I keep hearing Elton John, dont let the sun go down on me. The Bell center is not the house of the rising sun today, it is a sinking cesspool of mediocrity. Even our greatest asset TFS is overvalued based upon this catastrophic illuminating perdition. Managements biggest decision will be his fate.
If we can pick up a number one center and one more CHe in the offseason stand pat. However if you look at the list of UFA, the only decent forward is TJ Oshie. So its a pipe dream. Therefore we should use Victor Hedman's cap busting UFA payday to lever the Druid out of Tampa. The question is would they take PatCHes straight up? Could we make a package with gCHuck for Huberdeau? If we could squeeze in Hanzal as a UFA we might have a CHance.
Our D is fine, we have CHevy and Jewel comming up. I am not ready to throw in the towel on N8. Maybe a full season under CJV2 can get the brain farts out of his system.
In the cold light of reality how does this team truly appear?
Ask yourself this question: If you were a fan of any other NHL team, is there truly any one player on Montreal's roster that you would like to see that team trade for? Price? Weber, maybe? The forwards are a horrendous collection of no shows, wannabees and maybes. The latest 5 year plan is a fail, dumpster diving gets you nowhere. What we witnessed this past season and playoffs is what we will be watching for the next 5 years. It's going to take some really bold, balls out moves to get this trainwreck back to something resembling a contender. I highly doubt Bergevin has it in him to do it.
It may take a complete housecleaning like Shanahan did up the road. It sounds distasteful but that Matthews kid is the real deal. So is McDavid. All we Habs fans have to look forward to is our hubris, which is systematically being beaten out of us.
I fairness to Bergevin he did say all he wanted to do was make the playoffs. Mission accomplished. Three extra gates for Geoff didn't hurt the bottom line either.
I think complete rebuilds are for losers (who may become winners but still).
The team needs moe kidAs and CHés that show some passion. There's a few others. The big question is does DGMB get to make the next big decisions or does Geoff go off the CHarts. I'm not one for speculation and rumours but I wouldn't be averse to #33 as the President/GM with Julien Brisebois as his sidekick. Would a Lombardi be a better CHoice? Possibly but Roy has history and proven CH passion. Bonus would be to see how it would affect TFS™ and on the funny side, a wad like tremblay.
I am for giving the keys to the Kingdom to St Pat. Bergy act is thin, especially when he says there is no window. We are a first line center and at least a 2nd line winger from being contenders. Those guys are just not available except on play stations. Overall Bergy has done a good job of building a solid team, but two key peices have not panned out, N8 and most importantly gCHuck.
moe, you know you and I are usually on the same wavelength but in this case I have to disagree. You say rebuilds are for losers but isn't that what the Habs are these days? 24 years and counting and not a sniff of a Cup. Can't even make the finals just to have a chance. I'm tired of them being pretenders. They will never win with this core. The players are not good enough. It's that simple. New York's were better. Henrik was better than Price, little Zucarello was twice the player Pacioretty was, always going to the net, a better version of Gallagher. Time to blow it up. #67 should be the first one gone, to either NY team or Jersey I don't care.
I do kinda like the idea of #33 becoming GM, he couldn't do any worse.
I'm not saying this team can't succeed with the restrictions put on them by the francophone media, but I will say opening the pool to ALL increases one's chances of hiring the best person available for any specific job opening. That's why I fear there is no sense in making dramatic changes until Quebec City has another stake in this league for fear it would just be more of the same. That said, I would be interested in seeing what kind of stamp 33 would put on this team and whether he would leave CJ behind the bench. Wonder if Molson would like to pay AF, CJ and another new coach? In the end, I believe BBB will persuade Molson to stay in the foxhole with him and stay the course...
Positive thoughts, the leaf are out, but still have Shaggy. We get a higher draft pick, but this years draft has been called off because the talent is so thin.
Lego had a great game, IMHO he would have been our best center if we had not bumped him to keep DDD. Highlighting once more how thin down the middle we are. Maybe would could make a deal with Putin on the Donbass and get 3 good Russians. Shipmeoff, Dandyoff and Defensivof.
Full marks to Stan Bowman from the Hawks for this statement http://dld.bz/fDgjs If you haven't seen/heard it - you should. DGMB wont have the balls to say something like this...ever!
For everyone saying to blow it up and start again - that is a bit radical. The Habs have one of the best goalies in the league - they need him. They have KidA for heart and leadership and they have BBQ and JB at the back - Dish is pretty good too. You need the grinders but the Habs issue remains that you don't need an entire team of grinders. This year the issue (to me anyway) was that they started the season with Therrien in charge... DGMB made two good moves this season - Jordie Benn was a great call and getting rid of Therrien was the other - albeit far too late in the season. CHe was a good call but I don't want to see him with an 8 yr. contract - he didn't even score 20 goals. Maybe 3 years for 15M - let Vegas give him 8 yrs. He won't stick around that long. As for Patches...he did lead the team in goals - but not when it mattered and that (to me anyway) is unforgivable. Leko was a revelation so keep him. but for the love of the Rocket and the Flower, find someone who can score some goals! That's all I got...for now...but check out the Bowman statement if you do nothing else today!
We need a defense coach. We need another NHL defensman. We need a goal scoring forward or two. We need some consistency. We have two third lines and two fourth lines. I don't blame them. It will take more than 20 game to de-Therrien this team. Have a nice summer all.
The two players who truly understood what it meant to be a Montreal Canadien and played to win were ultimately traded away. Mike Cammallari and Pernell Karl Subban. Why Habs management failed to recognize this I'll never understand. The Habs deserve their fate.
It was a matter of not being able to win pick battles in the end. A little more grit and determination from a very good Rangers team, and a slight lack of same in comparison from the Habs. I think PatCHes' inability to score only mattered on that singular breakaway in Game 5 that Lundqvist handled so smoothly. That seemed like the series turning point to me. That was when a smidgen of doubt entered the collective psyche of the team. Then in the OT, either TFS was going to be otherwordly to give them a boost, or... The rest of course is history.
