Even after beating the Rangers, the Canadiens face a steep uphill climb toward playoff contention.
• Pierre Ladouceur’s game report card
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Oh and while on the topic of goalies, the last game, had that been Price in nets, who wants to bet he would have been voted at least the 2nd star?
Pacioretty said it right, he even felt Budaj was the 1st star, yet he did not even get a 3rd star voting…
While I believe that Price is a good goalie, I have to agree with posters like HH or Chris.
The Habs should not mortgage their future on Price. There is no way I would lay a 7per/yr cap hit on him, not right now. I think 5 per/yr is plenty.
What the Habs should avoid is a long term contract. Regardless of salary, I would prefer to see a string of 3-4 year contracts for Price.
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Opinions are like kittens, I’m giving them away.
I’m not a fan of really long term deals but if thats what PG thinks Price can get, and its 7 years at 7 mill or lose him, how can they not sign him?
1- 7 million isn’t that much for a franchise player.
2- 7 million will be much less in 7 years when the contract is in its last year, when Price should still be in prime playing years and the cap has been raised by many millions of dollars.
3-If the idea is to rebuild, how can you not sign a young goalie thats already a 3 time all-star… you trade for picks to get a guy like Price and then build a team around, not let him go.
http://www.puckbandits.com
7per/yr is too much money. That is my opinion.
Ok, so say 6 million? 5? At what point is PG supposed to say, no its not worth an extra million a year and risk Price leaving when he can?
Also, you ahve to consider what other Goalies are getting these days.
http://www.puckbandits.com
Price is not ELITE at this point!
Which means he should not be paid like one. Certainly not the same or more than Lundqvist. At least 2 million per less. which brings him to around 5 million per.
You talk about should… I’m talking about what is. All Im saying is if the choice is between paying a little more than you seem to be comfortable with, or losing Price, I’d take the former.
Also, Lundqvist signed his contract 4 years ago. That’s exactly the point of a long term deal, from the clubs angle. Sign now because in time he will be ‘worth’ more. So you have to compare Price money to more current signings.
http://www.puckbandits.com
Gern: I have considered what other goalies are getting these days. A $7 million cap hit is currently the highest in the NHL. And the guy that got it (Pekka Rinne) was a Vezina Trophy finalist last season.
And I wouldn’t have given him that coin either, personally. I’d rather see Rinne with $5 M and have the savings used on Weber and Suter, who are far more important to that team. If he didn’t like it, go find your next goalie. Because goalies aren’t that hard to find.
Its kinda funny when you look at the money some Habs are making, Gomez, kaberle, Gionta (formerly Cammy) and then we get careful with the pursetrings on our best player?
http://www.puckbandits.com
True. But Halak showed that Price wasn’t necessarily the crucial component.
You do need great goaltending, and Price gives that. But you also need timely scoring and great defensive play.
A good team can cover up for a weak goalie.
A good goalie can not cover up for a weak team.
1 – No, but my opinion is that goalies are not franchise players.
2- You are banking on the salary cap continuing to go up. Teams are VERY unhappy with the contract structure right now, and there is another CBA to be negotiated this summer. Long-term deals are definitely going to be on the table, and I suspect the owners are going to ask for a bigger percentage of the earnings.
The salary cap has largely grown because of the Canadian dollar. The growth (from $39.0 M in the first post-lockout season to $64.5 M this season) has been explosive and is not sustainable with so many franchises floating in red ink.
I am very apprehensive about long-term deals because I’m not convinced the salary cap can continue to grow as it has.
3 – An all-star goalie behind a pop-gun offence gets you nowhere. Teams that win the Stanley Cup always have top-5 offences, despite the huge emphasis on defence and goaltending from the media and fans. A good team with good goaltending will go further than an average team with great goaltending in today’s NHL; the fall-off from a “great” goaltender like Price to a good goaltender like Niemi or Crawford is simply not that big.
I don’t think the extra money Price would earn would be the difference between the Habs having a top 5 offense or not.
http://www.puckbandits.com
Nope. But the difference between a $7M goalie (Pekka Rinne) and a $4M goalie (Jaro Halak, Corey Crawford, Antti Niemi) is generally not as large as the difference between a $7M center and a $4M center.
To have a top-5 offence, you either need tremendous balance (like Boston last year or Montreal in 2007-08) or, more generally, you need some stars (Vancouver, Pittsburgh, etc.)
But we’re not making that choice right now. We don’t have a $4million goalie to fall back to. Look at the Leafs goalie worries.
http://www.puckbandits.com
As far as Halak/Price goes – look, there are people here who will never be happy unless they are GM. And if they become GM, we won’t be happy. I remember angry tavern talkers denouncing the 5 and 6 defenceman on the seventies dynasty teams, running down Lambert for being slow and calling Lafleur a puck hog. There’s no pleasing fans.
I really enjoyed Halak’s run and said the Habs had kept the wrong goalie. I was wrong. Price will be a top ten goalie, and Halak (who could also rise) looks to be a Steve Penney Trophy winner. Eller was a good return. We move on.
As for the doom and gloom, hey, read the silly postings, take a deep breath, and consider whether you want to argue with a 12 year old. There is a lot of that happening here…
We can either argue with 12 year olds or agree with 10 year olds. Not much room to maneuver at HIO.
Price vs Halak is totally getting out of control again. Price is by far the better goalie. Halak is a good goalie but nowhere near the top against other goaltenders in NHL. Price is a younger goaltender and is on his way to be in top five in the coming years.
Price will represent Canada in the next couple of years and bring home GOLD. Lets just say who would win if Halak vs Price for their Country called Canada vs Slovakia? You know the answer…….
Halak has a good team playing in front of him with size and experience. St Louis is much bigger than our Habs and it showed last time they played our team in a 3-0 win for Halak. Habs made 3 mistakes and St Louis capatilize on their opportunities.
Halak is a backup in St Louis and Price is a starter for our HABS. There should be ONLY oneway conversation and that’s talking about the team you cheer for? If you got GUTS enough to say what team you cheer for besides the Habs then say so. This site doesn’t mind trolls debating who is the better goaltender or team. We get to say what’s on each persons mind? Who’s your team?
There are so much to debate about Price and Halak and it gets carried away when the other goalie is on a hot streak. Price has played way more than Halak and it will continue for years to come. IMHO, I don’t think Halak can play 70 plus games a year and have the same statics as Price. That’s wait to be seen for sure but right now Price has the upper hand in most games played. Have yourselves a GREAT Day. Cheers
Go Habs Go!!!!
Since you are so good at predicting the future. Do you have this week’s 6/49 numbers?
They both are good goal tenders. Neither is elite yet but both are above average. The major difference is Halak actually stole two series for the Habs whereas Price has yet to steal even one.
Nobody knows what the future will bring. Price is no more a sure thing than any other prospect. Price, like Halak, still needs a talented team in front of him that is well coached.
This summer though, Halak will be in the second season and Price will be hog tying cattle.
The biggest difference is actually that Price is a Hab and Halak is not. No need to spread fairy tales about goalies that get yanked several times stealing series for the team that managed to win a series, while dismissing a goalie that shut out the Bruins in game 7 to lock up a series of his own, and who took the Bruins 7 games and into ot last year, the year they won the cup.
Both goalies faltered in the NHL play-offs against the same Flyers team or variations thereof.
I am not in the debate of Price versus Halak. I am staking my position against those who would favour one over the other.
Halak was and is a class act. Price is starting to mature and looks good. Both goalies IMO are over estimated by fans here.
Fans of a team always overestimate their own players. It’s just annoying when they start intentionally underestimating them and cheering against them to annoy the other fans. Then picking fights with anyone that opts to cheer for the team even though this player is on the team, doesn’t make it much better.
This topic should have been over and done with 2 yrs ago, that some people still bring it up because they miss those fights is pretty lame.
Agree 100%…good post.
XXIV…and counting
It’s the ying and yang theory. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reactions. For the team with the best fans in the world, they also have to have the worst fans in the world as well.
Fighting over goalies when the team itself moved on 2 years ago is pathetic at best. Watching people that claim to be fans of this team constantly cheering AGAINST the team and specifically AGAINST certain players on the team and then AGAINST the fans of the team that don’t opt to cheer against those players is just ridiculous.
Equally ridiculous is watching people that claim to be fans of this team constantly cheering AGAINST certain former Habs that did nothing but play hard in Montreal while here and then AGAINST the fans that don’t opt to cheer against those former Habs as well.
As an example, I will always wish Mike Komisarek well. He always tried to stand up for his teammates and gave the franchise a few good years. He was always there to answer the bell in the dressing room, even as a young kid, as opposed to sneaking out the back before the media got there.
That Komisarek is struggling now pains me. He is better than he is playing. I still think he can be a good player in the right system, but that system is not Toronto.
I was rewarded in my faith by Chris Higgins, who has resurrected his career and become a valuable contributor for a Stanley Cup contender despite all the nay-sayers telling me he was useless. So now I’ve adopted Mike Komisarek as my new resurrection project. (But don’t worry Higgy…you’re still my favourite!)
It’s logic like this that leaves me scratching my head.
“Let’s just say who would win if Halak vs Price for their Country called Canada vs Slovakia? You know the answer…”
Canada, who is beating Slovakia rather handily right now regardless of who is in net.
“Halak has a good team plaing in front of him with size and experience. St Louis is much bigger than our Habs and it showed last time they played out team in a 3-0 win for Halak. Habs made 3 mistakes and St Louis capatilize on their opportunities.”
See, here’s the nonsense part. Up above, you used Canada vs Slovakia to show why Price is better. But now you talk about how Price is better because Halak only wins because of a stronger team. Well then what in the heavens is Canada vs Slovakia? Your point hinges on giving Carey Price a huge advantage by having the best team in the world playing in front of him and you want people to take the point seriously?
“Halak is a backup in St Louis and Price is a starter for our HABS.”
Well for starters, Halak is not the backup in St Louis. Halak has started more games on the season, and has started more games in October, December and January than Elliott. St Louis must be the first team in the NHL whose “backup” plays more than their starter.
On the flip side, it is disingenuous to give Price credit as the starter. The only time he was legitimately threatened as a #1 was by Halak, who he lost his job to. The franchise then traded Halak. Price never won the job, he was given it.
“Price has played way more than Halak and it will continue for years to come. IMHO, I don’t think Halak can play 70 plus games a year and have the same statics as Price. That’s wait to be seen for sure but right now Price has the upper hand in most games played. Have yourselves a GREAT Day.”
Probably correct. I think Halak is going to be a 50-60 game kind of goalie at most, while Price will probably be a 60-70 game goalie (I think it should be closer to 60 to keep him rested, but that’s a matter of opinion). But unlike most here, I don’t think 50-60 games is such a bad thing if you’ve got a strong enough backup. Look at the Stanley Cup winning goalies post-lockout: Thomas (57 starts), Niemi (60), Fleury (66), Osgood (40), Giguere (56), and Ward (28). See the trend? Why do we waste so much brain-sweat talking about 70-game goalies being superior “franchise” goalies when there is no evidence supporting this superiority?
Statistically, it is tough to compare even if they did play the same number of games because they play behind different players in different systems. This even goes as a measure of playoff success, the stat that most people care about.
“If you got GUTS enough to say what team you cheer for besides the Habs then say so. This site doesn’t mind trolls debating who is the better goaltender or team. We get to say what’s on each persons mind? Who’s your team?”
Montreal is my team. But I reserve the right to cheer on likeable Habs of years past (Koivu, Higgins, Komisarek, Streit, Halak) because they gave so much to the franchise while they were here.
I’m happy we have Carey Price. I did not like his attitude the first couple of years, but he has grown into a witty, intelligent guy who has thrived in one of the most pressure-laden positions in sports. His immaturity has disappeared (no more shooting pucks at opposing players celebrating goals, no more disgusted looks at his defencemen every time he is scored on, no more mock-cheering the crowd), and he’s become a consummate professional on the ice.
I was also one of the more vocal supporters of the trade. Halak was going to be traded…we all knew this. In return, we got a player I had been eyeing for a while. I am Canadian, but with my father coming from Denmark I have always cheered for Scandinavian hockey players, particularly if they are gentlemanly players on the ice (hence my avatar). How was I NOT going to be keen on a trade that brought perhaps the best Dane to my favourite team? I followed Kim Staal for years hoping for a Dane in a Habs jersey, and now I’ve got one. I’m in heaven.
I will also admit to bringing Halak up or defending him against some of the more puerile arguments just to incite some of our more vocal people into going at it. The logical fallacies and leaps of logic involved in the attempts of many people here to wrap themselves in the Price or Halak banner leads to some pretty humourous reading.
Most of our rabid Price fans are simply incapable of acknowledging anything positive about Halak, while the most rabid Halak fans can’t acknowledge anything positive about Price. Whenever you get two opposing stands where both sides are incapable of actually acknowledging points and counter-points, it generally devolves into repeating the same things over and over and over in more and more certain terms. There are few things more entertaining than fans who insist that their fandom is more pure and correct than that of other fans.
I like you when you’re ornery.
I’m **always** ornery. I just hide it (not so) well.
Wow the constant Jaro/Price banter is unbelievable. Even Leaf fans have moved on from having traded away Rask. Whether the decision of which goalie was traded was correct or incorrect, My question is whether some of these people actually cheer for the Habs.
Last I checked you cheer for the team, the crest on the front.
And we did get a kid named Eller, I hope he can continue developing and help people get over the loss of St. Jaro.
To be fair its nothing like the leafs trading Rask.
[Disclaimer]: I’m a hockey fan. I care about the habs, but probably not as much as you.
-26°C
Feels like: -37
Light Snow
Jaroslav the Great, get it right
Shane Oliver
http://www.Sholi2000.com Inc.
Custom Sports Figures
Brandon, MB,Canada
R7B 2R7
hockey@sholi2000.com
Ph- 204 724 8418
Chalk up another early morning zinger! Good stuff!
Shaker
They’re still on that? The Oilers got over Gretzky leaving quicker than this, and I don’t recall the Oilers giving hate mail to any of the centers that followed Gretzky, just the owner that sold him.
Just two days ago, the Facebook wall of one of my friends lit up with about 100 posts regarding the Rask/Pogge deal. So they’re not exactly over that, either.
