Pride is good in small doses, but never something to depend on. With last nights’ varying adjustments in pride, attitude, and stripping away false senses of security, the bottom eight of both Conferences as well as that elusive shot at the Prize of the West, are anything but solid.

The firestorm from Calgary arrived in Charlotte, and an eager Canes band, newly re-united with Eric Cole proceeded to put them out like a dog soaking a lit cigarette in the street. Any boost the recent trade deadline produced, coupled with the win over Philadelphia was sufficiently damped.

I don’t think this was truly much more than a bad shift of the moon and just one of those nights that the best intentions go awry. Calgary was at least present during the game, but flat. They certainly owed their goaltender Curtis McElhinney more than they have delivered to him in his 13 NHL appearances.

On the flipside, it has been nice to see Sergei Samsonov in the similar form he was as an Edmonton Oiler, with the Moscow native netting 2 points, and the game winning goal.

While not an utterly critical game for the Flames, it was a necessary duece for the Hurricanes, who remain on the cusp of a Playoff hunt.

The Great One led his pack of canine-like creatures into the Herd to tangle in Buffalo. And now you know what it sounds like when a great crushing occurs.

Even with the best efforts of Ilya Bryzgalov and one of my favorite defencemen, Ken Klee, Maxim Afinegenov and the Slug pack pulled a win out of the hat. Even if watching Klee bank Afinegenov off of the boards like a five cent bouncy ball made me hold me breath for a moment.

With one point and one game separating the Sabres once again from the Stanley Cup Playoffs it was a do or die game delivered to throngs of blue and gold from familiar names like Jason Pominville and Tim Connolly. Having Patrick Lalime minding the net for Buffalo’s injured Miller Time hasn’t been a bad call on Lindy Ruff’s part, either.

A Sabres win tonight against Ottawa will bounce Pittsburgh out of the Top 8, and Buffalo into the golden block.

Nothing says retribution like playing against the team that traded you only two weeks before. But for Mathieu Schneider, it’s a full circle come to life as the current Habs defenceman plays on the roster of the very man who centered his 1993 Stanley Cup victory against the Los Angeles Kings, Guy Carbonneau. It would not only be the last time the Canadiens would hold the Cup, but the last time they would even see the Stanley Cup Finals since.

Unfortunately, with the way Les Habitats played in Philips Arena, minus the obvious work of Schneider and excellent goaltending of Cary Price, Playoff dreams could potentially slip away. The play was lackluster and uninspired at best.

Atlanta, however, actually brought a game to the arena to give the fans something other than the door prizes to take home. At the worst, it would have made a South Park caricature.

Carbo believes that the Habs brought some effort. I didn’t see it. Except for when young Zach Bogosian took a healthy beating with a smile on the assaulting Hab’s face. That was like warm cocoa on a cold winter night.

Skate ‘em, Carbo, for old time’s sake.

St. Louis met the Lightning at home in Tampa Bay’s St. Pete Times Forum, where they proceeded to sing a song of good ole hockey that gave the Bolts the blues. In typical fashion, Tampa responded to a 3 goal deficit in the third period with their own set of three to force overtime.

But there would be no tacos.

First, they were in Tampa. Second, in sudden death overtime, a forth goal was the night’s limit.

Since that made no sense to most hockey greenhorns, I’ll explain it. Before the infamous Hockey Lockout of 2004-2005, local Taco Bell restaurants in the St. Louis area offered thirty-five cent tacos the day following a Blues game when the Blues scored five goals or more. On the forth goal, the crowd would begin to chant, “We Want TACOS!”

And I’m going to miss Gary Roberts. It was an honor to have him grace the Bolts jersey.

In a must-win battle for the potential 8th seed in the West, the Dallas Stars and 10th ranked Anaheim Ducks met in a battle royale. The Stars, in an onslaught once again spearheaded by Ribiero and backended by Marty Turco, show us what the Dallas Stars do best on the ice, divide and conquer.

They continually kept Anaheim split on the forecheck, drove a triangle pattern to the net, and somehow it worked. I haven’t seen much of Anaheim this year, but it appears the Ducks are flying south, with the Stars rising into the eighth slot. With the matchup of Edmonton and Toronto, the future of that slot remains insecure.

The bottom ranks of the East and West are shifting day to day, so get ready for March’s Hairy Ride to the Finish.

And that, my friends, is hockey as we know it.

And yes, I love this job. Thanks to Alin Mateescu and staff for bringing me to RMT.

Arguably, the best fan-centric franchise in the NHL resides at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. In their fledgling nine years, as of January 3rd, 2009, the Wild have sold out every home game in their arena’s history. They have also retired only one jersey in that nine year history. It chokes me up to think about it, because when I look deeply into my inner canuck, I realize that this is simply the way things should be in our great sport.

The Minnesota Wild will never have a player with the number 1 on their jersey, because that star player is their fans.

If you drive north for three hours, you are still in Wild territory. You will also find yourself in the presence of the World’s Largest Hockey Stick, in Eveleth, Minnesota.

Waivers. There’s something disheartening about that word, one that makes a player rethink their history, hope for the future, and attempt to avoid a sense of misery. It’s not a trade, a trade has a larger sense of respect to it.

Yet, there he was. He had been to the Stanley Cup Playoffs with Anaheim, in the megolithic age of players like Steve Rucchin, Paul Kariya, and Niclas Havelid, back when the Ducks actually had a logo.

He had a ring with the Carolina Hurricanes, when against a storm of attacks from the League’s best in Chris Pronger, Michael Peca, and Ryan Smyth, he was allowed to have his day with Lord Stanley’s Cup.

And yet again, the silver taste on his lips hung as he chased it, once again in the Playoffs with Ottawa as a Senator.

Then, he found himself on waivers.

There’s something brewing in Toronto, and as much as many of us outside of Burke’s domain have ridiculed him, we saw, as Alex Ovechkin also watched from the sidelines, a sense of urgency and fury that we should not so quickly expect from a currently bottom third ranked team.

