The 12 Habs of Christmas

In honor of the holidays, here is a Canadiens version of "The 12  Days of Christmas"

On the first day of Christmas the Habs gave to me a Stanley Cup in June

On the Second day of Christmas the Habs gave to me two Subban Slapshots
And a Stanley Cup in June

On the third day of Christmas the Habs gave to me three Galchenyuk goals
Two Subban Slapshots
And a Stanley Cup in June

On the fourth day of Christmas the Habs gave to me four Markov blocks

Three Galchenyuk goals
Two Subban Slapshots
And a Stanley Cup in June

On the fifth day of Christmas the Habs gave to me five Olympic Golds

Four Markov blocks

Three Galchenyuk goals
Two Subban Slapshots
And a Stanley Cup in June

On the sixth day of Christmas the Habs gave to me six wins in a row

Five Olympic Golds

Four Markov blocks

Three Galchenyuk goals
Two Subban Slapshots
And a Stanley Cup in June

On the seventh day of Christmas the Habs gave to me seven Gallagher hits

Six wins in a row

Five Olympic Golds

Four Markov blocks

Three Galchenyuk goals
Two Subban Slapshots
And a Stanley Cup in June

On the eighth day of Christmas the Habs gave to me eight penalty kills

Seven Gallagher hits

Six wins in a row

Five Olympic Golds

Four Markov blocks

Three Galchenyuk goals
Two Subban Slapshots
And a Stanley Cup in June

On the ninth day of Christmas the Habs gave to me nine broken sticks

Eight penalty kills

Seven Gallagher hits

Six wins in a row

Five Olympic Golds

Four Markov blocks

Three Galchenyuk goals
Two Subban Slapshots
And a Stanley Cup in June

On the tenth day of Christmas the Habs gave to me ten power plays 

Nine broken sticks

Eight penalty kills

Seven Gallagher hits

Six wins in a row

Five Olympic Golds

Four Markov blocks

Three Galchenyuk goals
Two Subban Slapshots
And a Stanley Cup in June

On the eleventh day of Christmas the Habs gave to me eleven Price saves

Ten power plays 

Nine broken sticks

Eight penalty kills

Seven Gallagher hits

Six wins in a row

Five Olympic Golds

Four Markov blocks

Three Galchenyuk goals
Two Subban Slapshots
And a Stanley Cup in June

On the twelfth day of Christmas the Habs gave to me twelve Oles 

Eleven Price saves

Ten power plays 

Nine broken sticks

Eight penalty kills

Seven Gallagher hits

Six wins in a row

Five Olympic Golds

Four Markov blocks

Three Galchenyuk goals
Two Subban Slapshots
And a Stanley Cup in June

Happy Holidays Habs fans and Go Habs Go

A Habs fan blogging from BC

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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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Surprise, Surprise...

Russia loses to Finland in Quarterfinals
Picture from the New York Times

Semi-final match-ups: 

Finland vs. Sweden

Canada vs. USA

Okay. But... where's Russia? Oh, right. They've managed to legitimatise the label "Russian Deception" or "Russian Catastrophe", or whatever defines a Russian bomb at the Sochi Olympics (and not from terrorists). Men's hockey gold was really the only medal that mattered the most to the host nation...and they blew it. Olympics after Olympics, the Russians are known to be a team that doesn't play like a team, and that was evident during the quarterfinals yesterday. The Finns, despite missing key players like Mikko Koivu and Valtteri Filppula, demonstrated character and unity that the Russians could never match. I extend my condolences to all Russians on this disappointing day in Olympic hockey. As a Canadian supporter, a Canada-Russia final would have been EPIC. Until next time... if the NHL allows its players to go to South Korea in 2018. But that's a conversation for another time...

Moving on, I completely underestimated the Latvian hockey team. I was convinced that Canada would face-off with Switzerland. Logically speaking, the Swiss had a better team on paper, but what matters is the team on the ice, and Latvia brought it. That was the case today, as well. They are not the most skilled hockey team, but they played the body and committed to it, especially in the first period. However, the rest of the game could be titled "The Kristers Gudlevskis Show" (it has a certain ring to it, no?), as the Tampa Bay Lightning prospect stopped 55 of 57 shots fired at him, giving Shea Weber and the Canadian hockey team their second goal only on the 54th shot. 

Latvian Netminder Gudlevskis
(AP / Mark Humphrey)

Anyone watching the game could see how tired Gudlevskis was midway through the game, lying down, face to the ice, holding onto the small breaks in between plays. All in all, kudos to Latvia and Gudlevskis on making it all the way to the quarters, and making a game out of a match-up that could have been a complete thrashing from their Canadian opponents.

Speaking of which, who here is kind of (really) worried about the lack of offensive output displayed by our Canadian team? In fact, it's not much of a question. On paper, this should be the team scoring the most goals, but they have produced 13 thus far, 7 of which were from defensemen. Captain Crosby has changed lines as many times as the host of the Oscars, and there seems to be some chemistry  between him, Kunitz, and Bergeron. Heading into the semis against a hot American team, the Canadians need to start producing offensively if they want to beat a team that wants redemption from Vancouver. That being said, I know that it's not about a lack of effort or talent. With 57 shots on goal, many of which were quality scoring chances, team Canada didn't give up and panic. 

As a Montreal Canadiens fan, I don't think Subban will be in the line-up when we face the Americans. But he does offer that offensive flair and spunk that this team desperately needs. He is a risk taker, but that doesn't have to be a bad thing. Carey Price made the saves he needed to make yesterday, stopping 15 of 16 shots. Pundits will probably pick on him for that lone goal, talk about his technique, or how shaky he may have seemed throughout the game. Listen, even if his shoulders should have been held higher, it was still a breakaway that shouldn't have happened. Moreover, the fact that he was able to keep his concentration while his counterpart was being bombarded with pucks, is something that should not be overlooked. The real problem here, as previously discussed, is our lack of offensive production. However, with the effort the boys put into today's game, they are bound to grow from this experience. Hopefully, they will be able to perform up to their potential on paper, Friday at noon.

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Habs Top Capitals, More Subban News, More...

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

The Habs kept rolling along, going into Washington and beating the Capitals 4-1. The Canadiens scored early in the second period and never looked back.

Washington looked totally out of sorts, rarely generating any speed through the neutral zone and creating very few scoring chances. Capitals' captain Alex Ovechkin had only three quality shots on goal. Carey Price was solid once again in the Montreal goal, only allowing a single shot to be him off the stick of Joey Crabb with 2:23 left to play. Price stopped 30 of 31 shots he faced.

Offence from the back-end was once again front and centre, as both Andrei Markov and Josh Gorges beat Washington netminder Michal Neuwirth. Markov now leads the Habs with three goals on the season, while Raphael Diaz , who added two assists on the night, leads the team in points with five.

Habs and Hockey News and Notes;

- Jimmy Murphy had some news about the P.K. Subban contract impass, and he joined Corey Collard, Dave Kellerman and Kamal Panesar on Montreal Hockey Talk to discuss it.

- The Edmonton Oilers found a way to squeak out a 2-1 overtime win against the L.A. Kings, as Nail Yakupov scored with only five seconds left in regulation, and Sam Gagner scored his first of the season in overtime. The highlight of the night was the celebration by Yakupov after scoring the tying goal.



- Jamie Benn finally signed a five-year, $26.25 Million contract ($5.25 Million AAV). According to sources, the Stars had made this initial offer weeks ago, but Benn's agent, Rich Evans, never advised his client that this offer was tabled by Dallas.

