Thank you Habs

This was the year of the triple low five.

And what a year it was.

The 101st season of the Habs involved ups and downs quite similar to and yet unlike any other before.

Once more we lost our best D to injury. And that would have been tolerable were it not for the fact that we lost our second best D to an injury he'd been hanging onto for 7 years. Josh why in the world would you not get that fixed?! Ah, but I don't blame him. Poor guy's a rock for us and I know he plays with heart. See this if you haven't already to see what I'm talkin' about.

I love the "Nos Canadiens" series. Seriously. I haven't watched a lot of episodes (gotta save something for the long offseason) but I loved what I've seen. I hope next year we can get more stuff, like the Oilers got "Oil Change" or the Pens & Caps with the "24/7" series. Good stuff.

About this season...we improved from last year. New additions to the team really helped out, especially Jeff Halpern in the faceoff circle. But we're still severely lacking. How does a team go from an 8-1 blowout to being shut out in three consecutive games? Seriously? With the Habs futility in February I knew we wouldn't bring home the hardware this year but by that point I was wondering if we'd make the playoffs. Thank goodness for the strong start in October and November.

Though the team struggled, nothing was as frustrating, probably, as that road trip in December. Why does the NHL have this every year? It's like their sadists or something. Really. No one in Montreal or Eastern Canada in general can see the Habs during the holidays. Unless you go to Long Island if you're up for that long road trip. Is this fair to the most passionate fans who continuously fill the largest arena in the NHL? Hell no. Don't talk to me about snow birds in Florida. You can have two road games there and come back here for the other 5 or so games. But a road trip that takes you out west as well is just crazy.

Then there's that Pacioretty-Chara incident. Everyone was bothered by that. I greatly respect Henrik Sedin, Tanner Glass, and Joe Thornton for speaking out against Chara. A team with an injured player like Marc Savard should not go around hurting people like that. Accidentally or otherwise. And Dr. Recchi should know better. I'm tired of hearing jokes about people calling 911. So, were the people in Vancouver who called the cops when Bertuzzi went wild also idiots who shouldn't have called the cops? If I were in the arena I would have been crying for Patches really looked like he had died. His good luck saved  him from getting a displaced fracture or Chara would be facing murder charges. Stop acting like it was a hockey play. Hockey plays do not get penalties and game misconducts. If a penalized action on the ice is a hockey play then I say the NHL has gone to the dogs.

The team wasn't the same after that. I mean, not just the loss to St. Louis. I wonder if some people were disappointed with that game, since it was the big Halak vs. Price game. Halak even came back from a hand injury. But really, Patches' injury overshadowed everything. We went on to having a pattern of wins and losses up until the blowout in Minnesota after which we imploded. The win against NJ and the subsequent playoff berth clinching OT winner vs. Chicago righted the ship a bit. But we were never able to challenge for 5th or even 3rd. And the gap between us and the Rangers grew dangerously small. It's sad for the Rangers that Chara broke one of their most important players' leg or else they would have had a better end to their season. And of course, we never won five games in a row again. Our best win streak of the season and our best point getter in 2011 were done after that game. Gotta say thanks to those fans from Long Island and even Toronto and everywhere else that booed Chara afterwards. A screenie of the standings on March 9.

And I got to see that wonderful game 82 in Toronto! It had two near hat tricks with Gio getting 2 goals and Ryan White getting a goal and a fight (both in the first period no less) for 2/3 of the Gordie Howe hat trick. It was a beautiful game and had a very festive atmosphere because it was Fanapalooza. Some Leafs great were in attendance as well. I was a bit relaxed, not having to worry about qualifying. I never want to go to a game in which we are worried about qualifying. Loved seeing the captain score, and I've become quite a White fan after the Savage Garden thing so I was delighted that he's the first Hab I got to see score in person. ;) And Turtle Pleks finished off the scoring. One guy who couldn't buy a goal that whole night was Mike Cammalleri. He was trying real hard, I think he had friends and family in attendance. But it just did not work out. While the no goal call was quite surprising (I saw the puck cross the line) the crowd was full of Habs fans. We even started the ole chant a few times! And some guy proposed to his girlfriend during the 2nd intermission. I swear, the game had everything (except hat tricks, a shut out, a penalty goal, and OT/shoot out--so most everything). It's great that it was a Habs win and the buddy I went with (an exchange student from Scotland) got to see it all. Especially the triple low five! <3

Habby is also celebrating White's goal in the arena up there on the opposite side.

