Neech

Out of the big names available Jokinen is the one that I'd want the most. But it's not a perfect world.

Yeah you could have stuck a mule there and he wouldn't have been able to tell the difference, but he would have a nasty surprise sooner or later.

Not the first time that we've been so certain of things going down...

Yeah, I think Higgins' likely career potential is a 25-35 goal guy. He may get 40 once or twice. But I would be loathe to give him up, he really seems to be part of the nucleus of this team.

I really doubt that Ryder and Emelin would be enough. They would want at least a 1st round pick along with that; a struggling mid-level player and a totally unproven prospect are not nearly enough to land an elite forward. And I also doubt that Hossa would sign for 3 years, for one, and that he'd take 6 million per season. I bet he'd want at least a 5 year contract, in which case he may take 6 million per season but would probably want more. Spezza, Gomez and Drury all get about 7 million per year for 5-7 years, and Hossa would probably be gunning for a similar deal.

That takes us down to Earth a bit. I was just starting to imagine a Montreal team with a top six like this Kosty Plex Kovy Hossa Koivu Higgins Damn, that looks a lot like TWO first lines, for a team that hasn't had ONE in almost a decade. And then the kid line of Lat Laps Kosty can score as well, we'd be intimidating.

Yeah, I agree with that. I'm still not sure if I'd want to give up Higgins though, but it is better to get a good player than sit on your hands and wait for guys to develop.

Good for Markov for mackin on the hotter girl.

Our RDS guys would probably take the cake IMO, but it isn't as obvious because it's for the team we cheer for.

We played well for most of this game and deserved the win, but the dumb penalties and mistakes almost cost us. We really handed the Sens the opportunities to get back in the game. But Huet came through today. On a few occasions he made a monster save that kept us in the lead. But it's still rolling the dice whenever he leaves his net (he put Bouillon in a bad position on the first goal but it was Francis's fault to not get rid of the puck). And I still can't say that I'm not nervous with him in goal protecting a one goal lead, although he did good tonight. What can we say about our first line? They can pass with the best in the league, and can be a threat whenever they're on the ice. Great game for them again. The other lines were decent, none of them were dominated or dominating. The defense was nothing specail. But gawddamn we can't take two delay of game penalties in one game! And Koivu, geez, I think he needs to watch an instructional video on the rules of the game to knock it into his head what is a hook and what is not. It's not like the officials are just picking on him, he's being a dumbass, and he's our freakin captain. I'm glad he rode the pine for a while, Carbo has given him plenty of chances and we can't risk putting bad players on the ice in these important games. I watched the game on Sportsnet for a change. The announcers were biased, that was to be expected, though probably not as much as the RDS guys. They made some bad comments about Kovalev on how he has shown up 'a few more times' this season compared to last season, whereas he's been our best player the whole way through. They also said that Latendresse had a reputation for being dirty and taking late hits, which is kind of exaggerated.

Maybe a Saku sake would be more lucky! This certain someone is going to get WASTED.

I guess Lowe maxed out his intelligence in 2006, he did make some key moves that got that team into the playoffs and then they went on a crazy run. But Penner turning into Bertuzzi is about as likely as saying whoever Anaheim drafts, if it's Doughty or Pietrangelo or someone else, will turn out to be a very good player and maybe better than Penner. And then there are the two other picks. Like I said, I doubt many GMs would go for that trade this year. Who knows what they'd do in the future, maybe Penner's game improves significantly, maybe Anaheim drafts an all-star. And Penner's signing didn't change Edmonton's mediocrity. Yeah they're rebuilding now and they've been bad recently which has helped in getting young talent, but keeping top 5 picks is exactly what a rebuilding team should do (like the Leafs should have, I don't know why you brought them up because getting an RFA and giving up picks would be a terrible move for them). Edmonton has cap-space, but you don't just fill that as quickly as you can. You build from within and see which way the cap-space should be used. That's what Gainey has done, and although he's not perfect or the best in the league, he's definitely better than Lowe and you can look at our current situation to attest to that.

No, I don't have to respect giving out an offer sheet. It's a bad move unless the player is really worth it. I'm not sure Penner is worth it, and we'll see how these three picks that Anaheim got back turn out. But if the deal was done today I seriously doubt that there are many, if any, GMs who would give up a top 5 pick plus a 2nd and 3rd rounder straight up for Penner. It's bad enough to eat the cap-space on a young unproven player, but losing the picks is a very bad move for the new NHL where you always need cheap young players to compete under the cap. Lowe's just lucky that they're not giving 3 first rounders to Buffalo and having Vanek flounder in Edmonton for 7 million a year. I agree that the Oilers have some good young talent, but this certainly wasn't the season to be breaking the bank. If they had profited from their mediocrity this year with a lottery pick they'd be in much better shape down the road.

