Brière prefered the Cup to the Canadiens

[JoeLassister]

And its getting even more funnier:

Pas de place pour Brière dans le premier trio...

so sad

[Tony]

I don't see why this Briere story is going around.

If this is his way to push his secret agenda around to save face to the Montreal fans and make Gainey look bad then he's a desperate guy.

Nonetheless, be happy he didn't sign here. Something tells me he would have been nothing but problems.

[mathieu30]

And its getting even more funnier:

Pas de place pour Brière dans le premier trio...

Translation:

Noise/Bruit: Brière wasn't promised first-line status with Habs

[ShortHanded]

Nonetheless, be happy he didn't sign here. Something tells me he would have been nothing but problems.

also glad he didn't sign here, and two things about this story:

1- it has to be the coach's decision how the lines are so glad they didn't tell him "whateve ryou want dan!"

2- just goes to show the stuff about Koivu in the other thread is weak, because if this doesn't tell you BG and Carbo have his back, I don't know what will.

[BTH]

I don't think the Matthis Brunet story is so far-fetched, but I think that it's worth breaking up the top line if it means bringing in a #1 center and having Koivu on the 2nd line.

One question I would ask is that if Gainey wasn't willing to break up the top line of (let's assume) Latendresse-Koivu-Ryder and he very likely isn't willing to break up the line of Higgins-Plekanec-Kostitsyn then who was he intending to play with Briere? Must have been Kovalev and Lahti. Others will say they see Lahti on the first line and Latendresse on the third line but the result is still the same - Gainey is STILL looking for a star to play with Kovalev. I don't think his goal was a 1st line center but more a 1st line player. He tried Samsonov (a LW) last year and this year he tried a center first and then a LW (Smyth) after. I think Gainey identifies Kovalev as a locked treasure chest in the locker room and is trying to find the combination to open it up. Would Briere and Kovalev be the right combinaion? I guess we'll never find out, but I think Smyth would have worked out well with him, considering Latendresse did.

Or maybe it was an article full of bullshit...

[Mont Royale]

I don't think the Matthis Brunet story is so far-fetched, but I think that it's worth breaking up the top line if it means bringing in a #1 center and having Koivu on the 2nd line.

Maybe the point in Gainey's mind is that he wasn't about to promise something as transient as which line Briere was going to play on, as it would be undermining his coach if he did. If this is was an actual demand Briere made, I'm not sorry he went elsewhere (prima donna). If they don't accomplish much for the first 10-15 games in Philadelphia, I'll bet he won't be on Gagne's line anymore either, no matter what he was promised.

[Tony]

I think Mont Royale is right on the money. If this story is true, this basically a test to see if the Habs would bend over and fulfill all of Briere's demands.

How can Briere assume right away who'd he play with? That's only something he would have found out at training camp had he signed with the Habs.

[Tony]

Folks, this is where things get interesting. All this is on the RDS.ca (videos are in French)

According to Pat Brisson (Briere's agent), he never had that conversation with Gainey.

They asked the guy who wrote the article in the paper and he also admitted that he got this from a "concrete" source and that Brisson never told him this info (so all this basically put Brisson off the hook).

To sum up, the guy who wrote the article said that he's got a source saying that Brisson asked Gainey where Briere would play (Higgins and Ryder) and Brisson says he never had that conversation with Bob.

What would be real awesome is if everyone moved on and stopped with this whole Briere thing.

[smon]

I don't buy that story. Still could be true, but La Presse likes to make up junk to sell papers.

[shortcat1]

Let's assume that what was said in the article is correct.

I have to agree with Gainey who refused to guarantee a first-line position. Brière should have been expected to fight for the position like anybody else in the team. To guarantee Brière something would simply have opened a can of worms in that he would have set a precedent for similar promises to other players.

If that was the turning point in the whole thing then Brière wasn't that really committed to coming to Montreal.

GO :hlogo: GO!

[SoCalHab]

Well, you really can't blame either for their sentiments.

Quick translation for those not in the know:

Briere says that he signed with Philly for the chance to win and the chance to play with one of the best players in the league, Simon Gagne. He didn't want to sign with Montreal solely for the reason of becoming the team's Quebecois saviour. He's surprised it recieved so much attention because he says there are several other players besides himself who refused to sign with Montreal.

Meanwhile his wife says it was his decision but she brings up the treatment of Patrice Brisebois and Jose Theodore and questions whether if Briere had a few bad games, the same would happen to him.

Yeah......... and like nobody in Philly ever boos pro athletes

[ShortHanded]

Maybe the point in Gainey's mind is that he wasn't about to promise something as transient as which line Briere was going to play on, as it would be undermining his coach if he did. If this is was an actual demand Briere made, I'm not sorry he went elsewhere (prima donna). If they don't accomplish much for the first 10-15 games in Philadelphia, I'll bet he won't be on Gagne's line anymore either, no matter what he was promised.

