This one is going to Hamilton, not Toronto.
Suppose people in the populous corridor will be confused?
• The “curse” of Kovalev’s talent
• Brian Gionta as the anti-Kovalev
• Update on Tinordi at U.S. junior camp
• EotP on prospect Mark Mitera
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I was thinking that in all my years of watching hockey I have never seen a greater parade of injuries to hockey players, most specifically head shots and concussions, as I’ve seen in recent years.
This was unheard of in the 80′s and 90′s. Yes there were the concussions and dirty hits but not to the extent we see today. Is it the body armour and the speed of the game or is it the instigator rule? Or is it a combination of the two? Perhaps it’s neither and just piss poor officiating?
Whatever the reason(s) I am getting a little sick of this new roller ball mentality that has taken over the game. Players like Matt Cooke are a fine example of this new element of the game.
So, a few people, and you know who you are, I’ll call you guys the the Scaredcrows™, say that an enforcer wouldn’t have changed Pacioretty’s mishap. Really? No sh*t Sherlocks! <sarcasm>Because that’s what all the size and gritters have been arguing about all the time.</sarcasm> Apparently I’ve been saying it although nobody can produce the quotes.
So let’s get back to a player named Claude Lemieux. Many of you younger kids never saw this player in his hey day. Maybe you saw the footage of his infamous hit on Kris Draper. Darren McCarty took him to task for it. Lemieux turtled ignominiously the first time they met. Next season they scrapped again and this time Lemieux actually fought back. Up until then Lemieux was a turtler. What changed? Claude Lemieux was never as dirty a douche as he was up to that point. His game always had that edge but he matured and tamed down a bit.
What’s my point? That fighting has a place in NHL hockey and dirty hits will happen regardless. However without a team’s response they happen more often. A team that is able to play physical and also brawl will not eliminate injuries including those from questionable hits, but they will lessen them.
A team unable to defend itself on the ice runs a greater risk of injury (and taking bad penalties for that matter) than a team that can defend itself.
It’s no coincidence that the Habs were leaders in both categories last season.
its simple change the interference rules
HH … I read this three times trying to figure it out. And textual analysis is, you know, kind of my milieu. But I couldn’t follow.
Your final point seems to be that teams that “fight” have fewer injuries … I would love to see anyone back that statement up with data. You certainly did not.
What did Claude Lemiuex have to do with anything you were discussing though?? I honestly couldn’t figure it out.
Full Breezer 4 Life
It’s subliminal. You don’t think you get but you do. It will gnaw at you and then when you least suspect it, my analogy will be clear. Until then don’t fret. It has to come naturally and unforced, like an epiphany.
I am flattered though that you read it 3 times. Blushing almost.
Ah yes Hard Habit. the Retro 80′s with Lemieux, Kordic to name a few who brought toughness on our team and though Lemieux was a s##t disturber on the ice, he took a beating on the ice by fighting and brought an edge to our team.
We really don;t have anyone to defend our team, we really don;t have toughness like a Boston team has and they have skill as well.
So, we need to get bigger on this team and have some toughness.
If not, this team will always be a team of “what if” or “if so and so were not injured, we would…”
and I won’t accept that when I see Boston back in the final again.
Bigger is better I say!
“We will win the Cup one day only with ? in the nets “
OH 57 Days until the seasons starts!!
Anyone else going to the season opener in toronto!??!
GO HABS GO!
Moi
“We will win the Cup one day only with ? in the nets “
Question: What’s the deal with guys like Marchand, Luke Schenn and Bogosian who are listed on Capgeek as RFAs? I thought that a guy had to receive and accept a qualifying offer before July 1st or they become a UFA. I believe that all the arbitration cases have been settled so how can these guys still be unsigned RFAs? Anybody?
They had to receive, don’t have to accept qualifying offers. Which are based on a formula in the CBA depending on how much the player made in the previous year.
As for arbitration, there is criteria that has to be meant for either the player or team to request it. Not all are eligible, in fact most RFA’s are not.
Depending on the age and games played players are either eligible for arbitration or not. So Like Carey Price last year you have up until Jan 1st I believe to sign them. Remember price signed in sept.
Next year Subban will be in the same situation as Schenn…
GO HABS GO!
They’ve all received qualifying offers but none of them are eligible for arbitration.
Thanks peops.
1. Roy and Hayward were an amazing tandem for the Habs.Does anyone think Price and Halak(if they were kept together) could they have been as good a tandem?
1A. Would they have won at least one Jennings trophy?
2.Who had a better career for the Habs, Naslund or Koivu?
3. Who was a better “stay at home”defenceman, Rick Green or Hal Gill?
4. Pacioretty reminds me of a young John Leclair. Could he put up similar numbers in his career(assuming his health is okay)?
5.What jerseys do you like more, the reds or the whites?
6.In their prime, who would you rather, Damphousse or Cammalleri?
7. What might happen first… Price wins Vezina or Subban wins Norris?
Ooooh ooooh, I’ll play:
1. Possibly yes and yes.
2. Koivu
3. Greener
4. Once he is traded to PHI for Blair Betts, yes, of course.
5. Reds
6. Damphousse but Cammy has time to catch up
7. Price easily
1. No, you can’t have 2 starters and sustain it as a tandem, they both want to play. It’s a toxic situation.
2. Slight edge to Naslund, but he had a lot more to work with.
3. Green.
4. Doubt it.
5. Reds.
6. Damphousse
7. Price.
1. probably not
2. Koivu. Naslund never brought a city to tears with his on/off ice bravery
3. Green. obviously
4.i can’t see it in todays game. too many good d-men
5. reds
6. Vinny, i find Cammy disappointing most nights
7. Subban norris, not this year but next. Price vezina in four years
nobody knows the pain of being a Habs fan in a world of Habs fans…
1. As good? No – Roy was a once in a generation player, someone who actually got better the more pressure-packed the game. But that’s not to say that they wouldn’t have been a very good tandem, and yes, I think a Jennings or 2 would have come their way. Still may for Price and (?) …
2. Koivu. Not even close, although I loved Naslund as a player.
3. Rick Green.
4. Could he? Yes, but very unlikely – especially with scoring down so much since Leclair played. I think 30-35 goals is reasonable to hope for though.
5.Whites
6. Damphousse
7. Price wins Vezina – but I think PK will be overlooked for a long time when he deserves to win it (and I think he will deserve to win it in the next few years). Insert your own reasons here, but I’m betting on a racial element to the selection.
__________________________
Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened.
Winston Churchill
1. yes 2. Naslund 3. Green 4. no- different era- way less goals being scored generally 5. red 6. Damphousse- same scoring- centerman 7. Subban’s Norris. Price is good. He needs to get better, especially in April.
Hey guys, tune into the Teamm990′s Sunday Shinny at 9am. THe guest host is some guy named Andrew Berkshire ;P
___________________________________________
Eyes on The Prize! and on Twitter
Doesn’t he post on here, sometimes,occasionally or maybe once in awhile?? You mean that guy?
Nah! He argues too much!
Congrats Andrew
Thanks HabFab!
Congrats, and well done on the discussion below too!
If you don’t grok it, drokk it!
Rock ‘n’ roll, baby!
Must be the blow hard segment of the show !
“I figure PG has one or 2 moves left to bring the Habs that extra step closer to perhaps being the best in the league.” – Einstein
Interesting rules being tested out at the NHL RDO camp…
(From NHL.com:)
Wednesday, Aug. 17
(all times ET, subject to change)
10:00 a.m – Noon
• No-touch icing
• No line change for team committing an offside
• Faceoff variations (penalty line for center committing an infraction; all faceoffs in circles; same linesman drops puck for all faceoffs)
• No icing permitted while shorthanded
• Verification line (additional line behind the goal line)
• Overtime variation (four minutes of 4-on-4 followed by three minutes of 3-on-3)
• Shootout variation (5-man shootout precedes sudden-death format)
• Shallow-back nets
2:30 p.m to 4:30 p.m.
• After offside, faceoff goes back to offending team’s end
• Faceoff variations (both centers must come set on whistle; all faceoffs in circles; same linesman drops puck for all face-offs)
• Delayed penalty variation (offending team must exit zone in possession of puck to stop play)
• Changes only permitted on-the-fly (except after goals and upon manpower changes)
• Strict enforcement of goaltenders covering puck outside crease (Rule 63.2)
• Remove trapezoid
• Verification line
• Allow hand passes in all zones
• Overtime variation (switch ends)
• Shootout variation (5-man shootout with repeat players if tied after 5 shooters)
• Thin-netting nets
Thursday, Aug. 18
9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
• ‘Hybrid’ icing
• Offside variation (offending team can’t change and faceoff in its end zone)
• Faceoff variations (player encroaching can’t replace thrown-out center, all faceoffs in circles; same linesman drops puck for all faceoffs)
• All penalties to be served in their entirety
• Strict enforcement of goaltenders covering puck outside crease (rule 63.2)
• Bear-hug rule
• Verification line
• Overtime variation (switch ends for four minutes of 4-on-4, followed by three minutes of 3-on-3)
• Shootout variation (3-man shoot out with repeat shooters if tied after 3 shooters)
• Shallow-back nets
1:30pm to 3:30pm
• All-Star Skills competition (fastest skater, breakaway challenge, accuracy shooting, skills relay challenge, hardest shot, elimination shootout)
Other technology/modifications to be tested during various sessions:
• On-ice officials communication — ref-to-ref wireless
• Overhead camera — to assist Hockey Operations reviews of various initiatives (verification line/goal netting/in-net camera)
• In-net camera — mounted camera at one end with one net with camera view focused on the goal line to help verify goals
• Robotic camera — to test camera angles for coverage closer to ice
• Video replay application review
• Curved glass — protection options at players bench areas
… I’m surprised they aren’t trying out the “challenge flag”.
This can’t be. Hand passes in all zones? If you ask me the hand should never touch the puck. At the very least hand passes should be eliminated altogether. That would create more scoring chances.
Spot on, Dave. It’s just like golf, you must play the ball down. The only time you can touch the ball is when you are on the green.
BTW, I went to the Foreigner/Journey concert last night with Journey being the headliner. The only problem was that Foreigner stole the show. Regardless, a great night was had by all.
Foreigner? Journey? Man you’re old.
***Subbang Baby!!!***
i caught u2 at rogers centre back in july…..
steve..foreigner/journey wtf.
When’s The Turtles/Monkees concert?
“just a small town boy, born in raised in south Detroit. He took the midnight train goin’ an-y-where!”
