The New Bag of PucksHabs Trade Least Allowable For New Defenceman

The Canadiens have reportedly acquired AHL defenceman TJ Kemp from the Wilkes Barre Penguins. In a league where you can no longer trade for cash or future considerations, a conditional 7th (final) round pick from a team in the top half of the standings is as bottom of the barrel as it can get. This will not ever go down as a trade that Gainey lost, as it is already written into the deal that he can't possibly lose.

As for the player we get in return for our (wink wink) draft pick, Kemp is a decent minor leaguer. His first season in the AHL, he made the all-star game (then again Ryan O'Byrne could do that). Last season he put up 46 points, with 8 goals. And this season, he's slightly less than a point every other game.


He's of a decent size, can skate well enough and is considered an offensive D. I mean, Gainey wouldn't replace Yannick Weber on Hamilton if the Switzerlander wasn't going to suit up in Montreal would he?

I think it's good news for those crowing about Weber since September. He will probably be getting an extended look, and if Carbonneau permits his BFF Brisebois some rest, maybe even some playing time...

Canadiens World Junior History103 Players And Counting

The World Junior Hockey Championships were held for the first time in 1974. Doug Jarvis, undrafted and representing the Peterborough Petes was the first (future) Canadien to play in the tournament. Though the tournament had humble beginnings, it soon became a barometer for young talent, especially following the Gretzky tournament of 1978. The Canadiens scouts over the years have clearly used the tournament to make their minds up, which is either very efficient or very lazy (I can't quite decide yet). And since Jarvis there have been 102 other World Junior alum to suit up for the big club in Montreal, including a whopping 50 for team Canada.

On the eve of the big climax to the junior tournament, I thought you might all enjoy a look at Habs to participate in this tournament over the years.

Of the current Habs (coaches included), there are only a handful of players who never suited up for their country at this event – 10 in all. The list is headed by Guy Carbonneau, who probably would have made the cut in 1978 were it not for some political in-fighting and no Quebec presence on the Gretzky edition of the team (Ray Bourque and Michel Goulet were also overlooked). Robert Lang also missed out, probably because he was a late bloomer if his patchy stats from Czechoslovakia from that time are to be believed. The others are less surprising with Lapierrs, Kostopoulos, Dandenault, Laraque, D'Agostini, Gorges, Bouillon and O'Byrne all missing out on their opportunities.

Team Canada
Steve Begin, Patrice Brisebois, Andrew Cassels, Kyle Chipchura, Eric Chouinard, Shayne Corson, Alain Cote, Russ Courtnall, JJ Daigneault, Jason Dawe, Marc Denis, Eric Desjardins, Gerald Diduck, Karl Dykhuis, Stephane Fiset, Doug Gilmour, Jeff Hackett, Kevin Haller, Doug Jarvis, Yvan Joly, Mike Keane, Guillaume Latendresse, Gary Leeman, Claude Lemieux, Trevor Linden, Rollie Melanson, Olivier Michaud, Kirk Muller, Garth Murray, Dave Orleski, Patrick Poulin, Carey Price, Yves Racine, Rob Ramage, Mark Recchi, Mike Riberio, Stephane Richer, Michael Ryder, Pierre Sevigny, Richard Sevigny, Bobby Smith, Doug Soetaert, Alex Tanguay, Jose Theodore, Scott Thornton, Darcy Tucker, Pierre Turgeon, Sylvain Turgeon, Ryan Walter, Jason Ward

USSR/CIS/Russia
Sergei Berezin, Valeri Bure, Andrei Kovalenko, Alexei Kovalev, Vladimir Malakhov, Andrei Markov, Alexander Perezhogin, Oleg Petrov, Sergei Samsonov, Sergei Zholtok

Sweden
Patrik Carnback, Kjell Dahlin, Jonas Hoglund, Patrik Kjellberg, Mats Naslund, Niklas Sundstrom

Czechoslovakia/Czech and Slovakia
Jozef Balej, Jaroslav Halak, Roman Hamrlik, Marcel Hossa, Tomas Plekanec, Martin Rucinsky, Petr Svoboda, Tomas Vokoun, Richard Zednik

