Habs finalize roster. Lapierre Halak and O'Byrne on the road to Hamilton

Bob Gainey earlier today reduced his roster to the maximum 23 players. Several comments can be made about the cuts.

Firstly, Lapierre is on his way to Hamilton after a very ordinary training camp. Carbonneau several days ago stated his disappointment in Lapierre's play, opening the door for a possible demotion to Hamilton. I have to admit I didn't expect Lapierre to be cut on the basis that he was part of a commercial about the Habs starring other than himself, Latendresse, Komisarek, and Higgins. Maybe this demotion will serve as a warning to everyone. No players are safe, and they will have to answer for there lack of effort and/or production.

Next, Price will be Huet's backup. Gainey obviously out-weighed Carbonneau who had earlier in the pre-season that if Price were to stay in Montreal, it would be as the starter. Did Carbo change his mind or did Gainey make the decision on his own? For the good of the team, I hope they reached a consensus.

Last but not least, O'Byrne was cut on the basis that he is the only defenseman able to go to Hamilton without having to clear waivers. Expect him to be back quickly if an injury occurs on the blue line.

Briere...Montreal...Philly...media circus BS...argh!

In a recent article published by Montreal's "La Presse", new Flyers 10-million gem Daniel Briere publicly spoke out, saying he doesn't "understand some (hoho, I think you mean many) Habs fans are mad at him.

Let's just think for a second, why on earth would the greatest fans in the world of the the greatest sport in the world be upset at Monsieur Briere?

If he hasn't figured it out, then the Flyers better hope the $52 million man is more than what his words seem...utterly ridiculous.

We're UPSET Daniel because, and I speak for all Habs fans, you disappointed us....YOU chose an American-based (and really no offence meant here) team in Philadelphia, coming off a horrific season just to be with your buddy Martin Biron when instead Habs fans would have welcomed you with open arms to arguably the best hockey city in North American...YOUR hometown.

So tell me, Daniel, what's more important?

That you get a front loaded contract from the Flyers that will pay you a whopping and certainly insane $10 million for the first few seasons and $52 million overall or that you come to a city that's dying for talent...and more importantly in the majority of fans' eyes, a FRENCH-CANADIAN talent for the exact same amount?

I think the choice wasn't all that difficult, and for the very reason I will rant about below:

I'm sick AND tired of this freaking BS involving Montreal media, why can't they just zip their mouths up when it's needed and not go around busting players the chance they get or pouncing on their captain, question his leadership ability because he can't utter a word of French...pathetic.

So in a way, Daniel Briere chose money in a city where hockey isn't even as remotely popular as in dear Montreal just to avoid facing a few questions from morons who should be banned from anything that's related to interviewing (see Alex Kovalev, like come on, you'd think the guy would be more motivated to play if you weren't always on his case?), writing (practically all of RDS's crew demanding that Koivu be traded, that Huet be traded and that Latendresse plays on the first line instead of Higgins after the Habs' 6-5 loss to Toronto on the final day of the season) or making up ceremonial nonsense (like our amis over at 110% did the other day, claiming Saku Koivu has asked to be traded).

I know, I know...maybe I should pull out my violin instead of wasting my breath (or fingers) saying what's already commonly been said only in a more polite manner.

Ok, I won't totally kill the media for Briere not signing here, but here's something else worth noting..if, for all the money and hype he received, he's not at least partially intelligent enough to understand why we are upset at him in more ways than one and why he's so baffled by all the hatrid he's received, then I'm happy he didn't sign here after all; I wasn't a big Briere fan in the first place, and this certainly doesn't help.

But, why oh why, Daniel, did you have to drag this out...AGAIN, I mean, most of us have gotten over losing out on you and settling for Roman Hamrlik and Bryan Smolinksi instead, but come on, was it really worth increasing your future "booooo" burden at the Bell Centre AND show the hockey world that you aren't very bright?

Or maybe it's that there hasn't been much (or anything) for us bloggers to feast on...so, thanks, for looking out for us, I guess.

