Montreal Can't Put 60 Minutes Together in Home Opener

Date: 10/10/2017
Opponent: Chicago
Location: Bell Centre
Loss: 3-1

Montreal Goalie: Price (L)
Chicago Goalie: Crawford (W)

Montreal goalscorers:  Plekanec
Chicago goalscorers: DeBrincat, Saad, Anisimov

Montreal outclassed by defending champs

Date: 09/01/2016
Opponent: Chicago
Location: Chicago
Loss: 5-2

Habs Goalie: Scrivens (L)
Opposition Goalie: Crawford (W)

Habs goalscorers: Eller, Pacioretty
Opposition goalscorers: Panik, Toews (2), Kane, Hossa

Crawford Steals the Show as Canadiens' Scoring Woes Continue

Date: 09/01/2016
Opponent: Chicago
Location: Montreal
Loss: 2-1

Habs Goalie: Condon (L)
Opposition Goalie: Crawford (W)

Habs goalscorers: Byron
Opposition goalscorers: Toews, Garbutt

Game #35Must It Get Worse To Get Better?

Details

Date: 21/12/2011
Opponent: Blackhawks
Location: Chicago

Loss: 1-5

Habs Goalie: Budaj (L)
Opposition Goalie: Crawford (W)

Habs goalscorers: Kostitsyn
Opposition goalscorers: Brunette, Sharp. Stalberg, Toews, Bickell

Play of the game

The final horn was the feel good moment of the night for me, but it wasn't the play of the game. That honour actually goes to a hockey play; our goal. The best parts about the goal were that it was scored on the PP and it gave us a lead against the league's best team. The play itself is noteworthy too as it was indeed a good goal by Kostitsyn as he was able to redirect a quick pass from Plekanec up and over a well-positioned Crawford.

Dome hockey team

The 6 players we're playing in a no changes, do or die contest in the dome

Forwards

Andrei Kostitsyn - Game Puck
I had to give the game puck to someone, didn't I? It wasn't his best game and he wasn't too much a threat throughout, but tonight, when nothing was going on, a goal is really all we have to go on. Would you give 13 minutes, 4 less than Camms, to this player? I think that Cunney has to re-evaluate this one, after all he was on for no goals against (unlike 9 other forwards).

Max Pacioretty
What do I want? Goals. Well, if I can't have that I at least want shots. Tonight he took 38% (8) of our shots and, although he didn't score, came closer than pretty much everyone else. The thing is, however, we need him to score, he is not being paid to simply shoot; I hope he picks it up soon.

Erik Cole
When no one on the depth chart below you steps up you can sometimes squeeze into the dome. That is what has happened here with Erik. He wasn't good, but I'll take a bad Cole over a bad anyone else at this point.

Defencemen

Raphael Diaz
On for a goal-for and no goals-against gets Diaz another dome. Oh, it also helps that the other D were pretty bad throughout. I am not pleased that a rookie who isn't really doing much positive is becoming a regular in the dome halfway through the season, but that is what seems to be happening.

Hal Gill
Like Diaz he wasn't on for any of their goals. I am not sure if that makes him a logical choice for the dome, but I really didn't like the others tonight. The sad thing is that he got 16 minutes and, contrary to most dome selections, I likely wouldn't want to use him for much more than that. (I think I just implied that we need some people to start seriously stepping up).

Goaltender

Carey Price
I didn't expect Budaj to win this one and would only think that 2 of those goals were stoppable, but at the end of the day he wasn't good enough. His team was horrible in front of him, but I still look at his performance and can't say that I was filled with too much confidence.

Comments

I don't have much energy to write too much in here and I am sure that not too many of you have the energy to keep reading about the latest way we learned to lose, so this will be short.

Chicago is a good team, even a great one and we were probably doomed from the start. It was nice to go up, but staying on top and winning was always going to be a tall order. We certainly didn't compete the way that one would have hoped and that seems to be the problem, again. Coaches, players available and opponents aside the least we fans can ask for is an honest attempt at a win. Now, I think that we do show that in a lot of our wins (even if that means playing defensively), but tonight I didn't see it. I don't think this loss means that the season is over or that more changes are required right away, but I can't stress how important a win in the Peg tomorrow is. There is a bad taste in Montrealers' mouths right now. It is quite the potent bad-tasting hockey/political tonic that I for one don't want in my mouth over the weekend. So, come on Habs, send us on the break with some hope, give us something to forget about so we can enjoy all the stuff that really matters without fretting about what may be happening to our beloved team.

Game #80Thrilling Victory To Clinch Our Spot

Details

Date: 5/4/2011
Opponent: Blackhawks
Location: Montreal

Win:2-1

Habs Goalie: Price (W)
Opposition Goalie: Crawford (L)

Habs goalscorers: Cammalleri, Subban
Opposition goalscorers: Kane

Play of the game

Price made two outstanding saves in the third period to preserve the tie and really had the play of the game wrapped up. But, how could I overlook that shot in OT that Subban took? The pass from Andrei was perfect and the shot was out of this world. It was one of the nicest ways to win a game and I am sure that it will give PK even more confidence as we head into the playoffs. Another great aspect of that play had to be the jump into Price and the way Subban tumbled to the ice - it was hilarious.

Dome hockey team

The 6 players we're playing in a no changes, do or die contest in the dome

Forwards

Mike Cammalleri
Mike had a goal and an assist tonight and seems to be rounding into his playoff form. He played with passion and determination all night and it could have been more than two points had Chicago not played so well.

Andrei Kostitsyn
Andrei made two amazing passes to pick up two assists tonight. Those 2 points give him 15 in his last 20 games to go with some very, very solid play. I no longer look to see who he can complement on a line, but instead who can compliment him.

Tomas Plekanec
Pleks centred our best line tonight, a line that matched the Cup Champions' best very well. This is a trio that I wasn't sure about, but I think that they may be getting hot at just the right time. Tom played a good game in his own right and very nearly won it late, but slapped one off of the top of the post instead.

Defencemen

PK Subban
He drew a penalty in OT and then made Chicago pay. I love a player that has those two talents - the tenacity to always fight for pucks and win battles, and one that can score big game goals. The rest of his game was solid too as he was our top defenceman wherever he was on the ice. When he is on he is one of the best in the league and, boy, tonight he was on.

Hal Gill
Hal quietly got the job done, again. I am very happy with where his game is at at this point in the season and can't wait to see him in the playoffs. Do you all remember how last year in the playoffs he surprised us with his playoff vs. regular season play? Well, I think that it will be more of the same because playoff rules (or lack thereof) suit him more than any other on our team.

Goaltender

Carey Price - Game Puck
Excellent! He was very, very good tonight. Aside from a very dangerous puck-handling episode (saved by Paul Mara at the last second) he played a perfect game. He has been our best player all year and gives us the same type of hope that Halak, Huet, Theodore and Roy have all given us - the belief that it could be our year. I would probably give Auld a start on Thursday and then finish up with Carey in Toronto now. We want wins, but Alex is capable and I think it will benefit the team more, and be a safer option, to give Price a well-deserved breather.

Comments

This was one of the best games of the year. It was not only exciting to watch, but was also a very sound game from the Habs perspective. Now, there were loads of chances for Chicago, but we had the type of goaltending that makes that almost a moot point. Their style of course meant that we also got an incredible amount of chances too. Both goalies played a strong game and were the only reasons that we went to OT at 1-1 and not 6-6. I saw the game slipping a bit once we started getting all of those penalties as it caused a major disruption in our flow of play. We did, however, make a nice recovery and had a stronger third period.