Totally agree if the story's true, but it's sounding more and more like it's not...

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

I swear, the clinically insane Montreal Hockey media circus is doing the impossible - namely, getting worse.

[Athlétique.Canadien]

Why are we talking about a stinky Flyer who is going to annoy us? Blasted Brière probably milked Montreal to drive up the price and Philly countered. I don't believe Brière truly wanted to play here regardless of what the org says. Brière was greasing the UFA wheels IMO.

[ShortHanded]

I swear, the clinically insane Montreal Hockey media circus is doing the impossible - namely, getting worse.

:clap:

[Tony]

Let's assume that what was said in the article is correct.

I have to agree with Gainey who refused to guarantee a first-line position. Brière should have been expected to fight for the position like anybody else in the team. To guarantee Brière something would simply have opened a can of worms in that he would have set a precedent for similar promises to other players.

If that was the turning point in the whole thing then Brière wasn't that really committed to coming to Montreal.

GO :hlogo: GO!

It's a very touchy topic for a couple of reasons. Mainly, if this was Briere's way to see if the Habs would bend over for his demands then yes, what Bob Gainey did was the right move.

Don't get me wrong, Briere, or any other athlete for that matter, who wants to pick his line mates without ever playing with anyone else on the team sounds selfish. Then again, if the decision was solely based on that, what Gainey did is a very risky move mainly because where Briere would play is Carbo's concern unless Carbo and Bob were in the room while this thing was happening. So in a weird way, both parties did some weird decisions if that conversation is true. Do I think it's true? Not even close because Higgins was pegged with Plekanec and Kostitsyn at the end of the season and they were doing great. Claiming that Higgins would play with Koivu and Ryder as the first line of the team is a little out there when Carbo clearly juggled his lines all-season long.

Another point I would like to bring up is that the Flyers AREN'T an easy city to play in. I've been told many times by my Philly source (who lives in Philly) that the Flyers don't shy of giving crap to their players if they don't live up to the end of their bargain. Sure, the pressure is less than Montreal but that's only because the Eagles get the biggest piece of the pie in terms of sports attention in town. The Sixers and Phillies do get more attentions than the Flyers, but whatever attention the Flyers get is still critical and vocal like in Montreal.

The other point I would like to bring up is that all this fuss over Briere is indeed a crazy media move by either Briere or upset media. Hell, it could even be due to both. All these articles and stories that are basically relating things out to Briere's wife, mom, dad and whatever acquaintance he knows is silly. I like how so far NO ONE has made any fuss over Ryan Smyth (whom the Habs gave the best offer to), Scott Gomez (whom the Habs gave the best offer), Brian Rafalski and so on who were some of the big time UFAs that took a pass on the Habs. Guys, who clearly, I'd pick any day of the week over Briere.

[BTH]

Tony, where did you hear what Gainey offered Gomez?

[InsaneHABSfan]

Flyers not making the playoffs, sorry Brier. Biron is going to see losts of rubber and have this incredible lightburn on the back of his neck.

[ShortHanded]

Frankly, this whole conversation needs to be over and everyone needs to move on. I'm relieved we didn't overpay for another small centre and if I had to pick between having one small centre in Koivu (who has played well consistently over his entire career minus limitations due to injury) and Briere (who only recently made the jump to elite status and who has yet to prove himself in a city that plays a different style than the one buffalo plays) I would pick Koivu. That said, I have nothing against Briere, who chose not to come here, as a person.

All this negative attention and over analysis can only cement what players already think about montreal, which is that it's too much pressure to play in, especially for the French Canadian players. It's true that there hasn't been the same talk about Smyth and others who haven't chosen to come here, and that in itself says something too.

[Dirty Harry]

Glad we didn`t tie up our payroll for 7 years, this guy would`ve made Kovalev`s last season look like a bargain sometime around year 3 or 4. Teams that are locking up above average forwards with a handful of seasons under their belts for a half dozen years and at over 10% of their payroll are fools and will be paying for it for a long time. I am disappointed in Bob Gainey even going for this guy with that kind of money. 2 Michael Ryder 3-4 mill 30 goal scorers are a lot more productive than one Briere.

Only proven ace goaltenders, a handful of vet all-star dmen and maybe crosby (even then, he didnt get pitts past round 1) is worth 7 mill if you want to be in the cup final.

[Tony]

Tony, where did you hear what Gainey offered Gomez?

Ian Pulver (Scott Gomez's agent). He didn't give out the exact number but he said Montreal gave the best offer to him.

