Wamsley01

10 OT Games, they made the Playoff in 04 and lost to the Bruins in 7 when Roy had an apendicitis for 2 games. They missed the playoffs in 95 in a strike shortened season, they probably would have made it otherwise. Houle did not take over a shambles of a team, he took over a team that still had most of the core of the 93 champs. Are you related to Rejean Houle? He made shortsighted decisions that cost us the greatest goaltender of all time and our captain for an average NHL goalie and two journeyman players. We just got more back for Rivet probably than he got back for ROY! Glorifying the Houle years??? The board has reached an all time low I guess turning this: Pierre Turgeon Vincent Damphousse Mark Recchi Saku Koivu Patrick Roy Patrice Brisebois Brian Savage Benoit Brunet Darcy Tucker Craig Conroy Craig Rivet Valeri Bure Vladimir Malakhov into this: Koivu Petrov Zednik Rucinsky Linden Kilger Zubrus Markov Bulis Poulin Souray Zholtok Lind Is something that we should really appreciate and not ridicule! Nonsense

Ryder

temporary excitement there for a minute Not for getting rid of Kovy, but for something BIG going down!

If this is true Gainey is blowing this up. We all know that Kovy will sulk for weeks and torpedo the playoffs if he passes through.

Some things are based on faith and not reality. What would have to happen for Montreal to pull a Edmonton? Huet coming back and playing at a level of a torn groin that he has not done since December? Halak becoming the next Patrick Roy or Ken Dryden? Do we really expect this kid is a Hall of Famer? Our defence all of a sudden learning how to move the puck in their defensive zone and not allowing turnovers? Latendresse blossoming into a premier power forward in the next 20 games? Koivu and Kovalev raising their level higher than in 2004 when we upset the Bruins? Higgins regaining his form from the first 20 games? Our PK going back to number 1 in the league? Ryder not taking any shifts off for 2 straight months? If all those things happen can we still win the Cup? Some people believe that if you do not follow blindly that you are not a true fan. I agree with you 100% Cucumber, the goal in this league is to be the NJ/DET hell even OTT of the NHL. Not hoping for breaks and getting hot at the right time. I am 33 years old and I have not forgotten looking forward to every season because I believed the Habs could legitimately win it all, and they did TWICE. Now it is are we a playoff team? can we hold off the mighty Maple Leafs???? I trust Gainey and I know that he understands what the CH stands for. 24 Stanley Cups in 100 years does not stand for mediocrity. Houle destroyed the mystique of the Canadiens, he has made the younger generation throw parades for first round victories, an embarrasment only 10 years ago. So if you think that keeping Souray to get smoked by NJ or Buffalo is a step forward, go nuts. I believe it is not the way to go. I still hope for the return to the expectation that playoff hockey will be every spring and that they have a chance to win it every year. And because I believe that selling Souray for the best price right now does not mean I will not agonize over every single loss til the end of the season. I hope they prove me wrong! Nice take. Could be, Bob is a shrewd guy. When he makes trades nobody ever sees them coming.

Personally I would love to hear from a season seat holder. It changes your perspective on things. I know as a Raptors season seat holder when people scream that they wanted to blow things up and start over, I fell like telling them to go ###### themselves. I spent thousands on watching the Raptors lose 50 games per year and blowing up a rebuild, to rebuild again was the last thing I was interested in. Fortunately they turned it around and it was worth it. When you dole out $2-5K every year you feel as though you have some say. Any season seat holders here? What do season seat holders feel about a rebuild, or selling off assets?

I will be happy if this kid can make an outlet pass. At least it would make 50% of our D-men who can do it. I am tired of the panic slap it off the boards and hope for the best routine.

