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.

Games:

10/27/08- Islanders 2, New York Rangers 4

10/30/08- Islanders 3, Philadelphia Flyers 4

11/01/08- Islanders 4, Montreal Canadiens 5

New and Notes:

- The Islanders suffered one of the worst meltdowns in franchise history against the Canadiens, allowing Montreal to score four goals in the third period in a comeback victory.

- Starting goalie Rick Dipietro underwent knee surgery to repair a meniscus tear and will be lost for an undetermined period of time.  In his stead, Joey MacDonald and Yann Danis will attempt to hold down the fort.

- C Frans Nielsen has shown signs of improvement as of late.  He has four points in ten games this season.

- D Mark Streit continue to be one of the few bright spots on the Island.  He has recorded points in each of the last five games.

- Hulking LW Mitch Fritz had an impressive scrap against one of the league’s most feared enforcers, Georges Laraque, Saturday night.  He may see more ice time as the Islanders attempt to infuse more toughness in their lineup. 

This Week’s Games:

11/3/08- vs. Columbus Blue Jackets

11/4/08- vs. New York Rangers

11/6/08- vs. Atlanta Thrashers

11/8/08 vs. Pittsburgh Penguins

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

Needless to say the memories of losing to the New York Rangers in 5 games last year do not fade away. That will definitely take some time. As the Devils lost 5-3 to the Rangers in Game 5, I remember saying to myself… “My god… we score and we can’t defend. We defend and we can’t score. Damn that has to change.”

So chug a beer after last year if you’re a Jersey fan… it may not make you feel any better though. The New Jersey Devils did get smart during the offseason. It did help naturally that the Devils were finally out of the Scott Niedermayer mess. Niedermayer signing with the Ducks messed up the Devils’ Salary Cap for 2+ seasons. Over the summer, the Devils were able to sign Brian Rolston and Bobby Holik and sent Vitali Vishnevski back to Russia. They also resigned several restricted and unrestricted free agents. A notable one was Bryce Salvador for 4 years, 11.6 million (until Jeff Finger signed with Toronto). With an improving, young defensive corp, the Devils could surprise many.

Why do I say that? Think about it! This year has been the annual Devils Bashing from media. I guess I have the right to name names at this point. The Hockey News as usual underestimates the Devils around 7th in the East but they are not the worst. ESPN actually has the Devils out of the playoffs. and they may be further from reality than ever. Case in point… ESPN has the Penguins winning the East. I won’t even say what CBS Sportsline thought.

Now hindsight is 20/20 folks. This is an annual occurrence and no one should be surprised. The reality is someday the New Jersey Devils are going to miss the playoffs but it won’t be this year. Here is why…..

I will say that Eklund is almost never right when it comes to these things. He had said that the Devils had the fifth worst offseason. Imagine what would have happened if the Devils had not signed Brian Rolston. Speaking of brainwashing… have you seen this one from Scott Burnside?

They haven’t missed the playoffs in years, but even if it takes 40 years they will eventually. I will predict it too. But how? I know! I will just predict them missing them every single year. I made look stupid at first but when they finally do miss them I will be looked at as the hockey guru of ESPN.

Sorry that will not happen either. I get the point….most network media does not like the New Jersey Devils. Okay well they do have some valid points. Martin Brodeur plays way too much. Hockeydb.com has all the evidence that you will ever need for this argument. All the practice rest in the world does not mitigate the debate at all. Playing games is playing games folks. You have to rest the big horse because face it, no rest equals early playoff exits and that is bad.

The offense was horrible… yet another valid point. However, it is not all bad for New Jersey. They seem to shoot an awful lot though but yet only had 206 goals (only the Isles at 194 was worse in the East). It is hard to make the playoffs with a stumbling offense. Patrik Elias only had 20 goals and 55 points last year and Zach Parise led the team with 65 points… not exactly numbers that scare opposing teams. These are players that probably should average a point or game… maybe even more.

The defense was not that good. Obviously many have said and rightfully so that Martin Brodeur is the Devils’ best defenseman. He does make the defense look a heck of a lot better than it actually was… especially last year. But with youngsters like Matt Corrente and a full season of Bryce Salvador…this team may not be so bad off after all. An improved defensive core is expected as they could not be worse than last year.

Special teams will improve… it has to. The Power Play was abysmal…. ranking 25th at 15.6%. Brian Rolston will be a key cog here and Bobby Holik may help on the second unit clogging the front of the net. Rolston, a natural QB, on the man advantage may even put the team in the top half of the Power Play rankings when all is said and done. The Penalty Kill was 82.8% which ranked a disappointing 13th. Now 13th does not sound that bad but this is the New Jersey Devils. For years, they were ranked in the top 5 or 10 on the man disadvantage. That may return this year with the return of Bobby Holik and Brian Rolston. Again as good as they are on offense..they are even better on the defensive end. With a little mix of youth thrown in, the Devils will improve on this statistic as well.