Friggin’ love that tune
“No icing permitted while shorthanded”
You mean the four guys have to play keepaway for two minutes? And if you ice it, you take another faceoff? You might a zillion faceoffs on one kill.
That rule was in place when The WHA operated in the 70′s…..
What don’t you guys understand about testing ideas?
And wtf is the “bear-hug rule”? Isn’t that already “holding”? Sounds like something O’Byrne would do…
My understanding it is to take a player, whose back is to you, into the boards by wrapping your arms around his sides. Designed to prevent having heads or faces driven into glass or boards plus concussions (wipe lash) from being hit in the back.
” Old time taking out the man.” Holding only if you don’t release immediately.
A rule that should be added is that if the goalie leaves his crease when the puck is shot in from outside centre ice & then goes back into the crease the icing is waved off……..
I’m not sure about some of those ideas; off-sides happen and having to stop and start again outside the zone is plenty.
I like the idea of the refs having wireless comm.
I like the idea that if the goalie leaves the crease during a potential icing, it is waved off.
Remove the trapezoid, save some bad injuries. Same for touch icing, I like the NCAA version where if the d-man is ahead by the hash-marks, blow it.
Now my own idea: penalized team cannot immediately change, same as icing. Your line takes a penalty, you gotta kill it, or at least start the kill. I’m thinking of the Sedins specifically with this. Good players should be able to play in all situations.
Oh and I like going to 3-on-3 in OT instead of shoot-out
I almost jumped out of my seat when I read “Remove Trapezoid”
It would be about time.
nhl hockey is not that much different than other pro sports.
in the NFL, the games are won and lost “in the trenches” – offensive and defensive lines
in the NBA, the games are won and lost under the basket – offensive and defensive rebounds
for the Habs to win the Cup, they will need to prove that they can:
1) control the front of the net in support of Price
2) score garbage goals, deflections, rebounds, and therefore have good offensive presence in front of the other teams net
controlling the crease area – defensively and offensively – requires GRITTY TYPE PLAYERS.
cole and paccioretty offensively, and yemelin defensively are assets that we have added who should help us here.
someone should keep a +- stat on goals scored in the blue paint, crease area
I have a feeling that teams that win the Cup are extremely effective at scoring many more goals in the blue paint (crease) than they give up.
From the Gazette On Line:
Boston Bruins’ Zdeno Chara’s hit on Montreal Canadiens’ Max Pacioretty in the hands of prosecutors
http://www.montrealgazette.com/sports/Pacioretty+hands+prosecutors/5236392/story.html
Don’t forget that you can all read the Gazette online for free until canada.com fixes the loophole.
Simply hit escape once the image and text has loaded. This will stop the page from loading the little script that checks your IP and provides that ugly green popup.
This goes out to Punkster:
You could argue on for hours
cuz it makes you feel empowered
Confronting once again.
But your head is so inflated that
your thoughts become aerated
Cuz’ you haven’t got a brain.
I marvel how you scribble
such useless mindless drivel
So fuddled its insane
It sounds like you been drinkin’
cuz your posts are usually stinkin’
Cuz’ you haven’t got a brain.
Oh, why don’t just proceed to cry that The Habs’s are near once more.
You attack when others post what you abhor
And like a twit, start a flame war.
The people you’re rebuffing are merely saying something
That causes you some pain
You may want to be contrary but you’re acting like a fairy
Cuz’ you haven’t got a brain.
Wtf? I thought this was my song!!! HH, don’t be giving Punkster a song that I earned first.
He got that for calling my arguments straw man. But it is your song.
You’re still a poopoo head. But you’re our poopoo head.
***Subbang Baby!!!***
He calls them as he sees them. It’s too bad you don’t actually stick to your guns once in awhile, instead when challenged you prefer to go off on insulting tangents and then flip your own opinion the next day.
As for responding to what I said earlier, you spent a damn MONTH straight on this website claiming the team wouldn’t get injured as much if we had fighters. You constantly talked about the Pacioretty hit having happened because teams weren’t “afraid” of us. So don’t pretend I’m putting words in your mouth. If you were any more intellectually dishonest, you’d be Kent Hovind.
I never said the word goon or enforcer. I said that if the team was over all tougher they wouldn’t get their asses handed to them and they’d have a better chance against the more robust teams. I do believe that the Pacioretty hit was a result of the Habs apparent lack of a physical dimension. Maybe Pacioretty was reading these pages prior to when he went head down into the stanchion with a little help from Chara and he thought that the Habs were tough enough.
What I always argued was that the smaller players needed more space on the ice to score and that would be achieved by beefing up or by adding more physical players. I also believe that if the bean town beat down never happened neither would the Pacioretty hit. That event was a result of the Bruins knowing the Habs could and would do nothing.
I do not for a second believe that Chara intended to decapitate Pacioretty, but that he knew he could and would be able to lay his body on him as he pleased. The unfortunate result is that he almost killed him. But it still goes to my belief that it happened because this edition of the Habs plays with their tails between their legs against the Bruins and they have no response for on ice thuggery.
So when the Habs try and go to the net all it takes is for the other team to beat the crap out of a few players and for the rest of the game it’s periphery time.
SF09 is the one who says that people, myself included, argue that goons would have eliminated the Pacioretty hit.
Show me the post where I said that.
I think everyone can agree that of all the teams in the league, none have as much of a reputation for being tough, gritty and willing to fight as much as the Bruins, correct?
So did Vancouver feel that Boston was a bunch of limp wrister losers who wouldn’t answer the bell when Aaron Rome concussed Horton? Did Matt Cooke feel that way when he ended Savard’s career? What about Randy Jones on Bergeron? Your argument isn’t just feeble, HH, it’s a f***ing fantasy perpetuated by people who have no clue what the hell they’re talking about.
You don’t even need to have played the game to understand that certain players on EVERY team are paid not to be afraid. And yes, Montreal has them too. They lay clean or questionable hits on any player who allows themselves to BE hit. If you don’t know this to be true, just listen to any interview with any player struggling to stay in the lineup talk about how he’ll sacrifice his body and hit everything that moves in order to bring value to the team, they’re everywhere.
The myth that tough or gritty teams make other teams shy away from borderline hits is the biggest BS ever spewed on this site. Dumber than Price/Halak garbage. Dumber than Kovalev/Koivu.
I am not arguing that tough or gritty teams make other teams shy away from borderline hits. Hits are part of the game. I am saying that having a team that collectively is unable to match pound for pound and muscle for muscle what is being dished out will pay the price if not in injuries then in an inability to penetrate the other team’s defences.
Look. The Habs started getting injured when they had the false sense of security that BGL would make the team a little bigger tougher and meaner. Who would have thought that BGL decided to go all Gandhi on us. That and of course the focus on defence.
I say the team can’t afford or at the very least is playing with fire when they have DD, Gio and Cammy all at once if they don’t have that smallness compensated for with bigger more bruising elements. Neither Plex nor Gomez is that player. It will remain to be seen whether the addition of Yemelin and Cole will change that.
I’d rather see a team play exciting fast paced hockey. What I don’t want to see is them getting punched and pushed around or hiding behind the refs sticking their tongues out.
What I am also saying is that the over all psyche of the team can contribute to them being vulnerable. I think the Pacioretty hit is a good example. It wasn’t the Hurricanes that beat up the Habs and sent Pacioretty to the infirmary. It wasn’t against the Leafs that Habs got beat 7-0.
I am talking about winning hockey games. It’s just that along the way I don’t want to see them get beat up and battered and bruised while doing it.
You keep changing your story, my friend.
You don’t want fighters, but you don’t want players to not fight.
You don’t think having a grittier team would prevent the Pacioretty hit, but you think it happened because our team isn’t gritty/tough enough.
You think our team started getting injured more often because we started playing more defensively, yet the system in 08-09 was horrendous defensively.
You think our team started getting injured more often because they’re smaller, but the injuries started before the team got smaller in 09-10.
There’s also the question of what you’re talking about when you say injuries. Did Markov’s cut tendon by Price’s skate happen because we’re too small or too defensive? Did Lang’s achilles get cut because we started playing defense first hockey? Did Gionta’s foot break two years ago because Cammalleri’s slapshot was from a small guy and Gionta was playing defense? You keep on talking about psyche and player’s mindsets, yet you seem to demonstrate absolutely zero knowledge of how these players think, and while you present your grandiose hypothesis as fact, you call down everyone who disagrees with you as a pompous “HIO expert”. Sorry HH, but your game is getting old, and pretty clearly contradictory.
@Berkshire
Still stuck in those silly internet creation/evolution debates, i see.
Well, have fun. Never mind that both sides are completely ignorant of the real debate that doesn’t use extreme examples as the norm. Talk about straw man. The one side criticizes the grade-8 evolution lesson as if it’s the latest in evolutionary biology. The other side takes wacko conspiracy nuts as actually mattering to the debate.
Way to go. Stick to Habs news. You’re better at that. Not bad at all actually.
I’m not “stuck” in anything Christopher, but thanks for your concern.
Well you do seem to bring up the issue relatively often and unnecessarily. But on the topic you come off like a kid who’s taken a university class and now thinks he knows what going on. You’re going to the bank for groceries.
It’s a good off the cuff comparison for someone who continues to espouse a belief in spite of all the evidence to the contrary. As for how I “come off”, I’m not sure how you can judge my knowledge on the subject by a simile. You sir, come off as a pompous jackass in this conversation. If it makes you feel better, I have a minor in evolutionary biology and my wife is a microbiologist, so I’ve very well versed and well educated on that particular subject. Perhaps I mention it from time to time because people tend to relate things to what they know, not what they took one university class of. Thanks for your imperious commentary though.
poetry in a sports conversation is like roast pheasant at a six year old’s birthday party.
nobody knows the pain of being a Habs fan in a world of Habs fans…
“imperious” great word
nobody knows the pain of being a Habs fan in a world of Habs fans…
What will be overheard in school yards on the first day of school…. Between Habs fans and leaf fans……
Leaf Fan: Habs suck!
Habs Fan: Oh Ya? Well Our Ron Wilson can beat up your Ron Wilson!
Twitter: Habziefan09
Confucius says: “Baseball has it all wrong, Man with 4 balls cannot walk!”
http://habziefan09.blogspot.com
Teams put players through a pretty strenuous program at training camp to determine their overall health. They get tested for body mass, cardiovascular, strength, etc (estrogen-testosterone-cholesterol). Perhaps a new metric should be added to the list, one that measures grit.
Exactly how much grit do the Habs have? Inquiring minds and HIO posters want to know.
What is grit exactly? A willingness to play physically, to hit as well as be hit, to make the play knowing there will be pain involved at some point, to stand one’s ground in the face of provocation.