The 93 team did not sell of assets because the core of the 93 team had been to the 86 Finals and the 89 Finals and was built to win the Stanley Cup. Their slump also dropped them from 1st place overall to 6th overall. And they Habs were 44 points from missing the playoffs. For Savard to tank would have made absolutely no sense. Add to the fact that most of the losses came after the trade deadline. So the comparison is not a good one. It is true you cannot win the Cup without making the playoffs, but comparing the Habs at this point to Carolina last season, a team that finished with 112 points and 4th overall in the league is nonsense. If you want to make a comparison, compare the Habs to the Oilers/Flames/Ducks/Canes 02. Those teams battled hard over the last 3-4 weeks to make the playoffs and caught Lightning in a bottle and STILL lost in the Stanley Cup Finals. And 3 of the 4 missed the playoffs the next year. Bob made a good trade yesterday and if he can flip that 1st rounder and the 3rd rounder from the Johnson deal and a mid level prospect to get a rental..than go for it. You are essentially trading scraps from the Zednik/Rivet deals to upgrade. But the fact remains that keeping Souray is suicide. I love Souray's toughness, I love his Booming PP shot, I do not love his 1 on 1 play and his inconsistent defensive zone coverages. As far as I am concerned if you are going to pay $5-6 Million a year for a defenceman his name better be Pronger/Niedermayer or Lidstrom. You cannot make mistakes in the new salary cap era! Bob has already made 2. Kovalev is not playing at the $4 Million level and neither is Koivu. That is why we are struggling, because the guys who have to pick up their slack are all Kids, and Kids are inconsistent. Higgins looked like and All-Star for a month, so does Ryder right now, but they go through stretches of being invisible. Look at Lats, he looked like the second coming on the first line and has been invisible for 2 months now. Pleks, Perez etc etc. This team is not made for a run this year, they are trying to remain competitive with the eye on a Cup run in a couple of years. They have said as much. I will be fine with them keeping Souray and letting him walk after the season, but barring a run to the Stanley Cup Finals if Souray walks people will be bitching and moaning about the missed opportunity to unload Souray for a big package. If Rivet got us a 1st and a kid, what would Souray command? Souray at $5 Million a year...NO THANKS!

I don't want to trade Souray because I do not think he is coming back. I want to trade Souray because he is having a career season and he will not post another year like this again, hence he has and probably never will have this type of value ever again. Trade him at his peak. He is not worth 5-6 million a year. Look at McCabe in Toronto, career year, big contract, back to reality! There are a handful of defensemen who deserve 5- 6 million a year and Sheldon is not one of them. In a cap world you have to be certain that the guys you pay that type of money will play at that type of level for the duration of the contract. Souray would be our highest paid player next season, do you expect him to be our best player for the next 5 years? Because that would be the commitment from the Habs to him.

To become a significant NHL player, a prospect almost always has to crack the roster when he is 18, 19, or 20 years old. Unless he has been a star in Europe at that age. Players who reach the age of 22 without much NHL time can become semi regulars, but almost never impact players. Brett Hull Martin St. Louis Teemu Selanne Henrik Zetterberg Daniel Alfredsson Dan Boyle Bill Guerin John Leclair Zigmund Palffy Adam Oates Milan Hejduk Jonathan Cheechoo Kevin Stevens Chris Chelios Ed Belfour Cristobal Huet Dominik Hasek Lubomir Visnovsky Brian Rafalski Andrei Markov Kevin Bieksa Mikka Kipprusoff Ryan Miller Marty Turco Dwayne Roloson Curtis Joseph almost never eh? Gotta love sweeping generalizations

St. Louis just got 3 picks for Keith Tkachuk Philly got BRAYDON COUBURN for Zhitnik!!!?????? Philly got 2 picks and 2 prospects for Forsberg With that type of return I would deal Souray. Their is no Stanley Cup coming this season. And if we lose to the Leafs tomorrow what makes you think they can raise the bar for the rest of the season. The goal is the Cup, it should always be the Cup. Personally, getting knocked out in the first round is no different than missing the playoffs. Just a worse draft pick.

