dlbalr

On the injury front: White is out another 4-6 weeks (knee). Maxwell is out indefinitely (upper body). Russell is DTD (groin). Bulldogs are once again just carrying the bare minimum of forwards and only have one forward left in Wheeling (Masse).

Tony Marinaro now debunking his old report from 2 weeks ago that said he'd be out about 4 months and is claiming he'll miss a calendar year. Meanwhile, actual people in the know have confirmed there will be a meeting of the minds (Markov, Gauthier, Meehan, and Mulder) tomorrow to determine the best course of action. We'll actually know something soon by the sounds of it.

But if the strategy is to use the RB only a little, why pay an exorbitant amount for one? I suspect Cobourne will be demanding to be amongst the highest paid backs in the league, if not the highest paid (since Boyd's contract isn't up). When you've got so many guys to re-sign at raises, does it make sense to pay that much for someone who won't be used much? (Especially one who whines incessantly about playing time...) There will be college backs and other CFL FA's who are decent receivers, can still run reasonably well, and cost half of what Cobourne will.

While we wait for Bar to post today's GDT, Subban may be watching this game from the press box. Despite his performance yesterday, that's a shocker.

I had him for 2 dumb decisions, didn't like him on the winner either.

Pacioretty keeps on rolling, 2 more goals while Palushaj and Dumont scored in the shootout to give Hamilton a 3-2 win. At least one team won tonight... http://theahl.com/stats/game-summary.php?game_id=1007660

You gotta live with the bad with Subban, he'll make up for it later on I'm sure. Still doesn't take the sting away though, that's for sure. Suffice it to say, he wasn't part of my HW 3 Stars tonight.

Bingo...I'm just waiting for them to realize they need one behind Sanford.

Stortini's the odd man out for Edmonton, I must admit that one catches me a little by surprise.

The only concern I had with that deal was if someone in Montreal went down, Hamilton would be screwed to put it nicely. Value wise, Desjardins fetched a decent return, someone who could help out next year or down the road. If not, oh well, Desjardins was walking via UFA in July anyways. In the meantime, it's encouraging to see Ramo have a solid year. Unfortunately, I still have same concern for the Bulldogs now as I did then, Mayer clearly isn't ready to be a #2 AHL goalie let alone a #1.

If he can keep producing offensively, he'd be worth giving a look to later in the year. Like you said though, no need to rush him - they did so once already 2 years ago.

Some good news to kick off the month, Carey Price was named the NHL's 2nd Star of the Month (PIT's Sidney Crosby was 1st Star, ATL's Dustin Byfuglien 3rd). In the AHL, Max Pacioretty received player of the month honours. Boy, does he ever enjoy playing in Hamilton! (I was a little surprised to read that this was the first time he's hit the double digit goal mark at the pro level, glad to see the offensive game is coming back.) Price: http://canadiens.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=545063 Pacioretty: http://theahl.com/pacioretty-named-player-...e-month-p167832

Goaltending matchup confirmed, Price vs Dubnyk. Khabibulin may be dressed as backup though. Unfortunately, Hemsky will return to the lineup for the Oilers. No idea who comes out, one of Jones/Stortini/Jacques would be my guess.

Finally a home game for the Bulldogs (13-4-4) as they return after a 6-game road trip to host Abbotsford (12-9-2) and their coach, Jim Playfair. Scoring leaders: Goals: Matt Keith (10) Assists: 4 tied with (8) Points: Keith/Nemisz (13) PIMS: J.D. Watt (60) +/-: Gord Baldwin (+9) Scoring leaders: Goals: Max Pacioretty (11) Assists: David Desharnais (18) Points: Desharnais/Pacioretty (25) PIMS: Jimmy Bonneau (60) +/-: David Desharnais (+9) Puck drop is at 7:00 PM EST and can be listened to by clicking this link: http://cham.player.amri.ca/

There seem to be conflicting reports as to whether he'll be back tonight or not actually. I've listed him as out for now but it wouldn't surprise me if he's back.

