brobin

this has all the makings of a mid season issue... i would rather koivu get the surgery right now! That is a ticking time bomb that will truely suck for the playoffs. There are two big risks.. his play suffers from this due to the bluriness (he is a passer, they need vision!) but he makes it through the season. That is not great, since we need Koivu at his BEST. We need him to play better then last year. The second risk is that this becomes apparent to them, or the situation gets worse, and he ends up taking the second half of the season off for surgery. Even if he comes back for the playoffs, if we make it without him, he will be rusty. All I can say is keep your fingers crossed on this one. Brobin

Turns out a Salary Cap is no match for the stupidity of some of the GMs/Owners. Imagine if he gets worse (ala Theo)... talk about an albatross....

Glad to hear it. He certainly is not worth what he was given by the arbitor, although we might have signed him for less. In any case, I didn't think he would have been the difference for the Habs.

I disagree. Nothing against Koivu, but last year's playoffs didn't prove that Saku is a God in any way. He was playing average to poor (for Koivu) in the first few games. Yes, it would have helped if he was still in the series, possibly might have made the difference. HOWEVER.. The turning point in that series was a change in goaltenders. Period. Koivu or no Koivu, Gerber was a red light flasher in the first two games and Ward completely stoned the Habs. He also went on to win the Conn Smythe. I still don't get why people think that Koivu leaving was the difference. The habs had tonnes of scoring chances in the third period after he left, but Ward was outstanding. It never helps when your Captain goes down, or your first line center (it allowed Carolina to focus on Ribs/Kovy). That said, Ward was the difference. Brobin

Unless we get a good offer for Aebi, I would hold on to him as insurance. His value will only go up as teams get desperate during the season. Brobin

I think is it a bit steep, but not overly so. It would have been worse if the deal was for 3 or 4 years. I am a bit concerned that Huet had a great, but perhaps not repeatable, 40 games. Huet has a tendancy to be slow getting across, which will be exploited next season. I don't think he will suck, but he was never as good as Theo was when Theo had his amazing season. If people remember back, Theo was behind a horrible team and was pulling off amazing saves. He was just an incredible talent, and look where he is now... It happens a lot with goalies... Huet had a better team in front then Theo did a few years ago, and in my opinion, was solid, not spectacular. He was certainly more consistent then Theo, which is worth a lot. I would like to see Gainey hold on to Aebi for a bit. First, its protection if Huet falters. Aebi will be out to prove he is a number 1, Huet will still be counting his money... Second, we all know that as the season goes on and Goalies crumble, the value of a good goalie goes up. For example, in a few months, Toronto may be desperate for a goaltender again (not that I would trade with them!). In any case, a good move, I sure hope Huet keeps playing the way he did last season! Brobin

Two thoughts here. 1. Perhaps he wants to go to Toronto (I sure hope not, but you know Ontario boys...). 2. I would be wary of him changing his mind and wanting to leave again. I would want to see a personal commitment from him. Brobin

I don't know if the Habs would have gone all the way, but I sure hate the Canes. I thought they were dirty and lucky, and they still barely won the cup. The are tenacious, i will give them that, but they are one of my least favorite teams. Brobin

I have the feeling that they are over dramatizing it. Sure, there is a small risk he could have more issues with the eye, but it is a small risk. They have to make it seem dire so they can trumpet this mighty comeback in the fall. As Koiuv himself put it, this is not cancer. My main concern with his hockey will be how much of the summer he misses healing. This kind of injury limits his ability to work out (you don't want fluctuating blood pressure and exertion) so he is going to wither away. At his age, it will not be easy to get back in shape for the fall if he spends the next two months on the shelf. In any case, lets hope he recovers very soon.

Frankly, this series turned when Cam Ward got in the net. The easy goals were over, he gave his team confidence and momentum. I know we like to think it was Koivu going out, but he had one point in the first 2.5 games. Cam Ward is doing for Carolina what Huet did for the Habs earlier this year...

Oh there goes the game... bonk puts his brain away... althought they guy certainly made it look worse then it was

CRap

Yeah.. brindy in the box.. about time... There goes one of their best PK guys too... bring it boys... bring it!

Wow.. they boys are givin it now... Lets hope they get a bounce because right now they can't buy one...

sigh.. I will say one thing, Brindamour and Williams are awesome on the PK..

Kovy has turned it on... drew a penalty... Maybe his effort will be infectious

williams hurt by his own player... sweet justice?

there is the PP... seize it boys and tie this up...

Here we go...

Well, the key to this game is going to come down to a fast start to the 3rd period. they have to come out and establish the momentum. They have to get hard to the net and cause problems.. Let's keep our fingers crossed, this ain't over yet...

Oh thanks you Kovy.. we so needed that... any surprise that there was a screen..

they really need to get going. It is obvious that the only way to beat Ward is by getting someone in front to cause him problems. That is what Carolina does. They either screen the point shot, or get the garbage goal... It really is that simple. the shot Bullis just took was a waste of time.

sigh... Every bad penalty is killing us... point shots.. perhaps the habs could watch the tapes and try it themselves.

Stupid over the glass penalty... no excuse for that one (

Wow.. now we are starting to see some effort.. good shifts by Ryder/Higgins, and the Zednik line..... Keep it up boys!