The Official M.E.R.B. Hockey Thread
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Montreal media praises Brian Burke
Bon coup de Burke
par Denis Casavant (RDS)
MONTREAL-Donnons crédit à Brian Burke.Même si le directeur-gérant des Maple Leafs ne fait pas toujours l’unanimité, il n’a pas peur de passer aux actes.Burke a réussi deux transactions à la Louis de Ville Mercier.Vous savez, le genre de transaction qu’un auditeur suggère à Ron en fin de soirée.
“Ron, on devrait échanger Matt D’Agostini,Sergei Kostitsyn,Kyle Chipchura,Glen Metropolit,Georges Laraque,Jaroslav Halak et Mathieu Carle aux Flyers de Philadelphie pour Daniel Brière,Claude Giroux et Jeff Carter.Qu’en penses-tu Ron?” Et Ron de répondre : “êtes-vous malade?”.
C’est exactement le genre de transaction que Burke vien de réaliser.Un défenseur de la trempe de Dion Phaneuf pour Matt Stajan,Niklas Hagman,Ian White et Jamal Mayers, c’est un véritable vol.
Ensuite, il se débarasse des contrats de Jason Blake et Vesa Toskala, pour les services de Jean-Sébastein Giguère qui a perdu son poste de numéro un à Anaheim.
Donc, le bilan de ces deux transactions pour les Leafs, est l’obtention d’un défenseur tout-étoile de 24 ans en Dion Phaneuf qui avait besoin d’un changement de décor et un gardien en Giguère qui pourrait lui aussi retrouver la forme en changeant d’équipe et en retrouvant François Allaire à Toronto.
En retour, Burke a cédé du bois mort, six joueurs qui ne figuraient plus dans les plans à long terme.
Phaneuf touchera 6.5M par année au cours des quatres prochaines saisons alors que Blake et Hagman comptent pour un total de 7M contre la masse salariale pour encore deux autres saisons.
C’est Giguère qui va coûter un peu plus cher aux Leafs, car il touchera un autre 6M l’an prochain alors que Toskala devient joueur autonome le premier juillet.
Mais, en bout de ligne, Burke peut maintenant bâtir autour de sa brigade défensive qui est composée de Phaneuf,Mike Komisarek,François Beauchemin,Tomas Kaberle,Luke Schenn et Jeff Finger.
Burke a démontré qu’il est encore possible, même avec un plafond salarial, de complèter des transactions majeures.Il suffit d’un peu d’imagination et de créativité.
http://legrandclub.rds.ca/profils/608558/posts/55320
Bon coup de Burke
par Denis Casavant (RDS)
MONTREAL-Donnons crédit à Brian Burke.Même si le directeur-gérant des Maple Leafs ne fait pas toujours l’unanimité, il n’a pas peur de passer aux actes.Burke a réussi deux transactions à la Louis de Ville Mercier.Vous savez, le genre de transaction qu’un auditeur suggère à Ron en fin de soirée.
“Ron, on devrait échanger Matt D’Agostini,Sergei Kostitsyn,Kyle Chipchura,Glen Metropolit,Georges Laraque,Jaroslav Halak et Mathieu Carle aux Flyers de Philadelphie pour Daniel Brière,Claude Giroux et Jeff Carter.Qu’en penses-tu Ron?” Et Ron de répondre : “êtes-vous malade?”.
C’est exactement le genre de transaction que Burke vien de réaliser.Un défenseur de la trempe de Dion Phaneuf pour Matt Stajan,Niklas Hagman,Ian White et Jamal Mayers, c’est un véritable vol.
Ensuite, il se débarasse des contrats de Jason Blake et Vesa Toskala, pour les services de Jean-Sébastein Giguère qui a perdu son poste de numéro un à Anaheim.
Donc, le bilan de ces deux transactions pour les Leafs, est l’obtention d’un défenseur tout-étoile de 24 ans en Dion Phaneuf qui avait besoin d’un changement de décor et un gardien en Giguère qui pourrait lui aussi retrouver la forme en changeant d’équipe et en retrouvant François Allaire à Toronto.
En retour, Burke a cédé du bois mort, six joueurs qui ne figuraient plus dans les plans à long terme.
Phaneuf touchera 6.5M par année au cours des quatres prochaines saisons alors que Blake et Hagman comptent pour un total de 7M contre la masse salariale pour encore deux autres saisons.
C’est Giguère qui va coûter un peu plus cher aux Leafs, car il touchera un autre 6M l’an prochain alors que Toskala devient joueur autonome le premier juillet.
Mais, en bout de ligne, Burke peut maintenant bâtir autour de sa brigade défensive qui est composée de Phaneuf,Mike Komisarek,François Beauchemin,Tomas Kaberle,Luke Schenn et Jeff Finger.
Burke a démontré qu’il est encore possible, même avec un plafond salarial, de complèter des transactions majeures.Il suffit d’un peu d’imagination et de créativité.
http://legrandclub.rds.ca/profils/608558/posts/55320
Majority of Habs fans give a huge thumbs-up to Brian Burke
Check out the reader comments at the bottom of the article. It seems that the Habs fans would trade Boring Bob for Burkie anytime!!
http://www.rds.ca/hockey/chroniques/291818.html
Check out the reader comments at the bottom of the article. It seems that the Habs fans would trade Boring Bob for Burkie anytime!!
http://www.rds.ca/hockey/chroniques/291818.html
Habs fear Cammalleri may be lost for rest of season
OTTAWA – The Canadiens lost more than a hockey game Saturday as Michael Cammalleri left Scotiabank Place on crutches.
“I don’t know how much I can tell you,” said Cammalleri, who was in the dressing room being examined when Mike Fisher scored at 3:33 of overtime to give the Ottawa Senators a 3-2 win over the Canadiens.
“I’m hoping it’s not too bad.”
Officially, Canadiens head coach Jacques Martin said Cammalleri suffered a lower-body injury and there would be an update tomorrow after he was checked out by the Canadiens’ doctors.
Cammalleri was injured with a shade over seven minutes to play in the third period. He was checked by Ottawa’s Anton Volchenkov and the replays appeared to show his knee bent before he fell leg-first into the boards.
As he left the arena, he was wearing a sweatsuit and there was an inflatable cast on his right leg. He wasn’t bending his right leg as he walked.
OTTAWA – The Canadiens lost more than a hockey game Saturday as Michael Cammalleri left Scotiabank Place on crutches.
“I don’t know how much I can tell you,” said Cammalleri, who was in the dressing room being examined when Mike Fisher scored at 3:33 of overtime to give the Ottawa Senators a 3-2 win over the Canadiens.
“I’m hoping it’s not too bad.”
Officially, Canadiens head coach Jacques Martin said Cammalleri suffered a lower-body injury and there would be an update tomorrow after he was checked out by the Canadiens’ doctors.
Cammalleri was injured with a shade over seven minutes to play in the third period. He was checked by Ottawa’s Anton Volchenkov and the replays appeared to show his knee bent before he fell leg-first into the boards.
As he left the arena, he was wearing a sweatsuit and there was an inflatable cast on his right leg. He wasn’t bending his right leg as he walked.
Habs' Halak has heart; Price doesn't
by Jack Todd (Montreal Gazette)
MONTREAL – Trust me on this: Andrei Markov is not the guy you want around if there's a fire in the house.
He's so soft-spoken, the house would burn to the ground before anyone heard him whisper "fire!"
First time I talked with Markov (or tried to) it was in Moscow in 1999. Markov was one of a group of three young Russian prospects I was keying on, along with Maxim Afinogenov and Nik Antropov, now teammates with the Atlanta Thrashers.
Afinogenov, through a translator, had a lot to say. Antropov said enough. Markov? Nothing. Nechevo.
So if Markov is whispering "ogon" (that's Russian for fire) you can be sure that, as the Russians say, "net dyma bez ognja." There's no smoke without fire. Or in the case of young master Carey Price, a lack of fire.
If Markov lit into Carey Price for his alleged failure to show heart during the Canadiens' loss to the St. Louis Blues (and I believe he did) it's because this particular fire has been smoking for a long while. Markov put his finger on what is missing from Price's game: Heart. Grit. Fire.
Call it what you will, it's the ingredient that now separates Price from his alleged backup, Jaroslav Halak. Price is too lackadaisical by half.
If Markov didn't light into Price, he should have.
Price's willingness to duke it out on the ice has nothing whatsoever to do with whether he has the heart to be a great goalie. He is paid to stop pucks, not to play George the Vegan. What he lacks is the scrappiness to get down and dirty and fight to keep that puck out of his net.
It's the quality Patrick Roy had in abundance. Halak has it and Price does not - or if he has it, he hasn't shown it in a long while.
At the NHL level, the margin between winning and losing is razor-thin. The great ones have what Roy had: a ferocious will to win. It might be worth no more than a half-goal a game, but ultimately it's the difference between Halak's 14-9 record this season and Price's abysmal and embarrassing 11-21.
A few fans last week accused me of "hating" Carey Price. Nothing could be farther from the truth. I was proud to cover the first regular-season game Price played for the Canadiens, on the road in Pittsburgh, because I thought I was seeing history. Like many others, I was fooled into believing that he might be a great one.
By now, I am heartily weary of the whole Price/Halak debate, especially of the obscene verbal abuse and mind-numbing justifications Price's defenders trot out every time their overgrown baby draws a little flak.
