Habs77

I agree with all of the above... but the question was what would YOU do if you were BG. Isn't that why they'll have 15% of the player salaries go into an escrow account... and that amount will be returned to the teams if they don't meet the league revenue projections. So no need for wiggle room, they've taken care of that. I'm sure quite a few teams will do that... I will mention that with the increased importance of draft picks in the CBA, IMO, and the fact the trading deadline has been moved up in the new CBA... that should curtail a lot of the deadline boosting that has gone on in the past. But yes some teams will leave themselves room to boost the team later in the year. But then again with the number of teams making the playoffs going up to 20, and the deadline being moved up... practically every team will probably still have a shot at the playoffs at the deadline, so who's gonna be left to offer up quality players to boost other teams? The pickings might be very slim...

I'd do something quite similar... but my ideal changes would be: On defence: - buyout Breezer & Rivet - sign Zubov & Foote On offense: - sign Kovy - buy out Sunny.. his signing was a mistake, his roster spot is a missed opportunity to add size & grit to the lineup - sign Lapointe - sign tough guy Zednik-Koivu-Kovalev Ryder-Ribeiro-Perezhogin Bulis-Bonk-Hossa ???-Begin-Lapointe * ??? can either be a prospect or goon depending on opponent. Souray-Zubov Markov-Foote Komisarek-Rivet Hainsey Sign the Cube to a generous AHL deal for added insurance if you want, and re-sign UFA Beauchemin to anchor the Dogs regardless. ----------------------------------------- If Hossa or even Perezhogin hit a slump or major growing pains... Lapointe can always move up for a time if needed. We still have Ward or Plekanec as a cheap extra forward depending which way we want to go. ----------------------------------------- As for what I think WILL happen... I'd be very surprised if Rivet was bought out, and I wouldn't be shocked if Breezer remained a Habs re-signing at a much lower salary. Kovy could return to Pittsburgh as Mario said he would target him and they have money to spend. Plan B's could include Jeff O'Neil whom I believe Gainey strongly considered trading for at the deadline 2 years ago... but O'Neil got injured and that ended that. O'Neil is a good candidate to get bought out by Carolina... so he will probably be available. On defense... if by chance we don't bring back either Breezy and/or Rivet and we can't land our first choices (Zubov/Foote)... then plan B's could include Rathje or de Vries who should be available. As for tough guys... Brashear will probably be bought out if we're interested in having a true heavyweight that can actually play, a little [Edited on 16-7-05 by Habs77]

- In the NFL fans don't get to see some cities for many years. - In MLB the conferences didn't play each other at all for decades, and nobody died. I don't see any mass hysteria when SJ comes into down every 2 years, or MIN, or ANH, or most teams. I do see excited fans when we're playing TO & BOS though. As for why no rotation... it's because the western Canadian teams want to play the eastern Canadian teams... usually always sellouts. This system allows all Canadian team to keep playing each other every year. As for original 6 teams, time to stop living in the past... nobody cares about games vs. CHI... and we can live without playing DET.

I disagree that "we don't need more Columbus-Nashille games": it'll create rivalries for newer teams that don't have any historic rivalries... and that will put more asses into seats in the long run. I also disagree that 2/3 of the other conference won't see TO and MTL... they really don't care that much in the first place. They will care much more when it's a hated division rival. Less travel will mean less jetlag... which will results in less jetlagged performances on the ice, and less injuries. ------------- That said, the article brings up some very good points about the intentions behind this change. They'll trumpet this as a change for the fans, but the real reason is money. They'll save on travel costs, they'll also get more of those "premium games" for which they can fleece the fans further with higher ticket prices. ----------- In the end though... it think it's a win-win for both teams & fans. I'd rather pay a premium to see more TO & BOS games than getting a discount to ANH and SJ games I wouldn't pay a cent to see anyway. And it doesn't cost you a cent more if you just watch the games on TV, as most fans do anyway. I'm still very happy with this chance, couldn't be happier really.

