The dream is over.

The Montreal Canadiens were the so-called miracle team of the season. Few believed that they would even make the playoffs, let alone finish first in the conference. The possibilities excited Habs fans and led them to dream of La Coupe.

Looks like it wasn’t meant to be.

The Philadelphia Flyers lost the first game of the series, but came back to win the next four and vault themselves into the Eastern Conference Finals. Not bad for an organization that blew up its team after finishing dead last in the NHL last year.

There is much focus on what went wrong with the Habs. Gosh darn it, they were supposed to end the Cup drought in Canada this year. They were so good in the regular season, but average at best in the post season.

Everyone is talking about the young Carey Price. It’s pretty obvious that he let in some soft goals but he is so far ahead of the learning curve as it is that no Habs fan should be worried. He has shown us time and time again throughout the regular season that he plays a sound game. He is almost always in position and gives up few rebounds. I just think that the pressure of playing playoff hockey in Montreal got to him this past month and he was mentally tired from playing so much hockey in the last 18 months. He will learn from this experience and be that much tougher to play against next season. Who knows, maybe ‘the plan’ of winning number 25 next year – the Habs’ 100th anniversary - will work.

Something that people are not talking much about is how well the Flyers played (I can’t believe I just wrote that). They played a hard-hitting game, yet weren’t overly dirty. They got traffic in front of Price and scored and scored again. Briere was great and Biron came up with the big saves, but Umberger was the Johan Franzen of the East, scoring 8 goals against Montreal.

The Habs, on the other hand, allowed Biron to see just about every shot coming at him – it’s hard to score when the goalie sees you coming from a mile away. The Flyers also got into the heads of the Canadiens. I swear it was as though the Habs were scared of the Flyers. You’re not going to win many battles when you shy away from the opponent.

All in all, the Flyers deserved to win that series.

But thumbs up to the Montreal crowd for showing their support for their goalie even when the game was out of reach. Very classy.

[Go Pens]

Oh Montréal, qu'est-ce qui ce passe?

Last night, the Habs won their first round series against the Boston Bruins by a score of 5-0. The Bruins showed up to play and were great in the first period, but Carey Price was just a little better.

This win means that the Habs are now 27-0 when they lead a playoff series 3 games to 1, and Price became the fourth rookie goalie to record a shutout in a game 7.

This kid is the real deal. He may not lead the Canadiens to the Cup this year, but there is something about him that makes me confident that the Habs are in good hands for the next several years. Everyone comments about how calm, cool and collected he is on the ice, and that is the truth. In fact, I don't think I've ever really seen him anything but calm - just watch him in interviews.

Do I forget about games 5 and 6, when he let in 10 goals? No, but I also don't forget the previous 8 games, when he let in 10 goals in those 8 games. I also don't forget about how his team messed up in front of him, which led to some of those goals in games 5 and 6.

Price will make mistakes - that's the price (no pun intended) you pay when you have a 20-year-old starting goalie - but he will do good things for the Habs.

Okay, enough about that...

Anybody who has seen a Montreal Canadiens game at the Bell Centre (whether it be live and in person, or on TV) will know that Habs fans are very vocal. I've said this before - that place can rock like no other arena in the NHL. I personally love how they sing and are so passionate about their team.

A lot of people don't like how they 'boo' the best player(s) on the other team. In the Boston series, it was the Zdeno Chara that heard the boo-birds when he touched the puck. Boston fans, in turn, booed Alex Kovalev. I think that some people believe that these fans don't appreciate the talent of these players, but I would have to disagree with that idea - I think that fans acknowledge how important and how talented these select players are, and they single them out and voice their displeasure over these players touching the puck. I think of it as these fans showing how passionate they are for the game and showing their support for the home team.

That passion and support for the Habs was out full force last night, especially with the Canadiens playing so well. CBC showed the fans partying and singing in the streets, waving their flags and hugging each other.

Who would have guessed that something else would happen...