But while I no longer believe Price has the inner stuff to be a great goalie, I still think he could be a good goaltender. I simply believe that it's bad for Price and bad for the club when he's handed a job he hasn't earned - not once, but over and over again.
When Price got the nod over Halak in Tampa Bay Wednesday, my jaw dropped. Halak had just come off three games in which he allowed a total of three goals while defeating the Devils and Rangers, and losing 2-1 to the Panthers in a game in which his teammates simply did not show up.
While it's not true (as RDS had reported) that Halak has never gotten a start after a loss, it's rare. Despite the nature of Halak's loss to Florida, the Canadiens used it as an excuse to trot out Price once again. Do that often enough and a playoff berth is going to slip away.
You can't blame Price, or not entirely. From the first day he arrived in Montreal, Bob Gainey has done everything in his power to give Price a sense of entitlement. Why work hard when you keep getting the starts, win or lose?
From early in his career, there were troubling indications that Price's dedication was something less than what it should be. At his first scrum after his first training-camp practice with the Canadiens, Price seemed stunned at how hard goalie coach Roland Melanson expected him to work. I can recall being surprised that any player could reach this level without knowing how hard you have to work, but I forgot Price's comments until his attitude and work ethic became an issue.
Then Price confessed that he had to lose 35 pounds during his rookie season with the Habs. That one was a stunner: it was hard to believe any modern NHL player could gain that much weight at any time.
The last straw for me was that yuk session Price had with this clown Cabbie after a playoff loss to Boston. (The most nauseating part of that stunt was Georges Laraque yukking along with the rest. Had John Ferguson caught Gump Worsley behaving like that, the Gumper would have absorbed such a beating, it might have driven him to drink. Then Cabbie, his cameraman and their equipment would have been stuffed into the nearest garbage bin.)
Andrei Markov didn't whup Price the way Fergie would have. But for Markov to go as far as he almost surely did was another indication that Price's teammates are as alarmed by his attitude as some outside the organization.
While Price appears to take the game more seriously this season, there's still something missing - which is why he loses more often than he wins. It takes grit and fire to pull out a win in a tight, tough game.
Beyond all that, the treatment of Halak disturbs my sense of fairness. Jobs in the National Hockey League are supposed to be handed out on the basis of merit, not reputation or what TSN calls "pedigree."
It's as simple as this: If you ain't got the heart, you shouldn't get the start.
by Jack Todd (Montreal Gazette)
MONTREAL – Trust me on this: Andrei Markov is not the guy you want around if there's a fire in the house.
He's so soft-spoken, the house would burn to the ground before anyone heard him whisper "fire!"
First time I talked with Markov (or tried to) it was in Moscow in 1999. Markov was one of a group of three young Russian prospects I was keying on, along with Maxim Afinogenov and Nik Antropov, now teammates with the Atlanta Thrashers.
Afinogenov, through a translator, had a lot to say. Antropov said enough. Markov? Nothing. Nechevo.
So if Markov is whispering "ogon" (that's Russian for fire) you can be sure that, as the Russians say, "net dyma bez ognja." There's no smoke without fire. Or in the case of young master Carey Price, a lack of fire.
If Markov lit into Carey Price for his alleged failure to show heart during the Canadiens' loss to the St. Louis Blues (and I believe he did) it's because this particular fire has been smoking for a long while. Markov put his finger on what is missing from Price's game: Heart. Grit. Fire.
Call it what you will, it's the ingredient that now separates Price from his alleged backup, Jaroslav Halak. Price is too lackadaisical by half.
If Markov didn't light into Price, he should have.
Price's willingness to duke it out on the ice has nothing whatsoever to do with whether he has the heart to be a great goalie. He is paid to stop pucks, not to play George the Vegan. What he lacks is the scrappiness to get down and dirty and fight to keep that puck out of his net.
It's the quality Patrick Roy had in abundance. Halak has it and Price does not - or if he has it, he hasn't shown it in a long while.
At the NHL level, the margin between winning and losing is razor-thin. The great ones have what Roy had: a ferocious will to win. It might be worth no more than a half-goal a game, but ultimately it's the difference between Halak's 14-9 record this season and Price's abysmal and embarrassing 11-21.
A few fans last week accused me of "hating" Carey Price. Nothing could be farther from the truth. I was proud to cover the first regular-season game Price played for the Canadiens, on the road in Pittsburgh, because I thought I was seeing history. Like many others, I was fooled into believing that he might be a great one.
By now, I am heartily weary of the whole Price/Halak debate, especially of the obscene verbal abuse and mind-numbing justifications Price's defenders trot out every time their overgrown baby draws a little flak.
But while I no longer believe Price has the inner stuff to be a great goalie, I still think he could be a good goaltender. I simply believe that it's bad for Price and bad for the club when he's handed a job he hasn't earned - not once, but over and over again.
When Price got the nod over Halak in Tampa Bay Wednesday, my jaw dropped. Halak had just come off three games in which he allowed a total of three goals while defeating the Devils and Rangers, and losing 2-1 to the Panthers in a game in which his teammates simply did not show up.
While it's not true (as RDS had reported) that Halak has never gotten a start after a loss, it's rare. Despite the nature of Halak's loss to Florida, the Canadiens used it as an excuse to trot out Price once again. Do that often enough and a playoff berth is going to slip away.
You can't blame Price, or not entirely. From the first day he arrived in Montreal, Bob Gainey has done everything in his power to give Price a sense of entitlement. Why work hard when you keep getting the starts, win or lose?
From early in his career, there were troubling indications that Price's dedication was something less than what it should be. At his first scrum after his first training-camp practice with the Canadiens, Price seemed stunned at how hard goalie coach Roland Melanson expected him to work. I can recall being surprised that any player could reach this level without knowing how hard you have to work, but I forgot Price's comments until his attitude and work ethic became an issue.
Then Price confessed that he had to lose 35 pounds during his rookie season with the Habs. That one was a stunner: it was hard to believe any modern NHL player could gain that much weight at any time.
The last straw for me was that yuk session Price had with this clown Cabbie after a playoff loss to Boston. (The most nauseating part of that stunt was Georges Laraque yukking along with the rest. Had John Ferguson caught Gump Worsley behaving like that, the Gumper would have absorbed such a beating, it might have driven him to drink. Then Cabbie, his cameraman and their equipment would have been stuffed into the nearest garbage bin.)
Andrei Markov didn't whup Price the way Fergie would have. But for Markov to go as far as he almost surely did was another indication that Price's teammates are as alarmed by his attitude as some outside the organization.
While Price appears to take the game more seriously this season, there's still something missing - which is why he loses more often than he wins. It takes grit and fire to pull out a win in a tight, tough game.
Beyond all that, the treatment of Halak disturbs my sense of fairness. Jobs in the National Hockey League are supposed to be handed out on the basis of merit, not reputation or what TSN calls "pedigree."
It's as simple as this: If you ain't got the heart, you shouldn't get the start.
Habs' playoff chances could be gone by Olympic break
by Red Fisher (Montreal Gazette)
MONTREAL – It seems like only a few yesterdays ago that the Canadiens tipped their toes into the season with high expectations. Now, only 27 games remain, which tells me that time flies even when you're not having a whole lot of fun.
Let's agree that the Canadiens, who found themselves ranked No. 10 in the Eastern Conference playoff race before last night's action, surely aren't having fun. The only thing they have going for them is that the race is so tight, the Atlanta Thrashers went from a four-way tie for 10th to No. 6 when they left Philadelphia on Thursday with a 4-3 victory after rallying from a 3-1 deficit with three goals in the third period. This against a team that was 22-0 when leading after two periods.
So here are the Canadiens with 14 of their remaining 27 games at home, and while the popular notion is that this race will go down to the final weekend of the season, much about this team will be known in the remaining eight games (three on the road) before the Olympic break. Two games (home and away) are against the Boston Bruins - who were out of the playoffs before last night's game in Buffalo. The remaining six are against teams currently in the playoffs: Ottawa, Washington, Vancouver, Pittsburgh and back-to-back games against Philadelphia.
When those eight games are out of the way, 10 of the Canadiens' remaining 19 games will be on the road. What I'm saying is that the Canadiens have a steep hill to climb. If they don't earn 12 of the available 16 points before the Olympic break, the hill becomes a mountain.
The Canadiens showed what they're made of when they won six of seven road games before and after Christmas against the New York Islanders, Atlanta, Carolina, Toronto, Ottawa, Tampa and Florida. Since then, they've given it all back with a 4-6-2 record awaiting this afternoon's game in Ottawa (2 p.m., CBC, RDS), and the teams they're facing through Feb. 13 are a far more formidable bunch.
There's nothing complicated or mysterious about what the Canadiens must do to get the job done.
It starts with the goaltending. Anything less than an "A" rating in that area won't be enough. If the Canadiens' best skaters aren't their best in most of the games, that also won't be enough.
Thus far, what the Canadiens have brought to the arena is not nearly what GM Bob Gainey expected of them following the team's massive face-lift during the offseason. He has to like what Tomas Plekanec, Michael Cammalleri, Brian Gionta and Andrei Markov have delivered, but others haven't contributed enough.
