2007 Pre-Season Begins!

It’s been five long months since the Canadiens have hit the ice to play an NHL game.

Tonight the Habs host the Penguins in the first of back to back pre-season games.

This time last year it was Saku Koivu returning from an eye injury and Guillaume Latendresse’s much discussed second time trying to make it to the show. Whispers and excitement of Sergei Samsonov’s anticipated start with the Canadiens were circulating all over town….Mickey Ribs was sent packing and Janne Niinimaa was looking for a fresh start as a Hab….

Much has changed.

This year the main storyline seems to be Carey Price and what the Canadiens have in store for him in the near future.

It will be interesting to watch and see what he does, and how difficult he will make it on management to send him down.

Roman Hamrlik, Bryan Smolinski and Tom Kostopoulos among others will play as Canadiens for the first time.

Game on.

Related Bookmarks Tags

There are currently no tags for this post.

Leave a Comment

21 Comments

#1 DTD says:
September 17, 2007 at 3:02 pm

Price is not ready for the NHL yet. He needs another year with the Bulldogs.

Huet needs to have a great 1st half. And be traded to a cup contender who needs a good goalie. Then Halak will be #1. Halak is a better goalie than price….

#2 Xtrahabsfan says:
September 17, 2007 at 3:07 pm

Can’t wait for the outcome,really hope we smoke em!Go Habs!

#3 DTD says:
September 17, 2007 at 3:21 pm

I bought a LCD TV last year. I got the HD box last night and RDS as well 82 habs games to watch. Can’t wait.

#4 superfan says:
September 17, 2007 at 3:59 pm

DTD, this is not wrestling, one to many knocks on the head…huet traded? halak better than price? what have you been smoking?

#5 PACTUM SERVA says:
September 17, 2007 at 6:58 pm

I would have to agree with u there superfan lol

#6 Dancan81 says:
September 17, 2007 at 7:13 pm

Is RDS HD happening? If so on Bell Expressvu?

#7 Habs Blog says:
September 17, 2007 at 7:17 pm

HD on RDS should be ready for first regular season game of the year.

#8 Xtrahabsfan says:
September 17, 2007 at 8:46 pm

Yo Superfan,I agree with DTD trade Huet mid season,infact send him to the sharks,and start Price and split duty with Halak,let the rebuild commence a.s.a.p.

#9 Jordan Richardson says:
September 18, 2007 at 4:41 pm

Moving a goaltender midseason so that he can play on a “contender” is not going to build anything but uncertainty for the Habs. Huet needs to solidify himself and play the majority of the year, giving his team consistency and helping Price and Halak build.

#10 Habs#1 says:
September 18, 2007 at 6:20 pm

Geez Kovalev why do you tease us in the pre-season when we all know you’ll go back to not caring during the regular season.

The Habs/Pens rivalry is heating up though, too bad till Price becomes a superstar the Habs will get killed by them

#11 DTD says:
September 18, 2007 at 9:29 pm

Same old Habs as last year. Can’t score 5 on 5. Halak was very weak tonight. 2 very soft goals. The top line was a no show again. Dejavu……

As for my #9 post Halak did not prove himself tonight that’s for sure.

Huet will be #1, Halak #2 and Price will be back with the Bulldogs.

THIS WILL BE A LONG YEAR…………..

#12 slyburger says:
September 18, 2007 at 11:47 pm

DTD, you cannot draw conclusions after only 2 pre-season games. I bet you were feeling quite good about the team last night after we beat Crosby and an almost complete penguins team, as did I. I was at the game tonight and while it was disapointing, we gotta remember that most of these players are tests and are not even NHL material. Once Carbs pares down the team then you can start to come to conclusions. But i think we will be a different team by then. Take all the good points of team A and the good points of team B and throw all the bad points out the window and you’ve got yourself a competitive team. And besides, Higgins hasn’t even laced em up yet

So far, Kovalevs lookin good, Huet’s lookin good, Kostitsyn is looking to break out. Add those factors to last years team and we’re in the playoffs.

#13 DTD says:
September 19, 2007 at 7:22 am

I hope that you are right Slyburger …………..

