Canadiens defenceman P.K. Subban defends goalie Peter Budaj during Sunday’s practice at the Bell Centre.
Phil Carpenter, Gazette
So, just when you thought this season was bizarre:
Canadiens goalie Carey Price didn’t take part in Sunday morning’s annual Metro Canadiens Fan Practice at the Bell Centre, having suffered a cut to some part of his lower body (speculation was a foot) after Saturday’s 3-1 win over the Maple Leafs in Toronto. The team kept him off the ice for “precautionary reasons” but believe he’ll be ready to practise with his teammates Tuesday at Brossard when the Habs begin to prepare for Wednesday’s home game vs. the Detroit Red Wings.
(Last sliced Habs player in Toronto: defenceman Andrei Markov in the 2009-10 season-opener, a foot tendon cut by Price’s skate in a goal-mouth scramble, sending Markov for surgery and 35 games on the sidelines. What is it about the Air Canada Centre?)
Also not taking part in the practice, before an announced crowd of more than 18,000, were Travis Moen and Petteri Nokelainen, both taking therapy days. Moen was nursing an undisclosed injury, while Nokelainen was an upper-body issue.
Captain Brian Gionta was interviewed briefly at rinkside, as was Price.
The 75-minute session featured a brief practice, then skills contests for fastest skater, hardest shooter, and most accurate shooter, the morning closing with a 15-minute game of 4-on-4.
The skills contests:
• Fastest skater, one lap of Bell Centre ice:
Lars Eller, 13.19 seconds
David Desharnais, 13.49
Chris Campoli, 13.58
P.K. Subban, 13.92
• Shooting accuracy, four targets set in net corners:
Tomas Kaberle, 4 targets in 6 shots (13.8 seconds, wins based on time)
Mathieu Darche, 4 in 6 (16 seconds)
Andrei Kostitsyn, 4 in 6 (16 seconds)
Rene Bourque, 4 in 7
Erik Cole, 4 in 7
Tomas Plekanec, 4 in 7
Max Pacioretty, 3 in 4 (probably disqualified with broken stick)
• Hardest shot (best of three shots recorded below):
P.K. Subban, 151 km/h (not in contest, but accepted Weber challenge to win)
Yannick Weber, 147 km/h
Raphael Diaz, 135 km/h
Michael Blunden, 128 km/h
Alexei Emelin, 126 km/h
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Mr. Stubbs, did you mean that there was speculation that Price was cut in the foot, or that speculation was afoot about where he was cut?
…or both, for that matter.
Giants won but out played.Patriots win but out played. CH something is wrong in that room, nonexisitant CAPt, clics seem to exist, PK thinks he’s the hub of the team, actualy he will always be a problem, I would try and trade him ,he might be surprised at no takers.
Great Poll question, there is no way this Poll is going to cause a Price vs. Halak war on here…..
Thw world came back into focus yesterday when the Giants won the NFC championship. It started to tilt in that direction when the Habs beat the Laffs.
HNIC’s Glenn Healy assessment of the 2004 draft was interesting. He said it was a bust for the Habs but I’m not sure why. He went onto point out 3 players who are by all accounts, very successful NHLers at the moment. Not sure how that makes a draft year a bust. (Emelin, Streit and Grabovski)
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Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
***Habs Forever***
six of the habs picks from that year have made the NHL – yea that’s a bust
chipchura
yemelin
wyman
grabs
stweart
streit
you guys should write to him to let him know he is an idiot
Way to go G-Men, best of luck to all the Giants fans here, Beat the Pats!
And I wonder if Billy Cundiff will be kicking in Baltimore next year, me thinks NO.
hate the pats
Gomez Power Play clock.
Minutes of PP ice time minutes given to Scott Gomez: 55
Number Of PP goals scored by the team while Gomez was on the ice: 1
Number of short- handed goals scored by the opposition while Gomez was on the ice? At least 1, maybe more.
Does anyone else wonder why he continues to get so much time with the man advantage?
In even strength situations Gomez has had 222 minutes of ice time and the team has scored 9 goals while he has been on the ice. an average of one goal every 25 minutes.
For comparison purposes the team score one goal every 18 minutes that Desharnais is on the ice even strength. While he (Desharnais) is on the PP, the team scores a goal every 10 minutes.
