Machine of Loving Grace

This has nothing to do with this game, but it was Boston vs. Montreal and it gives me happy thoughts THE BEE STING!

Subban turtled because he had five Bruins coming at him and he was on the ice. Sorry, I'm turtled too when I could get a skate to the face. People have rose coloured glasses on if they don't remember the kind of things those three would pull with CH uniforms. And also, doesn't matter if you fight. What matters is whether you help your team win or not. You have a very Cherryisian viewpoint on hockey players.

O'Byrne was for the most part absolutely terrible and generally inconsistent. He'd play two to three straight games where he'd look like a pretty good third string blueliner with a lot of size and then he'd go back to having no ability to position, no ability to cover a man and was probably one of the worst players I've seen in a Habs uniform with the puck in most of my time watching the Habs. He went to Colorado, had a string of good games and then went back to being stupid ol' O'Byrne. Oh, and he sucked at fighting for a guy at 6'6" so I'd rather Emelin just embarrass people with hits and keep his hands warm in the gloves.

Subban is a cheap shot artist just like other Canadien greats like Chelios, Corson and Lemieux. I have no problem with that. I want people to hate playing the Canadiens, even if it means people disrespecting us.

Cammalleri was on pace for his usual assist totals but his goals were down. You know who has a similar situation this year on the team? EVERYONE BUT ERIK COLE. The teams power play failed so everyone on the team is having trouble scoring. Putting the pressure on only Cammalleri to perform in the regular season when he and Gionta are the only forwards this team can properly rely on for post-season scoring is unfair. It hasn't been so pronounced by others but when the team fired Martin and Gorges went up to Cunneyworth and said, "You're the coach, we're behind you 100 per cent" it's clear that the first guy to try to cause problems for the new coach was going to get axed. Cammalleri and Cunneyworth clashed immediately. It was only a matter of time.

It's the stupid "duo" concept that Martin has that Cunneyworth clearly has as well. If you're gonna juggle the lines, juggle them! Don't half ass it. You got six wingers and three centers. You have to try every combination in the book instead of just going, "well this is a duo that won't be broken". It would have been great to see some line combos like Patches/Eller/Gionta or Cam/Eller/Cole or Patches/Pleks/Kostitsyn. Even with Gomez back, try something new. This is the time to find hidden chemistry, as I stated in another thread. I agree about the Cam/Plek/Cole line, it had a lot of potential that the coaches just didn't have patience for.

Montreal will get much more than a third for Kostitsyn. He's a second line/third line 20+ goal scorer who can check and play both wings. He has quite a bit of value to a contender needing some extra punch. Montreal will get at least a second for him and for the right desperate team, a first. I would never want to lock up Kostitsyn because from draft to today, he hasn't learned anything. He hasn't progressed. He is the same player. Makes the same mistakes. Has the same upside. Has the same downside. Why would anyone want that for longer? And as others have stated, Bourque is a similar player we have locked up. I'd rather move Bourque to the third line where AK is right now next season and try out some offensive minded players to take Cammalleri's spot and try to find some chemistry we don't know exists yet. Palushaj has looked terrible in the NHL so far but I'd like to see him in a top six role for a couple games when he's dominated the AHL again. We cannot afford to keep the players who haven't gotten us anywhere.

I'm a big fan of this track/remix.

One point is fine. I'm hoping for a Gomez hatty against Toronto

In the end, Tinordi will have a much more prolific career than Cam Fowler. But I agree with you, there was no way Tinordi was going top 10 unless a team in the top 10 had a crush on him, similar to Thomas Hickey.

Gionta has zero value? I... don't know where to begin there.

One goal eh Chris? Lofty expectations! haha

If Letang returns, Pittsburgh wins. He always plays well against us.

If we got Derek Roy I'd be convinced that Gauthier is trying to collect every NHLer with a French sounding name that cannot speak French. Next stop: Dion Phaneuf!

Galchenyuk doesn't excite me but Yakupov, Grigorenko, FLIPBERG and Gaunce will all be elite NHLers. Gaunce is kind of a safe pick because you get a center with size who already plays a Canadiens style two way game. If we ended up outside of the top five, he'd be my pick, "better defensive prospects" be damned. Then again, some people might say, "Chipchura Redux" but whatever. Honestly, Montreal should not pick a defenceman period. We got Tinordi and Beaulieu in the system. If we're not in a position to pick an elite forward, you trade down to get more picks in hopes of getting lucky with a prospect in the late first/early second round to go along with your earliest pick.

I don't like McGuire but I'd like to see him GM a team as well. Just not Montreal. Again, he interviewed for the job in Minnesota where they were accepting applicants with little experience and they passed him over for Chuck Fletcher. The big thing separating Fletcher and McGuire? Experience. Fletcher has worked at the important levels of general managing with Florida and Pittsburgh because he wanted a GM job. McGuire continues to try to get the spot on the sidelines. I think Minnesota saw that when they interviewed him. The one guy who has little GM experience I'd want in the role is Pat Brisson because Pat knows the players, he knows how they negotiate with their agents and he has an excellent relationship with the league despite being the guy that will help drive up revenues. If Brisson wants the role, he gets it in my eyes.

The, "Well, Price should be better" talk reminds me quite a bit of Roy talk in 95-96. Hopefully the result isn't the same.

Is that 6 supposed to look like a Giraffe?

I'd say he is at the bottom, followed by Subban. Two guys who seem to be getting much more criticism than they possibly deserve.

The team has 17 wins, which is tied for 27th. Price has 15 of those wins. His 17 losses are tied with Jonas Hiller and Cam Ward, both excellent goalies as well. His 8 OT losses is tied with Jonathan Quick, who happens to be playing on a better built team.

Does Roy and Damphousse have a good relationship? They both seem like passionate guys. Maybe Roy could see having open communication with Damphousse as a way of still getting the team he wants to coach?

The most important stat stated was that 11 of Price's losses came from Montreal being unable to score more than one goal. Especially when you consider how little we score in the shootout.

Montreal is honestly better off being terrible for the next few seasons, drafting these kind of superstars (hopefully) and giving it another go when we're not having to make excuses for everyone.

This is usually where someone brings up that he is also top 5 in losses for a goalie his age. Quite simply, there hasn't been a goalie in the NHL who has played and accomplished as much at such a young as Price since Tom Barrasso in the 1980s.

The biggest reason I do not want McGuire is that I cannot stand people who take up broadcast positions and expect those public positions to get them hockey jobs. McGuire hasn't coached in the NHL since 1996 and hasn't ever been a GM. He isn't grinding his teeth in the juniors like Patrick Roy is. He's just an analyst who has extensive U.S. College hockey experience. He also cares more about potential than results, as seen from whenever he analyzes a hockey player. It isn't his opinions on Price that have bothered me the most but his opinions on Lars Eller. Eller was praised by pretty much everyone *except* McGuire who claimed Eller would never be a goal scorer in the NHL. Where is he getting such an opinion? From what most have said, it is due to his silly grudge against Pierre Gauther. I don't want a guy like that.