What happened between Mike K. and the Habs? Did he not want to resign with the Habs. Again I ask, “WHY NOT?”
I like our forward signings but our D will NOT be better.

AND.. where is the big center icemen signing that we desperately need. BOB Gainey has his work cut out for him. I’m not sure that the Habs are any better today than they were yesterday. I HOPE I’M WRONG!!!

I’ve slept on it… but I still don’t like it.

Most of you know tat I am often quick to come to the defense of Gainey in most situations – mainly because of his ‘do no harm’ attitude which left us in an incredible position this off season with the ability to change the team for the better while other teams were mired in cap problems. I thought it may have been the Canada Day Whiskys mixed with my Irish blood that provoked my anger last night when I took final stock of Gainey’s work, but I’m still not pleased this morning despite a fantastic breakfast and hot coffee.

Say what you will about the Gomez deal. I was among the first to chime in about seeing Gainey’s work not on a signing by signing basis, but rather as a whole. This was because, I fully expected Gainey to land the “impact player” he has teased us with for years. Finally, I thought, the Canadiens have carte blanche to go out and get a star – almost without regard to the cost in order to build this franchise going forward. I wasn’t disapointed when Lecavalier didn’t happen. I was bummed, but optimistic when the Sedins signed early in the day in Vancity. When Hossa signed in Chicago, I immediately thought: “Here it is Bob, Marion Gaborik is out there and you have the cash to make it happen. If that fails you have an incredible talent in Havlat who could have the Centre Bell standing on its feet every time he touches the puck.” I waited, and watched as we signed Mike Cammalleri, which I truly believe will be a good signing in the end because of his ability to go to the net. And finally I read, after a night of Canada Day celebration with fellow Canadian friends in Boston that the Canadiens had rounded out their roster with Brian Gionta.

I should preface this by stating that as my screen name suggests, my favorite player of all time was 5′7″. Mats Naslund was my first hero. I do not hate the Gionta signing because he is little (because he is feisty, and a good player). I don’t hate it because we added 5′7″ Brian Gionta to our already under-sized roster, but that we gave him a raise to $5M per season over the next 5 years apparently with the strategy of $1M for every inch over 5′ that he can stretch. Kidding aside, and with no intended disrespect to Gionta who is a tenacious worker, and has the capability to help offensively – he is no Gaborik or Havlat. Once again, the Canadiens will step up to the plate with a capable roster that is utterly devoid of ‘Big Time Potential’. With $34M Gainey was incapable of bringing in one game changer.

The final insult is this: The trade that we made to acquire Scott Gomez was the cog that allowed NY the capspace to go out and get Gaborik. While the Canadiens did infuse the roster with a bunch of hard-working, capable NHLers, our holes and weaknesses are still many. We have lost our Captain who led us through our darkest days. We have watched the most dynamic player since Lafleur, seemingly walk into the night without concern for where we would be without L’Artiste these past few seasons. We watched our arch rivals snatch up our most physical defenseman in the prime of his career for a measly $400,000 per season more than we offered.

When confronted with my own advice – to take the moves not as individual actions, but together as a strategy moving forward it becomes obvious that Gainey once again balked at the opportunity to bring in a bonafide offensive power. We can’t use the excuse that he wanted to avoid the long-term ramifications that other teams like Detroit and Chicago will need to deal with – because Gomez, Gionta, and Cammalerri are all signed long term. While there is potential for a good first line, it is built with second tier players once again.

I am a Habs fan through and through and always will be. I always see the best in what the Habs have. Maybe in time, as the season starts and positives emerge from the signings, I will warm to the idea o this summer’s moves. But upon first impression I cannot deny the fact that I am disappointed that instead of building a contender we remain a middle of the pack team with size issues once again. Our cap space has been negated for a long time to come, and it cost us a defensive prospect to allow another team to sign one of the targets we could have gotten.

In all I hope to be proven wrong, because I can see the upside in Cammalleri, Gomez, Gill, Spacek and Gionta. At least we won’t have to listen about Lecavalier or Sundin rumors all season long.

I dont think you will see any of our UFA’s back. I hope gainey moves pleckanecs and a prospect for a bigger centre. God we are so small, we are going to get creamed.

I don’t think we have cap space for Tanguay, Lang. If Kovy comes back it will be for a huge dicount to wear the ‘C’. He might be mad he didn’t sign the offer Gainey made July 1st. I think Bob put offers out to guys he wanted and took the first ones to say yes, regardless of size or position. He has a little room to make an aquisition, but not a lot.
So:
Gionta Gomez Cammalleri
SK Plek AK
Latendresse Lapierre Stewart
Pacioretty Chipchura D’Agostini

That’s two small, incredibly fast lines; two big rugged, fast lines (if Chips achilles is better this year)
Metropolit, Laraque, Maxwell, Glumac, Darche all capable inserts (with Henry and Weber the 7th guy on D).

I think our success depends on the brothers maturing together. That might not comfort anyone who watched them last year, but they are phenomenally gifted with the puck, not the presence of L’Artiste (who’d look damn fine on the 1st or 2nd line!!!), but nearly the same deceptive ability. They can hopefully learn from Gomez and Gionta how small forwards can be brilliant defesively.

Yes, MatsN, a big star would have been nice, but does not gaurantee a better team. I agree that if this team doesn’t WIN, it will be not very entertaining to watch.

Note: the average age of the last three lines as I’ve laid them out (and my name is not Jacques Martin) is probably 23-24, and closer to 23. They will be learning and improving under an experienced NHL coach. I said before, I’m an optimist, but this is how I see things!
Go, Habs, GO!

There is only the slightest of chances that Kovy, Koivu, Tanguay or Lang return next season. I’ve heard this from almost all sources in the media connected to the team. Kovy was offered his contract, and when he hesitated, was replaced by Cammalleri. If anyone is going to be back from our UFAs it will be Dandenault, who I would welcome back openly because of his versatility and clutch performances during the past few years. The slight chance as I have heard in the past hours is a rumour that Kovy or Koivu would take a large pay cut for a ‘longish’ (4yrs) term deal to remain the Captain – although I have also heard that Gainey is more concerned with finding new leadership now that Komi, who was being groomed for the role has taken off to Hogtown.

As for a trade for a centre, Gainey is going to have to role the dice to make it happen. If he does go that route he should target young centres who have not fully reached their potential. I’m thinking of a Brandon Dubinsky type player (although it would never happen between NYR and MON now). To be honest, I’m quite surprised Bob didn’t go that route in the first place. If he was willing to trade capspace, he could have saved himself some grief by looking at a cheaper, younger option for a big second line centre, and attempt to swing a trade (with capspace, Plex and prospect) mid-way through the season when teams begin to panic about their roster or cash situation, or next year’s cap. Of course the fans would have let him hear all about that scenario too.

Whats done is done as they say. Luckily for me, as a married man, I let things go with lightning speed. I’m starting to see possibilities where my emotion and disappointment did not allow me a few days ago. I still really feel we should have landed a top winger, but in the end, the team needs its youth to step up.