The win clinches us a spot and as we look elsewhere we see that Toronto is out. Of course that makes for a good night in Montreal, but it also reminds us all of something. Comebacks in the standings from 5-10 points back of a playoff spot just don't happen. The Habs did it right this year by starting well and never losing their spot. What is sometimes forgotten when we all look to teams crumbling or making an incredible run is that good teams lose games, even when they are playing well. They face hungrier teams, as good teams or they just have off nights. The same can be said of teams in slumps. Wins happen sometimes whether you like it or not and that means chasing playoff spots is a near impossible task. The Habs started the season so well and it has paid off now. Everyone says that 'had Toronto played like this all year', or 'had Atlanta kept it up' it would be different. Well, that is like saying that Pleks would be a 100-point man if he was always at his hottest or Kostitsyn would only score 4 goals because he went scorless in 20. A season is 82 games long and it requires good play throughout. Every non-playoff team, every year had a good stretch or two, but after 6 months of hockey it is the team, like Montreal, that can get get over their downs and find a way to play good hockey from October to April. The Habs aren't the best team out there, but they are only 5 wins off of it. I like our chances in the playoffs and I like the players that we are taking there.

Foolscap Contract Rules Not Worth The Paper They're Written On

Yesterday, while everyone was gearing up for the NHL season reading previews and criticising predictions, some NHL teams faced a very important deadline.

The Vancouver Canucks, New Jersey Devils, Boston Bruins and Calgary Flames were all over the salary cap and had until 3 pm EDT to do something about it. The moves that ensued leave me to question my early faith in this salary cap as a levelling device once again, after a summer of cap nonsense.


To start with, let's review the consequences for starting the season over the salary cap: To be honest with you, I'm not sure. And I'm not sure anyone really is certain about what definitive move the league would take. The CBA gives flexibility in the regard ranging from fines to draft picks to forfeit of games. Let's say that it at least the teams at risk of going over believe there would be consequences, unlike those that went over to end the season.


So no clear consequences, but definite fear that the league might make an example of someone led to some tricky moves on the salary cap front yesterday.

Vancouver used Sami Salo's injury as credit to go over the cap, and messed with prospects heads and travel schedules to get to their priority. That wasn't enough though, as they also needed to make some trades, notably Shane O'Brien and Darcy Hordichuk for a player they have no intention of using.

New Jersey were expected to be forced into a trade, but instead delayed their move by taking advantage of a Bryce Salvador concussion and Anssi Salmela's recovery to declare the LTIR and non-roster, respectively.

The Bruins too used injury. They leveraged Marc Savard's and Marco Sturm's injuries into cap space. If they come back, it will be interesting to see if and how they will move.

The Flames have injuries too.

All this, of course, comes after the Blackhawks and Rangers used effective "forced retirement" to get under the cap, a disgraceful tactic that flies in the face of the spirit of competition and level playing field.

So rather than actually getting under the salary cap, teams choose to "circumvent" it by using sometimes less than honest tactics. I don't know what the solution is to all this, but perhaps some proper consequences could help. And, perhaps enforcing the cap into the playoffs (after all isn't the Stanley Cup the only prize being played for?) might help.

Until the NHL does something about all this, I continue to be disappointed with the Habs who seem content to sit idly by as teams perennially contend on the back of wonky rules. The Canadiens, who must have some of the largest purses in the business, seem meanwhile perfectly content to sit idly by and collect their revenue for a less than salary-ceiling payroll again. The extent of the Habs creativity went up in thin air when they pre-emptively traded Jaroslav Halak to make sure they wouldn't have this kind of work to do in the fall. It may seem right, but don't be too surprised when New Jersey, Chicago, Vancouver and maybe even Boston enter March as good-looking contenders and Montrealers have new spring calendar openings.

The NHL salary cap circumvention is shameful, just like holding and obstructing is. But if everyone else is doing it. Well come on.


More black eye

The shiners for the league's image don't end at waiver wires and LTIR lists.

At the other end of the table, the New York Islanders use salary buyouts and choose not to put Mark Streit on LTIR as it would mean they'd need to do something about meeting the salary floor. Larry Brooks thinks its just as significant a mockery. So do I.

The Unspoken: Philly Blew It

Every year this happens. A team wins the Cup and we go into some kind of praise-amplification cycle, the usual result of which is a conclusion that all future Cups will be won as this latest one was.

It's all fine and good as long as it remains theory, that is until you go out and overpay Rob Scuderi.

As we enjoy the interminable season finally coming to an end, I offer this thought. Perhaps Chicago might not have won the Cup had their opposition offered a credible goaltending option.

Last night was only one example, but again Leighton was shaky. Two of the goals allowed, including the OT Stanley Cup Winner, were minor league stuff.

When in recent memory can you remember a Stanley Cup finalist putting forward a serious bid with a goalie that was pulled twice, allowed 3.96 goals a game and saved less than 88% of shots. He played well in one win, but that hardly balances two of his losses in which he allowed about 25% of shots to go in.

To sum up, Michael leighton was sub-par and by letting in some of the goals he did, effectively cut the Flyers chances off at the knees.

Still, I choose not to entitle the piece with Michael Leighton's name, as this was all to be expected. Miraculaous shut out run aside, Leighton is a player with this kind of checkered history. A borderline NHLer with up and down numbers. It shouldn't have surprised anyone that his miracle streak was just that, a miracle streak.

Really Philadelphia management is to blame.

It starts as these things usually do with drafting. Since they drafted Roman Cechmanek in 2000 (their last credible goalie graduate), the Flyers have selected 15 goalies in all. All told from those 15, they have received 2 NHL games of sub 0.800 goaltending. Not pretty. The lessons they learned in the late 1990s when their last thrust into contention was on were clearly unlearned, as they constantly have goaltending further down the list than nearly everything else. Though they've sprung for two third round goalie choices in the past two seasons, prior to that their reliance on free agency meant they had little time for goalies before round 5.

Speaking of free agency, they often get distracted there too. I'm not necessarily saying that goalies can be plucked out of thin air in July, but it might be easier if the kitty isn't always already spent to find someone adequate.

Ray Emery was a great example of Philly's approach to goaltending on the cheap. Always willing to spring big money for the next bully in line, they frequently find themselves looking for the bargain basement option come September. Esche, Biron, Boucher, Emery, leighton, not exactly a crew that sends shivers down the spine of shooters.

And then there are trades. Never mind that Philly might have turned down a great bargain in December with the potential Halak deal. That bears no meaning next to the fact that they had built a team to win in the present with several excellent young and middle age stars ready to shine, yet failed to trade a single piece of their depth when Ray Emery first showed himself to be missing a step and then underwent fairly major surgery before the trade deadline.

It's fair to say that Philly's management didn't react because they never thought this possible, even with a goaltender. Fine. But making the playoffs and winning the Cup were clearly in the plans when they signed all their forwards to long-term millions and then traded the future couple of first rounders for Pronger. Philly were a team built for now, or thereabouts. So why leave playoff qualification, and ultimately playoff success in the court of a gamble like Boucher? Or Leighton?

In my mind, it's quite a big mistake. And now, quite a big opportunity missed..


Who should be more aggrieved?

I'm as happy as anyone to see Mike Richards close to tears. He must feel pretty aggrieved by management's ponderous approach to shoring the back end. Peter Laviolette too. He coached a storm to get his team as far as it did, yet being cuffed by the Leighton/Boucher options must have been hard. Finally, Chris Pronger, who still dominant might wonder how many more Cup runs he can coax out of himself.

Yet, as unhappy as those should be, could it be that Canadiens fans and perhaps Bruins fans even more so should be cursing their luck.

