Tsn Season Preview

[habsfan88]

"Habs have no depth up the middle...they have Koivu, Plekanec, Bonk....What is Bonk anyways?" - Darren Dregger (sp?)

"Every team in the league now has the book on Cristobal Huet" - Pierre Mcguire

Only panelist who seems to think Montreal is making the playoffs is the one and only Tie Domi.

[bebehabs]

they should just shut it up

i dunt care about what those *analyst* r saying coz they dunt know hockey at all! i dunt care if they look down on the habs coz we will shut them up with good performances on this coming season~~

btw... it seems like they r putting the SAME article over and over again each year : "HABS R NOT GOING TO MAKE THE PLAYOFFS" blablabla... yeah right... but what they dunt seem to see, it's that the habs HAVE the support and trust from REAL fans~

GHG

[les_glorieux]

They still have some good points though. It's always good to go into a season supportive but pessimistic, at least here in Montreal.

[KoZed]

Always good to have naysayers. Having something to prove is one of the best motivators in sports.

[chief_balthor]

I think their biggest problem with the Habs is the fact that they are a very small team. They must have repeated themselves like a dozen times.

[kaos]

I think their biggest problem with the Habs is the fact that they are a very small team. They must have repeated themselves like a dozen times.

Apparently they forgot this is the new NHL where speed and skill matter. Not size, and hooking and grabbing

[brobin]

To be fair, they did say Montreal might make the playoffs and have a better chance to do it then the leafs.

They have a right to their opinions, but they can't predict the future. They even made fun of themselves and suggested that the Stanley cup winner is probably one of the teams they said would not make the playoffs.

Still, I do agree with them about our lack of depth at Center. Koivu is a number 2 center and we need another center to compliment him. Ribs was not it, neither is Pleks.

We need to be realistic. There are a lot of question marks about this team and they certainly could miss the playoffs. They are still a bubble team, not a lock on a spot.

[Colin]

To be fair, they did say Montreal might make the playoffs and have a better chance to do it then the leafs.

They have a right to their opinions, but they can't predict the future. They even made fun of themselves and suggested that the Stanley cup winner is probably one of the teams they said would not make the playoffs.

Still, I do agree with them about our lack of depth at Center. Koivu is a number 2 center and we need another center to compliment him. Ribs was not it, neither is Pleks.

We need to be realistic. There are a lot of question marks about this team and they certainly could miss the playoffs. They are still a bubble team, not a lock on a spot.

Perhaps. But we're 10 times better off now than we were a few days ago. Plex is an upgrade if only because he'll bring it every night. Niinimaa is a massive upgrade defensively if he even plays half as well as his Edm/NYI days.

[brobin]

Apparently they forgot this is the new NHL where speed and skill matter. Not size, and hooking and grabbing

Actually, they did suggest that. The question was "are they too small". The consensus seemed to be, yes, but it is not as bad as it used to be due to the new nhl.

This board often debates the same issues with much the same conclusion.

Perhaps. But we're 10 times better off now than we were a few days ago. Plex is an upgrade if only because he'll bring it every night. Niinimaa is a massive upgrade defensively if he even plays half as well as his Edm/NYI days.

Well, if Niinimaa plays like last year, he will make no difference.

I don't think Pleks is ten time better. I am not convinced he is better. He didn't manage to do better then Ribs last season. At best, it is a wash, imo. He certainly is not going to massively improve this team.

I know people hate ribs around here and there are issues with his game for sure, but lets be realistic. If Pleks was so good, he would have been better last year when he was given several opportunities on the first and second lines. He didn't impress much, compared to Higgins, who really grabbed his opportunity.

[Colin]

I don't think Pleks is ten time better. I am not convinced he is better. He didn't manage to do better then Ribs last season. At best, it is a wash, imo. He certainly is not going to massively improve this team.

I know people hate ribs around here and there are issues with his game for sure, but lets be realistic. If Pleks was so good, he would have been better last year when he was given several opportunities on the first and second lines. He didn't impress much, compared to Higgins, who really grabbed his opportunity.

I don't think Plex has more skill than Ribs, but he has heart where Ribs had none. And his speed, if nothing else, is a massive improvement. Just the fact that he'll be in the attacking zone where Ribeiro would be lugging himself past centre ice during an attack is a massive bonus. And his opportunities on the upper lines were at least on a par with Ribeiro.

