’t get the hype.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins didn’t make the team as a 17 year old either. Guess he was overhyped as well.
The best part about this season is the Habs will draft top 5 AND top 35. And then draft in the 2nd round again with Nashville’s pick.
It’s like 2 first rounders and then a 2nd.
I just wanna see where this draft roulette wheel ends up now.
Dammit.
This isn’t the best draft to have a high second round pick.
Don’t be surprised if the Habs make a move to get an additional first round pick next year or move back into the first round for an extra pick this year.
This draft is not deep at all. You won’t see any Tomas Jurco’s or Karill Kabanov’s getting drafted late in this draft.
The only player considered to have elite talent who may fall quite a bit is Daniel Zharkov.
Reports stating that the 2012 draft is not deep refers to the top 15, as there is not much difference between picks 4-15.. The draft as a whole is actually pretty good.
I’m not sure where you saw that but that’s a complete joke.
After the top 10 of this draft the prospect talent falls off of a cliff. 4 through 15 doesn’t present much difference?
So not much difference between Radek Faksa and Colton Sissons?
Haha. Okie Dokie.
Look at the 2005 draft.
We picked Brother Sergei at 200, and D’Ags at 190.
There’s depth in every draft.
—Hope Springs Eternal—
There’s depth in every draft but the talent pool isn’t deep in every draft. I believe very firmly this is one of those drafts where it’s great to have a high first round pick but not so great to be drafting anywhere at all in the second and third rounds.
Many players bloom later- the trick is to recognize them and get them ready. Scouts saying the draft isn’t deep can’t see into the future. If Yakupov is a bust will they admit they were wrong or just say that compared to the other kids he looked good?
Until they’re playing in the NHL as a regular, we all really have no idea. All we can do is hope for the best.
Of course they develop later by majority but this draft specifically won’t have better than a handful of intriguing, immensely talented players available in the late rounds or falling dramatically for a number of reasons.
This draft’s first round will be dominated by defenseman which could leave some nice projects there in the second round but you won’t be seeing, as I said above players like Tomas Jurco going in the 2nd round or Karill Kabanov going in the middle rounds.
The one very interesting player to me is Slater Koekkek. He was injured this season and didn’t get a great opportunity to showcase his development so he’s slipped. He would have been in Ryan Murray’s class with a full season.
Koekkek may be exactly the kind of player the Habs can “pull out of the hat” on Draft Day. The “unheralded” ones are drafted lower and don’t get all the big bonuses. Or, they’re not drafted at all, a la Gorges and Desharnais.
Koekkek is still likely to be taken in the first round however. If an opportunity presented itself for the team to get back into the first round with a late pick, they should and probably will strongly explore doing it if he’s available.
Holy Moses.
Who are the 595 sad-sacks that don’t think the Habs will make the playoffs next year?
I think the most challenging thing about being a Habs fan this season isn’t sticking with them through a bad season, but trying to stomach other Habs ‘fans’. It’s mind-boggling.
I was talking with a Flamer buddy of mine, and we were talking about ‘fans’, and he was saying “there’s this one guy on the Flames board that is constantly negative about the team.” To which I enviously said: “ONE?!?”
—Hope Springs Eternal—
Yeah, but flames board has what… about 3-4 users? Proportionally it’s probably about the same.
Heh heh.
—Hope Springs Eternal—
If I were a Flames fan I would be borderline depressed. They have an old roster that doesn’t produce anything remotely dangerous for opponents at the critical times during the season and have only two prospects presenting long term upside in their organization.
Darryl Sutter ran that organization into the ground.
Yeah, for sure.
But they still stay positive about it, fromt the sound of things.
—Hope Springs Eternal—
No they don’t. They call the sports talk radio here with all their complaints instead of going on-line.
Ha! I stand corrected.
I would still rather be there.
I don’t listen to sports talk radio.
—Hope Springs Eternal—
Did you ask your buddy when this “fan” moved from Montreal to Calgary?
Agreed. It’s ridiculous. I’ll be cheering louder than anyone tonight. Can’t get my head around “fans” as you put them actually hoping our beloved team will lose.
It’s fairweather fandom, chock full of them ’round these parts.
_____________________________
“Access Forbidden” gettin’ ya down?
Hold down Shift while clicking refresh.
at least the flames have the “flamesgirls”
I’m sure if we had “Habitantes”, people here would be whining about that too.
—Hope Springs Eternal—
Habitantes sounds alot less appealing than Flamesgirls, somehow.
They should take the cheerleaders from the Molson Zone and put them where everyone can enjoy them, and they won’t block my view of the game…
RC : “Merci beaucoup.”
Yeah. It’s the ‘tante’ thing.
Hmm. “Habpitounes?”
—Hope Springs Eternal—
Could be sponsored from Chez Parée.
RC : “Merci beaucoup.”
The Deshabilles?
The Habmoiselles?
The Habettes?
Full Breezer 4 Life
The same who’ll lay out the parade route when the team wins 4-5 in a row.
This one guy on the Flames board that is constantly negative about the team … does he have a Sacha Baron-Cohen character as his avatar?
–
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.
Save Moses for next week, will ya? (Bad Ten Commandments joke)
This isn’t a Hab fans site, btw. It was intended as a place to bitch and moan about them and many take advantage of that.
It’s really a “How all the other teams are better than the Habs” site.
Glad I could straighten that out for you.
Anybody figure the Habs will finish 26th and the Leafs will lotto-jump them a spot giving them #6 overall which they will trade down for the 13th and 15th just to end all this guessing? Or will they fire Gauthier first?
First at #2 are the Senators. They have graduated no top six forwards in recent history and have only four forward prospects considered to be top six material with only one of them having an above average likelihood of realizing that potential. They have no defensemen left in the prospect pipeline with top 4 potential and only one goalie who they believe could become a starter and has an average likelihood or making that jump. They have graduated Karlsson and Cowen but again have nothing left in their prospect pipeline at that position.
Nashville essentially fits the same bill. They have graduated no top six forwards and have only two in the pipeline with that potential and only one having an average change of realizing it. They have two defenseman with above average likelihood of reaching top 4 defenseman status. No goaltending.
Toronto surprise surprise is ranked terribly higher than they should be. They’ve graduated one top four defenseman to the big club and have one in the system capable of getting there. Two top six forwards and only one(Kadri) having an above average chance at making it to that status.
Meanwhile some glaringly terrible rankings appear at the bottom. The Capitals have graduated Carlsson, Alzner, Perreault, Johansson and Neuvirth with Orlov, Galiev, Kuznetsov, Eakin and Holtby all in the system.
The Habs have graduated Pacioretty, Desharnais, Emelin, Eller and have Tinordi, Bealieu, Ellis, Leblanc, Gallagher and Kristo still in the pipeline.
Perhaps the most egregious is Philadelphia. They have graduated Bobrovsky, Couturier, Read, Gustafsson and have Wellwood, Schenn, Cousins and Akeson left in their pipeline. This is the perfect blend of high end skill and depth. Lacking only one or two bodies on defense.
Investigate for yourselves folks.
Canadiens have missed the playoffs 7 out of the last 17 years. Investigate that. Crowing about the “goalie of the future” and other “prospects” rings hollow.
“1993 was a long time ago.”
What exactly does that have to do with a post about a source for prospect information being biased and skewed in favour of the Ontario NHL franchises?
Forget I asked. And please don’t answer.
That’s a pretty sad manipulation of statistics, DT.
You could also say that the Canadiens have missed the playoffs only 7 times in the last 40 years.
But you stopped counting when it stopped suiting your pathetically negatively-skewed agenda.
What about only 2 missed in the last 9 years? Hm?
—Hope Springs Eternal—
This post is designed to illustrate how terribly inaccurate and biased prospect evaluations can be. Hockeysfuture.com, perhaps the most trusted source by media and fans alike for organization and prospect information has the following rankings by organization.
1. Florida Panthers
2. Ottawa Senators
3. New York Islanders
4. Edmonton Oilers
5. Los Angeles Kings
6. St. Louis Blues
7. Nashville Predators
8. Toronto Maple Leafs
9. Anaheim Ducks
10. Chicago Blackhawks
11. Columbus Blue Jackets
12. Carolina Hurricanes
13. New York Rangers
14. Buffalo Sabres
15. Detroit Red Wings
16. Boston Bruins
17. Minnesota Wild
18. New Jersey Devils
19. Colorado Avalanche
20. Phoenix Coyotes
21. Pittsburgh Penguins
22. Dallas Stars
23. Philadelphia Flyers
24. Montreal Canadiens
25. Tampa Bay Lightning
26. Calgary Flames
27. Washington Capitals
28. Winnipeg Jets
29. Vancouver Canucks
30. San Jose Sharks
These rankings are done by graduated players(not considered to be prospects anymore), organizational depth and elite prospects as well as prospect depth.
Above I will post how badly skewed these rankings are and how terribly biased they are.
30.
Tom, what criteria were they using for their ranking? What are they ranking?
They’re ranking each organization based on professional talent and depth and prospect pipeline talent and depth.
