French Canadians

[mathieu30]

Le club de hockey Canadien

R. Zednik

J. Bulis

C. Higgins

P. Dagenais

R. Ivanans

P. Vandermeer

M. Lambert

J. Bonneau

G. Latendresse

S. Koivu

M. Ribeiro

R. Bonk

T. Plekanec

S. Begin

G. Murray

M. Lapierre

C. Locke

C. Urquhart

K. Chipchura

M. Grabovski

S. Kostitsyn

J. Mikus

M. Aubin

A. Kovalev

M. Ryder

N. Sundstrom

A. Perezhogin

A. Kostitsyn

J. Ferland

F. Lemieux

D. Milroy

J. Wyman

M. D'Agostini

A. Markov

C. Rivet

S. Souray

F. Bouillon

M. Dandenault

M. Komisarek

M. Streit

J. Cote

A. Archer

J. Aitken

J. Paul

R. O'Byrne

A. Yemelin

K. Korneev

O. Korpikari

R. Vydareny

J. Theodore

C. Huet

Y. Danis

O. Michaud

J. Halak

C. Price

C. Heino-Lindberg

:hlogo: :hlogo: :hlogo:

With the recent slump it's time to shake things up a bit. We can't be patient forever. Moi j'dit qu'on dois changer.

1/3 of our team are of French-Canadian descent.

So here's what I'm suggesting: Mr Bob, trade for "Flying Frenchmen". I'm not saying 90+% of the team has to be french canadian, around 70% would be nice

:que:

Ramzi Abid

Serge Aubin

Marc-Andre Bergeron

Patrice Bergeron

Martin Biron

Pierre-Marc Bouchard

Daniel Briere

Sebastian Caron

Frederic Cassivi

Marc Chouinard

Alexandre Daigle

Mathieu Darche

Eric Daze

Marc Denis

Jason Doig

J.P. Dumont

Pascal Dupuis

Steve Gainey

Simon Gamache

Denis Gauthier

Martin Grenier

Denis Hamel

Patrick Lalime

Ian Laperriere

Georges Laraque

Pascal Leclaire

Guillaume Lefebvre

Francis Lessard

Matthew Lombardi

Roberto Luongo

Eric Meloche

Maxime Ouellet

Jason Pominville

Stephane Robidas

Bruno St. Jacques

Martin St. Louis

Alex Tanguay

Patrick Traverse

Stephane Veilleux

Antoine Vermette

Nos mains meurtries vous tendent le flambeau, à vous toujours de le porter bien haut

:hlogo: :hlogo: :hlogo:

edit, thanks Macaskill, stuff happens when you're dreaming

Edited January 2, 2006 by mathieu30

[Mont Royale]

Is there any underlying logic to this idea, or do you want more French-Canadians "just because"? (I think I know the answer, but I'll ask anyway)

[mathieu30]

Nostalgie? The team was established in 1909 as a French-Canadian hockey team. The team will be more appealing, more recognizable. The potential impact.. Oh, heck, I'm just dreaming out loud..

:que:

:hlogo: :hlogo: :hlogo:

[simonus]

except for howie morenz

We are not bad because of the lack of french players.

[BTH]

Other teams have good histories.

Does Edmonton use only players of Edmonton decent? Do they have any?

Does Detroit need hockey players from Detroit to be the best in the West?

Does Toronto need 70% of their team to be Torontonians to be uh... as good as they are now?

No, no and no. Kovalev, Koivu, Markov, Zednik, Plekanec, Higgins, Perezhogin, Bulis, Sundstrom, Bonk, Souray, Streit, Huet.... The core of this team is not French Canadian and we don't need it to be. It's true that some players play better for their home team but why go out of our way for Quebecers?

[MAK]

the way the media and fans treat french canadian players in montreal, non wonders they don'T want to play for us until their careers are almost over.

just ask roy, richer, brisebois, turgeon...

[PB]

All players in the LNH are to become UFA after only 7 years of playing in the league.