Seeing as I was frustrated with the loss today I wanted to take a look at the teams that are battling for the 6-8 seed. Don't jump off just yet. I looked at the schedule and identified close to guaranteed Playoff teams/Teams that are fighting each other/Teams that are going to be on the course in a month. Below I have listed from Easiest schedule to the Hardest schedule. NY ISLANDERS (10 HOME/10 ROAD) Overall Winning Percentage of teams left on their schedule - .529 Playoff Teams - 7 (Buffalo/Ottawa 2/New Jersey 2/Pittsburgh/Tampa Bay) Fighting with - 6 (Montreal//NYR 4/Toronto) Golfing - 7 (Washington 2/Philadelphia 3/Florida/St. Louis) The Isles have been rolling and they have one of the easiest schedules left. With Ted Nolan behind the bench I do not expect a collapse, they definitely have an inside edge on one of the final 3 spots. ATLANTA THRASHERS (11 HOME/7 ROAD) Overall Winning Percentage of teams left on their schedule - .534 Playoff Teams - 5 (Buffalo /Ottawa /San Jose/Pittsburgh/Tampa Bay) Fighting with - 7 (Montreal/Carolina 2 /NYI/Boston 2/NYR) Golfing - 6 (Washington 2/Florida 3/Philadelphia) Atlanta maybe struggling right now but they have a fairly easy schedule to finish out the year. The majority of their games at home and 1/3 playing the bottom of the league. NY RANGERS (11 HOME/9 ROAD) Overall Winning Percentage of teams left on their schedule - .540 Playoff Teams - 5 (Ottawa/Pittsburgh 4) Fighting with - 12 (Montreal 3/Carolina/NYI 4/Atlanta/Boston 2/Toronto) Golfing - 3 (St. Louis/Philadelphia 2) The Blueshirts are collapsing again like last year. They do have hope as they control their own destiny and they have an easy schedule down the stretch. I still do not like their chances. CAROLINA HURRICANES (9 HOME/9 ROAD) Overall Winning Percentage of teams left on their schedule - .548 Playoff Teams - 8 (Ottawa 2/Pittsburgh/New Jersery 2/Tampa Bay 2/San Jose) Fighting with - 4 (Atlanta 2/NYR/Toronto) Golfing - 6 (Washington 2/Forida 3/Philadelphia) The defending Cup Champion has struggled all year and they have 6 layup games left on their schedule. Probable squeak in to defend. MONTREAL CANADIENS (8 HOME/10 ROAD) Overall Winning Percentage of teams left on their schedule - .561 Playoff Teams - 4 (Buffalo 2/Ottawa/Pittsburgh) Fighting with - 12 (Toronto 3/Boston 4/NYR 3/NYI 1/ATL 1) Golfing - 2 (Washington/St. Louis) The good news is the Habs can write their own destiny. They have 14 games with teams that are even or below them in the standings. They probably need to win 12 of those to make the playoffs. It is still possible, but it is going to be tough. BOSTON BRUINS (11 HOME/10 ROAD) Overall Winning Percentage of teams left on their schedule - .562 Playoff Teams - 9 (Buffalo/Pittsburgh 2/Ottawa 2/New Jersey 2/Minnesota/Detroit) Fighting with - 8 (Montreal 4/Atlanta 2/NYR 2) Golfing - 3 (Washington /Philadelphia/Colorado) The Bruins have been playing better lately but got hammered tonight and have been up and down all season. If the Habs can take 3 of 4 from the Bruins it will go along way to making the dance. Boston is a longshot at best TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (11 HOME/9 ROAD) Overall Winning Percentage of teams left on their schedule - .585 Playoff Teams - 10 (Buffalo 4/Ottawa 2/New Jersey 2/Pittsburgh/Tampa Bay) Fighting with - 7 (Montreal 3/Carolina/NYI/Atlanta/NYR) Golfing - 3 (Washington 2/Philadelphia) The Leafs have the toughest schedule left out of the remaining teams. They do have 11 left at home, but they really need to earn their playoff appearance. If they do make it, they will be going in as one of the hottest teams in hockey. Which means that Sportsnet will run a Half hour HockeyCentral about how the Leafs will be this year's Edmonton!! LOL So there you have it. Montreal has a tough road ahead of them and needs to really eat up the Bruins and Rangers to get into the playoffs. The Leafs have the toughest stretch drive so they are really going to have to amp it up down the stretch. It is still possible, but the margin for error is very slim. If I look for a team to collapse and see us sneak in it would be Atlanta

I agree, they seem to bring up a piece from their farm, plug them in and not miss a beat. The difference with Buffalo being though that their 2 best players were stolen in trades. Briere for Gratton and Drury/Begin for Reinprecht and Warrener. Would Buffalo be the best team in the East if Briere was replaced by Gratton and Drury by Reinprect and Warrener? Probably not.

Could not agree with you more Kozed. Most of the people on this board have little patience. New Jersey was not built in 2-3 seasons. They began their ascension in 88 and it took them til 94 to make a large impact. 1988 was just a glimpse into the future. Detroit had a solid team in the late 80's and continually choked in the playoffs in the early 90s before finally getting to the Finals in 95. The lack of patience probably comes from watching Carolina/Anaheim/Minnesota/Calgary/Edmonton go off on one year miracle runs. But other than Carolina nobody has repeated that success. Building from within is essential in the Salary cap NHL. If you fill your roster with homegrown talent and they remain restricted Free Agents for 6 years you can lock them in to reasonable cheap salaries. Even if you do not develop a superstar the abundance of cheap talent creating your core allows you to go out and acquire one through trade or Free agency when you want to make your move. Teams like Tampa Bay who have used 21 million on 3 players will have to get rid of one of them sooner or later. Gainey has been running this team for 3 Seasons (2 of which were under a cap), I don't understand what was expected. We have one of the best minor league systems in the NHL and sooner or later they will make their impact.