Wonder if BBB will say 'it's on me' or since Price was healthy and tell us how great his moves were (like he had his beating drums try to convince the fans since the 1st puck drop) or he may use the excuse that CJv2 didn't have enough time work with the team. Either way, it's on him. I hope that foxhole becomes the grave he dug for himself but the damage is already done after he's long gone just like his chum AF.
It goes back to the damage done to this core by AF. The whole needless controversy with PatCHes: first, making him C, then throwing him under the bus a few months later. He is a good and improving Captain, by all accounts. But his own self-doubt is probably due too much to AF, and so much else, that all came from Bergy's hugely problematic "foxhole" mentality with a coach that didn't deserve his support.
The 'window' and TFS's prime years were wasted under AF and BBB. You can't run an organisation based on friendships which is why Robinson wasn't hired. Ineptitude and stupidity. Molson has tried to deny and says JJD was hired because Big Bird chose the Sharks instead. BS
Molson is as much to blame for this mess for supporting the 2 bozos.
It was said that the Atlantic was a weak division, other teams in the division have better prospects and will get better next year what the hell will BBB do then?
And with Freddie Andersen sorting out his play in Tronna, the leafs are now about a mile and a half ahead of the Habs in development and that much closer to contender status.
I know TFS and Freddie Kruger is a nightmare in net. Save 3 excellent, let in one lousy. Shaggy is good but IMHO he is not a generational player, look at winnin for Mckinnon, he is in that catagory.
I am going to go out on the big limb. I would make the PFK for BBQ trade again. Not because he is so much better in the room, but he is a foundational force on the ice and PFK will always be overpriced icing. Again the cavet if he was signed for 6 mill a keeper, but 9 mill a Gulfstream we cant afford because the salinity of the oceans will eliminate it.
Patches has to go. He is a good extra hand on deck, but not a first mate. He is part of a great supporting cast, a first class ensemble player, but its clear in the playoffs he is not a game Changer. We could play a thousand playoff games and both kidA and Leko are going to outscore him. Goals in the regular season and a twonie will by you a cup of coffee in the playoffs.
Is gCHuck a write off. I think so, five years in the NHL. I dont care if Eddie Shore is your coaCH, if thats the best you can do, we are not winning a cup with you. N8 benCHed in the death matCH. gotta go. We cant expect passengers to start flying the plane. We need to sign TFS in the 7 to 8 mill range, sign CHE in the 5 cap hit on a long term. Dump in a Expanse like way the Earthers.
I don't agree about gCHyuk's 5 years in the NHL. first we need to remember that he missed an entire year in jrs with that knee injury and ergo an entire year of development at that level.
AF did nothing stifling him during his entire tenure here favouring the zamboni for the position even when he went 50+ games at one point without a single goal and he only landed the position last season when DDD got injured.
BBB tells everyone we don't know if he'll ever be a centre. That must do wonders for the kid's confidence.
Jerked him around, up and down the lines, centre, wing, centre, wing, 1st line, 4th line, 3rd line etc... Until he got injured, he was doing just fine. No defined role. How is the kid supposed to know what he's supposed to do/be?
We all know why PK got the salary he has. MB could have signed him cheaper during the last bridge deal when PK wanted term. MB says, no, no term for you. He went and got a Norris (AF tried to take credit for that) and a Gold (whether anyone agrees whether he earned it or not). Hey played hardball and took him to arbitration but PK held all the cards then with new accomplishments on his resume to show the arbitrator. The comparable market value for a D at the time would have been Dion Phaneuf and his salary which I think was the most recent D contract at the time and was getting $7M.
BBB mis-managed his contract and has only himself to blame for it. BBQ's contract is only $1.5 less thank PK's who is in prime years, the other is declining. AF didn't want PK so his foxhole buddy supported his bff.
How many players in the league get traded to new teams and their new coach before even having them play 1 game sits them in the pressbox to watch so they can 'learn they system'? Isn't that what the ice is for? Were any of the guys traded to the Habs since that time put in the pressbox to 'learn the system" Afterall, they never played even 1 game with AF either? What's wrong with that picture?
If he was really a 'distraction in the room' why did they give him the "A"?
"Carey Price says he wants to stay in Montreal and feels that the Canadiens have a bright future and is positive that the team will figure out a way to make the pieces fit and bring a championship to the city."
While I hold the highest respect Price, the ultimate goal for him personally as an athelete is to win the only award, the most important of them all, that he doesn't have. Does he really believe deep down that he can do that here with this current team?
In reply to Steve’s post: the PK file was mismanaged from the start by Bergevin and Therrien. They could have signed him to a more manageable salary if they hadn’t “bridged” him. They gambled and lost, ended up paying him $9mil a season. Talentwise, between PK and Weber it’s not even close. PK is miles ahead but because he couldn’t or wouldn’t play to Bergevin and Therrien’s rigid “system” he was dealt for someone who would. Are the Canadiens a better team with Weber? Apparently not as they were eliminated in the 1st round, going out with a whimper not a bang. And what are they paying about one million less per season? Chump change for Molson. I understand that many people in the organization and (some of) the players themselves did not like PK’s brash personality but I felt that was something they should have managed to work around in order to keep a player of such dynamic, offensive skills in the organization. They had a visible minority, community engaged star who offered so much. He is just as good as Erik Karlsson, who is probably worse defensively than PK, and who is adored in Ottawa and surprisingly by the SFU. Would Ottawa trade EK? Not a chance in Hell. I like Weber fine but it was a sideways move by Bergevin who really let his team down by not addressing the severe lack of scoring. All those 5th line puds he accumulated helped get him to the playoffs but that was it.