Some people decided to riot. Police cars were set on fire, other cars slashed and vandalized, stores looted, and all the likes. Many are left scratching their heads over this one - why riot when your team wins...after round frickin' 1? Besides, it's not like this is 1955. Maybe they were upset that Jean Chrétien and Stéphane Dion were in attendance at the Bell Centre...who knows.

I'm upset that some 'fans' would decide to do this (although one could make the argument that there were few Habs fans among this gang of schmucks), but I'm also upset that some people believe that most or all of Habs fans exhibit this kind of behaviour. It really bothers me that we're looked at like we're some 'crazy French people' who are, essentially, psychotic. I know that 99% of Habs fans are good people who are upset over this incident, just like I know that 99% of Bruins fans would not kick a person in the head for wearing another team's sweater.

So, to the world out there that looks down at us Habs fans, we're normal hockey fans. We love our team. We voice our displeasure when they don't play as well as we know they can. We scream and sing in absolute joy when they show us their heart and soul on the ice. We celebrate our victories, whether they come in 4 games or in 7, because we believe that victories should be celebrated. It has been awhile since the mayor of Montreal has said that the Stanley Cup parade will be held on the 'usual' route, but we also have faith that the team can win Cup #25 sooner rather than later...and before the Leafs win #14.

[Go Pens, Go Habs]

Can Montreal seal the deal in Boston?

Les Canadiens de Montréal missed their shot Thursday night. Leading the series 3-1, they could have delivered the knockout punch to the Boston Bruins.

They could have, but they didn't.

The last 30 minutes or so showed a Carey Price that we haven't seen in awhile. He was average, at best, which only magnified his team's scoring problems.

The Habs finished the season with the best power play in the NHL, but you would never know it in this series. Add to that their inability to score many goals 5-on-5, and you have a team that relies on its goalie. Carey Price may be an unbelievable goalie, but he is only 20 years old and playing under the microscope in Montreal.

The Boston Bruins, on the other hand, are playing very well. They didn't beat the Habs all season, but they won game 3 in Boston, and they handed it to the Canadiens in game 5.

The series is now returning to Boston and the Bruins have all the confidence in the world. The Canadiens are getting Saku Koivu and Francis Bouillon back and are in a position where they must win this game. They do not want to lose again and have the pressure of a game 7....and to have that game in Montreal.

I want the Habs to get it done and move on to round 2, but I am not super-confident. Claude Julien was coaching the Habs in 2004 when they were playing the Bruins and came back from a 3-1 deficit to win the series in 7. Can he lead the Bruins to the same result? If so, it may be the biggest upset of the post-season.

This is a home game in Boston??

I'm watching the Montreal-Boston game on CBC and the only thing that indicates that the game is being played in Boston is the fact that the Bruins are wearing their black jerseys, and the Habs are in their whites.

I guess that's what happens when the Sox are playing the Yankees.

Head coach Claude Julien said that his team might be in trouble because of that baseball game. You usually think that when you return home, the crowd will be crazy in your favour. Tonight, it's 50-50.

They say that the lineups at the border this morning were an hour long. I do believe half of Quebec traveled to Boston this afternoon.

Every time Chara touches the puck, he is booed. The fans try to get on Thomas by screaming, "Tommmyyyyyyyyy, Tommmmmmyyyyyy". When the Habs nail the Bruins, a deafening cheer goes up. If the Habs score a goal, the only thing missing from the screaming and waving towels is the horn. Oh, and there's the 'Ole Ole Ole!" song, which I happen to love.

I truly believe that no fanbase has the lungs of the fans of the Montreal Canadiens. It is always a party in those stands, and every single one of them must return home with a case of laryngitis. And now the fans have taken the party on the road.

Good times. Go Habs.

2008-09: The Year of the Habs

Next season will be all about the Montreal Canadiens. It will be the 100th anniversary of the team, so the National Hockey League will help the Habs celebrate accordingly.