The difference is that both Halak and Price remain good goalies, so there remains (and I suspect this will always be the case) no clear cut winner in that trade for some people. Pogge is the clear loser between he and Rask.
The Penguins, the organization that blundered and lucked its way to 4 consecutive top two draft choices, have shown themselves to be the least professional organization in hockey when it comes to concussions. Sidney Crosby returned to the game after getting his first, and played in the next game where he received the double-hit that may yet end his career.
Kris Letang, in a game against the Habs, suffered a concusion and returned minutes later to play in overtime. He has not played a game since (almost 2 months).
Now they are sending Sidney Crosby to receive completely unproven and untested “medical care”.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12017/1203973-61.stm
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Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.
I have said the same thing as well HF and couldn’t agree with you more. I would like to see Crosby take a year and a half off from Hockey get healty, and then as a UFA let Montreal treat him with respect! (Okay pipe dream with Bias, but Pittsburgh and Mario, did let this kid down in their handling of his health)
The HBO 24/7 exposed just how out of it Crosby was after the Steckel hit, how they ever dressed him days later for Tampa game is unbelievable.
I’m pretty sure there’s a limit on how much you can give a player and I doubt it’s 13 mil
20% of the cap – or about 12.6M this year.
Not that Price is getting that.
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Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.
hehe, I hope Carey gets 10million/10 year. If only to watch the fans here lose it
Very entertaining.
It was only a rumour and people were losing it last night.
Not to mention that troll who was going on and on about St Louis’ Halak’s 22 save shutout against Dallas who was missing there top two Forwards, and barely beat them 1-0. But yes, The Blues are awesome this year. I’m gonna Puke lol
lol 22 saves, that’s a busy 1st period for the GREAT CAREY PRICE (hehe)
God Bless Ya Allan Walsh, you’re a genius! (insert sarcasm here).
Seriously though. Halak and Elliot are looking like hockey What’s gods in St Louis. What’s funnby is when they try to go after the big payday and not get it because JD knows who to thank for the goaltending. Cough Cough I got an hitch in my pants
More useful points from NHL Ch 92. They were talking about Cammalleri yesterday. They wondered how a potential 40 goal scorer has been on 3 teams before he’s even turned 30. Not well liked in the dressing room. I love hearing those inside stories.
Then they went on about Philly’s goaltending. Nogoalov is 42nd in save percentage. 41st in Goals against, and has only faced 747 shots. Nice work there Philly.
ok back to work everyone and remember, “hey lets be careful out there.”
VOTE PRICE
10 FOR 10
COMING SOON
Shane Oliver
http://www.Sholi2000.com Inc.
Custom Sports Figures
Brandon, MB,Canada
R7B 2R7
hockey@sholi2000.com
Ph- 204 724 8418
It’ll be tough for the habs to make the playoffs; considering Pittsburgh and Washington are 7-8, you can be sure the zebras will help them along.
[Disclaimer]: I’m a hockey fan. I care about the habs, but probably not as much as you.
Send him to Calgary…His honky masks will be a hit there.
How about a team offering Price a one year “max contract” offer sheet, or 20% of the salary cap, which would be around 13M.
The NHL team loses four first round picks (i believe), but they gain a franchise goalie, and the rights to re-sign Price to a more reasonable contract. And with a star goalie sticking around, they’re assured of not suffering a fate like the leafs (trading high first round picks to Boston).
The Canadiens will probably be against the cap, thanks to contracts like Kaberle’s and Gomez, and the Habs have to re-sign other players and fill holes, like AK, or PK. It would be very difficult to move Kaberle and Gomez, especially with a ridiculous offer sheet pending.
An NHL team offering Price an offer sheet is similar to what someone should have done with LA and Doughty last summer, and I believe a similar scenario was attempted with Fedorov and Sakic years ago.
After reading Stub-zees,Todd-skees and now this moron (who hails from a town that hasn’t won a cup since 1926-27
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/sports/Habs+best+before+date+long+gone/5998176/story.html … It appears our friendly scribes who invaded my friendly Mon morning newspaper are stealing a page from Herb Zurkowski’s book on sports journalism (or should I say negativism!).
Hello people! We’re only 8 points out of a playoff spot with a full half season to play, we just beat one of the top teams in our conference, have proven we can handle pretty much any team, have been absolutely snake bit with injuries, one goal games (often times decided by inept judgement on the part of referees and a so called war room ( that’s manned by idiots from TO toting pop-guns ) … Hey ,the teams showing signs of turning things around and despite all the negativism that seems to permeate the lower crust of so called knowledgable fans and the Gazette these days – this team WILL make the playoffs.
Stop looking at the entire sum of games ahead Stub-zees, get behind the team people – ” take it one game, one period, one shift at a time …” as Hal Gill said so wisely when some jerk asked him about how things ‘d look a month from now if …
With the likes of the falling Leafs, the global warming of the Penguins, the Buffulo (Sabres) falling off the cliff like herds of Buffulo before them, water in the Jets fuel tank … It ain’t over till it’s over!
Some of us grew up in an era – when the boards were all white; the game was just as clean (players respected each other) and yer Habs (my friends), brought home the cup with a great degree of regularity!
This team WILL make the playoffs?!
And I thought i was being bold with bringing up a 13M offer sheet for Mr. Price….
There is only 1 Charles Wang to go around in the NHL. 13mil? Absolutely stark raving mad. No GM would ever, but if they did, I’d gladly grab all those draft picks. Have to be nuts or Wang to put an offer sheet like that on Price.
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Tanking- The Losers way of winning.
1) Price would be a UFA after that contract. Why would he agree to a pay cut after receiving a $13 M deal?
2) Why would any team give Carey Price, who is not by any metric the best goalie in the league, a contract that would pay him almost twice as much as the next highest paid goalie? His fellow GM’s would crucify him.
3) 4 first round picks are worth more than a single goalie. Michael Leighton/Brian Boucher, Ray Emery, Antti Niemi, Chris Osgood, Dwayne Roloson and Jean-Sebastien Giguere have all made the Stanley Cup finals in the past few years, while Carey Price, Henrik Lundqvist, Pekka Rinne, Niklas Backstrom, Tomas Vokoun, Ilya Bryzgalov, etc. haven’t ever seen the 3rd round.
What teams in the NHL need a franchise goalie?
Anaheim – Hiller
Boston – Thomas and Rask
Buffalo – Miller and Enroth
Calgary – Kiprusoff (Irving and Ramo in the wings)
Carolina – Ward
Chicago – Crawford
Colorado – Varlamov
Columbus – Mason and Garon
Dallas – Lehtonen (Campbell in the wings)
Detroit – Howard
Edmonton – Khabibulin
Florida – Theodore (Markstrom in the wings)
Los Angeles – Quick and Bernier
Minnesota – Backstrom
Montreal – Price
Nashville – Rinne
New Jersey – Brodeur
New York Rangers – Lundqvist
New York Islanders – DiPietro
Ottawa – Anderson
Philadelphia – Bryzgalov and Bobrovsky
Phoenix – Smith
Pittsburgh – Fleury
San Jose – Niemi
St. Louis – Elliott and Halak
Toronto – Reimer
Vancouver – Luongo and Schneider
Washington – Vokoun and Neuvirth (Holtby in the wings)
Winnipeg – Pavelec
So looking at that list, I would say there might be 5 teams (Toronto, Edmonton, Columbus, the Islanders and Colorado) who **might** need a goalie bad enough to risk a 1st round pick or two. But for two first round picks or less, a bottom-feeding team could probably land Schneider (VAN), Rask (BOS), Enroth (BUF), Halak or Elliott (STL), or Bernier (LA).
I just don’t see a team risking so many shots at an elite position player in exchange for a goalie.
Not saying I would personally be interested in offering a goalie a one year $13M contract, but more food for thought. The poison pill contract is something I think GM’s should use more often.
New Jersey and Minnesota are both teams that have aging goaltenders that, depending on the Canadiens cap situation, should consider offer sheets for a fairly proven commodity. Sure they could trade for Elliot, Bernier or Schneider and they MIGHT be acquiring a number 1 goaltender, but by offering an offer sheet to someone like Price, or last summer Doughty, they can obtain a franchise player.
If you had told the Minnesota Wild GM his next four first round picks, including two top ten picks, would be Benoit Pouliot, James Sheppard, Colton Gillies and Tyler Cuma, would you take a Doughty, Stamkos or Price instead? If a team is drafting in the #15 to #30 spot in the first round, odds are you are going to end up with a good player or a nobody, but not the franchise player, unless the year is 2003 or you’re the Flyers or Bruins and fluke out and hit a home run.
Like the Canucks offering David Backes an offer sheet a few years ago. If they had used a higher contract and gambled more, potentially they have the Stanley Cup winning piece in place.
Garon is with Tampa Bay
No team is insane enough to offer an unproven goaltender, coming off an average season, 13 million. Price has one playoff series in his life. There are infinite better ways to spend 13 million.
Don’t cry, no tears, ’round me… Habs fans.
I don’t know if this has been suggested but I think the Rangers lose at the Bell Centre because of the Gomez trade. It’s like saying, “You traded him and you still can’t win!”
Not trying to troll or anything. I mean, two of the Habs’ best games this season have been against the Rangers at the BC. I’m sure the Summiteers would agree.
The drive for 25 is alive!
People. Price is good but let’s get a grip.
Price is an RFA this summer, albeit arbitration eligible, not an unrestricted free agent. The only way he gets more than 6 million is if gets an offer sheet and the Habs have to match it. I would think given his status the Habs still have the upper hand as they own his rights. If Price gets an offer sheet in excess of 7 million I would imagine the Habs would have to assess that team offering it to see if the picks are worth taking rather than signing him but they would probably be getting scalded either way.
There is no reason why Price as a pending RFA should get more salary than Miller, Lundqvist or Ward.
I would think if his agent wants term he has to be reasonable. If the Habs want to under cut Price however and lets say give him 4 million per I would think the maximum would be 3-4 years. I would also surmise 5 million is still a lot given that the last time Price has won anything significant, carried a team or stolen a series was in his Calder Cup run. He’s good but he still has to prove it.
5 million per for 5-8 years should be enough.
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As a side note:
I think the NHL should put a cap on term for contracts. 5 years should be the maximum and IMO there should be no more front or back loaded contracts. It’s deceptive and lends way to abuse. If a cap hit is 5 million, the salary should be 5 million.
Well said HH.
No goalie is worth more than 5 million a year. Not one. There are lots of quality ‘tenders and not enough teams to take them all.
Price and Budaj have the same save percentage this year. No-one wants to give Budaj a big raise that I’ve noticed.
Full Breezer 4 Life
Couldn’t agree more.
Agreed. I think 5 mil is plenty.
Well said, but I’d be surprised if the guy wanted a contract that long to stay here with a floundering team around him.
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Dear Mtl Canadiens,
Please beat Boston to tie the season series. You are about to cost me three bottles of rum in a little over a year.
Love,
Michael
Phil, I mean Rene, Bourque looks like he has the distemperment of a young John Kordic.
Interesting how the Price – Halak comparison still generates heated debate. Probably will continue for some time. One argument used to “explain” Halak’s strong play of late is that he is winning because he is playing for a good team. Sometimes it works the other way as well. Strong goaltending can make the whole team look better. Any long-time Hab fan should understand the concept as it has produced numerous cups for the franchise.
Goalies live and die behind the teams that front them.
You don’t think there have been exceptions to your “rule?”
Probably not. Teams figure it out when they have a hot goalie, or they suck and don’t. Maybe this doesn’t prove my point at all, but…
We simply disagree. I think goalies have stolen games, and cups, while playing for distinct underdogs. Best example in my mind, Dryden beating the Bruins and then the Blackhawks. Both teams had superior talent.
Price has the same team that Halak did. Same old story about Price fans. Unrealistic about Price and unfair about Halak.
They’re brutal…Halak pitches another shutout and they’re on here talking about how Price is going to get offer sheets at seasons end….and a lifetime contract worth the max per year…
I really don’t even know how to describe the level of crazy that goes on here.
Price has the same team as Halak did? Really? Halak had Diaz, Emelin, Pk, Campoli and Kaberle in front of him? Not to mention a Gill way past his prime?
Halak’s recovered from his hand injury and operation and is also using a new trapper. Another shutout tonight as he beats Dallas 1-0. He is now in a virtual tie with JS Giguere at 7th place in the NHL (and climbing). Price drops to 21st. His GAA could drop under 2.00 within the next week or two.
http://www.nhl.com/ice/playerstats.htm?fetchKey=20122ALLGAGAll&sort=goalsAgainstAverage&viewName=goalsAgainstAverage
Isn’t it a bit of a coincidence that Halak AND Elliot have both caught fire after the coaching change and general turnaround in St. Louis? If you think it’s about Halak, what do you have to say about how Elliot has outperformed him over the same time frame?
Full Breezer 4 Life
Halak benefits from a defensive coach.
But there were few teams that played more defensively over the past two seasons than the Montreal Canadiens under Jacques Martin.
Both guys have benefitted from that. The turnaround in St. Louis is due to a number of factors: Halak has improved his play, the defence has started to play much more cohesively and the offence is playing much better.
As for Elliott, he has outplayed Halak on the season, but since December 1, Halak is 8-0-3 with a 1.68 GAA and a 0.943 SV% while Elliott is 5-4-1 with a 2.34 GAA and a 0.920 SV%.
True that, but Halak was kinda the first goalie to perform big time for Martin. Am I wrong?
Craig Anderson and Tomas Vokoun didn’t do too badly in Florida. But Halak’s playoff run was easily the best performance Martin enjoyed in the playoffs.
Actually, the Sens in 2003 were Martin’s best playoff performance. They went 7 games in the semis that year and 11-7 in the playoffs as opposed to 9-10
cool – Elliot was another goalie from parts unknown…thrown away a couple of times…and kapow!
He’s playing great!
More proof that wasting a lottery pick on a goalie is nuts!
“Of course I’m crazy, but that doesn’t mean I’m wrong.”
- Robert Anton Wilson
Halak is playing well because he is not playing a heavy load of games (in terms of number of games) . . . just like when he was here, even during the “miracle” playoff run, he did not have the stamina to last game in game out . . .
