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GDT: Senators/Habs, Jan. 16, 7:00 PM


dlbalr

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Well in his 3 games in the NHL he has three wins, a save % of .966 and a goals against of 1.00.

maybe we can trade price and halak for him....lmfao

i love the short sighted fans...

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Ah well now we are seeing the price of old again :( the one who stays back in his net and lacking confidence.

Not saying the habs need to panic but a few more games like this and we'll be kissing the leafs. The freaking standings are too close to play like this.

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Geez, guys, take a look at the goals:

First goal: Giveaway by Pouliot, perfect shot by Zack Smith off the post and in top shelf stick side. Let me repeat... PERFECT SHOT.

Second goal: Giveaway by Markov, point shot by Ottawa. There is a rebound in the slot, but more than that... DANIEL ALFREDSSON OF ALL PEOPLE IS ALL ALONE IN THE SLOT. Markov is late in picking him up, no forwards help out. Of all people, the team lets Alfredsson go unchecked. Easy tap in.

Third goal: Point shot on the ice deflects off Plekanec's stick and goes high.

Boy, Price was sure awful. We're essentially crucifying him for one bad rebound off a turnover.

Can't really fault Price on any of the goals.

But, I will say two things. If Halak had let in the second one, everyone would be saying that it was due to his weak rebound control.

Secondly, Price is not making the BIG saves when needed. He had a few last night. But let's face it with the team we go, we NEED our goalies to make those momentum changing saves. You can talk all you want about SOG, Save percentage, GOA, but the bottom line is that RIGHT NOW, Halak is making the big saves at the right time. THe habs can't afford to play musical goalies and continue to give guys a chance to show what they can do. They need to go with the hot hand that is adding to the points total.

I find some of the analogies that are being thrown out comparing the Halak-Price situation and the support the Halak has to be the same type of situation as when people were saying play Bunny Laraque over Dryden, or Red Light Racicot over Roy. There is a BIG difference. Dryden and Roy had proved IN THE NHL that they are winners. Neither Price or Halak have the resume that you can continue to give either of them the pass when they are struggling.

If we are going to make the playoffs, Martin has to ride the hot goalie as long as he is winning - regardless of whether that is Halak or Price. Right now, I just think that the logical choice is halak.

Let's face it. This year the two keys to our success have been goaltending and special teams. If either aren't up to par, we are probably going to lose, if the opposition's Special teams AND goaltending are better then ours WE WILL LOSE. Given the team we have, it's a simple as that.

Edited by hab29RETIRED
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goalies dont win games..teams do..we got 2 goalie with about the same numbers...proves a couple of things..we got good goalies..avg team...we cant asked 2 young goalies to win every game for us..we got to score more goals..if you base us on winning games base on 2 players under the age of 25..then you lacking hockey sense..

no matter who we have in net, i still think we have the same record...if halak played every game this year do you think we be first over all or if price played every game we be first..F**K no..

the point is this is a team sport and the way the team playing we are right about where we should be..i think we are a little high really with all sh*t luck we had this year..

i can live with not making the playoff this year if it make us a better team next year..

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Mike Ribeiro: enters the league as a highly-touted 19-year-old. Takes a regular shift by age 21. Has ups and downs, including a 65-point season and a regression to 51 points and a much-publicized incident of playoff diving. Many Montreal fans gradually turn on him, declaring him 'ruined' by his early entry into the league, a head case, 'spoiled brat,' 'poison in the locker room,' more proof of the Habs' bad drafting, etc.. At age 25, he is traded. By age 27 he is an 83-point player and #1 C on the Dallas Stars and eventually an NHL All Star.

Guillaume Latendresse: enters the league as a highly-touted 19-year-old. Has ups and downs, including three seasons of 15+ goals and strong third-liner performances, but also regular failure to make any statement when used in more offensive roles. Development seems to flatline. Many fans turn on him, declaring him 'ruined' by his early entry into the league, a head case, a 'spoiled brat,' perhaps a 'cancer in the locker room,' more proof of the Habs' bad drafting, etc.. At age 23, he is traded. Proceeds to score 19 points in 24 games in Minnesota.

