CerebusClone

I forgot to add one last thing. Let's not forget that Lecavalier is entering his new long term contract next season, and that's he's playing this season despite the fact that he's not 100% after his shoulder surgery. If the Canadiens are to make such a deal, they better make damn sure that Lecavalier is fully recovered, and that his shoulder won't be constantly bothering him over the next 10 years.

If we forget about everything else, Bob Gainey should jump on this offer if it presents itself. The Canadiens would be getting a franchise player in return for several "good" players, and this is a deal that you cannot pass on; this is the type of deal that instantly transformed the San Jose Sharks from a good team to a top contender. If we add the fact that Lecavalier is a francophone player from the Montreal region, the organization also gets a huge boost for the marketing department. I can’t imagine how some people - including some of the media - would feel about having a top offensive line made up of three francophone players on this centennial season (Tanguay-Lecavalier-Latendresse). However there are several problems with this deal. First and foremost it just doesn’t work cap-wise for Montreal as this deal – including the replacements for the Higgins and Gorges – would add over 2 millions in salary towards our cap, and that’s including the fact that we’re at the mid-season point (about 50% less). Basically we would need to sent Dandeneault, Begin, and Laraque down to the minors without replacing them, and therefore playing with a 21-man roster (perhaps a Greg Stewart would fit, I’m not entirely sure). Even if we make this work financially, the Canadiens are aiming the for Stanley Cup this season, and such a deal would bring significant changes to the lineup while completely changing the dynamics and the chemistry within locker room. Of course things could go smoothly, however a change of this importance mid-way into the season is more likely to require some time before the roster stabilizes, and that strategies are adapted (especially with such an inexperienced coaching staff that is still learning on the spot). Actually I can’t even remember the last time a team won the Stanley Cup after a change of this importance mid-way into the season…

He wasn't always overrated, however the organization and the fans are currently expecting too much from him. He was always supposed to be a Jere-Lehtinen type player, a strong two-way player with enough skills to follow better players, but not enough to be a consistent point producer on a top offensive line. Offensively he's already matched a guy like Jere Lehtinen, who's always scored about 45-55 points per season (even though he played with Modano for most of his career), however I don't think he's been able to work on his overall game because he's forced to live up to unrealistic expectations; the guy has NEVER been a natural goal scorer or a pure offensive winger, and he never will be. People are getting very excited with Maxim Lapierre right now, but Higgins remains a better player. If we allowed Higgins to concentrate on giving us a strong defensive game with some steady offensive in the 45-55 point range, he would perhaps become of the best two-way players in the game. Unfortunately somehow he's become some 35+ goal power-forward in the eyes of some fans and the Habs management. However I do agree that Higgins may have become expendable, and if we can strike a good deal involving him, we should seriously consider it. I mentioned on another thread that I would like for the Habs to trade for a guy like Dan Hamhuis, something like: Higgins + D'Agostini + O'Byrne for Hamhuis + Blake Geoffrion (although he grew up in Nashville). I don't know if Nashville would be interested, but I think this would be a fair trade for both teams. I also think that Hamhuis is better that his current stats would indicate, and that he could benefit from leaving Nahsville where's he stuck behind Weber and Suter. This trade would also allow Gainey to improve the team without hurting the core (the team is playing well, and Higgins barely played this season).

It does look a little weird, but I'm sure they'll put their differences aside from that game. Besides this is the All-Star game, all they have to so is stand behind the players and smile... not much coaching to do... What would have been more ackward is Mike Komisarek and Milan Lucic being teammates

Actually Perezhogin is 6'0" and over 210 pounds... he's no Todd Bertuzzi, but I wouldn't call him smallish. He's only an inch smaller than the NHL average, but also about 10 pounds heavier.

My picks would be: 1) Carey Price: He's been playing at a very high level all season-long with hardly any streak, and is enjoying a great season thus far. I think some people are hesitant to give him the credit he deserves because they are used to goalies standing on their head, and looking the the lone stars on mediocre teams (like Hackett and Theodore... or some look at Steve Mason right now), but it takes a great goalie to offer such consistency under the pressure of playing on a contender. 2) Andrei Markov: He controls the play, and is or best player on the ice during most games. He's enjoying another great season so far, especially during the first quarter of the season where some even talked about a possible nomination for the Norris. 3) Robert Lang: Without a doubt our most consistent player all season long, giving us the same level of play almost every game (with the possible exception of his line with Tanguay and D'Agostini that just didn't work). I mentioned this summer that under the right circumstances he may end up our best centre, and he's been in my opinion our best centre since day 1. He's finally giving us what we failed to get from Bonk and Juneau in the past. I'm not sure why people are mentioning Maxim Lapierre, I guess he's the flavor of the month. I really like him, don't get me wrong, but he's only got points in 4 of his last 16 games, and a total of 13 for the season. His line is playing quite well, but we're not getting a whole lot of offense from them considering they're now playing 15-17 minutes per game. I never doubted that Lapierre could become a very good depth player, but he sure hasn't given us anything that remotely matches what we're getting from guys like Price, Markov, and Lang.