According to TSN: 32 = 8 games vs. each division rival 40 = 4 games vs. each non-division conference rival 10 = 2 games vs each team in ONE division from the other conference I love it... more conference games vs. TO & Boston is what we need. And the conference we will be playing will have all the Western Canadian teams... so Habs fans there will still get to them once a year. [Edited on 14-7-05 by Habs77]

TSN has: 3 balls: PIT BUF NYR CBJ 2 balls: CGY EDM ANA ATL CHI CAR LA MIN.. and 2-3 others 1 ball: the rest, including MTL Stupid system... let's hope we beat the odds and get Syd anyway. But since it's a snake style draft, once you don't get Syd... doesn't really matter where you draft. Here's a link to the complete list of balls per team: Click here [Edited on 13-7-05 by Habs77]

Since Breezer's contract had next year being a club option, with the 1M buyout, and not a normal contract like all the others that will have this "special buyout period" to get under the new cap... I'm not sure if that exempts us from the restriction of not being able to re-sign him if we buy him out. I don't know if that made any sense... hopefully somebody will get it. Ad for Rivet, I'd buy him out yesterday... but I doubt it'll ever happen. There's still that little matter of whether this year's contract will end up being respected of not... I keep hearing the NHLPA is still pushing for that, and could win if it went to an arbitrator. Anyhow... we'll be fine. I expect the worst teams with a lot of cap room to improve significantly.... the rich teams to come down a notch when they have to dump some fat contracts... and for the Habs to be in the middle, not really making a move either way. The league will be be more competitive than ever, looking forward to that. I don't see any changes coming on D, which is a problem. On offense, Bonk plus Kovy or some other UFA to play the top line... that's about it. Unless Gainey really starts to tinker with things, and trades Zed or some prospects and shakes things up further. Interesting times ahead... next up, the lottery draft. Hell we might have to make room for Crosby in the lineup, man that would screw up my whole lineup, damnit

Career point per game averages: 0.58 - Bonk 0.52 - Ribeiro Only reason Bonk's is so low even close to Ribeiro's is because Bonk struggled his first few year since North America. However if you look at his #'s since 2000, he is a solid offensive player. 2000: 80 GP 23-37-60 2001: 74 GP 23-36-59 2002: 82 GP 25-45-70 2003: 70 GP 22-32-54 2004: 66 GP 12-32-44 That works out to an average of 23 goals and 40 assists for an average of 63 points per 82 games over Bonk's last 5 regular seasons. The day Mike Ribeiro is as consistant as that is a day I'll admit he has a better offensive game then Bonk, until then [Edited on 2005/7/11 by Leafs Suck] The day you give Ribeiro a winger like Marian Hossa, he'll crush those point totals without blinking. Give Bonk the linemates Ribeiro had last year... and watch a lot of those points go bye-bye. Talent wise, Bonk has never delivered on his offensive potential... which is the very reason why OTT let him go. That's no secret. And how the hell can you compare pt/game averages, are you counting all the games where Ribs barely played a shift on the 4th line his first few years?... way to artificially bring down a guy's avg. Try comparing both their averages once they were playing full time on the top lines. Then Ribs beats your Bonk, in his rookie year and with no-name wingers instead of Marian Hossa for Bonk. The only knock on Ribs is that he has yet the opportunity to prove he can do it year after year. With his linemates hopefully being upgraded, and himself improving... he should have no trouble doing so. Being bumped off the 1st PP won't help, but he should still get 60+ points this year... barring injuries. He'll outpoint Bonk no problem.