First off, the Habs will host "Le Match Des Etoiles" (aka The All-Star Game) in January 2009. That summer, Montreal will host the NHL Awards Show - something normally held in Toronto - and the 2009 NHL Draft (aka The Tavares Sweepstakes).

Now, we are told that the Canadiens have put in a bid to host an outdoor game that winter at the Molson Stadium, which normally hosts the Montreal Alouettes of the CFL.

Deputy commish Bill Daly didn't say much about the report: "It's not something we want to overdo," he said. "We want to keep it special."

All of these events will make things exciting in Montreal (is anything in Montreal ever boring??), but what fans want most in 2009 is their 25th Stanley Cup - that is, if they don't win the whole thing in 2008.

A sad day in Canada-land.

The Edmonton Oilers have finally been eliminated from the playoff race by...*gasp*...their hated provincial rivals, the Calgary Flames.

What a sad day. I really wanted the Oilers to sneak in and beat Detroit in round 1...again.

Who's next to fall? The Vancouver Canucks? They're currently in 9th...behind the Nashville "We sold all of our stars last summer and yet we don't suck" Predators.

How about the Ottawa Senators? The term 'Free Fall' does not even begin to describe what's going on there. They seem to be synonymous with the word 'shutout' -- and not in a good way.

That's one team that will blow up in the off-season.

Imagine if the only Canadian team to make the playoffs this year was the Habs? How sad would THAT be??

Leafs are d-o-n-e

You know it's bad when you're watching the Leafs-Sabres game and CBC breaks away to catch Markus Naslund's penalty shot in the Canucks-Stars game, and then CBC decides to not go back to the Leafs game.

Yep, that's the sign that the season is done in Toronto. Just givin' up on their team.

There were 3 games on HNIC tonight, and we in the Maritimes actually didn't get to see the entire Leafs-Sabres game! Imagine that...we saw the Habs shutout the Islanders 3-0. Those goalie kids are crazy in Montreal. Add up their ages and they are still younger than Hasek. haha

After the celebration in Montreal, CBC cut to the Leafs, who were desperate for a win to stay in the hunt. They were down 5-2 with more than 3 minutes left and Toskala on the bench for the extra attacker. Then Tallinder had to take the 180-foot shot and get the empty netter, his first goal in 82 games. The silence from the crowd was deafening. It was shortly thereafter that CBC went down to Dallas to see the Canucks hang on for a 4-3 victory.

That Willie Mitchell...what a warrior. He took a puck to the mouth in the third period, stayed on the ice, blocked a shot with his ankle, and when he went to the bench, his jersey was covered in blood. He stayed on the bench, got the trainers to stop most of the bleeding, and went back out to play. You could see the blood in his nose and mouth, but he played his heart out and helped his team earn the win. He may not be offensively gifted, but it's guys like that who will win you a Cup.

Tomorrow is Pens-Flyers on NBC. Big game if we hope to stay close to New Jersey for the division/conference lead.

Hockey Commercial 21: Oops, I slipped

Flashback to the 1990's. It's Gretzky and Messier, reuniting to play a game of chess. Good stuff.



By the way, I apologize for not responding to comments left in the last few days. Unfortunately, Winter Break = dial-up internet. I'm lucky if I can get access to this website at all, and Explorer doesn't seem to want to let me into the comments pages. At least I can still read them through my e-mail.

Tonight: Montreal....Pittsburgh....RDS....I can hear it now - "Le tir, et LE BUT!!!" Hopefully it will be directed at the Pens because I'd very much like to see Pittsburgh take that game. Montreal deserves a rest, don't you think?

Biggest comeback in franchise history

When you're up 5-0 and you lose the game, you deserve that loss.

Rangers = losers

I was watching MVP last night, flipping back and forth between the Ottawa game and the Montreal game to check the scores. Montreal went down 3-0, then 5-0 to the Rangers by the middle of the second period and I thought, "Oh crap."

Rewind a few weeks: Montreal and the Rangers played a Sunday afternoon game on CBC, and the Rangers were down 3-0 then rallied to win 5-3.