Coming into the Bruins game in relief, Michael Leighton was a 0.902 career goalie with no NHL playoff experience. In the 2.5 games he played vs. Boston to rescue the Flyers from 3-1, he laid down a shutout to end the series with a 0.943 save % and 1.54 GAA. Against Montreal, it was 3 more shutouts en route to a 0.950 save % and a 1.41 GAA.

Had he played as he did in the final, Boston would have likely scored 5 more goals in 2.5 games and Montreal was owed 10 more. Had he played at his career NHL rate, Boston would have expected 3 more goals and Montreal a further 7.

That's not to say both teams didn't have a part in Leighton's supremacy, or that Philly's D didn't also. Merely to say that we all knew one day Leighton wouldn't be making some of the saves he seemed to be able to make against both Bruins and Habs, and we knew we'd feel a little bit unlucky to have faced him at the one time in his career he looked a genuine starter.

Bettman Very Small-Minded

This morning, I read that Gary Bettman had recently slammed the IIHF for its comments over players.

The elfin commissioner was right about Rene Fasel being out of line, but completely short-sighted in the rest of his commentary:

"I'm not happy with the way the IIHF somehow feels it has an entitlement to these great athletes who risk their careers, and put themselves out of their own time without anything but love of country to be belittled by the IIHF. If I sounded a little passionate on the subject I apologize, actually, I don't"

I understand that Bettman is the man that has been hired by the owners of the NHL teams (and the men that they believe they own the men who play for them) to make sure the NHL is where hockey lives. I understand he wouold rather not have any hockey games outside the 30 cities where his teams have jurisdiction. But that is small-minded.

The perfect juxtaposition for Bettman's feeble foresight is the grand est sporting event on earth about to take place in 10 days time. Football's World Cup is an event played by professional footballers for their countries, for free. Like the NHL, the English, French, Spanish, Italian, German and every other league worldwide laments the problems of injury and fatigue that the World Cup (and particularly the two-year long qualifying campaign) has on their paid employees.

However, the leagues around the world have gotten over it. More to the point, they have rejigged to be able to take advantage of the surge that such a tournament (and other similar tournaments provide. Savvy teams travel to markets like Malaysia and Japan where equity for the sport has been built internationally, but unmatched in their domestic competition. And, as the owners of Milan Baros' former contract would attest, teams aren't shy to equate international performance (and the spotlight it provides) to tack on millions and millions in transfer fee demands.

In short, while no sport has had the perfect approach, it seems that in football teams and international federations have at least come together enough to realise that they can grow the game together and feast on the harvest together as well.

Hockey is a poor cousin by comparison. Every international competition is met with great reluctance, if it is held at all. Sure the Olympics were great, but even there most NHL owners want out. Instead of looking to Sochi in 4 years as a chance to galvanise another country behind its host team's quest for Gold, NHL relics worry about their 41 homes games only.

But hockey has a real chance to be a number two sport in some countries in Europe. Scandinavia and certain Eastern countries are already there, but comsider that Switzerland, Austria and even Germany already have a keen interest, and this without any of the world's best competing in their home leagues. In Germany at the recent World Hockey Championships, a world record 77,000 fans watched their country's team play the USA. To put that in context, that's more fans for one game most Canadians would never think about watching on TV than teams with 19,000 seaters can hope to pull for a sevent game Stanley Cup series with home ice advantage.

There are a lot of fans in countries like Germany, waiting for the chance to see the world's best, apparently. When the world's best decide they'd rather have an extra week tacked on to their 5 month summer instead, then it's easy to see why the tournament organizer would be a little miffed.

The IIHF is trying to mimic FIFA's model by setting up meaningful competitions like championships and Champions' Leagues, but the NHL wants none of it.

So while we read how the NHL is living its greatest TV moments since 1999 with a final between two American cities where hockey fans actually live, it is still a pathetic set of numbers.

1/3 of TV sets in Chicago and a quarter in Philadelphia as well as 3% of Americans watched the Stanley Cup final Game 1. Sure it looks good next to a Pittsburgh final, but consider for a moment what football can do:

- 93 million viewers on average per game for the World Cup
- Nearly 300 millions viewers around the world for the Final
- Nearly 6 billion viwers over the whole tournament


The NHL TV numbers are child's play in comparison. As a fan of the game. And a believer that hockey really is the best game on earth, it's more than a little bit disappointing to have to sit behind leadership who see their middling success and want to call it a day.

A very small-minded approach indeed.

Olympic Implications

Seeing Nabokov yet again fall short in an important game brought back memories for me. Imagine what the directors of the San Jose Sharks must be thinking.

Coming up to the trade deadline, the Sharks are yet again flirting with the NHL lead, but yet again carry team members who prefer the December walks to the May slugfests. Between Joe Thronton, Patrick Marleau and Dany Heatley the Sharks have a lot wrapped up in their current edition, and in a salary cap world, one can't expect that to continue forever.

Do you think that Doug Wilson shrugs off a Nabokov loss in a critical test, or will he now be hoping to bolster his back line of defence as he sets for a run with this set of big contracts before they walk?

I tend to think he'll stick – more out of necessity than choice. However, there's no telling how scarred he is from seeing Nabokov underperform (or simply never overperform) when the time is asking.

Roenick thinks Chicago has a dilemma, I wonder what he thinks of his former mates in SJ.

Game #13Habs Come Close to Stealing Some Points

Details

Date: 30/10/09
Opponent: Blackhawks
Location: Chicago

Loss: 2-3

Habs Goalie: Price (L)
Opposition Goalie: Huet (W)

Habs goalscorers: Cammalleri, Moen
Opposition goalscorers: Versteeg, Barker, Sharp

Play of the game

Cammalleri got a good bounce and scored and Moen did well to tuck one in, but neither of those goals screamed 'play of the game' to me. I instead will go with a save that Price made. The save itself was a good one and the timing, too, was crucial. It came in the second period and was at a time that the game could have been put out of reach. Carey made an initial save and then Patrick Kane had the rebound at the side of the net and got at least 2 or 3 whacks at it. Price, however, was up to the test and held strong against the post. He actually managed to keep the puck out with his skate blade as the puck went behind his pad. The Habs went on to tie the game soon after that and I was viewing that save, at the time, as a game-saver.

Dome hockey team

The 6 players we're playing in a no changes, do or die contest in the dome



Forwards

Tomas Plekanec
He was fast, he was exciting and he was creative. Tomas may not have scored tonight, but I think that, overall, he was our best forward. He played for over 19 minutes, wasn't on the ice for any 'Hawks goals and did very well on the PK. He did, however, have a very bad night at face-offs as he went 4-10.

Mike Cammalleri
Mike scored a good goal and was a big reason that play was kept alive in the first place. Like the goal-scorer he is the puck was able to find him and it was almost a gimme. That gives him 6 on the year which is about what we would expect from our top sniper. Aside from the goal he was very good on the fore-check and, I thought, played very well with Pleks and Laps. Hopefully this line will flourish, but at the same time I am hoping that Gomez, (suddenly cold) Gionta and (can't buy a break) Kostitsyn will excel too...that is the plan, isn't it?

Max Pacioretty
Max didn't have a stellar game, but I just wasn't that impressed with the rest of our forwards in this one; I simply expect more. I am not sure if he will always merit 50% more ice-time than Latendresse and Chipchura, but tonight he at least earned it. He picked up an assist on Moen's goal, had a few other chances in the offensive zone and made quite a few solid defensive plays. Right now the kid isn't scoring, but it at least it seems that Moen and Metro's work ethics are rubbing on him.

