Canadiens forward Brandon Prust is in the autograph spotlight on Friday.
Richard Wolowicz, Getty Images Sport
Canadiens fans will have a chance to meet Brandon Prust, Colby Armstrong and Brendan Gallagher – and possibly others, who might drop by at the last minute (no guarantees) – Friday from 7-8 p.m. at Le Skratch, 1875 Panama Ave. in Brossard from 7-8 p.m.
This is a bit of a “Welcome to Montreal” event organized for the fan-favourite Prust by Hockey Helps, and Armstrong and Gallagher are confirmed to be part of it.
It will cost you $8 for a Prust autograph, in keeping with his jersey number; $20 will get you signatures of both Armstrong and Gallagher. A portion of proceeds will go to two Montreal charities in the players’ names – the Montreal Canadiens Children’s Foundation and the Montreal Children’s Hospital Foundation’s Stratos Raphael Angelopoulos Fund.
There will be items up for bid in a silent auction, and former Canadien Yvon Lambert will call a live auction on site.
• PLEASE NOTE: Le Skratch is a licensed establishment and admits only those 18 years of age and older. From 6:30 to 7 p.m., a signing for those under 18 will be held at an adjacent restaurant; arrive at Le Skratch and you’ll be directed there.
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I have to give MT an A….but I’d still like to see him use Eller more…
New Poll question, Hey Timo I see you voted 3 times already! Well done bud!
Timo keeps everyone sharp on here for sure.
Wait until you see what he drinks, at the next Summit!
Shirley Temples?
Richard R
Price is an oyster. Unfortunately not all oysters produce pearls.
Wow, MacKinnon dropped to 3rd in the new rankings by ISS. Drouin now 4th, Jones is first and VALERY NICHUSHKIN is 2nd. Maybe not a bad pick for the Habs, left wing 6’4″ 196 lbs
Habfan17
The only rankings I take seriously are Bob Mackenzie’s.
He does seem to be the most accurate!
Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to draft Jones. What a shut down pair, Jones; 6’4″ and Tinordi 6’6″ would make!
Habfan17
He is the only guy I would consider trading PK for. I’d be happy drafting that 6’5′ centerman from the Q Frederick Gauthier.
He seem like a match for Montreal, but I’m always wary that we will draft a French kid over someone more talented. I wasn’t a big fan of the Leblanc draft pick.
I also think we should give Matthew Bissonnette a shot in Hamilton next season. Big center that can put up points, but his linemates are probably carrying him. He went undrafted
Gauthier could be a good one! If the Habs end up out of the playoffs and end up with a top 4 pick, I wonder if they might be able to trade 2 of the second round picks and a roster player like DD for say the 6th or 7th overall pick.
Habfan17
If we get a top 4 pick, I want Drouin
He dropped because of a MCL injury.
Thanks for the info. Hopefully he recovers 100%.
Thanks for the info!
Habfan17
Here they are.
http://www.isshockey.com/iss-top-30-released-for-february/
Glad to see that Gauthier is still trending low.
The Bell Centre announcer going to have his work cut out for him if the Habs add a Nichushkin to the roster. Galchenyuk is already a mouthful.
Richard R
Price is an oyster. Unfortunately not all oysters produce pearls.
Rumour mills (lie factories) say Habs are very interested in O’Reilly. What do you guys think of him? What would you be willing to trade?
I like O’Reilly, but here’s the problem.
O’Reilly is looking for a big money, long term deal. As he is just finishing his ELC, the Avs want him to take a bridge deal. He is refusing and hence why he is available to trade.
Given Bergevin’s stance in the PK Subban negotiations, how can you acquire this guy? Will he take the bridge deal or continue to hold out for his big money?
Go Habs Go!
Check out Top Shelf Prospects, my Team by Team prospect reports
http://lastwordonsports.com/
I am willing to trade Moen, Armstrong, KAberle, Weber and Therrien.
Any takers?
lol @ Timo,
I would prefer Brian Boyle (I have been trying to drum up support for a week now
)
He’s a big body, can pop in some goals, and plays a good 2 way game as well.. He’s being scratched by NYR, so he would be a cheaper trade, and cheaper on payroll.
Go Habs Go
I don’t want a prima donna on this team.
Kaberle and Weber for O’Reilly and then send him to Hamilton to play with his head!
Wrong. Mikey Therrien will have a customized personal development program for O’Reilly and will keep a close eye on him. PK’s personal development will suffer as a result.
This sounds like the product of one Mr. Eklund…… or at least I saw him say this a few days ago.
I would agree
“Keep your stick on the Ice”
The fourth periond (another lie factory) has the Leafs, NY Isles, Philly, Buffalo all interested but no mention of the habs
“Keep your stick on the Ice”
Where did you get this crap from? Twitter? Name that source, please.
Where I heard it was not important. Was just curious what people thought of him
Did they ever explain why there were three whole sections that were completely empty? Right at Centre Ice and right behind the benches.
Now the rest of the rink was sporadically full, but I couldn’t figure out why three whole sections of prime seating were completely empty last night.
Go Habs Go!
Check out Top Shelf Prospects, my Team by Team prospect reports
http://lastwordonsports.com/
On the radio Ted Bird said those seats were sold out but the corporate buyers were watching in a lounge somewhere else in the building. Something to that effect.
Let’s reverse the argument.
If we need a good d-man to prevent running our goalie, it suggests that running the keeper is a good strategy. It’s such a good strategy that it needs a deterrent.
Do you (collectively) advocate running other teams’ goalies and if not why not?
Because Bourque now spends 2 minutes in the box for goalie interference! The Refs need to call the crap then teams won’t try it anymore. I also don’t believe that kind of crap is necessary or good. I love good hard checking hockey, but not the crap that puts players at needless risk. I want to enjoy the skill.
Habfan17
No. It’s gutless because most goalies can’t protect themselves from a player who’s built up speed and has the opportunity to come at them full-tilt.
One exception in my book to running the goalie. If you’re in the playoffs against one that is absolutely stealing the show and may knock you out by himself, go nuts. But make it count.
Actually prefer it depending on the situation than to retaliating right away. For example, if Lucic runs Price, who honestly can hurt him? If there is someone, then what happens if he is not on the ice at that time? You want Lucic to beat up Gorges like Komisarek? They’re better off returning the favour and running Rask.
It’s been happening to the Habs for a little over a decade now. So, yes.
I will support running the goalie when Tim Thomas comes out of retirement.
Did anyone else notice that Gudbranson was screwed on that interference penalty he drew on Cole? I missed the intitial play, however, when they ran the replay, it sure looked like Cole was sleep skating and had no clue when he decided to skate in front of the net to cut off the puck carrier, that Gudbranson was even there!
It looked like he just plain ran into him and that Gudbranson put his arms up to protect himself.
Habfan17
Agreed. Probably shouldn’t have been a penalty…but refs have been terrible so far.
So it wasn’t just me…lol You bet, the reffing has been terrible.
Habfan17
Loved the Killer.Glad he got to wear the CH for a season.
Me too! Not so sure Cherry liked seeing him in a Habs uniform!
Habfan17
Best when he broke the glass in the penalty box!
The Habs are off to a start that is beyond people’s dreams. No one expected it (or called it!)
Could you imagine this website if their record was reversed?
A 4-8-1= 9 record would have us crucifying management and players alike while debating who to take in the lottery draft.
I wonder what’s going on at the Panther website:-)
I’d actually be tickled at the thought of a top 5 pick in a year that will have an asterisk beside it over the course of time.
I read somewhere that if a team is more than 7 points out of a playoff spot at the 1/3 mark of the season, their chances of making the post season are close to nil. Reverse the Habs record and lose to Philly……
It’s a fine line between chaos and creation.
Dale Tallon shudders ever time he logs in there.
Dale Tallon is the Tankmeister. Everything is going according to plan.
Very true. Every loss is a better pick. The bugger!
Wasn’t he a genius last year? Sucks to be him now…
Cal – I see that Henri Richard is your favourite player. Even though he won 11 Cups, I always felt he never received proper recognition having played in the shadow of The Rocket and Beliveau.
The Pocket Rocket was just 5’7″. Dionne was 5’8″ and Mikita was 5’9″. Those were the days.
My favorite memory of him (besides the Cup winning goal against Chicago) is the way he launched himself at defenders who were not only a lot taller, but out-weighed him by 50 lbs. He was the original tiger. 5 foot 7 inches of pure predatory ferocity. I can only hope Gallagher sees some of the old film of the Pocket Rocket and emulates him. What a player!
Cal – I take it you’re an old fart like me.
It’s good to have you around. All the guys on this site under the age of 50 know SFA:-)
@24- I read a lot of posts and can’t help but laugh. But, you’re only young once, so rant on!
Another proud member of the old farts club, and the Henri Richard fan club.
If Gallagher turns out to be half the player Henri was we’ll have a good one on our hands.
Just kidding, of course, but there’s always an element of truth in all sarcasm. Truth be told, I’d love to be 50 again!
The Panthers have a website?
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It’ll always be Habs Inside/Out to me
Regarding running the goalie and the powerplay being the best deterrent.
I agree provided the powerplay as HF72 suggests is lethal. And by that I mean it’s a surprise when the team in question doesn’t score when on the Powerplay.
As for the Lucic like players running the goalie and then not answering the bell.
That’s the entire purpose of having the big, good defenseman who can fight. He’s on the ice more often than not against those Lucic type players.
And as for the not answering the bell. When they’re on the ice at the same time and an opposing player runs your goalie, you don’t give the guy who did it a choice. He’s either fighting or taking a beating. His choice.
In addition. This is a problem the Habs haven’t had in years. For a very long time they had two capable goaltenders. THAT’S the best deterrent against an opposing team running your goalie. It’s pointless with a good one behind your starter.
“When they’re on the ice at the same time and an opposing player runs your goalie, you don’t give the guy who did it a choice. He’s either fighting or taking a beating. His choice.”
This is exactly why I laughed when I read people whining about Bouillon taking the penalty on Hedman (I think it was Hedman) the other night. That’s a penalty he HAD to take. If he doesn’t it continues to happen…I don’t understand what’s difficult to understand about that.
Did people really want Bouillon to just skate away with his hands in his proverbial pockets? lol
Sorry but I think judgment has to be used in these situations. I believe in retaliation but not always right away. Retaliation should be delivered when it affects the team the least. At that time, the Habs were up two goals with 4 min to go against one of the most offensive teams in the league. The game was not over yet. The win should always be priority number#1. The penalty would have basically wrapped up the games for the Habs. They could have then with 30 sec left run TB’s goalie or jump one of their players with the win in hand. Sorry, just a different point of view I guess.
Loonie, good comment my friend. Please continue to educate the people.
Lucic still won’t fight anyone who can fight, and if this is one of your best defencemen, he will sit in the box for 2 to 5 minutes and you lose a top defender.
What the Habs need is more size and grit. Players that won’t be intimidated and can hold off the crease crashers. Nasty is better than fighter like Gilmour used to be.
Players like Ludwig, Nyrop, Lapointe, Savard, Chartraw. Players who, when they hit guys like Lucic, clean, they punish him. A bone crushing hip check into the boards like Robinson would do will work as a deterant to the scum like Lucic.
The Habs do not have anyone like this right now. If you have a player who will drill Lucic onto his ass when he tries to crash the crease, that will stop it.
Habfan17
Exactly. And getting a player who won’t give Lucic the choice of whether or not he’ll fight is a good idea.
You’re agreeing and you don’t even know it
Up to the point about fighting
Hey, was is just ne, or did Cole look like he was sleep skating when he ran into Gudbranson. I did not see it intially, but hen I watched the replays later, it sure looked like Cole put his head down and went to skate in front of the net to try to cut off the puck carrier and he had no clue Gudbranson was there. It looked like Gudbranon was as suprised as I was and just put his arms up to protect himself.
Habfan17
And when White does it he’s sent to the press box.