Finland
Marti Jarventie, Marko Kiprusoff, Saku Koivu, Juha Lind, Jyrki Lumme

USA
Jim Campbell, Chris Chelios, Tom Chorske, Ron Hainsey, Chris Higgins, Sean Hill, Pat Jablonski, Mike Komisarek, Tom Kurvers, Scott Lachance, John Leclair, Craig Ludwig, Max Pacioretty, Matt Schneider, Bryan Smolinski, Alfue Turcotte, Eric Weinrich, David Wilkie

Switzerland
David Aebischer, Mark Streit

Poland
Mariusz Czerkawski

Belarus
Andrei Kostitsyn, Sergei Kostitsyn (Grabovski only ever played in the B-tier competition)


Top player at position honours
Best forward – Niklas Sundstrom
Best goalie – Stephane Fiset, Jose Theodore, Marc Denis, David Aebischer, Carey Price

Tournament All-star team
Forward – Mats Naslund, Shayne Corson, Alexei Kovalev, Martin Rucinsky, Valeri Bure, Niklas Sundstrom, Sergei Samsonov
Defence – Scott Lachance, Andrei Markov, Mark Streit
Goalie – Stephane Fiset, David Aebischer, Carey Price


Top 10 Games played
21 – Niklas Sundstrom
15 – Scott Lachance
14 – Shayne Corson, Patrice Brisebois, Chris Higgins, Saku Koivu, Mike Komisarek, Tomas Plekanec, Eric Desjardins, Karl Dykhuis, Gary Leeman, Jason Ward, Jim Campbell, Kjell Dahlin, Ron Hainsey, Marcel Hossa, John Leclair, Eric Weinrich, Sergei Zholtok


Top 10 Points
33 – Niklas Sundsrom
19 – Shayne Corson
18 – Saku Koivu
16 – John Leclair
15 – Mats Naslund
14 – Martin Rucinsky
13 – Jim Campbell, Kjell Dahlin, Sergei Samsonov, Russ Courtnall

Top 10 Points per game
2.00 – Martin Rucinsky
1.86 – Russ Courtnall
1.67 – Bobby Smith
1.57 – Niklas Sundstrom, Andrei Kovalenko, Alfie Turcotte
1.43 – Alexei Kovalev
1.36 – Shayne Corson
1.33 – Ryan Walter
1.29 – Saku Koivu

Top 10 Goals
18 – Niklas Sundstrom
10 – John Leclair, Sergei Samsonov
9 – Shayne Corson, Martin Rucinsky
8 – Kjell Dahlin
7 – Jim Campbell, Russ Courtnall, Chris Higgins
5 – Mats Naslund, Andrei Kovalenko, Alexei Kovalev, Valeri Bure, Ryan Walter, Juha Lind, Richard Zednik, Yvan Joly

Top 10 Goals per game
1.29 – Martin Rucinsky
1.00 – Russ Courtnall
0.86 – Niklas Sundstrom
0.83 – Ryan Walter, Richard Zednik
0.80 – Doug Jarvis
0.77 – Sergei Samsonov
0.71 – John Leclair, Andrei Kovalenko, Alexei Kovalev, Valeri Bure, Juha Lind

Top 10 Points (Defenceman)
11 – Patrice Brisebois
8 – Scott Lachance
7 – Ron Hainsey
6 – Andrei Markov, Tom Kurvers
5 – David Wilkie, Eric Desjardins, Rob Ramage, Alain Cote, Jyrki Lumme
4 – Kevin Haller, Marko Kiprusoff, Petr Svoboda

Top 10 Points per game (Defenceman)
0.86 – Tom Kurvers
0.79 – Patrice Brisebois
0.71 – Alain Cote, Jyrki Lumme
0.57 – Kevin Haller, Marko Kiprusoff, Petr Svoboda
0.53 – Scott Lachance
0.50 – Ron Hainsey
0.46 – Andrei Markov


Finally, for a bit of fun to wrap up the post, I thought a Canadiens all-time WJC participant roster based on WJC performance (including personal stats and medal standings), interesting considering the current Habs featuring:

Forward lines:
Mats Naslund – Saku Koivu – Niklas Sundstrom
Martin Rucinsky – Shayne Corson – Alexei Kovalev
John Leclair – Ryan Walter – Andrei Kovalenko
Sergei Samsonov – Doug Jarvis – Russ Courtnall

Defence pairings
Patrice Brisebois – Andrei Markov
Scott Lachance – Eric Desjardins
Mark Streit – Rob Ramage

Goalies
Carey Price
David Aebischer

Subban vs. TorpA Habs Undercard to Tavares/Hedman Bout

Remember when Ovechkin was the clear number one pick in his year? There was some talk of Malkin being a good consolation prize, sure, but it was just that. 4 years on and it's tight between the two: Ovechkin has all the trophies in his cupboard now, but Malkin is current scoring leader and if Pittsburgh make a substantial push (as they habitually do), he could be positioned to take silverware from his countryman.