Prognosis: The Devils are an old, aging team to a point…they ranked 2nd in the league in current age…only Anaheim is older at 30.6. If Brent Sutter can find a way to keep the window open just a bit longer and playing Martin Brodeur maybe 70-72 games maximum… then the Devils will be better off in the long run. The team will improve overall but so has the rest of the Eastern Conference. However, with injuries and defections from teams… the New Jersey Devils will benefit. The Devils will finish 2nd behind the Philadelphia Flyers and again end up 4th in the Eastern Conference. Question will be what playoff lesson did they learn but that is for another time.

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.

The Philadelphia Flyers locked Joffrey Lupul up with a four-year contract extension. Lupul is one of several players the Flyers are committing to for years to come as they believe only good things will come from these young talents.

The Phoenix Coyotes re-signed left wing Daniel Carcillo in which they feel this sparkplug brings great balance of speed and toughness to the team. Carcillo led the league in penalty minutes last season as a rookie and that seemed to be the type of player the Coyotes want as they deal is undisclosed but was a 2 year contract.

The New Jersey Devils signing center Fedor Fedorov, who is the brother of Sergei Fedorov and has been playing in Europe the past few seasons.

Other signings this week included the Anaheim Ducks agreeing to one year contracts with left win Josh Green and center Eric Boguniecki. The biggest signing of the week has come from the Vancouver Canucks, as they signed six players Wednesday. Those players include RW-Ryan Shannon, C-Rick Rypien, RW-Mike Brown, Defs-Nathan McIver, Zach FitzGerald, and James Sharrow. Make sure to check back to see all the NHL’s top news as this year the Stanley Cup will truly be up for grabs. All this action is getting fans excited for the 2008-2009 season and with opening day being less than three months away it will be interesting to see what other deals come our way.

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 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.

Having swept the Ottawa Senators in four games then taking care of the New York Rangers in five games, it was only fitting that the Pens took care of the Flyers in five games as well. So far in the 2008 play-offs the Pens record is 12-2. Pretty good if you consider the fact that the Pens were not a great defensive team in the regular season.

Pittsburgh’s defence in the post season is, well, great. Pittsburgh with players like Evgeni Malkin, Marian Hossa, Sidney Crosby, Ryan Malone, Jordan Stall, Petr Sykora, and Sergei Gonchar have the offence to compete with any team in the NHL. The elite scoring players of the Pens are not only scoring goals, coach Michel Therrien also has them playing defense.

Pittsburgh goalie Marc Andre Fleury who was sent down to the minors this season for some conditioning has played outstanding this post season. Ty Conklin who took over for Fleury when he was sent to the minors has yet to see a post season game for the Pens. For the past couple of seasons Fleury had not been consistent in his play. Fleury has chosen the right time to play well it would seem.

This new Pens team seems like the old team in 1991-92 when they had such players as Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr, Ron Francis, Alex Kovalev, Mark Recchi, and  Alexei Morosov. WIll this current team have what it take to bring home Lord Stanley’s Cup?

Pittsburgh now awaits the winner of the Detroit Red Wings and the Dallas Stars. The WIngs lead the series 3-2. The Stars will try to tie the series at three games a piece tonight.

Whichever team joins the Pens in the final will meet a rested team ready to prove to the NHL that youth is a good thing.

The NHL is most probably excited that one of the teams that they wanted in the final has already made it. The NHL will never admit that it favors one team or the other, but it must be happy that their t.v. revenues will be high as the Pens are a high t.v. rated team with all their stars. Stars or Wings, doesn’t really matter to the NHL as all three of the remaining teams have marketable players.

Pittsburgh has been waiting for a long time to reach the finals again, question is will they profit from the situation? 

VERSUS will kick-off the Conference Finals with a special 30-minute “Hockey Central” on May 8 at 7 p.m. ET, prior to Game 1 of the Western Conference Final between Dallas and Detroit. VERSUS’ Stanley Cup Playoffs coverage will culminate with exclusive coverage of the first two games of the Stanley Cup Final. All VERSUS-produced games are produced in hi-definition.

The network’s studio show, “Hockey Central,” is hosted by Bill Patrick with Brian Engblom and Keith Jones and provides extensive insight and commentary of the games and what’s happening around the Stanley Cup Playoffs each night. VERSUS will, on occasion, bring players and coaches into the studio to serve as celebrity guest analysts. In the Quarterfinal round, Manny Legace, goaltender for the St. Louis Blues and Rick DiPietro, goaltender for the New York Islanders joined the VERSUS studio crew. Additions in the Conference Final round will be announced as information becomes available.

Among the regular segments of the studio show are the following:

• Keith Jones’ Odd Man Rush, Keith’s unique look at the plays and players who have put themselves in the spotlight, whether for good or bad
• Brian Engblom’s Reality Check, Brian’s personal opinion on NHL issues
• Highlights from games not airing on VERSUS, as well as Plays of the Week
• Parting Shots; where Engblom and Jones debate bullet point debate topics in rapid fire fashion
• Live-Look-Ins wherever possible, bringing viewers live action from games being played concurrently during VERSUS’ telecast
• Features on NHL players away from the ice
• Historical recaps which spotlight the defining and greatest moments in NHL Stanley Cup history

Total viewership for “Hockey Central” during the first two rounds of this postseason has increased 65 percent compared to the first two playoff rounds last year.