Mr. Biter
No Guts No Glory
I advocate for the knock him hars an his ass, and if he gets up and wants to start, let him take the penalty, then score on the power play and laugh at him after! If he keeps doing it, his coach will punch him out…lol
Habfan17
I need new fingers or glasses, too many typos…lol
Habfan17
Lucic definitely does pick his spots.
He is a coward! Tough guys don’t pull the crap he and Marchand pull.
Habfan17
Well Marchand isn’t a ‘tough guy” he’s a rat.
Gilmour?
Yes, Doug Gilmour. He didn’t fight, but he made space for himself because he was nasty, although sometimes over the line and just plain dirty. Just like Glen Anderson too
Habfan17
I love Gilmour don’t get me wrong and he was gritty but the Bruins would swat him like a fly.
Didn’t Gilmour fight a guy for cutting the legs off of Theodore when he was way out of his crease.
I seem to recall Killer going postal and defending his goalie at all costs.
The problem is bone crushing body and hip checks are now called “roughing”,” interference” ,etc…I posted on this the other day. They want “flow” and “speed” and “finesse skating”…all the fine attributes associated with figure skating
I agree 100%: fight or be devoured
White says don’t even get close to Price lol:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=4cDxDE0jOVM#!
That is how it’s done.
Contrarian time: Consider that perhaps we DON’T need a hulking defenceman who can clear the net and drop the gloves with the 4th liners of the league.
The Steve Ott incident was a horribly blown call – the league is not going to let goaltenders be run and the old cross check to the back clearing method is getting called in a big way.
Right now I would rather have Boullion using leverage than John Erskine chasing a guy who blew past him.
Florida has Parros … did it look for a minute that his pugilism was needed?
“Don’t crush that dwarf Alex Henry, hand me the pliers”
I think we need one as a reserve. He would at least play once in a while. We have guys who are never going to play unless there is an injury. That is a waste of cap space as far as I am concerned.
Too many times the opposition has crashed Price’s net and receive no retribution, so they keep coming back for more.
Habs need a crease-clearing Dman.
Problem is when Bouillon retributed to a net-crash it led to a powerplay that opened the door for the other team’s comeback.
Not saying size isn’t important – but not for beating up transgressors.
The message the Habs have to give is this: NO ONE TOUCHES PRICE. It is worth penalties, imo.
http://calshabsongparodies.weebly.com
Yep.
Best way to send that message: a fearsome powerplay.
I would argue that you are deterring running the goalie a lot better with Andrei Markov on the bench than Jim Vandermeer or whoever on the ice.
I agree about the powerplay but unless you’re operating close to 30% it doesn’t strike much fear into an opposing coach.
A big, excellent defenseman who can drop the gloves and intimidate is much easier to find than a player who can contribute offense, defense and intimidate.
Thus the call for somebody like that on defense.
You’re never going to find somebody who can intimidate everybody. But somebody on the back end who’s on the ice much more often than a fourth liner is a good find because they’re actually on the ice more often than not when the crap starts.
Imagine that Tampa player(forget who it was) having to answer to an Erskine, Murray, Vandermeer, Jackman or like player instead of Bouillon.
Problem is you don’t have to answer. If you refuse to drop the gloves nothing can happen.
Yeah and you can just let guys run the most expensive player in the history of the franchise free of charge.
1. Players who even tap the goalie lightly are getting 2 min for interference this year. As a strategy, running the opposing goalie is a dead end.
2. Even if a team foolishly resorted to it, a player who attacks another player gets either 2 min or 2+5. And doesn’t hurt the opposing player.
Those two together mean that a big d-man specifically as a deterrent to running the goalie (as opposed to other virtues of a big d-man which are undeniable) is as useful as the Maginot Line.
Price has not been getting run this year. He’s been bumped into a couple of times and it’s resulted in powerplays for us.
Here is my take, although you probably don’t care. Players like Lucic and Marchand and the other of their ilk will keep running the goaltender even if you have a player like Scott. The reason being is that they will never answer the bell. They stir up crap and then skate away. The only time they ” fight” is when they sucker someone or punch them with their gloves on and usually from behind. The other issue is an enforcer can’t alway be on the ice, especially in the 3rd period if you are protecting a lead in a close game. What you need are strong defenders that can hold these guys at bay and not get backed into the goalie and won’t back down. That is the tough and sandpaper they need.
Habfan17
What habfan17 said.
If they refuse to drop the gloves, they’ll get jumped and pounded anyways, its a win/win IMO
That guy White “pounded” didn’t even feel it. Every blow on his protective equipment.
The you play short handed and potentially get scored on and lose the game..that is showing them!
Habfan17
Okay, let me present a scenario:
“Boston vs Montreal, the score is 3-1 Montreal. Lucic attempts to deflect a rebound, but Price saves the puck. Lucic, out of cruelty, spite, and hatred proceeds to sucker punch Price in the head, ending his career. He receives no retaliation, had their been a big, tough crease-clearing Defenceman present, he likely would not have done anything.”
I fear it will take an incident like this for our management to firmly say “NEVER AGAIN”
we must protect Price at all costs, if we get penalized, so be it.
Big tough d-man would be nice, but needs to be a1-4 d-man which going to cost us something. But another big mean forward could do the same damage to Lucic. Prust, White and (?)would probably be on the ice at the same time as the Tough D-man (5-6) so when our 1st and 2nd forward and defense pairings are out there there is not much help for Price. However a good spear in the kahonnes by a smaller player would definatly be a determent to Lucic.
Mr. Biter
No Guts No Glory
I guess my take is that if you are going to crash the net, you don’t care who is on the ice.
“Don’t crush that dwarf Alex Henry, hand me the pliers”
You do if there’s a Dman that will make you pay. I am not saying that this will stop it from happening. I am saying that when this s–t happens that the Habs must answer, and immediately.
Pay how? Letting a big goon hit you 2-3 times on the shoulder pads before the linesmen break it up?
@72- How about with a nice cross check across the chops? Lots of successful teams, in fact all of them, protect their goalies.
You sir, are crazy, Price is the worst defended Goalie in the NHL.
We need that kind of player simply for the safety of our best asset.
Loonie, an even better question: Why in the world is Josh Gorges ever on the powerplay? Is it because Emelin is that bad there (which seems to be the case)?
“thoroughbred”
Bwoar, I think Gorges is out there for the end so that they have a defensive presence when the other teams gets back to even – might even be a specific dman matchup going on.
“Don’t crush that dwarf Alex Henry, hand me the pliers”
From what I have seen he might finish a powerplay and that is all. Markov/PK, Diaz/Boullion are now getting the pp time.
I still would prefer Markov/Diaz and PK/Emelin or some combination thereof.
I don’t see Gorges getting powerplay time of any significance.
I agree with the Markov/Diaz scenario.They were doing brilliantly at the beginning of the season. Maybe neither is a big point shot, but they have enough wiles that they don’t really need it.
And Markov does have four power play goals so far, with a bunch of PP assists to boot.
You don’t necessarily need a big cannon with Markov. It helps, but as long as you have someone who can setup and distribute from the top of the faceoff circle, you can do damage with Markov. Be it from one timers from the circle (Cammy, Kovalev style) or backdoor passes back to Markov for the Tap in.
Emelin’s offense is light years ahead of Gorges’.
Personally I’d give Subban a two minute powerplay on every second PP.
He’s young, in great shape. He can handle it.
Markov, Subban and Diaz.
That’s it.
Gorges has played a team 3rd lowest 11 seconds a game on the PP….. A total of 2 minutes 23 seconds in 13 games.
get outta here wit dem facts, damnit!!
My fellow Habs addicts,
Anyone know where I can watch the 24CH full episodes online (English version)? HabsTV only has clips, and I can’t find out where to find it online. Help a brother out!
Second episode in english is on tonight, 7:30pm, TSN.
I live in the USofA, so I don’t get TSN… looking to catch them online somewhere. Any ideas?
None that are legal, sorry.
Here you go.
http://canadiens.nhl.com/club/page.htm?id=86513&navid=DL|MTL|home
I’m sure in time you’ll be able to find them on youtube
I honestly think we are a stud #1 centre away from being serious contenders.
If you look at our top 9 fwds, 4 (Pleks, Gio, Gally, DD) of them are undersized, representing 44.4% of our top 3 lines. In turn, we will always have 2 undersized guys on one of our top 3 lines no matter what (unless you play 3 of them together which wouldn’t make much sense or put a smurf on each of your 4 lines). At this stage DD is most expendable, but his value is also plummeting with his lack of production and now being on the perpetual line shuffle, will struggle creating chemistry without wingers who are scoring.
Question is: will management make a move to address this? Would we be willing to give up the assets for a ‘Getzlaf type’ centreman?
I don’t disagree but with all due respect, a lot of teams would fall into this category, Getzlaf could put a lot of teams into contender status. Galchenyuk should be that guy in 3-4 years. Maybe Eller is that #2 in the future, while Pleks has a lot of good years left.
A lot of Big forwards in this draft, Barkov, Lindholm, Nichuskin (spelling*), Erne, etc.
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Lars, PK, Galchenyuk, Pac, Emelin – @J_Perez22
1 * – New Jersey ATL 13 8 2 3 19 8 35 28 +7 5-1-1 3-1-2 0-1 5-2-3 Lost 1
2 * – Boston NE 11 8 1 2 18 6 32 25 +7 4-1-1 4-0-1 2-1 7-1-2 OT 1
3 * – Carolina SE 13 8 4 1 17 8 41 37 +4 3-2-0 5-2-1 – 7-2-1 Won 3
4 Pittsburgh ATL 14 9 5 0 18 8 45 34 +11 3-3-0 6-2-0 1-0 7-3-0 Won 1
5 Montréal NE 13 8 4 1 17 7 36 33 +3 5-3-0 3-1-1 1-1 6-3-1 Won 2
6 Toronto NE 14 8 6 0 16 8 40 36 +4 2-4-0 6-2-0 – 6-4-0 Lost 1
7 Ottawa NE 14 7 5 2 16 7 35 27 +8 5-1-2 2-4-0 0-1 4-4-2 Lost 1
8 NY Rangers ATL 13 7 5 1 15 6 36 34 +2 5-2-1 2-3-0 1-1 6-3-1 OT 1
9 Tampa Bay SE 13 6 6 1 13 6 49 40 +9 5-2-1 1-4-0 0-1 4-5-1 Lost 1
10 Philadelphia ATL 14 6 7 1 13 6 34 40 -6 4-1-1 2-6-0 0-1 5-4-1 Won 1
11 Winnipeg SE 12 5 6 1 11 5 32 40 -8 3-3-0 2-3-1 0-1 5-5-0 Lost 1
12 NY Islanders ATL 13 5 7 1 11 4 40 46 -6 1-5-0 4-2-1 1-0 3-6-1 Won 1
13 Florida SE 13 4 6 3 11 3 30 47 -17 2-2-2 2-4-1 1-0 3-4-3 OT 2
14 Washington SE 14 5 8 1 11 5 40 49 -9 3-4-0 2-4-1 – 5-5-0 Won 3
15 Buffalo NE 14 5 8 1 11 4 39 48 -9 2-3-1 3-5-0 1-0 3-6-1 Lost 2
Montreal 5th….nothing more needs to be said…remember this team is re-building…
Of the mistakes that have been made by management in the past I wonder if Gorges’ contract won’t wind up being one of them.
The guy’s tremendous. Great leader, great shot blocker and excellent defensively.
But he doesn’t bring size, his speed, passing and shot are all mediocre at best and it seems he was given his contract based primarily on his ability to coach in the room.
His presence on a young rebuilding team would be paramount so maybe as this team brings in more youth he’ll be worth his salary and then some, but right now I don’t see the return on the investment.
Nearly everything he brings is seen in a guy like Bouillon, but Bouillon quite frankly is a better player in my opinion.
Leadership is tremendously valuable but in terms of business can be found at much less expensive cost than what this team is paying for Gorges.
