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Does anyone on this site ever dream about non-french players. :wacko:

What's wrong with dreaming about French Canadian stars? French Canadian stars have always been at the heart of Canadiens Cup teams.

Yeah, back when they had the pick of the litter.....all the sudden the Entry draft comes along and the cups dry up.

http://www.liam.ca/ed20040319.html

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Does anyone on this site ever dream about non-french players. :wacko:

What's wrong with dreaming about French Canadian stars? French Canadian stars have always been at the heart of Canadiens Cup teams.

Yeah, back when they had the pick of the litter.....all the sudden the Entry draft comes along and the cups dry up.

http://www.liam.ca/ed20040319.html

Liam is hardcore......what a dork though

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This is his latest drivel....

http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?post_id=8549

On a scale of 0 to 10, this is what I'd like...on the Habs.

Markov 4

Peca 0

Yashin 1

Allison 1

McCarty 4

Boulton 5

Wow, he really went out on a limb picking Shanahan resigning with the Rangers. ( I sort of had my fingers crossed we would land him )

Forsberg would be an interesting possibility, but maybe BG is leaving enough cap space in order to make a grand pillage at the trade deadline. ^_^

Of all the players listed on that site you want Boulton????

Where would we play a guy that should be taking orders at a drive through window???

We don't have any room for the talented kids we have!

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No pleks and Kovy didn't play together the 2nd half because they were terrible the first half, and when was the last time the Habs had a 40 goal scorer? If you want to go check it's ok I will wait......

We have zero forwards who can gain the line, Kovy used to do it but he is old and slow now. Time to bite the bullet and make he single most important change we have been needing for 10 years.

If anyone deserves to be considered to be playing over their heads last season its the habs. Even in the first half we were winning games on Huets back and by one measly goal. We never dominated one game last season and when it came down to it we didn't have the size or will to keep up that thin margin of error.

Yes Huet will be healthy again and we will probably make a similar run but without the offense and a true power forward that can gain that line time and again I don't see us making any progress next year.

To be honest I think Plekanec simply did not play well in the first half...to paraphrase one of your arguments from another thread: "I use my eyes and see whats happening on the ice...I don't need to see accomodations/stats". LOL.

Look, I'm not disagreeing but lets remember that Plekanec was still adjusting to the NHL in the first half of the season...it may have had as much to do with that as it did with Kovalev.

Rather then change the entire style of this team by trying to fit in players we don't have, aren't available(read: not many legit power forwards on the market) they need to find players that have skills that fit the system they want to play. The Habs are a fast, skilled team up front...not much grit. They might as well go and find puck moving d-men(who are available), who can get them the puck on the fly, and in transition, instead of scraping out a lumbering power forward who will "gain the line" but put everyone else off-side, or simply cycle the puck in the corner with no result(I actually think the Habs can cycle well despite their lack of physical players).

I think the Habs played over their heads for about a month, but their mid-season slump was longer and more pronounced. With a healthy Huet, the youth getting another years experience, and more offense from the 3rd line the Habs could be alright this year...maybe even a trade deadline deal away from being a real threat in the conference. Of course, with youth the opposite is always a possibility...lol.

Edited by Zowpeb
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Where would we play a guy that should be taking orders at a drive through window???

We don't have any room for the talented kids we have!

Ok, am I only one who doesn't think the Habs should go with all youth?

The Habs only have 10 forwards (including the unsigned Ryder) that have played at least 1 entire season in the NHL. Add Lappiere and Kostitsyn and that gives you 12 "healthy" roster players that at least have NHL experience. That still leaves 2 more NHL roster players for even more youth. (Chipchura, Grabovski etc.) In fact only 4 forwards on the Habs (Koivu, Kovalev, Smolinski and Begin have more than 3-4 season of NHL experience.