The only place we'll miss the little puke is on the power play when he'd have the extra time for his ponderous pace to make a difference - where the extra space made his vision worthwhile.

[brobin]

I don't think Plex has more skill than Ribs, but he has heart where Ribs had none. And his speed, if nothing else, is a massive improvement. Just the fact that he'll be in the attacking zone where Ribeiro would be lugging himself past centre ice during an attack is a massive bonus. And his opportunities on the upper lines were at least on a par with Ribeiro.

The only place we'll miss the little puke is on the power play when he'd have the extra time for his ponderous pace to make a difference - where the extra space made his vision worthwhile.

LOL, ribs was not a great skater, but he was not that bad. Besides, Pleks will be stopping at the blue line waiting for Kovy to stop screwing around and actually enter the offensive zone.

I rarely noticed a problem last year with Ribs and speed. He seemed to do fine with Kovy.

[Colin]

LOL, ribs was not a great skater, but he was not that bad. Besides, Pleks will be stopping at the blue line waiting for Kovy to stop screwing around and actually enter the offensive zone.

I rarely noticed a problem last year with Ribs and speed. He seemed to do fine with Kovy.

Alright, it was a *LITTLE* exaggeration.

[The-Habby2919]

Yeah I rarely take anything these jokes for "Anal"ysts have to say seriously.

:hlogo:

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

Domi was a bit spastic, but from what I saw he had a lot of respect for teams that I expected him to slag, namely Ottawa and Montreal. Good for him. And those other guys might want to note that a player who has actually PLAYED against the Habs was obviously startled by the panel's dismissal of them. How quickly everyone's forgotten Carolina's little message after *almost losing* to this supposedly too-small, defensively-poor, badly netminded squad - namely that Montreal was the toughest team they faced until the finals.

Montreal is NOT too small. They just have two small guys on the top lines (Samsonov and Koivu). Somehow, that translates into a team of shrimps. This is a stereotype about the Habs still lingering from the Ribeiro/Petrov days. Souray, Komi, Kovalev, Bonk, Latendresse, Zhogs, Ryder - these guys may not be hulks but they're NOT small. Markhov, Higgins, etc., are mid-sized. Beyond that, the TSN guys said NOTHING about Samsonov, Kovalev, or even the addition of Johnson, nor the fact that Bonk is healthy, which might make a difference, nor the profusion of young talent.

McGuire (who I like) blasted Huet but failed to consider that wily Gainey has made sure the Habs have another #1 or #1A goalie on the roster, just in case Huet does bomb. As I say, I like McG, but he let his anti-Huet bias blind him to the bigger picture.

The bottom line: if this team had worn a Maple Leafs jersey last season, Toronto - and thus 90% of our supposedly national media - would be jumping up and down with excitement about its potential. The Habs are a bona fide dark horse team. End of story.

Edited October 4, 2006 by The Chicoutimi Cucumber

[ch_nl]

About size...

Is Montreal still that small?

Jan Bulis, Richard Zednik and Mike Ribeiro gone.

Mike Johnson, Guillaume Latendresse and Janne Niinimaa added.

[JLP]

About size...

Is Montreal still that small?

Jan Bulis, Richard Zednik and Mike Ribeiro gone.

Mike Johnson, Guillaume Latendresse and Janne Niinimaa added.

Plus, Samsonov may be short but he's stocky should be a tough guy to knock off the puck, unlike Ribs who coughed it up if he saw his own shadow.

The analysts trot out the same cliche about the Habs being small every year even as we've got much bigger and stronger.

[bbr93]

I think their biggest problem with the Habs is the fact that they are a very small team. They must have repeated themselves like a dozen times.

Yeah I noticed that too. The funny thing is, though, that so many of them picked the Buffalo Sabres, one of the smallest teams in the league, to go to the finals. So being small is not a problem for the Sabres but we won't make the playoffs because we're too small??

These guys just have no clue whatsoever. Last year, Buffalo, Carolina, NY Rangers, etc. weren't supposed to make the playoffs according the the same "experts", but now that those teams did well last year, it's ok to pick them to finish high. It's all based on last year's results. "Well, the Habs struggled to make the playoffs last year, therefore, they'll struggle this year." Whatever. I don't know whey they even bother making predictions. Why not just look at last year's standings and assume that it'll be the same this year?