Ovechkin’s good, but I’m gaining faith in the Swiss Martin Gerber. For a goaltender who has been to the Playoffs with every team he’s played on, this could be a sign, Toronto.

It’s easy to get a big head. You have the contract, get to date the pretty models, and if you are proactive enough, you find yourself in the news quite a bit. It’s all cake until your only claim to fame is the “Most Hated Player in Hockey”. Bettman gets kudos. I’ve been watching the interviews, watching the play of our titled anti-hero, and I have to say, the guy I used to despise is growing on me.

I can’t believe I’m truly beginning to like Sean Avery. Finally, the guy has come to actually play hockey.

If I had nothing to like about the Rangers before, as a Bolt fan first and foremost, I have to say Torty is an excellent fit. Maybe with these and the new trades of Antropov from Toronto, and Morris from Phoenix, there will be a Rangers team Mark Messier can once again respect.

The West is nothing less than a horse race to the finish every year. I am pleased to actually see the Blue Jackets gracing the Top 8, for the first time in their history. Although the Wild have tasted Playoff hockey, Columbus has not, even with the incredible talents of Rick Nash and the former defenceman Sergei Fedorov. With Kristian Huselius and the newly acquired Antoine Vermette, expect more firepower from the already impressive arsenal to reach into May.

While the Jackets suffered a visceral defeat from a determined Predators team, don’t count them out. We certainly have not seen the last of the Columbus Blue Jackets.

He won a Stanley Cup, and then found himself traded to the Flyers for some upshot named Rick Tocchet. You know where I’m going with this. He won a second Stanley Cup with our aforementioned Martin Gerber. He has been to more teams than even he would care to name, and in just over a calendar year, has now played on four different teams: the Penguins, Thrashers, Tampa Bay, and now called forth to add to an already impressive Boston Bruins. While his service as a player under the coaching of the very upstart in 1992 that placed him with the Flyers, Mark Recchi is the man you call when you need something solid, something with heart. Having Recchi on your roster is the same as loading up with sorghum syrup before a happy day of logging.

Playing Boston was rough before. Now it’s like playing the Bruins on crack, with the Jolly Green Giant for a Captain.

Don’t feed the Bears, folks.

The Atlanta Thrashers have a new motto: “When you care enough to get rid of the very best”. First it was Mathieu Schneider to Montreal (who will be in Atlanta to clean their collective clocks tonight), now Niclas Havelid to New Jersey. If there is a player more professional and dedicated to his sport and his fanbase, I’d like to meet them.

For me, since I have met Havelid personally, this is a well-deserved move, both for Havelid and New Jersey. He taught my son that you can’t touch the Cup until you win it. So when it came to Atlanta, the little one wouldn’t. Perhaps this is his year. He certainly belongs on a team of the Devils’ caliber.

Now that God is back in the net, this should all get very interesting.

Tonight, Carolina and Buffalo are in must-win games, and the fate of Dallas-Anaheim hangs in the balance with each team striving to displace Edmonton for 8th seed in the West. The gangly roots of the Playoff Beard are beginning to grow.

And that, my friends, is hockey as we know it.

What got them there? Well honestly a resilient offense and timely goaltending from someone not named Martin Brodeur for most of the season is what got the Devils to this point. When Brodeur went down on November 1st…did anyone expect them to be in this position? No! Scott Clemmensen did an incredible job under the worst circumstances with 25 wins for Jersey. However he did tail off the last 10 days sort of like he did the first 10. Patrik Elias has 65 points for the team and Zach Parise has 73 points. The Devils, in all, have scored 186 goals in 61 games which is good for 3.05 goals per game. As an oh by the way Jamie Langenbrunner, the captain has chipped in with 52 points including 19 goals and 5 GWG’s….he is a clutch man when clutch is needed. Travis Zajac in his third year also has 52 points which has been a huge surprise for a team that did not expect quite that much from him.

Now what got them there to me is a simple philosophy that quite a few people forgot about. That started during last year’s playoff series in Game 3 where the Devils decided to play a little more of a run and gun style. They would go on to lose to the Rangers in five games but it set the stage for this season. Signing Brian Rolston and Bobby Holik helped play a big part in that. Now they have not produced in the way expected but they have been effective. Effective works as most know! Still this team does have some needs and that is a cold reality as team vie for the Stanley Cup come April.

What they need? It looks like the team needs a defenseman for starters. The goaltending is obviously covered. Never hurts to have an all-world netminder….ever! Ideally the Devils need a two way defenseman to create some more offense while being able to muscle guys out of Brodeur’s way. A guy like Jay-Bo wouldn’t hurt but the reality may dictate more a return of Scott Niedermayer or Jordan Leopold and even that might not be all that likely. After all, that is the whole point of a wish list. You wish for it but it does not mean you will get it. Sad commentary on life that your team cannot always get what they want.

This team could use another scoring forward especially if Brian Gionta really is as digruntled as people have said. That of course depends on who you read and who you ask. The Devils could bring up someone from Lowell if they really had to. It would not hurt to get a little younger as Gionta is having a nice season but should have just about a point a game with who he is playing. He did nearly score 50 once but that seems like eons ago! Rolson has also been a bit of a disappointment in that sense…people just expected more I guess. Maybe it will come next year but for chemistry’s sake a 2nd line scorer couldn’t hurt. Who could they get? Well Gabork is out…how about maybe a Tim Connolly perhaps. Time will tell.

What Will They Get? Not sure truthfully….there are so many wild rumors out there that usually the quiet ones are hard to gauge. This time of year really is like a “Christmas” of sorts for teams as they find out what they will have to work with as they go into battle for the Stanley Cup! Leopold might be the most practical and affordable but will the Devils have enough “goods” to aim higher? Brian Gionta and a pick or two, toss in a Pandolfo and the Devils might be able to address their needs. Then again the trade deadline is like high stakes poker….sometimes you have to go all in to get what you want.

Come Wednesday Evening we will see what the Devils wind up getting. Will it be enough? I do not know but surely we will be back with analysis of the Devils Trade Deadline as well as the NHL Trade Deadline. Enjoy the hockey till then!

