Islanders.

Game of the year material right there.

Hey at least it has a shot at being better than Dallas-Columbus right?

Go Habs Go!!

No word on whether or not Travis Moen will be in the lineup tonight – although you would assume somebody is returning since Palushaj was sent back to Hamilton following the last game.

Go Habs Go!!!!

The Habs slipped unceremoniously into last place in the East overnight – which frankly is fine with me since their spot as third-worst in the league necessitates that they not pull any panic trades that will hamper the process of rebuilding (cough – Kaberle trade). It is clear that the team has a few pieces upon which to build. Now the task is set to acquire more from the aging veterans, and UFAs to ensure that next year our stable of prospects and young players is stronger than this one. The addition of a handful of elite prospects to Hamilton’s roster is set for next season – but selling assets like Travis Moen and Andrei Kostitsyn could ensure that a few years from now we’re talking about the strength of Montreal’s youth, instead of the bulk of their veteran contracts.

I’m not one for tanking. Its no guarantee of success, but if you’re going to lose anyway…..

It would be a lot easier to swallow if we could add one of Nail Yakupov (Sarnia), Mikhail Grigorienko (Quebec), Alex Galchenyuk (Sarnia), or Filip Forsberg (Leksands). The first three are stars in the OHL, while Forsberg has been a Revelation in the Swedish league.

So who will you be cheering for today? Not in the hockey game – of course…

Go Habs Go!

Speaking of the Hamilton lineup – if you need further evidence that Montreal needs to restock the cupboards, look no further than Steel Town. Louis Leblanc (17 points in 25 games) and Aaron Pulashaj (28 points in 29 games) are the only forwards of note currently on the team. Brian Willsie and Garrett Stafford are both career AHLers in their 30s, while Phil DeSimone, Brock Trotter, and Andreas Enqvist all seem to have ceilings as decent-to-good AHLers.

Help is on the way as Hamilton could be bolstered by the addition of some or all of Nathan Beaulieu, Jarred Tinordi, Brendan Gallagher, Danny Kristo, and Michael Bournival. In a perfect world Montreal would have such a deep pool of waiting NHL talent that they could a) open up trades for NHL ready players and b) wouldn’t have to start using players like Leblanc until they are ready to play in the NHL. Right now this is not the case, which is why Montreal should be looking to hoard prospects/ draft picks between now and the end of the year.

The NHL is becoming a young mans game, every season. The best way to compete is to have young, cost-controlled players producing at a level that exceeds their pay. This has been the one bright spot (excluding Eric Cole) on Montreal’s team this year with Desharnais, Pacioretty, Eller and a few others who’ve provided value. By taking a losing season and using leverage to earn picks and young players Montreal can avoid a long rebuild by getting started a year early.

Go Habs Go!!!

Ok Sarcasm off.

The Montreal Canadiens will begin the final push for… (I don’t know the 7th overall pick at the draft).. tonight as they face the reeling Buffalo Sabres at the Bell Centre. Its hard to know what to expect from this team following a long layoff, and surprisingly good play against good teams before the break. Ultimately, I believe the Habs should be in assessment mode right now. They should be watching their own players to decide who they should keep, who might have big value in a trade, and who they will not be keeping next season. If you take these opportunities (when the team is losing) to prepare for the next season, you can drastically improve without having to suffer through years of a re-build. The line between good team and bad team in the NHL is as close as it ever has been. With a franchise goalie, and a bunch of young talented players, the Habs have many of the pieces that they need going forward.  If management is smart (which may be a bit much to assume), there are only a few tweaks that need to be made this offseason to allow the Canadiens to be a vastly better team next season. Allow me to put my arm-chair money where my arm-chair mout is:

Goalie: Carey Price is everything to this team. Ask the Boston Bruins what it means to them to have consistent top-level goaltending on a good team. When Montreal finally ices a team that can score in front of him, they are going to rise very quickly in the standings. His margin for error until now has been zero. Give him some room and he’ll pile up the wins.

Defense: PK Subban, Josh Gorges and Alexei Emelin are the pieces that Montreal will build upon going forward. What Pierre Gauthier needs to assess is who else may be on the blue line in 2012-13? If Markov can ever get healthy he’ll be one. To me – if I can trade anyone or more of Kaberle, Campoli, Gill, Diaz, or Weber for younger, larger defenseman you pull the trigger. From the very beginning of this year we all knew that Montreal had a lack of young, physical defenseman. Emelin has been something of a surprise (although MANY of us called for him to get early ice time). His physical game has been incredibly valuable to the Habs thus far, and in my opinion the Habs need at least 1 more defender of his ilk to play along side the offensive guys on the team.

Offense:

Players you keep – Cole, Pacioretty, Desharnais, Eller, Bourque, White, Plekanec, Leblanc

Players you assess / trade if the offer is right – Gionta, Blunden, Enqvist, Palushaj,

Finally we have the offensive players you trade if a team steps up:

Gomez – obviously if any team will take his contract, you trade for whatever you get. The capspace you’ll have next season will be far more valuable than any piece that you could acquire.

Kostitsyn – I’m not in favor of trading him, because I think he’s turned into a very reliable 20 goal scorer with a good physical edge. When playing with good players he’s downright dangerous. Unfortunately, this is exactly why I believe that he’s among the most valuable trade chips on the rental market this year. If you can get picks/prospects for him you do it – because he’s likely to get a raise from someone next year based on hope alone. I cannot see Montreal matching an increased contract offer. AK46 represents a chance to improve the franchise without losing a valuable piece going forward.

