Today's press clips

[alexstream]

Some journalists were throwing questions at Souray. one asked about the big offers he'd receive this summer and it went something like this :

the guy: you'll be offered $6M long term contracts

Souray: no that's too much.

in other words, even souray doesn't think he's worth $6M

good step in the right direction!!!

While talking about the season, Higgins said that too much individual efforts might have led to the collapse.

Parallel to that, you will note that the following players all established career highs:

Saku Koivu

Sheldon Souray

Andrei Markov

Michal Ryder

Chris Higgins

Guillaume Latendresse

Tomas Plekanec

(I might be forgetting some others)

some even broke some records (Souray's records) or equaled old marks (ryder, two back to back 30 goals seasons, koivu most pts since Damphousse, lats most goals by a u-20 since mario tremblay and stephane richer and so on).

all impressive individual accomplishment... but... in the end, who cares. Why remember "the year Koivu got 75 pts" if it's not memorable?

Another note :

Koivu said that the team needed reinforcement... that's why they didn't make it to the playoffs... HEY ######ER where were you in the the extremely cold and long slump?!!!

30 games or so during which Koivu and Kovalev, the "leaders'" where totally asleep at the wheel...

Koivu blames the need for reinforcement.

Kovalev says he's satisfied with his effort... GODDAMN LOSER!

[les_glorieux]

I thinks he's still gone anyway...

Edited April 10, 2007 by les_glorieux

[CBHabs_fan]

Some journalists were throwing questions at Souray. one asked about the big offers he'd receive this summer and it went something like this :

the guy: you'll be offered $6M long term contracts

Souray: no that's too much.

If Souray were to re-sign under market value and for less than he knows he could get, I would have the utmost respect for him. With the proper shuffling, we could sign he, markov, and a decent centreman

[OneSharpMarble]

Some journalists were throwing questions at Souray. one asked about the big offers he'd receive this summer and it went something like this :

the guy: you'll be offered $6M long term contracts

Souray: no that's too much.

I am very sure he will turn it down, you know alot of players that turn down the biggest contract they will ever get?

Another note :

Koivu said that the team needed reinforcement... that's why they didn't make it to the playoffs... HEY ######ER where were you in the the extremely cold and long slump?!!!

Even during the slump Koivu still played hard, one player cannot drag a whole team. Show some class and remind me of the last time you single handedly won games for the Montreal Canadiens.

[Prime Minister Koivu]

koivu most pts since Damphousse, lats most goals by a u-20 since mario tremblay and stephane richer and so on).

all impressive individual accomplishment... but... in the end, who cares. Why remember "the year Koivu got 75 pts" if it's not memorable?

Another note :

Koivu said that the team needed reinforcement... that's why they didn't make it to the playoffs... HEY ######ER where were you in the the extremely cold and long slump?!!!

30 games or so during which Koivu and Kovalev, the "leaders'" where totally asleep at the wheel...

Koivu blames the need for reinforcement.

Kovalev says he's satisfied with his effort... GODDAMN LOSER!

I find it funny the way you pointed out Koivu's 75 point season, the most since Damphousse then bash him for slumping.

The guy can't get a break.

[smon]

Kovalev sorta acknowledged that he may not be back with this comment: ''You guys (reporters) will lose your job if I don't come back because you'll have nothing to write about.''

[smon]

Higgins had some interesting stuff to say regarding Kovalev:

"Teammate Christopher Higgins said he was surprised by Kovalev's numbers. He was surprisingly candid when he said: "With his talent, he should be leading the NHL in scoring every year."

Said Higgins: "It's hard to get inside his head. He plays his own game. People don't realize how strong he is and you wish he would just bury his head and go to the net instead of stickhandling around guys, but he's pretty good at that, too."

Samsonov thanked the team for supporting him, denied there was a personality clash with Carbonneau and praised the Canadiens organization. He also admitted it seems impossible that he will return next season.

[Athlétique.Canadien]

There is NOTHING for Souray to gain by fibbing about returning. Before, I might have thought he was sugarcoating the situation. That is, not wanting to be hassled by reporters and thus maintaining he wants to return.

But now, he has no need or obligation to lie. He wants to remain - it can't be any clearer than that.

[simonus]

There is NOTHING for Souray to gain by fibbing about returning. Before, I might have thought he was sugarcoating the situation. That is, not wanting to be hassled by reporters and thus maintaining he wants to return.