CranbrookEd
Mr. Beliveau: “Pure Pak mais oui”! . . . What ever happened to Johnny Jelly-Bean!?
Halak is playing well because he is a very, very good goalie.
__________________________
☞ “Talent is a gift from God, but you only succeed with hard work. Yvan was proof of that.” – Jean Beliveau. ☜
I say Gomez gets his game together, somewhat… Who’s with me?!
Why are the PriceBots the RIGHT wing? Are the Halakites left cause he’s from a post-Warsaw Pact nation?
Technically Slovakia was not in the the WP because it didn’t exist (legally) yet.
True, but only on a technicality! They still had to queue for a banana in Bratislava.
*facepalm*
_____________________________
Don’t let the wultures getcha.
ahaha that was my reaction after that post. wow…
*middle finger dangle*
I’m not saying that the goalie Gauthier picked was wrong. But, only time will tell on who has a better career (Prick vs Halak).
Totally agree.
They’re both freaking good.
Good, yes. But great? Not yet for either.
To be honest, it is irrelevant who has a better career. It is now apples and oranges as they are no longer being judged on the same criteria.
Price is a very good younger guy playing in one of the biggest pressure cookers in sports, goaltender for the Montreal Canadiens. The team he plays behind has a popgun offence and he plays a ton of games.
Halak is a very good younger guy playing in a market that understands hockey (the Blues have a proud NHL history) but one can’t really compare the pressures. He is presently playing in a defensive system that makes both he and Elliott look like the illegitimate love children of Patrick Roy and Jacques Plante who were abducted by Terry Sawchuk to be raised by Glenn Hall and George Hainsworth.
I found the taunts by many of the fans on this site to be rather puerile when Halak had a bad month to start the season, and I’m finding a lot of the taunts of Price now to be equally puerile.
Halak gave everything he had to the Habs and was a very likeable player while here. For that reason, I will continue to support him throughout his career as I do for guys like Chris Higgins, Saku Koivu, Mike Komisarek and Mark Streit.
I wasn’t crazy about some aspects of Price his first couple of seasons, but he has grown into a very mature kid who seems to be witty and has his head screwed on straight. Price is an excellent goalie, and I’m happy the Habs have him (even if I would like to see him playing 60-65 games instead of 70 games).
We’ll never know who has the better career because the circumstances will be different. It will be comparing oranges to tangerines.
Price is a great young goalie who has his head screwed on straight and who has demonstrated that he can negotiate the pitfalls of one of the most tricky positions in all of sports, the pressure laden position of goaltender for the Montreal Canadiens.
Halak is a great young goalie who has his head screwed on straight and who is (at least presently) enjoying the benefits of Ken Hitchcock coaching, which can turn goalies into something approximating the illegitimate love children of Patrick Roy and Jacques Plante who have been abducted by Terry Sawchuk and were subsequently raised by George Hainsworth and Ken Dryden. St. Louis is a market with a proud hockey tradition, but nobody would argue that the pressures there match those he faced in Montreal.
I will cheer for Carey Price because he is the goalie for the Habs and he is doing a great job.
I will cheer for Jaro Halak because I always found him to be one of the more likeable players in the NHL, just as I continue to cheer for Chris Higgins, Mike Komisarek, Saku Koivu and Mark Streit (and that has been HARD for Higgins and Komisarek, at times!).
And I fully expect both guys to go on to long, distinguished careers.
I will go on record stating that Halak is the next Huet. Price is the man, I hope he stays in MTL.
Hey Bogus: Halak’s now 7th in the league and climbing, Price drops another spot again to 21st.
http://www.nhl.com/ice/playerstats.htm?fetchKey=20122ALLGAGAll&sort=goalsAgainstAverage&viewName=goalsAgainstAverage
Haha! I love Huet. I think there are some teams that could use him, but he’s stuck in Switzerland.
I’m sure he’d love Huet’s ring though.
Prick vs. Halak? I prefer PRICE. Not into prick
Anyone calling Manapart a troll has gotta calm down. He’s got his own extreme views, that I don’t extol (but perversely enjoy reading).
He just come here looking to say stuff that he hopes will stir the pot. He’s the kind of guy who would take pleasure out of kicking someone when he’s down.
Yea probably, but I like some of the caustic opinions
The prospect we picked up in the cammy trade has 26 points in his last 11 games and is 9th in league scoring. I’d like to see us swing a deal with the sens to get that mark stone kid.
Always remember Corey Locke and Andre Benoit.
Holland looks great, but take junior numbers with a grain of salt.
Large grain needed.
Eastern vs. Western leagues no comparison.
Really?
I direct your attention to:
Kimbi Daniels
Jozef Balej
Pavel Brendl
etc.
There’s busts from every league.
Look through the top scorers from the WHL each season. You’ll see an awful lot of names there that you’ve never heard of because they never got a sniff of the NHL. Just like every other Canadian junior league.
Wish they had done that with Price.
I hope it is incorrect as well
I would put a 6 mil as a max. And 10 years is way to long. They offered 7 and apparently his agent said he wanted 10.
That’a rumour as of right now, and hopefully a very incorrect one.
- Honestly yours
I agree,its too much money and term.
Who’s the agent
I think it’s Don Meehan.
- Honestly yours
Don’t happen to be PK as well ,he is the greedy of all the agent he should be ours next GM so he can see the other side ,but never mind he make more driving the market up
Yeah I think Meehan reps. PK as well….and A LOT of other players too.
Not sure if Meehan or Allan Walsh is the greediest, but it’s damn close. Walsh is the bigger S-bag though, that’s for sure.
- Honestly yours
It’s Gerry Johanson.
Don Meehan is Subban, AK, Marky and Emelin’s Jerry Maguire.
_________________________________
Open-mindedness is not a skull fracture
More PK hate… By the way if you need to start by your post by stating you are not racist, guess what, means you are about to make racist driven comments and think that little remark makes it alright.
And another low life had the audacity to say “everyone is a little racist” nope buddy, thats just the excuse you tell yourself at night. Some people live in the 21st century and don’t judge others skin deep.
Just pathetic, many of you should be ashamed.
Did PK sucker punch the way Bertizi did? NOW THATS LOW LIFE,
Did PK run after a ref like Mario? That’s unacceptable by an athelete…
Basically, because he’s young he shouldn’t have an opinion, LMAO, hearing vets bitch about rookies is like deadwood at work bitching how things have changed, and they shouldnt have to keep up.
I think Cammy’s A type ego is bigger than the bell center, but it was still a COMPLETE LACK OF CLASS to trade him during the game.
Habs used to be about class and history…
After the Chara hit last year, I liked hockey less, after all the classless showings this year, I realize its just another business that I’m buying into. I had way more fun watching the juniors duke it out.
I had the audacity to say that everyone is a little racist because, in my experience, that has been true.
Racism exhibits itself in many forms. People make racist jokes and invoke racist stereotypes every single day. On hockey blogs, we see comments all the time about Chicken Swedes and Heartless Russians.
“Oh, those aren’t different races, though!”
Well, according to the United Nations, “the term “racial discrimination” shall mean any distinction, exclusion, restriction, or preference based on race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin that has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life.” So yes, according to the generally held definition, such comments are racist.
Where I agree with you is that in the 21st century society has finally reached a point where most people generally overlook/overcome their own prejudices, as opposed to embracing them.
To suggest that the racism wasn’t there in the first place is disingenuous.
My natural inclination has always been to more heavily trust the person that admits to imperfection without submitting to those imperfections through their actions while at the same time pretty much dismissing people who claim some sort of moral perfection. It doesn’t exist. You’ve got to embrace the fact that you’ve got internal darkness if you have any hope of overcoming it.
“distinction, exclusion, restriction, or preference based on race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin”
Distinction & preference are the interesting one there. Kind of like always wanting the Habs to draft more French players.
http://musiccavity.com
Or even Canadians.
Speak for yourself, UN boy. You confuse bias and bigotry with actual racism. Happy MLK Day!
Or perhaps we simply have different definitions of racism?
I wouldn’t say one is better then the other. They are both great goalies. All I can say is the rumor regarding Prices new contract is ridiculous. I disagree with the term and the amount. Apparently he wants 70 million for 10 years. 7 mil a year is ridiculous in my opinion
Price hasn’t proved he’s anything more than an average goalie. If you give him 7 million a year. your’re completely nuts and should just shut up shop. You have no chance at ever winning. 4-5 million a year is more than fair
Have you seen the recent going rates for starting goaltenders?
_____________________________
Don’t let the wultures getcha.
$7 M cap hit would tie Price with Pekka Rinne for the highest cap hit in the NHL.
It wouldn’t surprise me if he gets it. Maybe not all on merit, but the way money is being thrown around in the NHL is insane nowadays.
_____________________________
Don’t let the wultures getcha.
Gill should be a goalies that way he get a paid rise
Winning or losing goalies?
Hey, hope you find a new home after champlain is recommissioned…
Price has been no average goalie? He’s an all star who is about to make a 3rd appearance. 39 games played and still puts up better save % than Halak’s 24 games played.
“Responding to the media , or playing to the media, or listening to the fans is the quickest way to start losing” – Sam Pollock
All-Star game appearances are not a particularly useful measure of player performance. Somebody has to go from every team, and Montreal has such a pop-gun offence that the only players that have been legitimate choices in non-ballot stuffing years are Price and Markov.
While considering Price has played almost same amount of games as Rinne (41), who will have a cap hit of 7m/yr and yet Price has put up better GAA and Nashville are in 6th place in western standings while Habs are 12th in east.
“Responding to the media , or playing to the media, or listening to the fans is the quickest way to start losing” – Sam Pollock
Apples and oranges SnowMan. We don’t know how either guy would do behind the other’s team.
Both are good, Rinne has proven to be a bit more consistent (although if Price keeps it up through this season, I will add consistent to Price’s already lengthy list of positive traits).
…Halak’s S% is higher by the way.
Trade Gomez
Carey Price #31
Really?! I think the team should invest a bit more on Gomez by buying him buritos and quesadillas before the game so he can get his mexican nutrients and thus play like he did yesterday
Danny
just being sarcastic
Carey Price #31
Give Gomez a raise…
and an extension!
how’s that for multiple sarcasms?
It looks like Gauthier traded the wrong goalie after all (surprise, surprise). Halak just shut out the Stars, to help the Blues reach the #1 spot in the NHL.
Last 16 games, Halak is 11-1-5, with a 1.70 GAA and a .937 save %
The Habs could sure have used goaltending like that, as of late. Maybe Budaj will come up with a miracle.
The fact that Price, on a bottom-feeding team, can put up average numbers, speaks to his quality.
Team quality and goalie statistics can’t be isolated from one another. The fact that Halak was putting up ECHL numbers when Elliot was putting up elite numbers speaks to Halak’s quality (at the time), not the Blues’.
Also, I’d like to see you around when things are going well. You’re so effing depressing.
Better to just ignore the trolls, chris.
You’ll never see him on here after a Habs win or a Price shutout.
Didn’t see him on here much earlier this year either when Halak was on the bench.
- Honestly yours
Sadly the trolls speak the truth. Halak is hot, wait untill the playoffs.
Have you considered changing your name to Trollapart? Given you are indeed calling yourself a troll.
Wasn’t so hot in November though was he? Don’t remember seeing you on here much praising Halak then.
Seriously, what possible enjoyment could a person possibly get from coming to a Habs fan site and constantly singing the same ‘Habs suck’, ‘Carey sucks’ songs? I truly can’t understand why a person who maybe doesn’t have anything better to do, can’t find something better to do. Even the Bruins trolls who came here after winning the Cup have all disappeared.
No offense, but that reeks of mental issues.
Oh well, probably should have just taken my own advice and ignored you.
- Honestly yours
Hey guys the truth hurts. I’m just pointing out there is a big chance you were all wrong when you thought we traded the right goalie (which you all know I never believed). I’m not saying for sure just yet. But it’s starting to look like it.
Basing an entire team’s performance on a goaltender is flat out useless.
The Blues are playing very well as a whole. Where are you going to be when Halak is pulled again?
_____________________________
Don’t let the wultures getcha.
Dude,
Price’s numbers aren’t even average – they’re terrible.
The moment that Price is moved is when the healing will begin.
Depressing? Look at how Halak is playing now and then look our goaltending. That’s depressing…… Elite goaltending vs. average goaltending makes a huge difference.
So, are you implying that the Blues wouldn’t be where they are without Halak? He’s the guy carrying the team?
_____________________________
Don’t let the wultures getcha.
But you’re cherry-picking the present and ignoring the past. You can’t conclude that Halak is elite just because he’s had elite stretches. He’s also had terrible stretches. The most you can conclude is that he’s inconsistent.
Your initial comment was way way way unwarranted. Were you willing to come out last year or earlier this year and make the opposite comment? No way. You were effing Casper. You’re invisible during Price’s good times and then take a short period and extrapolate to extraordinary conclusions.
Settle down. Reason over long periods of time. Don’t jump to conclusions. Comment on good and bad.
Don’t be an effing vulture.
LOL. Isn’t that the truth. Manapart is the epitome of cowardness. You should see what this clown actually looks like,its freakin hilarous. He’s makes richard simmons look tough.
You would know what below average looks like. You look at it in the mirror every day. Always nice to have fun at your expense,its so easy. Its not like you have the manparts to do anything about it.
LOL, you’re an embarrassment to your province. At least have some courtesy for the people who live there. You’ve been proven wrong so many times by me it’s not even fun anymore. Long run, Halak will embarrass you again. It’s already starting. Wait for the playoffs
Ah and now Halak is finally putting up decent numbers and you show up? What about Ribeiro stick handling through the defense to score that highlight reel goal?
Halak has moved on and Price had Vezina numbers last season and who’s going to the all star team? Might as well bring up Elliot into the “Halak” talk. Just be happy for Halak finally getting his career turned around all thanks to Hitch.
Don’t talk crap on our goaltending when Price has been carrying this team all season long without help from our “loser minded” team.
“Responding to the media , or playing to the media, or listening to the fans is the quickest way to start losing” – Sam Pollock
nvm Halak hes long gone get over it.