Never have I felt hate for the NHL until this season. Not only did the league show its incompetence in dealing with serious offences (still waiting for Crosby's concussion causers to get something), they made me realize just how powerless I am as a fan. The latest incidents that reminded me were the finger that Ferrence gave all Habs fans around the world. If that was the Wiz, I'm sure he would have gotten at least a game. What does he get instead? A fine that people in Boston are willing to chip in to pay. As Mike Richards would say, this kid's got no respect. And the hits in games 6 and 7. Another turnbuckle/stanchion incident involving a Bruin hitting a Hab. And a shoulder to the head that even Logan Couture thought was intentional. Jumbo Joe was onto something, eh? I don't know if the Flyers will beat the Bruins. I'll just say this: I hate the Flyers for breaking my heart twice but at least they've never tried to kill one of our players before (as far as I know...might be something in history) so I hope they can teach these classless "hockey players" all about respect.

And I hate the fact that we keep getting eliminated by the Ruins and Flyers every year. Ugh. Can someone else eliminate these guys for us?

We need more offense. Game 5 of this series proved for the millionth time that while Carey can stand on his head and keep it a one goal game, WE NEED PEOPLE TO SCORE. I thought after last year's terrible showing against the Flyers with us getting shut out so often there would be some changes. I'm going to say that even if there were, they did not help.

Gomez...I don't need to elaborate. But man, this guy is a rock for the wrong reasons. He's the rock sinking our salary cap ship. Bad analogy, but this guy needs to get it together. We need more from the guys we have because our roster's core won't change. We don't have the money or trade power to move the highest paid players.

I wonder if we hurt ourselves by going for 6th place. Would we have had a better time against Philly with their goalie problems and without Pronger?  Can't help but wonder if winning that kinda useless game 82 might have actually hurt us.

I'd like to see P.K. Subban signed to a contract extension if he can keep up his numbers next year. Same for Carey, except I'd like to talk after the playoffs. He wasn't bad, but we need to see if he can keep it up.

Lars Eller is one tough man. Popping in your dislocated shoulder and continuing to play...sheesh. Hope our guys get some rest and rehab in the months to come.

Price not getting nominated for the Vezina despite Brodeur's support: terrible. Rinne and the Ruins goalie who falls a lot are understandable. Luongo? Meh. I like him as Canada's goalie and all, but in no way was he better behind his stacked team than Price was. Oh well. I still hope it's Luongo or Rinne over that other guy. 

This was my Stanley Cup moment of the season:

I can only imagine what the real celebration would be like. :D

The 10-11' season is over. Nothing more can be done about what's happened. Take this summer to regroup and tweak and make the Habs a contender once more Monsieur Gauthier.

Go get 'em next season guys.

GO HABS GO!

Image credits: triple low five, White's goal celebration, "And I buried him"

Shots on Net [08.07.10]

The one month anniversary post of this blog brings you more news from the Habs as the 2010-2011 Canadiens team takes shape, management gets sorted out, and ex-players sign elsewhere.

PK Subban has won the 2009-2010 President's Award in the AHL "in recognition of his outstanding accomplishments in the past year". Congrats! I can see why everyone is crazy for him. Picture from the Bulldogs site. <Hamilton Bulldogs>

President and CEO of the AHL David Andrews with PK Subban

Geoff Molson will be taking over as president and CEO of the Montreal Canadiens and evenco on June 30, 2011. He will be replacing Pierre Boivin who has been president since 1999. The two will work together in the meantime to ensure a smooth transition. <Canadiens, first seen at The Montreal Gazette via HI/O> 

Dominic Moore, Glen Metropolit, Paul Mara, and Marc-Andre Bergeron will not be back with the Habs. The UFAs will not be given offers by the Canadiens. The team will also rely more heavily on prospects, so they are leaving cap space for them as they also work on deals with Maxim Lapierre and Carey Price. <Canadiens>