Defencemen

Josh Gorges
When you take away the players that had serious problems tonight you are, once again, only left with two defenders. Gorges, again, is one of those as tonight he stayed out of trouble a lot better than the others.He took an unfortunate penalty (unfortunate in that the ref actually called it) and didn't see too much ice (why are Gill and Bergeron both playing more than him?), but I am happy to report that he wasn't on the ice for any goals against. What you get from Josh is low-risk, mistake-free hockey and tonight was another clear example of how effective of a game-plan that can be.

Jaroslav Spacek
Our best offensive and defensive D-man was Spacek tonight. Over the past week or so I think he is playing a lot better and has really started to establish himself as a leader on this team. He got beat a couple of times tonight by quicker forwards, but all in all he played a clean and effective defensive game. He managed to pick up an assist on Cammalleri's goal which was essentially an easy rebound off a very menacing Spacek point shot.

Goaltender

Carey Price - Game Puck
Until Carey let up the third goal there was no doubt in my mind that he had been our best player. Although at first I was upset with him on that third goal (his stick was up and pads were back behind him, not butterfly'ed), upon reflection I still can't think of anyone who played better. Price was able to stop 33 of 36 shots and many of them were actual good scoring chances. Chicago is a better team than us and played a better game than us and I thought it was our goaltending that even kept us alive at all. He didn't steal us points tonight, but he put us in a very good position to get points that we really had no business getting.

Comments

I think I have the Habs figured out. We aren't a very good team, but we try hard. This, I think, is what has given us our most realistic start since the lockout. By that I mean that we are losing (badly at times) to teams that have more talent and are finding ways to win (sometimes comfortably) against teams with less talent than us. In previous years we could out-play a Detroit, but then show no effort 48 hours later against a Florida. That, I believe, is how we could look so good and yet so bad all in the same week. This team, however, just can't keep up with some teams and it is showing in the results. Like I have always said though: there are more bad teams than there are good, so our style of play should get us into the playoffs.

Chicago didn't really play at their best in this one, but they certainly out-chanced us early. With that came more penalties to us and less to them. That, of course, made it easier for Chicago to go to work and to continue with the quality chances. We were unable (apart for some very brief periods) to establish any sort of sustained attack and that ended up costing us as most of the game ended up being played in our end. Two fortuitous goals towards the end of the second gave us hope, but all it felt like was a chance to get to OT. Good teams will find a way to win and that is precisely what Chicago did tonight. We couldn't do anything about it really, but we are certainly going to have to be better against high-end teams if we want any hope of doing anything at all in those playoffs once we get there.

Playing The System GMs That Are Ahead Of The Curve

Every time you hear that Saku Koivu is gone because he couldn't fit under the cap, think again.

Koivu, by virtue of celebrating his 35th birthday this November and not earlier was eligible to sign one of those brain-bustingly long salaries that could have been averaged out to a minimal cap hit.

You know the ones that Detroit and Scotty Bowman's Blackhawks are handing out?


Now, I fully believe that Gainey wanted the space on the team and not the space in the balance book when he waved goodbye to Saku, but what about some of his other signings? Where was the creativity when he signed up 30-year old Brian Gionta to a financially tying $5 million cap hit for the next 5 years?

It got me thinking about the better GMs in the NHL and what they have been doing to show up their slower peers.


The long contract

This summer has seen the advent of the extended contract beyond the age of 40 years old.

The idea behind the long contract has been a round a while now. The Islanders broke the ice with a 15-year deal to Rick DiPietro back in 2006. The Flyers gave out a few, most notably to Mike Richards.

But it was not until the Red Wings came along and signed Henrik Zetterberg that the manipulation of numbers really came into effect.

The DiPietro deal, you see was the same salary for every year of the contract. At the time, one could argue that it was an overpay for the player, an argument that only seems to take on more credence as time goes by. It was in effect, just a really bad long contract.

Ditto the Mike Richards deal. The Flyers handed out the deal to a 22-year old who'd had one decent year earlier in his breakout season. They ended up paying him a wad more than they could have been for the past year and by virtue of his age, the benefit of retirement is unlikely to help them. It opened the door for a trade later in the contract, but Holmgren just didn't have the same grasp on the possibilities as his sleeker peers. After all, a two-way forward like Mike Richards (if he's all we have to hear is from Flyers fans) will not be an untradeable asset by the age of 34. If he is, who would take on the $5.75 million cap hit anyway? Only teams covering the minimum...

The Zetterberg deal was different. It used term to reduce the average to a superstar player. Henrik will be paid a worthy salary of $7+ million for the next 9 seasons, then when he turns 37, he'll drop to half with 2 seasons at $1 million for the flourish. The drastic drop means the Wings pay the player over $7 million, but at a $6 million cap hit. Should he do the Forsberg and opt for cruising the Stockholm archipelago by his late 30s, the Wings have a minor cap coup and Zetterberg gets most of his money.

Always a team to push limits, the Wings went further with their next extension. Johan Franzen is tied to the team until the age of 39 as well, but at a bargain price just under $4 million a year on the cap. He will of course be paid well over $5 million a season (like Gionta) until his late 30s, but then opens the window to Scandinavian motor-boating with 4 final seasons where he'd only be collecting $7 million in all.


The Red Wings have set a revolution in place in this regard, but leave it to the master (and Holland's teacher) to show everyone that it can be done even better than that. The Marian Hossa contract is that masterpiece. In designing a contract that pays Hossa $3.5 million over the last 4 seasons, they were able to secure a $7.5 million dollar player at 2/3 the cap hit. Not only that, he stole Hossa from under the Wings' very noses.

While heralded in some quarters as madness, the reality is closer to genius. As this Ottawa Citizen article stated a few weeks ago:

"The unspoken reality. GMs expect players to retire before those contracts are actually fulfilled -- but that seven- or 12-year term brings the average of the contract down to a very manageable level."

Retirement is the key, and right now the possibilities to push this kind of salary are almost limitless. One blogger asks why stop at 12, 15 years; why not 30 years?

And he's right for asking, because although there are limits on contracts offered to players over the age of 35, there's no current limit as to the number of years a player of age 22 (like Carey Price for example) could be signed for. 30 seems ridiculous, but really why stop there?


Loophole will be closed

Upstanding NHL citizen, rarely jealous, spiteful or arrogant, Brian Burke is upset about the lack of fair play. And, he, along with other slowpokes, will probably see the loophole closed so that they can continue to get to grips with 1-year deals.

Funny how some loopholes seem more despicable than others to ole Brian.

Incidentally, as a Habs fan, I want this loophole closed and fast. It hardly seems fair that we be the only team still paying what the cap hit says to players whose performance is far from guaranteed. I think it's only fair that other teams, no matter how good their GMs should also be held to terrible contracts instead of being able to wriggle out, just because they are better at their jobs than their rivals.



"You're not thinking 4th dimensionally"

Gainey it seems is not in the same plane as his mosre successful rivals, at least not as a devious pursuer of vitory at all costs. After all, in addition to adding one of the worst value contracts in the whole league to his roster, he also gave out two of the most questionable deals of the summer to Cammalleri and Gionta.

I think he's failed us in this regard, he's not near the head of the class. And, just as Doc Brown scolded Marty for being such a simpleton (even after 2.5 movies worth of time travelling), I could see better GMs scolding Gainey for his summer:

Bob: "But I don't want Gionta for 22 years, I only want him for 5."

Doc Bowman: "Sign him for 22 years with every year after 40 at current league minimum. If he retires, you don't pay him."

Bob: "Still, that's almost 5 years of Gionta that I don't want."

