First of all, i do not dislike the Habs as much as people think. I mostly generally dislike their idiotic fans who have no clue what hockey's all about. Like their local sports media people, they seem to believe that the whole hockey world revolves around them. They regularly make the stupidest comments ever heard on the airwaves. They regularly expect other teams to accept trading their superstars in return for the Habs' leftovers. They believe they could get Vinnie Lecavalier in return for Saku Koivu & Michael Ryder....and upon reflection, they'll that Tampa Bay could probably throw in Brad Richards or a first-round pick into the package. "Oh, that's too much? Okay, we'll ship you Crystobal Huet", they'll say. Idiotic! As for the Habs as a team, i have a love/hate relationship with them. Indeed, my favorite team since i was a kid is Toronto. But i once was a Habs fan at a certain depressing point in my life & there is still something within me that wants them to do good (as long as it doesn't impede Toronto). Each year, i'm pulling for the Habs to make the playoffs, whether i like them or not. The playoffs are never the same if the Habs are not in them. Last year, if Toronto wasn't in, i would have been pulling for the Habs if they would have made the playoffs. And i must also admit that yes indeed, i enjoy watching them fail & this mostly has to do with my sincere dislike of most clueless Habs fans & local sports media.
As for Ryder, i've met him personally on several occasions & even hung out with him. However, i've always said (and even told it to him in his face) that he wasn't as good as people made him out to be, nor as good as his stats showed. A lazy player...a loafer. Someone who doesn't take hockey seriously & might one day wind up wasting that God-given talent of his. But he's a good guy after all....and for someone as happy-go-lucky as he is, he might as well be playing hockey elsewhere than the hockey hotbed Mtl is.
Finally, i do agree that Bert Raymond is a separatist....so are Pierre Rinfret & Rejean Tremblay for the matter. I don't know about Pedneault...i think he's just a very negative person (actually, like the other two i've mentionned) and rarely has a good thing to say. The guy looks like he's chronically constipated.
And yes, i believe that Samsonov is over-the-hill even for his age....and i do believe that Jason Blake is a late bloomer & still has 3-4 good productive seasons ahead of him. Samsonov likely won't be in the NHL by year's end.
