End of Season Comments Anyone?

[BTH]

I'm so proud of these guys, it's hard to be mad right now.

I had limited expectations for a Cup win this year anyway, as I've been predicting an '09 win for a few years now. This season was definititely a success; 1st in the East, the rebirth of Kovalev, emergence of a whole bunch of young players like the Kostitsyns, Price, Plekanec and Gorges and we've set ourselves up for a deep run next season.

I wouldn't say we exceeded my pre-season expectations though we still turned the Habs into a legitimiate contender and we are now taken seriously by the media and around the league.

Hats off to Carbonneau (likely coach of the year), Gainey (one of the best GMs in the league, IMO - he's stuck to his plan all along) and just about every Canadiens.

:hlogo:

[MAK]

It's hard to be positive after a tough loss but I still want to congatulate montreal for the great season. by adding a few key players next summer, this team could be a force for many years.

[sbhatt]

Lots of good things to build on for next year:

Kovalev becoming a dominant player once again

Komisarek being one of the best D-men in the league when healthy

The Kostitsyn brothers (assuming we can re-sign Andrei) looking like an offensive dynamos

A few tweaks and good goatending, and the Habs could go deep next year. Here's hoping Bob makes the right moves.

[Habsfan84]

Good season for a season that most projected us to do nothing.

This is a good experience for the Habs youth and we will be better next season.

It was a blast to watch this team turnaround.

Thanks for the great and interesting seaon.

In closing GO HABS GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Quebecois]

I'm so proud of these guys, it's hard to be mad right now.

Couldnt really agree more. This is probably the best I've ever felt after the last game of the season. Certainly disappointing to go out in round 2, but we are a young team with a great future. This team will be back next year and it will be a contender.

The conference title and division title are meaningless in the history of Habs lore, but those are nothing to sneeze at for a team that was expected to finish far out of the playoffs. The culture of this hockey team has changed over the last few months, and it is once again great to be a fan of the Montreal Canadiens!

:ghg: :ghg: :ghg:

[BTH]

Couldnt really agree more. This is probably the best I've ever felt after the last game of the season. Certainly disappointing to go out in round 2, but we are a young team with a great future. This team will be back next year and it will be a contender.

The conference title and division title are meaningless in the history of Habs lore, but those are nothing to sneeze at for a team that was expected to finish far out of the playoffs. The culture of this hockey team has changed over the last few months, and it is once again great to be a fan of the Montreal Canadiens!

:ghg: :ghg: :ghg:

Yeah, I was actually smiling as time ran out, I was totally ready for this elimination and I felt that we went down knowing that we were the best team in this series and had given it our all.

[revvvrob]

sure it's disappointing to lose - especially since it feels like it was a series we could have won.

that being said - i think the current Habs will look back at this year and grow tremendously because of it.

1. #1 in the conference means something, but not very much

2. it's harder to win when expectations are higher

3. never ease off the gas and let the other team back into the game/series

4.

i'll leave #4 and following blank, for others to add what they think are the lessons learning for our young players this past season.

DRIVE FOR 25 RESUMES IN 2009!

[lazy26]

I'm certainly proud of the boys this year. We'll be that much better next year for the errors we made this year.

[Jean]

Hard to disagree with you, BTH. Great post Only thing I disagree with is than I think than Bruce Boubreau is more worthy of being coach of the year, tough Carbonneau really matured this year and will only get better with time.

Speaking of getting better with time.. Komisarek , The Kost. bros , Plekanec , Higgins , Georges, Halak , Price and co.. we have a lot of promising young players on this team that can only improve in the next few years.

With this team, the best is yet to come!

Edited May 4, 2008 by Jean

[C-Love]

That's all fine and dandy, but what Kovalev showed this playoffs is that he still doesn't play in the playoffs. A guy can score 100 goals a year in the regular season, if he doesn't show up in the playoffs, what good is he? I realize he had a points for us, but he loafed around most of these two series and has the capability to win games, I believe if he showed up like he did for the regular season, we'd be playing in the 3rd round next week.

We are shy on grit, character and heart. It's a simple as that. I'm not trying to piss all over everybody's end of the season funtime, but we had the talent to get it done this year, we just didn't have the heart.

