SAKS-AVENUE

During the season concentration should be on the game that day. Gainey can't afford to have contract negotiations messing with a players head during the season. He needs the players full attention on the puck. Don't you understand the philosophy behind that. If your player is going to be 100% why would you take his head away from the game. Think about it.

I hope you're not woundering why UFAs don't want to sign in Montréal ??? :puke: He's a bummed out fan . BIG DEAL. When you choose to be a professional athlete you should be prepared to deal with fans like Spidey .....it's a part of the package. Fans in NY, Philli, are just as hard core......... that didn't stop their UFA signings.

I couldn't agree more. If he wanted to leave fine, but then don't feed all that crap. Class A Asshole what did you want him to say, "I hate it here and want to leave"?. he's more than half a country closer to his daughter, bringing home way more money on a post tax basis, got an extra year, AND IS MOVING HOME. saying he wants to stay does not mean he had to take a crappier deal to stay. you guys have absolutely no clue what happened in negotiations (think maybe, just maybe, Bob was an a**hole?). in any event, he played and acted like a man. I have a clue to the negotiations and it boils down to Shelly thinking he was worth $6M or more after the first few days, so later he turns down Gainey's $22M offer. Then all of a sudden he is down to 3 teams and none offering as much as the habs. Can he suck it up and admit he made a bad gamble and call Gainey asking for the same offer back? Nope, he takes the first offer over 4 years and makes it look like it was his plan all along. Classless and gutless. You deserve going to a fading light like the Oilers. At least we will not have to watch you raise the Stanley Cup in the next five years. I have to admit, I don't follow the oilers that much but they are not looking very good are they? What the F*&CK Sheldon? Say hello to Garon for us will you?

I couldn't agree more. If he wanted to leave fine, but then don't feed all that crap. Class A Asshole what did you want him to say, "I hate it here and want to leave"?. he's more than half a country closer to his daughter, bringing home way more money on a post tax basis, got an extra year, AND IS MOVING HOME. saying he wants to stay does not mean he had to take a crappier deal to stay. you guys have absolutely no clue what happened in negotiations (think maybe, just maybe, Bob was an a**hole?). in any event, he played and acted like a man. Souray is the one who went over the top with comments about his desire to be here. He did not simply say he liked playing here etc...He said things that were way more than that. I don't blame him for moving on, that is his choice but don't tell me you love me just so you can have sex with me then move on! Easy Tiger.

For sure!!!! All the best to him, and I do thank him for all he brought to the Habs over the years. Yet I still have developed a dislike for him because he screwed a bunch of people over with misleading statements. BG, Montreal fans... teammates....etc....Boy, they are developing a bad wrap over in Edmonton... See YA!!!!

And who exactly said we should have kept him? You're not allowed to reply until you find a post in this thread in which one of us said we should have kept him. Not that you're allowed to respond, since you're not going to be able to find a post where we said we shouldn't have dumped Theo, I suppose 1999-2004 was all luck. Five years is a pretty long lucky streak. Theo may not have had the best positioning or control, but when his head was on straight, the man stopped pucks, plain and simple. He had great reaction time and was very quick. I agree. It's funny how you could look back at Theo's record and tell when he was on the juice. Easy Theo lovers we've been through this before ....it was just a wise-A$$ Crack.No pun intended. Oh wait that was Grant Fuhr.

Me thinks your not reading my post. Not once did I say the habs sucked. I would never say that even when they have. A superstar is needed? What gave you that idea. . I'm perfectly aware of the 93 line-up ,but thanks for posting it. 40 goal scorers, that's nice when in that particular season there were guys scoring 60-70 goals. Patrick Roys average was well over three that year. I said they were lucky in 93 because when all the dust settled in the 93 play-offs all the top teams were out. We had home ice advantage in every series I think, including the finals. I'm not bashing them. I'm saying we could always get lucky this coming season like we did in 93. What don't you get? That's a good thing. Also I want to add.....I might be wrong but I doubt it. Denis Savard was not helping the team at that point. Out of respect Demers let him say he was injured. The only reason I think that is because he did let him play again at a certain point so he would have enough play-off games to allow his name on the cup. Kudos to demers. For all the people that bash Carbs, He was the one who sat Demers down during those play-offs and offered some coaching advice that ended up working. He's always been a smart hockey man and will excell behind the Montreal bench for years to come.