Gorges has looked a bit sloppy this year, but he’ll be fine for us. We could’ve had him at 3 Mil for the 6 yr term but they wanted to give him the 1-year bridge and we ended up paying the high end. Similar to what will happen to Subban when he gets well above 5M in 2 years. But Gorges contract I think will still be manageable going forward.
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Lars, PK, Galchenyuk, Pac, Emelin – @J_Perez22
More to the point. Shot blocking defensemen should never get six year contracts.
Tom, those are some valid points but my take is that by the last years of his contract, the dollar value for sheer performance will be a fair trade.
“Don’t crush that dwarf Alex Henry, hand me the pliers”
How’s that? What kind of performance are you talking about?
TOI, PK, the ability to take the hit to make the play, long term plus minus. He actually has really good offensive instincts but a truly awful shot.
“Don’t crush that dwarf Alex Henry, hand me the pliers”
Defensive defencemen seem to be going for ~3.5-4 mil a year. Also the Habs had no one to replace him so either they had to sign what they were familiar with or go via free agency for the unknown @ probably more money.
Bouillon for pennies compared to Gorges’ contract.
His skill is easily replaced and the point is magnified in a locker room full of veterans.
Bouillon is not a long term solution. I think they wanted some stability on the D long term.
You wonder?
They gave a shot-blocker, with bad knees and no ability to handle net traffic, 4 mil per for six years – because he has “heart and leadership”. A #5-6 defenseman for cryin’ out loud! That ranks up there with any of the other stupid contracts the Habs have signed in the last ten years.
The real headscratcher – how do you pay a starting goalie in the NHL 6.5m per year, no matter how good he is, and NOT screw up your salary structure? Answer: Impossible. Especially with the cap coming down.
I like Carey Price, great goaile, but those two contracts are, eh… incredibly optimistic.
“thoroughbred”
The cap will go back up but I agree on both contracts. I would have gone to $6 million max on Price but would have done everything possible to get him signed for $5-$5.5 million.
That contract got done pretty quickly so I’m not sure how much negotiating went into it. Seemed like it was more of a “what do you want, it’s yours” negotiation.
I hate to say it, but based on his play so far, I have to agree. I probably wouldn’t feel this way if the cap weren’t coming down next season, but that fact makes alot of contracts look suspect now.
It could be worse though, we could have signed Ryan Suter for 98 million.
Get this:
The Leafs are going to have a pre-game cerimony tomorrow night to honor their 1963 Cup winners (50 years).
Have you ever heard anything more pathetic?
The Habs 100th Anniversary season, perhaps?
LOL. Fair enough.
I think there are two ways to look at it. It’s a total joke to celebrate anything when you haven’t won the Cup since ’67. On the other hand, that shouldn’t take away from the achievements of a group of players who are not responsible for Toronto’s long standing ineptitude. I watched the ’63 Leafs and there were a lot of great players on that team.
I will watch the Habs game on TV instead.
I am surprised how Paciorretty doesn’t get ripped around here. He barely gets mentioned when we talk about any woes on the team. So why does he get off so lightly. Appendix?
basically, I hope he scores tonight
That would make him really amazing considering that the team doesn’t play until tomorrow night.
Appendix? considering noone thought he would be back by this point I thin he gets another couple games of free pass time…and then he beter pick it up
He needs to throw the body more and do the thing that made him successful. He’s managed to produce despite his lines struggles.
———————————
Lars, PK, Galchenyuk, Pac, Emelin – @J_Perez22
Overall, only 5 teams currently rank ahead of the Habs (2 from the Eastern Conf, 3 from the West):
http://www.nhl.com/ice/teamstats.htm?fetchKey=20132ALLSAAAll&sort=pointPctg&viewName=summary
–Go Habs Go!–
Are we still tanking for MacKinnon?
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=416049
Fackinnon we’re winnin!
and Barkov can effov
cause we have markov
Wow!
Isn’t it “slipin’ for MacKinnin”? Unless someone hires Mr. Magoo as their GM, I don’t see him falling to three.
Kaberle + second rounder to San Jose for Douglas Murray
what a trade that would be
Well. We know that Bouillon won’t be taken out of the lineup, so who would have to sit to clear the spot? Diaz has been ok so perhaps not yet. Therrien won’t sit Markov or Gorges so that leaves Emelin and Mike T’s all time favorite Pernell Karl.
Subban – Murray
Markov – Georges
Emelin – Diaz
Boullion
Is he still dating Elin Norgren (sp?)?
Why would SJ trade Murray for Kaberle and give up close to 2M in salary? And then have to buy him out four months later.
Really surprised at the negative reaction to last night’s game. Thought it was the kind of road games good teams play. Dominated puck possession, gave little to nothing for the opposition to go on (except a few sequences in the third) and didn’t get discouraged by a goalie who played very well.
Not too many glorious chances, but didn’t give up many either.
They can’t all be 4-1 victories, even for the great teams.
What the really good teams in this league do is win the games they are supposed to, even if they aren’t the most glamorous victories. And that’s exactly what the Habs did last night.
Thought a very solid effort all around, especially given the awful ice.
don’t be surprised by the reaction, most are never happy. It was a vg road game.
That game was one of the most boring games I can remember watching. It was dull and not at all entertaining. It got tot he point where I was hoping for a goal from either team to prevent the extra 5 mnuites of torture.
That said, I’ll take the two points and lament the extra beers I had to consume to get me through it.
I couldn’t agree more. They played the way they needed to in order to get the W. And even though there weren’t many goals, there were a lot of good saves! Couldn’t be happier that they are coming back with 4 out of 4 points on that road trip. Now it’s all about Saturday and lord knows we owe the flyers a beat down or 3! GO HABITANTS!
“I know everything”
All the games are huge this year, but there’s a great opportunity to really stick it to Philly here. I like our chances with the Franchise dialled in goals.
Carey is looking like the real deal. I can’t wait to see him start in Sotchi.
umm, JB isn’t dead is he???
We here at HI/O love to dream about the monster trades that bring the Getzlafs and Evander Kanes of the league to Montreal. But what about the little tinker trades — the kind that don’t get the headlines but that often make all the difference? So what would you propose?
A 5th- or 6th-rounder for Erskine? (Tangradi was just dealt for a 7th.)
With Karlsson hurt, what might Ottawa be willing to part with for Kaberle and change? Could we find a use for Zack Smith or Marc Methot?
For me, a big strong defensive centre who can win faceoffs and play on the fourth line is at the top of my wishlist. Eller is filling that role admirably, but IMHO there are bigger and brighter roles he could be filling instead. How about a Manny Malhotra type?
What do you think?
Mike Boone: “With Gainey at my side, I’d walk into any dark alley in the world.”
Habs biggest need is a stay at home crease clearing DMan who is 6’4″ and weighs about 250 lbs.
Hal Gill!
LOL!
how about Robin Rhegyer????
It sounds like Buffalo is losing patience with Regehr, and I love the way he played in Calgary, but I bet they’d want prospects or highish picks for him, and he’s a UFA on July 1. If we could land him for a 3rd though and re-sign him for less than the $4M he’s making now, that could look like a steal int he fall. I just think Buffalo would want more in return.
Mike Boone: “With Gainey at my side, I’d walk into any dark alley in the world.”
x2……..
I can’t agree. One or two of those would be nice, for sure, but where this team struggles more (against good teams) is in the scoring dept. More than defensive muscle, we need more size up front and a bona fide sniper.
No way they trade Methot. They’ve fallen in love with him as the perfect Karlsson partner. No reason to trade that one season, just to replace again next season.
I think Doug Murray would solve a lot of crease crashing problems that this team deals with when it has a lead.
As for the rugged fourth line centreman. I think Gabriel Dumont is the long term answer but as of right now I think we’re fine. Prust can always fill that role if needed.
Murray would be PEEERRRFECT!
would the Sharks be willing to give him up???
that is the question
He’s been a regular healthy scratch this season. I would think so.
So perhaps there is a reason. Maybe he is not as mean and effective anymore. He ain’t got that much talent either.
He would be an upgrade on Bouillon and Gorges(putting my helmet on).
Tom – You must be mixing up your players. Murray has played 12 of 13 games and has averaged 17 minutes of ice time per game.
That would be excellent — think we could wrangle Kaberle for Murray straight up? Kaberle still has value as a consistent 0.5 PPG defenceman.
He’s played 12 of SJ’s 13 games though, and he’s too good to warm the bench, so who sits to make room for him? I’d say he pushes Bouillon into a depth role, but then we risk a controversy on l’Antichambre. : )
Mike Boone: “With Gainey at my side, I’d walk into any dark alley in the world.”
The more L’Antichambre contraversy, the better the move!
Nope. The only reason Murray’s been sitting is because they have too many high quality defensemen.
I don’t think Dumont will never play in Montreal. Too small.
Big bad D is priority one. Another big physical center who can fight is also needed. But not at the expense of our rebuild.
That’s deadline stuff unless you part with some kind of asset. I like Erskine or Fehr if he’s healthy, but the Caps will need to be out of the running.
Iginla and Kipper are going to be the big ticket items this year. I expect Pittsburg to go all in to get those guys.
You think Pittsburgh will go after Kiprusoff?
Cap space doesn’t grow on trees!
? bopth Fleury and Vokoun are among the top 15 in Goals against and both are capable number 1′s
Fedor Tyutin!!!!!!
Is there any kind of ceremony before the game tomorrow? Cause we all know how those end.
Timo!
Are you not suppose to present the half empty glass award to Therrien tomorrow night?? my friend.
I say leave the top line alone it will start to produce.Boring game on bad ice but I will take it. Could win tomorrow night Philly missing like 10 players. GO HABS GO
Your right Jeff, the ice was terrible, it always is in the south.
Be nice if Therrien turns PK loose, he can sure pull the fans out of their seats like he did in the 3rd.
Didn’t DD play wing for about 40 games or so in his first season up? Or am I misremembering that?
If that line continues to struggle you could bump him over, give his spot to Eller.
Something like …
Patches-Pleky-Gio
Bourque-Gally-Gally
DD-Eller-Cole
Moen-Prust-Armstrong/White
Would give us 3 very balanced lines, at least on paper.
DD and Eller seemed to click the one game they played a bit together….
and actually Eller’s defensive play may offset DD’s lack thereof and provide some better backpresssure through the middle of the rink
Those are four pretty good lines right there.
Mike Boone: “With Gainey at my side, I’d walk into any dark alley in the world.”
I think its a bad move to move bourque, dont play with his success, we all saw him last year, just keep building this players confidence and comfort I say. theyre playing well , dont fix it if it ant broke!
True, could switch he and Patches.
this is the first demotion to DD that actually makes sense. although i think eller would be better on the wing than DD, i do love to see DD working in the corners, but it might be a bit excessive if hes playing wing
I was thinking putting him on the wing would alleviate his defensive responsibilities, which I think most would agree is the weakest part of his game.
Ok, when I finally had a chance to watch the game it was past midnight and I had about a bottle of red in me. So I have a question – did Habs play as badly as I thought they did? I mean, it hardly look menacing from Mtl perspective and there were several periods of time when Panthers just would not let Habs get out of their own end.
Also looks like Mikey T was shuffling lines a few times during the game.
Moen was/is brutal – him and Armstrong are moving into Scotty Gomez territory.
It was a sloppy game especially in the 2nd. But in fairness a large degree of the blame should go towards the ice, lack of fans and poor sound quality from RDS.
It did look like a high school game in terms of attendance, that’s for sure.
Some of the Panther fans seemed confused who they were supposed to cheer for.
Every time that I have gone to a game in either the Florida rinks, the place is always half full, and half of that are people wearing HAB sweaters.!
I say move those franchises to Saskatoon and Halifax and they would sell out.!!
lots of interest in halifax/saskatoon…but no money.
Was at the game here in swamp hockeyland, about 70% of the crowd were habs fans and there was crappy driving weather (relative to SoFlo) that caused redic delays on 595 and turnpike.