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Should I Stay or Should I Go?

by Tyg

Now that the post-season has ended for the 2009-2010 Montreal Canadiens, hockey analysts as well as much of the team's own fan base are busy trying to figure out what moves Gautier will make during the summer to help improve the Habs' chances to actually contend for the Stanley Cup again next year.

In the two days since their long shot run at the Cup finals this year, I've read arguments for trading pretty much every player, but I've yet to fully agree with any of them, and while I don't pretend to be an expert, like everyone else I have an opinion and here it is.

The fact is Gautier and Co. by their own admission are content with the core of this team, and it's hard to blame them really. Gainey took a heavy axe to the team last year, and it caused a lot of criticism and ill will on the part of the fans.

Whether or not this had a hand in his eventual resignation is neither here nor there, but the fact is he brought in the nucleus that had been missing, which is a solid foundation of leadership that up until this past season had clearly been lacking. It was that same leadership that helped define this year's team identity, which is good old-fashioned teamwork, maximum effort, self-confidence and an overwhelming drive to win.

It's worth preserving, because without it the players themselves are never going to aspire to much more than mid-pack mediocrity, and I don't know about you but I've pretty much had enough with that.

It's finally nice to see winning become a priority among the players again.


Goaltending: Keep Halak. Trade Price.
Personally I think both goalies are solid, and am a fan of both, but it's highly unlikely that Gauthier can afford to keep both. It's worth noting that even the great Patrick Roy played tandem for a few years in Montreal, but neither of these two seem to want to do it again next season.

I'm not sure forcing them to do it will help with the rah rah unity team spirit that the team has found. They might both suck it up, but in the long run it's probably going to cause discord.

Right now Halak is riding the popularity wave from the fan base, but the fact is he fought hard for the number won spot and won it under his own merits, then shouldered a lot of the burden for the team's playoff run, so I'll give the nod to him.

Wouldn't be upset though, if Gauthier kept Price instead. It's hard to lose, with two great goalies to choose from.


Blueliners
Lose MAB, Mara, and Hamrlik. Keep Markov, Spacek, Subban, O'Byrne, Gorges, Gill.

The defensive structure of this team is largely what got it past the Capitals and the Pens.

I've read arguments against Gill - largely salary cap and speed related - but the fact is he's part of the leadership group that's driving this team that Gautier wants to preserve, so I doubt the Habs will willingly cut him loose.

Mara is a non-factor for me, and MAB's defensive liabilities are in no way able to be overlooked because he has a power play cannon. That said, Jacques Martin seems to have a real love for the guy, so that worries me. Hamrlik is a huge cap hit, and he has trade issues, but if the Habs can offload him, it'll free up some money to shore up the team's offensive lines, which is where the biggest holes are.

Markov's offensive contribution to the Habs is unmistakable, as I posted previously. We might only be able to afford him for one more year, but in that year he can help shape Subban and hopefully even O'Byrne, who along with Gorges are the future of the Habs blueliners.


Forwards
Lose both Kostitsyn brothers. Resign Pleks, Moore, Lapierre.

Plekanec, for all the criticism about him not producing offensively against the Flyers, was not alone in that. The Habs got shut out 3 times, so that's on all the offensive players, not just him.

He's a solid two way forward, so to just look at his points in the post-season and decide to cut him loose makes zero sense to me. Where are you going to get better for between 4-5 million a year?

The huge problem is the top two lines need big, hard-hitting forwards to support the talented and quick smaller players, something even Josh Gorges alluded to.

The kindest thing I can say about the Kostitsyn brothers is that they're inconsistent. Offloading them can only be an improvement.

Pouliot I'm on the fence about. He's another working project (he wants to gain 15 pounds, etc), but I'm not sure Gautier can afford to get two big wingers for his top 2 lines, and he has the size, speed and skill.

Gomez would be nice to offload, just for the cap space, but even a perpetual bottom dwelling team is unlikely to bite just because of his salary, and his chemistry with Gionta is unmistakable. He's a playmaker, but we need more of it from him next year to justify that oversized paycheck.

Who would you keep? Who would you let walk?

---
Tyg used to frequent the old Forum during her early childhood when her father was a corporate season ticket holder, where she fell in love with Larry Robinson, so her lifelong obsession with the Habs is entirely his fault.

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Who Becomes the Backup If Canadiens Trade Price or Halak?

With all the talk of late, about which goaltender the Canadiens should or shouldn't play on any given night, there is one question that people are not asking: who becomes the backup if either Halak or Price is traded?

Lost in the discussions about which goaltender is better or who has the higher potential, or who has the best trade value, is the very important question of who will play second fiddle?

The person playing backup will depend largely on who gets traded because both Price and Halak are different people and have different needs. As such, there are two distinct scenarios: Halak gets traded and Price needs a veteran backup, or Price gets traded and there are a plethora of options. Before looking at these two scenarios and the challenges they bring, let's take a look at the Habs goaltending depth chart:

1A - Cedrick Desjardins
1B - Curtis Sanford
2 - Jason Missiaen
3 - Robert Mayer

Now, you could argue that Sanford is 1A and Desjardins is 1B, but for the purposes of this analysis I'll say that they are basically interchangeable. I put Desjardins as 1A in virtue of his 29 games played to Sanford's 26. Here is a quick look at their stats with the Bulldogs this year:

Cedrick Desjardins 29GP, 19 W, 6 L, 2 SL, 5 SO, 1.84 GAA, 0.929 SV%
Curtis Sanford 26GP, 12 W, 9 L, 2 SL, 3 SO, 2.17 GAA, 0.916 SV%
(Legend: GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, SL = Shootout Loss, SO = Shutout, GAA = Goals Against Average, SV% = Save Percentage)

As you can see by the numbers, things are pretty close. Keep in mind, however, that Sanford is a UFA at the end of this season. Also keep in mind that Sanford was the best goalie at training camp this year, outplaying both Price and Halak.

Now that we have looked at the numbers, let's take a look at the scenarios.


Scenario 1 - The Canadiens trade Carey Price
As much as it would pain me to see him go, I think that any responsible GM has to at least look at the possibility of trading Price. As I wrote last week, the feeling is that Price, if made available, would attract interest from all twenty-nine GM's, whereas Halak would attract interest from roughly half of them.

So, all things being equal, let's say that Price gets traded. In this scenario, the Habs are anointing Halak as their starter and putting him in a role that he seems to have earned. Calm, quiet and understated, Halak has spent the last three years as a backup with the Canadiens. Playing in the shadow of the all-mighty Carey Price, Halak never complained, never said a bad word and never asked for anything more than he was given.

An ancillary benefit of being out of the spotlight is that Halak was able to develop without the burden of weighted expectations. In fact, the only expectation placed on him was that he would step aside for Price to take his rightful place as the anointed #1 in Montreal.

Now that Price has been traded, in this scenario, Halak become number one. I, personally, feel that this is the easiest scenario for the Canadiens to deal with as either Desjardins or Sanford could come up and provide adequate backup services. Seeing how Sanford is a UFA at the end of the season, it might make sense to bring up Desjardins and let him do the job.

Unlike Price, Halak does not seem to require the guidance of a veteran backup, and as such, Desjardins is the natural, easy and inexpensive choice.


Scenario 2 - The Canadiens trade Jaroslav Halak
In this scenario, the Habs ship Halak out of town, again giving Price the soft seat and again giving him something that he hasn't earned: the starting job. I don't know why, but Gainey seems to protect Price and has a tough time making him earn his place. I am not a fan of this strategy because all it does is inflate a person's ego and let them know that no matter what, they are still number one. This strategy, in my opinion, has hurt Price's development.