First off, Bob Gainey ( general manager ) thanked the fans for their support through-out the season, especially during the play-offs. Gainey stated that the fans support made the atmosphere of the city a great one, and that the fans made the whole Habs organization feel special.

Gainey went on to say that the Philadelphia Flyers were the better team, and deserved to move on. He also stated that the Flyers did well in their off season by acquiring good players, and that they started their rebuilding after a bad season in 2006.

Gainey stipulated that he now knows, having gone through the play-offs, where the holes are in the team, and that they will look to fill those wholes in the off-season either with free agents, or by their minor league system. Gainey also added that he wants to be a contender next year, and for years to come.

Bob Gainey said that he would be looking for a forward in the off-season, but failed to mention what type of forward he would be looking for.

Carbonneau said that the Habs lost as a team, and that no one player was to blame. The young players grew together, and saw what they will need to perform better in next years play-offs. He went on to say that Carey Price was tired, but that Price also now knows that the play-offs in the NHL are different than in the minors, and that he will be back next year in better physical, as well as mental shape to start the season, and that he will be better in the play-offs to come.

Gainey said that he is aware of the rumour that Andrei Kostitsyn is being tendered a contract by the Russian Super League, and that he accepts the reality of the situation. Gainey knows of the possibility, if Kostitsyn decides to go to Russia, he would deal with it when it would happen, and is fully prepared to do so.

Gainey said about Michael Ryder that Ryder tried to change his game, and that last year he scored 15 five on five goals, this year he scored 13, but that at the end of the day, the Canadiens were a better team without him. Gainey also said that Mark Streit will be interviewed, and if he wishes to stay with the team, perhaps something can be arranged. As for the other free agents, Bob Gainey has not made his assessment of the whole team yet.

Gainey said that by draft day 2008, the Habs will know what direction they are going in for next season, and what type of player(s) could help them.

On the question of if the centennial changes anything, Gainey said that it does as all the media will be focusing on Montreal, and that some pieces of the puzzle are already in place, now they just have to complete the puzzle.

Fabian Brunnstrom was in Montreal this past Saturday, are the Habs interested? Gainey said that they are interested, and have given their proposal to him, and his agent, and that the Canadiens should know by late this week, early next week what Brunnstrom’s intentions are.

Gainey was asked if the team needed more size and grit, to which he replied that they do, but that they are a fast team, and would like to remain as such, but that some more grit couldn’t hurt.

Gainey also replied to the fact that some teams could tender an offer to Andrei Kostitsyn, like the Edmonton Oilers did to a player of another team, and said that it is a posibility, but that he can do the same also. Basically giving an un-official warning.

Well now that the season is officially over Bob Gainey will take a deep breath, and a little break before starting again, the Habs need some little tweaking to be a real contender, what will Bob Gainey do?

Sure there are the Marian Hossa’s, and the Mats Sundin’s of the world, but who are the under-rated players that could help the Canadiens next year? There are some funny rumours in Montreal that fans have brought forth, I guess they are more hopes rather than reality, but the suggestions are to trade Mikhail Grabovski, Jaroslav Halak, the Habs first round pick this year, and possibly Ryan O’Byrne, and maybe Chris Higgins to the Atlanta Thrashers for Ilya Kovalchuk. Well if you want to put all your eggs in one basket, he is not a bad player to get, but trading all of that seems a little steep.

A player which has been getting absolutely no attention from the media in Montreal is Paul Gaustad. This 6′5″ 225 pound centre could be exactly what the Habs need. He’s big, physical, not afraid to get a little nasty, and is a centre, a big one, which could solve some problems down the middle where the Habs need help. I believe that Gaustad would be the no.3 centre that the Habs have been looking for. Gaustad can play well, and isn’t afraid to stand in front of the net either, which could have helped in the Philadelphia Flyers series. Gaustad may not be a superstar, but he could be a piece of the puzzle.

Another player that the Habs should inquire about is the Jordin Tootoo. He does take some stupid penalties from time to time, but he is a pinball, and is definitely not afraid to mix it up. He loves the physical, and nasty play, why not in Montreal? Tootoo might be in the penalty box a little too often, but he inspires his team-mates with loud and crushing hits, unlike Maxime Lapierre. Tootoo could be a good fit in Montreal, as coach Guy Carbonneau enjoys the gritty type players.

If the Canadiens were thinking of landing a proven fighter on the team, then if they are not able to get Georges Laraque, unfortunately, there aren’t many options, perhaps the big Derek Boogaard from the Minnesota Wild would be an option. Boogaard is not fast, but at 6′7″, and weighing 256 pounds, he could crush some people in the boards, and I’m sure that neither Laraque, nor Zdeno Chara would frighten him. There are a couple of other fighters in the league that could use a new home, but they are all about the same as Boogaard, just not as big. However, I do like Zack Stortini from the Edmonton Oilers also as a fighter.