Max is a good regular season player. In the playoffs, the really good players (Crosby e.g.) elevate their games, Max is not capable. He is shut down easily. I don’t really care if he stays or goes but he should be relegated to secondary status in the top 6.
Galchenyuk, probably still too soon to write him off, put him on the second line and leave him there. If he still spends more time thinking about strippers than putting pucks into the net then by all means trade him for something useful. I think he is another AF fuck up.
N8 will be playing elsewhere next season. Sergachev will take his spot anyway.
Radulov is the only 1st line player they have but he needs some help. I would offer him 5 years max, if that’s not good enough, adios.
I’m glad to hear Price is willing to stay, but for the love of God get him some goal scoring. He will get the equivalent contract of Lundqvist which is fair.
If they fail to go deep next spring Bergevin is done.
Sorry the M but them going out in the first round had nothing to do with losing PK. Weber IS the better player right now. Subban is not even top 2 D on the Preds.
They need an elite centerman, that is it. Betgevin has to somehow make that happen this summer.
Everyone in here knows how much I loved PFKs personality but the team decided to go in a different direction.
The bigger issue in the mess pretty much all comes down to MT2 (via DGMB).
If MT2 dislike(d) you, you were fucked. See PFK, Chuck and n8 to a lesser extreme.
If MT2 really liked you, you had it easy. Vets and TFS™ obviously have their skill and tenure to rely on.
MT2 fucked up by slagging PatCHes and not accepting he came in 2nd to TFS™ (and maybe some senior vets like PleXXXE and BBQ). His overplaying of DDD was pathetic. His blendering was pure panic. His misuse of a quality player like gCHuk has hurt him and the team. To me he was a dick-waver, unti call out from the foxhole. It took DGMB too long to boot him but we ended up (luckily) with CJv2.
CHé, based on results, skill and love of the CH deserves 5x$6M.
gCHuck deserves 2x$8.5M, to keep him or (likely) trade him.
The wild card is CJv2 and what he wants as a coaCH.
DGMB, unless he gets canned tomorrow, gets 1 more year to make shit happen. The crazy thing is re-signing TFS™ long term is part of that.
I haven't said much about PatCHes because I'm still weirded out by his playoff play. Was he hurt? Regardless, he'd fetch a decent equivalent in a trade and throw in something else and maybe a Tavares heads to MTL. Maybe.
One of the reasons I think TFS™ stays long term is his friendship(s) with BBQ and kidA.
The core is good>very good. The Habs are not at a rebuild stage.
Hey Moey, you are right, it didn't matter which defenceman the Habs had they were still going to lose to the Rangers. I guess the point I was trying to make is, of the two, PK was the more dynamic player. I just remember the PK who predicted he would eliminate the Bruins in Boston in a Game 7 and went out and did it. Weber may be the better defender but PK is a wild card that the opposition had trouble figuring out at times. I guess Laviollette has reined him in these days. Too bad, he was fun to watch.
Bergevin needs more than an elite center I think. Unless Gallagher and Lekhonen suddenly develop into 30 goal scorers the wings are weak as well. Oh well, we have all summer to wish for that stuff. Have a great day!
PK was matched up against Toews the entire series round 1 and completely shut him down. Toews only had 2 points in the entire series. PK was not on the ice for the goal and the other point was an assist on a PP goal. Toews was completely dominated. He had the 3rd highest ATOI of the team.
Last season, Shea was not even the top D on the Preds so that point is moot.
Plus you probably ignore that PK missed 17 games with an injury and was initially trying to play through it till they shut him down. Habs have a problem trying to find someone who can play with Weber but isn't this 'greatest Dman' supposed to make his teammates better? PK ATOI is the 2nd most used d-man on the team.
Regular season Weber had 42pts, PK had 40 and played less games.
In 6 Playoff games Weber had 1G, 2A, 3pts In 4 playoff games PK had no goals 2 assists.
PK didn't need to be rested before the playoffs.
PK drove the offence when he was a Hab, they sure could have used that now because they had none.
"It's going to be great," he said. "I can't wait for the crowd, the noise, the energy in the building. "I can't wait to take that all away from them." ...and he did just that. I'll bet CHv2 would like to still have him.
Like the M posted about the roster, if you were on another team what Habs would you want to trade for?
Now ask yourself would another team ask BBB if they could have Weber? I don't think so, unless you need to get to the cap floor. Maybe Vegas, unless BBB puts him on the protected list, which he likely will not to look bad after trading PK.
Into the Badlands is a word where Martial Arts rule and so they shoud. Explain to me all that breaking bricks and how much I would be in love with somebody who could do that,
Steve, as a practitioner of the martial arts for 26 years I can pretty well tell you that 95% of what Hollywood presents is utter bullshit. Those bricks are made of foam. Boards are pine, which break very easily if held with the grain of the wood going in the right direction. And you can't punch somebody in the face 27 times to no effect, once is enough if done correctly and on target. Believe me.
Off topic, but I just wanted to state my disdain for between period player interviews. "So Player X, you're down by a goal. What do you need to do to come back in this one?" "Well, we just gotta stick to the system, get the puck deep and put pressure on their D." Rinse. Repeat.
I miss PK for this reason more than anything to do with his on-ice abilities.