For example, since the Leafs have almost no high end talent in their prospect pipeline they should have a large amount of depth to be ranked as high as they are, yet they don’t have that depth.
It’s a complete farce.
Oh OK, I misread.
I thought you were saying that it was the prospects and previous players who were ranking the teams.
You’re right….distorted and farcical!
What do your girlfriend and a Habs fan have in common?
They both keep asking: “Is it over yet?”
It might be long, but at least they’re both enjoying it.
Bob McKenzie’s mid-season draft report.
Over the years, his listings have been the most accurate.
http://www.tsn.ca/draftcentre/feature/?id=58415
Scott Cullen’s mock drafts if you fancy a read(and I’m not certain he does them anymore) have been remarkably accurate.
It looks as though we can hardly miss getting a very good forward prospect although for their own reasons both Grigorenko and Galchenyuk do cause certain doubts.
I think someone posted some negatives about Forsberg’s lack of scoring, but the report is positive, and if he’s really just 17 and playing with men …
Men in the farm league of the Swedish Elite league.
Grigorenko and Galchenyuk have the playoffs to shake off any questions surrounding them. So far, they look good.
While I don’t feel that Forsberg is an elite prospect like other mentioned. He is playing in the Swedish Elite League, not the junior league.
In addition, you mentioned we have no physical defense prospects other than Tinordi. But we do have Beaulieu, Ellis, Pateryn and Dietz.
Forsberg has played 6 games in the Elitserien (Swedish Elite League). He has played 43 games in Allsvenskan (The Second tier Swedish league, kind of like the AHL of Sweden).
We do have a lot of defense, and I think we should and will draft a forward. But I wouldn’t be surprised, and I don’t think it would be a bad pick if we took a dman.
I think there is another point here that we are all missing. The Habs will also be selecting in the 33-36 range with their 2nd round pick. Lots of solid players are chosen in that part of the entry draft. Last year, prospects such as Rattie, Jurco, Glendening, Jenner and Saad were all available after being given some consideration as late 1st round picks.
Like Martin Frk
If the Canadiens are picking 3rd or 4th I wouldn’t be surprised if Timmins went for Dumba.
If he takes a defenseman at #4 or better he had better hire a bodyguard.
His philosophy has always been Best Player Available, and Dumba sounds really attractive. How awesome would it be to have another PK Subban but even more offensively gifted?
I’d rather Dumba over a player like Galchenyuk who hasn’t played all year long because of knee surgery.
This “blame Bourque” thing is sillier than the booing of Brisebois. Bourque hasn’t deserved to be dressed for a while, it’s strictly down to Gauthier, Gainey, Molson and yes Cunneyworth.
If he’s got issues that keep him from playing up to his potential the CH and he have to sort them out – or sit him.
I don’t know where the line “he was supposed to be rough and tough” came from but it’s been used to death by Moron-aro and Milt Melchnick in their attempts to embarrass the incompetent Gauthier team.
Bourque’s been a floater, disinterested and received too much ice time yes. Whose fault is that? The fish is rotten from the head.
“1993 was a long time ago.”
What do you bet Bourque is back playing in Alberta after the draft?
———————————————————————-
What does the Commissioner of the NHL do?
In short, a league commissioner is the action man for the Board of Governors.
They tell him what they want done and he works to make it happen through his subordinates while making sure that individual franchises play by the rules.
******** Translated if you haven’t won the Stanley Cup in 40 years your NHL team is becoming irrelevant in a sports mad city long behind MLB, NFL and NBA teams, you just tell the commissioner(who you gave a new contract at 7 plus million per) to make it happen and the rules are bent sufficiently to action the command.
I hope so but who would want him? Effectively this trade means Cammalleri was given away for very little in return, maybe nothing. That’s not Bourque’s fault, that’s GaineyGauthierMolson at their best.
“1993 was a long time ago.”
Anybody know what Plekanec’s all time percentage in winning face-offs is? And how would it compare to others in the same salary bracket that he’s in?
49.6% this season
50% last season
49.% in 2009/10
50.6 in 2008/09 Saku was taking more then I think.
49.4 in 2007/08
48.3 in 2006/07
50.3 in 2005/06
45.4 in 2003/04
I won’t check their history, but for this season Patrice Bergeron and John Tavares have all been more successfull while taking a similar amount of draw, although all 3 took less than Plekanec, and they have a similar cap hit.
Only Spezza and Erik Staal took more draws than Plekanec.
Pleks has won the most amount of PK draws in the league.
RC : “Merci beaucoup.”
If they had faceoff stats in meaningfull situations(pp,pk,key faceoffs in your zone or offensive zone)…would be a much better indicator
They have those, but it’s a pain to make a worthwhile list out of them, I’m no stastician.
Here : http://www.nhl.com/ice/playerstats.htm?fetchKey=20122ALLCACALL&sort=shortHandedFaceOffsLost&viewName=faceOffPercentage
DD is the second best center in the league for PP faceoffs won, 5th in loss.
And while Pleks lead the league in PK faceoffs won, he also leads in PK faceoffs loss.
RC : “Merci beaucoup.”
Statistics are merely a matter of opinion.
What is this, the Expos chat room?
“No more Russian flakes.” Stick to bran. (Unfortunate double entendre.)
Looks like we will get a very good player in the draft but the odds are that player will not be in the habs lineup next year…chances are non of our prospects will make the team next year or be significant in contributing……getting an impact player thru ufa/trade slim…that leaves us with the present roster…if everything goes really well …limited injuries…our top line repeats their career years and plecks,gion,markov improve and d improves does anyone think that this roster is any better than around 14th in the league?…
Hmm…you are probably right…the only thing new will probably be a coach.
So with that in mind would it be better to trade anyone over 25 that is tradable,, to anyone in the top 10 draft this year. Maybe get 3 of the top 10 drafts.WE lose 3 vets like Pleks or Georges. We get Grigorenko, Faksa, Rienhart or Dumba. Take our chances in 3 or 4 years instead of picking a top 15 pick for the next few years. They all go to Hamilton together and come up together.
Don’t think the current young players will like that at all. And by that, I mean Pacs, Eller, Subban and Carey. They don’t want to be merely competitive in 3-4 years. They want to be competitive next season. If the organization would essentially plan to trade the few good vets on the team, I can see the Habs’ young core leaving too, which would be utterly disastrous.
I am glad that the Habs have 3 good centers in Plekanec, DD and Eller.
All 3 of them have faults, and none of them are the mythical #1a big center of legends, but together they form a solid young core of centers for the Habs.
RC : “Merci beaucoup.”
What were the details of why the Nordiques folded?
I know Winnipeg was always horrible, so it made sense that they went under. But as far as I remember, the Noriques were always at least as good as Toronto, usually better. So why did Quebec lose the team?
For the same reason it will lose the next one. Market share.
Quebec government refused to fund a new arena.
The Canadian dollar was worth $0.70 or so.
–
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.
Closer to .60
“1993 was a long time ago.”
Low Canadian dollar. No Quebec-based businessmen interested in keeping the franchise afloat. Huge mistake.
Pierre Page on Hockey Central at noon cited the troubled economy of the time.
NorthTOHab
Very good article about concusssions. I haven’t heard it posited but I wonder if Scott Gomez’s concussion didn’t really occur 4 years ago, and this latest incident merely exacerbate it. I just hope they don’t try to rush him back. We’ve seen what can happen with other similarly paid stars like Sydney Crosby.
LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL
OMG, this is quote-worthy!
“There’s genius everywhere, but until they turn pro, it’s like popcorn in the pan. Some pop… some don’t.”
- Jerry Maguire
I think it’s safe to say they will take great care with Gomez before he is assigned to the Vaudreuil Oldtimers league.
“1993 was a long time ago.”
Filip Forsberg is our man!
There are too many questions surrounding Grigorenko, and Columbus is not passing on Nail.
Plekanec and Subban don’t deserve the flack they get from us. There were not even first round picks.
Superstars are drafted in the top 3, like Forsberg! He will be our biggest star since Guy Lafleur! McKenzie called him the top prospect to come out of Sweden since Sundin and the most physically ready to step-into the NHL.
On a side note, next year’s 1st overall pick (Nathan McKinnon) is said to be in the same league as Crosby. If it were possible to get him, our grand-kids would be talking about him.
j.p. murray
Haha. Forsberg is our man?
More questions surrounding Grigorenko?
Let me get this straight. A player who is playing in Canada, for a high profile junior team, under a former professional coach, almost unanimously seen as a top 2 selection, whose games are televised has more questions surrounding him than a player playing overseas, being scouted by men who have a lot to gain by promoting him over here where there’s a very exclusive group of people who can actually see tape of his play?
Yep, makes sense to me.
>being scouted by men who have a lot to gain by promoting him over here
Like Timmins?
Timmins didn’t run back to Canada and shout how great Forsberg is from the rooftops.
There are teams selecting in the 4-10 area who have a lot to gain if Forsberg is drafted in the top 3.
I haven’t heard him shout about Grigorenko either.
Timmis doesn’t shout. He keeps it cool, man. He’s one cool dude.