And Pierre Mcguire is such a joke. "Every coach in the league has a book on Huet." Yeah, just like the Hurricanes "had the book" on him in the playoffs last year, yet his playoff numbers were just as good as his regular season numbers. But I guess since he's only played one year, he must be a flash in the pan. Does everybody have the book on Henrik Lundqvist? Does everybody have the book on Cam Ward? They've only had one standout season, so I guess they must be flashes in the pan too.

Absolutely no insight whatsoever on the part of any of the panelists. I wonder if any of those clowns have actually paid any attention to anything that has happened since the beginning of last year.

[Pierre the Great]

Well they could have said the habs were worse then the Blues right?

Toronto media folks are just plain dumb to be honest.

[PB]

Relating to size and weight, I am shure we are heavier than the BUFF team of last year......their light composure was no problem at all.......they actually thrive on it.

I dont see the smallnest of our team as a negative point...I would if some of our smallish players

where also deprived of speed....but their are not.... to the contrary, most of them possess to a large extent the quickness and shifftiness as expressed by the best of the breed.

I think those traits are among the best ones in helping a team to dominate the offensive zone for extended time..yielding large doses of quality scoring opportunitys in the process..........nevermind the havoc it create and the unsuing penaltys being taken it often provoques.

I presume the TSN analysts are not bling to the vitues that can bring smallish forwards in the new NHL but

they most likely think that the talents and skills necessary to make it work is in insufficient quantity in

MTL's top lines.

TSN analysts base their projection mostly on ''deja vu''. From this past related perspective they come to the conclusion that the veteran's Koivu, Kovalev and Samsonov combined with the young stud Ryder and sophomore players like Higgins and Plekanec (who's that guy) won't be up to the minimum required to pull it off. From that perspective I can understand their conclusion......but it is a limited perspective and as I like to see it......one that will be proved wrong for Montreal.

I would like to believe that our top lines will deliver the goods necessary......and then some.

The odds are against us,....let's face it one of our top line has 0 season experience playing together and will additionnaly be centered by an unknowned sophomore third line player with marginal stats and virtually Zero PP experiences.....yet I feel confident that Plek will not only do a good job but will also be able to act as a

positive chemical agent between the two particular but excellent Russian veterans allowing them both

higher performing acts then seen in rescent years,.......unfortunately thought,...there is enormous room for error in my prediction.....but this is definetly how I feel about that line potential.

As for the Koibu line I see it as an almost perfect exemple of the standard that a team spreading it's talents over it's two top lines is required to meet.

If my favorable prognostic regarding our top lines performances holds on......then we would be a better team than last year.....which is a must in order to compete with the '' officially improved teams '' around us.....

and to contradict most analysts that dont see our team being able to qualified for the playoffs.

If we can get 20+ goals from 4 of our topliners and 30 goals from 2 of the others will be in business big time...........that is all we need since any other aspects of our team elsewhere seems to me being equal or better than last year.

Our first game will be against a cup contender.....that should add something to the fun.

Edited October 4, 2006 by PB

[justintb]

Id really love to know what they had to say about the Maple Leafs....

TSN's (The Leafs Suck Network) Analysts jump on the TML bandwagon at the start of every season..no surprise

With regards to Size, as someone stated earlier, Johnson, Latandresse, and Ninnema bring some much needed size to the CH core. Also, Someone mentioned something about Kovalev screwing around before getting the puck in the zone. If it werent for Kovalev's dangles, over half of those great opportunities wouldnt exist. The difference between Ribeiro and Pleks..Is that Pleks can finish on those rebounds. Expect that line to Be #1. The Habs also have some Hard Hitters on our Blueline that arent afraid to drop the mits...Souray, Rivet, Komi, and even Boullion (Remember his hit on Recchi in the 05/06 playoffs?). More evidence that the habs do Not lack a physical aspect in their game, Alexander Perezhogin. Keith Primeau is still seeing stars, sitting at home still trying to remember what happened!! Alex Kovalev...A Solid 230 Pounds who can stick up for himself. Heres Proof that He can stick up for Himself right here!

(this link may be one of my favorite moments in Habs history) Did TSN forget Steve Begin and Garth Murray. Those two can be as destructive as rabid Rotweillers with chainsaw teeth!!