On defense they are a bit better off with regards to experience but there is still a roster spot open for a rookie. I am all for going with youth but it has it's limitations. You can't put all your hope in the rookies expecting them to fill in for top line talent when injuries occur. I see Lapierre and Kostitsyn making the team right out of camp this year (Kostitsyn has too) but that doesn't mean they should be playing 82 games. Teams have injuries and you need to depth to deal with them. The Habs could lose Koivu and Kovalev with injuries and then the veteran leadership and experience will be seriously tested.

I also think the Habs still need a better fighter than Kostopoulous. I am not sure if Boultion is the answer but they need to add somebody. Souray was the only guy on the team that could actually win fights. It elevates the team and makes small players play bigger knowing that someone has their back.

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Where would we play a guy that should be taking orders at a drive through window???

We don't have any room for the talented kids we have!

Ok, am I only one who doesn't think the Habs should go with all youth?

The Habs only have 10 forwards (including the unsigned Ryder) that have played at least 1 entire season in the NHL. Add Lappiere and Kostitsyn and that gives you 12 "healthy" roster players that at least have NHL experience. That still leaves 2 more NHL roster players for even more youth. (Chipchura, Grabovski etc.) In fact only 4 forwards on the Habs (Koivu, Kovalev, Smolinski and Begin have more than 3-4 season of NHL experience.

On defense they are a bit better off with regards to experience but there is still a roster spot open for a rookie. I am all for going with youth but it has it's limitations. You can't put all your hope in the rookies expecting them to fill in for top line talent when injuries occur. I see Lapierre and Kostitsyn making the team right out of camp this year (Kostitsyn has too) but that doesn't mean they should be playing 82 games. Teams have injuries and you need to depth to deal with them. The Habs could lose Koivu and Kovalev with injuries and then the veteran leadership and experience will be seriously tested.

I also think the Habs still need a better fighter than Kostopoulous. I am not sure if Boultion is the answer but they need to add somebody. Souray was the only guy on the team that could actually win fights. It elevates the team and makes small players play bigger knowing that someone has their back.

By this logic we should trade all of our picks for the next 2-3 drafts because we have so many prospects right now. 1-2 young guys per year is going to leave alot of angry and departing potential stars because it would take 6 years just to get to Pacioretty and 8 years to get to McDonagh and Fischer.

You have to play the kids in this situation if only to find out who won't develop into stars and then possibly move them to open roster spots for players that might be.

You don't get experience without experience.

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Where would we play a guy that should be taking orders at a drive through window???

We don't have any room for the talented kids we have!

Ok, am I only one who doesn't think the Habs should go with all youth?

The Habs only have 10 forwards (including the unsigned Ryder) that have played at least 1 entire season in the NHL. Add Lappiere and Kostitsyn and that gives you 12 "healthy" roster players that at least have NHL experience. That still leaves 2 more NHL roster players for even more youth. (Chipchura, Grabovski etc.) In fact only 4 forwards on the Habs (Koivu, Kovalev, Smolinski and Begin have more than 3-4 season of NHL experience.

On defense they are a bit better off with regards to experience but there is still a roster spot open for a rookie. I am all for going with youth but it has it's limitations. You can't put all your hope in the rookies expecting them to fill in for top line talent when injuries occur. I see Lapierre and Kostitsyn making the team right out of camp this year (Kostitsyn has too) but that doesn't mean they should be playing 82 games. Teams have injuries and you need to depth to deal with them. The Habs could lose Koivu and Kovalev with injuries and then the veteran leadership and experience will be seriously tested.

I also think the Habs still need a better fighter than Kostopoulous. I am not sure if Boultion is the answer but they need to add somebody. Souray was the only guy on the team that could actually win fights. It elevates the team and makes small players play bigger knowing that someone has their back.

By this logic we should trade all of our picks for the next 2-3 drafts because we have so many prospects right now. 1-2 young guys per year is going to leave alot of angry and departing potential stars because it would take 6 years just to get to Pacioretty and 8 years to get to McDonagh and Fischer.

You have to play the kids in this situation if only to find out who won't develop into stars and then possibly move them to open roster spots for players that might be.

