beliveau1

Thanks, much appreciated. And given the current state of the team I figured this might be a bit of a break from all the negative posts going on right now? As for the Mac - no, but I have a few good media programs, a good really computer system and a bit of a background in arts/photography.

Slideshow.... They're a bit late, but here are some photos from the recent game against Toronto... I just got a new camera before going to the game so I'm still learning it? Anyways hope you enjoy the photos, even if they lost.... p.s. it's a bit long but I think there are a few decent photos(at least I hope so?) :hlogo: :hlogo:

I'm not given to wild speculation , or making trade suggestions - that's for Bob Gainey to decide. However if this free fall continues I will be surprized if Gainey doesn't move Souray and, or Rivet for some future considerations at the deadline? It will be very interesting as that date approaches.....

I'd have to say it makes you a pretty loyal but frustrated fan - one that never gives up in spite of the circumstances and, who is willing to sacrifice a bit to cheer for an organization that has long been the epitome of class in sports... nothing more and certainly nothing less! For those who would say otherwise, that's their rather misinformed prerogative? jump ship - never accuse the organization of not caring - never want to win - of course hurt when they lose - definitely lose faith - absolutely not :hlogo:

thanks I wasn't expecting anyone to agree as I tend to be in the minority when it comes to viewing this team? I'm frustrated too... but we need to be realistic as to what can and can't be done.

See my post above as that post is also in reply to yours. I'm as frustrated as the next guy, and can't say I blame him! So I'm not a perpetual optimist - if anything I'm a realist. My background is in coaching and managing at high competitive levels of the game, so I guess I tend to view things from that perspective? I don't even begin to compare myself to an NHL manager or coach, but I can understand just how frustrated these guys must be in this situation. I have experienced great seasons, lousy seasons, have been a part of championship as well as absolute nightmare seasons in my time, so I have somewhat of a clue as to how hard it is to bring a team out of a horrible tailspin... I wasn't referring to the on & off type of fan who rides the wagon only in the good times. This was a reference to the outright and sometimes unrealistic negativism that has enveloped this forum. A few weeks ago there wasn't a shortage of people who were singing the praises about this team - it was a definite contender according to a lot of people. and many of them are now slagging this team, suggesting management and the players don't give a damn. And that bothers me - to me that is a form of bandwagon loyalty. When it is going good that type of supporter can't say enough good about the team... but once a slump, or maybe even reality set in they almost always begin to sing a different tune. I think this team is not as bad as it's current plight suggests. They have definitely lost their confidence(and not because of coaching or managing.) It is the result of many smaller issues that have come to a point and once that happens the ride downhill to chaos can get ugly in a hurry. Players begin to squeeze the stick too hard, they begin to hang onto the puck too long, try to do to much, are gun shy in some instances and that leads to bad decisions on the ice. Add to that the fact that once you slip into a funk, it always seems that bad luck tends to follow you everywhere, rearing its ugly head at the most inopportune moment. Latendresse's misplayed breakaway against New Jersey is an excellent example of just how bad things are going right now. If it had been an opposition player in that case you can almost count on that bounce having not happened? It slowly becomes a rolling snowball that envelopes a team, and the task for coaches is all uphill after that. No definite plan or action will curtail this no matter how much you would like it to. It will stop on it's own time and in the most unlikely manner.... Are changes necessary - yes. The winds of change are inevitable for next season. The UFA situation in Montreal says so in a salary cap driven league. As for great hockey minds being right or wrong - you are more than welcome to wonder all you want = freedom of expression and I respect that. Fact is they are in charge and I'd rather have them in that position than a couple of fickle impatient fans. It is their knowledge and character that makes them more suited to this job than the vast majority of passionate fans out there. It is the difference between irrational solutions to complicated matters and well formulated plans that a manager and coach need to realize and adhere to when a team is struggling. Mortgaging the future for a shot in the dark chance at a Cup isn't worth it, no matter how much we'd like to see it happen as far as I'm concerned. The Canadiens are not yet a true contender.... Am I blind - no An I a perpetual optimist? Never - I'm not a member of the Leafs Nation.... B)