Doc Bowman: "Bob, you're not thinking 4th dimensionally. Have you ever made a trade? Have you ever thought about how to become the best GM? Cap hits are important. By averaging salary over more time, you can reduce the cap hit for a future suitor. You make an untradeable asset tradeable, even within your ridiculous $5 million per year period..."


The man who tries so hard

Speaking of rivals, it's hard not to chuckle at poor Paul Holmgren who tries his very best to keep up with the Detroits and Chicagos of the world.

It started with Richards, whose contract we deem just expensive and unnecessarily unbalanced. It got even more comical with Briere and then Timonen. But this summer he really took the cake.

Taking his inspiration from Franzen and Hossa, Holmgren promptly signed newly acquired Chris Pronger to a long-term deal, well past the date where he'd be on the team. He even overpaid in a trade for the privilege.

At first glance what he did was OK. He signed a 34-year old defenceman to several years, the final ones (which he hopefully wouldn't play) at league minimum. What Paul didn't grasp was this – Chris Pronger had a contract already. His next contract will come into force next summer (and here's the tragedy) after he turn 35. If there was any doubt, it was cast aside when the league said that's how it would treat the deal.

Oops.

While trying to put together one of the best contracts in history, he has unwittingly added another chapter to the comedy of errors in the Flyers organization post-lockout. If Pronger retires instead of playing for $500 K, Holmgren's successor will be taking a $5 million cap hit for an empty locker – which would probably be up there for worst NHL contract ever. All's not lost though, he could force Pronger to play as he slows down and just have a really slow and ineffective defender for the very same cap hit.


Maybe Gainey missed saving a few million on Gionta, but at least he didn't Holmgren his team into a hole. Oh, it'll be fun to play those 2014-15 Flyers...

Round 2 Was Kind – Will The Third Be?

As I take the time to scour stats and analysis from the season for things to discuss, I thought I would take a break to let you know how I'm doing in the Score hockey pool (as if any of you care).

In the second round, I chose mostly with my head (so I thought), but had the Bruins falling thanks to my heart. Thankfully for all our blood pressure levels, they did fail to progress – and for a bonus, their loss has vaulted me into the upper reaches of hockey prognosticators (go figure).

This is what I had for Round 2:

Canes over Bruins in 6
Again, I couldn't have picked the Bruins. But I have to say, the Hurricanes looked a lot more likely to pull this off right from the beginning than the Habs ever were. Still, a big and fulfilling upset.

Penguins over Capitals in 7
I believe in big-game players, and big-game players paid back in kind. Crosby proves once again that when he's interested, he's much more interesting.

Wings over Ducks in 5
I didn't think it would be as long, but this battle looked one too far for the Ducks to me.

Canucks over Hawks in 6
I underestimated the Blackhawks again. I'll continue to do that until I'm right...


On series winners, this makes me 9/12 or 3 lucky choices over the expected crap shoot. I'm not too great at predicting series length but, luckily for me, neither is anyone else. The updated standings (i.e., bloggers making Mark Osbourne look like an ass) can be found here.

I'd also like to note that Leafs fans and former Leafs players live up to their franchise expectations by threatening to come somewhere between 9th and 15th in any league they are in again. I think they feel most comfortable there.


Round 3

I'll now explain my round 3 choices and watch as my luck runs out in this game of chance...


Penguins over Hurricanes in 7
So far, so good. Though I love the crafty additions Jim Rutherford has made, he is going against the tried and true method of losing for 5 seasons to stack with talent approach. Malkin and Crosby together could make up for any number of Komisarek and Brisebois blunders; and Price could fluff goals to his heart's content. Carolina have one answer to this duo (Eric Staal), but I fear Brind'amour will be stretched beyond his limits with the big Russian. 7 games though – it was a tough choice.

Red Wings over Blackhawks in 6
The reigning (and probably eventual repeat) Conn Smythe winner really tips this one in Detroit's favour. I fear that the Wings have the answer to Chicago's speed and forecheck with their team defence, experience and most importantly: patience.


As fun as this is, with the chance at winning and all, I would just like to reiterate: Is it October yet?

All But The Important One...

It seems when I pick with my head and not with my heart, I'm alright at this prediction thing (well this time, anyway). But though it's nice to be sitting ahead of the Al Strachan's of the world in the Score playoff pool, I'd give it all up for heart over head and a match-up against the Capitals...

This is what I had for Round 1:

Habs over Bruins in 7
I couldn't have picked the Bruins, Markov or not. I hate that I was wrong. Hate it.

Capitals over Rangers in 6
I didn't trust in Lundqvist, but he did OK, at first. Washington's a strong one.

Hurricanes over Devils in 7
I couldn't have predicted the way it would happen, with the drama and swings; but I've always liked the power of the Eric/ks

Penguins over Flyers in 6
This was a no-brainer. Just like the guy who entrusted another year in the playoffs to Martin Biron.

Anaheim over San Jose in 7
I didn't expect Anaheim to be so quick, but with Niedermayer (player of the decade with Lidstrom) and Pronger, the Ducks were much more dangerous than their totals suggested. they still are.

Detroit over Columbus in 6
Columbus were weaker than I thought. That's saying something.

Canucks over Blues in 5
All those who hyped the Blues should have learned that a late streak does nothing to overcome a good offense with a great goalie.

Flames over Hawks in 7
Oops. I thought the Hawks were earlier in the development than this. Gotta like teaming young team with reliable veteran goalie. I wonder if any other teams ever had success with that approach. Maybe last year? Can't think...



Enough gloating. Here's where I suffer the fall, as I have to make more predictions and will likely fall to the very predictable .500 level that suits 50:50 chance of success in prognostication (and faceoffs).

Carolina over Boston in 6
This isn't just my heart here, though it is involved. The Bruins were not tested at all, not at all, in their opening series. The Hurricanes beat the mighty Devils with a better goalie than Boston have and a better version of the same defensive system. Plus Staal is a stud vs. Savard. The weakness comes at the back for Carolina a with Montreal, but Boston would be blessed to get as many well-timed and easy goals as they eventually relied on to coast through round 1.

Pittsburgh over Washington in 7
Watch this series and you'll begin to understand why there should be some urgency about winning sooner rather than later in Montreal. Ovechkin, Semin, Malkin and Crosby could become conference final fixtures if they wanted to. They'll show us why with Pittsburgh's Stanley Cup creds giving them the final edge. This is OT in game 7 type stuff.

Detroit over Anaheim in 5
Whereas San Jose couldn't have looked at Anaheim with any relish, Detroit know they can counter. Hiller may be better than Osgood, but he is not as good as SJ made him look. He'd do well to come out of a match with Zetterberg, Datsyuk and company as unscathed as he is now. Lidstrom outplaying the big two will be key. I have faith in the best player of our time.

Vancouver over Chicago in 6
We must watch while Vancouver proves how waiting for Sundin was leagues better than trading for the consolation prize. It helps to have a good goalie who makes saves, too. I stand by my earlier statements as well – not Chicago's time yet.


There you have it. It will be mocked and ridiculed on The Score, so why not here. But as we've seen, even silly predictions like Anaheim over perfect franchise (exhibit A) happen; so you never know.

If I muster up the interest to watch after my sulk, there are match-ups here to like. Pittsburgh vs. Washington should be a great one, Carolina thumping Boston would be nice too.

Is it October yet?

