Habs' Fronting Defense All About The Numbers

In the 80's and 90's, when being physical in front of your net was the norm, defensemen were expected to be the last player between their own goaltender and an attacking forward. Since the lockout of 2004-2005 and the elimination of cross-checking and interference in front of the net, coaches have needed to resort to different tactics. Thus, fronting defense was born.

As its name suggests, fronting is all about defensive players positioning themselves in front of the attacking player and simply get into shooting and passing lanes, and applying direct puck pressure in order to facilitate mistakes and create turnovers.

Since the butterfly style of goaltending was brought to the forefront by Patrick Roy and goaltending guru Francois Allaire, coaches have tried to find ways to limit scoring chances by limiting the amount of shots that got through to their net. Blocking shots has always been a huge part of the game, but often required a player to lay out flat on the ice, thus taking themselves out of the play if the offensive player faked a shot and stepped around them.

As long as your defensive zone philosophy is to get in the shooting lanes, blocking shots or pressuring the puck carrier without hesitation, then a fronting defense becomes almost impenetrable. The problem, however, is that without a complete commitment to closing down shooting lanes, your goalie is faced with the challenge of having above average rebound control.

If your goaltender has excellent rebound control on shots that hit him in the chest and can redirect shots off his pads into the corners of the rink, fronting is a very effective defensive system since the opponent is left unchecked in front of the net.

Many fans clamor about the number of players that are pushed into Canadiens' goaltender Carey Price, and that is a direct result of rebounds that fall between the last defenseman and the net-front attacking forward. Defending from the wrong side of the puck is never easy, so defensemen are often forced to take penalties on wayward rebounds.

At the end of the day, fronting is all about the numbers. Not only does it decrease the amount of clear shots that get through to the net, but it can assure the defending team can always play with even numbers in the defensive zone.

For example, when the opposition team is on the power play and decides to leave at the net-front position for a potential screen and/or rebound, the defensing team in a fronting defense can concentrate their effort on the other four players in the attacking zone, limit their options, and oftentimes force turnovers and the ability to clear the zone. It limits the amount of in-zone odd man situations the attacking team can create in order to get quality scoring chances.

At even strength, teams that establish possession in the offensive zone instead of attacking off the rush are at a distinct disadvantage since the defending team can engage all five players in the fronting defense, and give themselves a numbers advantage in their own zone.

The most important number in a fronting defense and gauging a team's effectiveness is the calculation of shots on goal minus blocked shots and shots that miss the net. So long as a team can keep the total of the aforementioned number is +/- 5, then you can reset assured that your team's commitment to fronting is where it should be.

Canadiens' head coach Michel Therrien is all about defense first, so using a fronting defense falls into his philosophy of limiting scoring chances. So long as his team remains relatively mobile in the defensive zone, this system will work fine, but the bigger and less mobile a defense corp becomes, the more ineffective fronting becomes.

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Sekac vs Smith-Pelly Trade Analysis

Earlier today, Habs general manager Marc Bergevin acquired forward Devante Smith-Pelly from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange of forward Jiri Sekac. Smith-Pelly, 22 years old, has played 129 NHL games, keeping a scoring record of 14 goals and 26 assists for 40 points as well as 30 penalty minutes. He has also appeared in 12 playoff games, scoring 5 goals. As for Sekac, also 22 years old, he has started 50 NHL games, scoring 7 goals and adding 9 assists for 16 points, while spending 18 minutes in the penalty box. Was the move worth it? What does that imply for the Montreal Canadiens future? Would have it been better to keep Sekac? I personally think it is a great trade for both teams and here's why.

Anaheim is getting a talented forward who has never been able to find his niche here in Montreal. Sure he has only been with the Habs for 50 games: however, he has struggled to align two solid back-to-back performances. I admit he was used to a light schedule, having played in the KHL before; however, he should have been a little more steady. Therrien used him a couple times on a second line, as well as a third line. He gave him some chances. Maybe not enough will you say, and I'll have to agree with this to some extent. However, we must keep in mind Sekac is pretty frail (6', 174-lb) and Montreal has an over-abundance of small players. In Anaheim, he will be able to prove himself on one of the top two lines, replacing either Patrick Maroon, Emerson Etem or Kyle Palmieri, with Matt Beleskey on the shelf right now.

In Smith-Pelly (6', 222-lb), the Canadiens are getting a strong and physical forward who just loves to spend most of his game in front of the opposing goalie, just like Gallagher. In terms of bodychecks, DSP is currently leading Montreal's roster with a total of 147 bodychecks, ten short of Alexei Emelin (who is still injured, which is why I am not counting him). With the playoffs starting in about a month or so, this is a pretty good time to add some muscle, especially if the Habs were to play against Boston, Philadelphia or New York for example. Will the newly acquired player be able to play on the top two lines ? I doubt so. We never know, but I highly doubt he will. However, he will be a great addition to the 3rd or 4th line, especially with Bournival (5'11'', 196-lb) and Thomas (5'09'', 176-lb). It will also give Bergevin an option to trade the enigmatic Lars Eller, since De La Rose has pretty much acquired the 3rd line center spot. We must also not forget DSP already knows some of his new teammates, having played in the World Junior Championship with Bournival, Gallagher and Beaulieu.

It is also worth nothing Bergevin will save just a little north of $500,000 in salary. Is he planning to open up some money for a bigger trade? There is a pretty solid defenseman in Toronto named Roman Polak that would be a great addition to Montreal's defensive squad and word is there could be talks ongoing involving Bournival and Thomas. Even if it's just a rumor, things are definitely getting interesting.

All in all, I think this is a pretty fair trade for both teams. Only time will tell who will have the edge on that move, but we must keep in mind this is currently not a major trade. So what do you guys think? Would you have given Sekac more time to prove what he is worth? Do you think getting Smith-Pelly means Eller is on the move?

Follow me on twitter: @Azgarde54

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Zachary Fucale: Memorial Cup, Gold Medal...Stanley Cup next?

Habs prospect Zachary Fucale was scheduled to start his first game with his new team (Quebec Remparts) last night. After having won the Memorial Cup in 2013 along with the Junior World Championship earlier this year, I thought it would be a good idea to take a look back at Fucale's career and stats to give us an idea of how well he is doing, since many are thinking he is our future in terms of goaltending.

Let's start by looking at his QMJHL regular season stats. Over the past three years (from 2011 to 2014), he managed to keep a record of 113 wins, 32 losses, 12 overtime losses, 8 shootout losses while keeping a 2.59 goal against average and a 0,903 save %. This year, he is going on a 13-9-2 record with a 3.20 GAA and a 0.890%. While he seems to be slumping statistically, we must not forget he was playing for Halifax Mooseheads, who lost their two star players (Nathan MacKinnon and Jonathan Drouin) over the past two seasons. Let's keep in mind he will now be playing for the Quebec Remparts, who will be the host team for the upcoming Memorial Cup. These Remparts have built up a competitive team in order to win the Canadian championship by getting back forward Anthony Duclair from the New York Rangers and trading for defenseman Matt Murphy, so technically, Fucale should start getting more consecutive wins as well as dropping his GAA and raising his save %.

As for his playoffs stats, he went 35-12, keeping a 2.54 GAA and a 0,903%. What this basically means is that whatever the game or the situation he is in, he will be the same goaltender, pressure or not. By keeping pretty much the same stats throughout the entire season (playoffs included), he is proving that he is a reliable goaltender over the long term. 

