Hockey News Predictions
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So The Hockey News has predicted the Canadiens to finish 13th in the East with a glowing D+ rating.
Does it really mean anything?
It means the Habs are now under the radar as far as mainsteam media goes, meaning no added pressure or expectations to meet.
A 13th place finish would be incredibly disappointing to say the least. Several Eastern Conference teams have made substantial improvements in the off season, Montreal has made marginal changes at best.
Where do you predict the Canadiens to finish this season?
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August 22, 2007 pm31 8:36 pm
I raelly believe that we can finnish 6th or 7th this year.Our boyz are not as bad as many say they are.I think we are a more solid team through the roster than last year imo
August 22, 2007 pm31 8:37 pm
really***
August 22, 2007 pm31 11:03 pm
Hogwash, Les Boyz. Who is this guy anyway – probably a Leaf fan. We are the most underrated team in the league. Good place to be so when we shine they can all stumble on their words. Gainey is King and he knows what he is doing. Goaltending and more scoring depth – given our speed – will kill the opponent. Naysayers need not apply.
August 23, 2007 pm31 10:22 am
Habs are better than 13th, but they will be clawing for that 8th place spot come March, either to hold it from up and commers, or to wrest it away. I predict a roller coaster, streaky season. And yes, THN is firmly in bed with the leafs.
August 23, 2007 pm31 10:37 am
Hi Guys & Gals.
I’m ready for the season to come. I feel that our Habs will do ok this year. Let it take it’s course…….. It will all work out………..
August 23, 2007 pm31 11:10 am
Oh yeah,but our Habs could beat em in a game of scrub any time you hear the call “GAME=ON” lol. I guess better to be a Habs fanatic than a religious extremest?hey guys?
August 23, 2007 pm31 11:25 am
All it did was piss Higgy and Komi more to bring the cup to Montreal.
Look for monster seasons from both of them!!
August 23, 2007 pm31 12:29 pm
The predictions are CORRECT. The habs, I feel, will actually finish LOWER than 13th place. yes, the habs are that BAD! You people who think the habs are a good team, are living in a dream world. go back to sleep, and wake up and smell the coffee!
August 23, 2007 pm31 12:42 pm
remember 1 thing: the games we won last year, we’re won on the PP! that’s because we couldn’t score 5 on 5. And the offence is no better this year!
And, the PP is much, much worse! So, exactly how is this team better?
With players like Brisebois and Kovalev? you have to be kidding! this team is a joke!
August 23, 2007 pm31 3:49 pm
We couldn’t score 5 on 5,because Souray was too busy letting everyone go by him. Hamerlik is alot better in his own end than Souray. So right there we won’t be scored on nearly as much. But what the team really needs is a gut check.
August 23, 2007 pm31 4:01 pm
Well see i guess, but im pretty sure were gonna make the playoffs, and im still wishing for Lecavalier to goin the greatest team ever
August 23, 2007 pm31 4:04 pm
I like how all these Leafs fans leave messages on here and think us Habs fans dont know they are 40 years without a cup fans!The only way they can make themselves feel better is to hope the Leafs do better than the habs this year.DREAM ON MAKE IT 41 YEARS AND STILL GOING!All leaf fans should remember one thing there owners are about the money not winning!
August 23, 2007 pm31 4:11 pm
We won those games thanks to who; Souray? Just how many did we lose because of him and his ****** defense. Sure he had alot of heart and a hard shot, other than that, nothing. Hamrlik is a better all around dman than Souray, so right there our goals against should be better. How can you say the pp is worse? Now Markov has the opportunity to prove he can qb our pp. I too believe we have a better team than last year.
August 23, 2007 pm31 7:40 pm
HockeyNews suck! who ever published that must be leaf fans!
August 24, 2007 pm31 11:41 am
Plain and simple: Sourray was similar to watching Bonds knock them out of the park. Fun to watch but overall probably doing more harm than good (more so in Sourray’s case.) Now, if Sourray were able to actually play defence on the rare occation then it would be a different story and he’d merrit that paycheck but that is next to impossible when all you ever think about is scoring goals and breaking a PP record.
