Prime Minister Koivu Posted October 4, 2006 Share Posted October 4, 2006 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. Excellent post. Well written and I agree 100%. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PMAC Posted October 4, 2006 Share Posted October 4, 2006 The difference IMHO is that Huet is 31 and has bounced back and forth from the minors for years. An excellent post with the exception of point above which is simply incorrect. Huet played 30 games for the Kings AHL affiliate when he first came over from Europe and has been in the NHL ever since barring the lock-out when he played in Europe again and a 4 game conditioning stint in Hamilton last year. IMHO playing in Europe and for your national representative squad do not equate with being " bounced back and forth from the minors for years". Huet has so far progressed, not bounced back and forth-- knocks wood. BTW, is there a team in the league that wont have some trouble if their starting goalie doesnt perform as expected. Having Abs leaves us in a better position than most Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beliveau1 Posted October 4, 2006 Share Posted October 4, 2006 Watched it through until after they were done with the Habs - they ranked the 3 most interesting teams for most Canadien viewers right up front. Had to love the intro/welcome that Bob MacKenzie had for Tie Domi, when he said there was finally another guy on the panel that was as short as he is and with a head as big as his is. The panel loved that one..... and I thought it was hilarious! Domi stumbled a few times with his words, but on the whole wasn't that bad. He was the only one of the panel who thought the Habs would sneak into the playoffs. He got razzed for thinking the Leafs would too? They were harsh on both the Leafs and the Habs as well as the Sens playoff record. They questioned if Boston was better - not in total agreement on that one. They never knocked Huet's actual ability - more a question if he can sustain it over a full season. Nothing unusual or wrong about that. McGuire obviously was the harshest on him - and they will have a book on him! Video has made goaltenders tendencies that much more vulnerable to scouting. I think guys like Cam Ward & Ryan Miller will have a rougher go this year too. Kipprusoff wasn't as effective last year as he was before - video scouting is responsible for many a goalies demise. The Dave Hodge segment was equally rough on both the Habs & the Leafs - from hometown sources! In the end I didn't see anything that I'm not wondering about myself A/ Huet has not done this for a whole season so has to prove he can - capable of yes but can he? B/ this is not a big team, especially behind the blueline and Carolina exposed that C/ Latendresse is currently pegged as a 4th line part(third at best right now) so he may not get to add his physical play that often just yet D/ Koivu is not a number one centre - he's an excellent # 2 and a great leader, but not a number 1 centre E/ this team is going to have to scrap to get into the playoffs again - tough division & they are only marginally better than they were last year F/ Carbonneau still has to put his stamp on this unit - that may take time? In the long run I thought TSN was pretty accurate in their assessment of these three teams - Ottawa, Toronto & Montreal. And as I always say - why is someone who disagrees with your opinion immediately an ass...... In the long run it all comes down to injuries, and a bounce here or there that can make or break a team. Most of the panel thought Montreal was better off than Toronto and were at least heading in the right direction - I second that motion wholeheartedly! Watson, the game is afoot...... :hlogo: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pierre the Great Posted October 4, 2006 Share Posted October 4, 2006 How bad did they say the Canucks would do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beliveau1 Posted October 4, 2006 Share Posted October 4, 2006 How bad did they say the Canucks would do? Didn't hear that as I had to go out - but early reports here and there weren't favourable. One knock was the fact there were so many new faces in that lineup - Healy I think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetsniper Posted October 4, 2006 Share Posted October 4, 2006 What? Did they say that about Kipprusoff? Not as effective? Shit, he was better last year then the year before. Not as effective my ass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted October 4, 2006 Share Posted October 4, 2006 Not as effective my ass. As your ass? Perhaps this is where you run into problems in the HWL... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetsniper Posted October 4, 2006 Share Posted October 4, 2006 I miss the comma and all of a sudden Colin's brain is shot. Must be that old age. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted October 4, 2006 Share Posted October 4, 2006 I miss the comma and all of a sudden Colin's brain is shot. Must be that old age. *throws my teeth at you* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dark_faerie87 Posted October 4, 2006 Share Posted October 4, 2006 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: Don't forget about Dandenault, he was throwing some pretty big hits against the Canes too. 