MK1
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Posts posted by MK1
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This team has a ton of big, physical wingers now. There are a ton of guys who battle in corners, who take the body and throw hits, who go to the front of the net, and who have the size to do all these things. With Gionta out, all of our wingers are over 6'0 and 200lbs. There are also not goons, but guys who have been known to drop the gloves on occassion in Moen, White, Blunden, and Bourque. If this still needs more, what are you asking for if not an "enforcer".Again Shawn Thornton is the only "enforcer" in the last 6 years to play a single playoff game for a Stanley Cup Champion. If this position is so necessary to winning, why have 5 of the last 6 cup champs not even used one for a single playoff game?
The guys who have dressed for those Cup Champions are equivalent to the Ryan Whites, and Travis Moens in terms of fighting ability. So why does this team need a guy who will be significantly tougher than that?
Spot on Commandant.
Ryan White is exactly the kind of player to weave into this roster to add some grit. He can skate, he has some scoring ability, and he can hit and fight. Team toughness is valued far more than an individual enforcer in today's game. The players mentioned on NYR/PHI/BOS are all regular roster guys who just happen to be big and like to hit and fight. But they also block shots, take a regular 3rd or 4th line shift, and aren't huge defensive liabilities when they are on the ice.
Try to catch a BOS vs. NYR/PHI game one night when they are matched up together. BOS is not the same team as when they play the Leafs/Habs/Sens. They get out hit most of the time, and they get dance partners anytime they desire. When they aren't able to intimidate their opponent, they are a good hockey team but certainly beatable by alot of others around the league.
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I guess you can believe what you want. I am more worried that PG might believe it.
That is also what I am worried about Brobin.
Other GMs are keenly aware when a team is out of the playoff race and they all begin to circle like vultures. Don't forget that PG is most certainly managing for his job next year (although I sure hope not!) and he probably doesn't want to be making big moves to indicate this year is a lost cause, even though it most certainly is.
That stubborn, never lay down attitude, even if it is transparent, is what keeps this team and many others from making the changes they surely need going forward around this time of year.
To think that the Habs/Sabres/etc are "still in it" is pure fantasy at this point.
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This is exactly what Lafrous is talking about. Some would hint that we went to the Stanley Cup Finals in cognito because we were the only team to give the champion Bruins a run. Others would state reality and say we are a 1st round KO.
I think the Lightning would take exception to your claim, what with their game 7, 1-0 loss in the third round.
The level of knowledge on this forum is deteriorating, and it makes me sad.
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If he gets some more talent on the roster, I truly believe Cunny is a guy that can take this team places, sort of our version of Jim Harbaugh. He is a younger guy with a ton of respect around the league, and he holds players accountable for their play.
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Cammi is the MTL version of Phil Kessel.
When he is on and playing well everyone loves him because he brings something that not alot of other players can, a natural ability and instinct to put the puck in the net. However, when they are not scoring, they are easy targets because both players bring very little else to the table. They don't kill penalties, they don't block shots, and their +/- is usually atrocious. Patrick Kane is in the same boat, however his supporting cast allows him to be 1-dimensional without hurting his team too often. I'm sure if either the leafs or the habs had Toews and Sharp on the line with Kessel/Cammi not many would be complaining quite as much because those other guys make up for their weakness.
I consider a player like Cammi to be the hockey equivalent of a speedy wide receiver in the NFL. They make highlight reel catches and get alot of the glory, along with huge contracts. But when they aren't producing, they do little else and are easy scapegoats for fans/media.
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I may be in the minority here, but I truly believe that this whole Markov situation needs to just go away and stop being a crutch/excuse for this team. They need to be developing a roster assuming he is not in the lineup, and whenever he is there it is a bonus. At this point in his career it is very likely he will be a shell of his former self, if he ever plays consistently again.
With 52GP over the past 2 1/2 seasons he is the news article that won't go away for this team, and as much as I like him as a man and admire how he played previously, he is a distraction to this team at this point.
Just my humble opinion, not meant to be malicious or mean-spirited, more of a realist I guess.
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This could be a Flames-esque disaster in Beantown if the boys don't show up ready to play a smash-mouth, fast-paced game for 60 minutes. Couple that with the fact that the MTL powerplay has been anemic all year, and the Bruins will have no problem running players and taking penalties to set a tone since they PP isnt dangerous.
I honestly hope no one gets seriously injured.
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"We prepare for our games like losers. We play like losers. So it's no wonder why we lose."
"I'm used to playing 20 minutes a night," he told NHL.com. "I'm not playing as much, so I need to get a little work here in practice to stay in shape."
That is some large talk coming from a guy with no letter on his shirt and who could be the most underperforming player on this team (maybe Plex) this year. His lack of performance has NOTHING to do with Cunny, moreover this is the first time all year that he is actually being held accountable for his shitty play and no-heart efforts most nights by riding the pine alot more.
