The big talented Swede would most likely help the Habs attain the Stanley Cup Final. Mats Sundin would give the Canadiens that big player that is talented down the middle that they have been searching for these past fifteen or so years. Sundin would give the Habs three good scoring lines to play against anyone in the league including the Detroit Red Wings. But enough is enough!

Sure Sundin has earned the right to take his time and make a decision. But how much time is too much? No matter where he plays, his decision is taking far too long. The Canadiens being one of the teams trying to land the big Swede are wasting far too much time waiting for Sundin to make his decision.

Consider this, the Habs tried to acquire Sundin at the trade deadline, but Mats refused to waive his no trade clause. Being that Sundin had a no trade clause, one could see that Sundin was well within his rights to not waive it, but never the less the Habs were still not able to acquire him.

Next try for the Habs was at draft day when they traded for the exclusive right to talk contract with him until July 1, the same result ensued. Since draft day was the second time that Sundin was not able to be obtained by the Canadiens, they should have moved on, but general manager Bob Gainey decided to go the patient route. Alright but it has been one and a half months and still no progress.

Enough! If Mats Sundin still doesn’t know where or if he will play this coming season, either he is stalling, or he does know and it isn’t the Habs but he’s waiting to see if other teams are willing to compensate him the way he wants, not neccessarily with money. Either way the Habs have to look somewhere else and get what they think they need for the up and coming season.

The Habs traded for Alex Tanguay, and signed George Laraque this off-season so they have already improved their team. The Canadiens still need that one player, that un-deniable superstar to push them over the edge. Mats Sundin could be that player, but the waiting game has turned ridiculous. Yes I would like to see a player who has played for two of the Habs enemies play for the Habs only because Sundin would give us an edge over many other teams, however, the Habs should not wait until New Years Eve to hope to acquire him.

How about going after Eric Staal who wasn’t resigned long term? How about Ilya Kovalchuk who is in his last season, and would probably love to change teams, or Marian Gaborik?

Sundin is the star the Habs have been looking for, but if I was Gainey I wouldn’t let Sundin guide me by the nose like he is currently doing. Perhaps the other players that are out there wouldn’t have as profound an impact on the Canadiens as Sundin would, but at least they would help the Habs get further in the post season, and who knows anything can happen.

I would give Sundin another week, after that, too bad so sad, let other teams be used by Sundin to see what his value is.

Too bad, Habs fans would love too see Sundin play for Montreal in his last season. Unfortunately for him, the fans are getting a little annoyed at how much time he is taking to make his decision, and may not even care if he plays for the Habs at all. Way to go Mats!

Alex Tanguay native of Sainte-Justine Quebec has played eight seasons in the NHL. The Colorado Avalanche had Tanguay’s services for six seasons, one of which is a Stanley cup season.

The Calgary Flames had Tanguay for two seasons.

Now, the Montreal Canadiens acquired Tanguay. Michael Ryder is most likely going to be the odd man out now.

Tanguay has played eight seasons in the NHL, here are some interesting numbers for him. Within Tanguay’s eight seasons in the NHL he has 4 years with over 70 points, 5 years with over 60 points, 1 year with 81 points, and 7 years with over 50 points.

A slight comparison between Tanguay and Michael Ryder at their worst. Ryder having his worst season this year had 14 goals and 17 assists for 31 points. Tanguay had 18 goals and 35 assists for 48 points. As one can see even with Tanguay’s worst year, he still has more points than Ryder at his worst.

At 6′1” and 189 pounds, Tanguay is a little taller than Ryder, but a couple of pounds lighter as well. Tanguay is the better all around player. His skating is superior, his defensive coverage is better, and he is a better passer than Ryder, to go along with scoring at the right time.

Tanguay is consistent. Unfortunately for Ryder who in his defense has only played half the seasons than Tanguay, his time is most likely over in Hab town. Perhaps he will flourish in another organization, but the fact that the Habs have only offered a one year deal for Ryder the past few seasons says that they were never really sure they wanted to keep him anyway.

Tanguay has stated that he hopes to sign an extensionwith the Canadiens. Bob Gainey-GM of the Habs–has stated that perhaps Tanguay could remain a Hab for longer than one season.

The Montreal Canadiens have in Tanguay, a player that can play either side of centre, or centre itself. With the speed Tanguay possesses he is already better than Ryder. And Tanguay’s vision is better than Ryder’s also. To put it brief, if Tanguay plays with Saku Koivu, they should both have a good season. Koivu’s confidence in Ryder had been almost in-existent this past season. Tanguay should provide the Habs with a second scoring line that can produce, something which they needed in the post season against the Philadelphia Flyers.