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. What's wrong with sharing butts? :king: As your ass? Perhaps this is where you run into problems in the HWL... What? Ass? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetsniper Posted October 4, 2006 Share Posted October 4, 2006 Stay away from my ass, faerie! And join SHSL already, SHL is pretty much dead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dark_faerie87 Posted October 4, 2006 Share Posted October 4, 2006 Stay away from my ass, faerie! And join SHSL already, SHL is pretty much dead. But we could have so much fun! :king: As for the SHL, I haven't been there in over a month or so. I'll consider the SHSL though, could someone hook me up with a linky? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetsniper Posted October 4, 2006 Share Posted October 4, 2006 http://z10.invisionfree.com/SHSL/index.php?act=idx And I'll ignore your first comment. I don't want to be your bum buddy. >_> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dark_faerie87 Posted October 4, 2006 Share Posted October 4, 2006 http://z10.invisionfree.com/SHSL/index.php?act=idx And I'll ignore your first comment. I don't want to be your bum buddy. >_> I'll consider it, but it looks a lot like the SHL, which got really boring really fast. Anyways, if I were to join, are there any teams still available that I could join? Or would I have to wait until the off-season? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetsniper Posted October 4, 2006 Share Posted October 4, 2006 I'll consider it, but it looks a lot like the SHL, which got really boring really fast. Anyways, if I were to join, are there any teams still available that I could join? Or would I have to wait until the off-season? I think we're taking guys for the draft now, just reached midseason yesterday. All-Star game is on the 8th. Not sure on the joining date though, I'll check. You can join my team of HW misfits. Theres already myself, Maca and Tex. Heh, boy was I wrong. We can sign FA's up until Day 40 and yesterday was Day 25. So yeah, you can join a team now. And I'm the GM of Calgary so.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dark_faerie87 Posted October 4, 2006 Share Posted October 4, 2006 I think we're taking guys for the draft now, just reached midseason yesterday. All-Star game is on the 8th. Not sure on the joining date though, I'll check. You can join my team of HW misfits. Theres already myself, Maca and Tex. Yay! I can molest Tex's ass then...err, I mean... Nifty! What kind of player do you need? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetsniper Posted October 4, 2006 Share Posted October 4, 2006 Wow, talk about hijacking a topic, haha. Winger, someone who is fast and can play defense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BTH Posted October 4, 2006 Share Posted October 4, 2006 Apparently they forgot this is the new NHL where speed and skill matter. Not size, and hooking and grabbing It was fun - Tie Domi, of all people was the one to say that speed is what's important, not size. I don't really care what TSN says because they say the same thing every year, they rank us out of the playoffs every year but then we prove them wrong every year. They always go on about 3 problems: 1) we are too small 2) we're weak down the middle 3) we have a weak D and then they always say that in order to squeak into the 8th seed - our goalie (Huet, in this case) will have to stand on his head all season long. I really hated that idiot Dreger talking about Bonk. "Who is Radek Bonk, anyway?" then all the analysts go on to say that he can't score, can't play defence, doesn't play physical and say how he pretty much sucks at every aspect of the game - and poke fun of him that the last time he had a good season was for Las Vegas in the IHL. And what's with all the Dallas love? Everyone (including Red Fisher in the Gazette) is still ranking Dallas high and Columbus low. I don't understand this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dark_faerie87 Posted October 4, 2006 Share Posted October 4, 2006 Wow, talk about hijacking a topic, haha. Winger, someone who is fast and can play defense. Perfect! That's my preferred playing style. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyhasbeen Posted October 4, 2006 Share Posted October 4, 2006 (edited) What gets me is that everyone of these analysts has said the same thing about Huet, and half of you at least believe it , that being he is an unsure goalie going into this season. Will he regain last seasons form? I agree this could be a problem, but what peeves me is that not one of them mentioned the other break through goalies the same way. What if Ward stumbles in Carolina, or is sidelined indefinately? No Gerber, do they make the playofff? Miller may suck out in Buffalo, whos to say. Remember Raycroft last year, Giguere. We could go on but why. The point is all goalies are a question mark each season, especially young ones. Huet is older, more mature and should be just fine. Why can't these "specialists?" consider that. At least one of last years great goalies will be a bust this year. I bet it ain't Huet. Edited October 4, 2006 by johnnyhasbeen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brobin Posted October 4, 2006 Share Posted October 4, 2006 They did bring up Ward, but most of the time, they were talking about the 6 Canadian teams. Of them, they questioned Raycroft and Huet. I tend to agree, those are the two question mark guys in Canada. I think Rolo, Gerber, Luongo, and Kipper are far more predictable as they have longer and better track records. