There's something about Sergei....

Ok, let me start by saying....WTF????!!!?! What is going on with Sergei Kostitsyn? This saga is developing into a drama the likes of which Bill Shakespeare would be proud of. But seriously, wtf? He comes to camp and acts like a punk so he gets demoted to Hamilton. Then he refuses to report to Hamilton and gets suspended by the Habs. Then he changes his mind, reports to Hamilton and get 4 points in 5 games. Then yesterday, he randomly decides that he no longer wants to be a part of the Bulldogs, and he goes AWOL, again, and is suspended by the team, again. Now, in the latest twist to this soap opera, Bob Gainey had a face-to-face meeting with Sergei, last night, and Sergei has now decided to once again report to the Bulldogs.

Man, you can't make stuff like this up! Its like Oprah being fat, then skinny, then fat, then skinny again. Make up your mind, dammit! Speaking of NOT being able to make this up, the Kostitsyn situation is almost as unbelievable as this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeWqtu-Pt2E(link to a commercial for a bail bonds company in Las Vegas. I saw the commercial when I was down there a few weeks ago)

Now THAT is unbelievable....but I digress.

So Gainey, seemingly, talked some sense into Sergei and has gotten him to go back to Hamilton. I guess the normal question that follows is, what did Gainey say to Sergei to get him to return to Hamilton? From where I sit, there are only two scenarios that make any sense and they are as follows:

Scenario #1: Gainey wants to recall Sergei to Montreal
In this scenario, Gainey would have sat down with Sergei to explain to him that he should report back to Hamilton because the Habs were on the verge of recalling him to Montreal. Sound ridiculous? Maybe. But maybe not, too. If you look at the Habs, there is no question that they are having trouble putting the puck in the net. Beyond the 1st line, there really hasn't been much of an offensive spark to speak of. While Plekanec had played great in all of the games so far, Andrei Kostitsyn looks lost out there and the third spot on that line has been a rotating door of players; MaxPac, D'Agostini, Latendresse, Moen. Sadly, no one has claimed that vacant spot and it is showing on the ice. The second line simply does not have enough meat to make it a legitimate threat night in and night out.

His attitude aside, there is no question that Sergei K is more NHL ready than either MaxPac or D'Agostini. As such, he would be much better suited to that open wing spot on the 2nd line.

If Gainey was planning on bringing Sergei back to Montreal on the 2nd line, I believe that that could be enough for Sergei to get his butt back to Hamilton. Its like, buddy, we were, and still are, planning to call you up to the big club. You're putting up points in Hamilton and getting quality minutes. Keep doing that. Keep pushing to get back to the player you were two seasons ago, and within a week or so, you will be back in Montreal. We just want you get your game back, that's all.

Scenario #2: There is a trade that is imminent
In scenario 2, Gainey has been working on, and is close to finalizing, a trade that would send Sergei out of town to another NHL team. This, to me, is the more likely scenario. I think that given his attitude problems, that Sergei would respond better to a "we are trading you so go back to Hamilton" rather than a "we are going call you back to Montreal, so go back to Hamilton" speech. Plus, Montreal is definitely in need of some kind of shake up.

While it is true that it is still early in the season, what is becomming apparent, is that beyond the 1st line, Montreal doesn't have much scoring prowess. If, as the rumours are saying, Montreal is looking at shipping the Kostitsyn sisters...errrr...I mean brothers, to LA for Frolov then I believe that this is a scenario that would please Sergei.

Now, I don't know that this is what Gainey is planning, but, trying to get into Sergei's head a bit, I figure that a trade is the option that would please him the most. Plus, IF Gainey made that trade, Montreal would immediately be deeper and have a much more balanced attack. Check it out:

MaxPax ?? - Gomez - Gionta
Frolov - Plekanec - Cammalleri
Moen - Lapierre - Latendresse
D'Agostini - Metro - Laraque

I'm not entirely sure of who would go where on each line, but you get the point. In my estimation it is becomming more and more clear that Gainey needs to make a move to inject life into our second line. If he does this, while getting rid of the Sergei K headache at the same time, then we are looking at a win-win situation for all.

Sergei, in a new environment, will surely develop into the player that he should be, just like Ribiero did when he was traded. While it would be sad to see that happen to us, again, he is just not working out in Montreal and this might be our only option.