Not only that, but Fucale went undefeated during the latest Junior World Championship, being Canada's #1 goaltender. During the gold medal game, he had an opportunity to show everyone how he would do under pressure, and he did very good, protecting a one-goal lead up until the very end of the game for a 5-4 win over Russia, especially considering Canada's defense was invisible after their fifth goal.

Last night marked his first start with the Remparts. Fucale got a pretty quiet, albeit solid night, stopping all 11 shots he faced. However, let's just say his entire team played very well, giving pretty much nothing to the Acadie-Bathurst Titan. To give you an idea of how one-sided this game was, at one point during the game, Quebec had more goals than Acadie-Bathurst had shots on Fucale. With 16 more wins, the Rosemere native will be ranked #1 in terms of all-time wins by a goaltender in the QMJHL. Not a small feat

If you were in Marc Bergevin' shoes, would you trade one of Montreal's current goaltenders? Considering Price is being a top 5 NHL goaltender, Tokarski being very promising and Mike Condon doing pretty good with Hamilton, what would you do ?


Follow me on twitter: @Azgarde54

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Price or Halak? Four Years After

It has been more than four years now since the Montreal Canadiens decided to trade goaltender Jaroslav Halak to the St. Louis Blues. As the title says, this article will discuss how our ex-goaltender, Jaroslav Halak, has done over the years, compared to the goalie the Habs decided to keep, Carey Price, and how the main prospect we got in this trade, Lars Eller, is evolving.

I am pretty sure you all know what happened after the 2010 playoffs, but let me remind you quickly. After carrying the team on his shoulders for the duration of the playoffs, Halak got traded for forwards Lars Eller and Ian Schultz. At that time, many people were claiming it was the worst deal ever, that the Habs got robbed and some even claimed that Halak was far superior to Carey Price.

Lately, the Slovakian goalie played some very solid minutes for the Islanders, and a few people are starting to wonder what's going to happen with Eller, who's playing on the 3rd line here in Montreal, and struggling to keep a decent offensive production. Not to talk about Schultz, who still has never played a single game in the NHL.

Let's start with Jaro Halak. Since the trade, he has been the starting goaltender of the St. Louis Blues, the Washington Capitals and now the New York Islanders. He started a total of 171 games in four seasons (I am not counting this season, and let's not forget there was a lockout in 2012-13), which is an average of about 43 games per year. In three of these seasons, he played more than 40 games, which is considered about half the season. Let's keep going with his personal stats. He has kept a goal against average of 2.23 and a saving percentage of 0.916. He also posted a record of 88 wins, 51 losses and 22 overtime losses during that time. Let's add that this year, he currently has a 2.20 GAA, and a 0.923 save %. Stats might not say everything, but we must admit his are pretty solid.

As for Lars Eller, he has played a total of 279 games with the Montreal Canadiens, scoring 43 goals and recording 58 assists for a total of 101 points. So, in return of a number one goaltender, we received a 0.36 point-per-game forward whose best season was 8 goals, 22 assists. Not only to mention Ian Schultz has yet to play his first NHL game and he probably never will.

As for Carey Price now, Montreal's starting goaltender, he's been in net for 235 games (which is an average of about 59 games per season), recording a GAA of 2.42 and a 0.918  save %. He has won 119 games, lost 89 games, and lost another 26 in overtime or shootout.  This year, he has a 2.34 GAA and a 0.922 save %.

Basically, what I'm trying to show with this article is how the two goaltenders have kept similar stats over the course of these four years, and how we literally got robbed by trading Halak for Eller. Yes, he has played for three teams in four years, but wherever he went, he has always been able to show decent things. Now the defining factor could be the amount of games played in a season. Would Jaro Halak be able to be a starting goalie for more than 60 games? We might have an answer this year, since he in undoubtedly New-York's starting goaltender. As for the trade itself, Eller has shown promising things, but he has never been able to reach his full potential. Will he eventually become the power forward we've been promised, or will he stay a 3rd-4th liner? If Eller does not progress and stays where he is right now, and Halak keeps being on top of his game like he is right now, we will easily be able to say that this trade has been one of the worst even in Montreal's history.

Note: I feel the need to mention I put Price's statistics in here only for a comparison. My personal opinion is that at that time, and even today, Price still has a great potential and is truly the number one goaltender the Montreal Canadiens needed. I am mostly just saying that what Gauthier got in return of Halak was next to nothing.

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Moen vs Gonchar Trade Analysis

What a great surprise today! Habs GM Marc Bergevin sure is not fooling around when it comes to building a team, and he has shown us that again today by trading veteran forward Travis Moen to the Dallas Stars in return of veteran defenseman Sergei Gonchar. Not too long ago, I wrote a post where I analyzed Moen's game with the Canadiens where I was saying he needed to go. (for reference, visit: http://www.habsaddict.com/2014/10/why-travis-moen-needs-to-go.html)

For those of you who haven't read my article, I was mostly saying how Moen's intensity dropped down dramatically in the past few years and how he was stealing a spot for a young rookie on a 3rd or 4th line. With Rene Bourque out and Moen traded, now's a great time for Therrien to have rookie Jiri Sekac be part of his main roster as well as trying out players like Drayson Bowman (who just got called back yesterday) for example.

But enough of that, let's analyze Gonchar's play. The veteran defenseman has been out due to an injury since the beginning of the season. He got back in Dallas' line-up on November 4th. In three games this year, he managed to get one assist, a -1 rating, one shot on goal and three hits. Surely it is a pretty slow start, but let's not forget he just started skating about a week or so ago. Let's give him some time.

In his career, Sergei Gonchar managed to notch 219 goals and 579 assists for a total of 798 points in 1,256 games (including 102 powerplay goals and 321 powerplay assists, for a total of 423 powerplay points). At 40 years of age, we aren't expecting him to stay with Montreal for a lot of years. In fact, he will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of this year. The reason why Bergevin traded for him is mostly to have another defenseman to help Subban and Markov on the powerplay. At first, we got told Tom Gilbert could do the job, but Marc Bergevin is known for acting quickly when things are not working out, and it's not a secret to anyone that Montreal's powerplay was really terrible.

Financially speaking, Gonchar will earn $5 million this year, while the Dallas Stars will retain 8% of his salary ($400,000, which brings the cap hit down to $4.6 million. Moen is earning $1.85 million for the next two seasons. Technically, Gonchar will cost $2.75 million more than Moen, but considering how Moen played this year (0 point in 9 games), I highly doubt Gonchar could do worst, especially with his background. It is also worth noting Bergevin tried to acquire him last summer.

We will have to wait and see if Gonchar's ankle injury, which kept him out of the line-up at the beginning of the season, will truly affect him in the long term. But as a personal opinion, I am really impressed with this trade and I honestly believe Montreal's powerplay will get back in business, especially right on time for the game against Boston Bruins this upcoming Thursday.

Do you like this trade?

Do you think Marc Bergevin will trade a defenseman for a forward now?

Follow me: @Azgarde54

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Budaj vs Tangradi Trade Analysis

Today, we learned Habs GM Marc Bergevin finally made a choice about which goaltender is going to be Carey Price's backup for the upcoming season, and it seems Dustin Tokarski has won the second goaltending spot in Montreal. The Canadiens confirmed they have traded goaltender Peter Budaj and prospect Patrick Holland to the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for journeyman Eric Tangradi. Here's my point of view on that situation.