Jacques Demers, the coach who led the Canadiens to their last Stanley Cup, a senator, and commentator for RDS had surgery. This is the second surgery he's had in recent weeks, having had one on June 29 to treat a hernia. <Toronto Sun, first seen at Canoe Sports (in French) via HI/O>

Jaroslav Halak got a nice deal with the St. Louis Blues. He's going to be cheap next year. According to Cap Geek, he'll earn $2.75 million next year, $3.5 million the year after, then $4.25 million followed by a year at $4.5 million for a cap hit of $3.75 million for four years. A deal like this would have been a bit difficult for the Canadiens to come to, but maybe Halak would've taken less to remain here out of loyalty or something. We'll never know thanks to Pierre Gauthier, and his agent can be happy. We'll speak again when the season gets underway. Though it's sad to see all the Halak pictures with him in a Canadiens jersey. <St. Louis Blues>

Sergei Kostitsyn has signed a one year, $550,000 deal with the Nashville Predators. Since all of the players involved in the Kostitsyn/Boyd-Ellis deal have signed NHL contracts, no 'future conisderations' will be involved. <Nashville Predators>

Maxim Lapierre isn't going to arbritation, meaning a deal's close. <RDS (in French)>

David Fischer won't be receiving a contract offer with the Habs. The defenseman from Minnesota was chosen in the first round, 20th overall by the Habs in 2006. The Canadiens will receive a compensatory draft pick in the 2011 draft, which will be the 50th overall pick (20th in the 2nd round). The Canadiens' second round pick in the 2011 draft had previously been traded to the Florida Panthers in exchange for Dominic Moore. So we're getting one back. I wonder who's losing their pick? I don't fully understand how this works to be honest. <TSN>

I like this picture of Mike! lol If we could only see his face. Training at 7 AM when the lights are still off. You're the man, Mike. <@MCammalleri13>

Not the most flattering pic of Lars Eller in a Habs jersey, but it's the first time I've seen him in one so here you go. More pics of the development camp by JTUTAH. <25Stanley>

His helmet is coming off...?

Four Habs Fans have footage from the training camp. (Warning: the blog is a bit NSFW and has profanity. But they're all lawyers!) <FHF>

PK Subban is humble and dedicated to playing for the Habs. Habs fans are happy. <Canadiens>

A report from camp. <Bleacher Report>

A story about Morgan Ellis' background. Maurice and Henri Richard also came from a big family! <Toronto Sun>

More about Ellis. A great prospect, for sure. I hope he forgets completely about being a Leafs fan. <PEI Canada>

You can keep up with Hamilton Bulldogs news by following Derek Willis, Director of Broadcasting and Communications and play-by-play announcer for the Dogs on Twitter. He also tweets Canadiens news that's tied to the Bulldogs. <@dogsplaybyplay>

 ---

This one month has been pretty crazy, with Halak's trade and all the signings. I hope next season will be great, and we won't be regretting the stuff that's happened over this past month.

Now we await Carey and Max.

Goodbye Halak!

Goodbye Jaro.

Image from Reuters.

One biased rant/post coming your way.

Read on.

This trade did not please me. This trade made me cry. But something had to be done, right?

We could not afford Halak. We didn't even ask how much he wanted. St. Louis, who currently has the most cap space, probably can afford him. But if he gets a better offer from somewhere else (not likely going to happen), he'll go there. Wouldn't it be bad if Philly got him? I'd cry some more.

So, we knew we couldn't afford him. What did we get in return? Two players who are so unknown to most hockey fans that the Canadiens had to write articles about both of them. Lars Eller and Ian Schultz. Schultz has never played in the NHL, Eller has played seven games. These two prospects for Halak. IDK. I know it's a move based on the cap. But there's something else.

Managament loves Price. It's strange, the amount of confidence they have in him. It's not bad to love your first round picked goalie, but this much? I have to ask, did management not see the disappointment of the fans after the 2008 and 2009 playoffs when Price was in net? Did management not see how Halak played and lit the world on fire with his play in the 2010 playoffs? Halak brought so much excitement and joy to the fans. Price has let us down in the past. Let's say we get behind him and support. After all that, let's say we fail to qualify for the playoffs. What happens then? I don't think Price will be getting a one year contract this year. So he'll be in net. Even if he's not, who do we bring in? Halak? I don't think so. I can already hear the crowds chanting 'bring back Halak' after a poor perfomance by Carey.