You have to remember however that it's a movie, and not a documentary. Movies must sell, the truth is very often too boring for motion pictures, and events in these types of movies are always exaggerated to some extent. This is especially true when it comes to sports “legends” like the Rocket or the Babe - people get very emotional and biased about sports - and even more so about events from a time from which we have hardly any historical footage or evidence. Even today some people get really emotional about a guy like Steve Bégin, calling him a warrior, a guy that bleeds "bleu blanc rouge", and even the heart and soul of the team. Multiply this by the fact that the Rocket was one of the greatest players of that time, that the tales of his exploits come mostly from mouth to mouth (never a reliable source of information), and of course that he was a great francophone star in the midst of a lot of Franco/Anglo hostilities, and you get yourself a beautiful myth… when in fact this was just an ordinary guy playing hockey. With this said behind every legend there’s some truth, and there is no doubt that the Rocket had to endure a lot of crap on and off the ice. I wish I had met him more often, he was actually a friend of my family (my grandfather mostly), that’s one old man’s stories I would have actually enjoyed listening to .

This is not a rumor, but simply a trade idea I had which I think it could be interesting for both teams. Basically Montreal would give up Higgins, O'Byrne, and D'Agostoni to Nashville for Dan Hamhuis and prospect Blake Geoffrion. Hamhuis is a fairly solid all-around performer whom I fell could really benefit from a change of scenery at this point of his career, especially since he's stuck behind two of greatest young defensemen in Weber and Suter. I think he could help us on the powerplay while being capable of logging 20+ minutes. As for Nashville, I think they need some depth at the forward position, and Higgins and D'Agostini could certainly help. Also this wouldn't be a rental for either team as none of these players will be UFAs this summer.

It depends what you feel is the cause for our sucess on 5-on-5 hockey. If you feel that the team is always well prepared, that our execution is fluent in the offensive zone, that our transition game has been really efficient, then these are signs that point towards to the coaches. However as I mentioned before, I feel our success is in great part due to our depth and talent level, through strong individual efforts where players have taken turns in making a difference. One night Kovalev will have a big game, another it will be Lang, AK46, or Markov. Sometimes Price fixes some big mistakes with a great save, therefore preventing a few "-5s" to our +/- totals. The fact that we've been playing musical chair and are constantly reworking our lines doesn't indicate to me that everything is well planned and thought of. There just seems to be a whole lot of guessworking going on, sometimes players go from heatlhy scratches to playing 16-18 minutes, including some time on the powerplay (ex. Begin). Also there are the comments from several players, like Latendresse and Begin recently or Ryder and Samsonov before, who seemed to have no clue of what was expected of them, or why they were getting scratched/benched. Sometimes a player is too dumb or not willing to listen, like Pierre Degenais and perhaps Mikhail Grabovski, but I've heard too many of these comments in the last 2 years to exclude a problem at the coaching level. I might be completely wrong about all this - I don't know what's going on during practices and team meetings, and perhaps everything Carbonneau does is brilliant, and the players are just not listening - I'm just stating my opinion based on what I see on the ice, and the players/coaches' commets in the media. I think we're still making the transition from a game that was based mostly on guts and emotions (I think the entertainment value came much more the constant turnovers than from quality play) to a game where strategies and tactics are omnipresent - as in other professional sports - where organizations have specialized teams watching videos and analyzing opposing teams and players, and where team preparation is a huge key to success. This will require some adjustments for the league, such as the necessary crackdown on obstruction, and possibly larger ice surfaces. However it is not a synonym of boring hockey; the Red Wings has probably been the best tactical team in the NHL over the last decade, yet watching them play is an absolute delight.