Everyone has been talking about how Gomez and Gionta had Elias on their line in NJ lately in the Habs blogosphere. I’ve wondered to myself if Gui or Andrei couldn’t be that type of larger body on the top line that they could play off of. While I don’t like our size at centre I do like the possibility of seeing Kostitsyn and Cammallerri on the ice at the same time, given how much Andrei likes to sit on the perimeter and fire away, and how effectively Cammalerri moves into open spaces and cashes in on rebounds. Maybe the shot Kostitsyn needs is to have his mentor Kovy gone, in order to get the puck in the spaces Kovalev usually took up on the ice. They have a very similar style. I’m also excited for the possibility of seeing Mad Max as a year older and stronger. I really believe he has the skill set to make a significant contribution this year. If we can have a few of our younger defenseman step up this year (especially O’Byrne) we could actually have a decent mix of experience and youth.

In the end, just like every team in the league, our success will stem from having young, cheap players realize their potential.

Thats the thing.. What has left me scratching my head about this whole situation is this: In a cap system you need your high paid players to produce, otherwise they are a drain on the team. Gainey is making a huge gamble that the ’stars’ he has brought in will do so – because he has invested in them so significantly that if one of the younger players on the team do become the Getzlaf or Parise etc we’ve been looking for, he may not necessarily have the capspace long term to keep that player. Its not like he’s going to be able to trade Gomez or Gionta if the Kostitsyns suddenly become the Sedins. He’s now very locked into these guys for the next five years. What happens next season if Sergei or Lapierre go out and sore similar numbers to one of the top line guys? Are they going to want 5 million per for 5 seasons? Gainey has set the bar high for average to good players such as Gionta. I mean one could potentially argue that Gionta is worth $5 million per season at age 30, but will he still be in 2013/14 when he’s 35? The fact that my prevailing feeling is that the Habs youth must now win IN SPITE of Gainey’s manoeuvrings is not a good one. I’ll still be watching this teams every move at that point, but I cannot shake the feeling that Bob took a golden opportunity to set this team up long term, and failed to do so. I hope I’m wrong and that a year from now everyone in the league is trying to copy the tiny first line of the Canadiens, but I suspect they wont be.

I see the Habs getting one of the top draft picks in the 2010 draft. Any quality they had has been dismantled.

Its been said in many forums so far this week, but now that the news is official and Saku Koivu has decided to move on with his career in Anaheim, I wanted to add a quick word on the departure of the longest serving Captain in Canadiens history. He leaves the team with 792 games played in the tricolor which is good enough for 19th on the all time list, but one wonders where he would have been had he not lost time fighting cancer and other untimely injuries. Of all the glorious skaters who have called the Canadiens their team Saku sits 10th in points among a group of players who are honored with jerseys hung in the rafters never to be worn by others. Though his Canadiens never won the Stanley Cup, he personified what it means to be the Captain of the Habs, by fighting for every loose puck, and every inch of space on the ice. I will never forget the way he led his team to continual victories over the Bruins over the years. I will never forget his generosity with the community through the Saku Koivu foundation. Most of all I will never forget this moment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HS9dbVL7PKk – one of the greatest moments I’ve witnessed in Habs history. It was a standing ovation that lasted seemingly forever, and upon watching it reminded me of similar ovation for another beloved Canadien: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DS_x0FwuqY&feature=PlayList&p=1F87B64EA80B4080&index=56.

Saku Koivu leaves the Canadiens at a time of upheaval in the organization. While some have focused on the dysfunction and failure last season, I cannot ignore what Koivu has meant to the city of Montreal during his time here. Cheers to Saku Koivu who was a warrior who cared about the CH so much even when a select few questioned his ability. There will be an obvious piece of the team missing next October when the games begin, and although the team will move forward as it always has, I hope that one day Saku will get the recognition that he deserves from the Canadiens franchise.

Avatar37 – To clarify Koivu is tied with Beliveau at 10 as longest serving. Maybe you are not counting the lockout year.. but considering he was still under contract and would have been captain that to me would be splitting hairs.

As for Havlat being compared to Kovalev or Jagr, I’m not really sure what you’re getting at. Jagr is among all time leaders for points and enjoyed 15 consecutive seasons with 30 or more goals. Havlat would do well to be in that category. He did, however, lead his team in regular season and playoff scoring last season. He is a big player who is a proven scorer, and while some complain that he is soft, I am not the type of person who nitpicks every facet of every players game. Goal scorers do so. Grinders do their job. If the two don’t mix so be it, as long as the job gets done. That was our biggest problem last season. Havlat would have been an upgrade from anything we had on the roster last year as well as anything on the roster for this one. As for Kovy, for all of the drama last season he still led the team in scoring. I wasn’t implying above that Gainey should have signed him back, just that there weren’t a whole lot of other guys stepping in to fill his spot while he struggled. We’re still going to be counting on those same guys this year – and so I was asking if having Kovy lead our team with 65 points was scary, the next guy on the list still with the club not named Markov had 41.

As for Camallerri, I have nothing but positives to say about the signing. He isn’t the biggest guy in the world, but he has a nose for the net, and always seems to put the puck in. We need that.

Finally I also have to disagree about Lang. The guy was a terrible skater to begin with and has since suffered a damaging injury and is 39. If having Dandenault around is a waste (even though he can play both forward and defense which is critical in the late stages of the season with injuries to contend with), what is the point in having Robert Lang take up cap and roster space? If the point is to get younger and faster, Lang would do the exact opposite.

Well, I think the signing of Mara buries Dandenault, unless he’s happy being in the pressbox as the 7th D abnd the 13th Forward.

I like Mara. It may be Bob’s way of justifying Price as a franchise guy, but so what. I’m ready to call our D the best in the league right now.

Avatar, did you watch the Cup finals. After watching the Wings dismantle a pretty good Chicago D, I was convinced they would exploit Gill with fast forwards, not to mention the Mule and Holstrom. Didn’t happen! Not only didn’t happen, Gill was perhaps the biggest unexpected reason the Pens got to celebrate. He was shut-down Awesome!!! Penalty kill hero! (game 7, I thought Eaton also played great) Gonchar was great all series, but defensively Gill was the leader. Game 7, less than 10 seconds left, faceoff to the left of Fleury. Who is on the ice on that side? Blocks a shot, and then blocks two wings from the rebound. Now, Fleury still has to throw his body at a Lidstrom shot, but that is a pretty good RedWings team! You can watch the play here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kANbgKP6seM&feature=PlayList&p=D4A0ECEA9BA47DFB&index=17

I’ll take that pylon in front of Price!
Not a great fighter, but he has a hard head!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFrX-dLQ_pQ

Go Habs!

Mats Naslund – TSN considers him to have been the captain of the Habs for 9 years, Wikipedia lists him as 10. http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=284086
As a fan of Koivu, I won’t split that hair with you. =) It certainly won’t be the same with someone else as captain, although personally I’d like to see Markov get it. A quiet, unassuming character who simply lets his playing do all the talking necessary, I can’t imagine where our defense would be without him. He is one russian I’d have on my team any day.

