Chips

Was never that lucky at picking 6/49 numbers. But I'm sure I'd have a better shot at predicting which player Wang would choose to replace GM Garth. How, many days has it been since we've had another NY Islander management switch? Wang needs to be quick if he's going to set a new record. Oh! boy there's a new poll waiting to be posted... NY Islanders Owner Wang's next move... i) Islanders farm team backup, hired as new team GM ii) The water boy gets a promotion. iii) Smith has a change of heart, so Wang re-hires his #1 man. iv) Decides that Garth's first management move is to fire Teddy Nolan and Coach the team. but I digressed.. You maybe right. I could really use some extra cash right now. maybe I will buy a 6/49.

I think Dagenais does become an UFA, because we did not pick up an option on him. As for Bulis, I'm sure the habs would have loved to have him in the fold. But he was not happy with his assigned role. He got a taste for being a scorer and playing on the number 1 line, remember the koivu, bulis, zednik line; sometime back and then he also had an offensive role in europe; so all that combined to convince him that he could be that line 1 or 2 player. The habs did not feel he could play that role and not too many teams think he can as well. Vancouver is willing to give him that chance and sure he had to take less cash but its nothing but up for him, if he produces.

Whats going on in Colorado. Did someone loose a few brain cells? Ken Klee... x-laugher.. I mean x-leafer. This would not be happening if they were still in Quebec... Time they returned north of the border. That thin air and low oxygen has gone to their heads!

First koZed the photo lineup is Brilliant, very nicely done. Thank God we aren't responsible for putting line combinations together. What a tough job I agree with the majority here... the first two lines should stay together and may at times be very confusing to call either of them our top line. Can you imagine the powerplay with the addition of Sammy; and Johnny on the spot in front of the net, crashing and banging, finally we have someone who will goto the front of the net and cause trouble. With so many options and combinations the only saving grace is that come injury time it should be easier to juggle lines. Having great depth from our prospects should make things very interesting too. I'm hoping for Chipper and Kosts as possible early tryouts.

Gman good arguments, Well put and very good points; specially with regards to leadership qualities. I completely agree that Ribs has not shown any leadership potential. And yes the potential of Briere being a #1 center is also a plus; Furthermore, Ribs actions with the team are highly suspect, refering to the now famous fight. But at the moment do we need a number #1 center or #2 center; Can we afford to an expensive #1, playing the role of #2; when we have a capable(not perfect) #2 in Ribs who could turn things around ( I pray he does ). I must say that you have given me a few things to think about and I'm now more convinced that Briere could certainly help us, but as I said before I'm not sure if the costs would equal the gains. If it does happen I hope we don't end up giving up good prospects and taking on cash! But if we want big returns, I guess we need to make big changes.

Thank you! Thank you! First I would l like to thank Zod, without whom I would not have suffered enough to make this prediction. Second I'd like to thank my agent! You complete me! Third, I'd like to thank my one and only fan; you believed in me right from the beginning. Finally, I'd like to predict that Zod will win the presidential race and dominate forever!

Class! he is just a class act; Best off season signing for the habs! Go habs Go!

Injuries are a fact of playing in a physical sport like hockey. The ones who survive, are the ones who bounce back or are able to avoid it. The habs are not shy at picking up prospects who are injured or have been; as long as the mentality and heart and ability to recover and move on exist. I'm glad we invest in the scouting department the way we do. Its their job to make sure the make up of a prospect is larger than just his stats.

Man those raptors are changing the face of Toronto; this will be a completely different team from previous years. Wonder what kind of season we will see this year from the Raps!

Well thats a shocker! Recchi lives in pitts. during the reg season and then jumps on the bandwagon to the cup run again, thats my prediction. He's talented and I'm sure loves playing with Crosby. Can't blame him, if you can do it all the power to you. Ride this as long as you can Recchi.

I wish him all the best. I had a good feeling that vancouver was looking to pick him up. With Carter not returning he could fill the shoes on the twin line.