The Canadiens won the Eastern Confernce without the consistent scoring of Koivu’s line. If Koivu’s line produces, what can the fans expect this year with two lines scoring?

Tanguay will have pressure as a French Canadian player who has talent playing for the Habs. But playing with Koivu on a team which is getting better year after year with young blood should be just what he needs to keep his consistency up and make the Habs better than they were last season.

On a side note, the Canadiens have the exclusive rights to talk to Mats Sundin until July 1. But if Mats decides that he doesn’t want to come and play in Montreal, the Habs should go after Marian Hossa. Possibly Sean Avery and or George Laraque as well depending on who the Habs acquire. Sundin for two years would be great, unfortunately he seems to be playing games with the Habs saying that he hasn’t decided if he wants to play hockey again. Look Mats, I know you gave everything you had to the Maple Leafs when you played for them, but this is business. Either tell the Habs that you are not interested so the team can move on, or sign with them. Sundin only has 1-2 years left in him. If he plays the waiting game, he might regret it in the end.

Hopefully for the fans, Sundin will sign with the Habs. If not then Bob Gainey should move on to the next target as it appears that the Habs are serious about putting the right talented veterans with their crop of young guns this year.

The trade consists of Habs first round pick this year and their second round pick next year, for Calgary Flames forward Alex Tanguay and Flames fifth round pick this year.

Tanguay had this to say,

“I’m very excited about this great news. I’m a hockey fan, and I like the way the Canadiens play. It suits my style of play”.

Cliff Fletcher–GM of the Leafs–had this to comment,

“We have given the Montreal Canadiens permission to speak with Mats Sundin. We have no further comments at this time”.

With the Vancouver Canucks waiving their number 10 pick around, coupled with the fact that they most likely won’t resign forward Brendan Morrison and the possibility that Markus Naslund will resign cheaper, the ‘Nucks will try something.

It is still unclear at this point if the Toronto Maple Leafs will resign Mats Sundin. What is clear however is that they are waiving their number 7 pick around and have been linked with Patrick Marleau, Olli Jokinen, and Vincent Lecavalier to name a few.

The Montreal Canadiens have also been rumoured to try and move up in the draft to make a deal go through. Andrei Kostitsyn should be signed by the draft. Marc Streit could be also although rumours suggest that he would be traded. The Habs are also being linked to Marian Hossa, Sundin, Eric Cole, Ryan Malone, and Lecavalier to name a few. In Hossa’s case the Habs are trying to trade for his rights.

The Carolina Hurricanes are rumoured to be in on Joni Pitkanen.

The Columbus Blue Jackets are rumoured to be in on Marleau as well as Malone.

The Calgary Flames are rumoured to be hunting Jokinen.

The Boston Bruins are hunting Hossa.

To be brief, just mentioning seven teams and one could see that the draft this year might live up to the hype that every media source is putting out there.

Perhaps the draft will be more exciting than the first week of July.

Let’s hope that this year’s draft will be one not to miss.

The entry draft is for minor league players to move up in life, unfortunately for the minor leaguers, fortunately for the fans, this year it should be more about NHL players changing addresses.

There are 30 teams in the NHL. Perhaps not all the teams will make something happen, but if one believes the hype, it should be a draft day frenzy.

Rumours are that the Tampa Bay Lightning are a little worried. First they are worried that Vinny might not sign a long term deal when he becomes an un-restricted free agent after the 2008-09 season. Secondly they are worried about Vinny making a full recovery after his shoulder operation.

There are also rumours that Montreal Canadiens General Manager Bob Gainey is up to something. What it is however remains a mystery. However, with the Habs only signing Maxim Lapierre so far and having only started discussions with Andrei Kostitsyn and no one else at this point so close to the draft, well, one could presume that something is happening.

These rumours about Vinny, are hopeful speculation at best. Even though Lecavalier stated to a newspaper earlier this month that he likes they way the Habs play, Lecavalier has also said that he would “possibly” like to stay with Tampa.

Some are saying that if a deal was to happen between the Habs and the Lightning, it would include Chris Higgins and possibly Jaroslav Halak, to go along with a pick.

But these rumours are un-confirmed at this point.

If Tampa doesn’t think that they can sign him, then why not trade him to a team which would give them so much in return? These rumours are un-confirmed, but not ridiculous at this point.

In the article by RDS, it is also stated that Anaheim Duck’s General Manager Brian Burke also believes that Selanne could accept this time.