He gains nothing by promoting Grigorenko. This is exactly the point. Remember when Victor Hedman and Matt Duchesne were being touted as better than John Tavares? There was a reason for that. Teams in lower draft positions use the media to promote players in hopes that their targeted players fall to them.
He has nothing to gain by promoting either one of them. sheesh.
So, you’re saying Timmins would have run back to Canada shouting from rooftops if he liked Forsberg? what up with dat?
I’m not referring to Timmins.
What NHL team more than any controls the content of TSN? CBC?
What team is likely to draft in the 5-10 range?
What team has the most to gain by having elite players fall to that range?
Hmmm……..
>I’m not referring to Timmins.
sorry, i misinterpreted:
“Timmins didn’t run back to Canada and shout how great Forsberg is from the rooftops.”
Right. Timmins is not one of the scouts coming back and touting players with an agenda in mind.
Thank you.
Forsberg has been considered the most NHL ready of the top 10. He is also a LW, an area where the Habs are very weak depth-wise.
All of Galchenyuk, Grigorenko and Yakupov can play the left wing.
NHL ready is a double edged sword.
Would you rather have Huberdeau or Landeskog?
Who considers him that? He is putting up poor stats in the minor league Swedish league. He had a terrible world jrs and is like 180 lbs. Nothing says he should be a top 3 pick, or a superstar.
I agree. I am only reporting what I have read. I have always been in favour of Grigorenko, even over Yakupov.
Good post. I agree with alot of it.
Pleks will be fine. I don’t there’s another player of his calibre in the NHL that goes through the daily line mate uncertainty that he does. One thing is certain for him, if not his linemates, and that is that he will be relied on in every critical situation to get the Habs where they think they need to go, game after game.
Subban is a kid. There is a list as long as your arm of kids that MTL gave up on too soon and went on to have allstar careers, ie Ribero, Scheider, Desjardans, Leclair, Chelios, and more.
The Habs could end up with the #1 pick (14% chance) but if Forsberg is the best otherwise, great. Faksa was highly touted as well. What happened there?
I’m in Halifax and have had the opportunity to watch Nathan McKinnon on occasion. I don’t think he can be mentioned in the same breath as Crosby yet, although many are doing it. He is not of the same pedigree as Crosby. His play is not at the levle
Crosby’s was in junior. That said, I believe he will be a star and there is a huge upside to his career….
******************************************
“It just goes to show how difficult predictions are, especially ones made about the future.”
RGM
***Habs Forever***
98.5 FM report that Coyotes players have been told to learn French as they are on their way to Quebec for the 2012-13 season. It would be great.
I am sure Shane Doan is excited! just kidding around….
Hehe, I was thinking the same
Doan’s first word: merde.
Not!
NorthTOHab
The players in MTL are not learning french, why should the guys going to Qc learn it?
RC : “Merci beaucoup.”
Actually Peter Stastny learned French when he was a ‘Dique.
This is relevant because it helped him as a rep to the EU parliament for Slovakia.
–
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.
Do you really think the Yote’s management told their players to learn french? A few players learning it on their own I can accept, but it would not be a team-wide directive.
RC : “Merci beaucoup.”
I don’t.
–
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.
QC won’t have an arena till 2015, doubt PHX lasts that long.
They modernized the Pepsi up to NHL standard last summer, IIRC.
It could do while the other arena is constructed.
RC : “Merci beaucoup.”
Wasn’t aware of that, makes things more compelling.
There might be some players who do not even speak English yet.
What a crock!
———————————————————————-
What does the Commissioner of the NHL do?
In short, a league commissioner is the action man for the Board of Governors.
They tell him what they want done and he works to make it happen through his subordinates while making sure that individual franchises play by the rules.
******** Translated if you haven’t won the Stanley Cup in 40 years your NHL team is becoming irrelevant in a sports mad city long behind MLB, NFL and NBA teams, you just tell the commissioner(who you gave a new contract at 7 plus million per) to make it happen and the rules are bent sufficiently to action the command.
Am I the only one who doesn’t think Bourque-Plekanec-Gionta will be an effective line next year?
Plekanec and Gionta are too similar. Small, shifty, quick feet, quick hands, hard working. But more importantly they score goals in a similar fashion, on the rush. Both players are shooters, not playmakers. Neither can sustain an effective forecheck once the opposing team has settled into their defensive roles.
One of the things that has made the DD line good this year is the players have complimentary skillsets. Cole is a workhorse and powerful skater, Pacioretty is a quick shot, DD is a gifted playmaker and passer.
I see no other way to have an effective second line next year than picking up a free agent to complement Plekanec. This means cutting Gomez from the lineup. Gionta may be better suited to playing with Eller, he can help him raise his game and show him how to be effective north-south player.
Lastly I liked Leblanc this year. He’s looked better to me than Pacioretty did in his first callup in 09. He’s got a lot of potential, but is not yet ready for big minutes in the big league. He needs to center Gallagher on the first line in Hamilton next year and prove he can dominate in the AHL before he gets called up again. No reasons to think he will not. If both players click we will have another apri like DD/Pacioretty for the habs in a year or two.
Next year I’d see
Pacioretty-DD-Cole
Bourque-Plekanec-Parenteau/Parise/1st rounder
Moen-Eller-Gionta
Darche-White-Staubitz
Agreed re: Gio, but I think Pleks is more versitile than you give him credit for.
I like:
Cole-Pleks-Gio (fast, opportunistic, good shut down against top match ups)
Patches-DD-UFA winger (Parenteau?) (scoring line, softer match ups)
Leblanc-Eller-Bourque (secondary scoring line)
Moen-UFA C (tough vet)-White (shutdown line)
Darche, Geoffrion, Gallagher
I doubt Staubitz will be back.
If we don’t land in 2nd draft spot, we will not get to draft Greg.
Talking to Edm fans, yes the GM said he would talk trade of that 2nd pick if they land there. But it would have to be a stud dman and a top 10 pick in return to land that pick. So Toronto fans who think they can trade Franson or Gunnarson are dreaming. If Edm doesn’t get that dman they want, they will stick with the 2 pick and they will go for Greg. They need a BIG centre too. Their awesome high picks of the last few years are all on the small side.
So we better end in 2nd if we want that centre. As for Nail, it may be easier to get that 1st pick then Edm 2nd pick. We have no Dman to offer Edm, but I am sure we can package something to swap that 1st for 3rd or 4th spot (if we end in those spots).
Best thing simply is for us to finish with that 2nd pick…and then get the player we want or swap for nothing with Columus for Nail. WOW what a thought. Man its so close tho, I just hope we don’t end up with #4-6!!!
If the Oilers have the #2 overall pick and don’t trade it. I guarantee you that they will select Ryan Murray.
GUARANTEED.
And as for us not having any defensemen to offer to Edmonton to move up one or two picks?
We have Jared Tinordi, Nathan Beaulieu, Morgan Ellis in addition to the long term players already on the roster in Josh Gorges, PK Subban and Alexei Emelin.
Other nice prospects on defense that we have in the system include Mac Bennett, Greg Pateryn and Darren Dietz.
I realize this article is a week old…
The more I think about it, the more I feel this has to be the guy we take. Forsberg being a solid consolation prize.
http://www.tsn.ca/draftcentre/story/?id=390893
I like him, don’t buy the “no-heart” nonsense. He makes the game look easy, two very different things.
Malkin doesn’t often look like he has heart when he plays. And those two look almost exactly alike when they play.
Ali – I would hope to hell that the Habs would have tons of scouts and contacts checking this kid out. He plays in their backyard for Christ sake.
Tom’s point about the Malkinesque nature of Grigorenko is the key consideration. How many chances do we ever get?
If this team takes Forsberg they had better find some absolute gems in the later rounds.
If this team passes on any of Yakupov, Galchenyuk, Grigorenko, Faksa, or even Ryan Murray in favour of Filip Forsberg. It’s going to look very, very bad in a few years.
On nhl.com, 2 mock drafts done by pro scouts have Forsberg going in the top 5:
Western scout:
“He has the high-end offensive capabilities to be a difference maker.”
Eastern scout:
“The Swedish power winger should be a strong complement to John Tavares.”
Do you know something they don’t?
I know that Yakupov, Grigorenko and Galchenyuk have far and away more offensive talent than Filip Forsberg. I know that these players are elite, more than difference makers. The three players mentioned above are all players that you build a team around, not complimentary players like Forsberg.
I also know of a goaltender who should be selected in the top 5 of the coming draft who won’t be because there has been a run on goalies in recent years.
Yakupov and Grigorenko, sure.
Galchenyuk, maybe, but there’s injury concerns.
Faksa??
Let’s keep in mind that these are the predictions of PRO scouts here, not mine.
Tom – The term consolation means that guys like Yakupov and Grigorenko are already gone. I’m not picking Galchenyuk until he shows he can still play. That should happen in this year’s playoffs.
Forsberg is much younger than the other guys and is playing in an adult league which makes his stats look puney. He’s a LW which is something we need badly. I can certainly live with Faska but right now the safer pick is Forsberg. If we draft in the top five, I have no interest in a Dman. We need to land one of the top five forwards. Right now that’s the prime directive.