Desriveaux will stay if Cahoon retires - if Cahoon stays, he'll move on as Desriveaux is the Canadian SB behind Cahoon. 2 years ago, I thought he'd be the next great receiver, but he has regressed since then. Bekasiak did a great job, I hope they make a point of getting him signed quickly, he's an NI as well. I'm not sure Leak will stick around - if Calvillo has to retire, sure, but I could honestly see them keeping Santos as the #3 instead. Bedard was a 2nd round pick 2 years ago, drafted as a TE but basically is the team's long snapper and plays primarily special teams - I'd like him to stay as well. As for Cobourne, if you read back through this thread, I've advocated for him to be let go several times. I don't like his attitude (complaining about playing time on a bi-weekly basis) and if I had to guess, I'd suggest 60% of his runs are for 3 yards or under. His biggest value to the Als is his receiving ability...that's all well and good when you're a receiver but he's the running back. There will be cheaper options out there that probably won't whine as much either.

I thought it was kinda impressive that Gill got himself classified as a rookie...and still barely made the list. Goes without saying the formula doesn't account for stay at home guys.

That's what I get for using an old GDT and editing it...thanks.

With it being a slow night, I thought I'd take a look at TSN's Player Rankings which were updated today. The rankings are calculated by some sort of mathematical formula. There's info on all sorts of NHL'ers, AHL'ers, unsigned prospects, and more. Somewhere amongst all the rankings lies someone who's part of the Habs. I won't say who since that'd take away the fun. Aside from the one #1 ranking, quite a few Habs are rated top-15 which is good to see. http://www.tsn.ca/fantasy_news/feature/?ID=10467 (Hint: The player in question is within the last 5 tabs)

Projected Lines: Hall - Horcoff - Eberle Paajarvi - Gagner - Hemsky Penner - Cogliano - Brule Jacques - Fraser - Jones Whitney - Foster Gilbert - Peckham Smid - Vandermeer Dubnyk Khabibulin Projected Lines: Kostitsyn - Plekanec - Gionta Cammalleri - Gomez - Moen Pyatt - Halpern - Lapierre Pouliot - Eller - Darche Gill - Gorges Hamrlik - Spacek Picard - Subban Price Auld Scoring Leaders: Goals: Horcoff/Penner (7) Assists: Ryan Whitney (18) Points: Ryan Whitney (18) PIMS: Theo Peckham (56) +/-: Theo Peckham (+4) Scoring Leaders: Goals: Andrei Kostitsyn (9) Assists: Tomas Plekanec (15) Points: Tomas Plekanec (23) PIMS: Maxim Lapierre (59) +/-: Mike Cammalleri (+9) Team Stats/Notes: Record: 7-12-4 (5th in Northwest) Scratches: Strudwick, Macintyre, Stortini Injuries: None Team Stats/Notes: Record: 15-8-1 (1st in Northeast) Scratches: Boyd, Weber Injuries: Markov Puck Drop: 7:00 PM EST TV: RDS, TSN Radio: CJAD,CKAC Last Meeting:

I think so as well but if Pouliot/Eller could become their own decent scoring line, Gomez won't have to put as much pressure on himself to get out of this little funk he's in. With less pressure, it stands to reason he'll come alive quicker.

That would work too, they'd be the 2nd scoring line and there would be less pressure on Gomez to cure what ails him.

13 players can become free agents from the Alouettes (excluding options): Anthony Calvillo, Chris Leak, Avon Cobourne, Danny Desriveaux, S.J. Green, Andrew Hawkins, J.P. Bekasiak, Shawn Mayne, Anwar Stewart, Chip Cox, Jerald Brown, Martin Bedard, and Damon Duval. Of those, I think Green/Cox will once again head south to try their hand at NFL camps, but if cut, I think Cox will come back, not Green though. For Calvillo, he'll either come back or retire, I suspect the same for Stewart. Desriveaux and Hawkins are as good as gone, hopefully Duval as well. Personally speaking, this'd be the best time to cut ties with Cobourne too, I think he'll command much too high of a salary for a team who doesn't run the ball a whole lot.

Can he keep up skating wise though? Assuming he'd play with Gomez/Gionta, how much of a hindrance would his speed (or lack thereof) be? I wouldn't be overly upset if they signed him for a 4th line/2nd PP role but I don't think I'd personally be comfy with him in a regular top-6 spot.

For sure - the longer the Habs can wait though, the more salary for a replacement player they can take on though which will help. If one of Pouliot/Eller can step in short term and show they'll be ready full time next year as a top-6, that's the perfect scenario for me...provided they get someone else this year too.