- Suits, no beards - higher expectations, moving forward - compares to other top 7 teams that were bounced in R1 (OK) - CJv2: start anew, gain some confidence but we failed (honest) - centre position is big for a team, (there ya go) - need to be patient with youth, weird smoker habits comment (we will see, cough) SWIDT! - TFS™ is a big part of the team, so is Rads, still hurts (no kidding) - expansion draft makes things different (hmmm) - 1 step back to take 2 forward (reminds me of ‘put one foot in front of the other and soon you’ll be out the door) - CJv2: smart comments about gCHuck needs to be better, at centre ‘if need be’ (let it be) SWIDT! - team is a little fragile, (I’ve always pronounced it FRA-GEE-Lay) - side note; Mike KitCHen, ChiHox Ass’t coach fired (dude has the CH in his name) - CJv2: PatCHes tries, has support, doesn’t need the stress (I should type it $tre$$) - CHantale Macabée (I love this woman); gCHuck moves around a lot, what to do - gCHuck has ‘good hands’, crowd laughs - CJv2: kid might not be ready (scroll to see my earlier comments) - the 5 years Q … drafting is difficult, U R picking kids, mentions Leko and his potential (hire Saku) - iceCaps are in the playoffs! - media dude mentions the remaining 8 and their drafting (only one McDavid) - (Pat Hickey, white mop top, white hoodie, looks totally bumped out) (totally) - move forward (at centre?) - Ooooh, ‘not North America’ (ShipaCHev?!) - got to work the ‘cap’ (fuck that shit, get Molson to bust that fucking limit) - will do all it takes to keep TFS™ 4ever - need of skill and commitment (hate this type of rehashed hash) - good one, hopes other teams think they can handle TFS™’s max cap (weird) - disagrees with Stu Cowan scoring issues comment (oh oh) - about N8, has potential, needs to be responsible, won’t blame JJD (fuck!) - n8 is at a crossroads, clock is ticking (too public a statement, he’s gone) - no teardown coming - NYR is a very good hockey team (I disagree) - ‘will you trade TFS™’ - francis of GAGnon —> DGMB: NON! (OUF!) - CJv2 says Lunqvist deserves credit (50/50 on that) - CJv2 says no lack of effort no lack of chances (weak perimeter shots) - re-mentions Vegas impact (pull that handle) - marinara sauce: ‘blurbblarbblerbblirb’ (SWIDT?!) - marinara sauce: ‘blurbblarbblerbblirbblurbblarbblerbblirbblurbblarbblerbblirb’ (SWIDT?!) - marinara sauce: ‘blurbblarbblerbblirbblurbblarbblerbblirbblurbblarbblerbblirbblurbblarbblerbblirb’ (SWIDT?!) - (shut up about Vegas, you only lose one player) - fat slob marinara sauce puts on his cheap shades like he is fat Elvis (he’s a slob) - weird def. of what is a ‘true #1 centre’
Thanks for the recap moe, juce. I didn't want to read through anymore media crap about this team. Hard to find any good reading amongst all the bukaked leaf stories.
The one thing I was wondering is if he brought up the "it's hard to make a trade" shit. BS. Ask PK or BBQ how hard it is. Both of those players bled for their original teams and didn't want to be traded and yet it happened. I'm seriously still good with a trade package of Patches and N8 to NJ for Kovy2.0 and? (maybe a swap of first round picks)? Keep gCHuk to center Kovalchuk and Radulov.
My translation: "blah, blah." "blah." Rinse and repeat.
My take: There will be no major moves and we will be talking about the same things this time next year.
Actually there is one thing different we will most likely be talking about next season: How the Hell did the leaf finish in front of the Habs? Oh! They can actually score goals! So that's how it's done! Don't laugh, they are only one really good defenceman from pulling it off.
I wonder if Bergevin has the balls to offer sheet Drouin?
1) Scour KHL for unsigned superstars or unknowns and sign them (Sekac Radulov, and Vadim Shipachyov will be next) asap. 2)Trade away average players for second round draft picks (Fleischmann, Weise) 3)Sign projects and cast offs (Kassian, Fleischmann, Brown, Lessio, Montoya, Holloway) 4)trade for that ever elusive ‘top’ 4th line player in the League.
That’s the plan in an nut shell. Bringing along rookies who were drafted by the team to play on the big club is not part of the plan. Abysmal.
I keep hearing Elton John, dont let the sun go down on me. The Bell center is not the house of the rising sun today, it is a sinking cesspool of mediocrity. Even our greatest asset TFS is overvalued based upon this catastrophic illuminating perdition. Managements biggest decision will be his fate.
ReplyDeleteIf we can pick up a number one center and one more CHe in the offseason stand pat. However if you look at the list of UFA, the only decent forward is TJ Oshie. So its a pipe dream. Therefore we should use Victor Hedman's cap busting UFA payday to lever the Druid out of Tampa. The question is would they take PatCHes straight up? Could we make a package with gCHuck for Huberdeau? If we could squeeze in Hanzal as a UFA we might have a CHance.
Our D is fine, we have CHevy and Jewel comming up. I am not ready to throw in the towel on N8. Maybe a full season under CJV2 can get the brain farts out of his system.
In the cold light of reality how does this team truly appear?
ReplyDeleteAsk yourself this question: If you were a fan of any other NHL team, is there truly any one player on Montreal's roster that you would like to see that team trade for? Price? Weber, maybe? The forwards are a horrendous collection of no shows, wannabees and maybes. The latest 5 year plan is a fail, dumpster diving gets you nowhere. What we witnessed this past season and playoffs is what we will be watching for the next 5 years. It's going to take some really bold, balls out moves to get this trainwreck back to something resembling a contender. I highly doubt Bergevin has it in him to do it.
It may take a complete housecleaning like Shanahan did up the road. It sounds distasteful but that Matthews kid is the real deal. So is McDavid. All we Habs fans have to look forward to is our hubris, which is systematically being beaten out of us.
I fairness to Bergevin he did say all he wanted to do was make the playoffs. Mission accomplished. Three extra gates for Geoff didn't hurt the bottom line either.
DeleteI think complete rebuilds are for losers (who may become winners but still).
DeleteThe team needs moe kidAs and CHés that show some passion. There's a few others. The big question is does DGMB get to make the next big decisions or does Geoff go off the CHarts. I'm not one for speculation and rumours but I wouldn't be averse to #33 as the President/GM with Julien Brisebois as his sidekick. Would a Lombardi be a better CHoice? Possibly but Roy has history and proven CH passion. Bonus would be to see how it would affect TFS™ and on the funny side, a wad like tremblay.