Raffi Torres is another gritty forward which would have helped in the Philly series, he plays physical, and loves going to the net and disturbing the goalie. Although this year he had some problematic injuries, he remains a good player, one which I’m sure the Habs would enjoy. Also in Edmonton, Jarett Stoll, although I prefer Gaustad to Stoll, Stoll does have the edge in winning face-offs. Stoll would be a good replacement for Brian Smolinski, but as I said, I would prefer to see Gaustad.

One of the Canadiens problems is the fact that they are so small at the centre position. Saku Koivu, and Tomas Plekanec, both of whom are talented, but on the smallish side, Smolinski was a decent size, but didn’t pan out, and his best days are behind him. Maxim Lapierre is bigger than Koivu, and Plekanec, but will he be good enough?

The Canadiens have some talented wingers, and defense-men coming up soon, they also have some centres, but they are not much bigger than Koivu, or Plekanec, so perhaps it’s time to think about size, which has been the issue in Montreal for a few years, this year they escaped it by being the number 1 team in the East, but the lack of size up front amongst other things, hampered their play-off hopes.

More to come in part 2.

Mark Streit, he has some potential, but failed to show up for many games in the post season. Yes he had a couple of good games, but for the salary that he will demand next season, is it really worth it? Streit is a good puck mover, and has a good shot from the point, but he didn’t use it much, and had a hard time against the bigger teams he faced in the play-offs.

The power-play, what in the world happened? Well teams figured out that Andrei Markov always passes the puck to Alex Kovalev, and shut that lane off, then it was to Streit, and teams shut that lane off too, so the power-play was almost non existent.

Carey Price, well, unfortunately he showed that he is still a rookie, he did win his first play-off series, and made some spectacular saves, but also was rattled and let in some cheap goals. Price is only twenty years old, and will rebound from this, he gained valuable experience in the post season, and will have to work on his glove side high holes, although there are unconfirmed reports that he was a little injured as well. Look, you see in this kid that he has the potential to be great, this was a stepping stone, or a learning curve, so do be too hard on him.

Basically the team in the series against the Philadelphia Flyers, out played played the other team, they couldn’t finish. What the Habs needed and need for next season is for Guillaume Latendresse to play like the player he is supposed to be, or to get a player like Milan Lucic, and perhaps if, and only time will tell, if the Habs don’t have gritty decent size forwards in Hamilton, which they do, then they will have to acquire a few. Along with possibly inquiring about Jeff Carter, he would be a good centre for the Habs. The forwards that don’t hit, meaning the scorers, did their job, they got points, perhaps too little, too late in the game, but they did it anyways, you can’t fault them. The fourth line however, was atrocious, and will have to be much better next season.

All the Habs need is a good power forward, and a couple of good gritty players to help Tom Kostopolous, and Steve Begin in the hitting department, as more defense-men are coming up, and they know how to hit. This post season was not a let down as the Canadiens were fore-casted to not make the play-offs, so the team should sort of be happy, however next year is the centennial, and all the media in hockey will be in Montreal, if the Habs don’t want to look like chumps, then they will have to take what they hopefully learned and apply it next season.

They out-played the Flyers, but didn’t get any lucky bounces, but at least they were not dominated, something to look forward to. Let’s hope that Price has a great rebound year next year, and leads the Habs further in the post season.

Flash, and dash, that’s right, flash, and dash. The Canadiens showed through-out the regular season that they have skill, and great passing, and that they are a fast skating team, unfortunately, that rarely goes anywhere in the play-offs, unless a team has more than two players who can hit on a consistent basis. The problem is that when only an injured Mike Komisarek, and Francis Bouillon, and also a slightly injured Roman Hamrlik are doing most of your team’s hitting, you have a problem. When those players are not injured, they can put the hurt on, and make you feel like you got hit by a truck, even little Bouillon’s hits hurt, but when they are hurt, and doing 90% of the hitting, it means that the rest of your team has issuses.

Where was Maxim Lapierre? Lapierre played decent against the Boston Bruins, decent, but then almost disappeared in the Philadelphia Flyers series. Where did he go? For someone of good size to play hockey, what did he bring to the Habs, besides his speed, I’ve never seen someone hit the glass so much, it’s like he wanted it to seem like he hit someone, but was afraid that people were going to put a contract out on him. Lapierre has speed, and good size, so he should be good on the fore-check, unfortunately he prefered hitting the glass rather than a body. Lapierre had a marginal face-off rating, so what was wrong with putting in a Gregory Stewart, who showed that he can play the style required of a third, or fourth line player? Lapierre will have stiff competition next training camp, he might go back to the Hamilton Bulldogs for the second year in a row, this time he might not get called back!

Mathieu Dandenault, this player has to be bought out of the final year of his contract. Last season was abysmal as a defence-man, and this year he almost saw as much of the press box as he did the ice. Once again he was put in the press box due to the fact that he wasn’t doing much, as usual, to be replaced by Guillaume Latendresse. Hopefully the Habs will buy Dandenault’s contract out, and we won’t have to hear him not being happy.