We’re a lock to pick in the top eight so now it’s just a waiting game until our final spot is determined.
The D-men are really good. I would rather have one of them than Forsberg. We only have one physical defenseman prospect in Tinnordi. Wouldn’t be surprised if we took Trouba or Reinhart. Murray may be the second best player in the draft.
Always take the big center,if you have the chance.
NorthTOHab
Hey everyone!
I think it’s extremely foolish to dump on Plekanec and say that he’s had a bad season.
He was the only player who was playing anything close to NHL hockey in the beginning of the season, and if you think back (I know, memory isn’t the strong point of HI/O posters) Plekanec was playing on the PP, the PK, and first-line minutes plus wherever else JM decided to put him.
He played way too much under way too many circumstances for a forward, and burnt out. I remember seeing him slide into the boards and get up gingerly at one point, and thinking “oh God, no… without him, we’re completely doomed.”
Anybody else notice that since Cunny came in, Plekanec saw significantly less ice-time, and we started losing games like crazy? Anybody?
No, it’s much easier to sit around pointing fingers and calling out players who have been great to excellent with us. Oh, and don’t forget to mention, while you’ve got that finger out, how the Habs get rid of their talented players that they spent time on developing.
There is not one team in the NHL that would pass up on Plekanec. Get a clue, folks.
—Hope Springs Eternal—
Who said get rid of Plekanec?
There are two sides to the coin you’re flipping Matty. He wasn’t setting the World on fire to start the season like you’re suggesting first of all. Second, I’d like to know why analysis of Plekanec’s game is off limits? Every other player on this team gets critiqued and nobody takes issue with it. The second Plekanec’s performance is called into question there’s a laundry list of people who run to his defense with the comment that he plays in all situations and gets a lot of minutes.
Well guess what. There are around fifty forwards in the NHL in the same boat. Maybe the media microscope in Montreal magnifies him and the smaller markets don’t bring to light the others, but the bottom line is this. He’s paid very well to play in those situations, and quite frankly, it isn’t him making these excuses publicly, it’s you and those who share that opinion.
Where does it say that a player who plays in all situations is given a free pass to take half nights off and that they’re beyond criticism?
I didn’t see anyone say get rid of him. I’m disappointed in his play, I explained why and feel that my disappointment in him is justified considering the circumstances. I’m also disappointed in Chris Campoli, Rene Bourque, Scott Gomez, Andrei Kostitsyn, Randy Cunneyworth, Randy Ladouceur, Pierre Gauthier, Yannick Weber, Geoff Molson and Bob Gainey.
.
I think Plekanec is the ONLY player on this team who misses Jaques Martin.
Hmmm, does he also miss being on the point during PP…?
Darche.
I am starting wonder if the Habs should bring Moen back. If we keep White around and Staubitz maybe we need to bring in someone else. I like Moen and he is versatile but since the team is rebuilding maybe that money can be spent on goals…
We seem to have a ton of bottom 6 players. I would do the following:
Cole-DD-Max
(someone new)-Pleks-Gionta
Bourque-Eller-LL
Staubitz-(face off guy)-White
Give Geoffrion a shot on the 3rd line for a year. (Trevor Timmins would approve)
Next year bring in Clowe or Hartnell.
Clowe or Hartnell for the 3rd line?
No way Philly lets Hartnell walk. He is playing amazing this year. Would love to have him on my team.
Clowe is having an off year but I still don’t see them letting him go either.
“Like Canadian Hip hop..check us out http://www.groovecontrolmusic.com“
No. Bourque moves down.
yes because he would just love to leave playing with giroux and jagr to come be on the third line in montreal.
Clowe is a waste of time. Far too slow to keep up with every forward on this team other than Ryan White and Brad Staubitz.
Hartnell on the other hand would be a great add but it won’t happen.
There’s 29 other teams out there who would LOVE to have Ryan Clowe. He’s an example of a player who’s hockey sense and hardwork help him overcome any skating deficiencies.
I’m not saying he’s a bad player. I’m saying he’s a bad fit for the Montreal Canadiens.
I think on a line with Gionta and Pleks, he’d be just what the doctor ordered. A Rene Bourque with heart, if you will.
I would take Clowe over Hartnell any day. He Is exactly the type of player we need. Very similar player to Lucic. Try to catch some Sharks games. He is a great player, great shot, great team guy. He is a little slow, but his numbers don’t lie.
You would take Clowe over Hartnell? You would enjoy a very short term of employment.
Hartnell is the better skater between the two of them, for sure. Both would be great on the Habs. Hartnell is more of an agitator, Clowe is more of a bruiser, doesn’t stir things up but will back down from nobody.
Clowe is pretty much a more talented Moen. I would love to have him, but as Martin said, I doubt SJ let’s him go.
Hey Tom Nickle. Do your homework my friend. The 3 years prior to this season, Clowe Has 62, 57, and 52 points respectible. In that same time, Hartnell has 44, 60 and 43. I think you wouldn’t be employed very long my friend. Do research before you speak next time please.
I would much rather Moen back than expecting Geoffrion to become an NHL player over the summer.
I think he needs to be with the Bulldogs next season and called up when needed. He needs to get stronger
“Like Canadian Hip hop..check us out http://www.groovecontrolmusic.com“
I’m hoping both he and LL start the season in Hamilton. They should be a second option behind signing a guy like Parenteau. Let the young guys gain some chemistry together.
I see no reason to get rid of Moen. Character guy with size, grit, and can play in all situations, especially on the PK.
the problem is we need goal scoring. If they can get Moen back for 1.5 million do it but any more than that isn’t worth it
“Like Canadian Hip hop..check us out http://www.groovecontrolmusic.com“
Agreed, meant he needs to be on the third line with Eller. Leblanc needs one more full year in hamilton to get stronger, he’s still too slight IMO. Same with Geoffrion. Bottom six includes Moen, White, Eller, Staubitz or whoever his replacement is, and a center to win draws. Like it or not, Bourque is the same as AK46. Needs to be on the top six lines to be useful, heart or not. The guy put up 27 goals twice with Calgary, he’s shown he can do it. Just need a coach who can get it out of him.
I know that people have fallen in love with Staubitz and until the NHL wakes up a player like him is needed. But his role should be that of the 13th forward playing only when a regular is injured or when the team has a matchup where he’s needed. Like in games against Toronto, Boston, New York and Philadelphia.
In games against other Eastern Conference Teams he just isn’t needed.
Yeah, I’d rather have White and Moen on the 4th line wings centered by a face-off/defensive specialist with Staubitz and Blunden/Darche as the extras.
It’s a shame Betts didn’t work out earlier in the season, always been a big fan of his.
Yakupov?
“I have a different constitution. I have a different brain; I have a different heart; I got tiger blood, man.” – Charlie Sheen.
I know that Bourque is a better player than Moen on paper, but man I have not seen it. I’d keep Moen over Bourque in a heartbeat. If we can offload him for a 2nd rounder I say we do it.
“Let’s be clear on the facts…”
Bourque has not played well as a hab but neither has the team really. He has had 27 goals the last two seasons and so I will wait until after next year to pass judgement on him. Plan for him to be a 3rd line guy next year and top 6 when there are injuries. See how he does
“Like Canadian Hip hop..check us out http://www.groovecontrolmusic.com“
Does anyone know what is wrong with Moen. Is it a concussion?
I thought it was his shoulder but am not sure
“Like Canadian Hip hop..check us out http://www.groovecontrolmusic.com“
Add Pat Hickey to the long list of journalists and fans who have justified Plekanec’s mediocre performance this season by explaining that he’s had different linemates and plays on the penalty kill.
I take issue with this for a number of reasons. The first being that for at least the first half of this season Lars Eller, Andrei Kostitsyn and Travis Moen were being matched against the opposing teams’ top offensively gifted lines.
The second is that there are a great number of players throughout the NHL who play on the penalty kill and don’t allow it to become an excuse for poor performance in every other area. Travis Zajac, Brad Richards, Mike Richards, Jordan Staal, Patrice Bergeron, Eric Staal, Stephen Weiss, Nick Backstrom, Jonathan Toews, Pavel Datsyuk, Paul Stastny, Mikko Koivu, Ryan Kesler, Ryan Getzlaf, Mike Richards, Anze Kopitar, Joe Pavelski, Joe Thornton. Others include Brooks Laich, Patrick Elias, Derek Roy, David Backes, Saku Koivu and there are many more.
Does Plekanec play on the Penalty Kill too much? Yeah, he does. Should that and different linemates be reason enough to justify mediocre, often times lazy and sometimes selfish play? No.
The Flyer game on the weekend was funny. Tremendous goal and a couple of great chances. But a couple of plays in the second and third periods really stuck out in my mind that speak to his mentality at this point in the season. The first was a two on one break with Rene Bourque. He had a struggling teammate going to the net hard and the defenseman overplayed Plekanec leaving an opening for an easy pass and tap in goal for Bourque. Plekanec instead decided to shoot from a bad angle on an odd man rush.