Neither Conklin nor Ozzie have been good enough this season, and let’s face it the Wings won’t repeat the great cup run with a .890 save percentage.

My personal solution, DO NOT TRADE FOR ANYONE, DO NOT CALL OUT OZZIE OR CONKLIN, simply CALL UP HOWARD

Jimmy Howard has been a Red Wing prospect for the last 3 seasons, although he’s never played more than 4 games in a season, he’s a decent prospect, I believe the Red Wings as a team have nothing to lose, the defence is clicking, the offense has chemistry, besides Howard must gain experience if the management wants him to become the next Chris Osgood.

What is going on these days, NHL-KHL, now KHL-NHL? This has to stop! First of all Zherdev was still under contract to play in the NHL so his departure was a no go, fine. Now rumors are surfacing that Jagr could come to the NHL and play for the Oilers? Don’t get me wrong, Jagr was one of the best players in the NHL for a long time, and might still have what it takes to play, not to mention that he has been playing hockey all season unlike a certain Swedish player who sgined in December and just got in to shape now, but how can the NHL allow this?

If a player decides to skip town when his contract is over and play in the KHL that’s fine, same goes for leaving the KHL and coming to the NHL, but why mid-season, this is completely ludicrous! The players have to wait untill the current season is over.

This all started with Teemu Selanne, and Scott Niedermayer taking their sweet time in coming back, then Zherdev wanting to leave, followed by Mats Sundin having to ponder his future in the NHL until late December when he signed with the Vancouver Canucks, now Jagr?

Yes I know, if the teams are willing to let this happen and be a part of it then the players will use and abuse it, but does that make it right? And let’s not forget Brendan Shanahan signing late this season as well.

The NHL has to put a stop to this other wise more and more players will do this, and the league will be a joke. The NHL has to put a policy in place that players have until the day before the season opens to sign their contracts and if the players have to ponder their career, well they have the whole summer to do so, or else they will have to wait until the current season is over.

This might become really annoying to fans who already think that players are making too much money, now they are allowed to sign contracts in the middle of the season? Ridiculous! but as long as owners are willing to let this happen and the league goes along with it, well then I imagine it will keep happening.

More on this NHL-KHL topic, pick one. NHL or KHL and live with your decision, no well i would like to play in the NHL again, too bad. Wait until the season is over then sign a free agent contract or else too bad. Same goes the other way. The Montreal Canadiens lost one of their defense-men to the KHL, Pavel Valentenko decided that if he wasn’t playing with the big club then off to Russia it is. I say suspend him for a whole year from coming back, after his contract is up with the Habs affiliate Hamilton Bulldogs.

Enough with this non-sense. You play in the NHL or the KHL, not come and go as you please. Let’s hope that the NHL will look into instating a policy which prohibits players from signing with an NHL club once the season has started, and also that they look into more specificaly players from another league whichever one it is and prevent NHL clubs from signing them during the current season.

For the most part of the season, the Habs loyal have linked their club to many star players. Stars like  Vinncent Lecavalier, Brad Richards, Jay Bowmeester, Tomas Kaberle, have according to Montreal fans been subject to trade talk.

Whether this has actually did happen or not, I do not know, but still, I believe the Habs loyal are pressuring too much on  a Gm that has done great things for the club, still Bob Gainey can’t perform miracles, for example the Brad Richards thing, Why would the stars trade arguably their most important star up front after fighting so much for getting him on their team just a year before?

Montreal has needs, but it isn’t a team that has no future on the playoffs, the truth of the matter is the Habs fans have the obssesion having a dream season, 100 years another Stanley Cup.

As a personal opinion I believe they should leave their GM and their players play the game, cheer for them, just do not make up these weird trades, believe me Gainey knows what he is doing.

Yes of course having a Vincent Lecavalier on the team would be great! Vinny would be the big scoring centre from Quebec that the Habs have needed since Jean Beliveau. Vinny would solidify the number one centre position for the next ten years, and the Canadiens would have their impact player they have been searching for. But what about the back end?

The Canadiens have showed that even with players like Andrei Markov, Mike Komisarek and Roman Hamrlik that they still need someone else to complete their four man scheme. Josh Gorges and Francis Bouillon are good, especially Gorges who has an impressive +18 this year, and Bouillon never ducks away from the rough play, unfortunately they are both small. Patrice Brisebois is playing well again this year, but is showing signs of fatigue as he is looked upon to be the number four guy.

The solution could be prying Pronger away from the Ducks. With Pronger’s size, mean streak and toughness, to go along with his defensive and offensive skill, he might be just what the Habs need. Think of playing the Boston Bruins or the Philadelphia Flyers in the play-offs this year. Both of those teams are big and like to pound the corners, and with Komisarek being the only one who really pounds back with any consistency, the Habs are lacking back-end size and toughness.

And what about at the forward position? Even with all the injuries the Canadiens have had this year they have still managed to score goals, so scoring doesn’t seem to be the problem. An aging Steve Begin is doing what he can to play a tough and hitting game but can’t do it every night. Tom Kostopoulos is doing what he can to defend players but seems to be more of a punching bag. Guillaume Latendresse is concentrating on scoring or passing and not finishing his checks.

Could the solution be getting Neil out of the Sens line-up? Think of Georges Laraque back in the line-up playing beside Neil. The Bruins and Flyers would have a hard time with the likes of Komisarek, Pronger, Laraque and Neil. The forwards for the Habs would be able to run free and play the way they can without worrying of retribution from the other teams. Carey Price would be a little less worried about peolpe crashing his net as he would know that there would finally be some pay back.

As I mentioned before, Lecavalier would definitely be great, but if it is impossible to get him, then Pronger and Neil would be a solution to some of the problems that the Habs have. The Canadiens would definitely be tougher team, and would surely be harder to push around.

Last year in the play-offs the Habs out hit the Bruins, but where so tired after that series that the Flyers were able to push them around, if the Canadiens acquired Neil and Pronger, that would be different, especially with Laraque in the line-up.