We need to add a few guys next year who can take the intensity to the next level and play playoff hockey. Having said that, I don't know how that will be done without screwing with the nucleus of the team. Daymond Langkow would be a good start.

I found this whole playoff run extremely stressful and frustrating, they were not the same team I watched all season, I don't think they need a pat on the ass as much as a kick in it. We should have went further, and I'm extremely disappointed with the effort the gave and in turn making Carey stand on his head to steal games, because to be perfectly frank if it wasen't for Price we would have been gone in 5 in the first round!!

[MMPL]

Never thought we'd get this far at the start of the year so I'm happy for that. But thought we'd get farther going into the playoffs so I'm disappointed about that.

Great year though boys!!

:clap:

[KoZed]

I think the team took a huge leap forward this year. But it ended in a way that will only teach the players lessons and make them much hungrier next year.

It's tough to put the blame on Price. I never got carried away by all the hype and I always cringed when I kept hearing comparisons to Dryden and Roy. Hopefully now that pressure will be lifted off his shoulders, in a brutal way but also in a way that'll allow him to just be himself and not feel like he needs to carry the team on his shoulders like the greats of the past.

What I liked is that no young player "dissapeared" completely in these playoffs. They all showed fire and mostly kept at it game in and game out and overall learned from a game to the next. This is one of the most important and positive thing for the future.

[MAK]

That's all fine and dandy, but what Kovalev showed this playoffs is that he still doesn't play in the playoffs.

WHAT !?

he score 11 pts in 12 games. had there been solid goaltending, montreal would go in the third round and people would praise kovy for those numbers.

[JLP]

we did better than i expected but not as well as i had come to hope. too bad price fell apart, yeah trading huet was a gamble and we lost but that's just the way it goes. more than half of our players are young guys who are getting better, how many clubs can say that? bring on the centennial!

[Fanpuck33]

The regular season was a great accomplishment, I never would have believed we'd win the conference. The playoffs, despite winning a round, were a disaster. Even in games we won, I just rarely felt good about the way the team was playing. Too many guys seemed very hesitant and they seemed to make a lot of bad decisions, such as passing instead of shooting, vice versa, waiting too longer to shoot, etc. Only for maybe 10 minutes at a time did I see a team that I believed won its division. Hopefully it will be a great learning experience for out young kids, and I can only hope that Price is able to bounce back from the Philly series. His mental toughness didn't seem to make an appearance, I hope he can get his head straight this summer.

[Prime Minister Koivu]

I am usually a sad sack of crap for a few days after being bounced from the playoffs but I'm not this year.

-We have a solid group who gained some great experience.

-Our lack of size hurt us and Bob will use these playoffs to address that for next season.

-We have serious cap room available for next season.

-Carbo has learned and grown in the regular season. He will take the playoff experience and learn and grow from it as well.

-Price played better than most people will give him credit for. He did let in some softies but he also made some incredible saves.

-Everything points to an even better year next year. We are a team at the beginning of greatness, not in the middle or at the end.

How sweet would it be to win the cup next year of all years?

[Habsfan84]

Last night I went to bed a bit releived. I dont have to worry about the habs 24/7 anymore. I'm still obvosly bitter obout getting eliminated but we turned in a good year and are a team to beat next year.

[tokyohabs]

That's all fine and dandy, but what Kovalev showed this playoffs is that he still doesn't play in the playoffs. A guy can score 100 goals a year in the regular season, if he doesn't show up in the playoffs, what good is he? I realize he had a points for us, but he loafed around most of these two series and has the capability to win games, I believe if he showed up like he did for the regular season, we'd be playing in the 3rd round next week.

What are you smoking? He won us games. Look at the playoffs, look at the extra attention he go because others couldn't produce or keep up.

What Kovalev showed is that despite being shifted linemates twice, he was the one solid element on the team, consistent, winning an overtime game, keeping us alive in another leading to a win, scoring and assisting on big goals every time in one-gaol situations. How many times did he dance through the Flyers team and spin, realising suddenly that he had gone from a 3-on-3 to a 1-on-4?

As far as end of season, great to be back up where we belong, we absolutely need progress, we want that winning culture like Detroit now has. It was so great to care again, to follow them from every corner of the globe, to feel that elation of winning and that physical illness after a loss. Believe in Bob, we're really close now.