But now, he has no need or obligation to lie. He wants to remain - it can't be any clearer than that.

<playing devil's advocate>

well... he can't be totally anti-canadien. The habs are an obvious bidder for his services - even if he doesn't want to come back (i think he does) it behooves him to have the habs bidding up his services. Also, who knows, the habs might step up and offer the biggest contract - and then he wouldnt want to have anything in print that would alienate habs fans.

[Chris]

A few comments, if the Habs resign Souray and Markov, with the other D already under contract, how does this make the team better? They are horrible in there own end, Souray being the leader of that pack, without a serious upgrade on the D, the Habs will continue to go no where.

What is Koivu talking about reinforcements? They had a full roster every night, they just chose to stand around most nights and collect a check.

Seems alot of players are either deflecting blame or taking no responsibility for there play. That says alot to me about the "great leaders" everyone thinks this team has. I would argue there is no real leadership and that is a huge problem.

[ShortHanded]

I am very sure he will turn it down, you know alot of players that turn down the biggest contract they will ever get?

Even during the slump Koivu still played hard, one player cannot drag a whole team. Show some class and remind me of the last time you single handedly won games for the Montreal Canadiens.

exactly. I feel for him that there were too many players on the team that just stood around and gave no effort most nights, but I don't think you can say he was one of them. He can't control who the GM signs, so this is his only way of letting them know he feels that not enough players on the roster work hard enough. Koivu gets a lot of blame for the team's short comings, but he's like Sundin in that he's a great player who's never been given enough support (and I know Heatley, Alfredsson, Kovalchuk, etc. all score more, and "Stars" are supposed to be stars on their own, but Koivu gets as many points on his own as can be expected by his supporting cast, and these other players have another talented AND hardworking player with them (Lecavalier has St. Louis and Richards, Heatley and Alfredsson have each other, etc.)

Higgins had some interesting stuff to say regarding Kovalev:

"Teammate Christopher Higgins said he was surprised by Kovalev's numbers. He was surprisingly candid when he said: "With his talent, he should be leading the NHL in scoring every year."

Said Higgins: "It's hard to get inside his head. He plays his own game. People don't realize how strong he is and you wish he would just bury his head and go to the net instead of stickhandling around guys, but he's pretty good at that, too."

Samsonov thanked the team for supporting him, denied there was a personality clash with Carbonneau and praised the Canadiens organization. He also admitted it seems impossible that he will return next season.

I'm actually really glad he said this. Higgins seems like the kind of guy who works hard every night, so he can back up his comments when he says something like this, and maybe it's a culture thing, but I don't think Koivu would ever say this (too polite?). Someone had to say it though. The more I hear Higgins' comments off the ice, combined with how hard he works, I'm convinced he's future captain material (after Koivu retires a habs of course). But I'd give him an A next year. If Souray returns, I'd give him one and take the other one away from Kovy. It would be a message that it's not about how much of a "vet" you are, but more about how hard you work, and if you're young and one of the hardest players on the team, you get the responsibility / leadership tag. and I think he'd be ready for it.

A few comments, if the Habs resign Souray and Markov, with the other D already under contract, how does this make the team better? They are horrible in there own end, Souray being the leader of that pack, without a serious upgrade on the D, the Habs will continue to go no where.

What is Koivu talking about reinforcements? They had a full roster every night, they just chose to stand around most nights and collect a check.

Seems alot of players are either deflecting blame or taking no responsibility for there play. That says alot to me about the "great leaders" everyone thinks this team has. I would argue there is no real leadership and that is a huge problem.

A lot of players did exactly what you were talking about, but I think that's exactly what he's talking about: too many players didn't show up, but you can't accuse him of being ne of those players. He can't control the product that's put on the ice: Gainey signs them or trades for them, and Carbo decides who to play. THis is his only way of saying he'd like the product to be a bit different, starting with what they put out there to begin with. After they have enough players who care, then maybe he can do the whole "motivating" them thing, but I don't know what you can expect from him more than to work hard every night (which he already does), and to try to make those around him better, which he does. If the players around him have little to no heart and show little to no effort, there's not much he, as just another player, can do, is there?

[Chris]

I agree about Koivu, most nights he shows up and plays hard, this year he took a 2 month vacation just like the rest. Koivu is close to the bottom of the list of problems with this team.