The second was on the Powerplay. While on the near side half wall(on your tv). He sent a lazy, soft chip along the boards which was easily intercepted resulting in the Flyers easily clearing the zone. He had Markov available directly above him, had Subban on the opposite side or even a shot on net.
It’s as if he’s got a mentality that if things aren’t going to go exactly the way he wants this season, he’ll just mail it in.
Very disappointing that this is going on. And make no mistake, his being late for a pre-game warmup and it being called a “family matter” is code for “he slept in this afternoon”.
I think the entire team has had a pretty crappy season minus the habs first line. The forwards have been brutal after the first line. No secondary scoring whatsoever
Gorges has been great on D….pk sucked it up the first half of the season but is coming around. Emelin is a great hitter but has had a ton of brain cramps in his own end. Diaz and weber…could care less if they were back at all next year. Campoli is garbage
The crazy part is this is what we should have expected with all of the injuries…we were closer to a cap floor team than a cap team this year
“Like Canadian Hip hop..check us out http://www.groovecontrolmusic.com“
Eller doesn’t have 16 goals? Kostitsyn wouldn’t be somewhere in that neighbourhood right now had he stayed with the Habs? Moen was having his best offensive career until he was injured.
Had Moen and Kostitsyn played a full season with the Habs I think 55 goals is right around where they would have been. Pretty damn good for a third line.
4 in one game though Tom. Eller hasn’t had a great season offensively. take away that one game and he has 12 goals…similar to Darche the year before. He needs to develop and should have been in the minors last year instead of the NHL.
Moen had not done squat in the last 20 games before he got injured. He started on fire (as he usually does) then settles back into a role player. I like Moen but this team really needs to build its top six.
Ak was having his worse year offensively and saying he did stay with us…he currently has 6 extra points than he did when he was with us and currently has 16 goals….
Moen, Eller and AK are putting up 3rd line points not second line.
“Like Canadian Hip hop..check us out http://www.groovecontrolmusic.com“
I don’t disagree. But that four goal game did happen. You can’t revise history to take production away from players.
And keep in mind. All three of those players were on the third line. This is my point. Plekanec, while he’s had a number of different linemates has had Cammalleri, Gionta and Bourque.
Eller hasn’t been given a chance to succeed. He has only seen powerplay time over the past month, and no top 6 minutes. I think he is a dynamic player, but they are only using him as a PK guy/3rd line guy.
But if the rest of those veterans and young players could continue to provide effort, why not Plex? I tend to agree with Tom, in that I think Plex while overused in some instances, has shown many nights where he just hasn’t been into it.
I will say however, that this is probably a result of players playing for a coach they know will not be back. It doesn’t excuse Plex, but unfortunately the Habs created this mess with how they handled the firing of JM and hiring of RC.
My point was he isn’t the only one who stunk it up this year on forward. I think Pleks will be back next year as a key part of this team.
Mind you if we don’t add another top 6 guy who can help us out this team will be in a similar position next year
“Like Canadian Hip hop..check us out http://www.groovecontrolmusic.com“
I see the two-on-one diffrently than you. I see it more as a case that Pleks had no faith in Bourque being able to convert the pass if made. Bourque’s missed converting a few passes recently and I think Pleks decided that he had a better chance by shooting himself. Of course neither you nor I really know what’s going through any player’s head unless he tells us (and I’m in AB) so its all just idle speculation, isn’t it?
I tend to side with your way of thinking. Which is why I call it selfish play from him.
The game meant nothing. Why not help a teammate try to get out of a funk with a perfect opportunity?
“Does Plekanec play on the Penalty Kill too much? Yeah, he does. Should that and different linemates be reason enough to justify mediocre, often times lazy and sometimes selfish play? No.”
I don’t get it – if you can state that Pleks plays too often in situations where scoring a goal is very unlikely (on the PK), and later on that Pleks has not had consistent linemates all year (often 3rd/4th line pluggers), why can’t this justify a lack of passion or enthusiasm to bust a$$ in a losing season? Why should he break his back for a team that is packing up shop on April 9th?
It’s not like we constantly question his ability or drive on a regular basis. He’s proven his abilities when put in the right situation, and this season has proven not to be the right situation for anyone but Cole/Pax/DD – who by the way, have played together all season and don’t do much penalty killing. Imagine that.
Because he’s being paid $5 million annually to work.
Was he proving his ability with a 40 point season a couple of years ago? That season by the way forced Gainey’s hand in trading for Scott Gomez. An often overlooked fact about that trade.
Please – that’s a weak argument. The entire team struggled that season (sound familiar?), and Plex was 3rd in goals scored despite his off-year. You might as well continue on by saying that Carey Price is a sub-par goalie since his sv% that season was only .905
Okay, I have to say something here.
You’re totally contradicting yourself.
You’re saying above that he should have passed to Bourque to help get him out of his funk because the game didn’t matter, but then you’re saying that now, even when games don’t matter he should be working his butt off to get points.
If he’d passed to Bourque, there was a great chance that Bourque would have missed it, like he’s missed 1,000 other opportunitites. Plekanec gets no points on the play, and simply has his suspicions confirmed: he’s playing with a donkey. Pleks takes a shot, and he’s got a significantly better chance of getting a point, which is what you want from him.
You seem to want to have everything, and you’re contradicting yourself.
—Hope Springs Eternal—
I’m not contradicting myself one bit. I’m saying that Plekanec has been playing selfish hockey. I’m not saying that he shouldn’t be trying.
The games don’t matter, the effort you put in when you’re being paid a large amount of money does.
There’s no contradiction there Matty. I’d rather you not falsely accuse me of being a hypocrite to validate your opinion. I’ve always thought you were better than that.
To be fair, many of the players you mentioned are also having a terrible year… Mike Richards has 6 less points than Plekanec. Getzlaf has 9 goals this year and only 6 more points than Plekanec while spending the entire year with the reigning Hart Trophy and Rocket Richard winner. Stastny has 3 more points than Plekanec.
Kesler has 1 point less than Plekanec.
Plekanec’s year has not been THAT terrible. I think people just expect too much of him. 60-70 points, while leading the league’s best PK and playing against the other team’s top lines is what should be expected. Obviously he’s not going to hit 60-70 points this year, but it’s an off year, it happens.
Once again, it’s about people’s expectations being the problem, not the player.
—Hope Springs Eternal—
My issue with him is NOT his lack of offensive production. It’s about the way he’s played this season. The effort has not been remotely consistent. For the money he makes, that isn’t okay.
I disagree. First off Zajac has played 9 games this season. Second Mike Richards has 39 points, and Brad Richards has 11 more points, but on a top team and making a lot more than Pleks. After I saw that, I stopped looking into the others. Basically I believe the entire team has had a bad season as a whole. A player who plays in all situations is the one who will reflect that.
He is only 9 points short of his total last season. And his plus minus reflects mostly our poor defense as. Leader in ice time.
Where does it say that the statement applies to this season only?
And where did I say that the dip in production is the root of the problem?
I didn’t. I have no problem with Plekanec having an off year. I have a problem with him being beyond scrutiny and a consistently lazy effort with a fair amount of selfish play sprinkled on.
Most of these centers get paid more, have better linemates, or have less points than Plekanec.
All play less time on the PK, and all are on better teams.
Zajac – 9 games??
He’s 9 points behind DD, and DD has been getting all of the softer matchups, and DD has stability on his line, with the best forward the team has to offer.
Sure his +/- is horrible, but that’s a reflection on the team.
And your speculation on him being late is just that, speculation. The guy had a kid this year, it’s quite possible he had a family matter to take care of.
RC : “Merci beaucoup.”
Pleks should play the point on the PP, Gomez should play with Cole and Patch b/c he is the highest paid center. Ha Oilers, you thought you fooled us, we’ll show you!
Just wondering about the role of Randy Cunneyworth from Pierre Gauthier’s prespective:
If you assume, as I do, that PG and Molson had some intense discussions in late-Nov/early-Dec when it was clear that,
a) Markov was not coming back to help this season and the team really needed him to run the PP
b) No Wiz-like saviour was available
c) JM is a good enough coach to have kept the team on the bubble and but maybe miss the playoffs and therefore a good draft pick
And if you assume that they decided to pull a subtle-tank job by firing the competent (if unexciting) JM ASAP, replace him with a rookie NHL coach who would no doubt fail by comparison, and gut the offense by trading away Cams and AK.
What, in this context, was is the role of Randy Cunneyworth? For a couple of months, I have been assuming that his role was simply to lose (despite his best efforts to suddenly become as good an NHL coach as his successful, if less-than-stellar, predecessor). But now I am wondering if another role RC was meant to play was to test the waters for an anglophone coach in Montreal, and take the brunt of the initial media reaction to such a travesty.
All that to say, what I am really wondering is if PG and Molson have a more experienced Anglophone coach in mind and putting RC in the job temporarily was meant to provoke/absorb the harsh reactions and prep the scene for a longer-term Anglo coach…
Hitchcock anyone?
Or they just didn’t have a bilingual emergency replacement readily available.
If that is what they were doing, I would have to give them much more credit than I have been. I think RC has proven that an anglo coach will only get heat from a select few that do not really care about the Habs, but a political agenda. Even if it wasn’t their plan, they have certainly gained some perspective on the situation.