Carey Price: enters the league as a highly-touted 20-year-old. Has ups and downs, including historic totals for a player of his age, tremendous runs, disastrous playoff series and much-publicized incidents of partying, weeping and temper tantrums. Many fans turns on him, declaring him 'ruined' by his early entry into the league, a head case, perhaps a 'spoiled brat,' more proof of the Habs' bad drafting, etc.. At age 22, he is not traded. Yet.

There's a pattern here, folks. Highly talented young players take time. Fans in Montreal turn on them en masse after about two years if the results are not consistently and undeniably speactacular. The players are then driven elsewhere, where they eventually flourish as their talent dictates they should. Price is now exactly where Ribeiro was in the minds of Montreal fans about a year before Ribs was traded. If the pattern holds true, Carey Price will be bludgeoned into submission by fans and media and run out of town within the next couple of years. Then he will emerge as the dominant all-star he has long been projected to be.

Bottom line? Stop bitching about highly talented young players. Thanks.

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Well, when Bob made the trade I said that we gave up on Gui too soon, and he's prooving me right! 19 points (including 13 goals) in 24 games played for minny!! You don't think Gui could've played with Gomez and Gionta? When Martin showed up, Gui would play a few minutes on the first 2 lines during the 1st period, then he sit out most of the rest of the game!

I've always Liked Bob. I was patient with his rebuilding plan for the first 5 years, but he's starting to make more and more mistakes. All I'm saying is maybe Bob is not the savior who will lead us to our next cup!?!?!?

Frankly the screwup with Lats wasn't giving up on him. Gainey had know choice to move his lazy ass out of town. I'm just amazed we actually got someone that could turn the situation into a win-win situation if both Lats and Pouliot sustain their current production, or at least continue to keep producing at a respectable level.

The habs screwed up with Lats, the same way the screwed up with Ribeiro and the way they are screwing up with MaxPax by keeping a young kid in the lineup, based on the occasional flashes he shows, when on most nights they have shown that they are clearly not ready for full time duty in the NHL.

Unless we are talking about talent like Crosby, Ovechkin, Malkin, Tavares, most young players need the seasoning in the minors, where they can not only work on finding success at the next level, but also learn what it takes to be a professional.

The habs unfortunately, not only have tried to force feed guys into the NHL (Ribeiro, Lats, MaxPax, SKosty, Price), before they are ready, but in the case of Ribeiro and Lats, they brough up young local francohphone kids (even though he doesn't have the same amount of talent, you can also add Lapierre to this list as well), who by becoming the darlings of the French media, let their press clippings and popularity get to their heads and forget that it wasn't on talent alone that they got drafted and found their way to the NHL. As a result, while these guys are on the habs, they will continue to show the flashes of brilliance that will continue to entice the fans and tease them with what they can become, but unfortunately, their work ethic and professionalism, ensures that either they will foreover be 3rd or 4th liners while they are habs. It's only when these guys get traded, stop getting treated like rock stars, do they get the wake up call that they actually need to work harder and put forth the effort needed to succeed at the NHL level.

Bob Gainey and company are doing a great job of developing career third/fourth liners. I really hope they wake up and realize how they are screwing up their prospects and send down MaxPax to hamilton, before he too is declared a bust and moveth. Then he can join the list of habs prospects that the habs "Gave UP on too early" - which to me is a misnomar, because, it isn't that they habs gave up too early on Lats or Ribeiro, its that they did a lousy job of developing them - not just in terms of their hockey skill - but in terms of getting them to realize what it takes to be a proffesional. It's only when they are traded that they get the wake up call and dose of reality they need.

As much as I absolutely HATE and can't stand that blow hard Brian Burke or anyone to do with t the Toronto Maple leafs, i do have to say that I totally agree with him sending Kadri back to junior despite the strong camp he had. On this forum, people have brought up that the habs had no choice to keep Ribiero or Lats up, because of how bad the team was. Were those Habs teams any worse then the Leafs are this year????