What happened to Brian Smolinski? he was pretty good against the Bruins, and in the first game in the Philly series, then he also made a disappearing act. He is someone else that shouldn’t be back with the team next year, he’s a nice guy, but you know what they say about those. He did what he could, but it wasn’t enough, and he doesn’t have many seasons left in him to say he will do better next year. The Habs should thank him for what he brought but they won’t be re-signing him next season, his money could be put to other use.

Michael Ryder, who’s that? Oh yeah, he’s the guy who took his benching in the play-offs lightly, and was busy making paper airplanes in the press box instead of studying the other team. Well, he had a really bad year, and was un-noticable in the post season, now one could say, one bad season, but the previous three were good, and that he still has time to rebound. Yes he does, but the plane thing pretty much killed him in most people’s eyes in Montreal. His almost three million dollar salary could also go elsewhere, sorry Mike, but bye!

So far, we have Ryder making almost three million, Dandenault making 1.7, and Smolinski making 2 million, right there the Habs have 4.7 million that they could use for something else.

Guillaume Latendresse, this guy is still young, and the Habs brought him up too fast, he should have played a couple of years in Hamilton, and maybe he should play at least one year there. Latendresse could be a Milan Lucic, without the speed as Latendresse has none. Guillaume has the size, and the hands to be a power forward, but he doesn’t do what he needs to in order to have success, he can’t skate fast, so then he should either be in front of the net, or drive towards the net, and crash in the corners to make defense-men cringe when they see him. On him I wouldn’t give up just yet, with Ryder most likely gone, it could be Guillaume’s last chance on a top line in Montreal. The coaches have to tell him to drive hard to the net, and crash, or else he will either go back to Hamilton, or be traded. Latendresse has potential, being on the third, and fourth lines this year but still managed to score over 15 goals. If he is trained the right way, Latendresse could be a dominate power forward, but will he be? I think his last chance is coming, if he doesn’t pan out next season, he won’t like the out-come.

Tom Kostopolous, he deserves another stint with the Canadiens. He was out of gas after game two of the Philly series, can you blame him? Along with Steve Begin, and Saku Koivu, Kostopolous was the only forward delivering hits and making things happen during the Habs post season, hello, is there anyone else? Kostopolous I would sign for two years, he deserves it.

Saku Koivu, what do you say about someone small who plays big? Koivu did his job and more since coming in mid-way through the Bruins series, he scored, assisted and hit some people, basically he was trying to lead by example, which few followed, be it because of injury, or lack of effort, too bad, Koivu should go far in the play-offs as he has been with the team the longest, and has endured the media in all his years here.

More to come in part 2.

The scoring for the Habs went like this, Tomas Plekanec, from Patrice Brisebois, and Andrei Kostitsyn, the second was from Alex Kovalev, assisted by Maxim Lapierre, and Mike Komisarek, the third was scored by Chris Higgins, assisted by Saku Koivu, and Josh Gorges, and lastly Andrei Kostitsyn, from Plekanec, and Kovalev. Carey Price made 31 saves in the loss.

The scoring for the Flyers went like this, R.J. Umberger, from Jason Smith, and Joffrey Lupul, then Mike Richards from Umberger, the third from Umberger, assisted by Derian Hatcher, and Richards, the fourth by Scott Hartnell, assisted by Kimmo Timonen, Scottie Upshall scored the fifth goal assisted by Jeff Carter, and Lasse Kukkonen, and finally the empty net goal by Mike Knuble, from Jeff Carter. Martin Biron made 31 saves for the win.

This game was entertaining, as both goalies made good saves, as well as letting in cheap goals, the Habs finally started driving to the net, and it paid off. The Canadiens were able to score 4 goals on Biron, but that wasn’t good enough, it seems that in this series no matter how many goals the Habs scored, it wasn’t enough.

The Canadiens out-played the Flyers in all five games, but lost the series anyway. In yesterday’s game, the Habs went for it, unfortunately it seems that even though Carey Price made some spectacular saves, he also let in some cheap goals that he should have stopped.

With the exception of Saturday’s 6-4 win of the Flyers, the Habs played well in their defensive zone, but lacked the finishing touch to beat the team that they out shot on a consistent basis. It took too long to make the adjustment and drive to the net, this should have been done from game no.2.

The Canadiens are now on their way to making golf reservations, and some will play for their respective countries in the world championship. The Montreal Canadiens lost, and it is disappointing, but they were not expected to make the play-offs at the beginning of the season, and went to the second round, so one could consider this a successful season. As young as the Habs are, this is a learning curve which youngsters must go through in order to be better, will they learn from their mistakes? Will Price be able to deal with the way he played? Who will be back with the Habs, who won’t? Will the Habs acquire a free agent or two, and which Hamilton Bulldogs will make the big next season? All questions which will be answered in future articles.

Congratulations Canadiens, for exceeding expectations, but next season, the Centennial, will be one which you are expected to do better, for now once again, congrats.

