tokyohabs

Rolston testing the market? Assuming Sundin is all smoke and mirrors, should we not be going hard after this guy? Or Stoll, if available, always liked him. Be nice to add a better quality ctr than Smoke and really round out the top three lines.

Nice O-player, smart and good passing ability. Nightmare on D, especially 1-on-1. Thanks Marc! And fanpuck's avatar is much nicer now! Congrats.

Apparently Bob has no plans for Campbell. At the end of the doom-and-gloom Sundin article, front page RDS now. 'Gainey a par ailleurs fait savoir que le Canadien ne serait pas dans la lutte pour les services du défenseur Brian Campbell et que leur priorité était d'embaucher un joueur de centre comme Sundin.' Transl: Gainey has also let it be known that the Habs will not be in the race for the services of Campbell, and that their priority is to get a centre like Sundin. http://www.rds.ca/hockey/chroniques/254366.html I have never felt that Sundin would come, even less so now, with the rumours that his camp want to suck up to the Rags. Still need a ctr, maybe a trade???

Offer him 10m. Overpay for a year or two, it won't screw us up, and he is that good. Sundin would play with Kovalev and who, probably Andrei K, no? Anyways, I presume everyone is watching the finals, and everyone has come to the obvious conclusion of don't get Hossa.

Thanks for coming back! Cheers

Kovy 2 goals and an assist! Tell Wamsley and Chicoutimi all trades are off!

Campbell, I will take that in a second. Lesser Campbell, also that.

Oops, I stand corrected. I thought it was the Brisebois story. Had forgotten Malakhov...with good reason. Anyone going to see Kovy strut his soccer stuff at the new Claude Robillard II? JLP, I was surprised. I thought the crowd wouldn't be too receptive of Asashoryu - especially as seeing one time i went, a Japanese underdog had a chance for a big upset win. 75% of the crowd went ape sh*t when the PIMP came out, and when he did his dragon-arm flex thing after obliterating the guy, It was about 99%. The purists are the wankers at the top, totally clued out as to what the fans want..

If Sundin left the Laffs, do you think he'd go to a team that, err...didn't make the playoffs either? About 0%, I think - unless the weather suddenly go a hell of a lot better in Columbus.

It was, indeed, the Breezer. Asashoryu is the P.I.M.P. If you haven't been, get down to Ryogoku to watch him fight, preferably on the last day of one of the bashos - electricity through the crowd, and he kicks ass. Even when he loses, it is ridiculous how much better he is. They'll ban him for life soon, I guess - they'll do anything to wipe out last year, the greatest year by a fighter ever. Ha ha, Carbo should become head of the Sumo association, he'd fit right in.

Well put about Kovalev, MFT77. Kovalev was the best player on a pretty good team. He played the playoffs with one near-rookie who looked most times like he didn't know what hockey was (A. Kost); another who finally understood speed + driving to the net = tap ins...after 8 games (Plex); and a team with no gamebreaker. He often would carry into the Flyers zone, with his teammates standing and watching the show, a dip past a forward in the neutral zone, a shimmy and drag to the corner over the blueline, and...no-one around to pass to. How many times did I yell 'SKATE with him ffs!' Kovy and the ice capades, twirling, twirling... I have to disagree that he didn't do the majority of carrying the team down the stretch and in the playoffs. He scored 11 in in 12 games; won a game in OT; scored the first goal with the chance to eliminate a team; and never stopped. For those who felt he was dogging it, what do you want this guy to do, backcheck and muck it up in the corners all game? ffs, he is an hugely talented forward and, no question, the best player on the team now. You want to trade him for Shane Doan, go nuts. Or perhaps Danile Briere, after all he is still playing... I also think it is a bit strange to argue that he potentially will tank next year, so we should dangle him out there, when the opposite is not even considered to be possible: that he might, just might, repeat or better his form. He sounds now like a man possessed, is clearly the focal point of the team for the fans, is maturing into a leader. Is this not a gamble worth taking? I have heard whispers of this 'long walk' last offseason, between Gainey and Kovalev? Maybe there are intangiables there that do not factor so much into an X - O scheme of things. Marleau actually impressed me a lot during the playoffs. He played very well when I saw him v Flames, and very well against Stars. Wouldn't know what to do if a one-for-one was offered. I agree - and most people would - about listening to offers from any team, about any of our players. No way Kovalev is untouchable - he isn't an Ovechkin / Crosby / Zetterberg gamebreaker. But he is, like it or not, the leader of the team. And a pretty good leader of a pretty good team.

http://www.rds.ca/impact/chroniques/251874.html Hey JLP, can you say, 'Asashoryu'?

Easy Ryder will be relieved: http://www.rds.ca/canadien/chroniques/251653.html

RDS reporting that Erat's contract has been rejected by the NHL, the salary distribution over time does not work out. I mentioned Arsenal and Arsene Wenger's older-player policy a while back. I wouldn't have any over-35 forward on more than a two year contract. But there is a danger of sentimentality that has to be avoided at all costs. Everyone can be chopped, any season. I enjoyed the end-of-year Habs Prospects report, we might have some real gems there. The kids will help our flexibility enormously. I've gotten over my nausea and would also love to see Bob make a big pitch for Sundin. Can't say the same about Shanahan, though he is pretty durable and continues to pot over 20 goals - I'd rather have Latendresse given a long stint on the first line, though. Does the NHL have tampering rules, related to approaching players still under contract with other teams? They must.