Budaj definitely had a pretty good year last season as a backup goaltender (10-8-3, with a 2.51 goal against average and a 0.909 efficiency) and always kept a professional attitude, whatever happened. The perfect teammate, the Slovakian goalie never seemed affected by the possibility of Tokarski getting his spot as the second goaltender of the Canadiens. The reason behind the trade must be the inability of Budaj to perform under pressure. Sure, as a backup, he could definitely step up his game when asked for it, but on long trips, he always cracked up after playing two or three straight games. He could always deliver one or two good performances, but he failed to show up when he had to start many games in a row.

More than that, he had chances to show what he could do during the playoffs, but he has never been able to prove he deserved to be in the net at that crucial time of the year (7 games started, 0-2 with an awful GAA of 5.13 and a terrible 0.843 save percentage). In fact, in the only game he started last playoffs, he allowed three goals on eight shots, not to mention the year before against Ottawa, he allowed seven goals on 31 shots. With Winnipeg, he will come in the room as a veteran who has some experience, and he will be able to help their young players grow up just like Gionta will do in Buffalo. 

As for Tokarski, many people told me they were expecting Bergevin to send him down to Hamilton for another year, but what you must keep in mind is that if Tokarski had been cut, he would have had to go on waivers for 24 hours, then another team could have claimed him, and then, the Habs would have lost him for nothing and it is pretty certain a team would have claimed the young keeper. He had a pretty decent season with Hamilton last year considering their very young team (20-16-3 with a 2.38 average and 0.919 efficiency) and showed promising things when he was called up to replace Carey Price against the New York Rangers last spring (2-3 with a 2.60 average and a 0.916 save percentage). Not only that, but he has been one of the Canadiens' top players during this last playoffs run. Bergevin always said he wanted to bring as many young players as he could in the big league since he want the Habs to be competitive for a long time, so he did not have any other choice than to promote Tokarski as Price's backup and trade Peter Budaj.

We also learned today that Peter Budaj had asked to be traded after last season since he was not happy about the way the organization treated him. Still, he didn't go publicly as he is a pure professional. 

Instead of losing Budaj for nothing by placing him on the waiver wire, Montreal's general manager decided to trade him for forward Eric Tangradi. As a trade, I think it is a good fit for both teams. Former Winnipeg Jets forward Tangradi in on the last year of a two-year contract worth $1.35M. His cap hit counts for 675,000$, compared to Budaj's salary of $1.4M for the upcoming season, so Habs save $725,000 in salary. Patrick Holland is not included in these maths because he is mostly going to play in AHL. However, if by any chance he would be playing in the NHL, his salary would be a $640,000 cap hit. Financially speaking, Bergevin made a pretty good move there. Also, Budaj really couldn't bring anything else to the Habs, as though Tangradi can bring a physical presence as well as being a 4th liner and bench warmer if needed. Don't expect him to score 30 goals, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Therrien dress him against bigger opponents such as Boston or Philadelphia.

All in all, I think it is a pretty good trade. Only time will tell if Tokarski will be able to live up to his status of #2 goaltender. One thing is certain though. Our future is pretty bright in goal, with Price, Tokarski and the promising Zachary Fucale.

Follow me on Twitter here! 

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Habs Summer Recap + 2014-15 Prediction

Source: USA Today

Greetings Habs Nation,

After an absence of almost two years I've decided to get back into the Hab-it (see what I did there?) of writing on the going-ons of the hockey world, and more specifically, the Montreal Canadiens. And what
better time to get back into the world of hockey than the first week of September when there is not much going on and every subject has been covered by everyone with both the internet and an interest for hockey?

That being said, there are a few options when it comes to choosing a subject. First off I could cover some rumours, secondly I could do a recap of the most talked about topics regarding the Canadiens and lastly, I could give my take on the upcoming season and how I feel the Habs will fare.

Alas.... I will do all three. I'm kind of an all-or-nothing kind of guy. Now with the intro complete I will dive right into the first of my three topics... rumours.

Martin Brodeur to the Habs

Let me start this off with a quick and simple, no thank you. Unless Marc Bergevin has the Delorean parked in his garage and is preparing to reach 88 mph on his way to bringing in the veteran goaltender, this rumour should be put to rest immediately.

I do not doubt that Brodeur could chalk up a few W's for the Habs in the upcoming season; however, I don't feel it's worth the circus that will come with it. There should be no goalie controversy in Montreal. Carey Price is the go-to-guy, and no matter what anybody says, the second he loses two or three (or God forbid four!!) games in a row, how could the media and a large collection of the fan base, not start to rally for the hometown, two time Stanley Cup winning goalie to step up and lead the Bleu, Blanc et Rouge to the promise land?

This organization does not need that sort of attention and distraction. Price and Peter Budaj are a more than capable duo where their roles will not be questioned and they can both focus 100% on the job at hand. Although, to be fair, Budaj may not be as comfortable after Dustin Tokarski's performance in the conference finals last year.

There is also the matter of price (monetary, not Carey).

How much will it cost to have the twenty-year veteran come home for his final season? The Habs currently have $2,651,667 in cap space according to www.capgeek.com. It's no question that Budaj would be moved to make room for Marty McFly (nickname given due to his first name being Martin as well as my Delorean reference from earlier on). Let's say Budaj is traded for a draft pick or prospect in order to not take any salary in return, that adds another $1.4 million. The Habs are now looking at $4,051,667 to play around with. That seems like a comfortable amount of money, but keep in mind the Habs may need some cash in the bank come trade deadline to either add to the roster or replace an injured player. If Brodeur is willing to sign for $1 million the way Brad Richards did in Chicago or Dany Heatley over in Anaheim than it would be a little bit harder to ignore, but still it doesn't seem worth the sideshow that would accompany the future hall of famer back to his hometown.

Phase one complete, phase two: My take on the most talked about topics over the summer

1. The $9 Million Man

P.K. Subban became the highest paid Canadien with an average
of $9 million over eight years.

P.K. Subban is extremely talented offensively, underrated defensively and hasn't yet reached his full potential. The man doesn't get tired, he has been learning the game from Andrei Markov whose vision and decision-making on the ice is better than roughly 90% of the league's rearguards and has one hell of a shot. Why is this contract an issue to anybody?

Yes, it's a ton of money. How many defensemen are there in the league like Subban? Drew Doughty in Los Angeles (the only one I would personally rate higher then #76)... I'm out. Shea Weber is phenomenal, but doesn't have the speed that Subban uses for those end to end rushes. There is Erik Karlsson, but he's on the Senators so who really cares, right?

Bottom line is, Subban's contract is a good one and will only look better in a few years when the cap is even higher and players with less than half the talent that P.K. possesses are making a bazillion dollars.

2. The Captaincy

Once again, an issue I feel has been overblown. Should it be Subban? Plekanec? Markov? Pacioretty?

Here's an even more important question... does it matter? Whether or not there is a "C" on somebody's jersey, the true leaders will make their selves heard in the dressing room and seen on the ice. Regardless, I'll give a quick rundown on my opinion of each of the candidates most often named both by the media and fans.

Subban: Not yet. I could see it happening if Bergevin decides to go a year before handing out the "C", but it seems a little bit early for a player who has yet to sign a contract without making the whole process into a gong show.

Markov: Doesn't want it.

Pacioretty: Really?

Gallagher: See "Pacioretty".