I'm a long time Canadiens fan - going on 50 years now, so I've seen the good years and the bad years. Truth be told, I hate losing as much as the next guy when it comes to the :hlogo: .... And yes, I absolutely loathe when I hear fans ranting on about a run to the Cup when it isn't a realistic expectation. That malarkey reminds me of the legions of deluded Leaf fans that surround me here in Southwestern Ontario, and it makes me want to upchuck every time I see or hear it! For the record - whether you or anyone else here remembers or not, I've said several times in the past that this team is not an official contender just yet. And this current turn of events is solid evidence of that as far as I'm concerned. And I have no problem with people being upset as the losses pile up - this is not a slump anymore..... However I do have a problem with asinine and ill-informed trade suggestions, or remarks about the competency of Gainey & company. Suggestions like they don't care about this team, or are lousy coaches just get to meand eventually I have to express an opinion(hey I'm human. ) I figure that I'm much like you in the sense I don't feel like replying to most posts here - like you it seems I read them more than I tend to reply to them. I don't feel that I need to express an opinion on every aspect of the team, or the world? That said, as a long and loyal supporter of this franchise I am not blind to the situation, nor do I go on blindly and irrationally expecting the team to win the Cup year in and year out. I support them through thick and thin, even when I'm frustrated to the max. That doesn't mean that I don't accept the status quo - I want to see a winner as much as you, or pretty much any of the realistic fans that frequent this site. And I think changes need to be made in order for this team to step up to the next level - that of becoming an actual contender. Not just a shot in the dark(see Edmonton last year?) I would welcome changes, but not at the cost of many proposals I read here. I leave that to Gainey - he has the knowledge, the experience and the understanding of what can and cannot be done in the NHL. Not to mention the insights into the dressing room itself? In the end though I do I encourage fans to be passionate and loyal, but it is the lack of faith in management combined with the ridiculous suggestions that usually cause me to vent. And by the way, I still say there are a lot of people who were riding the fired up band wagon into December that seem to have fallen off it in the past while. To them I simply say that this team has finally fallen back to earth - albeit in an extremely hard manner. Flirting with the top echelons of the league was fun while it lasted, but as of now this team is right where I expected it to be.... fighting for its' very own playoff life. However not in the manner or form that currently exists - something is definitely amiss? For what it's worth, I tend to think that Bob Gainey isn't at all surprized that they are fighting for a lower end playoff position, especially when you take into stock the fact that he has not made any panic motivated or irrational moves? Rant completed.... :hlogo:

Sorry but too many of you are jumping - a few weeks ago most of you couldn't cough up enough praise and adulation for what management was doing! Now all you can do is criticize the same group..... suddenly the fans know so much more than management? I hear the bones splintering everywhere, and too many armchair critics are claiming they know more than Gainey - critics who have little inside knowledge of the reality of trading and managing an NHL team. Seems like we've gone from unbridled optimism about a Cup run to a mad dash to assassinate this team and its' leadership?

Every time I come here I hear the snapping and cracking of breaking bones as all those loyal and astute fans jump off this bandwagon.... :puke: :hlogo: :hlogo:

very well said - a true romantic! I'm reaching that age too where I'm beginning hear ya man.... not quite there yet, but it's creeping up on me! Just thought it was time to talk about something a little more upbeat - especially given all the negativism here lately(not to mention the way the team is playing too )

Funny how much the guys seem to hate the commercialism of it - any of the ladies have an opinion that differs? Personally I think it is a crass rip off - and I'm glad my wife feels the same. I was in the mall earlier and was watching the poor schmucks going through the card section (90% men) and was watching them squirm. One guy was so rattled looking at the cards, I thought the poor dude was going to have a stroke.... probably some love struck spouse/partner at home who was waiting on pins & needles for the card & gift! And he looked like he never does get it right.... the way he was fidgeting it looked like his balls were already in a sling!!!!!

