I am all for this move for sure, the 25th pick would have done nothing at all for the Habs in the short term. We get a seasoned player, a former Cup winner and a guy who can help NOW, GO HABS GO!!!
WOW, what a score. I said last summer that the Canadiens would be a much better team then… now, they just A LOT better… I hope that Koivu will stay now. No one should knock the guy. Look what he brought at the end of the series agains Boston.
Alex may even play with Alex? LOL. I’m sure a line will get juggled like that at some point during the next season.
I think Tanguay should play with Koivu and Higgins. Andrei,Kovalev and Plekanec have too much chemisrty. So guys with the cap going up to 57 Mill we still have about 6 Mill to spend! I say try to sign Brad stuart or Vandermmer and also go after Laraque. I made 5 bucks also, I told my dad once Calgary got Cammeleri that calgary was looking for a trade with the habs now and my dad said no lol.
Boo! We need size, he **** the bed in Calgary and couldn’t handle the pressure here, now imagine in MTL! Our team is built for the regular season, we need toughness or a big powerforward. Nonetheless he’ll do well and MTL just got another frenchmen, enjoy.
I liked Calgary before this trade and now they are my best friend! They got Cammeleri, so It’s a win win situation on both sides, Bob Gainey should be pround because he just made a quater of hockey fans happy. The habs 2nd line is better than the leafs 1st!
With what we have left if will be for Sundin.Tanguay wants to play here this is a bonus,he is also well suited for our style of play,he should be a good fit.
Actually Tanguay did NOT want to play here. Remember last year at the trade deadline? He told Sutter at that time that he didn’t want to come to Montreal. Maybe he changed his mind when he realized he wasn’t wanted in Calgary.
Good move. Now if the Habs can get Sundin to sign, they have an opportunity to seriously compete for the Stanley Cup, something they obviously were not capable of this past year, even though they had a decent record. Sundin is the key.
we would have enough for sundin but say goodbye to Streit and Ryder. I think that The habs have what it takes already. The only probablem lat year was expierience and now no one can stop us! our 3rd line is probably better than the leafs 1st. We can count on everyone! The habs are more of a team than anyone. Obviously Malkin just wants money so he doesn’t have much heart.
A. Kostitsyn - Sundin - Kovalev (new money line….woahhoo)
S. Kostitsyn - Koivu - Tanguay (better than most 1st line out there)
Higgins - Plekanec - Latendresse(decent 3rd line)
Begin - Lapierre - Chipchura(…)
UNTIL NOW MATTS NAME WAS NOT ALLOWED TO BE SPOKEN IN MY HOUSE.
EVEN THE LEAF FANS THAT VISITED REFIRED TO HIM AS
“HE WHO SHALL NOT BE NAMED”
WHAT DO WE DO LAUGH ,CRY, LOVE HIM,HATE HIM ..$%&#$^&
HE CAN ONLY HELP OUR CAUSE TO BRING THE CUP HOME ..WELCOME MR. SUNDIN HOPE YOU JUMP SHIP AND JOIN US.
ALL MAPLE LEAF FANS GET READY TO SEE YOUR EX CAPITAN RAISE THE STANLEYCUP IN A RED WHITE AND BLUE SWEATER ….
big dogg- about three of our roster players will probably go if we get sundin. If the leafs want that, I would just say get lost! But the 3rd line u have there is pretty sick. That line is also a 1st line on some teams. Montreal already has the best offence. no team has a better 2nd line than ours. no one has a better 3rd line than ours. And in the east we probably have the best defence! We can handle Detroit because he have huge d Men. We have Komi,Markov,Hamrlik, etc. No eastern team can handle us now, not even Pittsburgh! We have better defence and goaltending than pitts(Priceis better believe me!) So we have a team to make it to the finals, but I think Sundin would take us farther!
and Tanguay did want to come here. It was his choice with all of Calgary looking at him and he chose Montreal. He waived his no trade clause just to come here. Sutter said that he didn’t want to lose him. and so he game him an extension and now here he is, Alex Tanguay the French canadain we’ve been asking for! 90% Sure the cup is coming now and with sundin 99.999999999% sure!
just reported, Pens have broken off talks with Hossa, and he’s UFA July 1st.
Any chance habs could land him if we don’t land Sundin? Gainey shoild get negotiating rights to him also.
oh well, back to the sundin thingy. I wouldn’t give up any of the roster players we have except for guys that are leaving or players like Dandenault. just give them the 1st round pick for next year,Mikhail Grabovski and David fisher. don’t go after hossa because with all the teams after him we would have to pay him 10 Mill. I don’t want to be the team to do that!
18 Big Dogg
habs line for next year( if sundin signs)
A. Kostitsyn - Sundin - Kovalev (new money line….woahhoo)
S. Kostitsyn - Koivu - Tanguay (better than most 1st line out there)
Higgins - Plekanec - Latendresse(decent 3rd line)
Begin - Lapierre - Chipchura(…)
AK46 - Plekanec - Kovalev (this is unchangeble at least for the time-being)
Higgins - Koivu - Tanguay (Higgins and Koivu are un-breakable)
Then Habs would have TWO top 10 NHL lineups.
If Sundin came, there would be another magic line
SK74 - Sundin - Tom Kostopoulos
lets just anjoy this good old day and say haha look the leafs without sundin.look ate them they have no good captain if sundin leaves its gona become nhls worst team i tell you.soo ppl your telling ohh they put n. antropov to be captain he dozz not even have 60 points soo your left with a guy with only 57 points even the worst nhl teams has a scorer of 90 points at leest.leafs suck and thats that.mat you shal be welcome.
but ummm we have 11 Mill left. Mikhail Grabovski, Josh Georges,Ryan O’Byrne,Patrice Bisebois,Andrei Kostitsyn,Mark Streit,Bryan Smolinski,Michael Ryder and Jaroslav Halak as unrestricted and restricted Free Agents!!!!! I predict Sundin to only get about 60 pts with us anyways! Streit is better than that and Kostitsyn will probably get close to 70 this upcoming year! If u can sign Sundin to like 5 or 6 Mill that’s fine.
you’re joking, right? 5 mil for Sundin? we won’t sign for anything under 7 mil/season. And you would rather have Streit? Did you watch the playoffs, where Streit continously gave away the puck? C’mon now.We don’t need a defensive liability!