Sounds like someone wants a ticket out of town, and wanted it publically known at that.
PS - the arrogance to pop off about needing to work harder in practice to stay in shape, Cunny should grab him by the throat and let him know that he is not JM and that he will have to earn his icetime like everyone else.
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The most concerning part of all of this to me is that we have a very well paid core of supposed veterans (Gionta, Cammy, Plex, Gomez) that have a habit of folding up shop when the going gets tough. While the youth on the team and in the system is comforting, the prime time guys on this roster just aren't getting it done night in and night out. And more alarming than that, they seem to have NO shame in dogging it and coasting out there while cashing their checks every week.
That is not the kind of dressing room and work ethic that you want your future top liners to be molded by, and if the GM was not such a lame duck I would suggest a major shake up with moving one of these overpaid slackers in order to grab everyone in that room by the balls and let them know that this cannot continue. Shipping someone like Cammy out fo town would send a real message to that room that this is unacceptable and will not be tolerated for another 40+ games.
Interim coach or not, you cannot ice a team that isn't hustling and giving their all each night in this league. It is an embarassment to the organization, and an embarassment to everyone in that room that considers themselves a professional hockey player.
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Two things from my POV:
1) Great move trading him at his high-water mark, he may never play like he did in the playoffs again for any other team but at least you got what you could out of the guy
2) Think of ALL of the pressure this is going to bring down on Jesus Price. He already had to sit on the bench and watch someone else do exactly what he was thought to do in MTL in the playoffs, watch the NHL commercials for the other guy, and now with all of that expectation shipped off to STL he owns this baby.
Good luck Carey, you are certainly going to need every bit of it this coming season .... I can't think of a worse situation to be put into as a tender. This will either fortify his resolve and bring out his best, or it will absolutely cripple him and he'll be the next MTL goalie cast-off.
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On the bright side, he will gain valuable NHL experience at someone else's expense. We can still hire him in a few years when he is ready to coach a real team.
Lecavalier
St Louis
Stamkos
Hedman
Yzerman (GM)
I'd take that slate of talent to work with any day of the week TYVM.
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To me he is the epitome of what the game has gradually become over the past few decades. A young guy that makes seven figures who has absolutely no respect for his opponents or how his own actions reflect on the organization.
He certainly isn't the only one out there, we have Carcillo as a prime example on the other side, however that doesn't mean I have to like it or endorse it.
Any man that pulls off the stunts he does, to the players he specifically targets so he can get away with it, and then refuses to defend himself when his own honor and integrity are being called into question, is not much of a man in my eyes. Sometimes I wonder how he can watch himself in replays and not just be completely embarassed for himself, his family, and the logo on his jersey.
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A lot of people (e.g. Don Cherry) seem to think that Lapierre is somehow obligated to fight. Somehow the fact that he gets under the other team's skin is supposed to mean that he being dishonourable if he doesn't fight. I don't really understand this. Briere gets the opposition mad by scoring goals - but no one thinks this means he has to fight anyone who challenges him.
I understand that opposition players want to beat him up but why should he be required to give them the chance?
Laps looks ridiculous because he plays 3rd or 4th line minutes and yet he tries to insert his influence above and beyond that through his childish behaviour. Kudos for trying to be effective in your own way, but that doesn't mean you aren't embarassing yourself and your team by doing so.
Their stats for 2009:
Lapierre - 76GP 7G 14PTS
Carcillo - 76GP 12G 22PTS
The main beef I have with watching Max is that he is a situational tough-guy. He is 6'2" and 210lbs and he likes to take runs at Briere and facewash those kind of guys after the whistle. Anyone coming close to his size or bigger and he makes a beeline for the bench faster than a pulled goalie.
He is a gigantic pussy, but because he gets under players' skin every so often we attach some positive worth to an otherwise reprehensible attitude towards the game.
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Core guys not producing? What are you talking about?
Cammi is leading the playoffs in goals, Gomez has 11 points, Gionta has 8 goals and a few assists i believe. Markov is out. Gorges and Gill are defensive Dmen.
What core players are you speaking of? Those players i mentioned are the core. The floaters are the rest of the team.
Moen, Moore, Lapierre have scored a bit, a few more is definatley needed. Subban has even chipped in some.
Congratulations on completely dancing around the subject of my entire post.
Plekanec - 0 goals
Gomez - 0 goals
AK46 - 0 goals
Combined they haven't score in 39 games. They are 50% of your top 6 forwards currently. Enough said.
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The real story here is the sheer number of Habs on the roster that have not scored a single goal in 10+ games....
-Plex (that contract is reducing in value the longer you can't score when it actually matters)
-Gomer (if you take one more idiotic penalty I'm gonna snap)
-AK46 (out of excuses and lives for this guy, cya)
There are more to name but those are the big three. It is inexcusable to go an entire MONTH in the playoffs without any of these guys scoring a single goal, period.