Now, no-one else said that, perhaps he is the only one who paid attention to it, Guy Carbonneau said on a conference call after last night’s game, that he was not aware of that incident, so he couldn’t comment on it. Supposing that Gagnon’s statement is true, wow, Ryder better not wonder why he isn’t playing any more. If this is true, and Carbonneau gets evidence, well let’s just say that there was a doubt already that Ryder would not be back next season, but now, there is no doubt.

What in the world was he thinking, sure that might be funny if the Habs were winning 6-2 with one minute left to play, but when your team is down, and you are playing games, well frankly, it’s moronic! Ryder who had a really bad year after having three good ones, and playing poorly in the play-offs, where does he come off trying to have fun? I guess that not playing really doesn’t bother him that much.

Perhaps with the fact that even Ryder knows his future in Montreal is finished, he decided to have a little fun in antagonizing the Philadelphia Flyers fans. Well Mikey, I hope you enjoyed it, because if you did do that, you are most certainly assured of not playing for the Habs next year, congrats!

Instead of studying how the Canadiens could beat the wall that is Martin Biron, and reporting back to the coach, he decides to have a little fun, hey buddy, your team is having problems, why don’t you try and help find a solution, instead of creating more bad press which the team doesn’t need, or have time for right now!

It’s too bad, Ryder did score 25 goals his rookie season, and then followed that up with two 30 goal seasons, he can score, perhaps it was just a bad year, but he could have put more effort into his game, unfortunately Ryder is a one dimensional player, he isn’t too good at the defencive aspect of the game, so when he doesn’t score, he looks even worse.

The conundrum which is Michael Ryder this year continues, instead of being angry at the fact that he isn’t playing, or trying to help the team in another fashion, he decides to have fun, well Mike, laugh while you can, I don’t see you making more, or even the same amount of money you made this year, no matter  where you end up, laugh buddy, thanks for nothing this year. If only he would have made an effort, maybe the Habs would have kept him at a reduced salary, but now if this is true, forget it! Let me be the first to say, na-na-na-na, hey-hey-hey goodbye!

The scoring for the Habs went like this, Tomas Plekanec, from Josh Gorges, and Francis Bouillon, and Saku Koivu, from Mark Streit, and Francis Bouillon. Jaroslav Halak made 22 stops in the loss. For the Flyers, the scoring went like this, R.J Umberger, from Daniel Briere, then Scott Hartnell, from Vaclav Prospal, then Daniel Briere, from Mike Knuble, and Prospal, and finally R.J. Umberger, from Jeff Carter ( empty net ). Martin Biron made 36 saves for the win.

After two periods, the Canadiens had almost double the amount of shots that the Flyers had, but they still couldn’t beat Biron. The Habs were trying, but Biron seemed to see everything. Why didn’t Guillaume Latendresse stand in front of the net? Perhaps even Tom Kostopolous, or Steve Begin. Well, either they are too afraid, or they are being told otherwise. Hello, if Biron is seeing everything then blind him somehow, it doesn’t take a genius to figure that out.

Jaroslav Halak played well after two periods, especially on the Jeff Carter break-away. The defence played well also, as one could see from the shot total, but there was no finishing on great plays that the Habs made. It almost seems as though the Canadiens were shooting the puck directly at Biron, making him look better than he really is. After two periods, the Habs were behind 1-0.

In the third period, the Flyers were able to score another goal, for which the Habs replied scoring two quick ones to tie the game. Unfortunately for the Habs, two goals wasn’t enough to get them into overtime. Once again during the course of the game, the Habs out-played the Flyers only to get the short end of the stick. Again the Habs were able to keep the number of shots to a minimum for the Flyers, but when Philly got a chance they buried it.

So far in the series after four games the Habs have out-shot the Flyers, and have for the most part out-played them also, is Biron as good as he seems, no, he’s a good goalie, when he was available I wanted the Habs to acquire him, but he isn’t as good as he seems. The Canadiens seem to be shooting right at him, sure he is in the right position sometimes, but all the time? No goalie can boast that! In the play-offs the majority of the goals are garbage, which opens up the skilled shooters to score as everyone’s attention is on the guy in front of the net. For the Habs, they shoot, but from un-obstructed angles, so Biron sees everything, no one is in front of the net. I don’t know if they are being told something different, but it seems that no-one is willing to pay the price and stand in front of the net on a consistent basis, that’s what will disturb Biron enough to let in goals.

If the Canadiens want a chance to win game #5 in Montreal, they have to crash the net, and bother Biron, and like I said, with someone standing in front of the net, there will be a spot for someone to shoot from as a defense-man will try to move that person obstructing Biron’s view, I’m sure that the coaches have noticed that after four games?!

Maxime Lapierre should be replaced, the Habs have nothing left to lose, put in someone like Gregory Stewart, he’s grittier than Lapierre, and fresh, Plekanec is also not doing much, he should be replaced also, put in Mikhail Grabovski, sure Grabs isn’t the best face-off guy, but how many face-offs has Plekanec won lately? And why replace Ryan O’Byrne with Patrice Brisebois again, O’Byrne played well last game, and the Flyers only had 14 shots on goal, am I missing something? Brisebois isn’t playing better than O’Byrne, at least if O’Byrne makes a mistake, he’s a rookie, what excuses can be made for Brisebois when he makes mistakes?