“…Bob Gainey has a nine-day window to try and persuade Sundin to sign on with the Habs, and the Toronto Star reports that the Canadiens general manager will travel to Sweden this week for a one-on-one discussion…”
Sundin agreed BG’s travel to Sweden. This is highly possible…
STU11. Mats Sundin had 78 points last year on a real bad leafs team and he also missed a few games due to injury. You think he will only get 60 points on a high powered offence team like montreal??????? You are kidding right? Sundin will get 80 to 90 points in montreal. No joke.
TSN is saying it will most likely only cost us a second round pick just to trade for his rights. It will be interesting though if both toronto and montreal both throw some other players into the mix though.
I think getting Tanguay was a good decision. I’m interested to see if Montreal will take another shot at Hossa. I seem to remember reading something in which he said that he would take less money to go to a good team… I don’t what the heck that is supposed to mean but maybe money isn’t the issue? I don’t know…
coutNY - that’s the first I heard about the possibility of trading Higgins for Sundin. I had heard that getting Sundin migh involve a trade but I hadn’t heard anything about who might be traded. That would kind of be too bad if it was Higgins….
I can see a multi player swap on the Sundin deal as well.Wouldn’t mind a big Russian forward from T.O.From the Habs you can offer Grabs,Streit,Ryder,Dandy and or Draft picks.
I sincerely hope the Habs don’t need to give up a top-2 liner for the rights to have spoken and sign Sundin. That said, stop dreaming in technicolour!! If there is a back room deal, it will certainly not involve the rights to 2 guys (Ryder and Streit) who are UFAs next week anyway!!! Furthermore, I doubt the Laffs want Dandy with his hefty salary.
I have full trust in Bob, but am quite worried that Sundin would arrive with great hope and get injured within a month… at least don’t give up to much for a week’s worth of gabbing and a nice trip to Sweden!!
Just checked the ‘rumours’ on tsn.ca (a fairly reliable source, compared to others): “While not confirmed, it’s suspected that the Maple Leafs will get a second-round pick in return for Sundin if a contract with the Canadiens can be reached.”
That’s better!
Higgins… sheeesh!!
How about Sundin centering the Kostitsyn boys? The Kostitsyns didn’t play together much last year, and I bet they would make a big impact playing with a Hall of Famer like Sundin. Happy Days are coming in Montreal.
I’m not saying I rather have streit, but I want to have kostitsyn or streit back. If we lose both that would suck. If we lose streit and get sundin I’ll be happy. Sundin will suck here in the begining in the first place. I would put him on the 3rd line until the midway part of the season. I think captain Koivu should be on the 1st line. Plekanec is going to be better this year, but put him on the 2nd line to give us a more balanced attack! Koivu is going to be awaesome this season, because he knows he didn’t have the greatest season last year.
and don’t think I’m excited about this sundin thing, It’sjust that I don’t want to lose these young guys and if the trade involves Higgins I would just wait until free Agency and give up on Streit. Sundin will just take a while to settle in but half way through the season he’s going to be on fire!I’m excited to see what happens. Bob Gainey is on a mission!!!!1
We are not going to lost Kostitsyn. However, we will have to ante up to get him. He will end up getting between $4.0-$4.5M — anything less than that would be a steal. As for losing young guys to get Sundin, let’s wait and see what the price is, shall we? Sending a guy like Grabovski to TO is not a bad deal for the Canadiens. There is no way Gainey is sending Higgins to TO for 10 days of Negotiating Rights with a player who is going to be a free agent on July 1st. Gainey is an intelligent and methodical GM, he has not made one stupid move yet. About the only thing he didn’t do that I disagree with, is not trading Streit at the trade deadline, when he could have probably gotten a 1st Round draft choice for him. Now, Streit is going to walk, and the Habs will get nothing.
I think Kostitsyn will take a better cut than that 4.5 Mill would be too much 2.5 or something would be fine. and I wouldn’t be surprised if Streit signs with us again, because I don’t think Sundin is coming here. I would like it, but I just can’t see it. Bob Gainey is smart and I think he’s going to re sign the good players. and look out for next year’s off season. Kovalev,Tanguay,koivu are all untrestricted free agents!!!
If you think Kostitsyn is going to sign for $2.5M you are dreaming. It’s wishful thinking, and just not going to happen. For sure Sundin is coming here, Gainey is not going to Sweden for nothing. I didn’t know both Kovalev and Koivu were coming up next season too. It will be hard to keep all of those players, but not impossible. A Stanley Cup parade down St. Catherine’s street would surely help.
Well I see everybody is excited including myself. This is a greaat time of year especially when we are involved in the process. Let’s take a look at what we have.
Tanguay should improve our first line, it lacked the offensive punch that our second line had.
Sundin, I am incline to agree that we have a better than 50-50 chance of getting him. As far as the trade thing there was no trade, it was acquiring the rights to talk to him. If we do not sign him the leafs get vertually nothing, if we sign him I expect that we give up a non-roster player in Hamilton maybe.
I can not understand why everyone is so down on Streit, firstly what does he bring to the table. He has a good shot for the PP point shot. He can play both defence or forward which makes him valuable. Everyone complains about how he played in the playoffs, but lets remember, he had the same injury that Komy had and was only out a week, whereas Komy was out almost a month and never did recover to is old self when it did come back. I cannot help but think that if Komy were fully healthy the series with Philly would have been a little closer. Streit was rated very highly by the coaching staff as well as Gainey so he does bring something to the table that few can. I for one would sign him at a reasonable $ value.
One thing we have not improved on yet is our defence and sorry I disagree that we have a strong enough defence to beat a team like Detroit. We still need a good top four defenseman. To complete with Detroit. At times Detroit made Pittsburg out like a Junior B team. We have a ways to go to be as good as them. I am not saying we cannot get there but we still need a power foward and one strong defenseman.
Sundin brings some size to us up front but Sundin is not a hitter or someone who likes to stand in front of the net. He is a perimeter player. Like Kovalev, and Koivu. All three are perimeter players, so we still have not addressed out need for a go to the net player, that is what we needed to beat Philly last year and it is not going to be any different this year.