If you are well positioned you can, but Halak is a small goalie, but they have to hit you. He cannot be blamed, but he has been hardly spectacular. If Montreal is going to go on a run with him in net he has to make the saves he is not supposed to make. If Cam Ward had just made the saves he was supposed to Montreal would have swept Carolina in 4. He was spectacular, making impossible saves. A goalie can break your back with bad goals, he can be average and stop the ones he is supposed to, or he can stand on his head and win you a game. Halak is stopping the ones he is supposed to, and that is good enough for me.

What GM is infallable? Lamierello is bending cap rules all over the place because of poor free agent signings last year. Holland signed Cujo and Hasek at the same time and then had to cut Cujo free and go back and get Hasek. Feaster has not replaced Khabibulin and has had goaltending problems ever since. Lacroix got burned by acquiring Theo. There are no perfect GMs. Ninimaa is off the books this year. I don't view that as a big mistake. What Gainey should have done was not sign Ribiero in the first place, then he would not have had to take on Ninimaa. Samsonov is also off the books next year. The only expensive long term deals they are locked into are Kovalev and Koivu. The new NHL is about cheap talent that performs above what they make. This team is set up to make a big impact if the youth begins to mature. Gainey did not spend like a drunken sailor like alot of GMs and signed short term deals. Even with Samsonov stinking the joint out it was a 2 year deal. Not a 4-5 year albatross. We have cap flexibility, and that is more important than anything in the new NHL. They have 22 Million invested in 10 players next year. They have 5 million more to re-up for next season for 5 Restricted Free Agents. So that is 27 Million on 15 players. So that leaves almost 20 million for 7-9 players. If Lapierre, Halak, Kostitsyn and Milroy make the team then they that leaves around 15 million for 3-5 players. So they have more than enough money to re-up both Souray and Markov or they could let Souray walk. Either way Gainey's legacy will be defined on how much of an impact our youth makes in the next couple of years. Gainey keeps his cards close to his vest and knows what he is doing. If you listen to the fans, soon you will be sitting with them.

I hope so! I am still waiting for a miraculous save though. Would make me feel better. I still have not been able to form a proper opinion though. His puck handling ability alone makes me want to go with him for the rest of they year though.

Bob Gainey's biggest asset to this team is the amount of respect he commands around the league. THe Habs had become a laughingstock before he took over. I wish that Montreal could have acquired one of these Super GMs that exist in the NHL today. The ones who only sign the perfect players, the ones who make perfect trades and the ones that draft the perfect prospects. You know how many active GMs have won the Stanley Cup as a GM? Feaster/Rutherford/Lamierello/Holland/GAINEY/Sather Hey wait a minute? We have one of those Gainey inherited some good young prospects from Andre Savard, and they have drafted some more talented prospects with the help of Trevor Timmons. He has stayed patient with our youth and it is slowly starting to pay off. He picked up Kovalev for Josef Balej and stole Bonk and Huet for Garon. He corrected a brutal mistake by dealing Theodore's albatross of a salary for an expiring salary. He took over the Habs in May 2003 and has yet to miss the playoffs. Following 1 playoff appearance in the previous 5 years. THis team has a top 5 minor league system and is battling for a playoff spot again with a bright outlook to the future. What exactly are the expectations of this guy? And people wonder why the hell nobody wants to play in Montreal :?-

and Carolina again in 2005-06! Feb 23: How many Vezina Trophies did Ken Dryden win? 5 and he shared it with that sieve Laraque 3 times

If Carbo has told him to stop handling the puck it would be disappointing because our Defense needs it. As far as judging his ability he has given up 10 goals in 9 periods with a an .878 Save percentage. Not exctly what we were hoping for in our saviour. But he has 3 wins . He also has not really given up any bad goals, but has not made any miraculous saves either. I don't think he has played enough to say he has been good or bad. His stats BAD, His wins GOOD. The jury is still out.

Amazing isn't it? I don't care if Carbo chooses Garth Murray/Craig Rivet/Aaron Downey to shoot as long as they get the job done! He went with the kids and we won. End of story.

I am going to sleep like a baby tonight!

Everygame from now on is a must win. Before Huet got injured I felt helpless watching the Habs because I thought the only way we could get a spark would be through a trade. But Huet's injury and a call to the farm has finally woken the boys up. We just beat one of the best team's in the league in their barn and they had 2 goals go in off of our D-Men. We keep playing like this and we got a shot!

Leafs lose