Game #762 More Habs Fall in Crucial Win

The Canadiens Game in Review

Date: Tuesday March 31st, 2009
Opponent: Chicago Blackhawks
Venue: Bell Centre, Montreal, QC

Team Stripes
Final Score: 4-1 - Win

Habs starting goalie: Carey Price (W)
Opposition starting goalie: Cristobal Huet (L)

Habs goalscorers: Alexei Kovalev, Guillaume Latendresse, Andrei Markov, Mathieu Schneider
Opposition goalscorers: Patrick Sharp

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

This play started with Higgins and a few minutes later ended with him. There was 4 minutes to go in the game and our 2-goal lead was not looking like it would hold up. Chicago was all over Montreal and 2 more goals (maybe even 3) looked like a very possible outcome. In a moment of attack Higgins hit Kostitsyn with a nice pass and he was then more or less alone in on net. Andrei got off a quality shot despite being slashed; that put us on the PP. 2 minutes of clock-wasting would have probably done the trick, but scoring a 4th seemed like an even better plan. Chicago thought that they had a clearance along the glass, but there, as he always is, was Markov putting up both hands and keeping the puck in. He quickly played it to Schneider who one-timed a shot by a screened - courtesy of Higgins - Huet. There is too great of a chance at 1 point only in OT - I like this approach much better.

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

Andrei Markov
After Hamrlik went down we started seeing more of Andrei as he was at times being double-shifted. It should also say a lot for Hammer's ability as Markov was the only defenceman that Gainey trusted to mop up Patrice's mistakes after he left. Markov moved the puck very well all game and out-did all of Chicago's big-name (big-money) defencemen. It proves that over-paying on July 1st is a great way to pay too much for a player who wants to make as much money as possible, but that isn't exactly the way to get the best in the league. I would much rather have a player playing for me for less money because he loved the city and the team and not because I offered him the biggest contract.



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

Guillaume Latendresse
Gui and Max played very well tonight and either player could have found their way in here. The clincher was Gui's goal and his fight to get it. It was a great example of how you should always stay with the play and never give up until the whistle. The shot was lucky to go in, but it does take a true scorer to get two quality shots on net back-to-back like that.

Andrei Kostitsyn
Kostitsyn did everything but score tonight and I really liked what he brought. It was his first game in a week and I felt that he came back a bit better than when he went out. He definitely added some punch to our second line and I believe it was him who set the tone for the whole game. Andrei uncharacteristically dropped the gloves to come to the rescue of his injured brother and, though it cost us him for 19 minutes and the team for 4, it was the right play. After missing most of the second period he came back to be an offensive force in the third as he got off two high quality shots and drew a crucial penalty.

Alexei Kovalev
His goal, 25 seconds in, was a great way for him and the Habs to start the game. That goal showed how alert the Habs were tonight and was also a nice example of, what I believe is, a more aggressive fore-check. He also added an assist on Markov's goal and now all of a sudden has 56 points. He has amassed 17 points in 15 games since his break and 8 in 4 games since being put on a line with Saku and Tanguay.

Defencemen

Andrei Markov
Andrei's career year continues and we still have 6 games to play. Like Kovy, Markov picked up a goal and an assist and now has 62 points - he continues to lead the Habs. If Hamrlik is to miss any time then we will have to rely on this pillar even more (which I am sure will be no problem for him). I hope, however, for the team's sake that isn't the case. I am confident that Markov will pick up the slack, if needed, but not as confident that Brisebois, Bouillon, Dandenault or O'Byrne can do what Roman does.

Mathieu Schneider
A few defensive zone giveaways for Mat tonight ruined an otherwise solid effort. Like Markov, Mat will be needed for more if Roman is out, but I think the veteran can do it. This is the time of year when you need guys with experience to help the younger players and I think Schneider has done a formidable job. He scored a late insurance goal tonight and now has 8 on the year. With Atlanta he had 4G, 11A, 15Pts and was -10 in 44 games. Since coming home he has added 4G, 10A, 14Pts and is a respectable -2 (lets not forget he lived through Carey's troubles) in only 19 games.

Goaltender

Carey Price
Carey had an excellent game tonight as he made some crucial saves and played with a supreme amount of confidence. His teammates rewarded him with some solid play of their own as they not only scored 4 goals, but also only let up 29 shots. He faced shooters at the top of his crease, often stood up, if the butterfly was not needed, and controlled his rebounds very well. He got a bit lucky with some near misses and posts, but then again, what goalies don't.



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

A lot was made before the game about whether the Habs were back on the right track after a decent haul last week. The main argument was that we were only able to beat Tampa and Atlanta while only getting a single point against the Sabres. Maybe the 'experts' who were doubting us failed to recognize that those are the types of teams that we usually lose to. Those are the types of teams that, had we beaten, would have given us enough points to avoid much of the slump talk. If you wanted to know if we had turned a corner you could have done what few actual experts do and that is to watch a full game. The way the Habs played last week was clearly an improvement from previous games and that continued tonight. Against the 'Hawks we beat a team that most people consider great and that was supposed to be a hard test. In the eyes of those on TSN and RDS we are back, we passed the 'good-team' test. In my eyes, however, we played as well tonight as we did last week and that is the evidence that tells me that we are back to being our old selves.

Overall Comments

The game couldn't have started better for as we scored a goal after 25 seconds. Poor old Huet was hung out to dry after his defenceman made a brutal giveaway. The Habs kept it coming despite a pretty constant parade to the penalty box. We didn't, however, sit on our 1-goal lead and by the end of the 2nd period we were up by 3. Then Chicago turned it on and got some (disappointingly predictable) help from the refs. Playing the puck from the bench, tripping, holding Higgins' stick and obstructing Kovalev all got over-looked as the refs let 'them play' - Don Cherry style. The refs of course claim they don't want to influence the game at this point which means that there is a huge advantage for the team who is cheating (Chicago). How on earth they don't think allowing a team to cheat and thus get the puck and more chances isn't a form of influencing the game I'll never know. Luckily for us though our hard work resulted in a penalty that the refs simply had to call (although I wouldn't have been too surprised had they not) and that killed any hope that Chicago had. The 2 points turned out to be essential as Florida also won tonight. We hold a game in hand, a one point lead and the advantage (for the time being) in the event of a tie between the two teams. With 11 games left to be played by the two teams, however, all of this will surely change. All we can do is win our remaining games; I think 2 more points this week is a must and 3 or even 4 would come in extremely handy.

I have a few questions that maybe some people can answer. Tonight we were supposed to wear our barber-shop 1912-1913 jerseys for the second time of the year, but instead we wore the 1915-1916 reds for the 3rd time overall and 2nd time in 11 days. Any idea why they changed this after it had been published? Also, why are we booing every ex-Hab? I am not as naive as I once was when I thought we were the classiest team in the league, but now I think we may have the worse fans, worse that Toronto. We boo every player who ever played for us (despite their excellence with us and the fact that they would have done anything to stay), we also boo every other team's best player (Bertuzzi can be booed, as can Samsonov and Briere, but Chara, Alfredsson, Sundin and Iginla? Really? Those are all great players who should be respected) and we also jump on and off the bandwagon more than Alouette fans. It is becoming a disgrace and even though I know that the boos aren't representative of what we are all thinking, I still ask the question as to why so many people feel that way? To think that I used to be annoyed by the D-Fence (this isn't football) cheer and that was it.

Former Habs TussleBowman Gets His Man In Chicago

Inevitably, the shock about the firing of Denis Savard. Especially in his hometown.

I like Denis. Loved him as a player. Loved him behind the bench with Demers in 1993. I was as a happy as anyone when he was the one chosen to hoist that Cup above his head.


But, if I was a Blackhawks fan, I wouldn't be too upset. In matters of winning hockey games, I'd defer to a certain William Scott Bowman.