This is the confirmation to an article I wrote about this rumour. Selanne is the right player for Koivu to play with. They played together in Finland. Koivu tried to convince Selanne to come here a couple of years ago. Selanne decided to play for the Ducks, which won the cup, last year he gave the team another chance.

This year however, is Koivu’s last contract year. Why wouldn’t Selanne play one year with his best friend before retiring?

Considering what happened to Michael Ryder’s production this past year it would be a vast improvement. Selanne still has what it takes. And the chemistry between Koivu and Selanne would give the Canadiens a second scoring line which they need.

If the Habs manage to sign Selanne, at a modest salary, then I’m all for it. He would help the Habs.

If the Habs manage to sign Selanne, then it leaves a veteran goalie to get, and a centre, or winger.

First the update. Habs Inside Out is stating that the new contract that Maxim Lapierre inked with the Habs will pay him $575,000 for 2008-09 and $800,000 for the 2009-10 season for an average of $687,500 a season. Not far from the $700,000 I suggested in a previous article.

Next we have RDS who is reporting that the Kloten Flyers of Switzerland are interested in Corey Locke. Well I guess that this gives an out to Habs General Manager Bob Gainey. If he Locke decides to play for the Flyers of Kloten then that would give the Habs a little more to work with and combine it to what they have all ready. Locke is a good minor league player however at 5′9 and 169 pounds he is a little on the smallish side for the NHL at the centre position.

Next we have un-confirmed reports that the Habs asked about acquiring Brian Campbell when the Marian Hossa deal fell through, and that there is a possibility that they are wondering if he will be available come July 1.

I don’t know why the Habs would pay Campbell 7-$8 million when there are other possibilities available to them if they are looking for a defense-man.

The Miami Herald wrote that soon to be restricted free agent Jay Bouwmeester is noncommittal about his future for the Florida Panthers. Jacques Martin had this to say about the situation,

“There is no progress in contract talks. He wants to win. That’s the issue. He wants to be in the play-offs. We all do.”

Why not try and grab Bouwmeester instead of Campbell. He would be just as good and a little bigger but would not cost as much in salary as Campbell. Unfortunately to get Bouwmeester would mean a trade.

How about RFA Shea Webber of the Nashville Predators? At 6′3″ and 213 pounds with a mean streak, why wouldn’t the Habs offer a little package for him?

Of course this is all speculation as Canadiens GM Bob Gainey stated in an end of season press conference that he will be looking to bolster the forward position. Was that statement a smoke screen? Are the Habs trying to land a D-Man and a forward?

Well one thing is for sure, the Habs are in on a lot of high profile names at the forward position.

Sportsnet  is reporting that former San Jose Sharks head coach Ron Wilson was hired by the Toronto Maple Leafs officially today. This after weeks of speculation. Wilson had this to say about his new endeavour,

“This is an unbelievable day for me. The last couple of weeks have been very exciting.”

Wilson also went on to say,

“I view the Leafs as a team in transition. It’s going to require a lot of work, and a lot of attention to detail.”

Wilson continued by adding,

“As a coach, you just want to put yourself in a position to knock on the door. And if we can be knocking on the door in two years, I think that will be a tremendous accomplishment. Then we’ve just got to knock the door down.”

Ron WIlson is a good coach. The Leafs have a person who could potentially turn the play of the team around. Unfortunately some people are crying tampering.

With the rumours still around that the Leafs are waiting for Brian Burke of the Anaheim Ducks to be their next General Manager, the hiring of one of Burke’s friends is sending flags up everywhere. Sure the Leafs can argue that they hired who they thought was the best candidate for them and leave it at that. If Burke somehow becomes the Leafs next GM however, there will be many people who will question the decision on WIlson.

For now congratulations to the Leafs. Wilson should put them in the right direction.

RDS is reporting that the L.A. Kings have fired coach Marc Crawford. Crawford still had one year left on his contract.

When questioned about his decision, Kings Gm Dean Lombardi had this to say,

“We appreciate what Marc has done here for the past two years. We believe however that a coaching change was the right decision to make.”

Too bad. The Kings young talent like Anze Kopitar, Dustin Brown and Patrick O’Sullivan where starting to play well. Something to take note of however, the Kings have no starting goalie. Is that Crawford’s fault?

The Kings will be good in a couple of years. They also have the number two draft pick and should be able to pick someone of good abilities.

One could make a strong argument that this player is one of the best at his position ever in the NHL. WIth his five James Norris Memorial trophies, one Conn Smythe, having appeared in nine All-Star games, having been voted to the NHL All Rookie team and the Olympic tournament All-Star team and just recently winning his fourth Stanley cup Nicklas Lidstrom  also made history.