Gainey should sign Streit and then trade him. Same thing for Ryder. It’s not a good idea letting these guys go for nothing. Somebody will take them, even if it’s only for a 2nd or 3rd rounder. Florida needs defencemen, and so do the Coyotes now. Maybe also trade Dandenault for either a 2nd Round draft choice or a switch in 1st Rounders, and give the minutes to O’Byrne, who is bigger and tougher, and ready to play in the NHL.
Reached at his home in Lac Beauport shortly after the trade was announced, Tanguay couldn’t contain his excitement about donning the Canadiens’ sweater.
“I couldn’t be happier about coming to Montreal,” admitted Tanguay, who helped lead the Avalanche to the Stanley Cup in 2001. “With my no-trade clause I could have said no, but I really want to play for the Canadiens. I know how strong a team we have and that I won’t have to be Mario Lemieux or even Guy Lafleur. I hope to contribute to getting this team to the next level.”
Sundin doesn’t owe Leafs anything
Bruce Arthur, National Post
Published: Monday, June 23, 2008
TORONTO — Let him go. Let Mats Sundin walk towards the sunrise, whether to Montreal or New York or Sweden.
Let him wear the bleu, blanc et rouge, or the blue, white and red, or whatever he happens to have in the closet that day. Maybe it will be purple pants and a lime-green turtleneck, and maybe he’ll look like an idiot. But it won’t matter, Toronto Maple Leafs fans, because he won’t be yours anymore….
The guys who stand in front of the net looking for deflections don’t last very long. They take a beating, are often injured, and most of them are journeymen hockey players. You don’t want a thoroughbred like Sundin taking abuse in front of the net. Mats is extremely strong, and very difficult to knock off the puck. With his strength, talent, and reach, he can score goals and make plays from up close.
Would be surprised if they sign Sundin, and don’t go a little further before the beginning of the season. They are getting top-heavy on left wing. Think Higgins, Ryder, and possibly one other player will be gone prior to the season with some effort made to solidify the D even more. A little more physical support on the back end will be really important. Maybe an experienced back up?
We have to get Kostitsyn back though! I rather give up Sundin than him any day!!! If we want size go after Sundin but if he wants too much just go after some 3rd line centre. Federov would love to play for Montreal! I would love Sundin, but I’m not prepared to lose all those young guys in the off season!
now the rangers are involved with Sundin…I say whatever if he comes great and if he doesn`t we can find someone else.
Federov.. really I heard Kovalev and Federov don`t get along??did anyone else heard that.
Stuo11, stop worrrying about Kostitsyn. Montreal is going to sign him, the only question will be for how much. I hope I’m wrong, but I still think around 4.0 M to get him back. He was quoted as saying he paid his dues in Hamilton and now the Canadiens have to be patient with him, because he’s going to take his time. That doesn’t sound like a guy that’s going to sign for less than market value. As for Sundin, I read on TSN where Bob McKenzie thinks Sundin is going to test the UFA waters after July 1 — if that’s the case, Sundin coming to Montreal is 50-50 at best. http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=241537&lid=headline&lpos=topStory_main
If we don’t get Sundin, let’s re-sign Streit and bring in Fedorov who, as you said, would look good on the 3rd line, with maybe some power play duty. How about Jagr in Montreal?
Spike, I agree with you about another D-man. I would trade Higgins and Ryder any day to get a physical 4th defenceman. I also think O’Byrne could fill that role.
Senet 1….posts 60 and 61 made more sense than all the other posts combined…. Streit is the real deal and is still underrated, Gainey should NOT trade him. We still need to beef up our defense, another Komisarek/O’Byrne kind of guy would round it out very nicely with talent (Markov, Streit) and size (Komi, O’Byrne, +1)….and yes we still need a power forward who can play in front of the net. Radical Dude’s comment about those type of players not lasting long is completely unrelated. Who cares how long the guy lasts? We’re looking for a Cup not to further a guy’s career, and if he chooses to be that type of player, and has an opportunity to win the Cup so what? You’re telling me you would turn down a Tomas Holmstrom because you don’t think he will last long in the league? That’s ridiculous. He was key in the Redwing’s Cup run and to say otherwise is absolutely ludicrous.
I think it would be really easy for the habs to get someone like campbell. Campbell likes the east and he probably see’s what the habs are doing right now. Wade Redden would be nice also. But I don’t think Sundin is coming. If we sign Streit back, forget about all the D **** lol. O’Byrne is gonig to be really good next season, something like what Komi was this past year. I think that if we bring those valuable players back and just bring in a huge forward like Laraque or something we’ll do fine. with Tanguay I already think no one can take us in the east, but I’m worried about the west.
Radical Dude: Sorry I disagree, you cannot be a one dimension team because you can pass all day but if you do not get the shots through or screen the goalie then you are not going to win. Philly shut down our offense because we were not willing to go to the net, we made their goalie look good. Sure he stopped a lot of shots but most NHL goalie will stop 99% of the shots if they can see them. There is more than just standing in front of the net or deflecting the puck. It is a combination of screening, deflecting, fighting for position, creating space for the smaller players. This allows you to have a multi-dimensional offensive which is hard to defend against.
Streit is UFA. He can’t be traded! What real deal is he? at turning over the puck? and not being able to defend? Please watch reruns from the playoffs. he was awful! good riddans to him!
hab faithful: Well first of all I thing you are over stating his his erros and secondly, he played really well until he got injuried. Then we expect him to play as well as he did before his injury. Gainey himself said that he brought a lot to the table and when you have a player that can play both up front and back on the D give your coach a lot more options when setting the lineup. I for one thinks he is worth keeping.
Senet, I think what you want for Les Habitants is toughness. Sundin is plenty tough, and if you can’t see that, you’re blinder than my grandmother. He’s not a “hitter” but toughness cannot be measured just in the number of hits you dish out. Sundin cannot be knocked off the puck easily — to me, that is TOUGH, the kind of TOUGH that can win you a Stanley Cup. I agree that the Habs need more guys that will take the body, but expecting that from Sundin is barking up the wrong tree. Give O’Byrne more minutes on the ice, and watch him throw some big hits. Same thing for Latendresse, he can hurt people if given the green light by the Coach. Both of these guys need more ice time, in order to deliver the punishing hits that we both agree the Canadiens need to dish out.