The NHL draft class of 2009 is similarly intriguing. John Tavares has been on the radar from age 14, and was so good last season that pundits were trying to get him into the NHL draft early through rule changes. The relative newcomer onto the scene is Victor Hedman of Sweden. Coming into this tournament he was number one consensus, because he is already a giant and plays defence the way his older peers do.

Tonight's game will be a chance for Canada to get another gold, in Canada (again). Pardon me for getting a little blase about this tournament and game.

With the backdrop of the repeating scene, the underlying story of player matchups adds some much needed intrigue to tonight's game. Tavares vs. Hedman is going to be exciting to watch as both are touted as can't-miss prospects (a la Ovechkin, Malkin or – perhaps not quite that good, but good nonetheless). Hopefully, they will be matched against one another to accentuate the drama. Either way, looking at the game as a pretend scout will be exciting.

For the Habs, there is also interest. PK Subban, playing for Canada has had an amazing couple of weeks. He has figured in the offensive Canadian moves a lot and has 8 points in 5 games to show for it. Nichlas Torp, the Gorges to Hedman's Hamrlik, should be showcased this game as well, as Canada will test his defensive defenceman bill.

With a night off for the Habs, it should be fun to see these two defenders line up against one another and enjoy the spectacle of battle for number one ranking in CSS rankings.


Sam Pollock's kind of year

I can't help but think that this would be Sam Pollock's kind of year to really get down and dirty, manouevering and trading for draft picks. With the lottery, there's no guarantees anymore as there were with Lafleur/Dionne, but I don't think one could go far wrong with an Atlanta draft pick. Does Gainey have the nerve to ante up like Pollock would have? Probably not, so I'll leave those dreams for another time...

Game #38Montreal Forwards Outshoot Florida Panthers In Goal-Slinging Affair

The Canadiens Game in Review

Date: Sunday, January 4th, 2009
Opponent: Florida Panthers
Venue: Bell Centre, Montreal, QC

Team Stripes

Final Score: 5-6 - Win (SO)

Habs starting goalie: Jaroslav Halak (W)
Opposition starting goalie: Craig Anderson (L)

Habs goalscorers: Francis Bouillon, Andrei Kostitsyn (2), Robert Lang, Tom Kostopoulos, (Andrei Markov - SO)
Opposition goalscorers: Brett McLean, David Booth, Radek Dvorak (2), Jassen Cullimore

Play of the game
The play you're straining to see on the press catwalk monitor...

What a change from Friday, plenty of good plays to choose from here. The play of the game for me was Habs goal #2. Not only was it one of the prettiest plays of the night, but it was also the timeliest of plays and marked the turning point of the game (well the first one, anyway).

The play starts for me when I see Craig Anderson somewhere near the top of the faceoff circle to the left of his crease. He was there to break up a play that involved a melee of players. Sergei Kostitsyn ended up with the puck with a clear lane to shoot. But instead of shooting (with the angle well covered by a retreating Anderson), he had the presence of mind to think pass. A split second later he hit his streaking brother with a crisp cross ice feed to where he would be (importantly, not where he was) and Andrei picked the inside of the post with his patent accuracy.

Game puck
Trophies are for the end of the year, play well in the game, you get a lovely puck...

Andrei Kostitsyn
Andrei made the second line dangerous today. He made it the first line, really. He played like he wanted the puck and went to get it time and time again. His first goal, the play of the game was a good shot. His second goal, our fifth, was great - a goalscorer's shot. Even besides his two goals, he was liveliest among the forwards and took creative chances with clever timing. He was the reason we made a comeback and he was the reason we had enough goals to hold Florida off. A great game from #46.



Dome hockey team
We're going into the last minute with these 6 (and they're attached to the ice, so they're not coming off)...