Lidstrom is the captain of the Wings. Having been named captain after Steve Yzerman retired at the beggining of the 2006-07 season, Lidstrom has never looked back. Being that Lidstrom is the captain of the Wings, this means that he will go in the history books as the first European to be the captain of a Stanley Cup winning team.

Before this season, no European was ever captain of a Stanley Cup winning team. No small feat. Yes one could argue that Europeans haven’t been in the NHL since the beginning of the league, but even so, one could look at some teams that boast having a European as their captain and see if they have ever won the cup with them.

The Mats Sundin Toronto Maple Leafs. Sundin is an excellent player and captain on his team, but for whatever reason, the Leafs haven’t won the cup with him at the helm, albeit not the fault of Sundin.

The Saku Koivu Montreal Canadiens. Same could be said for them.

The Markus Naslund Vancouver Canucks. Same.

The Jaromir Jagr New York Rangers. Same.

To name a few, the European captain teams mentioned above have not won the prestigious cup with those captains. Those teams all have had a chance but have not been able to capture the biggest prize in the NHL.

Not that those captains aren’t good players, they are, but for whatever the reason be it lack of talent on the team, no goalie or whatever, they haven’t won it. This is just an overview but the stats remain.

Nicklas Lidstrom has taken a great team and lead them to the promise land. Something that European born players should be proud of. Lidstrom has now opened the door for others to follow. And this should quiet the “No European has ever been the captain of a cup winning team” talk.

Lidstrom will forever be in the history books as the first European born player to have won the Stanley Cup as a captain.

There is no more of a deserving European captain to be the first. With Lidstrom’s impressive resume, he will undoubtedly be in the Hall of Fame. He might even capture one more cup in the process. And he can now add something else to the list of accolades he possesses, European captain winning the cup.

Congratulations to Nicklas. All his hard work and determination as well as his dominating the offensive defense-man position has paid off before, when he won three Stanley Cups, but this one the fourth, will be the crowning achievement of his career.

RDS is reporting that Maxim Lapierre was indeed signed by Bob Gainey–General Manager–for two years. Gainey had this to say about Lapierre,

“Maxim is one of our young core group of players that contribute to the success of our team. His grit, determination and energy are important attributes that we look for in our young players”.

With this signing, Gainey is starting to make his fourth line. Lapierre is quick and has some talent, however he hit the boards more than hitting the players last season and will have to change that if he is going to make a statement for the next two years.

Lapierre will also have to work heavily on his face-offs. Lapierre has some size at 6′2” and 200 pounds to win face-offs on a regular basis. Lapierre was decent in the circle at the end of the year, and in the play-offs. Unfortunately decent doesn’t cut it in the NHL.

Maxim who has the capability to be one of the best pests of the league, will have to improve on his fighting skills also. Going after P.J. Axelsson won’t get him any respect around the league. He has to be willing to back up all the words he uses during a game.

Gainey made a good signing. Lapierre won’t be expensive for the next two years and has gained experience while playing for the Habs last season. Lapierre has the talent to be a good third line player, possibly a fourth line player as well. He is young and well liked in Montreal. Lapierre knows his role, now he has to fully embrace it or run the risk of being sent back down to the minors like the early part of this past season. There will be many youngsters gunning for his job during training camp. Contract or not, it will be up to Lapierre to win his spot next season.

One RFA down, six to go. That is if there are no trades that happen before the next season starts.

First off, RDS is reporting that the Montreal Canadiens are under negotiation with Andrei Kostitsyn. Kostitsyn who is slated to become a restricted free agent come July 1, is said to be general manager Bob Gainey’s top priority.

Bob Gainey said this about the RFA,

“We think in Andrei’s case considering the season he just had, that he is the most important RFA that we have to resign.”

When asked about Mark Streit Gainey had this to say,

“Mark brought the team a particular contribution this year. He had many points on the power-play. The question is if we will have enough room in our team salary structure.”

With the Streit statement, one could surmise that the Habs want to keep him but not at any price. Could there be something else going on for the Habs to possibly use their money?
RDS is also reporting that Habs affiliate team the Cincinnati Cyclones have won the Kelly trophy in the ECHL. A team which Bob Gainey has helped to build.

Now for the good stuff.

The Hockey News is reporting that soon to be unrestricted free agent Mats Sundin might not resign with the Toronto Maple Leafs. And that the Detroit Red Wings could be gunning for him. But Sundin is also rumoured to be asking for 2 years at $8 million per year. Montreal and Ottawa are also rumoured to be getting ready to make a pitch to Sundin.