Ya ...I take the same stance when I'm talking to my friends who lost out that year, them being Leaf fans or Bruin fans. I figured among habs fans we could be at least be a little realistic and admit we caught a lot of breaks in '93. We were not this powerhouse wrecking crew of a hockey team. Luck was on our side. I guess opinions will vary. As far as it being the worst post you ever read? Get over yourself dude!

it would work out rather beautifully for us, if he ended up signing here for 3-4 M wouldn't it? But I don't think it'll happen... Is it really that far out of the realm of possibility that he'd return here for a year @2.5-3 mil? He's a known commodity here, he knows he'll see a lot of PP time and with better numbers (defensively) possibly position himself for a nice multi-year payoff from someone else next year. If he can swallow his pride after saying no to BG's original offer it wouldn't be a bad short-term option for him at all... He's not coming back. The corner he's painted himself into really sucks and I would think that there must be some bad feelings between him and Bob now. They are both understanding and professional but at some human level a bridge has been burned. Gainey didn't trade Souray at the deadline because Souray said he wanted to stay in Montreal and Gainey knew he would give him more than a fair offer....which he did. Souray went back on his word and screwed BG. I'm sure he's not too happy about that. Good things don't happen to Greedy people. I hope he ends up in Phoenix so he can really sit back in the hot sun and cross examine the terrible mistake he made by stiffing Montreal. I would hate to be Sheldon right now. I wonder if he's calm and patient or is he freaking out and actually begging his agent to call Bob Gainey back. I also wonder what happened when he actually rejected Montreal's offer. You don't just do that without back-up. He must of had another deal on the table at that point but it got yanked for some reason. a well....THAT's WHAT YOU GET! BG should take him back for 1 year and then trade him in March. He doesn't have anymore leverage in Montreal. The fans would eat him up now that we know what he's all about.

We play them 8 times, thats a possible 16 points. There was only 16 points separating 2nd place and 9th place in the East this season. Either we keep pace with our division rivals at the VERY LEAST or take up another sport. I for one would suggest tennis. It's so funny, I'm checking all the threads today and none of them are on topic. I think as fans, the T.O games are important just for bragging rights. For the players it's probably a whole different story. That's what we should do with Ryder

Am I able to get a french Habs channel in the States? through comcast? I had center ice package last year. Soooooo expensive , all I want are habs games anyway. Center Ice should be pay-per view.

Yes that is a possibility, but so is finishing dead last. I'd rather trade for a bonifide 1st liner than sit on my a$$ and hope for the best. We have problems that need to be fixed, hoping they go away on their own is counter productive. AGREED. My statement was based on Gainey really trying hard to land a Stand-up UFA, and trying to trade without getting hosed. I believe Gainey is not sitting on his A$$. He is trying. Therefore Im hoping. I've taught myself to hope every year, since 1993. That Stanley cup team was not that great. Great goalie and what? 10 lucky overtimes. We still won. All the kids could surprise with the right confidence instilled and a great ......and I mean GREAT goaltender. Which we could have in our back pocket and not even know it. I'm not talking about Carey Price either. Lucky? Do me a favor. Stop believing in the media BS and check the stats. The 1993 Canadiens and the 2007 Anaheim Ducks are VERY close in comparison. I did all this before in another thread, but I lack the effort to find it right now. Take it easy. I've never been sucked into media. Not until I moved to the States 10 years ago and my only connection to Montreal news was by getting online which for me started in the late 90's. It got even worse when I found HW because every little fart is twisted backwards, forwards, sideways and backwards again that you have no idea what is true and what isn't. I still lived in Canada in 93 and was very happy and excited to watch my beloved Habs win the cup yet again. The last time we all got to see it. They were not expected to be there, let alone win it. They were not an elite team that was favored all year. My POINT in the post you are reffering to was that any hard working team, with a great goalie and a postive attitude has a chance at the cup. Therefore I will hope this year! because Carey Price COULD bring a confidence to the habs dressing room that gives them a chance to win every night. I HOPE!!!!! In 1993 the NHL had something like 5 or 6 players with over 60 friggin goals....and the top ten players in points ranged from 120 to 170 something. Crazy a$$ numbers and players. None were on the Habs roster. The favored team was a loaded Pittsburgh squad but unfortunatly Mario was diagnosed with cancer that year and a lousy Islanders club knocked them out, who fortunatly we met next. That left all the good teams out and all the crappy cinderella stories were left to fight it out themselves. A strange year as I remember. Lucky for us. At that point the city of Montreal was mapping a premature parade route because the only teams left were Montreal, NYI, Toronto and L.A. Out of that group I think the habs were the only team that broke 100 points. We were all dreaming of a Toronto, Montreal final. All of our games against these WEAK teams were CLOSE. 10 overtime wins. Yes, lucky. Patrick Roy saved us. Those over time wins made the series' look lop-sided with a 4-0 sweep, then 4-1 and 4-1. Not true....all the games were tight, may I remind you against crap opponents. On the other side L.A, Toronto, Vancouver, and a last place St.louis were in a dog fight. All crap teams fighting it out through all seven games .....they were exhausted teams, While the habs were LUCKY in overtime and got to rest they're broken ribs(Kirk Muller) after what seemed like a dominating climb to the final. What happens next? We meet an exhausted, beat up , 7th seeded team just coming off a gruelling 7th game overtime win. Welcome to the finals!. WE WIN!!!!!!!! We were LUCKY. PERIOD. No media BS to reflect upon, just my memory. I was doing cart wheels I was so happy, and still am. I'm not going to compare our 93 habs to 07 Anahiem. Completely different circumstances. If there is a small chance at winning the cup this year we would need a lot of LUCK on our side just like in 93, but we would still be missing two important things. Things that" MAKE LUCK" A great goalie and a team that SHOWS UP. I continue to HOPE. The season hasn't even started yet.