WIth a patent pending on the device currently undergoing improvements in the garage, I believe the gritometer will soon be able to answer that question. It places athletes in simulated situations where the threat of injury is possible and records their responses, on many levels, from how fast their heart races to how quickly they wet their pants (a condition known as vaiveitis)
Initial test results of a trial run carried out in secret with a few select subjects showed Subban and Gionta scored high.
A score of 8 or higher out of 10 is considered a marker of a Stanley Cup-worthy player.
The question Canadien officials will want answered at training camp is how many players will score at least 7 or better.
I’ll report my findings once I get few kinks worked out on the device. It keeps shorting out and gives me a bit of tingle. Ooooooh, I don’t like that.
I love that his garage has become a makeshift lab.
And I swear he has writers! Genius!
Chinchillin’
I wonder if perhaps Mr. Bellyfull ever wrote for shows such as Four on the Floor with the infamous Mr. Canoehead, or perhaps he came up with invention ideas for Mr. Duct Tape Red Green, but both of those shows are insults to John.
Continued good work John, you are developing a near cult following here. Too bad that Asst. Coach job didn’t work out.
Red Green — loved that show. Corner Gas — another gem.
Yeah, I was kinda countin’ on the assistant coach’s job. Told the wife we could probably afford indoor plumbing. Neighbours been complainin’ about the blue loo out back. It’s about three feet off the ground now. (Had to make alterations.)
Q. What do you get when you cross Bob Gainey and a muppet?
A. For the answer, look at the top of this page.
I knew he looked familiar…
*****WARNING: Testing out new dog icons for the coming season. *****
This icon gives me bad vibrations. I miss your suave yet reserved self-portrait. haha
have you tried the dog from the Daft Punk – Da Fuck music video?
Chinchillin’
Yeah, he ain’t that smart looking. Friendly though, in a creepy sorta way. I don’t know the dog you mention but will look him up.
*****WARNING: Testing out new dog icons for the coming season. *****
I’m afraid that if I stare at him too long, my eyes’ll start to bug out like those circular test patterns……you are getting sleeeepy!
I don’t believe having a ‘real’ tough guy on our team could have prevented the Chara incident. But…..what a real tough guy or two would have prevented is Lucic going after Pouliot, Spacek getting killed, Pyatt getting killed, Plekanecs getting cross checked repeatedly after the whistle, etc, etc, etc.
What a tough guy could do………………..and when I say tough guy it’s someone who could repeatedly win a fight against Lucic, Ference, Thornton, etc………………is simply keep the goons from taking liverties against our best players. Tomas Plekanecs shouldn’t have to fight his own battles, he scores, sets up goals, kills penalties, plays on the PP, wins face-offs in the D-zone, he should not have to also deal with goons…..not his job.
I’m not saying we could pick up someone to beat down Chara, but at least someone to take him on, if you watch most of his fights against real fighters he simply tries to wrestle them to the ground.
Anyway, if you asked Gionta, Gomez, Pleky, Cammy, Max, anyone about having a true enforcer, I doubt very much they would argue against it. Enforcers who can play more than a few minutes a game do exist, and are routinely available, including this free agency. A million bucks for someone to keep an eye on our little skilled players is not alot, but I know from playing the game that it means alot.
And I’m sure there will be a few of you who disagree, most if not all of you are simply uneducated in what actually “playing” the game is like when times get rough.
Many of you come on here to prove how intelligent you are writing the english language, or quoting literature, the sciences, etc, but I would hazard to guess that many of you, if met in person, have never actually played the game at a high level. And I don’t mean the Monday night beer league.
As long as PG intends to make his statement to the league that we can win it all with talent alone, I’m afraid we may be in for more evenings of watching our very talented team get physically over matched.
I want to respond but I only speak english and don’t want to look like I am trying to look intelligent by doing so.
我会通过。(I will have to pass).
Excellent, excellent post. IF only THe Goat could read this.
double post
…hockey is not only a sport of robotic physical exceptionalists …it includes, to it’s Fans, a nationalistic/localistic appeal to Our human instincts, which include healthy/unhealthy ‘bloodlust’ to challenges of Our communal identity/identities
…in udder woids, Hockey is an alternative to War
…unlike fight to the death and ALL is fair in War …Hockey is played within certain accepted limitations and norms
…We are all Romans in the Colisseum when We enter the Bell Centre
…since the demise of My Habs talent-level relative to My privileged childhood growing-up during the Habs’ Golden Era, My favourite hockey has become international hockey, watching the genius of elite-level Team Canadas, from under 17 to the Olympics
…yet, when it comes to cheering and the hockey-lust I feel for the Team I have identified with since a child, the Montreal Canadiens, My blood surges hot and heavy still when a Larry Robinson, John Ferguson or a Ryan White stands-up for a Team-mate
…NHL Hockey, by it’s nature, unfortunately, needs controlled-violence and the drama of occasional fights to sell it’s product over a long gruelling season
…without fighting ? …23, 000 seat arenas would become redundant
Habitant means PASSIONATE HOCKEY
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=423049
Summit comment, picture and info page. click and meet!
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=201813429873858&set=a.201813403207194.60837.197390760316125&type=1&theater
This is what should happen when Lucic or Horton messes with one of our players. A number of times last year the Bruins did things like Horton does in this video and besides White and Boychuck, the Habs always backed away.
I love this move by Smith on the Sens when he sees Horton acting tough.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaHEQuX2tJ8
Amen!!
As do I. Gave me shivers, really. Fighting is certainly an important hockey mechanic. It affects momentum so much. But it’s also important to make the distinction between a game and real life. I think that most of us agree that the Habs must become tougher, grittier, more truculent.
Please kill me for using that word.What we argue about is the how of becoming these things. I honestly think we’re moving in the right direction with the Cole signing, Tinordi and the farm system.Chinchillin’
Wait, where did the Sens finish again this year? Who won that game? Who won the season series?
Oh wait, Ottawa finished 26th overall, Boston won the game, the season series and the Cup? But… but… Zack Fing Smith stood up to them! How is that possible?
SF09 and Hobie have been arguing for about 2.5 hours now. Impressive!
Chinchillin’
Funny thing is neither of them will convince the other their point of view is the right one.
If you don’t grok it, drokk it!
A commonality of all truly great debates, haha. Reminds me of EVERY argument I have with my best friend, who is an avid Bruins fan.
Chinchillin’
LOL. If everyone agreed what fun would it be.
And I think Serious is smart enough to know I play the devil’s advocate a little bit.
I very much understand his concern for head injuries and the stupidity of hockey fights.
Serious is a good man and I enjoy debating things for hours on end with him. Especially during a slow day.
I like a good argument and can understand Hobie’s concerns, no one wants to see the Habs pushed around but I just have a serious distaste for the fighting culture.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu. Habs and Hockey.
SF09 on Twitter
What it all comes down to with me, maybe I have a problem, is that I don’t like other teams having the last laugh against us.
I get so worked up during the games and when i see Chara hurt one of our players and the league or our players do nothing or Lucic hit Spacek face first into the glass and shrug it off and laugh, it drives me nuts.
I did grow up watching Odelein, McSorley, Probert so I’ve seen the score settled with a brawl or fight all my life.
I guess it’s hard to teach a old dog new tricks…?
And i would honestly rather see Tinordi scare someone just by looking at them than fighting and spending time in the box.
“Is this the right room for an argument?” (Long live MPFC)
No, it isn’t.
“I’ve told you once.”
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu. Habs and Hockey.
SF09 on Twitter
That’s not arguing, that’s just contridiction!
Do you want to have just one argument or are you thinking of taking the course?
***Subbang Baby!!!***
That skit always reminds me of this place.
“Argument is not the same as contradiction!”
“It can be…”
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu. Habs and Hockey.
SF09 on Twitter
Sorry, all I’ve got is this f–g albatross.
*****WARNING: Testing out new dog icons for the coming season. *****
Hey look!
SF09 and Hobie at the Walmart!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGj1YAmm7I0&feature=related
error
+1
It’s amusing that people who are adamant about getting an enforcer hold that belief in spite of all evidence to the contrary. In fact when the evidence is brought up, they either don’t respond or say “I don’t believe in that”. They’re kinda like creationists.
But…but…a big mean ugly guy on the bench would have stopped the MaxPac injury, would have laid a beatin’ on Chara, would have exacted revenge. And isn’t that what it;s all about?
***Subbang Baby!!!***
I want to see fighting banned, but I’m also very much in favour of seeing any Bruin get beat up.
Am I hypocrite?
No, just complex.
I have no desire to see most hockey fights, but we all get bloodlust. When Ryan White ragdolled Boychuck right after he tried to knee Subban, I was on my feet cheering.
has anyone actually said that?
Yes. You’ve said it and so has Hard Habits.
What exactly was I supposed to have said?
That is a load of BS. I dont want an enforcer or a goon. I want the Habs to size up and stop the experiment with a group of shorties. I want 4-5 players that can kick ass on any given night and most importantly a defence corps with size and grit to go around.
The Habs got rid of Pyatt as I was hoping. They will soon be rid of Sissy Spacek too. Sadly one [possibly two of Gionta, Cammy or DD has to go. When you add those shrimps to Pex and Gomez, neither of which is considered physical you have a recipe for Habs taking cheap shot penalties or just basically getting their asses handed to them.
Nice try putting words in my mouth. If you only had a brain.
Pics or it didn’t happen!
Chinchillin’
Pacioretty, White, Moen, Cole can’t hit with authority? AK can give off a freight-train check when he wants to as well. DD is going to go sooner or later, Eller is going to jump ahead of him as he fills in the team’s needs better.
You have a laundry list of Ds coming up through the system that almost exlusively above 6′ and some giants as well.
I must post on a weekly basis how the entire basis of the farm system has been working towards building up big players and still you make this claim that the team isn’t paying attention to those areas.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu. Habs and Hockey.
SF09 on Twitter
Yes of course Dave that is what we are saying. That injury wouldn’t have happened if MaxPac kept his head up plain and simple.
However you dice and slice it the bean town beat down put any hopes of the Habs taking the division to rest. I guess you can all be happy with a team that backs into the play offs. I am not. I am pretty much fed up with the last 20 years of mediocrity. We’ll see if the new strategy works but if it doesn’t what then? More middling finishes with more middling picks. Trading away more picks for rentals. More starting the play-offs on the road.
It is a universally accepted fact that the Habs need size, universally accepted except for these pages where disillusioned Habs fans can come together and convince each other, console each other, fabricate their little fantasies that the Habs are fine as they are.