Plekanec is running at a Gomez like clip this year. The Canadiens score a goal every 24 minutes that he is on the ice , even strength. With the man advantage , however, Plekanec is on the ice for one goal every 12 minutes.
In other words the with either Plek, or DD on the ice the Habs score at approximately TWICE the clip on the PP compared to even strength.
With Gomez on the PP, the Hab’s scoring rate is less than half of when he is on at even strength.
I thought that changing the coach would put an end to that nonsense.
Weber when left out of the lineup said that he felt he could do better than some of the guys who were playing.
I think our zamboni driver could argue that he could do better than Gomez on the PP, and that’s with his boots on. With skates it would be a no contest.
Statistically speaking , the Habs would be better of declining the penalty than having a powerplay that includes Gomez on the ice.
If I was paying the coaches salary, he would be told in no uncertain terms, “If Gomez so much as steps on the ice with the man advantage, you are fired IMMEDIATELY!” I would not even wait for the game to end.
How he can continue to hold a coaching job and keep putting Gomez on the PP. let alone on a shootout is simply beyond explanation.
REGARDS,
Steve O.
Qlik View – Data Discovery.
Every team needs it- Every coach needs it.
Every fan needs it!
http://litcosys.ca/QV_videos.html
How else can they move him if they don’t showcase him where he can hopefully shine the most? At his price tag, they have to find someone, someway, somehow. The only team interested in a trade is Hamilton
OOH AAH – HABS ON THE WARPATH!
That’s a whole bunch of words to say two things that we already knew.
1.] There is a really good reason why JM and RC are NHL coaches and you are…let’s be kind…someone who will (to state the obvious) never be an NHL coach.
2.] Scott Gomez, a potential Hall of Fame player, has two Stanley Cup rings and a Calder Trophy that says “I’m a player whom any authentic NHL coach will rely on to fix a game problem.”
I hope you enjoyed writing all the verbiage: Scott Gomez’s credentials are there for all to see, amateur effusions notwithstanding.
Which Hall of Fame are you referring to? Is there one for Alaskans?
–
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.
Thank you for my morning laugh.
———————–
GO HABS GO! 2011-12 is probably not our year!
Chat with me on Twitter @TheRealRGM81
I don`t see why you come back with this story that has been visited over and over and over again. Not relevant to the Habs situation since they had to do without him for a large part of the season so far.
They actually pay him so play him. Furthermore, his earnings will decrease to 4.5 mil. next year so it`s showcase time ! And who know`s? He might be picked up by another team or worse , play as he is capable of !
Sounds to me like we should only play DD and Plex for the entire game, then we would be undefeated.
Actually I am one, probably in the minority here, who does not feel that Gomez should be sent down to the minors.
I respect Gomez as a player, and respect his effort on the ice. The coaches job is to get the most out of his players and team. One of his most important responsibilities is to distribute the ice time.
I pointed that that there is little difference in Gomez and Plekanec in their offensive numbers this season but a wide discrepancy in their PP efficiency. last season Gomez was among our top performers on the PK unit. If the coach did his homework, he would know this. A good coach would play Gomez 5 on 5 and shorthanded, but NEVER on the PP.
@Vancouverhasfan: I don`t think anyone posting here will become the next coach or GM of the Canadiens. Yet I still find it interesting to read different peoples thoughts and opinions. Your first point is irrelevant.
Your second point, “I`m a player on whom an authentic NHL coach relies on to fix a game problem” leaves me speechless.
@justme and spats: Don`t you think that making Gomez a part of the leagues best PK unit might be a better way to showcase him, than playing him on , and thereby ensuring that they remain , the leagues worst PowerPlay?
@habsinBurlington: Seeing that Plekanec is a minus 12 this season, (he,s been on the ice for 28 Goals for and 40 goal against even strength) I don,t think that we would win all our games if he played the entire game.
DD, on the other hand, is a plus 9 having been on the ice for 37 offensive goals and only 28 goals against. If more of our players had similar numbers we would not win every game , but definitely win more than we lose.
Regards,
Steve
Steve O.
Qlik View – Data Discovery.
Every team needs it- Every coach needs it.
