TSN is reporting that the trade consists of Schneider and a conditional draft pick to Montreal, to the Atalanta Thrashers goes a 2nd round pick this year and a 3rd round pick in 2010.

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.

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.

Games:

10/23/08- Islanders 3, Dallas Stars 5

10/25/08- Islanders 3, Carolina Hurricanes 4

News and Notes:

- The Islanders set a club record for shots on goal in a game (60) against Carolina. 

- Starting goalie Rick Dipietro apparently injured himself again during the Carolina game.  His inability to stay healthy is proving a huge source of frustration to both him and fans of the team.  He’s scheduled to visit a doctor on Monday for his undisclosed injury and will miss the game against the rival New York Rangers at least.  Joey MacDonald, seeing more work than either he or anybody else ever thought he would, will get the start and be backed up by minor league goaltender Yann Danis.

- D Mark Streit has been red hot as of late.  He recorded four points in games this week.

- C Doug Weight has brought more than just scoring ability with him.  He absolutely crushed Carolina’s Brandon Sutter with a clean open ice check, knocking him out of the game on Saturday night.

- D Brendan Witt left the Dallas game with a leg injury.  His return date is uncertain and he leaves a gaping hole in the Islanders’ defensive corps.  The team hopes Andy Sutton will be able to return shortly from his preseason hand surgery to bolster the toughness factor on the blue line.

Next Week’s Games:

10/27/08- vs. New York Rangers

10/30/08- vs. Philadelphia Flyers

11/1/08- vs. Montreal Canadiens

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.

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.

What we’re looking for

This is a tentative list of posts and schedule we’re aiming for:

• Season Preview (Oct 1)
• All-Star Break (Midway season review and second-half preview) (Jan 25)
• Trade Deadline
  • Preview (TBD)
  • Review (TBD)
• Playoffs Preview (for every round your team plays)
  • Before 1st round (TBD)
  • Before 2nd round (TBD)
  • Before 3rd round (TBD)
  • Before the Stanley Cup (TBD)
• Playoffs Review (for every round your team plays)
  • After 1st round (TBD)
  • After 2nd round (TBD)
  • After 3rd round (TBD)
  • After the Stanley Cup (TBD)
• Season Wrap-up (TBD)
• The Entry Draft
  • Preview (TBD)
  • Review (TBD)
• Free Agency
  • Preview (TBD)
  • Review (TBD)

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In exchange for their efforts, RumorMeThis will offer all Guest Bloggers the following:

• blogger profile/bio, and a link back to your blog (article and archive pages)
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Who’s in already?

Thanks to all the following bloggers who have already committed to covering their respective teams for this season:

• Carolina Hurricanes – Jennifer Hammer (hammerrules.blogspot.com)
• Chicago Blackhawks – John Ruhnow (thenhlarena.com)
• Dallas Stars – Cat Court (untypicalgirls.wordpress.com)
• Detroit Red Wings – Stephanie Yates (npi-hockey.blogspot.com)
• Los Angeles Kings – Marie Stiles (purplecrushedvelvet.blogspot.com)
• Minnesota Wild – Jeremy Waschek (wildviewfromsection216.blogspot.com)
• Montreal Canadiens – Ken Beckett (thepowerplay.net)
• Nashville Predators – Buddy and Jackson Oakes (predsontheglass.blogspot.com)
• New Jersey Devils – Chris Wassel (hockeyprogram.blogspot.com)
• New York Islanders – Frank Mazzola (pigskinsandpucks.blogspot.com)
• New York Rangers – Dan Rakusan (sportsfiend.ca)
• Phoenix Coyotes – Tracy Tanner (truecoyotelove.blogspot.com)
• Tampa Bay Lightning – Jessica Lewis (femmesandfisticuffs.com)
• Toronto Maple Leafs – Jared Matchett (diehardblueandwhite.blogspot.com)
• Vancouver Canucks – Mike Pinzuti (yankeecanuck.com)

Want to join?

Interested in participating? Have comments or questions? Contact us.

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.

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.

Grabovski definitly had enough talent to stay in the NHL, but one thing he didn’t have yet to deserve a spot on the Canadiens’ roster is maturity. Grabovski, unfortunately, is the kind of player that thinks to much of himself and believe me, when you do not show up at the practice simply because you are not playing the next game, that is not only unprofessional, but very immature. It is a good thing he is no longer in the Habs’ plans and that Montreal head coach Guy Carbonneau won’t have to put up with his bull**** anymore.

I’m just surprised Toronto is so desperate.

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

The Calgary Flames had Tanguay for two seasons.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tanguay had this to say,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Calgary Flames are rumoured to be hunting Jokinen.

The Boston Bruins are hunting Hossa.

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

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

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

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

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