I think that the Toronto Maple Leafs organization and Brian Burke think too highly of the Kazakhstan-born right winger and therefore will be expecting too much in return. Unless something spectacular occurs between now and the March 4 trade deadline or some team has faith in his skills and makes Burke an offer that he just can not refuse, every trade offer will not be what Burke expects and Nik Antropov will still be a Leaf. The numbers that Antropov has put up so far this year have been a lot better when compared to his statistics from last year but that is only because his teammates rely more heavily on him now with the departure of Mats Sundin and the fact that the Leafs do not have one player that can be considered their “sniper”.

When reporters asked Antropov about the trade rumors surrounding him, he replied with this statement: “The trade stuff probably is in the back of my mind,” Antropov admitted. “But it is not in my control. That is up to Brian Burke.” All that Nik Antropov can think about is the task at hand, that being helping the team put up a few more wins on the board as the Leafs try to make a push for the playoffs, which is highly unlikely this season considering the way the team has been playing. I think that if Antropov strives to do his best for the rest of the season, he will make a name for himself and have a better chance of being signed this off season when he becomes an unrestricted free agent.

On the other hand, Ron Wilson has a different point of view of the right winger:

“When you look at his numbers, they’re not unlike his other years in the NHL,” Wilson said. “He doesn’t have someone of Mats Sundin’s magnitude to play with, so I actually think he’s having a pretty good year. He had a slump that he seems to go through every season — a period in December and January when he struggled to score. A lot of players have things like that. But, where we’re going in the future is an entirely different story. We’ve got to get younger; we’ve got to get quicker; we’ve got to get meaner. In many cases, we’ve got to get more skilled. So, there’s going to be a lot of changes, and we’ve talked about that all year. I don’t think this [Antropov discussion] should be a revelation to anyone,” Wilson went on to say.

 All we can do is wait until the deadline approaches to see whether Nik Antropov will have a change of scenery or will lace up his skates as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs – the waiting begins!

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.

Not to fear, fellow believers, not to fear. It’s one game, decided by a shootout-there’s no shootouts in playoffs. Besides, we all know Carey Price’s track record in shootout-he’ll be fine.

A few observations I made while watching tonight’s game:

Thank you, Mats Sundin: Without your offseason soap opera, and taking it to the point where Mr. Gainey couldn’t wait anymore, we would have never acquired Robert Lang from the Hawks-and what a start he had! A goal in his first shift in his first game as a member of the Tricolore…now that’s making a statement. He and Sergei Kostitsyn showed flashes of brilliance together, and Kostopoulos did a fine job on that line, but when Higgins returns from injury we will be seeing Guillaume Latendresse alongside those two, which will hopefully add another dimension to what looks to be shaping up as quite the trio-and that’s only the third line!

The Price is Right: So the Carey Price show only lasted 65 minutes, but it was the performance by the 21-year old netminder. Besides the Vanek goal, he was solid, making many key saves and showing the quickness and agility…a big year for Carey, should all go well.

Kovy and Co.: They didn’t hit the scoresheet, but every time the Kovalev-Plekanec-Kostitsyn line got on the ice, you could feel Lindy Ruff tighten up. That line had Buffalo srambling all night-give it a couple of games, and they’ll be firing on all cylinders once again…

Tanguay and Saku: These guys are gonna need a couple of games to adjust. There also going to need Chris Higgins, because someone needs to shoot the puck, and right now it isn’t going to be either one of these two. They HAVE to shoot more.

Ryan O’Byrne: Solid game tonight, I can see another Komisarek in the making here, still a work in progress, but coming along nicely.

All in all, not the start we all envisioned, but we can take some positives out of it. Some sloppy moments, especially penalties, but the PK looked good-the PP didn’t. Some time needed there as well for some chemistry to develop.

I leave you all with this final, burning question…

Why is Patrice Brisebois still around? (I have nothing against the guy, but c’mon, he’s the Breezer for a reason, those terrible passes that the opponents receive on a silver platter need to stop if he wants to be even the 7th defenseman-’cause Yannick Weber ain’t far folks…not far at all…

Mind you, these people also said the same thing about Vancouver back in 2006 when they, you know, won their division and got to the second round of the playoffs.