Hopefully Bob Gainey will make the right decision and help the Habs fill in the holes they have.

Let’s start with the players:

Who’s been great this year:

1.-Kyle Quincey, one of my personal favorites of this year, in Detroit he was a nobody (not because he didn’t play hard, but because the star filled defense of the Red Wings limited his ice time), if you read my article after the Red Wings won the Cup, you’ve might have seen that I sort of saw this one coming.

2.- Milan Lucic, If someone asked you one year ago, who is Milan Lucic? more than half of us wouldn’t have known what the hell were you talking about. This has been the Boston Bruins year (even if San Jose is higher than them on the overall Standings), all because players like Lucic have been clicking for their team (as a matter of fact I could also have chosen half of the roster, but Lucic has become one of my favorites this year)

3.-Patrick Kane, maybe one of the most predictable picks for this year, after all he’s been one of the brightest stars of the Blackhawks roster, when I look at how this guy and Jonatan Toews have changed the Blackhawks from a bottom of the standings team to a top team in the west makes me forsee a great future for the Franchise.

4.-Zach Parise.- No Brodeur = No Playoffs? Ask this guy! He’s been the most valuable Devil on the roster, his offensive explosion has given hope to a team that after the Brodeur injury was supposedly out of the playoffs.

Who’s been not so great this year:

1.- Marian Gaborik, I must say it’s not a 100 percent his fault, but he was going to be one of the “players to watch” this season as he will become a UFA, but still this guy played less than 15 games for the Wild, a team that was hoping to sign him long term or deal him at the deadline. Good luck trying to deal a guy on the long term injury list! It’s a shame because he’s a natural goal scorer.

2.- Chris Osgood I must say one of my favorite players, he’s led my favorite team to two cups (I’m not counting 1997 because it was Mike Vernon not Chris Osgood in goal), but this year he’s been not so great.

3.- Alexei Kovalev.- A point per game guy that just isn’t producing as much as last year, but then again he usually is a second half of the season guy

4.-Vinny Lecavalier, a franchise player that’s just in the middle of a franchise in conflict, in my personal point of view it’s not his fault, he just has no chemistry with his current roster, maybe the Lightning should shake things up for him or the roster (let the debate continue).

On teams I’ve got two choices on great:

San Jose: who would have imagined last summer that after just adding Rob Blake and Dan Boyle this team would be this Good! It really makes me wonder, can Ron Wilson take you all the way to a Stanley Cup?

Boston Bruins: WHAT A CHANGE! In just one year, they went from the 8th spot on the east to leading the east, it’s amazing! Everything is clicking for a team that was “lost” without Joe Thorton

On bad teams:

Ottawa: What the hell happened? Nothing is clicking, and unless Bryan Murray accepts it and shakes things up NOW things will probably go worse.

Dallas : Is one player that much a difference? Sean Avery’s prescence aparently destroyed a team that was supposed to go deep into playoffs.

The signing of the veteran forward has sparked speculation of which forward may be watching from the stands once Shanahan is ready to be inserted into the line-up. Shanahan’s presence will put pressure on several Devils forwards to step-up their games, but the most effected may be John Madden.

Madden, who is set to become a restricted free-agent after the season, has been mediocre at best this season. After posting a 20 goal season in 2007-2008, he has 4 goals and 8 assists in 37 games this season.

The 10 veteran, all as a New Jersey Devil, has seen his ice time and role diminish under Brent Sutter. The time when you would see John Madden checking the other teams top line has become a distant memory. This season has seen the long time duo of Madden and Pandolfo separated, Madden go through a 24 game goal scoring drought and at times even seen him relegated to the fourth line. Not something that you would expect for the center who will be playing between two scoring wingers in Rolston and Shanahan.

Lamoriello and Sutter both understand that to be a top contender for the Stanley Cup, you need three lines that can score and play defense. The addition of Shanahan gives the Devils the potential of three productive scoring lines, depending on how John Madden plays at center between the veteran duo of Shanahan and Rolston.

There has been speculation all season that Madden, who’s career high was 23 assists, may be moved by the trading deadline and replaced with a playmakingcenter. Now with signing of Shanahan the rumors may become reality. So after 10 years with the Devils, John Madden’s future with the organization will all depend on how much offense he can produce over the next few weeks.

The Montreal Canadiens have more points, have scored more goals and have let in fewer than at this point last year. Unfortunately the Habs power play is near the league basement this year. Who would have thought that with Chris Higgins, Saku Koivu, and Mathieu Dandenault being out for over a month each that the Canadiens would still be in good position this year. Carey Price has been battling an ankle injury for the same amount of time and Alex Tanguay and been put out twice this season thanks to two clobbering hits, and yet still the Habs are able to manage not to fall to the basement.

What’s even more intriguing is that the Habbies acquired big George Laraque in the free agent market this past off season and Laraque has not played too many games this season due firstly to a pulled groin earlier this year, and most recently a problematic back. Not to mention that Alex Kovalev who does have almost thirty points has dropped off in his goal production this year.

Tomas Plekanec has also dropped in the point producing department, which may be a factor in Kovalev dropping his production.

Mike Komisarek was injured for a few weeks also with a slightly separated shoulder.

And the second string goalie Jaroslav Halak has played in all the games since Price went down, looking decent in a couple of those, but horrible in most yet the Habs still manage to win.

The Habs good surprises this year include Matt D’agostini who was called up and started like wildfire, he has since slowed down but shows the attitude that he wants to stay with the Habs. Another is Max Pacioretti who was recently called up and has been steady with the club. Perhaps the biggest surprise this year is Mr. +- this year Josh Gorges with a +18. Not to forget aged and long in the tooth Patrice Brisebois who has played well again this most probably his last season.

Robert Lang is also proving to be a great pick up as he leads the team in points this year.

Maxim Lapierre has played well with Tom Kostopoulos this season, and since coach Guy Carbonneau told Guillaume Latendresse to smarten up after benching him for a few games this year, Latendresse has played decent with Lapierre and Kostopoulos.