[TheAussiePosse]

I'm a sour patch kid for a few days following a loss, but I'm actually glad we lost last night. I wouldn't have been able to handle it if we pulled a Washington and fought back to game seven, only to lose in OT. It was clear that luck and the Hockey Gods were against us, so we should be thankful we were spared any more pain.

This was for us what Pittsburgh's series vs. Ottawa was last year. You saw how they came back this year, and I hope we can do the same for next year. Pittsburgh will annihilate the Flyers in 3 games (there'll be white flags in game four, just you watch), and I think forcing Price to experience 1000 shots a game vs three of the best forwards in the league could do horrible things to his development and confidence, which was already shaken as it is.

This is a blessing in disguise. We were good, better than expected, but not too good as to be burdened and plagued by unreasonable expectations any more than we already are. The Habs are now seen as a top team in the league, a young team, with a bright future, and with the strength of the Canadian dollar, there may be a surprise UFA or trade this summer.

Or not. Gainey is very quiet...

[BTH]

Hard to disagree with you, BTH. Great post Only thing I disagree with is than I think than Bruce Boubreau is more worthy of being coach of the year, tough Carbonneau really matured this year and will only get better with time.

Speaking of getting better with time.. Komisarek , The Kost. bros , Plekanec , Higgins , Georges, Halak , Price and co.. we have a lot of promising young players on this team that can only improve in the next few years.

With this team, the best is yet to come!

I never claimed that I think Carbonneau should win, but I think that he will because he's been getting most media attention. Babcock, Boudreau and Julien (who was sadly not nominated) all make great picks, so I don't really care who wins. I believe that Carbonneau is the smartest coach in the NHL but I don't think that he is the best, not yet anyway, he may very well be considered the best someday though.

That's all fine and dandy, but what Kovalev showed this playoffs is that he still doesn't play in the playoffs. A guy can score 100 goals a year in the regular season, if he doesn't show up in the playoffs, what good is he? I realize he had a points for us, but he loafed around most of these two series and has the capability to win games, I believe if he showed up like he did for the regular season, we'd be playing in the 3rd round next week.

We are shy on grit, character and heart. It's a simple as that. I'm not trying to piss all over everybody's end of the season funtime, but we had the talent to get it done this year, we just didn't have the heart.

We need to add a few guys next year who can take the intensity to the next level and play playoff hockey. Having said that, I don't know how that will be done without screwing with the nucleus of the team. Daymond Langkow would be a good start.

I found this whole playoff run extremely stressful and frustrating, they were not the same team I watched all season, I don't think they need a pat on the ass as much as a kick in it. We should have went further, and I'm extremely disappointed with the effort the gave and in turn making Carey stand on his head to steal games, because to be perfectly frank if it wasen't for Price we would have been gone in 5 in the first round!!

I don't think Kovalev disappeared, he was our leading scorer and probably our best player after Koivu (though Kovalev played more games so take your pick). Though I agree with the rest of your post - with Brisebois and Smolinski leaving, we're losing two good playoff guys and they'll be replaced with two rookies like Chipchura and Emelin/Carle/McDonagh. Meanwhile, Ryder will likely be replaced by Matt D'agostini. The team will be even younger than it is this year and I would like to see Gainey sign Chris Gratton (who I believe is UFA?) who is a hitting C that can win faceoffs. I also expect Gainey to sign another experienced skater, especially one with a history of playoff success.

I agree that we weren't the same team in the playoffs as we were in the season. Not even close. Even in the games that we totally dominated Philly, we still weren't playing up to our potential. I would say that the one game where we really played up to our standard was Game 7 vs Boston. But I don't think our poor play was based on lack of effort. I saw a full team of guys trying their hardest yet making mistakes anyway. Sloppy passes, missed occasions, posts, crossbars, ... Maybe they were all just nervous. The vets for the most part played very well, especially the grinders. To me, the only two guys who I could say didn't show up for these playoffs are Markov and Streit, our two main powerplay quarterbacks. Those two could have made the difference.

[TheAussiePosse]

Wow.

Of the $4 million we currently save under the cap, and the $5.7 million that we could potentially save beginning next year by letting Ryder, Smolinski, and Brisebois go ... barely any of it will go to a UFA.