You don't get experience without experience.

I agree. Our strength is Drafting and youth. If we don't play them, we throw away that strenght. Could we stand to trade some of that youth (along with some of our older guys we're trying to clear, like our bottom tier D) for others. Yes, maybe, if BG thinks it'll help the team. but we're going to be filling from within so we better let them actually play... God knows we aren't the destination for UFAs.

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By this logic we should trade all of our picks for the next 2-3 drafts because we have so many prospects right now. 1-2 young guys per year is going to leave alot of angry and departing potential stars because it would take 6 years just to get to Pacioretty and 8 years to get to McDonagh and Fischer.

You have to play the kids in this situation if only to find out who won't develop into stars and then possibly move them to open roster spots for players that might be.

You don't get experience without experience.

I agree. Our strength is Drafting and youth. If we don't play them, we throw away that strenght. Could we stand to trade some of that youth (along with some of our older guys we're trying to clear, like our bottom tier D) for others. Yes, maybe, if BG thinks it'll help the team. but we're going to be filling from within so we better let them actually play... God knows we aren't the destination for UFAs.

BG can't attract UFA's that will make a difference. End of Story. Whether it's the master plan or not to build within, that is all BG has right now. I'm sure he is trying to land better players via trade but BG will NOT pull the trigger untill he feels the deal is right.

Where does that leave us? A very young team with a lot to prove. Not a bad place to be considering the talent we have stock piled. But as fans we should expect a very long season untill more of these kids develop into valuable trade bait and allow Gainey to trade for some value without giving up as they say "THE FARM"

AS someone else said in a thread. Have fun this year watching these kids turn into monsters and don't let your expectations get too high and you will surely enjoy the season. I think it will be refreshing just to see effort for 60 minutes.

The only part that I'm afraid of is if the youth movement takes a little longer then expected we may lose Koivu at the trade deadline. He will want to go to a contender very soon. Don't be suprised to see Koivu a Flyer in June holding the cup with his fellow countrymen. That's what I fear most of building within. Chasing away the heart of this team.

Our close to if not longest serving Captain........

UNLESSSSSSSSSS.........

We have a freak year....a cinderella story.....

Kovalev has a crazy season......

Pleks, Koivu, Latty, ####, Ryder, Smokie, Lappy, Higgins all score 20 or more goals.......

We get a surprise Patrick Royesque season from a very young Carey Price....

Ah we can only hope and hope we will

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We have a freak year....a cinderella story.....

Kovalev has a crazy season......

Pleks, Koivu, Latty, ####, Ryder, Smokie, Lappy, Higgins all score 20 or more goals.......

We get a surprise Patrick Royesque season from a very young Carey Price....

Ah we can only hope and hope we will

well, we do have 4 returning 20 goal scorers (and kovalev and Latendresse were close with 18 and 16 respectively) and I don't have that many concerns about the quality of our goaltending...

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well, we do have 4 returning 20 goal scorers (and kovalev and Latendresse were close with 18 and 16 respectively) and I don't have that many concerns about the quality of our goaltending...

You are right. The Habs could be a suprise team this year as long there are no pitfalls and a few earlier then expected surprises. One thing we know for sure is most teams will underestimate the Montreal Canadiens this coming season based on the desire of current UFA's to play for Montreal and on the Ryan Smyth comment. "the habs won't be great anytime soon."

If the habs work hard they could grab a bunch of wins from their unexpecting opponents. I guess we'll see.

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just to add a bit of fuel to the Ek dallas-mtl rumour: http://thefourthperiod.com/news/dal070711.html

basically it says that Dallas is looking for trade partners to pick up a goalscorer. If you want to play cryptographer, I guess one could link this report up with Ek's and say the Dallas might be trying to grab Ryder (although I doubt they would trade away Lehtinen in the interest of adding offense).

Or this could all be BS.