We can talk about Halak's shot totals all we want, or how much this team "really misses" Markov, but none of those is factoring in as much as these core guys simply being along for the ride at the most crucial time of the season.
Philly's top 6 are producing and ours aren't.
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Speed is such a big part of Gill's game... how do you think this injury
will affect him if he plays tonight?
bahahahahahahahahahaha
I'm sorry but did you actually say Gill's game is built around his speed?!?!?!?!?!?
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Canadiens defenseman Hal Gill, who plays Newman to Crosby's Seinfeld
Brilliant!
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Gary Bettman, eating a delicious bowl of Count Chocula cereal in a palatial NYC condo, literally CHOKING ON HIS OWN RAGE!
First, he watches some 8th seed Canadian hockey team eliminate his marketing-dream called the Washington Capitals, thus obliterating his fairy tale ECF matchup of PIT-WASH. He probably had a mini-stroke and just hasn't realized it yet.
Then, to add some kerosene to that fire, he gets to watch the NHL darling Sidney Crosby and his cup-winning teammates get pushed to game 7 against the same Habs!
To be a fly on the wall ....
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Have to come out hard and pot one early, it is the only way this team has a chance at getting to game 7 after a rather mediocre performance the other night in game 5. The fans are going to be crucial in this one (hopefully the idiots stay home tonight), and even if they get down 1-2 early they cannot stop cheering and keeping the guys energy level up.
Habs have been terrible on home ice in the playoffs the last couple of campaigns, let's see that change tonight.
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1. Crosby whines constantly.
2. Crosby was not the best player for Pitts last year, it was Malkin by a mile.
3. Crosby has been quite silent in this series. Even in the last game, it was Malkin who ultimately stepped up for the Pens.
4. Crosby got one goal in the entire medal round of the playoffs. The winner. Perhaps if he was willing to battle on the boards for the previous 4 games we would not have needed an overtime winner.
You must be conveniently forgetting a good HALF of last year's playoffs when Malkin was playing like he was invisible and wasn't doing anything to help the team. The game where his parents showed up he had a couple and got back going, but it was Sid et al that were keeping the team alive and winning games while Gino was asleep at the wheel.
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4 min into last night's game PK was already -2 and almost made it -3 when Malkin stripped him while he was trying to do a half-spin move 15ft from his own net ... while being forechecked ... as the last man back.
It turned out fine and Halak shut the door stopping 33/33 after that, but come on guys, give this guy a chance to grow into the game before you "Price" him out his confidence or his job.
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If the boys play a strong opening 10 and the crowd stays energized throughout the game I like their chances!
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Again, Green's hit wasn't illegal. The reason there's a stand alone diving call is because Green did nothing wrong, Lapierre tried to make it look like Green did something wrong.
And you're right on goaltenders. They dive a lot. The refs go easy on them for whatever reason, maybe because they know they should call goalie interference more often, I don't know.
I'm applauding one single enforcement of a rule here, folks. I'm not saying that reffing isn't inconsistent. I'm arguing against the other two supposed dives. The ref obviously lost his cool and started seeing things that weren't there.
As for if a tough guy did it, yeah he should get called. But again, they're obviously looking for Lapierre to do this, because he's known for it. Just as they'll look for Ryan Smyth to bump a goalie, or Matt Cooke to stick out a knee. That's all I'm saying here. It was the correct call against a guy that the refs know will do stuff like that.
Laps was labelled as a diver years ago; this is nothing new, see Alex Burrows or Derek Roy as examples of guys with the exact same game that repeatedly get called on it.
Two things to consider: 1) if he didn't have that goofy smirk on his face after every hit WHILE getting up and looking right at the ref he may actually get some calls, and 2) I've never seen a guy 6'2" and 210lbs pirouette and fall every single time he is within 3ft of an opposing player.
Solid W by the boys last night, although the game plan in game 7 needs to change so they don't allow 50 shots for the 3rd straight game. I love Jaro but everyone comes down to earth sometime. PK looked good too, he should definitely be on the club come September.
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The really unfortunate thing about all this is that if we didn't fall completely on our faces and slide ass-first into the playoffs, losing our way from 6th to 8th, we would've been playing either a) Vanek-less Sabres with a down-to-earth Miller or b) a NJ team with Brodeur showing his age once again and no chemistry up front. I don't think any series would've been a cake-walk, but I seriously have a hard time beleiving this Habs team wouldn't be sitting in Round 2 after 5 or 6 games with the level of effort they have mustered against the Caps thus far.
Maybe its karma, or just bad luck, either way it's sad to see what could've been if they boys just found a way to do ANYthing down the stretch.
Report: Scott Gomez's contract to be bought out!
in Habs & Hockey Talk
Posted
This.
Over and over again.
Thanks BG.