Who disputes that we could use some power forward talent and some hard-hitting defencemen? Nobody, you’re creating straw men to argue an agreed-upon point.
What we argue against is the made-up fantasy that Chara could have been intimidated away from doing what he did to Pacioretty. Or that the team’s future has not improved or that you have to hang past failures on where the team is heading now.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu. Habs and Hockey.
SF09 on Twitter
Who is “we”? Never mentioned your name and frankly wasn’t even thinking of you as I never associated your calling for bigger, tougher players with goons. As for “universality” or “facts” there is very little of that going on in here at the best of times. Opinions are flying around here but facts remain grounded due to dense brain fog.
And how the heck you can attempt to build an argument where none exists from my comment? If Boone is paying you by the number of responses you generate at least make your straw man arguments a bit more factual.
***Subbang Baby!!!***
Oh Geez. Another sheepton parroting an even less original monkey.
here let me quote you
But…but…a big mean ugly guy on the bench would have stopped the MaxPac injury, would have laid a beatin’ on Chara, would have exacted revenge. And isn’t that what it;s all about?
What do you think you’re implying. I’ll tell you. That people who argue for the Habs to add toughness are suggesting that it would have re-written history and made Chara pay for his wanton act.
What is funny is to here you and your puppy Berkie claim I use straw man arguments and then proceed to try and put words in my mouth. Hilarious. You don’t have a brain either scarecrow.
You’re a poopoo head.
***Subbang Baby!!!***
Finally some one making sense!!
And like a clever Creationist who says that those who support the evolution theory are Evolutionists, you say that those of us who want to see a tougher team are asking for goons.
I think Hobie is going a bit over board with his fight talk. I just want to see a team that can win in the alleys and the ice. I don’t want goons. I don’t even want to see Tinordi fighting. I want a team that doesn’t allow itself to get psychologically scarred the way the Habs did. Don’t think for a second that the 3 game losing streak that saw the Habs get shut out had nothing to do with an intimidation factor seeding doubt into the Habs collective psyche.
But it’s less about fighting. The bottom line is the Habs got their lunch money taken away. When they had the Bruins down 2-0 they couldn’t close the deal. They lost 3 OT games. That is IMO at any rate the sign of a team that is uncertain, unsure of itself and a team spooked. It is the sign of a team that can’t make it to the next level. So if the Habs want to skate a team that allows itself to be physically dominated they will suffer the consequences in never coming close to being a champion in the NHL.
You keep putting too much weight into samplings of the season rather than the whole picture. This is a team that doesn’t give up, they’re always in it with guys who are supposed to knock them around. The Habs primary flaw ATM is what has held them back from NE title last season, beating up the lower-tier teams they should have.
Montreal went toe-to-toe with Boston despite tough injuries before it started and the damage only piling up even more once the series was on. They held in as best they could but they go into next season packing more scoring punch, their younger players have more experience, they have more depth and are meaner. They don’t give up even when ‘they are supposed to lose’ they keep on fighting.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu. Habs and Hockey.
SF09 on Twitter
Is it amusing? Is that what makes you laugh. Dork.
There are many kinds of enforcers. What type are you referring too? I can tell by the way you write you’ve never played the game. Creationists?? LOL!
C’mon man, I wonder how you would feel deep down if you were suited up to play and were constantly abused on the ice by someone who could fill your face in and there was nobody on your team who could do a damn thing about it.
With all due respect, I don’t think watching a ton of hockey makes you or anyone else qualified to say an enforcer wouldn’t or couldn’t make a positive impact on this team.
Watch the video of Zack Smith above.
… http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=201813429873858&set=a.201813403207194.60837.197390760316125&type=1&theater
…before retiring, I used to be in the business of a PCO (Professional Congress Organizer) …business/academic missions and conferences, 95 % located overseas (Asia Pacific predominantly, Middle East/Africa and South Asia) …so, have dealt with the ‘from A to Z’ logistics of organizing missions and conferences from Jeddah to Kathmandu
…maybe the HIO Fan Summit ain’t on the scale of what I use to do for a living, yet I am in a good position to recognize the exhaustive work Ian Cobb has realized to make the HIO Summit possible
…it is unlikely I will ever attend as I still have 2 young kids in school as a single dad
…yet, I would appreciate, if someone has the time, for one of the participants to put names to the other faces in the group picture linked above
…Ian Cobb stands out like a sore, but handsome, thumb …yet I would like to associate the other faces of Our HIO members within Our Commentariat
…if someone could do that I would appreciate it
…thanks, and have a blast at the upcoming HIO Fan Summit
Habitant means PASSIONATE HOCKEY
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=423049
Thanks Christopher, I could have used some of your expertise.
But it is a bit of pay back, for all that these HIO people did for me 5 years ago now.
…seems You have done quite well without Me Ian
…and, do You have the names of the others in the group shot ?
Habitant means PASSIONATE HOCKEY
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=423049
I know a lot of them, but to much work for me to mark them in face order for you. Maybe people will post as, ” that is me” at such and such position in the picture.
Wedding gift from my old man: http://lockerz.com/s/128394260
What a guy eh?
Pretty awesome gift, congratulations on the wedding!
If you don’t grok it, drokk it!
Thanks Shiram!
+1!
Chinchillin’
Nice.
I hear that Roy kid was pretty good.
Hall of famer or sumpin’
It’s going to be interesting to see the reaction of all the posters on here when the Gauthier/Martin era is over and a heavyweight is brought in and Tinordi is beating on people.
It will be interesting to see their reaction when 21,273 people are on their feet, the papers are calling them heroes and all the teammates in the dressing room are giving shout outs to the guys who fought in their interviews.
I actually don’t think it is the Martin/Gauthier era that currently has a Montreal without a true heavyweight. Its more that there hasn’t been a heavyweight with enough skill to compete available over the past year or so. It will happen. And I’m glad they haven’t given ice time to a player who is a liability.
Tinordi is too valuable a defencemen to waste his fists (and risk breaking them) in 10+ fights a season. A Top-4 D does not sit in the box, he plays his game and shuts down the opposition.
Heavyweights are out of style anyway, they’re too slow and don’t have the skills to play in the modern NHL.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu. Habs and Hockey.
SF09 on Twitter
I’m not going to argue about how many fights Tinordi will have 3 years down the road.
All i know is he’s fighting a bunch now, his dad was an awesome fighter and the reason Montreal traded down for him is because they wanted a real scary SOB on their team that could also make a solid contribution.
Sort of adds up…
Wait, so Tinordi isn’t a JM/PG kind of guy, but they traded up to get him?
Doesn’t add up.
They wanted an athletic big defenceman. He might drop the mittens from time to time, but I hope to god we didn’t waste a first round pick on an enforcer.
He’s an enforcer who can also play great defense. Perfect.
He will throw em a few times though Serious. Nature of the beast in this league, when a big new guy enters the league someone is going to challenge him. Hopefully he answers the bell like Robinson and he won’t need to do much of it. We shall see. Good point you bring up Hobie. Especially regarding the team not finding someone with enough talent to skate with our current roster and fill that role. The biggest reason probably the team did not sign the Greek God Zenon Konopka!
What! Guys are going to want to challenge a big new guy that enters the league? That is horrible. That should never be allowed. what does that teach our kids!!
Just kidding. Can’t wait for 6’7″ Tinordi to become the heavyweight champ!
I know he’ll throw them but I don’t want him languishing in the box so often his abilities go to waste not to mentioning risking his hands. If he’s going to be a Top-4 that’s a 20+ minute a night job and we don’t need him losing time to nothing fights with league scrubs who want to show they’re tough by challenging him.
He has to fight occasionally all well and good but I don’t think we should want him to be a go-to enforcer if we’re expecting him to reach Top-4, that’s what 3rd-pairs and 4th-liners are for.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu. Habs and Hockey.
SF09 on Twitter
We’ll also have Subban and Beaulieu on the team so I’m sure he’s ok in the box for 5mins every couple games. Not to worry.
You don’t waste Top-4 defencemen with 20-fight seasons. It’s a pathetic waste of their abilities not to mention the injury risk goes up.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu. Habs and Hockey.
SF09 on Twitter
20 fights may be a little much…
…I’m sure Tinordi will ‘drop the mitts’ when required Hobie, yet if You have seen some of the compilation videos of His fights so far, He has not overwhelmed His opponents fistically …therefore I see Him as adding ‘backbone’ in the ‘size & grit’ need of Our Team, but don’t hold Your breath that Tinordi will be the NHL’s next Heaveyweight Champ
Habitant means PASSIONATE HOCKEY
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=423049
I’m sure once he adds another 30-40lbs over the next 2 years the outcome of his fights will change…?
Summit Information
All tickets will be sent to you in the mail as soon as I receive them from the Bell Center.
With the people that have their own game tickets, plus all of us, we are about 130 HIO fan’s strong this year.
I will need to get a head count for the breakfast, Tour, and the pre game dinner.
Nov.18,19,& 20th 2011 (Itinerary) for our HIO Fan Summit.
Park your car for the weekend, everything is two minutes walking distance.
Friday evening—Meet and Greet, name tags at Hurley’s pub. 1225 Crescent St.
Saturday–8am Breakfast Chez Cora’s. 1240 Drummond St.
10am Tour Hall of Fame and Bell Center
Hall of Fame Tour is included in the price of your tickets.!!!!!!!!!
3pm Baton Rouge for pre game meal and children’s
charity raffle. 1050 Mountain St. (rue de la Montagne)
7pm Game Hab’s vs Rangers
After game celebration. the upstairs at Hurley’s pub reserved for us.
Sunday—-Farewell breakfast and back to the airport for home.
Hotel rooms– group rate at the Novatel Hotel, be sure to tell them you are with the HIO group to get the deal price. reservation # 514-871-2138
A big shoutout to Syntax! My wife and I were driving home from a little holiday up in the Bruce/Huron Beach resort of SouthHampton and we stopped in at the infamous Redwood in Clifford. Syntax without having met me took care of brekky for us, and the best part was when he brought out the breakfast he had the CH in ketchup on the plate.
Syntax, you should make that a house standard! Thanks again, was great to meet you and hope to return the favour next time. Perhaps at a Summit!
Cheers , pretty cool meeting the different personalities from this webpage. Really looking forward to the Summit!
Indeed the pleasure was mine, sir. Very nice to meet you and your wife. I’m not sure how well the ketchup CH would be received, however. Haha, “CH?!?! What the hell is THIS?” I very much hope to be in attendance for the summit next year too! I second how neat it is to meet fellow HIO characters.