No to Hitch, he is happy where he is… I will get ripped for this, but I think Mike Keenan should be interviewed.
Iron Mike? Non, merci.
Richard R
I have thought similar regarding the firing of JM. Having said that, wouldn’t PG have to have almost an iron clad agreement to be coming back if indeed the move was made knowing the outcome was most likely to result in high draft position. Also, assuming they were thinking that far ahead, why would they go the route of RC, knowing there would be a backlash to RC for the language issue.
On one hand this plan could be considered genius, but on the other hand it was a marketing failure.
For that reason I can’t give PG the benefit of actually looking that far ahead. I think he panicked to save his own job.
Edit: Read your post to fast the first time. Wow, that is extremely forward thinking for them to use RC as a lamb for such an experiment. I don’t know if I can give this pair that much credit, the risk was immense from the perspective that these moves have made the franchise look bad from most outside onlookers.
I still can’t see this all being a master plan, but I suppose we find out more this summer….
I think you underestimate PG, and the role of an NHL GM in general.
They are not paid to panic and save their own bum bums, but to think in five season cycles. Furthermore, how could PG have possibly been stupid enough to think that firing the highly competent Jacques Martins and replacing him, MID-SEASON for a rookie NHL coach, would save his butt?! That’s just silly.
Any GM worth their salt (which I believe PG most certainly is – see keep Price, Halak for Eller; get Emelin over to the NHL; sign the best UFA pick up of 2011 to reasonable long-term deal; draft well and make a slew of solid minor trades) would realize that Dec 2011 presented the Montreal Canadiens with an opportunity to:
1) turn what was shaping up to a disappointing season into a lottery draft pick and a couple of extra second round selections
2) turn size and cap space problems into a couple of solutions – i.e. trade away Cammy thus gutting the offense short-term and helping the team tank, pick up a cheap, big, third line winger who can score (i.e. Bourque) and an excellent WHL prospect, and let Gomez play himself into an AHL demotion or CBA grace period buyout.
What was really bold and ingenious was to can a good coach, put in someone who would almost surely fail thus ensuring the lottery pick, and give yourself lots of time to talk to potential long-term coaches without funny business behind JM’s back.
RC is, afterall, explicitly, “interim”.
Okay so then why not can JM during the previous off season? You may be right, I don’t think PG is stupid, but from a marketing perspective this was a huge gamble to play out.
As I said, we shall see this summer. If PG is fired this summer, we know it wasn’t a grand plan. If he comes back, you may very well be correct.
Edit: Also I have thought a very similar thing myself, I just expounded more on the negatives to provide the other side of it was all.
How could you fire JM after taking the eventual Stanley Cup champs to seven games, after making 6th place with one of most injured teams in the league?
More important, they were anticipating Markov and Gomez’s returns in the fall, and another year of improvements from this young and talented team. What transpired instead was not JM’s fault, but he also didn’t impress by blowing so many leads early in the season (something new compared to the previous two seasons).
True about wait and see. I expect PG to stay. I guess Roy and Keenan will be on the shortlist of interviewees for head coach, but either one of those headcases would be the biggest gamble of all…
I am hoping Hitchcock or Crawford.
You are right about the risks of tanking from a short-term marketing perspective, but I think Molson and PG want Stanley, and they weren’t going to get ‘er without some innovation. JM was good, but not good enough.
Despite all the other things we might focus on, gambling on Markov was PG’s defining moment. I believe he will turn out to have been correct in the long-run. Andrei is obviously still one of the game’s best defensemen, even playing shyly after two years on the operating table and bench. I sincerely hope he gets to raise the Cup and pass it over to the Goat for a sip of the bubbly someday in June 2013 or 14.
Jodoin needed more seasoning in Hamilton.
I’ve said before I’m not a fan of Elliotte Friedman. I think he’s a bit of a sycophant. (Sure, he’s a shining jewel at HNIC.)
In any case, in this installment of 30 clichés he writes:
“The Nordiques worked hard to identify themselves as the Francophones against the Anglophone Canadiens.”
Is this really true? Granted Quebec City is more francophone than Montreal, but when I think of the Nords I think of the Stastnys, Dale Hunter, and later Sakic, Sundin, Owen Nolan. The only Franco I associate with the team is Michel Goulet. (JC Tremblay in the early days.)
So I looked up their draft history. In 16 years they had 18 draft picks. They only took three francophones, and none were high picks. They pretty consistently drafted from Ontario and the Western Hockey League.
The excellent 1993 team that we beat in the playoffs had all of three Francophones: Steve Duchesne, backup goalie Stephane Fiset, and third liner Claude Lapointe. Their best players were Sundin, Sakic, Hextall, Nolan, Ricci, & Foote. Meanwhile the Habs roster was half French at that time.
Chalk it up to another lazy cliché by Canada’s laziest sports journalist. (Assuming repeating what owners and GMs feed you is journalism.)
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Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.
The fleur de lys and the predominant colours of their unis (pretty much the Quebec flag) demonstrated exactly how they were marketed.
There’s a distinction to be made between player personnel and marketing.
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GO HABS GO! 2011-12 is probably not our year!
“Scott Gomez is an elite NHL player” – VancouverHab
Chat with me on Twitter @TheRealRGM81
I agree but the statement Friedman made painted fairly broad strokes on each organization. That’s why it was called lazy journalism.
I enjoyed your blog yesterday by the way. Not sure that I would glorify Roy in the same way but I posted something similar last week. Essentially that the positives heavily outweigh the negatives with Roy.
I think the positives of rehiring Jacques Martin outweigh the positives of Patrick Roy.
Well keep in mind it’s “30 Thoughts” and not “30 really fully-fleshed out ideas.” It’s a quick hits thing meant to give people something to talk about around the water cooler.
Many thanks for the nice words on the article. People tend to focus very heavily on Roy’s occasional blow up and they act as though it’s going to happen on a nightly basis. For some reason, those extremely isolated incidents are instant disqualifiers despite Roy leading his young Remparts squad to the playoffs on a perennial basis.
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GO HABS GO! 2011-12 is probably not our year!
“Scott Gomez is an elite NHL player” – VancouverHab
Chat with me on Twitter @TheRealRGM81
My only reservation with Roy is the element of the unknown. I don’t know what he’s like behind closed doors and am worried that he could easily alienate important players or make decisions in haste.
I would be satisfied with Roy or Crawford as the next coach of this organization.
I have watched Elliotte Friedman since his infancy days on Toronto radio when he was referred to as “Raptor Boy” by the kingpin of Toronto Sports Radio, Bob McCown. Elliotte to me is a decent to good sports media personality, but essentially has ridden his career riding the middle ground. He rarely takes hardline controversial positions and this has allowed him to climb the ladder at CBC.
I agree in calling it lazy journalism, because most in the Ontario marketplace (by which he is judged) will just accept his comments as the truth and move on.
I may not have watched him for as long as you two learned gentlemen, i just judge a reporter based on the accuracy of his reporting, the depth of his sources, and how he is perceived by his peers. I can’t usually stand the cheesiness of the Inside Hockey segments on saturdays, but the weekly blog is amazing, and most people who work in hockey read it. I’ll stick with their opinion on this one.
This version of the truth is easier to believe than the facts HabFanSince72 pointed out, that not only in Ontario, but many in Québec take it as the gospel.
Michel Bergeron, Réjean Tremblay and the rest of the “opinions as their job” columnists have been spewing it ever since the Nordiques left.
Spot on. A red herring from day one. Bergie, Tremblay and most of the RDS gang love to perpetuate this myth. It was more city versus city, Quebec vs. Montreal. Over the years various Quebec governments have consistently ignored Montreal’s needs and have spent oodles of money sprucing up their little civil service town.
Richard R
lol
Do you remember the long flip shots that J.C. Tremblay used to take from about his own blue line at the opposing goal that sometimes would land in front of the goalie,take a crazy bounce into the net? How come we don’t see that anymore?
HH lay off the insults.
That is all U do here. Everyone has an opinion so get over it!
The HIO Mods cleary have Favourites.
Thank you. I can’t seem to get a word in edgewise without being called a f’in idiot, a moron, a fool, a dunce, a horse’s ass, etc. etc. but I’m used to it.
HH loves to throw slings and arrows at anyone and everyone who disagrees with his “Habs are the worst management ever” mantra. Take it with a grain of salt. Or, better yet, when you see his avatar, skip the post.
If you’ve been here long enough, which you haven’t, you would know HH is far from being in cahoots with the mods…
That being said, let me remind everyone of the post to which he replied to:
We’ve slipped to 4 back of Toronto. If we are going to have a meaningful game against them, then we desperately need the W tonight. Should be intense.
*facepalm* Dear Lord… where do I begin…?
“There’s genius everywhere, but until they turn pro, it’s like popcorn in the pan. Some pop… some don’t.”
- Jerry Maguire
His insults NEVER get deleted!
That’s because I say what the Mods secretly think.
