Montreal Escorts

NHL 2008-09 regular season thread!

Halloween Mike

Original Dude
Apr 19, 2009
5,247
1,504
113
Winterfell
The canadiens blow themself there century by giving us the fan a more than ordinary season completed by an ugly post season...

Carey Price need to understand than to be a top goalie he need to be focus and stop drinking all the time and play shitty. Then im not even gonna say what Gainey need to do to get this team back on track...

But last year i was hoping for 1 big century season, and the disapointement was so hight, i never expect that...:confused:
 

anon_vlad

Well-Known Member
Apr 29, 2004
1,554
532
113
Visit site
Depth and discipline

Detroit in 6

Perpetually perfect position play

When one of their superstars is injured, they seem to be able to take another out of the cloning vat at a moment's notice.
 

EagerBeaver

Veteran of Misadventures
Jul 11, 2003
20,474
3,346
113
U.S.A.
Visit site
If I were betting it would be on the Red Wings in 6. However, I don't know to what extent they are banged up (they seem to be) and a big X factor is the Penguins wanting and seeking revenge for last year. Revenge is a wildly underrated factor in sports. However I agree with the prior poster who noted Detroit's perfect positional play. If they had a dominant goalie nobody would even touch them.
 

Doc Holliday

Female body inspector
Sep 27, 2003
19,942
1,405
113
Canada
Leafs hire Francois Allaire as goalie consultant

TORONTO – The Toronto Maples Leafs hired Francois Allaire as the team's newest goaltending consultant, the club announced Wednesday.

Maple Leafs president and general manager Brian Burke plucked Allaire from his former club the Anaheim Ducks, where Allaire worked the past 13 seasons as goaltending consultant, which included the 2007 Stanley Cup championship team.

"We consider Francois to be one of the best in the world at his craft," said Burke in a statement. "He brings a tremendous amount of experience and I know that he will make an immediate impact with our goalies."

Allaire, 57, spent 12 years with the Canadiens as Montreal's goaltending coach prior to joining the Ducks. He was instrumental in two Stanley Cup titles (1986 and 1993), working with Hall of Famer Patrick Roy from 1984 to 1996.

(Me thinks the rumours about J-S Giguere heading to Toronto are true)
 

Doc Holliday

Female body inspector
Sep 27, 2003
19,942
1,405
113
Canada
Octavian said:
About time the Leafs hire a frenchman. Maybe Burke isn't so crazy after all.

Former head coach Pat Burns is a frenchman. Same thing with former assistant coach Randy Ladouceur & former chief scout Pierre Dorion.
 

Doc Holliday

Female body inspector
Sep 27, 2003
19,942
1,405
113
Canada
Dave Tippett fired by Dallas Stars

The Dallas Stars, who struggled last season after dealing with agitator Sean Avery and missed the playoffs, have fired Dave Tippett as coach, according to a source close to the situation, ESPN.com's Pierre LeBrun confirmed.

The move is the first by Joe Nieuwendyk, who was named general manager on May 31 in a shakeup of the front office.

Dave Tippett failed to coach the Stars to the playoffs this season.

According to TSN of Canada, the Stars are inquiring about Marc Crawford, who was fired as coach of the Los Angeles Kings in June 2008 and whose rights are still owned by the team.

Dallas Stars representative Rob Scichili said in an e-mail to The Associated Press on Wednesday night that the Stars had nothing to release at this time.

Tippett had two years left on his contract.

He was hired by the Stars in 2002, and was 271-156-59 in six seasons, with two division titles. The team entered the season as a top contender to win the Western Conference, but ended up in 12th place in the conference.

Injuries and the Avery mess were problems that couldn't be overcome. In late March, when the Stars were still clinging to a sliver of playoff hopes, center Brad Richards suffered a spiral fracture in his left hand -- the day he returned from a broken right wrist.

Avery, who was signed by the Stars last summer to a guaranteed four-year, $15.5 million contract, already had been a subversive presence in the locker room, but the situation exploded in early December 2008, when he made crude remarks about Calgary Flames defenseman Dion Phaneuf's girlfriend.

Subsequently, he was suspended by the NHL, and the Stars refused to take him back even after he was eligible to return.

An inkling of what Tippett was dealing with at the time came through in a comment he made during the turmoil. "From a coach's standpoint, I try to build a team that has an atmosphere where players care about each other and play with each other and play with continuity, and I find it hard to believe that Sean could come back in that dressing room and we could find that continuity again," he said.

The next coach presumably will be able to start off on a better note. In Richards, captain Brenden Morrow and Mike Ribeiro, the Stars have three quality forwards in their prime, plus a capable goalie in Marty Turco and whatever Mike Modano has left at 39.

Nieuwendyk, 42, spent the past two years being groomed for this opportunity, working in an apprentice role under GMs in Toronto and Florida. He played for the Stars for seven seasons, won a Stanley Cup, and led them to a second trip to the finals. Tippett had openly expressed his desire to remain as coach when Nieuwendyk was named GM, and owner Tom Hicks said that that decision would be left to Nieuwendyk.