August 24, 2007 pm31 11:52 am
It will all depend on how the youngsters perform. Higgins was on his way to scoring 40 goals last year until the injury, he then took his time getting back up to speed. Plekanec will keep on getting better as well as Latendresse who looked good after a slow start, especially considering he was only 19 years old. Also, I liked what I saw offensively from both Kostitsyn’s, as well as Grabovski. They, especially Grabovski, will have to work on their defensive play. That being said our youngsters look pretty good and it may be time to change some of the old guard.
August 24, 2007 pm31 2:06 pm
I guess it could go either way.
If the team finishes 13th or so, we need mayor changes. Coaching staff should then be gone and a meaningful shake on the player roster as well.
If the team finishes 7th or so and look like they are a young improving team that is getting stronger, quicker and smarter over time, then by all means, give this “process” another year to develop as it has.
August 25, 2007 pm31 6:20 pm
Habs will go as far as they’re courage takes them Last year they were a gutless team on many nights, not working for the full 60, not protecting each other, and lazy coming back. This year they need the courage and the tenacity their coaches and g.m displayed when they played. If they do they’ll be fine.
August 26, 2007 pm31 12:05 pm
The roster, as it stands right now, is NOT a Cup winning team. That being said, this is a team very capable of making the playoffs if they gell as a unit and the strengths of the squad are maximized. Some of the veterans are true leaders. The young talent is very encouraging, and even with the loss of Souray (who to my way of thinking is not a real Defenseman) our blueline has a decent combination of talent. We still have no legitimate scoring threat, but perhaps Ryder and Higgins will change that.
After last year, watching the team go from a league leader to a team that meekly bowed out in that GODAWFUL game in toronto, I am keeping my expectations in check. However, 13th? We’ll see.
GO HABS GO!!
August 26, 2007 pm31 1:08 pm
Yep i agree 4mGhost there is no presure on the habs this season and expectations are very low right across the board even in habland which is a surprise.I think most hab fans have come to terms that we are still not going to make much noise this year but are headed in the right direction.In my honest opinion i think this great for the team going into the season with not alot of weight on their shoulders.Most magazines and sports stations have us pegged for 13th like 4mGhost had mentioned in the post above but i do believe we are better than that.Here is one last thing i would like to add and that is we have two pretty good goalies in huet and halak and both of them should take the spots comming out of camp but remember one thing guys and gals we have an ace up our sleeve and if price comes into camp and totally lights it up management will not be able to hold this kid back.This could change everything and may leave alot of so called hockey people looking very very stupid.Come on guys we have seen this before and we may just see it again.1986? Remember we are the montreal canadians GO HABS GO………..read this it will make you think of what could happen…….http://www.legendsofhockey.net/html/ind06Roy.htm
August 26, 2007 pm31 1:16 pm
http://www.legendsofhockey.net/html/ind06Roy.htm
August 27, 2007 pm31 8:53 am
It’s pretty typical of THN to put us out of the playoffs. What is it now, 3-4 years in a row now? Given the talent of our youngsters, We will have 2 30-goal scores in ryder and higgins. Given Kovalev stays healthy (both physically and mentally), we could see 70 points from him. As possibly one of the best goalie tandems in the league (huet-halak or huet-price) I see us popping up between 4th-6th place. Note: Komisarek will decimate mcGrattan and tucker again this year;bouillon will drop the gloves with tucker i am sure…..god i love being a habs fan in an 8game vs div rivals era
August 27, 2007 pm31 10:11 am
Hey, Ive been a hab fan for the last 30years, and although I hate to admit it, I do not think we will make the playoffs this year, But I think we will finish 10th, with only Boston, Washington, Florida, NYI, and Philadelphia behind us (I think TO will be out of the playoffs at 9th position as well). Contrary to what Bob has been saying, we are rebuilding right now, And we lost some offense from last year in the form of Johnson, Souray, and Samsonov, also leadership in Bonk, Souray, and Rivet. Its going to be a tough year, but the future looks bright.
