Colin

My guess is that, with the new CBA, Saku is just being financially conscious and doesn't want to buy something he can salvage. With the 24% reduction in wages and the subsequent discovery that another 12% or so was going into escrow, surely we rich normal folks can understand why a player would want to save a few bucks for his next car payment. Facetious. Seriously, I believe that a player gets used to a blade and if it's salvageable, he grabs it to put on the next shaft. It's actually not as rare as you might think: I've seen more than a few people over the last few years retrieving their blades. Remember, the players shape these sticks themselves, so each one is individual. When he broke it, he was on quite the point barrage - I know I'd go out and retrieve it!! As to Saku using an illegal stick? I highly doubt it. Generally blades are made illegal in order to improve a shot, and Sax still only has an average one. Kovalchuk, I can understand, but my money is on Koivu having a legal stick.

First of all, I wouldn't press the panic button yet regarding scoring. Yeah, we scored once on 44 shots, BUT how many times did we ding the post? 5? That's LESS than inches to a win. The most unfortunate thing about the posts is that the majority of fans, and probably the players themselves, will start questioning the finishing ability of the players and that will cause those players to grip their sticks tighter. 44 shots and a bunch of posts? I'm not overly worried about that yet. If it was 20 shots and no posts? Yeah, panic. Souray is a mess. He should have been the one sitting, and not Komi. The kid has been FAR more reliable in our own end, and in fact when Komi gets in trouble, it's generally Souray who's caused it. Souray, however, does not *need* to sit. He needs to be paired with someone responsible (Bouillon anyone?) and needs to have his time cut back to about 13-16 minutes a game until he finds himself. (And how come Souray plays a regular shift through his troubles and the kids sit when they make one mistake? In the last few games, I'd say Souray has been responsible either directly or indirectly for about 50-60% of the goals against. And Komi gets benched?) Hainsey is not an answer. Captain Attitude Problem can sit in the minors and rot. We don't need attitudes flaring in the dressing room again. Shift length is a problem. There are a few taking a few liberties out there and they need to grow up and realize it's a team game, and not their personal playground. I'm not naming names because the Ribserazzi will get in a huff. Theodore is hurt. Let's allow him that slack. His groin is an issue and the continual playing isn't helping. (How about we show more confidence in the kid - who was not at fault in his barrage on Saturday night). That said, there's no doubt that this is not a $5 million goalie we have on our hands. He's so inconsistent he's making Sergei Berezin look like the most regular player who's worn the bleu-blanc-rouge. Rollie the goalie says the two are still working on issues, and I'll take that at face value, however we're a quarter of the way through the sked, and I don't want to be hearing that much longer. It's time for our star to get his act together. Complacency. "Oh, we've fallen behind a hundred times so we know we can come back on any given night." Any doubts that that is the real issue? There's no fire in the first. We come out of the gates weak and slow, and that's killing us. There are a handful who never mail it in, and the rest give partial effort through the first half of the game. The fundamental problem is one of motivation - let's look at the coach and see how he gets this team to respond now that it's facing its first real trial. It's unfortunate he wore that mic during Saturday's game because I'll bet my bottom dollar he wouldn't have yelled niceties to the guys had he not been worried that RDS was going to show it. I have a feeling the result is a LOT different if he takes out his can of whupass and lays it on thich during the timeout. If I were a betting man, I'd say Montreal is going to come out of the gates for their next encounter with both guns blazing and with everyone skating like the Devil were on their tails. It's a long season and every team faces adversity: this is our first test, and I believe, even without Kovalev, that we'll come out okay. Oh, it'd probably help the players to have some damn consistency on the ice as well. I mean, come on coach, can I play with the same players for two consecutive shifts, please? (And I'm not talking about late in the game when it was all but decided - I'm talking in the first. Show the rookies confidence. If they screw up, put 'em back out again! I think they understand full well that they screwed up. I mean, are we going to bench Koivu and Ribeiro if they screw up each shift?) Confidence. Every team lives and dies with it. Ours is waning, and it's up to the coach to help the players find it again. [Edited on 2005/11/21 by Guy!]

*coughoverratedcough* Too many close games to be put up that high, in my opinion. We have a goalie who's playing hot and cold, and a second line that's hit or miss at the moment. We've stolen a few games that we didn't deserve and haven't seen the opposite happen. Top-10, sure, but top-three? Not yet. Too many kids and too unproven. We're for real, but we're not huge Cup contenders yet.

Koivu may be underrated, but not nearly as much as Markov. He's the undiscovered talent league-wide.

8:00 And I hope Saku is as into this match as he was into the Hallowe'en party.

Bryan Fogarty.

Heh. 19 Begin's and a goalie would beat 19 Ribeiro's and a goalie every single night. Unless Ribs worked his ass off...