The habs management has to wake up on learn how to develop home grown talent, or in 3 years time we will be having the same discussion about Louis Leblanc!!

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Mike Ribeiro: enters the league as a highly-touted 19-year-old. Takes a regular shift by age 21. Has ups and downs, including a 65-point season and a regression to 51 points and a much-publicized incident of playoff diving. Many Montreal fans gradually turn on him, declaring him 'ruined' by his early entry into the league, a head case, 'spoiled brat,' 'poison in the locker room,' more proof of the Habs' bad drafting, etc.. At age 25, he is traded. By age 27 he is an 83-point player and #1 C on the Dallas Stars and eventually an NHL All Star.

Guillaume Latendresse: enters the league as a highly-touted 19-year-old. Has ups and downs, including three seasons of 15+ goals and strong third-liner performances, but also regular failure to make any statement when used in more offensive roles. Development seems to flatline. Many fans turn on him, declaring him 'ruined' by his early entry into the league, a head case, a 'spoiled brat,' perhaps a 'cancer in the locker room,' more proof of the Habs' bad drafting, etc.. At age 23, he is traded. Proceeds to score 19 points in 24 games in Minnesota.

Carey Price: enters the league as a highly-touted 20-year-old. Has ups and downs, including historic totals for a player of his age, tremendous runs, disastrous playoff series and much-publicized incidents of partying, weeping and temper tantrums. Many fans turns on him, declaring him 'ruined' by his early entry into the league, a head case, perhaps a 'spoiled brat,' more proof of the Habs' bad drafting, etc.. At age 22, he is not traded. Yet.

There's a pattern here, folks. Highly talented young players take time. Fans in Montreal turn on them en masse after about two years if the results are not consistently and undeniably speactacular. The players are then driven elsewhere, where they eventually flourish as their talent dictates they should. Price is now exactly where Ribeiro was in the minds of Montreal fans about a year before Ribs was traded. If the pattern holds true, Carey Price will be bludgeoned into submission by fans and media and run out of town within the next couple of years. Then he will emerge as the dominant all-star he has long been projected to be.

Bottom line? Stop bitching about highly talented young players. Thanks.

+1 (Partly :rolleyes: )

I just spent the last 10 minutes finished posting a similar view.

However, I think its not so much a matter that habs fans needing to stop bitching about young players and more about Habs managment learning how to develop and handle young talent. The managment on the habs is more to blame by putting guys in a position to fail by force feeding them into the NHL, before they are fully ready, more so then the fans who complain about the players when they fail.

Ribiero and Lats were not ready to be prime-time NHL players or to be marketed the way the Habs marketing machine was marketing them.

Ditto with Price, however, Gainey is to blame more then anyone else by putting Price into the position where the fans were bound to boo him. There was no question that Price was struggling and probably needed to be sent to the minors to find his game. However, Gainey like the gambler in denial that he has a gambling problem, kept rolling the dice and kept either forcing his coaches to start Price, or when he took over kept starting his thoroughbred when he had no business being in goal. IMO, how can you blame the fans for booing the kid when he was clearly stinking?????? This is on Gainey and managements poor managmeent and handling of young talent that are to blame and not the fans!!

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goalies dont win games..teams do..we got 2 goalie with about the same numbers...proves a couple of things..we got good goalies..avg team...we cant asked 2 young goalies to win every game for us..we got to score more goals..if you base us on winning games base on 2 players under the age of 25..then you lacking hockey sense..

no matter who we have in net, i still think we have the same record...if halak played every game this year do you think we be first over all or if price played every game we be first..F**K no..

the point is this is a team sport and the way the team playing we are right about where we should be..i think we are a little high really with all sh*t luck we had this year..

i can live with not making the playoff this year if it make us a better team next year..

REALLY??? So you are saying that if we had Vachon or Phil Myre in net rather then Dryden in 1971, or Brian Hayward, Steve Penny in net rather then Roy in 1986 or Red Light Racicot in the nets rather then Roy n 1993 we would have won the cup??

Those three years the goalie WON the cup and the team rode on their back.

For us to make the playoffs this year, we are going to make it riding on the back of our goalies and special teams.