Basically, it suggest that a large part of each teams in the future will be made-up of players

that have decided out of their own will to play in the city of their choice.

Once the backward stupefying trap style brand of hockey being played in Montreal

will be a thing of the past.......hight profile talented players will be as pleased as any others to

come and play in this great hockey city.

Of course, players originating from here will be naturally inclined to come back home which....

should make them less demanding contract wise and therefore make it easy for us to predict

that the Canadien is bound to go on in increasing its french face as the years goes by.

Dandeneault is an exemple this year and Perreault, Damphouse or even Turgeon are different

exemples that could have been used this year as well.

Hard hitting defencement Denis Gauthier is another possibility next year and so on......

But as I said, if I was a free agent that thrives on being creative and on filling the

opposition's net with pucks,.... I would not consider Montreal as a destination of choice....

too stifling and '' beige''.

Julien and mostly Gainey will have to do something about that if they dont want Kovalev

to be the only exception to the rule.

[JLP]

Hmm, touchy thread -- but, well, if you think about it -- how many of the 30 NHL teams could ice a great or even good, or even a full-roster team using only players born within, say, 100k of the home arena.

Well some, say Phoenix, couldn't begin to -- anyway Montréal is one of a handful of teams that has a wealth of local talent, I always believe Mtl should respect, hell, take advantage of the special place hockey has in the local culture -- all things more or less equal, then Habs should go with the hometown boy, why not?

Whenever Habs start to lose games this question comes up though, and it's true if for example were Julien to 'step down' if the Habs flounder through early Jan, it would be good if the new coach could speak some French to communicate with local media. Some people believe that idea edits the replacement prospect list, I understand. Anyway, Montréal is proof its not easy being the home of a sport, local pride is always there for better or worse.

If we just start winning these posts disappear!!!

[Psycing]

Craig Rivet is French? Since when?

[mathieu30]

OK, we shouldn't do this because team A or B has succes doing it. It's OK to stand out from the crowd. Maybe I'm biased because I played on a similar team. As a junior I played for a team made up of players from the same province. We spoke french as well -it could have been chinese, japanese or portuguese but it was french- and none of the other teams did. It's difficult to describe the feeling of playing for that team. We definitely weren't the most talented team, but we beat some pretty good teams to win a championship. We were a team. I have never seen a team like that and I played on lots of teams over 20+ seasons. We were proud to play on that team. Proud! A cohesion difficult to explain, something you have to experience yourself.. Maybe it has something to do with the players who played for the team, good characters, but maybe a small part of it was our heritage. Our band. Maybe it had something to do with our love for the game, amateurs, you know. Proud. I see something of that in Steve Begin, but Chris Higgins -the US native- seems to have that as well, heck, I'm just dreaming out loud. I know it's not gonna happen.

:que:

:ghg:

:hlogo: :hlogo: :hlogo:

[Mont Royale]

OK, we shouldn't do this because team A or B has succes doing it. It's OK to stand out from the crowd. Maybe I'm biased because I played on a similar team. As a junior I played for a team made up of players from the same province. We spoke french as well -it could have been chinese, japanese or portuguese but it was french- and none of the other teams did. It's difficult to describe the feeling of playing for that team. We definitely weren't the most talented team, but we beat some pretty good teams to win a championship. We were a team. I have never seen a team like that and I played on lots of teams over 20+ seasons. We were proud to play on that team. Proud! A cohesion difficult to explain, something you have to experience yourself.. Maybe it has something to do with the players who played for the team, good characters, but maybe a small part of it was our heritage. Our band. Maybe it had something to do with our love for the game, amateurs, you know. Proud. I see something of that in Steve Begin, but Chris Higgins -the US native- seems to have that as well, heck, I'm just dreaming out loud. I know it's not gonna happen.

:que:

:ghg:

:hlogo: :hlogo: :hlogo:

Well, this is explained better, and it's even understandable to an anglo like me! Of course, I have no issue with having a team of French-speaking players, as long as they're good! (you know, of course, that not all Frenchmen are 'Flying'. See Dagenais, Pierre.)