Carey Price #31
Sorry you ran out of your meds, hope you get more soon…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sL5mAbwUYpM
MAP – Is it Elliott or Halak going to The All Star Game in Ottawa with Price – Anyways keep trolling & then show records when Halak has the amount of games played as Price which will never happen since Halak is not physically strong enough to take a heavy goaltending load…….
How is Price going? Is this Bob’s doing?
Why is it when people call out Golden Boy are they ‘trolling’?
Seriously man….Get bent.
Guava, there’s a difference between having negative things to say on occassion or when necessary and ALWAYS saying the exact same negative things and cherry-picking the times to do so.
Maybe you haven’t been here long enough to know ManApart’s M.O., but now you know.
PS – Now you can get bent. Cheers.
- Honestly yours
I admit, Halak and Price have the same numbers right now. The difference is, Halak is skyrocketing back to his old self and Price is also going back to his old self. Playoffs are coming, that’s when Halak shines, so it’s not over yet.
Which playoffs specifically the 1 season with Montreal or the time he got to round 2 with the Lewiston Maineiacs? Can’t find any other playoff results for him where he got past round 1.
Or it could be the system that Hitchcock has put in St Louis has helped both Elliott & Halak because in Columbus one season Pascal Leclaire for one season was one of the top goaltenders in shutouts earned & then the other season goalie Steve Mason got a bunch of awards including rookie of the year using Hitchcox system with both goalies having one good season & not much since but helped CBJ trade Leclaire to Ottawa based on Hitchcox work…..
great – but Price is average in any system….it’s a fact.
“Of course I’m crazy, but that doesn’t mean I’m wrong.”
- Robert Anton Wilson
You forgot how many times Halak got pulled during those rounds? C’mon, I’m all happy for Halak and how he’s doing in St. Louis but I still choose Price over Halak. Because Price has better conditioning than Halak will ever be.
“Responding to the media , or playing to the media, or listening to the fans is the quickest way to start losing” – Sam Pollock
and you’ve forgotten how many games he stole….
“Of course I’m crazy, but that doesn’t mean I’m wrong.”
- Robert Anton Wilson
I haven’t forgotten, all the blocked shot Gorges and Gill taken to stole the game for Halak. Yeah, I haven’t forgotten, I recently watched the games while Habs weren’t playing.
“Responding to the media , or playing to the media, or listening to the fans is the quickest way to start losing” – Sam Pollock
Your words clearly identify you as a
Bonafied
Lover of
Undiscriminating
Excrement
—————————————
Hope has two beautiful daughters. Their names are anger and courage; anger at the way things are, and courage to see that they do not remain the way they are.
– Augustine of Hippo
Wow I’m guessing you don’t watch hockey on a regular basis. I feel bad for PG because there will always be people like yourself who have no understanding of the game and yet talk as if they do…. HIDEEEEEEE LOL
Danny
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFZrzg62Zj0
_____________________________
Don’t let the wultures getcha.
Does anyone think Jarred Tinordi will be ready for next season?
I’m anxious to see a d such as
subban ?(someone experienced)
beulieu gorges
tinordi yemelin
Danny
Highly unlikely. He’ll need at least one year in Hamilton if not more.
It would be nice if that ‘someone experienced’ you mentioned was Markov!
- Honestly yours
What’s all this nonsense about the playoff math being daunting:
G (God) made the universe in seven days.
PG has 70 days to make the playoffs.
(To be fair God didn’t have to worry about cap space.)
Perhaps Markov will be Lazarus and rise from the dead?
I’ll go ask Price our Saviour for a faviour
You have to be joking. Price’s only favours seems to be about losing shootouts.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdVwnuetumw
http://i.qkme.me/3547nc.jpg
Dost thou dare blaspheme the Anointed One? May a plague of locusts descend upon your house and lay waste to the spawn of the Devil’s seed!
Or Halak suffers a hamstring pull
since we’re casting roles for the Easter pageant…
who plays Methuselah?
Gill or Emile Bouchard?
The role was supposed to be Spacek’s but that got screwed up.
Gill. His 1,000-plus is better than Bouchard’s 785 and is closer to Methuselah’s 969.
perfect!
…or a mutinous following.
And the prophets didn’t care which language he spoke.
But He did have Red Fisher talkin’ about the good ole days.
(“The fourth day, now that was something. Waters being brought forth abundantly and you need that, folks, to make ice. And great whales and winged fowl! God saw that it was good. And it was!
But the fifth day? Creeping things, for goodness sake!
Oh well. Nobody’s perfect.”)
LMAO. ….still does.
You didn’t know? Red’s the modern-day prophet.
Souray playing tough against the Blues. At 6’4″, 237, he was a great pickup last Summer for just $1.65M. Has had a very good year in Dallas.
Always thought he was great (yes, I know…a defensive liability) but he could do every thing else while in his prime. On the point in the PP, fighting, sticking up for his teamates at the drop of a hat..(remember Colby Armstrong’s hit on Koivu), could hit, protected the goalie etc etc.
He’s getting a little worn now…had many injuries. Think it’s probably a little late to rely on him now to play anything close to the role that he played so well when with the Habs.
Good for him to make it back with the Stars.
He’s probably only have a dozen goals or so on the PP this year, if he were still a Hab.
For the Carey Price Fans
The day Carey was drafted by the Canadiens was the day I laughed my ass off. The pick came out of nowhere, and every single hockey analyst was scratching their heads.
I’ll be honest, when they picked him I had no idea who he was. I was sitting in my brother’s basement watching the draft on the big screen (PEI, I was on leave) and was hoping Bobby Ryan would be a Hab.
I was a member of Canadiens.com ( I got banned from there for posting my Troll pictures lol) and everyone was talking about drafting Pouliot or Brule. I had no faith in either of those two and when they picked Price, analysts were talking about some guy named Kopitar.
So the first thing I said was “oh my god the Canadiens just drafted an English goaltender” and then I went online to see his history.
I immediately loved what I saw. Size and Shut Outs. At the age of 17 he had 8 shutouts. As a fan of junior hockey and played AAA hockey as a kid, and later Senior military hockey for over (1995 National Champions, lol we beat Team Quebec) 15 years I knew how hard it was for kids to make the big teams, and how really hard it was for a kid from the back woods to make it. So then I did more reading on him and saw how his dad learned how to fly to take him to practice. FYI, Jerry is one great man. I spent more time talking to him then I did Carey.
SO after the draft was over, people were already throwing this kid under the bus, and saying he’d never make it, worst pick ever and so on.
I became his biggest fan.
Part II
I collect Canadiens hockey memorabilia. Been collecting cards, autographs, jerseys, etc. and have a very nice collection. So when the Canadiens drafted a goalie I started my Price collection.
I’m a big fan of goalies. My dad played PEI senior in the 70’s and was the Island’s best goalie in the mid 70’s. He still has all his masks he wore (ok there were only 3) and someday I hope to add them to my collection.
My memories of dad playing goal will never die. Everyone talked about him, and how great he was. I can still remember his road games and listening to his games on the radio.
He , my brother and I have a wall in our house filled with hockey trophies. Like I said the memories will never die.
PART III
So Carey Price is a Canadien and I start my memorabilia collection of him.
I gave Carey his own web page and began my collection for the world to see. Well that world included young Carey Price and his billets to see.
I made him a hockey card for his own use and chatted back and forth with his billet for few years.
When Carey was chosen to play for Team Canada at the IIHF World Juniors we were all very proud of him. Then when he signed his first contract we were all very excited.
So Carey gets the call. The bulldogs end up playing the Moose in the playoffs and I get a call from his billet. She wanted to know if I was going to go watch him play. We all go to the game together and she asks me if I want to me him. I giggled like a little girl and said yes.
I told the kids we were going to Winnipeg (our base was shut down in Winnipeg, and we got moved to Brandon) to meet Carey Price. They had no idea what I was talking about.
I explained to them Carey’s story and everything that went with it.
The game was awesome and Carey was first star (I believe it was 3-1, or 3-0). I heard some fans talking about a huge storm coming in and I knew we had a two hour drive a head of us. So I told Carey’s billet that we had to leave to beat the storm. As we are walking away from them, my two little ones start crying. They wanted to meet the goalie who played for Team Canada, and won a Gold Medal. I was a little hesitant as we were walking and I said “ok guys lets go meet Carey”. Their cheers of joy were like Christmas all over again.
We ran to catch up with the Price group.
We caught up, walked down into the tunnel and waited outside their dressing room.
Carey’s billet introduced me to Jerry, and the Pickard family. I met Chet (Carey’s backup) and his little brother Calvin (both brothers now in the AHL). Bother brothers are now drafted. Great guys.
I talked to Jerry for an hour, he wanted to know about my life in the Infantry, and all in all we just talked about life in general.
Carey came around the corner eating a slice of pizza and hugged his dad, Jill, Denis, and then the Pickard family. I and my family stood to the side not wanting to interrupt his greeting.
Jill (billet) introduced us and we took some pictures with him. I let him return to his family and friends and we just hung out listening to them all.
Jerry and I continued to gab and I asked him if I could send the pictures we just took to him to get autographed. No problem there, and Carey always signs for the kids.
Lol, I even sent him a baseball one year to have signed.
I tried to bring Jerry with me to the Summit last year but he was busy with a new project.
I haven’t talked with them in a long time, and every once in a while I’ll send them a little note.
When I was recovering from my brain damage I took up the hobby of custom sports figures. I made 4 or 5 for Carey and his family to keep for them or auction off at charity functions. In return Carey would always send my kids something.
Two summers ago I made one of Carey for the Carson Kolzig foundation. He signed it and they auctioned it off.
Carey has never been one to turn down charities. He’s raised a ton of money for the different Soldier’s programs, and cancer research. He’s a great guy and has an excellent story. Win or Lose the Oliver’s will always be a fan of Carey Price and Company.
God Bless Our Infantry
Sgt S Oliver
CD, CIC courage under fire 1993
2 PPCLI
Shane Oliver
http://www.Sholi2000.com Inc.
Custom Sports Figures
Brandon, MB,Canada
R7B 2R7
hockey@sholi2000.com
Ph- 204 724 8418
Awesome stuff, Shane! Thank you for posting, I really appreciate it!
Sounds like he comes from a great family.
- Honestly yours
Thanks for sharing Shane, was a pleasure to read that story. I was actually quite excited when BG drafted Price, and still am.
Cheers bud, imagine your backyard rink is perfectly frozen now, must be hard to flood with the cold you got going now. My dad had some pretty quirky inventions he used to flood our rink growing in Wpg, but being a tool and die maker he had to always involved his ideas to his kids hobbies, he had never played sports in his life due to the war, so he just liked to craft his kids sports! lol.
at this temp you keep the water light, get it on, then get the hose back inside before it freezes to the spout.
I have it down to a science now.
Shane Oliver
http://www.Sholi2000.com Inc.
Custom Sports Figures
Brandon, MB,Canada
R7B 2R7
hockey@sholi2000.com
Ph- 204 724 8418
It’s nice to read good things about our team’s goalie.
I too had a Dad that made great sacrifices for us.
Thanks Dad, wherever you are.
I love the ol man, we did everything together.
Shane Oliver
http://www.Sholi2000.com Inc.
Custom Sports Figures
Brandon, MB,Canada
R7B 2R7
hockey@sholi2000.com
Ph- 204 724 8418
Great story Sholi.
Let’s hope they sign Cary for a good long time, see him raise a cup in MTL, see his number retired to the rafters of the Bell, and ultimately raise a statue out front in his honour.
You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one.
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Hope has two beautiful daughters. Their names are anger and courage; anger at the way things are, and courage to see that they do not remain the way they are.
– Augustine of Hippo
Great read Shane. Cheers!
Great story Shane. Hope some day you can end it with “now I have my autographed picture of Carey in a Habs uniform holding the Stanley Cup”.
————————————-
Listen to the Smart Dog. He knows his poop!
I can wait, it will be worth it.
Shane Oliver
http://www.Sholi2000.com Inc.
Custom Sports Figures
Brandon, MB,Canada
R7B 2R7
hockey@sholi2000.com
Ph- 204 724 8418
Family is everything,the fiber of town, society,nation always there to help, support ,thanks for sharing u story and point out there more than just a goalies
Thanks all.
Gerald the weather turned something awful, and yes I got the rink back up and running. Could be minus 50 and the kids will still play! Crazy Canadians
Shane Oliver
http://www.Sholi2000.com Inc.
Custom Sports Figures
Brandon, MB,Canada
R7B 2R7
hockey@sholi2000.com
Ph- 204 724 8418
That is a cool story!
Ryan Miller pulled again and a bit of a temper tantrum on the way down the hallway. Sabres really starting to freefall.
Yeah, almost feel sorry for them. (Listen to WGR 550 in the a.m. drive to work). The radio guys and phone in fandemonium are at wits end…fire Regehr/Rupp etc…
Feel badly for Miller but not the Sabres. Am I bad?
Nah
All you have to do is go to one Sabres game and listen to the knuckleheads there and you will feel sorry no longer.
I had my refresher course couple weeks back with my nephew, was a great night, Jets won too.
Yeah…lost some sympathy yesterday when they started laughing @/cutting up the Habs and the terrible trade…Callemari for Bourque. (which is the only one of a few of late that I like)
Only Hab fans have a right to B__tch and bellyache about stupid moves that the team may make…
Hoping for the Sens to wake up too.
Shane Oliver
http://www.Sholi2000.com Inc.
Custom Sports Figures
Brandon, MB,Canada
R7B 2R7
hockey@sholi2000.com
Ph- 204 724 8418
Things are spiraling out of control in Buffalo. Wonder if Rick Jeanneret’s screaming: “May Day! May Day!”
Thanks Belly-boy…Sounds like it may be an entertaining drive in to work tomorrow morning.
I go to about 2-3 Sabres games every year, not sure I have been to one yet, where they don’t include that replay into the evening yet.
How did they miss the boat on acquiring Halak? Haven’t you heard he’s the best goalie of all time and forever? Now all they have is crappy Miller who’s never won a Cup.
————–
The Drive for 25
Milbury just took the time to break down a hockey fight punch for punch explaining the merits of each punch and how much he likes a good hockey fight. The guy really does live in a Cave.