Andrei Kostitsyn has woken up also, although his little brother Sergei is slowly coming out of his shell this year.

Alex Kovalev. Jaroslav Halak and Laraque seem to be the biggest let downs this year.

Factor in all that is mentioned above and realize the type of team that the Habs have. The depth they have to keep winning even-though they have lost key players with long rehab injuries this year which still have not come back yet.

I think that when all these players come back to the team at 100 per-cent that the Canadiens will be able to play the style they want.

But will the team be the same in the next few weeks?

There are rampant rumours that Bob Gainey is speaking with the Tampa Bay Lightning to help them get their salary down by taking Vincent Lecavalier off their hands.

TSN was the first to report that a trade between Montreal and Tampa Bay could happen. In the article it even goes as far as to stipulate who would be going the other way for Vinny. Plekanec, Higgins, Gorges and possible P.K. Subban as well as a couple of draft picks.

The only remaining player on the team that has yet to be sent to the Hamilton Bulldogs formation is Kyle Chipchura. The chipper is being kept s a precaution as the Habs still have some light groin injuries to a couple of their players, but Chipchura should be sent down soon enough.

With all the young talent that has impressed not only the Montreal Canadiens orgainzation, but many other teams as well as both French and English media, it’s a wonder that they were all sent down to Hamilton.

Names like Max Pacioretti, Ben Maxwell, Matt D’agostini,  and soon Kyle Chipchura are all Bulldogs for now. But all these players impressed hard in the pre-season and look to be 90% NHL ready. Are the Habs saying that Mathieu Dandenault is better than all of those players? Dandenault was riding the bench for much of the season last year.

Carey Price having lost 21 pounds this off-season looks NHL ready this year. He played really well and made some spectacular saves during all of his games.

Jaroslav Halak has a tweaked hip but with the demotion of Marc Denis to Hamilton, the Habs believe that Halak will be ready to back up Price for the start of the season. Halak also played well during his pre-season games.

The only acquisition that the Habs made in the off-season that didn’t play one pre-season game is Georges Laraque who is still nursing a groin pull. Scott Livingston ( Canadiens strength and conditioning coach) believes that big Georges should be ready be day one of the regular season.

This year is seemingly the year for the Habs as most of the team is either a restricted or un-restricted free agent at the end of the 2008-09 season.

Christopher Higgins, Saku Koivu, Alex Tanguay, Alex Kovalev, Tomas Plekanec, Sergei Kostitsyn, Robert Lang, Steve Begin, Tom Kostopoulos, Mike Komisarek, Francis Bouillon, Patrice Brisebois, and so on are all RFA’s or UFA’s at seasons end.

So it would seem that it’s now or never for the Habs. Or is it?

There has been some speculation as to the 4.5 million of Saku Koivu and where it will end up. Most seem to beleive that Koivu will either be traded or leave at the end of his contract. Would that mean that Plekanec would then become the number 1 centre of the team and the money would go to re-signing him along with someone else?

The Pittsburgh Penguins are in need of some defence-men, could the Habs trade some to them along with Higgins and a prospect for Jordan Staal?

Trades or no trades, speculation or not, Sundin or no Sundin. The Montreal Canadiens have far too many players that will play for their next contracts to be an average team this year. No matter what team individual players play for, when their contract are up at the end of the current season, the players always up their play in the hopes of securing that big money contract they all want. With that notion alone not counting the fact that the Habs won the Eastern Conference last year, should bring them back into the play-offs.

The addition of Laraque should help the Habs not only in the regular season, but in the play-offs as well, as the Habs were a little too small and being pushed around in the post season last year.

Carey Price with his weight loss should be even quicker than last year, and his conditioning will help him not to be tired in the post season.

Not to mention the fact that there are many young players nipping at the heels of some veteran players. Gregory Stewart could replace Begin next year. Pacioretti could replace Guillaume Latendresse. Maxwell could replace Maxim Lapierre, as could Kyle Chipchura. D’agostini could replace Kostopoulos. P.K. Subban, or Pavel Valentenko could replace Bouillon.

Basically, there are many players that could be replaced within the organization, which Habs fans haven’t seen in at least 18 years.

So is it now or never, or is it now or possibly soon? We will all see.

The Habs start the season Friday October 10, 2008 against the Buffalo Sabres, then Saturday October 11, 2008 against the hated Toronto Maple Leafs.

Lets all hope that the players playing for a contract next season coupled with the talent waiting to come up will push the Habs to at least the Conference finals, and possibly the Stanley Cup.

Good luck boys. May the Price be with you.

Bob Gainey. Along with Glen Sather (New York Rangers Gm), and Cliff Fletcher (Toronto Maple Leafs Gm). But more to the point, Gainey.

The Minnesota Wild have all but given up trying to sign their star forward Marion Gaborik. Previously the Wild have stated that they were not and will not try to deal Gaborik stating that they want to keep their star forward long term. There are some reports that Risebrough has been asked the same questions and has now replied “no comment”.

The link I tried to provide to the Star tribune who interviewed Risebrough did not work. But you can find the article at the Star Tribune.com in the sports section. Here are some quotes from that interview.

When asked what the progress was in the contract negotiations are between the Wild and Gaborik, Risebrough had this to say,

“Not making any headway. I was trying to do something before the season. It’s not happening… It’s not going to happen by the start of the season”.

When asked if the Wild would put him on the trade block, Risebrough answered this,

“That I’ll have to determine”.

When asked if he had been in or is currently in talks about Gaborik, Risebrough said this,

“I’m not going to comment anymore”.

The good thing about this for the Montreal Canadiens is that Gainey and Risebrough are good friends. Being that the sour taste in Risebrough’s mouth is still fresh, and that the Wild are playing the Habs tonight, could there be a chance that Bob Gainey could work something to get the star forward?

Even though Gaborik is often injured he still has scored 30 goals in almost all his nhl seasons, to go along with his over 40 goal season. Depending on what the trade would involve, it might be a good thing for the Habs.