I am for giving the keys to the Kingdom to St Pat. Bergy act is thin, especially when he says there is no window. We are a first line center and at least a 2nd line winger from being contenders. Those guys are just not available except on play stations. Overall Bergy has done a good job of building a solid team, but two key peices have not panned out, N8 and most importantly gCHuck.
Deletemoe, you know you and I are usually on the same wavelength but in this case I have to disagree. You say rebuilds are for losers but isn't that what the Habs are these days? 24 years and counting and not a sniff of a Cup. Can't even make the finals just to have a chance. I'm tired of them being pretenders. They will never win with this core. The players are not good enough. It's that simple. New York's were better. Henrik was better than Price, little Zucarello was twice the player Pacioretty was, always going to the net, a better version of Gallagher. Time to blow it up. #67 should be the first one gone, to either NY team or Jersey I don't care.
DeleteI do kinda like the idea of #33 becoming GM, he couldn't do any worse.
I'm not saying this team can't succeed with the restrictions put on them by the francophone media, but I will say opening the pool to ALL increases one's chances of hiring the best person available for any specific job opening. That's why I fear there is no sense in making dramatic changes until Quebec City has another stake in this league for fear it would just be more of the same. That said, I would be interested in seeing what kind of stamp 33 would put on this team and whether he would leave CJ behind the bench. Wonder if Molson would like to pay AF, CJ and another new coach? In the end, I believe BBB will persuade Molson to stay in the foxhole with him and stay the course...
ReplyDeletePositive thoughts, the leaf are out, but still have Shaggy. We get a higher draft pick, but this years draft has been called off because the talent is so thin.
ReplyDeleteAnd Lego was part of the game tying goal.
DeleteLego had a great game, IMHO he would have been our best center if we had not bumped him to keep DDD. Highlighting once more how thin down the middle we are. Maybe would could make a deal with Putin on the Donbass and get 3 good Russians. Shipmeoff, Dandyoff and Defensivof.
DeleteFull marks to Stan Bowman from the Hawks for this statement http://dld.bz/fDgjs If you haven't seen/heard it - you should. DGMB wont have the balls to say something like this...ever!
ReplyDeleteFor everyone saying to blow it up and start again - that is a bit radical. The Habs have one of the best goalies in the league - they need him. They have KidA for heart and leadership and they have BBQ and JB at the back - Dish is pretty good too. You need the grinders but the Habs issue remains that you don't need an entire team of grinders. This year the issue (to me anyway) was that they started the season with Therrien in charge... DGMB made two good moves this season - Jordie Benn was a great call and getting rid of Therrien was the other - albeit far too late in the season.
CHe was a good call but I don't want to see him with an 8 yr. contract - he didn't even score 20 goals. Maybe 3 years for 15M - let Vegas give him 8 yrs. He won't stick around that long. As for Patches...he did lead the team in goals - but not when it mattered and that (to me anyway) is unforgivable. Leko was a revelation so keep him. but for the love of the Rocket and the Flower, find someone who can score some goals! That's all I got...for now...but check out the Bowman statement if you do nothing else today!
We need a defense coach.
ReplyDeleteWe need another NHL defensman.
We need a goal scoring forward or two.
We need some consistency.
We have two third lines and two fourth lines.
I don't blame them.
It will take more than 20 game to de-Therrien this team.
Have a nice summer all.
'It will take more than 20 game to de-Therrien this team.'
DeleteThat's exactly how BBB will sell it to Molson but without actually saying AF.
The two players who truly understood what it meant to be a Montreal Canadien and played to win were ultimately traded away. Mike Cammallari and Pernell Karl Subban. Why Habs management failed to recognize this I'll never understand. The Habs deserve their fate.
ReplyDeleteHit the nail on the head, couldn't have said it better.
DeleteIt was a matter of not being able to win pick battles in the end. A little more grit and determination from a very good Rangers team, and a slight lack of same in comparison from the Habs. I think PatCHes' inability to score only mattered on that singular breakaway in Game 5 that Lundqvist handled so smoothly. That seemed like the series turning point to me. That was when a smidgen of doubt entered the collective psyche of the team. Then in the OT, either TFS was going to be otherwordly to give them a boost, or... The rest of course is history.
ReplyDelete*puck* battles
DeleteWonder if BBB will say 'it's on me' or since Price was healthy and tell us how great his moves were (like he had his beating drums try to convince the fans since the 1st puck drop) or he may use the excuse that CJv2 didn't have enough time work with the team. Either way, it's on him. I hope that foxhole becomes the grave he dug for himself but the damage is already done after he's long gone just like his chum AF.
ReplyDeleteThis is what Savard said about the PK trade.
https://twitter.com/AndrewBerkshire/status/855279501479034880
It goes back to the damage done to this core by AF. The whole needless controversy with PatCHes: first, making him C, then throwing him under the bus a few months later. He is a good and improving Captain, by all accounts. But his own self-doubt is probably due too much to AF, and so much else, that all came from Bergy's hugely problematic "foxhole" mentality with a coach that didn't deserve his support.
DeleteThe 'window' and TFS's prime years were wasted under AF and BBB. You can't run an organisation based on friendships which is why Robinson wasn't hired. Ineptitude and stupidity. Molson has tried to deny and says JJD was hired because Big Bird chose the Sharks instead. BS
DeleteMolson is as much to blame for this mess for supporting the 2 bozos.
https://twitter.com/gmolsonchc/status/737026379263451136
Also, HRH was a Royal Dud. More like getting George III or Edward VIII than a Henry V or Henry VIII
ReplyDeleteI will never understand CJv2's decision to keep him in the line-up in lieu of MitCH for G6
Royalty by definition are parasites on the body politic
DeleteIt was said that the Atlantic was a weak division, other teams in the division have better prospects and will get better next year what the hell will BBB do then?