Plekanec: He would be my pick if I was relevant in any way to the organization. He's been with the team longer than anyone who isn't named Markov. He plays hard and deals with the media well, and anybody who can rock a turtleneck in a world where turtlenecks have never been anything less than silly, can lead me into battle any day.

And now for my final act.... My prediction

How Will The Canadiens Fare?

I will keep this short as I am not usually good at predictions. There are too many factors at play when stating how a team will do over an 82-game schedule. However, I already said I would do it and I don't feel like editing my article so here it goes.

Habs will take the Atlantic Divi... Conference?. There. I said it, and it's not because I'm a fan... well it probably is at least a little bit. I'll explain quickly how I came to this conclusion.

Ottawa and Toronto are bad.
Buffalo is worse.
Florida is..... Florida.
Tampa Bay could do it, but will be relying way too heavily on Ben Bishop to have another stellar year like he did in the 2013-14 season.
Detroit has a ton of talent up front, but not the most impressive blue line and I'm still not completely sold on Jimmy Howard.
Boston is stupid. More importantly though, Chara is not the Wookie he once was. He is still strong and possesses a hell of a shot, but he's becoming easier and easier to just skate around. Marchand is becoming more of a distraction than a help to his team due to his insistence on being the league's top jackass. Iginla walked and was replaced by... nobody. Ville Leino has been invited to the Bruins' training camp but admit it, before I mentioned his name you forgot he existed.

With all that in depth research and analysis isn't it clear that the Habs will win the divi... conference?

Bonus non-Hab related prediction: Jaroslav Halak will be traded six times in the upcoming season.

And with that my first piece back is complete, and for the record... part of me does think it would be pretty badass to see Brodeur wearing the "CH" despite everything I just said.

I'll leave you with a few questions:

1. Brodeur - yes or no?
2. Would not having a captain matter and if so, who would you give it to?
3. Where do you see the Habs finishing?
4. Is two Delorean references too many? I say it's not enough, but that's just me.

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Montreal Canadiens Among The Teams Trying To Sign F Radim Vrbata

Now that the July 1st free agent frenzy is over, most of the top unrestricted free agents have already found a new one. Montreal Canadiens' general manager, Marc Bergevin, was fairly active on the market, signing veteran center Manny Malhotra along with right-handed defenseman Tom Gilbert. The team also re-signed fan favorite Mike Weaver, but traded warrior Josh Gorges to the Buffalo Sabres for a draft pick.

Our team of writers here at Habsaddict.com will revisit the above signings and transaction later tonight. Right now, the last piece of the puzzle for the Habs might very well be sniper Radim Vrbata, who is the most coveted free agent forward still unsigned. Depiste RFAs Lars Eller and P.K. Subban looking for new deals, the Canadiens have the cap space to sign Vrbata to a reasonable contract. The organization currently has a little more than $15 million available under the salary cap with only two players to sign.

It is expected that Eller will probably earn a little over than $2 million on his next deal and that Subban will certainly command around $8 million per year for the next several years. That would leave the Canadiens with about $4 million of cap space to sign the right winger Vrbata, unless the team moves a player like Travis Moen, who is owned $1.85 million/year over the next two years.

The 33-year-old forward native of Mlada Boleslav, Czech Republic, would join his friend and national team companion Tomas Plekanec, should he decide to sign with the Canadiens. Last season, Vrbata potted 20 goals and 31 assists for 51 points in 80 games for the offensively-challenged Phoenix Coyotes. The 6'1'', 190-lb forward has six seasons with at least 18 goals during his 11-season NHL career. Drafted by the Colorado Avalanche in the 7th round of the 1999 NHL Entry Draft, Vrbata played his junior hockey with the Hull Olympiques and Shawinigan Cataractes, recording 107 goals and 147 assists for 254 points in only 167 games.

At the moment, several teams remain interested in Vrbata's services, including the New Jersey Devils, the Arizona Coyotes and the Vancouver Canucks. As of now, his agent Rich Evans has not commented yet on the situation surrounding his client.

Stay tuned for more updates.

No Foolin' Fred Poulin
Follow me on Twitter -> @FredPoulin98

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Canadiens Worries in the Playoffs

While most Montreal Canadiens fans are ecstatic for the upcoming playoffs and are getting ready for a nice long run by their beloved Habs, there are some pretty glaring issues that should be addressed. I don't want to rain on anybody's parade here, but I'm trying to be as realistic as possible. Possession is bad, scoring chances are bad, system is consistently in question, and certain players are not being used appropriately.

Is it good that Montreal finished with 100 points? Absolutely. Is it good that Carey Price finished with a career best save percentage? No question about it. So why all the doubt? because there are certain things in the NHL that are unsustainable and Montreal's ability to win games the way they do, might be one of those.

Montreal is a bottom five possession team in the league with a mere Corsi for percentage of 47.2%. The only teams below the Canadiens are Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, and Buffalo. None of whom are playoff teams. Not even close. This is definitely not a good sign, and if it continues down this road, well, take a look at Toronto. A team who went from a comfortable playoff spot to kicked out in a matter of weeks. Montreal's possession numbers are about 5% better, which should be alarming. Can Montreal be a dominant possession team? yes. In fact, they recently had a 60% Corsi for against the Chicago Blackhawks, a western powerhouse and a serious Cup contender. Prior to that, they held an excellent 63.6% against Anaheim, who nearly won the President's Trophy. This should tell you that Montreal's real problem is consistency. They have far too many games where they simply don't try, or give up. That needs to end, and quickly.

A lot of people have been questioning Michel Therrien's system and placing a lot of blame on him in regards to Montreal's poor play, in particular their poor possession numbers. I can't say that it is all the coach. Therrien did not take a successful possession team and run them into the ground (like what Randy Carlyle is becoming notorious for). Montreal's possession numbers have stayed relatively consistent dating back to 2011-12 with Martin/Cunneyworth at the helm. So, Therrien haters can relax a little bit. What Therrien has tried to do is create a dump and chase team, who battles in the corners, and grinds out some not-always-pretty type of goals. This team is not built for that, and it is seriously hindering the players abilities on the ice.

Montreal has some very creative players, who can hold the zone, put pressure on, and create scoring chances when they use that talent. Subban has been on a tight leash all season and if Montreal wants to succeed, Therrien needs to let him loose and reign havoc from the blue line. Benching (arguably) your best defenseman, will not help this team win. Douglas Murray is not a top-six defenseman on this Canadiens team and it is hard to justify giving him so many important minutes against players who will blow his doors off. Nathan Beaulieu and Jarred Tinordi are better options than Francis Boullion, and Douglas Murray and should be utilized to their strengths. All I'm saying is, Michel, sometimes you've got to risk it to get the biscuit.

On Twitter this morning, I saw a good friend of mine post a chart he made on scoring chance percentages for teams in the playoffs. What I saw was less than impressive.

Graph via @toddcordell

Clearly, Montreal is far behind in this category. Scoring chances are extremely important especially for a team who is currently having some serious struggles on the power play, and who has poor possession numbers. Having now gone eight games without a power play goal, Montreal is relying solely on their 5v5 scoring. Even if Montreal's power play starts to heat up again, their scoring chances at even strength still needs improving.

What is even more alarming in the previous graph is that Tampa Bay, Montreal's first round opponent, is sitting at 51%, and have defeated the Habs in three of four match ups this season. This will be one hell of a series however early on, advantage Tampa Bay.