Forwards

Andrei Kostitsyn
2 goals on 2 shots to go with a lot of pressure in the Florida zone. RDS wanted to pump up the Lapierre line tonight (and rightly so), but Andrei Kostitsyn led a unit that was on the ice for 4 Canadiens goals. They say to win your best players must be your best. It seems that at the same time as we win in ever stranger ways, Andrei is becoming the very best of the scoring forwards - and when he's on, we often find a way to win.

Guillaume Latendresse
Guillaume is definitely doing more of what we expect Guillaume to do of late. This game was no exception. After a horrific first period where he couldn't have given a better demonstration to my point about North American youngsters lagging in the skill of pass reception, he turned things around. Over the game in total there were 6 shots from Gui and another 5 that were either blocked or misses. It doesn't do much for his shooting percentage, but all his shots came as a result of hard work, an incredibly uncanny knack to find good position and pressure from his whole line.

Sergei Kostitsyn
Like Guillaume, Sergei had a rough first. His first shift of the second, where he was on the ice for 2 goals for turned things around completely for the young Kostistyn. From that point he made intelligent plays, used his speed efficiently and helped turned the game around. He certainly did make some gaffes today, but show me a player who didn't. At the end of the game, it's hard to argue against a dome for the passer on the play of the game, another pass on a candidate goal and +4 (highest on the team).

Defencemen

Roman Hamrlik
I chose Roman for the dome based on watching him play today. In a game where Florida probably got a bit too much room, no defencemen were pushing for player of the game honours. However, I felt that Hamrlik, of the 6, availed himself best over 65 minutes. In fact he did a very good job for most of the night, holding his opponents off the scoresheet despite a shakier than usual Josh Gorges, right until the 5th Panthers goal. Add to that, his well-timed pinching and he's my D of the game.

Andrei Markov
The second D spot was really up for grabs tonight. First Bouillon had it with a goal and some good hits. But nailbiting stuff from him in the third make me think again. Komisarek made a play for the place, but also folded his tent early in this one. And, Brisebois, the enigma played well up front directing some great shots at some points, but really had some shocking moments at the back. Markov was really no better than those three, but did differ in that his effort and play improved over the night rather than deteriorated. He too had moments to encourage, with some good takeaways and pinching up front. He really waited to the very last play of the game to seal the place, though - with that beautiful and recurring shootout goal he does. And as usual, as goes Andrei markov, so go the Habs...

Goaltender

Marc Denis
Halak was not as terrible tonight as the scoreline or the statistics made him out to be. He didn't give away goals cheaply like last game and he even played a couple of good shootout shots (and got his first save ever in that). But even if he had not let in 5, he was merely average. There was not an exceptional save. And, I think it's fair to say he had 5 opportunities to make one and whiffed. As Tobalev frequently says, he did not give his team a chance to win (well not on most nights, anyway); so for that reason, Marc Denis claims his second dome in as many games.



Eye-Openers
In this new section we are going to try and shed some light on certain plays or events that would otherwise go unnoticed

Passing success is more important than Benoit Brunet hard-working hockey. Great passing, I am willing to wager, creates far more goals and opportunities than any dump in, line change or body check in the opposition's corner. Good passing makes a team look good. Bad passing makes them hard to watch.

Exhibit A: The first period. The Canadiens came out playing with loads of energy, but couldn't open up the Florida defence. Ignoring the individual errors that led to goals against, most of the Canadiens woes in the first were due, in my humble opinion, to some very unimaginitive passing. Passes were being made time and time again directly to players. Even successful passes were being cradled, controlled for a few seconds, carried and then redistributed. In short, the Canadiens made a welcome target for a team that relies on textbook defence.

Exhibit B: The second period. In the second frame, the Canadiens scored 4 goals, took 19 shots and had the vast majority of possession. The difference from my point of view was a sudden increased efficiency in passing. Passes were being made into space (ask Wayne Gretzky why he was so good at creating goals), not to players sticks. The passers anticipated the flow of the game, dictated where it would go next and suddenly found seams. The passing gave the forwards space and gave the Florida defenders something to think about.