They know who they are.
http://www.montrealgazette.com/sports/Habs+playoff+hopes+could+gone+Olympic+break/2502576/story.html
by Red Fisher (Montreal Gazette)
MONTREAL – It seems like only a few yesterdays ago that the Canadiens tipped their toes into the season with high expectations. Now, only 27 games remain, which tells me that time flies even when you're not having a whole lot of fun.
Let's agree that the Canadiens, who found themselves ranked No. 10 in the Eastern Conference playoff race before last night's action, surely aren't having fun. The only thing they have going for them is that the race is so tight, the Atlanta Thrashers went from a four-way tie for 10th to No. 6 when they left Philadelphia on Thursday with a 4-3 victory after rallying from a 3-1 deficit with three goals in the third period. This against a team that was 22-0 when leading after two periods.
So here are the Canadiens with 14 of their remaining 27 games at home, and while the popular notion is that this race will go down to the final weekend of the season, much about this team will be known in the remaining eight games (three on the road) before the Olympic break. Two games (home and away) are against the Boston Bruins - who were out of the playoffs before last night's game in Buffalo. The remaining six are against teams currently in the playoffs: Ottawa, Washington, Vancouver, Pittsburgh and back-to-back games against Philadelphia.
When those eight games are out of the way, 10 of the Canadiens' remaining 19 games will be on the road. What I'm saying is that the Canadiens have a steep hill to climb. If they don't earn 12 of the available 16 points before the Olympic break, the hill becomes a mountain.
The Canadiens showed what they're made of when they won six of seven road games before and after Christmas against the New York Islanders, Atlanta, Carolina, Toronto, Ottawa, Tampa and Florida. Since then, they've given it all back with a 4-6-2 record awaiting this afternoon's game in Ottawa (2 p.m., CBC, RDS), and the teams they're facing through Feb. 13 are a far more formidable bunch.
There's nothing complicated or mysterious about what the Canadiens must do to get the job done.
It starts with the goaltending. Anything less than an "A" rating in that area won't be enough. If the Canadiens' best skaters aren't their best in most of the games, that also won't be enough.
Thus far, what the Canadiens have brought to the arena is not nearly what GM Bob Gainey expected of them following the team's massive face-lift during the offseason. He has to like what Tomas Plekanec, Michael Cammalleri, Brian Gionta and Andrei Markov have delivered, but others haven't contributed enough.
They know who they are.
http://www.montrealgazette.com/sports/Habs+playoff+hopes+could+gone+Olympic+break/2502576/story.html
Michel Bergeron: "Carey Price's attitude sucks!"
L'attitude de Price me deplait
par Michel Bergeron (RDS)
MONTREAL - Le Canadien fait penser à une équipe qui se sort la tête du trou mais qui trouve le moyen d'y retourner immédiatement. La performance en Floride a été navrante et pathétique. Cette équipe est composée de joueurs mous et sans caractère. L'attitude de Carey Price me déplaît beaucoup également.
Je ne sais pas si les gars ont pris les choses à la légère en Floride, ce qui serait complètement ridicule parce que les deux adversaires avaient des fiches semblables au Tricolore. Ce qui me renverse, c'est le manque d'émotion après l'excellent match au niveau technique au New Jersey, vendredi dernier.
L'entraîneur se doit de prendre la meilleure décision pour l'équipe et visiblement son idée du congé en Floride n'était pas sa meilleure décision parce que les joueurs ne l'ont pas remercié avec une brillante performance sur la glace face aux Panthers. Quand j'étais entraîneur, les joueurs trouvaient presque toujours le moyen de jouer un match solide après une journée de congé en Californie.
J'espère de tout coeur que Jacques Martin démontre plus d'émotion dans le vestiaire que devant les médias. D'ailleurs, je m'attendais à assister à une démonstration de joie de l'entraîneur après les victoires au New Jersey et à New York. On reprochait à Bob Gainey de manquer d'émotion l'an dernier. On fait le même reproche à Martin cette saison
Mais il n'y a pas de leadership dans le vestiaire chez le Canadien. On raconte que suite à l'altercation entre Andrei Markov et Carey Price il y a quelques jours, l'équipe se serait divisée en deux : des pros Price et des pros Markov. On ne reproche pas une déclaration provenant d'un joueur de caractère mais si un joueur mou se lève pour parler fort, il risque de se faire regarder de travers par les vétérans. Quand Guy Lafleur ou Patrick Roy faisaient des déclarations, personne n'allait leur reprocher quoi que ce soit. Personne n'allait les affronter. On écoutait. Mais c'est évident qu'il n'y a pas de Guy Lafleur chez le Canadien.
On disait l'an passé qu'il n'y avait pas de leadership avec des joueurs comme Koivu et Kovalev. Étrange, on sort le même refrain cette année après l'ajout d'une douzaine de nouveaux joueurs et je pense que le problème commence à être gros. Comme au cinéma, on change les acteurs mais c'est toujours la même comédie. Il va falloir regarder en haut maintenant.
L'incident Markov/Price
À l'entraînement jeudi, on a vu Price faire l'accolade à Markov et jeter un oeil du côté des journalistes comme pour les narguer.
Si Price est immature, qu'il se prenne en main ou que quelqu'un l'aide à le faire. Son entourage doit savoir qu'il est immature et doit l'aider. Son agent, il n'est pas là seulement pour encaisser sa commission. Il doit aussi être là pour le remettre sur la bonne voie. Ça m'enrage et son attitude me déplaît beaucoup.
J'ai déjà vu deux coéquipiers ne plus jamais s'adresser la parole après une altercation et ça ne me dérangeait pas tant que l'équipe gagnait. On a de la difficulté à garder l'harmonie dans une famille de trois enfants alors imaginer dans un club de hockey. C'est normal mais qu'ils viennent ridiculiser la presse, je suis très déçu. Le geste de Price ne me surprend pas du tout.
L'an dernier, Mike Komisarek avait imité le cri d'une vache avant l'entrée des journalistes dans le vestiaire comme pour dire "laissez entrer le troupeau." Les joueurs n'ont pas de respect pour les journalistes. Je le sais parce que je l'ai vécu quand j'étais entraîneur. Les joueurs se disent, ça va durer 15 minutes et ce sera fini après. C'est pour cette raison que je n'allais pas rencontrer les joueurs quand j'étais analyste.
Il va falloir que quelqu'un dirige dans cette équipe. L'attitude de Price doit changer. Il n'est pas normal qu'il quitte la période de réchauffement rapidement. En plus, il n'a pas une bonne éthique de travail. Je suis un fan de Price mais je commence à perdre confiance. Jacques Martin doit être clair avec lui et lui dire comment les choses vont fonctionner à partir de maintenant.
Martin Brodeur et Patrick Roy sont devenus de grands gardiens en travaillant. C'est ainsi qu'ils ont gagné le respect de leurs coéquipiers. Le talent n'est pas un gage de réussite. Il faut plus. Jim Craig, l'ancien gardien étoile de l'équipe américaine qui a gagné la médaille d'or en 1980 aux Jeux olympiques de Lake Placid, est devenu une vedette très rapidement et du jour au lendemain, il est disparu de la carte. La même chose pourrait arriver à Price.
Je n'étais pas d'accord pour échanger Price mais à un moment donné, il va falloir que Bob Gainey prenne une décision. Qui sait, le jeune homme de 21 ans sera peut-être échangé un jour et lui aussi pourrait disparaître de la carte. Qu'il ne vienne pas dire que Roy et Brodeur sont ses idoles parce qu'on cherche toujours à imiter nos idoles, ce qu'il est loin de faire au niveau du travail.
Pour le bien de l'équipe, il faut cesser le système d'alternance et miser sur un gardien. Si la direction avait volontairement voulu mêler les deux gardiens, elle n'aurait pas été capable de le faire et n'aurait pu faire pire tellement on a joué dans la tête des gardiens cette saison.
L'attitude de Price me deplait
par Michel Bergeron (RDS)
MONTREAL - Le Canadien fait penser à une équipe qui se sort la tête du trou mais qui trouve le moyen d'y retourner immédiatement. La performance en Floride a été navrante et pathétique. Cette équipe est composée de joueurs mous et sans caractère. L'attitude de Carey Price me déplaît beaucoup également.
Je ne sais pas si les gars ont pris les choses à la légère en Floride, ce qui serait complètement ridicule parce que les deux adversaires avaient des fiches semblables au Tricolore. Ce qui me renverse, c'est le manque d'émotion après l'excellent match au niveau technique au New Jersey, vendredi dernier.
L'entraîneur se doit de prendre la meilleure décision pour l'équipe et visiblement son idée du congé en Floride n'était pas sa meilleure décision parce que les joueurs ne l'ont pas remercié avec une brillante performance sur la glace face aux Panthers. Quand j'étais entraîneur, les joueurs trouvaient presque toujours le moyen de jouer un match solide après une journée de congé en Californie.