Language should not be a problem with the universal translator thingy...; and hey equality for all, all life is sacred. Welcome to the forum, oh great Russian Bot!

Agreed, he did more for the Als, when he was in the Argos lineup, doing absolutely nothing. Now, the sympathy plus hype, will be all they need to try for a rally up call!

Gman! Please. don't read one line from my post and use it out of context from my entire post to insult me! I really don't appreciate it! Try to post your opinions and arguments, minus any personal insults! However, if you choose to head down that path I am happy to follow. "You must have been a Leaf fan before being a Habs fan." - Gman (Today, 09:26 PM) I guess it may take one to know one eh? Your point however, on his stats is true. Briere does have better NHL stats than Ribs! My, comment about them being equal is based on their ages, wages compared to their contribution to the team, development, junior records, injuries, skill levels and chemistry to the team and their lines. And the risk taken by the team. And for the record! Yes I admit, the leafs are my second best team from the bottom of my list of favorite teams! Its a long list!

There's no doubt in my dreams, we would be a better team with him in the lineup! The question is what will buffalo's asking price be. It cannot be much, seeing as we'd be helping them get under that cap! Next issue, this would severely, hamper our ability to fill in for any major injury during the season, we need some space to trade and deal and pickup if the situation calls for it. I for one feel this can be worked out if required so its not a deal breaker. What about the size issue? Well, in the new NHL, speed, scoring and playmaking is as good as size and physical play; I'd argue better. Just imagine the line of Sammy, Brie and Kovy; I get afraid to start dreaming just in case I raise the bar too high for them to produce. So the question in my mind is; Does Ribs + 3Mil equal Briere at (5mil) ?; If not now then what about at the trade deadline? How about on the ice? If I put them head to head who's skills are better; Ribs is not a very good defensive forward, neither is Briere; Ribs is tall but small vs Brie is short but big (shoots right!) Who comes out of the corner with the puck? I say Briere. Who would go to the net and pay the price? I say Briere. Who is more creative and a bigger threat to score and make plays, again Briere, based on his consistant output and almost similar junior career to Ribs (Although Ribs is slightly better in junior). Who has the potential of getting hurt bad, I say Ribs! (Although he has never had a major injury) These two players are almost identical, their NHL records thus far gives Brie, the advantage only slightly. Some argue that Ribs is young at 26 and still has room to develop and that he will; Brie, is 28 and when he was 26 put up numbers similar to Ribs; So the critics could be correct. So can we wait till Ribs fills out into the player he can be? Is this his year? If I had the chance to pull this trade at the deadline would I? Yes, only if Ribs underperforms again, then why not now? Well, only because I think he is young and growing and will get better, and if not, I'm sure at the trade deadline we could pick up a very good center. I think 3mil extra for a #2 center now is too much to gamble with, considering he is not that much of an improvement over Ribs at the moment. But that could change mid season. Well, I have more questions than answers and thats why I am not BG and I don't get to make the call! As a fan I say make the deal and pickup Briere! Cause it would be fun to dream!