The way you originally put it smacks of a quota system, which is a controversial idea even when done for a historically disadvantaged minority group. I'm sure French-Canadians have been discriminated against in many ways, but it's news to me if the NHL has been done that. Georges Vezina wouldn't stand for it!

So, you're right, it's not going to happen, but you're certainly allowed to dream!

[JMMR]

I would have to agree teams with a special bond seem to always play better; they just have an uncanny swagger. Although this is true if the Canadiens were made up of entirely French Canadiens I don’t think this team would be that much better. But how I do wish the old rules applied where the Habs had the original rights to all Quebec born players. That would make this team pretty good if Brodeur, Lunogo and Theodore will all in the system. Not to mention St. Louis, Vinny, Gange. Wow that would be awesome. But this team is pretty good and if they can get healthy and get the chemistry back they obtained at the beginning of the year.

[smon]

Some of the French Canadians you listed are pretty damn bad. Steve Gainey? Mathieu Darche? Traverse?

It's hard to say if a team of french speakers only would play better. I'd hope that the current guys can realize the mystique associated with the CH and play accordingly.

Look at the last team that won the Cup. Good old ontarian Kirk Muller was a big part.

[shortcat1]

Like many have said and I'm sure the huge majority of Canadiens fans would agree, give us a team that succeeds, no matter the personel and we'll be happy.

Now, the 'no matter the personel' doesn't mean absolutely NO French-Canadiens because the team would not be as identifiable in the province of Québec. Also, to be realistic, the likelihood of having a Canadiens team with no French-Canadiens wouldn't happen anyway.

So....................... the question becomes moot. Like JMMR said, this team will do quite alright. Let's see a healthy team and one that played with the gusto that it did at the beginning of the year. We may not be serious Cup contenders yet but we can give the ones that are a good run for their money.

With the up-and-comers in Hamilton and down the road, we could have a pretty respectable team.

:king: :hlogo: :king:

(2001, A Space Odyssey X 2 = 4002, a habs Fozzysey )

Edited January 3, 2006 by shortcat1

[habsmaddad]

It's bad enough that our GMs always have top take into account the mother tongue of players involved in a trade! How many other teams have to do it. The french media and fans are always calling for more french players and more ice time for current french players. I think it stinks. I think you should look at his talent, and talent alone. Try rephrasing it. Try saying it in baseball terms, such as a team from Atlanta should only have black players or a team from Phoenix only hispanic players. Now how does it sound.

[KoZed]

Some of the French Canadians you listed are pretty damn bad. Steve Gainey? Mathieu Darche? Traverse?

It's hard to say if a team of french speakers only would play better. I'd hope that the current guys can realize the mystique associated with the CH and play accordingly.

Look at the last team that won the Cup. Good old ontarian Kirk Muller was a big part.

Yeah, but look who was captain... and who won the Conn-Smythe... and who scored a hat-trick in Game 2 to even the series...

The whole French deal is just an intangible factor that comes with having a franchise in Montreal and such a storied past, and from having fans who follow any Quebec-born player in the NHL and wished he was a Habs. Weither you like it or not, if you're Gainey you have to be pragmatic and you can't ignore it.

So since you have to deal with it, you better try to make the most of it. Its a double-edged sword. Either a Quebecois player folds under the attention & pressure (Turgeon, Brisebois) or he uses it to elevate his game (Roy, Damphousse, Begin).

My personnal theory about it all is that, at equal talent, if the Quebec player has a strong character the Habs could probably squeeze more out of him than from any other player from anywhere else. However at equal talent and average character, the Habs should probably skip the Quebec player and go with someone who won't get attention and collapse under pressure.

As for "how many" francos the Habs need on the roster, I'd say its only a matter of who's good enough to make the roster. I dont think fans and medias would make a big fuss if there wasn't that many. Look at the Nordiques, by the end of their time in Quebec they didnt had that many francos but they kept selling the building out.