AND how is not making the playoffs going to make us a better team next year - unless of course we totally tank and get one of the top two lottery picks??? We missed the playoffs plenty during the past 15 years, I really didn't see us being much better the years after we missed the playoffs. How much better are the leafs this year, or last year, or the year before???

It's one think to really stink and get a top 3 pick for 3 or 4 years and then get better through the draft and its entirely another think to miss the playoffs, get a mid round draft pick and suddenly magically expect to get better becuase of what you "learned" the year you missed the playoffs.

Edited by hab29RETIRED
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+1 (Partly :rolleyes: )

I just spent the last 10 minutes finished posting a similar view.

However, I think its not so much a matter that habs fans needing to stop bitching about young players and more about Habs managment learning how to develop and handle young talent. The managment on the habs is more to blame by putting guys in a position to fail by force feeding them into the NHL, before they are fully ready, more so then the fans who complain about the players when they fail.

Ribiero and Lats were not ready to be prime-time NHL players or to be marketed the way the Habs marketing machine was marketing them.

Ditto with Price, however, Gainey is to blame more then anyone else by putting Price into the position where the fans were bound to boo him. There was no question that Price was struggling and probably needed to be sent to the minors to find his game. However, Gainey like the gambler in denial that he has a gambling problem, kept rolling the dice and kept either forcing his coaches to start Price, or when he took over kept starting his thoroughbred when he had no business being in goal. IMO, how can you blame the fans for booing the kid when he was clearly stinking?????? This is on Gainey and managements poor managmeent and handling of young talent that are to blame and not the fans!!

yes gainey is in part to blame..but there fans that are so dumb to boo a kid and blame him for our losing..just show most fans have little clue about hockey and puts them on the same page as leaf fans...

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yes gainey is in part to blame..but there fans that are so dumb to boo a kid and blame him for our losing..just show most fans have little clue about hockey and puts them on the same page as leaf fans...

Actually, for the better part of the last 40 years, leafs fans have been cheering on their pathetic teams, lose, lose or lose!

As a habs fan - I NEVER want to see that kind of attitude from habs fans - acceptance of losing is a disease, that plauged this team enough during the Houle and early Savard years.

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REALLY??? So you are saying that if we had Vachon or Phil Myre in net rather then Dryden in 1971, or Brian Hayward, Steve Penny in net rather then Roy in 1986 or Red Light Racicot in the nets rather then Roy n 1993 we would have won the cup??

Those three years the goalie WON the cup and the team rode on their back.

For us to make the playoffs this year, we are going to make it riding on the back of our goalies and special teams.

i dont know, and you dont either..the odds are no, but no one can till the future... its so easy to look back and say well...but you know what there was dumb fans back then that didnt what dryden in net or roy in net..

and no those goalie didnt win the cup, the team did..asked roy and dryden,they tell you...

only a dumb fan thinks goalies can win all those games by thier self..but the fact is roy and dryden didnt win cups every year they played...

so much goes in to a team winning a cup and for a fan to say its because of one person is a joke..

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Actually, for the better part of the last 40 years, leafs fans have been cheering on their pathetic teams, lose, lose or lose!

As a habs fan - I NEVER want to see that kind of attitude from habs fans - acceptance of losing is a disease, that plauged this team enough during the Houle and early Savard years.

sometimes you must lose the battle to win the war.

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So after 24 games Lattendresse is a superstar and Gainey and company made a mistake? I am quite happy with Pouliot. His speed and style is need with those two little fellers. Lats was too slow for our top 2 lines which play a give and go fast game, and are supposed to get back for the forecheck fast. Latendresse is hot. There is no question. If you go back to the trade thread, you can see that I was quite mad about the trade and wanted Lats to stick around. But Benny is a great hockey player and I think both teams have won this trade.

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i dont know, and you dont either..the odds are no, but no one can till the future... its so easy to look back and say well...but you know what there was dumb fans back then that didnt what dryden in net or roy in net..

and no those goalie didnt win the cup, the team did..asked roy and dryden,they tell you...

only a dumb fan thinks goalies can win all those games by thier self..but the fact is roy and dryden didnt win cups every year they played...

so much goes in to a team winning a cup and for a fan to say its because of one person is a joke..