Next we have un-confirmed reports that Saku Koivu could be trying to convince Teemu Selanne to play with the Habs, this being Koivu’s last contract year. Koivu would like his best friend to play at least one year with him before Selanne retires for good.

Another un-confirmed report states that the Canadiens could be interested in soon to be RFA Wade Redden of the Ottawa Senators. Although I do believe that Redden still has juice in the tank, is he the answer the Habs need at the blue-line? Redden is a puck mover, and is not physical, considering that when the Sens went to the final last season that the Anaheim Ducks pounded him like there was no tomorrow, I’m not sure that he is the answer. He is still good, depending on the price, and depending on who the Habs will have surrounding him to be the physical presence.

Next there is the fact that Pavol Demitra could be interested in the Vancouver Canucks and the Canadiens. Although this winger might still have a good season or two left in him under optimum conditions, he is not the answer for the Habs. He is good but why take a roster spot away from a youngster, I would rather see Selanne.

Lastly, something I mentioned in another article is that Olaf Kolzig could be in Montreal next season. With the New York Rangers so far being the only other team manifesting interest in him, the Habs could luck out. Kolzig is also part owner of the Tri-City Americans, a team which new number one Habs goalie Carey Price has played for.

Also there is mounting evidence that the Tampa Bay Lightning may be a little worried about Vincent Lecalvalier’s shoulder, and might be willing to trade him. Montreal is rumoured among other names to have thrown in Chris Higgins as part of a possible trade. Wouldn’t that be nice.

The Montreal Canadiens are heading into draft day so far without signing any of their RFA’s or UFA’s. With the top priority for the Habs being the Mark Streit situation, there has been no news since the end of the Habs post season campaign. One has to think that Gainey is up to something.

Mats Sundin–who the Canadiens tried to acquire at the trade deadline–has yet to make up his mind about his future, or has he?
David Shoalts of The Globe and Mail wrote an article called “Sundin Coy About Future”. In this article Mats Sundin was asked if he was going to retire or return to the Maple Leafs, Sundin replied,

“I do think I have a lot of different options I can explore. I think I still want to end my career as a Toronto Maple Leaf. Saying that though, the way the situation is right now, I don’t have everything in my control either.”

Sundin went on to say,

“There’s got to be a mutual agreement there. And as I said, I don’t have anything I can say about what’s going to happen next year yet. I don’t know. Obviously what’s going to happen in Toronto is very interesting, and it’s going to affect my decision in the future.”

When Sundin was asked when he thought his decision would be made, Sundin had this to say,

“In the next month or so, I guess.”

Wow. For someone who said in late February that he wanted to stay in Toronto he sure changed his mind quick.

If Sundin becomes a UFA come July 1, Montreal will surely knock on his door again. Sundin made $5.5 million last season and if one reads between the lines he will want more to play next year. Will the Habs clear some space to accommodate him? I believe so.

With Bob Gainey studying what’s happening around the league right now, is he also planning something? Gainey has a plethora of young players to sign and his pick in this year’s draft to go along with a potentially un-happy goalie in Jaroslav Halak to deal with. Will Gainey make something happen at the draft and worry about signing players after the draft to see what he has left?

There are rampant reports in Montreal that the Tampa Bay Lightning could be preparing a trade including Vincent Lecavalier and Evgeni Artyukhin. Could Gainey be secretly in on this deal? With the sale of the Bolts being imminent, I find it hard to believe that the new owners wouldn’t want Lecavalier’s star power on the team but they could also want to start their own team with Steve Stamkos expected to be their pick in this year’s draft.

Then there is the Marian Hossa sweepstakes which will commence on July 1, 2008. Hossa will be the most sough after UFA this summer. With most likely almost all the 30 teams in the NHL already talking to his agent, Hossa will have exactly what he wants. Gainey also went after Hossa at the trade deadline. Will he attempt to sign Sundin and Hossa? Is Gainey preparing something at the draft to enable him to do so?

The goalie situation is also interesting. With Carey Price being the franchise goalie it and the Habs needing an experienced goalie to help Price develop and provide some relief duties, will Gainey go after disgusted goalie Olaf Kolzig? Kolzig was basically replaced buy Christobal Huet when the Canadiens traded him there at the deadline. Kolzig has said that he will not be returning to the Washington Capitals.

TSN wrote an article on Kolzig, when asked about his feelings on how the turn of event affected him Kolzig replied,

“For me it was disappointing the way it ended. It’s unfortunate because they have a good team here now. It’s a fantastic team, fantastic group of guys. Not to be part of that is going to be tough, especially after 17 years and three years of what we went through post lock out.”