[Athlétique.Canadien]

What we need is patience. A tall order for Habs fans given how greedy we can be. It'll come

[larek]

What we need is patience. A tall order for Habs fans given how greedy we can be. It'll come

Greedy ! LOL

wanting a decent team that can make the playoffs be consistent

is good common sense !!

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

1. I'm worried that Koivu is getting discouraged and fed up with the whole Montreal circus. And BTW, he didn't take a vacation.' He struggled for two months. No one should EVER impugn this guy's commitment or desire. But fans/French media do so on a regular basis. I couldn't blame him for wanting out, but it would be a disaster for us.

2. Higgins captained the US World Junior team. He almost certainly will captain us someday.

3. Souray will go to the highest bidder, IF that bidder outbids us by a significant margin. But he clearly likes Montreal and it sounds like he might have a reasonable sense of his own value. I wouldn't overrule the possibility of the Habs re-signing him before he goes UFA.

4. This team doesn't 'get better' if it re-signs Souray. But it does get WORSE if it fails to do so.

5. Kovalev? The mystery man. I wouldn't be shocked if he retruned as a point-per-game player next season...or if he fails to show up for camp. Or if he decides to play naked except for a Russian fur hat. Nothing would surprise me. Most enigmatic habs since Richer.

I wish people would stop this 'addition by subtraction' logic. 'It's Koivu's fault, get rid of him...' Getting rid of players seldom helps (Samsonov and Kovalev would be two obvious exceptions). This team needs D and a 1st line C, period.

[Athlétique.Canadien]

Greedy ! LOL

wanting a decent team that can make the playoffs be consistent

is good common sense !!

I'm not talking about factors here. It's a fact that in general we are greedy and that's OK. Nothing wrong with that.

Vis~a~vis; "24 ain't enough. WE WANT 25!"

Most of our detractors would call that "greedy".

[Habsy]

1. I'm worried that Koivu is getting discouraged and fed up with the whole Montreal circus. And BTW, he didn't take a vacation.' He struggled for two months. No one should EVER impugn this guy's commitment or desire. But fans/French media do so on a regular basis. I couldn't blame him for wanting out, but it would be a disaster for us.

2. Higgins captained the US World Junior team. He almost certainly will captain us someday.

3. Souray will go to the highest bidder, IF that bidder outbids us by a significant margin. But he clearly likes Montreal and it sounds like he might have a reasonable sense of his own value. I wouldn't overrule the possibility of the Habs re-signing him before he goes UFA.

4. This team doesn't 'get better' if it re-signs Souray. But it does get WORSE if it fails to do so.

5. Kovalev? The mystery man. I wouldn't be shocked if he retruned as a point-per-game player next season...or if he fails to show up for camp. Or if he decides to play naked except for a Russian fur hat. Nothing would surprise me. Most enigmatic habs since Richer.

I wish people would stop this 'addition by subtraction' logic. 'It's Koivu's fault, get rid of him...' Getting rid of players seldom helps (Samsonov and Kovalev would be two obvious exceptions). This team needs D and a 1st line C, period.

That about sums it up. Great post, they usually are from you. What I fear most is a repeat of last summer, which was basically the summer of J.P. Dumont. The french media push and push for any avalable talent from QC., it gets suffocating.

[Punkned]

I wish people would stop this 'addition by subtraction' logic. 'It's Koivu's fault, get rid of him...' Getting rid of players seldom helps (Samsonov and Kovalev would be two obvious exceptions). This team needs D and a 1st line C, period.

Totally agreed.

The french media push and push for any avalable talent from QC., it gets suffocating.

Don't be too hard on French reporters. Some are dumb ethnocentrists, but others are ok. French media dearly wanted Shanahan and Arnott last summer, and as far as I know these guys weren't born in QC nor do they speak french...

But you guys must agree that signing Brière would be a great addition to the team, QCer or not...

[Athlétique.Canadien]

Totally agreed.

Don't be too hard on French reporters. Some are dumb ethnocentrists, but others are ok. French media dearly wanted Shanahan and Arnott last summer, and as far as I know these guys weren't born in QC nor do they speak french...

But you guys must agree that signing Brière would be a great addition to the team, QCer or not...

I like the idea of Brière. Many here will probably point out that he doesn't address the size issue but I say, you don't say no to a "Brière" becasue he doesn't solve this issue. IMO, that's like a car that needs both bigger tires and an engine. You don't neglect getting the engine for the sake of ONLY getting bigger tires.