No goalie - not even an eg-maniac like Roy is going to say that HE won the cup for his team.

However, If you read the interviews from the 71, 86 and 93 teams, the players on those teams for the most part said it was Dryden or Roy that either won them the cup. In 86 and 93, there were a few players who specifically said that that the only reason they have a cup ring is Roy. Similarly, the guys on the opposition during those years said it was the goalie who beat them. Red interviews of Esposito, Orr, Hull, et el, who all said that it was Dryden Dryden who beat us - he was too good.

Did you see the 86 or 93 playoffs??? The habs had no buiness winning most of those games. Goaltending was the only reason they won.

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No goalie - not even an eg-maniac like Roy is going to say that HE won the cup for his team.

However, If you read the interviews from the 71, 86 and 93 teams, the players on those teams for the most part said it was Dryden or Roy that either won them the cup. In 86 and 93, there were a few players who specifically said that that the only reason they have a cup ring is Roy. Similarly, the guys on the opposition during those years said it was the goalie who beat them. Red interviews of Esposito, Orr, Hull, et el, who all said that it was Dryden Dryden who beat us - he was too good.

Did you see the 86 or 93 playoffs??? The habs had no buiness winning most of those games. Goaltending was the only reason they won.

lol its not the only reason they won..goalie dont score..they might be a big factor in the win but to say they were the only reason is plan wrong...in saying that your saying if roy or dryden was on any other team that year that team would win the cup lol..

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Just for clarification, is the point you're trying to make that the change is because of Price's supposed bad play or Halak's good play?

Both... although calling Price's play bad is going too far. His play is mediocre most of the time, with occasional swings in both directions (very good and very bad).

Halak's play is usually very good, with the very occasional bad game. And this talk of the quality of his opposition is utter nonsense. 40 shots is 40 shots, no matter who is taking them.

I also have a theory as to why the team doesn't score as much when Price is in nets (and it's only a theory folks, so don't go nuts.) I think the team plays more confidently and takes more chances offensively when Halak plays because they have more confidence that a mistake by them will not result in a goal. Those who have played hockey know that a team plays better when they're confident in their goalie. Just look at the NJ Devils the last 10 years. I think that when Price plays, the team plays more conservatively, trying to limit the chances against (which, of course, is a big mistake as "prevent defences" usually end up doing the opposite - creating more chances against).

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Both... although calling Price's play bad is going too far. His play is mediocre most of the time, with occasional swings in both directions (very good and very bad).

Halak's play is usually very good, with the very occasional bad game. And this talk of the quality of his opposition is utter nonsense. 40 shots is 40 shots, no matter who is taking them.

I also have a theory as to why the team doesn't score as much when Price is in nets (and it's only a theory folks, so don't go nuts.) I think the team plays more confidently and takes more chances offensively when Halak plays because they have more confidence that a mistake by them will not result in a goal. Those who have played hockey know that a team plays better when they're confident in their goalie. Just look at the NJ Devils the last 10 years. I think that when Price plays, the team plays more conservatively, trying to limit the chances against (which, of course, is a big mistake as "prevent defences" usually end up doing the opposite - creating more chances against).

+1

I also think that Price needs to project better body language to his teammates and not glare at them when they screwup. It's one thing for a sure fire hall of famer like Roy to do it, or for a Martin Brodeur to call out his coach to the GM (Julian situation), its another thing for a kid who hasn't won anything as a pro to start to do it.

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Both... although calling Price's play bad is going too far. His play is mediocre most of the time, with occasional swings in both directions (very good and very bad).

Halak's play is usually very good, with the very occasional bad game. And this talk of the quality of his opposition is utter nonsense. 40 shots is 40 shots, no matter who is taking them.

