This will in no way get the Habs out of their slump. They “just barely” beat a team like Columbus….3-2??? what is that. That tells me how bad it really is, as discussed by everybody in this blog.

This will not end any of the players slumps. The only reason Ryder and Koivu scored is because it was Columbus!! The next strong team they play, they will lose and noone will score….this is just the fact. Halak was ok, I guess, but he didn’t steal the win or anything.

Right now as it stands, Montreal is not in the playoffs…10th place at the moment…..3 points out of 6th. It is tight, for sure it is! But the cream rises to the top, so, therefore you may still see teams like the Islander, or yes, potentially even Florida, pass us, if we don’t start coming out to play serious hockey

But doesn’t Souray want to play on the west coast to be closer to his daughter? If we keep him we may end up getting “Prongered”…

I don’t agree the assessment of Radek Bonk, he’s a solid two-way player who contributes a lot of intangibles. I agree that if we can get anything for Kovalev and Samsonov, it could only be an improvement.

Halak looked good last night, like to see more of the same.

This team may not even make the playoffs let alone win the cup, and don’t anyone bring up the Oilers last year cause that was almost a fluke(the stars were aligned for them and they’re a team full of players who’d take a bullet for their teammates every night, Montreal isn’t filled with players like that:see Micheal Ryder)

If you read the Gazette today, Rivet basically knows he’s gone in the next week. Apparently San Jose would give up Josh Gorges for him(good young d-man but they won’t trade Matt Carle so don’t even ask for him).

Souray could fetch an elite prospect if the bidding war goes crazy for him like it did for Forsberg. While San Jose may not be offering Steve Bernier right now and the Ducks say they won’t trade Bobby Ryan just wait till we get closer to next tuesday, the bidding may very well end up getting insane, especially if the Habs don’t do very well in the four games between now and then(Washington, Nashville, NYI, Toronto).

Also Bonk may get something considering the season he’s had defencively and he’s scored 10 goals.

Also I’ve believed Gainey’s never liked Ryder and is trying to deal him right now. So look for him to go regardless of were the Habs are in a week.

And while no teams will take Sammy, Kovalev is the type of player teams look at and go ‘hey we can make this guy good again, all we have to do is put him with so-and-so’. Maybe Gainey can work a miracle and trade him.

Souray will be in a Sharks uniform before San Jose plays in Washington on Wednesday night. In return for Souray the Habs will get Mark Bell and Stever Bernier.

That would be sweet. But Bob should force San Jose to take Sammy(Thornton might put pressure on the GM to get him cause they’re best friends) or Kovalev(who they might take cause they’re looking for a forward with size and playoff experience) and the Sharks have a lot of cap room.

I think it’s a mistake to hold onto Souray, because there’s no way he wants to stay here. He made it public knowledge that he wants to go to LA to be close to his daughter. And you know teams out west will give him as much, or more money , than the habs. So what exactly is his incentive to stay in Montreal?
the pressuring media, high taxes, language situation, being far away from his daughter? There is absolutely NO WAY he’s going to stay, no matter how much money Gainey throws at him. So don’t waste time on him. I say, get what you can for him, or else we’ll get ZERO!
Also get rid of Rivet, Ninnimaa on D. Forwards leaving, should be Ryder, Samsonov ,Kovalev, Bonk, Koivu, Murray, Downey .

R habs 4 real, your points are very valid(execpt for Niinamaa as smiler pointed out, that was Mike Milbury and don’t worry he’s gone at the end of the year), the Sammy and Kovalev contracts were mistakes although I think Gainey thought he was getting something better.

But you bet your *** he’s learned form this which is why you won’t see Datsyuk in a Habs uniform: no more Russians close to the age or over the age of thirty with long term deals(except Markov, expect him to get a deal about 4 years at 4/mil per year. The guy’s a +1, has 34 points(4 goals, 30 assists trust me Souay wouldn’t have as many PP goals if Markov wasn’t setting him up), and he’s the team leader in average ice time).

I can already smell the Steve Bernier or Bobby Ryan Habs jersey.