Chinchillin’
Tend to disagree a bit as Sedin’s disappeared with the relentless Bruin bodychecking
The Sedin brothers face that all year. I didn’t find them effective in any series. There were discussions about Henrik playing hurt, but let’s face it, they suffered a serious case of the playoff jitters.
Repost: Goon hockey doesn’t win Stanley Cups. Even in the 70′s talent eventually reigned over the Broad Street Bullies which had more talent than most give credit. I’m not against physical players but they must have skill to survive and be a contributor in the playoffs. Could the Habs use more size up front – no doubt. But retribution doesn’t scare anyone anymore. No NHL team is intimidated by the opposition. Boston won last year with outstanding goaltending and played against an underperforming team in the Nuks. They didn’t “goon” their way to sipping Lord Stanley. People have very selective memories to support their own agenda….can you say GOP?
The other thing many are forgetting, the previous Stanley Cup Winners Chicago, Pittsburgh, Detroit did not goon their way to a Cup. So for one year Boston proved very difficult to beat. Until 3 out of 4 cups are being won by “gooned” teams, one doesn’t immediately change all course team makeup and team concepts.
Lets see this year playout, I really like the squad we have, I do wish we had a little more NAG, but I think this team has made changes and will continue to do so.
I remember the best games the Habs played in the series against Boston were when we didn’t hit or get hit at all. Everytime a player was about to get hit, we just moved the puck and got out of the way. By not allowing ourselves to get hit, we basically rendered 3/4 of the Bruins lineup to be absolutely useless. We took the Bruins out of the game physically and mentally. Players like Lucic all of a sudden had no idea what to do because we wouldn’t allow them to play their game. By taking away the one aspect of the game Boston was better at, it really revealed how slow and unskilled they were.
My point: if the only way a team can beat you is by hitting, then don’t get hit.
I’m 95% in agreement with you PT on everything. Except one point.
You say Boston didn’t goon their way to the cup. During the year, if they could get away with it, they did. Their thrashing on the Habs’ Pyatt and company was but one serious example. Ever since Cooke’s very cheap shot on Savard happened, Claude Julien has made it his mission to use force where needed. And I still maintain (my conspiracy theory continues) that Clarence Campbell affected their play by not penalizing them AT ALL, or pretty close, for some serious altercations.
The Habs will be fine. They’re a very fast team, exciting to watch, and they’ve got some pretty serious talent either returning healthy or newly arriving to take them a step further. Steve.R is right about our sidestepping and speed taking them out of the play. And if they can beat the Stanley Cup champs at their own game, with the new lineup, I believe they can beat anyone.
Chara investigation complete, up to prosecutors now. Link from TSN
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=373552
Not much news in there, and the comments, well I don’t like them.
If you don’t grok it, drokk it!
I only posted because of the obvious connection to the Habs. I truly believe nothing will come of any of this.
I dunno about those kinds of procedure, but your one line summareized that whole news posting quite well.
If you don’t grok it, drokk it!
Oh hooray, I was looking forward to the “Nothing Bad Ever Happened to ANYONE in the Pre-Instigator Era” Magic Storytime Hour, thanks HardHabits!
People’s Exhibit 1: Chris Chelios levelling Brian Propp in the ’89 playoffs, where’s the retaliation, where’s the intimidation for Chelios to not do that to *GASP* a PHILIDELPHIA FLYER?
People’s Exhibit 2: Mario Lemieux skating around with people attached to his back well before the Instigtator where was his team to beat up guys for having the audacity to touch him?
People’s Exhibit 3: Ulf Samuelsson gets Big Bad Bruin Cam Neely Knee-on-Knee in ’91, where was the intimidation factor to NOT do that?
People’s Exhibit 4: Bobby Clarke’s Machete I mean Hockey Stick.
People’s Exhibit 5: Mark Messier’s elbows have a reputation.
And I’m probably missing quite a bit.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu. Habs and Hockey.
SF09 on Twitter
Another thing to note about the insidious instigator penalty:
While there were 1,283 fighting majors called last year, the instigator was called only 48 times…or just over 3% of the time.
Now either that means that nobody is instigating any fights, or the penalty just isn’t being called. And judging from the number of times I see a teammate roaring in to “defend” a teammate who had just been cleanly checked…I’d say it’s the latter.
The instigator rule is the biggest red herring in hockey – it just isn’t the factor that Don Cherry wants you to believe.
91 Canada Cup Gretzky getting nailed by Gary Suter (Crosschecked into boards).
The Untouchable Gretzky gets nailed and no one did a thing about it. In Fact Suter went on to have his way with other Cdn. players and no one ever did retribution, neither NHL teammates or Team Canada teammates.
Lindros.
Full Breezer 4 Life
This article should stir up some emotion from the peace-niks at HIO.
Oh lord, HH found WikiPeopleCanWriteAnythingTheyWant.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu. Habs and Hockey.
SF09 on Twitter
not to split hairs dude but um, thats not an article
so what is it fine knife?
If NHL teams were football clubs their jerseys would look like: http://majupra.imgur.com/futbol_hockey_kit
- Gomez is holding down the “overpaid” button
I love it!!!!
Is it wrong that I would wear those?
Those are pretty cool. Also glad our team has a cool sponsor, as opposed to Staples!
All the discussion about habs being soft is pointless. We can talk all we want how soft the Canadiens are or not, but all this talk has no teeth until the habs play the game. What’s for sure is that we did not get smaller during the off season. Are we gonna be softer or tougher? This will be answered during games.
Go! Hockey! Go!
Something to lighten your day although a few might find this a tad distasteful.
If those rings were lit, they’d have something!
http://fr-ca.actualites.yahoo.com/photos/les-caricatures-slideshow/
If you don’t grok it, drokk it!
My answer to the whole toughness/grit thing is this: more focus on offence.
Remember the season the Habs coasted to the top of the Eastern Conference. They also won the scoring race. They also had few if any injuries (except of course Koivu). Now back then BG said the Habs had areas of concern, most notably their 5 on 5 play and that they depended too much on the PP to score goals.
What happened next? Carbo started focussing on defence. So the season started out fine because the Habs still hadn’t shaken that nasty habit of scoring goals but we all know what happened as the year wore on. Losses and injuries.
Then came the big blow up and JM as head coach with an even greater emphasis on defence to the point that it became labelled team defence and with it came another and even greater parade to the IR so much so that Ian would joke that the Habs had their own wing at the Montreal General Hospital.
If the Habs are to be this small(ish), speedy and skilled team they had better start playing like one. The type of system JM is trying to employ requires bigger bodies. So to stick with the current line-up and have success it’s time to let in a few more goals in maybe but to also score a heck of a lot more than those extra few they let in.
Otherwise be prepared to watch the team hobble into the play-offs, should they make them, and wilt once they get there.
Losing teams focus on offence. Not allowing the other team to score DOES NOT cause more injuries (don’t know which orifice you pulled that from, but it stinks). Balance is what is needed. Finishing the year scoring 300 times does nothing if you allow 350 to go in, which abandoning defensive play will do. However, popping 260 and allowing 200 will mean the team is a contender.
Why don’t you read what I said rather than read through your anti-scoring lenses. I said let in a few more but score a lot more than those added few they let in.
The record speaks for itself. Habs win scoring race have few injuries. Habs focus on defence, (you know things like blocking shots) and get injured 3 years running.
Isn’t that the big excuse here, if only x, y and z players weren’t injured the Habs coulda, shoulda and woulda.
AND. The team should play this way through-out the season and then when the play-offs happen go back to the defence thing. That way they can enter the play-offs relatively unscathed and then have enough in the tank to pick up all those bruises that are part of the play-off run. One thing for sure if the limp in they will fold fast.
I am not an “anti-scorer”. JM’s defensive philosophy is being emulated all over the league. Everybody blocks shots or goes to the minors or the KHL.
Changing the way you play when the playoffs approach is a good way to confuse the players. Play one way all year, but, because it’s the playoffs, throw that out and invoke defense-first will lead to poor D and neutral zone coverage. That leads to more goals against during the most critical time of the year.
What do you think the Habs did in JM’s 1st year?
BTW. The book is out on JM’s game.
And yes the Penguins used it because they were missing Malkin and Crosby. They still lost to the TBL. How did that new focus on defence work for the Capitals?
Face it. The Habs play defence because they lack the talent to play offence.
The Capitals issue is their coach is Bruce Boudreau.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu. Habs and Hockey.
SF09 on Twitter
How did Vancouver, best in the league in scoring loose to better defense team?
Go! Hockey! Go!
A point to ponder.
Why is bra singular and panties plural?
Just wondering.
Bra for one set panties for 2 cheeks?
I think panties goes with pants. Two legs versus one torso. Although underwear is singular but that could apply to almost any under garment so this exercise is futile.
Maybe Bugs can answer this question for the ages. Why are t1ts and boobs plural but ass isn’t?
In my opinion:
Each mammory is it’s own seperate entity which make up the singular “chest” and hence is pluralized when both are present in the conversation.
As for the bum, it describes the whole area, which can be sub divided into right/left cheeks and sphincter (or is there two sphincters… an inner and outer? I forget and I am not looking that up at work).
Look at that, I just validated my student loan.
It’s holding a pair, not 2 pairs….maybe?
They call them fingers but I’ve never seen em fing
….wait there they go
Haha Simpsons reference… I’m such a nerd
That still gets me.
Chinchillin’
Panty should be referred to in the singular. It should only be plural if it refers to more than one panty. So really, it should be “She left her panty on my floor”, not “panties”.
It’s because it sounds like “pants”. But a pant is one half of a pair of pants … whereas a panty is complete on its own.
Full Breezer 4 Life
I think 24cups should stick to internet porn and stop wasting his time with Sears catalogues.
maybe the sears catalogues are just a warm up…. foreplay, if you will.
And the discussion goes down hill from here…..
what is so hard for people to understand. Habs are a team that lacks toughness, character – whatever. call em small, call em soft – use whatever terms you want but we never ever dictate the level of physicality in games we play. opponents do – in our building and theirs and it affects the ability of our most skilled players to play their best. end of story. If our opponents had more respect for our team – cammy, pleks, gio etc would score more goals 5 on 5 and we would win more games. I think PG knows it and is trying to fix the make up of the team over time but knee jerk adding of an enforcer will likely never happen again after the BGL disaster. fact is – most teams in the league carry a tough guy – many teams bigger and better than our Habs went and got one this off season – I wish we had – lets see what happens first 2 months of this season. Note that the Bruins just won the Cup because they took away the will of the Canucks best players to compete at the level necessary to win – Canucks are clearly a “better” team but some players don’t react well to getting pounded.