J'espère de tout coeur que Jacques Martin démontre plus d'émotion dans le vestiaire que devant les médias. D'ailleurs, je m'attendais à assister à une démonstration de joie de l'entraîneur après les victoires au New Jersey et à New York. On reprochait à Bob Gainey de manquer d'émotion l'an dernier. On fait le même reproche à Martin cette saison
Mais il n'y a pas de leadership dans le vestiaire chez le Canadien. On raconte que suite à l'altercation entre Andrei Markov et Carey Price il y a quelques jours, l'équipe se serait divisée en deux : des pros Price et des pros Markov. On ne reproche pas une déclaration provenant d'un joueur de caractère mais si un joueur mou se lève pour parler fort, il risque de se faire regarder de travers par les vétérans. Quand Guy Lafleur ou Patrick Roy faisaient des déclarations, personne n'allait leur reprocher quoi que ce soit. Personne n'allait les affronter. On écoutait. Mais c'est évident qu'il n'y a pas de Guy Lafleur chez le Canadien.
On disait l'an passé qu'il n'y avait pas de leadership avec des joueurs comme Koivu et Kovalev. Étrange, on sort le même refrain cette année après l'ajout d'une douzaine de nouveaux joueurs et je pense que le problème commence à être gros. Comme au cinéma, on change les acteurs mais c'est toujours la même comédie. Il va falloir regarder en haut maintenant.
L'incident Markov/Price
À l'entraînement jeudi, on a vu Price faire l'accolade à Markov et jeter un oeil du côté des journalistes comme pour les narguer.
Si Price est immature, qu'il se prenne en main ou que quelqu'un l'aide à le faire. Son entourage doit savoir qu'il est immature et doit l'aider. Son agent, il n'est pas là seulement pour encaisser sa commission. Il doit aussi être là pour le remettre sur la bonne voie. Ça m'enrage et son attitude me déplaît beaucoup.
J'ai déjà vu deux coéquipiers ne plus jamais s'adresser la parole après une altercation et ça ne me dérangeait pas tant que l'équipe gagnait. On a de la difficulté à garder l'harmonie dans une famille de trois enfants alors imaginer dans un club de hockey. C'est normal mais qu'ils viennent ridiculiser la presse, je suis très déçu. Le geste de Price ne me surprend pas du tout.
L'an dernier, Mike Komisarek avait imité le cri d'une vache avant l'entrée des journalistes dans le vestiaire comme pour dire "laissez entrer le troupeau." Les joueurs n'ont pas de respect pour les journalistes. Je le sais parce que je l'ai vécu quand j'étais entraîneur. Les joueurs se disent, ça va durer 15 minutes et ce sera fini après. C'est pour cette raison que je n'allais pas rencontrer les joueurs quand j'étais analyste.
Il va falloir que quelqu'un dirige dans cette équipe. L'attitude de Price doit changer. Il n'est pas normal qu'il quitte la période de réchauffement rapidement. En plus, il n'a pas une bonne éthique de travail. Je suis un fan de Price mais je commence à perdre confiance. Jacques Martin doit être clair avec lui et lui dire comment les choses vont fonctionner à partir de maintenant.
Martin Brodeur et Patrick Roy sont devenus de grands gardiens en travaillant. C'est ainsi qu'ils ont gagné le respect de leurs coéquipiers. Le talent n'est pas un gage de réussite. Il faut plus. Jim Craig, l'ancien gardien étoile de l'équipe américaine qui a gagné la médaille d'or en 1980 aux Jeux olympiques de Lake Placid, est devenu une vedette très rapidement et du jour au lendemain, il est disparu de la carte. La même chose pourrait arriver à Price.
Je n'étais pas d'accord pour échanger Price mais à un moment donné, il va falloir que Bob Gainey prenne une décision. Qui sait, le jeune homme de 21 ans sera peut-être échangé un jour et lui aussi pourrait disparaître de la carte. Qu'il ne vienne pas dire que Roy et Brodeur sont ses idoles parce qu'on cherche toujours à imiter nos idoles, ce qu'il est loin de faire au niveau du travail.
Pour le bien de l'équipe, il faut cesser le système d'alternance et miser sur un gardien. Si la direction avait volontairement voulu mêler les deux gardiens, elle n'aurait pas été capable de le faire et n'aurait pu faire pire tellement on a joué dans la tête des gardiens cette saison.
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Rejean Tremblay: "Carey Price is not a warrior"
Carey Price n'est pas un guerrier
par Rejean Tremblay (La Presse)
Jacques Martin n'a plus de marge de manoeuvre. Ce n'est pas le temps de jouer au fin psychologue avec Carey Price ou Jaroslav Halak.
Son équipe affronte cet après-midi la meilleure formation de la Ligue nationale depuis quelques semaines. Aujourd'hui, Jacques Martin n'a qu'un objectif en tête. Gagner à tout prix. Et s'il pense qu'il a plus de chances de gagner avec Jaroslav Halak, pas de niaisage avec le puck, qu'il envoie Halak devant le but.
Il s'occupera de l'ego blessé de Carey Price après les Jeux olympiques et quand Halak aura été échangé.
Carey Price est arrivé trop tôt avec le Canadien. Ce fut trop facile pour lui de se fier sur la décision irrévocable de Bob Gainey d'en faire le sauveur de l'organisation.
Maintenant, il est trop tard pour reculer. Mais avant de donner sa bénédiction à Gainey, Geoff Molson devrait réfléchir quelques minutes.
- Premièrement, ce n'est pas vrai que Carey Price est si fort techniquement. Le style papillon, c'est bien beau mais les meilleurs gardiens dans la Ligue nationale depuis plusieurs années sont capables de sortir du «papillon» quand la situation l'exige. Qu'on pense à Martin Brodeur qui n'a jamais voulu modifier son style pour l'épurer. Même chose pour Patrick Roy qui savait varier son style si c'était nécessaire.
- Ces grands dont je viens de parler et à qui on a osé comparer le jeune Price, avaient une autre qualité. Ils aimaient la rondelle. Ce que je veux dire, c'est que ces gaillards étaient toujours prêts à arrêter des rondelles. Dans les matchs, dans les exercices ou dans la ruelle quand ils s'amusaient avec les enfants ou des amis. Patrick Roy était toujours le premier sur la glace et souvent, il fallait que Jean Perron ou Pat Burns le chicanent pour le sortir de la patinoire. Quand Michel Roy, le père de Patrick, a donné un titre à sa biographie de Patrick Roy, il l'a appelée Le Guerrier. Pensez-vous cinq minutes que Carey Price a du guerrier dans le pif!
- Ryan Miller, Patrick Roy, Martin Brodeur et José Théodore - dans ses grandes années qu'il ne faudrait pas oublier- avaient tous une autre qualité. Ils pensaient à la game dans sa globalité. Ils étaient toujours prêts à relancer le jeu. Un hors-jeu dans leur territoire devenait un échec personnel. Avec ces hommes-là, on était certain d'une chose. Une fois le contrat signé, ils se donnaient corps et âme pour le hockey et leur équipe. Sérieux, seriez-vous prêts à clamer haut et fort que c'est la même chose pour Carey Price?
Mon éminent confrère Mathias Brunet soutenait cette semaine qu'il fallait être patient avec Carey Price. Je suis d'accord avec lui. Mais patient pour arriver à quoi? Pour garder à Montréal un bon gardien un peu insignifiant qui ne gagnera jamais rien d'important? Ou pour enfin compter sur un vrai guerrier capable de mener le Canadien jusqu'à une finale de la Coupe Stanley.
Geoff Molson fera bien ce qu'il voudra, c'est son équipe. Et comme il est encore très jeune, il a encore quarante ans devant lui pour remporter une Coupe Stanley à Montréal.
http://www.cyberpresse.ca/opinions/...1-944550-carey-price-nest-pas-un-guerrier.php
Carey Price n'est pas un guerrier
par Rejean Tremblay (La Presse)
Jacques Martin n'a plus de marge de manoeuvre. Ce n'est pas le temps de jouer au fin psychologue avec Carey Price ou Jaroslav Halak.
Son équipe affronte cet après-midi la meilleure formation de la Ligue nationale depuis quelques semaines. Aujourd'hui, Jacques Martin n'a qu'un objectif en tête. Gagner à tout prix. Et s'il pense qu'il a plus de chances de gagner avec Jaroslav Halak, pas de niaisage avec le puck, qu'il envoie Halak devant le but.
Il s'occupera de l'ego blessé de Carey Price après les Jeux olympiques et quand Halak aura été échangé.
Carey Price est arrivé trop tôt avec le Canadien. Ce fut trop facile pour lui de se fier sur la décision irrévocable de Bob Gainey d'en faire le sauveur de l'organisation.
Maintenant, il est trop tard pour reculer. Mais avant de donner sa bénédiction à Gainey, Geoff Molson devrait réfléchir quelques minutes.
- Premièrement, ce n'est pas vrai que Carey Price est si fort techniquement. Le style papillon, c'est bien beau mais les meilleurs gardiens dans la Ligue nationale depuis plusieurs années sont capables de sortir du «papillon» quand la situation l'exige. Qu'on pense à Martin Brodeur qui n'a jamais voulu modifier son style pour l'épurer. Même chose pour Patrick Roy qui savait varier son style si c'était nécessaire.
- Ces grands dont je viens de parler et à qui on a osé comparer le jeune Price, avaient une autre qualité. Ils aimaient la rondelle. Ce que je veux dire, c'est que ces gaillards étaient toujours prêts à arrêter des rondelles. Dans les matchs, dans les exercices ou dans la ruelle quand ils s'amusaient avec les enfants ou des amis. Patrick Roy était toujours le premier sur la glace et souvent, il fallait que Jean Perron ou Pat Burns le chicanent pour le sortir de la patinoire. Quand Michel Roy, le père de Patrick, a donné un titre à sa biographie de Patrick Roy, il l'a appelée Le Guerrier. Pensez-vous cinq minutes que Carey Price a du guerrier dans le pif!