He also says he "wants to win"...I won't even comment on this, mainly because all you need to know (Timmonen, Hartnell, Briere or not), the Flyers were at the BOTTOM of the Eastern Conference last year.
I think what he meant is "I'm a big baby and I want to play on the first line because I've only had one season of more than 80 points"

Before you go blasting me because I'm a "stupid French Canadian baby", I'm not, I'm not in the least French Canadian so don't use that pathetically overused excuse to prove me wrong, but by all means, prove me wrong...feedback is really appreciated, even during rants and tough times like these!

-BBeR

Should Gainey have just left Brisebois alone?

EXLUSIVE TO XNHL.NET

I have a column over there, and from time to time, I will share with you the stories I publish there.

As we all know by now, the Canadiens officially signed veteran free-agent defenceman Patrice Brisebois to a one year contract, likely worth around 700K.

I guess it's a bargain for a guy that could put up 30 points in a full season...and if he could put up another +17 rating, like he did a few years back with the Habs, then it's a good signing nonetheless.

Otherwise, it won't matter if he sucks or not...he's not getting paid the $4.5 million to play "crapily" (is that a word?) like he did in his last season in Montreal and get literally booed out of the city.

Or maybe Bob is just a sympathetic guy who wants to see this vet retire in a Habs uni.

I, for one, would have preferred Gainey to let Brisebois retire, and take a good hard look at some nice young guys down in Hamilton itching to earn a spot on the Canadiens roster next season.

The obvious option is Ryan O'Byrne, who looks to me like a lock to make the Habs' squad...his size and shot being his most useful assets.

Another option, though unlikely, is Mathieu Biron, a former NHLer with the Washington Capitals and now the Bulldogs' main powerplay quarterback.
When I saw him play, along with the rest of the team at the Bell Centre a few months ago.
I was especially impressed with his offensive game, his booming slap shot on the powerplay won't replace Sheldon Souray's...but it would be a pretty nice consolation prize.

Besides them, there isn't much to hope for...besides Jean-Phillipe Cote, who had a cup of coffee with the Canadiens 2 seasons ago, but has fallen way low due to injury and inconsistency since then.

Gainey finally realized the Habs lacked depth on defence, and had little options in Hamilton, and as a result, the 2007 Habs draft class consisted of mainly defencemen, notably top-ranked Ryan McDonagh (1st round) and the big muscular P.K. Subban (2nd round).

The question is: will the presence of the 36-year old Patrice Brisebois force Bob Gainey to potentially cut a promising young player from next year's team in training camp?

-BBeR

It's official, Brisebois is back home

RDS reports defenseman Patrice Brisebois signed a one year 700 000 $ contract with possible performance bonuses of up to 700 000 $. Gainey justified this move by saying that "Patrice is a proven veteran defenseman who will add depth to our defense."

The deal is too fresh for me to decide whether or not I am pleased by this signing. We can almost certainly forget about seeing a prospect defenseman from Hamilton (Côté for example) make the team. However, their is no doubt in my mind that having signed a contract that is well under the 4.3M he was making in his last campaign with the Habs, Brisebois will not be as pressured by the media and the fans. I have no problem with Gainey signing him so long as he is not going to be a liability defensively. If he finishes the season with a + rating, his offensive numbers will not be of concern to me.

I wont lie to you guys, many things need to be proven by the Habs on the ice, and I can't wait for the season to start to see what will work out, and what wont.

Is Brisebois on his way back?

According to RDS, Bob Gainey has sent an offer to Brisebois. A one year deal for 700 000. Brisebois is said to be considering this option.

After having calculated the payroll for the Canadiens, we can agree that they surely have the cap space to acquire Brisebois, but is this a good idea? He was literally booed out of the Bell centre, and let's face it, he didn't have a great year last year in Colorado. Maybe a return with the Habs at an affordable salary will calm the fans down somewhat. This rumour will either die down rather quickly, or a deal will be announced within a couple days. Keep in tune for more developments!