If the Montreal Canadiens want to figure out what is wrong with their PP, they should have a look at these two periods again. They should even check out Florida (more specifically Mikael Frolik). Accurate passes to open space in dangerous areas can create confusion and it can create seams. One pass on the PP is good, two in a row like this is a scoring chance, and three passes is the Canadiens PP from last year (at 30% efficiency). And the passes should be strung together, planned before received. One touch passing will mean the PP will probably have less time in zone, but more goals with just a few more one touch passes. But I guess we'd rather just take the time in the zone?

Overall Comments

I noticed when Markov scored the winner today, Carbonneau turned and left the rink immediately - all the while shaking his head. It was that kind of game. To be sure, based on momentum and expectations with 10 minutes to go, Florida had the feel good night. But guess what, we got the two points.

I'm sure the players would have been in for a rant about their third period collapse (second period comeback forgotten) and the way they almost blew it. But you don't win a game 6-5 without something good going on. You don't often get any points when your own goalie is shaky and allowing 5 goals on 31 shots in regulation. If I'm honest, the forwards as a group played pretty darn well. 5 goals is nothing to laugh at. The Lang and Kostitsyns line had some lapses, but generally played very, very well. The darlings (Lapierre, Latendresse and Kostopoulos) had a great outing for a third line, well deserving of the praise they received. Even Kovalev, Plekanec and Pacioretty had brilliant moments. Chipchura didn't really set a foot wrong in his 10 minutes of ice time either.

It's important to be stern, of course, but I hope there is a little celebration, as well as some review of that second period to examine one of the best 20 minute bouts of offensive flair and control of the season.

Game #37Canadiens Defence And Goalies Not Prepared For Tight Game

The Canadiens Game in Review

Date: Friday, January 2nd, 2009
Opponent: New Jersey Devils
Venue: Prudential Center, Newark, NJ

Team Stripes

Final Score: 1-4 - Loss

Habs starting goalie: Jaroslav Halak (L), Marc Denis
Opposition starting goalie: Scott Clemmensen (W)

Habs goalscorers: Max Pacioretty
Opposition goalscorers: Brian Gionta, Zach Parise, John Madden, Jamie Langenbrunner

Play of the game
The play you're straining to see on the press catwalk monitor...

Not much to crow about in this loss, unfotunately. Several players had good nights and chiefly among them were newcomers Pacioretty and Chipchura. The play of the game, rather predictably, was the Canadiens goal. It merits recognition because, not only was it a good shot, but the build up was also smart and noteworthy.

Kyle Chipchura received the puck following a takeaway just in front of Halak. From there he accelerated for a few strides then decisively caromed the puck off the boards to provide a tasty free puck just inside the Devils blueline. Shocked Devils defenders, used to more lethargic plays from the Habs by this point, were caught off guard as Pacioretty sped down the right wing and collected the free puck. His speed carrying him into open ice, he then righted Halak's earlier wrong by loosing a great snapper just under the crossbar gloveside on the hot Clemmensen.

Game puck
Trophies are for the end of the year, play well in the game, you get a lovely puck...

Tomas Plekanec
In a game where your goalie falters early, you hope as a fan (and probably as a coach) that certain players will step forward and play harder, play creatively and add a spark to the resistance and comeback effort. This game the player who responded best in this way was Tomas Plekanec.

Tomas looked lively all night and was able to get around and behind Devils defenders all evening with his shiftiness and speed. The best parts of his effort on the night were exemplified by the way he killed a penalty midway through the first period. On the play he took a pass sweetly from Kovalev out of the Habs zone, built speed and challenged the defenders. He then flipped the puck behind the Devil and turned on the afterburners. The New Jersey player ended up obstructing Tomas (which was good for killing the penalty and a PP for the Habs), but I think Pleks might just have made it there.



Dome hockey team
We're going into the last minute with these 6 (and they're attached to the ice, so they're not coming off)...

Forwards

Tomas Plekanec
Besides his examplary penalty killing, Pleks was also the pivot of the liveliest and most dangerous Canadiens line on the night. He, Kovalev and Kostitsyn were the only forwards to sustain pressure or create confusion virtually at all. His speed and shifty sating were also put to good use on the PP, where the Habs didn't score, but nonetheless looked like they might have a few times. Add to that his recurring theme of faceoff superiorrity and we nearly have our old Plekanec back, I think.

