illWill

The Good: - Drafting Price at 5, and solidifying the most important position in the game for many years. And to think at the time I wanted them to draft Brule.... - Trading Rivet at the deadline for a first rounder (Pax) and Gorges. Wow, what a move. I guess because we are always in the playoff mix, that's why there aren't more of these moves made. - Although I didn't like it at the time, the Gainey rebuild of 2009. He chose not to resign an aging core who finished first in the east the year before, and opted for a younger, more expensive one. I was devastated that Koivu was just let go like that, after having the "C" for the second longest time in Habs history IIRC. And nobody made the crowd "oooh" and "ahhh" like Kovalev. But by the massive rebuild, and by signing the new core to 5 years, he without words said, this is your window of opportunity to win a cup. With lots of prospects coming up in the system, it makes for a very competitive team in this time frame. - As much as I don't like Martin, his system, his odd moves and frankly the look of him, it was a smart move to bring in a coach with a ton of coaching experience rather than another rookie coach. It would have been a circus in the dressing room, with all the new faces, no defined roles and no captain. The Bad: - Trading Ribiero for a bag of chips that we didn't even eat. The reports are that he was trouble in the dressing room and a bad influence on others. I can see that, he seems like a douche. But my god, could we not of recieved something better than what we got? - Having Metropolit, Moore and Halpern type guys walk away via UFA but yet have to trade a pick later in the year to acquire such a player. - Signing Spacek at his age, for that term, for that much money. - The Gomez deal is a double-edged sword. On one hand it's stated that the trade influenced the other ufa players to sign, and we reached the East final with him. On the other hand, we are stuck with his monstrous cap hit and sub-par performance. I think Gainey would take a mulligan on that deal now if he could go back in time.

I don't get too caught up with point totals on this team. It is generally a balanced attack with a low-scoring output. You could take most players off of this team and put them on other teams and their numbers would go way up. As long as the team is getting wins, I could care less about goals or assists. Although......it would be nice to have a team that put up a bunch of points on the board and to have a guy at least in the top ten in scoring....but that's not going to happen the way it is now.

Well that was an uneventful period of hockey.

I don't think there is any debate on whether or not that was his worst season of his career or that he was amongst the worst second-line C in the NHL last year. Regardless of that, he still was a part of a team that had moderate success. It is a team game and they win or lose as a team. For example, one of my best friends is a Rangers fan. He teases me all the time about the Gomez trade. He says thanks for McDonaugh and for being able to sign Gaborik after shipping Gomez. Well that may sound great to him, but we went to the Eastern finals that year and they didn't make the playoffs. We were able to part with McDonaugh because we have a plethora of young defense. So he can have the elite sniper, but until that translates to playoff success it doesn't mean squat. This Habs team is a dangerous playoff team, led by veterans like Gomez. I'm not even sure where I'm going with this, lol. But yeah, I think they should stick with Gomez at center and have DD on the wing. Eller is much better suited as a C, imo. There aren't really any viable options with Gomez. This discussion has been beat into the ground. He is not getting sent down, he is not getting traded this year, so we all have to live with it and hope that he can play as well as he can.

The Habs have been committed to Price since the day he was drafted. He has a championship pedigree, elite skills, excellent positioning and a big frame. Gainey has been grooving him ever since he traded away #1 Huet on a team that was leading the East. Gauthier shocked and enraged fans when he traded playoff hero Halak instead of Price. Carey was the guy then, he is the guy now and he is the guy in the future. I think they should definitely lock him up long term and pay him whatever it takes to get the deal done. Now, hopefully Carey would be happy with around $4.5 - $6m per. I think he would be, he seems to like it in Montreal and like his teammates. And he has shown he can deal with the boos when times get tough, so it would be hard for the fans to ride him out of town.

One thing that is a reality in this day and age of sports, is that fans include a player's salary when evaluating said player. Often it is a question of who's playing better or worse than their salary is what quantifies a good player. I get razzed all the time by friends about Gomez. All I say is that he is a good player and that I'm not the one paying him. Sure, he is ridiculously overpaid but he still adds value to the team. Believe me, when I heard about the trade to get him, I was so pissed that felt like renouncing my loyalty to this team. Despite the outcry from most Habs fans to get rid of the guy, he's been to the Eastern finals and to game 7 against the champs in the last two seasons. If the public didn't know what anybody was getting paid, things would be alot different on these discussion boards. I'm not sure who is the better player right now, I think it is too early and that time will tell soon. Personally, I would have DD on the wing. It seems like every time I actually notice him playing, he is losing a faceoff or getting muscled off the puck. I think Gomez and Eller are the #2 and #3 centers, not necessarily in that order. I think alot of people do root for DD because of his size and determination, whereas people are frustrated with Gomez's lackadaisical demeanor, and justifiably so.