Habs 07-08 Payroll

From what I gathered on the NHLPA website, The payroll will be of 37.975M for the players Montreal currently has under contract:

Defense (16.975M) :
Markov - 5.75M
Hamrlik - 5.5M
Bouillon - 1.875M
Dandenault - 1.750M
Komisarek - 1.5M
Streit - 0.6M

Offense (17.75M):
Koivu - 4.75M
Kovalev - 4.5M
Smolinski - 2M
Higgins - 1.5M
Plekanec - 1.4M
Begin - 1.225M
Kostopoulos - 0.9M
Latendresse - 0.85M
Murray - 0.625M

Goalies (3.25M) :
Huet - 2.75M
Halak - 0.5M

Gorges and Ryder who are still unsigned are according to BBeR going to receive around 4M combined. This leads to a total of approximately 42M.

According to http://www.nhlnumbers.com/, buying out Cullimore and Salmelainen will cost 0.89M towards our payroll. If this information is correct, our total is now of 43M.

The current payroll numbers provided by the NHLPA however does not take for account the fact that a team generally keeps 23 players.

If Gainey is done signing, expect three more players to be added to the team. Assuming they are receiving something between the league minimum of 0.45M and 1M each), this now brings our total to around 44M-47M, which is 3M to 6M below the 50.3M cap! Is Gainey leaving himself room to trade for a player once the season has begun? Better yet, will he be announcing a trade in the upcoming days? Only time will tell!

Corrections to this post were made on July 11th.

Yeah, this was unexpected: Yashin wants to play in Montreal...

Fresh off a huge buyout of the remainder of his 9-year/$90 million contract, that has the entire hockey world talking, and on the first day he's allowed to negotiate with other NHL teams, Alexei Yashin is at it again, except this time, Montreal is his desired target.

That's right, Alexei Yashin WANTS to play for the Montreal Canadiens.

Baffled by first reading this on RDS, I actually softened my position regarding Yashin and his Islander failure, by thinking straightly.

"Hey, this would be a pretty decent pickup at a decent price"

And why not, Yashin is still a damn good forward and was on pace to have his best season ever with the Islanders and led them in scoring through one third of the campain, until he got injured, and was never the same when he returned.

Losing his patience with the enigmatic Russian captain, Isles head coach Ted Nolan pencilled in Yashin as the team's 4th line centre for the last 15 or so games, the move outraged Yashin while fans were happy to see he got the punishment he so longly deserved.

He finished with 18 goals and 32 assists, for a respectable total of 50 points in only 58 games.

Everyone knows the "Alexei Yashin Islanders Crusade" fairy tale, and that now it is clear, that this little adventure with Mad Mike's team was never meant to be.

Now, he wants to don the bleu, blanc et rouge, and seriously...WHY NOT?

He'd be a great addition, but nothing more than 2-2.5 million for him, Bob, please.
Maybe we could really be getting something here by playing an all-Russian line: the doghoused Sergei Samsonov, the centre Alexei Yashin and the man of the year...Alex Kovalev.

But if these guys seriously were to get their grooves back, wow, NHL, watch out...
Stanley Cup? Here we come!

Yashin's "list" includes Los Angeles, Washington and most recently, according to Yahoo! Sports, the Ottawa Senators.

--BBR

Here we go again...Kovalev talk resurfaces...

This is seriously pissing me off, excuse me, but I've had enough of all these bogus journalists bringing Alex Kovalev oriented interviews from Russia into the general media.

At the end of the season, I had a discussion with GM Bob Gainey, Kovalev explained to Pavel Alexandrovich Lysenkov, the author of Kovalev's official biography. I told (Gainey) that I didn't want to be back on the team if I'm treated the same way as I was (this past) season.

Journalists can accuse me of anything they want, I'm not going to give that any importance, Kovalev said. But when your team doesn't support you, when it gives you a secondary role that won't let me play, and all without explanation... that's hard (to digest).

And I wonder why we have trouble getting actual talent here.

I'm not denying Kovalev said this, but I honestly believe that it's another paltry attempt by the Montreal media to stir something up that would get fans and bloggers like me talking about it and move free-agents further away from potentially signing with the Canadiens.

He probably did say this to a Russian interviewer, and good for him, do you think any player of his calibre (although underachieving for his money) and salary is worth being on the 4th line?
I think not, and I will not get into it, but Guy Carbonneau's so sure of himself that he decides to bench Kovalev in the most important game of the season (against Toronto), and again, I will not get into it as I've already done so in previous Kovalev-oriented posts.

