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Breezer out again


Habsfan84

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www.canadiens.com

MONTREAL – With the Canadiens back home following their fruitful holiday road trip, there was no shortage of optimism in either the Habs’ dressing room or the team clinic.

“It’s funny how when a team is going well, injuries suddenly don’t hurt as much,” said head coach Guy Carbonneau with a smile. “The younger guys are playing really well for us for right now and it’s only natural for the older players that are injured to feel a little more pressure to get back in the lineup.”

Of the handful of players currently out of action for the Habs, Patrice Brisebois is closest to returning to his post.

“I’m feeling good, really good,” said Brisebois, who has been on the shelf since inuring his right shoulder against the Lightning on Dec. 11. “I felt no pain at practice and the doctors have given me the green light.

“I worked hard in the gym and it paid off,” added Brisebois. “I didn’t think it was a serious injury, but the team wanted to be extra careful and I think that was the right call. I’m feeling much better now, but the team is obviously playing well and it’s going to be up to Carbo decide when to put me back in the lineup. It’s up to me to be ready when he does.”

With eight of a possible 12 points in the bank and his team on a roll, Carbonneau doesn’t see any reason to unnecessarily rush his former teammate back into battle.

“I think we’ll give it one more game for Patrice,” said Carbonneau. “This was after all his first real practice and the team is going well right now. The few more days will do him some good to make sure he’s completely ready.”

The news isn’t quite as promising for Bryan Smolinski, but the veteran was glad to be back at practice with his teammates on Wednesday.

“It’s getting there and it was good to get back out there with the guys,” said Smolinski who has been out since straining his left knee in Boston back on Dec. 6. “I had the same injury to my right knee in 2000. I wore a brace on it that time and it does take a little getting used to.”

Also on the injury front, Steve Begin is still likely a couple of weeks away from returning from his right shoulder injury, while Ryan O’Byrne is expected to miss six weeks with a broken right thumb.

brisebois_retour_020108.jpg

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We got really fortunate with these injuries as it was arguably the four worst players on the team that got injured (though one of them was a call up who we'd like to get some NHL minutes) and that enabled us to call up guys like Lapierre and Kostitsyn which is the main reason why our team is hot right now and not on winter break like they usually are at this time of the year.

When Brisebois comes back, I will feel a bit bad for Gorges (or Streit, whichever one is scratched) but it will be nice to have him back.

When Begin returns, I will feel bad that a capable player (maybe Begin himself) will have to sit on the bench.

When Smolinski returns, I'll be a bit disappointed as we'll likely have to send one of Lapierre and Kostitsyn down which would suck since they both do more than Smolinski.

When O'Byrne returns, he'll be sent right down to the minors, if we're icing a healthy lineup.

Personally, I'm hoping for more minor injuries to guys like Begin, Kostopoulos, Smolinski, Brisebois, Streit, etc - not because I don't like these players, they work hard and help our the team - but I like the opportunities their injuries give to the many young players we have.

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We got really fortunate with these injuries as it was arguably the four worst players on the team that got injured (though one of them was a call up who we'd like to get some NHL minutes) and that enabled us to call up guys like Lapierre and Kostitsyn which is the main reason why our team is hot right now and not on winter break like they usually are at this time of the year.

When Brisebois comes back, I will feel a bit bad for Gorges (or Streit, whichever one is scratched) but it will be nice to have him back.

When Begin returns, I will feel bad that a capable player (maybe Begin himself) will have to sit on the bench.

When Smolinski returns, I'll be a bit disappointed as we'll likely have to send one of Lapierre and Kostitsyn down which would suck since they both do more than Smolinski.

When O'Byrne returns, he'll be sent right down to the minors, if we're icing a healthy lineup.

Personally, I'm hoping for more minor injuries to guys like Begin, Kostopoulos, Smolinski, Brisebois, Streit, etc - not because I don't like these players, they work hard and help our the team - but I like the opportunities their injuries give to the many young players we have.

I am absolutely opposed to sending Lil Kosty or Lapierre down no matter who comes back. They've proven that they can play, and play well, in the nhl and they deserve to be here. I would rather waive one of the under acheiving vets or make a trade where we get back a low draft pick than send one of them back down. We have the youth we've been going on and on about for years and it's finally coming to fruition, so why should we throw it away...

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I agree that lil Kosty and Laps should not be sent back down. They are earning the right to play and bring more to the table then Smokes and Begin. That being said, Kostopolo has got to be a little worried and even though Dandy has filled a good role this year, his play has slowed a little lately. There is no way Streit or Gorges should be taken out of the lineup, but i have a feeling Breezer will be rotated in for Gorges.

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problem is though is say you get rid of those vets ... like begin , TK , Dandy etc .. then who do you call up if anyone else gets injured ? ... it's good to know that Lil K , Maxim and Rhino can play... but if they get sent down then that's ok .. hopefully they can continue to develop .. learn more aspects of the game and dominate the AHL.