LOL Hopefully he took the time to tell how each punch effects the brian. “I got hit, my brian, once a penaut, now just crumb. I trade Luongo an some body else fer parrish, I did good eh pie erre?”
On the drive home, I’ve made it a habit to listen to Knuckles Nilan on the radio. I love this guy. Just today he was saying that Milbury hates despises the Canadiens, because Milbury never won anything because of them.
Also, that he should wear a Bruins jersey when on HNIC. lol
Wowsers…Could we use a Knuckles Nilan vers. 2.0
What a heart and soul guy. And that Massachusetts accent lol
what I would give to have Nilan on the hotstove…
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The Drive for 25
Was it against a 12 year old?
His problem is that he sh*ts blue! He even said it!
No Question about it, if we lose 10 games it will put us out of the play offs for sure. There is 37 games left to play. I need another drink!!
I have to agree with that assessment Ian. 10 more losses and the Pay-offs™ are out of reach.
Which means if the Habs are still playing .500 hockey or worse by the trade deadline it would be time to pack it in and become sellers.
It could be an ideal opportunity strengthen this franchise considerably. Sadly with all the hand wringing when it dawns on management that the Pay-offs™ aren’t happening it could also be an opportunity to set the team on the path of perpetual mediocrity for another decade.
The Pay-offs™, at that point, would become out of reach but not the Days-off™
Every team tries to make the Pay-offs. That’s why you play.
I hope they win 10 in a row and spare us the “wiil we make it in the last game drama” like 2 years ago.
its always like that with the habs lol barely make the playoffs or win the game by one goal
Danny
Mike Green.. man that guy was an offensive stud.. scored 31 goals
and injured again this year
——————
The 2010-11 Stanley Cup was not won, but given
Tell me about it. I drafted him in the 2nd round of my Yahoo pool last year and he totally burned me missing so much time with injuries then too.
- Honestly yours
Next year it will be the kid from the Sen teams will gun for him
The Bruins act absolutely shocked when they get called for a penalty. They all have that “Do you know who I am” look.
a.k.a. The “Douche” look
- Honestly yours
Unfortunately the league responds with, Oh yah you are Bruins, nothing to see here, continue on as you were Boys.
Question: From the latest prospect rankings on TSN (http://www.tsn.ca/draftcentre/feature/?id=49649), who would YOU pick (assume the player is available, but be reasonable) with:
A) 1st overall pick.
B) lottery pick but not a top-2.
C) 6-15th overall.
D) 16-30 overall pick that we obtain for trading AK to a contender.
(Wo-hoo, we are picking twice!)
I assume we are not making playoffs.
1) Yakupov. He’s the consensus number one, supposed to have significantly higher talent and upside than any other player available. You have to take the best player with the #1 pick.
2) Grigorenko. Consistently ranked out of the top two, but the best big centre available.
3) Ryan Murray. Good-looking D-man.
4) It’s a crap-shoot at that point. I’ll go with Malcolm Subban, best goalie available IMO, and we haven’t got much in the goalie pipeline.
Full Breezer 4 Life
As cool as it would be to have another Subban in the organization, that could cause problems with Carey, PK, and Malcolm at some point down the road.
If Malcolm was anything else besides a goalie, I’d be all over that. Hopefully we can draft D Jordan Subban in the future.
- Honestly yours
Nail
Forsberg
Grigorenko
No idea, and only 1 draft pick, cuz if I am GM i resign AK.
A. Yakupov
B. Forsberg
C. Grigorenko or Galchenyuk
D. Girgensons or Zharkov
Funny, I don’t remember Dumba being ranked that high before….
Anyways:
1) Yakupov
2) Grigorenko, Galchenyuk, Forsberg (in that order depending on availability)
3) See above, if available. Grigo is ranked 7th
4) Best forward available, but preferably a center
**I go by the “take the best player available” method, but my choices above are IF the players are considered very close in quality, then go with a C or at least a fwd. That, and with SOOOOOO many Dmen in our system and no potential star forwards, we should look to get better up front thru the draft.
- Honestly yours
I don’t get the Dumba ranking, yah he hits like crazy, but a 5’11″ dman won’t get away with those hits in the NHL for long. Seems to me the hitting in his game is getting him all the love from scouts.
The higher some of these guys go, the better it will be for the Habs picking around 7-12th.
True, but that’s TSN’s BS scout rankings. I’d like to ISS Central Scouting’s rankings for a more “official” list.
Bob and Craig and whoever else are probably just trying to show some love for the Canadian kids cuz I haven’t seen Dumba ranked anywhere in the top 5 lately.
- Honestly yours
ISS had him at #5 (Dumba) in December:
http://www.hockeysfuture.com/articles/13515/iss_top30_risers_and_fallers_december2011/
A) Yakupov.
B) Top ranked forward.
C) Daniil Zharkov – but only because I’ve seen him play and I like what I’ve seen. But take that with a grain of salt…I don’t know a thing about anybody outside the OHL and I don’t value the World Junior Championships as a talent evaluator. Glorified All-Star games are not particularly useful.
D) AK isn’t going anywhere.
Glorified All-Star Games? That’s an odd way to look at the World Junior Championship.
The kids are thrown together for a couple of weeks before the tournament and asked to learn a new system (in most cases) and develop chemistry with one another. Defencemen are expected to learn one another’s tendencies, as are goaltenders.
What ends up happening are games that showcase offensive skills, but don’t generally do justice to the defensive players. For example, Ryan McDonagh went from “stud defensive defenceman” to “bust” for many Habs fans after they saw him struggle for the U.S. in the World Juniors.
World Junior hockey is frequently sloppy as heck. Breakaways, odd-man rushes, turnovers galore…these are the hallmarks of games where the players are really not sure what they’re supposed to be doing.
For me, the only games worth watching are the medal round, because for the most part there are really only 6 countries each year that are legitimate contenders; Canada is always there, and more often than not Russia, Sweden, the U.S., Finland and the Czech Republic. Slovakia and Switzerland have had a few nice runs, while the other teams serve as cannon fodder for hyper-patriotic chest pounding as Canada beats up on Denmark, Norway or Germany.
I thought the Glorified All-Star Games were the Olympics.
Not much difference, really.
Ok, here’s my answers:
1) There is no way I am picking Yakupov. If I am a GM and Habs have a 1st overall pick, I immediately trade it down and pick Forsberg with 2-5th overall. With an extra 32-33th overall, I pick someone like Tom Wilson, a 6’4 winger.
2) Forsberg.
3)Grigorenko/Lindholm/Girgensons
4)I’ll Czech out the best player available, so probably Faksa or Hertl.
With 3 players in the top 32 of 2012 NHL entry draft, we are sitting pretty with a good chance that at least 2 of those players we picked will make us a good team in the future.
Not much for sports on tonight so I am watching ex habs now blues versus ex habs now stars with a wanna be Habs GM doing colour commentating, Yeesh!
Ryder vs. Halak with McGuire doing the colour? Yikes
- Honestly yours
Yup, the pain I tell you, the pain! Dont forget to throw in D’ags, Robidas no Ribeiro he is hurt and I think Souray is out for Dallas also.
Edit, Souray is back on ice now in 2nd period, he missed some shifts in first.
Just read the linked article at habsaddict.com on the Cammi trade, and I like it a lot — except the part where the writer criticises Cammi for “…his locker room struggles with Todd Bertuzzi and Mike Keenan” at LA.
Struggling against Keenan and Bertuzzi is a mark of character and high virtue: Cammi goes way up in my eyes on learning this.
Look, I don’t question that there might be some racists in hockey. I would argue pretty strongly that almost everybody is a little racist, and there is certainly no lack of evidence for a lack of civility amongst professional athletes.
But I simply don’t see the abuse that P.K. Subban receives as any more egregious than that doled out to players like Alex Burrows, Maxim Lapierre, Sean Avery, Claude Lemieux, Jarkko Ruuttu, Ken Linseman, Darcy Tucker or any number of other players over the years who talk and talk and talk and never back it up. Most of us have dealt with people like this in life, either in sports or in the workplace or even on this blog; we label them fakes, phonies, posers and much, much worse when we really lose our tempers.
P.K. Subban is a mouthy little bugger who just yaps and yaps and yaps on the ice. Those type of guys drive you absolutely bat-poop insane when you have to play against them. That is why Subban is so disliked and disrespected around the league.
Subban is young and can in all likelihood grow past the nonsense surrounding his game. He’s good defensively, good offensively and simply doesn’t need to waste his energy being an idiot out there.
Is this “spitting” incident annoying? Yes…it is a complete non-story. But guys like Subban are more prone to attract this type of BS because fans, media in other cities and opposing players will embrace anything that lets them say, “See, I TOLD you he was a moron!”
Subban needs to take a page out of (and this shockes me more than I can imagine) the playbook of Matt Cooke. Yes, that guy…the guy that everybody in the league hated more than anybody else in the league. Cooke was, hands-down, the most despised player in the league the past few years for his head-hunting ways and his complete apathy to the repercussions of his actions.
But credit is due here…after injuring Ryan McDonagh and getting suspended yet again, Cooke vowed (probably with some pressure from Mario Lemieux) to clean up his act this year. And with 14 penalty minutes through 44 games, Cooke has accomplished that goal thus far. He’s playing hard, but he’s playing clean…he’s got one Penguins blogger, an avowed hater of Matt Cooke previously, not so jokingly putting Cooke forward as a Lady Byng candidate.
If Cooke can clean up his game and potentially rehabilitate his image amongst his fellow players, there really should be no difficulty in P.K. Subban talking less on the ice and just playing hard. And if Subban isn’t yapping or wasting energy in scrums, he could potentially be even better than he already is. And I can assure you that a lot of this farcical BS would go away just as fast.
Please don’t hate me because I’m beautiful…no, not because of that, but because you have just said (and quite correctly) exactly what Don Cherry said a year or two back, and was flayed here for it. (Grapes did add explicity, what I think is implied by you here, that players like Subban and Burrows make a rod for their own backs with their mouthiness.)
By the way, what I also dislike about P.K. — while loving him being here — is his soccer-style appealing for calls from the refs–mouth agape, arms wide, palms up…while the bloody play is still going on! Hate it.
Sorry Chris ,nice try at Rationalizing what is obvious. Be good boy and know your place. To suggest that Subban is in a league with the likes of Cooke and Avery stretches your crediability to the limit .What has Subban done , what to warrant that comparison.Who has he taken out , what players wife has he cast despersion on . Who did he give the finger to . Get a grip , and now al network is prepared to twist the tapes and suggest that he committed a reprensible act by daring to spit on the ice in the presence of some whit boy fr the other team. Yes Chris I guess we all are a little racist.
You know, this is not the first time you’ve said that I’ve stretched my credibility to the limit. How do I have any left with you?
lol ,indeed
The thing is, time to time PK also delivers innard crushing hits that are clean, which in my view, backs his mouth up quite well.
_____________________________
Don’t let the wultures getcha.
x2
I agree with your post Chris, and I think this is an area where we miss Andrei Markov all the more. I know that Hal Gill and Josh Gorges are the veterans of the blueline and the mentors, but when PK is asked to play more minutes than these guys, it can diminish their role as leader (it shouldn’t but it can). I think with Markov on this team and playing he would be the “Best” Dman, and PK could be brought along at a better pace including the antics you describe. Markov would be an incredible teacher/mentor for PK.
I love PK’s vigour, his athleticism and his spirit. But he really needs to be careful about the reptutation he is cultivating for himself.
Your argument is partly built on assertions that themselves, have not been, but must be proven, or at least argued.
“Max Pacioretty could be our Phil Kessel”
- Sean Bonjovi
Agreed. I wouldn’t compare Subban to Lapierre AT ALL, and he’s the only guy I’ve seen a lot of on that list. Actually I’ve seen enough of Avery, Tucker, Ruutu, Linseman, and Lemieux to call BS on this post.
Full Breezer 4 Life
My avatar hears his name and wants you guys to know.
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☞ I can’t really hear what Jeremy says, because I’ve got my two Stanley Cup rings plugging my ears.☜
Nice!
Argue away. I’ve formed my opinion based on two years of watching him play live in the OHL and then two years of watching him play in the NHL with the Habs.
This isn’t to say that I’m right and others are wrong.
But I know that I can’t stand Subban’s attitude on the ice and I know that I hate playing against players like him in sports.
I haven’t seen much of Burrows, but to compare Subban to those other guys … I don’t see it. I’ve never seen it. Avery?? Lapierre?? Those guys are dirty little agitators. Subban might yap, but he never carries on like those guys and he doesn’t make dirty plays.
Full Breezer 4 Life
The examples of the comparisons may be a strecth Bill, but the point is the reputation which he is creating. I agree he gets a bad rap in some instances, but he does do many things which really annoy the established hockey community. I don’t know, I think he is just young and has been thrust into a huge role so early, it is almost too much. I so wish Markov was around to bear the brunt of this. This is where PG has miscalculated badly and I hope it does not hurt the development of young PK.
The key point here is that they were all mouthy. There are tons of dirty players in the NHL, but they don’t draw the same ire from fans because they don’t yap.
I personally detest Colby Armstrong above pretty much all hockey players because I think he is LETHALLY dangerous out there with his head-hunting. He routinely shows up as one of the most hated players in the player polls, but he doesn’t draw anywhere close to the same fan attention as Subban does because he’s not the same level of player and he is simply not as demonstratively chirpy on the ice.
I don’t think Subban is particularly dangerous (although I do hate his clipping attempts…he ducks sometimes when guys are coming in to hit him which is considered a pretty big no-no when you are near the boards), but the chirping is something I can’t stand. Never have, never will.
So was Ulf Samuelsson and Darius Kasparaitis. Two cheap shot artists who broke countless ankles.
As for the chirping, since like you mentioned, most NHLers are big time chirpers anyway (Crosby being a notorious one but exactly the opposite in front of a microphone), the fact that PK chirps is not what tar his rep. There are other black players who I’m sure also chirp, but PK has the most Hip Hop like mannerism among them. Plus he’s already a featured athlete for Nike commercial, so others are sure to taunt him for that. The other black players are too “good old Canadian boy” like to irk the establishment. (The closest one to start earning a bad rep I can think of is Wayne Simmonds of the Flyers, but still it’s a stretch)
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☞ I can’t really hear what Jeremy says, because I’ve got my two Stanley Cup rings plugging my ears.☜
Crosby has certainly earned his share of disdain around the league for his chirping, wouldn’t you agree? Opposing fans love to point out his transgressions (such as the elbow to Foligno this season) and label him with all sorts of wonderful monikers.