Kovalev deserves better treatment than he gets, even if he's not living up to the money he's putting in his wallet.
He may not have the classy Cristobal Huet attitude, but he's not Lou Piniella either.

If I do get into this again, you may find most parts of my post vulgar and emotional.

All I can say now...when will this end?
I hope it'll end with Briere signing with Montreal and Kovalev playing with him.

What? A Habs fan can dream...but can he?

Digging deep into the Montreal Canadiens team...

Read at your own risk, it took me 2 hours to get all this frustration out...

2006-2007 record: 42-34-6, 4th in Northeast, 10th in Eastern Conference.
Missed the playoffs by one point.

A. Contract situations
(Players with number figures are under contract)

FORWARDS
F Saku Koivu, $4,750,000
F Alex Kovalev, $4,500,000
F Sergei Samsonov, $3,525,000
F Steve Begin, $1,225,000
F Guillaume Latendresse, $850,000
F Garth Murray, $625,000
F Maxim Lapierre, $563,000
F Andrei Kostitsyn, $612,000
F Mikhail Grabovski, $700,000
F Kyle Chipchura, $984,000

UFA
F Radek Bonk
F Mike Johnson
F Aaron Downey

RFA
F Michael Ryder
F Chris Higgins
F Alexander Perezhogin
F Tomas Plekanec
F Duncan Milroy

DEFENCE
D Francis Bouillon, $1,875,000
D Mathieu Dandenault, $1,750,000
D Mark Streit, $600,000

UFA
D Janne Niinimaa
D Sheldon Souray
D Andrei Markov

RFA
D Mike Komisarek
D Josh Gorges

GOALIES
G Cristobal Huet, $2,750,000
G Jaroslav Halak, $500,000

UFA
G David Aebischer

RFA
G Michael Leighton

B. The changes that may come

-It remains to be seen how Bob Gainey will cope with checking forwards Mike Johnson and Radek Bonk, both will be unrestricted on July 1st.
Mike Johnson made $1.9 million last season, he had a very solid season and was a great pickup by Bob Gainey and ridiculously cheap (4th round pick.)
Radek Bonk was a total bust on certain standards, the Canadiens acquired him and Cristobal Huet from the Kings hoping he would provide that much needed size and offence.
Bonk made a huge amount of money and was not at all worth the money he put in his wallet last season, after a dreadful first season with Montreal, Bonk seemed rejuvenated this season and played some of the best defensive hockey I've ever seen in my life, unless him and Johnson takes paycuts, Bob Gainey won't pay nearly $4.5 million again for them both.

It's known Gainey would like to retain them both, but, if Souray is signed and his salary is commanding, he may be forced to part with either Bonk or Johnson or even both.
Johnson would probably have a bigger role on another team and it's anyone's guess for Radek Bonk.

-Aaron Downey was a horrible enforcer for the Canadiens, he was totally useless and was a waste of cap space and jersey fabric.
The Canadiens acquired goaltender Phillipe Sauve from the Bruins' minor league club in Providence as part of a loan deal for Aaron Downey.
Sauve was acquired because of injuries to Yann Danis and the call up of Jaroslav Halak by the Canadiens, just a depth deal...
He will not be back next season and he'll be lucky to get an NHL job elsewhere.

-Michael Ryder had an up and down season, and thanks to Andrew Raycroft, he managed to score 30 goals yet again.
That won't be forgotten by his agent when it comes time to talk turkey with Bob Gainey.
Ryder is an RFA and a very good forward.
He is very inconsistent however, and it would be nice if he scored on a consistent basis, and not in short periods of time.
He made $2,2 million last season and he'll get around the same thing next season, he doesn't deserve a raise, but, if Ryder feels he does, Gainey will bite and sign him anyway.

