Official 2007-2008 NHL Thread

[gohabsgo]

For someone claiming to be a Maple Loser fan, you sure follow the Habs closely In fact, I'm convinced its all a ruse, you're really a closet Habs fan

 

[Doc Holliday]

Ahh!!!! Two great hockey games tonight!!

First, the good guys...the Toronto Maple Leafs of course....beat the team that the Habs couldn't beat last Saturday night, the Nashville Predators by a score of 3-1. Toskala was great in nets for Toronto. Toronto is slowly creeping up on the conference leaders with its winning streak.

Second, the Detroit Red Wings gave a hockey lesson to the Mtl Canadiens by grossly outshooting them 34-16 & trouncing them 4-1. The score could have been much higher if it wasn't for very solid goaltending by Carey Price. By the way, i must mention that a powerskating expert recently stated that such players as Guillaume Latendresse, Kyle Chipchura & Roman Hamrlik (among others) can't skate & are in desperate need of high level powerskating lessons. No surprise about Latendresse, whom i consider to be one of the slowest forwards in the league who can barely outskate the Zaboni machine.

All in all, the best team won & the struggling team continue its losing ways. Big trouble in Habs land, folks!! Big!!!

 

[joelcairo]

Hey, i missed ya! Haven't seen you around in days! It's funny how habs fans tend to disappear when their team stinks!

Too bad Habs and Leafs fans don't really disappear when their teams suck. If that happened, the owners might attempt to put a better quality product on the ice.

Unfortunately the suckers in Toronto keep buying tickets and the suckers in Montreal keep doing the same thing, so there's no incentive for the owners to put teams of NHL calibre on the ice. In spite of 40 years of hopeless teams, the Leafs always have sellouts and in spite of 28 years of hopeless teams (saved by the two Patrick Roy miracles), the Habs have sellouts.

The owners laugh all the way to the bank, while the suckers - oops, sorry, I mean the "fans" - sing the blues and dream of next year.

 

[Doc Holliday]

The owners laugh all the way to the bank, while the suckers - oops, sorry, I mean the "fans" - sing the blues and dream of next year.

The bulk of those season tickets are usually scooped up by million & billion $$ corporations who don't really care how good or bad the teams are going, unfortunately. Their season tickets are basically just a tax right-off.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Can't wait to watch 110% (on TQS) in about 20 minutes. Kleenex boxes will be passed around & the panel will all look like their suffering from a major bout of constipation & will be throwing arrows at the Habs & blaming the coach & GM for 9/11.

 

[MG_mtl]

A move... Finally!

Habs finally make a move and call up to the big club Lapierre and O'Byrne... don't know if it will make a difference, but it can hardly be worse.

http://www.rds.ca/

 

[Doc Holliday]

Doc's thoughts on the Habs....

Habs finally make a move and call up to the big club Lapierre and O'Byrne... don't know if it will make a difference, but it can hardly be worse.

It might be good short-term in order to wake up the team, but it won't make much of a difference long-term. Lapierre is a 4th liner & O'Byrne likely won't see that much action. They brought up O'Byrne mostly to have a look at him. Their problem isn't on defence, it's on offense. They're set on defence & they even have 2 defencemen playing the wing. Most experts had picked Mtl to finish 11th or 12th prior to this season. Let's face it, the Habs played way over their heads in the first month or so & are now playing like most experts had predicted they'd be playing. Is it really a slump that they're going through or simply playing how a team with a bunch of pluggers should be playing? The goaltending was great for the first 6 weeks & are still now playing very well game in & game out. But they can't be expected to perform at this high-level all season long & are constantly facing an onslaught of rubber night after night. The goalies won the last two games against Toronto (in a shootout also!) after being outshot by nearly 2-1 in every game.