Regardless, in this scenario the Habs have traded Halak and Price gets the uncontested number one spot. Having Price as the uncontested starter is a bit more complicated and only because Price, himself, is more complicated than Halak.

While there is little doubt of the pure, raw talent that Price possesses, it has become abundantly clear that he is a little soft mentally. Moreover, he tends towards the slightly immature end of the scale and doesn't have the best work/practice habits. I think that because of his character, Price is the type of prodigious goaltender who needs guidance, structure and someone to look up to.

During his first season in Montreal, Price was playing alongside Cristobal Huet. While Huet didn't have a lot of NHL experience himself, he was older than Price and was the perfect mentor. It is since the Habs traded Huet that Price has gone off the rails.

Since Huet's trade, Price has had no one to guide him or show him the ropes and as a result has seemed to be drifting, on the ice, and running amok, off of it. The fact that Habs General Manager, Bob Gainey, has never made a move to address this obvious need points to a massive organizational failure.

If Gainey wanted Price to be number one, which clearly he did, he should have done everything in his power to properly insulate the youngster. Getting a veteran backup for him would be just the first of many steps he could have taken.

But I digress.

Now that we have determined that Price needs a veteran backup, the question is whether Sanford is that man or not. At 30 years of age, with 5 NHL seasons as a backup and 108 NHL games played, Sanford seems like the right man for the job. While he is a UFA at season's end, I believe that he could play the backup role well while acting as a mentor or guide to Price.

Sanford - who's salary is currently $600K per year - could easily be sign to a three year extension for between $600K and $800K per season making him a cap friendly player. Seeing as he is a bit of a journeyman, I believe that Sanford would take fewer dollars for more term and the stability that that offers.

The other option would be to forsake Sanford and to acquire a veteran goaltender in the Halak trade. While there are options out there like Marty Turco or Ty Conkiln, neither provide the same mix of experience and cap friendliness that Sanford does. In my books, he is the best man for the job.


Ultimately, it is up to Gainey and the rest of the Habs brain-trust as to which goalie is traded and when. My belief, however, is that while they are still in the hunt for a playoff spot, the Habs simply cannot afford to trade either player. If, however, the Habs fall completely out of the race, I wouldn't be surprised to see either of them moved.

Whether now or during the off season, one of the two goaltenders has to be moved before next year. Halak has already made a 'play me or trade me' demand, and Gainey has already shown a fondness for Price. The Habs have two young goalies who both feel that they have what it takes to be a number one. This is a volatile situation and one which can only last so long before it explodes.

Whether Gainey will be the man to eventually pull the trigger on a trade remains to be seen. With a new owner in town, you have to believe that missing the playoffs will almost certainly spell the end of the Gainey's time in Montreal.

Only time will tell.

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Daily Habs Links - Cammy MRI, Halak, Price lacking heart?

Cammalleri Update:
TSN - Cammy Out 6-8 weeks
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=308583

RDS - Still in waiting mode (French)
http://www.rds.ca/canadien/chroniques/291888.html

Habs Inside/Out - Cammy knee injury confirmed
http://www.habsinsideout.com/main/28537


Habs News:
Habs Inside/Out - Hoping for word on Cammalleri today
http://www.habsinsideout.com/main/28537

RDS - Day off while fearing the worst (French)
http://www.rds.ca/canadien/chroniques/291837.html

RDS - D'Agostini recalled from Hamilton
http://www.rds.ca/canadien/chroniques/291854.html

The Montreal Gazette - Halak has heart, Price doesn't
http://www.montrealgazette.com/sports/hockey/montreal-canadiens/Habs+Halak+heart+Price+doesn/2502574/story.html

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Daily Habs Links - Stars, Subban #3, Price gets the call, Pouliot thriving and much more

We're baaaaaack! Fresh off a nice warm week in Mexico, Habs To The Top is back in action and ready to roll for the second half of the season. Hope you all had a great holiday season and a fab new years. Ok, on with it then...

Gameday - Stars @ Habs:
Habs Inside/Out Preview:
http://www.habsinsideout.com/main/27574

24 Cups looks at the Stars (from Habs Inside/Out):
http://www.habsinsideout.com/main/27572

Price gets the call - Habs Inside/Out:
http://www.habsinsideout.com/main/27575

RDS:
http://www.rds.ca/canadien/chroniques/289963.html

TSN - Gameday:
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/scores/gameday/?hubname=nhl-canadiens

ESPN.com:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/preview?gameId=300114010

Other Habs News:
The Hockey News rates PK Subban as the 3rd best prospect in the AHL:
http://www.thehockeynews.com/articles/30733-THNcom-Top-10-AHL-rookie-prospects.html

TSN - Pouliot thriving in a fresh start with Habs:
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=305960


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Post Game Quick Hits: Habs 6 - Rangers 0

Game Summary:
What a difference a week makes. Two weekends with back-to-back games with two completely different outcomes. While after last weekend, many of the Habs faithful were ready to throw in the towel, this weekend many are hoping that the Habs have turned a corner. I have to caution that until the Habs get on a roll and start putting some separation between themselves and the 8th and 9th place teams, they will remain a bubble team. Keep in mind that this two game winning streak - and two of the best games that Habs have played this season - are on the heels of two of the worst games they have played this season.

In drubbing the Rangers 6-0 in front of their home crowd, the Habs got revenge and more. With Halak in nets last weekend, the Habs fell 6-2 to the Rangers but returned the favour by spanking their New York rivals to the tune of 6 unanswered goals. In case anyone is counting, that is 9 unanswered goals (3 against the Devils and 6 against the Rangers) for the suddenly offensively magical Habs. While Halak wasn't tested all that much last night, his 1st period heroics kept the Rangers at bay long enough for the Habs to get the 1st goal and run with it. Bad penalties, weak turnovers and poor defensive zone coverage allowed the Habs to run amuck and bury the memory of last weekend’s embarrassing efforts.

Game Notes:
1 - Halak is hitting his stride. Over the course of the first 50 games of this 2010 NHL season, Halak has calmly and quietly asserted himself in nets. In that process he has found and held onto the consistency that his counterpart, Price, has yet to find. While Price seems frustrated and inconsistent, Halak has seemed unflappable. Since asking Gainey to trade him, a few weeks ago, Halak has gone on a tear. Over his last 13 games, Halak has 9 wins including 3 shutouts, has a 2.07 GAA - including the 6-2 loss to Rangers - and a .944 save percentage. Scintillating numbers for any goaltender. While Halak wasn't really tested all that much last night, he definitely made some key saves in the first period to keep his team in the game. After that, the offense took over and that was all she wrote!

2 - Cammalleri is a true sniper. Just when you he starts trailing a little in the stats department, he rips off a 4 point performance, like last night. In scoring two goals and two assists, Cammy was the offensive catalyst for the team last night. In case you were wondering, that gives Cammy 46 points in 53 games - 5 behind Plekanec - with 26 goals, 20 assists and a +10 rating. His 26 goals put him 8th overall for most goals scored and on pace to score 40 on the season. Wow! Not since Stephane Richer have the Habs had such a prolific scorer on their team.

3 - Speaking of prolific scorers, Benoit Pouliot continues to blow the roof off. His goal last night was his 12th of the season (10th in a Habs uniform) and mean that he now has 10 goals, 1 assist, 11 points and a +3 rating in 15 games since joining Montreal. A fabulous ancillary benefit of all of this is that Pouliot is clearly the missing pieces from the Habs' second line. Now if they can just figure out an acceptable replacement for Ak46 on the top line, the Habs might actually be able to do some damage.