-Christopher Higgins and Tomas Plekanec are the restricted free-agents that will likely get a huge pay raise for the upcoming season.
Higgings, arguably the team's best player for the first two months of the season before going down with an ankle injury, will probably net around $800,000 next season, that's a 127 thousand dollar raise from what he's making now.
Plekanec exploded in the second half and became the second line centre the Canadiens wanted him to be, maybe even more than many expected.
After a relatively mediocre rookie season, Plekanec was one of the many young forwards to blossom into young stars for Guy Carbonneau this season, he will likely make $650,000 -$700,000 next season, a hefty raise from his current league minimum $450,000 wage.
Alexander Perezhogin and Duncan Milroy won't have any considerable changes to their salary, they may get a little more, but not much, besides, both are slowly fading away and it is believed Perezhogin could return to play in Europe next season rather than get limited ice-time and put up 11 points in Montreal.
Milroy is the Hamilton Bulldogs' best scorer, and he finally got the call this season, but it was short-lived and he only spent a week with the Canadiens before being sent back down to Hamilton.
He is a long shot to make the club next season.

-Janne Niinimaa and David Aebischer weren't even mentioned by GM Bob Gainey at his press conference a few days ago, however, both had terrible seasons and don't figure to be in the Canadiens plans.
Aebischer, signed specifically to step up should Cristobal Huet get injured or play bad, did not show up like Montreal wanted and needed from him.
After a great start, it was all downward for Aebischer and eventually lost his spot to rookie breakout Jaroslav Halak.
Fans won't miss David Aebsicher, his iconsistent play won't find him a $1.9 million taker for next season, and probably not even a starting job like the Swiss-born goalie longs for.
Niinimaa made a good push for the last month of the season and Guy Carbonneau acknowledged that by playing him on the powerplay and in key situations.
Janne Niinimaa's career has endured a sharp decline ever since he had that devastating surgery that changed the complexion of his career.
Once considered a top defenseman with the Flyers, Oilers and Islanders, Niinimaa had two equally bad tenures with the Dallas Stars and most recently, the Montreal Canadiens.
The only way Niinimaa will be a Hab next season, is if he accepts to be the no.7 defenseman and get paid a fraction of his current salary ($2,500,000).
Ironically, he was the Canadiens' highest-paid defenceman in 2006-2007.

-Sheldon Souray and Andrei Markov are both key to the Canadiens, but it looks like Markov has been made a priority to be signed by GM Bob Gainey before he becomes an unrestricted free-agent.
Markov made $2 million last season and he will probably earn the double of that next year.
As for Souray, he may even get the triple of his current $2,4 million salary on the open market.

I don't think Josh Gorges is going to be Sheldon Souray.

He has said he would like to be back next season only if the price was "fair", and with him and Markov sharing the same agent, things can get sticky for Bob Gainey if he decides to keep them both.
If he does keep them both, there's no way one will make more than the other.
I think I explained this best to Sherry over at Scarlett Ice when she asked me if the Rivet trading was the first step to clear up money to sign Souray:

Trading away Rivet to clear up money was part of it, but, Rivet was also having a very ordinary season and it seemed as if he had worn out his decade tenure in Montreal.

The deal clears up about $2 million, but, with Souray breaking the record for powerplay goals, Michael Ryder (thanks to Raycroft) getting yet another 30 goal season and Sergei Samsonov's paycheck glaring unspectacularly in the pressbox, along with his measly 8 goals, it is actually more difficult for Bob Gainey to retain Souray.

Trading away Rivet was the first step, the second would be to dump either Samsonov or Kovalev, neither will be traded (Samsonov was put on waivers, and went unclaimed) because of the $8 million they represent on the salary cap level.

But Bob will buy out Samsonov and the cap hit will only be $1.2 million, freeing up a good amount, anything is a good amount when it comes to finding money to keep Souray and more importantly, Markov in the fold.

Markov is the better defencemen, I'll say it again: Souray was -28 and his only asset was the shot from the blue-line, it was a valuable one, but his liability in his own end is overshadowed by his 19 powerplay dingers.

Markov, however, is a + on a -162 team and can play 30:00 minutes of sound defensive hockey and spectacular offensive.

On Saturday, I thought Souray would test the FA market, but it appears now that he'll consider staying with Montreal and signing before July 1st only if "the offer is fair".
"Fair" in this case, means around $6 million and if he is sentimental, $5 million.