Personally, I like the idea of having all 3 of them in the lineup. Just pair each with someone who can play defense responsively, there is your balance. You could then build your breakout from the right side each shift, cutting out all confusion. I don't like this theory of having "shut down" specialists, other than on the penalty kill. You are basically giving up on offense just to make sure the other team doesn't score. I'd rather have a team full of offense and make the other team try to "shut down" our offense. But that is just my opinion.

It's a good thing ALL the anti Price posters didn't leave, otherwise we wouldn't have this great website left. I was one of the rare ones that stuck with him his whole career and there wasn't many of us.

I have a feeling it is going to be a high scoring game.

A common theme of goals scored in the video: He is either parked in front of the net or he actually shoots the puck. It's amazing what could happen if he did this now.

I think it was pretty evident that the players were playing with a lot more emotion this game. Cole looked like a man possessed, the fore check was aggressive and guys were actually going to the net. Perhaps the Pearn firing was a wake up call, maybe Price saying " can't be sucking our thumbs, we gotta man up", or even Max coming back early from injury to inspire. Whatever it was, this is the way they have to play to be successful. No more robots going through the motions of the system. The hockey players need to play hockey.

I've been a fan of Weber since he broke in a couple years ago. I think he has steadily improved from each year and will be a top 4 defense man at some point. He is a great fit for this team and I don't see why he should be traded.....unless it is part of a big trade.

I think it is fair to say that this is a good team that is just struggling. Obviously injuries to 3 of the top 6 defensemen would be crushing to any team, plus missing Cammy and Gomez a couple games doesn't help. But the reality is that injuries are always going to happen and the team has to adjust accordingly. I think that Emelin, Diaz and Weber have done a great job for where they are at in their careers. There are some interesting stats thus far that warrant some discussion. The Habs have lost 5 games in regulation and in those game have scored only 4 goals total. Hard to pin those losses on the defense or goalie. In the 3 games that they got points from, they scored 14 goals. So a person could make the assumption that a more wide open game would favor this team. Their once mighty powerplay is a dreadful 29th in the league while their usually tough shutdown penalty kill is 20th. The way this team would usually win games is to play scoreless hockey 5 on 5 and win with special teams. Well since their special teams are in the crapper, you see what the results are. The Habs are third in the league in shots. Personally, I think this stat in general is way overrated. Darche dump-ins at the goalie are hardly indicative of how a game should be viewed. Too much perimeter play results in low quality scoring chances, period. I hate to add to the "fire Martin" trend, but everything I pointed out in the previous paragraph is directly linked to the coach. From day 1, I never liked the playing style that this particular Canadien team had to adapt. I am a firm believer in coaching what you have to work with and not just implementing a system for them to follow. This team is built with speed and skill throughout the lineup. What's the point of having that if you are going to just chip it out of your own zone or dump it in at the blue line? I've never seen a team voluntarily give up possession of the puck so much in my life. And with said speed, it should be used to pressure the other team and cause turnovers while continuously moving their feet. I absolutely hate it when they are standing still in their own zone, waving their stick in passing lanes. GO GET THE PUCK!!! Although I've never liked Martin for this team, I was happy with the results the last two years. There is no way to know if we would have done better or worse without him. The same can be said if he is to be fired but it is getting to the point that there is nothing to lose by trying it. I often fantasize about what it would be like to watch these Canadiens turned loose and to play instinctively rather than in a constricting way. You can actually tell sometimes when a player has the puck and wants to do something with it but then a voice in his head tells him to dump it in and change. I am sick and tired of watching boring games. It is more bearable if it produces a win, but when it doesn't, talk about a frustrating snooze fest. The other night I was watching the frigging Leafs game and flicking over to the Habs occasionally.....this is getting out of control.