Every fan needs it!
http://litcosys.ca/QV_videos.html
i think it’s perfectly normal. what better way to tank a season?
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hip-check!
Here’s an interesting statistic, Fleury SV% .913 and everybody thinks he’s a great goalie (which I dont deny)
Price SV% .914 and people have the nerve on this site to blame him for our teams troubles.
#failfornail
not saying Price is bad but I don’t recall anyone calling Fleury a great goalie… he is a good goalie but far from great… People just throw terms like that around too easily,…
When I think great I think Roy, Brodeur, Dryden…
MAF is horrible. he has to be the worst modern era goalie to win a cup.
Giants Baby!!! At least one of my teams is for real!!!
Lower body cut… With the way things have went so far this season I’m glad it’s not a wrist cut.
Billy F. Cundiff!!! Eli F. Manning!!! Kyle F. Williams!!! :@
I’m a die hard Habs fan, a big Cowboys fan and I hate all Boston teams (incl. the Patriots). The Habs suck, the Bruins won the cup, and now the Giants and Pats are in the superbowl… F. me! This is like the worst sports year ever!!!
This year was only saved by the Bosox performing one of the biggest chokes of sports history. And trust me, that one hurt the Bostonians. They love the Sox tenfold over the Bruins.
But they love the Pats as much as the Sox… and the Giants knocked the Cowboys out of the playoffs!
Cowboys fan, eh? Poor bastid.
i’m with ya mike….. i’m a bills fan… so far this year i have (bills beat the pats once and were up 21-0 oin tehir second game…that game hurt). and the habs beat the leafs saturday. . . . that’s about all i got. baseballs twins fan so pile it on!!!!
Giants-Patriots. Hope it’s a classic that get’s settled in the final minutes and not a blow-out decided by half time.
This was probably posted awhile back, but just read the short article by Bobby Holik on PK Subban: http://holikonhockey.com/bobby-blog/pk-subban/
Good perspective. I found it through a link in this even better (more interesting and in depth) article by Engels about the Habs locker room:
http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog/Eric-Engels/Earning-Respect-from-your-Teammates-Depends-on-Sacrifice/82/41425
Great article… interesting conclusion (and one that I and others here have talked about): the culture of the room, the core players are shifting… where is the leadership? Obviously it’s a shell game. It’s changing. And wither Brian Gionta? I’ve said he isn’t the leader this team needs. It’s always had a group with him.. but that group is fading – Cami (gone), Gomez (pffftt), Gill (near or at the end of his career – and contract), Pleks… what role does he play or want to play? Hard to read that one. But it’s changing, that’s for sure. Patches, Cole, DD… all new guys, all leaders in a way. Subban… hardly a leader today. Gorges – is he the prince to be soon crowned King? And if so…. what of the old guard? Puzzles.
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Listen to the Smart Dog. He knows his poop!
Thanks SDog good read and dead on
Thanks for the links. I’ve red both of ‘em but went through them again for prosperity. The Engels one being of particular re-interest for me.
PK. I’ve mulled his plight and the subject over and over this season. Watching him. I’m fascinated. It’s a good story and a compelling one to say the least. How often does a raw talent such as his come about? Not very. Yet he’s a talent wrapped in a riddle and whatever the riddler said. He’s a project. To say the least. But should we, the fan base, creep into the picture and muddle the progress through shear frustration and most importantly impatience? Does any Tom Dick and Harry who grew up in this fair city and laced up skates believing he should have been drafted or could have been drafted, had he been an inch or two taller, a person that played at a bantam or high level or even for the most part a local street hockey performer, can this person claim to know more about the game by watching with a bitter eye from the stands and their living room and claim to know what is right and what is wrong with the game of PK?
Right. Wrong.
PK has some growing up to do. YES. But could anyone say they were drafted by the canadiens, or any of the big clubs in any professional league, and claim to tell the GM on the podium after proudly slipping on the Habs jersey, “you won’t regret this” Could or would or has anyone ever said that in the history of sports? Wow. What balls!