Jagr, on the other hand, like Kovalev, has tons of talent and is a natural goal scorer, but unfortunately, is highly prone to floating through or around the neutral zone, not playing a physical game, is easily thrown off his game by a big hit, and for the most part is a defensive liability. I have no use for players that don’t show up to play every game, every shift, one of the reasons I loved Begin. Didn’t matter what the score was, he was always skating, always hitting, always playing 100%, injured or sick.

http://www.boston.com/sports/hockey/bruins/articles/2004/04/14/souray_pins_the_blame_on_kovalev?mode=PF

Not only did Kovalev give up on the play and leave the puck, he then took Souray out on the play so that he couldn’t get there either and it cost them the game. Granted, this was one of the more obvious examples of Kovalev’s lack of heart, but if you payed close attention, there were more times when he was floating than there were when he was showing us his brilliance. I believe that regardless of what role you play on the team, be it grinder or scorer, you have to play with heart and effort, every game, every shift. If you’re not there to win then you shouldn’t be on the ice at all, I don’t care how much talent you have, there’s no room for quitters and floaters on my team.

We can agree to disagree about Lang, Lang actually has talent to play center, while he may not be the fastest skater in the world, neither is Dandenault. Lang had 39 points and a +6 in 50 games last year on a team that was struggling. Dandenault had 12 and was a +7 (41 GP). More than that, though, he impressed me with his on ice intelligence and effort, I would have liked to see what he could do in a full season. I would have also liked to have seen another season with Tanguay too, but alas that won’t happen. I’m still holding an outside hope that Lang will be back. He makes a really good #2 center which we’re in need of. I know his injury is a really tough one to overcome, and if his future is not with Montreal, I wish him the best of luck in returning to his professional career.

I agree with your analysis of the defense, although size does not necessarily equate to toughness. I noticed the comments from Ranger fans about Mara leaving were mostly that he was the hardest working player on their team and wears his heart on his sleeve, so that bodes well. O’Byrne has size but still has to prove he can play in the NHL. Scoring on his own net didn’t help in that department, however I am willing to write off that one incident as nerves. We’ll see how he performs this year, although it may be his last shot with the Habs. Mara being on a 1 year contract is also on a “tryout year”, so it will be interesting to see how he does.

Habknot – Yes, I watched the entire stanley cup playoffs, I even DVRed games that were on during another game, although it got annoying that they’d announce the score of the other game so frequently I knew the outcome before watching the recording. Gill *is* rather big, yes he blocked a shot in game 7 of a stanley cup final with less than 30 seconds left, and yes he managed to step in front of 2 players, 1 of whom went around him. With his size, he can clear out the front of the net, sure. It won’t take long, though, for fans to see that he’s like Brisebois… not very fast and easy to go around when the play is moving, such as the neutral zone, or if he’s backing up into the defensive zone. Awesome is certainly not a word I’d use in describing how he plays. At this point, I’d settle for “capable”, although from having watched him over the years, that might be a stretch.

I agree with you as far as Koivu and Komisarek go. The problem with Koivu’s penalties isn’t that they were mostly good ones (where he was saving a breakaway), but mostly they were bad ones (where he really didn’t need to hook the person but did anyway). I think he had a hard time adjusting to the new NHL rules for hooking. Regardless, I know I will miss him. He sure could be a sniper at times, and I loved the spirit he played with (although I think he learned alot of that from playing with Gilmour, because I noticed that after watching Gilmour play through injuries and go after people in the corners and hit them, Koivu really stepped up his own toughness.) As for Komisarek, I thought he was a vital part of the youth core of this team, but he simply didn’t want to resign in Montreal. I suggested on a post in TSN that perhaps as an anglophone, he felt he’d be more comfortable in an anglophone market, like Toronto. He hasn’t come out and said the reasons he picked Toronto, but it wasn’t for the extra $500,000 a year. Maybe the fans in Montreal booing the american anthem got to him? I know as a canadian that if I was playing in a foreign market and they booed my anthem it would make me less likely to want to come back. Regardless, only Komisarek knows, and he’s being too diplomatic to say. I do know we will miss him (remember when we traded away Desjardins and Leclaire? sigh)

A very good question to ask Senet1. The fact that Gionta and Gomez have been line-mates will probably help on that front (although it was a while back now). Luckily Cammalleri’s style will be conducive to building an early relationship as he is the type of guy that hangs around the good areas on the ice. In Calgary, he was a fantastic garbage man pouncing on loose pucks after shots from other players. Its exactly what I hoped Andrei Kostitsyn could do last year. With a couple years under his belt watching Kovy, I wouldn’t be surprised if he takes his spot on the PP, given his preference to have the puck on the perimeter, and ability to fire from the wing.

If the second line is some combo of Gui!, Plex, Sergei, Andrei, D’Ags and Mad Max there should be at least some chemistry/comfort from last year.

The real question mark will be defense. If those guys figure it out early – I’m not sure we have much of a problem. If they struggle, we’ll see a ripple through the rest of the roster – starting in net. It is hugely important that whoever is on the backend is responsible. Almost all of our troubles last season began when teams started skating around Komi, and the rest. They didn’t pay the price for going to the net and as a result got cheapo goals while we watched our franchise goalie turn into a shell of himself.

Hopefully Martin is able to implement a simple and effective defensive structure to compliment Carey’s style as a goalie who makes high percentage positioning stops, but has trouble when his defense doesn’t clear rebounds.

Tanguay is out of the question for the Habs at this point. His contract will still be around the $5 mil range because he is the last ‘name’ out there as a scorer. With Plex, Stewart, Gui!, and D’Ags left to sign we only have about $5.5 mil to play with. It will be interesting to see what shakes down on that front. I have read some rumors that Gainey is still talking with a few teams about cap deals, so there is a possibility that he may have one last deal left. It is not outside the realm of possibilities that Bob pulls the trigger on a deal that brings in a young centre if he can find a team that is looking to get cheaper or fill a spot. The best case scenario would be a guy that hasn’t hit his stride yet – but that is the dream. The reality is that once Plex is in arbitration – and Bob knows how much money he has left, a deal is made to keep him as the second line centre and the rest of the guys will be signed as expected. If he wanted to get really wacky he could have a go at an RFA.. there are still a couple guys that would be well worth having in the system, but of course that is a dangerous game to play.

Ok, I just woke up so disregard my last post because I still can’t see properly… Is it wrong that the first thing I do when I wake up is check to see if the Habs have made any moves or signed anyone?

Mats – “Hopefully Martin is able to implement a simple and effective defensive structure to compliment Carey’s style as a goalie who makes high percentage positioning stops, but has trouble when his defense doesn’t clear rebounds.”