When Kolzig was asked about his future he had this to say,

“I haven’t completely made up my mind. For me it’s all about my family. The situation has to be good for my family. I still feel that I can be a dominant goalie in this league. If the offer is not out there…. I’ll just sit by the pool with a six-pack.”

It is too quiet in Montreal right now. Nothing is going on. Some are speculating that there is something going on. Gainey could be setting the table to do something at the draft to either set his team up to sign a couple of UFA’s (Sundin, Hossa) or acquire a player to entice one or both of those players to come to Montreal. Gainey has to make his team better than last year as all NHL eyes will be on the Habs considering all the celebrations planned for this year.

Lafleur said in his column that both Saku Koivu and Alex Kovalev will be unrestricted free agents after next season. He went on to say that the Habs should re-sign Kovalev and let Koivu go. Lafleur had a few comments to add,

“I have the conviction that Kovalev is more useful to the Canadiens than the captain, especially if Kovalev continues to play as he did this year.”

 

Lafleur also had this to add,

“Not that Koivu doesn’t have his place on the team or that he hasn’t given everything to the Habs during his career in Montreal. But business is business and the best possible team must be given to the fans. In this regard Koivu is an excellent (chip) who could bring interesting dividends (in return).”

Saku Koivu is slated to make $250,000 more than Kovalev this year at $4,750,000.

Perhaps some agree that this must happen. Maybe some do not agree.

Something to take note of in the case of Mr. Lafleur, these recent comments about the Habs are coming from the same person who commented earlier this past season that the Canadiens were a team with 4 fourth lines and wouldn’t accomplish much. I guess Lafleur ate his words at the end of the season.

Alex Kovalev has undoubtedly the most talent on the Habs roster. Saku Koivu is talented but also has the  most heart on the team. If the Canadiens were to re-sign the talent and not the heart, they would have to replace it. Sure there are some players on the Canadiens who have heart. Unfortunately most of those players don’t have the talent or sheer determination that Koivu has.

Some numbers of note for Guy Lafleur:

Drafted first overall in the 1971 amateur draft by the Habs.

3 Art Ross Trophies

2 Hart Memorial Trophies

1 Conn Smythe Trophy

3 Lester B. Pearson Trophies

5 Stanley Cups

These stats are impressive but do they make him an expert in today’s NHL? Everyone is entitled to their opinion. But like I said if the Habs do not tender a contract to Koivu they will have to replace his talent as well as his determination.

The top blue-line prospect for the Canucks had a promising future in the NHL. Unfortunately for us the fans, we will not get the chance to see Bourdon flourish in the NHL.

Prayers and best wishes go out to the Bourdon family as well as the Canucks organization and their minor league team the Manitoba Moose.

This is a sad day to say the least. I hope that the NHL will help the Bourdon family in whatever aspect it can.

First off, Habs gm Bob Gainey was selected as best gm this year by his peers. This according to RDS. This latest news for Gainey should be even more evidence for Habs fans as their own gm has been chosen amongst 29 other gm’s and by 29 other gm’s as the best among them. Bob Gainey is slowly but surely making the Canadiens an organization of the future. Perhaps it is not going fast enough for some fans but consider this, why would all the other general managers in the NHL vote Gainey as gm of the year? Gainey has accomplished almost all of what he wanted too, almost. Good for the rest of the league’s gm’s for noticing.

Secondly also according to RDS, Pierre Boivin President of the Montreal Canadiens, was not surprised to learn that his gm Bob Gainey was voted as the best gm of the year. When asked about the Habs Boivin had this to say,

“We have a direction and we are respecting it. Our goal is to have a competitive team for years to come.”

When Boivin was asked about what the chances of the Canadiens obtaining a free agent starting July 1, were he had this to say,

“The most important thing is that we are close. Before we were not even in the race.”

Pierre Boivin thinks that his team has a good chance to land a free agent or two because of the succes of his team in the regular season and told RDS this,

“When you finish third in the league, and first in your conference, you are one of the best teams. We can’t control the choice of individual players but we will be in the running for sure.”

RDS questioned Boivin about the fact that some Russians might go back and play in the new Russian league and that they could lose Andrei Kostitsyn and had this to say,

“We’ll do everything we can to keep our players. Our Russians had a good season. In that group we have leaders and players which are still developing so we will keep them with us.”

Another article by RDS states that impending Restricted free agent Andrei Kostitsyn wants to stay in Montreal. This is a good thing as Kostitsyn still has alot to offer the Habs and it would be a shame if they lost him.