August 27, 2007 pm31 2:49 pm
LET THE CANADIENS PLAY OFFFENSIVE HOCKEY. WHEN THEY WERE WINNING CUPS THIS IS HOW THEY PLAYED. NOT DEFENSIVE.
August 27, 2007 pm31 3:12 pm
Dearest Leafs Fans,
In Bob we trust! Its ashame that you so called “fans’ have lost the feel for whats known as WINNING. As we all know its been since that forgettable year of 1967 that the “mighty” leafs have hoisted that charished Stanley Cup in front of those abnoxious Leaf Nation fans…
But enough of that, All i wish to say, and boldly state, is that the leafs will wait yet another 40(hopefully more)difficult years to hold the prize where as the habs, and this is where I boldly state, will Be parading down Ste-Catherines street come the 2009 season to mark the habs Glorious 100 year birthday! The leafs and their dilirious fans will always be in the shadows of our boys, so with that being said…Leafs Fans quit your crying and stop hiding under paper bags to hide your faces and do the noble thing…Step over and convert to Habs-Nation. It would be the best thing you so called fans would have ever done in your lives and could potentially add some more years to them aswell!
Thank you and I’ll see all of you fellow Habs fans on Ste-Catherines street in 2009!
Cheers
August 27, 2007 pm31 9:08 pm
Well my friends,
I signed up the RDS this year knowing that this is going to be a BETTER team than last year. Expect a slower start… unlike last year with Higgins breaking the charts…. That being said, we should have a much better defensive minded team.
Enough of the “Let the players play offensively” **** I’m reading on this post. We’ve proved last year that even the top PP in the league may not make the playoffs, amd that the flu can be a terrible bout of bad luck!
Predictions are bullshit. It’s all in the hands of the players and the mentality that they’re in.
August 28, 2007 pm31 12:52 pm
The only teams that will beat us in the standings are… NYR, Toronto (sad but true), Pittsburg & Ottawa
August 28, 2007 pm31 7:17 pm
The leafs will not finnish ahead of the habs give your head a shake!
August 29, 2007 pm31 2:21 pm
Some guy wrote an article about signing both komisarek and higgins to long term deals, 22M/6 years higgins and 19M/6 years komisarek. I have to agree that that would be a good move.
August 30, 2007 pm31 8:11 pm
habs will definitly not finish 13th thats not to say that theyll forsure be making the playoffs.The reality is that the canadiens have a meteocre team .in order for them to make the playoffs some of the young talent will definitly have to step it up.that means depending on guys like kostitsyn,latendresse,higgins and or any other rookies joining the team will have to have solid point totals.the veterans will be expected to meet there expectations as usual.saku must have a season close to the one he had last year and kovalev must! put up more points.in the net i dont think were that solid unless of course price gets a chance with the team.huet has had his struggles but is capable of stealing a game or two.Its hard to be to optimistic when u look at our team on paper with only a few additions that are worthy of bieng mentioned(smolinski,hamrlik,kostopoulous) but they do bring a nice veteran presence.In conclusion the habs are NOT a better team then last year but they do have 3 important things on the team.(1)good rookie system(2)good goaltending(3)veteran leadership three key things that are important to have on a team.My prediction the Habs will finish 8TH overall in the east!