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problem is though is say you get rid of those vets ... like begin , TK , Dandy etc .. then who do you call up if anyone else gets injured ? ... it's good to know that Lil K , Maxim and Rhino can play... but if they get sent down then that's ok .. hopefully they can continue to develop .. learn more aspects of the game and dominate the AHL.

you think anyone would pick up Beige or Smoke with their contracts in the salary cap era if they were waived? We could always call them back up if we have to. I know, I know, it's disrespectful to a vet, blah blah. But these aren't the stars, they're the pluggers, and they've been truly and legitimately outplayed by the kids so it's not malicious.

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you think anyone would pick up Beige or Smoke with their contracts in the salary cap era if they were waived? We could always call them back up if we have to. I know, I know, it's disrespectful to a vet, blah blah. But these aren't the stars, they're the pluggers, and they've been truly and legitimately outplayed by the kids so it's not malicious.

I didn't mention anything about disrespecting the vets or that the kids have not outplayed them .. they have ... The point I was making is that why screw with the depth of the team ? Also what will that do to the borderline vets still on the team ? they'll grip they're sticks tighter hoping not to screw up and get sent down too. instead of playing the way they play. Also I would not be suprised if guys like Begin , Smoky , Dandy , KT would get claimed in a heart beat .. those are the kind of guys teams look for when gearing up for playoff runs. especially if they had to get recalled on re-entry waivers.

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problem is though is say you get rid of those vets ... like begin , TK , Dandy etc .. then who do you call up if anyone else gets injured ? ... it's good to know that Lil K , Maxim and Rhino can play... but if they get sent down then that's ok .. hopefully they can continue to develop .. learn more aspects of the game and dominate the AHL.

Sending down players who are playing very well at the NHL level is not good for their confidence. All of those three guys are and were contributing to wins whereas their veteran counterparts were not bringing even 25% OF WHAT THEY ARE.

you think anyone would pick up Beige or Smoke with their contracts in the salary cap era if they were waived? We could always call them back up if we have to. I know, I know, it's disrespectful to a vet, blah blah. But these aren't the stars, they're the pluggers, and they've been truly and legitimately outplayed by the kids so it's not malicious.

QFT

I didn't mention anything about disrespecting the vets or that the kids have not outplayed them .. they have ... The point I was making is that why screw with the depth of the team ? Also what will that do to the borderline vets still on the team ? they'll grip they're sticks tighter hoping not to screw up and get sent down too. instead of playing the way they play. Also I would not be suprised if guys like Begin , Smoky , Dandy , KT would get claimed in a heart beat .. those are the kind of guys teams look for when gearing up for playoff runs. especially if they had to get recalled on re-entry waivers.

On re entry possibly but

no chance in hell anyone takes Begin at over a million Dandy at almost 2 or Smoke at 2 it just wont happen.

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I didn't mention anything about disrespecting the vets or that the kids have not outplayed them .. they have ... The point I was making is that why screw with the depth of the team ? Also what will that do to the borderline vets still on the team ? they'll grip they're sticks tighter hoping not to screw up and get sent down too. instead of playing the way they play. Also I would not be suprised if guys like Begin , Smoky , Dandy , KT would get claimed in a heart beat .. those are the kind of guys teams look for when gearing up for playoff runs. especially if they had to get recalled on re-entry waivers.

just wanted to clarify that I wasn't saying you specifically said the disrespect thing. It's just something that's been mentioned frequently on the board and I wanted to address that I'd thought of it before it was pointed out to me.

The thing aobut "why mess with the depth of the team" is that the whole point of depth is that the best players get to play. otherwise what good is that depth. If you have depth but you play the mediocre guys and have the better players riding the pine, you've accomplished nothing.

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Having too much depth in januray-february is not a problem.

The schedule is so heavy that injuries will happen.

Brisebois return for a couple of games is not a bad thing for Streit who can eat time at

forward position and still contribute on PP at the point.

And by the time O'byrne is back at full capacity we don't know the health status of the team.

Probably Breezer will be injured again.

Smolinski says he is ready for a comeback but Carbo doesn't want him with the team at this moment,

if somebody up front is injured he is a filler. He is not a negative presence neither a positive one.

Chip and Lapierre have a pressure to perform because he is there.

Bégin is a better alternative than Kostopolos who makes too many mistakes in the defensive zone.

Bégin is a beast in penalty killing. He is too valuable to be get rid of.

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Bégin is a better alternative than Kostopolos who makes too many mistakes in the defensive zone.

Bégin is a beast in penalty killing. He is too valuable to be get rid of.

Let's not forget that Bégin is one of the few players on this team(with the exception of Komisa-REX) who isn'T afraid of throwing himself in front of shots in order to block them!

Edited by Habsfan
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Let's not forget that Bégin is one of the few players on this team(with the exception of Komisa-REX) who isn'T afraid of throwing himself in front of shots in order to block them!

Yeah I love Bégin.

He doesn't have to play every night though. Same with Brisebois, I hope they don't put Gorges on the shelf.

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I'm sure that Streit will move back up to Forward. Goges should stay at D.

I hope your wrong Streit gets the puck out of the defensive zone and helps offensively so much he is at least 5 times the player Bouillion.