That's why I don't know what to think. These goalies leave here because it seems they can't cut it; but go on to do just fine elsewhere. On the other hand, we have become a goalie factory, and some very good ones at that. I have never blamed Price for our playoff failures, as my many other posts can attest. Saskhab, the reason I said mentally unprepared was his meltdown after that second goal. Something was defo wrong in the worst way, whether it was mental exhaustion, preparation, i don't know. Maybe Carbo should have yanked him, called a timeout. Maybe it wouldn't have made a difference. Perhaps 'mentally unprepared in the face of a fluke goal' might have been a better term. Anyway, I'll defer to you and Wamsley on the specifics of goaltending and goalie coaches.

Signing Komisarek longterm has to be the a.s.a.p. #1 priority. A Kost will sign for less than Erat. He and his bro could end up a long time here with Plex centering them, rich, young, very successful. I think it will be more than just money - and he'll make the money. As Saskhabs writes, regrettably Higgins is the one who would be sacrificed at this point. Something tells me it's not going to happen that way, though. I think he needs a full, consistent season in whatever department (o, d) before signing for the megabucks. An arbitration hearing, for example, would be easily won by the Habs. Just sit them down and talk to them rationally. I'm really not worried at all about our RFA's now. I'll check the rumours thread for these Koivu-to-Wild shenanigans.

It is strange, I don't know what to think about Melanson. What shocked me was that Price seemed mentally utterly unprepared for game 5. Melanson is lauded in many corners, but we are going through a lot of goalies at a high rate. Maybe Kolzig is the answer? But is so, does this mean Halak is gone for sure? Anyway, I have only seen speculation about this on this board, so maybe it is all moot anyways.

Kolzig just officially said goodbye to the Caps (as I thought he would, when I read he didn't show up for their mandatory end-of-season meeting). He wants to play somewhere. Davehab, I don't think Flyers would trade us Carter for ALL of the players you mentioned. Streit is UFA, Dandy contract untrade-able, Begin a tough sell with his injuries, Grabovski and Halak no value. Isn't Carter an RFA? We could just make him an offer. Some think they might have trouble signing him with the Briere and Richards contracts in place, though I don't know anything about their salary / cap situation. Do they do sign-and-trades in the NHL? Or does the CBA prevent them?

Je veut bien un petition pour aucun musique sauf un orgue, comme les bons vieux temps au Forum. Et des batons de hockeys croises pour des escaliers roulants... Pour encore de la musique franco, voila, ils pourront faire un petit 'show' aux entractes: http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=jg5xjx2cwEc&...feature=related

Burnstrom Lahti - wasn't that his name? Teemu, do us a favour, apply for the GM position in Atlanta and keep the laughs coming! (not that they need much help...)

Staal for four? Never. Crosby has to be first - watch, really watch a parrot's game: he does it all, both ends, with little support (Dupuis and who knows). He is great; we will not get any of their top 3. Anyway, nice to see two goalies who seemingly have no idea about fundamentals into the final 4. Biron now to his usual cold-mediocre, Fleury a nightmare positionally.

Interested in your take on this. I say yes, move Koivu to the third. I'd have A. Kost with Sundin (I think he needs a pure offense-first winger to create space), off wing I don't know (Latendresse? D'Agostini?); S. Kost with Plex and Kovalev; Saku, Higgins and Latendresse? D'Agostini? 4th of Lapierre-maybe Chips or Smolinski at a big discount-Begin / Kostopolous. Or are you suggesting...moving either Plex or Saku if we got Sundin? Or converting Plex to a winger? Curious. Must say I'm warming to the Sundin idea. I thought about the Mahovlich lads last night, awake to see Stubbs echoing (or quoting someone on) this. A full year of Toskala should put Laffs well beyond Tavares.

Ideally it looks like Higgins is a 3rd line ctr. He just doesn't have the finishing to warrant any more exposure (he just can't play on the pp). It certainly isn't for lack of effort, and he is a pretty good all around player...but he works for what he gets, and cannot go beyond his talent. He could be a really fine player on a third line, with Latendresse and a good skilled offense ctr (who can backcheck a bit) with them. That could end up being a depth line that takes us a long way. 3.5 m long-term, with maybe good performance bonuses tacked on. Komisarek is a monster, he is starting to emerge as a real force, I give him some leeway because he was not 100% in the playoffs but still gave his all. 5m long-term would be great. 6 years would be fantastic, extending nicely beyond the Markov-Hamrlik contracts. O'Byrne has way less risk to be poached (inconceivable really for his experience and the type of player he is); A. Kost on the other hand, I can see someone making him a sweet offer. Bob would do well to keep him and S. Kost locked up. I guess we'll have too much tied up in the d to make a pitch for Green.

Keep it coming, you're starting to make sense somehow. Still have to control the bile rushing into my throat, but... By the way, you are cc'ing Bob these posts, aren't you?

So the Bulls qualify automatically for the Memorial Cup, because of Kitchener being the home team? I saw that Subban had a goal and an assist in their win today, btw.