The series now shifts back to Montreal on Saturday, hopefully the two day break will give the Habs enough time to figure out how they are going to win on home ice, and not lose the series 4-1 in Montreal. The Canadiens will most likely come back with Carey Price in nets, hoping that the break he had will have cleared the cobb webs out of his head. The Habs have to play the same way defensively, but have to break their funk of not being able to capitalize on their chances. If they can’t find a way to bother Biron, well then the Habs have to hope that Biron has a bad game, either way, the Habs can’t permit themselves to lose the series on home ice, the Habs shouldn’t even be in this predicament. Crash the net boys, bother Biron, get the Flyers into penalty trouble, and then score, wear the Flyers defence out, and get in front of Biron!

More and more is Price beginning to look like the 20-year-old kid he is. The pressure in the Stanley Cup playoffs is immense and Philadelphia is a tough building to play in.

Here’s what I wrote back on April 3: “I think, and hope, the Canadiens end up regretting trading (Cristobal) Huet instead of keeping him as insurance for the playoffs.”

Dreams, my friends, can come true. With the Flyers now up two-to-one over Montreal, I can’t help but think of Happy Gilmore headbutting Bob Barker and telling him: “The price is wrong, bitch.” Best. Cameo. Appearance. Ever.

Still on the Flyers/Habs series, is Darian Hatcher not the biggest doofus in the NHL? His hit from behind on Francis Bouillon was bush-league and typical of the Philadelphia Flyers. But it takes a special type of moron to do it in the third period with his team up three-nothing. Hatcher single-handedly got the Canadiens back into the game and while I hate both teams equally, a part of me was hoping the Habs would tie it up, and even win it in overtime, so Hatcher could feel like even more of an idiot. What a douche bag. I hate Hatcher.

Here’s a video called “Hitler Loves the Flyers” courtesy of Slap Shot, the New York Times hockey blog. It was made after the Habs won game one of their series with Philadelphia so while the shots at Martin Biron are clearly unwarranted today, the numerous disses thrown at Danielle Briere are simply amazing. The video is golden. Enjoy!

Seriously, how does Detroit do it? Johan Franzen, aka “The Mule,” is tied for the NHL playoff goal-scoring lead with seven goals in only eight games.

So, uh, who the hell is this guy? Franzen scored 27 goals in the regular season to go along with only 11 assists. Eight of those goals were game-winners and 14 came on the power play. The guy’s a sniper. To close out the regular season, Franzen scored 15 goals in Detroit’s final 16 games. He’s picked up right where he left off in the playoffs.

I must admit that I knew Franzen was poised for a breakout season. I picked him in the last round of my keeper league fantasy hockey pool. Sure, I dropped him after he opened the season with only one goal in 17 games, but, well, that’s besides the point. I still knew.

Franzen is the next player on the long list of successful late Detroit Red Wings draft picks. He was chosen in the third round, 97th overall back in 2004.

The others? Pavel Datsyuk, drafted in the sixth round, 171st overall in 1998. Nicklas Lidstrom, drafted in the third round, 53rd overall way back in 1989. Dude’s had a pretty good career, hasn’t he? Valtteri Filppula, who scored 19 goals this season, was chosen in the third round, 95th overall in 2002. Look for him to have a Franzen-type breakout season next year. Tomas Holmstrom, drafted in the 10th round, 257th overall back in 1994, has forged a nice little career for himself. And, of course, Henrik Zetterberg, drafted in the 7th round, 210th overall in 1999, is only one of the NHLs best players.

Unbelievable, eh? Detroit’s scouting and drafting department is the best in the NHL, no contest. If the Toronto Maple Leafs are serious about winning a Stanley Cup they should buy the Detroit scouting staff and get Ken Holland over here asap.

Sean Avery has officially transcended hockey. Here’s a piece about him in The New Yorker.

Speaking of douche-baggery, here’s an article I’ve been wanting to share for a long time, courtesy of The New York Times, on the timeless art of the face wash.

Is it time to officially give the Dallas Stars some respect? First they shoot down the defending champion Anaheim Ducks in five games and then they go into San Jose and win games one and two on the road. Yeah, I think some respect is due.

Dan Myers over at Penalty Shots thinks the Leafs should be considering, get ready for this one, Bobby Clarke for the general manager position. Clarke’s career record as a GM is a sparkling 714-443-199. It’s tough to argue with that record, but it’s not tough to argue that Clarke is a serious douche who left one hell of a mess behind in Philadelphia. While we do have what Clarke never did in Philly – a goalie – I just don’t see it happening.