Whatever does happen, I feel that Gainey's time is up and that his contract will not be renewed after this season. But that is a topic for another post!

K.

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5 Keys to Habs' Season - Part 3 - Mike Cammalleri

Greetings all! Hope eveyone is enjoying my take on what I believe the Habs will need in order for them to have a successful year. For part 3, in this series, I turn my attention to our shiny new sniper, Mike Cammalleri.

Mike Cammalleri
For a few years in a row now, there has been talk of Gainey fishing for three players around the league; Vinny Lecavalier, Patrick Marleau and Mike Cammalleri. I remember reading, a few years back, that Gainey was trying to pry Cammalleri out of L.A., at the deadline. But, as with most of the trade deadlines under Gainey, everything went up in smoke. However, where there is smoke, there is fire and I can only assume that going into the 2009 off season, Cammalleri was firmly in Bob Gainey's sights.

As most people know, Mike Cammalleri had a career year, last year, playing along side Jerome Iginla. Mike put up 82 points, while playing 81 games, to the tune of 39 goals, 43 assists. Nice. Very nice. So nice, that it seems that Cammalleri had four or five teams bidding for his services when free agency started up. But Mike ended up choosing Montreal - even over his native Toronto - as a new starting point for his career.

While there is no question that Cammalleri represents an excellent addition up front, there are constant whispers of doubt largely focusing on him having Iginla as a line-mate. But is the criticism valid? Can he reproduce the outstanding results of his 2008-2009 season in calgary? Was Iginla the only reason he was a standout, last season?

Let's take a look at the facts...

Mike Cammalleri's NHL career started, in L.A., during the 2002-2003 season - in which he played 28 games and put up 8 points. His first breakout season came in 2005-2006 where he played 80 games and put up 55 points - on a mediocre L.A. team - with 26 goals and 29 assists. The interesting part of his points total, was that he scored 15 goals and 19 assists, on the powerplay, accounting for 61.8% of his total points. Clearly, this kid was a bit of a powerplay specialist.

The following year, playing on a TERRIBLE L.A. Kings team, Cammalleri truly established himself by playing 81 games and putting up 80 points (34 goals and 46 assists), with 16 goals and 21 assists on the PP - accounting for 46.25% of his points on the pp. While his number of points on the pp increased only marginally, his even strength point total sky-rocketed. Mike Cammalleri had arrived as a legitimate 1st line sniper.

In 2007-2008, Cammalleri had an injury plagued season and only played 67 games (47 points - 19 goals and 28 assists). He was never really able to find his rhythm and as such people started wondering whether he was for real, or not. Last season (2008-2009), playing in Calgary, Cammalleri returned to the 80 point level and showed the skeptics that he was an elite forward. This did not silence his critics, of course, as the whispers followed him all the way to Montreal.

Call me crazy, but I don't think his success in Calgary was solely because of Iginla, and I also do not think it was an abberation.

Now, armed with a brand new 5 year deal, Mike Cammalleri is out to show the world that he truly is worthy of his contract. He has heard the doubters talking about Ignila being the only reason for his 80+ point season, and I believe that this will only motivate him further.

Why he should succeed
Mike Cammalleri is a player that has been challenged at every level throughout his career. He has been told he was too small, that he couldn't be an elite player, that was was carried by his line mates, etc, etc. I tend to think that Mike Cammalleri is a good player and one that can elevate the play of his line mates. I feel that he is the real deal and that the added motivation to 'show people' will only help in propelling him over the 70 point hump again.

While I don't know if he will necessarily be a point per game guy, I see him being in the 70 - 85 point range with 35+ goals. Cammalleri is the best sniper on the team, as of now, and will likely line-up next to Gomez. Cammalleri needs someone who can feed him the puck, and Gomez has shown that he can do that so that combination should bear fruit.

In addition, I see Cammalleri being a huge catalyst on the Habs' 1st powerplay unit, this year, and racking up a ton of points. If, however, Cammalleri cannot get back to the 70+, and ideally 80+, point level this year, his huge contract is going to become the latest albatross hanging around the Habs' neck and will bring down any hope of success, for the Habs, this year.

K.

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