And therein lies the reality for Canuck fans because, if we’re used to anything, it’s that this team is anything but consistent. Doesn’t matter who the players, coach or GM are the mantra often comes down to “Count them out and they’ll surprise you; count on them and you’ll regret it every second.” It’s a wonder any of us are still sane (the jury’s still out on me).

Here’s what will be happening this season: Vancouver will ice one of the best goalies on the planet (and the only goalie captain to boot). In front of him is a deep defensive core who hope to skip the curse of losing a league-high 164 man games due to injury like they did last year. Alongside the defense is a new offense molded around the Sedin brothers; Steve Bernier was yanked out of Buffalo specifically to be their new Anson Carter while Pavol Demitra (who has already likened linemates Mason Raymond and Taylor Pyatt to Marian Gaborik and Keith Tkachuk respectively) was lured away from Lemaire land to help bolster a legitimate second line. You have a shutdown line with Ryan Kesler and Alexandre Burrows, two more agitating hockey players you’d be hard pressed to find. Rounding them out are new comers Darcy Hordichuk (Darcy Tucker is a dead man walking) and PK-extraordinaire Ryan Johnson. Sprinkled liberally into this mix are bubble guys like Kyle Wellwood and Matt Pettinger as well as a number of next generation Canucks like Jannik Hansen, Mike Brown and maybe the 2008 1^st round pick Cody Hodgson.

Lastly, they have a new sheriff in town in Mike Gillis, a guy who is doing things a bit unorthodox in a typically conservative hockey management world. We don’t know yet what his true stamp on the team will be (other then making us care about Mats Sundin for the entire month of July) but he has money to play with and an impatient audience.

No one is going to confuse the Canucks with the 1976-77 Canadians, but no one should confuse them with the 1974-75 Capitals either. As long as this team can stay healthy, coach Alain Vigneault can light a fire under his offense and Mike Gillis stays active in the market for another top six guy, then the safety net that is Roberto Luongo should keep them in every single game (more on that can be read here).

Every single team in the Northwest has their question marks; if the Canucks can find a rhythm and consistent play then it’ll be 2006 all over again. However, their margin for error is slim and prolonged losing streaks or, dare I say, injuries to anyone with the words ‘Sedin’ or ‘Luongo’ on their jerseys will render them dead in the water. Boom or bust: that’s Vancouver hockey.

Let the rest of the league count the Canucks out. As Wade Redden once said, “Some days, the sun even shines on a dog’s butt.”

RDS is reporting that there could be a transaction involving Ryan O’Byrne.

There is also the fact that Mathieu Dandenault seemingly has no place in Montreal.

With all of the young talent that impressed both Bob Gainey and Guy Carbonneau this pre-season, perhaps the Habs are finally in a situation to let some veterans go and make room for more youngsters.

Bob Gainey still wants an impact forward, even though Mats Sundin took too long to decide for the Habs, Gainey has stated for the past two years that he wants an impact forward.

Also consider that the Boston Bruins are actively trying to trade Marc Savard. Could be interesting.

There is the fact that Nashville is upset at Alex Radulov (with good reason) and that they could be looking to move him.

The Game at the Bell Centre against the Detroit Red Wings last night had 22 scouts in attendance. Sure the scouts could have been looking at the Wings also but…..

Although Marion Gaborik still isn’t signed for next season 2009-10, and that the Minnesota Wild are trying to sign him, Gaborik might be traded. All indications point to the Vancouver Canucks so that he could play with his buddy Pavol Demitra. But, there have been some rumours stating that Saku Koivu could be traded there to play with his brother………..

Either way the additions of Alex Tanguay, Robert Lang, and Georges Laraque are greatly beneficial for the Habs, and will bring some excitement to the fans, neither one is the impact forward that Gainey has said he wanted. Will Bob Gainey make a move thanks to the play of his young stars in the pre-season, or will the additions of the above mentioned players combined make the impact forward that Gainey wanted?

I guess we will all see.

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!

However, Sundin says that a decision could come later this month.

“I haven’t decided yet,” Sundin said. “I think sometime in August I hope to come to a conclusion on what I’m going to do … if I’m going to play or not this year.”