Me: Living in Metcalfe Ontario, Born in Ottawa Mom: New Bruswick Dad: Southend-on-Sea, Jolly ol' England Grandparents mom's side: New Bruswick Grandparents dad's side: England I am: isn't the correct answer Canadian, at which point we all chug a beer? I'm anglo. Lost way too much of my French, though at one point I was bilingual. Learning German now. My mothers side has been traced back to a leading General in William the Conqueror's army that defeated England in 1066. Both sides, however, go have been traced to Germany / Holy Roman Empire and we go way back there, apparently.

I have a buddy My buddy's a toad He's kinda muddy He's flat onna road But he is my buddy My buddy to stay Till he's peeled up And sailed away My Buddy

I think most of you got the gist of my post: no I don't *want* the Habs to lose, but it's inevitable. What I like to see, though, is that, when we lose, we don't beat ourselves. If we lose because the other team is the better team, then I'm a happy camper. If you can go home at the end of the night and say that you gave your all and played to your expectations (remember, this is a job, and not for fun for these guys - though it still should be fun, of course) then sleep well, young champion. However, if you stink when you're being paid to be all that you can be, I'm hoping you have a bit of a sleepless night. I'm not sure how many have read through the papers etc after this game, but Melanson, the Habs goalie coach, pretty much reiterated what I've said about Theo so far this year. He's inconsistent and his base positioning is poor so far. There have been way too many goals going in between his arms and body, and that's a sure indication that he's not at his best. Melanson said that it would take about 10 days to work on those issues and get rid of the bad habits that have apparently crept into his game. Therefore, we should assume that Theo will look much more like normal as of next Saturday night. There are no fingers on the panic button, or at least there shouldn't be, however for those who say he's doing just fine, I think you need to go back and take another long look. When the goaltending coach agrees.... perhaps those of us who are noticing it aren't just making things up. Look, Theo is our number one, and he will be for quite a while. No matter how well Danis did on his first game, it was still only his first game. He, and Price for that matter, have a long way to go to get to where he is. The comments I'm making aren't about a controvercy, they're about pointing out the facts. Fact: Theo is struggling. Fact: Theo's paid big bucks. Fact: those two items don't mesh very well. The problem has been identified and is being worked on. Presumably, we'll see him returning to normal soon enough. If not? Then worry.

It's not about wins and losses, or statistics, or anything else like that, it's about bad goals being allowed, pure and simple. Yes, he's made some wonderful saves and has looked good fairly often. But for whatever reason, his base positioning isn't as good, he's oversliding when moving across the net, and he's not controlling his rebounds as well as he used to. Honestly, if he lost every game but never let in a bad goal, I'd be satisfied. The problem is, when you're trying to compete as a team, there's nothing more demoralizing than seeing a really weak one go in your net. A goaltender's job is making stops, not blowing everyone's mind with one amazing save then allowing Tie Domi to score with a wiffleball from the point. The biggest beef I have with Theo is his consistency - he has virtually none. Every night I expect one bad goal against the Habs, minimum - and the players must start to feel like that as well. It doesn't make for a winning atmosphere, in fact it makes the skaters tense wondering if any given shot is going to go in the net and the blame placed on them - because for some silly reason we can't blame our oh so beloved goaltender. I'd find it amusing if it weren't so frustrating when people get angry because I don't like the quality of a goal that goes in the net. We pay this guy *elite* funds, and it's not to be ordinary or let in weak goals. We pay him to consistently keep us in games. Sure, he's allowed to have night's where things don't go right, who in the world doesn't. But for his price, he's not allowed to let a weak goal in virtually every game. If he's going to do that, he needs to refund the team abou 25% of his salary to get in line with the other very good, but inconsistent guys in hockey.

Are you getting paid, Rob? That's just... corporate. As to the commish, I can tell you he's very busy. He has a new job, a girlfriend, and a good time with his friends on the weekends. Okay, the new job is the only really different thing. Now, remember, if and when you join the league, you pay your league dues to Dallas... in the form of a first round draft pick and a top player. Standard procedure, you see.

And his best leadership plays weren't even with the puck. Behind the Habs net, after they fell down a goal, he hammered some poor Leaf. Firing up the boys. THAT is leadership. Best part is we didn't see Koivu at his best. There's still more to come.

I've gotta say I appreciate the enthusiasm. And while I don't agree 100% with the predictions in there, I really love the style in which the article was written. Then again, we both agree on Dags. That's the most important thing.