[lazy26]

Frankly, this whole conversation needs to be over and everyone needs to move on. I'm relieved we didn't overpay for another small centre and if I had to pick between having one small centre in Koivu (who has played well consistently over his entire career minus limitations due to injury) and Briere (who only recently made the jump to elite status and who has yet to prove himself in a city that plays a different style than the one buffalo plays) I would pick Koivu. That said, I have nothing against Briere, who chose not to come here, as a person.

All this negative attention and over analysis can only cement what players already think about montreal, which is that it's too much pressure to play in, especially for the French Canadian players. It's true that there hasn't been the same talk about Smyth and others who haven't chosen to come here, and that in itself says something too.

I find your attitude refreshing. Some (not all) were expecting Briere to jump in to the first centre position and be our saviour, and this might have not been the case. Briere is talented, but would his skills work in MTL as they did in BUF? And will they work in PHI? It's perhaps best to get a different type of player (i.e, not small and fast) since Koivu has proven he can be sufficient in the past. I can hear some of you clamoring to express that Koivu isn't a true #1 centre, etc... AND you may be right. What we can't discern is whether Briere might have fizzled in that role as well. He might not have, but I'm comfortable saving that money for someone else. Something different...

That being said, I would have loved for Smyth to come to MTL.

[Athlétique.Canadien]

Is it in Réjean Tremblay's destiny to try to destroy the Montreal Canadiens?

http://www.cyberpresse.ca/article/20070908...1006/CPSPORTS01

http://www.rds.ca/canadien/chroniques/236346.html

The spirit of what Tremblay suggests is that Koivu hasn't got a pair down low and Lafleur does. He is basically chewing the org from top to bottom. Boivin is angry and now we are going to have more Tremblay articles than usual. I notice he writes 3 articles and repeats himself as an, "I told you so" way. Headache Réjean Tremblay

PS. This whole mess stems from Briere.

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

Is it in Réjean Tremblay's destiny to try to destroy the Montreal Canadiens?

http://www.cyberpresse.ca/article/20070908...1006/CPSPORTS01

http://www.rds.ca/canadien/chroniques/236346.html

The spirit of what Tremblay suggests is that Koivu hasn't got a pair down low and Lafleur does. He is basically chewing the org from top to bottom. Boivin is angry and now we are going to have more Tremblay articles than usual. I notice he writes 3 articles and repeats himself as an, "I told you so" way. Headache Réjean Tremblay

PS. This whole mess stems from Briere.

Wow, in this one article Tremblay manages to:

-call Red Fisher a corporate shill for 'The Organization,' happily subservient to management in his reporting;

-to say that Koivu has no balls;

-to accuse Trevor Timmins of 'not understanding Quebec' (in nationalist-speak, incidentally, this is a straightforward insult implying that the recipient is unworthy of the support of the local community);

-and to assert that the Habs, led by Gillette, "meprise," i.e., scorn, francophone and local talent.

Two ways to read this. One is that Tremblay is vigorously standing up for a colleague at LaPresse whose professionalism has been called into question by the Canadiens. He's defending a 'teammate' so to speak, hence the below-the-belt hysteria of this (of course, in doing this, he is doing precisely what he is accusing the Habs of doing, namely rallying around their own against outsiders who besmirch them). The other reading is that Tremblay - who has long fancied himself the kingmaker where the Habs are concerned - is bitterly nursing a grudge now that he (and his parochial nationalist values) has become irrelevant to the inner workings of what he scorns as 'The Organization,' which is interested in building a winner, not kowtowing to quebecois public opinion. Personally I think the latter has a lot more to do with it.

What a putz. One can only hope that The Organization has been a solidly remade in Gainey's image as I hope it has - i.e., completely indifferent to all of this bafflegab and calmly staying the course in the midst of these unending media typhoons. (Thank God Gillette isn't a Quebecer - otherwise, one suspects, he'd find it hard NOT to capitulate to all this idiocy at some point...)

Edited September 9, 2007 by The Chicoutimi Cucumber

[Athlétique.Canadien]

I think this is an attempt to unseat Gainey. The organization has very cleverly shielded itself well since Gainey came in. Yes, there are press interviews and your usual and common appearances. The organization is giving access to the media. But, Réjean Tremblay is an "in the trenchs" type of reporter and has been known to be a trouble maker. Anyone remember the 1997 Mario Tremblay resignation? Red Fisher had plenty to say about how he'd never seen a leaving coach get more of a media lashing in his career. Red said that Mario Tremblay made many mistakes and he didn't sugarcoat anything to defend him, but he did say that Réjean Tremblay went too far. Vicious nonsense really.

The Habs front office is run by the iron fist of Gainey. Réjean Tremblay has lost his ability to influence the team. He tries so hard this Réjean guy. The last time a media guy ran the team to some capacity was Mario Tremblay. Anyone in here in favour of making Réjean Tremblay GM?

Not too long ago Réjean Tremblay said Gainey was not GM material. :?-