Word came from Sundin’s agent, J.P Barry, back in late July that Mats would announce his plans by August 1st. Sundin says that was never the case.

“I never had a deadline,” Sundin said. “I know there was talk about the first of August, but …. I said sometime in August hopefully I’ll be able to make a decision. I won’t make that until I really feel comfortable with making a good decision.”

Reports are that there are as many as six teams interested in signing Sundin, but the former Maple Leafs captain says his priority is deciding whether he wants to continue his hockey career and not which team to suit up for next season.

“I haven’t even worried about any teams,” Sundin told Sportsnet. ” I’m just trying to bring my mind to a point where I can make a good decision whether or not I’m going to play hockey right now. That’s my first decision and we’ll go from there after that.”

Still, a return to Toronto has not been ruled out by the Swedish forward.

This topic has of course been beaten to death, but with the decision supposedly fast-approaching, let’s take another look at the four options that Mats Sundin is presented with and go over the pros and cons of each:

Retirement: Many believe Mats will not retire, but who knows what the big Swede is thinking. It could be that he’s worn out and instead of taking another grueling year of punishment and pain, all he has to do is say “I’m done” and he can go home and relax, and not have to worry about leading a team, causing havoc in front of the other team’s net but getting harassed by defenseman and incoming pucks, not have to worry about dealing with the media, be it in any of the three potential landing spots. On the other hand, if he still has the itch, if he still has the drive and wants to play another year to compete for a Cup, and we are pretty sure he still does, don’t be surprised to see Sundin back next year-he isn’t done.

Vancouver: Vancouver seems very confident that they will win the Sundin sweepstakes, and why shouldn’t they be? They may not be considered a Cup contender just yet, but if Sundin signs and if Mike Gillis swings a deal for Antoine Vermette, all of a sudden Vancouver goes from having a mediocre, sub-par offense to a force to be reckoned with-add those two names to a group consisting of Henrik and Daniel Sedin, Steve Bernier, and Pavol Demitra…that’s a pretty good top-six, with just a winger missing. Another thing that Vancouver has going for them is the fact that they offered Sundin a whopping two year, 20 million dollar deal that make Sundin the highest paid player in the league-he’d be making more than Crosby, Ovechkin, and Lecavalier!

The only thing that Vancouver has against it is that even if they sign Sundin, are they truly capable of making a serious Cup run? By all means it is possible, especially when you have Roberto Luongo between the pipes. His success hasn’t translated into the team’s success, so there are still a lot of questions heading into this season for the Canucks.

Montreal: A large amount of die-hard Leafs fans won’t be to pleased if Sundin ends up in Habland. Signing with the enemy after 13 years of service to Toronto? Preposterous! How could he?! Well Leafs fans, if you really love Sundin as much as you say, you thank him for what he has done, and move on. After 13 years in Toronto, several which weren’t as satisfying as others, he more than deserves the chance to choose where he wants to play-and if he chooses Montreal, so be it. Being a Habs fan, I’m not sure what Leafs fans are feeling during all this, and I have put myself in their shoes-how would I feel if Saku Koivu left next summer when he is slated to be a UFA? I don’t want to think about that now, but hockey is a business, and sometimes you have to move on.

Now back to Sundin. Montreal showed serious interest when they went out and acquired his rights at the draft, but Sundin didn’t know what he wanted yet so he hit the market…and still wasn’t sure. Which brings us to now. Why play for Montreal? Several reasons.

1. If he wants a shot at the Cup, he has a better chance of doing it in Montreal than in Vancouver or Toronto. Last year the Habs proved all their critics wrong by winning the Eastern Conference, and despite a disappointing exit at the hands of the Philadelphia Flyers, the Habs youngsters showed their potential and with a year under their belts guys like Carey Price, Andrei and Sergei Kostitsyn, Ryan O’Byrne, Tomas Plekanec, Chris Higgins, Guillaume Latendresse, Josh Gorges, etc., will be better this season. Add in a solid mix of veterans-a rejuvenated Kovalev, Koivu, Markov, Komisarek, and newly acquired Alex Tanguay and Georges Laraque, the Habs are that much better. The Habs were not a fluke, they were for real. If Sundin joined the attack that lead the league in goals last year…!