Still love Bob Gainey when he came out and said, (in a nutshell)
“I don’t know what code George Laraque is talking about.”
I remember when Laraque was getting 1st line minutes!
Molson Ex mon ami
The only “code” that I want from that all ellusive tough guy is “don’t touch players on my team because I’ll rip your head off, no matter who you are…” Plus he needs to be able to score 10-15 a season playing on a 3rd/4th line… Anyone know of such a person please send his name to Mr. Gauthier.
What teams got a ‘tough guy’ this offseason?
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu. Habs and Hockey.
SF09 on Twitter
Black Hawks got tougher guys.
Bringing in Sideshow Carcillo and an aging Jamal Mayers is hardly impressive.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu. Habs and Hockey.
SF09 on Twitter
Ha!
Sideshow Carcillo.
Delicious.
—Hope Springs Eternal—
Ottawa
Because not having Konopka is really what has held them back…
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu. Habs and Hockey.
SF09 on Twitter
you asked? Just answering your question?
Yes but he mentioned teams ‘bigger and better’ and good lord, one can hardly call Ottawa better than Montreal.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu. Habs and Hockey.
SF09 on Twitter
It would be a fun night watching the Sens face the Bruins! Since we can’t stand up to them.
Konopka-Neil-Smith-Carkner vs Lucic-Thorton-McQuaid-Chara
You just described a fight that is completely uneven even if you remove one of the Bruins from the matchup.
And Habs can’t ‘match up’ to the Bruins? I must have hallucinated the 4-2 RS record and not getting swept in the playoffs and it coming down to 3 OT games.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu. Habs and Hockey.
SF09 on Twitter
Yep.
Fights win games, alright.
—Hope Springs Eternal—
Did i say fights win games? I just enjoy a good fight from time to time and don’t like to see our team lose them?
The NHL loves having fighting part of the games because fans like me love it, as do millions of other people.
Scoring wins games but you wont score in hockey if your team has it’s tail between its legs.
Fighting exists or existed because of the fact that opposing team’s would take runs and or cheap shots at your skilled players.
Gretzky would have never survived today’s NHL. He’d have been concussed long ago.
He wasn’t ever hurt badly in the pre-instigator rule NHL because Semenko or McSorley would have destroyed any body trying to lay the lumber on Gretzky. I think Gretzky took one bad hit in his whole career and it was from another elite player Dale Howerchuk.
Dallas, Pitt, Edm, Chicago, NJ, Ott, Chicago, Buffalo, Calgary…tired of typing…many many teams made moves in that dept…
ak – I think your point about the final is true to a degree but there were certainly other factors involved. I can think of three major ones.
1. Vancouver scored about 8 goals in the last four games. That may be partly due to intimidation but it’s also a reflection that they hit a scoring drought at the worst possible time (as did their PP).
2. Luongo was outplayed by Thomas. Plain and simple. Not to mention that his inconsistent play took away Canauck momentum at the worst possible times in the series.
3. Vancouver had some untimely injuries. Some put players on the sidelines, while others forced guys like Kesler to play hurt.
I’m not sure that Montreal has to become the Bruins or the Flyers, but they do have to shore up their toughness and grit. This also has to be done by players who can take a regular turn. We don’t need to revamp the entire line-up, just add a few strategic pieces. Subban and Emelin fit the bill on the D. (A consistent) AK46, MaxPac, Cole and White play a role up front. Moen? He needs to bounce back in his contract year. Two guys up front and another Dman who fit the role just might do the trick. But we need those guys in the next year or two if we hope to really cash in on the new five year plan (Tinordi certainly fits the bill but he isn’t going to make any kind of an impact in the next three years).
The debate rages on. I do agree with you 100%. And yes the Bruins proved last year that the Stanley Cup can be won with bruit strength, skill and great goaltending.
It seems people in Montreal have forgotten about guys like Shayne Corson, Sheldon Souray and Lyle Odelein who if on the team today would grab Lucic and settle the score.
I find it shocking the amount of people who are fine with taking it up the…and see no problem with teams like Boston walking into out building and pushing us allover the ice.
White and Moen are awesome but the could definitely use one real heveyweight to back’em up.
Hopefully we aren’t embarrassed at any point again this year.
Woah, woah, woah…
Let’s not rewrite history here: if Souray grabbed Lucic, the only thing he would ‘settle’ would be into a comfy cast for his right hand, and a brace for his left wrist.
And I love your upset over being ‘bullied’. It’s such a sham, this concept. Players are not intimidated by other players hitting hard. Just like hard hitters are not going to stop hitting hard because there’s some tough-guy on the other team. Ask PK if he held up on creaming Marchand because Thornton or Chara is a Bruin.
Pffft. Gimme a break. The only ‘evidence’ of enforcers (god, I hate even TYPING that word) being effective comes from retired players who played in a different era. The game’s changed.
Vancouver tried to be physical, and weren’t able to do it effectively. That’s why they lost. Not because Boston were bigger or more intimidating.
And as for embarrassing, the only embarrassment I’ve felt this year is from posters who want to watch ‘Slapshot’ at the Bell Centre.
—Hope Springs Eternal—
Well you’re a part of the minority sir.
Cool man. If you like seeing your hockey team scrambling for thier lives in Boston and being laughed off the ice, good for you.
If you like seeing the Flyers skate to the bench laughing after every scrum because their being pestered by smurfs, all the power to you.
I personally love the Canadiens and yes the number one thing is the score at the end of the night.
Your statement about a different “era” is completely wrong. Teams in 28 of 30 cities still live in that era.
And believe me, once Tinordi arrives, Montreal will be right back in that era and the fans will love every minute of it.
When did Montreal ‘scramble for their lives’ in Boston? And who cares what the lowbrow, semi-evolved twits in the Boston Garden cry for? They boo our players when they’re getting off the ice from injury.
Flyers aren’t gooning Montreal to win, they’ve been beating us because they have an exceptionally skilled hockey club. They didn’t need to in the playoffs and they didn’t need to in the last regular season, they were just better than us at our own damn game. Peter Laviolette is not a thug coach like Claude Julien.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu. Habs and Hockey.
SF09 on Twitter
You don’t remember Spacek, Hamrlik and Pyatt looking like little girls?
Give me a break SF09. The Habs play well enough against the elite teams that are not known for their physicality (Detroit, Vancouver, Washington, Pittsburgh) but hit a brick wall against teams that play tough bodies in your way defence.
When was the last time the Habs beat the Flyers in the play-offs? 1989 if I am not mistaken.
It boils down to the Habs being unable to physically impose their will and their inability to penetrate other team’s zone to get close to the net. The Habs play a peripheral game.
Once the start getting close to the zone all the other team needs to do is beat them up. That’s NHL hockey. Fighting, thuggery, and gooning it up are not going away, certainly not after Boston won the Cup.
Maybe you should look back at 1976 and the Broad Street Bullies to get an idea. I still contend that Team Canada only won the summit series because of Clarke’s ankle breaking slash on Kharlamov.
I am not saying the Habs should be more like the Broad Street Bullies but that they should be more like the 1976 Canadiens.
I remember a line brawl that was pathetic, cowardly and without class and by that I’m talking about the gutless thugs on Boston who picked fights with old men and a small forward to prove they’re ‘tough’.
If anyone proved they didn’t have an ounce of courage or character in them that night, it was Boston. Hitting an old man in a fight when he’s down is disgusting and nothing more.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu. Habs and Hockey.
SF09 on Twitter
I’m with you man…people forget who was on our teams that won cups in 86 and 93…Kordic, Nilan, Ewen, Roberge, Odelein, etc….hitting, intimidation and fighting are still a part of NHL hockey – not all teams do it, doesn’t always work, need a lot of skill to go with it to win but this Habs team would be better and our skilled guys more effective if the 4th line had some tough guys on it – and no offense to Moen and White but I am not talking about them.
The Cup has been won several ways since the Lockout ended as well, just because the Bruins won it with the help of Colin Campbell doesn’t mean MTL has to play it their way.
Why would we ‘settle the score’ with Lucic this year? What did he do? It was Chara and the thug line on Boston that created garbage all year with us and as I’ve stated before it’s absolute hogwash Chara could have been intimidated out of what he did and Boston can equally be called a bunch of sackless cowards for what happened to Marc Savard at the hands of Cooke with no retaliation.
Heavyweights are out of style and are sideshow acts in the NHL now. John Scott, Colton Orr, George Parros, The sadly departed Derek Boogaard (A victim of the NHL enforcer lifestyle), Cam Janssen and the rest have nothing to do with Championships. Hopefully fighting ends sooner rather than later. It’s garbage, it ruins lives and people talk it up like it’s as great as goal-scoring.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu. Habs and Hockey.
SF09 on Twitter
If fighting every leaves the game that would be a huge blow to the sport.
Why?
If you don’t grok it, drokk it!
Oh no, we’ll lose the knuckle-dragger fans? Where will be without sarcastic cat-calls when a player is trying to get up from being hit in the head?
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu. Habs and Hockey.
SF09 on Twitter
Well since I started going to games, 20 years ago, not two years ago like some people, I’ve never seen a fan do anything but scream like crazy when a fight takes place.
5-year-old kids to 80-year-old grandparents absolutely love it.
Not sure what you guys are talking about it?
The people in my family scowl and wonder when the actual game is going to get going again. And the parents who cheer and encourage their kids to cheer on a fight aren’t fit parents. It’s a terrible message to give kids, get mad, have a fight to solve the problem.
Two Mechanical shop guys at my Yard just got sacked for having a fight on the job because they couldn’t rein in their tempers. Oops… Maybe not the best message to send to our kids.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu. Habs and Hockey.
SF09 on Twitter
Nothing made me happier as a 14 year old to see Robinson pound the snot out of Dave Schultz.
Well the difference between some mechanical shop and hockey is that one is a sport where fight has been a part of the game for over 100 years.
And haven’t millions of kids had hockey fights in their lives and grown up just fine?
Weak argument dude, sorry.
Encouraging your kids to cheer on a fight is crappy parenting, I don’t care what anyone says. Lot of those kids end up being bullies as well, I’ve dealt with enough bullies in my life to know that we don’t need garbage ideas pushed into kids heads about resolving your issues with a bareknuckle fistfight.
How many players have to retire with brain damage and substance abuse issues because of the demands of their roles before we say “maybe these guys shouldn’t have their lives ruined by their late 20s, early 30s so we can have some cheap thrills?”