Radical Dude: First of all there is no need to get personal. Secondly, I never said that Sundin was not tough I said he is a perimeter player and although I would like to see him on our team what I said was that we still have not addressed the issue of a power forward that will go to the net. We put 40+ shots on net almost every game against Philly. You cannot have a team that can only play the perimeter, that is what I said, that is what cost us a chance to play Pittsburg and that is what is going to stop us from winning the cup. We need to address that need because we cannot go into the playoff again next year without someone who is willing to screen the goalie and do all the little things that make an offense work. Yes we have a lot of goal scores and if Sundin signs with us we will have two more than we had last year. But philly showed us how to shut down the best offense in the league by playing the defense can we were willing to stay out on the perimeter and not cash the net. It is basic hockey and it is not rocket science.
Alias, you need to get your head out of your drawers, open your eyes, and stop putting words in my mouth. Did I say I didn’t like Tomas Holmstrom? Did I say I wouldn’t take a Holmstrom if he was available? Those kinds of players don’t grow on trees. Maybe Pacioretty can develop into a good power forward in a couple of years. But right now, there is nobody like that on the Habs, except maybe Latendresse, who has the size and the potential, but not the full confidence of the coach. When we had John LeClair, one of the great power forwards to play the game, we traded him for a song and a dance one year after winning the Stanley Cup where he was one of the leading scorers in the playoffs. Bad trades like that can destroy a team, and that’s exactly what happened.
I am sure Gainey and Carbo will not want there new acquistion IF HE SIGNS to stand in front of the net and screen goalies. Sundin was successful not only because of his talent but also for the last two years he had Tucker and then Antropov going to the net. Sundin was great on the rebounds and picking holes on screened goalies.
Senet, I’m not getting personal. We are in agreement that the Habs need some more physical forwards. What I disagree with you about is calling Sundin a “permimeter” player. He’s not a perimeter player, he is a lot tougher than you give him credit for, and a lot stronger on the puck. He will go to the net to score a goal, but he’s not going to live there — nor should he. He’s got more game than that. Anyway, I don’t want to belabour the point, ok? Let’s get him signed first, and then we can argue about how good or bad he is.
Radical Dude: Exactly right, your should never put words in someone elses mouth. But is seems that you did exactly that to me in regard to saying I said Sundin was not tough. You see this is why you should not get personal. We are all hockey fans who happen to cheer for the same team and we all are entitled to our own opinions. Seems to me that needs to be the first lesson about this blog.
Radical Dude: I agree with you that Sundin is as tough as they come and yes he will go to the net for the rebounds. But his skill level is the same as Kovelev, they live on the outside and take their best shot. Sundin ran the leafs offense and PP from the outside never from the slot or in front of the net. With a power foward on his line he would be terrific.
Latendresse: He has great potential, but he never should have made the team two years ago, he should have been sent back to Juniors, then this year he should have played in Hamilton.
Leave a Comment
June 20th, 2008 at 7:57 pm
GOOO GAINEY GOOOOOOO
June 20th, 2008 at 8:24 pm
I am all for this move for sure, the 25th pick would have done nothing at all for the Habs in the short term. We get a seasoned player, a former Cup winner and a guy who can help NOW, GO HABS GO!!!
June 20th, 2008 at 8:25 pm
Bravo Bob !!! Keep it up buddy !!
June 20th, 2008 at 9:01 pm
NICE!!!!
June 20th, 2008 at 9:04 pm
Calgary held Tanguay back…he needs to be on a more offensive minded team…. he tore it up in Colorado
June 20th, 2008 at 10:01 pm
The most sound names in Calgary are Tanguay and Iginla (my understanding).
He is to Montreal, way to go!
June 20th, 2008 at 10:09 pm
WOW, what a score. I said last summer that the Canadiens would be a much better team then… now, they just A LOT better… I hope that Koivu will stay now. No one should knock the guy. Look what he brought at the end of the series agains Boston.
Alex may even play with Alex? LOL. I’m sure a line will get juggled like that at some point during the next season.
Gainey is getting hungry now! What a move!
June 20th, 2008 at 10:25 pm
I think Tanguay should play with Koivu and Higgins. Andrei,Kovalev and Plekanec have too much chemisrty. So guys with the cap going up to 57 Mill we still have about 6 Mill to spend! I say try to sign Brad stuart or Vandermmer and also go after Laraque. I made 5 bucks also, I told my dad once Calgary got Cammeleri that calgary was looking for a trade with the habs now and my dad said no lol.
June 20th, 2008 at 10:25 pm
Boo! We need size, he **** the bed in Calgary and couldn’t handle the pressure here, now imagine in MTL! Our team is built for the regular season, we need toughness or a big powerforward. Nonetheless he’ll do well and MTL just got another frenchmen, enjoy.
June 20th, 2008 at 10:34 pm
I liked Calgary before this trade and now they are my best friend! They got Cammeleri, so It’s a win win situation on both sides, Bob Gainey should be pround because he just made a quater of hockey fans happy. The habs 2nd line is better than the leafs 1st!
June 20th, 2008 at 10:37 pm
Or maybe let Streit walk and sign Campbell?
June 20th, 2008 at 11:24 pm
With what we have left if will be for Sundin.Tanguay wants to play here this is a bonus,he is also well suited for our style of play,he should be a good fit.
June 20th, 2008 at 11:27 pm
How effed it would it be if Mats signed here? Our team would be stacked and it would be the biggest slap in the face to the Laffs. Come on Mats!
June 21st, 2008 at 12:37 am
Actually Tanguay did NOT want to play here. Remember last year at the trade deadline? He told Sutter at that time that he didn’t want to come to Montreal. Maybe he changed his mind when he realized he wasn’t wanted in Calgary.
June 21st, 2008 at 1:13 am
Good move. Now if the Habs can get Sundin to sign, they have an opportunity to seriously compete for the Stanley Cup, something they obviously were not capable of this past year, even though they had a decent record. Sundin is the key.
June 21st, 2008 at 6:57 am
Does Montreal have the cap space for Sundin or do they have a deal in place with Toronto where a big name is going their way if they sign Sundin.