It'll be sweet playing against Ward. He's going to try and hit everyone, but with the new up-tempo NHL I have a feeling he's going to be a step behind all night. More than ever, I think that guy is AHL talent - which says something about the Rag$. Then again, maybe he leared how to skate..... NAHHHHH..... :guru: Hossa will play one of his best games tonight; Rag$ fans will jump and shout and say he's the next thing. Then after about 10 more games when he goes back to being Mr. Inconsistency, they'll bemoan the loss of Garth Murray. :eyes:

Check out A Concerned Fan's newest: http://www.habsworld.net/article.php?id=889

Just because someone is an All-American does not mean they should be guaranteed a spot in the NHL. And blaming this on the Habs coaching staff is just looking for excuses in my opinion. I mean, Komisarek has made the team, as has Higgins and now a few more kids who came up through the same system. This is a kid who has all the potential in the world but can't seem to translate that into NHL-calibre play. It's quite obvious while watching him that he just doesn't have it. He makes constant blunders that make Brisebois look like a rock defensively. He's unsure of himself on the ice, makes slow decisions, and quite often the decision he does make are completely erroneous. I've no idea why you think contract has anything to do with anything in this matter. This is purely about the ability to perform in the NHL and if you've watched him closely enough, it's quite obvious that he doesn't have it at this point. As to the "old Euro who speaks French", he at least made significant gains in his time on the ice during the pre-season. He went from a struggling player to one who showed infinitely more consistency at the end, and *that* is the critical reason why he's staying. Hainsey has absolutely no consistency whatsoever. In fact, if you believe the rumours, Gainey *tried* to move Hainsey and there were NO takers. That as well has to tell you something about his game. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were Ron Himself. This is exactly the kind of egotistical crap that has been blowing from his gob since he landed in Montreal - he's good enough to play, he doesn't need to be in the minors, etc, etc, ad nauseum. If he could get over himself and then put in the full and consistent effort required to make it, he'd absolutely be in the NHL. Sadly, he ego writes cheques that he can't cash. Finally, trying to go for the cheap personal shots at people who don't agree with what you have to say is quite pathetic. We're all entitled to our opinions - and if we don't agree with one another, that's great, but to resort to ridiculous insinuations and petty name-calling is nothing more than childish. If you don't agree with what's being said and you can't find a way to express yourself other than bashing others personally, then I suggest you leave. Perhaps you and Ron can go to a bar and discuss how the management and fans just don't understand you and how brilliant you both are.

18 is Serge Savard. And while some might consider that an odd choice, particularly with his after-NHL exploits, the simple fact remains that, with Robinson and Lapointe, he made up the best defensive trio to ever play the game - and he was stellar. Oh, and he invented the Savardian-spin-o-rama... Though few realize that, attributing it instead to Denis.

Not in this order, but these are the numbers I see hitting the roof over the next few years, among others: 12, 18, 19, 23, 29

Has anyone heard anything about this? Apparently it's due to be released in North America today and is available at Gamespot (US). I can't find it available, or even mentioned for that matter, in any Canadian store (a la Future Shop, Best Buy, etc). If it's anything like the Championship Manager /Football Manager series by SI Games, it makes most other PC games look completely pedestrian.

New rules. You have to clear when brought up as well. THough I'm not up to speed on the details of that yet.

"Ivanans, who weighs in at 263 pounds and reportedly has the lowest body fat count on the team. " Great googly moogly. It's Drago from Rocky. "I must break you." [Edited on 2005/10/5 by Guy!]

Hainsey has the skills to be a number one defender on any team, almost. However he doesn't have the brains to be even a number 7 on most teams. If there's a player who suffers more from brain cramps on the ice, I'd like to see him. I mean, when I watch him, I can see the pure talent and see where he *could* be. He just can't seem to put it together. He's incredibly slow making decisions and you just can't do that at this level. And if he really did clear waivers, then every other team in the league agrees with that assessment, or parts of it. I think his number one problem, actually, is evident by what he says. He thinks he played well enough to stay? He thinks he's good enough? There's a MAJOR ego problem with this kid, in fact he reminds me a lot of Alex Daigle - except Daigle got it somewhat under control enough to play in the NHL early on. Right from the outset Hainsey seems to have been hampered by continual brain cramps. If they weren't on the ice, apparently they were in the bars, or they were in his words to the press, or teammates, or coaches, or management. He will NEVER make the NHL with an attitude like that. Anyone else think about Terry Ryan when they listen to Hainsey's drivel?

I think they were there because Gainey put out the call that he had extra bodies and wanted to move one or two. I also think they were there to seriously scout Hainsey, since he's borderline and can be picked up on waivers. If there was a scout from the Rag$ there, I'd say Dags was being scouted, since they like our refuse, but otherwise, I'm not sure I see a lot of interest for a guy that played one good period of hockey that night.

Haha! I was laughing at that too! And Kovaliev too. I'm not entirely sure, but I believe that actually might be the correct pronunciation of his name in Russian. I remember hearing something like that a while back and I was shocked that the RDS team had done their homework like that. Frolov is pronounce Froliov, I think. Oh, and the accent on most Russian names in on the second syllable. FeDORiov. KoVAliev. But I'm not 100% sure on all that.