habmanonthepacific

I'm so glad I'm not the only person who thinks it is unacceptable when players and media make derogatory comments about french-Canadian or european players, or as in this case refs, and get away with it. Hockey is a multi-cultural sport and we live in a multi-cultural country. Racist comments like Doan's or Avery's or DonCherry's must be punished.

Finally some good news for the Habs... RDS is reporting that Kovalev has been skating with the team and that his knee appears to be ready for some game action at some point this week. Let's just hope this helps the team snap out of its current slump. http://rds.ca/canadien/chroniques/193884.html

it's inexcusable to give the Leafs(2nd best PP in the league) this many opportunities on the power-play, and absolutely unforgivable to take a "too many men on the ice" penalty in OVERTIME! Their power-play and Bryan McCabe are all the Leafs have going for them this season, and the Habs just gave them chance after chance tonight. Oh well we still get a point, and in April when it's all said and done that's all that really matters I guess.

Bulis left in the first period, and never returned, does anyone know what happened to him?

You're right, we are paranoid and overly-sensitive, but it's not just us. I am a dyed in the wool Habs fan(originally from MTL), but I live in Vancouver Canucks territory, and I listen to the sports-talk radio shows around here, and I hear the exact same type of concerns from Vancouver fans. They are also just as bad about wanting to trade players if they have a couple of off nights(like Bertuzzi currently), or planning a Stanley-cup parade if they string a couple of decisive wins together. It's the fun of being a true fan.:hlogo:

I would like to think that teams and coaches around the league are starting to respect the Habs again, but I have to say that I felt kind of insulted when the Senators played their back-up goalie against us this week. Hasek hadn't played for 3-4 days and we were ahead of them in the standings and in the same division and they still dont think they needed to put Hasek in to beat us? What does that say about the respect we get in the league? ...course they did beat us anyway, but you know what I'm getting at.

dont mean to be a smart-alek but aren't rankings based on past performance, simply called "standings" and found in every newspaper?sorry, just couldn't resist. I tell you one thing though... you could probably use the TSN power rankings as an example of how NOT to do the Habsworld system. With them it's Leafs first, then "who cares" about the 29 other non-Leafs teams in the league. I think my hatred of the Leafs is becoming rather obvious isn't it?

More shots is always good, but someone has to be in front of the net to pick up the rebound also. Now I know nobody likes him, but thats a role Dagenais is capable of playing very well. He played 2:28 minutes the other night and scored a goal because he put himself in front of the goal and picked up a sloppy rebound. Shots and deflections are good, but rebound shots are even better because then you can catch the other team, especially the goalie, out of position.

You must be joking! Sundstrom for Laraque?! that's preposterous. Fighting is down in the league by almost 50% and many NHL teams are benching or sending their goons down to their farm teams, and you think it would be a good idea to trade a reliable role-player like Sunny for a guy who has very limited skills outside of fighting? doesn't sound too wise to me, and I don't think Gainey would ever make the trade.

While it is under Bettman's rule that the major changes to the NHL were made, i really don't think we should be grateful to him as much as to Bob gainey and the entire management team for having built the team that is now giving us so much hope for the future of our beloved franchise. Because really, even if Bettman had made the changes, but Gainey hadn't had the foresight to build a team the way he has, one that is focused on speed, skill and positioning, we wouldn't be benefiting from the changes, as we are now.

and what is up with that kid doing a 5 minute segment between the 2nd and 3rd periods. Meanwhile the CBC has the satelite hotstove...what gives? Can't they geta respectable french-canadian hockey analyst to speak intelligently about the game/the Habs on RDS between periods? I guess they are trying to get young fans, but surely getting Youppi! as a mascot has to be enough.

The BIG difference between Claude Julien and Pat Quinn is that Julien isn't on TSN after every other game complaining about a hit, or a play or a call that didn't suit him, while Quinn and his trained monkey Tie Domi do just that. Their reasoning for this or the effects of all the complaining they do is none of my concern, i'm just sick and tired of their infantile whining.... and we're only three weeks into the season!

Do you think Zednik will go back to his first line spot or are we in for a major line shuffle? Could he be reinserted on the second line with Ribeiro and Ryder? Could that work?