You always ask the goalie to make the first save, it’s up to the defense and forwards to clear the rebounds out and/or tie up anyone from the other team that might get at them. Montreal’s defense has been guilty far too often of standing around and watching the other team put the rebound in the net. They need to be taught to actively be looking for incoming players and possible rebounds. I know that if *I* were coaching them, I’d be running alot of rebound control drills…

Regardless, I think Price is still years off developing into a stanley cup goaltender, and that’s to be expected, because it takes goaltenders alot longer to develop than any other position. My biggest fear is that the fans in Montreal won’t have the patience to wait a few years and he’ll wind up leaving or being traded to another team and then I’ll have to watch him turn into a great goalie and win cups for another team, while everyone in Montreal sits back and complains because we’re still not winning any cups and why couldn’t he play like this when he was here (remember Ryder?)

Mats I could not agree more, many times in the last two years I have said that Latendresse would improve with time. All you have to do is look at his stats and you can sse that each year his goal scoring improved on a per game basis and his plus minus improved each year as well as his physical presents on the ice. It is said when you think that he only played what 56 games last year and still had the third most hits on the team. As for the K boys, right again they need time to adjust to Montreal and the constant scrutiny of the fans and more important the media. I see the line of Plex, and the K boys being very successful this year. Actually as I posted yesterday, I think this team overall is a superior team to last year. I would have like to see an impact player but it would appear that they were not available because if BG is will to spend that much to get Gomez then he could have spend the same 7-8M and got another star if they were willing to come. We just did not have enough other than Markov and Price to trade for the star so he had to get them through UFA and it did not happen. We can’t look back on this with sour grapes and throw all the blame on BG it takes two to make a trade and two to make a deal. Who knows what went on behind the scenes that we do not know about. I like the looks of our defence and I like the looks of our overall size. I also like our speed.

I have not for once blamed Price for our misfortunes he had absolutely no support from his defence who seemed to be intimidated by the big strong forwards who would just walk in and put the rebound in without as much as being touched. A good friend of mind still blames Price for a lot of our problems, and after voicing my opinion many times I finally just stop talking about it when the subject comes up becuase I do not want to spoil our friendship but really talk about having blinders on. A young goalie’s confidence is fragile and without support he starts to blame himself and then his confidence is destroyed and he plays worse. I hope that this year we see the real Price in goal supported by a good strong defence. Well I guess I have said my piece for tonight.

I agree Mats, Price has wonderful potential if he’s allowed to develop it. I hate it when people say “Well, Roy didn’t need time”. How many Patrick Roys are there in the league? Or Brodeur? Price is Price and no one else, he obviously needs time to adjust and learn the NHL game. You’re right, you don’t wind up with a record like Price’s and not be a great goaltender. I notice that Martin brought in his own goaltending coach, it will be interesting to see what he changes in Price’s game. I agree about Latendresse as well. He’s young and was a second round draft pick. It almost seems like fans expect prospects to come up from the minors and play like the next Guy Lafleur or Roy and the reality is, that’s not going to happen.

I agree about the Kostitsyns, how long did it take the Sedins to adjust to the NHL? A few years. There are alot of young players on the team that need time to adjust and learn. It’s hard to do that when the fans and media are constantly on your back.

Criticism that plagues this franchise… I couldn’t have said it better myself!

Senet – Your good friend clearly doesn’t know alot about hockey. If you want to point fingers for last season, the last place to point them is at a 21 year old goaltender who had a .920 sv% his first year and a .905 sv% last year. His 2 year totals for the team are 47 wins, 28 losses, and 13 ties. He won the Molson cup the first month he played with the team as a rookie. He also is the first Canadiens rookie goaltender to record a playoff shutout since Roy. He was named to the NHL all star game in his second season. His record before playing for the Canadiens was so scary good, this guy has the potential to be a hall of fame goaltender. He is the only goaltender in hockey history to be named CHL Goaltender of the Year, World Junior Championship’s tournament MVP and win the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy, all in the same year. He is also the only goaltender in hockey history to win the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy the same year as playing junior. He simply needs time, the NHL game is unlike any other hockey league in the world, regardless of what the KHL would have you believe.

You are also absolutely correct, so many fans blame BG, forgetting the sad state the team was in before he was hired. He was once described by legendary Soviet coach, Viktor Tikhonov as “technically the best player in the world”. This guy knows hockey. He became the GM in 2003. Since he was hired, we’ve only missed the playoffs once (made it 4 times). The previous 5 years, we’d made the playoffs once and missed 4 times. He was personally responsible for drafting Price over who the fans wanted (Brule). Where is Brule now? Playing for the Springfield Falcons. BG is the best thing that’s happened to this time in I don’t know how long, we’ll see how things go under the new ownership.

habknot – Well, I don’t know about Montreal fans being the most knowledgeable in hockey, there are some that know quite alot and some that couldn’t find the Camembert if it was right in front of them. I think you’ll find that true of fans of any canadian team, though, and several american ones. I’m glad we can agree on defense and rebounds, it really will help Price’s confidence when he knows the team in front of him will help support and cover him.

We’ll have to disagree on Ryder though. Ryder personally put the nails in Montreal’s coffin during the playoff series against us. Here is an 8th round draft pick who during his first season had 63 points, 25 goals, and a +10. He followed that up with two 30 goal seasons (55 and 58 points respectively), had one bad year (in which *everyone* had a bad year), wasn’t resigned because of what the fans and media were saying, went to Boston, and promptly went back to scoring 27 goals, 53 points, and a +28. I have a really bad feeling we’re going to regret not resigning him, his numbers certainly show that he has skill and talent and the problem was with the team, and not him.

Holstrom is 6′0 203lbs, Franzen is 6′3 220lbs, Draper is 5′10 188lbs, Helm 5′11 172, Filpula 6′0 193lbs, they have 4 forwards under 6′0 tall and 3 of them are 5′11. Speed is fine but it’s only good going through the neutral zone or breaking into the offensive zone. Once you’ve set up in the offensive zone, if you don’t have size to fight for the puck in the corners or fight for position in front of the net, speed isn’t going to help you much, and you’re going to simply do what they’ve always done, skate around the perimeter until they lose the puck. You need to have a balance on each line, speed and size. Someone that can go into the corner and hit and dig the puck out, like Ryan Smyth. (I was always secretly hoping we’d find a way to get him) He’s a character player with LOADS of heart that always seems to find a way to get the puck. I hate watching the way the Habs cycle the puck, they skate around and around in the corners until they lose it then the other team breaks out. You need 1 person digging for the puck, 1 person as support, and 1 person in front of the net so that when you *do* get the puck, you have someone to pass it to in a scoring position. For God’s sake, PLEASE STOP CYCLING THE PUCK. It doesn’t work with small forwards. It’s like watching them play a passive box on the PK. IT DOESN’T WORK. You need to always play an aggressive box, closest man to the puck pressures it. Hopefully Martin will bring the changes on the ice we need.

I, as well, am looking forward to the season opener against the Leaf’s, I’m hoping Laraque is in full health so he can keep Orr in check!

Go HABS Go!