Huge raises for Streit and Kostitsyn (comparative to current earnings), as well as resigning Gorges, O'Byrne and Lapierre to longer contracts, and then inking Komisarek (also due for a big raise) before he becomes a UFA next season ...

I guess we're lucky the UFA market isn't that huge this summer, or that none of the potential free agents are Quebecois.

Stat of the day: The highest paid Canadian player on the Habs next season (barring additional signings) is ... Mathieu Dandenault at $1.75 million overrated dollars!

[JoeLassister]

Wow.

Of the $4 million we currently save under the cap, and the $5.7 million that we could potentially save beginning next year by letting Ryder, Smolinski, and Brisebois go ... barely any of it will go to a UFA.

Huge raises for Streit and Kostitsyn (comparative to current earnings), as well as resigning Gorges, O'Byrne and Lapierre to longer contracts, and then inking Komisarek (also due for a big raise) before he becomes a UFA next season ...

I guess we're lucky the UFA market isn't that huge this summer, or that none of the potential free agents are Quebecois.

Stat of the day: The highest paid Canadian player on the Habs next season (barring additional signings) is ... Mathieu Dandenault at $1.75 million overrated dollars!

:?- do i miss something or there are like 8 players who will earn more then Dandenault next season???

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

How anyone can want Streit back after his play in this year's postseason is beyond me. Nothing against him, he's a useful guy to have around, but not for the $3 mil+ he'll command as a UFA. In a cap system good organizations will not overpay for guys like that.

Kovalev wasn't the problem. We outplayed Philly and lost mainly because we got outgoaltended, end of story. Having said that, I would discreetly shop Kovalev around. My theory, as I said in another thread, is that his value is now at its peak and with him being an impending UFA, it might be time for a bold move to tweak this team. Certainly if you could package Kovy to get back a good C, that would help. But first I'd try to sign Hossa or some other stud as a UFA

Bob has never had a problem tinkering with the smaller bits (Smoke, Breezer, Kostopolous were all great additions in the end) and he'll replaced the Streits of the world without much difficulty. And the experience will help a great deal. Nonetheless, you can't keep old stars around forever...

As for reflections on the season: THE HABS ARE BACK, BABY!!!!

Edited May 4, 2008 by The Chicoutimi Cucumber

[MMPL]

:?- do i miss something or there are like 8 players who will earn more then Dandenault next season???

Not Canadians. And that is what pisses me off. You need those gritty Canucks in the Playoffs. Not saying Begin and Kosto are bad, but we need some more of that from Laps and Lats.

[BTH]

How anyone can want Streit back after his play in this year's postseason is beyond me. Nothing against him, he's a useful guy to have around, but not for the $3 mil+ he'll command as a UFA. In a cap system good organizations will not overpay for guys like that.

Kovalev wasn't the problem. We outplayed Philly and lost mainly because we got outgoaltended, end of story. Having said that, I would discreetly shop Kovalev around. My theory, as I said in another thread, is that his value is now at its peak and with him being an impending UFA, it might be time for a bold move to tweak this team. Certainly if you could package Kovy to get back a good C, that would help. But first I'd try to sign Hossa or some other stud as a UFA

Bob has never had a problem tinkering with the smaller bits (Smoke, Breezer, Kostopolous were all great additions in the end) and he'll replaced the Streits of the world without much difficulty. And the experience will help a great deal. Nonetheless, you can't keep old stars around forever...

As for reflections on the season: THE HABS ARE BACK, BABY!!!!

I'm not sure we'll re-sign Streit either, his decision-making is terrible. But 62 points from a guy who is naturally a defenceman... that is pretty impressive. We have the caproom to sign him for 3 million so it isn't much of a risk for us. But if we let him go that just means that one more rookie will make the team. Do we want to get any younger than we already are?

I have a feeling Streit leaves, but I also have a feeling that Ryder might re-sign here for something like 1.5M x 1. He hasn't even been playing for us, but I have a feeling that Gainey will want to keep him around on a limited risk contract and see if he can pot 30 again. If Streit is leaving, that opens up the door for D'agostini so we wouldn't be closing a roster spot. Personally, I would probably let Ryder walk and then think hard about Streit - but I don't think Gainey will play it that way. (Smolinski and Brisebois are retiring)