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Habitforming

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Posts posted by Habitforming

  1. Wow, I'm blown away... I got my tickets within 10 minutes of the box office opening online today. That beats my record of 1h30m from years ago. Gonna see the Leafs in Montreal in February!

    I only wanted one game, but knowing I had to get 3 tickets together meant I would likley be on the outside looking in.

    to my disappointment, I was right.... and not going :(

  2. Halak's name should not be uttered in the same breathe as Roy and Dryden because he won 9 games. That is halfway to the Cup.

    This performance was not in the same area as Steve Penney's because that was done under the strict defensive system of Jacques Lemaire

    who had replaced Berry late in the season. It was a 4th place Adams division team, but it was lead by the core of a 4 time Stanley Cup champion

    that had produced 107,103,109,98 before the 75 point season and 94 and a Stanley Cup in the two seasons following.

    Penney's performance is extremely overrated, especially with the hindsight of his career dying out in two seasons and Lemaire creating monster

    goaltending performances every step of his career.

    It is selective memory to ignore the performance that it most resembled and that was Theodore in 2002. Badly outshot by the Bruins and

    on the verge of being up 3-1 on the Canes before the Habs collapsed with a much inferior team in front of them than the 2010 Habs.

    Theo won 6 games with Bulis, Zednik, Koivu and Gilmour on his last legs. The D core had a young Markov, but was lead by Souray and Rivet. How would

    Theo have fared had he the roster in front of him that Halak did?

    It is likely ignored because of the way Theo's career played out and the fact that he was gone from Montreal 150 games later. Was he a playoff hero?

    He left a game in which he was torched for 5 goals in a period to a standing ovation. Try finding a Montreal crowd who has done that before. I was at the

    game when Halak was mediocre and the Habs went down 3-1 to the Flyers, there was no standing ovation for Halak, the Habs were booed off the ice.

    In 2004 with the Habs trailing the Bruins 3-1 he allowed 3 goals in 100 shots for a .970 SV%. A goaltender who had PROVEN that he could steal

    a playoff series.

    Everything has to be processed through the hyperbole machine in Montreal.

    IT DOESN'T MATTER what Price does. Montreal fans wanted Laracque to replace Dryden in 79 after 5 Cups in 7 years, they wanted Racicot to replace Roy

    in 93 after a Stanley Cup, Conn Smythe and 3 Vezina trophies. They booed Theo out of town after he had a Halak type run and a Vezina and MVP and one year

    removed from a 3-1 series comeback and a .940 SV% against the 2nd seeded Bruins.

    Halak was going to get raked through the coals at some point in his career in Montreal, he just got moved before it happened. If the Habs had kept both

    and Halak struggled then the fans would be calling for Price and deifying him. This story plays out OVER AND OVER AND OVER again.

    Stanley Cups don't buy you immunity. Vezina's do not buy you immunity. All-Star appearances do not buy you immunity.

    If the Habs are good and Price is average and Price has a .918 SV% and the Blues struggle and Halak is magnificent but has a .913 SV% the fanbase will

    remain happy. If the Habs are terrible and Price is fantastic and has a .914 SV% and Halak rides a Tim Thomas year with a strong defensive Blues team

    the fanbase will scream bloody murder.

    The fanbase are basically simpletons. They are the equivalent of individuals trying to offer their perspective on a law case because they have seen To Kill a Mockingbird.

    It is what it is. If the Habs win Price will be fine. If the Habs are losing, Price will be blamed. It has nothing to do with how well he plays.

    I couldn't agree more about the idiocy of the fan base montreal has now. If you really want to know if they did the right thing, watch for the fans reactions. If 80% hate it, it was a great move. The higher it goes the better off the move was.

  3. Did Halak have a strong playoff run? Without question. If Price was in goal, would they have done as well? Probably not in my opinion. Did Halak do it alone? Absolutely not, give some credit to the team for blocked shots and scoring some timely goals. Thus, was his run heroic, one for the ages? Not really. Did he have a memorable game or two that can be compared to some of the greats? Sure, he had some really good games that he deserves a lot of credit for. Does that mean they made the wrong call dealing Halak over Price? I don't think so.