Maybe if he accepts a possible reserve role, and a salary for a million or less. Next season we'll have Lapierre, Chipchura, Stewart, and Laraque already filling depth player roles (3rd and 4th lines, as well as reserves), and I hope we don't get stuck again with another Dandeneault that the organization feels obligated to play regularly even though that might do more harm than good. If I just put together this somewhat probable lineup (don't pay attention to the lines), that doesn't leave much room for a guaranteed spot in the lineup: Pacioretty-Plekanec-(Vet winger) A.Kostsitsyn-(vet centre)-Latendresse Higgins-Chipchura-S.Kostsitsyn Stewart-Lapierre-D'Agostini But if he accepts maybe 2 millions for 2 years, and the fact that he may not play regularly when some of the kids are doing well, then for sure Kostopoulos would be welcomed back. However if he starts making demands, then we should look elsewhere.

They won't appeal the suspension, nor should they, but they might try to push for Sergei Kostsitsyn to be suspensed as well for jumping on the ice to take on Grabovski (or at attempt). I'm not sure why some people are criticizing Grabovski, and trying to defend Kostsitsyn. They both acted like immature hot-heads, and they both looked like fools. Grabs was tackled (and pretty checked intop the boards) by the referee while Carbonneau pretty lifted Kostsitsyn off the ice. With this said I don't mind, I like their feisty attitude. They're both inexperienced and a little immature, but they'll learn to channel that into something more positive and useful. Grabovski needs to watch some Pavel Datsyuk tapes from the last lpayoffs because that'sexactly what he needs to learn to do; they have the same frame (Datsyuk is currently more mature physically as he's 6 years older) and skill set, however Datsyuk has learnt to apply his grit and determination to become a better player.

I guess referees can't win... when they don't even things out like Habs/Canes game a few weeks ago, we criticize their integrity. When they do even things out, we still criticize their integrity. Similarly coaches blame referees for a loss when they let players play, and otherwise still blame them for breaking the game flow. Tough job to be a referee...

Komisarek is the only one that needs to be signed as soon as possible, I couldn't care any less if any of the other UFAs left next summer (although it would have been nice to see Koivu retire as a habs, it might be time for both sides to move on different ways).

I thought it was Muller for some reason...

Reputation probably has a little to do with it, but he's also their best and most reliable player this season.

At some point we need to change our strategy on the powerplay, not every successful powerplay needs a big, powerful shot from the point. Right now it seems we are trying to re-enact our success from the previous years by trying to replace Streit/Souray with anyone who has a half-dedent shot, when we should probably be doing some else, something tailored for the players we have now.

Actually I think it's a lot easier to blame the players, no research, no analysis, and no effort necessary... the team loses or plays poorly because the guys are all lazy bums... end of story... nothing can be done about it (otherwise it means the coaching could do something better and different). The number one argument is favor of Carbonneau is the team record last season, or again this season... but last time I checked the players also lead the team to those records. So basically Carbonneau should get all the credit for the wins, but his hands are clean when we lose? Personally I don't really about putting blame either on the players or the coaches... this is one big team put together by the general manager Bob Gainey, and it needs to work. Right now I'm seeing talent on the ice, a lot of will from players and coaches, but a lot of messy, improvised play. That tells me that either the strategies and game preperation are deficient, or the strategies are not well communicated and implemented. Either way the ball is in the coaches' court. With this said it doesn't mean that players are perfect and flawless. The other day Patrice Brisebois took a chance and left the blue line in the offensive zone, and instead of covering him, Andrei Kostsitsyn skated lazily towards the Caandiens bench. If I remeber correctly that lead to a goal against us. This is a specific play where the player is to blame. However it remains the coaches' responsability - not to criticize him in front of the media - but to take him aside the next day, show him some videos, and make sure he learns from the mistake. Again this is a team effort, and coaches and players should work together.

I'm not going to get into this again in details, I've expressed my opinions on the Habs coaching several times before, but basically I'm just very disappointed with the way we are playing as a team. We have more than enough depth and talent on this team so that individuals can take turns carrying the team to victory. One night it might be Kovalev, another night it's Andrei Kostsitsyn, sometimes it might be Lang, lately some of our depth players have made the difference, and sometimes Carey Price saves our butts. This can work fine during the regular season - and it did last season - but I mentioned before the playoffs while the team couldn't stop winning that we woudln't last long if we kept playing that way, and we were very lucky to even get pass the first round. Unfortunately I'm not seing any improvement with the way the team is playing collectively . Frankly I haven't seen any kind of a system and some structure being implemented since Carbonneau became head coach over 2 years ago. As KoZed mentioned a couple months ago, it does take time to implement a culture and a genuine system throughout the organization, and I fullt agree with him on that. However I don't see any improvement about the way the team is playing, all the improvements I see on the ice come from better and more talented individuals.