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu. Habs and Hockey.
SF09 on Twitter
Fighting and injuries as a result of fighting are one small aspect of the sport of hockey.
Sorry you were bullied as a kid and sorry that you don’t like something that has been and will continue to be a part of the game for a very long time.
There’s always tennis or golf if it bothers you that much?
If you don’t like something don’t watch it. I don’t like watching cars drive in a circle for 4hrs so I don’t watch NASCAR.
Make sense?
So guys having to live with brain damage for 20+ years is okay? You’re unbelieveable. No one should have to have serious neurological damage that affects how they live their lives. The Game is not that important that people have to suffer like that so people can get cheap thrills.
Clever, the “if you don’t like it, don’t watch it” card. I prefer to watch the greatest mix of skill and athleticism on the planet that is the game of hockey, not the sideshow that sometimes pops up and eats valuable time.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu. Habs and Hockey.
SF09 on Twitter
They know the risks. Just like boxers, football players, NASCAR drivers.
Nobody is forcing them to make millions and risk their health.
Their choice. And most of them chose to take the risk.
If they or their family is concerned than play recreational hockey, oh wait people fight there too sometimes… nevermind.
Many aren’t telling them the truth though and plenty are ready to put players at risk for their benefit. How many guys were sent out after their ‘bell was rung’ and expected to play? Neurological damage is unique, with proper rehab players can live the rest of their lives managing from all kinds of injuries but the brain? That’s YOU.
You can’t honestly explain or describe how having your brain altered by irreversible damage affects a person. Keith Primeau goes around giving as many lectures as he can about what happened to him but it still will never be apparent to people what the real toll of brain damage is until it affects them.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu. Habs and Hockey.
SF09 on Twitter
Again, I feel bad for keith Primeau, I really do.
But he was well aware that in the game of hockey that people get hit from behind, break bones, get punched in the face and receive concussions.
He made millions and decided to take the risk.
He could have lost an eye or broke his neck or suffered a variety of different injures.
Hockey is a very violent game like the NFL, UFC or NASCAR. If you don’t want to risk your health than don’t play any of those sports. Nobody is forcing them to play.
In an NHL locker room coaches tell certain players to do whatever they can to injure other players and take them out of a series.
Nobody knew the risk for nearly the entire history of the league, that’s garbage. Philly intentionally endangered the health of their players, Lindros could have died at one point due to the negligence of Philidelphia’s Front Office.
Many teams have overlooked many suspected concussions over the years. They were written off as nothing, players were told to skate it off and as cute as the old quote sounds, it’s disturbing a player who didn’t know who he was had his coach telling his staff to say he is Wayne Gretzky to try and grind a goal out of him. The ability to accurately understand brain damage and it’s effects on the day to day life of someone who has it is limited.
There’s a reason the push is on to eliminate hits to the head because the players have seen the legacy of Kariya and Lindros. However the campaign is a farce as long as bareknuckle fighting is allowed and players stack up over 20 fighting majors a season.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu. Habs and Hockey.
SF09 on Twitter
All the players in the NHL are wearing body armor, are faster than ever and are huge.
They can try and come up with all these rules to avoid injuries but when you have players that are 6’4″ and 230lbs hitting each other while traveling at high speeds, nothing will change.
You literally have to take a kid aside and say you are risking your life by attempting to play this game at the pro level. We will pay you millions of dollars and it is your choice. We are telling you the risks.
removing fighting would take away a small percentage of concussions. making hits to the head illegal won’t do much either.
The only way to stop concussions would be to remove any kind of checking and fighting. Then you have soccer on ice.
So I’m totally fine with telling a player before signing a contact that this is a very violent game to be played at your on risk. take it or leave it.
Fighting is bush league. No other sport in the world allows it. That includes rough sports like football, so the fact that a sport is rough cannot be used as an excuse. Interestingly, even hockey doesn’t allow it or find it necessary when played at the super elite level (Canada Cup, World Cup, Olympics). The best hockey is played at that level and there are no goons on any of those teams.
The fact is that the NHL continues to be insecure about its product and so it allows fighting because non-hockey fans like it. If the sport had confidence in the quality of the sport, they would have strong sanctions against fighting. There are all kinds of examples in other sports. The NHL could adopt a rule along the lines of European football and not only eject fighters but force their teams to play with one less player for the rest of the game. They could eject fighters and hit them with automatic suspensions, 1 game the 1st time, 2 games the 2nd, 4 games the 3rd, 8 games the 4th and so on. During their suspensions their teams would dress one less player. The fact of the matter is that fighting is already not allowed in the sport, the problem is that the sanctions for fighting simply aren’t strong enough. Toughen up the penalties and quickly players and teams will stop doing it.
Eliminating fighting does not mean eliminating hitting, just look at pro football – lots of hitting, no fighting. The league does need to actually engage in cleaning up dirty hits, something that would be no where near as difficult as they pretend. If the league did its job and enforced the rules, there would be no need for fighting or goons and we could enjoy good clean pure hockey.
Removing fighting from hockey would be like removing a home run from baseball.
Fans would never go for it. It is one of the most exciting aspects of the game.
It would be like removing pop corn from the movies!
I’ve seen plenty of good fights at the international level.
“what is so hard for people to understand. Habs are a team that lacks toughness, character ”
What is so hard to understand that everybody here agrees with this in essence. It’s just a couple of posters who seem to believe that most people haven’t seen the light, so it is their duty to keep telling us. We might disagree about the degree of toughness required as some seem to be of the opinion that we should dress a whole team full of goons, but I do think that just about everybody wants at least some more toughness.
It all started with a Timoism. I stated that Gallagher shouldn’t worry about his height as he’d fit in with the Habs vertically challenged team. Then people took me too seriously and the size and grit issue raised it’s ugly head.
I need to contact HIO about getting my cut of ad revenues.
double post
I guess what we have to remember is that we are considered “soft” and small in relation to Philly and Boston. No one is taking into account the entire rest of the league.
We may be a middle of the pack team but at the same time a playoff team and have much more potential then many of the teams below us from last years standings. Also, we were only a few wins here and there to be ranked in the top 5.
So yes, in comparison to many elite teams: Boston, Philly, there are not too many teams that can consistently beat us through physical force.
Molson Ex mon ami
The problem is that most likely we will need to go through Philly or Boston or both to get to a cup… The rest of the league is fine for standings but at some point we need to measure up to these two “elite” teams as you called them.
Philly really isn’t that scary? They have Hartnell who is a little more aggressive than Pacioretty or Cole but beyond that nobody really jumps out at you?
Pronger is a bit dirty but has slowed down big time.
Boston is much scarier than Philly.
I’m not to worried about Philly and their toughness…they just have better players and Briere always seems to find a way to hurt us on the scoreboard.
Giroux, Briere, JVR all capable of scoring 30 goals!
Molson Ex mon ami
Personally I’d put Montreal a head of the Flyers at the moment. By a hair.
HH – Is right, and when you come right down to it, 4 of the Habs best forwards are less than 200 lbs and under 6′ and you wonder why they get shoved around. sure they have skill and speed but when you’re push around in front of the net and many times off the puck it’s kinda hard to score, more size and toughness like Boston will give you a better chance at winning, other than Thomas that’s how they won the cup, I know you’re gonna say they won because they were dirty. every team in the league is a little dirty why do you think there’s so many concussions very seldom does a player get a concussion from a clean hit. Boston won because they were tough, could score, good D and above all excellent goaltending, Habs were missing two elements, Scoring and toughness, had they had that Boston would have been gone in 5 games..I’m with HH look for more of the same this season..with no major injury’s could finish between 4 – 8 in the east.
As much as I hate the fact that we don’t have a guy who can grab Chara or Lucic and have a real go at it with them, our team greatly improved with the addition of Cole.
We now have two power-forwards to throw out on our top six. Pacioretty is going to bounce right back, in my opinion, and score 25-30 goals this year.
Both Pacioretty and Cole might not be fighters but they can hit or be hit, stand in front of the net, drive to the net and battle for pucks in the corner. Big change from last year.
Plus Kostitsyn will add size to the 3rd line or wherever he ends up playing.
We may not have a super heavyweight fighter but we’ll have a new dimension to our game.
Nice post!
How about a line of Eller, Kostitsyn and Cole?
Molson Ex mon ami
I worry when I read the posts that now we have two power forwards. I agree with the statement but first we need to see how well Max has recovered from his injury. I don’t mean physically but more on the mental side, will he still use his size to his advantage or will he maybe be tempted to slow down and look around before going into contact situations. I hope that he will just skate out there and pick-up where he left off but it was a traumatic event in his life and everyone copes differently… We can only wait and see.
I think Pacioretty will be fine. I could be wrong of course but he was cleared to play in round two last year and seemed super eager to get back out there.
Not to mention his training, and it was reported he had put on pounds of muscle as well.
If you don’t grok it, drokk it!
I really, really, really hope that both you and shiram are right.
Boston won with as much help as Colon Campbell could give without basically calling for the other team to forfeit. The reffing regarding the Gooins last season was the biggest joke I’ve ever seen in sports. The fix was in. Their thugs could do whatever the f!ck they wanted with no consequences. Frankly, I hope all of them have their necks and backs broken this season while the league chants “Hockey play” in their ears.
Aye team toughness.
Here is another problem. Lets say the Habs go and pick up Carcillo, of JF Jacques, or Konipka (spelling) thats all fine and dandy as that gives them ONE tougher guy. One tough guy on the 4th line does no good. Teams can avoid him, put their tough guy on when he is on and minimize his influence on the game.
Teams like Boston have a half dozen guys that can hit and fight so as a unit, much tougher. Same with Philly, you have Coburn, Carle, Pronger, Knuble, + Carcillo, all bigger players that together, do not get pushed around.
Point being, you need 3 – 4 guys that can hold their ground so the rest of the team doesnt get pushed around.
Molson Ex mon ami
Frankly, I think the system has been broken for much longer then just last year. Now last year put a spot light on the lack of effective league discipline. Hopefully this new team led by Shanahan will be better at deterring the illegal stuff.
Finally, someone I agree with. I’ve been calling him “daddy Campbell” all year. He would have fit right in with the 1919 Red Sox. I think things should be more straight forward with Shanahan at the helm.
Montreal Canadiens are a SMALL team….
With Markov, Gill, PK, Gorges, Cole, AK, MaxPac, Darche, Eller, Moen, White, Price and Budaj all over 6 feet.
Cole, Darche, Eller, AK, Markov, MaxPac, Spacek, PK and Gill over 200 lbs.
