Happy New Year

Hello readers and friends. I wanted to wish you all a very Happy 2013.

With a fiscal cliff averted, the year may get a little better for us hockey fans if a deal can be reached between the two sides in the NHL labour dispute. As Habs fans, i think we have to hope for play, as a random draw might rob the team of their solid chance at another high pick this year.

The holidays gave me chance to reflect on what Lions in Winter means to me in my new reality as father and diminished internet user. I've concluded that the idea of the site is as important to me as ever. Although I have less time, I hope this site can remain an independent and critical source of information and opinion on the Habs. We are proud to have maintained this independence even throughout a flirtation with media sponsorship and feel that a site that's not cosy with the team or the media is what's still in order for us.

If the season starts, we will be there with coverage and full of opinion.

I would also like to apologise for the inconveniences that loyal readers have faced with my recent neglect. With an unannounced domain transfer, lapsed hosting services (again unanticipated from our previous collaboration) and experimentation with different commenting avenues, we've messed with things a bit, and not done it very quickly. I hope that we now are gathering all the traffic from lionsinwinter.ca and banishing Russian spam comments for good. A closer eye will be on the situation too.

So let's hold our breath and hope for a deal, some NHL hockey and a result we can all get behind for the Habs in 2013.

All the best. See you soon.