And Samuelsson is universally reviled, while Kasparaitis was pretty detested by anybody but his own team’s fans, weren’t they? They were dirty player who also yapped.
I think most sports fans generally have an aversion to players from other teams that chirp. Look how we’ve discussed Brad Marchand on here since he broke into the league.
Yeah…I think he’s still a bit immature. We need to cut him some slack. Someone earlier remarked that he acts like an 18 yr old in junior. Probably, but that’s life. I’m not crazy about some of his antics either, but, people mature at different rates. This is a fast/tough game in the NHL. They’re playing under a microscope. Emotions run high. He’s a high strung/exuberant kid who exercises bad judgement now and then.
Ashamed to say it but I still lose my cool (like an 18 yr old) as a middle aged idiot whether it’s while playing pickup hockey (rarely, but still) or driving my car (and somebody cuts me off, tailgates or whatever.) After I react I’m embarrassed and disgusted with myself. Thankfully, this is happening less often
When I was watching the game last night and I saw that as it was happening I thought he was spitting at him. It just kind of flashed by and I though “wha did I just see.” Then thought nothing more of it. McDonagh says it never happened so why would the media insist on it.
I can’t deny your logic that if he didn’t yap so much he wouldn’t get so much heat but….
Going back to last weeks game in Boston I heard oh so much about him trutling when Ference attack him, and blah, blah blah. Meanwhile Lucic showboats (remember after beating Komesarek in a fight?) but then when Laruque challenged him he wanted none of it. Nobody but Habs fans said anything of it. Reason being, he was a first liner and Laruque was only a 4 minute player. Why didn’t the same rule apply for Ference then? What is he their sixth d-man? And Subban is a 25 minute player. It would be a dumb trade off. Most times the commentators “Oh that’s smart.” but not for Subban it is just more of his childish antics.
And I think that’s the rub, doesn’t matter what he does he gets labelled as a pest. He doesn’t drop the gloves, when he did he didn’t wait for the other guy to tell him it was alright to start hitting him.
Mike Richards started it by calling him out, but I remember him and his buddies doing a lot of yapping as well.
No question, and I can tell you that the close #2 on my most hated list is Milan Lucic for that very reason. And he is MILES ahead of Subban on that particular road.
The other thing worth mentioning with Subban is the natural tendency to blow everything out of proportion concerning the Habs: Habs fans tend to overestimate Subban’s ability, while everybody else tends to tear him down to far. The truth lies somewhere in between, although in my biased mind he is closer to the Habs fans’ perception than everybody else’s.
He has to understand and be comfortable with his role. He can still get under the opponent’s skin, and throw the odd big hit, but he needs to temper this “poking the bear” extra curricular stuff understanding that yes, he may have to drop the gloves now and then, but he should not be expected to “take on all comers”.
Absolutely not…in fact, I’d be happy if he didn’t do it at all. Throw the hits when they make sense, be flamboyant on offence and reap the rewards.
PK gets a whole lot of hate for a guy who has never intentionally ran someone’s head into a stantion(chara),sucker punched anybody,intentionally ran a goalie and gave him a concussion or allegedly smacked his girlfriend(lucic),slewfoot,hit people from behind,sucker punching(marchand),gave an entire arena the finger,head shots(ference),sprays water bottle at fans(horton),punched a player with his elbow pad(campbell),jumped and beat up a couple of 37 year old defencemen (boychuk annd mcquaid),made innappropriate comments though the media(avery),assaulted a women in a l.a. night club(komisarek)sucker punched a guy in a bar in vancouver during the olympics(grabovski),assaulted a taxi driver (kane). I could go on and on.
This whole bashing subban started with don cherry on HNIC who represents the interest of both leaf and bruins fans. Don Cherry is nothing more then an contagious infection and like an infection when cherry opens in yap it spreads to anybody who is willing to listen to him and take his crap seriously. Then add the other hnic hab haters like maclean, hrudey,healy,milbury and his personal bitch pj stock to the mix. It becomes a PK subban (and habs) bitch fest.
Do you think subban would get this much negative attention(or any) from any form of toronto or boston sports media if he played for the sabres? No chance. Nobody would even know who he was if he played for phoenix.If subban was a leaf or bruin he would be labelled by the entire leaf/bruin media as a guy who gets in players faces to get them off their games,nothing more.
The difference mightbe that WE would be complaining about Subban instead of defending him.
You hit the nail on the head. He gets a lot of his grief because he is a high-profile/flamboyant Hab and a lot of people hate the Habs.
I wouldn’t give any player more than 5-years – but I would pay him good – give Carey 7 mil a year – I’m gonna tell you why – look no further than CROSBY that’s how things can happen
that’s why the agents try to get these long term contracts just in case – it’s ok, you don’t have to agree but if your memory is good we have one on board right now – haven’t played a game yet this year
Just MO.
FUNNY QUOTE OF THE DAY
HfxHabby says:
January 15, 2012 5:51 PM Reply
there is absolutely no way i would sign him to a ONE year even…. i dont like him, i think he is a choker, and he is a poor puckhandler. i would deal him and deal him fast. but i know i am in the deep minority on this one
If the Canadiens could score on even half of Carey’s goal line to offensive zone passes, he’d have 20 points by now. I can’t believe there are people who still don’t like Carey Price.
One of the Best picks since 1984. Maybe our best pick since that year. Jury is still out maybe? We’ll see.
All I know is that Carey, his billet and his dad gave our family one of the most entertaining hockey evenings ever. Meagan is 8 now, and she still talks about Carey Price (she was 4).
Shane Oliver
http://www.Sholi2000.com Inc.
Custom Sports Figures
Brandon, MB,Canada
R7B 2R7
hockey@sholi2000.com
Ph- 204 724 8418
You should give out an award daily to the beet/funniest quote of the day. We could call it “The Sholi’s.” What do you think?
There’s a ton of them. So many fans react before they actually do their homework and really think about what was just done.
Halak, and Kaberle events were truely funney.
I predict the next best day is when the org signs Price to a 10 year deal.
There are going to be members here trying to hang themsleves.
Too funny.
Shane Oliver
http://www.Sholi2000.com Inc.
Custom Sports Figures
Brandon, MB,Canada
R7B 2R7
hockey@sholi2000.com
Ph- 204 724 8418
Lundqvist sucked last night, and 1 night before, Biron got a shutout. NO one in NY wants to get rid of Lundqvist and replace him with Biron.
Only in Montreal, when a backup has 1 good game(meaning a W beside his name), urge for a goalie controversy. Habs fans being knowledgeable is a myth especially ones on the internet.
Shane, LOL at “There are going to be members here trying to hang themsleves.”
Ahh the voice of reason = LL
Hey Shane,
Care to share any stories about that evening?
- Honestly yours
Later I’ll find the write up about that evening. Watching the Jets game right now.
ALSO, after looking at the every draft year since 84, I have to say 1987 was a really good year too.
Shane Oliver
http://www.Sholi2000.com Inc.
Custom Sports Figures
Brandon, MB,Canada
R7B 2R7
hockey@sholi2000.com
Ph- 204 724 8418
Cool – thanks man.
- Honestly yours
What Price did last year, how could anyone not believe in the kid?
For some of us, it has nothing to do with not believing in Price. I happen to think he is a great goalie.
I simply refuse to see the value in paying a goalie $7 M a season when there are so many goalies available around the league.
A great goalie can not make a mediocre team make the playoffs, as Price might show this season.
A great goalie at the top of their game can still not carry a mediocre team. Tim Thomas won the Stanley Cup last season behind a strong and balanced Boston Bruins team.
But the #2 through #4 goalies in the playoffs in GAA last season were Carey Price (2.11 GAA, 0.934 SV%), Corey Crawford (2.21 GAA, 0.927 SV%), and Henrik Lundqvist (2.25 GAA, 0.917 SV%). Great performances by good goalies, but not one of them got past the first round of the playoffs because their teams had no offence.
A $7 M cap hit would tie Carey Price with Pekka Rinne for the biggest cap hit in the NHL. Bigger than Henrik Lundqvist, who has accomplished a lot more in his NHL career than Price by being consistently one of the top goalies in the NHL.
Bigger than Martin Brodeur, the greatest statistical goalie in NHL history.
Bigger than Roberto Luongo, who has a much more impressive resume than Carey Price even while he continues to choke in the playoffs.
Bigger than Marc-Andre Fleury who is basically the same goalie as Price in many ways but with a little more beefy professional resume (padded, of course, by a strong supporting cast).
Bigger than Tim Thomas, the best goalie on the planet.
Sorry, but Carey Price is not worth a dime over $5 M, and I would let him walk before I paid that out. Goalies simply aren’t worth it.
Comparing Price’s salary to Brodeur’s, Fleury’s and Lundquist is not quite correct since the cap (and hence mean wage) is going up.
For instance, when Brodeur signed for $5.2M in 2006 the cap was $39M. That translates to $8.6M under the current $65M cap.
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Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.
No question. But those guys have also accomplished a lot more than Price.
I’d gladly give him 3 years at $5 M with an understanding that if he continues to post big numbers he will get his big contract as a UFA.
Montreal Canadiens = team of second liners with a few 4th liners.
btw I’m a huge fan.
We got some decent third liners also. Glad to hear your a huge fan.
So what’s your definition of a first-liner?
anyone in the top 70 in scoring in the nhl. So I guess you could say that we have 1 first-liner in Erik Cole who is mid 50s.
That seems like an oddly arbitrary cut-off number.
There are 30 “first lines” in the NHL, with three guys each, so my math says there will be around 90 “first liners” in the league.
Using that measure for overall points, we have four “first liners”: Desharnais (!), Pacioretty, Plekanec, and Cole. Using that measure for goals only, we only have three: Pacioretty, Cole, and Bourque.
yeah it was pretty arbitrary.
The comment wasn’t supposed to be a knock on the lineup really. Just that it’s built to be a balanced lineup with 3 2nd lines and no real first lines.
Nothing wrong with that although there are days I miss having someone who’s got some real flair game in game out.
Your logic could be flawed if you play for a defensive team or your players are missing games.
Btw – Cole – 33 pts, Pacioretty 32 pts, Plekanec & DD- 31 pts.
So a difference between 1st and 2nd liner is 1-2 points right?
Cole played on a 1st line in Carolina
Cammy played on a 1st line in Calgary
Plekanec centering 2 good wingers he has chemistry with is a 1st line on any team in NHL. Imagine Jagr-Plekanec-Horton for example.
Pacioretty-DD-Cole surely looks like a 1st line on pretty much every night.
In fact, we do have a decent top 3 lines at the moment- A tough & physical 4th line is what we miss, plus we have Gill, Diaz and Weber as our D-men, which is why we are so low in the standings. Markov would have made massive difference.
What has Kristo done now?
Ejected for cheap hit Friday night then thrum a hissy fit afterwards. There’s a video link further down this post.
I believe he hit someone illegally and then threw a crazy temper tantrum about it.
- Honestly yours
If Cunneyworth has any cojones he comes back with Budaj on Wednesday. Then Price for the Leafs on Sat.
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“Obviously it would be great, but they don’t really hang conference titles in this rink. They raise Stanley Cup banners.” – Carey Price
What does RC having balls have to do with Budaj starting?
Carey didn’t cost us any games? He didn’t steal any wins, but he didn’t cost any losses either.
Budaj played great though – I’ll give him that.
- Honestly yours
I think it would be a great idea for Budaj to get the start on Wednesday. Give Price a real break.
Mike: Look what happened when they used Halak maybe Budaj can pull the same trick.
I hope we make the playoffs. If our PP had been good we wouldn’t even be hoping to make the playoffs… So hopefully we can pick it up and get the points, either way we shouldn’t tank, this team is better than the standings suggest.
Theres a lot that’s gone wrong with our season including , as you point out, the PP. Getting and staying healthy is a big one and breaking in 4 inexperienced Dman hasn’t helped either. Lots of work to do to right this ship but we’ll get there. Just don’t think it’s gonna happen quickly.
If we make the playoffs, that will mean that we have been on a roll for some time and even if we only sneak into eigth place, we will have a lot of momentum and anything can happen.
Question for anyone who watched the first intermission of the Habs-Rags game yesterday:
I know they were discussing Price and the possible contract of 7mil for 7 years and 7mil for 10 years, but were they reporting it as fact, or discussing a rumour?
I love Price, but 7mil at his age and at this point in his career is way too much.
- Honestly yours
http://www.habsaddict.com/
Thanks Tim.
- Honestly yours
viper
earl the viper?
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Tanking- The Losers way of winning.
i think the playoffs this year is not gonna happen,,hope i,am wrong but don,t think so..this is the perfect time to rebuild we already have a good core of players and some good drafts so it shouldn,t take more than a couple of years to get back into contenion and this year is the perfect chance to draft that big future star player we need so i say tank habs tank and then come back strong next year,,,habs fan forever
earl patchell
I hardly write comments anymore but just wanted to say a few things. First is to say that I was the first person to mention wanting to pick up Rene Bourque on this site and have been pushing to get him all year and I am really happy to say the least. Second is that I hope Danny Kristo never suits up for the Montreal Canadiens or in the NHL for that matter. I’m a little disappointed in this guy and he seems to make a lot of bad decisions so soon in his career. I hope for his sake he is able to change his ways. Thirdly I would like to let the people who are responsible for operating this site know how pathetic it is that after like three years you still can’t get your server problem fixed. What exactly is the problem? A day, week, month I can see but years!!! There is no excuse for this. You should have to tell the people on this site what the problem is. I couldn’t even log in the other day and forget trying to make comments on the game day blog that Mike does. Man enough is enough. Please spend the money and fix the server so people can enjoy coming to the great site that it is. People that come to this site deserve it.
Glad the Habs picked up Bourque, too.
As for the server: hear, hear. It’s pathetic. 2 game nights in a row and no access.