    It comes to the question of which is more likely - Halak to play closer to the level in the 3rd round where he did struggle, or Price to continue struggling (and his numbers, wins aside weren't that bad). The safer bet is that given Price's pedigree, he'll likely rebound, while Halak may very well have played his best hockey. Even if Halak repeats his play, as long as Price comes around, the trade is still a win, just for both teams.

    Price rebounds, Halak struggles = Habs win

    Price rebounds, Halak does well = both teams win

    Price stays bad, Halak does well = Habs likely lose unless Eller/Schultz become impact players (not unrealistic)

    As the saying goes, 2 outta 3 ain't bad. :) On the flip side, if Price moves...

    Halak stays strong, Price struggles = Habs win

    Halak stays strong, Price rebounds = both teams win

    Halak regresses, Price rebounds = Habs likely lose unless the Price return (likely lower since they'd have been selling low - and I don't buy the Ryan report for a second - they'd have got lesser players in return).

    Still 2 out of 3, but more risk in the 3rd option. That's not even factoring in the cap savings from the trade. We can debate the deal until the cows come home but we won't know who won the deal probably for a good 5 years. Rather than discredit Price, why not root for the guy? I honestly get the sense some want him to fail to prove their opinion correct that Halak was the guy to keep despite the negative impact it'd have on the team.

    I'm sure Halak will look good in St.Louis next season, but all new goalies in the league look good for the first year (Halak's first in the west). After that the players know the tendencies and weakness.

    The real Halak will be evident in year 2 with St.Louis, good or bad.

  4. Quite possible. But that has nothing to do with the question of whether he was a playoff hero. Which he WAS.

    Roy in 93' and to a lesser extent 86' is the definition of playoff hero for a goaltender.

    Maybe the use of the word is too lose now. How many people were running around talking up Gary Shuchuk as a playoff hero after a stellar playoffs?

  5. He lost the locker room, yeahh right. He slept with the same girl that the coach was

    doing. No he was link to mafia, or he raped a girl in a bar. That is juicy stories yours

    ain't.

    If it was something you should know about, I would assume you would know.

    It's isn't something "Juicy" like you want it to be, but the impact was enough for the room.

  6. 'A .500 playoff goalie' :rolleyes: There is no need to deny what Halak accomplished in order to support Price. Halak was THE goalie of the 2010 playoffs. Let's at least have the simple honesty to face up to that fact before moving on.

    Yeeahh ok.

    Here is what you don't know. Halak lost the dressing room early in the Philly series for reasons better left unsaid.

    Halak worshipers forget that he isn't a team player AT ALL and yet have no issue taking the same stance against Price saying he is immature and not dedicated.

    Halak asked for a trade mid season remember? He wasn't a playoff hero then and his record suggests he isn't now. When the team quit on him it was a 5 game series. Halak took the exact same stance and quit on the team in game 5 when he came out of the crease to colide with Hamrlik for a loose puck (while on the PP ! ) giving the Flyers and easy empty net SH goal. His performance to that point was average at best.

    Do you have any idea what that says to the rest of the team when you don't trust a veteran Dman that is respected on the team to make the easy play and force the attacking player wide? Why did leaving the net empty while a man up become an acceptable option on that play? It wasn't, it showed what Halak thought of the rest of the team, and the bench noticed it as you can see by the rest of that game.

    Given the chance the players would have voted Halak off the team after that. That is not the unity that Gomez, Gionta, Cammy, Gill and Hamrlik (among others) spent the season preaching to the guys.

  7. Halak the savior and Halak this and that.... blah blah blah.

    Price is the guy, so for once in a century try to back this kid (yeah just a kid) and see how it turns out.

    Chicago fans aren't this pissed about losing the cup winning goalie and yet in Montreal a .500 playoff goalie is something to go on and on about. :wacko:

  8. Unless he signs for serious term, Price should be paid based on his performance up to this point. Nothing more. Nothing less. By that measure he should make at most $1 million per season more than, say, Dan Ellis. That would put Price at 2.5 mil. That sounds about right to me as the upper limit for a guy with formidable pedigree who has yet to assemble a compelling season/playoff as a #1 goalie in the NHL. 'Paying for potential?' My arse. Let him actually accomplish something first.