- Ryan Miller, Patrick Roy, Martin Brodeur et José Théodore - dans ses grandes années qu'il ne faudrait pas oublier- avaient tous une autre qualité. Ils pensaient à la game dans sa globalité. Ils étaient toujours prêts à relancer le jeu. Un hors-jeu dans leur territoire devenait un échec personnel. Avec ces hommes-là, on était certain d'une chose. Une fois le contrat signé, ils se donnaient corps et âme pour le hockey et leur équipe. Sérieux, seriez-vous prêts à clamer haut et fort que c'est la même chose pour Carey Price?
Mon éminent confrère Mathias Brunet soutenait cette semaine qu'il fallait être patient avec Carey Price. Je suis d'accord avec lui. Mais patient pour arriver à quoi? Pour garder à Montréal un bon gardien un peu insignifiant qui ne gagnera jamais rien d'important? Ou pour enfin compter sur un vrai guerrier capable de mener le Canadien jusqu'à une finale de la Coupe Stanley.
Geoff Molson fera bien ce qu'il voudra, c'est son équipe. Et comme il est encore très jeune, il a encore quarante ans devant lui pour remporter une Coupe Stanley à Montréal.
http://www.cyberpresse.ca/opinions/...1-944550-carey-price-nest-pas-un-guerrier.php
Little risk for Leafs in trades
by Damien Cox (Toronto Star)
TORONTO - If you'd speculated upon this Calgary deal 18 months ago, I and pretty much everyone else who observes the Maple Leafs from a position of neutrality would have laughed it off as one of those dreamer deals that only fans of Toronto's NHL franchise dream up.
You know. How about this fourth-liner and that backup goalie plus a second round pick for Sidney Crosby? Or Alex Ovechkin? Or Zach Parise?
Those kind of pie-in-the-sky swaps.
Well, if you'd said halfway last season that the Leafs were going to be able to structure a trade for Dion Phaneuf around Matt Stajan, Ian White and Niklas Hagman, people would have laughed.
But today it happened.
That it did tells you something about the way players are perceived and valued differently in different markets.
See, most people see Phaneuf and his enormous salary and Hollywood girlfriend and colorful on-ice persona and think superstar.
That White has more points than Phaneuf and a similar plus-minus on a much worse club would come as a surprise to many.
So would the fact that in deals with Calgary to get Phaneuf and with Anaheim to get goalie J.S. Giguere, the Leafs gave up 57 goals and received only 11 in return.
Still, both the deal with the Flames and the one with the Ducks share one component. The other club is taking most of the risk.
If Giguere can't play anymore - unlikely - the Leafs have added a big salary for next season, but dumping both Vesa Toskala and Jason Blake is a victory regardless of the return. At worst Giguere can mentor Jonas Gustavsson, a job Toskala didn't exactly embrace.
With the Phaneuf trade, Calgary added depth in the four Leafs acquired and may be a better team for the transaction.
But none of the four will ever be an NHL star.
Phaneuf might. In fact, he was, or at least a star-in-the-making, until he regressed last season and this season.
If he just turns out to be an erratic, overpaid player, the Leafs will be disappointed but not burned.
If he wins a Norris Trophy one day, the Flames are going to be awfully embarrassed.
Hard to say if the Leafs are better today, athough with Tomas Kaberle, Mike Komisarek (injured), Francois Beauchemin and Phaneuf they have a intriguing blueline, and Giguere has got to be better than Toskala.
But they are younger. Four players 30 years or older left town yesterday, and only one - Giguere - came back.
They are more North American and younger. Freddie Sjostrom is a fringe player but only 26, and defenceman Keith Aulie is at least a viable prospect.
These deals may or may not work out. But there is a big upside connected with Phaneuf, and little risk from a Leaf point-of-view.
by Damien Cox (Toronto Star)
TORONTO - If you'd speculated upon this Calgary deal 18 months ago, I and pretty much everyone else who observes the Maple Leafs from a position of neutrality would have laughed it off as one of those dreamer deals that only fans of Toronto's NHL franchise dream up.
You know. How about this fourth-liner and that backup goalie plus a second round pick for Sidney Crosby? Or Alex Ovechkin? Or Zach Parise?
Those kind of pie-in-the-sky swaps.
Well, if you'd said halfway last season that the Leafs were going to be able to structure a trade for Dion Phaneuf around Matt Stajan, Ian White and Niklas Hagman, people would have laughed.
But today it happened.
That it did tells you something about the way players are perceived and valued differently in different markets.
See, most people see Phaneuf and his enormous salary and Hollywood girlfriend and colorful on-ice persona and think superstar.
That White has more points than Phaneuf and a similar plus-minus on a much worse club would come as a surprise to many.
So would the fact that in deals with Calgary to get Phaneuf and with Anaheim to get goalie J.S. Giguere, the Leafs gave up 57 goals and received only 11 in return.
Still, both the deal with the Flames and the one with the Ducks share one component. The other club is taking most of the risk.
If Giguere can't play anymore - unlikely - the Leafs have added a big salary for next season, but dumping both Vesa Toskala and Jason Blake is a victory regardless of the return. At worst Giguere can mentor Jonas Gustavsson, a job Toskala didn't exactly embrace.
With the Phaneuf trade, Calgary added depth in the four Leafs acquired and may be a better team for the transaction.
But none of the four will ever be an NHL star.
Phaneuf might. In fact, he was, or at least a star-in-the-making, until he regressed last season and this season.
If he just turns out to be an erratic, overpaid player, the Leafs will be disappointed but not burned.
If he wins a Norris Trophy one day, the Flames are going to be awfully embarrassed.
Hard to say if the Leafs are better today, athough with Tomas Kaberle, Mike Komisarek (injured), Francois Beauchemin and Phaneuf they have a intriguing blueline, and Giguere has got to be better than Toskala.
But they are younger. Four players 30 years or older left town yesterday, and only one - Giguere - came back.
They are more North American and younger. Freddie Sjostrom is a fringe player but only 26, and defenceman Keith Aulie is at least a viable prospect.
These deals may or may not work out. But there is a big upside connected with Phaneuf, and little risk from a Leaf point-of-view.
Toronto Maple Leafs' Dion Phaneuf is a hitting machine
Former Norris trophy finalist is a mighty hitting machine
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmpUu1vsQUk
Former Norris trophy finalist is a mighty hitting machine
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmpUu1vsQUk
Burke trumps Sutter in Flames-Leafs deal
by Eric Duhatschek
The early returns show that shipping Phanuef to Toronto was a move borne of desperation for Flames GM Darryl Sutter.
Your first thought, upon hearing the news that the Calgary Flames traded Dion Phaneuf to the Toronto Maple Leafs in a blockbuster seven-player trade, was probably the same as mine: When did Flames general manager Darryl Sutter start channeling one of his greatly unlamented predecessors, Doug Risebrough?
And if the reference is too vague or dated, it’s because way back in 1992, these same two teams - Flames and Leafs - conjured up another major blockbuster deal along similar lines. Calgary gave up centre Doug Gilmour in a package of five players and received five in return from Toronto, none of whom made any impact with the Flames.
Gilmour’s presence turned the Leafs from a laughingstock into a contender; Calgary, which had been one of the more dominating teams of the 1980s, started a slow, steady decline.
It’s hard to view Sunday’s trade between the Flames and Leafs in any other light. Officially, it went down this way: Calgary acquires Niklas Hagman, Jamal Mayers, Matt Stajan and Ian White from Toronto. In exchange, the Leafs receive Phaneuf – a Norris Trophy finalist in 2008, an all-rookie team member in 2006 and still only 24 – plus Freddie Sjostrom and defensive prospect Keith Aulie.
As anyone who’s watched him play this year realizes, Phaneuf remains a decided work in progress. Prone to the same mistakes that he made in his rookie year, when he was a Calder Trophy candidate, Phaneuf’s offence has fallen off considerably this year after scoring 20, 17 and 17 goals in each of his first three seasons. A succession of coaches has tried to play Phaneuf with a succession of partners, with limited success. Roman Hamrlik, now with Montreal, was probably the best fit.
Still, the operative point about Phaneuf is that he was a Calder trophy contender, was a Norris trophy contender and theoretically could be that again. Who, among the players coming Calgary’s way, fits that bill?
Not Niklas Hagman, a serviceable forward, of which there are many in the NHL. Not Mayers, who wasn’t doing much for the Leafs and wanted out anyway. Not Stajan, who may have a scoring touch around the net, but frequently was in and out of coach Ron Wilson’s doghouse.
Stajan’s upside is hard to definitively pinpoint, but he has given no signs of evolving in an elite-level NHL forward. And while Ian White has provided credible defence for the Leafs this season, no one imagines him as having top-pair potential – which Phaneuf does. Phaneuf may not evolve into the next Scott Stevens – but he at least has the skill set to possibly become a dominant player, under the right sort of tutelage. Will he get it in Toronto? That remains to be seen. But he is a potential building block.