I think it is sad that every topic turns to the draft when there is still some important hockey to be played. I have been examining our remaining games and crunching numbers all morning while most of you are fantasizing. We have a VERY soft schedule. I’m not going to start talking crazy and suggest we will win every game but if we take even 10 points we could move past 8 more teams. That would be a very respectable season in my opinion given the injuries we had to endure. It might mean we have to sweeten the pot when we trade our pick for Huberdeau, but we had a couple of kids on the National team who Fla may be interested in. I expect there will be a lot of action behind the curtains tonight. Anyway, back to the schedule, the Rangers game is tough and then there is the showdown with the Leafs. They usually bitchslap us around in big games but this might be our year.
They’re playing two sets of back to back games in the last six and will likely split those at best. One of these sets is actually a 3 in 4 nights set…gonna go on a limb and say that they won’t get 10 points…
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Avast, me proud beauty! Wanna know why my Roger is so Jolly?
Might be a good opportunity for them to show the doubters what they are really made of.
HH is right – you are an idiot if you want to throw away a good draft choice in a season that is already an abject failure.
__________________________
☞ Wow, that’s a nice lookin’ pair of Crocs!” Said no one ever.☜
How about he just wants to see the team he supports to win? Must be a crime these days the way you guys carry on about a draft pick.
How about this season is done, and us winning is foolish because it means we have less of a chance of improving? Because that’s the situation we are in. Seriously… wanting us to win is like a poor person voting Republican. Voting against your own interests. Which makes a person an idiot.
But you’re right – it’s not a crime to be an idiot.
__________________________
☞ Wow, that’s a nice lookin’ pair of Crocs!” Said no one ever.☜
It must be fun to watch all the games and cheer against your teams. I could never do that. Go Habs Go is my motto. Through thick and thin. Like the coach said yesterday, we are still trying to win games now let’s show some pride and knock off the cats tonight, and, dare to dream, upset the Rangers on Thursday. But I’m getting ahead of myself. It’s one game at a time.
There is no “important hockey” remaining on the Canadiens schedule. They were officially eliminated from playoff contention on Saturday. This is simply playing out the string and determining draft position. No more, no less. Important hockey will be in full force starting April 11th.
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GO HABS GO! 2011-12 is probably not our year!
“Scott Gomez is an elite NHL player” – VancouverHab
Chat with me on Twitter @TheRealRGM81
I find the comparisons to the Flyers situation of a few years ago funny…who is gonna be our “Forsberg” who we’ll trade to get a bunch of assets to give us the quick turnaround? The only guy who could return some assets is Pleks and he has a NTC.
If we have a quick turnaround it’s more likely to bring us back to being a bubble team than a contender at this stage.
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Avast, me proud beauty! Wanna know why my Roger is so Jolly?
Disagree.
The Habs don’t need a “Forsberg”. They already have a whole bunch of assets. The key now is to keep losing so they can add a top 5 draft choice to the mix, hopefully one of the two Gs at C. And to ditch Gomez in the off season and pick up another strong UFA forward (like Cole last summer).
With young studs like Price, PK, Patches, DD, Emelin, Eller, White, and Leblanc maturing into leading roles, veterans like Markov, Pleks, Cole, Gio, Gorges and Moen, and prospects like Gallagher, Tinordi, and Beaulieu in the pipeline, I have no problem imagining this team having a Philly-like turnaround next season and beyond.
I think PG did an excellent job of turning another Markov-less season into a subtle tank-job for a high pick. Thank god we ditched JM for the far inferior RC, who blew the season and will be replaced in short order by an experienced NHL coach.
I have no doubt they’ll eventually have a turnaround…my doubt is that it’ll happen as quickly as it did for Philly.
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Avast, me proud beauty! Wanna know why my Roger is so Jolly?
Gomez is our Forsberg, he is the golden calf! Okay maybe not….
Can we please stop blatting in our milk over missed draft opportunities? Every team in every league can re-look at every draft and find areas they could or should have done better. Yes this mgmt team is inept, yes they have made some really stupid moves and got lucky on a few, but we need to stop dwelling on the past, nobody is going to give the Habs Giroux or any other pick they missed on, so move on. How about concentrating on picking well this year?
Timmins will draft Grigorenko. Then instead of giving him a year in Hamilton, the pressure will be on to put him in the lineup right away. Then when he doesn’t score 40 goals in his first year, the francophone media will begin saying the Habs should have traded their pick for Huberdeau. The piling on will become ridiculous and the Habs will end up giving away Grigorenko for a 3rd line francophone player.
Detroit doesn’t do shiot like that and that’s why they’ve been successful…their young players don’t come into the NHL feeling entitled, they come to the NhL after paying their dues in the AHL and don’t act like prima donnas at the first sign of pressure. Look at a guy like Desharnais…he paid his dues and is anything but entitled.
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Avast, me proud beauty! Wanna know why my Roger is so Jolly?
You got tomorrow’s 6/49 numbers, Kreskin?
I’m basing this on the recent past…surely you’re aware of our difficulty in developing and retaining young talent? Timmins has made some mistakes but I think the team fails a lot more after the drafts.
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Avast, me proud beauty! Wanna know why my Roger is so Jolly?
Yeah, that Subban is horrible, eh?
Habs have never kept young players that party too much or put themselves before the team. On the flip side, I don’t think many of our recent vets have mentored the rookies. If you’re from the boonies and 20 years old and suddenly find yourself in a condo in downtown Montreal, trouble knocks on your door.
Which is exactly my point: they should not rush young players to the NHL. But they will. Because they would rather scrape by and just make the playoffs, than suffer for a couple of bridge years while young players season in the minors before re-activating the pipeline upwards.
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Avast, me proud beauty! Wanna know why my Roger is so Jolly?
Grigorenko cannot play in the AHL next year. It’s either the NHL or back to QMJHL.
He then has even less of a chance of not being hailed as the next saviour. Lord have mercy on him when he ends up in Montreal and needs 4-5 games to score his first……
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Avast, me proud beauty! Wanna know why my Roger is so Jolly?
the francophone media !!!!!
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Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.
Bastages they are!!!!!
I’m a francophone and I think they’re nuts.
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Avast, me proud beauty! Wanna know why my Roger is so Jolly?
IMHO the talk of the redwings great drafting history is pretty over rated.Their reputation has been based on players drafted 12 or 13 years ago in datsyuk and zetterberg.Nobody drafted in the past 6 years have played more then 100 games in a wings unifom.I do like the way they bring their players along slowly and all but its pretty telling that their drafting isn’t nearly as good as advertised.I also think it was a brutal move to trade a first round pick and a prospect for someone they put on waviers 2 years ago like they did for kyle quincey.Statistically their farm teams is pretty weak also.
I guess its also easier to play in a market where the team is good but is still behind every other professional sports team and probably college sports in terms of popularity. Hence the pressure is virtually non-existant compared to playing in montreal.
All good points but they’ve been dominant for how many years now? At some point drafting late for decades will catch up to you talent-wise. What will be interesting will be when Datsuyk, Zetterburg and Lidstrom are gone and they possibly become a middling team. Will they be OK with remaing a middling team or will they move assets to do a real rebuild?
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Avast, me proud beauty! Wanna know why my Roger is so Jolly?
No one can argue the success of that franchise, but it is a fair question to ask how they will replace their all star Lidstrom if and when he ever retires, and eventually they will have to replace Datsyuk and Zetterberg. This will be Holland’s next challenge.
Desharnais, Pacioretty, Eller, Subban etc… They all put in time in the AHL.
The only guy on the roster who hasn’t is Leblanc – and he’ll probably spend a chunk of next year in Hamilton unless we get substantial forward injuries.
Andrei Markov was drafted 162nd overall as a center.
PK Subban went 43rd overall.
Josh Gorges was never drafted.
Emelin was drafted 84th overall.
High picks for Dmen are a crap shoot. Habs did very well getting these players, didn’t they, but you’ll rarely read that here. Habs management is always the most inept. Funny, how every other team had a chance to take Markov, Subban, Emelin and Gorges, but didn’t. I guess they are as inept, as well.
Maybe you should try reading. I think it is pretty much unanimous that everybody gives Trevor Timmins credit for those picks and not management. Where management falters is how they manage those assets. The Habs have a poor record at player development and retention. The Habs have the highest ratio of draft picks playing in the NHL. Unfortunately with other teams.
Thank you. We have made dozens of huge mistakes in the recent past and we will again in the future. It’s all part of our game. I hate to say it but I really fear a major bust if we pick in the top 5 this year. The highest rated guys all have question marks. There are still quite a few teams within reach so I hope we can put that last game behind us and get back to racking up points. Not only for our pride but also to put Gauthier and Gainey in a position where we are used to them failing so it will take some pressure off of them.
If the Habs take Roy as either GM or coach and then Quebec City gets a team a couple of years later, wouldn’t Roy want to jump ship to work for his home town team? Wouldn’t it be better for the Habs to get some stability in the organization by employing people who plan to stick with them?
Let’s assume Columbus wins the lottery and gains the 1st overall pick. Let’s also assume we end up with the 3rd or 4th overall pick. I don’t think Columbus wants to take Yakupov 1st overall, I think they will want to trade down and take a Forsberg or Murray, because they have failed miserable with their past 2 Russian top picks.