But, since the Habs were eliminated, according to the hockey media: it makes it all easier to sign Souray, since they say (even though I don't agree) there will be HUGE changes to the roster and many UFA departures (Johnson, Bonk, Niinimaa, buyout of Sammy, possible trade of Kovalev, Bouillon) have probably forced Bob Gainey to re-think his team's situation and change the way the Bleu, Blanc et Rouge look.

And for that, he'll let a few walk and free up space and Souray will be in the Canadiens' price range.

That was a few days ago, and I thank Sherry for asking me that question, as it made me think long and hard on how it would be possible to sign Souray.

But, again, if Bob Gainey is intent on acquiring a free-agent forward like Briere, he may have to let go of Souray if he thinks a scoring forward is more important than his shot.
Briere, I would say, would be more important to this team than Sheldon Souray, and it looks as if Buffalo will keep Chris Drury and let Briere walk, a bad choice in my opinion.
Gainey may be reduced to making another tough choice and getting another migraine:

Do you want to keep Sheldon Souray and his 27 goals, or, get an elite centre like Daniel Briere who can score consistently and make the players around him better.

You make the call, I won't for Gainey.

Cristobal Huet will be the Canadiens' starting goaltender next season to Mitch Melnick's dissapointment, Halak will get a fair share of starts but the Canadiens will play Huet and probably let him go as his contract expires at the end of the season.

Why let him go?

Carey Price.

Or, sign Huet to a 1-year deal and make Price the starter for the 2009 Centennial season?

It's difficult to see Jaroslav Halak be the clear cut no. 1 man for the Canadiens ever, Carey Price is a couple seasons away and Huet is under contract for next season.

It'll be interesting to see how the goalie situation turns out, but, Gainey already hinted he's not worried about the goalies and that he still has confidence in his "Crystal Ball."

-Guy Carbonneau, I'm sorry to say, is not as great as everyone makes him to be.
He expects production from his players, while he doesn't work with them to improve their game, to "cultivate them" as Pierre McGuire would say.

Take Kovalev for example, I couldn't believe that he was benched for the final minute of play in
the most important game of the season!

Like, WHAT THE HELL?

Sure, he didn't play great, but I've really become tired of seeing Kovalev on the bench, he's better than that and I wish Carbo would see it differently.
But no, he has his stubborn view on Kovalev and Samsonov, and I'm starting to wonder if they're related to the fact that they're Russian.

Scratching Samsonov for the final stretch was a totally useless move.
The guy is having a horrible year, you don't enforce that or change anything by putting him the pressbox.

You play him, you play him and you hope he'll regain his confidence and get back into the game.
Enough already about this crap that you "focus" when you're scratched, you don't, you only sulk in despair and it makes even more distracted when you get back on the ice.

Samsonov will probably be bought out and we will bid him adieu.

He just didn't fit in here well Carbo, talk to the guy, see what his concerns are, don't got publicly out saying he's going to sit in the pressbox and never play for the Habs again, that's also another thing Carbonneau lacks: communication with his team and that's what probably cost him a chance to coach a playoff-bound team.

I'm starting to think Carbonneau was a bad choice by Bob Gainey and that he should get the whip soon, even if he is "from around here."
He was a good player, but now he's a coach...and that doesn't mean he'll be a good coach.
Man, just listening to Kirk Muller talks makes me feel like he's under Carbonneau's leash and that whatever he says, he's run it thru Carbonneau first.

I actually would like to see Kirk Muller be head coach of this team, I think he'd be better than Guy Carbonneau.

Here's to hoping Bob Gainey will somehow find this blog and read my blog post and make the right choice.

Gainey out with the flu...

Ooops! We usually say "...out with the flu" during the season, when another damn player goes down with it like many did in 2006-2007 with the Canadiens.

Oh, sweet God, when will the damn flu syndrome end?