June 21st, 2008 at 8:03 am
we would have enough for sundin but say goodbye to Streit and Ryder. I think that The habs have what it takes already. The only probablem lat year was expierience and now no one can stop us! our 3rd line is probably better than the leafs 1st. We can count on everyone! The habs are more of a team than anyone. Obviously Malkin just wants money so he doesn’t have much heart.
June 21st, 2008 at 10:52 am
habs line for next year( if sundin signs)
A. Kostitsyn - Sundin - Kovalev (new money line….woahhoo)
S. Kostitsyn - Koivu - Tanguay (better than most 1st line out there)
Higgins - Plekanec - Latendresse(decent 3rd line)
Begin - Lapierre - Chipchura(…)
Price in the net from the get go….sweet team
June 21st, 2008 at 12:54 pm
UNTIL NOW MATTS NAME WAS NOT ALLOWED TO BE SPOKEN IN MY HOUSE.
EVEN THE LEAF FANS THAT VISITED REFIRED TO HIM AS
“HE WHO SHALL NOT BE NAMED”
WHAT DO WE DO LAUGH ,CRY, LOVE HIM,HATE HIM ..$%&#$^&
HE CAN ONLY HELP OUR CAUSE TO BRING THE CUP HOME ..WELCOME MR. SUNDIN HOPE YOU JUMP SHIP AND JOIN US.
ALL MAPLE LEAF FANS GET READY TO SEE YOUR EX CAPITAN RAISE THE STANLEYCUP IN A RED WHITE AND BLUE SWEATER ….
June 21st, 2008 at 2:34 pm
big dogg- about three of our roster players will probably go if we get sundin. If the leafs want that, I would just say get lost! But the 3rd line u have there is pretty sick. That line is also a 1st line on some teams. Montreal already has the best offence. no team has a better 2nd line than ours. no one has a better 3rd line than ours. And in the east we probably have the best defence! We can handle Detroit because he have huge d Men. We have Komi,Markov,Hamrlik, etc. No eastern team can handle us now, not even Pittsburgh! We have better defence and goaltending than pitts(Priceis better believe me!) So we have a team to make it to the finals, but I think Sundin would take us farther!
June 21st, 2008 at 2:41 pm
and Tanguay did want to come here. It was his choice with all of Calgary looking at him and he chose Montreal. He waived his no trade clause just to come here. Sutter said that he didn’t want to lose him. and so he game him an extension and now here he is, Alex Tanguay the French canadain we’ve been asking for! 90% Sure the cup is coming now and with sundin 99.999999999% sure!
June 21st, 2008 at 3:33 pm
just reported, Pens have broken off talks with Hossa, and he’s UFA July 1st.
Any chance habs could land him if we don’t land Sundin? Gainey shoild get negotiating rights to him also.
June 21st, 2008 at 3:45 pm
Stuo11, Sutter did want Tanguay gone as with the whole city of Calgary. He never fit in here and his talent went to waste, hence the trade.
June 21st, 2008 at 3:59 pm
oh well, back to the sundin thingy. I wouldn’t give up any of the roster players we have except for guys that are leaving or players like Dandenault. just give them the 1st round pick for next year,Mikhail Grabovski and David fisher. don’t go after hossa because with all the teams after him we would have to pay him 10 Mill. I don’t want to be the team to do that!
June 21st, 2008 at 3:59 pm
+ we wouldn’t have enough for him. Sundin will be about 6 Mill
June 21st, 2008 at 4:56 pm
If Pitts can’t sign Hossa that was a very expensive rental, they gave up 4 good players.
June 21st, 2008 at 6:12 pm
18 Big Dogg
habs line for next year( if sundin signs)
A. Kostitsyn - Sundin - Kovalev (new money line….woahhoo)
S. Kostitsyn - Koivu - Tanguay (better than most 1st line out there)
Higgins - Plekanec - Latendresse(decent 3rd line)
Begin - Lapierre - Chipchura(…)
AK46 - Plekanec - Kovalev (this is unchangeble at least for the time-being)
Higgins - Koivu - Tanguay (Higgins and Koivu are un-breakable)
Then Habs would have TWO top 10 NHL lineups.
If Sundin came, there would be another magic line
SK74 - Sundin - Tom Kostopoulos
Begin - Lapierre - whoever will work
June 21st, 2008 at 10:01 pm
I don’t think Sundin would play the 3rd line anywhere.
June 21st, 2008 at 10:38 pm
lets just anjoy this good old day and say haha look the leafs without sundin.look ate them they have no good captain if sundin leaves its gona become nhls worst team i tell you.soo ppl your telling ohh they put n. antropov to be captain he dozz not even have 60 points soo your left with a guy with only 57 points even the worst nhl teams has a scorer of 90 points at leest.leafs suck and thats that.mat you shal be welcome.
June 22nd, 2008 at 12:01 am
Anyway, stats will say who 1st line is!
2007-2008 season. In the beginning, Koivu line was called 1st line. Gradually, Ak-TK-AK line became the No. 1. Stats rule!
June 22nd, 2008 at 1:01 pm
Bob Gainey is going to talk person to person with Mats Sundin. He’s heading over to Sweden over the next three days. I think It’s a 50-50% chance!
June 22nd, 2008 at 1:08 pm
what about Plekanec, he used to play left wing in the AHL. imagine plekanec sundin and kovalev!:)
June 22nd, 2008 at 1:42 pm
TP-MS-AK, you’re right, that would be a potent line. Then you have AK46-Koivu- AT on the second line. Let’s just hope Sundin signs.
June 22nd, 2008 at 1:59 pm
but ummm we have 11 Mill left. Mikhail Grabovski, Josh Georges,Ryan O’Byrne,Patrice Bisebois,Andrei Kostitsyn,Mark Streit,Bryan Smolinski,Michael Ryder and Jaroslav Halak as unrestricted and restricted Free Agents!!!!! I predict Sundin to only get about 60 pts with us anyways! Streit is better than that and Kostitsyn will probably get close to 70 this upcoming year! If u can sign Sundin to like 5 or 6 Mill that’s fine.
June 22nd, 2008 at 2:16 pm
you’re joking, right? 5 mil for Sundin? we won’t sign for anything under 7 mil/season. And you would rather have Streit? Did you watch the playoffs, where Streit continously gave away the puck? C’mon now.We don’t need a defensive liability!