If management wants to continue to protect their goalie, because he is not the goalie of the majority of fans, then they have to bring in a reliable back up that can carry the team if Carey melts down from the pressure or whatever else. Carey's not an idiot. He's matured from watching Halak play. He's watched his job get taken away and fans get behind his back up. Let's hope he learned something he can use to give us good performances. But we still need a good back up, just in case we need more of what Halak did this past season.

Many are trying to justify the trade, and that's fine. But if we don't make it to the ECF next year, I can understand if there are riots in Montreal asking for Pierre Gauthier to be fired. I'd like to join in those riots. I said I would respect PG's decision, but this is a tough and bitter pill to swallow. Even MP Justin Trudeau doesn't like the trade.

I just want to say one thing about the management. They never contacted Halak or his agent after the season ended, not even to say thanks. I get the strong feeling they were just using Halak to groom their beloved Price. They knew all along that they were going to get rid of him. That's a bit heartless. I know it's just business, but still, you should treat your employees with respect and courtesy. You can read about PG's preivous blunder here.

The trade is over, and what is done cannot be undone. We'll support Price, willingly or unwillingly. He's the only one we've got right now. (Literally.) I don't wish him any harm, I wish him all the best. I hope he can let the fans understand that PG made the right decision and that the faith placed in him was not for nothing. For those fans who've stopped being fans, shame on you! How can you support a team for just one player? We're better off without you. Bandwagon fans are not needed.

So I'd like to say goodbye to our MVP, our biggest revelation, our most improved player. The fans have spoken, but have been ignored. I hope it's worth the pain and suffering to let you go. I hope you get what you wanted, the opportunity to be number one. You were number one in our hearts.

Shots on Net [17.06.10]

More reminders that it's the offseason in your SoN today. We're crying on the inside, yes.

Jaroslav Halak has been traded to the St. Louis Blues in return for Lars Eller and Ian Schultz. I...I'm crying. On the outside. More on this when we get more info. [ESPN] 

Canadien's assistant captain Brian Gionta is going to be bartending with Ryan Callahan of the New York Rangers at Murphy's Law Irish Pub in Rochester, NY on June 21. The event will begin at 7 pm and is a fundraiser for former Rochester Americans player Craig Charron, who is battling cancer. The article also features a mini interview with the two NHL players. And we now know that Brian spends his offseason in Greece. So cool. Check it out. [Messenger Post]

You can golf with Montreal's P.K. Subban and former Hab Stéphane Richer at the Medigas Celebrity Classic in Belleville, ON. Tee off on July 10 at the Trillium Wood Golf Club with your Habs for a good cause. Only 10 spots available, so move fast! If I knew how to play golf perhaps I would go, but alas, I do not. [The Intelligencer]

Speaking of golf, Hab's player Travis Moen had a golf tournament with Partick Marleau (San Jose) and former Canadien Trent McCleary for charity. The Trent McCleary - Patrick Marleau - Travis Moen Charity Golf Classic was held on Monday, June 14 at Elmwood Golf Course in Swift Current, SK. The money went to the Trent McCleary - Patrick Marleau - Travis Moen Sports and Recreation Foundation. Picture and article from The South West Booster. [SWBooster]

Travis Moen putts on the fifth hole

Habs great Émile Bouchard will be invested into the Order of Canada as a Member at a ceremony in Rideau Hall tomorrow.

The short citation:

For his contributions to sports, particularly professional hockey, and for his commitment to his community.

Félicitations Monsieur Bouchard! [The Governor General of Canada, first seen at Earth Times]

Tom Pyatt wants to stay with the Habs. He sounds committed. (Can we keep him, please?) [TBnewswatch.com]

Carey Price was at Bullarama in Kitimat, BC last weekend. He spoke about the Habs playoff run. [CFTK TV]

The exciting P.K. Subban will be a guest drawmaster (?) at the Mohawk Racetrack this Tuesday, June 22 for the Pepsi North America Cup. I know nothing about horse racing, so I'll let you read the articles. [Harness Link 1, Harness Link 2]

The early bird deadline for purchasing Hamilton Bulldogs (the AHL affiliate of the Canadiens) tickets is this Friday (tomorrow!). There are all sorts of incentives, including the opportunity to win a trip for two to Montreal to watch a Habs game. [Hamilton Bulldogs]