Moen – Like AK, I love what Travis has brought to the club this season. So will rival GMs. Montreal rarely bargains from a place of strength because we’re always buyers at the deadline. Moen represents a chance to improve going forward. With players like Ryan White, Michael Blunden, and Ian Shultz coming up through the system, there is no need for Montreal to hang onto Moen.

Darche – I’m not sure there is a team out there that would be interested in an aging grinder.. but if they are – I have one for them.

In all, its sometimes hard to deal players that have had a good season, yet that is exactly what teams need to do to be successful. Sell high – buy low. Its a capitalist mantra that holds true in terms of professional sports. In recent years the Habs have massively depleted the AHL system by trading draft picks and bringing up young talent. Its time to re-stock the system so that by the time the Tinordi’s and Beaulieu’s of the system emerge, we have other young guns that can support them.

Ok enough Red Wing fondling from me.

On to some Bruins hate.

Tim Thomas is a huge idiot for not showing up for his team being honoured at the White House. I’m not talking about him being a bad teammate (which he was), or being a bad patriot (he certainly didn’t protest receiving his full scholarship from the publicly funded University of Vermont, or his Silver Medal at the past Winter Olympics).

Tim Thomas is an idiot because he got up on a soapbox to make a stand and then didn’t say a damn thing when given the spotlight.

I believe the Federal government has grown out of control, threatening the Rights, Liberties, and Property of the People. This is being done at the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial level. This is in direct opposition to the Constitution and the Founding Fathers vision for the Federal government. Because I believe this, today I exercised my right as a Free Citizen, and did not visit the White House. This was not about politics or party, as in my opinion both parties are responsible for the situation we are in as a country. This was about a choice I had to make as an INDIVIDUAL. This is the only public statement I will be making on this topic. TT

I respect your right to have an opinion Tim Thomas. Even though I think your political views are ridiculous – you have every right to live your life as a deluded, evangelical who watches Glenn Beck and thinks to himself: “ya, you know what he’s right”. You have every right to go to on cheering those Tea Party fanatics who practice the politics of fear and division within the United States, following a model of faith and governance that more closely resembles post-Revolution theocratic Iran, than the free and diverse land your Founding Fathers reportedly sought to build.

But for Christ’s sake Tim Thomas, don’t pretend to be taking a stand on an issue and then simply release one cryptic paragraph on Facebook about defending your rights, liberty and property from some vague Government infringement!

What do you mean? What are the rights and liberties that you feel are being threatened? In what ways is the Government now out of control? In what ways has the Government become directly opposed to the Constitution or the vision of the Founding Fathers (those elite, super-rich, white, slave-owning Founding Fathers)?

Tim Thomas – you are entitled to your beliefs and to the freedom of speech (although your Tea Party believes people who don’t agree with them should not be). The only real problem I have with your political stand is that you don’t even have a point. You sound like a high school kid who took his first Social Studies class. Things are wrong in the world – you just have no idea why. The fact that you’re getting your talking points from the likes of Glenn Beck and Bill O’Reiley make that abundantly clear.

Tonight the Habs will face the Leafs in a game that will no doubt be important to some fans bu ultimately holds little meaning outside of bragging rights. I can only hope that at the end of this game the pundits around the game can find it within themselves not to throw the teams youth under the bus. I’m a big PK Subban fan, and although he has had his struggles this season he has the been no different than guys like Luke Schenn or Tyler Myers who face growing pains as they assume the role of their respective team’s top defender.

Go Habs Go!!!

This must be a welcome change for Penguins fans whose pre-Crosby memories are filled with basement finishes and an empty,  decrepit, old building.  And while missing Crosby comes with pain that Montreal fans can empathize with, as Andrei Markov continues to wait until he is fit enough to return to the Habs lineup, the Penguins have done a remarkable job of staying the course – of putting points on the board, regardless of who is or is not in the lineup.

One player who is impossible to miss in the lineup is Evgeni Malkin. Gino has 54 points in 39 games this year and continues to dismantle opposing defenses. His recent demolition of the Tampa Bay Lightning serves as a clear warning that whatever his past struggles with injury – he’s back in a major way.

The other player of particular note in the Penguins lineup is James Neal. I thought it was an absolute coupe when Pittsburgh acquired the 6’2 210 sniper from Whitby Ontario, along with Matt Niskanen for Alex Goligoski. Goligoski has been a pretty huge disappointment as an under-sized offensive defenseman in his two(ish) seasons in Dallas, although some of his troubles have been injury related. Still, Niskanen has 2 more points than Goligoski this season, while Neal is 20th in NHL scoring.  Neal is EXACTLY the type of forward that all teams should be looking to acquire with talent on their roster that is over-rated. That trade serves as the perfect template for how to navigate injury troubles. Ray Shero decided that he didn’t have a need for Goligoski, and that in the absence of Malkin and Crosby, he desperately needed to add scoring. He went out and identified a player who had a pedigree for scoring – knowing full well that for under $3M, James Neal would provide top-flight help on the wing if and when Crosby and Malkin returned.

It remains to be seen how Shero will be able to deal with Neal after this season however. Neal is an RFA, who is due a fairly large raise. With most of that team’s core group locked up, he may (depending on Crosby obviously) need to make a move or two to either keep Neal (which he should try to do) or replace his talent in the lineup. (ARE YOU LISTENING PG???).

With less than $10M in capspace and about 8 players needing contracts – it will be interesting to see how Shero approaches the 12-13 season.

Hey – there’s a game tonight. Does Montreal have a chance? Check back later to find out!

Go Habs Go!!!

Go Habs Go!!!