BrenDittero

We had an injury list a mile long that was only growing. Even if we got past Boston, I'm not sure we would have made it out of round 2 vs WSH. I don't think our chances of making the ECF was all that great. Next year, hopefully it's a different story for Montreal. If Boston and Vancouver do meet up at the cup final, I'll take no small pleasure in watching the Canucks dismantle the Bruins.

I think a lot of what you're saying is probably true, and not being from Quebec, I don't think I can fully appreciate the cultural significance of the Habs, especially in the early days. A significance that has obviously filtered down through generations. But... Hockey in the NHL is no longer the provincial or regional sport it once was. The glory days of having a mostly French Canadian roster, full of the best of the best, seems to have past. Management could focus on having more french players in the line up, but to what end? Does a fan base relating lingually to it's players really make a difference on the ice? I'm sure it wouldn't hurt, but with 29 other teams trying to assemble a cup contender, Montreal would be better served by doing what needs to be done to bring the cup home for the 25th time. I can almost guarantee that when the cup is being hoisted, no one will care where the players came from. Price, Plekanec, Pacioretty, Gionta, Cammalleri etc etc. I would be shocked if they don't fully understand the great legacy of the Canadiens and feel proud to play for the most legendary team in hockey history. That legacy and sense of pride, I don't think, is exclusive to kids from Quebec.

If the best players available happen to be french it should be viewed as a bonus...not the criteria. Same goes for GM's and coaches. I don't see what difference your first language makes on the ice, on the bench or in the office.

Start Smith and see how far that takes you. What was that, the 3rd time Rollie got pulled? He looked terrible.

You're right in that there was no replacement for Pacioretty, at least not with the same impact Subban had stepping in for Markov. Neither Moen or Darche are or became the kind of impact player MaxPac likely would have been in the playoffs. Speculatively, yes, Max might have made a difference over 7 games but the fact that he had 4 goals and 2 assists in the regular season is not a guarantee that he would have kept that pace in the playoffs. I don't think losing Pacioretty = losing the series, there was way to much at play during those seven games for it all to be that simple. Don't get me wrong, he's a great player and it kills me that Chara recklessly removed him from the Habs lineup. I just can't pin the first round loss squarely on that one event. Edit: This really doesn't need to be debated in the Yemelin thread, apologies for getting way off topic.

I guess the first question is have the Habs actually signed Yemelin yet? From what I've read, Meehan is in talks with Habs management starting Tuesday ( which I interpenetrate to be tomorrow - Tuesday May 16th ) If the injury doesn't deter the Habs and they decide to acquire him, he most likely would have went to Hamilton for the start of the season. Meaning that the D core probably would have been built without him anyway, at least for the beginning.

I appreciate your point Wamsley. All season long, losing one player ( Markov, Georges etc ) didn't stop the Canadiens. I don't believe the BOS / MTL series hinged on losing Pacioretty. He's a great player but losing the series was a chain of unfortunate moments and bad luck. The chips didn't fall our way. We'll never know if Chara's act really altered the outcome of the series because that's a " what if " as well.

I find this part pretty telling of what might be going through his head. While it's all speculation, he seems to have a first choice and it doesn't appear to be Montreal. "Pittsburgh, I played there for a long time. Mario (Lemieux) is the owner. It's better to play with great centres like (Sidney) Crosby and (Evgeni) Malkin, this game is a little bit easier and I'm not young anymore."

Did you see Marchand smash his stick in frustration? Haha. The Bruins become whining children when they face a skilled team that is not loaded up with injuries. Their final few minute antics were pathetic. CBC just spun the incident as Boston sending a message, if you ask me Tampa sent the real message loud and clear. I hope these are the early signs of the bubble bursting in Boston.

Yes Bar, I realize that there is a big difference between violence and severe intent to injure, in fact that is exactly my point when talking about adding a goon type player. Looking for a player to add to the Habs roster who is dangerous and employing him for the sole purpose of acting as judge and jury when the league doesn't step up will get us nowhere.