I don't feel like they got enough out of either of those deals. Maybe he was handcuffed by Pronger publicly asking for a trade, but still the return wasn't that good considering Pronger's stature as one of the top 3-4 D-men in the league. The Smyth trade also seemed a little weak, as most of the other rentals garnered a better return. I agree that Hamrlik has been pretty ordinary on the whole for the last month and a half. But we haven't seen the Souray blunders from him. Hamrlik's ordinary defensive work is better than Souray's subpar defensive work. It is really not worth it to have such a highly paid defenseman who isn't very good in his own end. I agree that I miss Souray's presence and character. Gotta love Shelly.

Yeah, plus Latendresse and Lapierre throw their weight around, and Bouillon can be a bruiser. Even Plekanec, a little guy, plays an effective physical game when needed. We don't fight, but we're a tough team within the rules of the game. I just want to see a good effort out the boys this game. Man, a lot has changed since we played them last, they seemed like an impregnable powerhouse and our team would be lucky to be in the game. Now they've been on the ropes and the Habs have shown grit and character that make me believe we have a chance no matter who we play.

Oh yeah, he's the worst in the league. Look what he got back for the captain, heart and soul, and face of the franchise last year. And all because they were maybe half a million per year apart in what they wanted, and now he's resigned with a division rival. Look what they got back for Pronger, one of the best D-men in the league that instantly brought a Cup to Anaheim. Look at the likely top 5 pick they're giving to Anaheim in reportedly the best draft class in years because Lowe was panicking, plus a 2nd and a 3rd rounder later on. San Jose traded Toskala and Bell for that package (although the 3rd is a 4th in that deal), but Lowe thought Dustin Penner is worth it. He's lucky that Buffalo matched his offer and he's not stuck with Vanek for a ridiculous sum. Plus Souray is overpaid for four more years, but that's the least of his blunders. JFJ could have challenged for the title of the worst in the league, but now that he's gone the crown goes to Lowe.

Saku's already coming out of his funk. I predict he'll be a key guy in our stretch drive.

Yeah, but I expected better from Gagnon. Plus, he didn't say 9th or 10th like the rest of them, he said 14th. Yeah, they can be pretty entertaining, but I can only take them in small doses. The best is after a big win in an exciting game, they get so worked up and they're all just shouting over each other. The host guy is funny because he seems like he's had a few drinks before the show (well I guess they all do), and Michel, despite being very dumb, is funny as well.

That's a nice story. I always liked Shelly and was sad to see him go. So were many of the female fans of the Habs. He was just a stand-up guy, he stuck up for his teammates and represented the team well. Having said that, we're in much better shape with Hamrlik taking up that cap-space. As great as Shelly is, he's not worth what we were going to pay him, and him in Edmonton for five years at 5.4 million per season is just another feather in Lowe's cap as the worst GM in the league.

Hasek was pretty damn clutch in those years with Buffalo. They had no business making it out of the first round, let alone getting to the finals. I'd say Luongo is clutch judging by how he's played with team Canada, and also how he made a non-playoff team a division champ, but it's too early to judge him at the moment. He's nowhere near the league of Brodeur, and probably never will be.

Yeah, I doubt we'll get Hossa, the asking price would be too high. It would be Emelin and a whole lot else. Probably a first-rounder and a guy like Chips or McDonagh. Although that isn't totally unreasonable for a PPG player. Besides, I'm excited to see what Emelin will be like in a year or two, provided he comes over in the offseason. He'd probably take a year in Hamilton (but who knows, S. Kost didn't need it), and then the season after next we might have the best combination of youth and experience on the blueline with our current top three and then McDonagh and Emelin breaking in.

Nope, no Hossa for us.

That's right. It's not Kovy's fault that Hollweg's grandpa was this guy:

Agreed, I like Gagnon. On 110% he's the only one that says anything intelligent, the other guys are just laugably stupid (that's the main appeal of the show). He also comes on CTV now and again and has worthwhile commentary. But he predicted the Habs would finish 14th, so I hope he's enjoying his crow right now!

Wamsley has officially wiped the floor with your ridiculous arguments. I admire his tenacity, you can tell he is parent because he is so adept at laying things out in a clear and irrefutable way to someone of a smaller intellect.