I also have a theory as to why the team doesn't score as much when Price is in nets (and it's only a theory folks, so don't go nuts.) I think the team plays more confidently and takes more chances offensively when Halak plays because they have more confidence that a mistake by them will not result in a goal. Those who have played hockey know that a team plays better when they're confident in their goalie. Just look at the NJ Devils the last 10 years. I think that when Price plays, the team plays more conservatively, trying to limit the chances against (which, of course, is a big mistake as "prevent defences" usually end up doing the opposite - creating more chances against).

The team scores more for Halak, because he plays the weaker teams, it can't be more obvious than that.

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lol its not the only reason they won..goalie dont score..they might be a big factor in the win but to say they were the only reason is plan wrong...in saying that your saying if roy or dryden was on any other team that year that team would win the cup lol..

Whatever, if you can't accept what 99% of anyone who follows hockey takes for granted - that goaltending aside those habs teams had no business winning the those three cups, then its pointly arguing.

The only team that had a legitimate chance of going to the finals was the 86 team, which at least finished in the top 10 in the standings and even there, it was a matter of Roy and the stars lining up the right opposition (i.e. Steve Smith scoring on his own goal), that allowed them to win the cup. In 1993 we had over 100 points but finished 3rd in our DIVISION!!

Edited by hab29RETIRED
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So after 24 games Lattendresse is a superstar and Gainey and company made a mistake? I am quite happy with Pouliot. His speed and style is need with those two little fellers. Lats was too slow for our top 2 lines which play a give and go fast game, and are supposed to get back for the forecheck fast. Latendresse is hot. There is no question. If you go back to the trade thread, you can see that I was quite mad about the trade and wanted Lats to stick around. But Benny is a great hockey player and I think both teams have won this trade.

Personally, I was unhappy with the Ribeiro trade but I have no problem at all with the Latendresse one. I really believe that Latendresse will come back down to Earth, while Pouliot will continue to improve. Could be wrong, but that's my belief.

Rebeiro, oth, I knew would get better. He had the skills. He just needed to put on some muscle.

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+1 (Partly :rolleyes: )

I just spent the last 10 minutes finished posting a similar view.

However, I think its not so much a matter that habs fans needing to stop bitching about young players and more about Habs managment learning how to develop and handle young talent. The managment on the habs is more to blame by putting guys in a position to fail by force feeding them into the NHL, before they are fully ready, more so then the fans who complain about the players when they fail.

Ribiero and Lats were not ready to be prime-time NHL players or to be marketed the way the Habs marketing machine was marketing them.

Ditto with Price, however, Gainey is to blame more then anyone else by putting Price into the position where the fans were bound to boo him. There was no question that Price was struggling and probably needed to be sent to the minors to find his game. However, Gainey like the gambler in denial that he has a gambling problem, kept rolling the dice and kept either forcing his coaches to start Price, or when he took over kept starting his thoroughbred when he had no business being in goal. IMO, how can you blame the fans for booing the kid when he was clearly stinking?????? This is on Gainey and managements poor managmeent and handling of young talent that are to blame and not the fans!!

Well, there's distinct issues here. One is the discourse of the fans. I get fed up with hysterical and self-righteous backseat drivers, people who crap all over young players and often make Montreal a very, very difficult place of them - and who then turn around and crap all over Gainey when he does what they want and trades away those very same young players. Some minimal level of reasonableness from the fanbase would be nice, you know?

Then there's the managerial issue. I believe Gainey moved Ribeiro because he and Koivu were in conflict, a fact that Ribeiro has publically attested to. This is an 'old school' solution, and the wrong solution - he should have done all he could to broker a workable relationship, rather than simply dispose of a guy his captain didn't like. (He did the same thing with Grabovski, who I could have added to my list of talented young guys driven out of town to a chorus of fan derision. Mercifully, the experience with Sergei Kostitysn suggests that Bob is rethinking this approach).

Lats, Bob moved because Jacques Martin didn't like him, and also because his salary demands were not in line with what the Habs wanted to pay. I think that's more reasonable.

Bob has done everything he can to make Price unmoveable by staking his prestige as GM upon the kid.