#14 fan3 says:
September 19, 2007 at 1:13 pm

‘And besides, Higgins hasnâ€™t even laced em up yet ‘

Ya, what gives with that? I was looking for him the last two games! Do they not want to show our secret weapon on National Television until we absoloutly have to?

#15 HabsFan4life says:
September 19, 2007 at 2:58 pm

His shoulder isn’t quite ready for the full contact yet.

#16 Stuart-SB77 says:
September 19, 2007 at 3:42 pm

I think AK27 is back! I don’t think he’ll get under 60 pts this year guys. Kovalev is starting to think of finally winning the cup again.

#17 Don Carnage says:
September 20, 2007 at 8:57 am

I am looking forward to seeing who will make the team this year. Let’s hope AK27 is as deadly as an AK47 this year , we need to score tons.

#18 Slyburger says:
September 21, 2007 at 1:04 pm

“His shoulder isnâ€™t quite ready for the full contact yet.”

Wasnt he training like a beast all off season and meditating and all that ****? And now he’s to weak to play? what gives?

#19 gp says:
September 21, 2007 at 1:34 pm

Easy guys..Higgy did work out like a beast, and its just precautionary stuff. It’s preseason and the Habs rather be “overly” safe than sorry. I know he wants to get back as soon as possible too, but he understands the reasons..
GP

#20 Jaker 1 says:
September 21, 2007 at 4:16 pm

I had the chance to see the game Wednesday night in Moncton against NYI. The only thing that really concerns me is a legitimate tough guy.Murray did well in a couple of tussels but I think they need a guy that other team are going to say to themselves “we can’t push around their smaller players or we will pay the price”. Right now I don’t think any team will fear that.That just one small negative but on the positve I think this is going to be an exciting team to watch. When no one expects anything from you, you usually have nothing to lose.