The hiring of Scotty Bowman was a masterstroke from Chicago after years of bobbing around the bottom of the standings. The subsequent hiring of Joel Quenneville and his 438-283-118 caching record was another move of brilliance considering they didn't even have an opening at the time.

The thinking man's analysis of this firing goes beyond a slow start and examines the complete organizational restructuring that's occurring in Chicago. Renaud Lavoie at RDS looked beyond Maxime Talbot and Jacques Demers's knee jerk reactions, and Steve Rosenbloom of the Chicago Tribune gives the most proximal and telling account of the situation.

These analysts were listening when the important man off to the side of Quenneville and Tallon spoke:

"With a young team, that's [ultra-experienced coaches in the Central division] tough to deal with," Bowman said. "This was not done on a whim."

To be frank, I think the rest of the league may have something to fear in Chicago with Scotty in a greater position of control (as it clearly seems he is). I don't think he'll necessarily coach, but then again we saw that didn't matter in Detroit.

The thing to be learned from this situation, I think, is that sentimentality has no place in winning. Though it may be brutal, a certain cut-throat commitment to success must be taken with every decision. Take it from the man who is still the only heir apparent to the masters Selke and Pollock.

I've never though that Gainey lacks much. He certainly does have a ruthless streak (see Theodore, Julien, Huet, Ribeiro, etc.), but he has not shown he can distance himself from sentiment to the degree Mr. Bowman can yet (see Brisebois).

It'll be interesting to see what Scotty does next, particularly with the goalies. I hope Bob's watching...

Scott's family wants Cup: Part II

For the second time in recent years, the biggest signing of the off-season chose his team based on family ties. For the second time, he's called Scott. The first time, for the Niedermayers, it worked, and it just could again (well soon, anyway).


I hope Chicago understand what they've gone and done here. They've gone and acquired the single most successful living hockey brain anywhere. They have made the biggest and most important move of the NHL offseason. It's making their recruitment of Stan Bowman look like a stroke of genius...

Sidney Crosby may be right in some of his assertions regarding Marian Hossa, but he is wrong if he thinks Detroit has not changed this offseason. Losing Bowman has traditionally been as devastating to dynasties as losing their star player in recent times, just ask the 1980 Canadiens and the 1993 Penguins.

But it's not what happens to teams on Bowman's departure that is most impressive, but rather what tends to happen once he steps through the door.

Scotty's pedigree
Scotty Bowman was brought into the Canadiens organisation following his attenuated playing career with the Baby Habs. From the mid-50s to the mid-60s, he was the on-and-off-again coach of the Baby Habs himself, overseeing the Canadiens most valued possessions (their young signings) and tutoring them in the ways of the organisation and the champion.

When the NHL expanded, the ambitious Bowman moved away from his hometown and the Canadiens to take control of the coaching duties for the St. Louis Blues. In what was no small feat, he brought the fledgling franchise to the Stanley Cup finals in each of its first three seasons – losing twice to his some of his wards from the Canadiens and once to Bobby Orr and the Bruins. What is worthy of note here is that Scotty was cutting his teeth in the Stanley Cup finals (as a coach) as a mere 34 year-old.

When he left the Blues, the Canadiens and Sam Pollock (never one to miss out on a quick way to improve his team) welcomed Scotty back into the fold. He didn't win the Cup in his first season, but as his team's record will attest, that was probably more to do with Esposito and Orr than any deficiencies of his own. The following season, the Canadiens would win the championship, and we all remember the 4 in a row to end Bowman's tenure. His acrimonious exit would coincide with the end of the Canadiens dynasty.

Following the Habs, Bowman had a relatively quiet decade. Critics of his would certainly pick on his tenure with the Buffalo Sabres as a sign that Bowman is not always a magician. This is certainly true. But, to coach any team in the era of the Islanders and Oilers was a monumental task. Even in the absence of Cups, his Sabres enjoyed mild success. They would have 2 100-point seasons and have their winningest period in team history to that point.

His next foray into NHL action was with the Pittsburgh Penguins. First as an advisor, then as head coach, he helped guide the talent-heavy Penguins to back-to-back Stanley Cups. You get the feeling, he might have also had some say in that prophetic draft pick of Jaromir Jagr in 1990 and the important trade for Ron Francis, as well. Whatever you may say about Bowman and the Pens, one thing is clear: they won with him there and not when he wasn't. It is this knack for coaxing the best from stars like Jacques Plante, Guy Lafleur, Mario Lemieux and Sergei Fedorov that was so important.

Speaking of Fedorov, Bowman's latest association with the Red Wings has resulted in the only uninterrupted and unquestioned streak of championship success in the modern game. As with the Penguins, he provided a catalyst for success for a squad that had to that point been underachieving based on their talent. The latest feather in his cap, his ninth Stanley Cup this spring, was testament to all the work he and his team of managers have done. The Red Wings completely outclassed the league this season in play and results. Their team, developed from within, mostly during Scotty's time in Detroit is a marvel and a model.


All this is why the move to sign up Scotty Bowman is a wonderful coup for the Hawks. I'll be watching with interest as he once again advises on the progress of young hotshots on the cusp of something more. If nothing else, you get the feeling Scotty is excited, and for the rest of the league, that is a dangerous thing...

Finally getting to work with his son is great. But for Canadiens fans, Scotty finally getting to work with Denis Savard (a fellow Verdun boy and Baby Hab alumnus) will be interesting too. For me, it harks back to one terrible decision in team history (Grundman over Bowman for GM) which was shortly followed by another (overlooking Denis Savard). Who knows, Scotty might have done things differently for us in the 1980 draft.

Gainey Does Admirably

One day into the NHL free agency season and one prediction right:

July 1 was an overblown let-down. How could it not be?

Very few people care about where very few of the names on those UFA lists go anyway. At the very least, TSN showed some good sense in airing Wimbledon instead of foisting Pierre Maguire on poor viewers for the entire day like the equally uneventful trade deadline.

Even with the disappointing lack of big-name contracts, it is still possible to start pointing to who the winners and the losers of this free agent "frenzy" (and I hesitate to use that word) might be.

Off-season winners (as of July 1, 2008)

1. Phoenix Coyotes
These guys probably would have been winners regardless of any free agency stuff. Adding Olli Jokinen for disappointmenting Dmen was a coup. The fact they added Sauer, who can easily replace Boynton, for nothing shows real planning and thinking.

2. Edmonton Oilers
How about we trade Pitkanen, Stoll and Greene for Visnovsky and Erik Cole? That's fan forum stuff, yet they pulled it out of the bag. Cole gives them a winger who can convert Hemsky passes. Visnovsky replaces Pitkanen and more.

3. New Jersey
Holding onto valuable players they like (Pandolfo) and acquiring Holik and Rolston make this team better. Intelligent moves from an intelligent GM.

4. Chicago
The Hawks fans are biggest winners here. Chicago could have easily ridden their prospects for another few seasons. Adding Campbell shows their commitment to regain respectability. Adding Huet is puzzling with Khabibulin in place already, but hey they have the cap room and just landed the best goalie available.


Off-season losers (as of July 1, 2008)

1. Nashville
What on earth is this team doing? Little more than a year ago they were vying for the league title, acquiring Forsberg and all. This off-season they've committed lots of money to a one-year wonder in goal, cutting loose their previous one-year man. They've also lost Zidlicky for peanuts. Adding nothing only adds to the sting. Maybe they are planning a surprise for us soon.

2. LA
Does Dean Lombardi know something we don't? Did the Kings actually win the league and Cup? Letting Cammalleri go was puzzling for a team with such dire quality up front. The players they added look like final last pieces for a Stnaley Cup contender, not the foundations for a new go.