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Tanking- The Losers way of winning.
Agree with two out of three. Kristo has a non stop motor and will be a decent NHL player. Remember he’s a college kid. I remember those days and luckily my bosses never knew me back then or they’d of never hired me.
lets see what the Viper has to say on this. : )
What? You don’t want a kid making the NHL because of one dirty hit, which happens on a nighty basis in the NHL.
never seen the hit but he is young
agree with the bourque trade i think we won that one hands down.cammi might be better in the playoffs but i don,t think we make it this year and bourque is the type of players we need as a secound or third liner and as far as kristo goes seems like he might just make it to the nhl speed and scoring touch alone should get him a shot what he makes of it is up to him..habsfan forever
Playoffs? Playoffs! Don’t even start talking about playoffs!
Unless there is a significant improvement on the pp it is pretty well impossible to go on a huge winning streak that the habs need…there will be many games where the difference between winning and losing will be that pp goal the happened or the pp goal that did not..
As a hockey player, you never really care how daunting the mathematical odds may be, you just keep fighting until the last minute of the final game of the regular season. It may be a cliche, but the Habbies really do have to play the second half of the season one game at a time. Setting an over/under on the amount of losses they can accumulate before packing it in is counter-productive IMO.
You will always be a Canadien in my eyes, Saku
8 point out of 8th spot , 37 games to go , PG next move will either get us there or not
Having been to the Ottawa game post Xmas and last nights Ranger game, they have the team to do it too. But… seeing the times they got bowled over in their own end, they could use one more D-man of higher quality than they have now.
I think the forward dept has hit a critical mass of size, speed and skill.
After almost 20 FRIGGIN years.
i hope your right , tough to take another D on this roster , unless we dump 2 of the ones we have now assumeing Markov does infact come back. PG not taking only picks or young propects says something to me that they are still going for it and the win sat helped justify it
I still think Theo Peckham is the guy we should target in a trade. He is the kind of Nasty the Habs need on D. He will make a lot of forwards think twice before they try to take a run at Carey Price or any of our smaller guys.
you’re right about Peckham.
but I think the oilers like him for the same reason you do.
Peckham is their 6th or 7th defenceman most nights. He has been in and out of their lineup until recently, when they’ve had injuries on D. The Oilers have other tough guys (Andy Sutton, Colten Teubert on D, Hordichuk and Eager up front), which leads me to believe Peckham could be available.
maybe so. I was watching some of the oilers game last night.
I saw Peckham on the ice in overtime. he had 2 shifts.
Peckham played over 23 minutes last night
Sutton played about 15 minutes and Teubert about 8 minutes.
I agree with you – he looks real good out there – and nasty!
http://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20112012/TH020662.HTM
Team stock with good draft pick ,Washington ,Florida, Edmonton ,St louis ,Colombus etc should be targeted depending if they buyer for a run, even the wild scout were talking to GM last night
So has TSN apologized to PK yet? Has Molson or PG called them on it? Whatever happened to journalistic integrity? C’mon TSN, you put it out there. Did he spit at Del Zoto or not. Either back up your story or STFU.
Why would they bother?
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Don’t let the wultures getcha.
TSN = Toronto Sucks Network
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“Hey Richard, two minutes for looking so good!”
SEASON”S END IF WE LOSE 10 MORE GAMES.! START COUNTING!
simple as that.
Absolutely cannot lose 10 games from here to the end or we are out until next year.
Sure hope the boys know the number! 10
11 in regulation time, and 3 in OT.
“Max Pacioretty could be our Phil Kessel”
- Sean Bonjovi
Depressing especially considering how we’ve played thus far.
Ian, you have to consider that teams above have to keep performing, or they too might fade, like the Leafs.
This, along with the Habs picking it up between now and the end of the year, might just turn things around in our favour.
Would like to see Habs get Jeff Schultz from Washington if AM cannot come back. Who would the Habs have to give up to acquire his service?
Me as well, although, as I stated in an earlier post…probably way too truculent even for our newly enlightened GM.
C’mon PG, prove me wrong.
Schultz is not particularly truculent. The most penalty minutes he has had in one NHL season was 32 (2009-2010). He’s got Hal Gill size though, and is only 25 years old.
We’d have to give YOU up? No way then! Powdereed toastmann stays a Hab!
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Listen to the Smart Dog. He knows his poop!
Be careful what you wish for smart pooch…be veerry careful.
If AM does come back we can afford to trade Kab to them, Mike Green Is fighting injuries all year.
fingers are crossed
Caps seem to be well stacked on D. Looking at their roster, the one thing they might need would be a scoring forward like Kostitsyn.
If we’re going to trade Kost to Washington I would want their 1st round pick in return rather than Schultz. Remember Schultz “zeez no-ting, absolootly no-TING”
I agree. Or better yet, the 1st they acquired from Colorado last year — it will be a higher pick than their own.
@rad
Yeah, the Colo pick would be better. I hadn’t checked the standings in a while and didn’t realize Wash had vaulted up the way they had.
AK and Karbele or compoli for semin
Not a realistic trade. Semin makes $6.7M a year, and is a free agent at the end of this season. He will get a lot of offers on July 1st, and is not likely to accept anything less than $7M per. Why would you want Semin for 3 months when you’re not going to the Playoffs anyway? Habs are SELLERS, not Buyers.
Semin for 3months or 3years….no tanks
If they’re saying that AM should be back soon after the allstar break, shouldn’t he be practicing with the team, and travelling?
Or am I missing something?
Found out this morning about him on the 4 ,ask his agent to do something 4 years at 2.75 mil + could may be, resart is bro in Hamilton i said AK + Weber for Schultz and Cap 1 rd. pick the got from Colorado ,think they do it AK with OV and Weber for fill in green hurt
The top 4 forwards on just about everybody’s list for this Summer’s Draft are Yakupov, Grigorenko, Forsberg, and Galchenyuk. The top 4 defencemen are Griffin Reinhart, Ryan Murray, Morgan Rielly, and Matt Dumba.
Because there is a strong likelihood that half the teams picking ahead of us will want a defenceman, even if we have the 8th Overall pick, we will still have a good shot at one of those 4 forwards. Any one of Yaku, Grigor, Forsberg or Galchenyuk has the potential to be a star player in the NHL.
And for what it’s worth, the top Quebec player on Craig Button’s latest TSN Draft Rankings at #45 is one Raphael Bussieres of Baie-Comeau (QMJHL). His ranking dropped from 34 to 45.
You could also argue Jacob Trouba and Matt Finn in those groups for DMAN. Just in case Habs gain momentum and draft 9, 10, or 11. C’mon Forsberg or Grigorenko!
GHOD – Go Habs Or Die
I’m a big Yaku fan, but he’ll go 1 or 2 overall.
Who the he’ll is Jack Todd. He just sounds like a disgruntled fan who watches the replays in the morning and thinks he knows it all. What a moron. He even makes Boone look good. Brutal.
Jack Todd is a narrow waspish little soul, but our Mr. Boone is one of the good guys: a regular Joe (he has the same irrational prejedices as…the common fan) with wit, erudition, and well-applied knowledge.
Jack Todd isn’t fit to carry Mr Boone’s socks. And you have to be fit to carry them, I heard Mike has really big feet.
http://musiccavity.com
Here is a good article attacking that idiotic sportsnet article on the decline of the Habs from last week:
http://theoryofice.blogspot.com/2012/01/defending-byzantium.html
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Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.
Great read, thanks for the link HF.
Bravo!
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“Hey Richard, two minutes for looking so good!”
Excellent piece. Thanks for the link. Who is the author?
Excellent read! Thanks for posting it.
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If you want to add an avatar here, read this and follow the steps
Go Habs Go!
Can anyone tell me what the second and third lines are now?
Who is playing with Bourque and Plekanec? Is it still Eller, Kostitsyn, and moen on the third line? And is Gomez stuck on the fourth line?
I am not trying to be negative but the Habs making the playoffs, gosh, gee, I hope they do not! I mean come on, this season has been full of too many mistakes, blunders, trades, firings, bad comments, ill advice, and teammates fighting etc. Few on this team have had very good, excellent and even a great year, so why should this team with a bad exhibition series and a losing streak more often then not, actually have a hope of making the playoffs. It would be fast exit. So tell me why this team would dare make it. Come on….I say finish in 9th place and take the summer to figure out how management can rebuild. Please Mr. Molson, take your sweet time in this process because tough decisions are required for next season to be better. Sunday’s win was bitter sweet and lets not loose focus……………
You do realize that if the team made the playoffs they would be one of the hottest teams in the NHL going in. Also, if you are saying you don’t want to make the playoffs you should rather want them to finish lower than 9th in order to get better draft.
Way i see it is, if they make it they will be ready to make noise.
That’s the attitude, HB. Way to shut them negative Nancies up!!!!
LOL, never want to shut anyone up, all opinions are welcomed here. Just trying to get the Facts out there Timo! Cheers Man. Is it true Cammalleri is your new neighbour?
He rents a room in my basement.
Gomez last hurrah before he disappear in the sun set ,i like it
Valid point. The Habs would need to be other worldly great if they were to make the playoffs based on todays standings (even after that impressive win last night). If they did, they would indeed be very hot, and probably would not be anyone’s first choice as a first round opponent (especially the Bruins).
Let’s see where this goes. Bottom line, it’s only one win (impressive or not)…we shouldn’t act like loaf fans who, every time (prior to this year anyway) they won a game, started to plan the parade.
I don’t know how Jack Todd has a job as a journalist.
Based on his writing today it is probably as comic relief. He wrote his fishwrap before the Rangers game….and that game refuted each and every single smarmy section in his article.
He is still–and will be for some years–trying to write as if his existence has any significance for Bob Gainey (a Shade from the netherworld could more easily affect a living man.)
Yeah, I think Jack is getting more insane by the day. I read them for comic relief now moreso than for anything of interest.
It’s kinda like coaches corner….you do it and when it’s over you wonder why you did
Oh look another article saying the Habs lack class because they dealt Cammalleri during Hockey game. Yawn. Tell me when someone comes up with something original, like say somebody spitting on another; no nevermind I will likely hear about it seven million times anyway.
I really don;t understand the hate for Kaberle…Engels article says we could trade him for a 5th rounder???The guy is already our leading Dman scorer…and he is a whopping minus 1? I don;t understand why nobody likes Kaberle….in his one and only “off year” he managed to win a Stanley Cup….now he has 9 points in 16 games and is clearly appreciated in the room and on the ice by guys who understand the importance of a good passing dman…they all offer nothing but praise. He makes 4.25 million dollars…that is the4 going rate for a guy of his skill set…he has 2 years on that deal…we didn’t trade for a guy with 5 years and aan inflated salary (again)…I just do not get it.
Contract.
His contract is fair though….he is NOT overpaid…he is a 10 year vet who puts up points and quarterbacks a pp…he IS NOT OVERPAID. His contract is not an “over 35″ …it is not a long term…it is really quite insane that a yrea ago the guy is worth a team mortgaging their future…they win a cup and he has a bad half season in Carolina and nopw he sucks??? I think this is the TO media machine at its finest personally…when he was in To he was a GOD…well that wasn’t all that long ago…..it is ridiculous. I am the first to jump on a bad contract…Gomez…bad contract…Cami…bad term at time but reasonable dollars, Goio, Spacek, Hammer,etc…. The Kaberle contract is not a bad contract ….the Markov one was the bad contract. Kaberle was a steal…and the perfect insurance in case markov never plays again which is looking more and more tru by the day…and even if he does him at 80 percent…is Kaberle. People go on about Andrei’s two way ability…yes that was very true….but that was qutie a while ago….as it stands Kaberle for 2 years at 4.25 or a questioable Markov at 5.75…..give me Kaberle every time thank you.
Rob – take it easy! The first question is why are we playing 7 Dmen? It’s partly because Gill is on his last legs but it’s also because guys like Kaberle and Campoli can’t beat out two rookies. I get that Kaberle helps the PP, but he is really, really soft. No physical play at all. Strictly a stick checker. I would go as far as to say he’s nonexistent when it comes to the front of his net or in the corners.
He stunk during Boston’s first two playoff rounds. He did pick it up later in the post season but they went with Corvo instead come July 1st. Then Carolina bails after 30 games. He racks up the points but that’s about it.
He’s another band-aid in a long line of stop gap measures.
As for your last sentence, you could say that we are now paying 11.7M for one guy to run our PP. That’s brutal mismanagement.
Kaberle leading point getter amongst Bruin defenseman in playoffs last year
I know that but there has to be more to judging a defenseman than that one aspect. That’s the only “point” the pro Kaberle side has going for them. It still wasn’t enough to keep him around in Boston or Carolina.
+1.0
BTW how many people were saying that this was a ‘desperation’ trade by PG, or saying he panicked? What about Rutherford?? He brought the guy in as a free agent and when things don’t go the way he likes in the first third of the season, he throws him under the bus and goes on TV to tell everyone he made a mistake signing him and should have known better. Sounds like panicking to me.
Even if Kaberle is never a top tier defensemen again, he is still a very useful and serviceable player. Unless PG can trade for another 3 good D men, then the Habs are still better with Kabs then without him.
http://musiccavity.com
He gets paid as a top pair dman but his play is nowhere near that. IMO
He’s paid as one of the most reliable offensive d-men in the league, which he is.
Full Breezer 4 Life
Bill’s point is good. You don’t order salmon and then complain it doesn’t taste like beef. Kabs is what he is at roughly market terms and price.
And ironically, yeah he’s getting on, but that fact that he’s NOT physical may mean his longevity will be better. Would I rather have Markov? Sure. Would I rather have Vishovsky? hell ya. But in our current situation he’s doing a good job.
Bouwmeester: $6.7M
Kimonen: $6.3M
Dan Boyle: $6.7M
Dion Phaneuf: $6.5M
etc …
He is not getting paid like a top-pairing D. He is getting only $0.4M more than Spacek, and $1M less than Hamrlik was getting from us last year.
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Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.
Hamrlik was playing well over 20 minutes a night when Markov was out.
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“You have to be this tall to ride on this ride”
-as posted in amusement parks across North America
The Hammer took Schultz min ,the guy want out we should get him 6′ 6″ 230 stay at home D at 2.75 ml a year
Way too Truculent (even for our newly enlightened (albeit better years too late than never) GM.)