Typically, any team that acquires a core player without giving up a comparable asset in return wins the deal hands down. Score this one heavily in Brian Burke’s favour – and when the J.S. Giguere deal is complete, something that was discussed as long ago as last summer, that’ll be a win as well.
The Flames drafted Phaneuf out of Red Deer in 2003, when Brent Sutter coached there. Phaneuf has been like a second son to the Sutter clan ever since. Even though there were unconfirmed reports earlier in the season of a post-game shouting match between coach and player, Sutter the GM had publicly denied any sort of a major shake-up was in the works.
That’s par for the course incidentally – Sutter also publicly denied he was after Olli Jokinen and Jay Bouwmeester within the past 12 months and went ahead and dealt for them. Most people who follow the Flames now have learned to take everything Sutter says with a hefty grain of salt.
Fact is, it was logical for Calgary to trade from its position of strength – a deep defence – in order to fill in gaps elsewhere. Just because the Flames rolled over Edmonton 6-1 Saturday night doesn’t mean they have completely righted the ship just yet. The pressure is on – to make the playoffs and then win some rounds when, or if, they get there. But this isn’t enough for a core asset, not nearly enough - and cannot be explained away as simply a move to shed $6.5-million (U.S.) worth of Phaneuf’s annual salary. On some levels, it looks like a panic move, borne out of desperation for a quick fix.
In the end, that Sutter would give up on Phaneuf at this comparatively early stage in his career is probably the most surprising part of the deal. That he couldn’t get more for him in return is probably the most disappointing.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/burke-trumps-sutter-in-flames-leafs-deal/article1450924/
by Eric Duhatschek
The early returns show that shipping Phanuef to Toronto was a move borne of desperation for Flames GM Darryl Sutter.
Your first thought, upon hearing the news that the Calgary Flames traded Dion Phaneuf to the Toronto Maple Leafs in a blockbuster seven-player trade, was probably the same as mine: When did Flames general manager Darryl Sutter start channeling one of his greatly unlamented predecessors, Doug Risebrough?
And if the reference is too vague or dated, it’s because way back in 1992, these same two teams - Flames and Leafs - conjured up another major blockbuster deal along similar lines. Calgary gave up centre Doug Gilmour in a package of five players and received five in return from Toronto, none of whom made any impact with the Flames.
Gilmour’s presence turned the Leafs from a laughingstock into a contender; Calgary, which had been one of the more dominating teams of the 1980s, started a slow, steady decline.
It’s hard to view Sunday’s trade between the Flames and Leafs in any other light. Officially, it went down this way: Calgary acquires Niklas Hagman, Jamal Mayers, Matt Stajan and Ian White from Toronto. In exchange, the Leafs receive Phaneuf – a Norris Trophy finalist in 2008, an all-rookie team member in 2006 and still only 24 – plus Freddie Sjostrom and defensive prospect Keith Aulie.
As anyone who’s watched him play this year realizes, Phaneuf remains a decided work in progress. Prone to the same mistakes that he made in his rookie year, when he was a Calder Trophy candidate, Phaneuf’s offence has fallen off considerably this year after scoring 20, 17 and 17 goals in each of his first three seasons. A succession of coaches has tried to play Phaneuf with a succession of partners, with limited success. Roman Hamrlik, now with Montreal, was probably the best fit.
Still, the operative point about Phaneuf is that he was a Calder trophy contender, was a Norris trophy contender and theoretically could be that again. Who, among the players coming Calgary’s way, fits that bill?
Not Niklas Hagman, a serviceable forward, of which there are many in the NHL. Not Mayers, who wasn’t doing much for the Leafs and wanted out anyway. Not Stajan, who may have a scoring touch around the net, but frequently was in and out of coach Ron Wilson’s doghouse.
Stajan’s upside is hard to definitively pinpoint, but he has given no signs of evolving in an elite-level NHL forward. And while Ian White has provided credible defence for the Leafs this season, no one imagines him as having top-pair potential – which Phaneuf does. Phaneuf may not evolve into the next Scott Stevens – but he at least has the skill set to possibly become a dominant player, under the right sort of tutelage. Will he get it in Toronto? That remains to be seen. But he is a potential building block.
Typically, any team that acquires a core player without giving up a comparable asset in return wins the deal hands down. Score this one heavily in Brian Burke’s favour – and when the J.S. Giguere deal is complete, something that was discussed as long ago as last summer, that’ll be a win as well.
The Flames drafted Phaneuf out of Red Deer in 2003, when Brent Sutter coached there. Phaneuf has been like a second son to the Sutter clan ever since. Even though there were unconfirmed reports earlier in the season of a post-game shouting match between coach and player, Sutter the GM had publicly denied any sort of a major shake-up was in the works.
That’s par for the course incidentally – Sutter also publicly denied he was after Olli Jokinen and Jay Bouwmeester within the past 12 months and went ahead and dealt for them. Most people who follow the Flames now have learned to take everything Sutter says with a hefty grain of salt.
Fact is, it was logical for Calgary to trade from its position of strength – a deep defence – in order to fill in gaps elsewhere. Just because the Flames rolled over Edmonton 6-1 Saturday night doesn’t mean they have completely righted the ship just yet. The pressure is on – to make the playoffs and then win some rounds when, or if, they get there. But this isn’t enough for a core asset, not nearly enough - and cannot be explained away as simply a move to shed $6.5-million (U.S.) worth of Phaneuf’s annual salary. On some levels, it looks like a panic move, borne out of desperation for a quick fix.
In the end, that Sutter would give up on Phaneuf at this comparatively early stage in his career is probably the most surprising part of the deal. That he couldn’t get more for him in return is probably the most disappointing.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/burke-trumps-sutter-in-flames-leafs-deal/article1450924/
Myopic Leaf fans
I forgot to include the $1M cap hit for Tucker. Assume Kadri makes the team next season, his cap hit (salary and bonuses) will be around $3M (Kadri will likely be another Manny Malhotra – i.e. a bust - but that's for another topic) and say around $1M for a decent backup – that leaves around $7M to fill out the rest of offence. Good luck with that.
I forgot to include the $1M cap hit for Tucker. Assume Kadri makes the team next season, his cap hit (salary and bonuses) will be around $3M (Kadri will likely be another Manny Malhotra – i.e. a bust - but that's for another topic) and say around $1M for a decent backup – that leaves around $7M to fill out the rest of offence. Good luck with that.
sorta looks like you been reading the Habs M/O
good luck to "YOU" for the next several years
good luck to "YOU" for the next several years
I'm impressed by the stats you posted. But some explanations are required to get the real picture.
First off, Jeff Finger is expected to be bought out at the end of the season if the team is unable to trade him. I'd say that a trade is unlikely, but hey, they managed to find a sucker to pick up Jason Blake's contract. Habs fans, i now declare that there's still hope for you guys who never thought Gainey could rid the team of Scott Gomez' ridiculous contract. Don't despair!
Then there's Tomas Kaberle. He might be traded soon. Why? Because he's Burke's top blue chip player to be traded & he still has a year left on his contract, a very affordable $4.25 million. He'll be due for a large raise after the 2010 season & he'll be an unrestricted free agent. So if Burke is able to get a top forward (hopefully a center) or a #1 draft pick, Kaberle & his $4.25 million contract are gone from the books.
Jay Rosehill won't cost the team anything since he's on a two-way contract and likely will play the bulk of the season in the minors, like it's happened this season.
If Nazem Kadri makes the team, which i doubt (they'll send him in the minors to start the season), he'll be signed to an entry-level contract & won't cost them much.
So, contrary to your belief, there's still plenty of money left to sign players. There was even talk around the radio media (from Mtl) this morning that Brian Burke could very well go after Ilya Kovalchuk. But i give you a better option that might actually make sense: Vincent Lecavalier to the Leafs. He'd be cheaper than what Kovalchuk is asking for & he plays center. And, Tampa still owes Brian Burke a favor for allowing them to unload some excess contracts (e.g. Jamie Heward, Olaf Kolzig, etc) at the trade deadline last year. You just never know.....
So, what has Boring Bob been up to lately? Doesn't he realize that his best player will likely be out for the rest of the season? Who will they rely on to put the puck in the net? Benoit Pouliot?? LOL!!!!!!!!!!
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Just reported on sportsnet, Cammalleri out until after the Olympic break, not season ending
http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/2010/02/01/canadiens_cammalleri_injury/
http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/2010/02/01/canadiens_cammalleri_injury/
Brian Burke est un homme d'action
par Normand Flynn (RDS)
MONTREAL - Les Torontois ne pourront jamais reprocher à Brian Burke de ne rien faire pour améliorer l’équipe. Il faut lui donner du crédit : aujourd’hui, les Maple Leafs représentent une bien meilleure équipe dans l’ensemble. Peut-être pas offensivement, mais ça viendra…
Dans un premier temps, l’idée de rapatrier Jean-Sébastien Giguère allait de soi. Après avoir engagé François Allaire au poste d’entraîneur des gardiens lors de la saison morte, Burke vient de mettre la main sur un gagnant, celui qui s’est avéré la pièce maîtresse de la conquête de la coupe Stanley par les Ducks en 2007.
Certes, Giguère ne connaissait pas une bonne saison avec Anaheim et son temps de jeu avait passablement diminué au cours des deux dernières saisons. Avec le nouveau pacte à long terme que les Ducks ont attribué samedi à Jonas Hiller, l’ère Giguère était définitivement révolue en Californie.