When you're paying that kind of money to Michael Ryder to score goals & he's not scoring, you're in trouble considering the team doesn't have much scorers. When your two best players (Kovalev & Koivu) for the past few seasons are now both approaching the mid-30's, the future doesn't look as bright as some people think. Sure, they have Komisarek, Higgins, Latendresse & the Kostitsyn brothers onboard. But Komisarek is not even a top 3 defenceman on most teams & he'll be a free agent one day & Mtl will have to overpay him in order to stay. Higgins might have a nice future ahead of him if he's used properly....i can't figure out why he's not playing center ahead of the smurfs since he's a natural centerman. Latendresse....too slow & not much of a scoring touch around the net. The only skating race he regular wins is against the Zamboni & i've been told he's even been beaten by the Zamboni on a few occasions. The jury is still out on the Kostitsyn brothers. Andrei has done dick-all right now & his brother hasn't yet played an NHL game. Andrei Markov? The jury is out on him once again. His plus/minus is terrible & as bad as Souray's ever was & he's looked ordinary over the past 3 weeks. Does he want the responsiblity of being the team's top defenceman? Maybe he's better off being a 2nd or 3rd defenceman on any team. As for the other young players, they're all pluggers and 4th liners. They do, however, appear to be set in nets for the future with Carey Price. As long as he's not overused early in his career, though. However, he has appeared more & more ordinary in his past few games & word is finally out (as i've said many times to those who wanted to listen) that you have to shoot high on him since that's when he's most vulnerable.

Can't figure out why they signed Brian Smolinski....same with Pat Brisebois. Smolinski is a journeyman player who's better days are behind him & they didn't need Brisebois. Why didn't they keep Radek Bonk? What deal has Gainey ever made which was good for the team? Kovalev?? The Rangers had no more use for him when they traded him to Mtl. He was a reject at the time & Gainey took a chance on him. I won't even mention the Mike Ribeiro giveaway. Okay, i will. They gave him to Dallas for journeyman defenceman Janne Ninimma & a roll of tape. Ninimma never amounted to anything & he's now playing in Europe. Ribeiro? He's now leading the Dallas Stars in scoring. Craig Rivet? What did they get for him? Not much & he probably would have re-signed since he loved playing in Mtl & was well-liked on the team where he was regarded (like he is in San Jose) as one of the vocal leaders in the dressing room & he wasn't a bad player. Why have a rookie coach (once again!) coach in an atmosphere like Mtl?? The road ahead doesn't look pretty!

 

[gohabsgo]

No doubt about it - you are definately a Habs fan!! and clearly a pretty disgruntled one at that !!

 

[gohabsgo]

The Price is right in Boston!

A well deserved win for a hard working Habs team tonight against a good Bruins squad - even disgruntled Habs fans posing as Leaf fans would agree

 

[gohabsgo]

constantly facing an onslaught of rubber night after night.

Sounds like most of the SP's I know

 

[EagerBeaver]

Come On Guys!

Nobody has addressed a rather obvious question: why did Pittsburgh let Recchi go? They are themselves a team that needs veteran leadership. Either he wasn't providing it, or his productivity was close to zero........either way should there be a mad rush to pick up a washed up player? It is kind of like the drunk on rue St. Catherine picking food out of the garbage can................

 

[Doc Holliday]

Nobody has addressed a rather obvious question: why did Pittsburgh let Recchi go? They are themselves a team that needs veteran leadership. Either he wasn't providing it, or his productivity was close to zero.

Recchi & Michel Therrien never got along. This dates back to their days with the Canadiens. I remember when Therrien became coach of the Pens, the so-called hockey experts were weary about how things would turn out between the two this time around.

Recchi is a player who might have a year left, not more. But considering that Mtl is a team with practically no leadership & no scoring up front, he might be a good fit considering that Pittsburgh would now have to pay half his salary since he'll likely clear waivers again. Mtl isn't exactly the Detroit Red Wings, you know....Recchi wouldn't look to bad on a team like that. Plus, he and Saku Koivu are very good friends & his presence might boost up Koivu's production & make him happier playing in Mtl. He's look pretty frustrated & angry lately.

 

[Doc Holliday]

A well deserved win for a hard working Habs team tonight against a good Bruins squad - even disgruntled Habs fans posing as Leaf fans would agree

Mtl played a very tired team & as i've mentionned in prior posts, they have had the Bruins' number for as long as i can remember. They'd get outshot by Boston 100-1 & still would find a way to win the game!