PK in a bruins uniform would cause nightmares. I can go on and on but it’s quite a daunting task. I’m frustrated at his turtleing and whussy antics. Yes. I’ve told myself he should take lessons in the off season in boxing to protect himself and finish what he started in a skuffle, but it’s not in his DNA. He’s not a fighter. But in time and with maturity, he’ll be one hell of a hockey player.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Kiss my hAbSS!!!
…good one Sly
Habitant means PASSIONATE HOCKEY
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=423049
Giants off to the Big Dance! Woohoo!
So when Subban and Plekanec fight its top story on TSN and the world is coming to an end. There was a scrap at Leaf pratice and there is no story at all, just a tiny video on TSN page.
Typical TSN and love for Leafs/hatred for habs
I was thinking the same thing. Brutal…
Was just thinking about this. Absolutely ridiculous.
25 before 14
I thought about that too. TSN can kiss my cat’s ass.
Re PK and Pleks and the whole process of team bonding and conflict, read the article I linked to above. The Engels one. REALLY intersting.
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Listen to the Smart Dog. He knows his poop!
Altough TSN`s bias is obvious, it also shows that it does happen in every team and that there is no story to munch around for a week when it happens..Note to Montreal`s media…
Not to mention in the Maple Leafs practice they were throwing some heavy punches. Not like the slap fest btwn PK and Plekanec
Wow, they really do look alike. I wonder what the team shrink would have to say about that… “Don’t you see the person you’re really fighting is yourself?”
http://www.puckbandits.com
Giants!
***Subbang Baby!!!***
Eli: Greatest Manning ever.
I’m excited for them.
Shane Oliver
http://www.Sholi2000.com Inc.
Custom Sports Figures
Brandon, MB,Canada
R7B 2R7
hockey@sholi2000.com
Ph- 204 724 8418
Kinda surprised Cole didn’t make top-five fastest skater. All that damn turning!
Cole wasn’t in the competition, he was in the accuracy one. Eller even said he thought he was going to lose to Cole.
If you go to Eklund’s site, you will find under the Canadien’s logo an article by Steven Hindle. He wrote it after the Caps-Habs game. It’s a nice piece covering some interesting topics. The article is entitled “Beneath the Big top”.
I am copying a piece of that article below… any comments on the suggestion he is making??
===== from Steven Hindle off Eklund’s site quote =====
A Hidden Candidate
While I endorse Randy Cunneyworth as the Habs head coach, I can’t help but hear the rumors surrounding who may very well replace him. And, though I’d like to see him stay as I believe he has a great rapport with the players and, if given the chance, can have a great connection with the team, there’s no hiding his odds of remaining behind the bench are rather slim.
That said, one coaching candidate whose name hasn’t made the rounds yet, perhaps over-shadowed by another, is Lightning assistant coach, Martin Raymond.
A Montreal native and former McGill Redmen and Hamilton Bulldogs bench boss, his candidacy has been hidden beneath the lure of Guy Boucher.
Though Boucher has made quite a name for himself, it’s hard to ignore the guy behind Boucher who has been a key component in his success.
Raymond is a well respected and intelligent hockey mind who fits every aspect of what the Canadiens organization would need in a head coach. Though he has never had the opportunity to guide a team as a head coach at the NHL level, he is on the verge of emerging from Boucher’s spotlight.
So, while you’ll hear a whole bunch of names before here and when an actual decision is made, remember that there are always more candidates available off the radar than there are on it.
Though I feel that the Habs are not prepared to enter that realm just yet, consider this your first warning in regards to Martin Raymond’s future as a potential candidate for head coaching jobs in the NHL, possibly starting here in Montreal.
===========unquote unquote ===================
Sounds like not a bad candidate.
Lets just do what everyone else does, go pick up an assistant coach that currently coaches under a perennial good team, aka Detroit or San Jose or Philly or Chicago. This is what good teams do.
Yeah but there are no strong bilingual ones on those teams. So let’s pick up a bilingual assistant coach from a bad team. Or an old hockey player who is untested. Or a guy from the minors who is green and let him ‘learn’ while in Montreal and then go on to success later elsewhere.
THAT is what Montreal does.
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Listen to the Smart Dog. He knows his poop!
Smartdog, if we read between the lines, I think you are lobbying for PJ Stock to become the next coach of the Habs. I like the thinking outside the box. Do it Geoff.