Burke voulait un gardien de premier plan, il l’a obtenu. Maintenant, Giguère devra prouver qu’il est encore de la trempe d’un numéro un. Sur ce point, je ne suis pas inquiet. François Allaire connaît le gardien québécois comme le fond de sa poche et il va le remettre sur le droit chemin. Ce n’est qu’une petite question d’ajustement.
Pour faire l’acquisition de Giguère, les Leafs se sont débarrassé de Vesa Toskala, qui n’a jamais rempli les attentes à Toronto et de Jason Blake, qui commandait un salaire élevé pour un joueur qui n’a que 26 points cette saison.
Bâtir par la défense
Plus tôt dans la journée, Burke a sorti un autre lapin de son chapeau – le plus grand coup, selon plusieurs – en allant chercher Dion Phaneuf à Calgary. Le solide défenseur, qui n’était plus dans les bonnes grâces de Brent Sutter, rejoindra une brigade déjà très solide composée notamment de Mike Komisarek, François Beauchemin, Tomas Kaberle, Luke Schenn et Jeff Finger. Reste à voir si le changement d’air fera du bien à celui dont on dit qu’il n’est pas un bon joueur d’équipe. C’est d’ailleurs la raison principale pour laquelle il ne fera pas partie de la brigade défensive canadienne aux Jeux olympiques de Vancouver.
Tout comme il l’a si bien fait à Anaheim, Burke bâtit par la défense. Avec les Ducks, le directeur général avait mis la main sur Scott Niedermayer avant de soutirer Chris Pronger à Kevin Lowe et aux Oilers. On connaît la suite.
Il se dit que s’il accorde moins de buts, il se donnera une meilleure chance de l’emporter. Puis tranquillement, il entrera dans l’étape numéro deux de la reconstruction des Leafs. Et si vous voulez mon avis, je crois qu’il ira chercher très prochainement deux ou trois attaquants question de colmater les trous. Parce qu’on s’entend, mis à part Mikhail Grabovski, il n’y a plus beaucoup de joueurs de centre qui seraient en mesure d’alimenter Phil Kessel et Alexei Ponikarovsky.
Mettre une croix sur les séries? Pas du tout
Burke a pris les rênes d’une équipe passablement dégarnie. Il a laissé la chance à ses joueurs de se faire valoir pendant une bonne partie de la saison, mais il était évident que quelque chose clochait. Et pour une fois, ce n’est pas l’entraîneur qui a écopé pour les insuccès de l’équipe.
Maintenant, si Jean-Sébastien Giguère joue à la hauteur de son talent, je crois que Toronto peut encore rêver aux séries éliminatoires. De son côté, Burke y croit plus que jamais, et ce, même si son équipe se trouve actuellement à onze points du huitième rang.
Il ne faut pas oublier qu’il leur reste encore 26 matchs à la saison 2009-2010. Croyez-moi, c’est assez pour effectuer une remontée au classement.
Flames : plus de profondeur à l’attaque
Si Burke avait jeté l’éponge dans le cas de Matt Stajan et de Niklas Hagman, il est fort à parier que ces deux joueurs rendront de fiers services aux Flames de Calgary qui en arrachent offensivement par les temps qui courent.
Hagman aura le mandat de relancer son compatriote Olli Jokinen alors qu’on voudra jumeler Stajan à Jarome Iginla.
Jamal Mayers, qui avait récemment exigé une transaction, représentera un atout important sur le 3e trio à Calgary.
Ces échanges montrent le sérieux de certains directeurs généraux à travers la Ligue nationale et j’ai bien hâte de voir la suite des choses.
par Normand Flynn (RDS)
MONTREAL - Les Torontois ne pourront jamais reprocher à Brian Burke de ne rien faire pour améliorer l’équipe. Il faut lui donner du crédit : aujourd’hui, les Maple Leafs représentent une bien meilleure équipe dans l’ensemble. Peut-être pas offensivement, mais ça viendra…
Dans un premier temps, l’idée de rapatrier Jean-Sébastien Giguère allait de soi. Après avoir engagé François Allaire au poste d’entraîneur des gardiens lors de la saison morte, Burke vient de mettre la main sur un gagnant, celui qui s’est avéré la pièce maîtresse de la conquête de la coupe Stanley par les Ducks en 2007.
Certes, Giguère ne connaissait pas une bonne saison avec Anaheim et son temps de jeu avait passablement diminué au cours des deux dernières saisons. Avec le nouveau pacte à long terme que les Ducks ont attribué samedi à Jonas Hiller, l’ère Giguère était définitivement révolue en Californie.
Burke voulait un gardien de premier plan, il l’a obtenu. Maintenant, Giguère devra prouver qu’il est encore de la trempe d’un numéro un. Sur ce point, je ne suis pas inquiet. François Allaire connaît le gardien québécois comme le fond de sa poche et il va le remettre sur le droit chemin. Ce n’est qu’une petite question d’ajustement.
Pour faire l’acquisition de Giguère, les Leafs se sont débarrassé de Vesa Toskala, qui n’a jamais rempli les attentes à Toronto et de Jason Blake, qui commandait un salaire élevé pour un joueur qui n’a que 26 points cette saison.
Bâtir par la défense
Plus tôt dans la journée, Burke a sorti un autre lapin de son chapeau – le plus grand coup, selon plusieurs – en allant chercher Dion Phaneuf à Calgary. Le solide défenseur, qui n’était plus dans les bonnes grâces de Brent Sutter, rejoindra une brigade déjà très solide composée notamment de Mike Komisarek, François Beauchemin, Tomas Kaberle, Luke Schenn et Jeff Finger. Reste à voir si le changement d’air fera du bien à celui dont on dit qu’il n’est pas un bon joueur d’équipe. C’est d’ailleurs la raison principale pour laquelle il ne fera pas partie de la brigade défensive canadienne aux Jeux olympiques de Vancouver.
Tout comme il l’a si bien fait à Anaheim, Burke bâtit par la défense. Avec les Ducks, le directeur général avait mis la main sur Scott Niedermayer avant de soutirer Chris Pronger à Kevin Lowe et aux Oilers. On connaît la suite.
Il se dit que s’il accorde moins de buts, il se donnera une meilleure chance de l’emporter. Puis tranquillement, il entrera dans l’étape numéro deux de la reconstruction des Leafs. Et si vous voulez mon avis, je crois qu’il ira chercher très prochainement deux ou trois attaquants question de colmater les trous. Parce qu’on s’entend, mis à part Mikhail Grabovski, il n’y a plus beaucoup de joueurs de centre qui seraient en mesure d’alimenter Phil Kessel et Alexei Ponikarovsky.
Mettre une croix sur les séries? Pas du tout
Burke a pris les rênes d’une équipe passablement dégarnie. Il a laissé la chance à ses joueurs de se faire valoir pendant une bonne partie de la saison, mais il était évident que quelque chose clochait. Et pour une fois, ce n’est pas l’entraîneur qui a écopé pour les insuccès de l’équipe.
Maintenant, si Jean-Sébastien Giguère joue à la hauteur de son talent, je crois que Toronto peut encore rêver aux séries éliminatoires. De son côté, Burke y croit plus que jamais, et ce, même si son équipe se trouve actuellement à onze points du huitième rang.
Il ne faut pas oublier qu’il leur reste encore 26 matchs à la saison 2009-2010. Croyez-moi, c’est assez pour effectuer une remontée au classement.
Flames : plus de profondeur à l’attaque
Si Burke avait jeté l’éponge dans le cas de Matt Stajan et de Niklas Hagman, il est fort à parier que ces deux joueurs rendront de fiers services aux Flames de Calgary qui en arrachent offensivement par les temps qui courent.
Hagman aura le mandat de relancer son compatriote Olli Jokinen alors qu’on voudra jumeler Stajan à Jarome Iginla.
Jamal Mayers, qui avait récemment exigé une transaction, représentera un atout important sur le 3e trio à Calgary.
Ces échanges montrent le sérieux de certains directeurs généraux à travers la Ligue nationale et j’ai bien hâte de voir la suite des choses.
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Bettman's integrity on the line in Tampa sale
by Ken Campbell (The Hockey News)
There are a couple of perfectly logical reasons why NHL commissioner Gary Bettman is feverishly brokering a deal to sell the Tampa Bay Lightning to Boston-based hedge fund manager Jeffrey Vinik.
First and foremost, it’s his job to do everything he can to have stable and well-heeled owners for all 30 NHL teams.
But there’s another far more personal reason: His integrity is on the line. After all, it’s Bettman’s regime that is, in large part, responsible for this mess in the first place.
Once again, Bettman and the league failed to do their jobs in vetting another potential owner when it allowed Len Barrie to enter the club. How this regime can continue to turn away Jim Balsillie and allow the likes of these guys boggles the mind.
The big issue in Tampa Bay wasn’t the ownership. It was half the ownership and that half was represented by Barrie. The same man who bulldozed native burial grounds and infuriated environmental groups with his Bear Mountain Resort development in Victoria, B.C., defaulted on loans, tried to stick the knife into the back of co-owner Oren Koules and essentially bailed on the franchise.
