hab29RETIRED

Is your source the source that idiot Rejean Tremblay said he had when he supposedly was going to break a story so horrific that it would shake the foundations of the habs franchise?

Those teams were quite different from a Lemaire team. They were defensively reponsible bit still had guys crack the 90 and 100 point marks. What has lemaire won recently? All he has managed is to chase every free agent out of minny! An injured Gaborik was offered $8m and he still turned them down. The habs have enough of an issue attracting any free agents, that would only get worse with Lemaire.

I hope to god you're right. It's hard enough as it is signing free agents!

http://habsinsideout.com/main/18852 Looks like Tangauy may get the night off - which I don't have a problem with - I think they should do the same with Komi. But the rest of the possible lines look pretty bizarre!

Yeah he could, but too bad his hands were always two feet behind his feet!

Ribs was a prick, is a prick and always will be a prick. If he was a russian, finn, czech, american, english canadian or even chinese we wouldn't be having this pointless thread, and there wouldn't be a article by some journalist, becuase there would be general consensus that Ribs was a prick, is a prick and always will be a prick.

Sorry, I can't be positive about this bonehead decision. There is way too much wrong with his game right now and confidence. Halak was weak Saterday but I overall has been head and shoulders hove Price.

Sorry, after listening to the CBC announcers go on and on last night about how one of the habs problems is not having an experienced goalie who has experience working through tough times. You could have Roy and Dryden in the nets and it wouldn't matter given the effort we've seen from this team the past 2 months.

I think Gainey is gone at the end of the year and the Canadiens are going to go into another dark age if Boivan is going to be allowed to become the new Ronald Corey.

I think grapes was drunk or had his medications mixed up yesterday, after all he also called Ovechkin the best player in the league. Only other thing I can think of is that he fell and bumped his head and it temporarily made him somewhat sane for the first time in his pathetic life.

With so many UFA/RFA's I've got 5 questions: 1. who do you absolutely do NOT want to see back with the team (including guys under contract)? 2. Who would you like to see move on, but don't think we can let them go, because they may not be a viable replacement? 3. Who do keep and build around or are best assets to get a real impact player? 4. Who from our prospects may be able to step in to turn things around? 5. Who do we actually have an honest chance to trade for or sign as a UFA? My picks for the above are as follows (excuse the spelling, too lazy to check): 1. Dandenault Brisbois Larauque - paying $1.5M for a guy who can only fight was one of the stupidest decision possible in a salary cap system Bouillon Metropolit Hamrlik - Doubt he can be moved at his current contract. I thought we overpaid him and gave him too long of a deal, he proved me wrong last year, but now he looks like the guy that Calgary fans complained about every year in the playoffs. 2. Kovolev - unless we can sign a replacment, as frustrating as he is, can we afford to let him go??? - I wouldn't mind giving him another shot if he was signed for $2M + performance incentives Koivu - I've got a Koivu jersey, love the heart he has shown, but he looks lwith all the injuries and the pounding the little guy has taken, he's done and may benefit going to Minnisota or somewhere and being re-vitalized. -question is can we replace him. Chipchura - I think he is probably a career minor leager - but should be good trade bait. 3. Listed in no particular order: Halak Price Markov A. Koistitsyn - should rebound next year, if we moved the brothers, should be able to get a true #1 centre as well. S. Koistitsyn Pacioretty Lapierre Latenderesse Gorges - I think he has been over-rated most of the year, and see him at best a #4 Lang - only if its for around $2.5M + incentives Komisarik (I'm not sure he'll want to stay after this nightmare season) Higgens - Is a guy that will probably flourish as soon as he leaves Montreal Tangauy - only if he is signed for under $4M - I think $3.5M is the most I'd be willing to give him. Kostopolous - I'd like to keep him - but not if he is looking for a big raise - a player in that role needs to be in the $1M range. Dagnistini Weber Stewart 4. Emelin - please come over and be the shut down D this team needs. PLease, we promise we won't make you learn french McDonough - would love to think he is ready, but will probably need 1-2 years in the minors Subban - probably 1-2 years away as well. 5. Beauchaman - could really help the D Bouwmester - the guy we should try for the hardest, but will NEVER will be willing to come to Montreal Komisarik - I think we have to treat him as outside help and really need to sell him on staying the way you would for an external UFA, coz after this year, i don't see him wanting to come back Cammelleri - could help, but I doubt he wants to be hear and probably wants to much money Lecavalier - I think we'd have to gut our top prospects and players to get him, especially after the comnents of our blow-hard President Boivan. Derek Morris - could help the D, but would probably cost too much Malkin/Stall - I think we should make a STRONG push for one of these centres from Pittsburgh - we have a lot of proming wingers to offer. and Pittsburgh can't keep the big 3 foreover Hossa - love to have him, but he won't want to come here Franzen - would love this guy - we need someone who isn't afraid to go to the net hard, but I think Detroit will re-sign him. BOTTOM LINE I doubt if we have much internally to help end the nightmare, if we do weed out the guys i've identfied, we have a LOT of holes to fill and I'm not very optimistic that we can turn things around. Last year the 5 K's (Kovolev, Koivu, Koisytsen, Koistitysen, Komisarik), Markov, Price and Hamrlik were all key to our success, along with Striet who walked. This year, from that group only Markov has played OK (not GREAT like last year). Next year from this group, the only players who I think can turn it around are Markov, the Koistitsyn brothers and Price. So there is going to be a LOT of work to get done this summer.