What would we have to give up to flip those picks in order to draft probably the best pure talent player in the draft.
I don’t think you need to do anything. If CBJ is reluctant to choose Yak then let them pick who they want and let Yak fall down to 3rd. If Edm picks 2nd, they pretty much have to pick a d-man, IMO. So Yak lands in our lap.
“man, I love winnin’; you know, it’s like better than losin’?”-
Ebby Calvin “Nuke” Laloosh
Edmonton will trade their draft pick for an established d-man and that team will draft a forward. Edmonton needs to start winning now…they need pieces who can play d now, not in 3 years.
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Avast, me proud beauty! Wanna know why my Roger is so Jolly?
Yakkety Yak, don’t talk back.
Richard R
Columbus will trade their pick before they take Yak in my opinion. If we don’t make the trade someone else will. They are not going to be stupid enough (I think) to use the #1 draft position to take the 4th or 5th best rated player.
There is no way in Hell that Columbus doesn’t take Yakupov. Every team in the NHL has had issues with the “Russian Factor.” But I don’t see how anyone passes on this guy. Yakupov goes 1st overall to Columbus. It is actually the perfect opportunity for them to have this guy as the face of the franchise when Nash is dealt at the draft.
You have to wonder how the Quebec City deal is affecting the Habs’ front office thinking on management and coaching. I grew playing hockey in Ste Foy and despite being a few years older than Roy, remember what a sensation he was in that town, even as a kid. If you think he is sainted in Montreal, you ain’t seen nuthin (remember that he finished his career with the Colorado Nordiques). Peladeau’s going to go after him as early as he can. If the Habs are after Roy, the announcement will come within weeks, not months.
Last night on the Toronto Sports Airwaves they were saying similar things, if indeed Montreal is serious about making a play for Roy it will happen in the next 2-3 weeks not later this summer. It is being reported as a now or never type scenario.
I agree that if Montreal wants him, they will have to go after him as soon as the season ends. Unfortunately, I am still not sure that Saint Patrick is the right coach for the Canadiens. He may be great or he may be a total failure but one thing is certain however, he will not be dull.
Nothing wrong with Gaustad. we should have him on our 4th line
AK’s work ethic don’t compare to Gaustad, but I have to say he’s a better scorer. normally 20 goals a season.
so if you want a tough guy it’s Gaustad. if you want more goals it’s Kostitsyn.
Gaustad is also an NHL faceoff leader, is defensively safe and is tough. 3M is quite a lot but he is one of the best at what he does.
We’ve slipped to 4 back of Toronto. If we are going to have a meaningful game against them, then we desperately need the W tonight. Should be intense.
My friend! we slipped coming out of training camp, and it has been one very long BANNA PEEL, we are coming to the end of this skid in another week or so.
Yes, things didn’t go our way right from the get go. A season full of thrills and spills. But next year we will have the absolute best francophone coach available. a healthy Markov and Gionta, and one of those iffy youngsters in this years draft. I know this isn’t a universally held opinion, but I’m also expecting a rebound year from Scotty Gomez. As long as Pierre doesn’t make any major changes I think we are in great shape.
I also hope that PG doesn’t make any major changes, in fact I hope PG doesn’t change a single thing this off season. Of course my reason for that is because I am assuming he will no longer be our GM.
no one is that much of an idiot
Well sir, I can assure you I am not trolling so draw your own conclusions.
You might be alwayssunny but you are not too bright are you?
Probably sunstroke!
At this stage who would care about that game?
Meaningful game?
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Avast, me proud beauty! Wanna know why my Roger is so Jolly?
It’s a bit weird that Andrei Kostitsyn netted a second round pick (a year from now so worth even less) while Paul Gaustad got a first rounder.
It demonstrates again that hockey has become a game for lunch pail pluggers. AK is more talented and more productive than Gaustad (0 goals in 38 playoff games).
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Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.
0 goals in 38 playoff games is ugly for sure no doubt and I’d probably choose Kostitsyn if I had the choice.
But it just goes to show you how valuable penalty killing, shot blocking, hard hitting players are who aren’t afraid to drop the gloves on occasion.
Players who show up one night and not the next and score 20 goals a season are a dime a dozen.
Players who go to hell and back every night and put their body on the line and pump up their team are just as valuable.
Absolutely but Gaustad is just not very good.
There’s a famous saying: only the mediocre are always at their best.
That’s Paul Gaustad.
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Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.
Don’t forget on the NHL faceoff leaders (almost 58%) – 3M is a lot but if you want a BIG center who can win faceoffs that is tough and a smart defensive player with a low stupid move factor then he is your man. A plugger perhaps but one of the best pluggers in the league.
He makes an impact – more than Kost on most nights and more than Gomez practicaly every night.
Interesting though how cheaply Toronto was able to acquire Steckel, an excellent faceoff player, 4th line skill set (works hard), granted he doesn’t offer the physicality of Gaustad, but effective. I was amazed how little Toronto gave up in that trade.
not worth those stakes
“Like Canadian Hip hop..check us out http://www.groovecontrolmusic.com“
Essentially you are suggesting trading PK for the Wiz. That is MAD.
If you want the Wiz, I’m sure Columbus would love to dump his contract given his crappy play this year. You wouldn’t have to castrate the Habs by giving them Subban in return, they’d probably accept a pack of Juicy Fruit and a half-empty box of Corn Flakes.
I know you said you wouldn’t do it, but it’s still a crazy idea! No way it would take that much to get Wiz.
Full Breezer 4 Life
i was thinking about this last night, and i thought, our #2 overall pick, a second round pick and maybe something silly like a 3rd rounder for their 1st overall pick and maybe a 7th rounder. but I dunno, what did Pittsburgh trade to get the 1st overall pick and take fleury? they move up from 5th spot i believe.
Columbus has so many organizational needs that you could probably pick 1-2 elements from any position along with whatever pick we have to convince them of the idea’s merit.
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GO HABS GO! 2011-12 is probably not our year!
“Scott Gomez is an elite NHL player” – VancouverHab
Chat with me on Twitter @TheRealRGM81
unfortunately, the picks and prospects we have we need them in a bad way.
We have to hope to get at least the number 2 pick. time to start benching the first line!
“Like Canadian Hip hop..check us out http://www.groovecontrolmusic.com“
The Columbus Owner would probably be very happy to have someone take the Wiz’s contract. That team will bleed money this season. Howson cannot be the GM come draft time if the owner has a clue.
I don’t think Wiz has been crappy this year. He was suspended 10 games, and injured for a lot. But when he was playing he did pretty well.
He’s doing worst than he did with the Habs last year in a similar # of games. He has similar #’s to Kaberle’s in the Habs, except The Wiz’s +/- is much worse.
RC : “Merci beaucoup.”
I have to concur with Shiram, The Wiz’s numbers are awful this year, granted he plays on the Washington Generals of Hockey (Harlem Globetrotters daily opponent).
The Wiz is a nice Dman, but he is no Top 2 dman on a highend team. He is a nice complimentary dman who helps a powerplay and plays with an edge. His overall defensive skills are less than positive.
I have that sick nauseating feeling that you might be right.
There was a great post a couple of months ago regarding the two previous Molson ownership results of the Habs. Bottom line, they were mismanaged and sold barely for what Molson paid. This generation seems to be headed in the same direction. With the language red herring forcing this team to look at the best of a bilingual head office and coaching staff, the Habs are in the 21st century, straddled with a 20th century ball and chain. While the other 29 teams have free reign to hire from all of the best, Montreal is forced to play to the politicians and xenophobic pot stirrers who only care about promoting their own cause and probably don’t even know what a red line is in hockey. Unfortunately, with Mickey Mouse and Alfred E. Newman (PG ex from Disney Corp. and Gainey) still in control, pandering to the kind that has no clothes, it doesn’t look good for the next few years. Sheeite rolls downhill from the top gents and Timo is correct. Only when Molson feels the pain in his pocket book, will he be forced to make the really tough decisions. What we’ve seen this year, Perry being fired pre-game and then JM same fate, with Cammy let go in the thrid period, Kaberle, Bourque and about faces on “need more size” from Mickey Mouse, you know it’s seat of the pants management. The Habs organization is now keystone cops and what a shame since few if any organizations would have made so many insulting moves and then try to cover them up, like RC’s hiring being apologized for because 200 angry separatists had nothing better to do one night.
Promote the Youth, Support From The Veterans and Remember the Heritage!
Of the 200 who showed up 189 had never seen an NHL hockey game or knew the name of the coach in question.
Peladeau stirred the pot in his media outlets to fuel that fire!
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What does the Commissioner of the NHL do?
In short, a league commissioner is the action man for the Board of Governors.
They tell him what they want done and he works to make it happen through his subordinates while making sure that individual franchises play by the rules.
******** Translated if you haven’t won the Stanley Cup in 40 years your NHL team is becoming irrelevant in a sports mad city long behind MLB, NFL and NBA teams, you just tell the commissioner(who you gave a new contract at 7 plus million per) to make it happen and the rules are bent sufficiently to action the command.