Zowpeb

The NHL has no one to blame but themselves...players/teams are getting frustrated at the cheap shot artists getting away with too much. The Philly-Ottawa game, the Isles-Toronto from last year, Van-Col, all were started by some mediocre player laying a cheap shot and the NHL subsequent lack of any real discipline. The only way to enforce this is to let the players take care of it on the ice at the time it happens. Half the time the refs aren't even making the calls on these cheap shots too...Colin Campbell has no one to blame but himself for these issues. I'm not defending Bertuzzi's actions...just making a point that the NHL is creating this issue themselves. The sad thing is that the "no violence in hockey" groups will use this for their own agenda...when in reality if they got rid of the instigator rule and refs called the infractions there would be virtually no problems. The league's talent is getting pissed off and the NHL doesn't seem to care.

http://reality.sgiweb.org/mattm/balihai/ar...ves/000074.html I'd like to have this sized for my Avatar...can ya help me out wit dat Puck...

Being the official poobag of HabsWorld I think I need to find a suitable picture for my avatar...the journey for this avatar is going to be long and gruesome. LOL

No it's Barry "The Power of Positive Thinking" Melrose...LMFAO. :eyes:

With the CBA and probably lengthy strike I don't think Kovalev will be resigned... Problem is that if a salary cap is put into place but we sign him now to a $6 million deal we're handcuffing our payroll...it doesn't make much sense to offer a guy like Kovalev a deal until we know what the new CBA deal will entail...and by that point other teams may be able to make as attractive an offer as us...

Dagenais is NOT a great player and does not deserve to be on the top 2 lines. He's most likely a career AHLer who has been given an opportunity because he has a history with Ribeiro. He was dropped to waivers last year and no one wanted him...that should tell you something. He started out well this year but hasn't done much since... Don't see why he's worth supporting.

I think he'll be as good defensively and probably add a little more production out of the 3rd line C spot then Juneau. If Bulis ends up on his LW then I like that line a lot... Although I can see Bulis the top lines over Dagenais...

I have yet to read one reliable source say Hainsey and Hossa have work ethic or attitude problems. The implication that Hainsey is a coke head is also ridiculous. Hainsey and Hossa remain as 2 of our top 6-7 prospects....to trade them for a depth d-man and a grinder like Grier is just ridiculous IMO. Let alone add in a useful 7th d-man like Bouillon. I completely disagree with your entire analysis.

The rumour is Hainsey and a 2nd rounder...and if that's the case I'll be terribly disappointed in the deal. IMO Hainsey is still one of the top prospects we have...

If the Habs deal Perreault then I think they'll keep Juneau around for the rest of the year for depth if nothing else...maybe rotate Juneau, Begin and Dowd in the line-up for the rest of the year.

Where the hell do you guys find these avatars anyways? Just post a link to a jpeg??

What's funny is how many Leaf fans and media are saying Leetch is a much better pick-up then Gonchar...that's gotta be the biggest joke out there. Gonchar can at least play defense too...well, more then Leetch anyhow. He's younger and better in the offensive end too. Like all players, in Leaf fans eyes, they become 10x better once they become Leafs. Toronto media is a joke...and most of our national media is simply Toronto media more widely distributed.

My .02... O'Neill also disappears for large stretches...he's inconsistent and streaky in his scoring. He has more ability then Zednik though who is also streaky and disappears at times. I also think they are equally as "physical"...which for both of them just means strong on the puck. I do think O'Neill is overrated...I'd love to have him on the habs but too many people think too much of him. He's a little better then Zednik, and not 2 million dollars better either. The real question when comparing them is the $$$$...btw, I think O'Neill is struggling because he's had his linemates juggled all year. Hill only seems to do well in Carolina. He's not great at anything but he's not bad either. If he was a throw in on a deal like this because Carolina is dumping salary it's not bad but he is definitely not part of this teams future. Considering our current D situation he could help this year...don't see him having much of a role beyond this year though...so I don't see him waiving his no trade clause to come here either. I think everyone needs to ask themselves this: Are we building for the future or are we good enough to make a run this year? I think clearly the answer is that we are building for the future. If we can make a deal like this without giving up any of our future then I'm okay with it...if we start giving up our future for guys like O'Neill and Hill I'll be very upset...especially with the lockout pending.

Longevity of career HAS to play a factor in determining the best ever...and that's where Lemieux loses out to Gretzky. Gretzky is the best ever...period. It shouldn't even be debated. Even in the hey day of the 80's scoring Lemieux couldn't crack Gretzky's numbers. As for talent around him...it could be argued that Lemieux had as talented players around him. Jagr and Kovalev are VERY good players. Hell, Jagr won the Art Ross without Lemieux around so he is/was better then "decent". Gretzky's linemates weren't exactly incredible either IMO. Kurri?? Sure he was good but he wasn't Jagr. McSorely?? LOL. Messier wasn't on Gretzky's line all that much really... Best goalie ever is Roy IMO. Dryden, Sawchuk come close in arguments. Brodeur may one day take that claim and an argument can already be made I guess. Tretiak(sp?) was good but it's tough to rate him as best ever when he didn't play in the most talented league in the world. Not trying to knock european greats who never played in the NHL but the overall talent level wasn't nearly as good so it's hard to say they were best ever... As for Foppa...he's probably the best all around player in the NHL today but I'd say he's probably around 23rd best all time. If he stayed healthy long term then he'd be able to move up any lists but it ain't happening so...