Yemelin is 6’2 220, Palushaj is 6 foot, Avtsin is 6 foot 2, and Enqqvist is 6 foot 4.
I mean 12 out of 20 rostered players are over 6 feet.
Spach is not small at all.
Gomez is not small, Pleks is not small and Gio doesnt play small.
DD is on the 3rd line, and he is fast.
I don’t think our average size is anywhere near the bottom of the league.
The Lighting have 6 under 6 feet, and the Bruins have 7 under 6 feet.
There may be other teams, but only ONE Club De Hockey…
You are just opening the door for someone to say : soft.
People see the Habs one way, and words will not change their opinions.
If you don’t grok it, drokk it!
Word on the street (HockeyBuzz.com) is:
Gomez + prospect for:
Bogosian or Odoya
Could potentially be a good trade for both teams!
Molson Ex mon ami
The latest from Eklund… he was saying about the same thing yesterday.
If you don’t grok it, drokk it!
ie, a fantastical fabrication to generate hits.
He knows very well that Habs fans are some of the only ones crazy enough tobe talking hockey in the middle of the NHL ‘Dead Zone’.
Don’t waste your time.
—Hope Springs Eternal—
i said is before and i’ll say it again… If Eklund tweeted that Jenna Jamison is a slut, then you can bet your life on the fact that she is actually a virgin!
Or maybe a man…
Only a good trade for the Habs if there is a part 2 to bring in another 2nd line center in a deal for Spacek. Otherwise too many D and not enough C.
Heh heh heh.
I love propaganda.
The concept of “If You Say It Enough It Must Be True”.
The Habs Are Small.
The absolute proof of this, now, is that some random person wrote it in a blog. Well, I’m SOLD!!
And again… 6′ = BIG —-> 5’11″ = SMALL.
NEVER forget that, people. Never.
Forget that.
—Hope Springs Eternal—
And when they are not small, they are soft!
If you don’t grok it, drokk it!
Like butter on a hot day….
get out the hot knives
2011 Summit We R Fans
Shane Oliver
http://www.Sholi2000.com
Brandon, MB,Canada
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Habs Top 5, 1 sub + Goalie in relation to Philly
Cole Plek Cammi Markov Subban – Price –
Sub: Gionta
Giroux Briere JVR Pronger Timonen – Bryzgalov
Sub: Jagr
I would give the offensive edge to Philly, Goaltending is 50 / 50
Montreal’s bottom 6 has more skill and balance
Philly’s bottom 6 has more size and grit
MTL’s bottom 4 D – Gill, Weber, Emelin, Gorges
Philly’s bottom 4 D – Meszaros, Carle, Coburn, Walker
I give the edge to Philly’s D.
All in all, very similar and balanced teams, both will be in playoff contention.
Molson Ex mon ami
72′s either/or questionnaire. Pls refer only to the question in parentheses.
* Kovy / Koivu (who gave you the biggest chills as a Hab?)
* Jacques Martin / Carbo (coach most likely to win the cup)
* 2011 Bruins Stanley Cup / Henry Kissinger Nobel Peace Prize (Award that didn’t so much elevate its recipient as tainted the prize forever)
* Subban / Doughty (who would you rather have)
* “Pizza is like sex, some pizza is always better than no pizza” / ” A hamburger is like sex, when it’s good it’s great, and when it’s bad, well … it’s still pretty good” (best food-sex analogy)
* Glenn Healey on HNIC / A turd on a sidewalk (Annoyance)
* Grit / Skill (What the Habs need most right now)
* Occam’s Razor / “Who smelt it dealt it” (Most obviously wrong saying)
* Brian Burke / A hole in an airplane fuselage at 33,000 feet (self explanatory)
Koivu
Martin
Bruins Cup
Doughty
Pizza
Healy
Skill
Who smelt it dealt it
Hmmm Burke.
Remember when the Habs blew up their team and came back with about 10 new players. The so called experts were saying the Habs would need time to gel and to get to know the system.
How come these so called experts aren’t saying the same thing about the Flyers. THey will need time to get used to each other and without Pronger will struggle. I don’t see them making the playoffs this year.
The so called experts at HIO? If I am not mistaken the so called experts are all saying the Flyers took a step back. How awful if they finish in the draft lottery with Van Riemsdyk and Couturier and Giroux and Schenn and …..
Don’t kid yourself. The Bruins and Flyers are standing in the way of the Habs getting to the SCF. Not to mention the Penguins and the Capitals.
If the Habs can’t win the NE division they have little hope of finishing better than 5th. It’ll be another year with a 6th to 8th place finish at best for the Habs.
I think the Flyers can still be strong, but they have alot of question marks to answer. Can Pronger come back to his old self? Can they replace the 2 top scorers they traded? What about Jagr?
They improved in nets, but it’s definately possible they lessened their scoring punch.
But I would not put them out of the contenders.
If you don’t grok it, drokk it!
I think they may take a step back this year and miss the play-offs which means they are looking at a high draft pick. If so they look scary moving forward. One thing that is highly likely. They will be a force to reckon with in little over a year with the young elite talent they have. Especially the young elite forwards they have.
I’d love to be optimistic about the Habs but they could very well end up 3rd in the NE and back into the play-offs once again.
One thing for sure, if they don’t win the division they’ll be starting the play-offs (if the make them) on the road again.
Penguins and Capitals, we can take, Bruins and the Flyers are the issue. Albeit Bruins won’t be as bad since Shanahan doesn’t have a son playing on the team and the Flyers are in trouble with Pronger’s questionable health over the last year or so.
Road goes through them, but the Habs are building strength in the necessary areas to engage them.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu. Habs and Hockey.
SF09 on Twitter
I grew up with Shanahan’s nephew in Kirkland, maybe he’ll like the habs more…
They sell out every game, they make the playoffs every year and sell millions in mechandice. Maybe instead of wishing to win the cup we should buy stock. We’d be winners for sure.
I believe we talked about this at the summit. I’d rather have a little hope and make the playoffs than look like a bunch of Leaf losers.
Shane Oliver
http://www.Sholi2000.com
Brandon, MB,Canada
R7B 2R7
hockey@sholi2000.com
Ph- 204 724 8418
I think there will be very few points separating The Habs-Bruins-Sabres in the N.E..
Anyone of those teams could beat each other in a playoff series.
It will all come down health and being on a roll at the right time.
No guarantees for anybody.
Brendan Gallagher shouldn’t worry about his size. He’d actually be tall on the Habs.
Patches 6’1, Cole 6’2, A.kost 6′, Eller 6’1, Darche 6’1, White 6′, Moen 6’2..how are the Habs small again?
Gomez, Pleks, Gionta, Desharnais, Cammi, and most of the defence corps.
Last year these teams did just fine with these guys in their lineup
Philly:Giroux,Briere,Versteeg,Richards
Bost: Krejci,Recchi,Peverley,Marchand
You also have Tampa, Rangers, Sabres with Roy, Gerbe, Ennis…..
Yeah, Hal Gill is a tiny tot. PFFFFFFT!
Gill is the only player on the Habs with size and he’s softer than butter on a hot day.
While unproven, the hope is that Yemelin can bring that size and grit to the D.
Subban is not big, but he is quite physical.
It ain’t so bad.
If you don’t grok it, drokk it!
Gill, Markov, Subban, Gorges, Spacek, Yemelin all 6′ or taller, even Weber is 5’11”
Do any of these guys (with the exception of maybe Gorges and perhaps Yemelin who we have not seen yet) play tough at all.
Did the original poster of this topic mention toughness?
Markov for all we know is skating on a house of cards for a knee. Either way he’s not considered gritty or tough. Spacek? Possibly the biggest pussy in the NHL. Gorges? He likes to get pushed around in the crease and generally uses Price as a crutch for support. Weber? He likes to get tossed around in the corners but opposing forwards.
Maybe if we Habs fans are lucky JM will start using his players to play the game they were built for. Speed and offence. However I foresee another low scoring team that parades it players to the IR once again. Prove me wrong JM, prove me wrong!!
That all may be true (I don’t agree with all of it but…), however you started with this “Brendan Gallagher shouldn’t worry about his size. He’d actually be tall on the Habs.” I have looked several times and nowhere do I see where toughness was in the discussion.
I really, really am starting to dislike when HH switches personalities.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu. Habs and Hockey.
SF09 on Twitter
Yes, Gomez and Pleks are both midgets at 5’11″ and 198lbs. But let’s perpetuate the myth anyway. All D’s are >200lbs except for Weber who is 193. Not being big doesn’t make someone small.
Small:
DAVID DESHARNAIS – 5′ 7″ – 177
BRIAN GIONTA – 5′ 7″ – 173
MICHAEL CAMMALLERI – 5′ 9″ – 182
Not big:
SCOTT GOMEZ – 5′ 11″ – 198
TOMAS PLEKANEC – 5′ 11 – 198
YANNICK WEBER – 5′ 11″ – 193
Oh. And on the whole team only Gill weighs more than 220.
Any other questions?
Yemelin is at 223.
Go! Hockey! Go!
There you go. Case closed. Three guys are small.
Like I said. Gallagher will fit right in.
I think Gionta will likely be gone by then.
small
krejci 177
seguin 182
marchand 183
not big
bergeron 194
savard 191
peverley 195
campbell 197
kelly 198
That’s a rather dull accusation, considering how often I remind people (Including you) that down the line, Gallagher will be smaller compared to the rest of the bodies coming up through the pipeline.
Two players under 5’10″ drafted with the team’s last 19 draft picks for skaters. Of the team’s last five undrafted free agent signings (Nash, Lefebvre, Diaz, Bishop, Berger) only Diaz is under 6′. Amongst all their non-AHL defensive prospects, only Mac Bennett is under 6′. Albeit the team could use a few more good offensive prospects but Gallagher is not some herald of the average size of this team for the future.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu. Habs and Hockey.
SF09 on Twitter
I think management are aware of the size issue, and are working on fixing it. Recent trade and draft definately point to that.
If you don’t grok it, drokk it!
DGB spies are the best in the business
How did a scrub like this end up making that much?
( ) He was actually pretty good, years ago.
( ) He was actually supposed to be pretty good, years ago.
( ) He was actually one of the top-rated players in NHL08 according to my kids, although to be honest we probably should have sent some scouts to watch him or something.
( ) Let’s just say he was an unrestricted free agent, a defenceman, and had an agent who knew Brian Burke’s cell phone number
…sounds about right !
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Open-mindedness is not a skull fracture
Here is the link to our HIO Fan Summit Page. For you to put your pictures, comments and summit information. Ian
2011 Summit We R Fans