September 1, 2007 pm31 12:15 pm
I sure hope the bulk of you guys are right. I’m a Habs fanatic and desparately want to see a better more consistent outing this year. However, I can’t see that happening. Everyones talkin about Souray and the arguement of did his goals help Montreal more than his sub-par defense hurt them or vise versa. Hey, heres a wild idea thats unheard of….HOW ABOUT WE BETTER OUR TEAM IN BOTH ASPECTS OF THE GAME – offense AND defense. Sure Hamrlik might help out defensively, but is that gonna win a hell of alot more games than Souray won with his bomb from the point? Once again I find myself saying this…we need offense fellas, good old fashioned offense. Keeping a few more pucks out of the net is not gonna mean a whole lot unless theres more goals scored. Last seasons goal tallies were horrible, can anyone argue with that? And theres been no changes to up the goal production this season. And you know Ryder (top goal scorer for the last 2 seasons) has got to be left with a sour taste in his mouth. The mere fact of how his signings the last 2 years went, he’s gotta feel unappeciated and somewhat unwanted…so are his tallies gonna stay the same? Gainey it seems is dumping all the teams resources into defense, and the fact that he admittied himself that the only player they were seriously looking at this year was Briere (who didnt wanna come there), proves this point. So, basically the only major change offensively that was made this year, was the removal of Souray’s 20+ goals. Bottom line, you need to score goals to win games, and unless theres some big jumps in production from a few players, we’re not gonna score as many as last year….a year where we still didnt make the playoffs with the amount tallied. It doesnt look good this year, but I’m a huge fan and would never change sides…it would just be nice to see our Habs put up some better numbers, play more exciting hockey and finish higher in the standings. In our conference, look for jumps in ranking from both Washington and Philly this year, just because of the OFFENSIVE additions they made in the off-season…that doesnt look good for us when all we’ve done is take offense away. A reality check is that in todays game you need to score…period. And on almost every team in the league you can pick out 2 top notch offensive stars who will have great years once again…except Montreal. Just think of it this way…our top point getters are finishing on par with the top point getters on teams like Columbus, Boston, and Florida…yet we are finishing higher than them in the standings…just imagine what high offensive players would do. Then we are pulling closer to Pitt and OTT. 13th? I hope not, I think we’ll finish higher than that…but to claw and scratch at a 8th place finish (which is what we;ll be doing again)..just to say we made the playoffs, only to exit them as quickly as they started is not much of a change than what happened last year. I want a good season, and I’ll watch every game they play yet again..but we need something more there than what we have now to be a serious contender again. GO HABS GO !
September 1, 2007 pm31 12:37 pm
I will order RDS from Rogers this season…
A few days ago I saw a Minivan with number plate showing “GOHABSGO” on HWY417 in Ottawa. So I am not the only Habs fun in Ottawa, yeah!
September 1, 2007 pm31 2:35 pm
And that brings up the question,how do the Habs stack up as compared to the Sens?…yikes !!!!!….
September 2, 2007 pm31 7:24 am
We don’t compare to the Sens. The only similarity we share is speed.
September 8, 2007 pm31 5:32 pm
chevy4ch honesstly now, do you sniff glue?
#1 we were 2 pts out of 8th last yr
#2 we replaced bonk with smolinski (more scoring)
#3 we replaced souray (not worth the money cough -28 no repeat season) with Hamrlik (better in his own end)
#4 halak backin up Huet instead of that moron abeschier
4 reasons why we are not worse then 13 we are better
god stop sittin near open paint cans
September 9, 2007 pm31 10:19 am
being a fan of the Habs through the 60’s and 70’s it is hard to sit through an era that is moulding itself like the New Jersey Devils. In all my travels I have never met one New Jersey fan. Because they are dull and make hockey a boring game to watch. The coaches don’t want their players getting 40 or 50 goals because that would ruin their defensive style. No superstars; Their best players are just a little above average. Their younger players will get better but the fact remains they are being groomed to be like the New Jersey devils. Get used to the fact that with this management we will not see the likes of a Richard, Beliveau, Cournoyer, Lafleur, Shutt, Boom Boom,…. The only way to get one or two is to nab one in the offseason. Or to finish so low in the draft that you get a chance at one. They will not make the platoffs. This team is not better than last year. They may have a year more of experience but so do other teams. 10th place. I may just start cheering New Jersey….Why not? They’ve already got the team Montreal wants to be……….
September 10, 2007 pm31 6:06 pm
WITH LITTLE IN THE WAY OF ANY BIG NAMES COMING TO MONTREAL ANYTIME SOON-OF COURSE THE HABS ARE NOT GOING TO MAKE THE PLAYOFFS. THEY SHOULD FINISH LOW ENOUGH OVER THE NEXT TWO YEARS TO GET TOP PROSPECTS IN THE DRAFT LIKE STAMKOS-AS PITTSBURGH DID, BUILD THEIR SYSTEM OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS AND HOPE A VINNIE WILL WANT TO COME HOME. THIS WAY WE HAVE A CHANCE OF WINNING A CUP BEFORE THE DECADE IS OUT. A NOTE ALSO TO MR. GAINEY–HOW COME THE FLYERS CAN GIVE UP ONE PLAYER FORSBERG, AND A DRAFT PICK AND COME AWAY WITH TIMONENN, UPSHALL AND HARTNELL-TWO POWER FOWARDS AND AN ALL STAR DEFENSEMAN-WHILE THE HABS SIT IDLY BY AND DO NEXT TO NOTHING. MAKES YOU WONDER.
