Sergei Samsonov

[Colin]

Agreed that Koivu's got a better work ethic, but:

Re defensive liability: Koivu is at -12. Kovalev is at -6.

Re heck of a lot/bunch more points: Koivu has 3 goals and 2 assists on Kovalev.

Koivu has played the bulk of the year with Higgins and Ryder who collectively couldn't win a board battle if they were against Ribeiro and the fate of the Universe hinged on it.

An exaggeration, but I hope you see the point. Sure, Koivu's no defensive deity, but seriously, that line can't clear the puck from the zone because the two wingers were *awful* on the boards in recent weeks/months. Even the hardiest of players will eventually wear out when they're penned deep constantly. Gawd I hate the +/- stat because it's so generalized and doesn't take into account any reality on the ice. There have been at least six goals where Koivu's line has received a minus because one of the two defenders on the ice at the time have given away the puck either through stupidity or when they should have simply chipped the glass. Sure, the defender deserves the minus, but do the attackers who were positioned properly and doing the right thing?

Worst stat ever.

I mean, come on. Brisebois and Ribeiro were leaders of the Habs at some point. THAT should tell you how much the stat is worth right there.

As for Kovalev? He doesn't get put out against the other team's best players. That makes a HUGE difference.

[MFT77]

If Sammy is staying, i would also like to see him paired with Koivu. Maybe try these lines:

Samsonov - Koivu - Latendresse

Higgins - Plekanec - Kovalev

Perezhogin - Bonk - Johnson

Streit - Lapierre - Ryder

Murray, Downey, Begin(IJ)

Can always swap Lats and Ryder at any point.

[Davehab]

If Sammy is staying, i would also like to see him paired with Koivu. Maybe try these lines:

Samsonov - Koivu - Latendresse

Higgins - Plekanec - Kovalev

Perezhogin - Bonk - Johnson

Streit - Lapierre - Ryder

Murray, Downey, Begin(IJ)

Can always swap Lats and Ryder at any point.

works for me

[sbhatt]

Please note...this was not a Koivu-bashing on my part...just trying to point out how ridiculous the notion of releasing Kovalev was.

Hilarious. Koivu actually puts forward effort, he's got a freaking work ethic. He scores a heck of a lot more than 50 pts a year, and he's currently got a bunch more than Kovalev. He's not exactly a defensive liability either.

Come on...

For the past several weeks, Koivu has shown little to no effort/work ethic, and hasn't scored jack. Talk about double standards.

I will call a spade a spade: Kovalev and Koivu BOTH need to step up their games, as both aren't playing worht their money this season.

Edited February 7, 2007 by sbhatt

[justintb]

Hey guys..how about we stop talking about Kovalev and stick strictly to the topic about Samsonov being waived. Theres not many threads where Kovalev's name doesn't pop up and people begin bashing him..just out of the blue. But here I go again coming to his defence. Who scored last night vs Carolina...Can i get a reminder? IMO, I think Latendresse-Plekanek-Kovalev line should be the starting line as of right now. Koivu=2pts in Last 10...Ryder=4pts in L10...Higgins=0Pts in L10....

All I have to say is this...OUCH. Now Lets Examine the 2nd line in the Last 10...Plekanek=9pts....Latendresse=3pts....Kovalev=5pts. Thats a total of 6 points in 10 games for these so called first line players....And 17 Points for the 2nd Line players in the Last 10. So where am I going with this....Trade that Butt Plug Ryder...You guys b!tch and complain about Kovalev being slow...Why don't you closely watch a Michael Ryder shift. Despite his recent struggles, I personally think that Higgins has never been the same since suffering the injury in the game vs New Jersey. He has a lot of value to him for being a shorthanded expert, and hes young...therefore it would be ridiculous for the Canadiens to consider trading him. As for Saku, I think its time for him to pass his first line torch. Saku has been overrated his entire career..and has done well to live up to what I realistically expected him to do. By all means I think he should be demoted to the 2nd line and put with Kovalev and whoever, especially if we find a big name centre. Anyone who objects to this....feel free to express your opinion, but statistics don't lie and I'm just being honest. If you ask me, It doesn't seem like our 2nd line is the problem anymore, its the first that is.

