RockinRey - (Mark)

Member since March 22, 2009

Guelph

Habs fan since: Birth and HIO reader almost since inception
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• Comment on Eller/Habs meet with media for final time this season (Video)
  Armstrong as fourth liner for right price as a stop gap if FA and draft trades and Farm players don't look like they can do a better job. Gorges? Look to get rid of him. Cant compete on d with him . Admire his heart and soul attitude but he has plateau'd. Cant have him Markov and Bouillon on the same team going forward.\ The rest are keepers. One caveat. Patches thinks he is a power forward. He said as much last year or the year before when he had the breakout year. When his exit interview occurs , if it already has not... management needs to tell him they need a lot more consistency from him and another playoff like this one wont be tolerate, notwithstanding any separated shoulder. Just my opinion. If that sounds harsh..so be it. Last thing. This team has to look at other options in net. Get something else in the pipeline. Someone has to get Price out of his comfort zone!
• Comment on Eller/Habs meet with media for final time this season (Video)
  Well said @DDO_Habs_Fan. The big guys and relentless onslaught took its toll on Habs d. Shots by habs were of the easier variety . This cannot be denied. The guys from Ottawa or injuries in general put the Habs in a position that they were worn down as series progressed.
• Comment on Eller/Habs meet with media for final time this season (Video)
  Sorry but Burkie is wrong. It is size. The fact Habs d cant Box out the opposition forwards( to use the vernacular of this day and age) and to contrast Habs guys like Patches ,Moen were unwilling to do what it takes in playoffs and DD, and and Gio could really not get to the dirty areas all that frequently just highlight the fact they are too small. Did you ever focus on DD for any of his shifts? Sure he has decent playmaking ability. But all to often did not fight for the puck, rub out, make any contact any opposing player and generally shied away from contact. The others mentioned shied away too whether because of injury or just an unwillingness to pay the price. The Habs had games where they went to the net but they did not do it consistently other than Gallagher! This guy went there time and time again. I wrote a couple of days ago they have a core that includes Eller, Price, Subban, Tinordi, Dias, Chucky, Gally. But nobody else should be guaranteed a spot. I have not included Patches bc maybe he will not be the power forward he thinks he is . His game certainly did not resemble it. In my opinion they should trade and or jettison: Markov, Gorges, Kabs, Weber and consider moving Price. I believe they should look at drafting a netminder in this or the next draft. Lets say Price is unable to get the team past the first round next year are fans willing to wait it out? Unfair? Perhaps. But this is not only my assessment. Look up Canoe article and what Serge Savard had to say about Price recently!!! MB needs to be bold. DD does not need to be part of the core. The contract seems to be more politically motivated than anything because although i respect his playmaking ability and the fact he has come this far DD is not a go to guy . I never thought he was a 1 or 2 centerman. For anyone who thinks differently do you really want to go into next year with this guy down the middle in first or second line???! I suggest keep Halpern for the right price . Every year the Habs go looking for a guy who can kill penalties and take face-offs. Sign this guy. Plus he works hard. Bulk up on D and consider adding a guy like Prust if he is out there for the right wing. These bigger guys come to the defense of teammates , often set the tone , and create space. That is why the Sens players that were barely above 5'9' scored. Because the Habs d was wearing down because of hits or the continous onslaught and space was created by bigger ( not necessarily bigger than Habs players pound for pound) for the most part. Bottom line is this team needs changes that may not be accomplished in one draft or one FA year. Bouillon , Moen, Armstrong may need to be kept around for another year as fourth line guys or as stop gaps. But it is clear there needs to be more than a couple tweaks with this roster. And for anyone suggesting they keep Markov. Its clear he should not be in a position to handle 20+ min anymore and is essentially a specialist. If you can get something in return...why not entertain it. You cant bring back a combination of Markov, Bouillon, and Gorges. Keep one but not all 3.
• Comment on About this season ... and next season ... and the one after that ...
  huh? Nobody said begging. And I am serious! Entertain offers. Reread what I wrote further down in the paragraph! I ( if I were GM ) would have traded Markov when he started playing well earlier in the season. It would have been bold . It may have pissed off fans and the comentariat on here but it gets mentioned time and time again. He does not have the mobility he once had. Is great on PP but is basically a speicalist and savvy depth guy. Habs offer and either a team bites and they unload. Does not mean it will be favourable either way. It means they should not be on the roster next year in my opinion! Re: Price. Not saying he is brutal but he has not hit superstar or even been a good goalie in playoffs. Does he still have time? Absolutely .Yzerman did not win a cup until Gretzky and Lemieux and Denis Savard were out of the game. Are Habs fans prepared to wait that long? And you know its true these ( D)guys cant be true contributors to the team going forward. Gorges is a heart and soul guy . But if the d is to get better someone has to be sacrificed. Is it boulion? Emelin? If they need to get bigger they aren't going to uload PK. Give it some thought Bald!!!