4 - The return of Sergei. SK74 made his long awaited return to the Habs lineup, last night, on a line with Maxim Lapierre and MaxPac and they did not look out of place together. That line had a great combination of speed, skill and size and caused havoc for the Rangers defenders every time they were on the ice. Their hard work paid off last night with Maxim Lapierre's 1st goal in his last 29 games. Wow. That was a long time coming!

5 - Speaking of Lapierre, last night was easily his best game of the season. From the start of the game where he was tussling with Sean Avery, to his 2nd period goal, Lapierre was the Energizer Bunny last night. Flashes of 2009. Hopefully Lapierre will keep it up, because when he plays the way he can he becomes an extremely important asset in the Habs lineup.

6 - A few interesting non-game related notes to keep an eye on. Jacques Demers said, on RDS during an intermission, that he spoke to Habs assistant coach Kirk Muller about the Cammalleri/Lapierre incident. He asked Kirk if Cammy was a difficult teammate. Muller, apparently, said that it was quite the opposite and that when he sees a player dogging it or not playing up to their potential he has no problem getting in their face about it. This seems to have been what the fight at practice, the other day, was all about. Well, it seems like it worked because Lapierre looked like a man reborn.

The other bit of slightly disturbing news was during l'Anitchambre, also on RDS, where Bob Hartley was talking about Carey Price. He said that during the pregame warm-up, Price was one of the first players off of the ice. He explained that this is a no-no and an unwritten rule that if you are the backup goalie for the night, you are one of the last players to leave the ice. The starter gets to choose who shoots on him, in the warm-up, and then it is the backup’s job to stay in the net and take all the rest of the shots. The team on l'Anitchambre all seemed to be in agreement that this does not show a good attitude on Price's behalf. Moreover, it shows a lack of guidance from the coaching staff as someone should let him know that that is not the way things work.

Now, this could be nothing more than an isolated incident but I somehow doubt it. Either way, it is a data point to keep an eye on going forward.

UPDATE:
Max Pacorietty has been sent to Hamilton. It would seem that the combination of MaxPac spinning his wheels and Mathieu Darche finding his groove has spelled the end of the line (in Montreal) for MaxPac. In reality, this is a great move as far as the development of MaxPac is concerned. There is no question that he took a step back this year and a few months, or even the rest of the year, in Hamilton will make him into the surging power-forward he is destined to be. Can't hurt to play under Guy Boucher either!

Here's the Habs Inside/Out story:
http://www.habsinsideout.com/main/28188

Standings:
With their wins over the Devils and Rangers, the Habs collected 4 well needed points against division rivals. The Habs now have 55 points in 53 games, good for sole possession of the 8th overall spot in the East. The Bruins and Islanders sit one point behind the Habs with 54 each and holding 3 and 1 game in hand, respectively. The Habs are also tied, in points, with the Rangers (55), and Flyers (55) who each have 1 and 3 games in hand, respectively.

Next Game:
The Habs now have two days off before heading to Florida to take on the Panthers and the Lightning in back-to-back games.

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Post Game Quick Hits: Habs 3 - Blues 4 (OT)

Game Summary:
I can't do it....no wait...maybe I can...I think I can, I think I can, I think I can, ummmm, ya....errr....nope, I can't. That is probably the best way to describe the Habs 3-4 overtime loss to the Blues last night. There were bad, they were good, they were up, they were down, they were losing, they came back but ultimately lost it all on a weak goal in OT. What an emotional roller coaster it was for Habs fans as they went from 1st period cheers as Price tried to fight Janssen, to 2nd period boos as the Habs failed to mount any competition for the Blues, to 3rd period elation as the Habs tied the game with 32 seconds left in the game. Ultimately, however, it was the Habs bad start and lack of effort that again did them in. The Habs are the 30th team in the league for 5 on 5 scoring so if their goaltending is not outstanding - which it wasn't last night - and if they don't score a bunch of PP goals - which they didn't last night - they tend to lose games. Exhibit A: 3 - 4 OTL to the Blues.

Game Notes:
1 - Carey Price has not yet established himself. He started the game off very shaky, got run by Janssen, tried to fight him, settled down and started making some great saves in the 2nd to keep that Habs in the game, but ultimately let in a suspect goal in overtime for the loss. For some reason, game after game, the team in front of Price continuously throws up stinkers. While Price was far from stellar last night, he can definitely not be blamed for the loss. I am at a loss to explain it, but the team tends to put up a much better effort with Halak in nets. When Price is in tending goal, they seem to hang him out to dry. The Habs, for the most part, were outclassed last night. For most of the game, they were running around in their own end and looked disorganized, tired and just plain bad.

Price's shakiness was never more evident than on the play that lead to the Blues second goal of the night. On the play, Price looked non-chalant (I unfortunately cannot find video on this goal) as Kariya skated behind the net and banked the puck off of his back/pad into the net. Price was flopping around, out of position and unable to recover. Flashes of the Roland Melanson era. The horror...the horror.

Also, while the overtime winner by Andy McDonald - top shelf, blocker side - was a bullet of a shot, it is one that Price should have had. For all of his effort, Price is still struggling to find that consistency that Halak seems to have found and you can tell that it is bothering him. But let's not forget that he is only 22 years old and has many years to find his game. The only unfortunate part is that the Habs desperately need points in the standings NOW, as Ottawa and NY Rangers are starting to pull away.

2 - Speaking of Price, the highlight of the night has got to be when the Blues Cam Janssen ran Carey Price, and Price then wanted to fight him. Here see it, and the subsequent Habs pp goal, for yourself:



Nice to see some emotion from Carey but sad to see that no one else fought Janssen. Ok, Hamrlik grabbed and roughed up the guy a bit but what kind of weak message are the Habs sending? Since when is it acceptable for an opposing playing to run your goalie and escape unscathed? Aren't the goalie's teammates supposed to automatically beat anyone to a pulp, who decides to run their goalie? Now, some have suggested that Laraque would have settled the score. Really? This is the Laraque who is telling anyone who will listen that he doesn't like fighting or want to fight. This is the Laraque who spends most of his time studying 'the code' the no other enforcer has been apprised of. This is the Laraque who asks people if they want to fight, and if not simply skates away. No, Laraque would not have made a difference because he doesn't 'attack' people, won't take an instigator penalty and does little more than talk to opposing players. Back in the day, if anyone even glanced Patrick Roy, Larry Robinson would beat them to a pulp. Now, however, the Habs are simply a bunch of pushovers and the word is spreading.

UPDATE: The Habs just bought out George Laraque's contract. He will not play for the rest of the year, but will be paid. His contract will be bought out for next season at 2/3 the cost ($1 Million instead of $1.5 Million) spread over two years. This means the Habs will have a $500K cap hit for the following two years instead of a $1.5 Million cap hit. Nice, and good move!

http://www.habsinsideout.com/main/27984

3 - Pouliot continues to impress. It is rare that both sides of a trade are so joyously happy with the outcome. Usually, one of the two sides is left less than happy. With the Latendresse for Pouliot trade, however, both teams are elated with the results as it becomes more and more clear that both players needed a change of scenery. While Latendresse is ripping it up in Minnesota, Pouliot is also returning the favour in Montreal. After scoring his 7th and 8th goals in a Habs uniform last night, Pouliot now has 8 goals and 9 points in his 12 games with the Habs. Nice. Very nice. Along with Gionta and Cammalleri, he is showing that he playing like a 30 goal scorer. When was the last time the Habs had three 30+ goal scorers? Ya, I don't know either, but I imagine it has been a LOOOOONG time. Keep in mind that Pouliot was a 4th overall selection in the draft and might end up being a steal for the Habs.