[riker]

Touchy subject matter. Being an anglo living in Montreal most of my life (29 years), I have been privy to a cosmopliton community that is the true nature of the best parts of the city. And while the majority of consists of French majority, it would be amiss of incorporating the important divers ingrediants that make it the best parts of the team.

That being said, I feel that we need to cover both sides of the spectrum (french/non french) to make it the best that a team can offer for fans to relate to it.

[KoZed]

Touchy subject matter. Being an anglo living in Montreal most of my life (29 years), I have been privy to a cosmopliton community that is the true nature of the best parts of the city. And while the majority of consists of French majority, it would be amiss of incorporating the important divers ingrediants that make it the best parts of the team.

That being said, I feel that we need to cover both sides of the spectrum (french/non french) to make it the best that a team can offer for fans to relate to it.

Yeah, Montreal itself is cosmopolitan. But the rest of the province (which still is the Habs' market) is far from diverse.

Anyway, in these days and ages, most NHL teams can have up to 7 or 8 different nationalities on their roster. As long as your core and leaders can unite them all, you shouldn't have any problems.

That is something I'm not too sure about the current group of players. Koivu is a leader by example, but I'm not too sure when Rivet or Zednik starts speaking in the locker-room they get respect from other players

Edited January 3, 2006 by KoZed

[riker]

Yeah, Montreal itself is cosmopolitan. But the rest of the province (which still is the Habs' market) is far from diverse.

Anyway, in these days and ages, most NHL teams can have up to 7 or 8 different nationalities on their roster. As long as your core and leaders can unite them all, you shouldn't have any problems.

That is something I'm not too sure about the current group of players. Koivu is a leader by example, but I'm not too sure when Rivet or Zednik starts speaking in the locker-room they get respect from other players

You are right in that it is hard to imagine what any given player does or doesn't do in the dressing room as it relates to how the rest of his teammates will respond to it.

What you don't see off the ice verus what is on it is the truest test of gelling a team to respond to the challenge.

[shortcat1]

Yeah, Montreal itself is cosmopolitan. But the rest of the province (which still is the Habs' market) is far from diverse.

Anyway, in these days and ages, most NHL teams can have up to 7 or 8 different nationalities on their roster. As long as your core and leaders can unite them all, you shouldn't have any problems.

That is something I'm not too sure about the current group of players. Koivu is a leader by example, but I'm not too sure when Rivet or Zednik starts speaking in the locker-room they get respect from other players

A little comment on that. I'm watching Sports Plus on RDS TV and, for the last little while, when players from the team are interviewed, who's face do I see? Pierre Dagenais. He's a bit of a media star there. I mention that because, for many of us, he's a drain on the team. It could be argued that the French media will go to any extreme to get a French-Canadian to comment on a situation. I rarely hear any non-francophone speaking on French TV.

A little side issue. I'm a little surprised that, after about 10 years, Koivu (and Rivet) still haven't bothered to learn to speak in French. If my memory serves me right, even Mats Naslund took the time and effort to do so. This isn't a stone thrown at those guys because there many highly regarded (by francophones) players like Chris Nilan, Muller, Chelios, who didn't learn French.

[Makh2o]

Nostalgie? The team was established in 1909 as a French-Canadian hockey team. The team will be more appealing, more recognizable. The potential impact.. Oh, heck, I'm just dreaming out loud..

:que:

:hlogo: :hlogo: :hlogo:

More appealing? We've sold out 100% of our home games this year....how much more appealing do you want them to be?

[KoZed]

More appealing? We've sold out 100% of our home games this year....how much more appealing do you want them to be?

Put on some lip gloss?

:puke:

[JMMR]

Sold out every game and we have the largest seating capacity.

The most impressive sell out stat is that since the NHL has returned to Minnesota with the Minnesota Wild. They have sold out every single game including pre season that is incredible no other professional sports franchise sells out pre season games.