Most scouting reports I've heard about Kastsitsyn's year so far have been very favourable...this is the first bad report I've heard. It looks like they are just reading numbers and making a statement without really seeing him play. If that's the case then they really shouldn't bother...

I lived in Toronto for the past 6 years and just moved about an hour west... There's LOTS of Habs fans in Toronto...in fact, I'd say that a pretty high percentage of the Toronto population hate the Leafs at the very least and of those people a good percentage are Habs fans. There are always bus trips to Montreal for games when they play the Leafs. You might have to share the bus with mostly Leaf fans but I wouldn't worry about it. I've been to Leafs games and trashed talked their players as loud as possible without any wuss Leaf fans doing a thing. As for bus trips to Buffalo...look in the paper, there's always stuff like that advertised. I don't know of any bar in Toronto that is a "Habs" bar, but if you find one let us know...

All those highly talented players you just mentioned are top picks...which we never have... As for who Locke might turn into...I think Steve Sullivan is a closer fit. I know he's small and doesn't get the recognition but you'd think he'd at least get some small notice seeing as he's a scoring machine.

I've heard Dykhuis' name get added in a few rumours so maybe he's being showcased in a deal...any known scouts going to the next couple Habs games?

I'm getting really sick of the stupid ass people who drone on about how good Gauthier is... He's a solid player but WAKE THE HELL UP... Seriously, I'd trade a 3rd line vet and a low round pick for him...nothing more.

Hehe...yeah, joking...that's it. LMAO. Hey, it may be early afternoon on a Monday but I just woke up...lol. So much for Cheerio's and orange juice being brain food.

We can do okay in this stretch... I'll wade in with my predictions: ATL - T Atlanta is going to be pumped for this game NYR - W Rags are simply awful and have no D. @Phi - L Philly is hot @NJD - T Tight defensive game TOR - W We are going to be on fire for this game @BUF - W Buffalo is a deep team but we match up nicely @MIN - W We are both defensive but we have WAY more talent BOS - L Boston is picking up their pace...Slegr was a huge pick-up IMO. 4-2-2 for 10 points... [Edited on 2004/2/2 by Zowpeb]

Gauthier is a 5-6th d-man, WHEN WILL EVERYONE REALISE THIS???? Go and look how many minutes he plays in Calgary. CALGARY. They don't exactly have a stellar D...if he's on the last pairing in Calgary then he certainly will not be ahead of Souray, Markov, Brisebois and Rivet here. He is also a left side D-man which means he'll be on our final pairing. Acquiring Gauthier IMO means Hainsey is as good as gone... For the guy who said we need a puck moving d-man...we have Breezy, Souray, Markov as our prime puck movers. Komi also has a lot of potential in this area. A stay at home, physical guy is exactly what this team needs. I'm just not sure a left side d-man is the right fit for the future...at least any future that has Hainsey in it.

I've lived in Toronto and the area all my life and I go to probably 1 or 2 Habs/Leafs games a year at the ACC. I'd say about 20% of the fans at the ACC are Habs fans. 2 of my best friends are Habs fans...and have been ever since I've known them. And I rarely talk hockey with them... There are A LOT of people in Toronto who absolutely HATE the Leafs. The Leaf media and their fans are probably the most annoying group in the world and as such there is a pretty big counter balance of people who hate them. It's common in Toronto to say that "my favorite team is whoever's playing the Leafs"... The ACC is sold out almost every game, mostly season tickets holders/corporate seats. So you don't have a lot of Habs fans able to get tickets to the games...not nearly as much as can simply walk up and buy them at the Bell Centre. Plus, tickets are insanely expensive at the ACC, so with games being sold out many Habs fans are forced to buy scalpers tickets which are even more expensive. Face value of gold seating(Platinums are best...) is about $200.00 each. Scalpers for Habs games are probably going for $350+ I think. I usually get tickets through work or someone I know so I pay face value and not scalpers prices. The $20 standing room only section tickets are scalped at $100+ for Habs games...

My guess is that the team was pretty tired after this past week...I'm guessing that the all star break is going to be a welcome down time for some of them. Anyone know if Julien is big on the players fitness? Some coaches stress it a lot more then others...and rightfully so. At this level it is sometimes the only thing making the difference IMO.

A couple things...the Habs DO NOT have anyone like Miroslav Satan...the guy is a game breaker. He's having a tough year so far but missed camp and some time early on, I think he's starting to turn the year around. He may be a career .73 points per game guy, or whatever, but the past couple years he was a 70+ points guy. How many of those do we have right now? Koivu needs a truly skilled winger like Satan... Perreault, Juneau, Kilger and Dackell all need to be dealt. It'll save $$$ and bring back something of more use then they are. On a side note: I think the Avs could also really use Dackell. He's a solid checking line RWer and the Avs don't really have that. Imagine if they had Konowalchuk - Nikolishin - Dackell as their 3rd line...that's a pretty solid compliment to their top 2 lines...