4 - Hamrlik and Spacek, what has become of you? Both players were anchors for the Habs and put in yeoman's service while Markov was on the sidelines, but since his return they look every bit the 35 years of age that they are. Watching last night's game was a continuation of a month of mediocre to bad play by both players. I think that at 35, these two guys played too many minutes too early in the season and now look like tired, slow, old guys. This is a big problem, because except for Markov, the Habs defense is pretty damn weak without them. Gorges is all heart but is small. Gill and Mara are both turning out to be busts (except for Gill on the pk)and O'Byrne is playing as a forward - what is Martin thinking? On top of it, the Habs have 4 defensemen in the top 8 WORST defensemen for giveaways. Shocking stat, yes. But the facts are irrefutable:

http://www.nhl.com/ice/playerstats.htm?fetchKey=20102ALLDADAll&sort=giveaways&viewName=rtssPlayerStats

Spacek, Hamrlik, Gill and Gorges are in the top 8 WORST defensemen for giveaways. Kinda explains why the Habs are running around in their own zone so often. So much for a puck possession game.

5 - AK46 is conspicuous by his absence. While the 2nd line of Gomez, Gionta and Pouliot seem to be clicking, the absence of AK46 from the top line is proving to be huge. Plekanec and Cammalleri don't seem to have that same umpf without Andrei and there is no short term help in sight. The only possible replacement will be when SK74 is healthy and ready to go - likely next week. Until then, Martin has little choice but to insert the likes of Mathieu Darche - who was colossally bad last night - or Travis Moen into the vacant role. Sadly, they are poor replacements for Andrei K. Makes you wonder why the Habs didn't grab Peter Sykora off of the waiver wire yesterday to fill that spot. I guess I'll never understand some of Gainey's decisions.

Standings:
With the overtime loss last night, the Canadiens have now lost 3 games in a row, have 51 points in 51 games and sit tied for 11th overall in the East. The Habs are tied with Atlanta (two games in hand) and Philly (three games in hand) while Florida (one game in hand) is 1 point back of the Habs with 50 points.

Next Game:
Things don't get easier for the Habs who now have back-to-back games at New Jersey on Friday and vs. the Rangers in Montreal on Saturday. It is stating the obvious to say that both games are paramount, as the Habs have to play playoff hockey for the rest of the season if they are to make the post-season dance.

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Post Game Quick Hits: Habs 5 - Stars 3

Game Summary:
After four long days off the Habs finally got back into action last night and defeated the Dallas Stars 5 - 3 in regulation. While they won the game by two goals, they made it much harder on themselves than it needed to be. From the start of the game, the Habs looked like a team playing with the rust of four days of rest. Up and down the lineup - except for maybe the Gomez, Gionta, Pouliot line - the Habs were shaky and disorganized in the defensive zone. This was evidenced by the 11 giveaways that the Habs had on the night - two of which resulted in goals by the Stars. But, despite coming out and playing a shaky first 40(ish) minutes, the Habs settled down and closed the game out in the third for a much needed two points in the standings.

It was also nice to see Laraque score his first goal in a Habs uniform - on only his second shot of the season - a goal which he dedicated to the people of Haiti who are in deep crisis.

Game Notes:
1 - Price looked shaky most of the night but made some great saves including a "TSN turning point" save with about 15 minutes left in the third. With the score tied 3-3, Price stoned Neal with his glove from the low slot. Two minutes later the Habs scored - Gionta's second powerplay goal of the night - to go ahead 4-3 and that was all she wrote. While Price was unstable through the first two periods, he too settled down to close out the game in the third period. And for a rare occasion the team in front of him filled the opposing nets. He has been cursed this season with great play but little to no offense in front of him. Nice to see the change and nice to see his team score more than 2 goals in front of him.

2 - Pouliot continues to impress. When he came to Montreal in the Latendresse trade, I don't think anyone really expected very much from Pouliot. While he was a 4th overall pick in 2005 - one spot ahead of Carey Price - he has been floundering in Minnesota and generally seemed like a bust. Like Latendresse, the knock against Pouliot was that he was not willing to go to the net and pay the price on a consistent basis. Fast forward a month or so, and Pouliot has 6 points (5G, 1A) and is a +1 over 10 games since joining the Habs. Like Latendresse, Pouliot seems like a player that was in a need of a change of scenery and, so far, he is thriving in Montreal. Not only that, but he filled the second line left wing void that he been there since the beginning of the season. It is unfortunate that AK46 is out for 6 weeks, because for a moment there the Habs had TWO good scoring lines.

Pouliot, to his credit, is using his size and skill to get shots away, to grind it out in the corners and to crash the net. If you don't know where to find Pouliot, look to the opposing net...he is always headed towards it or hovering around it. This is skill that has been sorely lacking on the Habs for years. It seems like the change of scenery is working for Pouliot and as such, he might end up being a steal for the Habs. Remember that he was drafted 4th overall and has the potential to be an elite winger. Time will tell.

3 - The 2nd line is firing on all cylinders. With the return of Gionta and the addition of Pouliot, Scott Gomez has got two wingers the perfectly compliment his style and it is showing for all three on the scoreboard. That line finished with 5 points on the evening (Gionta 2 PP goals - in the 500th game of his career - Pouliot had 1G, 1A, and Gomez finished with 1A). Its nice to have secondary scoring on this team, for a change. Now all they need is to find a suitable replacement for AK46 on the top line. Damn the injuries!

4 - Speaking of Gionta's powerplay goals, the Habs finally scored with the advantage at home last night. While the Habs have the #1 pp in the league - clicking at 24.6% - their home PP percentage has been much less effective at 18.6% (including last night 2 goals).

5 - George Laraque, understandably, played his most inspired hockey game of the season and scored his first goal in a Habs uniform. And man was he happy! In case you don't know, George Laraque is Haitian and in case you have been living under a rock you know that Haiti is in the grips of destruction after a massive earthquake decimated the country. That being said, you could see how happy Big Georgie was to score as he mouthed "Finally! F-ck!" on TV. After the game, he told the media scrum that he dedicates his goal to the people of Haiti. Right on man, they need all the positive vibes they can get! Here's the goal in case you missed it:


This goal seemed to give the Habs the emotional lift they needed to get over the hump and win the game.

Standings:
The Habs looked sloppy in the defensive zone last night leading to turnovers, too many rebounds and allowing the Stars to stay in the game when they could have put it out of reach in the 2nd period. While Montreal struggled to get the rust off after 4 days rest, they ultimately pulled it out in the third and earn a well needed two points in the standings to leave them tied for 8th overall in the East with 50 points.

Next Game:
The Habs have the day off before taking on the Sens in Montreal on Saturday night. With the Sens tied with Montreal for points (50), wins (23), losses (21) overtime losses (4) and games played (48), this is another four-point, must-win game for the Habs. Saturday's game is the first of two back to back games, the other against the Rangers on Sunday.