Montreal is capable of winning games, and at times, can be a serious contender coming out of a wide open Eastern Conference. The frustrating part is that the Canadiens consistency will always be in question, no matter how well they are playing. This, above all, is their biggest problem contributing to all of the negative statistics looming over this club right now. If Montreal comes into these playoffs playing their highest level of hockey and proving they are a force to reckon with, I can certainly see them shocking a lot of opposing teams.

Thank you for the read, and feel free to leave a comment!
follow me on twitter @Darrinharmy

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We Got Vanek: Now What?

Therrien will have to find the right lines after the arrival of Thomas Vanek

When Montreal managed to steal Thomas Vanek during Wednesday's trade deadline all Habs fans were ecstatic with the deal. Everyone believed that most of the Montreal Canadiens problems were solved. What the Habs needed was someone with offensive capabilities while playing 5 on 5 as well as a guy who can play on their power play units. Vanek is exactly that.

Thomas Vanek has never scored less than 20 goals in all of his nine seasons (including this season). That's a pretty impressive feat. He is able to be a play maker occasionally, and is certainly not afraid to get in front of the net. If Thomas Vanek is used correctly with Montreal, it would not surprise me to see a solid offensive explosion throughout the lineup. I have an offensive lineup in mind that could help spark more than the line Vanek is on, but that would have a nice trickle-down effect to struggling players.

Max Pacioretty - David Desharnais - Brendan Gallagher
Thomas Vanek - Lars Eller - Alex Galchenyuk
Daniel Briere - Tomas Plekanec - Brian Gionta
Travis Moen - Ryan White - Dale Weise

The top line has been together for a while now, and there is no real sense to break it up. They have been producing extremely well together, and area a big part of Montreals offense. They all have pretty apparent chemistry, and are willing to fight for every inch alongside one another. Therrien would be mad to break them up.

The second line would be considered a secondary offensive threat. All three of these players have shown at one point or another their ability to put up points. A struggling Lars Eller has been buried on a line with players who do not suit his playing style, and those who have not been producing either. Flashback to the beginning of the year, where Montreal had the "EGG" line. This was the most dominant line on the team, no questions about it. It was unfortunately broken up to help a struggling David Desharnais. Where was that help for the now stagnant Lars Eller? This is it my friends. Galchenyuk is a good sized body that will battle along the boards, and has a great shot to mix in with a nice pair of mitts. Vanek has clear upside on this line with his career-proven ability to net pucks. All three will go to the net hard, forecheck hard, and make the opposition pay.

This third line would be the shutdown line. Lines two and three would be interchangeable in TOI depending on who their up against or what the need is at that moment. Think of having the ability to have two lines worthy of being the second, for different circumstances. Kind of nice, eh? As an added bonus, this third line has the ability to show some offensive flare, and Plekanec and Gionta have the speed and chemistry for great breakouts, and a speedy playmaker like Briere would only add to the secret lethal abilities this line carries.

Finally, this fourth line is just full of grinders who do not give up an inch to the opposition. You have two great penalty killers in Ryan White and Travis Moen, and another big body willing to hit everything, and not let a team get chances. All three are proven battlers. Willing to stick up for teammates, and take a bruise (or stitch) or two to help win every night. Do they have any true offensive fire power? no. But they are capable of burying a team in behind their net, get them frustrated, and force mistakes.

Brandon Prust is currently injured, however he could easily slot into that fourth line. Once healthy I would see him slotted in for Weise, and all four of these players would be able to interchange every few games. It's a hard position and having all four of these guys to play that tough, gritty, fourth line role is essential in this last stretch, and playoffs. Parros would obviously still be available, but with teams getting quicker in these final few games, I would not recommend it.

Jarred Tinordi - PK Subban
Andrei Markov - Alexei Emelin
Douglas Murray - Josh Gorges

Our defence has been merely okay for the majority of the season. Subban has played great, however seems to be getting snubbed by Michel Therrien while players like Douglas Murray and Alexei Emelin are eating up the Norris Trophy Winner's ice time. Therrien needs to get his defence lineup straight now more than ever. I liked what I saw when Subban and Tinordi were playing together even strength. Murray NEEDS someone mobile to play alongside him because far too many times he is caught flat footed, and gets his proverbial "doors blown off". Josh Gorges is the most defensively sound Canadien, so I would like to see those two slotted in together, and then have the Russian duo suit up alongside each other. These lines are balanced enough to create some offense at the blue line, while being able to defend their own zone.

With these lines I can certainly see Montreal being a force to reckon with in the eastern conference. Whether or not Therrien decides to change up his lines, is an entirely different story. Over the course of the season we have seen Therrien hold grudges against certain players, even though they are some of, if not the best on the team. If Therrien can get over his little grudges, it will certainly help benefit the team.

The Habs are heading into the home stretch. Marc Bergevin traded for Vanek for a reason, and that is because he truly believes in this Canadiens team. They have the skill in the lineup. What they need is two things. First, they need the opportunity to be the best that they can be. This can only be achieved by maximizing every individuals strengths on the ice, and that involves moving players around. Get this team ready for playoff hockey. Second, they need the desire to win, at all costs. Habs fans have seen too many times this squad come into a game looking lazy, and disengaged. When they come in fired up, and battling for every puck and every chance, they are a dominant team.

Your move, Michel Therrien

Thank you for reading, please leave comments below, or tweet me @darrinharmy on twitter. Thanks for the read.

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Welcome to Montreal, Thomas Vanek

The highly anticipated NHL trade deadline has finally come to pass, and our Montreal Canadiens didn’t go by unnoticed. Aside from acquiring defenceman Mike Weaver from the Florida Panthers, and goaltender Devan Dubnyk from the Nashville Predators, the Habs pulled off one of the biggest steals of the day by acquiring unrestricted free agent forward Thomas Vanek and a conditional 2^nd round draft pick, in return for prospect Sebastian Collberg and a conditional 5^th round draft pick.

The Austrian left-winger could be one of the missing pieces to the puzzle that is the Montreal Canadiens. For one, he has size (hallelujah) at 6ft and 217 pounds who could complement Tomas Plekanec’s play-making skills to perfection. In 60 games, Vanek has posted a total of 53 points, including 21 goals and 32 assists, with a plus/minus differential of -1. Vanek has reached the 30-goal plateau four times in his career, scoring 43 in 2006-2007, his best season in the NHL as he finished the regular season with 84 points. He can be an offensive powerhouse, a player feared by the opposition. However, Vanek has had his critics. He isn’t the sharpest defensively, which is something he will have to improve coming into a team that “allegedly” likes to play defense. Moreover, the Austrian was criticized for his performance at the Olympics, in which his hockey team was criticized for their disappointing on-ice performances and off-ice partying. Despite these issues, this trade is one of the biggest steals of the season.

I’m sure many Habs fans have had nightmares after watching the Austrian skate around our zone as a Sabre or an Islander. I assume that the Montreal Canadiens will be looking to sign the forward at the end of the season. However, when asked about his future in Montreal, Vanek’s response was very lukewarm and vague: “Right now my mind is just racing a little bit... This is pretty fresh to me, but never say never” (http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=708081). He didn’t seem to enthusiastic about it, but then again, hockey players are known for having a lack of expressivity. Another important question to ask is whether or not the Canadiens will be able to afford him, after reportedly refusing a seven-year pact worth $50 million with the New York Islanders. For now, let’s just enjoy the fact that the Habs landed a big power forward. Who knows, this trade might be a hit or miss. On paper, the Habs are a better team with Vanek today than they were 24 hours ago. The 30-year-old forward will make his first appearance in the blue, white, and red jersey against the Phoenix Coyotes on Thursday night.