Was Ryder greedy or conceited? No. If he went to Arbitration then I'd say Yes, and IMO his advisors probably encouraged him to proceed and get the best dollar possible. If I was his financial advisor, thats what I would have pressed him to do; considering the habs did not offer a multi-year contract; Now, for those who say that Ryder was the one who wanted a long term deal and did not get it cause BG was not offering, then I say to you; maybe, then if so Ryder should have gone to Arbitration and taken the max value he could have squeezed out of the Canadiens. Then play hard next season and sign up with someone who will pay him top dollar. IMO Ryder held all the cards. If he did proceed all the way to arbitration; He would have ended up with more. Which begs the question why the hold out. I felt it was because a multi year deal was being tossed around. These components to the deal and what lead up to it we may never truly know. I for one feel this gives deal gainey the best options, he can deal for more talent come the trade deadline to push us over the top and into a playoff winner, because he has more cash on hand under the cap. On the other hand with one year deals we can trade and unload and pick up if need be next year, seeing as he is an UFA. And we have quite a few of them next year. So this smells of more a raw deal for Ryder than the habs, if he does not perform because of injury or a bad season, he will not get paid next year. Based on this deal 2.2mil well under what he deserves based on market value being awarded by arbitrators to similar players; who in some cases under performed compared to him; Its my opinion that Ryder is not greedy, but wanted to be recognized for his contribution thus far with a fair deal. He's a man who has paid his dues battling and playing hard night in and night out, often proving is critics wrong (and obviously he'll be doing that everyday of his career ); I for one am proud he settled before the hearing and agreed to less than what he could have made and to me that only means that his heart is truly with the habs. Look for another Brilliant season from Michael the pride of Bonavista; he will out perform and we will be the lucky ones watching and enjoying his heart for the game. If he does match or surpass his numbers, a multi-year deal will be his; And I don't think it will take much for him to sign up, I hope he proves me right.

I like this move; I don't know much about Jeremy (330K), But from I have read so far; he's a future closer, but currently designed as a setup man; which is exactly what the Jay's needed. The bullpen needed help. Plus, he costs less than Shea (5.8mil per season and will be an UFA) and Chalk (350K) was an ok pitcher so no big loss there... This leaves the Jay's in a good position financially( of course with Rogers now owning the Jays money won't be a problem), to pickup a player if they are in a position to make the playoffs this year. I'd like to see another all-star pitcher or a big bat join up and make the Jay's into Division Leader running into the playoffs.

ok this sucks! I actually enjoyed watching that which can mean only one thing! I'm a hockey deprived fool, who just can't wait till Training Camp!

I'd love to see a Woods and Garcia battle tomorrow! The weather is good, a very talented bunch of players grouped up on top, it won't be a walk in the park for anyone, but I certainly will be pulling for Tiger! His game today was crappy, Garcia on the other hand, played into and out of trouble and walked away in great shape.

Every bit of ice time our prospects get in development camps and tourney's like this can only improve the quality of our future players for the bulldogs and habs. Playing with different players, learning what it takes to build chemistry and knowing how hard to push and when to push is exactly what they need to make a run during the playoffs. This will only contribute to our success.

No way BG is done! The only deep discussion will be how to select a rookie to join the team after training camp. And as for a long shot for a trade with any team, I would agree a number one or two center must be included. But I don't see that happening until midway through the season or when injury trouble surfaces causing turmoil. I cannot see us parting with a blueliner or prime prospect unless our backs are against the wall. ie. we loose, koivu, kovalev or sammy for an extended period of time. Ryder, Abei or Ribs going the other way I could stomach but even that would need to be matched up with a proven center with scoring and playmaking abilities; oh ya, he should also come in under our cap! so basically put, it won't happen!

Mississauga, Ontario. Just West of the Toronto Maple Laughers! You can't pay me to go watch those clowns play, unless its the habs in town to burn some leaf butt! Thank God ( sorry, I mean thank Zod ) for RDS, I get my habs fix and an excellant season of Les Canadiens. Often, spent weekends, during my single days and some of my dating days, driving down to Montreal, staying on Crescent St., dinning in a fine bistro and catching a habs game live! hmm.. Old Montreal. The best city on the planet!

I vote for Zod! He seems like the only candidate who tells it like it is... I like a leader who can be honest and lets me know exactly how badly, he will mess up my life! Zoom Zoom Zod! Zoom Zoom Zod! Go Zod Go!

ah! hockey cards. Patrick Roy, Ken Dryden, Mats Nasland and La Fleur RC's are my prized selection; Between my sets and my wife's sets; our collections span many junior cards and loads of NHL cards, RC cards and should number at least 2000+

I'm not quite a 100% on this but I think its "the Doc". Roy Halladay.