September 13, 2007 pm31 4:02 pm
the two best players, koivu and kovalev, are a year older and are not allstars, smolinski was the best free agent pick-up, and souray is gone. how is this team any better? keep buildin, and in a couple of years, go get vinnie, then talk to me-and im a loyal hab fan–always.
September 13, 2007 pm31 6:28 pm
1 word……….MAXIM!
September 13, 2007 pm31 6:54 pm
i follow the Habs very close, i strongly feel the they will make the playoffs.A possible 6th or 7th spot.I’ve seen the changes to the team this yr and i like them. Bob has the master plan. go Habs!
September 15, 2007 pm31 8:25 pm
13th spot? shame on you hockeynews!that prediction is absurd. like really!well… i won’t be subscribing to that magazine EVER!
September 16, 2007 pm31 2:34 am
So The Hockey News predicted 13th position for our team huh.. We will finish top 10 minimum take a look at our team an Yes no real big names picked up but what do we have a young team thats got speed, determination to prove they belong in the big leagues, with some veterans that are gonna wanna lead the way an not to mention our 3 goaltenders fightin out the startin job.. If this group gels early we are in the playoffs period, but my prediction is gainey will land someone here mark my words gainey will get a big name player u can doubt it, predict who, or who we will give up but the outcome will be a TRUE SURPRISE to everyone believe it!!!!!!
September 18, 2007 pm31 4:39 pm
The Hockey News is a Toronto paper, it’s writers are Toronto Boys and Leaf Fans. Just Like TSN Toronto Sports News, or Don Cherry ( I hate Quebec but I am a Christain), just like all the Sports Sations in Toronto who really believe eveyone in Canada is a Leaf Fan,and Toronto is the most storied Hockey Franshice ever now that,s a joke, only Leaf Fans and The toronto media beleive that ****. So guess what, every year the Toronto Media boys have to put down Montreal, Ottawa and the rest of Canada’s Teams. Toronto is not the world centre of Hockey, remember when Montreal had to bail out Harold Ballard and they owned 10% of the Leafs. The Hockey News is good for Bird Cage liner and that is about all.
September 21, 2007 pm31 10:20 pm
Look people the prediction that the Habs will finish 13th is based on +/- numbers, goals for and against and the amount of star players on the team. We all know that hockey is played on the ice not on paper. Super star players are important but not nessissary. Can we also agree that hockey is a team sport. The difference between the top teams and the lessor ones is not that great. Talent will only take you so far. Just ask the Ottawa Sen’s fans in the past. Heart, good goaltending, solid defense, timely scoring, speed, coaching, and a good mix of youth and experiance can take you very far. One thing I think that we are forgetting is that this will be another year for Bob Gainey, Carbo, and staff. Let’s not forget that Carbo is still new as a coach. Last year was a valuable experiance for him and as such he will only get better. Finally the Habs probably have the best farm system in Hockey. Finally they have depth there. Witness the Bulldogs year! That may be the wildcard. Remember how Ken Dryden beat the much better big bad Bruins. Or how Patrick Roy stoll the 1983 Stanley cup. What happened in the past should motivate the club and we should give them all our support. After all it’s just a game. Agreeably a fantastic one. My prediction, 8th place with a strong finish and momentum going into the playoffs. After that anything goes!!!!
October 3, 2007 pm31 3:33 pm
(Ice) ur so right man. the Habs play as a team more like any other team. If Montreal makes it to the playoffs,I think they have a terrific shot at winning that cup.
April 6, 2008 pm31 4:51 pm
HA… They’re finishing first now
hockey news sucks