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Post Game Quick Hits: Habs 1 - Devils 2

Who knew, when Brodeur was selected 20th overall by the New Jersey Devils in the 1990 NHL draft, that he would go on to have such a prolific career. Clearly, he was a good player to have been selected so high in the draft but even at that I don't think anyone would have been able to predict the brilliance that this man has displayed year after year. And in continuing to pad his resume, Brodeur's start last night tied him - at 1029 games played - with Patrick Roy for the most games played by an NHL goalie in their career. Congratulations, Marty! You can add that to your record 578 career wins and 103 career shutouts. With a shutout last night against the Habs - a team that Brodeur LOVES to play against - he would have broken Terry Sawchuk's all time shutout record. But alas, it was not meant to be. While the Devils did win the game - 2-1 in regulation - Travis Moen broke the goose egg early on to ensure there would be no shutout.

The Moen goal, unfortunately, was the highlight of the game for Montreal. Apart for the Brodeur angle of historical significance, this was likely one of the most boring games I have watched in a long time. But I guess that's what happens when you have Jacques Martin coaching against Jacques Lemaire. The two Jacques' both run defence first systems and as a result we witnessed a lot of neutral zone play, much like a soccer game. There was a lot of trapping and dumping the puck into the opposing zone only to have the goalie (both Brodeur and Price) come out to play the puck and pass it right up to their defenders and up the ice to repeat the play on the other end. Bo-ring. Very few scoring chances on either end, very few dangerous shots, no hitting, lots of clogged up neutral zone...blech. At least if had got two points out of this game, it woulda been worth it. Instead, I feel that those are 2.5 hours of my life wasted.

1 - Apart from Moen's charging goal in the 1st, Montreal amassed very few scoring chances, were again outshot by their opponent (27-18), and were decimated in the faceoff circle 23-36. Losing that many faceoffs does not lead to a 'puck posession' game that Martin preaches.

2 - Penalties, penalties...when will they stop with the penalties. Like every game over the last few weeks, Montreal's mantra going into it was 'discipline'. The Habs, before last night's game, were the third most penalized team in the league. Considering that they are not a physical team and don't have many bangers, that is hard to believe. Hard to believe because physical teams often get penalized but if non-physical teams are taking a lot of penalties that means they are either slow, lazy or tired. The Habs, are definitely not a slow team so that leaves the latter two - lazy/tired - as the only logical options. The last three games that the Habs have lost have all been lost, during the third period, by taking stupid penalties and letting the opponent snatch the two point out from under their clutches. Last night, however, the Habs started early, with the penalites. Four 1st period penalites, including a 1 minutes 5 on 3 PP for New Jersey, are not the way to start a game.

3 - Continuing with the theme of bad penalties...for some reason, O'Byrne seems to have made a habit of taking bad hooking/tripping/"I'm behind the play" type penalties. Given that O'Byrne is not the most mobile guy on the team - he is not slow like Gill but he is definitely not excessively mobile - he needs to be positionally sound in order to make up for it. When he started the season and when he first came back from injury, O'Byrne WAS playing very positionally sound hockey. He seemed to always be in the right spot and was able to angle opposing forwards out of harms way. Lately, however, he always seems a step behind and is trying to make up for it with his stick. Sorry buddy, that is pre-lockout hockey you are playing and it doesn't fly.

4 - A lot of, if not most of, the Habs problems right now come down to fatigue. On top of the fact that they have second tier players playing top tier minutes - and largely playing over their heads - they also have the compressed pre-Olympic schedule that is grueling to say the least. This is the second week in a row that the Canadiens are playing 4 games in 7 nights, and it is starting to show. Now, Montreal is not the only team with this kind of schedule, as all teams are playing on a compressed timeline, however the Habs smaller less physical forwards seem to be wearing down by the time the third period comes around and it is costing them games. Yesterday's loss to the Devils was the fourth winnable game in a row that they lost due to their own malaises. That is 8 points in the standings. Those eight points could mean the difference between 5th place and 13th place in the end of year standings.

5 - Price was solid all game until he wasn't. That might not seem like a sensical sentence unless you watched the game last night. From the drop of the puck, Price matched Brodeurs work save for save. He played the puck just as often and effectively as Brodeur, was always square to the shooter and looked poised in his net. That was until he threw is glove up to catch a puck that was destined to go over his head and hit the glass behind him. With the Habs leading 1-0 in the second period and the Devils seemingly unable to get anything going offensively, Ilkka Pikkarainen - ummm....who? - flicked a shot at Price, from just over the Habs blueline. It was a high rising shot that was in the process of sailing over Price's head. However, Price threw his glove hand up, failed to catch the puck and instead deflected it down behind him, it hit the post, then hit is skate as he backed up looking for the puck, and went in the net. Price let in the same kind of goal against the Penguins a week or so ago, and it ended up being the winning goal. Last night's goal tied the game up and let the Devils back into a game that they looked to have checked out of. That set the table for Patrick Elias to pick up the rebound off of the Brian Rolston shot, to take the lead with less than three minutes to play in the game. And that, ladies and gentlemen, was all she wrote!

Overall, last night game was the brand of boring, put your to sleep hockey that they tried to legislate out of the league when they took out the red line. It is the type of hockey that the Devils have been playing for over a decade and while it is not enjoyable to watch it is usually a pretty effective strategy. You can tell how unexciting it is by the lack of people in the stands. Man, how the heck do the Devils pay their bills with a bulding that is constantly half full? But I digress....

Last night, Montreal simply got lulled to sleep by a team that plays their system even better than they do and it again cost them two valuable points. But, no rest for the weary as Montreal flew home last night to take on Gui! and the Minnesota Wild tonight at the Bell Center. I wonder what the over/under is on how many penalties the Habs will take tonight. If the trend continues, I'd say 4.

K.

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Ho-hum another boring Monday in Montreal...or was it?

With the weather starting to slowly feel like winter outside and the sky getting a little gloomy on a sleepy Monday morning, the Montreal Canadiens had a flurry of activity to wake everyone up. Latendresse was traded to the Minnesota wild for Benoit Pouliot, Sergei Kostitsyn was recalled from Hamilton, Carey Price was named the 2nd star of the week by the NHL and Georges Laraques gets a 5-game suspension for his knee-on-knee hit on Detroit's Kronwall.

Wow. Where to start? Well why not start in chronological order. Or at least the chronological order that I heard about the events, in. So here goes....

Carey Price named 2nd star of the week by the NHL:
http://canadiens.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=507153 - offical release

With a 1.89 GAA and a .940 save percentage, Price stormed out to a 2-0-1 week with the Habs. What the release doesn't mention is that Price has let in 2 goals or less in each of his last five starts. Now, I don't think that fans should start bouncing off the walls too soon, as five games is a long way from an entire solid season. That being said, I think a combination of factors might be getting Price back into the groove.

The first step in the right direction was management getting rid of Roland 'quick drop to your knees' Melanson, as the Habs' goaltending coach, and replacing him with Pierre Groulx. Under Groulx, you can see that BOTH goaltenders have less of a tendancy to drop to their knees, something that was prevalent under Melanson. If you watch Price, over his last 5 games, he is playing much more of the hybrid style that is so well suited to his bigger frame, than the butterfly style. He is standing up tall, more often, challenging shooters and giving them very little to look at. As a result, he has been making those keys saves at key times and that, after all, is what separates elite goaltenders from regular ones. They make that key save at the key time. Again, Price is not there yet so let's not get over excited. However, he is taking steps in the right direction.

The other factor, which is even more important in my opinion, is that Martin has refused to give Price the soft seat. Like Martin or hate him there is no question that he has demonstrated an ability to take young, talented players and help them reach their full potential. Just look at Alfredson, Hossa, Redden, Vermette, Havalt, etc. What Martin has done differently from all the previous handlers of Price, is that he has forced him to earn his spot and not just assumed that it is his. I have always maintained that if you make Halak and Price "fight" over the starting postion that Price would beat Halak, hands down, as he has a much higher level or raw talent. Right now, it looks like this scenario is exactly what is starting to play out.