June 22nd, 2008 at 2:27 pm
“…Bob Gainey has a nine-day window to try and persuade Sundin to sign on with the Habs, and the Toronto Star reports that the Canadiens general manager will travel to Sweden this week for a one-on-one discussion…”
Sundin agreed BG’s travel to Sweden. This is highly possible…
June 22nd, 2008 at 2:47 pm
STU11. Mats Sundin had 78 points last year on a real bad leafs team and he also missed a few games due to injury. You think he will only get 60 points on a high powered offence team like montreal??????? You are kidding right? Sundin will get 80 to 90 points in montreal. No joke.
June 22nd, 2008 at 3:16 pm
Are we losing Higgins in this whole Sundin Deal?
http://www.thestar.com/Sports/Hockey/article/447363
June 22nd, 2008 at 5:56 pm
TSN is saying it will most likely only cost us a second round pick just to trade for his rights. It will be interesting though if both toronto and montreal both throw some other players into the mix though.
June 22nd, 2008 at 6:00 pm
I think getting Tanguay was a good decision. I’m interested to see if Montreal will take another shot at Hossa. I seem to remember reading something in which he said that he would take less money to go to a good team… I don’t what the heck that is supposed to mean but maybe money isn’t the issue? I don’t know…
coutNY - that’s the first I heard about the possibility of trading Higgins for Sundin. I had heard that getting Sundin migh involve a trade but I hadn’t heard anything about who might be traded. That would kind of be too bad if it was Higgins….
June 22nd, 2008 at 8:29 pm
I can see a multi player swap on the Sundin deal as well.Wouldn’t mind a big Russian forward from T.O.From the Habs you can offer Grabs,Streit,Ryder,Dandy and or Draft picks.
June 22nd, 2008 at 8:39 pm
I sincerely hope the Habs don’t need to give up a top-2 liner for the rights to have spoken and sign Sundin. That said, stop dreaming in technicolour!! If there is a back room deal, it will certainly not involve the rights to 2 guys (Ryder and Streit) who are UFAs next week anyway!!! Furthermore, I doubt the Laffs want Dandy with his hefty salary.
I have full trust in Bob, but am quite worried that Sundin would arrive with great hope and get injured within a month… at least don’t give up to much for a week’s worth of gabbing and a nice trip to Sweden!!
June 22nd, 2008 at 8:50 pm
Just checked the ‘rumours’ on tsn.ca (a fairly reliable source, compared to others): “While not confirmed, it’s suspected that the Maple Leafs will get a second-round pick in return for Sundin if a contract with the Canadiens can be reached.”
That’s better!
Higgins… sheeesh!!
June 22nd, 2008 at 11:00 pm
“but am quite worried that Sundin would arrive with great hope and get injured within a month…”
What is it with people like you ?
Some people just can’t be happy can they? I mean the guy is not even here yet and your all ready talking about him injured unreal.
June 23rd, 2008 at 12:20 am
If we don’t get Sundin I would love it if that maniac Sean Avery became a Hab.
June 23rd, 2008 at 3:07 am
“I have full trust in Bob, but am quite worried that Sundin would arrive with great hope and get injured within a month” — JackHab
What an utterly stupid thing to say! JackHab is a complete idiot.
June 23rd, 2008 at 3:15 am
How about Sundin centering the Kostitsyn boys? The Kostitsyns didn’t play together much last year, and I bet they would make a big impact playing with a Hall of Famer like Sundin. Happy Days are coming in Montreal.
June 23rd, 2008 at 8:12 am
if he did center them koivu kovalev tanguay=1st line
June 23rd, 2008 at 8:13 am
koivu is better with kovalev then pleks. hey we can have two 2nd lines taht way
June 23rd, 2008 at 8:14 am
that**
June 23rd, 2008 at 9:29 am
I’m not saying I rather have streit, but I want to have kostitsyn or streit back. If we lose both that would suck. If we lose streit and get sundin I’ll be happy. Sundin will suck here in the begining in the first place. I would put him on the 3rd line until the midway part of the season. I think captain Koivu should be on the 1st line. Plekanec is going to be better this year, but put him on the 2nd line to give us a more balanced attack! Koivu is going to be awaesome this season, because he knows he didn’t have the greatest season last year.
June 23rd, 2008 at 9:35 am
and don’t think I’m excited about this sundin thing, It’sjust that I don’t want to lose these young guys and if the trade involves Higgins I would just wait until free Agency and give up on Streit. Sundin will just take a while to settle in but half way through the season he’s going to be on fire!I’m excited to see what happens. Bob Gainey is on a mission!!!!1
June 23rd, 2008 at 3:17 pm
We are not going to lost Kostitsyn. However, we will have to ante up to get him. He will end up getting between $4.0-$4.5M — anything less than that would be a steal. As for losing young guys to get Sundin, let’s wait and see what the price is, shall we? Sending a guy like Grabovski to TO is not a bad deal for the Canadiens. There is no way Gainey is sending Higgins to TO for 10 days of Negotiating Rights with a player who is going to be a free agent on July 1st. Gainey is an intelligent and methodical GM, he has not made one stupid move yet. About the only thing he didn’t do that I disagree with, is not trading Streit at the trade deadline, when he could have probably gotten a 1st Round draft choice for him. Now, Streit is going to walk, and the Habs will get nothing.
June 23rd, 2008 at 3:55 pm
I think Kostitsyn will take a better cut than that 4.5 Mill would be too much 2.5 or something would be fine. and I wouldn’t be surprised if Streit signs with us again, because I don’t think Sundin is coming here. I would like it, but I just can’t see it. Bob Gainey is smart and I think he’s going to re sign the good players. and look out for next year’s off season. Kovalev,Tanguay,koivu are all untrestricted free agents!!!
June 23rd, 2008 at 4:09 pm
If you think Kostitsyn is going to sign for $2.5M you are dreaming. It’s wishful thinking, and just not going to happen. For sure Sundin is coming here, Gainey is not going to Sweden for nothing. I didn’t know both Kovalev and Koivu were coming up next season too. It will be hard to keep all of those players, but not impossible. A Stanley Cup parade down St. Catherine’s street would surely help.
June 23rd, 2008 at 4:19 pm
lol yeah lets hope they win it all next year!