Yes that is a possibility, but so is finishing dead last. I'd rather trade for a bonifide 1st liner than sit on my a$$ and hope for the best. We have problems that need to be fixed, hoping they go away on their own is counter productive. AGREED. My statement was based on Gainey really trying hard to land a Stand-up UFA, and trying to trade without getting hosed. I believe Gainey is not sitting on his A$$. He is trying. Therefore Im hoping. I've taught myself to hope every year, since 1993. That Stanley cup team was not that great. Great goalie and what? 10 lucky overtimes. We still won. All the kids could surprise with the right confidence instilled and a great ......and I mean GREAT goaltender. Which we could have in our back pocket and not even know it. I'm not talking about Carey Price either.

You are right. The Habs could be a suprise team this year as long there are no pitfalls and a few earlier then expected surprises. One thing we know for sure is most teams will underestimate the Montreal Canadiens this coming season based on the desire of current UFA's to play for Montreal and on the Ryan Smyth comment. "the habs won't be great anytime soon." If the habs work hard they could grab a bunch of wins from their unexpecting opponents. I guess we'll see.

By this logic we should trade all of our picks for the next 2-3 drafts because we have so many prospects right now. 1-2 young guys per year is going to leave alot of angry and departing potential stars because it would take 6 years just to get to Pacioretty and 8 years to get to McDonagh and Fischer. You have to play the kids in this situation if only to find out who won't develop into stars and then possibly move them to open roster spots for players that might be. You don't get experience without experience. I agree. Our strength is Drafting and youth. If we don't play them, we throw away that strenght. Could we stand to trade some of that youth (along with some of our older guys we're trying to clear, like our bottom tier D) for others. Yes, maybe, if BG thinks it'll help the team. but we're going to be filling from within so we better let them actually play... God knows we aren't the destination for UFAs. BG can't attract UFA's that will make a difference. End of Story. Whether it's the master plan or not to build within, that is all BG has right now. I'm sure he is trying to land better players via trade but BG will NOT pull the trigger untill he feels the deal is right. Where does that leave us? A very young team with a lot to prove. Not a bad place to be considering the talent we have stock piled. But as fans we should expect a very long season untill more of these kids develop into valuable trade bait and allow Gainey to trade for some value without giving up as they say "THE FARM" AS someone else said in a thread. Have fun this year watching these kids turn into monsters and don't let your expectations get too high and you will surely enjoy the season. I think it will be refreshing just to see effort for 60 minutes. The only part that I'm afraid of is if the youth movement takes a little longer then expected we may lose Koivu at the trade deadline. He will want to go to a contender very soon. Don't be suprised to see Koivu a Flyer in June holding the cup with his fellow countrymen. That's what I fear most of building within. Chasing away the heart of this team. Our close to if not longest serving Captain........ UNLESSSSSSSSSS......... We have a freak year....a cinderella story..... Kovalev has a crazy season...... Pleks, Koivu, Latty, ####, Ryder, Smokie, Lappy, Higgins all score 20 or more goals....... We get a surprise Patrick Royesque season from a very young Carey Price.... Ah we can only hope and hope we will