In response to some people wishing that BG is trying to resign both Souray and Markov with this cap room, I really hope it doesn't happen. I think that Souray is having a breakout season, and will not get nearly as many shots through as he is this season. He will be like this years McCabe...Everyone will always be coming out to play him. I like Souray, but I won't be liking the pricetag that goes with him. Markov is skilled with the puck and I like his creativeness out there. I hope he gets resigned. So the question is...Is Souray worth it?...I think not. Even though he is our main point getter (as a D-man, which is quite sad), we need some offensive workhorses up front, and maybe that problem will be resolved.

Ps: Samsonov has 3 Points in his last 7, 1 more than Koivu in his last 10!?!?!?...KEEP HIM! He will be worth every red dime come Playoff time!!! GO :hlogo: GO

[Colin]

For the past several weeks, Koivu has shown little to no effort/work ethic, and hasn't scored jack. Talk about double standards.

Interesting. Carbonneau said during an interview that Koivu was working and that Higgins and Ryder weren't keeping up their end - thus the reason for the shift to having Streit and Johnson on his line. Now, for sure he isn't playing with the same confidence going to the net that he had earlier, but little to no effort and work ethic?

[Oleg Petrov]

Late breaking interview news: a quasi-contrite coach:

"Maybe we made some mistakes with him," said Carbonneau. "He wasn't playing at the level we expected.

"We tried to match lines, but nothing connected. Maybe we should have put him with other players. Maybe we should have sat down with him to go over point by point what we expect."

from http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=195240&hubname=

Though Carbo seems intent on keeping the same old lines for the upcoming games against Ottawa:

"Guy Carbonneau a décidé de revenir à ses anciens trios. Ainsi, Chris Higgins, Saku Koivu et Michael Ryder formeront la première unité, la seconde étant composée de Guillaume Latendresse, Tomas Plekanec et Alex Kovalev."

from http://www.rds.ca/canadien/chroniques/222869.html

Edited February 7, 2007 by Oleg Petrov

[KEEP26]

If Sammy is staying, i would also like to see him paired with Koivu. Maybe try these lines:

Samsonov - Koivu - Latendresse

Higgins - Plekanec - Kovalev

Perezhogin - Bonk - Johnson

Streit - Lapierre - Ryder

Murray, Downey, Begin(IJ)

Can always swap Lats and Ryder at any point.

this is want needs to happen we need a trade, we need a 1-2 centre, i belive with the team we got this is how good we well be, but if we can make a trade for the right guy we can be great, no matter who we put together our lines we well have the same results. we need a one two punch, koivu is great but we still need another centre, i like plekanec and i thing he WELL be good but if we want to be great now then we got to make a trade and i believe we have some young guys we can trade. its time to make a move, we dont have much luck with ufa whating to sign here, so a trade is pretty much the only way to go and to get a good player you got to trade young guys or draft picks, so its time to step up or shut up, WE NEED A TRADE

[St-Patrick]

If Sammy is staying, i would also like to see him paired with Koivu. Maybe try these lines:

Samsonov - Koivu - Latendresse

Higgins - Plekanec - Kovalev

Perezhogin - Bonk - Johnson

Streit - Lapierre - Ryder

Murray, Downey, Begin(IJ)

Can always swap Lats and Ryder at any point.

I think koivu's got something against samsonov.. how odd is it dat he's da only player who hasnt been put on a line with him? I think BG's move is GENIUS, it shows samsonov is NOT WANTED ANYWHERE so sammy has no choice but to shape up or ship out n retire. If he shapes up, good 4 us.. we can use his goals and maybe work out a trade when or if he shows he can still play. If he doesnt shape up, BG knows nobody will touch him if he puts him on waivers again and BG can pick up a quality 2nd line center at the trading deadline to fill up what we really need.

