shortcat1
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Posts posted by shortcat1
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I'm not one to understand some of these charts and lists very well (the Canadiens contract info, etc) so, I can't comment very well on them.
Most of my comments will have a 'human impact' flavour to them. In this case, all I can say is that I wonder if this will slowly lead the system back to the time when players were treated inhumanely. (I remember seeing the CBC series on Ted Lindsay's efforts to get the players unionized and what it was like for the players at that time... rather shameful)
With all the right-wing/union-breaking that's on the rise, are the owners gradually aiming to go in that direction.
Likely that will not come about but still I wonder.
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I've been reading/following stuff like this for years now and have been always, as my 'mood' says... hopeful.
Hopes have been dashed many times. Jose Charbonneau, Mark Pederson, Eric Charron, Lindsay Vallis, Brent Bilodeau, David Wilkie, Brad Brown, Terry Ryan, Matt Higgins, Eric Chouinard, Alex Buturlin, etc. High hopes and big falls (Montreal isn't the only team that went this way.)
Thank goodness for Benoit Brunet, Lyle Odelein, John Leclair, Eric Desjardins, Sean Hill, Patrice Brisebois, Brian Savage, Craig Rivet, Darcy Tucker, Jose Théodore, Matthieu Garon, Andrei Markov, Michael Ryder, etc. Hopes with unexpected positive results (Again, Montreal isn't the only team that went this way.)
I don't believe in 'crap shoots' as such but the imagery works. It's very difficult, if not practically impossible) to predict how an 18-year-old will progress.
I look at this list and I always hope for the best for each player - for their sake, especially. Of course that's not going to happen. (Fading into an acid flash-back here...Imagine if it did happen, it wouldn't be to Montreal's advantage in many ways - what do you do with a dozen successful picks every year? Trade them away? All you would end up doing is stocking the other teams with talent.)
In any case, I keep on hoping that many of these guys will work out and that Montreal will become the team that was in the late 50s and late 70s.
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I predict that Pittsburg will get him and Montreal will end up with the exciting prospect of the 5th pick... Wow! I'm good!!!!:bow:
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I think they should have found a way to put in the colours red, white and blue. :hlogo:
The silver should be all white, the background behind the NHL and in between the two outside crest outlines should be red and the background inside the inner crest outline should be blue.
If this logo was to be put on dark jerseys/T-shirts, etc, then a blue 'shadow' would go around the outside crest outline. This would be maintain the integrity of the crest itself.
That would give it a traditional, dynastic flavour along with the real forward-looking outlook of 25, 26, 27, 28, 29... ∞ (Eat your hearts out,
damned Yankees)Yesssssssssssssssss.....
:/)[Edited on 2005/7/24 by shortcat1]
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I don't know how valid this is but I read a post on RDS/Canadiens with regards to Crosby.
I can't find it now but essentially the individual said that Crosby is damaged goods, of sorts.
Because Crosby comes from the Nova Scotia area (like the individual who made the post), then he suffers the same health concerns as many people who grew up in that area. He made a list of possible health problems and alluded to the fact that Crosby wasn't immune from them and that he is struggling with them.
If I can find that post, I'll bring it here along with a translation.
Again, I don't know how valid this is, how true it is but we'll see.
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Reading some stuff in various sites and watching comments by Boivin and Gainey on TV, it looks like there won't be any great movements being done by the Canadiens this summer.
The reasoning is that they want to hold on to some money for an upcoming UFA availability.
I can run with that quite comfortably. I don't really like this idea of high spending for possible and not necessarily assured results. Insofar as I'm aware, the Rangers are the best example of that - the Leafs fall into that category too but not so darkly.
So, as your quality advisor, Messers Boivin and Gainey, I beseech you to go forth with calculated steps and the 'wisdom of a serpent'.
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If Brisebois does get bought out, he will retire. His whole life in Montreal, he would die anywhere else.
Yes, he could be a Pierre Bouchard kind of player. Be traded to some other team? Rather retire first, which is what Bouchard did.
For what that's worth, he walks around the city, is recognized (by those of his generation, mostly, I guess) and is still considered part of 'the alumnus'. It guarantees a sort of personal and public identity which is important to us all in one way or another.
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The next week or so is going to be kind of a high, a frenzy for hockey in this child's heart.
All the action/movement/changes that have and will soon take place are like a whole season's dealings done in two weeks.
I wonder what it'll be like when this frenzy is done, after the draft itself takes place. Will it be the same king of post-partum blues that I go through at the end of every season?
:( I suppose that, for this year anyways, the compensation is that rookie training camps will begin in about a month or so and then it'll be training camps, pre-season and then the full-fledged deal again.:ghg:
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Look at it this way... she has her foolishnesses and you do too. They can make for interesting situations in your relationship. Life won't be humdrum or boring... there's plusses in that.