RE: Pacioretty. You're right, we'll never know what might have happened but there are so many ' what if ' angles to look at it's nuts. What if Price hadn't let in one soft goal, or Cammy had been covering the point or Hammer hadn't gotten caught looking for the penalty etc etc etc. On the topic of Yemelin, he isn't signed yet and if we end up with him do we really know if he's a cheap shot guy? There should be a distinction drawn between grit and goon. Having not watched the guy play and not being very familiar with him I can only hope he falls into the grit category. It could be a great pickup for Montreal if that's the case. The real problem re: Montreal ( or any other team ) vs Boston + cheap shots is this: League disciplinarian Colin Campbell has a son that plays for the Bruins. The very idea of Campbell being in charge of handing out suspensions is laughable. I realize that Campbell's lackey does the dirty work when Boston is involved but that is a very weak compromise. Since the chances of Campbell being moved out of the disciplinary job are about a good as Gomez going to the AHL, I guess we'll have to live with it for now. I don't think getting our own goon would make one lick of difference. Over the top cheap shots are not going to deter future over the top cheap shots. In fact it would probably only lead to more Habs getting caught in this ridiculous cross fire. You've been calling for Montreal to exact revenge for the Pacioretty hit and towing the thinly veiled 'eye for an eye' notion for quite some time. Yet the very next day after Patches was hauled away on a stretcher you were ready to give up on watching NHL hockey because it had gotten too violent. It seems we are actually perfectly ok with the violence but not the fact that the lack of punishment did not work in our favour. Even though it's early in the series ( Tampa vs Boston ) it was clear to me tonight that a talented team with grit will prevail over the goon squad. I hope this series proves the model yet again.

The Bruins are playing tonight because Chara took out Pacioretty? I don't think so. Outside of that hit I don't see where the Bruins have been immoral to such a degree. More accurately I think, the Bruins are playing tonight because they had better luck on ONE goal vs Montreal and beat an injury riddled Philly with no real goaltender to speak of. Again, I'm all for some toughness in the Habs roster and look forward to seeing what Yemelin can do. My eye for an eye comment has more to do with the comments around the boards ( here and elsewhere ) that call for someone to break Chara's ankle etc. If that's me on my moral high horse, then so be it.

Going for broke, all in with Tampa Bay and San Jose.

I like this entire post and think it absolutely rings true line for line, except for the last one. The tough guys will do their job regardless of what the other team has waiting in the wings. It would be nice to answer back now and then, though I don't believe in the revenge scenario / eye for an eye thing as much as others seem to.

Sad story. Condolences to his family, friends and teammates.

From the bit I've read about this it seems as though Jagr *might* have been interested in talking with Montreal. Is there any evidence that Montreal is interested in him? As for the speculative notion of whether we should sign him or not, it would have to be a short contract / reasonable money deal. Two things that probably wouldn't be in the ballpark of swaying Jagr from the deal he has now. No doubt he is a great player though.

Eller is a work in progress either way. I'm looking forward to seeing him back next season but I wouldn't say the shoulder surgery will significantly set him back. I say that because I didn't expect him to come out swinging anyway. He could be great in time but shoulder injury or not I don't think he would have been lighting it up in the first part of 2011/12. He still has many miles to go before he reaches his potential. Like any Hab though, I wish him the best next season.

I had to go with the all in approach. So far, in both the pool and in the prediction threads, I've been wrong. Figure I'll try the George Costanza method of going the exact opposite of my first reaction. I'll either win big or go down in flames. Good luck everyone.

I'm very interested in this thread and look forward to hearing alternatives to just keeping him. Personally I can't imagine that any team would want him at this point. That contract is a huge burden for seemingly little production. I say keep him and hope that he turns his words into action next year with a better season.....then try to unload Gomer in the 2012 offseason if his stock goes up. He had a bad season but he's not a terrible player.

The deeper the Bruins get in the playoffs, the more I feel like this is a car wreck I can't look away from.

So Tampa Bay and Boston both sweep. Wow, what happened to Philly and Washington? Who takes the next round?

This is something that's been on my mind since the final buzzer of MTL / Bos game 7. Most of the year I've been thinking " if we just had Markov " or " what if Georges wasn't injured " and at the end " what would the playoffs been like with Pacioretty " - basically, had we not had so many injuries how much better could the Habs have been? If next year we have Markov, Georges and Patches in the line up and get the luxury of not too many injuries, how dominant could the Habs be in 2011 / 2012? Obviously, just a speculative - best case scenario - type of question, which also assumes that the team is more or less the same as this year.

Sadly ( for me ) I had Neuvirth starred. Also have Semin, Briere, and Mezaros. Oh yeah, have Simon Gagne too. My biggest payoff ( at 6 points ) so far has been Niemi. For the sake of my team I hope Philly draws round 2 out a bit longer...

I had him too. Did not see that sweep coming.

It happens, no problem.