Game was a sleeper except for a few minutes as noted here. DD doesn’t get enough credit for his creativity, vision, hockey IQ and crisp passes. RB deserved 2nd star even if he didn’t eventually pot the winner. Nice to see he is playing for something this year. Cole looked like a fish out of water. Nice to see the boys get 4pts after the thumping last sat.
it was a tight checking game and lots of it played between the blue lines..1 and 2 periods..end result was boring play.
i hate RDS….Can’t even understand those dummies.
I noticed some original line combinations during the games, Patchy-DD-Cole and Gally-Gally-Prust.
Yep, but they didn’t stay for long. Mikey T kept mixing and matching. Such a tactician he is.
Unhappy the Habs won again, eh Timo?
They played quite well actually. Controlled the puck for the majority of the game minus a few sequences in the third where Price stood tall.
Bad ice meant it was a sloppy, bat at the puck kind of game. And Theo played very well.
All in all a very solid road game, with the desired result, which is all that really matters.
One of the reasons some fans wanted Subban locked up long term, bridge contract be damned was his talent.
Last night, the individual play he made in the offensive zone is a play that maybe a half dozen defensemen in the league can make.
He will be a star and a Norris candidate.
That’s now. YOu wait and see how much better he will be when Therrien is done personally developing him.
you make this site better brother. Thank you for that LOL
“Keep your stick on the Ice”
Yeah…look what Therrien did for Crosby…
NO! look what Crosby did for Therrien!
Bazinga!
Good luck to MB at the next PK contract negotiation. I don’t think he will take the home discount a la Markov.
Minimum $6 million per season next time around.
Not so fast. He’ll still be an RFA.
If he’s arbitration eligible he’ll get $6 million.
Oh, we have Markov and his knee at discount? Awesome!
I was a proponent of locking him up now – long term at a relative discount. However, I do understand why MB wanted the bridge contract.
Look no further than the contract Phaneuf received after two good seasons. No GM wants to make that mistake.
Also, I think they wanted to see how his chemistry was with the rest of the team before essentially building “around” PK (in addition to Price and Patch) over the next few years.
I agree in certain respects. You don’t want to ruin a player by giving them a ton of money. But that’s a huge what if scenario.
Phaneuf in my view is a bad comparable because quite frankly his only two positive attributes are his shot and physical nature. He doesn’t have the offensive ability to carry the puck all over the zone or up and down the ice at any given moment. His positioning is often lackluster to this day and he consistently makes bone-headed plays. Something that’s never been addressed in his game or rather that he hasn’t improved on.
Phaneuf actually regressed each year following his rookie season where in contrast Subban improved.
Apples to oranges in this case.
Doughty and Myers are more comparable.
Re: No doubt Phaneuf and PK are two different players (completely agree). To be fair though, Phaneuf did have 49 and 50 points respectively in his first two seasons.
My only point was, a GM needs to be hesitant before committing to a player long term early on in their career.
Frankly, Myers has been a complete disaster (possibly too strong a word) since getting the big bucks. Doughty…not so much.
Like I said, I would have preferred they locked P.K. up long term now at a relative discount, but I do understand why MB was hesitant to do so.
Meehan doesn’t do “discount” contracts for stars.
Did for Markov.
I think its normal for Habs fans to be overly critical of our team. However spending more time watching other teams rather then just the highlights can really bring things into perspective. Remember critics highlights are exactly that……..just highlights. I will break down a few so called top teams regarding their holes after watching a few contests. This will help put things into perspective.
a) NYR – OH boy where to start. A mess really. Torts already up to his old old tricks and we are only a quarter way into a shortened season. This will get old fast. Richards is slowing by the game, Rick Nash is not a franchise player that many say he is a McDOnaugh is struggling with his positioning. Not too mention the depth without Prust is lacking and the team in general looks warn out after a long playoff run where Torts overplayed his top players. Only Gaborik looks fresh and he gets benched quite often. MESS
Los Angeles : Easy to fall into the spell of thinking they are a top team after their magical run. Bottom line Quick has to be A+++ for this team to return to the top. Doughty is a clear concern for all Kings fans and if we had a guy playing sloppy with that contract he would have been Gomezed already. Jeff Carter and Richards look lazy frequently and they seem to have a lack of desire. Still early but far more concerns here then in La Belle Province.
Winnipeg: Now clearly not a top team but I have seen a few matches and sometimes I have to wonder if this is still a AHL franchise. Pavelec is a above average goalie but is relied on the same way Steve Mason was in Columbus. The defense is decent but certainly not awe inspiring. However the group of forwards is sooo thin that it would make Justin Long look like a fatso. Evander Kane is only forward with star capabilities but the pressure in the Peg seems to be too much to handle. WHen you bring in players like Jokinen, and Ponikorovsky who are inconsistent plugs then you know there are problems. Claude Noel has already squeezed every bit of talent out of this team and I see a bottom three in the east this year. This team has problems.
When you consider other teams around the league then things start to look pretty sunny in Montreal. I know we are all critics of mediocrity, which we should be but things aren’t as bad as many here make them out to be. Lets not be negative Ned’s all the time and save some time to actually be fans.
Great post.
Only thing I disagree with is star potential with the Jets. Alex Burmistrov has all of the tools to become an elite player. But if he doesn’t put them together he’ll remain an average player.
Burmistrov has skills but he may have been rushed too fast due to the lack of talent within the organization. Might just turn into another Filatov or Zherdev unfortunetely.
Maybe a Zhamnov, always thought he was going to really break out. But did end up being a good to very good NHL’er.
Sather made a big mistake in shipping off Dubinsky and not resigning Prust. Rupp didn’t seem to appreciate…
This is a team in trouble. Richards, Gaborik and Nash could prove anchors for this franchise. They might well blow part of their cup window.
I wonder if LA’s cup win isn’t like our 1993 cup. Mediocre regular season (they were worse than us in that respect barely making the playoffs) followed by a magical run where every player is at his best, plus an insane keeper.
Also had the advantage of meeting one of the weakest teams from the other conference in the finals (which for us happened to be LA).
You think Los Angeles was weak that year?
If by weak you mean they had Kelly Hrudey then I can agree. But that was a star studded lineup they had.
Brian, Good post, I would like to see 2 more points in the bank Sat. night without giving up a point for a tie. But we are doing fine.
Did you notice how short the shifts were in the third period?? I could never figure out which line was on at any time.??
Beating Philly, regardless of how they are currently playing and in OT or regulation would be fine with me. I would take a two point shootout just for standings sake but I consider shootout wins low on the totem pole… unless we dominate the game and get stoned by a goalie and then win in shootout.
Conversations really are more pleasant here after wins than losses, perhaps not as entertaining, but definitely more pleasant.
CHeers!
Gerald, I have a house in Brossard to stay at anytime, and I can get a pair of good tickets for most games. I nearly went to Mtl. this morning, could have seen Sat. game and even Mon. night game but not much fun going alone.
Well, next time send me an email, and I will help you with these problems! Only of course for your sake, I will entertain myself at a bar in the Molson Center while you enjoy the game.
Maybe we can move the Molson Center into our BOX for the night!
Personally, when the year started, I was more optimistic than most regarding our new coach.
I remember when he was mentoring Crosby and Letang and being interviewed on french TV.
Then last year, when he was a panelist on RDS, his passion was something I thought was missing from this team.
Let’s be honest, he didn’t inherit the most talented team, but I agree with you. They’ve done very well with the assets they have.
He has re-energized Bourque (I was hoping they would get rid of him, but not anymore).
Price is technically more sound than he was last year.
The real concern I have is with Cole. I think he’s playing injured.
But at least over the last couple of games, he’s trying harder.
I doubt we’re in a position to schedule a parade, but given the new management and philosophies, we’re definitely heading in the right direction.
As of this morning, we’re in 5 in the Eastern conference, one point behind the Pens, with one game in hand.
Anyone who would have predicted this at the beginning of this season would have been ridiculed, tarred and feathered for insulting the hockey knowledgeable.
Not any more.
I’ll even take snoozers like last night, falling asleep or not…. if it means points in the standings. You can’t ask for more.
+ 2013, Bri.
I think 80% of fans on here wanted Bourque bought out…..
Analysts were also calling for it. According to MB him and Eller are the two people call about when it is a trade discussion.
Cole will get better, don’t worry. He always seems to struggle out of the gate but I thought looked much better the last two games. He will start breaking out next week. Put money on it.
Max P scares me more this year.
“Keep your stick on the Ice”
Morning Kooch. There is very little in common that last years Bourque has in common with this years Bourque. I don’t know if he was injured last season or not but man he is a different guy out there for sure.
———————————–
He was, had a abdomen injury that he has surgery on. Only really got off IR like 3 weeks before the lockout ended, so he’s a player that really did benefit from the lockout. Had proper time to get his surgery done, and then rehab.
Two friends who follow other teams more than I, say he’s either hot or cold. Nothing between. Right now he’s hot and lets hope it continues till Max’s returns to style. Personally think Max should not have come back so fast. I know he did it to help the Habs, but rushing back has not really helped him or the Habs to this point. A poster mentioned on the site after Max’s surgury how long his recovery time was and I don’t believe he’s playing anywhere near to par.
Mr. Biter
No Guts No Glory
Remember the BS he was traded into. The team was a laughing stock without direction. I liked him then and I like him now. He’s an element we needed, particularly how he is playing now.
Morning Jim,
I think it was a combo of many things (crappy team, shock of the trade, injury). I knew he wasn’t as bad as he was last year. He can be inconsistent sometimes but he is a useful fast player
“Keep your stick on the Ice”
“I think 80% of fans on here wanted Bourque bought out…..”
I never, ever understood this.
-At 3.3m per, his contract is not even close to being onerous
-He brought size and grit that this team desperately needed
-Averaged over his career, he’s essentially a proven 20 goal scorer
…I just never understood the hate on for this guy…last year I just assumed was an aberration (both for Bourque but also the Habs in general)
I never wanted him out 84. I am a Bourque fan but watching the reaction to his season last year he took a huge bashing.
I am in 100% in agreeance with your post
“Keep your stick on the Ice”
Cheers Kooch.
Morning Bri! I agree that 2 points is 2 points. I do have to admit though I ended up with Rangers/Isles on the big screen most of the night. CHeers.
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Dont want to get into a P.K thread.. just wondering if anyone else thought that last night’s game was most confident looking P.K for a long time. Confidence as in relaxed and doing what he can do ‘flair wise’ but maintaining a workmanline tempo.
Maybe Therrien gave him pat on the shoulder between last night and last game where P.K was essentially benched last 10 mins of game.
Just thought he played witha very relaxed confident body language.
That “dangle” of his on the PP was vintage P.K.
was a beautiful thing…if only he scored.
I still think he’ll be given a shot to make the team in Sochi next year…
PK is, for lack of a better term, “getting it”. He played a great game last night with no out-of-focus type of errors. He is playing better and better without the benefit of any proper training camp. The best is yet to come.
I like PK and agree he is looking more comfortable.
My only knock on him is how often he misses the net….by many feet
“Keep your stick on the Ice”
My only complaint with him lately is his contant rushing of the puck in no win situations where he forces all of his forwards to stop at the blueline….a team is retty easy to stop when they all stop skating and PK did that at least 3 times last night …andthen we dumped it there was noone around to forecheck because they were all standing still at the blueline. Aside from that he was not taking unnecessary risks and is a beast on the puck and is winning his battles again. His first step and ability to protect the puck and fend of a checker to break pressure is as good as it gets in the game I would venture to say…I can’t picture anyone…and I mean that…who does that with such ease. He is so strong and uses his body great to protect the puck. Defensively he was back up to snuff after that lapse the other night…..I doubt you’ll see him make a play like that again under Therrien
Maybe MT woke up after almost blowing the TB game. PK was on the ice last night in the final minute…
He was also on for 2 goals against late in the 3rd in the TBay game.