Bottom line: I wasn't that impressed with them, Tim Thomas is injured & a rookie was between the pipes, Price looked nervous, and i expected Mtl to win, even if they've been playing awful over the past 2 weeks.

 

[gohabsgo]

The Habs certainly deserved a better fate last night as a result of a horse shit call . If that first period Streit goal was not called back (it was clearly not intentionally kicked in with a distinct kicking motion the puck hit the post, not the skate) the outcome of the game would be different - likely resulting in a Montreal win.

 

[Doc Holliday]

The Habs certainly deserved a better fate last night as a result of a horse shit call . If that first period Streit goal was not called back (it was clearly not intentionally kicked in with a distinct kicking motion the puck hit the post, not the skate) the outcome of the game would be different - likely resulting in a Montreal win.

Must be the NHL replay people in Toronto who conspired to deny a good goal in order to prevent the Habs from winning.

Come on! The Habs were totally dominated in last night's hockey game. It was almost as bad as the other night against the Red Wings. The only thing that comes to mind after watching them being destroyed in those two games are memories of Custer at Little Big Horn!

If it's true that the disallowed goal is the cause of them being nearly blown out of their building, then this team has absolutey no heart & no desire to win & has no business being in the NHL! They don't have a clue of how to respond when faced with adversity! You're saying that they give up & feel they don't have a chance to win as soon as they either have a goal denied or when the other team scores first or takes the lead in the game.

Price's good fortune has disappeared since he's been letting in soft goals & word got out that you have to shoot high on him. He barely lasted two periods last night & looked shell-shocked. Are they ruining him by keeping him with the big team? I'm certain that being pulled by Carbonneau last night isn't exactly helping the kid's confidence. That team is in deep trouble, but what else would you expect when you have two defencemen (Strait & Dandenault) playing the wing game in & game out. Are they THAT weak on the wing? I guess they are, considering Carbonneau had Bryan Smolinsky playing on the first line with Koivu a few nights ago!

Slowly, Michael Ryder is beginning to become my favorite player on the team. He's constantly smiling & smirking & acting like nothing's wrong whenever we see him being interviewed (and he's the same way off-camera we are told). The other day, when asked how he felt about not being dressed & being left in the stands for the Boston game, he smiled & joked that the worse part was that it was kind of cold in the stands. Maybe he's the only one who's got a good perspective of things....hockey is just a game, after all.

 

[joelcairo]

I tell you Doc, I wouldn't mind receiving Ryder's salary for watching hockey games. And I'd just buy a sweater or two to solve the main problem. The only bad part is that it would be Canadiens games that I'd be watching.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Leafs Jolt the Lightning

Convincing win for the Leafs last night over the Tampa Bay Lightning by a score of 6-1. Wow!!! The Leafs are totally unrecognizable as compared to the team they were 3 weeks ago. They're now 5-1-1 in their past seven games & dominated those games where they either lost or got a point (the one against the Habs where Price performed like he was Jacques Plante!).

As for the Habs, more & more problems. Koivu is pouting & rumours are pouring in that he's fed up of the inner turmoil constantly going on in Mtl & would welcome a trade. He's fed up of being singled out just because he's the team captain. Habs have now lost 5 in a row at home & the fans are regularly booing the team. Can't blame them! Most of the experts are fed up with the boring hockey displayed by their favorite team mostly because of Carbonneau's version of The Trap. Offensive-minded players like Koivu & Kovalev are also fed up of playing in such a defensive-minded system where they don't have the opportunity to show off their offensive skills & are limited into what they can do by their coaching staff. It's worse when you constantly get outshot night after night & you're not winning!

Many players that were abandoned by the team, such as Mike Ribeiro & Radek Bonk among others, are performing very well with their new teams. Why? Experts believe it's because they're finally playing with a good hockey team as opposed to their time in Mtl, where the talent level is not something to write home about. The other night, they had Bryan Smolinski on the first line. Now that he's injured, they replaced him on that first line with Mathieu Dandenault!! Come on!! Is this a joke or what??