The Cincinnati Cyclones, the ECHL affiliate of the Canadiens and Predators (and their respecitve AHL affiliates) have been honoured. Vice President and General Manager Kristin Ropp was named ECHL's executive of the year. On May 21 the Cyclones won their second Kelly Cup in three years. Congrats to the team and to Ms. Ropp! [Cyclones Hockey, first seen at Our Sports Central]

Tomas Plekanec is number four on Yahoo! Sports' NHL's top 50 UFAs list. The Hockey News had him as first. Will he stay or will he go? Only time (and Pierre Guathier) will tell. [Yahoo!]

You can get autographed Canadiens stuff from HMV as part of their customer loyalty program. Not much info, but the source in the link. [Marketer News]

Whew. That was quite a bit. I had no idea our Habs were so active! I'm still a n00b when it comes to sports journalism, so I hope you'll bear with me.


Just for clarification: by 'first seen at' I don't mean that that was the first place that reported the story. It just means where I first saw it. Then I'll try to get a soure that's closer to the story, like the official website or something. But I like to give credit so you'll get more than one link. And sometimes the source where I spot the story first has more info or better explanations, so it doesn't hurt to click.

Ok, enough chat. If there's any more news, I'll update.

Enjoy your Thursday!

Shots on Net [11.06.10]

Shots on Net is something I'll be putting up from time to time. It'll be a bunch of different things I've gathered from the internet. The idea behind the title was thought of minutes ago, but the way I'm seeing it right now is this: it's screenshots of things on the internet. Shots on Net (SoN?) is much shorter to write than "screenshots of things on the internet" so yeah. Click on the puck for your story.

Jaroslav Halak's father says his son's as good as he is because his dad gave him "carrots and Viagra". Yeah...IDK. I wonder what kind of childhood Jaro had. This comes as he is on the cover of L'actualité magazine.

Louis Leblanc, the Canadiens first round pick in the 2009 draft (18th overall), has been speaking to Pat Brisson, agent for many well known hockey players such as Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and John Tavares. Also, Leblanc's QMJHL rights were traded to the Montréal Juniors this week (see here). If Leblanc has indeed taken on an agent, then there is very little chance he'll be returning to Harvard as those who play a sport at university cannot have an agent for that sport. Going to the AHL's Bulldogs or playing in the Q would be his other options, and he could continue his studies at McGill. But as Marc De Foy at Rue Frotenac points out, he could always return to Harvard to continue his studies whenever he pleases because the minimum requirement to be able to return is one semester of study (he's finished a year = two semesters). Click the puck to a juicy tweet that supports Leblanc's move to the AHL. In case it's deleted:

MurphysLaw74 said at 7:09 PM on May 28: Source told me today that Habs prospect Louis Leblanc, now represented by Pat Brisson, will leave Harvard and play in Hamilton (AHL) 2010-11

Though Mr. Brisson, who we assume is acting as a counselor and nothing more, is saying Leblanc's committed to Harvard. We'll see what happens.

Here's a great Habs fan. What a kid! Habulous salutes you Ross Vender. I hope you can meet Mike and get an autographed puck. Keep up the Habs loving in Ontario. 


If you're in Montréal tonight, you can see some Habs players. Hab Inside/Out is reporting that the Lotus One Formula Team will be holding a press conference tonight at 7.30 pm at Montréal's Marché Bonsecours. In attendence will be Le Démon Blond (aka Guy Lafleur), Maxim Lapierre, and Patrice Brisebois. He's not a Hab, but Vincent Lecavalier will also be there.

Congratulations to the Black Hawks for winning the Cup. Last year, they lost in five games in the conference finals to Detroit, which lost in the SCF to Pittsburgh. If we continue the trend, the Habs should take the Cup next year (we also lost in five in the conference finals to the SCF losers this year).

Enjoy the World Cup, and hope to see you around for more offseason talk.

Update:

  Louis Leblanc has been invited to the 2010 National Junior Team Development Camp. (Thanks to @HabsInHighHeels for the news.)

Check out Mike Cammalleri at the Grand Prix. Here's a vid. (Thanks to 25Stanley for the link.)