TheAussiePosse

But what about Begin? And the chemistry between Ribeiro and Dagenais? IMO, a healthy Habs Roster is: Bulis-Koivu-Ryder Zednik-Ribeiro-Dagenais Sundstrom-Begin-Ward Langdon-Juneau-Dackell Oppps! I wasnt clear ... I meant healthy as in... healthy with Koivu for this weekend , not including other injuries (begin) Begin definitely has a spot in my lineup when he is healthy. Sorry, just in the mood to do a multiple-quote. er, :ghg:

But what about Begin? And the chemistry between Ribeiro and Dagenais? IMO, a healthy Habs Roster is: Bulis-Koivu-Ryder Zednik-Ribeiro-Dagenais Sundstrom-Begin-Ward Langdon-Juneau-Dackell With Plekky back in the minors, Perreault filling in for Juneau every second game (to rest the back), with small amounts of EV strength time, and a bunch of PP time. Until he's traded. Eventually, by the March deadline, I'd love to see: Zednik-Koivu-Ryder (A Real scoring line) Bulis-Ribeiro-Dagenais (Bulis is the defensive catalyst) Sundstrom-Begin-Dackell (Welcome back Beggy, we missed you) Langdon-Plekanec-Ward (Could cause a lot of havoc) That means that Kilger is sent to the minors (or picke dup on waivers), Perreault is traded, and Juneau is traded or bought out with a bad back. If Plekky proves more than adequate on the 4th line, switch him with Begin, and watch the fireworks unfold with a Langdon-Begin-Ward line. I can't wait... :eyes:

Apart from the reasons given by Habs77 (that they're either all injured, or the living dead), and that we have no right-shooting centres, you can also look at the consistency and careers of the centres. Kilger was brought back at $800K a year, and (IMO) isn't even earning that. He will either be traded this year, or go during the summer. We have plenty of prospects on Hamilton looking to try their hand at this game we call "NHL hockey". He is terribly inconsistent, and bears the name of "shrug" (given by a well-known/read game reporter :/) ). Juneau, on the other hand has, back problems. He's been holding up now, although has to take the occasional break. However, his back could take a turn for the worst any moment now. He'll be let loose after this season, leaving the 3rd line Centre spot open. I'd be more than happy to see Begin occupy that until we get a Bobby Holik (minus the salary) / Mike Ricci / Ian Laperriere to fill the gap. However, with the multitude of players expected to leave after this season, it will be interesting to see what BG does to retain their services ( God help us) or bring in other replacements that the Rookies can't fill

I wouldn't play Sax against Atlanta. He got injured there, and this time Kovalchuk will be looking to run some of out players. Why not take out the captain? I'm sure it can't hurt to keep him out until Washington, which is the next day. Meanwhile, with our two gritty bangers-and-crashers out (Begin and Gratton), I wonder who we can look to to take their place. *Glares at Kilger* I wonder who... *Glares again* Nah, it won't happen. We'll just have to hope Beggy get's back soon *Glares for the last time*

3 games ago, we were playing against Carolina, and with .6 seconds left in the third period (were were all tied up 1-1), we were in the offensive zone on the right faceoff circle. However, we couldn't do anything except shoot, and all of our centres were left-shots. The CJAD announcers spoke of moving Ryder to centre to take the draw, but for some strange reason, BG didn't listen to them. However, it is quite true that we need a right-shooting centre. Koivu, Ribeiro, Perreault, Juneau, Begin, Kilger all shoot left. I still would like to see Arnott in Montreal, but I realise now that with Koivu and Ribeiro cemented as our top 2 Centres for the next 5 years (although that's just my opinion), he would not enjoy playing 3rd line DEFENSIVE centre on an offensively-challenged team. And Lang won't go anywhere while his hot streak continues