If you remember, there was a stretch of 10 days, at the beginning of the season, where Price did not play. During that stretch, Halak won four games in a row. It was around that time that Price realized or Martin showed him, that he was going to have to earn his starts. By extension, Martin showed every player on the team that he doesn't care what the name is on the back of your jersey. If you play well, work hard and produce, you will be rewarded. Umm, can anyone say Glen Metropolit? By taking this approach, with Price, I think Martin is pushing the buttons that needed to be pressed to get Price to start reaching his potential. Let's hope it continues!

Latendresse traded to Minnesota for Pouliot:
http://canadiens.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=507209 - official release

This one is a bit cut and dried. The headline could easily read: Montreal and Minnesota swap big, underachieving players. Pouliot, drafted 4th overall in 2005 - one spot ahead of Price - has been largely a bust since he broke into the league while Latendresse has shown some flashes but has largley shown that he is not a top 6 winger. This looks like two players who needed a change of scenary in order for them to have any success.

Over the last 5 games, or so, it has been clear that Latendresse's role with Montreal was diminishing by the shift. To Montreal playing Detroit and see how Holmstrom - also a big bodied, slow footed player - was always parked in front of Price and to watch his supposed counterpart, Latendresse skimping around the perimeter was sickening. Holmstrom has no more skill than Latendresse but he just 'gets' it. While, given every chance to succeed, being told EXACTLY where to be on the ice and what his role was, Latendresse just was never able to pull it all together. That is not to say that he won't be able to do it in Minnesota. In fact, it is quite possible that he WILL be able to pull it off in Minne. Sometimes a player has to be traded once in their career before they can really get it going. And that goes the same for Pouliot.

While it is likely that Pouliot was overrated and not worth a 4th overall pick, he still has the size and skill to have been a 1st round selection, just not so high up the board. Now, coming to Montreal, Pouliot gets a fresh start. Whether he will ever be a top notch power forward or not, is beside the point. In Montreal, Pouliot does not come with the expectations of a 4th overall pick - because Montreal did not choose him 4th overall. He now has the chance to show that he can be an effective player, whether that is on the first line or the third line is irrelevant. He, like Price and the other young'ins, should benefit from playing under Martin. Let's see if Martin can turn this piece of coal into a diamond or not.

Sergei Kostitsyn recalled from Hamilton:
http://canadiens.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=507201 - official release

After begin demoted to Hamilton, refusing to report to the team, changing his mind and reporting to the team, going AWOL from the team, having a face-to-face meeting with Gainey and 'choosing' to return to the team then proceeding to put up 13 points (4 goals, 9 assists) and being +2 in 16 games, Sergei Kostitsyn's time in purgatory is finally over. And, if you ask me, this is the right move.

Jacques Martin said, at the beginning of training camp, that his two biggest projects were the Kostitsyn brothers. If you look at what has happened with Sergei and Andrei, since the start of the season, you have to believe that his strategy was "divide and conquer". I think that Martin did his assessment and determined that he had to separate and 'break' both brothers. Sergei needed to be taken down a peg, to eat some humble pie and learn that he does not hold any cards.

I believe that point was further driven home with Gainey's face-to-face meeting where he likely told him that A) the Habs hold his rights B) if he flees to play in the KHL it would mean he is no longer eligible to play in the Olympics C) his options were to play in Hamilton, show he is a good player in order for Montreal to trade him, play in Hamilton, show he is a good player in order for Montreal to trade him, OR demand a trade at which point Gainey would simply let him sit on the shelf and play NO hockey for an entire year. It was after that meeting that Sergei finally stopped crying and just started playing hockey. And, by all accounts, he looks like he has got his mojo back and just in time too, because Montreal needs his combination of skill and grit, in the lineup. Let's see if he has learned to check his ego at the door or not, because if he hasn't his time with Montreal will truly be done.

And last but not least - or actually it is least - Laraque is suspended for 5 games (and there was much rejoicing):
http://canadiens.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=507235 - official release

Who cares? Not me. Laraque is a relic in this league and is, in my opinion, struggling to show that he still belongs. His knee-on-knee against Kronwall is proof that he is too damn slow for the modern NHL. While I am sure that he didn't mean to hurt Kronwall, there is no question that Laraque was just too slow to keep up with the Detroit player, the result of which was his desperate move to keep his leg out and kneecap Kronwall. Laraque has been out of action for weeks and since he has been back he has lost a fight to Washington's John Erskine (the fight on HockeyFights.com http://www.hockeyfights.com/fights/88933) and taken six minutes of penalties on 1 shift, allowing Detroit to take a 2 - 0 lead. Wow. This guy is SO unnecessary for Montreal. While he was out, Montreal showed that they have team toughness and refused to be pushed around.

Sorry George, but if I were Gainey I would buy your contract out immediately. Either that or send you down to the minors to go beat up on some 18 year-olds. Gone for 5 games? Too bad it is so few!

K.

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Post Game Quick Hits: Habs 4 - Yotes 2

Montreal was finally able to spin out of their offensive lethargy last night by beating the Phoenix Coyotes 4 - 2 IN REGULATION! Yes, in regulation. For the record and in case anyone is counting, that is only their second regulation win this season. A frightening stat for even those with the most stable hearts. Ok, on with the observations:

1 - Tomas Plekanec has not so quietly become the leading scorer and most consistent player on this team. Even the other night, against Calgary, when Plekanec was clearly being targeted for punsihment by the Flames, Pleky was no shrinking violet. He became aggressive and combative, whereas last year he would have disappeared. Note to Bob Gainey: You can't resign this guy soon enough! DON'T make the same mistake you made last year!
2 - Carey Price is one unlucky guy. You've got to feel bad for the kid because despite his playing his heart out he just has no luck on his side. Both goals last night were unfortunate and unlucky. On this first goal, he was speared in the throat by his own player, Paul Mara and was on lying on his back when the puck went in the net! On the second goal, a harmless shot that was about three feet wide of the net hit Paul Bissonette's skate and deflected behind Price. Poor guy. You'd imagine that luck has to turn around for him at some point!
3 - Montreal's already poreous D took another hit last night and if they keep getting over-worked, more of them are sure to go down with injury too. Last night it was Spacek's turn to leave the game with an injury. This is what happens when you take a 35 year old third or fourth string defenceman and make him play first or second string minutes. I was wondering to myself, just this past week, how long Hamrlik and Spacek, both 35 year olds, could go playing 25+ mins per game before they go down with an injury. Well, as you saw last night, the answer was NOT very long! Yes, O'Byrne is coming back soon, but losing four regulars from your defence corp would severely weaken even the best team in the league. Things are definitely not getting easier for this team.
4 - Tom Pyatt did not look out of place on the second line. While Pleky keeps producing points no matter who he plays with and Andrei K still looks like he is asleep, Pyatt added a nice burst of energy to that second line. He is definitely not a permanenet solution but I think that at least for now, he could be a great fill-in.
5 - Montreal limited Phoenix to 20 shots on goal and very few scoring chances, as they tightened up their defensive play.
6 - Monteal only managed to throw 20 pucks as the Phoenix net and somehow managed to score goals enough to win.

With Phoenix out of the way, Montreal takes their 1-game winning streak into Nashville for a Saturday night tilt against the Preds. With Spacek potentially out of the line up, things could get even more grim for a team that has struggled to play .500 hockey so far.