The Cincinnati Cyclones–a Canadiens affiliate team in the ECHL–has made it to the final series, winning their first three series 4-0, 4-3 after being down in the series 3-2 and 4-1. During the regular season the Cyclones had a record of 55-12-1-4 giving them 115 points and the triple crown consisting of winning their division, conference and being the number one team in the league. The cyclones are in the final against the Las Vegas Wranglers and will try to bring home the Patrick J. Kelly trophy. Currently after two games the series is tied 1-1.

Even if the Cyclones don’t win the trophy, it is more proof that Bob Gainey is making the Habs an organization to be proud of and not just a team. Last year the minor team of the Habs the Hamilton Bulldogs won the Calder trophy, now the Cylcones have a chance to win their league’s respective trophy. Bob Gainey deserved to win the best gm in the league. Perhaps the Cyclones might not win but at least they made it to the final. The Habs now have to get past the second round next year, and with talent still in Hamilton and Cincinnati, the future looks bright.

Having swept the Ottawa Senators in four games then taking care of the New York Rangers in five games, it was only fitting that the Pens took care of the Flyers in five games as well. So far in the 2008 play-offs the Pens record is 12-2. Pretty good if you consider the fact that the Pens were not a great defensive team in the regular season.

Pittsburgh’s defence in the post season is, well, great. Pittsburgh with players like Evgeni Malkin, Marian Hossa, Sidney Crosby, Ryan Malone, Jordan Stall, Petr Sykora, and Sergei Gonchar have the offence to compete with any team in the NHL. The elite scoring players of the Pens are not only scoring goals, coach Michel Therrien also has them playing defense.

Pittsburgh goalie Marc Andre Fleury who was sent down to the minors this season for some conditioning has played outstanding this post season. Ty Conklin who took over for Fleury when he was sent to the minors has yet to see a post season game for the Pens. For the past couple of seasons Fleury had not been consistent in his play. Fleury has chosen the right time to play well it would seem.

This new Pens team seems like the old team in 1991-92 when they had such players as Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr, Ron Francis, Alex Kovalev, Mark Recchi, and  Alexei Morosov. WIll this current team have what it take to bring home Lord Stanley’s Cup?

Pittsburgh now awaits the winner of the Detroit Red Wings and the Dallas Stars. The WIngs lead the series 3-2. The Stars will try to tie the series at three games a piece tonight.

Whichever team joins the Pens in the final will meet a rested team ready to prove to the NHL that youth is a good thing.

The NHL is most probably excited that one of the teams that they wanted in the final has already made it. The NHL will never admit that it favors one team or the other, but it must be happy that their t.v. revenues will be high as the Pens are a high t.v. rated team with all their stars. Stars or Wings, doesn’t really matter to the NHL as all three of the remaining teams have marketable players.

Pittsburgh has been waiting for a long time to reach the finals again, question is will they profit from the situation? 

Bob Gainey–general manager of the Habs–will have 10 million more to work with next season in cap room, not to mention the salaries of Christobal Huet–2,750,00–Michael Ryder–2,950,000– for a total of 5,700,000. Being that the Habs were already 4 million under the current cap, if the cap rises to 56.3 million the Canadiens will be 10 million under the cap, factor in the 5,700,000 that they will not be paying to players this season and that is 15,700,000.

Add in player which the Habs were still paying for like Garth Murray being paid a little over 500,000, and it’s even more.

Mathieu Dandenault has voiced his unhappiness at playing so little last season, and it would seem that he no longer has a place with the team. If the Canadiens chose to buy Dandenault out of the remaining year of his contract they will still save money. It’s not ridiculous to suggest that the Habs might have over 16,000,000 to work with for next season.

To that 16,000,000 factor in that if the Habs chose to keep Brian Smolinski–who becomes an un-restricted free agent July 1,–which it appears that they won’t, then they would most certainly sign him for less next season as this season his salary was 2,000,000. What would they offer a player who’s best days are behind him? Perhaps between 1,000,000 and 1,500,000, there would be more money saved. The Habs would be better suited to not tender a contract to Smolinski and save all of the 2,000,000, Smolinski is a nice guy and did help out in a minor way, but aren’t there any players in the minors who couldn’t be any worse? The Habs would be better off trading for, or bringing up someone to replace Smolinski.