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Habs' Parros Suffers Concussion, Fighters Understand Role

Response to last nights on ice incident involving Montreal's George Parros. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/globe-on-hockey/players-agree-parros-incident-was-ugly-but-fighting-important-part-of-game/article14653776/

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PK Subban A Serious Norris Trophy Candidate

After missing the first six games of the 2013 season because of a contract dispute, PK Subban finally signed a two-year pact worth $5.75 million with the Montreal Canadiens. The bridge contract has proven to be a genius move by rookie general manager Marc Bergevin when we look at Subban’s production on the ice. Thanks to his improved attitude and near-perfect play, the 23-year-old rearguard has shut up his most severe critics since the beginning of the season.

Subban is a key contributor this season (Jeanine Leech/Icon SMI)

In 29 games for the Canadiens, the puck-moving defenseman is leading all NHL blue liners with 10 goals to go along with 18 assists for 28 points, good for 1st in the NHL, along with Kris Letang and Ryan Suter, who both have 28 points. The Toronto native has also cut down dramatically on his penalty minutes after earning 124 and 118 penalty minutes in the past two campaigns respectively. So far in 2013, Subban has only received 26 penalty minutes with no more than 4 penalty minutes in a single game.

Subban has also improved his shot efficiency drastically compared to last season, a direct result of him no trying to kill the opposing goaltender. Instead of winding up to reach the ceiling of the arena, Subban has been trying to hit the net more with quick slapshots and well as accurate wrist shots.

After scoring only 7 goals in 81 games last season on 205 shots for a putrid shooting percentage of 3.4%, Subban has been much better during the shortened campaign for the much-improved Habs, recording his 10 goals on only 86 shots, for an increased efficiency of 11.6%.

Paired with shot-blocking specialist Josh Gorges, Subban is also playing very well in his own zone compared to the previous two seasons, minimizing the turnovers on the rush or in the defensive zone. As a result, Subban has a +10 differential in 28 contests this season, good for second on the team, only toBrandon Prust.

Playing only 22:45 per game, good for 45th among NHL defenseman, Subban will be fresh for the playoffs, which will certainly help veteran Andrei Markov, who is currently playing 24:42 minutes per game despite dressing for only 20 games over two seasons prior to the NHL lockout.

Markov and Subban are respectively 1st and 2nd in power play time per game among NHL defensemen with 4:58 and 4:30 minutes respectively, a situation that was made necessary following the injury to Swiss-born player Raphael Diaz, out with concussion symptoms.

“I hope he keeps up his antics … that they end up trading him to the Bruins because I’d love to see him on this team because I think he’s a very talented player,” Hall of Fame defenceman Ray Bourque told former Hab Chris Nilan on Nilan’s Off the Cuff radio show on TSN Radio 690 last week.

“I like his game,” added Bourque, a five-time Norris Trophy winner. “I think he’s so talented. He’s got the speed, he’s got the skill, he’s physically strong and he gets under your skin. He moves the puck … he does some great things. And I think as he matures his game is going to tighten up to the point where when you talk about Norris Trophy contenders he may be one some day. He’s got that amount of skill.”

P.K. Subban was named the NHL’s second star for the month of March (Eric Bolte-US PRESSWIRE)

The Subbanator, who was selected in the second round (47th overall) of the 2007 NHL entry draft, has been the steal of that draft along with Dallas Stars forward Jamie Benn, who was picked in the fifth round. Subban is one of those rare players who performs at his best when the spotlight is the brightest, the only player to do so in Montreal since Patrick Roy left for greener pastures in 1995.

With only 25 giveaways, or less than one per game, Subban has learned to minimize the defensive mistakes and has more often than not opted for the safer play instead of trying the long pass or the end-to-end rush that were so common in the previous season. The league leader in that department is Toronto Maple Leafs’ captain Dion Phaneuf, who has 41 giveaways.

The unstoppable Subban was even named NHL’s second star for March, notching 7 goals and 11 assists for 18 points in only 14 games with the Habs. 11 of those points were recorded on the man advantage, this cementing his candidacy for the Norris Trophy awarded to the league’s best rearguard. Subban had 7 multi-point games in March, seven!

Subban also became the first Bleu Blanc Rouge defenseman since Mathieu Schneider in February 1994 to score 7 goals in a month! Heck, even controversial commentator Don Cherry, a frequent Subban critic, compared Pernell Karl to his all-time favourite player Bobby Orr in his last HNIC rant.

If we use advanced statistics to quantify Subban’s play, we can confirm the flashy defenseman is having an all-star calibre season. His on-ice Corsi of 15.29 (On-Ice Shot Differential (goals + saves + missed shots + blocks) is good for sixth among NHL blue liners who have played at least 20 games this season. The oldest Subban is also fifth among defensemen with 0.9 penalty drawn per game, which leads to more power play opportunities for the Canadiens, where he has been excelling in recent games.

PK Subban scores on a wicked slapshot

What is scary about Subban is to think that he will only turn 24 in May and that he has yet to reach his full potential… I would not be surprised to see him score more than 80 points in a single season, especially under the wise tutelage of new head coach Michel Therrien. As for this season, Subban will have to beat Kris Letang (currently injured), Ryan Suter, Niklas Kronwall and perennial candidate Zdeno Chara for the prized hardware given to the most deserving NHL defender.

Do you think Subban will win the Norris Trophy this season?

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Roz's Rant: The Habs Still Lack Some Killer Instinct

T.G.I.F. HabsAddicts!!!

I haven't ranted lately, simply because it's hard to do when the Montreal Canadiens claw their way out of the sewer and back up a long ladder to the top of the Eastern Conference.

They've been playing some good quality hockey, and they've found a lot of team spirit which is translating into solid team work. Throw in a fresh start courtesy of Geoff Molson, Marc Bergevin and Michel Therrien and I've been a happy Habs fan for the most part.

But there are still some things that are obviously amiss. That being said, this is still less of a "rant" and more of a "musing online".

Right off the bat I'd have to say my biggest frustration this season is watching Erik Cole. Last year I finally warmed up to Cole because he was a hard worker who used his size and speed to drive to the net. He's got good hands and when he decides to play he's enormously talented and fun to watch.

It took me a while to warm up to Cole after he signed with the Habs just because I used to hate him killing them when he was with the Carolina Hurricanes. But the things that helped me to appreciate him more have gone baby gone and I just don't understand it.

I know he was upset about the lockout, running his mouth and frankly pissing me off. I'd have overlooked that had he come back to the team with a fresh attitude and some hard work. But neither is apparent this season.

If he's indeed thinking of retiring I truly hope he does it sooner rather than later. He's either disinterested in the play or else he's gotten arthritic. I don't know and I honestly don't care anymore. His lack of offensive contributions aside, he's oftentimes a defensive liability. Sure the text to his teammates was nice, and he did step it up for a game or two after that, and that's about as much good as I can say about Erik Cole this season.

How sad.

This team could really use his size and speed and leadership right now, and instead the line of Max Pacioretty, David Desharnais and Cole - which led the team last year and was expected to contribute most of the offensive production this year - has become its worse. Pacioretty is finally kicking into gear again after and Desharnais is looking more like last year's version, but Cole remains an enigma.