I love the Montreal Canadiens and subsequently I love fans of the Montreal Canadiens. I remember two seasons ago when the Canadiens clinched 1st in the East, I was in the middle of my bachelor party. That night I wore my hand-me-down Lafleur Jersey that my father had long-since grown out of and given to me as if a family heirloom. I was the beneficiary of so many high-fives, more drinks than I could deal with, and sessions of OLE! chants with other excited Habs fans that night. We owned the streets of my Southern Ontario hometown – much to the dismay of Leafs fans who would once again watch their team miss the post season. In our drunken delusion many, many guarantees were made about how the cup was ours and how Carey was Roy, and so on. In fact, reality had much different plans for the Canadiens.

That pesky reality.

It has continued since then. Lecavalier was ours. The Sedins were all but Habs. Even now, in the dog days of summer, when most players are sitting on a dock or a beach somewhere sipping on a brew, fans of the Canadiens are sitting at home deluding themselves. The latest example, and reason for this long-winded post is the Plekanec signing. On a team with not one, but hundreds of thousands of GM’s, the signing of Plekanec to a one-year $2.75 million deal was an outrage. How could he make that much money after such a disappointing year?

Reality.

Plekanec has scored 20 goals in three straight seasons. As Lions in Winter has pointed out recently, there are only 4 players in the league who have scored more goals in 3 seasons than Tomas and are signed for less. Given his age, and potential Plex at $2.75 is a bargain. A fact of reality that is absolutely lost on Habs fans who want to see every superstar in the league wearing the sweater. The fact is, unless our players have career years every season, we are unhappy. We have watched guys like Leclaire, Ribiero, Ryder move out of town only to improve on what they were as Canadiens, and yet, at first opportunity we jump all over guys like Plekanec and the Kostitsyns calling them soft, or cancers in the room. While I would love to see a guy like Marleau or Lecavalier in a Habs jersey, it is an unsustainable venture to always chase guys at their most expensive value. Not every young player works out, but unless you stick with them, you’re guaranteed to struggle even with top line talent because there is nobody in the system to support them.

My gut tells me that Gainey is finished. A trade for another impact player will be convoluted and could potentially cost us big time. Once D’Agostini and Stewart are signed, we will have around a million in cap space (more or less depending on which numbers you use). The only reason I still think a trade is a possibility is because of the reality facing the Sharks. They simply HAVE to do something. Bringing up AHL’ers isn’t even a possibility with their cap problems. Someone has to go, and for that reason (coupled with Gainey’s absolute lack of predictability this off season), I’m unwilling to close the door on the possibility.

Its been a couple of quiet days for Habs fans (no news is good news to all who endured last season). There is however, one rumour that is still making the rounds on message boards and blogs that Montreal is still in talks with either one or two teams about another trade.

For some reason a lot of names from the Sharks, Islanders, and Canadiens are being thrown around in a jumble. Since Edmonton and Ottawa haven’t come to any conclusion in their deal for Heatley it is fairly obvious that there is another team involved. Given that San Jose has done next to nothing to address their cap situation, it is more and more likely that they are trying to work out a few deals to build their roster for October. This may ultimately include Heatley playing with Thornton.

The situation is murky, but if you really think about the situation there is only one scenario that would truly solve the problems of each of the team involved. The situation is this:

San Jose needs 3 forwards and 1 goalie to have a minimum of roster players required. They have $500,000 – $900,000 to accomplish this depending on which numbers you go by. They need to deal a big contract to bring in cheaper pieces (or even to call up cheaper pieces). They cannot trade Marleau for Heatley straight up because they would lose $1M in cap on the deal. They cannot send extra players to even the cap hit because 1) they would only be worsening their roster dilemma, and 2) Ottawa is over the cap. This means that IF San Jose is serious about Heatley, they need to come up with a deal in which a team absorbs one of their larger contracts for several cheaper players in return.

Montreal: While Gainey most certainly should entertain every trade possibility that comes across his desk, the only way he can have the type of maneuverability he needs to take on a big contract like Marleau’s ($6.3M) is if he sends $4.2M in contracts to San Jose (we have $2.1 million remaining). That would work out to a combo of Plex + 1.45M worth of players. Laraque and Moen both make 1.5. If not one of those 2, it would require 2 younger players (Latendresse, Max Pac, D’Ags, SKost, Chipchura, Lapierre, Weber, Maxwell – which would be the better scenario for SJ) to leave in order to fit Marleau under our cap. While 2.1 million seems like a lot of breathing room, we do still require 1 more forward to fill out our roster as is, which means if you send 2 or 3 players to SJ, you have to have room to call up, sign the rest of the roster.

Enter the Islanders.

The Islanders have capspace, young players and the desire to put a few quality pieces beside Tavares. Given how tight Ottawa, San Jose, Montreal’s cap situations are NYI have the ability to provide the capspace to broker these deals. In return, they could potentially land some quality NHLers with larger contracts for relatively little:

If SJ gets its way in this deal we could see a guy like Cheechoo on Long Island next season. With 19 million in capspace, NY can afford to take on some contracts in order to fleece one or all of the teams involved in this scenario in trades. How could Montreal get the room required to trade for Marleau? How about sending Roman Hamrlik and his $5M cap hit to NYI? The islanders are filled with cheap players that could be sent back, and would be further ahead with a few veterans to play minutes.

As I said in previous posts – Gainey should by all rites be finished. There is the possibility that Montreal uses its little bit of room to make another deal, but it will be a complicated one – which is usually an indicator that it will not happen. More importantly, the scenario is complicated by Montreal’s inclusion.

A three way deal could very well be made by Ottawa, SJ and NYI without any reference to Montreal. It very much depends on who SJ wants in return. Since they would still have to replace Marleau’s production, they can’t just move his contract. This may be why Plex continues to be in rumours.

(I should also qualify my Laraque comments as being perhaps a bit personal too, since I have hardly gotten any wear out of my 17 Laraque jersey and was hoping for at least a good few years worth of wearing it before he left!)

In all seriousness, one of the biggest problems the Habs have had the past decade is a lack of a real enforcer. I remember when Koivu almost had his eye taken out by a high stick in the playoffs (which the refs amazingly “didn’t see” even though he was directly where the play was), or the time some goon went after him and immediately turtled when Souray stepped in… We need to have a dedicated enforcer on the club to keep incidents like that under control, and there’s no better enforcer in the NHL than Laraque. He’s well worth his salary and I am looking forward to seeing him in action for a healthy year.

Avatar, I agree about the lack of physicality that we’ve had on the club in recent years. While I would stop short of calling Gui! or Sergei tough (though Guillaume is definitely a checking threat), we have added a few gritty pieces. Laraque and Stewart will still be the primary fighters next season, but for once we will have a little size and sandpaper spread through the roster with Moen, Mara and Gill. Teams like Boston didn’t take us seriously last season because as long as they ignored Laraque (or if he happened to be hurt), they could take turns beating up Kostopoulos. As much as I admire Tom the Bomb’s heart, he didn’t have the size to make anybody worry or think twice about taking advantage of our skilled forwards. This year should be better, although I still think we’re a skilled, skating team at heart.