Just a little balance here... Julien, in what is supposed to have been a rare emotional outburst in front of the camera complained about the officiating last night too. He had some legitimate concerns but not overwhelmingly so. I didn't see Quinn's comments so I can't make a judgement. Yes sure Julien complained about the officiating of last night's game(with reason), but for Quinn and the Leafs they have already this season complained in the media about the shoot-outs in the Senators game, the legal hit on Lindros, the hard hit on Tucker(the exact type of hit he lays out on a regular basis), the disallowed goal last night, Bob Hartley being a bush-league coach(Iguess winning a Stanley Cup doesnt count for Tie Domi) and god knows what else they've cried about on TSN so far. So Julien commenting on the Islanders- friendly reffing last night is certainly more justified than the Leafs constant bitching about every little thing that doesn't go their way

I couldn't agree more... the entire country knows TSN's bias, i live on the west coast and the Canucks fans out here are always complaining about the network's Leafs-centric perspective of hockey. And I'm sure it's the same in every other canadian market. I'd be thrilled to see our Habs quietly continue to play good hockey, keep a low-profile and go into the play-offs strong, confident, and somewhat under-estimated. Then proceed to kick some Leafs butt on the way to the cup final against any of the western canadian teams(Vancouver would be nice). While Quinn and his bunch of whining goonies are crying over how its just so darn unfair and the whole world is against them on TSN every night.

speaking of Komisarek...what a game he had on saturday! He was all over Tucker, it was great to see, and hopefully his grit and enthusiasm will rub off on rivet and others on D. But i wonder how Komi would do in a tilt against Dough-head Domi? ...course you know if it ever happened Domi and his sugar-daddy Quinn would be on the news that night bitching about it.

i think the Roman numerals on the sides of Theo's new mask(LX) represent the number 60...his jersey number. They pointed it out in the RDS broadcast of the Habs/Leafs game yesterday, looks pretty cool too.

Barely two weeks into the season and the Leafs are whining already, it usually doesnt start until december or so but I just had to laugh when i saw Pat Quinn and Tie Domi on TV a couple of nights ago crying and whining about the Atlanta thrashers disrespecting them and being too rough with their porcelain skulled super-star Eric Lindros. This is exactly the type of game the Leafs themselves have been playing for years, but now because they have the league's most fragile line-up, everybody is supposed to be all gentle and delicate... get real! Just one more reason to hate the Leafs.:mad:

I live in BC and get RDS on channel 256 through my digital cable and it costs me 2.49$ per month. An incredible bargain of you ask me, for all the Canadiens games and all kinds of other shows about the Habs and the NHL in general, its pretty good. Plus I'm getting a free preview of NHL network for the month of October...still not convinced on that one yet though.

I fully agree with you, Mark. He's there as eye, ear and brain candy. A big rush but not a whole lot good value to it. I just sit there and laugh (not in a deprecating way) but just enjoying what he's saying. :hlogo::ghg::hlogo: would you guysbe as willing to laugh it off if he made derogatory comments about visible-minority players or jewish players? If you are then you also are racists just like Cherry... bigotry is no laughing matter, even if it is about french-Canadians.

Don Cherry being an unabashed Leafs fan(he was wearing a tie with the Leafs logos all over it saturday night for chrissake) is the least of his offences as a tax-payer funded CBC "professional" broadcaster. And actually as a loud-mouthed moron I think he represents the average Leafs fan pretty well. But what really offends me about him are his views on European players and French-Canadian players and visor-wearing players... the list goes on and on. Give me Kelly Rhudey's well-thought -out hockey analysis over Cherry's ######ed rants any day, even if I don't always agree with Rhudey at least he keeps it about hockey, and not small-minded opinions.

Will the Kings and Avery visit the Bell centre this season? If so wouldn't it be a wonderful opportunity to show him some good old french-Canadian hospitality...not that i condone vindictive retribution or anything but...

Was his "I think they can eliminate a lot of Europeans who are mediocre and are taking a lot of jobs," statement well thought out too? He couldn't just say "players with visors", he had to say French born players. Obviously he has a huge issue with them. I figured that was obvious. What if he said he has a problem with "black players who wear visors"... He'd be deemed a bigot. I see no difference in this. Why is it acceptable in the hockey world to criticize or mock a certain group of players because of their nationality...we absolutely wouldn't accept it in any other aspect of society! Don Cherry does it routinely on HNIC and now Avery has done it again. Would we tolerate it as easily had he bitched about black or jewish players?

excuse my ignorance, but would he then become a UFA at the end of this season then?

... and Belfour permanently wrecking his back while trying to help Lindros pick himself up from the ice after the 100th concussion.