One player the Habs did sorely miss last season and now have back and working hard is Andrei Markov. I adore Markov. He's a funny guy and his coach calls him The General for good reason. Markov can calm down a play and has some of the best "hockey sense" on the team.

But he's also the wrong side of 30 and after two major rehabs he's lost a few steps. His communication with Alexei Emelin is nice, but they're often times put up against top lines when frankly Josh Gorges and PK Subban would be a safer choice. While I'm talking about the defense corps, I have to admit Raphael Diaz surprised me pleasantly this year. I didn't see him coming.

Other things I don't currently get / like / understand about the Montreal Canadiens and the NHL in general:

- constantly icing the puck. If they're going to keep doing it at least bring out a cake onto the ice to justify it.

- the power play. Can we fix this please? Five on five play rocks, but the Habs are missing too many opportunities that are constantly coming back to bite them in the patootie.

- the penalty kill. Note to PKers: you're not allowed to take the night off. No excuses, remember?

- the TV commentators constantly saying that the NHL refs are the best in professional sports. Just because you say it doesn't make it true. Make up calls are obvious to even the casual hockey fan. If my 90 year old non-hockey watching grandmother can see it, it does in fact mean you suck as a ref.

- three games in hand for the Boston Bruins. Whoever draws up the NHL schedule, do they use an app for that or go the old fashioned way and use a dartboard while blindfolded?

Lastly, I still completely resent my many years of waiting for the Canadiens to develop some sort of killer instinct when facing bottom dwelling teams, especially if they have a rookie learning to get his first NHL goal ever. The Habs will always roll over for these guys and the rookie always gets his first goal against them.

It's so tiresome. Really.

Team spirit and unity is all well and good, but why is it so seemingly impossible to develop a bit of the opportunistic bastard? Isn't this team supposed to be going back to a winning mentality? Why does it always go AWOL against the craptastic teams? I realize that the players are very nice guys, but they might want to use PK's "I hate everybody and I want to hit everybody" mantra once the puck drops.

Yes they're still atop the Eastern Conference, but there's only a couple of points separating them from their divisional rivals with whom they've already struggled against this season. The top of the ladder is always a precarious position.

I've never seen a Cup winner that doesn't possess the ability to beat down a vulnerable team when the opportunity arises. The Habs might want to take note.

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Grand Theft Subban

Habs fans rejoice as the organization announced yesterday evening they had re-signed restricted free agent (RFA) P.K. Subban to a two-year deal worth $2 million in year 1 (prorated) and $3.75 million in year 2 for an average annual value (AAV) of $2.875 million. The flashy defenseman finally caved in and accepted a short-term deal after asking for a multi-year contract since he became a RFA last July. Marc Bergevin’s first real test as the team’s new general manager prove that he is ready to rise to the challenge and face the music in a demanding Montreal market.

Subban, who was looking for a contract similar to the five-year contract worth $26.25 million signed by RFA Jamie Benn with the Dallas Stars, settled for a shorter term in order to play this season. To alleviate Subban’s “pain”, Bergevin gave him a nice salary increase in the second year of this bridge contract. This agreement is pretty similar to the two-year pact that Michael Del Zotto signed with the New York Rangers two weeks ago for which MDZ will earn $2.2 million in year 1 and $2.9 million in year 2 for an AAV of $2.55 million compared to Subban’s AAV of $2.875 million.

The Canadiens have a reputation to sign they star players to transition contracts before signing them long term contrary to other teams such as the Flyers and the Oilers who are adept at throwing a pile of money at their star players to retain their services for ages. Max Pacioretty and Carey Price signed two-year deals before hitting the jackpot, both agreeing to six-year pacts worth $27 million and $39 million, respectively.

“I’m happy to be at this point and I’m looking forward to reintegrating with the team and helping them win,” Subban said on a conference call. “It was about getting a deal done that was fair to both sides.”

Now that Subban is under contract at a very affordable price, he needs to regain his teammates’ respect and trust after missing training camp and the first few games of the season. The 23 year-old rearguard is slated to rejoin the Canadiens on Wednesday and is expected to make his season debut when Montreal hosts the Buffalo Sabres at Bell Centre.

After Subban’s signing and Scott Gomez's buy-out, the Canadiens now have $3,314,041 under the salary cap to make a transaction before the trade deadline should Bergevin believes the team needs help in anticipation of the playoffs.

“I really didn’t want to become a distraction and I think that’s why this is the right thing,” Subban added. “The longer this went on, the bigger a distraction it became.”

With Subban under contract, the team now has eight defensemen on a one-way deal, which likely means one of them is on his way out, the most likely candidates being Tomas Kaberle and Yannick Weber, who both have been healthy scratch so far this season. Look for the “Subbanator” to draw into the line-up as soon as he has practised with the team and slide alongside last year’s defensive partner Josh Gorges on the Habs’ first defensive pairing.

Defensive pairings with Subban in the line-up:

Josh Gorges – P.K. Subban

Andrei Markov – Alexei Emelin
Francis Bouillon - Raphael Diaz
Extras: Tomas Kaberle and Yannick Weber

It is now time for PK to perform on the ice and to silence his critics off the ice, and it will be in his best interest to do exactly that in order to land the lucrative contract he is expecting to get from the Habs after the 2013-14 season. Subban will still be two years away from unrestricted free agency after the completion of this two-year contract, so the Canadiens must give him a qualifying offer of $3.75 million to keep his rights in 2014 when he will be 25 years old.

With the Canadiens off to a good 4-1 start this season and following the announcement that both rookies, Alex Galchenyuk and Brendan Gallagher, will remain in Montreal this season, there is optimism in the air among Habs fans regarding the NHL shortened season and most of them fairly believe that their favorite team can improve and blossom under the tutelage of new head coach Michael Therrien. Some even believe the team will make it to the spring dance and have an interesting playoff run.

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Habs Best Devils in OT, The Gallys Are Staying, More...

Hey there, HabsAddicts!!!

Our Montreal Canadiens squeaked out a 4-3 overtime victory last night against the previously undefeated New Jersey Devils at the Bell Centre.

Brendan Gallagher and Brandon Prust both scored their first tallies in a Habs' uniform, while Alex Galchenyuk had two helpers and Andrei Markov scored the overtime winner.

Little could be said about the performance of Carey Price once again, as he outplayed his counterpart , Martin Brodeur. However, with the Canadiens playing four games in six days, some expect Peter Budaj to make his season debut on Tuesday.

Many were concerned that the absence of Max Pacioretty would be a weakness for "Les Glorieux", but Lars Eller did an admirable job in his absence. Much maligned left winger Rene Bourque continue to play solid hockey with another excellent effort, silencing many of the naysayers who want him to bought out at season's end.

On the Devils' side of the ledger, Patrick Elias has a goal and two assists to lead the boys from Newark, while Ilya Kovalchuk had but a single assist on the night.

Next up are the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday night, who are coming off another win against the New York Islanders 5-4 in overtime. Evander "Show Me The Benjamins" Kane, Dustin Byfuglien and Tobias Enstrom lead the Jets in scoring with six points respectively. Expect Ondrej Pavelec to be between the pipes for Winnipeg.

Habs and Hockey News and Notes:

- Jimmy Murphy of ESPN Boston joined host Corey Collard and Jay Ferrar on the Montreal Hockey Talk's post-game show. MHT is also giving away a pair of tickets to the game on Super Bowl Sunday at 2 PM versus the Ottawa Senators, courtesy of HockeyTickets.ca. Simply follow @mtlhockeytalk and send a message with the hashtag #HabsGiveAway to enter. The drawing will take place during the Pre-Game Show on Saturday at 1 PM, hosted by Steven Hindle.

