The Chicoutimi Cucumber

Huzer's analysis seems sound to me. We've upgraded the talent, no question. Yes, all four lines will be effective. But our core weaknesses - questionable talent at C and lack of a legitimate #2/1A D-man after Markov - remain intact. We won't be true contenders until these are addressed IMHO. Carbo has long been touted as a great coach waiting to happen, but Gainey is also a great coach, so it's not like the team will be moving from incompetence to mastery in that department. Young players are ALWAYS question marks and it's a mistake to base predictions on anticipated 'breakthroughs' by the Higginses and Perezhogins of the world. So I'd say we should fall somewhere in the range of 8th to 6th place in the East. But we are now good enough to launch one of those surprise playoff runs that seem to occur every season (Carolina in 2002, Ducks in 2003, Calgary in 2004, etc.). Still, such runs are called 'surprises' for a reason - the team that makes them is not, on paper, good enough to be considered true contenders. Which is the Habs' current state. Having said that, we're a good team and this should be a fun season, where we definitely improve on last year - I'd say Huzer is understating it a bit, and that up to 10 more points is not completely whacked, but 6 is more like it) and finally start getting respect as *potential* contenders around the league.

Well, if one of our players has to suffer an injury before the season starts, I'm glad it's him and not, say, Markov (*shudder*) This is where the lack of decent prospects on D comes back to haunt us.

Bulis is a good all-around guy (without being physical) but I seriously doubt that he will 'break out.' Anyone who can't hit the broad side of a barn with his shot is not likely to break out. He will give you middling offensive numbers (maybe 50 points?) without making defensive mistakes. A bland, inoffensive, moderately useful player. Good signing at that price. If he's on your second line, though, you lack depth at forward. I don't see how the Canucks have improved by losing Jovo. And Bert may be addition by subtraction but they still don't have a first line forward apart from Naslund. Maybe their prospects will step up. But if I had a nickel for every crappy team that's clung to that hope over the years, heck, I could have signed Bulis myself

Born and raised in Montreal. Now exiled to Vancouver

The more I think about it, the less sense Savard's move makes. He said in an interview upon leaving that his ultimate goal is to be a GM again. But how does becoming an assistant coach to that idiot Therrien move him closer to the big chair than being Bob Gainey's right hand man? When Therrien is fired, Savard will likely go with him...and then what? Clearly (despite the official story that stepping aside for Gainey was Savard's own idea) Savard was shunted aside to make room for Bob back in 2000. The humbled Savard gave it a good try as Gainey's lackey, but must have lost some power struggle or other within the Canadiens' operation (e.g., among rivals who also wanted Gainey's ear); or else he and Gainey just couldn't see eye to eye on key issues and Savard got disgusted and left. That, or he was a quiet, strategic scapegoat for the lack of quebecois talent in the organization, although I find this hard to believe, since neither Gilette nor Gainey seem concerned about that. All I can say is, they'd better not hire a specialist in Quebec drafting to replace him, unless that guy is the very best person for ALL of the duties that go with Savard's old job description. Fingers crossed on this one.

Contrary to what people in the Eastern Conference think, Aebischer is a legitimate #1 goalie (although probably better as a 1A guy, as the Habs propose) - I'd sign him over Belfour in, oh, about one second. It's amazing how sheer 'rep' overrides good sense. Detroit would be idiots to try to ride a broken-down 41-year old who showed no sign of adjusting to the 'new NHL'...but given their follies with hasek, nothing would surprise me. I'm just amazed Philly hasn't made Belfour an offer

People who talk about the Habs as a team that somehow 'fluked' into the playoffs last year and then 'fluked' into nearly eliminating Carolina because of Huet's incredible play just don't know what they're talking about. Huet played very well indeed - something he's now done for one and a half seasons, BTW - but the Habs also LOST several points due to Theodore. Anyway, the real issue is that the Habs have a roster of players unknown to fans in other cities, except for Souray, Koivu, Kovalev, and now Huet. And Samsonov. The don't know that Markov is a borderline all-star, for instance, or that Rivet and Bouillon are among the best 4th and 5th defencemen in hockey; they don't know how GOOD Koivu is, just that he had cancer; they don't grasp that the Habs have piles of young players that can kill you on any given night, etc.. Free agent signings in Montreal also don't seem to register outside Quebec. Kovalev ceased to be considered a *star* the minute he signed in Montreal, it seems to me. And now we have people blithely ignoring the addition of Samsonov. Imagine if he signed in Toronto - everyone and their dog would be talking about how much more dangerous he'd make the Leafs' attack. A lot of it has to do with the Habs playing in a francophone market. If the very same roster were playing in Toronto, they'd be considered an EXCITING AND DANGEROUS UP AND COMING TEAM, practically national heroes. And nobody would be talking about them missing the playoffs. Don't worry about it. We're not a LOCK to make the dance but we have a better chance than we did last year, which is good enough for me.

Sigh...sorry I asked.

There you have it: representing the Islanders 'with dignity.'

Actually, the above scenario reminds me eerily of the 1995 firing of Serge Savard and Jacques Demers. Out comes Ronald Corey to address the excited media hordes: 'Good morning. Today is a great day in the history of the Montreal Canadiens. With sadness, I have decided to replace a two-time Cup winning GM and a Cup winning coach with a beer company shill who hasn't been directly involved in the game for 15 years, Rejean Houle. and a clownish media buffoon with no prior coaching experience at any level, Mario Tremblay. The choice was an easy one. Reggie used to be a good role player on the team back in the day and has a great $5 haircut. Most importantly, he is a man of integrity, someone I trust will work hard, be creative and represent the Canadiens with dignity. As for Mario, I have full confidence that he will live up to his nickname, the Blueberry, and yell at Patrick Roy until he's blue in the face, enabling us to make a great trade for Andrei Kovalenko and Martin Ruscinsky and Jocelyn Thibault.' The horror. The horror. :puke:

Just curious...I don't get to hear Macguire very often, but I'm always interested in his opinion. If anyone can offer a link or a summary, well thanks. (I asked this in the 'Macguire' thread below but the request was ignored amidst all the ranting and raving over Macguire's style or his rep as a Habs hater).