The Toronto Marlies are moving on to the second round of the AHL playoffs thanks to an ugly goal by Bates Battaglia with only a minute to go in game seven last night. While I’m still losing sleep over the fact that Justin Pogge is not in net for the Marlies, Scott Clemmensen was great yesterday, making 33 saves to ensure the victory. He’s keeping the hopes of a parade alive in the city of Toronto. Sad, I know, but it’s all we’ve got.

Speaking of Toronto, when did we become the “City of Champions”? I thought Edmonton held that title? Did I miss the memo or something, because I sure as hell haven’t missed any championships.

I ask because Damien Cox wrote a blog post entitled “A Tradition of, Um, Something” in which he took the city’s sports teams to task for, well, sucking. He took shots at the Leafs (of course), the Toronto Rock, some OHL teams no one gives a damn about, the Raptors, Marlies, Blue Jays, and Toronto FC. Basically, anything and everything MLSE related. It’s just Cox being Cox, you know, in his tradition of, um, bad sports writing.

Saturday’s game had the Habs miss an open net on many occasions, as well as hit a few posts, and hit the cross-bar. Carey Price seems to be out of it, and his weak spot is glove side high. Price who stole a couple of games for the Habs in the previous series against the Boston Bruins, is seemingly having some difficulties against the Flyers. Price is out of position, or on his knees too early.

The Canadiens out shot the Flyers on Saturday, but missed the net on too many occasions. Over-all, the Habs out played the Flyers on Saturday, but missing the net, hitting the cross bar, combined with Biron making great saves, lead the Canadiens to lose. Carey Price let in some bad goals at in-opportune times during the game, especially when the Habs were only down by one goal in the third period.

After Saturday’s game, it was even more apparent that Mathieu Dandenault is not playing well, he hasn’t played decent since game no.5 against the Bruins and will need to be replaced. Patrice Brisebois who also hasn’t played well for a few games was replaced by Ryan O’Byrne for game no.2 on Saturday. The Habs should have their heads high as they played well, but couldn’t find the net enough, Price would have to be better for game three on Monday. There was some rough stuff in the third period, especially after Philly scored their fourth goal. Tom Kostopolous gave a punch to Kimmo Timonen after Timonen made a derogatory statement, and seemed to laugh at the Habs. After Saturday’s loss to Philly 4-2, the series was tied 1-1.

The Canadiens lost again on Monday, this time 3-2. Carey Price let in 3 goals on 12 shots after two periods, he was replaced by Jaroslav Halak to the start of the third period. There were no goals in the first period, but Price let three in during the second period. Price looked out of place again. Derian Hatcher opened the door for the Habs in the third period by getting a 5 minute major as well as a game misconduct. The Canadiens scored two goals during the 5 minute major, but that’s as many as they would get.

The scoring for the Habs went like this, Tomas Plekanec, from Guillaume Latendresse, and Sergei Kostitsyn, and lastly from Saku Koivu, assisted by Andrei Markov, and Chris Higgins. Halak made some nice stops to keep the game close after replacing Price.

The scoring for the Flyers went like this, Scottie Upshall, from Joffrey Lupul, then Mike Richards unassisted, and finally from R.J. Umberger, assisted by Jeff Carter, and Braydon Coburn. Martin Biron made 32 saves for the win.

The Canadiens once again out shot the Flyers 34-14, but lost anyway. The Habs with the exception of Carey Price, played decent again, but couldn’t solve Biron until the 5 minute major that Hatcher received. What else can the Habs possibly do? Well, first off they should give Halak a shot at starting game no.4, as Price seems to be out of his element. The Habs are playing decent but they are not scoring much, so they should start to grip their sticks a little less, and score. The Habs are playing well enough to win, they are out shooting the Flyers, and playing better than the Flyers are, but they aren’t scoring. A 5 on 3 for the Habs was wasted as they couldn’t score.

Carey Price, or Jaroslav Halak to start game no.4? Well, Price was screened for two of the goals, but could he be a little tired? Will coach Carbonneau start Halak next game to give Price a little break?

Guillaume Latendresse was inserted back into the line-up tonight replacing Mathieu Dandenault. He played well, but didn’t use his best attribute, his size, he should have hit more, but he played better than Dandenault has lately. Maxim Lapierre, could he be replaced by Michael Ryder, or Gregory Stewart on Wednesday?

The Canadiens only allowed 14 shots, but still lost, which means that the goalie didn’t play well, but the Habs took a long time to score goals as well, and didn’t score enough.

The Habs are playing well, they shouldn’t change their defensive strategy, but will have to find a way to disrupt Biron, ans score more often. They are doing a good job at limiting the Flyers’ chances, unfortunately, the chances that the Flyers get, go in the net. Either Price has to tell his defense-man to let him see the shot, and has to be better glove side high, or put Halak in and give him at least one game, then come back with Price.

The two teams meet again on Wednesday, the Flyers now have a 2-1 lead in the series, but the Habs could have won the two last games, but they didn’t capitalize on their chances, and Biron was better than Price. I don’t believe that the Habs have to change their game plan, but they will have to figure out a way to put a few pucks past Biron, who is good, but far from the best goalie in the league. Keep plucking away boys, the law of averages should come into effect soon.