I know, bad analogy but you get the idea

[brobin]

I like Koivu but he did take a vacation this year and has in the past. The problem with that is that he took it when the team most needed him to step up and lead them. Still, he was not the problem, other then he is a 2nd line center everyone expects to lead the team in offense. If he was our 2nd line center it would be a sign of how much the team has improved.

I think Souray would be happy to sigh here, for a reasonable offer. I take that comment as a direct cue to Gainey that he is not looking for $6M. Make him an offer around $5 for a couple of years and I bet he doesn't even go to the FA market.

Kovalev needs to decide if he wants to be an awesome hockey player, or just collect his check. I don't really doubt his effort or his belief that he tried hard this year. That said, he needs to figure out why he is not successful anymore (conditioning? style? etc) and do something about it. If he came out and said, I had health problems and that effected my ability to compete, but I am undergoing a new regime to improve my conditioning for next year.. well. I for one would give him the benefit of the doubt this year. But his statement just pissed me off.

Koivu's statement about reenforcements might be that he wanted a goalie signed for the push to the playoffs. Remember all the points tossed down the drain by Abbey before Halak gave them a chance?

[ShortHanded]

1. I'm worried that Koivu is getting discouraged and fed up with the whole Montreal circus. And BTW, he didn't take a vacation.' He struggled for two months. No one should EVER impugn this guy's commitment or desire. But fans/French media do so on a regular basis. I couldn't blame him for wanting out, but it would be a disaster for us.

2. Higgins captained the US World Junior team. He almost certainly will captain us someday.

....

4. This team doesn't 'get better' if it re-signs Souray. But it does get WORSE if it fails to do so.

5. Kovalev? The mystery man. I wouldn't be shocked if he retruned as a point-per-game player next season...or if he fails to show up for camp. ...

I wish people would stop this 'addition by subtraction' logic. 'It's Koivu's fault, get rid of him...' Getting rid of players seldom helps (Samsonov and Kovalev would be two obvious exceptions). This team needs D and a 1st line C, period.

1 - exactly.

2 - exactly

4 - exactly

5 - I don't think he'll do the point per game thing next season. I think he'll just stay enigmatic forever more. I want him gone (as one of the obvious exceptions to the addition by subtraction thing). We have lots of talented russian/eastern european kids who'd be willing to work much harder every night: Perogie, Kosty, Grabovsky should ALL be getting regular minutes with the team next year, in an offensive capacity. Kovy can be a superstar on someone else's team. That's my wish, but realistically, I doubt Gainey will be able to move him for what he considers a good return, so he probably won't move him.

Me, personally, I would trade him for almost nothing (8th round pick) or put him on waivers, but at the same time, Gainey probably realises he has a hard time attracting UFA's and putting your 'superstar' on waivers is not a good way to attract more of them.

Agreed with the addition by subtraction thing.

[CBHabs_fan]

4. This team doesn't 'get better' if it re-signs Souray. But it does get WORSE if it fails to do so.

Yes, I believe it does. I was thinking today, what if we had won that game and were playing BUF in the 1st round. Well, I would be very concerned without Souray. This is a different league and specialty guys like Souray are valuable. I believe there is room for improvement on his defensive play and certainly that can be said of many, considering the +/- ratings we are seeing.

I really dont think we'll sign a superstar like Briere (though I wish we would), so keeping an offensive superstar for the PP on the point is at least some consolation. Think of how our PP looks when he is not there. It is completely different.

So to answer a question like, does losing Souray make us worse (in the absence of siging a superstar UFA)...Just ask yourself how you would be feeling right now going against Buffalo WITHOUT him vs WITH him. I would have 2 completely different outlooks

[InsaneHABSfan]

Souray around the $4M mark would be OK. Any more than that and well that would be expensive.

Montreal really needs to find a free agent defensive big guy to pair with Souray if they do sign him.

I hope, the Habs will bear down and find a Number 1 Centre and move Saku to #2 center to take the pressure off of him. Saku gets checked into the boards consistantly and that takes a toll on the body. One can only ask so much from our captain and with no other Center to take the offensive pressure off, then the team may not make the playoffs again next year.

Edited April 10, 2007 by InsaneAVSfan

[rafikz]

Some rumors : Gainey might be stepping down ; as I said , just rumors (hockeybuzz)

Edited April 10, 2007 by rafikz

[nhfarber]

if anyone is listening to the press conference right now could you post anything important in this thread for those of us who cant get it.