It really doesn't matter who plays goal, unless the other 18 guys show up. Having your goalie steal every game the way Halak did during his win streak is not sustainable. Halak had his first bad game in a while yesterday, but really, the only guy who showed up last night was Lapierre.

Vinny wanted to home to Montreal so bad that instead of waiting a year to become a UFA and singing with his beloved home town team, he decided to sign a contract so he can be a member of the Lightning until he is 40. Yep sounds like a guy pining to come home. and wanting to play in hockey's shrine rather then living in anonimity in sunny TB. Briere passed up more $/yr and go to a hole in the ground city, rather then come home to Montreal. Until Tangauy had to choose between another year of being punted around by Keenan, he didn't want anything to do with Montreal. But, i guess all of the OTHER french born players in the league really do want to play in Montreal.

It's BS like this that is going to make the Habs more laughable then then the Ballard leafs. or Don Cherry's Mississauga team.

I'm a Gainy supporter but still shake my head on some the basic decsions he has made, that have more to do with overall philosphy. Not negotiating during the year with your UFA/RFA's is an incredibly STUPID policy that makes absolutely no sense - particularly for a team that has a hard time signing free agents. I have never been able to understand why he wouldn't have tried to lock up guys to longer term contracts when they were more affordable. Higgens and Komi should have been locked up to long term deals - even if meant over paying them during the earlier years of their contracts. On average, over the later years of the contract , you could have them for less then market. Ditto with Streit who should have bee signed right after his hot start in Nov 07. This is not me just having the benefit of hindsight, this is simply good business sense - buy low & sell high. By offering longer terms and more up front money, key guys could have been locked up to longer term deals so that over the duration of the contract the contracts would have been cheaper. I didn't mention Markov, but he is another guy we would have got cheaper if he was signed earlier. Even more stupid is not trading guys and losing them for nothing - especially if they are going to ride the bench like Ryder. Ryder should have been traded before Xmas last year becuase it was obvious things weren't working out and benching him or putting him on the 3rd or 4thl line are not places where he can succeed.

Same as Boston. Leafs won't have issue attracting top level free agents. Ontario boys actually do want to go home, whereas most quebec born players don't want anything to do with the Montreal media circus. Unless Montreal is willing to throw a LOT of cash at UFA like Tangauy, I can't see him coming back to this fish bowl. Others like Briere even walked away from more money and avoided Montreal.

Big difference. Players around the league actually want to play for Boston. Hardly anyone wants to deal with the media circus in Montreal - especially many of the idiots in the French media like Rejean Tremblay or the photographer who sneaked in to take photos of Koivu after his eye surgery.

He'll get his shot and game back once the habs trade him.

Watching the draft I was hoping they would have taken Getzlaf. I can't belive they passed on him when a BIG centre as available - a position they never really filled since the 70's (to me Bobby SMith was a good #2).

I don't think you can just look at where a goalie is drafted to determine how good they'll be. Goalies develop at a different pace. Remember a guy named Hasek in Chicago or Kipprasoff in SJ. I'd like to see the habs continue rotating their goalies by going without whoever has the hot hand for another year and then making a decision. Either way, I think they can get a pretty decent return for either goalie. Price has his junior/AHL success, draft position and size going for him. But I think Halak has shown a lot of promise. I'm still pissed at Carbo for not starting him against the leafs a couple of years ago when they needed to win the last game to make the playoffs. I like both and I think either one has the potential to be a top #1 goalie in the future.

Any word yet on who is in goal tonight?

Why not?? It was obvious from the last few games that the team has quit on him.

How about a name like Dick Irwin? Hey I have been a cargo supporter for longtime. But his line combos, refusal to shorten the bench to utelize the better players, asinine decisions for the players on the pp (I.e metropolit on the 2 man advantage), as well as decisions on who to start in goal. Despite the injuries there is no way this team should be as bad as of has been unless the players have quit on the coach.

I think Carbo has to go. It looks like the team has quit on him. None of his decisions make sense and I really think the team has quit on him, if he was anyone else, Gainey would have canned the coach by now. I can't believe that Price is starting, most reports say that Halak has recovered from the flu. You can't blame the last game on Price, but bottom line is that his not winning right now. The line match ups don't make any sense - like WTF was metropolit doing on a 2 man advantage??? I also don't see why the hell he is rolling out 4 lines when they need to score. Looks like they AK46 finally scored, but the team is just playing totally uninspired hockey. Even the 4 games they won in a row, 3 of them were because of Halak and even in the Ottawa game Halak allowed them to hang on for the win. They are sitting in 8 place and all of the other teams are hot. I say can the coaching staff and bring in Peter Laviolette. I know he is not French and that will piss off the Rejean Tremblay/Jean perron/Michel Bergeron crowd but bottom line is that there isn't any decent french coach out there that is available. But they need to make a move, it just looks like the team has quit on the coaching staff.

Those lines look better, but I'd flip kosto and dago