3. Ottawa
Losing your best defenceman, the guy you thought would be the goalie of the future and your only proven talent beyond the first line hurts a lot. Adding Auld does nothing to assuage this kind of pain.

4. Atlanta
This pathetic franchise, which needs to lay down some kind of plan soon, has done nothing. Looking at their roster, it's still two wingers and no one else to lead the charge.


And Gainey?

From my viewpoint, Gainey's done a good job to hold off on signing the lesser lights of July 1 just for the sake of it.


If I look at what he has done so far, I think a case could be made that he signed the best player available yesterday in Andrei Kostitsyn – certainly if performance as well as potential for improvement are factored together. To sign him at 3/4 the cost of Michael Ryder is a bit of a coup, actually. To get his services for 60% of a Jeff carter contract shows the difference in quality of the respective GMs.

If we think about it, Tanguay is also one of the top three acquisitions made at forward since the end of the season, up there with Jokinen and Cole.

Sure losing Ryder hurts, but we were never going to be happy for a minute with $4 million for even 30 goals from Ryder. Losing Streit hurts more, but we hope this is pain for gain as the money saved is used to benefit the team.

And when you measure Gainey against his peers, he looks even better. He has resisted the AD/HD signings that the Rangers and Flyers cannot, he can apparently spot talent a whole lot better than anyone ever sitting in the chair of Leaf GM, and he hasn't overcommitted to third tier stars just to placate the screaming hordes. While we can lambaste him now, imagine if Gainey had signed Ryan Malone for 7 years, made Brian Campbell the highest paid player in Canadiens history or highly overpaid for Commodore. We should consider ourselves lucky considering how few teams came out of Day 1 unscathed.

So all in all, Gainey has done well. He's been sensible, just like we asked him to be. What's more, he's seen his rival GMs fill their cap space with no important free agents yet tied down. Well done. More of the same please...

Game #42 Habs Finally Win One in OT

The Canadiens Game in Review

Date: Tuesday January 8th, 2008
Opponent: Chicago Blackhawks
Venue: Bell Centre, Montreal, QC


Team Stripes

Final Score: 4-3 (OT) - Win

Habs starting goalie: Cristobal Huet (W)
Opposition starting goalie: Patrick Lalime (OT)

Habs goalscorers: Saku Koivu, Patrice Brisebois, Andrei Markov, Guillaume Latendresse
Opposition goalscorers: Jack Skille, Robert Lang, Kris Versteeg



2007/08 first
There's a first time for everything, so they say. What they didn't tell you is that every game, something happens for the first time, you just have to look harder in March...

1st NHL Game for Corey Locke
1st Game in the Press Box for Dandenault this year
1st Game that Price hasn't suited up for the Habs all season



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

Giving a point away often hurts, but giving one to the West is fine by me. We had to win this game as I felt another OT Loss would be a bad way to start the week and the 2nd half. Luckily the team seemed to believe they needed the 2 points tonight as well - their game most certainly showed that.

In OT we were trying hard for the win as we aren't the greatest squad in the shootout. Streit, being used as a defender in the extra frame (replacing Komisarek - showing our desire for offence), gave a nice breakout pass to Lapierre. Max then came into Chicago's zone with a head of steam and skated through the slot - bringing a defender and Lalime across to the right. He then flipped a pass back to Latendresse who was waiting on the edge of the crease, Gui made no mistake in shelving it to the roof for the win.



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

Saku Koivu

The captain played his best game in the past few weeks as he started the 2nd half of the season as he did the first; with 2 points. He was very involved in all aspects of the game at both ends of the ice. He looked to be in charge of his team all game with a lot of talking and teaching as he continues to work with the younger players.



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

Saku Koivu
- Koivu now has 33 points, but what I think is more impressive are the 12 points in his last 11 games. We will need Saku to give efforts like the effort we saw tonight right till the end of this season if we want to get into the playoffs. Tonight he seemed more energized than in the past little while as the negative effects of his virus seem to have gone away

Guillaume Latendresse
- Great goal for Gui in OT - the Habs needed that one. Played a good game along side Saku and Sergei Kostitsyn. He continues to get chance after chance and tonight he was rewarded with a goal and a rare assist

Andrei Kostitsyn
- His speed was noticeable tonight as we played against yet another slow defence corps (status quo for the NHL?). Was held off the scoresheet, but looked dangerous all game. As Chicago focused on shutting down Kostitsyn's line it opened the game up for our 2 other scoring lines

Defencemen

Roman Hamrlik
- Roman played a good game in both ends. I noticed that his defensive play was sharper tonight than in the loss to Washington on Saturday. He got involved offensively, often pinching and charging Lalime's net

Andrei Markov
- It was a big day for Markov. Not only did he tie the game at 3 and finish at +1 he also was selected as a starter at the All-Star Game and took the lead in goals by a defenceman in the NHL (11). His play tonight is what we have grown to expect from the East's best D-man - superb defence and superb offence

Goaltender

Cristobal Huet
- It looks like someone was taking notice of us here as it seems that Huet may now finally be our uncontested #1. It is also possible that Price took himself out of the running. Cristo didn't play spectacularly tonight, but again did what he had to for the win. Since returning from injury on the 20th of December he is 5-0-2 and a big reason the Habs are back near the top of the East. He looked a bit shaky at times tonight, but made the key saves when asked to



Eyes on Kovalev
Did he flit and float? Someone ought to keep track...

It was a quiet game for Kovy tonight - just one point. His line was held in check for pretty much the whole game, but they did generate some good chances. His 5 - on - 5 play might not have caught my eye this game, but his penalty killing and play on the power-play definitely did. With Alex leading his line and Saku and Higgs leading theirs we should have a very good second half. People have spoken about how our youngsters are the reason for our success this year, but I would suggest, however, that our veterans are playing an even bigger role.

Kovalev's Assessment - Good



Overall Comments

The game started with a nice ceremony to mark the 'rivalry' between us and Chicago. This was the third of 5 such ceremonies we will have this year and next with the original 6 teams. I never thought there was too much heat between these two teams and looking back at the stats I think it is safe to safe that there was never really much of a contest. It is nice, however, for the Habs organization to have events like these, because if we weren't to do anything of the sort I am sure no one else would.

The actual game started well for the current team too. We looked to be in control right from the start, but a bad penalty let Chicago temporarily take the lead. For all the hype about Chicago being a fast, young and exciting team I was quite disappointed. They didn't seem any different from the Hawks teams of recent years although I must note they do have some key injuries. Trying to avoid their 6th straight loss the Hawks seemed quite content to take it to OT and test their luck there. As we have shown all year we have no problem with this strategy either, especially against a western team. It can be said that when you lose in OT you lose ground on the team that beat you and with this I can't disagree. The upside, which certain readers have a hard time grasping, is that you lose half as much ground than had you lost in regulation and you actually gain 1 point on every other team that lost that night. If there were two teams in the league then I can see how the argument that playing for the extra point is stupid, but as long as you are competing with 14 other teams I say if you're going to lose, do it after 60 minutes. It is a stupid rule, no doubt there, but we would be stupid not to take advantage of it.

Tonight's game marks the start to the 2nd half of the season and we started on a very good note. We are now one of just 4 teams in the East with 50 points, but all of that means is a whole lot of nothing as there is plenty of work to do. Tonight we managed to score more than 3 goals for a 6th straight game for the first time since December 2001. Last year our scoring, or lack of, was what cost us down the stretch. I don't expect 3 or more goals in every game, but as long as we can find ways to score at even-strength I am sure we will avoid any major catastrophes.