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well, we do have 4 returning 20 goal scorers (and kovalev and Latendresse were close with 18 and 16 respectively) and I don't have that many concerns about the quality of our goaltending...

You are right. The Habs could be a suprise team this year as long there are no pitfalls and a few earlier then expected surprises. One thing we know for sure is most teams will underestimate the Montreal Canadiens this coming season based on the desire of current UFA's to play for Montreal and on the Ryan Smyth comment. "the habs won't be great anytime soon."

If the habs work hard they could grab a bunch of wins from their unexpecting opponents. I guess we'll see.

That doesn't sound like a Ryan Smyth comment to me. When did he say this?

Source?

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You are right. The Habs could be a suprise team this year as long there are no pitfalls and a few earlier then expected surprises. One thing we know for sure is most teams will underestimate the Montreal Canadiens this coming season based on the desire of current UFA's to play for Montreal and on the Ryan Smyth comment. "the habs won't be great anytime soon."

If the habs work hard they could grab a bunch of wins from their unexpecting opponents. I guess we'll see.

Yes that is a possibility, but so is finishing dead last. I'd rather trade for a bonifide 1st liner than sit on my a$$ and hope for the best.

We have problems that need to be fixed, hoping they go away on their own is counter productive.

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You are right. The Habs could be a suprise team this year as long there are no pitfalls and a few earlier then expected surprises. One thing we know for sure is most teams will underestimate the Montreal Canadiens this coming season based on the desire of current UFA's to play for Montreal and on the Ryan Smyth comment. "the habs won't be great anytime soon."

If the habs work hard they could grab a bunch of wins from their unexpecting opponents. I guess we'll see.

Yes that is a possibility, but so is finishing dead last. I'd rather trade for a bonifide 1st liner than sit on my a$$ and hope for the best.

We have problems that need to be fixed, hoping they go away on their own is counter productive.

AGREED. My statement was based on Gainey really trying hard to land a Stand-up UFA, and trying to trade without getting hosed. I believe Gainey is not sitting on his A$$. He is trying. Therefore Im hoping. I've taught myself to hope every year, since 1993. That Stanley cup team was not that great. Great goalie and what? 10 lucky overtimes. We still won. All the kids could surprise with the right confidence instilled and a great ......and I mean GREAT goaltender. Which we could have in our back pocket and not even know it. I'm not talking about Carey Price either.

Edited by SAKS-AVENUE
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The pessimism is still getting to me...I'm with Wamsley01. There's no reason to think this team will be worse than last year's, and there are reasonable, if not iron-clad, grounds to hope that some young players such as Lats, Pleks, Higgins, and Komisarek will continue to improve. As I've said, one breakout season by one young player and it will be as though we added a major UFA. A series of moderate improvements by all of those players would amount to the same thing, or possibly even better.

Yes, it's fashionable to look at who other teams added and quake with fear that they've all improved on paper. But I just say, remember last year's Bruins: tons of fresh talent, and they went nowhere. The Habs have the advantage of stability, in terms of system, coaching, and personnel, and that may give them an edge over teams like Philly with more talent but no proven chemistry. Meanwhile, Buffalo, Jersey and the Islanders are candidates to take a step back.

Are we separtated from the pack that clusters in 6th-12th place in the Conference? No. Are we obviously doomed to finish in the bottom half of that group? No. So let's stop the moanin' and a-groanin'.

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AGREED. My statement was based on Gainey really trying hard to land a Stand-up UFA, and trying to trade without getting hosed. I believe Gainey is not sitting on his A$$. He is trying. Therefore Im hoping. I've taught myself to hope every year, since 1993. That Stanley cup team was not that great. Great goalie and what? 10 lucky overtimes. We still won. All the kids could surprise with the right confidence instilled and a great ......and I mean GREAT goaltender. Which we could have in our back pocket and not even know it. I'm not talking about Carey Price either.

Halak?