Last night, the tables were turned.

After Montreal was down 5 goals, I'm sure most fans thought they were done. I know I did. But the goals started coming, from likely and unlikely sources. Michael Ryder, the whipping boy in Montreal, scored a hat trick and Kovalev got a couple to tie the game by the end of the third. OT solved nothing, and Captain Koivu scored the only shootout goal (a beauty, at that). The Montreal franchise has been around for 99 years, and this is the first time that the team has rebounded from a 5-goal deficit to win a game. Wow.

To make things even better, the Pittsburgh Penguins came from behind to win their game against the Florida Panthers. Glad to have another win in the bank, and I'm glad to see Richard Zednik out of the hospital.

Oh, and the Senators won against the Philadelphia Cryers, handing them their eighth consecutive loss. Boo frickin' hoo. Hosers.

Loo-oo Serr-rrrs

I wonder, how does it feel to lose 7 games in a row?

I suppose we could just ask the Philadelphia Flyers, eh?

They just lost their 7th consecutive game tonight, against the Montreal Canadiens. I saw last night's game against the Habs, when the crowd at the Bell Centre was chanting "Carey, Carey, Carey" as rookie goaltender Carey Price earned a shutout against the Flyers. Tonight, it was another strong showing, and the Habs won 5-3.

Gotta love it when Atlantic Division teams lose and the Pens win (4-1 over Buffalo = sweet). The Habs are now tied for first with Ottawa, but the Senators have one game in hand. I guess the Senators have officially been put on notice that their stranglehold on the Eastern Conference has come to an end.

Trouble is following the Canadiens

The Montreal Canadiens are having problems.

They lost to the Maple Leafs, and then they lost to the Senators. Now, two of their players have been arrested in Tampa.

Last night, several players were at a nightclub in Tampa and a woman left her purse on the counter and it went missing. Habs defenceman Ryan O'Byrne (left) was found outside with this purse and the woman's cell phone in his hand. When asked whose purse it was, he said it was his girlfriend's, but couldn't seem to come up with her name.

O'Byrne was arrested and charged with grand theft. His teammate, Tom Kostopoulos, was also arrested - for resisting an officer without violence when he refused to obey the police officer's orders.

Both players posted bail (O'Byrne $2000, Kostopoulos $500).

The Habs have yet to comment on the situation, but are said to talk to the media following this afternoon's practice.

Ottawa's still number one

A few general thoughts before I retire for the night:

- Montreal lost to Toronto at the Bell Centre. Beautiful shorthanded breakaway goal by Kovy, but Carey Price's unbeaten streak against the Leafs still came to an end. It's amazing how the Leafs can turn in a great performance against some top of the top teams in the League (Detroit, Ottawa, Montreal...edit: oops, Toronto hasn't played Detroit yet. That's this Saturday), but then lose to teams that aren't so great.

Oh well, at least Montreal didn't lose 8-0 in front of a home crowd that cheers when the other team gets a hat trick...

- Ottawa won their game against Florida tonight...even though it was a close 5-4 victory. This win means that they stay on top of the conference, three points ahead of the Habs.

- Heater returned to the lineup tonight and proved that his shoulder is just fine. Two goals and an assist. What the frig?

- Pens win! AND it was against a DIVISIONAL RIVAL!! Ryan Whitney with two goals and an assist - I guess MT knew exactly which buttons to push, eh?

And LeGame with the game-winner. The kid's a keeper.

Toronto at Montreal...and Robot Farts

Tonight is a special Thursday night Hockey Night in Canada, featuring a classic Original 6 matchup...


Toronto Maple Leafs
and
Montreal Canadiens

How much sweeter can the night get????

I swear, it's virtually impossible to find a game that's more exciting than the Leafs/Habs games. The crowds cheer like it's Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals, especially in Montreal...even if it's November. LOVE it.

GO MONTREAL!!!!

A win by the Habs, combined with an Ottawa loss to the Panthers, will give Les Canadiens the conference lead.