Let’s presume for arguments sake that the Habs will have between 16,000,000 and 18,000,000 to work with. Even if the Habs re-sign RFA’s like Ryan O’Byrne, Josh Gorges, Corey Locke, Maxim Lapierre, Mikhail Grabovski, Jaroslav Halak and Andrie Kostitsyn, they won’t bust the bank. First off there is no-one who could say out of those 7 RFA’s who will return. Andrei Kostitsyn has been rumoured to have listened to an offer from the Russian Elite League. Halak wasn’t happy with his playing time last year, and wants to play more than 25 games next season. Mikhail Grabovski pulled a disappearing act in Phoenix last season when the coach didn’t play him, so in reality who will be back?

Let’s presume that they all will, Lapierre who made 562,000 last season won’t be making much more, let’s say 700,000. O’Byrne is still too young and didn’t play much, his salary was 590,000, so let’s say 800,000. Gorges played well especially after the mid-way point of the year, his salary was 495,000, so let’s say 1-1.5 million. Locke has almost never played for the Habs, his salary was 495,000, let’s say 6-7,00,000 for him. Andrei Kostitsyn will be the most expensive signing as he made 612,000 last year and with his 26 goals, 27 assists for 53 points and a +15 rating in the regular season to go with his 8 points in 12 games in the play-offs, he will most likely make 1.5-2,000,000 next season. There is Halak who made 500,000 last season, he would be looking for something between 1.5-2,000,000 as well. Lastly Grabovski who made 700,000 last season will probably go up to 900,000 or 1,000,000.

If, and that’s a big if all those RFA’s end up being signed by the Habs next season, taking into account the highest numbers that I provided, the Habs would be looking at 7,700,000. Now these numbers are an approximation, and could either go up or down, but these numbers only work if the Canadiens keep all their RFA’s, which they might not. Let’s round it off to 7,000,000, if the Habs have between 16-18,000,000 to work with then they will have 11,000,000 after they sign all their RFA’s–if they keep them all–and would be able to attract a nice high profile free agent, or two.

Yes the Canadiens have some players to sign 2009-10 season as well but the cap will probably rise again, and they might not keep all those players either.

For the sake of argument the Habs are in good position this year, even if they chose to keep all their RFA’s. Let’s hope that the brains–Bob Gainey–behind the Habs will use his money wisely and help get the Habs closer to what hasn’t been here in 15 years.

Since the lock-out season in 2004-05, the cap has steadily continued to increase. From three years ago until now the NHL has increased it’s cap, with three years left in the CBA, it isn’t ludacris to suggest that by the end of the current CBA the NHL will have a salary cap of over 70 million at the current rate of inflation.

It’s a good thing that the cap continues to climb, sure the fans are paying more for their tickets, but it also means that even if ticket prices have soared the fans are willing to pay, which in turn means more revenue for the NHL, and teams.

Unfortunately for the NHL when the current CBA ends, if the cap is 70 million or over, teams like the New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, Detroit Red Wings, and maybe a few others will be able to maintain a competitive team, however there might be another debate as to small market teams like the Edmonton Oilers, and Calgary Flames–to name only two– and if they will be able to survive with the cap and floor being so high.

This could result in the public and players as well as the owners losing one year of hockey and revenues as well as salaries for nothing, Eventually you might have teams being able to support two three or four players making over 8 million a season. That doesn’t mean that a certain team will be the best. Look at the Tampa Bay Lightning, until the trade deadline Tampa had Vincent Lecavalier, Brad Richards, and Martin St-Louis, and they did poorly even though those players had a good year.

I presume that for now all the fans can do is go with the flow, and challenge their respective teams to use the accending cap to acquire better players or keep the good players that they already have. However if the world of hockey is subject to another lock-out in three years I don’t think that the fans will be so quick to come back to the sport.

For now let’s all enjoy the fact that there is hockey, and make our teams use the money that is available to them and acquire some more players, let’s enjoy it while we can.

Ferland who seemed to be a career minor leaguer, chose to go and sign in Europe. Probably a wise decision as the Habs were never going to bring him to the big leagues. Ferland played a couple of games in the NHL, but never showed any kind of readiness to remain there. There were no rumours that any of the other 29 NHL teams were interested in him, which is why Ferand most likely chose to play for a European team. There was no room for him with the Canadiens, and it’s about time he left the organization. Ferland has been playing in the system for too many years. Feralnd’s departure leaves room for someone else, a fresh face.

Ryan White is a 6′ 213 pound centre who was able to have 72 points in 68 games this season. He could help out the Hamilton Bulldogs for a season or two. At 20 years of age he still has a few years before it will be essential for him to make the NHL. White’s stats are better than Ferland’s. White is an all-around better player than Ferand was.

One leaves, another arrives. Let’s hope that White will help out the Habs minor system next season. The Canadiens selected White 66th overall in the 2006 draft.