illWill

"They got me here for the stretch run to help them out and hopefully to help evolve their game, which is a good challenge for myself" said Vanek I caught this quote today on tsn, and as a person who reads between the lines, it seems like he doesn't think he will be back. He refers to the team as "them" and their game as "theirs" and separates himself from the team by saying "myself". Maybe I'm reading too much into it, maybe not. I guess we will just hope that he plays well in the playoffs and perhaps can be persuaded into staying.

So much for not responding to me To paraphrase your logic: The team wins because of it's players and loses because of the coach I'm starting to think you are just making all this crap up to get a response from people

habs rule kicks his own ass every time he speaks about this topic

Looks like you're gonna have to fake a serious illness

I think Gionta is definitely underrated as a captian. No he isn't the "sexy" pick to have the C, but he brings a ton of qualities that you want as a leader. He simply goes about his business and keeps a level head. He doesn't take a shift off and epitomizes success through adversity. He will be extremely valuable in any sort of run this team potentially puts together.

Hasn't Malone always done well against us? Hopefully he is suspended and won't be a factor

Here's hoping to no injuries this game

Nice to see the 4th line chip in with a goal, it's important heading into the playoffs that everyone feels like they are contributing

You are talking hockey right? haha

It boggles my mind how this is even a topic of discussion. Armchair coaches apparently would do a better job than a man with 20 years of coaching experience, knowledge of the players personally and having them 3rd in their conference. And you just know that the minute Montreal loses a playoff round, these people will be quick to jump on here saying I told you so.

I personally don't care how tall a player is as long as he is effective at his job. We could sign the Miami Heat and be tall, doesn't mean we will win though.

If you take away his horrendous start which I think was 1 point in 17 games, since then he is scoring at a clip that would have him over 70 points for an 82 game season. Not too shabby for 3.5m

So much disaster in one post, don't know where to start. I guess starting at the top, sentence by sentence: Apparently only if we win the cup will it be the right decision to keep Gionta. Where have you been? We HAVE been building through the draft. Our core is home grown talent and we have a plethora of picks in the system and a ton coming. Perhaps you never said to trade Gionta for a second, but what the hell do you expect to get for him? You should apply for GM if you could have done better. And you reply to me because I piss you off when I call you out on ridiculous statements and you choose to "ignore" me because your arguments are invalid. That being said, the only real disagreement we have had this last while has been our views on shipping off Gionta and Markov at the deadline. How many Habs fans here actually think that would be a good idea where we are sitting right now and moving into the playoffs? We have a really good team that can potentially do some damage RIGHT NOW, why wait for the uncertain future?

Yup, load up for the playoffs by acquiring Vanek only to turn around and trade our captain for a second rounder, makes perfect sense.

I think an assumption can be made that the boys took their foot of the pedal on this Florida trip. I think someone posted that they got an extra day off down there or something. But regardless it's understandable that they already know they clinched and who they will face. Even with this game having home ice implications, it's all about them showing up in the playoffs. It's near impossible for any team to be able to perform at their highest level, game in and game out over 82 games. Game 83 will be the tell all

I had zero emotional response when I first read the headline, I think that's good?

Glad we didn't get rid of him for the proverbial bag of pucks like many wanted to. You could argue that he has been our second half MVP

Don't get me wrong, I liked the signing, I'm just pointing out that people have had high expectations of him all season. He isn't the big prized free agent he was when he signed with Philly, and that's why he is only getting 4 mill. I am looking forward to watching him in the post season though and his uppercut celebration when he scores a big goal for us

Don't forget the size of the equipment, it's massive these days compared to then. In my opinion goalies are much better in this era despite the size of the gear though, they have it down to a science. Just watch a game from the 80's and watch the stand up goalie kick out a leg and it slides along the ice for a goal. If you could somehow transport modern day Carey Price back into the 80's, he would be the best goalie of all time IMO.

Briere was brought in for depth and veteran leadership. People expecting the Briere of old are going to be disappointed. It's highly unlikely that he will tear it up during the playoffs but very likely that he will chip in with big goals during any potential run. It was a very savvy signing no matter how tall he is or that he is on the decline of his career.

Without having watched many Tampa games this year, it is hard to understand how they have been so successful. Yes they have a top 3 player in the world but other than that, not a whole lot else for skaters to be worried about on paper. To me they have overachieved all season. Bishop was an excellent pickup and he worries me more than Stamkos does in this playoff matchup. We seem to have a problem running into hot goal tending in the playoffs and I hope this isn't the case this series. That being said, this current Habs lineup is very balanced and deep. Playoff series more than not come down to depth and goaltending, and we have the edge there. We have a cast full of characters that can and will step up to score big goals. This is when the Brieres, Gionta's, and gulp...Bourque's come out and prove their worth. Habs in 5

I couldn't agree more. It's so much more peaceful and calm when you don't have Leaf fans chirping all the time

Yeah and I meant to say that there are 4 teams tied with points but they have a game or two in hand on the Leafs. This being a positivity thread, I am feeling fairly positive that they will string together a few wins and at least make it a battle till the end.....unfortunately

Not that I'm going to argue that percentage, I just don't understand it. 4 teams basically are fighting for 2 spots, so 50% chance. 3 of those teams have a game or two in hand on the Leafs which obviously skews it against them but you wouldn't think it would have that much of an impact on it. There must be many other factors involved but with such a short stretch of games anything is possible. Regardless, I would love for them to miss the show and for all of Canada's eyes to be on our Habs

He also threw a sucker punch but missed