Last night, they kept showing replays of Michael Ryder at practice & constantly yawning. No wonder.....that's what fans watching the games have been doing on a regular basis!! They're a boring team to watch!! I enjoyed Francois Gagnon's outburst last night on sports talkshow 110%. As Jean Perron was making a statement in regards to Guy Carbonneau, Gagnon interrupted him & shouted: "C'est pas de sa faute! Y'a pas de club maudit!!" Well said, Mr. Gagnon.

Anyways, Bob Mckenzie of TSN (possibly hockey's number one insider) has been telling people that Bob Gainey is presently working on a trade which whose purpose would be to help the team on a short-term basis. Wonder who they'd give up in order to get something? They don't have that much value to give up....Ryder? Come on! "Les autres equipes ne veulent pas de nos chaudrons!", as many local hockey experts have been saying recently. Tonight, they're facing a tired & injured Tampa Bay team who got blown out in Toronto last night. This could either be a blessing or trouble for the team, since it's likely TB coach John Torterella's temper got the best of him last night after the game & he won't tolerate his team's failure in consecutive games. Finally, Jean Page said it best last night in regards to other teams coming to play in Mtl: "It's like a picnic....a walk in the park."

By the way, isn't TQS news correspondent Emilie Perreault a babe? I saw her report in regards to the Led Zeppelin reunion performance last night & she's quite the hottie!!

 

[G1GBallday]

Ryder? Come on! "Les autres equipes ne veulent pas de nos chaudrons!"

Well at least the Habs "chaudrons" aren't given 20 million dollar contracts when on a 13 goal pace a la Jason Blake.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Well at least the Habs "chaudrons" aren't given 20 million dollar contracts when on a 13 goal pace a la Jason Blake.

Jason Blake was considered a bargain & possibly the best free agent pickup in the whole league prior to the start of the regular season. He's been helping the team in other ways other than goal scoring & he's one of the league's leaders with shot-on-goals. Don't forget the fact that at the start of the season, he discovered he had Leukemia & it doesn't take a genius to figure out that his mind wasn't exactly on hockey for that first month or so. He's now beginning to turn things around & playing great (christ he's fast!) on a line with Darcy Tucker & Kyle Wellwood. He's one hell of a hard worker, i'll tell you that. He never once gives up & he's always in movement when he's on the ice.

Bottom line, give the guy a break....instead of spending most of his spare time in pubs & drinking like a fish, he's been spending them battling cancer.

 

[Doc Holliday]

The Vincent Lecavalier/Toronto Maple Leafs Caper

Yesterday at the intermission during the Leafs/Lightning broadcast, former Leafs assistant GM Bill Waters brought up the time when the Leafs nearly had their hands on Vinnie Lecavalier. He only learned the truth behind the whole affair last week. Until now, he & everyone else had been led to believe that the deal was a done thing except for the fact that Tampa Bay's owner at the time stepped in & blocked the trade. Last night, Waters gave the details of what occurred, which was back in 2001 i believe:

Going to Tampa Bay would have been Tomas Kaberle, Nik Antropov, Jonas Hoglund & either Brad Boyes or a first-round pick the next season (which turned out to be Carlo Colaiacovo). In return, Toronto would receive Vincent Lecavalier. Both GM Rick Dudley & assistant GM Jay Feaster had approved of the deal. What occurred next is what killed the deal, which was to be announced on the next day. When Feaster called the league office in NYC to advise them of the deal, he spoke to an unnamed league source (I was led to believe it was former leaf official & coach Mike Murphy) who bluntly told Feaster: "I'd never trade away a player like Vincent Lecavalier." Story goes Feaster changed his mind & spoke to the owner about it, who then gave his thumbs down to the deal. Dudley was supposedly furious about this & he later lost his job over the deal not having been made. Bottom line, if that league official would have shut his mouth & just do his job like he was supposed to, Vincent Lecavalier would have been in a Leafs uniform for years to come.