So Martin keeps dodging bullets, which surprisingly, he has done well. Is it me or does everybody jump on the Florida Panthers bashing wagon? Anyone who reads the famous HF Boards knows that the Panthers are the worst thing to happen to the NHL, on par with Gary Bettman. But who takes those posts personally? Almost all of them are off base and just a terrible attempt to act like they know something about a franchise they know nothing about. The point I’m getting at here, is that, people bash senselessly without looking at the whole picture, or the plan in South Florida. It looks bright, I love what Martin is doing here. The Florida Panthers’ defense is the best it has been in ages. Bash Jacques Martin all you want from a coaching stand point, but he doesn’t let others’ opinions bother him when he’s wheeling and dealing with other GMs. No matter how controversial his moves are, he seems quite confident that they are the right ones to make. I like that kind of character in a General Manager. I think he realized that his coaching days were done this past summer, I suppose blowing one goal leads in the third period at most games didn’t really sink in with him. I’m pretty sure Alan Cohen, the Florida Panthers owner, gave Martin an ultimatum. Why wouldn’t he? I’d be sick to my stomach too if I saw how much money I was throwing into a black hole of unprofessional management that this franchise used to have. The point I’m making is, Martin belongs where he does, thus why he signed a contract extension, no longer is he behind the bench, say good bye to those days, pal.

So with Martin in the position that he is in, it’s not looking all that bad, some see this Ballard signing as a precursor to something bigger. Martin has always been mysterious and poker faced when it comes to trade talks or even rumors. McCabe who? Basically the way he went about that whole deal before it went down. Claiming he hasn’t watched him and had no idea where the rumors were coming from. Okay, so maybe sometimes it’s easy to see through, especially when TSN calls it a done deal two weeks prior.

This is why it’s tough to tell what will happen next. Welcome to the Jay Bouwmeester saga, friends. This is just getting started. Keith Ballard signing six years could mean a few things.

One: Martin knows the possibility of signing Jay Bouwmeester is pretty much nonexistent and wanted to lock Ballard up long term to have a credible replacement when or if Bouwmeester leaves (which I believe was the whole point of the Jokinen trade.)

Two: This signing along with the Van Ryn / McCabe trade shows that Martin is committed to winning, and wants Jay Bouwmeester to sign next to be apart of this team for when they make the playoffs. Notice that I said when, not if, but when. I really do think they have the chance.

If Jay Bouwmeester doesn’t sign before the deadline, you can pretty much bank on him not being apart of the squad anymore. If I had to guess, he’d be shipped out for some type of good forward and solid defense man package. I wouldn’t expect a pick or prospect. That’s at the trade deadline anyway.

I’ll tell you what, if the Panthers did only get back a medium or good prospect and a pick, I wouldn’t be surprised at all, after all guys, this is the Florida Panthers, ok chalk it up to Keenan for the incredibly ignorant moves, but Martin isn’t exactly an experienced GM, but I have faith.

If the Panthers come out and play a good first half and sustain at least one good winning streak in the second half (maybe 6 wins in a row? They’ve done it before, quite a few times.) They will have a great chance of making the playoffs.

Honest.

Us Panther fans though, have reason to celebrate, the consensus is that the Florida Panthers have won this trade. I am not any different, I think exactly the same. In fact, it’s been quite some time since the Panthers had won a trade, really, lets not go back to Olli Jokinen which was a debatable trade, but never mind Roberto Luongo. It seems like the Panthers have really only made two good trades, those being, Bryan McCabe and Tomas Vokoun. Other than that, it’s not looking too great.

And with that, McCabe rounds out the Panthers’ top four quite nicely. McCabe, a long with Jay Bouwmeester, Keith Ballard, and Bryan Allen make a formidable top four, not only in the division, but the conference, and heck, even the whole NHL. It’s not hard to see what GM Jacques Martin is doing here, building from the net out. So, our cross state rivals over there in Tampa Bay, stocking up on their offense, we are down south stocking up on defense, it’s like hot and cold. The Panthers’ won’t score a lot of goals, I can say that now. But with that kind of defense and goalie, will they need to?

One such potential super-star that is making newspaper articles and water-cooler office talk around the country is mega-prospect John Tavares. Unless you’ve never watched a hockey newscast, you would have to be living in a cave for the last two years, not to hear this 17 year-old sensation’s name. Tavares first started grabbing headlines in the summer of 2005 when he was the first player ever to be granted “exceptional player” status by the OHL, which allowed him to be drafted at the age of 14; months before his 15^th birthday. Already being dubbed by TSN experts as the next ‘Next One’ behind wunderkind Sidney Crosby, this exceptional player has amassed quite a resume thus far.

In three seasons, playing for the Oshawa Generals of the OHL, he has collected 157 goals and 329 points in only 191 games, and he started when he was 15! Perhaps one of his greatest and most notable achievements to add to his list of accolades is his record breaking 72 goal sophomore season as a 16 year-old which surpassed Wayne Gretzky in that department. He is certainly shaping up to be a super-star NHL player, although perhaps not in the same mold as Gretzky, Lemieux and Crosby, as one of his most glaring flaws is his skating. Although he had an amazing 06-07 campaign as a 16 year-old, last year in the 07-08 season his numbers dipped tremendously, for a player of his caliber.

Obviously, Tavares would prefer to go #1 in the draft this upcoming season, as last year he missed the cut by 5 days, he was then considered a boy amongst men. His spot will be contingent on how well he performs in his last season as an Oshawa General.

It’s hard to imagine this phenomenon of a player has any competition for the number 1 spot in this year’s draft, but alas, he does. Swedish defenseman Victor Hedman is making headway to the top of the 09 draft.