We have money for one top line player, but I'm not convinced it'll be Kovalev because Pittsburgh wants him and they have the cap room to overpay. Plus no pesky defensive system to worry about there. But if not Kovalev, then it'll be somebody else. Weird reasoning, he sucks on D... so let's play him with others who suck on D as well? That aside, I think we'll end up with Kostitsyn & Perezhogin as the top 2 RWers... try them with either combo of Zed-Koivu or Ryder-Ribs and just see which combination will have chemistry. I don't think Kostitsyn is ready though, at least one more year in Hamilton IMO. Bonk is bigger and has better D, but better offensive skills... yeah right. You don't break the Ryder/Ribs chemistry that had them the top two point getters on the team last year. The key is to find them a suitable winger to complete the line. Screw Dagenais, he can't play hockey... all he can do is shoot, not good enough. He can be a cheap spare part in the press box in case of injury, but no way does should he come back as a starter. His spot should go to Perezhogin or a UFA. As for the 3rd line, that's where Bonk comes in... on a defensive line that will be an upgrade on size & offensive ability over the Juneau days. Bulis-Bonk-Hossa would be a very good 3rd line, size, defense, offensive potential all in one. I also believe Zednik should be traded, if not now then next year. He's not a first liner, no vision, very inconsistent effort... not a fan. As Kostitsyn, Perezhogin, Higgins, Hossa joining the ranks in the next year or two... to me Zednik is the one who should eventually get traded to make room.

Calvillo & the offense were horrible... didn't do a thing all night. They managed 1 TD after the defense got them the ball with an INT, and even then they made it happen only thanks to a long pass interference penaly. And they did a good job or turning right around with Calvillo throwing an INT on our own 5 yd line to give the TD right back. Man they stunk... very reminiscent of every big game the Als have played in the last 5 years... if the defence & special teams don't bail us out, the offense sure ain't gonna do it. Vaugh caught maybe a couple, but the whole offense was barely on the field most of the game... I can't count the number of 2-&-outs. We started with a 1st and 5 at one point, ran twice and didn't make it... it was ugly. EDM went through our defense like butter the first 2 drives... 14-0 just like that. Then when it looked like they were going to do it a 3rd time, the defence finally showed signs of life with consecutive sacks by Phillion & Stewart. Our offense followed with another 2-&-out... and EDM came roaring again, only Hervey dropped an easy one where he was wide open... EDM had to go for the FG. They miss the FG, Landry returns it for a TD... and it's a whole new ball game. From that point on our defence stood their ground, Landry returned another one, and Duval kept making long FGs.... while the offense just stood there and did nothing. The offense was truly pathetic.

When Breezer slipped down the depth chart to where he belongs... a #4-6 D man... if had a very good year. Our right-D prospects are awful weak... no help coming from there. Plus he wants to remain a habs, and BG can get him to re-sign cheaper than a comparable UFA replacement would... which in a salary cap environment is something to consider. For those reasons I am confident BG will negotiate an extension with Breezer, and I will be happy to see him do it. The D man I cannot stand, who also costs a lot and sucked last season & long before that... is Rivet. I hope we trade him and bring a capable replacement in. On the left side we're fine with Souray, Markov, and Bouillon/Hainsey battling it out.

Zednik-Koivu-UFA Ryder-Ribeiro-Perezhogin Bulis-Bonk-Sundstrom UFA-Begin-Ward Souray-Komisarek Markov-Rivet Bouillon-Breezer Hainsey That's the lineup I expect to see. If the UFA on the first line isn't Kovy, it'll be another good UFA... the other UFA would be the Langdon replacement. I'd rather have Hossa in Sundstrom's spot, dropping Sunny to 4th line or the press box... depth guy in case of injuries. Plekanec will have to make the team or be moved soon, he's peaked in the AHL and will only lose value from this point on.