What's wrong with dreaming about French Canadian stars? French Canadian stars have always been at the heart of Canadiens Cup teams. Yeah, back when they had the pick of the litter.....all the sudden the Entry draft comes along and the cups dry up. http://www.liam.ca/ed20040319.html Liam is hardcore......what a dork though

that's a pretty weak bet (and somewhat misspelled). There is only one real bet on a message board - one that ends in either suspension or banning. So guys set up the terms and I'll ban/suspend (you pick) whoever loses. Now that is a bet^ Lets still keep this friendly, we don't want any hurt feelings and people not returning. So the busiest time is usually right after the date they are allowed to sign UFA's, so a week or so there should be a fair wager. And when SAKS gets back from his time off no one bug him about it BTW I think anyone can get in on this. O.K BET IS ON! I SAKS-AVENUE Will bet OneSharpMArble that the Flyers will make the play-offs in the 2007/08 season. Loser gets banned for 10 days. From July 1st to July 10th 2008. Upon return the Loser's Signature must read" I "loser's name" LOVE THE TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS!!!" from July 11th to the 21st 2008. Marble do you except this bet?

I think with the Dogs winning the Calder cup (lets face it they shouldn't have been able to) it taught the kids how to win and what it takes to win. Maybe Gainey thinks those question marks are gone now because of their performances in the cup run. As a measuring stick, the calder cup playoffs have to be close to NHL regular season play. Just My opinion though. Ya it's called a great goalie!!!

I bet they miss the playoffs. They might make it barely but they wont be contenders for several years. I'll make that bet! The Flyers will need a second to gell but I feel they will definatly make the play-offs. A gentleman's bet is on the table. The loser of the bet at the end of the year has to write the list below, filling in the names properly and use it as his signature for the entire summer and can't take it off untill the puck drops the following season in October. 1. I " loser" kiss the feet of "winner" he is simply the coolest guy I know 2. I " loser" am such a loser for doubting the brilliant mind of "winner" 3. I "loser" am such an idiot for ever questinoing the magnificent " winner" 4. I "loser" love "winner" and wish I could be just like him 5. Please "winner" I beg to be you friend. Are you man enough to make this bet?

I wanted to bet you on the FLYERS! That's a tough bet.....I want them to be losers, but they sure are looking good on paper. What's the bet?

Wanna bet??? I'm with you JMMR. I want a piece of that pie too. I do love betting but I never bet against the Habs . Maby I should, that way they might win some games. Seriously though. I'm with all you guys. I do believe in all iour young players and I trust that Gainey is building slowly knowing these guys will give us a solid future. It's just been suckin watching all these other teams load up and we just sit still with the kids who in all honesty are still big question marks. I hope it all works out and we end up being that team that's in 1st and no-one can figure it out how and why, but I've been hoping that for many years now, only it's worse this year because we have no goal scorers, a defensive coach, a bunch of hopeful kids, and not a single soul wants to play for us. It's just frustrating. GO HABS GO Prove everyone wrong!!!!!!

Believe me I'm hopeful too but in reality, The Flyers went from almost last place to probably and most likely a 100 point plus season....They WILL compete with ottawa. We went from 14th to maby 14th again or maby worse. How do you figure we didn,t need to?

Right, but you see the problem is that it's much easier to win when you can attract UFA to the team. Look at Philly though. They had such a crap season. With a few serious moves at the trade deadline last year with Forsberg then the brilliant trade for hartnell and Kim showed a fire and desire to win. Why can't we do that now? Then Brierre signs, then the Edmonton trade. and now maby Selami. What the F^%K? They were in last friggin place practically and now they are favored to win the CUP. They already have Gagne and a bunch of great kids which I'll bet my life will bring Forsberg back and he'll play for free. That's exciting stuff.....Koivu must be so bummed....I am and if I was on the team I would be even more bummed. Us and the Flyers and the friggin Rangers will all be in the same cap bracket, So what's the dif? Everyone on these forms talks about our untouchables. Screw it trade for something now, let's make the play-offs and win some games damn-it.!!!!! The Horse's Mouth

So why does EK have Salami going to Philly as a rumor. Did I miss something? Is he not retiring. I thought it was Anaheim or nothing. What's up with signing in Philly? If he was to sign with the Habs I would shit my pants, but it would also mean CUP this year.

I see your point but we need some guys to stand up for the entire season. Ottawa? they are pretty good dude ....compared to us.