Has anybody heard anything on Markov? Next weekend is the All-Star festivities and according to PG Markov should be back with the team after that.
I haven’t heard anything about anyone seeing him skate or anything. Does he come in for dry land training or does he remain invisible to everyone.
Actually I think PG said late January and Martin said after the All-star break. Given how many times they’ve been wrong about when he returns, I honestly don’t see him playing this season.
But no, he isn’t skating.
Gauthier said the end of January so he will either play on Wednesday against Detroit or he will be in the lineup on the 31st against Buffalo. It is soooo great that he will be back in the lineup within the next 2 games. Gauthier told us he would be.
He never WHICH All-Star break, did he?
Markov has not even started skating. The last update on him vaguely hinted at another month or so. But there is growing debate that he will not skate for the team this year.
“I reject your reality and substitute my own”.
- Adam Savage
Carey can use the R & R …..
Eller the fastest
If anyone’s surprised by this they haven’t been paying attention.
I would have bet that Cole would have been the fastest skater..Did he participate?
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Yes, I’m a Hab fan..Wanna fight about it?
No… I would have liked to have seen Cole and Pacioretty try.
I remember Pacioretty being fastest on the team in a previous competition. My money is on him.
As much as it pains me to say it, I think Gomez might be the fastest. Watching him lately, that man can fly… it’s like he has wings instead of hands.
Flippers instead of feet! An egg beater instead of a heart! Ping pong balls instead of eyes!
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Listen to the Smart Dog. He knows his poop!
That’s the reason they rested the veterans Cole & Gomez–both are already the two unchallenged fastest on the team and don’t need to be risked for injuries.
Posted this on the other thread.
Here’s something interesting from the Edmonton Journal:
“The Oilers absolutely need a puck-moving defenceman more than they need a draft pick. Renney and company need an NHL player right now to get the puck to Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.”
It just so happens the Habs have an overabundance of these: Campoli, Weber, Kaberle and Diaz (though I think Diaz should stay with the Habs). Wouldn’t it be great if the Habs could trade Campoli to the Oilers for something?
I guess, in my mind, the goal wouldn’t be to get Hemsky, but gain some cap space (even though in the case of Weber it wouldn’t be that much) to retool the D a bit so that the Habs don’t have an excess of smaller, puckmoving guys although, again, I wouldn’t want to see Diaz traded.
Of course the goal would not be hemesky.
He is an UFA this year…. so he is, at best, a rental for a playoff team.
please take Kaberle!
Darche hit 4 of 6 targets in 13 seconds? Boone: are you sure that was him?
And he scored on a slapshot on a breakaway during the scrimmage.
Locker room knife fight!!!
http://www.puckbandits.com
Rumour was that Subban took some of Plekanec’s lip balm without asking. Price subsequently intervened.
Man, were those wrist shots or something? 93mph wins hardest shot? Emelin with a 78mph slapper??
Apparently Emelin MISSED the net during the hardest shot contest.
OK, the person setting up the pucks for the one timer had Emelin basically standing in a pile of pucks. No room for proper footing. He’s a lefty and was given no room to shoot. Hence missing the net on his second attempt. First shot wasn’t recorded for some reason. On the third, he barely tried.
Weekly stats on where we place in the 30 team league.
As well we are 7 points back of Washington, who are in 8th place in our conference.
Goals A. 132-We are in 12th. Last week were 13th with 122.
Points . 45-We are in 23rd Last week were 24th with 40.
Goals F. 123- We are in 20th Last week were 24th with 112.
34 games left. OR 68 possible points to collect yet!
Piece of cake! All we have to do is WIN.
Should we do this?
http://www.thehockeynews.com/articles/44286-Campbell-Why-the-Lightning-and-Canadiens-should-trade-coaches.html
25 before 14
If memory serves, Bergeron was the last coach to be traded, and it’s no longer allowed.
If we could ? Yes I think that would be great!
—
If you want to add an avatar here, read this and follow the steps
Go Habs Go!
Edmonton got 4th rounder for Julien when he became The Habs Head Coach via The Bulldogs……
Really ? I didn’t know that, I seemed to remember Bergeron saying it’s not allowed anymore. Assumed because he said it he was the last one.
