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.

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.

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

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

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

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

But these rumours are un-confirmed at this point.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Markus Naslund Vancouver Canucks. Same.

The Jaromir Jagr New York Rangers. Same.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bob Gainey said this about the RFA,

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

When asked about Mark Streit Gainey had this to say,

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

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

Now for the good stuff.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Gainey started negotiations with RFA Andrei Kostitsyn. Rumors have been circulating claiming that Kostitsyn received a huge offer from a Russian team, meaning he might not come back with the Habs next season. Both Gainey and Kostitsyn said they heard the rumors and that they are only rumors. Kostitsyn does want to stay in Montreal and expects negotiations to be easy and so does Gainey.

Gainey says Kostitsyn is one of their most important task for the off season since he has had an incredible 07-08 season. He is part of the Habs’ future and losing him to another team is not something Gainey believes is going to happen. Gainey’s discussions with other GM’s for possible trades are underway too.

If Kostitsyn does stay in Montreal, the team is going to arrange for his wife and daughter to be able to move from Bielorussia and come live with him in Montreal as early as next winter. I’m sure that makes the offer even more attractive for Kostitsyn, and let’s not forget that becoming a fan favorite in Montreal and playing with his brother are other important factors too.

Bob also said he intends on starting the negotiations with UFA offensive-defensemen Mark Streit in a couple of weeks. Streit already expressed his feelings on the situation by saying he loves playing in Montreal and is very thankful to the organization for giving him a chance to prove himself in the NHL. This means a lot for Streit and it is one big reason why he would accept a smaller, but still average, contract to stay in Montreal instead of going to another team for next season. The other reason is probably his Montrealer girlfriend, and I’m sure he’d like to stay here with her. Some rumors have already claimed that The Buffalo Sabres expressed some interest in acquiring Mark Streit’s services. Bob wants to keep him, but both him and Streit know money is going to be a big factor in the discussions. We’ll soon know how much Mark really wants to stay in Montreal…

Surprisingly, Gainey even mentioned the possibility of speaking to Michael Ryder about a new contract in Montreal next season. Ryder was perhaps the Habs’ biggest disappointment last season and the price to keep him is definitely going to be lower than the 2 millions contract he had. Gainey also said that defensemen Patrice Brisebois and center Brian Smolinski might still be part of the plans for next season.

Gainey has a lot of work on the table for next season, and one of his most important task is to decide what to do with forwards Alex Kovalev and Saku Koivu, both of them going into the last year of their contract. Who will he keep? Who will he let go? Who will get traded? A lot of hard decisions coming up for Mr.Gainey.

Among the other rumors circulating are the ones claiming that Gainey might also be on the verge of signing forward Chris Higgins and defenseman Mike Komisarek to long-term contracts. I say okay for Komisarek, but I’m not too sure about Higgins.

It’s almost as if Doug Wilson, the Sharks’ GM, is going to have to pick between a season guy and a playoff guy. Thornton does an outstanding job for the Sharks during the season and Marleau does an Ok job compared to what he use to do before. But who would be the perfect one to include in a trade intended to make the Sharks a better team for the future?

Well apparently, among teams interested in acquiring Marleau’s services are The Montreal Canadiens, The Columbus Blue Jackets, The New-York Islanders and the Ottawa Senators. Any team in the Western Conference interested in his services should forget about it right away because Doug Wilson is never going to move Marleau in the same conference as his. Marleau could bring something good to the Sharks, but I wouldn’t trade him.

If I was Doug Wilson and was about to make a trade, I would think of trading Joe Thornton before Marleau. To do so, I’d have to convince Joe to let go of his NTC, but once that’s done with, I believe trading Thornton would bring better players in a bigger trade to San Jose and maybe it would bring Marleau back to his level of play back when Joe wasn’t in SJ. But where would Thornton accept to be traded? Obviously one wouldn’t mind to go where he really wants to go, and in that case, Joe has said it already that the teams he wanted to play for while growing up happen to be The Detroit Red Wings and The Toronto Maple Leafs. I’m sure Joe wouldn’t mind going there, and obviously, any of these two teams wouldn’t mind adding him to their line-up!

Halak has yet to sign a new contract with the Canadiens as a RFA, but many believe that if he does, that would mean he is to start in net for a little more than 25 game next season due the fact that the 07-08 season has been a horrible and probably career defining one for young Halak.

Both Halak and Price are on vacation now working on their techniques. Canadiens’ goaltending coach Roland Melason says he told Price to spend a lot of time in the gym to make his body stronger and tougher. He has also stated that he expects Halak next season to be able to push Price more than he did in the last one, therefore getting the most out of both goaltenders by doing so.

The Canadiens have a handful of goaltenders on their team and as I stated earlier, they intend on getting a new one. The Canadiens might very well sign Halak and trade him. With Cristobal Huet out of the picture and Yann Danis probably leaving the Hamilton Bulldogs to go look elsewhere, some positions are going to be open, and that is especially if Halak is traded.

Many people are stating that Carey Price is going to need a veteran goaltender to guide him. That goaltender is obviously going to be the number two goalie since Price is the number one starter for next season. Now the hard part is who would sign that type of contract? Someone who has nowhere else to go. Someone like Olaf Kolzig. It’s undeniable that Kolzig has more than enough experience to share with Price and he would be a good number two, not to mention Olaf still believes he could be a dominant goaltender in the NHL. What’s better than a goaltender that believes in his abilities? If not Kolzig, than why not Patrick Lalime? He had a pretty good season with Chicago and he even impressed many people.

Now they’re going to need another goalie in Hamilton for the Bulldogs now that Yann Danis is not part of the plans anymore. They do have Cedrick Desjardins that is ready to make the step in the AHL after finishing last season with the Cincinnati Cyclones, but Melason stated that he wishes to get a good number three in Hamilton, place Desjardins as number two, and get a number one veteran goaltender. Whatever happens, I believe the Habs are going to try to draft one or maybe two goalies at this year’s draft. Let’s see how interesting they’re going to make this one, especially with their camp starting beginning July. Wonder who’s going to be present at the camp…

Ok so Montreal is still dreaming of LeCavalier’s venue. Will it happen? Well Vinny’s trade to Montreal would explain a lot. It would most certainly explain why Montreal Canadiens GM Bob Gainey is not making any moves yet. Maybe he’s looking to review every aspect of the plan and decide who’s leaving the team, who’s staying in Montreal, and who would such a trade include. It would explain why the Lightning want to draft Steven Stamkos more than anything. Maybe Stamkos is set to replace LeCavalier as of next season. But then again, maybe Stamkos is there in case Vinny leaves once he hits free agency. Or maybe they’re just intending on keeping both.

Others are claiming that Vinny is on the verge of signing a multi-season deal with the Lightning, therefore meaning he will most probably play his last NHL game with the Lightning’s jersey on his back, but that is unless he is to be traded after the contract is signed, therefore making the trade more appealing.

But then again why would LeCavalier sign this long-term deal with Tampa Bay? The place is nice, but is the club going anywhere any time soon? The only thing that looks promising in their future is Stamkos to me. A franchise player like LeCavalier knows it and sometimes you tend to wonder how come your team keeps losing. Since the team ended last season as one of the worst team in the NHL, if I were Vinny, I would definitely want to have a long talk with the owners and analyze the franchise to see where it’s going. Because it’s unlikely LeCavalier signs a 5-10 years deal with a team that has no plans of being a serious contender.