http://www.tsn.ca/columnists/bob_mckenzie....e.asp?id=129330 Sure changes: - Eleven-inch goal pads. Smaller blockers and catching gloves. Less bulky uppers, pants and new form fitting sweaters. - The tag up offside will be re-instituted. - The goal line will be moved two feet closer to the end boards - More penalties will be called. Likely changes(but details might change): - Shootouts: a) 4 minutes of 4-on-4 overtime, followed by 3 minutes of 3-on-3 overtime before getting to the shootout. B)3 points for a regulation time victory and maybe no point for losing in overtime or the shootout. YES!! That's what I've been campaining for all this time... it encourages teams to go for the win or risk not getting any points - The blue lines will be made fatter, another effort to increase the size of the offensive zone. - No red line. (Either two line passes will be allowed all the time or the red line will disappear once the puck crosses the 'Bowman' or ringette line across the top of the circle.) - Icing will be different. It could be no touch icing. It could be linesmen using discretion on missed passes. It could be no icing allowed on the penalty kill, or no line change for the team that iced the puck. It could be all of the above. Whatever it is, icing will be modified. [Edited on 1-7-05 by Habs77]

I wouldn't be surprised to see them release Jenkins after a few weeks... and for Edwards to eventually be the featured back. I think it will be Cavil & Vaughn in... Giligan & Stala out. Watkins is our new speed guy to stretch the defenses (like Anderson used to), and he did better than Giligan & Stala vs. Hamilton. dlbalr edit: Fixing quote codes. [Edited on 2005/6/25 by dlbalr]

Yeah only 7 pts, no majors, allowed by the D... good job. If not for those 2 shitty TDs we gave them, and us not quite being in synch on offense... this is a blowout. Yeah, especially with many not too experienced receivers... I expected a slow start. Like you said he really got into a groove in the 2nd half, and if not for some dropped balls and the Stala fumble it should have been even better. I love this guy, espcially for a Canadian... he's our replacement for when Cahoon leaves IMO. He'll get better, more consistant, with time. The fumble unforgiveable though, nursing a lead late in the game... protect the damn ball. Seemed similar to last year... in that the other team made quite a few plays against them, but they would clamp down as the opponent got near the red zone. But yeah, EDM and especially BC will be the true test. And I was pretty pissed at Giligan for dropping that pass on the INT that was returned for a TD... but then I learned he actually got he shoulder seperated on the previous play when he was hit hard. Just to stay on the field, he's one tough cookie. Montreal lost slotback Tim Gilligan for the next four-to-six weeks with a separated shoulder, but have veteran Terry Vaughn returning from a toe injury for a game next week in Ottawa. [Edited on 23-6-05 by Habs77]

I think that's the same QB Popp sees as our future #1, he was injured last year but still stayed with the team all year. I've never seen him, but I just have this feeling he'll never amount to anything. Seeing how Matthews has a hard-on for White for some reason, I'd doubt it as well. Then again Popp went after Crandell during the off-season, so why not Jones as a backup?.. for the right price. The real story is Jonas Lewis winning the #1 RB spot over Jenkins if you ask me. Jenkins was placed on the injured list, but that's just a way to not dress him and keep his rights... he said himself he's not happy about it. Apparently RB Edwards, who has looked very good as well... has left the team and has been suspended. But apparently he's expected to return. I was uneasy about depending on the oft-injured pair of Jenkins & Lapointe... and I love what Jonas did last year on the playoffs. I'm glad he'll be in the mix, although anything can happen going forward. Oh yeah, and WRs Terry Vaungh & Kwame Cavil are injured and will not play in the opener. I'm more than comfortable with guys like Stala, Watkins & Giligan stepping up. And Almondo Curry seems to have lost his job, for now anyway the backfield will be Cruthfield, Malveaux, Whitley & Durden. I think it's a good thing we start the season vs. Hamilton, who should be just about the weakest team in the league this year IMO. Can't wait 'til Wednesday.

You mentionned the Ham/Calvillo days... well we haven't had a decent backup since Calvillo, and that was way b4 Matthews came into the picture. So I do indeed blame Popp, he's had forever to find a decent one... and never has. If other teams were in the same boat then ok, but now EVERY team in the league has a better #2 than us... that's just criminal. But I do agree that Matthews doesn't help... with a) his insistance that Calvillo play every down in every game no matter the score... and B) his blind loyalty to White, whom he keeps backing even though he has never performed. Part of Popp's stuggles to land a vet CFL QB to back us up is that they know there is virtually no shot at even mopping up one-sided games... because of Matthews. And the fact you don't want to play behind an established #1 like Calvillo if you can help it. Just like Crandell choosing to back up the inconsistent & injury prone Greene in Saskatchewan. We apparently have one QB that Popp sees as our potential future replacement for Calvillo... he was injured all of last year but still followed the team all season, Robertson or something. But right now, we could have 1-2 more championships if we just had a good backup... so just get it done already.