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If you want to add an avatar here, read this and follow the steps
Go Habs Go!
You could just have both teams fire and then hire the coaches, it doesn’t actually have to be a trade.
25 before 14
Y’all remember Metro in that accuracy contest a few years ago? 4/4 all slap-shots, last was a one-timer top-cheese. That dude had some skills
You see Sean Thornton’s penalty shot goal on Winnipeg ? He has skills, we forget that every one of these players are very, very skilled individually. But in order to make it to the NHL some of them had to adopt a different role.
#failfornail
About Price: I wouldn’t mind seeing him take a little vacation until after the ASG. Sounds good actually.
About Kaberle. People still haven’t chilled about this. His point production is good. He’s an even on +\- for the Habs, so not a huge defensive liability. Yea he doesn’t play against the top forwards but that is not his role. His contract is quite reasonable and he could easily be traded if need be. Some people like to freak out about nothing.
About football: go Giants!
Was Cammalleri sliced earlier this year in Toronto? Or was it somewhere else?
Cammalleri was cut in the thigh in Winnipeg, second game of the season.
Dave Stubbs
Hockey Inside/Out
Sports Columnist/Feature Writer, Montreal Gazette
• On Twitter: twitter.com/habsinsideout1
• Email: dstubbs@montrealgazette.com
I have my fingers cross that this cut, is Management way of keeping Price fom that stupid allstar game. You know, with who are the captains, he will be picked last. They will try to mess with his head and we don’t need that.
lol this is not a grade 2 school yard… if he gets picked last it will probably be b/c everyone thinks he is the least deserving to be there… like Kessel last year… which I dont think is the case with Pricey… even though he is 26th in save% in the league…
I think the fact that this team stank so badly this year might work in our favour long term, knowing that there are many key signings to be done in the off season… Price, PK, Eller, AK and Moen if they are not traded…
I must say I find it very stupid when people suggest that price will get more than $ 5.5M per year long term… Except for his # of games played and superstar status that only our fans seem to give him, I don’t see any of his stats that would justify such a huge pay raise…
Most people will agree Price is a good goalie, like I have a buddy who is a Bruins fan and he says Price is good, he’s just not as good as Montreal thinks he is. I think he will want something similar to Rinne or Bryzgalov because Bryzgalov is very unproven and he is getting paid 5.6M/Y for 9 years somehow and he has brutal stats this year. So Price’s agent will see this and use it as a bargaining tool.
#failfornail
Ya Price will be back for Wednesday’s game, just like Markov will only miss the first week of the season.
Not hockey but news that Penn’s Paterno died today kinda adds to the anecdotal evidence re ‘losing reason to live’ being part of succumbing to an illness.
Just saw on TSN.CA .. brawl at Leafs practice. Maybe we got to them.
Wasn’t the TOR media tearing PK apart for this kinda stuff? lol
Looks good on them for making a mountain out of a mole hill..
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Yes, I’m a Hab fan..Wanna fight about it?
the toronto ran media will try and downplay it.
ill be in the slot
not really a brawl but ya lol….
ill be in the slot
I ran it by Rancois Gagnon before I posted. He said use the word ‘brawl’.
i hope us hab fans don,t make a big issue over price and others not practiceing today..we have a tendency to make a big deal out of nothing
viper180
What? No we don’t! TAKE IT BACK!!!
best avatar ever
Thank you. Though my vote goes to either Ozomandier (spelling?) or whichever of the guys with a two letter name that made the CH using flashlights and a slow shutter shot.
Hey, thanks
I took this shot in Mexico with a Canon camera.. long shutter mode. Just a flashlight for the H and my hand covering it for the C.
I say he could have been working on shootouts with Gionta. That’s what HALAK would have done. (runs for cover…)
3-way deal:
Kaberle + Weber to EDM
Hemsky somewhere
2nd rounder + prospect to MTL from somewhere.
However, I am pretty sure Edmonton, still in rebuild more, can get more than Kaberle and Weber for Hemsky from a contender. I reckon they are looking for a younger puck mover than Kaberle.
If half those guys as as bad as many people claim the quickest way to the draft lottery is to keep them in the lineup.
“Max Pacioretty could be our Phil Kessel”
- Sean Bonjovi