Of course statistics can be a guide, so are comments from people wgho have seen a player play. All I was saying is that in the end what matters is what the player does on the ice. For example at first glance Mike Peca didn't do anything that great in the playoffs with Edmonton afew years ago, however he was really amazing shutting down Joe Thornton, and winning key faceoffs. Similarly people keep criticizing Thornton for shoking in the playoffs when he's played very well for San Jose during his first 2 seasons there (last year he was ordinary). What statistics don't tell is how great a job teams like Nashville and Edmonton (with Peca and Pronger) againsts him, and also just how many great opportunities Jonathan Cheechoo blew away. I agree, and the NHL probably still is behing other major sports. This is changing but hockey is still burdened by the old-school Carbonneau-like line of thinking where hockey isn't a strategic sport, and you win by skating and working harder than the other team. If you do you create scoring chances, and cause turnovers. When you watch old hockey games from the 80s and beyond, there was minimal strategy involved and games were filled with turnovers. In fact this is probably why some feel that the games were more exciting, and the the players has more heart when really they were playing like headless chicken, and had to make even more efforts to fix their mistakes.

You can't judge any player based on any statistic. You judge a player by watching him play, statistics are at best mere indications. Simply looking at statistics is the best way to draft the next big flop, trading a great power forward like Rick Tocchet for an overrated bum like Kevin Stevens, wasting money and time on a guy like Mariusz Czerkawski, and making an inconsistent unidimensional bum like Mike Ribeiro the centerpiece of your offense.

According to this article from RDS, Guy Carbonneau seems to think that the solution to our PP problems is to use all four lines on the powerplay, the Lapierre line in particular: PP Solution Just more improvisation from our head coach who... big freakin' surprise... says that hard work is the key to success on the powerplay... I'm really starting to hate this guy, I had so much hopes for this season, but he's screwing everything up with his dumb decisions (like using Dandeneault as a regular), and his old-school ways that don't work in today's NHL...

Canada did a lot more than rushing the crease, they purposely ran into Markstrom all night long, inside and outside the crease. And there's nothing wrong with that, Markstrom is probably the best junior goaltender in the world, and they needed to get under his skin, not unlike what Sean Avery did with Martin Brodeur during the last playoffs. You can argue that trash talking and waving your arms like an idiot to affect the goalie' concentration is classless and whatever, it's not any worse than physically assaulting the goaltender. When you're facing an difference-making goaltender, you need to do whatever it takes to remove him from the equation. Canada's strategy was to crash the net, the referees decided it was legal by not calling penalties, and therefore Canada kept doing it. The Swedes even tried to do the same later on during the game. It's all fair and good.

His decision making needs to improve significantly before he can hope to play regularly in the NHL. As I mentioned on another thread, what worries me the most is whether Subban will 1) get the support he needs to improve his overall game, and become a strong all-around player, and 2) whether Carbonneau and his staff will show enough patience for him to improve, and gain confidence.

Montreal fans make me laugh somtimes. A couple weeks ago people wanted to trade Halak for Gaborik or Bouwmeester, he was an elite young goalie who didn't get the chance to play in Montreal... now because of a couple of shaky performances (even the greatest of all times have had their fair share of bad games) he's a worthless piece of garbage who should be replaced with Marc Denis who would either be Europe right now - or waiting on the phone with Jocelyn Thibeault for the next injury replacement opportunity - if it weren't for us. Jaroslav Halak lost games if deserved to win earlier this season, and now it's the other way around. For ONCE our offense is saving our goaltender's butt, and people are complaining? Even though Halak has saved their butts a few times before? Halak is a very good young goalie with a brilliant path to the NHL where he dominated at every level. He's also done very well so far in the NHL, and everything indicates that he could at least become a good number 1B. As for statistics, they are not that relevant after only the few games he's played in. He's currently playing for .500, and has a respectable .908 especially when we consider he just had a couple of tougher outings. One good game, and he'll be back near .915.

It's funny how Habs' fans were whining about the Flyers crashing the net a lot in the last playoffs, and how it seems to have become a good thing, and just a normal part of hockey... Canada spent the entire night assaulting Markstrom, running into him every chance they got, and this was obviously the strategy used by the coaching staff. I'm guessing that Markstrom isn't used to this at all, and that a lot of those plays would have penalized in the SEL. Therefore I can understand why he would become frustrated, and would try to embellish some of the contacts to get the penalties he Canada deserved. This is just a learning process for this very young goalie who isn't fully familiar yet with North American hockey.