Montreal Gazette

saf - (Mike Safoniuk)

Member since November 10, 2007

Port Coquitlam, BC

Habs fan since: 1970's
Favorite current player: Subban
All-time favorite player: Peter Mahovlich

Signature:

Recent Comments

  • Comment on Red Fisher hangs 'em up
    I can't think of anyone I respected more as a sport writer. Sometimes I didn't agree with his viewpoints but I always found his articles intelligent and interesting. The amount of hockey knowledge he has is amazing. Thank you for all the fantastic work. I will miss seeing your articles :-(
  • Comment on Rick Dudley joins Canadiens front office, with audio
    Good points. I expect the Devils to forfeit #32 as well but I didn't want to go through that exercise as well. But oh well .. .here goes 2011 - Rattie (StL) 2010 - Knight (Bos) via a well-taveled pick 2009 - Ferraro (Det) 2008 - Voynov (LA) - looking decent this year 2007 - Maclean (Pho) - nothing much yet 2006 - Sneep (Pit) 2005 - Plante (Fla) a goaltender but the wrong one 2004 - Bolland (Chi) - decent but not spectacular 2003 - Stone (Pit) 2002 - Vas (Dal) 2001 - Roy (Buf) - yay a good NHLer finally 2000 - Kurka (Car) this is scarier than picking #33 ... trade down! (lol)
  • Comment on Rick Dudley joins Canadiens front office, with audio
    What is fair value for Kaberle? We gave up an expiring UFA contract (Spacek) to get him and really he mostly represents a bad contract for the Habs. I think fair value is that we send someone a late round draft pick to take him but if we can send him elsewhere for a good restaurant suggestion I think we've done well.
  • Comment on Rick Dudley joins Canadiens front office, with audio
    Getting excited about the draft but am thinking that we are placing more hope on the #3 and #33 picks then we maybe should; they're only part of the solution and likely not for the next couple of years. Here's a list of the last few 3rd overall picks: 2011 - Huberdeau (Fla) - tearing it up as a junior 2010 - Gudbranson (Fla) - played 72 games as a 20-year old this year 2009 - Duchene (Col) - great talent with an off-year 2008 - Bogosian (Atl) - good defender 2007 - Turris (Pho) - talented but contract issues 2006 - Toews (Chi) - great player 2005 - Johnson (Car) - steady defender 2004 - Barker (Chi) - inconsistent defender 2003 - Horton (Fla) - who cares he plays for Boston 2002 - Bouwmeester (Fla) - good defender 2001 - Svitov (TB) - oh oh only Russian and a bust (KHL) 2000 - Gaborik (Minn) - great player Over-all mostly good players with maybe three exceptions (Svitov, Barker and maybe Turris) out of 12. Pretty good odds but not the franchise-saving hope that us fans may have (maybe Gaborik, and Toews fits that scenario). Just for fun, at #33 2011 - Grimaldi (Fla) - too early 2010 - McFarland (Fla) - too early 2009 - O'Reilly (Col) - solid NHL'er 2008 - McRae (StL) - not much so far 2007 - Elington (Van) - who? 2006 - Makarov (Chi) - who? 2005 - Neal (Dal) - fantastic player 2004 - Bourque (Was) - no not that Bourque ... bust? 2003 - Erikson (Dal) - good player 2002 - Falardeau (NYR) - bust 2001 - Shishkarov (Nas) - bust? 2000 - Shultz (Minn) - finally a good defender Not counting 2011 and 2010 that means that 4 of 10 (Neal, Erikson, O'Reilly and Shultz) have been good NHL'ers. Anyhow, it was an interesting look from my perspective.
  • Comment on Rick Dudley joins Canadiens front office, with audio
    As far as I am concerned, this is good news. I think that Dudley's knowledge of where the Leafs are today with regards to the draft is, at most, a very slight advantage (but only very slight). Given that the Habs and Leafs rarely trade (Kordic, Mahovlich, Grabovsky not withstanding) there really is no advantage there either. The most intriguing question for me is whether this is a Bergevin hire or a Molson hire? If it is indeed a Bergevin hire then I think that shows a lot of confidence on his part. He's hiring a guy who has had the gm job before and who was his boss. I think that bodes well for the team in that Bergevin would be showing that he is not afraid to get help when needed.
  • Comment on Rangers win in triple-OT, Nashville bounces back
    Just wondering out loud.... Does the hiring of a local bilingual and outgoing gm coupled with the visible demotion of RC mean that there is a chance the Habs now will hire the best coach available regardless of language skills?
  • Comment on No time to mope
    a NTC usually just either limits the teams you can be traded to or requires your permission to be traded. I don;t think it restricts you from being sent down to the AHL. The real nasty one is a no-movement clause which means you can't even be put on waivers or sent down to Hamilton.