BRAVO BOB BRAVO!

Edited February 7, 2007 by St-Patrick

[sbhatt]

Interesting. Carbonneau said during an interview that Koivu was working and that Higgins and Ryder weren't keeping up their end - thus the reason for the shift to having Streit and Johnson on his line. Now, for sure he isn't playing with the same confidence going to the net that he had earlier, but little to no effort and work ethic?

He's not skating as hard as I know he can...not fighting to go to the net (which is huge, as Koivu is at his best when he's playing like that), and there have been some lazy hooks in the mix too. When Kovalev is floating, he's floating...but when Koivu does it, he's lacking confidence.? Give me a break...Koivu just flat-out dogs it sometimes too.

[smon]

Face it, with Kovalev lazy play is the norm. With Koivu, lazy play is an aberration.

I'm not saying Koivu's been playing great as of late, but if you know much about hockey you know that his entire career he's shown tremendous consistency and work ethic.

Alex Kovalev has been the exact opposite. He's a guy who once was played for a 7 minute shift in an attempt to motivate him by his coach (Mike Keenan).

Sure, he's got some fancy moves but I do hope that you would value the guy who's led the team just a wee bit more than a hired gun in the wane of his career.

[smon]

If you're going to trot out your tired +/- stat, well Kovalev is a career -16. Koivu is -1.

Koivu also has a slightly better career points per game average than Kovalev.

I think that should settle it.

[OneSharpMarble]

Face it, with Kovalev lazy play is the norm. With Koivu, lazy play is an aberration.

Bingo, Kovalevs laziness is accepted, when koivu slows down it stands out ecause normally he is carrying the team.

[sbhatt]

If you're going to trot out your tired +/- stat, well Kovalev is a career -16. Koivu is -1.

Koivu also has a slightly better career points per game average than Kovalev.

I think that should settle it.

He alse gets a slightly higher salary. Thus my comment that neither guy is earning his paycheck this season up to this point.

[BTH]

I can see why many people dislike Kovalev. But releasing him is a decision that any GM would soon regret. Yes, he can be a bit of a hothead but he's a hothead that's crucial to our success.

[kayc906]

The message of Gainey has been clear to sammy.. "I tried to trade you, nobody wanted you, I waived you, nobody picked you!" Now, you play.

Edited February 8, 2007 by kayc906

[Psycing]

The message of Gainey has been clear to sammy.. "I tried to trade you, nobody wanted you, I waived you, nobody picked you!" Now, you play.

Exactly.

[kayc906]

I would have paid to be in the office this morning when Gainey and the coaching staff spoke with Samsonov...

[Psycing]

I would have paid to be in the office this morning when Gainey and the coaching staff spoke with Samsonov...

I'm sure it wasn't that bad. They're professionals and were likely going over the circumstances with him. Basically that they tried to find him a new spot and obviously no one would take him on. Now the goal is to look forward and have him work hard and get back into the line-up and hopefully put everything behind them.

Also, I'm sure they discussed the importance of not going to the media with things such as trade demands, especially since Montreal media will tear it apart and make him a marked man among fans. Still, it was likely the agents decision to go public, not Samsonov's.

I'm sure we'll see a much more spirited performance from Samsonov the next time he hits the ice. Let's just hope it lasts.

[kayc906]

I still love that player, I'm pretty sure he will bounce back.. at least I hope.

[JMMR]

Well first of all it was not me that said that Samsonov could not work with Carbo/Gainey now because of bad blood.

I really hope Samsonov comes out flying tomorrow this may have just been a case of his agent not being able to keep his mouth shut.

And I truly believe Sammy will HELP this team in the playoffs.

[tokyohabs]

Samsonov will help only if he plays with a finisher. He is not a finisher, and arguably has never been a finisher.