- Today, Canadiens GM Marc Bergavin and head coach Michel Therrien advised both Alex Galchenyuk and Brendan Gallagher that they will be remaining with the Habs for the remainder of the season. Galchenyuk is expected to live with his mother and sister in their apartment in Montreal, while Gallagher has been told he'll be living with Josh Gorges for the foreseeable future.

- Andrei Markov took a therapy day on Monday. With the tight schedule this week, the break will do him some good. Markov leads the Canadiens in goals with four on the season.

Photo: Graham Hughes/Canadian Press

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Habs Declaw Panthers, Kovy Returns, More...

Happy Hump Day HabsAddicts!!!

Our beloved Habs, fresh off a lacklustre performance on Saturday against the Leafs, brought their A game last night, beating the Florida Panthers 4-1. The Canadiens were led by Andrei Markov, who scored two power play goals, his first tallies in over two years.

Rookie centre Alex Galchenyuk, who centered the Habs' third line alongside Brandon Prust and Brendan Gallagher, scored his first career NHL goal. Gallagher tallied his first career point on the play.

Many were questioning the removal of Lars Eller from the lineup, but Galchenyuk's performance, which earned him the first star of the game, brought the capacity crowd to its feet and quickly silenced the naysayers. It was obvious through his performance that the Canadiens' 2012 third-round pick was right at home playing the centre position.

The team's character was also in evidence when Ryan White threw a couple of punches at the Panthers' Thomas Fleischman after he hit Josh Gorges from behind. While the altercation earned White an instigator penalty and ejection, no one criticized that fourth liners for coming to the defence of one of his teammates.

Kevin Dineen, the head coach of the Panthers, started Scott Clemmenson in goal versus the Canadiens. Coming into the game, Clemmenson boast a flawless 6-0 career record versus "Les Glorieux."

The Canadiens are next in action on Thursday night, as they travel to Washington to take on Alex Ovechkin and the still winless Capitals.

Habs and Hockey News and Notes:

- Tune in to the podcast of the post-game show on MontrealHockeyTalk.com, as host Corey Collard, Matt Casavant, Jay Ferrar and our own Kamal Panesar analyze the Canadiens' victory, and it possible implications in the P.K. Subban negociations.

- Dave Stubbs visits with former Hab and current Florida Panthers' winger Alex Kovalev to discuss his return to Montreal. 

- With Vancouver GM Mike Gillis' comments yesterday about a possible deal being close for trading goaltender Roberto Luongo, rumbling out of Toronto suggest that the "additional player" in the deal may be either Joffrey Lupul, who just signed a five-year extension with the Leafs, or Phil Kessel, who has lost favour with head coach Randy Carlyle.

- While we already knew sports merchandise sales were down during the NHL lockout, SportsPosterWarehouse.com posted some interesting stats in regards to how overall poster sales were affected. Hopefully, business is about to pick up.

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Subban Saga Continues, Prust' 1st Taste,More...

Good Morning HabsAddicts!!!

Everyone at HabsAddict.com was saddened by the passing of broadcasting legend Richard Garneau this weekend. A veteran of 23 Olympics and former host of La Soirée du Hockey, Mr. Garneau was considered the Jean Beliveau of broadcasting.

With the Canadiens' loss to the hated Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night, the calls to sign P.K. Subban have intensified. The lack of offensive push by the Habs has fans worried, even if it's only just one game.

Original reports suggested the Canadiens were unwilling to give Subban a long term deal, and the dollar amounts he was asking for. The Habs were willing to give him a 3-year, $10.5 Million ($3.5 Million AAV) contract, while indications were that Subban's agent was looking for a 5-year, $27.5 Million ($5.5 Million AAV).

Now, reports indicate that Canadiens' GM Marc Bergavin is willing to give the Subban camp a 6-year deal, worth $24 Million ($4 Million AAV). Others are saying that Subban is willing to sign for less term, but more money annually.

Coming of a four month work stoppage, and the posturing from both sides associated to it, HabsNation isn't in the mood to hear the back and forth between the Habs and Subban. They just want a deal to get done and move on. There was enough greed to go around during the lockout, we don't need anymore.

Habs and Hockey News and Notes:

- Brendan Prust, one of the newest members of the Canadiens, sat down with the Gazette's Dave Stubbs to discuss his first weekend with the Habs, and the experiences that came with it.

-Rob Elbaz of Montreal Hockey Talk.com takes a look at tonight's tilt between the Habs and Alex Kovalev and the Florida Panthers.

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Scott Gomez Sent Home by the Canadiens

Finally, the hate story between the fans of the Montreal Canadiens and under-productive pivot Scott Gomez has come to an end on Sunday. On the first day of the training camp, newly appointed general manager Marc Bergevin addressed the media to tell them the organization was sending Gomez home for the explicit purpose of buying his contract out in the summer.

The hate story between the fans and Gomez is finally over (Icon SMI)

As a result, Gomez, who turned 33 in December, will receive the Wade Redden treatment: he will be paid to stay home and sit out the shortened season before the team can officially buy him out at season's end. This move was made necessary because Gomez didn't fit in the team's plans this season and if he were to suffer a long-term injury, the Canadiens would not be able to buy his contract out. The downside is that his current cap hit of $7,357,143 will still count against the salary cap this season even if Gomer doesn't play a single game for the Habs.

"I have nothing against Scott Gomez," Bergevin said during the presser. "It was the best thing for the future of the team." Bergevin added that he met Gomez at 7:30 AM this morning to tell him about the team's decision to send him home. Fortunately for the organization, Gomez's actual salary is more affordable than his cap hit at $5,500,000 this season and $4,500,000 in 2013-14.

As per the NHL's new collective bargaining agreement ratified yesterday by the members of the NHLPA, the cap will drop significantly to $64.3 million in 2013-14, but teams will be allowed two buyouts to help NHL teams fit under the cap in the next two seasons.

Gomez had a disappointing campaign in 2011-12, scoring only two goals and adding nine assists in 38 games in an injury-riddled season. During his three-year tenure in Montreal, Gomez recorded 21 goals and 87 assists for 108 points in 196 games to go along with a miserable -23 plus/minus rating.

After a fairly respectable 59-point season in his first full-campaign donning the Habs' jersey, things turned sour quickly. Gomez even went a full calendar year without scoring a single goal for the Bleu Blanc Rouge, drought that he ended on February 9th, 2012 when he scored a power-play goal against the New York Islanders.

The former Calder Trophy winner was acquired by former general manager Bob Gainey on June 30, 2009 with checker Tom Pyatt in exchange for defensive stud Ryan McDonagh, versatile forward Chris Higgins and prospect Pavel Valentenko.

This move opens a position at forward, and with the injuries to Tomas Plekanec and Petteri Nokelainen, look for at least one youngster to make the opening-day roster between Brendan Gallagher, Gabriel Dumont and highly-touted prospect Alex Galchenyuk. My bet is on Galchenyuk sticking with the team until Plekanec is ready to return.

Parody Scott Gomez doesn't understand the move.

Looks like the "Happy Meal" I had with Bergevin went sour fast. I don't understand the situation because I had a very good practice yesterday
— Scott Gomez (@ScottGomaize11) January 13, 2013

Do you agree by the decision made by Marc Bergevin regarding Scott Gomez?

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