Kyle Chipchura
Joel Bouchard talked about youngsters making an impression to cement a place, well Kyle did just that. Chipchura showed that he is more than defensive forward material most of the night as he demonstrated his intelligence, efficiency and unfailing effort - his part in the goal the icing on the cake. Honestly, there were countless times where I said "good play", followed the player to catch the number and saw 28. This is a very good sign for me. He is more ready for the NHL than Maxwell, D'Agostini and perhaps even Sergei Kostitsyn. Another couple of games like this one should make him a fixture.

Alexei Kovalev
The Devils had this young Canadiens team worked out this game. Much of the frustration we had with our forwards at the end of this affair can easily be traced to the way the New Jersey defenders forced our young players to the periphery time and time again. Most were willing to take the open lane down the boards (destination: dump in and turnover), but Kovalev was not. I noticed throughout the game, and particularly later on, that Alexei was the NJ trap breaker. He refused to be marshalled, refused to play the puck behind the net without a plan to get it back. His determination in this regard led to his line looking the threat (and indeed they were with 9 of the Habs 33 shots, 6 to Kovalev) and most of the Habs real scoring chances, PP included. It was just another demonstration from Kovalev of why you someties can't just give in and play brainless Benoit Brunet dump and chase (i.e., when you watch your teammates failing so badly at it).

Defencemen

Josh Gorges
No defenders should get off the hook for this loss. But once again, at the top of the list of those who played soundly (even in a loss) is reliable Josh Gorges. It's hard to pinpoint exactly what he did right, but it's probably best demonstrated by the fact the Devils did not score on the late second period PP when Halak was more than a little lost. On that PK, Gorges blocked 3 shots and had two steals to ensure the Devils lead would remain at 2 for Denis.

Roman Hamrlik
Like Gorges, Hamrlik had mistakes (they were both on for goal 1 for example), but Hamrlik stands out with Josh for having an even rating at the end of the game. Where he had his usual moments of constancy and poise, he also made one desperate recovery after a giveaway that was impressive in its deication to defence and skill. Of course, it was his giveaway.

Goaltender

Marc Denis
Marc was solidly in the dome by the third Devils goal. While it pains me to agree with Brunet and Bouchard, particularly as they had the knives out for Halak after one goal, they were right that Jaro needed to make a save on one or two of the first period goals. The first goal was particularly painful as it looked the most stoppable. The second was from a future 50-goal man, but nonetheless went through the five hole. I think Carbonneau did the right thing for Jaro in leaving him in after the first and by letting him regroup to finish the second. Though he ended up almost resepectable statistically, he was never dome-worthy on this night.

Denis for his part did well to stop long range slappers that the Devils thought would go in all night, but was not perfect either. We certainly did not have a Ty Conklin moment from him. He played as would be expected from a nervous comeback player. I for one hope Carey's injury heals quickly and that Jaro rebounds for next game.



Eye-Openers
In this new section we are going to try and shed some light on certain plays or events that would otherwise go unnoticed

Though there were several things worth talking about from the game itself - the way we get caught on odd-man rushes, the way we don't create them, the way we allow ourselves to get pushed to the boards, the way our PP point men conspire to hold the puck until defenders are set and so on - I thought I would go off the board for this instalment.

As most of you will know, the NHL all-star voting closed during the game at 9 pm EST. This, of course brings to an end the inane exercise that has been going on far too long, an embarrassing period for the Habs, the Penguins and the league. It is a true shame that poor Jean Beliveau will be associated with this farce as he announces the lineups in an "exclusive" (for those who can't read or count) event on Saturday. As it stands the Eastern team will be made up of 4 Canadiens and 2 Penguins, with the only races that mattered between Price and Fleury, Komisarek and Gonchar and Kovalev and Koivu.

There is some good to come of this voting. Injured players didn't make it in the end. That's about it. Komisarek making the team is comical, but considering the alternatives (Gonchar, Whitney or Numminen, if the fans are to be trusted) and that Bruins fans are too busy enjoying an extended winning streak to care, it's OK, I suppose. Kovalev is not a top-three forward on performance (so say Jeff Carter, Alexander Ovechkin and Marc Savard), but he will do a credit to himself during the skill competition and the game, so I'm happy for the spectacle that he will be there. The other four players are more or less right considering the ballot options.