If he plays with Koivu we absolutely need a big forward driving to the net. The practise line as listed on TSN looked very, very interesting to me: Samsonov, Bonk and Latendresse. Bonk is an excellent passer and extremely responible defensively. Latendresse can keep his game very simple with these two: crash the net, crash the net, hammer along the boards, crash the net. Because Bonk can't be 100% ignored offensively and skates well; and if Latendresse skates hard and plays a more in-your-face game drawing a lot of attention; I think this will free a lot of room for Samsonov to wheel and deal, much like he did with the Bru*ns, constantly flying in from the blue line, ragging the puck, carrying it behind the net and exploding out the other side with other players streaming in.

This could also finally let us play Koivu and Kovalev together, but with who I have no idea (Pleckanec? Can he play wing?). That doesn't look like a well-balanced line, again with no finisher, unless Pleks is willing to take on that role. I'd make sure Streit and Johnson were back down on the 3rd line with Higgins - it would be good for Higgins to work with those two a while. Perez and Lapierre can combine with Murray/Downey for a high-energy 4th.

Ryder steaming hot dogs in the intermissions. Can he sharpen skates?

[Psycing]

If we're talking lines, I'd like to see:

Samsonov - Koivu - Latendresse.

Sammy will have to earn it though.

[Athlétique.Canadien]

Samsonov, Bonk and Latendresse....Ryder steaming hot dogs in the intermissions. Can he sharpen skates?

Ryder has to stop falling in the corners.

As for Sammy, I like this idea. Make it stick. I've been hoping that Big Brother Latendresse (just like big Joe did) would play with Samsonov. Samsonov has set up Lats 2 times already on line changes. Bonk is reborn. We all saw with our own eyes what happened between Sammy and Bonk for chemistry. Awesome!

Go with it.

BTW: The cool thing that might happen here is that Samsonov gets PISSED and begins to destroy.

AKA: Could all of this be a blessing in disguise?

:hlogo:

Edited February 8, 2007 by ATHLÉTIQUE.CANADIEN

[KEEP26]

Samsonov will help only if he plays with a finisher. He is not a finisher, and arguably has never been a finisher.

If he plays with Koivu we absolutely need a big forward driving to the net. The practise line as listed on TSN looked very, very interesting to me: Samsonov, Bonk and Latendresse. Bonk is an excellent passer and extremely responible defensively. Latendresse can keep his game very simple with these two: crash the net, crash the net, hammer along the boards, crash the net. Because Bonk can't be 100% ignored offensively and skates well; and if Latendresse skates hard and plays a more in-your-face game drawing a lot of attention; I think this will free a lot of room for Samsonov to wheel and deal, much like he did with the Bru*ns, constantly flying in from the blue line, ragging the puck, carrying it behind the net and exploding out the other side with other players streaming in.

This could also finally let us play Koivu and Kovalev together, but with who I have no idea (Pleckanec? Can he play wing?). That doesn't look like a well-balanced line, again with no finisher, unless Pleks is willing to take on that role. I'd make sure Streit and Johnson were back down on the 3rd line with Higgins - it would be good for Higgins to work with those two a while. Perez and Lapierre can combine with Murray/Downey for a high-energy 4th.

Ryder steaming hot dogs in the intermissions. Can he sharpen skates?

let ryder steam hot dogs lol, glad you know nothing about hockey.. put ryder on wavier and i bet you he wont be their the next day... the only thing sammy been exploding out of is the dressing crying, when he sucks it up, he might find his game.the problem is the only finisher we have is ryder but no one can get him the puck because thier loseing the puck behind the net all night and getting push around..for a finish to score you have to set him up.

Ryder has to stop falling in the corners.

As for Sammy, I like this idea. Make it stick. I've been hoping that Big Brother Latendresse (just like big Joe did) would play with Samsonov. Samsonov has set up Lats 2 times already on line changes. Bonk is reborn. We all saw with our own eyes what happened between Sammy and Bonk for chemistry. Awesome!

Go with it.

BTW: The cool thing that might happen here is that Samsonov gets PISSED and begins to destroy.

AKA: Could all of this be a blessing in disguise?

:hlogo:

well he is the only one in the corners because everyone else is stuck behind the net.