Habs Mid Season, With a Twist?

The Montreal Canadiens are better by the numbers with the exception of the power play than at this point last year. Some surprises both good and bad, and one hot rumour!

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.

It’s still just rumours again for the fourth straight year but this tome there is actually some merit to the rumour. the Lightning are financially strapped and Vinny has a big contract that kicks in next year, and who would offer the Lightning more than the Habs for Lecavalier?

Francois Gagnon of Cyberpresse.ca had something interesting to say tonight on RDS,

“The Tampa Bay Lightning have a bonus of 500,000 to pay Lecavalier by January 15, and it looks like they won’t be able to come up with the money to do so.”

Well although the NHL could step in and help the Lightning, i really hope for Montreal fans that they do not, or that they do but then tell Lightning ownership to rectify the problem.

Bob Gainey had his mid season address yesterday and when asked about Vinny he had this to say,

“My phone is never closed for recieving calls, I even use it to place calls myself. Rumours are rumours and we don’t talk about them so our players don’t hear them. There is a price for everything.”

Leading most to believe that Gainey is actively talking with Tampa to get Vinny. Gainey seems to talk about getting a defence-man as well.

Whatever happens the fans in Montreal can be satisfied so far as the team is still progressing well even without key members in the lineup. And if the Lecavalier rumours are true this year and he would come here during the centennial celebrations and finally the Habs would have their French Canadian superstar since Guy ” The Flower” Lafleur then fans would definitely be happy to have a team that could make a serious run in the play-offs and they would be quick to say Sundin who?