None of that, to be honest was very eye opening at all. I merely wanted to mention my thoughts. The eye opening moment for me came when I totalled up the Russians. 3 in the Eastern conference starting lineup. This is incredible considering the country has but one NHL team's worth of players across the entire league, and didn't have a bloc of fans (that we know of) voting day and night by text for the whole group at once.

Now, you may comeback that Kovalev is one of them and hence, the Russians got a free pass. But realistically, he's only taking another Russian's place. There are even others behind that who could fill in ably.

I certainly think it is noteworthy that a country that is withdrawing (for the most part) from participating in this league, that they are still stocking it with top top players. If nothing else, you have to agree based on the polling that Russian players at least play hockey that fans want to see.

It brings to mind something I read the other day from Paul Romanuk who's writing on the Spengler Cup again. He, of vast NHL and international broadcastng experience, states unequivocally that the Russian players there (on a non-NHL team, remember) just have skills that North American players can't match. Puckhandling, obviously, and interestingly the oft-overlooked skill of pass reception.

Pass reception is one thing I have noticed for some time has made our Russian stars (even Belarussian ones) stand out. Markov is an all-star due to a lot of factors, but his top skill, even ahead of passing, is pass reception. Kovalev too has exceptional pass reception and agility upon receing a puck. Why does this skill lead to more attractive hockey? Well if I watch an average NHLer receive a pass, two bobbles and a second to settle down and the defence are in place. In a league where coaching is consistently of a high standard and where conditioning and defensive strategy is on the up, it is hard for forwards (or any players) to make space and offensive plays. By receiving even bad passes cleanly and even directing them into their streaking path, the all-stars from above all stand out form their peers.

This eye opening fact brings me to two conclusions:

1) There is a gold mine to be had in Russian players who can handle the puck at top speeds. Thinking of Ben Maxwell too much makes me also think of Alexander Perezhogin.

2) In an affair with no hitting (like the all-star game), a team with Markov, Kovalev, Malkin, Ovechkin, Kovalchuk and possibly Semin should put on a show worth watching after all.

Overall Comments

It bears repeating that the Canadiens have just collected 6 points on a four-game Xmas road trip. In past years, a mere two would have been a treat - 6 is exceptional. The loss last night was coming. Losing Tanguay was manageable, but losing Price was not.

I am not sure if I heard correctly, but I think I heard Brunet or someone on RDS say that the Canadiens had returned home in between the Tampa game and the New Jersey game. Makes sense from a family point of view. Hardly, though, form a hockey point of view. A couple of days at home to be with family and make up for all the eating, drinking and revelry missed while in Florida is not a recipe for athletic success. I'm not sure it affected the play, but the Canadiens defencemen in particularly had less than springy legs on this night.

The game will also be remembered for the inclusion of a boatload of youngsters. The second line was Sergei K, Lang and D'Agostini? Not one you'd write in for a team with limitless depth. The other two lines had ineffective members as well. I'm not sure how the Canadiens can be expected to manage much longer with these youngsters. But if Sergei Kostitsyn, Latendresse and D'Agostini don't show more signs of doing something more than occasionally and Begin and Kostopoulos are determined to entrench themselves on non-offensive lines with their displays, then we may be in trouble. One immediate switch that might pay dividends is Weber in (even at forward), he couldn't shoot less effectively into defencemen on the PP than Brisebois, Komisarek and Gorges. Beynd that, Saku? Carey? Chris? Help...

Promotions and DemotionsGainey Comes To Life And Moves

According to Canadiens.com:

The Canadiens announced Thursday that defenseman Yannick Weber, goaltender Marc Denis as well as forwards Max Pacioretty and Kyle Chipchura have been recalled from the Hamilton Bulldogs of the American Hockey League. All four players will join the Canadiens tonight in New Jersey.

This coincides with the demotion of Maxwell (largely ineffective so far) and the embattled Ryan O'Byrne.

The moves make sense in that Weber is the PP specialist we have desperately needed for months, and could not be any worse than a nervous Ryan O'Byrne. Chipchura, captain of the Bulldogs, has already proven he can play NHL hockey, which should be an improvement over Maxwell who had trouble proving the same. And Pacioretty comes in to replace the injured Alex Tanguay, who is out of the lineup for up to 6 weeks. It has been painful waiting for Gainey to move this year again, but the team's success has papered over the cracks. It is great to see him make these moves now, even so late, as the current formula was bulging under the stress of tight games.