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Streit is garbage, easily the worst player on the team. he loses the puck more than anyone else, always looks shaky, and shows bad judgement by taking slapshots on 5 v 3s instead of passing to Kovalev. I can't wait to see this guy back in the swiss league where he belongs (or at least on the maple leafs).

Edited by Dirty Harry
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Streit is garbage, easily the worst player on the team. he loses the puck more than anyone else, always looks shaky, and shows bad judgement by taking slapshots on 5 v 3s instead of passing to Kovalev. I can't wait to see this guy back in the swiss league where he belongs (or at least on the maple leafs).

Dude, you must be smokin some good weed if you think Streit is 'garbage.' He may not be the most physical d-man in his own zone, but for his small salary, he is a great contributor. He is a key clog of the Habs #1 PP. Much rather have Streit on D than Bouillon or even Breezer for that matter. And when put on forward, makes things happen.

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Streit is garbage, easily the worst player on the team. he loses the puck more than anyone else, always looks shaky, and shows bad judgement by taking slapshots on 5 v 3s instead of passing to Kovalev. I can't wait to see this guy back in the swiss league where he belongs (or at least on the maple leafs).

I have to say that you really don't know what you're talking about here. I'll give you that he's not the greatest defender, but he's no worse than Brisebois or even Souray. As for his offense, he's very close to Markov in terms of production. He's very solid on the powerplay, as indicated by his 4 PPG and 12 PPA, just one goal off Markov's numbers. And for the record, he's tied for 1st on the team in PP assists, so he's giving up the puck a fair amount of times. When he has a good shot, he takes it. What smart player wouldn't? Why should he pass to Kovalev just to pass? And why single out passing to Kovalev? There are 3 other teammates on the ice on a 5-on-3. I'll take Streit at his salary over tons of overpayed offensive D-men, including Souray. I'm not thrilled about his defensive play, but it's a lot easier to stomach at that price when he's producing so well offensively. If a guy with 24 points garbage on this team, then they ought to be in 1st place, because nobody's worst player produces as much as Streit does.

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You're saying Streit is as good as Souray, Eric? Souray is miles ahead of him. Streit is a good player who earns his paycheque but Souray was a gamebreaker. Streit is a decent PP quarterback but he takes a lot of shots and most of them miss the net. As well, he's awful at keeping the puck from exiting the zone so he lets a lot of PP opportunities go to waste. In his own zone, he has plenty of trouble containing bigger forwards (and smaller ones for that matter) so when he plays with another small defence partner like Bouillon or Gorges, that line is a liability on every shift. Streit is best off on the third D pairing (maybe with a guy like O'Byrne) or on the fourth forward line, while getting some PP time - but he can never be compared to a guy like Souray unless you're looking at points-per-dollar.

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I don't think Streit is as good as most say or as bad as the others say. On a good team he is a 7 Dman and 13 forward. He is a PP specialist and that's about all. He does work hard and has a good shot. The D zone he is clearly outmatched. You can't have 3 smurfs out of your 6 Dmen. It will never work.

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You're saying Streit is as good as Souray, Eric? Souray is miles ahead of him. Streit is a good player who earns his paycheque but Souray was a gamebreaker. Streit is a decent PP quarterback but he takes a lot of shots and most of them miss the net. As well, he's awful at keeping the puck from exiting the zone so he lets a lot of PP opportunities go to waste. In his own zone, he has plenty of trouble containing bigger forwards (and smaller ones for that matter) so when he plays with another small defence partner like Bouillon or Gorges, that line is a liability on every shift. Streit is best off on the third D pairing (maybe with a guy like O'Byrne) or on the fourth forward line, while getting some PP time - but he can never be compared to a guy like Souray unless you're looking at points-per-dollar.

From reading his post, I think he was saying points-per-dollar, not in non-financial ways.

Streit is streaky as a blueliner. At his best, he is a #4/5 guy taking a regular shift. At his worst, you have to move him to forward to avoid the liability. He's kind of a bizarre case in that regard.

Lately, he's been doing a good job carrying the puck out of the zone and making good outlet passes. That's his #1 skill in his own zone. He won't ever be confused for a shutdown guy, but he can be a solid partner for one. I like him with Hamrlik, though I wonder if we can get 3 good D pairings with him there and one of O'Byrne, Gorges, or Breezer paired with Bouillon. But maybe we can.

And if Streit goes back to forward, who do we sit? Frankly, I'd rather have Streit in, Gorges out, and guys like Chipchura in.

And if Streit "wastes" too many PP opportunities, then why is he one of the top minute guys on the league's best PP?

Fact is, we're a beast on the PP, alright even strength, and terrible on the PK. Streit doesn't play on the PK. The only shakeup I'd consider at this moment was one that helps the PK out. I don't see any option that has Streit sitting that helps that out.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Well that's good news. After his horrible performance in NYC (he was a -4 for the night) I'm glad he won't be there tonight!

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He is getting to injured this season. I know one million is cheap but we still pay him that to play.

That's OK, Brisebois won't be back next year. My guess is that he'll retire after this year!

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