It is clearly evident that this team is not on the same page. Whether it has to do with new players, lack of preseason games together, constant line shuffling or leadership remains to be seen. I am surprised how the players are saying they are playing well and that if they keep it up, then they will get wins. I couldn't disagree more. They look sloppy beyond belief, can't make passes, have trouble getting out of their zone and can't gain the blueline....even on a 5 on 3. It is very frustrating to watch so many skilled players chip it up the ice or make a crappy dump in. For one of the fastest teams in the league, it sure is going to waste. I despise the forecheck...or lack there of. I've been watching alot of other teams so far this year and it's amazing what can happen when you put pressure on the defense in their own zone. It just seems like they are playing too tentative and cautious. They are so worried about getting out of position that it takes away from any offense that could be produced. They are always looking for the perfect play instead of just playing hockey. I think that if they relied more on their natural instincts, they would be much more successful. On paper, this team looks like it is stacked (when healthy) but yet here we are in last place. There isn't much that can be done to fix it. There won't be any big trades. You can fire the coach and hope a new voice and direction will help. I've never been a fan of Martin, as he implements a system that doesn't reflect that of the players he has. It would be fine if he had a team like the Predators but not this one. A couple more weeks of losing and expect the axe to fall.

This is probably one of the worst performances I've seen in a long time. Luckily the Leafs are also playing bad, otherwise it would be very very ugly.

Just a couple observations from this game: * Ever notice how often Price gets beat on that deke to the backhand, shoot it 5 hole move? It's been happening for years, I think teams have caught on. * On the power play the Habs are moving it around well. But when they make that pass down low to the guy on the goal line, instead of driving to the net like he could/should, he looks for the pass. There is room to get to the net and make stuff happen, but they look for the easy/perfect play. * The system doesn't appear to be the same.....or it isn't being executed the way it should. I've never been a fan of the collapsing defense, and the forwards playing so deep in their own end. Although I am happy when it works, it is not working at all and it is very frustrating. * This team is not playing well at all so far, 1 win out of 4 against non playoff teams. Injuries are killing us, but come on......

It is an interesting fact, I wouldn't of guessed it would have been that bad. I was actually at that particular game, it was my first ever game in Montreal. I thought I had died and went to heaven. For the record it was in 2008 and the final score was 4-3 in a shootout. The Habs were up 3-0 and the Bruins came back to tie it up, so they almost blew that game too. I have a crappy video of the shootout I took somewhere on my computer. Georges Laraque dropped the gloves right away in his first home game with us and the place just went bananas......what a game!

This

I'm so pumped that my heart is racing already! Can't wait to see this group play a meaningful game. Although looking at our defense for tonight, I am a bit concerned. It's amazing the difference Markov would make in the lineup. Go Habs!

Oh you and me both. I figured I would go against the consensus and have them missing the playoffs. And those would be a couple reasons why. I actually really like the lineup and am excited for this season.

39-31-12 90 points 10th east 21st league 227 goals scored *Price gets hurt at some point during the season making way for Peter "the sieve " Budaj. He struggles to get the job done. *Kostitsyn gets lost in the shuffle of the lineup never finding his groove. He gets traded to LA mid-season when Gagne gets hurt for LA. We get a prospect/pick.

I am with you on that one for sure. Player vs player, Hamrlik is better overall than Gill and didn't cost too much more. I've never been a real big fan of Gill unless he is laying down in front of the net on the PK. Meanwhile, Hamrlik was named "the unsung hero" for the Habs last season. He ranked 4th in the league in blocked shots, can play alot of minutes despite age, his transition game is way better, can play on the PP and had more takeaways than Gill and less giveaways. I think that people's perception of Hamrlik was always related to his salary and not the player itself. But now for his new salary of $3.5m, he adds excellent value to any team he plays for. The loss of Roman is a bigger deal than most think.

Big John Leclair

An issue that I find that is brought up hardly ever is the lack of right hand shooting players on this team. Looking at the potential starting lineup for next year, there are only 2 forwards that are right handed, Gionta and White. As a guy who played the game my whole life on the ice, the streets, in video games etc, I think it is very important to have a good mix of righties and lefties. It adds to the chemistry of a line and gives alternate angles for which to score. Think about being on a 2 on 1. It's much easier to pass to a guy who shoots the other way than yourself, no matter which side you are on. For quite some time the Habs have had an abundance of left handed players and it has always bugged me. Looking at this years crop of UFA's, it doesn't look like we'll get some right handed help unfortunately. Has anyone else thought about this or think it's an issue?

Although this is great news, it shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. He wasn't going anywhere and the cap hit/term is pretty much dead on. It's been so long it seems since Markov has played that it's easy to forget that this guy was our MVP. Eventhough Wiz did a great job replacing Markov, he is no Markov. I think PG deserves alot of credit for the job he is doing thus far. I can't wait to see what the finished product will look like.