In a way, it's better that than having someone who's wholly uninterested in hockey (my wife). There'd be no connection there at all.
You could enjoy teasing and ribbing each other (if you both have a sense of humour with each other).
There you go... Grandpa's wisdom speaks to you.
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Why did Calgary choose Daniel Tkaczuk and Vancouver choose Brad Ferrence in '97? Check the THN draft preview... they were rated way higher than Hossa(18), especially Ferrence (10) and Tkaczuk(5).
In 1998, why did Vancouver choose Bryan Allen(4), the Rangers choose Manny Malhotra(7), Edmonton choose Michael Henrich(13), Calgary choose Rico Fata(6), Phoenix choose Patrick Desrocherx(14), LA choose Matthieu Biron(21)? They were ALL rated higher and some WAY higher than Gagné.
As for Chouinard, he was described as a 'Jean Ratelle-type center, smooth and skilled'. If you know anything about what kind of player Ratelle was, any GM would drool to have Chouinard on his team.
I could do the same for Iginla. I remember reading Iginla's description and 'potential'. It was good but somewhat iffy. Ryan was also rated higher than Iginla at the time.
So, get real, get the full facts and get it right before you throw stones at someone else's efforts.
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Bottom line, I hope that he does stay with Montreal. With the potentially new and offensive-minded league, he'll fit in much better (just like Hainsey). So, if they can keep him, go for it.
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It's all a guessing game, in the end but...
Streamer's list seems reasonable, just like TSN's. Not a whole lot of difference there anyways (we are talking only about the 1st five) so, I won't make any massive disagreements.
I will wander into wonderland for a bit... I'll guess that BG would like to have Johnson and will offer a package for it. Starting with Anaheim, he'll state his obvious intention and reason (why not... Anaheim is in the other conference and would only meet Montreal once every couple of years). A possible package would be:
1) a switch of first picks
2) a 'growing' list of options + second pick, + Plekanec, + Hossa, + third pick, etc. but not ad nauseum or ad 'oblivium'
If Anaheim says NO and picks Johnson (as many predict), well... good try.
If Anaheim picks someone else (Ryan?) then try again with Carolina and Minnesota - same scenario. The biggest challenge here might be Carolina (same conference but different division, then again, they only meet four times a year).
Hey, it's not quite a realistic draft preview but... hey, it could happen.
Bottom line though,
:ghg:
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That's nasty. He's just a youngster. With the proper direction and support, he has the tools with which to build.
Daigle was in Ottawa, still under the Montreal press's super-critical eye and the Ottawa press's (and fans) microscope expecting him to perform immediately. He lived something like what Wickenheiser had to go through in the early 80's. The near-second coming of God. For Wickenheiser, the new Jean Beliveau - a new hero for the team.
If Wickenheiser had gone to Chicago and Denis Savard to Montreal, I wonder how things would have turned out for both players - very different, I bet.
That kind of pressure does stuff to the majority of us - you too, I imagine.
With Fleury being in Pittsburg, under less attention/less stress, being one of the group of talented prospects, he should grow to be alright.
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Who said anything about icing a line of Higgins, Perezhogin and Plekanec? Of course they'd be best surrounded and taught by those with experience. Your suggested line combinations are fine.
As to 'Is it your money?' I suppose I'm trying to look at it from a GM's point of view. He has to be responsible for many things among which is the most efficient way of icing a good team for the owner (to whom he's responsible, in the end). The New York Rangers/New York Yankees way of doing things is not a sure way of reaching the prize. So, what's the point of spend, spend, spend all you got just 'cause you got it to spend?
I agree - .:ghg:
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I've already got this topic in the prospects section but, having it here may garner a wider response. I know that, in the end, we're only armchair GMs, coaches, players, etc. but it is nice to fantasize, hypothesize and constructively criticize so here you are...
I watched Bob Gainey on RDS yesterday. He said that there are two or three kids ready to make the jump to the Canadiens.
I guess these would be Perezhogin, Higgins and probably Hainsey.
That makes for quite a log-jam for places on the roster. I'm not even going to look at the 'who's on the way out' topic, just the 'who's on the way in'.
I've never been a great fan of signing free agents (especially in the last system) as a way to fill a team.
I suppose I look at the financial side of it. A LOT of money for what might be a good investment. Usually these free agents come in at the deadline just for a rush at the cup. For many teams, the Canadiens included, there's a sense of "What's the point?" You're just forking out a lot of cash for a possibility of a shot at the cup. Almost invariably this tactic doesn't work. You have to already have a solid shot at the cup and the 'hired gun' should be just an extra to help with the various intangibles of the playoffs.