We were full up at centre at one point this season, with Koivu, Ribeiro, Perreault, Juneau, Begin, Kilger and Gratton. Now with injuries to three of those players, we have to look back and say "Maybe BG was thinking ahead". I wonder if anyone can pull up the stats on the amount of injuries the Canadiens incur between December and the end of January. It might be just me, but the MGLI (Man Games Lost to Injury) will probably be quite high. Anyway, Plekky the Dinosaur has been recalled, and the effects will be interesting to see. Will he be fed 4th line minutes for X-number of games until Koivu returns? Or will he be allowed to try out other line combinations. I'm not pushing (like some) to have him dubbed our new 1st lien centre. However, Kilger and Langdon aren't the most offensively gifted of linemates. But I will continue this post later. It is time to return to New Year's festivities. :ghg: Happy New Year

You know it's a false trade rumor when they portray Donald as a LW :nono:

[/b]From Montreal Canadiens: D Francis Bouillon - $0.50M R Randy McKay - $2.12M Total: 2.62 million From Florida Panthers: C Olli Jokinen - $2.00M D Todd Gill - $0.50M Total: 2.50 million[/b] I'd do it! Sad that McKay's still on our lineup... From Montreal Canadiens: D Francis Bouillon - $0.50M Total: 0.50 million From Toronto Maple Leafs: C Nikolai Antropov - $0.93M Total: 0.93 million I'd do that one too From Montreal Canadiens: C Yanic Perreault - $2.80M D Craig Rivet - $2.50M Total: 5.30 million From New York Islanders: D Janne Niinimaa - $2.90M D Kenny Jonsson - $3.00M Total: 5.90 million I'd cry with happiness I wonder, after our game vs. Dallas on Wednesday whether we'll make a trade or not. It's our only meeting of the season, what better an oppurtunity than after the game... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~` EDIT: For some good old time fun, try trading Jagr from the Capitals. I just aquired half of Minnesota and 2/3 of Pittsburgh for Jagr - I think it could work! [Edited on 2003/12/29 by TheAussiePosse]

1-1, PPG (Zednik from Ryder and Koivu). Koivu was like a miniature battering ram, destroying everything in sight. Zednik-Koivu-Ryder on PP. Awesome stuff

Habsa losing now. 1-0 on a PP goal by Hill (from Markov, the other Markov) at 15:28 Slow, defensive hockey is making this a bit of a boring affair. Herb Zurkowsky was on in the 1st intermission, and was dissapointed. I am too. 3rd Period is beginning now...

My year's only going to be happy with a Stanley Cup Series Win over Los Angeses. I think I'm better off hibernating for the next 3-5 years then

Welcome to the board Habfan. I echo your sentiments about BG having to do something. Sitting a few games above .500 is not smart, especially because most teams (save ourselves) post better records after the Christmas break. Last year, we had a similar record, yet slumped after New Years, and never regained our place. Now, I'm sure Washington would love to have our rank (just like I'm sure the Pro-Ovechkin squad would love to swap), and it will happen if we can't hold on for a tie, let alone a win. Arnott is not the answer, Peca is not the answer, and Forsberg is not the answer (although he would be a very nice . The answer is heart and mind - Take the courage of Koivu and Begin, and go into those corners; Take the good consistency of Souray and Bulis (not the bad consistency of Audette), and play consistent hockey for 60+ minutes a night; And take the smarts of Juneau (not the play) and Garon (who is actually quite smart), and play smart hockey for 60+ minutes a night. The Caps aren't a bad team, but neither are we. It's time to make a move, whether it's buying out Audette, trading Rivette, or visiting the Allouettes (ok, sorry, it rhymed). But it is time to do something, before the win-loss pattern becomes unbearable, and we end up in Purgatory, stranded between playoffs and Ovechkin. Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, and all that. Oh, and I get Christmas in 3 hours, 15 minutes, so :-^

Lines were as follows: Bulis-Koivu-Ryder Dagenais-Ribeiro-Zednik Sundstrom-Juneau-Dackell Langdon-Gratton-Kilger Souray-Quintal Markov-Komisarek Bouillion-Rivet Theodore :hlogo: :hlogo: :hlogo: Garon to play vs Caps, where he is 2-0-0, with a 1.5 GAA (1 shutout) :ghg:

Final score 4-1 A PPG, an ENG, 100% PK and 20% PP successes. Scoring as follows: 1st Period: 15:05 - PPG - Dagenais from Koivu 2nd Period: 8:47 - ES - Koivu from Souray and Ryder 13:16 - ES - Surovy from Holzinger and Malone 14:12 - ES - Souray from Gratton 3rd Period: 18:01 - EN - Sundstrom from Ribeiro and Markov Look for the recap soon at www.Habsworld.net

I think the reason no-one is replying is because there is no-one in the chat room. Most likely, you would have to invite a few people by U2Us. I'll make an invitation now (no promises) to anyone who wants to chat to go to the chat room tomorrow for the Washington game at 7pm EST. The more the merrier :ghg:

GHOST BUSTERS!!!!!11! sorry, couldn't resist :-^

Tucker scores from Nolan and Jackman. Ribeiro was in the box after taking a stupid obstruction penalty on Nieuwendyk

Well, they played Kidd against the weaker team (Washington), and came away with a tie. However, they will be tired tomorrow (8 hour drive, 2.5 hour flight), and they have a rash of injuries. Tucker, the imbecil in Blue, sustained a foot injury blocking a shot, while their stud defenceman Tomas Kaberle is still out with a shoulder injury. Lineup will look a bit like this: Roberts-Sundin-Nolan Antropov-Nieuwendyk-Ponikarovsky Renberg-Reichel-Fitzgerald Perrott-Stajan-Domi McCabe-Klee Marchment-Pilar Belak-Jackman Belfour Should be an entertaining game. If we can get Komi, Markov and Souray to blast a lot of low shots from the blueline, and let our forwards pump the rebounds high (Belfour goes down early), we should be able to score a few goals. Also, encourage Langdon to crash the net. He can take Gorilla Man (Domi) and Marchment. Gratton should be able to play, and if we bring up Dwyer for the game, I'll be happy. Sure, he can't win fights, but he can still take the punishment, and lots of it. It won't be as grueling a game as we expect, although by all means no cake walk. One can only hope for the best. Get well soon Theo! :ghg:

Satan would be a great player to aquire (he had good chemistry with Zednik last summer on Team Slovakia). However, his moodiness and salary are concerns, and if we are looking to go with the youth movement, he doesn't really help us that way

I hate to point this out, but Vokoun is yet another Montreal graduate (lost in the expansion draft). And I'm sure he'll be looking forward to facing his old team, seeing as he's never beaten us before (0-1-1 with a 2.07 GAA and .921 SV% [Edited on 2003/12/17 by TheAussiePosse]

1-1 tie on a very Un-Canadiens game. 1st half was all trap play, both Bruins and Habs. 2nd half was all dirty. can't wait for the game report... remember, every point counts

Wow, how many posts did you have today? 30? Anyway, I hope no-one's surprised about the firing of Maurice. While he is a good coach, his message was getting old (see Ron Wilson - Caps then Sharks). I think Maurice would do best on a younger team. It would be a great idea by the Panther's management to hire him. He's a great strategician (sp.? :-^), but connects well to younger players (remember the BCC line? Battaglia and Cole were both young'ns who were taken under Brindamour's wing and encouraged by Maurice. Anyway, we'll see as to where he goes. Larry Robinson's still available too...

I'm not sure if you realise, but all those players have size. Trading them away wouldn't help us in the size-department I don't think anyone would be happy with only 5-8 minutes a night. when you grow up skating on the ice, your dream is to play in the NHL (or something along those lines). Who would want to play 8-10 minutes on a defensive line than 20 minutes on the first line, centering (for example) bertuzzi and naslund. Ribeiro isn't in the development phase anymore. We can now give that to Plekanec or Higgins, or even back to Hossa. Gratton if necessary. But Higgins or Plekanec or even Kilger centering Langdon and Ward wouldn't be so bad. Face it, Juneau's on his last legs, he'll peobably play for Quebec City next season in the WHA (w00t).

You can view the video here

I agree to trading Hossa... ...once he has failed at the 3rd line centre. Once the bums have gone, he should get an honest shot. That will show whether he has a future or not.