ReplyDeleteAnd with Freddie Andersen sorting out his play in Tronna, the leafs are now about a mile and a half ahead of the Habs in development and that much closer to contender status.
DeleteI know TFS and Freddie Kruger is a nightmare in net. Save 3 excellent, let in one lousy. Shaggy is good but IMHO he is not a generational player, look at winnin for Mckinnon, he is in that catagory.
DeleteI am going to go out on the big limb. I would make the PFK for BBQ trade again. Not because he is so much better in the room, but he is a foundational force on the ice and PFK will always be overpriced icing. Again the cavet if he was signed for 6 mill a keeper, but 9 mill a Gulfstream we cant afford because the salinity of the oceans will eliminate it.
ReplyDeletePatches has to go. He is a good extra hand on deck, but not a first mate. He is part of a great supporting cast, a first class ensemble player, but its clear in the playoffs he is not a game Changer. We could play a thousand playoff games and both kidA and Leko are going to outscore him. Goals in the regular season and a twonie will by you a cup of coffee in the playoffs.
Is gCHuck a write off. I think so, five years in the NHL. I dont care if Eddie Shore is your coaCH,
if thats the best you can do, we are not winning a cup with you.
N8 benCHed in the death matCH. gotta go.
We cant expect passengers to start flying the plane.
We need to sign TFS in the 7 to 8 mill range, sign CHE in the 5 cap hit on a long term. Dump in a Expanse like way the Earthers.
I don't agree about gCHyuk's 5 years in the NHL. first we need to remember that he missed an entire year in jrs with that knee injury and ergo an entire year of development at that level.
DeleteAF did nothing stifling him during his entire tenure here favouring the zamboni for the position even when he went 50+ games at one point without a single goal and he only landed the position last season when DDD got injured.
BBB tells everyone we don't know if he'll ever be a centre. That must do wonders for the kid's confidence.
Jerked him around, up and down the lines, centre, wing, centre, wing, 1st line, 4th line, 3rd line etc... Until he got injured, he was doing just fine. No defined role. How is the kid supposed to know what he's supposed to do/be?
They did pretty much the same with Lego.
We all know why PK got the salary he has. MB could have signed him cheaper during the last bridge deal when PK wanted term. MB says, no, no term for you. He went and got a Norris (AF tried to take credit for that) and a Gold (whether anyone agrees whether he earned it or not). Hey played hardball and took him to arbitration but PK held all the cards then with new accomplishments on his resume to show the arbitrator. The comparable market value for a D at the time would have been Dion Phaneuf and his salary which I think was the most recent D contract at the time and was getting $7M.
DeleteBBB mis-managed his contract and has only himself to blame for it. BBQ's contract is only $1.5 less thank PK's who is in prime years, the other is declining. AF didn't want PK so his foxhole buddy supported his bff.
How many players in the league get traded to new teams and their new coach before even having them play 1 game sits them in the pressbox to watch so they can 'learn they system'? Isn't that what the ice is for? Were any of the guys traded to the Habs since that time put in the pressbox to 'learn the system" Afterall, they never played even 1 game with AF either? What's wrong with that picture?
If he was really a 'distraction in the room' why did they give him the "A"?
"Carey Price says he wants to stay in Montreal and feels that the Canadiens have a bright future and is positive that the team will figure out a way to make the pieces fit and bring a championship to the city."
ReplyDeleteWhile I hold the highest respect Price, the ultimate goal for him personally as an athelete is to win the only award, the most important of them all, that he doesn't have. Does he really believe deep down that he can do that here with this current team?
DeleteI'm just glad he stated he wants to win it as a Hab. Bonus, it shuts up the SFU.
DeleteTrue.
DeleteIn reply to Steve’s post: the PK file was mismanaged from the start by Bergevin and Therrien. They could have signed him to a more manageable salary if they hadn’t “bridged” him. They gambled and lost, ended up paying him $9mil a season. Talentwise, between PK and Weber it’s not even close. PK is miles ahead but because he couldn’t or wouldn’t play to Bergevin and Therrien’s rigid “system” he was dealt for someone who would. Are the Canadiens a better team with Weber? Apparently not as they were eliminated in the 1st round, going out with a whimper not a bang. And what are they paying about one million less per season? Chump change for Molson. I understand that many people in the organization and (some of) the players themselves did not like PK’s brash personality but I felt that was something they should have managed to work around in order to keep a player of such dynamic, offensive skills in the organization. They had a visible minority, community engaged star who offered so much. He is just as good as Erik Karlsson, who is probably worse defensively than PK, and who is adored in Ottawa and surprisingly by the SFU. Would Ottawa trade EK? Not a chance in Hell. I like Weber fine but it was a sideways move by Bergevin who really let his team down by not addressing the severe lack of scoring. All those 5th line puds he accumulated helped get him to the playoffs but that was it.
ReplyDeleteMax is a good regular season player. In the playoffs, the really good players (Crosby e.g.) elevate their games, Max is not capable. He is shut down easily. I don’t really care if he stays or goes but he should be relegated to secondary status in the top 6.
Galchenyuk, probably still too soon to write him off, put him on the second line and leave him there. If he still spends more time thinking about strippers than putting pucks into the net then by all means trade him for something useful. I think he is another AF fuck up.
N8 will be playing elsewhere next season. Sergachev will take his spot anyway.
Radulov is the only 1st line player they have but he needs some help. I would offer him 5 years max, if that’s not good enough, adios.
I’m glad to hear Price is willing to stay, but for the love of God get him some goal scoring. He will get the equivalent contract of Lundqvist which is fair.
If they fail to go deep next spring Bergevin is done.
in a Ghostbusters like stream of consensus our streams intersected and neither of us got slimed.
DeletePs spell check, took a notch of my belt
Sorry the M but them going out in the first round had nothing to do with losing PK. Weber IS the better player right now. Subban is not even top 2 D on the Preds.