Also, I struggle with the idea that when there are prospects, why not bring them up and let them grow with the team. The management saw possibilities in them so develop those possibilities. Of course, the weakness here is that, if the prospects are not of the quality one needs (even for the long term), then the talent has to be gotten from somewhere else - that leaves only trades or free agents.
It's a quandary.
The reason for the timeliness of this topic is that the Canadiens have the 4th best prospect group in the league. Perezhogin, Kostitsyn, Higgins, Danis, Chypchura, Plekanec, Hainsey(?), Hossa(?), and the guy they're going to get this year (Johnson, I hope), etc.
Also, there's positive talk about Mark Streit who's been described as being as good as (if not better than) Brian Rafalski.
If the talent is there, why not grow it for the long term instead of buying shorter term (and financially riskier) fixes?
For example, do we need Alex Kovalev - not really. Would he be good to have - sure, but at what cost?
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I watched Bob Gainey on RDS yesterday. He said that there are two or three kids ready to make the jump to the Canadiens.
I guess these would be Perezhogin, Higgins and probably Hainsey.
That makes for quite a log-jam for places on the roster. I'm not even going to look at the 'who's on the way out' topic, just the 'who's on the way in'.
I've never been a great fan of signing free agents (especially in the last system) as a way to fill a team.
I suppose I look at the financial side of it. A LOT of money for what might be a good investment. Usually these free agents come in at the deadline just for a rush at the cup. For many teams, the Canadiens included, there's a sense of "What's the point?" You're just forking out a lot of cash for a possibility of a shot at the cup. Almost invariably this tactic doesn't work. You have to already have a solid shot at the cup and the 'hired gun' should be just an extra to help with the various intangibles of the playoffs.
Also, I struggle with the idea that when there are prospects, why not bring them up and let them grow with the team. The management saw possibilities in them so develop those possibilities. Of course, the weakness here is that, if the prospects are not of the quality one needs (even for the long term), then the talent has to be gotten from somewhere else - that leaves only trades or free agents.
It's a quandary.
The reason for the timeliness of this topic is that the Canadiens have the 4th best prospect group in the league. Perezhogin, Kostitsyn, Higgins, Danis, Chypchura, Plekanec, Hainsey(?), Hossa(?), and the guy they're going to get this year (Johnson, I hope), etc.
Also, there's positive talk about Mark Streit who's been described as being as good as (if not better than) Brian Rafalski.
If the talent is there, why not grow it for the long term instead of buying shorter term (and financially riskier) fixes?
For example, do we need Alex Kovalev - not really. Would he be good to have - sure, but at what cost?
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I watched Bob Gainey on RDS yesterday and he said that there are two or three kids who look to be ready to move up.
I wonder if Perezhogin will be one of them. I expect so... likely Higgins and Hainsey also.
Danis will come up but that's only temporary - till Huet heals up.
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Trade Plecanec for a shot at Bourdon? Good grief!!! He's only rated 11th on the TSN website and he's not even top 15th on McKeen's list. He won't go before 5th... no way! If Gainey's staff has him slated for their first choice, they'll get him, no problem.
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After the CBA was accepted in principle, I was watching a sports news show on RDS.
They did a mock draft lottery with the same 'chances' for each team.
The team they picked is the same one that I predict will get Sydney Crosby....
CALGARY FLAMES (to the sorrow of the NHL mucky-mucks... and me too, by the way.)
In some ways, it would probably be better for him to work in a small market like that. The INTENSE pressure that would be on him on a regular basis in teams like Toronto, Montreal, New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, Detroit and other 'high profile' teams might make an Alexandre Daigle or Doug Wickenheiser out of him. (I always wonder how Denis Savard would have progressed under the intensely critical microscope of teams like that, especially Montreal at the time... would Wickenheiser have blossomed in Chicago??? We'll never know.
Danis to start year with Habs
in Habs & Hockey Talk
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Good grief! Give the kid a break! He's only a year out of college hockey.
Sure, he did well in the AHL and that bodes well for the future but, still, he's just beginning.
It will be a good experience for him. It could make or break him. I think back to others who were brought in awfully quickly and, when it showed that they weren't really ready for it, it broke them.
I trust that Gainey et al. will deal with him wisely and nurture him to become what he can become.
Huet is supposed to be a super backup goalie - he's supposed to be the one who kept LA in the running for a playoff position in the last regular season. Gainey's no fool and I'm certain that that was very present in his mind when he made the deal. Huet will be back and he'll do ok.
Danis is likely at the very least the backup goalie for the next while for the Canadiens and, maybe, he has a good shot at being their #1 goalie someday. We'll see.
Till then, take it easy on the kid and let him grow into what he can be.