As for Heatley, its just not going to happen. 1st, Montreal would be screwed beyond belief by trading their first and second line centres. If we thought we had problems before down the middle, the subtraction of Gomez and Plex would be disaster. I’m also surprised you would want Heatley since you didn’t like Kovalev. Heatley has no physical or defensive game to speak of, which is why he is on the outs in Ottawa. If he thought Cory Clouston’s system was tough, just wait till he has Martin as his coach again! I don’t mean this as an attack, just that Heatley is a good player, but bad fit for the team.
2nd, Heatley has a NTC which he has already stuck to since the end of June. Montreal was not on his list of teams and so a deal would never happen even if Ottawa was interested.

In the end, I really think that Montreal has a far more pressing need at centre. Unless plex can find his 07/08 form again, Montreal can ill afford to continue to roll tiny centres. In the NHL its all about balance, and guys fulfilling their roles. No matter who we throw on his wings, Plex doesn’t fit because of his lack of physicality in the faceoff circle and defensive end (unless he’s scoring 30+ goals this year – and then you can deal with his softness).

A close friend asked me yesterday “So do you like a deal for Marleau?” – I’ve already talked about the ‘deal’ as far as has been leaked to the media. To be fair, there is not a whole lot of mystery behind what is going on right now. The holding pattern between SJ, Edm, Ott, Bos and Mon is the telltale domino scenario. What is unknown right now, is which teams will take on the large contracts to facilitate the movement for these teams already pressed up against the cap.

My immediate reaction to the question? I think if its possible Montreal HAS to make the trade. I would jump at the opportunity to fly 4 lines looking like:

Cammallerri-Marleau-A.Kostitsyn
Pacioretti(S.Kostitsyn-D’Agostini)-Gomez-Gionta
Latendresse-Lapierre-Moen (<- deadly this year)
Laraque-Metro(Chipchura)-Stewart

Certainly the addition of Marleau would require at least a few of these younger pieces being moved, but would make for a fairly scary lines of skill and grit. While I would make the move in a heartbeat – I am also very cautious in hoping that it will actually happen. Eric Engles laid it out perfectly today http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog/Eric-Engels/Are-the-Canadiens-Trying-to-Make-a-Trade-Maybe-but-Will-They-be-Able-to/82/22354.

As I said before, making this one happen will be convoluted. There are so many variables, that if even one team gets spooked the whole deal will fall apart (if it already hasn’t). So I think for now I’m going to act as though this deal WILL NOT happen in order to spare myself the “vinny syndrome”.

This is how I would see our starting line up for next year:

Cammalleri – Gomez – Gionta

S Kostitsyn – Pleks (Marleau) – A Kostitsyn

Moen – Metropolit – Stewart <–(A physical, fairly quick checking line)

Latendresse – Lapierre – Laraque

Markov – Spacek
Hamrlk – Gorges
Mara – Gill

If Hamrlk gets traded to make cap room, then you’d simply add Suban or Weber or O’Byrne into the mix. I think the Kositsyn’s need to play on the same line, they’re brothers and have known each other their whole lives. They’ll either find great chemistry together or hate each other, but I’d like to think they’ll develop great chemistry together, if given the chance, with either Plekanec or Marleau beteen them. Stewart and Laraque can be inserted into any line as needed, depending on who you are playing.

One phenomenon to watch for, when you are watching Habs games: Watch whenever Laraque is on the ice. Anytime there is a whistle due to stoppage near the net, watch the other team. Usually, there’s pushing and shoving and face washing. Whenever Laraque is on the ice, it’s calm. There is no pushing, no shoving, the other team treads as lightly as they can. That calming effect of having the league’s best enforcer on the ice is worth what we’re paying Laraque, and it makes me smile when I see it. With Laraque/Stewart as enforcer, and grit players like Moen and Metropolit (Did I mention, after seeing him play for the Swiss team in international play, that I thought he should be playing in the NHL, and it pleases me to no end to see him playing for the Habs), the K brothers, et al, I’m looking forward to seeing if this group can develop any chemistry with each other, especially under Martin. I think we have most, if not all, of the components necessary to be successful, Price may need a few more years of seasoning before he’s stealing series, but I think the future looks good for us.

Anyway, sorry for rambling, I had nowhere else to chat about my obsession, and am always glad to spend time with fellow Habs fans. Go HABS Go!

The weather outside is always hockey season and that boring time you wait for hockey season. Doesn’t stop me from wearing my Habs jerseys all year round!

I agree, there is more flexibility, and I think Gainey put alot of thought into what his options were, and he pursued them during the offseason with a vigor! He turned this team from one that didn’t make the playoffs to one that does, and now he’s transformed the team once again, into one that hopefully can go deeper than the 1st round. I remember the pre-Gainey days, when I’d watch NHL games and see someone play and think “I like how that person plays the game, hard nosed, never quit hockey, which guarantees I’ll never see him on my team” .. Now, Gainey has picked up a few of my favourites, from Laraque to the newest, Moen. Personally, I’m rather glad Briere didn’t sign with us, I like our current personel better. The only one “that got away”, for me, was Ryan Smyth. Gainey did, however, pursue him, which gives me hope that at some point in the future, he might wind up on our roster yet.

I really liked Carbo as a technical coach, we improved vastly in the faceoffs and on special teams when he was on staff. He also had a pretty good record, I believe, as a head coach, considering his lack of experience in that area when he signed on. I think, perhaps, the only flaw in his style was lack of communication, from what I’ve read. It’s really hard to say without actually having been in the locker room and on the team, to know what really was going on. I do think that there is an aspect that we lose when he is not on staff.

Begin could fight, but he was by no means an enforcer. He was more the “plays 100% every shift every game, throws body checks against anyone” kind of player, a “clean” pest, if you will, like a clean Claude Lemieux. One thing I’ve heard repeatedly is “Enforcers don’t play a role in the game, you don’t need enforcers to win, it’s not part of hockey”. If you have a look at the last 2 Canadiens teams to win a cup, in 86 you had Chris Nilan and Claude Lemieux (and of course Roy in nets, and Carbs as captain), and in 93 you had Todd Ewen (my personal favourite), Lyle Odelein (and of course, Carbs as captain and Roy in nets). Now, we have Price in nets, Laraque and Stewart as enforcers, and alot of added toughness (in Moen) to go along with some good goal scorers. It’s an aspect of the game we’ve lacked for too many years and it’s nice to see it back.

I understand your desire to have toughness on every line, I do, however, believe that some players develop chemistry together. Gionta was acquired to play with Gomez, and I believe the K brothers should also have playing time together, like the Sedins do. Given that they should be on the same line, either A Kos. learns to take faceoffs (or his brother, for that matter), or you have to put Pleks between them. I admit, Marleau would make for a much nicer option between them. Moen – Gomez – Gionta might make for an interesting line, or Stewart – Gomez – Gionta… but the question then becomes, where do you put Cammalleri? Cammalleri – S.K. -A.K. ? I think at that point you have to be able to juggle your lines based on the team you’re playing against… vs the leafs, you need toughness on every line, because well, that’s almost all they have. Vs other teams, you might need more speed, and the option to create speed lines are there.