DeleteThey need an elite centerman, that is it. Betgevin has to somehow make that happen this summer.
theM.,
DeleteI agree with pretty much everything.
I think PFK vs. BBQ is a draw. Different skills.
Everyone in here knows how much I loved PFKs personality but the team decided to go in a different direction.
The bigger issue in the mess pretty much all comes down to MT2 (via DGMB).
If MT2 dislike(d) you, you were fucked. See PFK, Chuck and n8 to a lesser extreme.
If MT2 really liked you, you had it easy. Vets and TFS™ obviously have their skill and tenure to rely on.
MT2 fucked up by slagging PatCHes and not accepting he came in 2nd to TFS™ (and maybe some senior vets like PleXXXE and BBQ). His overplaying of DDD was pathetic. His blendering was pure panic. His misuse of a quality player like gCHuk has hurt him and the team. To me he was a dick-waver, unti call out from the foxhole. It took DGMB too long to boot him but we ended up (luckily) with CJv2.
CHé, based on results, skill and love of the CH deserves 5x$6M.
gCHuck deserves 2x$8.5M, to keep him or (likely) trade him.
The wild card is CJv2 and what he wants as a coaCH.
DGMB, unless he gets canned tomorrow, gets 1 more year to make shit happen. The crazy thing is re-signing TFS™ long term is part of that.
I haven't said much about PatCHes because I'm still weirded out by his playoff play. Was he hurt? Regardless, he'd fetch a decent equivalent in a trade and throw in something else and maybe a Tavares heads to MTL. Maybe.
One of the reasons I think TFS™ stays long term is his friendship(s) with BBQ and kidA.
The core is good>very good. The Habs are not at a rebuild stage.
Hey Moey, you are right, it didn't matter which defenceman the Habs had they were still going to lose to the Rangers. I guess the point I was trying to make is, of the two, PK was the more dynamic player. I just remember the PK who predicted he would eliminate the Bruins in Boston in a Game 7 and went out and did it. Weber may be the better defender but PK is a wild card that the opposition had trouble figuring out at times. I guess Laviollette has reined him in these days. Too bad, he was fun to watch.
DeleteBergevin needs more than an elite center I think. Unless Gallagher and Lekhonen suddenly develop into 30 goal scorers the wings are weak as well. Oh well, we have all summer to wish for that stuff. Have a great day!
PK was matched up against Toews the entire series round 1 and completely shut him down. Toews only had 2 points in the entire series. PK was not on the ice for the goal and the other point was an assist on a PP goal. Toews was completely dominated. He had the 3rd highest ATOI of the team.
DeleteLast season, Shea was not even the top D on the Preds so that point is moot.
Plus you probably ignore that PK missed 17 games with an injury and was initially trying to play through it till they shut him down. Habs have a problem trying to find someone who can play with Weber but isn't this 'greatest Dman' supposed to make his teammates better? PK ATOI is the 2nd most used d-man on the team.
DeleteRegular season Weber had 42pts, PK had 40 and played less games.
In 6 Playoff games Weber had 1G, 2A, 3pts
In 4 playoff games PK had no goals 2 assists.
PK didn't need to be rested before the playoffs.
PK drove the offence when he was a Hab, they sure could have used that now because they had none.
"It's going to be great," he said. "I can't wait for the crowd, the noise, the energy in the building.
"I can't wait to take that all away from them." ...and he did just that.
I'll bet CHv2 would like to still have him.
Like the M posted about the roster, if you were on another team what Habs would you want to trade for?
DeleteNow ask yourself would another team ask BBB if they could have Weber? I don't think so, unless you need to get to the cap floor. Maybe Vegas, unless BBB puts him on the protected list, which he likely will not to look bad after trading PK.
Also, Weber is not the best D on the Habs, Vodkov is.
DeleteInto the Badlands is a word where Martial Arts rule and so they shoud. Explain to me all that breaking bricks and how much I would be in love with somebody who could do that,
ReplyDeleteSteve, as a practitioner of the martial arts for 26 years I can pretty well tell you that 95% of what Hollywood presents is utter bullshit. Those bricks are made of foam. Boards are pine, which break very easily if held with the grain of the wood going in the right direction. And you can't punch somebody in the face 27 times to no effect, once is enough if done correctly and on target. Believe me.
DeleteSSR had a concussion. He needs to stop fighting and concentrate on his scrappy play.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it was the hit from Girardi.
DeleteDGMB presser at 16h00.
ReplyDeleteCHé says he wants to remain a Hab.
So did Vodkov, PleXXXe and gCHuk.
DeleteWeber doesn't have to speak, he has 9Yrs left.
DeleteI've actually admire gCHuk's honesty.
ReplyDeleteOff topic, but I just wanted to state my disdain for between period player interviews. "So Player X, you're down by a goal. What do you need to do to come back in this one?" "Well, we just gotta stick to the system, get the puck deep and put pressure on their D." Rinse. Repeat.
ReplyDeleteI miss PK for this reason more than anything to do with his on-ice abilities.
Good point.
DeleteBBB BS report live now.
ReplyDeleteBergevin on Galchenyuk "Hopefully he took a step back this year to take two forward next year." #TSN690
ReplyDelete'For a player that had a 60 point pro-rated season that involved him moving all over the lineup, this Galchenyuk criticism is pretty heavy.'
Bergevin on Galchenyuk "the NHL has a way of exposing you ... he knows he has a lot to learn ... best spot for him right now is on the wing"
Twitter -
Galchenyuk isn't great defensively, but there are lots of centres in the NHL who are significantly worse.
more twitter
DeleteThis is what's so perplexing. Desharnais was far worse defensively than Galchenyuk, and half as good offensively.
How many years did they stand up for Desharnais, and they won't give Galchenyuk a full season?