June 23rd, 2008 at 4:27 pm
imagine seeing koivu,kovalev and sundin picking up the cup!
June 23rd, 2008 at 5:56 pm
Kostitsyn will sign for around 3 million. 3.5 max.
June 23rd, 2008 at 6:28 pm
thank u! lol
June 23rd, 2008 at 8:48 pm
Well I see everybody is excited including myself. This is a greaat time of year especially when we are involved in the process. Let’s take a look at what we have.
Tanguay should improve our first line, it lacked the offensive punch that our second line had.
Sundin, I am incline to agree that we have a better than 50-50 chance of getting him. As far as the trade thing there was no trade, it was acquiring the rights to talk to him. If we do not sign him the leafs get vertually nothing, if we sign him I expect that we give up a non-roster player in Hamilton maybe.
I can not understand why everyone is so down on Streit, firstly what does he bring to the table. He has a good shot for the PP point shot. He can play both defence or forward which makes him valuable. Everyone complains about how he played in the playoffs, but lets remember, he had the same injury that Komy had and was only out a week, whereas Komy was out almost a month and never did recover to is old self when it did come back. I cannot help but think that if Komy were fully healthy the series with Philly would have been a little closer. Streit was rated very highly by the coaching staff as well as Gainey so he does bring something to the table that few can. I for one would sign him at a reasonable $ value.
One thing we have not improved on yet is our defence and sorry I disagree that we have a strong enough defence to beat a team like Detroit. We still need a good top four defenseman. To complete with Detroit. At times Detroit made Pittsburg out like a Junior B team. We have a ways to go to be as good as them. I am not saying we cannot get there but we still need a power foward and one strong defenseman.
June 23rd, 2008 at 9:07 pm
Sundin brings some size to us up front but Sundin is not a hitter or someone who likes to stand in front of the net. He is a perimeter player. Like Kovalev, and Koivu. All three are perimeter players, so we still have not addressed out need for a go to the net player, that is what we needed to beat Philly last year and it is not going to be any different this year.
June 23rd, 2008 at 9:08 pm
Gainey should sign Streit and then trade him. Same thing for Ryder. It’s not a good idea letting these guys go for nothing. Somebody will take them, even if it’s only for a 2nd or 3rd rounder. Florida needs defencemen, and so do the Coyotes now. Maybe also trade Dandenault for either a 2nd Round draft choice or a switch in 1st Rounders, and give the minutes to O’Byrne, who is bigger and tougher, and ready to play in the NHL.
June 23rd, 2008 at 9:09 pm
On Tanguay:
Reached at his home in Lac Beauport shortly after the trade was announced, Tanguay couldn’t contain his excitement about donning the Canadiens’ sweater.
“I couldn’t be happier about coming to Montreal,” admitted Tanguay, who helped lead the Avalanche to the Stanley Cup in 2001. “With my no-trade clause I could have said no, but I really want to play for the Canadiens. I know how strong a team we have and that I won’t have to be Mario Lemieux or even Guy Lafleur. I hope to contribute to getting this team to the next level.”
June 23rd, 2008 at 10:08 pm
Sundin doesn’t owe Leafs anything
Bruce Arthur, National Post
Published: Monday, June 23, 2008
TORONTO — Let him go. Let Mats Sundin walk towards the sunrise, whether to Montreal or New York or Sweden.
Let him wear the bleu, blanc et rouge, or the blue, white and red, or whatever he happens to have in the closet that day. Maybe it will be purple pants and a lime-green turtleneck, and maybe he’ll look like an idiot. But it won’t matter, Toronto Maple Leafs fans, because he won’t be yours anymore….
http://www.nationalpost.com/sports/story.html?id=608605
June 23rd, 2008 at 10:23 pm
The guys who stand in front of the net looking for deflections don’t last very long. They take a beating, are often injured, and most of them are journeymen hockey players. You don’t want a thoroughbred like Sundin taking abuse in front of the net. Mats is extremely strong, and very difficult to knock off the puck. With his strength, talent, and reach, he can score goals and make plays from up close.
June 23rd, 2008 at 11:32 pm
I say we go after Brad Suart if we let Streit walk
June 24th, 2008 at 8:40 am
Would be surprised if they sign Sundin, and don’t go a little further before the beginning of the season. They are getting top-heavy on left wing. Think Higgins, Ryder, and possibly one other player will be gone prior to the season with some effort made to solidify the D even more. A little more physical support on the back end will be really important. Maybe an experienced back up?
June 24th, 2008 at 12:07 pm
We have to get Kostitsyn back though! I rather give up Sundin than him any day!!! If we want size go after Sundin but if he wants too much just go after some 3rd line centre. Federov would love to play for Montreal! I would love Sundin, but I’m not prepared to lose all those young guys in the off season!
June 24th, 2008 at 4:53 pm
now the rangers are involved with Sundin…I say whatever if he comes great and if he doesn`t we can find someone else.
Federov.. really I heard Kovalev and Federov don`t get along??did anyone else heard that.
June 24th, 2008 at 4:54 pm
Stuo11, stop worrrying about Kostitsyn. Montreal is going to sign him, the only question will be for how much. I hope I’m wrong, but I still think around 4.0 M to get him back. He was quoted as saying he paid his dues in Hamilton and now the Canadiens have to be patient with him, because he’s going to take his time. That doesn’t sound like a guy that’s going to sign for less than market value. As for Sundin, I read on TSN where Bob McKenzie thinks Sundin is going to test the UFA waters after July 1 — if that’s the case, Sundin coming to Montreal is 50-50 at best.
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=241537&lid=headline&lpos=topStory_main
If we don’t get Sundin, let’s re-sign Streit and bring in Fedorov who, as you said, would look good on the 3rd line, with maybe some power play duty. How about Jagr in Montreal?
Spike, I agree with you about another D-man. I would trade Higgins and Ryder any day to get a physical 4th defenceman. I also think O’Byrne could fill that role.