Agree Trini, he played the style of game in regards to responsibility first that MT seems to want and showed his skills as well.
Thought he played an excellent game. Perhaps MT isn’t ruining him afterall.
Quick observation from last night: It seemed for the first time in a couple weeks that Galchenyuk was able to get an extra step on the opposition and create some scoring opportunities.
His deftness while battling for the puck amazed me.
If you found his play to be impressive, you should see my skills when playing mini-sticks against my 8-year old. Total domination and plenty of trash talking.
I have found that although my taunts and showboating tear his self-esteem to shreds, my sense of self-worth sky rockets! Does that make me a bad parent?
——–
Wedding Crashers Rule #71: No excuses. Play like a champion!
As long as there’s no low-fiving, you’re good to go.
___________________________________________________
Being a Hab fan is like buying real estate: only over the long-haul will you appreciate the true value of your investment.
I typically berate him for that sort of selfish activity during my post-game press conferences.
He may need to watch a game from the sidelines to get his head properly focused on what it takes to be a winner.
——–
Wedding Crashers Rule #71: No excuses. Play like a champion!
Depends…. if you kid has done none of the following you are doing good:
Punctured your tire.
Tell his mom about your flirting at the mall.
Become the neighbourhood’s Dennis the Menace.
Does a Moore on your Achilles
Wears ear-plugs under his helmet.
Calls you P.K. and says you are a cocky and hope that his Mom had married a better person.
Ha!
He hasn’t pulled any of those doozies just yet, but he has nailed me square in the junk with a soccer ball on more than one occasion (and the kid can boot it!).
His constant reminders that I’m developing a bit of a belly aren’t winning him any bonus points either.
——–
Wedding Crashers Rule #71: No excuses. Play like a champion!
(i) I think part of the angst over some issues such as PK’s and Eller’s playing time has to do with the commentariat being very sensitive due to previous realities in CH land. We tend to assume that personnel decisions will be made poorly and unfairly as in previous yeas. I am guilty of this, but maybe we have turned the page.
(ii) The same may be true about blown leads. At least part of truth is that we can expect other teams to score a certain amount of goals in a game whenever they come, and a team that is down a few frequently competes harder than when the game is even, as it was last night. We expect blown leads to be a pattern that has carried over, but perhaps it was just a … er … three-off.
(iii) Why do posters bother to speculate and dream about trades that will never happen?
(iv) Melnyck’s point is valid, whether or not this is the right time to raise it. How many strikes before you’re out in this league? If he has, indeed, raised the issue before, I can see why he is frustrated.
(v) There’s no other player on our team that could have made the play that AGally did on the goal. Agree/Disagree?
Just before Karlsson was injured, the puck went into the netting on Pittsburgh’s side of the ice. The play should have been whistled down long before Cooke and Karlsson met up on the boards. Extremely poor officiating, as usual, caused a terrible side effect.
The butterfly effect changes the course of the game, the season for Ottawa and the season for other teams in the conference.
Good post and with regards to point number iii, AMEN Brother!
(v) There’s no other player on our team that could have made the play that AGally did on the goal. Agree/Disagree?…
Great play but I thiink Eller and P.K both have the size/grit (which was necessary on this play) plus the stick handling skill to do similar plays. Not arguing though that this wa stop notch play
(i) Yup — even after some vast upgrades in management staff, we’re loath to give management the benefit of the doubt based on the last few years’ performance. Hopefully a strong season buy the team a little more leash in the fans’ eyes next year.
(ii) Blown leads are hard to stomach, but an 8-4-2 record is a helluva digestif. : )
(iii) Because it’s a lot more fun to dream about landing Getzlaf for Kaberle than it is to ponder whether Kristo will finally make the jump from NCAA next year.
(iv) Yep — Cooke and Raffi Torres both have some skill, but at what point do the dangers of allowing them to play outweigh the benefits?
(v) Gorgeous play, but there’s a lot of talent even among the fourth-liners of this league. For evidence, check out this incredible between-the-legs shot by Marek Malik of all people, a hulking mammoth with 33 goals in his 691-game NHL career: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0x2E1cyTVBA
Mike Boone: “With Gainey at my side, I’d walk into any dark alley in the world.”
A moment to savour for MM.
v) Saku Koivu.
Richard R
Price is an oyster. Unfortunately not all oysters produce pearls.
With all they talk about Eller being a 3rd line or not being a 3rd line centre it made me think of 2 other centers from LOOONG ago
Donnie Marshall and Phil Goyette both were 3rd and 4th line centers in Montreal that went on to 2nd and 3rd line in New York and in Phil’s case 1 st line with St-Louis.
Both were very capable penalty killers a skill Lars in growing into more and more .
Like the DODGERS “Wait till next year”
Backstrom, too. BTW, this post shows your age!
I wouldn’t have gone that far back. Really I wouldn’t.
Holy crap! The schedule this week (starting tomorrow) is:
Saturday (H) PHI
Monday (H) CAR
Tuesday (V) NYR
Thursday (H) NYI
Saturday (H) NYR
Lots of home games which might be good, but wow, that’s alot of work this week. I think we’ll definitely see some Budaj, White and Kaberle this week.
Still not a pretty schedule…..going to be a tough week
“Keep your stick on the Ice”
Yup our first really compressed week. March looks very daunting. We need to bag our wins now while we can.
Play the hell out of Price.
___________________________________________________
Being a Hab fan is like buying real estate: only over the long-haul will you appreciate the true value of your investment.
I wouldn’t pay top dollar for the last two games of the week. I think there will be a blow out in one or two of them…
“Keep your stick on the Ice”
For those reading Cooke the riot act for a clean hockey play …let us consider our own Ryan White of late……twice in the last 3 weeks he has dropped his gloves and started punching all out at unsuspecting players in no position to defend themselves….should he be out of the game? Bertuzzi will never be forgotten for hsi acts..what is the difference? oh yeah…Bertuzzi didn’t miss several times.
You can be bitter at Cooke for his past actions and we all know several players play dirty (the attempted knee by Orr was brutal to me,etc) but we live in glass houses…Claude LEmiuex is a hero, Maurice Richard attacked a referee, Patrick Roy is not exactly a role model, Chris Nilan had no issues with uppercutting players on faceoffs while his victims were looking away….the list ges on and on….but oh yeah Matt Cooke is the devil! you all sound like Bobby Boucher’s mom in The Waterboy.
Melnyk might want to remember that Chris Neil plays for his Sens.
He also had Jarko Ruuttu who is also a player of the same ilk
Richard attacked a linesman who happened to be pinning his arms behind his back while Hal Laycoe was punching him out.
The NHL of the 50s and 60s was way more vicious than today. Of course, players were a lot smaller, but they were helmetless, too, which only added to all the blood on the ice. Hockey has never been a game for the feint of heart.
I seem to recall our own team sticking him (White) in the pressbox, I take that as our own team dealing with his decision making. You make a point, but Montreal is not endorsing that style of play.
I don’t know about that … I think it was more the 3 untimely pp goals against they were not endorsing….the message was probably …don;t be so crazy unless the time is right
In White’s defense:
1 fight after Habs d-man was run at and slammed dangerously from behind into boards. protecting his teamates.
2nd Orr taking liberties with Gionta and then going after White’s knee same shift same thing. teams have gotten used to doing this when playing the Habs (re. Leafs game) and White’s main job is to see that this does not happen.
BTW when you hit a player in the back near the boards most players expect retaliation, case in point Wiz vs. Bruins after he slammed a bruin into the boards (When playing as a Hab) turned around dropped his gloves and was waiting for retailation from a bruin and if memory serves me correctly tuned up the bruin in the insuing fight.
Mr. Biter
No Guts No Glory
No one can say for sure whether Cooke’s action was intentional, so to my mind, you can’t boot him from the league for it. The conversation shouldn’t be about Cooke, but about how many infractions, dirty hits and attempts to injure are too many.
And to be fair, in the Rocket’s case, the ref bloody well deserved it. : )
Mike Boone: “With Gainey at my side, I’d walk into any dark alley in the world.”
ALN and the comments are a bit flat today. It seems a lot of people get more fun out of a stinker than out of a well-played defensive game; they can go to town on ripping the team, sneering at the coach, and trashing half the players.
I actually thought the game was good considering how bad the ice surface was. Price was outstanding, but Theodore was sensational. I had to feel for him a bit on the winning goal. His defence screwed up and there was nothing he could do.
Things I liked:
The fourth line centred by Eller is very good and more dangerous than most fourth lines. Both Moen and Armstrong look much better playing with Eller.
Desharnais has been more involved in recent games, going to the net more, and creating chances.
Cole seems to be regaining his explosive acceleration. We may soon see the Cole we loved last year, barreling through the neutral zone and out-muscling opponents to get to the net. Now if Pacioretty would just get up to speed….
The play by Galchenyuk on the winning goal was outstanding. He missed his pass, but managed with a huge second effort to get the puck across. And Rene Bourque was exactly where Habs forwards in recent years have rarely positioned themselves – in front of the net.
A pretty solid road trip, especially after the humiliating beatdown against the Leafs that had us wondering which were the real Habs. The one thing I hope is that, next time we hold a lead going into the third period, the players will focus on keeping the puck in the other team’s zone rather than simply on getting it out of our zone.
+17
Is it not time to try Eller between Pac & Cole?? Marc B I think made the wrong move in hiring a first year coach to coach the bulldogs.With all the rookies they have they need a experienced teacher to guide them , not someone learning as the year goes. “I ” think its one of the reasons why there doesn’t seem to be much of an inprovement of the rookies,esp, the forwards
With regards to our coach in Hamilton, yes he is learning, but provided they are happy with how he is developing, I am hopeful the plan is for him to be there for 3-4 years. The consistency is needed, problem with hiring a real veteran coach in Hamilton, is you may lose him in 1-2 years.
Jane – As Mike Boone stated, who ever thought the Habs would start the season 8-4-1? No one, not even MT or MB.
The DD/Eller debate really isn’t a debate at all. The team has the luxury of four good centres right now. That’s playing from a position of strength. In fact, the “dilemma” helps solve the Habs’ problem in training camp of not really having a 4th line centre.
Some people lament the fact that White can’t break into the line-up. Or that our 12th forward isn’t up to par (I wonder how good most 12th forwards are on other teams). Others think we should trade for Washington’s 7th defenseman or a goon who trolls in the AHL.
To me, these are all signs that there’s not much wrong with the team right now. It sure beats this time last year when the Habs were the laughing stock of the NHL.
I still think an injury or two will occur and White and Kabrele and perhaps Weber will be used. Nice problem to have indeed.
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We have been fortunate indeed not to have had any serious hockey related injuries this year and all 3 will get to play, and if you see with MT, if your winning when your in he mostly does not change the line up.
Mr. Biter
No Guts No Glory
Yep, hard to argue with that. It’s been a while since we could say that, while improvements are always possible, we’ve got a pretty decent team here.
Mike Boone: “With Gainey at my side, I’d walk into any dark alley in the world.”
I agree, 24 — but I wonder if our record is also a function of having a pretty easy schedule so far. As we lpay more games against NYR, PIT and BOS, I’m a little fearful that our inability to score goals against better teams is going to show. Hopefully the speed the team has and the puck pursuit and forechecking system that MT has put in place will compensate and we keep the W train moving.
I agree with this post. In addition to the ice doesn’t the home team have more influence on the tempo of a game since they have the final line change?
Can I add one think about Galchenyuk? He’s a very strong 18 year old. He does not seem to be out of place in scrubs at all. Last nights assist was a great example if this.
After last week I was down in the dumps. Today? Smile is returning.
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Well said. And same re: 24C’s reply.
The Flyers are ripe for a beating too.
Philly comes into Saturday’s game playing back-to-back on the road from New Jersey. 4th road game of the week for the Flyers. Seven players on the injury list as well as Couturier and Grossman down with the flu.
Time to skate them into the ground. Throw the puck into Timonen’s corner every chance we get.