2. It being the centennial season, what better time to win #25! With all the celebrations going on in the city, the buzz is greater than ever before. The fans and players alike know the importance of this season, and with the help of Sundin, it could amount to something so great, something we haven’t seen since 1993…

Of course, being a member of the Bleu-Blanc-Rouge has its downsides. There are of course, the taxes, but I’m sure Mats has plenty stored in the bank to take a hit to his wallet for a chance at Lord Stanley’s trophy…and who can forget the media, the ones who sing your praises when you score the game winner, the ones who are shipping you out if you hit the post. The pressure of playing in Montreal is immense-Montreal is the undisputed hockey mecca of the world, so of course, there will be pressure. There will be expectations. The fans are passionate and know the game extremely well. They will tell you when your disappointing them. They will tell you when your playing well. And they will rejoice with you when you win. Who wouldn’t want to win a Cup here, especially this year, the Centennial season?

Toronto: Last but not least, the team who is holding their heads high but are truly crushed. The Leafs are acting like they can move on without Sundin, but deep down the pain is there, saddening Leaf fans, players, and management alike. When the face of your franchise is considering leaving, and is pretty much ready to leave, of course your not going to be happy. What’s worse, Sundin would have brought in such a great return the Leafs rebuilding process would have been in full swing come the Draft. Instead, Sundin did not waive his no-trade, and the Leafs were left empty-handed. They also didn’t get anything for him when they traded his rights to the Habs, since he decided to wait until July 1. The final blow would be Sundin inking a contract with another team, especially Montreal, the arch-enemy, and the Leafs watching on in dismay as their captain, their leader, their most prized possession, walks away-and the Leafs have nothing to show for it. Like I said before, it is a business, but to see it end like this for the Leafs…the bad luck just won’t go away.

Their is still hope however. It had been Sundin’s home for 13 years now, and as a player, familiarity is nice. Being in one place for 13 years, Sundin is no doubt considering returning for the 14th year, but he knows full well that if he does, there will be no shot at the Cup-Toronto is in a rebuilding phase. Sundin returning might even be a disadvantage for the Leafs-if they want a shot at John Tavares, they can’t be adding a bonafide superstar to their roster-especially one that wants to win at all costs. Sundin would make them better, resulting in most probably another year as a bubble team, falling out of contention at the end, and not having a high draft pick to take another player to go along with Luke Schenn to build the franchise around. When you look at it this way, the Leafs can turn it around fast-they have the building blocks in goal with Toskala and eventually Pogge, they have Schenn on the blue line, and with some luck (and a last place finish) they could be looking at adding “The Next Next One”, John Tavares (The first Next belongs to Sidney Crosby of course!).

All in all, it doesn’t matter what GM’s, coaches, players, analysts, journalists, or bloggers think. The ball is in Sundin’s court, the puck is on his stick, now it’s up to him to decide?

Vancouver, where a fortune awaits?

Toronto, home sweet home?

Montreal, potential glory?

Retirement, and the title “Leaf Legend”?

August 1st is right around the corner my friends. The anticipation is growing once more (and hopefully for the final time). It’s almost time to find out what jersey Mats Sundin puts on come October.

Almost time.

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.

Laraque accepted to sign a three years contract with the Habs that is going to bring 1.5millions a year. Other teams were interested in Laraque services, but he prefered to play for his own city and come back to montreal. Montrealers are very happy about this and Laraque is certainly a great addition and I’m sure he is going to do a very good job crashing the net during the powerplay.

Later on the Canadiens signed offensive defense man Alex Henry to a one year contract. No word yet if he is going to be part of the Canadiens plan long term, but Henry is probably going to play in Hamilton next season.

The Canadiens then signed ex-Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Marc Denis to a one year contract too. The signing of Denis leaves many options for the Habs. Marc could either go play in Hamilton with Cedrick Dejardins, which by the way just signed a two year contract with the Canadiens earlier today. or he could play on the Canadiens team as early as next year behind Carey Price, and that would give the opportunity for the Habs to trade someone like Jaroslav Halak. Why? Well because since Carey Price is set to become the number one goalie in Montreal for many years to come and since Halak has enough potential to take over a number one spot in many NHL cities, adding Halak to a blockbuster deal could bring a superstar player to Montreal.