June 24th, 2008 at 6:05 pm
Senet 1….posts 60 and 61 made more sense than all the other posts combined…. Streit is the real deal and is still underrated, Gainey should NOT trade him. We still need to beef up our defense, another Komisarek/O’Byrne kind of guy would round it out very nicely with talent (Markov, Streit) and size (Komi, O’Byrne, +1)….and yes we still need a power forward who can play in front of the net. Radical Dude’s comment about those type of players not lasting long is completely unrelated. Who cares how long the guy lasts? We’re looking for a Cup not to further a guy’s career, and if he chooses to be that type of player, and has an opportunity to win the Cup so what? You’re telling me you would turn down a Tomas Holmstrom because you don’t think he will last long in the league? That’s ridiculous. He was key in the Redwing’s Cup run and to say otherwise is absolutely ludicrous.
June 24th, 2008 at 7:07 pm
I think it would be really easy for the habs to get someone like campbell. Campbell likes the east and he probably see’s what the habs are doing right now. Wade Redden would be nice also. But I don’t think Sundin is coming. If we sign Streit back, forget about all the D **** lol. O’Byrne is gonig to be really good next season, something like what Komi was this past year. I think that if we bring those valuable players back and just bring in a huge forward like Laraque or something we’ll do fine. with Tanguay I already think no one can take us in the east, but I’m worried about the west.
June 24th, 2008 at 8:47 pm
campbell is overated to me
June 24th, 2008 at 9:25 pm
Radical Dude: Sorry I disagree, you cannot be a one dimension team because you can pass all day but if you do not get the shots through or screen the goalie then you are not going to win. Philly shut down our offense because we were not willing to go to the net, we made their goalie look good. Sure he stopped a lot of shots but most NHL goalie will stop 99% of the shots if they can see them. There is more than just standing in front of the net or deflecting the puck. It is a combination of screening, deflecting, fighting for position, creating space for the smaller players. This allows you to have a multi-dimensional offensive which is hard to defend against.
June 24th, 2008 at 9:27 pm
Streit is UFA. He can’t be traded! What real deal is he? at turning over the puck? and not being able to defend? Please watch reruns from the playoffs. he was awful! good riddans to him!
June 24th, 2008 at 9:37 pm
hab faithful: Well first of all I thing you are over stating his his erros and secondly, he played really well until he got injuried. Then we expect him to play as well as he did before his injury. Gainey himself said that he brought a lot to the table and when you have a player that can play both up front and back on the D give your coach a lot more options when setting the lineup. I for one thinks he is worth keeping.
June 24th, 2008 at 9:48 pm
Senet, I think what you want for Les Habitants is toughness. Sundin is plenty tough, and if you can’t see that, you’re blinder than my grandmother. He’s not a “hitter” but toughness cannot be measured just in the number of hits you dish out. Sundin cannot be knocked off the puck easily — to me, that is TOUGH, the kind of TOUGH that can win you a Stanley Cup. I agree that the Habs need more guys that will take the body, but expecting that from Sundin is barking up the wrong tree. Give O’Byrne more minutes on the ice, and watch him throw some big hits. Same thing for Latendresse, he can hurt people if given the green light by the Coach. Both of these guys need more ice time, in order to deliver the punishing hits that we both agree the Canadiens need to dish out.
June 24th, 2008 at 9:57 pm
Radical Dude: First of all there is no need to get personal. Secondly, I never said that Sundin was not tough I said he is a perimeter player and although I would like to see him on our team what I said was that we still have not addressed the issue of a power forward that will go to the net. We put 40+ shots on net almost every game against Philly. You cannot have a team that can only play the perimeter, that is what I said, that is what cost us a chance to play Pittsburg and that is what is going to stop us from winning the cup. We need to address that need because we cannot go into the playoff again next year without someone who is willing to screen the goalie and do all the little things that make an offense work. Yes we have a lot of goal scores and if Sundin signs with us we will have two more than we had last year. But philly showed us how to shut down the best offense in the league by playing the defense can we were willing to stay out on the perimeter and not cash the net. It is basic hockey and it is not rocket science.
June 24th, 2008 at 10:03 pm
Alias, you need to get your head out of your drawers, open your eyes, and stop putting words in my mouth. Did I say I didn’t like Tomas Holmstrom? Did I say I wouldn’t take a Holmstrom if he was available? Those kinds of players don’t grow on trees. Maybe Pacioretty can develop into a good power forward in a couple of years. But right now, there is nobody like that on the Habs, except maybe Latendresse, who has the size and the potential, but not the full confidence of the coach. When we had John LeClair, one of the great power forwards to play the game, we traded him for a song and a dance one year after winning the Stanley Cup where he was one of the leading scorers in the playoffs. Bad trades like that can destroy a team, and that’s exactly what happened.
June 24th, 2008 at 10:06 pm
I am sure Gainey and Carbo will not want there new acquistion IF HE SIGNS to stand in front of the net and screen goalies. Sundin was successful not only because of his talent but also for the last two years he had Tucker and then Antropov going to the net. Sundin was great on the rebounds and picking holes on screened goalies.
June 24th, 2008 at 10:12 pm
Senet, I’m not getting personal. We are in agreement that the Habs need some more physical forwards. What I disagree with you about is calling Sundin a “permimeter” player. He’s not a perimeter player, he is a lot tougher than you give him credit for, and a lot stronger on the puck. He will go to the net to score a goal, but he’s not going to live there — nor should he. He’s got more game than that. Anyway, I don’t want to belabour the point, ok? Let’s get him signed first, and then we can argue about how good or bad he is.
June 24th, 2008 at 10:14 pm
Radical Dude: Exactly right, your should never put words in someone elses mouth. But is seems that you did exactly that to me in regard to saying I said Sundin was not tough. You see this is why you should not get personal. We are all hockey fans who happen to cheer for the same team and we all are entitled to our own opinions. Seems to me that needs to be the first lesson about this blog.
June 24th, 2008 at 10:18 pm
Radical Dude: I agree with you that Sundin is as tough as they come and yes he will go to the net for the rebounds. But his skill level is the same as Kovelev, they live on the outside and take their best shot. Sundin ran the leafs offense and PP from the outside never from the slot or in front of the net. With a power foward on his line he would be terrific.
June 24th, 2008 at 10:19 pm
hey guys a dirty guy like that is Sean Avery lol but him a hab? He screened the hell out of Brodeur!
June 24th, 2008 at 10:26 pm
Latendresse: He has great potential, but he never should have made the team two years ago, he should have been sent back to Juniors, then this year he should have played in Hamilton.