K.

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Lack of proper player development is killing the Habs

Having been a Habs fan for my entire life and watched the supposed renaissance of the team, under Gainey, it is apparent that something is amiss. Well, many things are amiss, actually, but the thing that stands out the most to me is our seeming lack of proper player development. I don't know if it is because of the media pressure in this city or the nightlife that makes young players lose their mind, but it is evident that Montreal just isn't able to turn raw, talented players, into stars. With the exception of Saku Koivu - who skirted the line between being a star and a non-star for his entire career in Montreal - and Andrei Markov, who has Montreal drafted, molded and turned into a star over the last 10 years? If you answer that question honestly, the response you come up with has to be 'no one'.

When Gainey started his five-year rebuilding plan six years ago, one of the main things he spoke about was rebuilding through the draft and it was about time! If one were to look at the Canadiens farm system, when Gainey took over, one would see a system that was devoid of any top-tier - and largely second-tier - talent. The cupboards were empty as a decade of bad management and managers traded away picks and prospects in an effort to bandaid a winning team together. When Gainey started drafting players like Higgins and Komisarek and Carey Price, it was evident that by holding onto his first rounders, Gainey was in the process of putting together a decent crop of youngsters.

Sadly, one by one, each of the prospects that Gainey has brought on board has either quickly hit a low hanging ceiling, regressed or been traded away for scraps, only to prosper in another city. Umm, Mike Ribiero anyone? He was traded for Janne Ninnema by the way, just in case you were wondering.

How'd that trade work out for us?

If you look at last year's team - before the season started - there were a ton of young, talented prospects on the team and in the minors. Higgins, Plekanec, Komisarek, Price, McDonough and Max Pac, to name a few. However all of them took a step back last year while young guns on other teams seemed to be excelling.

How did Milan Lucic do last year?

Exactly.

It seems that looking around the league, teams are seemingly draft players who get better and better. But not in Montreal. Lapierre was ascending last year. This year he is invisible. Kostitsyn looked like he was a great 10th overall pick, two seasons ago, and this year his is lost out there. Chris Higgins was hitting his stride two years ago, but fell, mightly last season. Carey Price had his sophomore jinx, Komisarek looked like a defensive liability, D'Agostini couldn't put the puck in the net, Latendresse forgot how to hit people and McDonough was traded for Gomez.

Why? Why are other teams able to draft the same calibre players and have them turn into stars? Johan Franzen anyone? What about Thomas Holstrom. What about us? Where are our stars? Where are our Crosby, Stalls and Nash?

I don't know what the answer is, but everything points to some kind of organizational malaise that is deeply imbeded within the Canadiens system and it is causing us to burn our prospects and/or not being able to help them reach their true potential.

Look, I am not saying that this is a team of underperforming stars, but it would take a blindman not to be able to see that Latendresse has an infinitely higher ceiling than where he is currently playing. Whatever the problem is, the blame has to lie squarely at Gainey's feet. This is his system, his ideology and his process in place. The team is running as he has set it up and the results, whether positive or negative are his to bear. He is the guy steering the ship and it is ultimatley his responsibility to fix, and so far, apart from getting rid of everyone, he has yet to show that he has the ability to do so.

The more the hole in this team becomes apparent, the more the spotlight is flashed in Gainey's direction and if he, or any other GM for that matter doesn't see that 'through the draft' is the only sure-fire way to rebuild, then they are missing a large component of the salary cap era. Gainey excelled as a pre-lockout GM, when you could throw as much money at a roster as possible. With the salary cap, GM's have to constantly be producing good, cheap talent through their draft and their farm system in order to keep a good balance on their team of highly paid veterans and lowly paid rookies. It is the only way to put together a winner in this age and if Gainey doesn't realize that by now, then his days with this team are truly numbered.

K.

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You got slapped! Wake-up call comes early for S. Kostitsyn.

Back in August I wrote a blog about Sergei Kostitsyn entitled 'Sergei Kostitsyn: Superstar or Superbrat?'

Here's the link, FYI:
http://habsaddict.blogspot.com/2009/08/sergei-kotitsyn-superstar-or-superbrat.html

In this article, I talked about how I wasn't sure how or where Sergei fit in the lineup of the 2010, Canadiens. How he seems like he has top-6 skill, but he has minor league attitude, and that this was ultimately going to be what determined his fate. I also wrote that when, this past summer, Sergei was quoted as saying that he believed the only reason he was sent to Hamilton, last year, was because of his off-ice scandal, that he might be in for a rude awakening come training camp.

Well, Sergei, your alarm clock has just gone off...time to wake the f--- up!

As per the Habs press release, dated Sunday September 27th (http://canadiens.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=500052&navid=DLMTLhome), Sergei has been sent down to Hamilton and I can't say that I am surprised. After missing the beginning of camp due to injury, missing the team bus from Ottawa to Quebec City and being singled out as a yelling target, by head coach Jacques Martin, during training camp, this is probably the best thing for him.

When I saw Jacques Martin giving Sergei hell for not following the system, I was happy to see that, finally, we had someone in charge who could provide some discipline for our young team. If you think about it, that was the biggest problem with the 2008-2009 Montreal Canadiens...discipline. Guy Carbonneau was simply too lenient and too much of a nice guy on a team filled with twenty year olds. Guy needed to be harder on them, sometimes, in order for them to truly reach their potential. Unfortunately, Guy's coaching style was one that pretty much let the players do what they wanted. When the team was winning, he looked like a genius. But when they were going through tough times, the lack of disipline showed.

When Carbonneau tried to discipline them, it didn't work out and they ended up resenting the coach. I'll never forget that Western swing game in Vancouver, where Price did NOT get the start, because he had been playing like crap. It was Price's home province and he was upset that he didn't get to play in front of his hometown crowd. Halak got the start that night, and deservedly so. Maybe this would be a lesson that Price could learn from. Maybe he would learn that you have to work to get what you want, in this league. That everything isn't just handed to you. That maybe if you work a little harder on the ice, you'll get everything you want.

This theory was working until Carbo, the eternal softie, decided to let Price play the last ten minutes or so of the game. With that he undid any potential learning that Price might have had. Its just like that Simpson's episode where Bart gets sent to his room with no dinner, and just as he is realizing that his parents mean it for real this time, Homer sneak in and gives him some pizza. It totally undoes everything!

But I digress....

My story about Carbo, above, was to illustrate how there was discipline missing last season which, I believe, was at the heart of all of the off-ice antics. Out of all of the undisciplined players, Sergei was definitely at the top of that list, on and off the ice.

Sadly, my thoughts about Sergei, during the summer, have come true. He seems like he came to camp still thinking he was the king. Still thinking he was untouchable and that his place on the team was guaranteed. Well, unfortunately, Sergei never bothered to read Jacques Martin's bio. While he is known as a defense-first coach, he is also known as a person who does not tolerate BS. He is the boss and it is his way or the highway.

Jacques Martin showed, during his years in Ottawa, that he can take young, talented players, and turn them into stars. This is exactly what was missing, for the past few years, in Montreal. We have a young talented team but up until now, didn't have anyone who could mold them from behind the bench. As such, I have to give Martin the benefit of the doubt with Sergei. Let's hope that this is the wake up call that he needs in order to become a great top-6 forward. Let's hope Sergei doesn't turn this into an opportunity to sulk. Let's hope he doesn't turn around and demand a trade.

Only time will tell how Sergei responds to this demotion, but you've gotta think that Martin knows what he's doing. Let's hope that Sergei agrees with him!

K.

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