I think it's a ripoff and fortunately I have a wife who agrees - at the cost of flowers and dinner on this day I''d need a second mortgage.... B)

Have you got the significant other looked after for this celebration of love.... or do you think it is just a big over rated ripoff?

Have to say I'm with you on this one.... maybe not quite as dramatically? However I do hope the Canadiens try to keep Kovalev - they need a few veterans? I have a bomb shelter in the backyard that we can hide in! Anyways I'm going fishing come playoff time again I see us at phase 2 - time to go with some of the youth and ride out the storm.... And I'm a long time die-hard :hlogo: fan. Missing the playoffs might hurt a bit, but I would prefer that to mediocrity year in and year out. And that's something we already are a witness to for too long now? However, anyone who thinks Gainey is about to hold a fire sale, or make any rash moves hasn't been very astute. That would be totally out of character for him. He is deliberate and methodical, and possibly patient to a fault in some cases. :hlogo: :hlogo:

nah - why waste time looking for a Leaf? I finally saw the game on ESPN Classic last year. Funny thing is we were fishing for the one prior to that too..... Saw it on ESPN too a while back!

exactly.... I support many of the things Harper is trying to do; I have voted for all 3 major parties at one time or another; but justifiable or not, these ads are wrong!

On a fishing trip in northern Ontario - very poor radio reception so we only managed to catch snippets of the game on a French language channel that we could pickup from time to time.... unfortunately it kept getting drowned out by a big U.S. station and a stupid country music(yuck!) station from who knows where, so we had a tough time following the action!

Cherry hails from Kingston - Gilmour and Muller are Kingston boys, so that is the reason he rants on & on about them - it really has nothing to do with them having played for Toronto. Living in Southern Ontario and being bombarded by the propaganda of Leaf Nation, I can't begin to tell you how many times he's ranted on & on about them being 'good old Kingston Boys'..... As for Corson - not sure why he likes him, but when he was at his best he was the type of player Cherry likes.....

absolument raison.... :hlogo: :hlogo:

YES!!!!! :hlogo:

I won't speculate on his signing in Montreal or not - but I will say that it is hard to shake the loyalties of a childhood though? That said I agree wholeheartedly with this posting. And does anybody here recall 'the Great One's' comments way back when.... because yes, Gretzky let his tongue slip before his brain was engaged when he once referred to the New Jersey Devils as a 'Mickey Mouse' operation. Not one of his brightest comments? But then everyone makes mistakes once in a while!

I have to agree on that one - this problem is a disaster waiting for a place to happen? A great player, but he is not worth the cost for the high ratio risk he currently is..... Time and mother nature can be cruel - and it seems that they have caught up to him.

If that is going on in warm ups, then that's the coach's fault - he should have been very explicit about how to warm up a goalie properly at the start of the season. I've been a coach at high level for years and we set out a strict routine & expectations for every warm up. No head high shots, no hot dogging and we expect lots of shots in the goalies feet(lower body area) in order to get his mobility going. A few glove shots here and there, and no fancy dekes as that just leads to injuries. Allowing that crap is ridiculous - one of the things you want to do in the warm up is give your goalie a feel for the puck, to get his timing and give him confidence for the game - that stuff just defeats the purpose! It still takes good hand eye coordination to do this stuff - and more kids are practising it than ever before. So in a sense it is amazing and at the same time it is extremely annoying! Bottom line is will they put a stop to this lacrosse style crap or will they try to hype it?

That's the key - and those two amazing shots of hand eye coordination by Schremp are both technically 'no goal' calls, as the stick appears to be in contact with the puck above the cross bar when he releases it. Amazing talent, but they both appear to not be legit by current rules? And are they going to change the shoot out rules to allow that? Lacrosse meets hockey showmanship/hot dogging...

He one of my dad's favourites, and a true character of the game... Always loved watching him play - he was a fiesty competitor and a funny/jovial kind of guy off the ice! Condolences to the Worsley family... another great of the original 6 has moved on.