(Tippett would have looked great behind the Habs bench. They should have waited until they picked up Gainey clone Jacques Martin. Another good coach would have been Craig McTavish)
 
Last edited:

joelcairo

New Member
Jul 26, 2005
4,711
2
0
In today's NHL with 50 teams, winning more than 1 Stanley Cup is a rarity. When Henri Richard won most of his Stanley Cups, there were 6 teams in the NHL & the Canadiens had first crack to sign any Quebec prospects (prior to the entry draft). It's like comparing apples to oranges.

Yes and that's why Detroit's four Cups in the last dozen years is a remarkable achievement.
 

joelcairo

New Member
Jul 26, 2005
4,711
2
0
I chuckled midway into the game when Andy Deveaux skated towards Mike Komisarek & it looked like Komisarek had just seen a ghost & skated away and grabbed on to little Nik Hagman. Heck, even I wouldn't be blink if little Nik Hagman would challenge me to a fight!! :mad:

However, to be fair to Komisarek, i'm not surprised since the scars of his anihilation at the hands of Milan Lucic a couple of months ago were definitely still fresh in his mind.

By the way, my 2nd favorite team is now the Bruins. God i'm starting to love that team!!! Even Michael Ryder plays tough now as a member of the Big Bad Bruins!! With the likes of Shawn Thornto, Zdeno Chara & Milan Lucic, visiting teams are starting to come up with a bad case of the 'Boston Flu' everytime they're about to face the Bruins in Boston, reminiscent to the good ol' days of the 70's when visiting players would suddenly fall ill prior to a game with the Broadstreet Bullies (Philadelphia Flyers), which was then known as the 'Philadelphia Flu'.

It's a tradition as the New Year approaches to look back on the old year.

Here's a great post from January in which Doc 1) in no uncertain terms expresses his total contempt for Mike Komisarek (right on Doc! I fully agree!) and 2) his positive review of last season's Bruins (can't argue with that one either!)
 

joelcairo

New Member
Jul 26, 2005
4,711
2
0
Quite true. I also find it stupid that the fans are the ones voting for the starting lineups. I mean...Mike Komisarek??? Not only shouldn't he be on the starting lineup, but he shouldn't even be on the all-star team, PERIOD!!!

Give the selections back to the sportswriters!!

Another highlight from our look back at 2009 and Doc has this one correct also. Bravo!
 

joelcairo

New Member
Jul 26, 2005
4,711
2
0
If he could resurrect Plante, Harvey and the Rocket he might have a chance - otherwise, forget about this season. The habs tanked for a ton of games (coincidentally these occurred while you were away) and their recent victory streak is largely due to inspired play by Halak, not the team as a whole. To succeed a team needs more than a hot goalie - especially since all hot goalies cool down eventually.

I know it's not modest to quote myself but I can't resist. As our look back at the highlights of 2009 continues, here is something I wrote in March. Geez it looks like it could have been written today - same story!
 

joelcairo

New Member
Jul 26, 2005
4,711
2
0
Komisarek is an ordinary defenceman & he's another free agent at the end of the season. I'm sure some team will overpay him.

Jeff Finger is a solid #3 or 4 defenceman. In my books he's better than Komisarek.

What more can i say?

You don't need to say any more Doc - this post from March nailed it perfectly!

You were spot-on about "some team" overpaying Komi...and we all now know that the team was Toronto. Great prediction!
 

joelcairo

New Member
Jul 26, 2005
4,711
2
0
Hey Doc how many more wins will it take before you flip flop, abandon your soon the be TavarLESS Leafs, and once again become a Habs fan?

G1GBallday obviously remembered what happened when the leafs were mathematically eliminated well before the end of the 07-08 season. He also made an accurate prediction on Tavares. Good work G1G!
 

joelcairo

New Member
Jul 26, 2005
4,711
2
0
THE HABS WILL NOT MAKE THE PLAYOFFS THIS YEAR!!!!

That bum Kostitsyn & the lousy Komisarek are supposed to be benched for tomorrow's game against the Toronto Marlies.

In our ongoing review of the top stories from 2009 we see that Doc has yet another post blasting Komi. Hey, I agree! (The prediction at the top didn't quite make the grade however.)
 

joelcairo

New Member
Jul 26, 2005
4,711
2
0
The team i'm pulling for right now are the NY Rangers. I absolutely love the way they've been playing since John Tortorella became their head coach. The addition of Sean Avery, Nik Antropov & Derek Morris hasn't hurt either.

I didn't remember this one. I remember you supporting at various times the leafs, the habs and the bruins...but I'd forgotten about the Rangers. (Hey if you add Detroit and Chicago you'll have all of the Original Six!)
 
Toronto Escorts