The usual 'getting a centre is hard. you have to draft them'
ReplyDeleteWell, they better come out of a draft with a 200 foot game.
I'm not watching or listening but I'm guessing cliche city.
ReplyDeleteI'm here 4 ya.
Delete…
ReplyDeleteDGMB presser (my reaction in ())
- Suits, no beards
- higher expectations, moving forward
- compares to other top 7 teams that were bounced in R1 (OK)
- CJv2: start anew, gain some confidence but we failed (honest)
- centre position is big for a team, (there ya go)
- need to be patient with youth, weird smoker habits comment (we will see, cough) SWIDT!
- TFS™ is a big part of the team, so is Rads, still hurts (no kidding)
- expansion draft makes things different (hmmm)
- 1 step back to take 2 forward (reminds me of ‘put one foot in front of the other and soon you’ll be out the door)
- CJv2: smart comments about gCHuck needs to be better, at centre ‘if need be’ (let it be) SWIDT!
- team is a little fragile, (I’ve always pronounced it FRA-GEE-Lay)
- side note; Mike KitCHen, ChiHox Ass’t coach fired (dude has the CH in his name)
- CJv2: PatCHes tries, has support, doesn’t need the stress (I should type it $tre$$)
- CHantale Macabée (I love this woman); gCHuck moves around a lot, what to do
- gCHuck has ‘good hands’, crowd laughs
- CJv2: kid might not be ready (scroll to see my earlier comments)
- the 5 years Q … drafting is difficult, U R picking kids, mentions Leko and his potential (hire Saku)
- iceCaps are in the playoffs!
- media dude mentions the remaining 8 and their drafting (only one McDavid)
- (Pat Hickey, white mop top, white hoodie, looks totally bumped out) (totally)
- move forward (at centre?)
- Ooooh, ‘not North America’ (ShipaCHev?!)
- got to work the ‘cap’ (fuck that shit, get Molson to bust that fucking limit)
- will do all it takes to keep TFS™ 4ever
- need of skill and commitment (hate this type of rehashed hash)
- good one, hopes other teams think they can handle TFS™’s max cap (weird)
- disagrees with Stu Cowan scoring issues comment (oh oh)
- about N8, has potential, needs to be responsible, won’t blame JJD (fuck!)
- n8 is at a crossroads, clock is ticking (too public a statement, he’s gone)
- no teardown coming
- NYR is a very good hockey team (I disagree)
- ‘will you trade TFS™’ - francis of GAGnon —> DGMB: NON! (OUF!)
- CJv2 says Lunqvist deserves credit (50/50 on that)
- CJv2 says no lack of effort no lack of chances (weak perimeter shots)
- re-mentions Vegas impact (pull that handle)
- marinara sauce: ‘blurbblarbblerbblirb’ (SWIDT?!)
- marinara sauce: ‘blurbblarbblerbblirbblurbblarbblerbblirbblurbblarbblerbblirb’ (SWIDT?!)
- marinara sauce: ‘blurbblarbblerbblirbblurbblarbblerbblirbblurbblarbblerbblirbblurbblarbblerbblirb’ (SWIDT?!)
- (shut up about Vegas, you only lose one player)
- fat slob marinara sauce puts on his cheap shades like he is fat Elvis (he’s a slob)
- weird def. of what is a ‘true #1 centre’
Bergevin: "When you pick in the 20s year after year, it's hard to find core pieces unless you get lucky.
ReplyDeleteBergevin has made 32 draft picks in 5 years, the highest scorer other than Galchenyuk is Sven Andrighetto with 43 points in 102 games
PatCHes 22nd and PK 43rd, Gallagher 147th, Lehkonen 55th, Hudon 122nd. Lots of good players past #20. #excuses
Said something about teams have won without a #1 centre. Asked to give examples, he mentioned Toews, Kopitar.
blogger keeps saying my comments are fake news, I wish I could reach that bar
ReplyDeleteThanks for the recap moe, juce. I didn't want to read through anymore media crap about this team. Hard to find any good reading amongst all the bukaked leaf stories.
ReplyDeleteThe one thing I was wondering is if he brought up the "it's hard to make a trade" shit. BS. Ask PK or BBQ how hard it is. Both of those players bled for their original teams and didn't want to be traded and yet it happened. I'm seriously still good with a trade package of Patches and N8 to NJ for Kovy2.0 and? (maybe a swap of first round picks)? Keep gCHuk to center Kovalchuk and Radulov.
Thanks to moe and juce for the recap.
ReplyDeleteMy translation: "blah, blah." "blah." Rinse and repeat.
My take: There will be no major moves and we will be talking about the same things this time next year.
Actually there is one thing different we will most likely be talking about next season: How the Hell did the leaf finish in front of the Habs? Oh! They can actually score goals! So that's how it's done! Don't laugh, they are only one really good defenceman from pulling it off.
I wonder if Bergevin has the balls to offer sheet Drouin?
Great comment I had to copy and paste:
ReplyDeleteMB ‘bargain bin’ philosophy as GM (to date);
1) Scour KHL for unsigned superstars or unknowns and sign them (Sekac Radulov, and Vadim Shipachyov will be next) asap.
2)Trade away average players for second round draft picks (Fleischmann, Weise)
3)Sign projects and cast offs (Kassian, Fleischmann, Brown, Lessio, Montoya, Holloway)
4)trade for that ever elusive ‘top’ 4th line player in the League.
That’s the plan in an nut shell. Bringing along rookies who were drafted by the team to play on the big club is not part of the plan. Abysmal.
Here's what BBB said about a #1 centre. Not so good at selling the snake oil.
ReplyDeletehttps://twitter.com/ArponBasu/status/856627006804504576
Did we win?
ReplyDelete(Early) Morning kidzzz! Important site note:
ReplyDelete>>>http://fourhockeyfans.blogspot.ca/2017/04/thanks-moeman.html