#21 PACTUM SERVA says:
September 21, 2007 at 6:19 pm

Totally agre with you on that one jaker

Leave a Comment

ShoutBox

Last Message 2 hours, 16 minutes ago

muller93 : MB is forced to go out and get a big D-man. Missing Emelin for almost half the season is the last thing we needed to hear. Now going out and getting a big D-man is a MUST!!!
muller93 : Now for the Fu**en Bruins who have no business even being in the second round are going to get a nice rest. Yes the same goons who took out one of best D-man for 6 more months. There is NO Fu**en justice. Just venting--Ok i feel better now.
muller93 : So pissed to see the Rangers lay down and play like total crap. How did the Rangers beat the Caps? This team is playing with no heart--a must win and can only muster 23 shots...PATHETIC !!!
muller93 : Senet I did see Galchenyuks goal--Made a great move for the game winner. You can see the kid has so much confidence.
goalie : If Rangers get swept I wonder if Tortorella will get his walking papers? Or Glen Sather? They have tons of 'talent' but zero wins in this series.
goalie : It's really too bad we lost to the Sens as we would have played the Rangers and the way NYR are playing we would have beat them too. If only. If only!
Senet1 : Actually I agree it was a good move for them to play a shorter season and get the experience. He could not have played in the minors this year he would have had to play junior or the NHL. However, he now has a year under him and knows what to expect next year and hopefully take a bigger responsibility on the team. Did you see those two goals in the bronze game? Wow.
muller93 : Good move by the Habs not having Galchenyuk play in the minors. Now Galchenyuk has 1 year in the NHL and playoff experience this is going to pay off big time come next year.
Senet1 : Galchenyuk scores to back to back goals in shoot out to help USA win Bronze metal. I did not see the second goal but the first was a beauty.
Senet1 : So we could pick anywhere from 25th to 23rd depending on who wins these quarter final series.
Senet1 : First, is the 14 teams in the lottery. Then there are 12 teams that did not make the semi finals in the order of the seasonal finish, Then there are the four teams in the semi final the first two eliminated pick in the order of the regular season points total and the last two based on who wins and who loses the cup. So as it stand now if say Detroit beats Chicago then Detroit moves up to pick after us. Boston or NYR will move up and pick after us. LA or San Jose will move up and pick after us
Senet1 : Basically, I was wrong about the draft pick situation. There are three groups of drafting teams within the 30 teams.
Senet1 : seriously ready to challenge for the cup. He will us win games but he will not be the difference between winning the cup and not winning the cup. You pick up players like that once you have the team ready to challenge,.
Senet1 : I am looking at the players to draft and there are a lot of big 6'3-6'5 forwards available ion the draft this year. If we could draft 3-4 big young players in the 2nd and 3rd round why would you want to give that up for a roster player who may have 2-3 years at best. If we are going to build a winner to have to build it with bigger players and there are a lot of good big players available this year. So you sign Ott and he is with us for the short run, but probably not when we are seriously re
Senet1 : Boullion is a great mentor for the young D-men
muller93 : Boullion is one of MBs great additions--Boull ion is a definite Keeper.
muller93 : Getting rid of Kaberle frees up a lot of cash. Boullion is small but is reliable and doesn't back down from anyone.
muller93 : Exactly Goalie any thoughts on a punishing D-man?
goalie : They;re showing determination adn skill vs Ducks and Blackhawks.
goalie : REd Wings could turn out to be the surprise team of this year's playoffs!
goalie : WE need to rid our team of Kaberle and Webber. Step two would be to then move Diaz. If we get that big d-man I believe that would push Boullion to # 7 on the chart. We'd then go with Georges, PK,Markov (to continue mentoring Ememlin) Tinordi as our starting six . THEN I'd be excited about our chances. We could then work on getting bigger forwards.
goalie : I too would gladly give up a 3rd round pick for Ott- the type of player we sadly lack. AND if we could get one more rugged, expeienced defenceman it would help immensely.
muller93 : Senet what you are saying makes sense but if we can get Ott for a 3rd round I'll take that all day.
muller93 : MB should be looking at a big D-man first, even though I like our blue line with the addition of Tinordi. We need that insurance just in case one gets injured. Also I'm a firm believer in starting with the goalie first then-defense-for wards-and we already have good goalie. We have all noticed when we have the lead Price is tough to beat.
Senet1 : So sometimes you have to sacrifice for one year or two to build that team in the draft. then add the finishing touches through FA and trades.
Senet1 : Muller, Detroit is another good example. They have been in the hunt every year with good well balanced teams yet only one or two cups to show for it. However, they have built a team that has a chance every years for the last 10+ years. That is what I think we have a chance to do this year with a good draft. It reminds me of the habs teams of the mid 80 and 90's we built a team then with sold draft picks and won the cup twice during that time period. So sometimes you have to sacrifice a one
muller93 : Very true Senet, you do need luck and we haven't had any luck it seems since the habs moved to the Bell Center. We had an incredible run in 2010 with some crazy goal tending from Halak. With Galchenyuk-Tinor di-Gallagher all in 1 year--not too bad, even with an early exit in the playoffs.
Senet1 : Muller I guess we all have our own ideas, but there has never been too many times that were successful when they traded their draft picks away. We have a chance to build this team so we have a shot at winning the cup over the next 10 years. Even as good as Pittsburgh has been they have only won the cup once since Crosby and Malkin have been with the team. That is because you not only need great players but you need luck to win, but one thing about Pittsburgh they have a chance every year. The
muller93 : Good point on Torres, he might be a liability. Torres has to tone it down a bit, but that's his game-very aggressive.
goalie : Though I don't condone what Raffi Torres did - thos shows you how repeat offenders or near offenders are going to be treated. His hit was NOT illegal BUT what the rap sheet adn reputation Torres has he got severly punished. Lesson to be learned by OTHER players because Torres dopesn't learn fromk his mistakes.
muller93 : Senet normally I would agree with you on not trading draft picks but we are not in a rebuilding stage. Sometimes draft picks can be a roll of the dice and it can take up to 3 years to be NHL ready. We have a good team and I agree with Stuo players like Clowe-Torres-Ott -Scott will make a big difference. Somebody has to protect Gallagher, he can't keep getting hit the way does--we need a tough forward so they think twice before going after Gallagher.
Senet1 : Really a heathly Habs team would probably win more games against the Pens that we did against the Sens. Reason they Pens would not play as physical against us as against the Sens. If we get good goaltending we win at least two games.
zpezada4ok : hello all «link»
stuo11 : hes a tougher big guy too! Just a minor adjustment but will help a bit
stuo11 : hes better than markov, and hes french who was in mention for defenceman of the year