First, Pierre kicks the crap out of any other hockey analyst, whatever his idiosyncracies. Second: does anybody know what Macguire had to say about the Habs' signing of Samsonov, trading of Zednik, and acquisition of Johnson? I'd appreciate any summary or link to an MP3 or whatever.

Funny how these things go...Rivet, for instance, makes more than Souray or Markov, two much higher-profile defencemen. And Kovy turns out to be a steal at that rate given the current UFA market. Still, the basic structure makes sense: the captain makes the most, followed by the two semi-star forwards Samsonov and Kovy. Nice post.

Right...the Habs' dynasties of the 1950s, 60s, and 70s didn't have ANY superstars. Sheesh.

Markhov is a restricted free agent next season, I believe. Hopefully they can sign him to a long-term deal. Souray and Rivet are impending UFAs. I'd be surprised to see Rivet go, but he is also very well-regarded around the NHL and I wouldn't be floored to see a little bidding war for his services if he does go UFA. It would depend on how many other D-men are out there. In a perfect world we'd keep all three and add one more...

The Habs are building a team like Buffalo, i.e., one that doesn't necessarily have a lot of *big name* superstars but can roll out three or four fast lines, all skilled, all dangerous. And that is exactly the way to do it in a cap system, where player mobility is increased. Unlike, say, the Rangers with Jagr, this model of team building supposes that no one player is indispensable. You kill 'em with your depth. Johnson is a perfect fit for this model. :hlogo:

First, Souray is a #3 or 4 defenceman on ANY good NHL team. Here, he's our #2, which may be a stretch - but that's not Souray's fault, it's the Habs' fault for having so many middling defencemen. He is well-regarded throughout the league and only Montreal fans would be so myopic as to allow his occasional defensive howlers to overwhelm all the assets he brings, including a booming shot, size, leadership, and good puck-moving skills. Second, I'm increasingly certain that the Habs will be forced to move him. His impending UFA status combined with these ongoing low-level rumours that he wants to go elsewhere for family reasons is a very dangerous combination. These rumours are just too enduring to be wholly false. They've been burbling away for months now. All I can say is that if the Habs don't replace him on the blueline with a real blue-chip stud, they will be hard-pressed to make the playoffs regardless of how many quality forward they have. Even with Souray the Habs need a bona fide #2 or #1A defenceman (after Markov). Without him, expect the D to be ground down, and possibly even Huet to start feeling the pinch. Bad, bad, bad. How Gainey handles this file could be a real key to his tenure. Interesting times.

What about Higgins as 2nd line C? That would open a slot on the wing for Perezhogin, whose development might otherwise be hurt by Samsonov.

For further proof that Johnson is an excellent acquisition, dig the Phoenix Coyotes' fans' response to losing him for a 4th rounder: http://hfboards.com/showthread.php?t=270492 Long story short: they wanna puke Gainey = :king:

Agreed, but I fully expect Ribs to bounce around; Johnson could well end up doing time as C on that second line, which is a little too inexperienced for my taste. Pleks too. For all of Bob's canny moves, we still have that glaring weakness at C. A further alternative is that they throw Ribs between Sammy and Kovalev in the hope that all that raw talent will connect. It might, but I doubt that it would last. Every one of those guys is erratic. The nice thing about this scenario, though, is that for the first time in a dog's age the Habs have a bona-fide first line. No team is going to feel too comfy confronting Samsonov-Koivu-Kovalev, even if the line IS a bit smurfish.

I sure hope this IS garbage. Markov is one of the most underrated players in the game, and, along with Koivu, a player we simply can't afford to lose, to injury or free agency. Say it ain't so.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Souray and Aebi go as a package to acquire the elusive #2 or #1A centreman we've so far failed to get. That would, however, leave a gaping hole on D. But it's hard to see why teams would agree simply to flip comparable defencemen...which is why I think the scenario above is more likely. Souray is an excellent d-man despite his occasional brain-cramps and his departure would be a problem.

Thanks for the feedback on Johnson. He sounds like an even cannier acquisition than I thought: much more of a leader than Zed and way more versatile, if less explosive. Way to go, Bob. :king: Personally, I think Kovalev has done everything we could have reasonably expected of him - point a game production - so I disagree that he needs to 'rediscover' anything. But if anybody can help Samsonov recover the all-star form and confidence of his early seasons after a few rough ones, it's Kovy, captain of the Russian national team for gosh's sakes. If nothing else we now have two of the most exciting players in the game - good times, good times

I had the distinct impression that Bob didn't like Zednik's character or work ethic. As coach he basically drove him off the first two lines. Gainey clearly makes moves based as much on his assessment of a player's character as his stats or raw skill, which is a good thing. Sounds like Johnson will be a much more versatile player than Zed - again, a very 'Gainey' kind of acquisition. And Samsonov will more than make up for Zed's absent offence, assuming he stays healthy. The Ovechkin thing, meh. It's not like he made a star out of that idiot Zubrus...

Help me out here. Is a 36-year-old Lang, who got 20 goals and 60 points last year on a powerhouse Detroit squad, really an upgrade on a 26-year-old Ribeiro who has put up comparable numbers on crappier teams? Just asking.