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beliveau1 Posted October 4, 2006 Share Posted October 4, 2006 (edited) What? Did they say that about Kipprusoff? Not as effective? Shit, he was better last year then the year before. Not as effective my ass. The comment on Kipprusoff was mine - I felt he was a bit more exposed in the playoffs than he had been in the past. He looked great in the regular season, but when the crunch came I saw a few times that they used his tendencies against him. I didn't hear what they had to say about him on TSN - and my reference here was more to the point of how effective scouting goalies has become thanks to video technology. It has hurt many a young promising goalie at the NHL level once his flaws have been really exposed? Will it be the undoing of Ward who in my mind is still a question mark, and for a guy like Miller too? Raycroft came apart at the seams last year after what many said was a stellar rookie season(personally I saw little in him then and wasn't that shocked by his poor performance last year.) As for Huet - he still has to prove his weight over the course of a full season - that's a fact no one can deny. I think his sound technical play & positioning strength will benefit him though. He's just a very slight question mark based on that factor as far as I'm concerned. Not one to worry over just yet though...... Mackenzie really questioned Raycroft - said that the Leafs facing high numbers of shots had basically rode Joseph & Belfour the past few years to their success. Interesting admission & one I've long held - he has doubts that Raycroft is good enough to handle the same shot volume as they did. My exact sentiments - could be a long hard year with that plodding defence unit in front of him. Edited October 4, 2006 by beliveau1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetsniper Posted October 4, 2006 Share Posted October 4, 2006 True but I'd actually blame that more on the anemic offense and the far too gritty style of play (resulted in many PP chances for the Ducks). He can only do so much, he really got no help at all in Game's 6 and 7 even though he was matching Bryzgalov save for save. Besides, there'd be no division championship in Calgary if it weren't for him. Miller I think will be fine but I as well am wondering about Ward. Sure he did well in the 2 months of the playoffs but he's yet to play a full season of NHL hockey. I do hope he succeeds though, always been a favorite of mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beliveau1 Posted October 4, 2006 Share Posted October 4, 2006 (edited) True but I'd actually blame that more on the anemic offense and the far too gritty style of play (resulted in many PP chances for the Ducks). He can only do so much, he really got no help at all in Game's 6 and 7 even though he was matching Bryzgalov save for save. Besides, there'd be no division championship in Calgary if it weren't for him. Miller I think will be fine but I as well am wondering about Ward. Sure he did well in the 2 months of the playoffs but he's yet to play a full season of NHL hockey. I do hope he succeeds though, always been a favorite of mine. I still think Kipprusoff is one of the best in the NHL today - there were a few times though that I saw him come up short compared to the previous season. I wonder about Miller - reminds me of Raycroft at times - a little too cocky, and not a great technical goalie(more reactive to the the play than a goalie like Huet is?) Ward is one that I think will struggle - he caught a lot of breaks in the playoffs that I don't think he can ride night in and night out. Better than Raycroft but still not sure on him yet - he has no real pressure on him now that Gerber is history. Could be his downfall? Edited October 4, 2006 by beliveau1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smon Posted October 4, 2006 Share Posted October 4, 2006 Well, I watched the Habs part. Couldn't say I was too shocked with what they had to say. It's true that Samsonov looks like he's got all the skill in the world, but he doesn't score nearly enough to justify all the praise. But he still is an effective top-six winger. The key truly is whether Carbonneau can convince the team to perform as a cohesive unit. If guys like Samsonov, Kovalev and Ryder sacrifice for the greater good, and hustle to the backcheck, and if guys like Bonk, Johnson and Plekanec can step up offensively then we will be in for a treat this year. If not, then well.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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