Despite our team having 3 games this week we are indeed in a fortunate position to be playing Philly with the schedule they are currently enduring. March presents similar scheduling for the Habs. Tomorrow is almost a must win against the Flyers, if we are going to beat them this year. Agree with your comments to JF also Steve.
True. The team is winning and progressing. That is all we can ask for in such a shortened season.
Plus +8 : Eller/Prust/Armstrong looks like it’s gonna be a great line …keep it. Best all three players have looked all season.
Plus 0: didnt see DD as you described.. but I am not a DD basher either. Keeping fingers crossed that line gets going. Same as Cole comment.
Plus +5 re your Galchenyuk cooment. His stick handling to turn the defenseman and regain was exceptional.
Plus +3 re focussing on keeping puck in other team’s zone when holdin a lead. While I dont want a passive JM style, I want to see ALL THE D-MEN get more conservative at that point.
Plus +1 for good post overall.
Now let me add these up.. 8+0+5+3+1 = +17.
WOW! Habinburlington was spot on. This is +17. Of course he’s a man of few words as opposed to yours truly.
LOL, you are a kind man sir!
17 is a popular number for me lately. Bourque (17) scored in OT last night and I won some good cash by betting on 17 at the roulette table at the Fallsview Casino on Tuesday night (or was it very early Wednesday morning?).
Definitely going to try my luck on 17 with Lotto 649 this weekend. Now I just need to figure out the other numbers I’ll need to win big!
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Wedding Crashers Rule #71: No excuses. Play like a champion!
Somebody already mentioned this, but last year the Habs consistently lost these crappy boring yet close games. If a team can win even when they have an off night, it’s certainly a good thing.
Surprised me last night while watching a stream of the Florida feed, was a reporter interviewing the players on the bench during a tv timeout. I’ve seen dumbass McGuire interviewing the coaches, during the game, but the players? As a coach of a team, no way I allow that. Guess you gotta do what you gotta do to get interest in the team in Florida. Seems to be working…lol.
Eller and Beaulieu plus this year’s 2nd round pick for Gudbranson. What do you think?
And Budaj and Nokaleinen.
Oh, and St. Denis.
—Hope Springs Eternal—
I really liked what I saw from Gudbrandson yesterday, however, we aren’t winning the cup this year and likely not next. If we wait and see what we have in Tinordi we may not have to give up all that talent to get a Gudbransdson type player. Having said that, I wish a trade could be made providing somewhat more grit for our backend.
Gudbranson did stand out last night. I noticed him all game and he is the exactly the type of player we need on our D. Just speculating on what it might take to get him. The way he plays at only age 21 is impressive.
We can’t afford to give up both those guys, and considering Defensive depth isn’t the biggest issue for the teams future it just wouldn’t make sense. Gudbranson with PK could be a top NHL future pairing easily.
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Lars, PK, Galchenyuk, Pac, Emelin – @J_Perez22
So why is Eller in every trade?
I read somewhere earlier here, that he figureskates around the rink, that should be reason enough to trade him, no?
I thought it was cause he eats Danishes for breakfast
“Keep your stick on the Ice”
I ate a danish once, yes i went back for more. She was . . . oh nevermind.
Does not make sense for Florida as it would create a hole in their defense. That is why the Habs can’t trade PK unless they get a stud defenceman back or simultaneously trade another asset for one. Trading is like riding a raft on water. You can’t plug one hole while creating another. You still end up with a hole…
in a split second YEEEES!
Beaulieu has a tremendous upside. I ‘d pass.
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Is it time for me to cave and get RDS?
I was listening to the game on TSN and they were discussing Florida’s strategy. What I found interesting was, they said Florida is playing the way they want to, like a road game. Keep things bottled up, keep the crowd out of it.
Keep the crowd out of it. Aren’t they at home… oh wait…
It is quite sad when the biggest draw of fans is brought about by a visiting team who is located more than a few hundred kilometers away and in a different country.
It’s worth it so you can watch every habs game. Do yourself a favor and don’t tune into Antichambre, unless there’s a credible guest on, the panel will actually make you dumber.
Anyone else notice diehard Huberdeau coverage both times they’ve played florida this year?
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Lars, PK, Galchenyuk, Pac, Emelin – @J_Perez22
Steeltown,
Sorry, I should have put more context.
I have been an RDS subscriber for years and usually watch 70+ games (thanks to PVR), but this year I told my wife I was not going to spend money on Hockey…. that was before hockey came back and I forgave it like a silly teenage girl does with a d-bag boyfriend.
Thing is, I now regularly follow Boone’s gamecast, and this new play by play feature to get my fix… so I should probably just break down and pay for it.
Also, watching Anti-chambre is not a problem. My french is poor and by the time I figure out what they are talking about they are on to a new topic. Basically, in French I can order food, ask simple questions to store merchants, and follow the play by play from the kitchen as I get a beer.
Hello! one question: do RDS offer webstreaming, or is it only on the telly?
And is there a site where the attendance is written? Like hockeydb? (they dont have for each game) – because i think there was more people at my club in Norway’s game, than in Florida yesterday..
Move FP to Quebec and let them keep Tampa? Thumbs up.
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Say no to visors and sign Emelin for 10 years
Note that the Club Red tickets were available for $80 to “loyal” Panthers’ fans. The whole Club Red concept is foolishness that was bred last season by the Panthers’ first playoff round in 11 years. They also reinstituted parking charges of $20 after no charge parking for years.
Like most non-Canadian teams the Panthers’ “real” problem selling tickets was that the lock-out killed their chance to develop Corporate sales and ticket packages; no time to create Marketing plans. The Panthers don’t have the luxury of having a season ticket waiting list of 4,000 people like the Habs.
Worse, people confuse attendance with ticket sales. Tons of their tickets are freebies or sold 30-50% below face value. There’s a fair bit of profit in selling 24 oz. beers for $14.
Loyal Canadiens fans should travel to Long Island, Phoenix & Sunrise. Tons of cheap seats-and sunshine at the latter 2 destinations.
Cannonading drive!!
And damn warmer at this time of the year. Who knows next year when the Habs are down playing Bolts and Panthers, fly down to Orlando rent a car, drive to Tampa watch the game there, then off to Fort lauderdale for the game in Sunrise then spend the rest of the week in the sun. Not a bad thought. Tourism is still down in Lauderdale so hotel rates are quite cheap for a nice small beach front hotel.
Mr. Biter
No Guts No Glory
I still think the team´s confidence when it comes to holding leads is fragile; the game against Boston hurt, as did the previous game against the Devils.
I am glad they have a good record so far and i can see the players play with effort and heart, but having to go to overtime or shootouts against the florida teams in order to win…What happens when we play real contenders?
On the flip side there is so much parity in the league that the team becomes just a bit more solid it may be just enough to get them on the right side of those one goal games with the good teams.
They are not there yet. Keep in mind that Boston, Buffalo, and Ottawa had serious injuries and we had a tough time. We however have been fortuitously healthy for once; so we should have had an edge playing those teams.
“What happens when we play real contenders?”
Well, we only lost by one goal to Boston, and that was only the Habs’ B game. I’m not saying this team is great — but is is certainly competitive. Everybody has a couple of embarrassing blowouts per season. But 8-4-2, even against a few so-so teams, is impressive in the best league in the world.
Mike Boone: “With Gainey at my side, I’d walk into any dark alley in the world.”
Theodore played awesome last night. He was not going to be beat on any shot he could see, so that gives any team a chance against anybody. On the other side of the puck, the Habs gave up very few good chances to Florida.
They are also learning new systems. They seem to have the team defense thing down pretty good at this point, but the offense is still not quite there, but it is showing signs of life.
Yeah, no one here but you giving props to Theodore, but he was stellar last night. Credit where it’s due…a season playing like that every game would win him another Vezina.
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☞ The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool. ~ Richard Feynman ☜
Hey, you know that game would never have gone into overtime if we just let Eller play 30 minutes doubleshifting on the top two lines, I bet he would´ve had a point. Forget DD; Eller skates so nice and smooth the other team would think they´re watching a figure skating competition and become heavily distracted.
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=416046
melnyk off the deep end re karlsson/Cooke…yikes
Can’t say I’m certain that was intentional, but Melnyk asks a fair question: how many times does a guy have to be suspended for brutal dangerous plays before the league decides he can’t play anymore?
Mike Boone: “With Gainey at my side, I’d walk into any dark alley in the world.”
He’s right – Cooke should not be allowed to play in the league. He’s a dirty SOB with no talent.
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☞ The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool. ~ Richard Feynman ☜
Melnyk has a good point about ignoring intent. Another poster made this point yesterday in that if you injure a guy with a high stick, it’s a penalty regardless of whether or not it was intentional.
If you purposely lift your skate off the ice then subsequently cut someone, it should also be a penalty, IMO.
You lift your skates off the ice every time you take a stride…..if womeone fell and you were about to make a vstart you would stomp someone too….guys jump over players all the time,etc…..
If they want to make a rule like that then fine…but Cooke did what has always been done and did nothing wrong…this time.
What is next..if you shoot a puck too high and hit them you are suspended (there is a delay of game penalty for shooting high too)…..it was an unfortunate accident. IF Karlsson’s skate had sliced Cooke noone would be having this discussion and sad as it is people would be applauding it.
I agree that it was an accident. I just don’t think Cooke should be in the league for what he has done before this incident. Too many good players have missed a lot of time because of this idiot.
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☞ The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool. ~ Richard Feynman ☜
Big difference between lifting your skate to make a stride and picking up your leg in an attempt to contain a player because you are no longer allowed to clutch and grab. It is obviously a dangerous move.
The stride thing is different, just like accidental high sticks are permitted if it is the result of a normal follow through on a shot.
Pinning a player was always a part of the ame…een in the clutch and grab days…it is defense 101 and taught to minor hockey players in clinics across the country every year. It is a standard play…there is absolutely nothing ominous about the play at all.
I’m not saying lifting your leg be illegal, just like lifting your stick to head height is not illegal. But if you cut someone doing it, even accidentally, it should be a penalty. A little more accountability considering the seriousness of the injury.
We’ll have to disagree on the ominousness of the play. I thought Cooke was reckless with his skate. The other examples Aaron Ward showed of players lifting their leg to pin a guy, they were much more in control with their skate.
Gary Bettman will now reprimand Melnyk just as he chastised Molson for speaking out (less vehemently) over the Chara “hockey play”.
In the end, Melnyk will receive more punishment than Cooke, and this will be just in Bettmans eyes.
as it should be….Cooke did nothing wrong….Melnyk did in speaking out. This speech is two years too late…Chris NEil has been far more dangerous than Cooke int he last 2 years…
The way Melnyk just spoke out was not how an owner should be publicly speaking …..at owners meetings or gm meetings upon his instruction behind closed doors let it fly.
Cooke already is on an Avery watch and has done everything asked of him….it was not a dirty play at all.
Gerald – I don’t think anyone can clearly state that Cooke intentionally tried to hurt Karlsson. I watched it many times and still think it was accidental.
It’s an equipment issue more than a hockey play.
He should be mad at the terrible refs who missed the puck hitting the mesh earlier in the play. Now he is complaining about Cooke?! When it is his player, time to complain. When Savard’s career gets ruined, nothing. Being an owner in this league that has done nothing for years; he has become a hypocrite now. Cooke should not be playing in the NHL but he is partially responsible for that…and he knows it.
Well I wasn’t expecting it to be a 1-0 game but I am glad the habs won thats 2 in a row and for everyone he thought the end is near we are still doing well in the standings. A new true test of course is the Flyers kind of excited to see how that turns out.
http://nickolaisblog.wordpress.com/
Exactly. The Habs won a game they were supposed to win. That is the big difference this year so far. The first step to making the playoffs is to get in contention by winning these games. The next step is to get in by winning some tough games like the Flyers game Saturday. We’ll see if they have learned anything from the TO game. We’re 1/4 of the way in and we have still not seen the real big tests: on the road in NY, Phil, Pit, Bos and TO.