Any way you slice it, I am actually excited at the prospect of next season, and as far as I’m concerned, Gainey has made me excited about this team in a way that Serge Savard never did. I believe in Gainey’s vision for this team, I believe that we will build a winner, and I believe in this club. Go HABS Go!

I’ll leave the offensive lines alone for a while, and focus on D. Bearing in mind what Senet1 was saying, these look like good pairings:

Markov-Hamrlik : though they both play best on the left side, physically and skillwise these guys can match up against whatever is out there.

Spacek-Mara : More skill than many first pairings in the league, but still responsible defensively

Gill-Gorges : 2 under-rated guys, Gorges with the speed to get back, Gill with the smarts to not get caught up often, and a Zamboni in front of Price

I think you can switch, between the top pairings, obviously Spacek-Markov would be ideal as #1 PP unit, they just lack overall toughness a bit. If you can keep them from Lucic/Thornton etc.. then they could form a 1st/2nd pairing.

That leaves Weber/Subban trying to makle the team as a forward/defenseman, and O’Byrne as the first call-up/pressbox guy.

I think its too bad we didn’t pick up Jeff Hackett to be our goaltender coach. He has dealt with the pressure of being between the pipes in Montreal and really helped turn Theodore into a standout performer. He was also a ‘big brother’ to Theo, and I think when #60 lost that, he lost his focus on the game. Groulx was more of a video coach before, and maybe we could still land Hackett to help out our two good young goalies (I think even we forget how good Halak has shown he can be, if life were fair he would have started the playoffs last year).

Good read: A lot of questions headed into unrestricted free agency centered on who would replace Saku Koivu, Alex Tanguay, and Alex Kovalev had the Habs passed on them, or had they decided to move on from Montreal. We didn’t have to wait until July 1st to get our answers, as Scott Gomez was added to the fold, and shortly after Mike Cammalleri, and Brian Gionta signed long-term deals with the Canadiens. But one player left the lineup well before the offseason began, and oddly no one put much thought into who could adequately replace him.

I’m talking about Steve Begin. For the first time in 5 years, there will be no discussion when training camp rolls around about whether, or not Steve Begin is assured a spot on the team. But that discussion, held annually, has great relevance in explaining what was so special about Begin’s time with the Canadiens.

If there is a player in the league whose work ethic could never be called into question, it’s Begin. In his time in Montreal, Begin consistently had to earn the respect of the fans with his aggressive style, his leadership, and his humility through long stretches of sitting out games despite long losing streaks.

Long stints on the sidelines due to injury, illness, and a lack of conviction on Guy Carbonneau’s behalf helped feed the opinion that Begin was incapable of being a regular on a team that lacked serious character on any given night, over the last couple of seasons. Yet, loyal Begin fans knew what he could consistently provide, and the others followed suit in chanting his name with each return to the Bell Centre ice; each opportunity to prove his coach, and others, wrong. How often does a fourth-liner skate his shifts to echoes of his name throughout the building?

Begin’s grit is worn on his face. Our memories will log his concentrated grin, his ferocity in killing off the 2-man advantage, and his competitiveness in battles where the odds were stacked against him. While Montrealers quickly forget the value he brought to the Canadiens, Peter Chiarelli, and the Boston Bruins knew exactly what they were bargaining for when they signed him in early July. Currently, Alex Tanguay, Mathieu Dandenault, Francis Bouillon, Mathieu Schneider, and Patrice Brisebois are still seeking valid offers for their services. How many other fourth-line players were signed in the first days of July? How many others sit in similar situations to the 5-ex Canadiens above?

In the meantime, those Montrealers who forgot Begin, and are happy to move on from his services, will be reminded on 6 different occasions this season of why they chanted his name on so many nights (particularly against the team he now has a spot on).
*****************

All love for Begin aside, Canadiens fans can thank Bob Gainey for obtaining an upgrade on him in Travis Moen. In all categories, Moen fills what would be a massive hole if the Canadiens didn’t replace the heart and effort that Steve Begin brought on a nightly basis. And those characteristics that Moen has ingrained in his play will see him take Begin’s adulation from the fans as well. But, in an era of hockey where loyalty to the crest on the front of a jersey is as hard to find as a healthy choice at your local McDonald’s, no one in Montreal should forget about Steve Begin, nor should anyone abstain from paying him the respect he deserves when he plays his first game back at the Bell Centre as a part of the Canadiens’ greatest rival.

From TSN:

“The Montreal Canadiens have signed restricted free agent Gregory Stewart to a one-year contract.”

While I am glad that Stewart is back, what is with the 1 year contracts? The rumour that I heard is that he signed for $500,000 , which is great, but personally, I would have liked to have seen a 4-5 year contract. Now, we have to negotiate all over again next year with him to stay, and risk losing him, for what? I know he’s not a superstar, but he definitely can fight and is tough, and seems to be a good component to this club. So, why just 1 year?

The Stewart signing is great for habs fans who will now watch Moen and Stewart be effective at what Kostopoulos and Begin attempted to do in their time here. That is no slight to those two, as there isn’t a person who watches the team that doesn’t see the energy and commitment that B and K brought to the Canadiens in the last few seasons – however Stewart and Moen will provide the protection that our team will need against teams like Toronto and Boston this year. Last year no one feared us (especially when Laraque was down). This year teams won’t have that option.

As for the term of the contract, I think it was a fantastic idea to sign Stewie short term. The contract is for the league min of $500,000. No player will sign for that little $$$ for any more than one season. If Gainey had tried to sign him for 3 or 4 years it would have cost him significantly more for this season. As it stands, we got an effective 4th line player for cheap. If he plays well this year, there will be no hesitation on Gainey’s part to sign him for more money for a few years. It allows Gainey flexibility next season when Metropolit’s contract expires.

lol

I thought I was the only one doing that with TSN.ca … I’m sure you’ve seen my comments there too, not that I comment in every article, but I do post occasionally. Mind you, as amusing as that is, it is impossible to get into any sort of real discussion on that site, which is why I find it so pleasant here, to be able to talk about Habs stuff with fellow fans.

Having learned to play hockey in Finland as a young Canadian, I am glad to see more Finns being drafted. Out of all the European countries, the Finns play the closest style of hockey to Canadians. While Finland doesn’t produce the number of skilled players that, say, Russia does (with the odd exception like Selanne), Finnish players certainly play with alot more heart and determination, and play a game that I prefer to watch.