Keep up the good work Gainey. All you need to do next is convince Mats Sundin to play in Montreal and that would definitely give you a star in the hall of fame.

Now Ryder was expected to leave, especially with the venu of Alex Tanguay, but a lot of people in Montreal were hoping Streit was still going to be a Habs next season? Personally, I wouldn’t have payed such a price for Streit since he didn’t really score all his points playing defence, he scored them playing forward and on the power play. People thought Montreal was going to lose their powerplay skills when they lost Sheldon Souray to free agency, but Streit was able to take over. Now I truly believe it is not going to take long before someone else takes Streit’s place and believe, we will forget his name faster than we forgot Souray’s.

Now Danis had already mentioned it to press: he does not intend on having a future with the Canadiens. Good enough. But it is going to be pretty hard for him to build a future when you are behind a guy like Rick DiPietro!

Mats Sundin is not sure yet of where and if he wants to play next season? Good, we respect your decision, we’ll allow you a week, maybe two. What? You need a month? Hell no. Sundin has been acting very disrespecful to all the teams that are showing interest for him. If he feels he is not interested now, don’t make them wait after you so that you can say no later and watch them end up with nothing. That is not professional at all and coming from a classy guy like Sundin really dissapoints me. What he is doing to the Montreal Canadiens could en up hurting them real bad, after all the interest they have shown in him he still doesn’t have the guts to say yes or no and always come up with the same miserable excuse he uses over and over again, the ones that says he’s not sure if he’s coming bac to the NHL for next season. Montreal might have had a chance to sign other very good players on the first of july, but ww are never going to know what they could have gotten their hands on if Sundin was not in the picture or if Sundin would have said no from the start. The latest rumors about Sundin is that the Habs are still all over him and appearently they have just offered him a 2 years/15millions$ contract for next season.

Will he say yes, will he say no? Is it even true or is Bob Gainey simply working on something so big it has to be kept underground? I am definitly dying to find out all of the answers, but I guess like Mr. Sundin said, it could very well take up to next month to know them.

Will he accept it? Will he retire? Will he sign with other team? Only time will tell. Sundin is yet to make up his mind on his playing future. However, he has stated on numerous occasions that he would prefer to sign a one-year deal.

Sundin recorded 32 goals and 42 assists for 78 points in 74 regular season games with the Maple Leafs.

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.

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.

The week started off with the signing of RFA forward Maxim Lapierre for a two-years contract awarding him 575 000$ in 2008-2009 and 800 000$ in 2009-2010. Was it a right move? Definitly, since Lapierre has been able to establish himself as a hard worker and a devoted player for the Montreal Canadiens and he just keeps getting better at what he does, and let’s not forget to mention how well he plays defensively when the Habs are on the penalty kill. Lapierre ended the 2007-2008 season playing 53 games and scoring 7 goals and 18 point.

That is a good news for the Habs, but what about Andrei Kostitsyn? How are things going with him and did Bob Gainey even start negotiations yet? Gainey told the press two week ago that they have contacted Andrei to talk about his future with the organization, but it appears that a team from Kazan in Russia has made an offer for next season that values 1.5 million. However, Don Meehan, Kostitsyn’s agent, commented the rumor stating that his client intends on sticking to his career in the NHL, but that he would prefer to get him more of a short-term contract, unlike the ones that have been given to other young players such as Mike Richards from the Philadelphia Flyers. He went on adding that he expects the negotiations with the Canadiens to be all but easy. If the rumor happens to be true, than I believe giving 1.5 million for 2 years should do the thing for him to stay in Montreal.

What about other players waiting to know what to do next season? Well it appears that Corey Locke, one of the Habs’ prospect playing in Hamilton, is currently being chased by the Kloten Flyers from Switzerland’s national League. The Flyers’ sports director commented the rumor simply by confirming it and saying his team did indeed make an offer for Locke to consider.