The Lars Eller Debate:
I think this whole notion of Lars Eller being mis-used could be misinterpretation. I will try and explain why I think this way.
We have 5 Centers currently on our Roster healthy, Plex, DD, Eller, Galchenyuk and White. Of these 5 only 1 stands out as an obvious prototypical 4th liner and that is White. Plex is able to play 1st, 2nd or Shutdown line center with his talents and experience. Also as a veteran of this team he is deserving of being no less than 2nd line center. Galchenyuk is an experiment, and with such incredible raw elite skillsets, he has to be on a line with somewhat talented wingers in order to be effective at a role which he will have for the duration of his career, that is a scoring centerman.
This leaves us with DD and Eller. DD is talented and most likely only effective as a centerman on a scoring line, and probably/most likely needs some insulation by way of larger wingers (this is not an insult or a dig, but my perceived reality) which he currently receives. To put DD on a line with the intention of being a checking or grinding line would be a complete waste of what DD brings to the ice.
Eller on the other hand has the physical tools and skillsets to be a 4th line center, 3rd line center and in my opinion a 2nd line center or perhaps better described a center on a scoring line just as DD currently is. Having said that, if Eller were to be placed on one of the top 2 lines as a center, White then must draw in to the lineup as the 4th line center. ALso DD or Galchenyuk must be taken off a line.
MT in my opinion is currently utilizing the only option available to him in order to utilize all the best players currently available to him.
This is not a knock on Eller, but perhaps a compliment to him for how diversified his game is. Granted this can’t go on for a full season or longer as naturally Eller will become frustrated at being “pigeonholed” as the defacto 4th line sometimes 3rd line centerman, as he deserves a chance to be more. But until MB has a good look at this roster and evaluate the talent, I suspect MT is doing the best he can with what he has.
Everything your saying is well put. But if Eller makes a line better then DD we should use him. DD can sit a game to two to wake up exactly as Eller did.
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Lars, PK, Galchenyuk, Pac, Emelin – @J_Perez22
I don’t disagree with you, I am just thinking that both MT and MB are evaluating still. Eventually a decision will have to be made, as Eller cannot remain a 4th line center with part time duties elsewhere. But in the meantime he makes our 4th line very very effective.
Why sit DD when all you have to replace him with is White, who has proven to be more of a liability this season than a useful addition?
—Hope Springs Eternal—
Perhaps though Matty in a game against a Toronto or Boston, White should center 4th line, let Eller take DD’s place and see what happens. What happens to DD if he is sat for a game, does magic powder fall out of his pockets and he forgets how to skate? This isn’t about being anti DD, but rather lets experiment!
“Magic powder” !!!
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☞ The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool. ~ Richard Feynman ☜
I’m skeptical about experiments which involve substituting good players for less good players.
—Hope Springs Eternal—
@Matty, sometimes it is more about getting players in the right roles in order to be effective. Boston sat Seguin many games his rookie year and Shawn Thornton played in those games. Was Thornton better? No, but fulfilled a role.
I just don’t think DD is so special that he can’t take a turn eating those wonderful Lafleur hot dogs!
White played really well this year aside from the bad penalties. He’s worlds better than Armstrong, and if you’re watching this year alone Moen as well. He can provide good 4th line minutes and PK time. Best faceoff % on the team as well.
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Lars, PK, Galchenyuk, Pac, Emelin – @J_Perez22
That would also mean White drawing back in. I think part of the point above is that:
DD (2nd) + Eller (4th) > Eller (2nd) + White (4th)
In the end, it’s about the team first.
Exactly Phil, however, as I responded to Matty, I would not be adverse to MT experimenting with Eller on 2nd White on 4th and DD eats a hot dog for a game or two. But for now, MT is trying to find a way to play all of his best players.
Fair enough.
Good take on the situation. Eller’s situation is similar to that of Cody Hodgson’s in Vancouver last year imo. There was no way he was getting ahead of Kessler and Sedin on the depth chart anytime soon. Hodgson was relegated to playing a lesser role than he would otherwise be playing on almost any other team.
Vancouver and Buffalo made a trade that identified a perceived weaknesses on their respective team.
That said, I hope Eller is here for a long time. As Pleks gets older, we’ll have someone waiting in the wings ready to play a similar role.
Except I don’t think DD is miles ahead of Eller, but rather using DD elsewhere is pointless.
Completely agree.
The similarity, as I see it, is simply that of a young player who is “stuck” playing a position he wouldn’t really be “in”, on almost any other team. It’s simply a result of the current “make up” of this Habs team.
It’s not a perfect situation, but I think Eller is close to getting enough ice time and recognition right now. I do think he has a pretty high ceiling, however. On a team without AGally he might be able to someday centre a first line if the supporting cast were strong — as I presume they would be.
I agree with you.
I’ve been very impressed with Eller recently, and here’s somehting else that we have going for us:
Eller’s size helps him fulfill traditional 4th-line duties (as you mention) BUT his sick skilzz make our 4th line a hell of a lot more dangerous than any other traditional 4th line.
Has anyone noticed how much more dangerous T-Mo has looked since Eller’s come to life? He’s playing with more confidence and is regaining his past form – taking the puck to the net, taking shots…
Eller is perfectly used where he is. It’s not, as you say, Burly, a knock on him. If nothing else, it gives the 4th line more time on the ice, which is beneficial to the top lines!
—Hope Springs Eternal—
Exactly. And don’t forget that the Bruins 4th line centre is Daniel Paille.
Eller could be that player – for now.
If he turns into Mats Sundin at some point he can move up to the top two.
I feel pretty good about having Pleks, Galchenyuk, and Eller as our top 3 centers going forward. Eller and Galchenyuk give us size up the middle, something this team has always lacked. Pleks gives us a little bit of everything. That leaves David Desharnais. He is crafty, but size will always be an issue with him. He is expendable. The question is, how marketable is he …. what can he fetch in a trade? And I have no answer to that question.
I agree. The logjam of centers leads to the question of whether management has a plan to turn one of these assets into a more serviceable player via trade. I realize most seem to think that the trade market is sluggish but it seems to me the perfect time to prey upon some other team’s poor start and turn an excess center into something more useful.
It seems that in this NHL, your best centermen have to be strong two way players in order to win: Kopitar, M&B Richards, Giroux, Toews, Crosby, Bergeron, Staal, Datsyk etc. DD does not fit in this category. The question is do the Habs want to compete or do the want to win the Cup? There is really no Eller debate as long as he gets playing time. If he works hard, which is he doing, he will shine because he brings size up the middle. I don’t think the decision of Eller’s future will be made this year. He has one year left @1.3 million which is a bargain. Why do you think teams are interested in him? I can’t see the Habs trading him unless it is a larger deal for a big player.
The main center issue is DD’s expiring contract. They have to give him playing time for him to prove he is worthy of another contract. MB politically won’t be able to let him go without having given him all the chances in the world. I can only see DD staying as a speciality player (PP and shootouts). We’ll see…
So ,we are sitting in 5th place with a game in hand on some teams. Pretty good so far,but Jersey in First and Buffalo in the basement?
Feels good. I’d attribute our standing to the team being healthy for once, and Gallagher and Galchenyuk forcing themselves onto the roster who were a big part of the early success this season.
The system this year is more suited to the players but personnel issues are still there. PK should be the uncontested TOI leader playing with Gorges. Bouillon and Diaz would be fine handling 3rd pairing minutes and use on special teams.
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Lars, PK, Galchenyuk, Pac, Emelin – @J_Perez22
Buffalo in the basement seems about right to me (Myers was highly overrated imo)…
New Jersey was of course in the Cup finals last year…
not really surprising.
This comment goes out to all those who are saying that lines need to be changed, that Patches line is not producing, as well as other lines not scoring.
But I disagree. There is two parts to a hockey game! one is in keeping the puck in the oppositions end and trying to fill their net with shots.
The other part to the game is coming back into our end, competing for the puck, and keeping it out of our net.
So as long as we win the game, especially on the road, I give full marks to the coach and the lines as they are. Especially when they have worked all night and kept the puck out of our net for a shutout.
During our three game losing streak I have been somewhat critical of the coaching. But with us being 8 and 4, I should be more congratulatory. I’ll take 75% anytime! Its funny that most of us are never content when we are below 100%, including myself!
And yes, we have stiffer competition coming up, but we are also getting better each game.!
If Tinordi winds up to be a Gundbradson type player, this team will be one step closer to contending.
Gudbranson was a 3rd overall pick for a reason, kid is an absolute beast. Tinordi will be good player but that’s really high hopes.
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Lars, PK, Galchenyuk, Pac, Emelin – @J_Perez22
I didn’t say EXACTLY LIKE GUDBRANSON, I said “Gudbradson-Type”, meaning that he would play a similar style to Gudbranson.
Last night was DD’s best game in a while ( other than terrible give-away that led to two on one) – and this was as soft a game as possible. And still no points.
Eller created more chances on 4th line with muckers.
Against Philly – DD will be ineffective again.
When will Eller be given his chance to succeed?
Classic MT, praises Eller game after game than keeps him stuck on the 4th. Talks about accountability, yet it only exists for White, Eller and Subban.
Imagine if Ellers name was Desharnais and we had this big center, 1st round pick, playing well and given no shot to succeed as an offensive player. The city would be in turmoil.
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Lars, PK, Galchenyuk, Pac, Emelin – @J_Perez22
You’re starting to sound like a broken record. Team is performing well so far. Lines are OK we are winning. When we hit a skid then look for changes.
Please…. are you serious??
If you want the team your way, play NHL13. Unrelenting criticism for a team at 8-4-1 after finishing 3rd worst in the league last season is, to be honest, being stubbornly blind.
Not criticizing the team. Of course I would take this standing had I been told in advance, but to question the burying of players who could be a big part of the teams future isn’t out of line.
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Lars, PK, Galchenyuk, Pac, Emelin – @J_Perez22
MT is handling Eller exactly the right way. This is the best stretch of consistently good and determined play I have seen from Eller since he was traded for. MT wouldn’t make Eller or PK so accountable if he didn’t think they had a huge upside. White’s upside is as a very limited 4th line energy guy. Kaberle and Weber have the most to bitch about, but, for the moment, both of them aren’t good enough to be regulars.
http://calshabsongparodies.weebly.com
If they keep playing games on that crap they call ice in Miami, there’ll be more scoreless games. I don’t know how anybody can play on that. How many decent passes did you guys see last night? Nonbody could stickhandle. I haven’t seen a puck bounce that bad since I watched the Mem Cup in Shawinigan last May.
Ice is what you put in a Mojito down there.
Am I getting soft in my old age? I felt bad for Theo when Bourque scored. He played a hell of a game.
He did. He looked like the Theo of 2002.
If they don’t move Eller up to the 2nd line. They’ll never know what he can really do. 4th line is for the bangers with very little production. They are good at what they do. I hear how good this Eller Guy could be. Let’s see it. Don’t hold him back.
I hope the Habs are not taking this game against Philly tomorrow as a shoo in because they played 4-games this week. Philly will come to play and the Habs had better be ready from the drop of the puck ….
The problem with playing Eller with Cole and Pacioretty is that both of those players are struggling badly. Pacioretty in particular is having a very hard time.
Eller has a better shot at improving that line than Desharnais hands down. At worst Eller has the same output as DD and makes the line way stronger defensively.
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Lars, PK, Galchenyuk, Pac, Emelin – @J_Perez22
So you’ve said…
speaking of “recycling is remaking”, Stu should consider recycling his current tech team,- and remaking them into an effective unit.
virtually every day there is another glitch on this site.
you need a masters degree to get on the site today.
That’s why no one is posting.
Philadelphia plays four road games this week. In fact, they play in Jersey tonight while the Habs rest. Saturday’s game is number four on the road this week for Philly. The huge advantage for Montreal is that they get to play Price in all three games this week.