Mike Boone on his online eeee-mail, which I got from Habs Inside/Out, posted an interesting little piece of info I was not subjected to earlier.
---------------------
You don't really want to be Bob Gainey this weekend.
He has the flu and did not travel to Toronto.
Gainey had to watch his hockey team miss the playoffs on TV.
Hope he was tuned to RDS, where analyst Yvon Pedneault ended his night's work by offering Gainey some unequivocal advice:
Sign Daniel Brière.
The second period last night showed us what the Montreal Canadiens can be.
The rest of the game showed what they are.
So what's a GM to do?
---------------------
Did you guys know this?
Ah, it was just a little tidbit, I will post my playoff predictions sometime this week.

And in the meantime, the LEAFS are OUT! *claps loudly*

My sob-filled "it's over" post...

Only read this is you want to cry, Habs fans.

*hysterical sob*And as Mark Streit picked the puck up at his own blue line, realizing there were only 07 seconds remaining in play, I sobbed dearly.

I sobbed for the Canadiens, a team that had just blown a two-goal lead, a team that had given fans an ugly ending for the season, a team that lacked the passion the Leafs had tonight, and finally I sobbed because it was all over.

*continuous sobb*There would be no Cinderella runs for the Bleu, Blanc et Rouge this year, no more glory to uphold our pride, no more passion to support our addiction; it's just all gone. *passionate sob*

*sob*Saku Koivu did not lead this team, like I asked in my prayer. *sob*
Sure he had 3 assists and was not a minus, but the guy who we're paying more than Alex Kovalev did not even get a shot on goal, let alone battle in the corners. *sob*

I am really dissapointed in his showing tonight, his opponent, Mats Sundin, recorded 8 shots on goal, had the same number of assists, but nevertheless, he led his team; he was the Captain.

And now we get to...Alex Kovalev,*sob*after all the support I have shown for him even in times of media houndling him, people getting tired with his inconsistency and telling them all he could easily be the best player in the NHL, it's time for him to go. *sob*, *sob*

I don't have anything against Kovalev, despite a poor performance, I don't hold anything against him. I will however, criticize him.

Where were you tonight Alex?
This is the night you were supposed to show up?
This is the night you HAD to show up?
This is the night, you'd shut them all up and come out of hiding!

Except, you were benched for all but two shifts in the last period of play, and worst of all: Guy Carbonneau found it necessary to put you where you don't belong with the season on the line in the last minute of play: on the bench.
And with that said, I just cannot bare to go through the 2008 season with the guy on our team.
I think Gainey needs to trade him...please, do it, I don't want to suffer with all the Kovalev talk again, and besides, you could possibly get a nice package return back for him.
And once again, I don't hate the guy, I think it's just business and that he doesn't get along well with Guy Carbonneau and the media in question.

Sheldon Souray...*sobs again* is gone.
He will file for unrestricted free-agency and leave us...*sob*He's going to leave us!
There's no way we're going to sign him, unless Gainey sacrifics Kovalev and Samsonov for the price of Souray, we can't afford to sign him.

Oh Shelly...*sob*you've played for the last time in Bleu, Blanc et Rouge...
I'd like to thank you from the heart as I sit here sobbing at my computer desk for everything you have given us during this damned season...leadership, record-breaking scoring, maybe even legendary scoring. I salute you, and I will never forget what kind of a leader you were in the dressing room, and what an offensive fireballer, you were on the ice.*sob*
Aurevoir!*sob*

*Sigh* and now we get to Cristobal Huet. My favourite goaltender and by far the classiest guy of the team. I don't blame you, Cristobal, sure you let in 6 big ones, but, you couldn't even stop 4 of them. Remember how the puck hit off a skate, a stick, a body, a helmet, the zamboni, whatever. It always hit off something and went in. I do however, blame you for one thing: not stepping up when it was needed late in the game.

You kept us in the game after facing around 20 shots in the first period, but you did let in a few softies. I also understand you haven't played in about 2 months, but on this play, it's irrelevant.

Take the first goal for example: (I'm a goalie too) What...just what, were you doing on your knees, in your crease, not even facing the player who scored right, 1 second before the shot was even taken in the slot.
You did go down to block the post, but you did not show me the Huet I admire by pushing off to face the second shot in the slot like you ALWAYS do in the season.