While some are probably going to look at every options, one has made it clear that he is leaving the organisation. Yann Danis, another Habs’ prospect and goaltender for the Hamilton Bulldogs, prefers to leave the Canadiens for good and test his UFA status starting July 1st. Danis was portrayed as one of Montreal’s future goaltender a couple of years ago, but simply lost his place with the team when Jaroslav Halak and Carey Price showed up and took over. I wish Yann all the best and hopefully he will end up with a good team that will use his undeniable talent to the fullest, maybe a team like the Ottawa Senators would do the thing.

Now there are some good UFAs on the market the the Habs are definitely going to pursue come July 1st. Let’s start with Mats Sundin. Sundin is beeing pursued by probably every team in the NHL seeing how good of a player he is and the price to get him probably isn’t going to be that high. Although any team would take Sundin, he wouldn’t take any team. Since he wants to stay in Canada, Montreal is certainly a strong option to consider. The Sundin case is surely and interesting one.

Then you have Teemu Selanne, one of Saku Koivu’s best friend. It appears Koivu has finally been able to convince Selanne to play his last NHL season with the Canadiens while spending time with him at the World Championships. This rumor has been going on for years, but Selanne has never accepted the offer to join the Habs. This time, things are looking a bit different because even the Anaheim Ducks’ GM Brian Burke believes this time might be the right time and that Selanne might finally accept Montreal’s offer. Two days ago, Anaheim’s defenseman Francois Beauchemin commented the rumor saying it was clearly impossible since Selanne has been living in Anaheim for over 10 years and has a house, a family and kids that attend school in Anaheim. He believes that if Selanne plans on playing for another season in the NHL, he’s going to play it in Anaheim and nowhere else and if he can’t come down to an agreement with the team, he is probably going to announce his retirement. One thing is for sure, we are going to have all the answers to our questions come July 1st, since that is the last day Selanne could give an answer to Burke.

Now on to the main event: Marian Hossa. Rumors have been all over the place with that guy and it’s not about to stop, at least not until he inks his name on a contract. Hossa is definitely going to be a target for Montreal this summer and I’m sure Gainey already has an offer planned specially for him. Is Hossa going to consider it? Maybe yes, maybe not. Earlier this week, Hossa said on a radio station in Pittsburgh that he enjoyed his stay with the Penguins and would definitely consider signing a contract for less money to be able to stay with a good and competitive team like the Penguins. But the thing is Montreal isn’t the team it was a year ago. Montreal has become a good and competitive team in the NHL and, if the right moves are pulled by Gainey, they are probably going to become a Stanley Cup contender for next season. Well now it appears that Pittsburgh really intends on keeping Hossa with them since rumors have been circulating as of yesterday that they have pitched a 7-years/50 millions$ contract at him. Is it going to be enough to persuade him to stay with the team? It could to the thing, but how big is Evgeni Malkin’s contract going to be? If they sign Hossa, they are probably going to have to give up on forward Ryan Malone and defenseman Brooks Orpik. If the Penguins do manage to keep Hossa, Malkin, Crosby and Stall all together, Ray Shero definitely deserves to have his name on the hall of fame.

Now enough with the stress and let’s talk about something else.

The NHL awards took place this week and Guy Carbonneau was nominated for best coach of the year. Unfortunately, the award finally went to the Washington Capitals’ Bruce Boudreau. Although I really wanted Carbonneau to win that award, I must say Boudreau deserved recognition for his work just as much as Carbo. He took the worst team in the NHL in November and led them to win their division’s championship and and believe me, nobody expected that to happen.

If Carbo didn’t get recognition for his hard work, Carey Price and Alex Kovalev did. Price was named on the All-Star rookie team and Kovalev had his place on the 2nd All-Star team of the NHL. Now that puts a smile on my face!

Just want to remind everyone that the NHL draft is coming up and the Habs are drafting 25th overall and I wouldn’t be surprised if some trades are made so that recruiting director Trevor Timmins could draft at a higher position. That is going to be very interesting to watch and who knows what Montreal is going to pull out from their sleeves. I would personally be pleased if they manage to draft Jared Stall, the youngest one of them that is expected to get drafted in the 30’s overall. I have learned one thing in the NHL, and it is that you can not go wrong with a Stall! They are like the hockey factory or something!

Enough for now. I will definitely come back soon for more.

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.

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.