    Sure it sounds great in theory, but every player is paid based on potential and they always have been. Every entry level contract does it with a $800K- $1M salary, then tack on the bonus structure ($2.2M total salary for Price's entry deal) and voila.... a potential based contract. It has always been that way, hell, even Michael Ryder got a deal like that and when he didn't live up to it, he walked as a UFA (Now the Bruins don't want his $4M ass either).

    I know what you're trying to say, but it really doesn't work that way right now in the NHL and I highly doubt the Habs will be the next trend setter in that regard.

  9. Let's just hope the refs give our "Pronger" the same leniency when the time comes.

    Nope, Vancouver was taking him at 25 had he still been available (which would have changed the Ballard deal a bit). If everyone else knew this, I'm sure the Habs did too which likely precipitated the trade. I'm happy with the pick, would've preferred getting a 3rd back instead of a 4th but considering a lot of the teams who moved up didn't get an extra later pick back, it could be much worse.

    not to mention Buffalo at 23 wanted him.

  10. I don't care where he plays initially (NHL preferred) as long as he stays at center. Even if Plex stays I would like to see Eller with Plex and cammy, but put Plex on the wing so Eller can get better/used to NHL calibre faceoffs.

    My choice is the 2nd line C (Plex for picks ! lol)

  11. You don't put an offensive guy on the 3rd line to learn how to play. If he is making the team it will be on the 2nd line with Cammi and someone else. Or he will be the top center in Hamilton. He needs the ice time with offensive players, not with Moen and Lapierre.

    Brobin, I'll remind you that BOTH goalies were blown out by the Flyers, they had the same record against the Flyers and Halak played behind a much better team.

    The real difference between Price and Halak last year was goals for, almost 1 more goal per game for Halak then Price. That equals more wins. (As Wamsley pointa out).

    So Price is the goalie of the near future, get over it. PG got what he could and in my opinion he got a real good deal for players that will help in the near future, Eller as soon as next year perhaps. PG addressed size and grit.

    I don't think he done yet.

    we don't seem to agree alot, but you hit this one perfectly.

    Sweetheart starts for Halak made him look great, so he could be traded.... mission accomplished !

  12. That was basically where I was going with my point. I've dealt with the Gomez deal, it's not an issure for me, he's here to stay. My question is, do we want Plek, at that kind of money? Maybe it's time to try to get bigger with that money.

    Could be a good time for an ultra rare sign and trade x2..... What could Plex and Halak get us at the draft?

  13. Well I didn't send in lines last night and haven't d/l the sim yet but seeing the Sens lose to the Isles isn't a good sign.

    My pc will be up and running by tonight after moving yesterday, so this is your last freebie Joe ;)

  14. I'm not a Halak supporter, but I am also not a hater. My concern is because Price is the future and it's easy to lose sight of that when one is playing well and the other was thrown to the wolves and stuggled at times. Management has to look long and hard and not lose sight of that fact as well. They need to remember Halak is 2 years older and in the same spot Price is now at 22 years of age.

    Halak has huge trade value right now and if needed (cap cash) he should be the one we move at the draft for a solid return. If we don't get a decent offer then you have to look at other options, but Price needs to play to develop. It doesn't happen when he turns 23 or 24 overnight.

    Let's face it, if both goalies were signed long term we wouldn't care who was playing and we would be happy to have such an embarassment of riches in net.

    One way or the other a decision looms over the front office, and I have little faith in Gauthier/Martin to get it right.

  15. fact :

    Canadian Teams account for at least 1/5 of NHL revenue (maybe more given that both Habs and Toronto are 1 and 3) in NHL

    fact :

    Canadian $ at paraty represents an increase of 50% over it's 2000 level and 20% over its 2004-2005 (lockout) level.

    Actually..... As of May 2008.......The six Canadian teams account for 31 per cent of the $1.1 billion (U.S.) in league ticket revenue.

    One third of all revenue is from only 6 (Canadian) of the 30 NHL teams

  16. That's it... a new GM for Ottawa with an experienced GM and he doesn't throw Mason, Kassian, Frolov and companys name out there. Come on man. Make the team yours and send me your best players.

    Hey now, this isn't streamers block.... no spamming :P:lol:

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