Meanwhile, Saw VII, the latest installment of Koules’ film franchise that scares the daylights out of the kids and sucks money out of their pockets, will begin filming in Toronto next week. If you turn on your television Monday in most markets in North America, you’ll probably have three opportunities to watch the Koules-executive produced Two and a Half Men, twice in syndication and once in its regularly scheduled time slot.
So access to money is not a problem for Koules. He has plenty of it. But like former Phoenix Coyotes owner Jerry Moyes before him, he simply got tired of plowing all his own money into an obvious losing proposition. You see, billionaires are funny that way. They tend not to want to put their money into money-losing ventures. It wouldn’t have been so bad if Barrie had maybe contributed a little something for the common good.
And while Koules didn’t throw the keys to the franchise on Bettman’s desk and throw up his hands the way Moyes did, he has clearly had enough of this. So once Bettman realized Barrie couldn’t possibly own the team and Koules was unwilling to keep losing money, he went looking for a new owner and found one when he met Vinik, a limited partner in the Boston Red Sox, at the Winter Classic in Boston in early January.
If this is the kind of return it gets from these things, no wonder the NHL wants to have more outdoor games in the future.
We can only hope Bettman and his office vet Vinik a little better than they have owners in the past. One person close to the situation told me that if the NHL had simply made a call to one of the people auditing Barrie’s Bear Mountain Resort in 2008, they would have heard enough tales to make their nosehairs curl. And they certainly wouldn’t have been naïve enough to believe Barrie could be a legitimate owner of an NHL team.
But they didn’t and he was for a little while. Meanwhile, Barrie has a host of problems of his own when it comes to Bear Mountain. First of all, there’s a group of NHLers and former NHLers – notably Rob Blake, Ryan Smyth, Rob Niedermayer, Matt Pettinger, Mike Vernon, Joe Nieuwendyk, Gary Roberts, Mike Sillinger, Trevor Kidd, Sean Burke and Scott Mellanby – who invested money into Bear Mountain and are now demanding it be returned because they have real concerns their dollars were used by Barrie for other purposes.
His trials have pretty much made Barrie an absentee owner in Tampa Bay this year and left Koules on his own trying to keep the franchise afloat in both an economy and an NHL landscape that were working against him. The Lightning brings in a paltry $400,000 in total revenues for each home date, which means it generates about $16 million a season in ticket sales, parking and concessions. To put that in perspective, that’s just $6 million more than they’re paying Vincent Lecavalier.
Do the math. The Lightning’s payroll is about $50 million and you can see there’s a shortfall of about $30 million to make up and Koules wasn’t crazy about covering that on his own. And while nobody held a gun to the organization’s head and forced it to sign Lecavalier to an onerous contract, the collective bargaining agreement isn’t helping at all. Because the Lightning won’t meet the league’s standards for attendance and corporate sponsorship, it will lose 50 per cent of its revenue sharing money.
(I know people tire of me ragging on the CBA, but any agreement that forces the teams it was supposed to help to have a minimum payroll that exceeds what they spent under the old system, then penalizes them for not growing their business enough, is a very, very flawed document.)
But don’t worry, a new CBA is on the way in a few years. At least that’s what Bettman is telling Vinik, who will soon become the newest participant in the Board of Governors annual croquet game.
We can only hope the next CBA is better than the current one and that Vinik doesn’t become another blight on Bettman’s record.
http://www.thehockeynews.com/articl...mans-integrity-on-the-line-in-Tampa-sale.html
by Ken Campbell (The Hockey News)
There are a couple of perfectly logical reasons why NHL commissioner Gary Bettman is feverishly brokering a deal to sell the Tampa Bay Lightning to Boston-based hedge fund manager Jeffrey Vinik.
First and foremost, it’s his job to do everything he can to have stable and well-heeled owners for all 30 NHL teams.
But there’s another far more personal reason: His integrity is on the line. After all, it’s Bettman’s regime that is, in large part, responsible for this mess in the first place.
Once again, Bettman and the league failed to do their jobs in vetting another potential owner when it allowed Len Barrie to enter the club. How this regime can continue to turn away Jim Balsillie and allow the likes of these guys boggles the mind.
The big issue in Tampa Bay wasn’t the ownership. It was half the ownership and that half was represented by Barrie. The same man who bulldozed native burial grounds and infuriated environmental groups with his Bear Mountain Resort development in Victoria, B.C., defaulted on loans, tried to stick the knife into the back of co-owner Oren Koules and essentially bailed on the franchise.
Meanwhile, Saw VII, the latest installment of Koules’ film franchise that scares the daylights out of the kids and sucks money out of their pockets, will begin filming in Toronto next week. If you turn on your television Monday in most markets in North America, you’ll probably have three opportunities to watch the Koules-executive produced Two and a Half Men, twice in syndication and once in its regularly scheduled time slot.
So access to money is not a problem for Koules. He has plenty of it. But like former Phoenix Coyotes owner Jerry Moyes before him, he simply got tired of plowing all his own money into an obvious losing proposition. You see, billionaires are funny that way. They tend not to want to put their money into money-losing ventures. It wouldn’t have been so bad if Barrie had maybe contributed a little something for the common good.
And while Koules didn’t throw the keys to the franchise on Bettman’s desk and throw up his hands the way Moyes did, he has clearly had enough of this. So once Bettman realized Barrie couldn’t possibly own the team and Koules was unwilling to keep losing money, he went looking for a new owner and found one when he met Vinik, a limited partner in the Boston Red Sox, at the Winter Classic in Boston in early January.
If this is the kind of return it gets from these things, no wonder the NHL wants to have more outdoor games in the future.
We can only hope Bettman and his office vet Vinik a little better than they have owners in the past. One person close to the situation told me that if the NHL had simply made a call to one of the people auditing Barrie’s Bear Mountain Resort in 2008, they would have heard enough tales to make their nosehairs curl. And they certainly wouldn’t have been naïve enough to believe Barrie could be a legitimate owner of an NHL team.
But they didn’t and he was for a little while. Meanwhile, Barrie has a host of problems of his own when it comes to Bear Mountain. First of all, there’s a group of NHLers and former NHLers – notably Rob Blake, Ryan Smyth, Rob Niedermayer, Matt Pettinger, Mike Vernon, Joe Nieuwendyk, Gary Roberts, Mike Sillinger, Trevor Kidd, Sean Burke and Scott Mellanby – who invested money into Bear Mountain and are now demanding it be returned because they have real concerns their dollars were used by Barrie for other purposes.
His trials have pretty much made Barrie an absentee owner in Tampa Bay this year and left Koules on his own trying to keep the franchise afloat in both an economy and an NHL landscape that were working against him. The Lightning brings in a paltry $400,000 in total revenues for each home date, which means it generates about $16 million a season in ticket sales, parking and concessions. To put that in perspective, that’s just $6 million more than they’re paying Vincent Lecavalier.
Do the math. The Lightning’s payroll is about $50 million and you can see there’s a shortfall of about $30 million to make up and Koules wasn’t crazy about covering that on his own. And while nobody held a gun to the organization’s head and forced it to sign Lecavalier to an onerous contract, the collective bargaining agreement isn’t helping at all. Because the Lightning won’t meet the league’s standards for attendance and corporate sponsorship, it will lose 50 per cent of its revenue sharing money.
(I know people tire of me ragging on the CBA, but any agreement that forces the teams it was supposed to help to have a minimum payroll that exceeds what they spent under the old system, then penalizes them for not growing their business enough, is a very, very flawed document.)
But don’t worry, a new CBA is on the way in a few years. At least that’s what Bettman is telling Vinik, who will soon become the newest participant in the Board of Governors annual croquet game.
We can only hope the next CBA is better than the current one and that Vinik doesn’t become another blight on Bettman’s record.
http://www.thehockeynews.com/articl...mans-integrity-on-the-line-in-Tampa-sale.html
I'm not sure how accurate that report is. Cammalleri had an MRI done this morning at a Mtl hospital & he's scheduled to see one of the team doctors later this afternoon. The team hasn't announced anything yet & the Mtl media has yet to learn about Cammalleri's status. My take is that it's speculation. If the report is true, i suppose his injury is likely strained knee ligaments. That's much better than torn ligaments.
Team management has told the media they'd make an announcement either late Monday or Tuesday morning.
Still no announcement from the Habs in regards to Cammalleri, but TSN has reported that he'd be absent from 6 to 8 weeks. Jacques Martin had his press conference earlier & hinted that the absence would be considerable...and then...nearly every single reporter fell asleep.....Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz
If true, it would mean that Cammalleri would miss pretty much the rest of the regular season. Which means that he'd only be back next fall.
*UPDATE: THE TEAM HAS ANNOUNCED THEY'LL MEET THE PRESS TUESDAY MORNING TO INFORM THE MEDIA OF CAMMALLERI'S STATUS.
If true, it would mean that Cammalleri would miss pretty much the rest of the regular season. Which means that he'd only be back next fall.
*UPDATE: THE TEAM HAS ANNOUNCED THEY'LL MEET THE PRESS TUESDAY MORNING TO INFORM THE MEDIA OF CAMMALLERI'S STATUS.
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The trade & its implications
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/blogs/globe-on-hockey/leafs-low-on-forwards-cap-space/article1451292/
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/blogs/globe-on-hockey/leafs-low-on-forwards-cap-space/article1451292/
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