I’d say the Canadiens have *had* to become good at finding late round talent (although, perhaps, not as good as the Wings, but is anyone?) because we typically don’t draft better than what, 15th? (This year 18, then going backwards by year, 28th (traded to Calgary), 12th (McDonaugh who got traded), 16th (swapped with SJ), 5th (Carey Price via lockout lottery), 18th (Chipchura), 10th (A Kostitsyn), 14th (Higgins), 7th (Komisarek, right behind Mikko Koivu), 13th (Hainsey lost via waivers), 10th (traded to Islanders) (interestingly, that made our 2nd round pick our first selection [Alexander Burtulin at 39th] when we could have had Auld (40) Mike Commodore (42) Leopold (44) Mike Comrie (91) or Ryan Malone (115)…

Sometimes it’s interesting to look at past drafts but I digress. The whole point of that was to say, our average draft position over the past decade has been 15.1, and if you take out the draft lottery year, it falls to 16.2 There aren’t too many superstars being drafted that far down in the draft (Havlat being an exception, drafted in the 26th spot by the Senators in 99). I still maintain that the only way to draft a genuine star and have him under contract with enough money to build a team around him (ie: Crosby and the Penguins) is to draft one, and that will only happen if you finish last/2nd last in the league, ergo we could use a good 4 or 5 years of rebuilding and having good picks. I have enough patience to wait for a winning product, but unfortunately, I don’t think the fan base does.

We have goalies in the organization that are 6′6″, and 6′8″? That almost borders the ridiculous. It’s hard to imagine someone with that size having the flexibility and mobility required to be an NHL goaltender, although perhaps if you’re that big, you can just take up so much of the net as to not require much movement … I thought Price was big at 6′3″.

I do think picking up Sanford heralds a trade involving Halak. It will be a shame to lose him, however, he deserves a chance to become a starting NHL goalie and that won’t happen behind Price. I also think Halak has been very patient about waiting for his chance, too, instead of complaining publicly, he hasn’t said a word and has performed well when called upon. Sanford will supply the veteran backup role who can help mentor Price without expecting to be the starting goaltender. It reminds me of the Theodore/Hackett situation, with Hackett being traded so that Theo could “know” he was the #1 and not play with as much pressure on him (we all know how well *that* turned out, and I still think we got ripped off in the trade, only getting Sundstrom and a 3rd round pick for Hackett). Hackett/Huet/Halak… All good goaltenders.

Ok, I’m about ready for snow and hockey, bring on the start of the season!

What a crazy development in the Phoenix Coyotes bankruptcy fiasco yesterday. For those who may not have heard, Jerry Riensdorf has dropped out of the bid citing difficulties with an “unmotivated seller”. I guess thats what a seller feels like when a ‘motivated buyer’ tries to low-ball bid and make arangements with Glendale to accept none of the risks that the NHL had forced on Moyes.

The realy interesting news came later in the day when the NHL announced that it would enter the bidding process itself. Am I the only one with loud-***, glaring warning bells going off in my head? Throughout this whole process the NHL has talked about its process for ownership, and how Balsillie has been deemed an unsatisfactory owner because of his efforts to circumvent NHL rules. This new development raises a host of questions that the NHL will have to answer starting with:

1. How does the NHL Board of Governors vote to deny Balsillies application hold any merit if the NHL is itself bidding on the process? That vote has got to be null and void by now. At best it is a conflict of interest, and at worst illegal. The NHL has repeatedly attempted to assert that its rules should be respected by the courts. The only problem is that the NHL has only followed its own rules as it has been convenient. Should Balsillie lose in the auction process he is going to have one heck of an anti-trust case against the NHL.

2. Where does the money for the Coyotes bid come from? Will the owners wan to pony up $250 million+ (the bid + player salaries + operating costs) to support a franchise with a terrible lease deal and no prospects of profit? Its easy to forget but the NHL is funded by the owners AND the players. Has the NHLPA been consulted as to whether they want to be involved with purchase of the Pheonix franchise?

3.How will the NHL decide how much to spend on the Coyotes cap? If you’re the Thrashers or Panthers or Kings are you going to be happy if the NHL decides to spend to the cap? How does the NHL justify only spending to the cap floor if their ultimate goal is to make hockey relevant in Phoenix? The NHL is funded by the owners AND players. If you were an NHL player whose contract was up next season, would you want cash strapped owners all fighting to spend to the cap floor in order to sustain a team in Phoenix – or would you want a team in a successfull market generating all kinds of revenue thereby boosting league revenue during a recession which has seen players give back huge portions of salary in escrow payments? Would th NHLPA have a case against the NHL if it is willfully in breach of the CBA by intentionally keeping revenues low by continuing to pour real money into a terrible situation in Phoenix?

4. Many are speculating that the NHL will simply sell to Reinsdorf once they are clear of the Bankruptcy court’s jurisdiction. With all of the talk recently focused on the ethicality of Jim Balsillie and his “side-door” tactics – wouldn’t this be the ultimate side-door tactic?

I could ask these questions all day. Here’s hoping that whether Hamilton gets a team or not, the NHL has to answer for the way they have handled this entire situation. As a fan of a team who bails franchises like Phoenix out every year, I’m hoping for a healthy league regardless of where the franchises are located.

I agree, some very interesting points, and ones I hope get asked in the media. I agree that there is clearly a conflict of interest, I’d like to know how the NHL can justify JB being approved to buy a team then suddenly pulling that approval with the excuse that he is of dubious moral character, or whatever bs excuse they gave. I’d certainly like them to be held accountable for their clear double standards.

Bettman did not fight this hard to keep franchises in Quebec and Winnipeg, nor did he care if Edmonton went south. I think he is actually looking at Mexico as the next great place to put a hockey team?

Kovalev wants to finish his career here? He signed the wrong sheet of paper! It does seem he got bad advice from his agent, and thought Gainey would change offers. He could have signed with us (we would have had to withdraw the offer from Gionta). I like our team now, would have liked that better. Still think Gainey did what he had to do (and I’m sure he told the agents exactly what he was doing, it was up to them to believe him).

I know that Balsille has made a few mistakes, I have never liked Bettman since he first came into the league. I has made it quite clear he does not want any Canadian franchises as long as there is an US market that has not been tapped. Somewhere down the line the NHL is going to have to bite the bullet, because there are quite a few Balsille’s out there and we could be looking at another WHA before too long with two divisions one affiliated with the KHL, which will cause the NHL all kinds of problems for five or six years just like the WHA did. The League has to smarten up and at least take a good look at Hamilton for a team.

Not alot going on for the Habs right now as we’re excruciatingly close to the start of the rookie camps. The only things to talk about re:NHL are annoying and rediculous stories of the Coyotes and the NHLPA who can’t seem to get along no metter what the circumstance.

About those two: the NHLPA endorsed Balsillie’s bid to purchase the Coyotes. Interestng predicament considering the NHL would use NHLPA funds to purchase the Coyotes to keep the team away from RIMJim. Secondly, it has been only quietly reported since the hearing last wednesday, but Balsillie did offer to keep the Coyotes in Pheonix for the remainder of the year if the NHL is willing to split the losses. The NHL of course dismissed this notion outright, but when you hink about it, wasn’t the NHL going to absorb all of the losses anyway? At some point does common sense not have to kick in with the owners – either you: split the losses you were going to eat fully for the Coyotes this season (potentially $40-60 Million) and next year another booming franchise to pay into revenue sharing OR you spend $140 million to earn the right to add $40-60 million in debt for the right to sell a franchise for which it has already been proven there can be NO profitable sale?

Is there any doubt the real reason for the NHL’s perspective is ANYTHING but MLSE?