The promotion of Marc Denis is more temporary. Price has lower body discomfort (read "the runs", in all likelihood). The way Price played and ended the last game, it is hard to believe the injury is substantial. The Denis call-up feels odd. Perhaps this is part of a showcase move as the Canadiens need for winger may need to be addressed through the trade of a goaltender. Speculation on my part, but I feel something is up.

Hopefully Weber will play this evening, as we have been waiting for his promotion for an age. Chipchura should make the cut too, based on ability and experience, and I would be surprised to see Pacioretty (though that would be interesting too). Three good reasons to tune in tonight...

as for the demotions, Maxwell will benefit from more time. As for O'Byrne, I don't think it could be any worse for him than being bolted to a bench in Montreal.

Latendresses Playing Together?Let's See...

RDS wrote yesterday about the dream of the two Latendresse brothers playing together on the Montreal Canadiens. Certainly not a rare dream. My brother and I would love to give it a shot too. I think any two brothers from Montreal would count themselves in.

The Latendresses are getting close (well, closer), I'll give them that. It's been a while since two local brothers have played for the big team. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the last were the Lebeaus in the early 1990s (when Patrick played a couple of games in Montreal); just before them the Lemieuxs did it (Claude and Jocelyn). And of course if they did make it happen they would join a list of brothers to play for the Habs, and a group of Quebecois to accomplish the dream headed by the Richards, the Manthas and the Cleghorns.

For fun and love of pure fantasy, I thought about the chance of the brothers playing together this season. Though I believe the possibility to be as likely as a Georges Laraque all-star appearance, even the thought of it scared me. So i ask: Are the Latendresses up to it? Is it really time to start dreaming of a reunion in the NHL? Why did RDS come up with this story?

As I alluded to in my headline, I would hope not. Not for their sake and not for our sake.It would be a nice story and a nice dream to fulfill. But if you consider what would really need to happen for Olivier Latendresse to make it to the Canadiens, then the prospect becomes more frightening. If this reunion were to come out of genuine need and follow the best-man promoted protocol - it would mean the Habs would be in deep trouble.

Consider for a moment that Olivier, though climbing, is still 24th on the Canadiens depth chart for forwards if I'm generous enough to jump him in front of Mike Glumac and Brock Trotter (and excluding, say, Danny Kristo). For him to make the big club (and play) there would have to be at least of those ahead of him fallen or removed via trade. 11 forwards is a lot, especially for a team that sometimes struggles to score. I can't think of many scenarios (other than the 11 directly ahead of him in the depth) where needing to promote Olivier Latendresse this season would be palatable.

Suppose that Olivier instead gets the call based on his play in December. When I read that Olivier had a good December in Hamilton, frankly I was expecting good things. When I checked what that meant, I saw it meant 5 assists and no goals in 8 games. It is possible that with this play (and another few weeks of the same), he could be considered for the next promotion.

The thing that would thoroughly scare me about that possibility is the collapse of the 8 or so others in front of him in the depth chart. It's great for Olivier that he's playing well, and I hope he continues to do so. But a lot of Habs hope and planning up front lies with key players in Hamilton - players like Chipchura, Pacioretty, White, Russell and even Stewart. These players were selected by the Canadiens as amateurs and have been groomed by them. For a Phoenix prospect to come in being claimed off waivers and outdo them by putting up an assist every other game would be scary indeed. For anyone who questions the strength of depth that we have already (with Maxwell, Sergei and D'Agostini trying to find their feet) then losing hope with the remaining depth would be awful.

They could play together this season - in Hamilton. I think Guillaume was timely in his recovery, but another lapse like November and he could conceivably be down for a rehab of his shooting skills (a la Price 2008). Then and only then, I think, would the Latendresses pro hockey dream of playing together come true.


Why did RDS spring this editorial?

The piece was done for fun. Pure and simple. I know how these things go, you have a list of ideas for pieces and you get one out from under the pile when it seems most appropriate. I guess Guillaume's resurgence, or rather his NHL-calibre play, of late instigated the piece. Same for my response, pure fun.

Even so the interesting question of whether the Canadiens do actually have adequate depth at forward (should they be unable to sign some players this summer) is legitimate and called to the fore here. from what I've seen, I wouldn't be looking forward to counting on Maxwell as early as next season, would you guys?