In Conclusion, Do We Really care what TSN says? They have the Mentality that you have to be a Big Guy to create a physical aspect to the game...they have never been so wrong. A solid win over buffalo and a annihalation of the Laughs on Saturday would really have those analysts go back to the drawing board. :hlogo:

[shortcat1]

In a tsn.ca video clip, Darren Dregger says that the Leafs & the Canadiens won't make the playoffs and that Vancouver likely won't either.

Interesting that he, in the heart of Leafsland, would come out and say that the Leafs have NO chance of making the post-season.

:king: :hlogo: :king:

[KoZed]

Yeah I rarely take anything these jokes for "Anal"ysts have to say seriously.

:hlogo:

That's the spirit.

Why does anyone care about TSN anyway?

[johnnyhasbeen]

Another bunch of Anal ists giving their opinion. Opinions are like butts, we all have one but don't need to share them with our fellow men.

More bums who will eat their words come playoff time. Huet is a question they say because of his preseason? How much did he play?

Come off it, these guys know nothing but are spewing their opinions, and getting paid for it. Toronto sports network reporting at its best.

[brobin]

As usually, there is a lot of "I hate TSN", even from people who either admit, or obviously didn't watch it. Hence, you are guilty of just what you accuse them of. Bias, basing an opinion on last year, and not having a clue.

For the record, they viewed Toronto far worse then the Habs. They also said that the habs have a chance at making it, but would need to surprise to do it. (like last year, Huet was a surprise and the only reason they made it in).

They knocked many of the teams, not just the Habs. They also raised doubts about the Boston pick being too high. They fully admitted that the Habs were better then the leafs and going in the right direction. They just felt they need a bit more to get there. They also higlighted that Koivu needs help at center and Pleks is not the solution, as Ribs was not the solution.

The felt the depth of montreal was suspect. Lots of young potential, but not much proven performance. Same at D. They touted Markov as highly underrated, but that Niinaama was clearly a gamble.

I didn't find much to complain about. Sure, I predict us at 8 and they picked 10, but they stated that 7 to 12 were a crap shoot and depended on injuries, surprises, and dissapointments.

[Zowpeb]

And Pierre Mcguire is such a joke. "Every coach in the league has a book on Huet." Yeah, just like the Hurricanes "had the book" on him in the playoffs last year, yet his playoff numbers were just as good as his regular season numbers. But I guess since he's only played one year, he must be a flash in the pan. Does everybody have the book on Henrik Lundqvist? Does everybody have the book on Cam Ward? They've only had one standout season, so I guess they must be flashes in the pan too.

Absolutely no insight whatsoever on the part of any of the panelists. I wonder if any of those clowns have actually paid any attention to anything that has happened since the beginning of last year.

While I agree that MOST analysts on our national mediums are brutal Leaf protaganists...McGuire is not a Leaf fan. And yes, everyone will now have a book on Huet(and Ward, and Lundqvist, and Thomas, etc). The difference IMHO is that Huet is 31 and has bounced back and forth from the minors for years.

I hope to god that Huet does well, but I'll be surprised if he comes close to repeating his numbers...especially because if he does for a full year he'll own the Vezina.

Sure, Aebischer is a good back-up but he's just that...a back-up.

I don't see why it's worth getting upset about those comments.

As for the size concerns, the Habs are fine. The smaller players are all hard working spark plugs and there is more size now then in the past decade. The real concern is durability...will Lats hold up for a full season? Will Koivu, Bouillon, Samsonov, Higgins, Plekanec all be able to stay healthy? There are enough smaller players that injuries and depth could become a problem if many occur at once...

The Habs are depending on 3-4 guys who either are rookies or have part of a years experience. At least 2 will be in our top 6 forwards. We have a goalie who came out of no where at age 31. We don't have a stellar D corps...solid but not spectacular. We don't have a prime time scorer but depend on a balanced attack. I can easily see why analysts look at us with concern...

Having said that, I think Huet/Aebischer will be okay, I think our D is solid and I think our scoring will be up. Personally, I think the Habs will finish between 4-6 in the conference...but if 2 of our rookie/sophmore guys choke/slump, and Huet/Aebischer is an issue we're in big time trouble.