*sob*

I'm sorry we couldn't help you more tonight. I still have confidence in you, and I can't wait to see you play next season.

''Some people might question Carbonneau for putting Huet in, but I think we made the right move,'' said centre Chris Higgins, who scored two goals and added an assist against Toronto.

"The summer will be long," said Huet to the French press.

And yes, you're right, the summer will be VERY long.

I've had enough of ranting and sobbing now, but another thing bothers me.

The 2008 campaign? It could be the worst season in the new NHL era for the Canadiens.

Saku Koivu is not leading the team to wins, like a typical fan like you or if you're a psychotic fanatic like me, would want.

David Aebischer? Bye-bye! There's zero chance you're coming back next year thanks to your crappy play, and the emergence of Jaroslav Halak, makes it all but clear. I don't want to start on you again, I've already said it many times in many posts.

Radek Bonk? Ah, Radek. I hope you get signed, you had a fine year on defence and I appreciate the little things you did that helped this club A LOT.
I realize that you probably won't be retained, if Bob Gainey wants to attempt to keep Andrei Markov and Sheldon Souray, then you're toast mon ami.

*sob*Barring any big discount from the $2.3 million you're making now, I don't see you coming back, nor do I see the most-expensive d-man on our team returning...no, it's not a Markov or a Souray, it's Janne Niinimaa.

I still think management should offer him a contract and remain as the 7th defenceman, rather than bring up a dud like Jean-Phillipe Cote from Hamilton.
His strong play over the month of March is enough of an indication to me, that he wants to remain here. But maybe Bob Gainey will see it differently, and he likely will.

*sob*Mike Johnson? Wow, just a great pickup by Gainey! He had a very good season, and if Mark Streit didn't have a good year, I think he would have been nominated for the Masterton, and possibly (this is WAYYY stretched out) the Selke.

He had a very sound year on defence, and was a good surprise on offence (30 points and over 15o shots is good production at this point in his career).

I don't know if the Canadiens will retain him, he's making $1,9 million and I doubt he'd make that much next season.
I hope he and Bonk will come back, I really do...

I'm worried about this team for the upcoming season, because there is a major need of talent here. I would absolutely love to get Daniel Briere, but, it seems like nobody wants to come here and that Bob Gainey is reluctant to make big trades.
Both those items will cost us dearly next year.*sob*

Here's to hoping Gainey will make the right decisions and turn our team around.

And in the meantime, Go Sabres, but in my heart, I will always bleed Bleu, Blanc et Rouge.

Mike Ribeiro sex scandal got him traded from Montreal?

From Francois Gagnon's blog, a respected Montreal journalist, translated from French.

When Mike Ribeiro made a 'dishonest' (probably sex) proposal to a girl of a member of the upper staff of the Canadiens, he was traded away. In his case, it was perhaps the last straw... But that doens't explain why the the Canadiens gave away their second line center for a defenceman who is not able to play regularly with a team desperate on defense...

Very interesting, though, a little exaggerated I find. No way Ribeiro was traded only for that, if he even was or maybe this is just a load of crap, but Ribeiro's soft play during the previous season, his inconsitency and his bad attitude cost him his job in Montreal. Gagnon is also exaggerating about the trade, as Montreal was lucky to get a player in return for Ribeiro, rather than a draft choice. Janne Niinimaa may not be the defenceman he was in New York, Philadelphia and Edmonton with Dallas, but Bob Gainey knew what he was doing.
He was dumping a whining, underachieving and fan-frustrating forward in exchange for a veteran defenceman, who's maybe lost his hockey sense after a potentialy drastic surgery he endured.

But anyhow, Janne Niinimaa is a good guy, and when he plays, he tries his best; I'm not saying he's played well this year, far from that, but he's helped Montreal when needed during injuries to Mathieu Dandenault, Francis Bouillon, and Andrei Markov.
The bottom line is: Janne Niinimaa is a different player than Mike Ribeiro; he tries hard, something Ribeiro NEVER did, and he's a good guy in the lockeroom, certainly not Ribeiro's style either.

I'm not convinced that's what happened though...

Bleu, Blanc et Rouge.