Where I mildly disagree with you, Habs29, is in your belief that the Habs 'put these guys in a position to fail.' This is only partly true. If Ribeiro has become an all-star and Lats is showing serious signs of emerging as a major top-6 forward, doesn't that prove that the Habs did in fact help them to be successful - or at least that they were in no way permanently harmed by the early accession to the NHL? The issue, it seems to me, is less that these guys came in too early, than that the organization, for whatever reason, failed to show sufficient patience in waiting for them to reap the benefits of all this early experience. The odds are that in 4-5 years, Carey Price will look back on these early struggles as hugely important in helping him survive any future turmoil he faces in his career. The real danger is not that the early struggles will 'ruin' Price, it's that the intolerant fan and media reaction to early struggles will permanently sour Price (and other talented young guys) on playing in Montreal. Which in part seems to be what happened with Lats. Bob's mistake here seems to be underestimating the lunacy of the fans and media and the impact of that lunacy on the player. But I'm not sure I can lambaste Gainey for respecting the intelligence of Montreal fans, supposedly among the most erudite in the game.

And I do blame the fans for booing their own players. That is pathological garbage, especially when the player is a kid, and the boo birds should be ashamed of themselves.

I also dispute your inclusion of MaxPac in this list. The media focus on him is far less intense than it's been on the other three. He has gathered tons of valuable experience and has had the ups and downs you'd expect. The Pacioretty experience is much closer to what should be normal for a talented young player. He's been allowed to have ups and downs. This is as it should be, and I wouldn't be surprised if he emerges as a very nice player for us in the years to come. It's Price joining this list of excellent ex-pats that worries me.

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And this talk of the quality of his opposition is utter nonsense. 40 shots is 40 shots, no matter who is taking them.

It's not about the quality of the shots against him, it's our goals for in those games.

The Habs score more against weak teams --> the Habs are more likely to win these games. That's a much more realistic theory.

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+1

I also think that Price needs to project better body language to his teammates and not glare at them when they screwup. It's one thing for a sure fire hall of famer like Roy to do it, or for a Martin Brodeur to call out his coach to the GM (Julian situation), its another thing for a kid who hasn't won anything as a pro to start to do it.

Thought it was my imagination that the team seems to like Halak better (based on post-game celebrations with the two - admittedly not too scientific.) Honestly though, I haven't noticed Price glaring at his teammates. Has anyone else here seen this?

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Whatever, if you can't accept what 99% of anyone who follows hockey takes for granted - that goaltending aside those habs teams had no business winning the those three cups, then its pointly arguing.

The only team that had a legitimate chance of going to the finals was the 86 team, which at least finished in the top 10 in the standings and even there, it was a matter of Roy and the stars lining up the right opposition (i.e. Steve Smith scoring on his own goal), that allowed them to win the cup. In 1993 we had over 100 points but finished 3rd in our DIVISION!!

sorry iam not a sheep..i not in with the 99% of hockey fans that know everything..i think most people say that we couldnt when the cup without those guys because they were a piece of a great team and a important piece but just a piece, it take many piaces to win a cup...

sorry i dont think one person can win a cup all by him self..

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Both... although calling Price's play bad is going too far. His play is mediocre most of the time, with occasional swings in both directions (very good and very bad).

Halak's play is usually very good, with the very occasional bad game. And this talk of the quality of his opposition is utter nonsense. 40 shots is 40 shots, no matter who is taking them.

I also have a theory as to why the team doesn't score as much when Price is in nets (and it's only a theory folks, so don't go nuts.) I think the team plays more confidently and takes more chances offensively when Halak plays because they have more confidence that a mistake by them will not result in a goal. Those who have played hockey know that a team plays better when they're confident in their goalie. Just look at the NJ Devils the last 10 years. I think that when Price plays, the team plays more conservatively, trying to limit the chances against (which, of course, is a big mistake as "prevent defences" usually end up doing the opposite - creating more chances against).

I have a theory too. Halak wins against bad teams. That is good. Price sometimes blows it against bad teams. But, like I said before, it is easier to win against Florida and Carolina than Washington and Pittsburgh. Halak has not beaten a single strong team this year. So the question is...Is it about Halak and Price? Or is the issue the team.

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