But Koivu isn’t going anywhere so don’t hold your breath for that(Gainey’s not trading him and he has a no trade clause I believe.)

smiler2729 weren’t you the guy that said the Habs were so great a couple of months ago,yeah you know hockey buddy ,LOL, HA HA HA HA ………..

I think if it basically comes down to Bell for Samsonov, why not?

If it is the Ducks who land #44, how about Penner and O’Brien? Although Vlasic is a much better all-round defenceman than O’Brien, and younger.

FROM MITCH MELNICK’S BLOG – ALL YOU WHINING FAIRWEATHER HAB “FANS” SHOULD READ AND HEED THIS:

From: Bill Maslen
To: Mitch Melnick TEAM990
Sent: Friday, February 16, 2007 3:48 PM
Subject: Montreal Maroons or Morons ?

People wonder why quality free agents don’t come to Montreal? Look no further than the dump Samsonov campaign after half a season, or the “is Kovalev really hurt” propaganda running amok in the public and the local media. Why have the captain and Les Boyz “run out of gas”? Why are the goalies looking more like Theodore than “Close the door”? Has the coach the room? What a joke folks, you need to relax!

We’re begging Gainey to trade our biggest offensive weapon on defence
since Larry Robinson instead of trying to find out if he will stay here at a reasonable cost. The minute you become a star in Montreal, you’re never
good enough any more. People forget that Guy Lafleur was booed towards the end
of his run here, and we all know what happened with St. Patrick.

At this rate, we will be holding a 40th anniversary of our last Stanley
Cup in a few years if the fans and media around here don’t get a grip on
reality and develop the patience and understanding necessary to develop a real
positive atmosphere to draw players here instead of repel them.

Please give these guys a break and be realistic with your expectations. Hounding and chasing the stars away is not solving anything, and frankly,
I can’t wait until Carbo has had enough of the dumb questions and flips the bird at us again.

CHEERS TO THAT!

Smiler, I love what Souray brings game in, game out in spite of his defensive shortcomings, while Saku has curled up into a corner recently, Souray has picked up that ball in the leadership department. However, what are the chances of Souray re-signing here? And if the Habs slide into the playoffs, with or without Souray, they’re not going to challenge for the Cup this year so why not at least kick a few tires to see what these Cali based teams would be willing to part with?

HAB FANS
IS THAT WHAT YOU CALL YOURSELVES.
WITH ALL THIS TALK YOU ARE GIVING THE TEAM THE EVIL EYE
AND SCARING ALL THE GHOSTS FROM THE PAST.
BEILIEVE AND GIVE THEM A CHANCE A COUPLE OF TRADES A STRING OF WINS AND
WE WILL BE RIGHT BACK UP THE STANDINGS.
BELIEVE…………………………

I believe Souray will not be dealt and that Gainey will try his best to resign him this July. If Gainey does make a deal in the next week you can be certain it will be a deal that will benefit the Habs in the long term and not for a short term gain. This team is still being built for the future and are at least one or two years away from being a legitimate contender.

The team we have now, will never win a cup, not this year, or next year, or even 2 years from now. the reason: lack of talent. You can’t compare talent of Ottawa or Pittsburgh to us. It’s like night and day. Stop dreaming guys!
unless there are some major trades, this team is going nowhere.
And stop blaming the fans! We aren’t responsible for this team’s collapse. we don’t lace up the skates, and shoot the puck, or stop the puck.
If the defence is porous, are we responsible for that? If there is no heart or desire, are we responsible for that.
We are die hard fans with a passion for our team! Not alot of fans in other cities care about their team as much as we do. Their team doesn’t even exist in their eyes. Maybe we care too much, but hockey is a religion in Canada.
We also don’t make the tax laws, or language laws, or responsible for the pressuring media. Stop blaming the fans for a crappy hockey team.
These are the same fans who watched as the team won 4 cups in a row in the 70′s. As I can recall, we had language problems then, the taxes were high then, and the media was even more demanding then.
the onus is on this underachieving team, not those wear their heart on their sleeve!

I think the habs should trade with the wild Koivu for Koivu, Could even save money by not having to do a new jersey.