Confirmed what we already knew... if Calvillo goes down we're dead. Funniest thing was Popp trying to say he was happy with the QBs in that game. Boggles my mind how Popp is just unable to grab a decent backup QB when just about every other team in the league has one. Unacceptable, truly.

It'll be between EDM & BC in the West... and MTL & TO in the East. IMO MTL will be much improved this year over last season. Improved secondary, upgrade at RB, even the receiving corps will be as good if not better. This NHL-starved fan just can't wait for CFL action to start... too bad the pre-season games aren't televised. The grudge match btw CGY's Burris and his old Roughriders should be intense despite it being only pre-season.

latest news: I really like what I'm hearing about the secondary... never occured to me that we could getter better after losing Sanchez. I love it.

Are are tidbits from today's camp notes: - As much as I was concerned about the secondary... I'm really not anymore. With the always reliable Durden, Malveaux who apparently he doing great in camp, the terrific rookie of the year finalist Curry... and the additions of Sejour/Crutchfield/Whitley... we have a solid group. Durden was quoted as saying he thought the secondary would be better than ever "now that a few of the egos have left". He was obviously referring to the outspoken Sanchez & the unhappy Miles from last season. Popp was also quoted as saying he thought the secondary would come out improved after all the changes, be bigger and be able to play more physical against the opposing receivers. My only concern is Karikari at FS... but hopefully he'll be fine, and we have Dorvelus & #1 pick Proulx at that position as well. - The LB is rock solid with Butler, Johnson, Stickland... and the line is also top notch with Megna, Brown, Phllion & Stewart. We also brought back Gibson whom we had traded away to Sask. a few years ago... and newcomer Nix looks promising. - On the offensive side of the ball... the O-line is still one of the best. - Calvillo will still have plenty of good targets starting with Cahoon, Cavil, & now Vaughn. I expect a few lesser known newcomers to also surprise. - The Heppell hole was immediately plugged with Vilimek. - And we have nothing to worry about with Jenkins, Lapointe, Lewis at RB. In the end... the only real question marks coming into the season are: - Karikari at free-safety as I mentionned - who will replace Kellett, and how effective will he be with punting & FG's - we still don't have a premier backup who can lead us to victory if Calvillo gets hurt... and Matthews has already stubbornly announced White will yet again be our backup. And I'm sure he won't be getting any more playing time either. We'll still win the East... and make it to the Finals IMO. But can we beat Ricky this time?... cuz EDM should come out on top in the West.

yet again I tune in just in time to hear the Dogs score... take the lead 3-2 with a goal by Ward let's see if they can hold on, for once

We're playing them very tough, they are the best team in the league and we're giving them all they can handle. We're just not that one bounce that would get us over the hump. Still nothing to ashamed about so far... but I don't want to see any quit in this team until they are officially eliminated, 2-0 isn't over although it is quite a tall order.

It's 10 teams per conference that will make it in: - top 2 of each of the 3 divisions in the conference - plus top 4 wilcards, who will play an extra playoff round... "7 vs 10" and "8 vs 9" Same thing in each conference... gives you 20 teams in the playoffs.

The initial "top 10 get in & 7-10 play an extra round" formula was incorrect. They are now saying that there will be more divisional games, and the 10 teams making the playoffs will be: - top 2 of each division - plus 4 remaining teams with most points (aka wildcards) That makes more sense, this version puts even more emphasis on divisional rivalries... whereas the initial TSN report was eliminating them altogether. I like it.