• Comment on About this season ... and next season ... and the one after that ...
  Tougher??!! Could have told you that all season despite the record. Even with some of their wins I could tell you realistically they would last a round or two tops. And only move beyond if Price was up to the occasion. But, I didn't believe everything I was seeing in the regular season. I knew this team had major shortcomings. Stay at home D ( or two). Another guy in the mold of Prust but bigger. A Big number one centerman. Sprinkle in a couple more draft picks as wingers that can be mixed in with the core. Canadiens must entertain offers for Markov,Gorges, DD, and maybe even Price. And every year they go out shopping for a guy who can excel in the faceoff circle and PK. Maybe they should think about keeping a Halpern around for the right price. Say so long to Ryder. He is the type of guy who is depth. May or may not get hot. Needs bigger guys around him to truly create space for him. But his acquisition accomplished a couple of things disposing of a contract and malcontent. I would have traded Markov after he started playing well to start the year. Thank him for a great job he has truly been a very good Hab. I am not a hater but a goalie that can challenge Price. This organization has to start looking at the pipeline and has to think about what might happen if he got hurt or was out for an extended period. Or if he falters. I think as Habs fans we are hard on him but I do see some flaws in his game. Always paddle down style and typically loses pucks in scrambles or when a player tries wraparounds. And I think he has a propensity for mental lapses. And prone to high glove. Just my opinion. Keep Tinordi,PK, and Emelin and Diaz for spot as 5th or 6th and PP specialist and special teams guy and depth guy. Build around them . If you bring back anyone from this years D consider it as one year only as stop gap until you ID someone else or drafted guys or pipeline guys are ready. Weber? Drewiske. Pateryn? Entertain offers. Bealieu? Is he ready to step up? Moen? Disappointed with this guy. Armstrong? Maybe another 1 yr contract as 4th liner. Patches? Needs way more consistency. Gio? Time to move on from him. MVP for this season? Gallagher. Loved this guy. Exuberance! Attitude! Tenacious! Unrelenting! Looking for even bigger things from Eller and even more consistency! I am hoping that MB will do the right thing an fill out the roster. Habs fans deserve a playoff spot every year and I believe this organization has the resources that they should challenge every year!!! I am looking for boldness from this new GM. A vision. Value for any assets including any picks they have.
• Comment on About last night ...
  Great point but he was money. I remember Harry Sinden famously remarking that he could be beaten by the long drifter. Roy had a few stinkers but he was clutch.
• Comment on About last night ...
  This did not get any play as far as I know but was found in the Toronto Sun the other day. The Perception of Price not giving effort or being laissez faire is quite a widespread belief and its interesting that even alumni who carry some weight feel the same. I was very surprised this was not news on here or picked up or talked about much. But I will give it to Price he was sharp last night. Here’s how he answered a question from former teammate Chris Nilan, now a host on TSN 690, about rating Price as a goaltender: “I don’t know. Maybe you’re talking to the wrong guy about rating goaltenders. At the beginning when this guy came up into the league, I really thought he was going to be a superstar. At times, he doesn’t look like he will be a superstar. Other nights, he does. I don’t know what to say. Even if the team doesn’t look too good lately, I think this guy in the net should have done a lot better to help the team when you go through such a tough period,” said Savard. “If you remember Dryden and Patrick, if I look at those two, I don’t recall Patrick having a bad night, a night that he didn’t try. Some nights he might give a couple of soft goals, but very, very, very seldom. He always tried. He always tried to win each game and he did not give too many bad goals in a row and he kept us in the game all the time. Sometimes we didn’t deserve to win and we won. This guy, he’s not doing that right now. He shows us at times he’s able to do that, but he didn’t do it on a regular basis.” Is the pressure in Montreal unfair to goaltenders? “I don’t think so. In our time, if you looked back, every goaltender that played in Montreal won the Vezina Trophy, including Denis Herron. It was because of the way the team played, not only the defencemen. We were not allowed to give a goal against in our time. Playing that style, every goaltender was better because of the style the team played. That’s how you have to look at it. I rate this guy very highly, but he’s not showing it now, but the whole team is not playing very well at this time,” said Savard.