Size and grit in the current NHL, what a concept.
72 I almost always agree with you but I’m seeing this one a little different.
I may have stretched my point a bit but as an example, he played only 8.33 minutes last night. I think we’d be hard pressed to find someone in his pay grade playing similar minutes. I still love ya though.
Bill, I hope other teams see your point as well either at the deadline or during the off season. Cheers
How does 8:33 seconds of ice time compare to his average TOI/G? How many minutes on average does Kaberle play on the power play? How many minutes did the Canadiens spend on the power play last night? How many minutes did Kaberle play on Saturday against the Senators?
“Max Pacioretty could be our Phil Kessel”
- Sean Bonjovi
Kaberle took alot of crap during his time with Boston but he was The Bruins leading point getter for defencemen during last years playoffs with 11 points ahead of Mr Chara who had alot more icetime than TK……..
The size queens on H I/O believe hitting is the only quality by which you judge defencemen.
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Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.
He’s perceived as soft but I don’t get it either.
I think he’s under-utilised
For that cap hit he should be playing top 4 minutes and I think they should give him more ice time. He should also be a mentor to the young D-Corps.
If they’re not willing to play him then why bother keeping him?
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“You have to be this tall to ride on this ride”
-as posted in amusement parks across North America
Agreed, K-grand. I’m glad he’s here. When (ahem) we get it togther, we’ll be glad he’s here.
(Remember when we first got Gill. Lots of hate…until the Halak playoff run when Gill was indispensible.)
I’m not a big Kaberle fan myself, but I think for 4.25 per year, it is not that hard a pill to swallow. I would prefer to see him go, but if it is only for a 5th, I would rather we hold on to him. I would hope that someone would pay a 2nd for him. He is putting up points, but the 2 years remaining after this year will turn teams away from him I think. We will see in a month I guess.
I don’t have a hate on for Kaberle at 4.25. But, as you mention (correctly) it’s all about the term that makes me uneasy.
I don’t get it either. Further to your points, he has only been with the team for a few weeks. Usually the fans let a player suck/underachieve for awhile before dumping all over them. Kaberle hasn’t even had time to suck yet and even if he did have time he isn’t sucking so what’s the problem?
It’s so hard to please fans these days. And were not even talking about him having to please anyone, just get them to stop trashing him for a few minutes, and he can’t even do that.
http://musiccavity.com
Latest draft prospect list from TSN.
http://www.tsn.ca/draftcentre/feature/?id=49649
Any one of Yakupov, Grigorenko, Galchenyuk, or Forsberg are the picks I want.
Elite scoring talent or bust.
Have to hope Colorado stays above the lottery pick area since they gifted their #1 pick to Washington this past offseason.
It’s because they thought Ryan O’Byrne pushed them over the top.
DL – Agreed. The big question for me is what does Montreal do if Galchenyuk is the logical pick when the Habs select?
Tough to use the only high pick we might have on a guy who has had a serious injury. I wonder if there’s any chance he might play before the season is over?
We got great doctors on staff, heck so good we were able to give Markov a 3 year contract, have no fears Steve!
You’ve been hanging out with Chris too much You’ve become a negative Nellie. : )
Love seeing Grigorenko at 7th, Habs likely will pick around there. Actually I don’t see him lasting that long, list or no list.
Full Breezer 4 Life
Agreed. Grigorenko won’t be 7th. He’ll be a lottery pick.
I can see two tough calls coming Mr. Gauthier’s way. What does he do with AK46 before Feb 27th and does he go with a Dman in the draft if the top three forwards are already gone?
We could draft in the top half dozen and still not get a quality shooter. Maybe we should draft Murray and turn Subban into a forward:-)
I think you have to take the best player available. If you look at the 2008 draft as an example, most of those 1st round defensemen are making a big impact and would fetch a huge return in a trade if they didn’t fit your needs or if you needed more help elsewhere. Imagine what LA could get for Doughty. Ottawa turned Runblad into Turris when Cowen moved ahead of him in development. We have high hopes for Tinordi and Beaulieu, but nothing is guaranteed. The Rangers are playing McDonagh 25-30 minutes a game. They would not be in first without him, IMO.
Profile on this guy is promising but we need to look past the skill.
Does he compete or does he play soft? What does he do without the puck? Is he selfish? Does he sulk if he doesn’t get his minutes? Scoring talent is just part of package. We need to make sure (or at least pretty damn sure) we’re getting the whole package , especially for a first rounder.
Update on the Bulldogs Outdoor Classic this Saturday:
It will be televised nationally on SportsNet!
http://www.outdoorclassic.ca/
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“You have to be this tall to ride on this ride”
-as posted in amusement parks across North America
Questions for the bean counters here:
How many blown leads have we have this year? How many games have we scored first? Where do we rank in those stats?
Check out this link: http://www.nhl.com/ice/teamstats.htm?fetchKey=20122ALLSAAAll&sort=winPctAfterLead2P&viewName=summary
Habs are 23rd in the league with a .778 winning percentage when leading after the 2nd period. They are last in the league with a .429 winning percentage when scoring first.
The Habs seem to be playing better now though. Their forecheck is better, the defense are playing better. The Rangers only managed 7 shots in the third.
The fact is he is a decent hockey player who logs a lot of ice. Defensemen typically take longer to develop. It wont be a perfect trajectory for his development .There will be more than a few and downs in his future but he can help this team.
The fact is even the press makes some curious comments about the status of the habs young guys and PK in general( see Boones comments comparing him to Karlsen in Ottawa while intimating this guy is a superstar). There is no evidence Karlsen will not level off and one year hardly makes a superstar.
The coaches have to be patient with him and Eller but also need to get them focused on the finer points . PK can frustrate the heck out of you by consistently using the spinnerama and that wont work in the show all the time. Keeping his game simple picking his spots to join in the rush and keeping a low slap shot or accurate hard shot low on the power play can be helpful.
I think that the criticism is way over the top and is completely unfounded. I think he has upside and has some size and can help the Habs. The Habs needto identify a couple big tough stay at home guys to anchor the d.
On another note since i dont subscribe to NHL network what has happened to Darren ( the white way ) Pang?
Pang is doing the ‘colour’ commentary for the Blues
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Fate leads the willing, and drags along the reluctant.
Boaha… you guys are killing me.
I don’t like his analysis, it’s so superficial, everything’s always black and white with that guy.
Full Breezer 4 Life
What are you talking about? He is made out of the white stuff.
Bobby Orr and Savard use the spinnerema a lot, PK will come to know went to and not to, Karlsen this year , PK last years before that Myers in Buffalo fact is Karlsen will get play a lot tighter next year ,who was the top scoring D last year ,that right not there this year
Spinnerama was invented by Montreal Great Doug Harvey…….
it should be noted Karlsson is horrid on his end of the ice, he’s a brian campbell kinda dman.
Not saying Subban’s having a ball in his own zone this year, but he can defend 1-on-1, can effectively partake in the PK, can actually play gritty (which Karlsson can’t) and still has offensive flair. Subban is MUCH closer to being a complete dman than Karlsson, but he’s got some learning and development to do yet… they both do really
Will Vinny Lecavalier get a suspension for his sucker punch on Malkin last night?
Read somewhere they aren’t even going to review it. No discipline coming.
Yah you are right, just checked TSN’s twitter and Mckenzie saying no discipline coming to Vinny. I guess that kind of head shot is okay with the league.
Must have been a hockey play……
Danny Kristo just apologized on twitter for his actions on Friday night. Can anyone enlighten?
In light of the lack of information recently on how Mr. Markov is recovering I am wondering if any Montreal residents that part of the Commentariat could stop by the RUssian Embassy in Montreal and get an update. It is my understanding that they have a “gaming” room in the basement and Andrei has been seen leaving the room late at night walking with a cane and fistful of dollars.
I am expecting a report soon on his latest setback. Oh boy.
I think it’s easier to get information from the Russian Embassy than from Canadiens’ management…..
Thats why I thought someone could drop in and find out. I actually believed PG’s information regarding the last scope and how it would be 6-9 weeks and he would be fine. But given we are nearing that timeline and not a word been said I am starting to worry again.
I’m shocked Tony I know it all Marinaro hasn’t reported anything other then Markov is working with the Ex Habs trainer.
Troika restaurant is where he likes to eat. Perhaps someone can swing by there.
Actually, the RDS guys were talking about him the other day. They said he is to resume skating near the end of the month; if that goes well, he could be back playing by mid-February. But don’t hold your breath.
I think I read the other day Renaud Lavoie say that he should resume skating in 2-3 weeks.
I just don’t get what all this hate for Subban around the league is about. I just don’t see his playing style being so aggravating that players would call him out or the media would spew out inane stories and hope they stick.
Anyone else and it’s a non story but oh it’s PK, he must be disrespecting the game. Cheap shot artists like Matt Cooke and Marchand disrespect the game, divers like Lapierre and Burrows disrespect the game, as far as I know PK doesn’t play like any of those guys (ok maybe sometimes he embellishes) and those guys don’t receive 10% of the bad press PK does from the media.
Check out the video on TSN of last night’s so-called ‘spitting incident’. While on the bench, PK spits down at the ice while Del Zotto skates into the camera frame. Problem is, from that perspective Del Zotto is a good 10-15 feet away from him, and he’s not even looking in Del Zotto’s direction.
This is TSN trying to search for fire where there’s not even smoke. Now he’s going to be branded as a spitter by the uneducated oafs that can’t even be bothered to check out the video and form their own opinion.
Lay off the kid, and let him play his game.
What is worse Chuck is BCE parent company of TSN is part owner of the Habs and they do this Shite!
It’ll blow over eventually.
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Don’t let the wultures getcha.
He’s just not playing the “white way”.
While I’m not happy with PK’s extracurricular agitatin’ I feel like the NHL has a slightly racist coloring to their lens when it comes to PK.
+1
Milbury is going to milk it as much as he can. Did you see the hotstove where he worked PK turtling into a conversation regarding the trade. http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockeynightincanada/hotstove/video/#id=2187038194
His hate for Subban is beyond normal.
In general, hate for Subban is beyond normal.
I am not someone who sees racism lurking behind every negative comment regarding a person of colour, but I think you do have to ask yourself if the outsized indignation generated in old white men like Milbury isn’t in some measure due to PK seeming… wait for it…. uppity
I don’t think critics are overtly racist, but the subconscious racism is sometimes harder to fight. What does PK do that is so bad, and can you honestly tell me that there are not a couple of dozen paler players in the NHL who say/do the same things without inspiring a hissy fit?
Happy Martin Luther King Day!
“Et le but!”
Bingo, 103. Sums it up nicely. How does that litte puke marchant get away with the crap that comes out of his mouth…Oh ya, the Bruin thing!!
Sal from the Hammer
you know milbury and pj stock will be there with their bruins cheerleader outfits on with pom poms, ready to condemn pk. dont the canadian tax payers pay for the cbc? if so, wouldnt we be paying the wages of idiots like milbury and stock? if thats the case im not too happy about it. im sure there and FAR MORE habs fans in this country than bruins fans.
ill be in the slot
Milbury said PK’s behaviour is enough to make you wanna take off your shoe and beat some-one with it!
Makes you wanna rough-up an adolescent boy!
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“You have to be this tall to ride on this ride”
-as posted in amusement parks across North America
The real but unfortunate situation is that there are Habs fans all over the NHL and of course Habs haters. And we know that Habs fans have a tendancy to rise players to god status so as soon as there is a reason to destroy the image…
It`s like this morning some say there is a goaler controversy now in Montreal. Give me a break ! Yesterday morning people were complaining about the choice of Budaj in the nets for the game and now they wonder if we shouldn`t leave him there ? Man it`s depressing to be a Habs fan. Just don`t know how or why but there is always something wrong ,nothing is ever just O.K. If you read the posts you will see comments abouts trades , tanking (!!!) and of course everything is fine and dandy in every other city in the league !
He’s black and he’s a hab. That’s your reason. Most current black players aren’t noticeble – they aren’t loud and in your face like PK is.
They know how much we love the guy and like it or not – but this franchise is disliked by non fans. So hey – loud black kid thinks he’s good at hockey. What a disrespectful young man he is.
In reality he’s an awesome loud personality that makes the game fun for us habs fans. Haters gonna hate.
EDIT – Also if he were a leaf I bet no one says a damned thing, aside from the race card.
I think it all started with Don Cherry last year and his kool-aid drinking followers can’t seem to get off that track.
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“You have to be this tall to ride on this ride”
-as posted in amusement parks across North America
potential players to be moved.
gill
weber
moen.
campoli.
kaberle.
AK.
gomez..(ah right)
This from Eric Duhatschek in today’s Globe.
Cammalleri explains himself
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/globe-on-hockey/what-did-mike-cammalleri-say/article2304104/
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“You have to be this tall to ride on this ride”
-as posted in amusement parks across North America
What’s the sound a truck makes while backing up? Beep……beep…….beep…….
That does sound more like something Cammalleri would say, and it was closer to how Apron Basu reported the comments, who was the other reporter in the room. The Habs should not let the media manipulate things this way.
But this made me laugh when talking about Cammy’s first game, “Cammalleri was just okay defensively, and at times, looked as if it might take a few days to absorb coach Brent Sutter’s system.”
A few days?!?! When they find out he doesn’t play a two-way game because he is an offensive player who makes up for it with great plays at the other end, Sutter is going to blow a gasket.
But but but Gagnon said…..
Which is why that blowhard is not credible. I’m tired of his schtick – making this team look bad. Cammalleri is a good guy and frankly I wish him well. Obviously things didn’t work out this year but thats the breaks.
Now that really worries me is Toronto was his 2nd choice. What happens when he’s a free agent? Will he become a leaf?
To put things in perspective, the trade deadline is 6 weeks from today. The team is a depressing 8 points out of a playoff spot today, but whether they will be buyers or sellers then will depend on what happens between now and then. The team just made what could be considered a major trade to shake things up. Let’s give it some time to see how the team reacts before making anymore decisions.
“They don’t hang Conference Championship Banners from the rafters here”
Carey Price
What? No more Pearnings? Okay then.