Often mentioned in the same breath as fellow country man and six-time Norris trophy winner Niklas Lidstrom, Hedman has quickly drawn favorable comparisons to the Anaheim Ducks’ Chris Pronger. Certainly, there will be doubters, especially with the recent trend of over hyped prospects emerging out of Europe. Including but not limited to: classic late-bloomer Fabian Brunnstrom, who has yet to step foot on NHL ice, but is already drawing comparisons to Henrik Zetterberg and Daniel Alfredsson, which mind you is very possible, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves just yet. Lest we forget glorified Toronto Maple Leaf defenseman Anton Stralman, who by many accounts from over-zealous Maple Leaf followers is considered to be the next Bobby Orr.

However, while these players receive warranted attention, this particular 6’6, 220lbs defenseman is considered the complete player. He skates like the wind and plays a risky, bordering on dirty game, and completes that with sublime offensive skills. Last year at the age of 17, he was playing full-time for MoDo in Sweden’s Elite League (SEL). A paucity in a league deemed to be not that far removed from the caliber of the NHL. This upcoming season, he will be expected to be a staple on the parent squad. He has franchise defenseman written all over him and has proved time and time again, whether it be in the SEL or a circuit in the World Juniors, that he can play with the best of them.

Of course, there are a select few others that may take the ranks of the #1 spot this fall. 2006 1^st overall selection of the Spokane Chiefs; Jared Cowen is turning heads in the WHL, and is widely considered to be a lock in the top 5. Another standout comes from the WHL, his name is Brayden Schenn. Sibling to Toronto Maple Leaf’s first round selection Luke Schenn. Unlike his brother, he plays forward. In his inaugural season, he amassed 28 goals and 43 assists, for 71 points in 66 games. By all accounts, he is expected to improve on those numbers with aplomb. Rounding out the top 5 is Swedish prospect; Magnus Svensson-Pääjärvi. A name I still have trouble trying to pronounce, this slick Swede is being mentioned in the same breath as Ilya Kovalchuck. While these players have an amazing amount of skill, scouts across the globe believe that the number 1 pick belongs to one of John Tavares or Victor Hedman. This upcoming season will be the mitigating factor in which we see these potential franchise players end up.

Personally, I believe that these two players have an inordinate amount of talent. They are both masters at their craft and equally skilled in their own regard. That is why I imagine that when D-day arrives, it will be a choice of position rather than skill. For years, the philosophy amongst NHL GM’s is that they will always take the best player available. While that statement still rings true, I believe that these two franchise players are equal in talent and will ultimately be up to the specific teams needs.

For the purpose of simplicity, let’s analyze only the projected bottom five teams of this years’ NHL season. The Atlanta Thrashers, New York Islanders, Toronto Maple Leafs, Los Angeles Kings & St. Louis Blues all have a legitimate shot and receiving the 1^st overall pick this June.

With Ilya Kovalchuk’s contract coming to a completion at the conclusion of the 09-10 season, the Atlanta Thrashers will be desperate for offence.

Furthermore, with the inclusion of recently drafted Zach Bogosian, they already have a potential franchise defenseman. Could the addition of John Tavares entice Kovalchuck to stay? Next is the New York Islanders. Seemingly devoid of any top-line talent at forward or defense, they could go either way. A duo of John Tavares and Kyle Okposo could be very intriguing. However, they are severely lacking in defensive prospects as well. The Toronto Maple Leafs recent drafting of Luke Schenn pretty much eliminates them from choosing Hedman, as they are desperate for a scoring forward.

What better way to replace long-time captain Mats Sundin with home-grown native John Tavares, something that will certainly please Leaf nation. The Los Angeles Kings and St. Louis Blues are two teams that are stock-piled with defensive prospects. While the former has Drew Doughty, Thomas Hickey and Jack Johnson, the latter has Eric Johnson, Alex Pietrangelo and Steve Wagner. These two teams would almost certainly jump at the opportunity to bolster their lineup with some much needed offense.

At first glance, it almost seems that the glaring need for these five bottom-feeding teams is offense, in which John Tavares certainly fits the bill. But, in what may become one of the biggest debates throughout the NHL’s 08-09 season, it really comes down to choice. Who would you pick?

Now some of you may say; the last four years have been horrendous for Leaf fans.   They have had to endure a half-decade long playoff drought; so, the Leafs must make the playoffs.  Others would say; rebuilding a team is a process, this method takes time.  This recent trend of black and white thinking has become an eternal struggle, it is an argument I have had with many followers of the Maple Leafs.  Though I do not have a dogmatic, narrow-minded view of the current Maple Leaf situation, I am inclined to agree with the latter.  Simply because while the Maple Leafs do have a myriad of future assets including but not limited to; Jiri Tlusty, Nikolai Kulemin, Justin Pogge and the newly-acquired Mikhail Grabovski, to name a few. None of these potential stars really stands out to attain the status of super-star.  Now that they have finally obtained one of these superstars in Luke Schenn, it is time to acquire someone equally as high in status and talent to launch the Maple Leafs into triumph.

Take a second to look around the league, while the most extreme example being the Pittsburgh Penguins (Crosby, Malkin, Fleury) there are many others around the league who have had high draft picks over the last few years and will surely be successful in the near future.  Perhaps the most talked about turn-around in hockey, the Chicago Blackhawks, have a dynamic duo in Jonathan Toews (3^rd overall in 06) and Patrick Kane (1^st overall in 08) to go along with their abundance of other career NHLers such as Cam Barker, Dave Bolland and Jack Skille.  The Los Angeles Kings who have been quietly stock-piling future talent for years, made there biggest splash this year with 2^nd overall pick Drew Doughty to accompany future stalwart Jack Johnson (3^rd overall in 05).  Another standout of course is Wayne Gretzky’s new and improved Phoenix Coyotes who acquired Danish prospect Mikkel Boedker (8^th overall in 08) to complement Kyle Turris (3^rd overall in 07) and Peter Mueller (8^th overall in 06). FYI: I firmly believe these aforementioned teams will be a top the NHL standings in no later than two years.