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AGREED. My statement was based on Gainey really trying hard to land a Stand-up UFA, and trying to trade without getting hosed. I believe Gainey is not sitting on his A$$. He is trying. Therefore Im hoping. I've taught myself to hope every year, since 1993. That Stanley cup team was not that great. Great goalie and what? 10 lucky overtimes. We still won. All the kids could surprise with the right confidence instilled and a great ......and I mean GREAT goaltender. Which we could have in our back pocket and not even know it. I'm not talking about Carey Price either.

Halak?

Must be.

He still has not lost at home.

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The NY post says Souray may be willing to sign for one year.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/07112007...rry_brooks.htm

yeah, I heard that earlier today and I must say I'm amazed. I wonder what kind of deals he walked away from (aside from the supposed $5.5*4 from Mtl) before deciding to live to fight another day.

Despite his attrocious +/- you would think a 20 goal scoring D-man around whom you could build a league-leading PP would be in high demand. I guess the defensive lapses and injury history scarred teams away from the high money, long term commitment he so obviously was looking for.

But what's next for Sheldon? I cannot see him significantly eclipsing his career high for goals and I am curious as to how much of his offense he would have to sacrifice to get to an even +/- (which he has not had since the lockout). Even giving up the offensive game that makes him so attractive, would sheldon have the ability to provide big money defense? I doubt it.

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If Souray signs for 1 year it'll be a big mistake as he'll never be able to repeat 19 powerplay goals, 26 total goals and 63 points. He'll be a good offensive player but he just had a record season. By playing out this season on a one-year contract he'll only lower his stock, I think.

He must feel really bad about turning Gainey's alleged offer down now. Unless of course he really didn't want to come back here.

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If Souray signs for 1 year it'll be a big mistake as he'll never be able to repeat 19 powerplay goals, 26 total goals and 63 points. He'll be a good offensive player but he just had a record season. By playing out this season on a one-year contract he'll only lower his stock, I think.

He must feel really bad about turning Gainey's alleged offer down now. Unless of course he really didn't want to come back here.

hopefully he's kicking himself in the ass greedy bastard

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If Souray signs for 1 year it'll be a big mistake as he'll never be able to repeat 19 powerplay goals, 26 total goals and 63 points. He'll be a good offensive player but he just had a record season. By playing out this season on a one-year contract he'll only lower his stock, I think.

He must feel really bad about turning Gainey's alleged offer down now. Unless of course he really didn't want to come back here.

Souray, if he stays healthy, can reasonably be pegged as a 20-goal, 50-point man. He was on a 20-goal pace before injuries in 2004 and scored at that pace in the second half of the 2005-2006 season, after his messy divorce was cleared up.

The trouble with him is that he's a specialist. He's the league's best shot, a one-man powerplay. But in no other facet of the game is he really above average (at best). This makes his value hard to assess. How much DO you pay a #4 defenceman who suddenly becomes a superstar on the PP? Do you pay him like a #4 d-man (say, $3.5-4 mil) or an all-star (6-mil plus)? The Habs wisely split the difference but Souray had other ideas. He seems to have been a victim of his own game, a game that makes him uniquely hard to pigeonhole for contractual purposes.

Incidentally, it's clear now that he never did want to come back here. If he had any particular fondness for Montreal at ALL, he would have signed for the very fair $5.5 mil. Souray played Habs fans for chumps. Much, much worse, he played Bob Gainey for a chump. Bob thought Souray was seriously interested in returning, for a fair deal. Bob was wrong - and probably that's exactly what Souray wanted. The result is that we lost the chance to trade a major asset and get serious value back in the form of a young player who might have still left cap room for us to sign Hamrlik. Much as I love him as a media personality, Souray royally jerked this organization around.

Edited by The Chicoutimi Cucumber
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Souray just had a record season. He has almost no chance of repeating it - no one ever has. He just had a career, historical season and isn't taking advantage of it. There is no way he can improve his stock upon what he's set it at this season. Unless, of course, he repeats these numbers but does it with an even +/- which will NEVER happen.

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