Next start for Budaj should be on Tuesday.
Should be never!
LOL. Assuming that the Habs don’t want Price to play back-to-back games (or four times in one week), it would appear that Budaj will start six more contests this season.
I am having a problem with this whole “resting Price” concept.
I was not one of the posters who came on here absolving Budaj of any and all blame last game.
He is not strong around his crease, and he is out of position once he goes down.
If Habs beat Philly, I would not change goalies.
I keep the winning going and ride Price as long as it continues.
That’s just my take.
Would you play Price 3 nights out of 4? Or even 4 nights out of 6?
I’m with you to a certain extent – I think he can do it.
if there is a problem with his health, obviously that would change everything.
but if he’s healthy I would let him play.
fatigue or over playing someone can lead to injuries.
It is a fine line, and I have no idea what the answer is. I am with you, Ed. I would like to see Price play as many games as possible… as long as he doesn’t get hurt.
However, if the playoffs look like a possibility, I would hate to have him drain the tank before playing Game #1 in May (whoah, that sounds weird)
It’s an autograph signing, but only adults can go. No kids allowed.
So, I gotta ask – what’s the point?
CHarity man, its all about the kids after all!
Thread confusion.
Where do we go to suggest line combos?
Looks like Stubbs gave Boone a polite bump and re-issued the bigger news, Armstrong Autograph session!
I’d like to see Prust back with the kids. Desharnais line as last year (let him play until they produce), Markov and Diaz on the first wave of the PP. Our best line with Plekanec status quo and fourth line doing very well as it is. We are 8-4-1 in 13 games. I think most of us would have taken that, had we been offered it at the start of the season.
DD line has gotten enough opportunities, time to reward the players actually playing well with more ice Re: Gallagher, Eller
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Lars, PK, Galchenyuk, Pac, Emelin – @J_Perez22
I think the coaching staff has done a good job so far with ice time education with the kids. And Eller on the 4th is getting his share on that line + PK time, he’s making that line also a valuable contributor. We are winning more than we are losing, so I don’t see the need to tinker with the lines and ice time.
Eller is making the 4th line better ya, but he could be a big help to 2 of the top 3 units that are struggling.
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Lars, PK, Galchenyuk, Pac, Emelin – @J_Perez22
You won’t have noticed but Eller and Gallagher were both fairly poor last night. Eller a bit better because he’s at least defensively sound. Gallagher looking more and more out of his element.
What games have you been watching? Gallagher looks more in his element than Galchenyuk, and that’s not a knock at Galchenyuk. Gallagher finds a way to create and be involved every shift.
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Lars, PK, Galchenyuk, Pac, Emelin – @J_Perez22
I was referring to last night (the hint was in the words “last night”). Gallagher was often falling down and rarely on the puck. Overall I love the kid but he had difficulty last night.
Pointless comment #34635
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Lars, PK, Galchenyuk, Pac, Emelin – @J_Perez22
Not getting the joke #20130215
A lot of people have been ripping on Armstrong. I was one of them after the first couple of games. He skating was awful at the beginning of the season, like he was breaking in new skates. Now his stride is getting a little longer and his speed seems better.
But after having watched him live, I have more appreciation for his game. He anticipates and reads the play very well, so he is often in the right spot. This would explain why he can catch guys with their head down and why he has had so many breakaways this year from turnovers. I never really noticed that watching on TV. If he can get his legs going a little more, he could turn out to be a very useful player. The coaches must know he has more to give because they have been very patient with him. He can’t be that good in the room.
He is doing nothing to hurt the team, the 4th line has become one of our most reliable lines. Looks to me like Moen is hurt, or appears that way. I would suggest White in for Moen tomorrow night.
It could be – he sat out one game with back spasms. That’s usually a chronic injury.
This why coaches don’t work from home in front of their televisions.
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“It’s just an opinion – I could be wrong”
I wish ALN wasn’t buried so early.
They should have included the signing news on this thread as an addendum.
http://calshabsongparodies.weebly.com
I thought Boone just got bumped, didn’t realize he was buried as well. Poor guy, retirement doesn’t seem to be going well, unless he indeed is going to be hooking up with Bar Rafaeli soon as he has hinted recently.
Good morning all. Have to admit that last nights Hab game compelled me to move it to the small screen as the Islander-Ranger game was more entertaining. Very happy with the two points of course but many games in the NHL thus far this season resemble what we saw last night. Maybe it’s the shortened season, the loser point, no training camp or all of the above but the quality of play many nights is leaving a lot to be desired. I don’t blame the Hab’s for the 2 periods of a snoozefest though. The home team with the last line change has the ability to control the tempo and Florida obviously was not interested in a up and down game last night. It looked like they were playing for the loser point at home and if not for Jose they wouldn’t have gotten that.
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Not just that the game was boring but TSN’s Dave and Dave show was equally bad.
I love Center Ice! I just wish they brought back the mini 6 screen channel.
Very Happy the Habs beat this horrible Panthers team. Nothing worse than losing to teams you should always beat.
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Custom Sports Figures
I missed the Dave and Dave show as my Center Ice feed was the Panther feed.
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Did you guys hear about the meteorite that fell in Russia? Pretty intense stuff, don’t watch the videos with headphones on…
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2013/feb/15/meteorite-explodes-over-russian-urals-live-updates
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DOOOOOOOOOOOOMED!
That is amazing video. Who would have imagined that sonic booms would be able to do so much damage. Just incredible. Thanks for sharing Prop.
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Of course Sonic Booms do that much damage!!!
I mean, they can take down Ehonda and Ryu…
Jesus H C….. I thought it was a scene from Independence Day. Unreal!
I can’t imagine what those people must have been thinking. Just scary.
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Anyone else notice last night the mostly empty seats, four full sections behind the team benches. At first I thought those sections were quarantined, but I saw no yellow suits, so I assume its because of the teams poor performance so far this season or is it another team that should be moving north?
I thought it was the beginning of a period at the Air Canada Centre during a Maple Leaf game.
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At the price the tickets are in Toronto, you would think it not be fashionable to be late.
Someone posted in the previous thread about this: The empty seats are $20,000 each… or more.
http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2011-08-20/sports/fl-florida-panthers-season-tickets-0820110820_1_seats-michael-yormark-bankatlantic-center
It seems to be “Red Ink” rather than high-end Club Red.
Wow 1 of my comments actually got posted. As a 2 finger typer, it’s very frustrating to put a couple of sentences together, only to have it not registered because of too much traffic not being able to be handled by the server. I think it may be all the band Wagon posters jumping back on tonight and clogging things up.
“They don’t hang Conference Championship Banners from the rafters here”
Carey Price
Considering most of the comments here I read about Armstrong, I can’t see many going there to see him. Personally, I think he’s a 4th line grinder killing penalties and while I’m watching the games, I never say WOW, but I never yell ffs either when he’s on the ice. I have absolutely no problem with that, and therefore no complaints. It’s a case of either unrealistic expectations of him or the fact there’s bias as him as a former Leaf ( which I admit I’ve been guilty of in the past too )
“They don’t hang Conference Championship Banners from the rafters here”
Carey Price
º¤ø ¸„ø¤GO HABS GOø¤º°¨¨¨°º¤ø ¸„ø¤GO HABS GOø¤º°¨¨¨°º¤ø ¸„ø¤GO HABS GOø¤º°¨¨¨°º¤ø ¸„ø¤GO HABS GOø¤º°¨¨¨°º¤ø ¸„ø¤GO HABS GOø¤º
Seriously, how do you do that?
“They don’t hang Conference Championship Banners from the rafters here”
Carey Price
Copy and paste.
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☞ The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool. ~ Richard Feynman ☜
Looks like last years Subban.
Habs win,Laffs lose,and my friend about to disembark Carnival Cruise ship Triumph. He’s not too pleased. CJAD will interview him tomorrow @4pm.
yikes..sounds like they are not too comfortable…poor people
Ugh re the SEWER situation…least as reported by CNN et al. I dont understand how it could have been allowe dto degenerate to that level… Couple empty barrel like containers woulda done the trick…along with septic tablet.
Can’t wait for Philly. Briere and Giroux… The D will get a workout.
Does one of those guys know how to play goalie, too?
Actually Bryz isn’t doing that bad lately. How he’s back to normal Saturday.
“They don’t hang Conference Championship Banners from the rafters here”
Carey Price
When is HIO gonna move this web site off of Boone’s basement Amiga?
Saturday should be a Barn burner. Philly in town. Hope the Habs send them home early.
First just like where the Habs are going to finish!!!
I kid but nice to see Price finally get his first shutout this season
Loser point is easier for me to type then “Teams receive 1 point for a regulation tie, just as they did before regular season overtime was established. They play the overtime (and possible shoot out) for the extra point.”
Maybe I should just call it “the point.”
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“There is no “loser point”.”
The losers of the game, who get a point = loser point. Seems pretty straight forward to me…
Loser point works for me.
It’s not “loser point”.
It’s “The Loser Point”.
I believe you need to play this sound bite first and then and only then can you say “The Loser Point”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bfNedTGSU4
He is better, he has 6pts in 7 games! Hats off to Mike Therrien!
LOL
The game clearly isn’t over yet. How does Subban know he scored the winning goal? Arrogant ass.
He might not be as much of an idiot as you think. Doesn’t he get money from other teams if his revenues are not at a certain level? Maybe he is better off not selling those seats? I’m not sure but he is a crap owner nevertheless..
There will be injuries.
Do you think all 6 of our defencemen are going to be healthy for the entire season?
Yes you need to trade 1 of the guys, but you can’t trade every piece of depth you have.
Kaberle is too expensive and needs to go.
Go Habs Go!
Check out Top Shelf Prospects, my Team by Team prospect reports
http://lastwordonsports.com/
Simple question: If you were a GM, would you trade for Kaberle? There’s your answer…
And when there are, I would rather see St. Denis get the call. Plus with his last name, we can then trade DD.
Ottawa needs an offensive defenseman. They can buy him out at the end of the year
But people should also realize, and i will imagine most will agree, is that Kaberle has minimal trade value… If we thought we overpaid for him last year, how will we get anything exciting as a return. He’s too expensive, too old, lacks any form of physicality and doesn’t produce, he would, I imagine, be worth a conditional draft pick
Go Habs Go
Thanks!
Don’t be a hater now!
Well that escalated quickly!
Mike Boone: “With Gainey at my side, I’d walk into any dark alley in the world.”
Would you perform elenchus?
I am surprised you didn’t ask if he’d like to felch him.
good point
“Keep your stick on the Ice”
That is when I knew the Habs were scrapping the barrel last year. When that trade was announced I was like WHY?
“Keep your stick on the Ice”
conditional draft pick is what i would trade for him
Go Habs Go
Your second line would get demolished in corner battles and ground into the ice after a few games.
Your third line would get demolished in corner battles and ground into the ice after a few games.
Your line combos are as good as the next guys but if I were coach I would keep DD, Gionta and Gally on different lines. Having 2 5 ’7 guys on the same line in the NHL is a problem.
The lockout has obviously had an effect. The line between star and average player is also a lot closer… And you’re talking Hall of Famers there matey. Lafleur is a Demi-God and Shutt one of the greatest wingers the game has ever seen. We get half those players from Cole or Patches, we’d be first in the Conference.
I agree, yesterday was the first time I saw Subban actually rush the puck. I am not saying that Therrien and the coaching staff don’t have anything to do with Subban’s play. But so far, he has not looked as confident as last season and that I lay at Therrien’s feet. It is one thing to demand a team concept, it is another to take away the things that make Subban special on the ice.
I am not saying Subban is in any way comparable to Bobby Orr, but one thing I did see in a bio on Orr, was the coaches from Boston saying, we new he would make mistakes, but why harness the kid, he can get back when he screws up and he will learn by doing.
That is what Subban needs to do, Harnessing him hurts the team more than the few mistakes he will make if he is let to do what he does best.
Habfan17