These are just mere examples of what the Leafs are now facing. But one thing is abundantly obvious; most dominant teams are built on at least two or three standout prospects.   It has been 41 years since the great city of Toronto has seen the Leafs hoist the Stanley Cup.  Is it really too much to ask to endure one more season of failure?  Personally, I do not wish for a top 10 pick, I believe it’s imperative to obtain a top 3 pick.  Wouldn’t it be nice to have the choice between mega-prospects John Tavares, Victor Hedman and Luke Schenn’s brother; Brayden, among others. The Maple Leafs have been mired in mediocrity for so many years, it has certainly become an exercise in futility.  Many Leaf followers wish for the return of Mats Sundin and for some strange reason, Maple Leaf brass is seemingly leaving the door open for his return.  The team Cliff Fletcher has fielded for the 08-09 season has hockey pundits everywhere saying that not only is this team not good enough to make the playoffs, they will be lucky to escape with the 13^th spot in the Eastern Conference.  It is almost set in stone that the Leafs are a shoe-in for another playoff mishap for the fifth consecutive year. With presumably the only bottom-feeders below them being the Garth Snow inflicted; New York Islanders and the one-pony show; Atlanta Thrashers.  So if Sundin loyalties get their wish, it is my belief that it may only move them up a mere one, maybe two spots in the standings.  Is that really what we want?  You really have to ask yourselves Leaf-fans, do you want another Nik Antropov in the 09 draft, or someone who can vault this team to Stanley Cup success? So I implore you Leaf fans, as a life-long fan myself, we must lose, really lose, to win.

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!

Obviously, if GM Bob Gainey wants to add Sundin to the mix, he’s going to move a player or two. Who are the potential candidates? We can rule out any defenseman for now, as Gainey stated a while back that his top 6 defenseman were set-Markov, Komisarek, Hamrlik, Gorges, Bouillon, O’Byrne. The 7th defenseman will either be brought in via UFA, most likely Patrice Brisebois if Sundin does not come to Montreal, or brought up from Hamilton…Pavel Valentenko probably is the guy right now, but things can change come training camp.

So who will Gainey unload up front to bring in Sundin?

If a team is willing to take on his 1.75 million dollar contract, Mathieu Dandenault is the clear cut choice. Dandy is fast, and he showed his versatility last year a la Mark Streit, by playing both offense and defense. At times, however, he seemed invisible on the ice, and spent some time in the press box. He bounced back well every time he got back into the lineup, but then his performances would decline until we would see him back upstairs. He was inconsistent at times, but then again all you usually look for is energy from a 4th liner, and he wasn’t providing that. A young team that is willing to take a chance on him could use his experience, as he has won 3 Stanley Cups during his career. His slip down the depth chart in Montreal, the returning players from last year and the addition of tough guy Georges Laraque, makes it look like Mathieu Dandenault might not be a Hab next season-regardless of the Sundin situation.

Another question is Guillaume Latendresse. The 20 year-old power forward is still young, and has shown some flashes of a potential future Todd Bertuzzi, but to reach that level he’s got to improve some aspects of his game…and that has to start this year. He’s got to earn his ice-time, and earn it with guys that can set him up. He’s shown he can score with a guy like Koivu centering him, and you can’t blame the guy, there is just no room on the top two scoring lines, and he’s forced to play a style that isn’t his. If he wants to emerge as a legitimate power forward, he’s got to improve his skating and play more physical. Gui, your 6′2, 222 pounds, throw your weight around! Intimidate the other team! Impose your will! Set the tempo! He has the tools, we just have to be patient, and hopefully we see Gui come into his own in his third year. He’s also an RFA at season’s end, which is added incentive.

What about the power-play? Will it suffer with the loss of Streit? Will it flourish with the addition of Tanguay and perhaps Sundin? Who will take Streit’s spot on the right point? Will Sergei Kostitsyn see more time working the blue line with Andrei Markov? Will Josh Gorges find his offensive prowess that he showed in junior?

The big question: can the Habs repeat the magical season from last year? Did they overachieve last year? Of course they did, analysts had them anywhere from 9th to 14th…the rest is history. But of course, the city of Montreal wants something else. Something more. We want a Cup-can this team deliver?

Last but not least, Carey Price. Personally, I think he is the real deal, but he’s yet to show that over a full season. He had a rough post-season, but the guy is 20 years old, playing for the Habs…of all teams to be a rookie goalie on! With the history and the expectations, it was just too much. He has too live up to his billing now. He’s had his baptism by fire, and now he’s got the shoulder the load for the whole year, from Day 1. If he falters, Jaroslav Halak and Marc Denis are waiting in the wings, ready for any chance to unseat Price. We already know he has the talent and the nerves of steel. It’s the Carey Price show now, let’s hope the Price is Right.

Cory Stillman, signed July 1st, was not a bad signing at all, in fact it replenishes about 70 points of Olli Jokinen’s annual 80 or 85. Now full time General Manager Jacques Martin is taking a risk, it’s pretty much written in stone that unless Martin brings in a forward via trade, Shawn Matthias, the Panthers perhaps most valued prospect will make the team out of training camp and center Stillman. I’m not quite sure about this, but in four games last season Matthias scored 2 goals. Not bad at all. Can he do it for 82 games a season against top pairing defense men? Tough call, very tough call.

Peter DeBoer, very solid move on Martin’s part, bring in a coach that can get to these young players, I have a good feeling that he can get the best out of a lazy Nathan Horton, and bring perhaps once highly touted Anthony Stewart, to actually play the game. The Panthers offense would be a lot better if DeBoer got 40 goals out of Nathan Horton who has previously scored over 30. Anthony Stewart also would be tremendous if he put his mind to it. We will see what DeBoer can do there.

Jay Bouwmeester, flat out needs to be signed, bottom line. He needs to be signed, if he’s not, it will be a devastating set back. The only way that can be deemed not devastating is if he is traded for a monstrous return. Bottom line is, trading him shouldn’t be an option unless Bouwmeester has commented to Martin that he would indeed like a trade. Give the man the money he wants, he more than deserves it, through his six years of being a Panther, he has been a complete professional and has done his job each and every night. Kudos to him, if he wants out, grant his wish, I won’t like him any less. Just get a good return for him!