What a way to introduce Saturday's Hockey Day in Canada....14 glorious hours of hockey. Our unofficial national holiday...sweet.

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YouTube must be the best site on Earth...or at least the most addictive. I've been watching videos all afternoon (while my biochem lab sits in my school bag, untouched), including videos of Colby Armstrong from rookie days with the WBS Baby Penguins - from Chasing the Dream, I believe. I can seriously understand why Crosby is best friends with Army...someone would have to be out of their mind to not be drawn to a character like Army.

Anyways, since I have started posting a crap-load of videos, why not continue, eh? I found a few that just had me laughing like an idiot.

These next two videos are of Raj Binder (a character that used to be on CBC's This Hour Has 22 Minutes, played by Newfie Shaun Majumder). He's giving his thoughts on the 'upcoming' playoffs (it was filmed last year).

It is seriously some of the funniest stuff I have ever seen.

If you liked that, here's Raj talking to the Ottawa Senators (a few years back).



"What is more important to you? The Stanley Cup, or the protective cup?" HAHAHA

Saku Koivu: He alone will destroy the entire culture in Québec

Ok, so I'm French and I get the whole "gotta keep the culture alive" thing. And I'm completely fine with that. All the power to the people who speak French as their primary language and all that jazz. Especially in Québec and New Brunswick, the two provinces that have French as an official language - the people living in these provinces have a right to French materials, especially materials of the government kind.

What I don't get is the whole separatist movement in Québec. What I hate is when Francophones think that they are better than Anglophones. This whole thing is just reeking of prejudice. They accuse Anglos of being prejudiced, but they should look in a mirror.

Today, the separtists decided to focus their attacks on the non-Francophone Habs players, and they specifically mention Saku Koivu. They say that the players should basically be forced to learn French. They criticize Koivu for not speaking French to the media, even though he has spent the last 12 years in Montréal. Sure, Koivu does speak French, and he uses it at home and when visiting sick kids, but why should he be forced to speak it to reporters? I don't blame Koivu at all for wanting to stick to English in interviews. The Montréal media people are always in the Habs' business, and they are always poking around. If I was a little insecure about my language skills, I wouldn't want to be using them in the spotlight. I bet Koivu doesn't want his words to be twisted and the likes, especially as the captain of the team.

Besides, who are these idiots for telling him what language he can and cannot speak???

Why not give him credit for learning English when he came over to North America?? Why throw him under the bus to further a political cause? Why not talk about the good things that he's doing with his charities?

The separatists make me sick. They whine and cry about how Québec is different from the rest of Canada, but they take all kinds of tax money from the Canadian government. Don't they realize that, should they get a country of their own, Canada won't be lining their pockets with cash? And France ain't gonna give a crap, either.

Separatists say that Québec should decrease multiculturalism, and basically make it a uniform race of people in order to preserve their culture. Hmm...where have I heard of this before?

--------------

02 Nov 07 - I have read many articles/blog entries on this subject in the last few days, but none are as well written as this one, on the Four Habs Fans site.

Thrashers Coach is shown the door.

Bob Hartley, Head Coach of the Atlanta Thrashers, will be looking for a new job. GM Don Waddell fired Hartley today after the Flyers handed the Thrashers their sixth consecutive loss of the season last night.

The news of Hartley's firing was not particularly surprising. In fact, what would have been surprising is if Hartley had stayed. I know it's still very early in the season, but Atlanta's in a tailspin. They ended the 2006-07 season on a high by winning their division, but they were promptly swept from the playoffs by the NY Rangers, and now they are the only team without a win (or a single point) under their belt this season - every other team in the NHL has at least 2 wins and 4 points. The team needed a shake-up, and that's what they got. Waddell should hope that improvement is on the horizon (I mean, how could you get worse?), because the next one to be shown the door will likely be him.
-------------------------------
Yesterday, I wrote about the big Habs/Panthers matchup on TSN. Indeed, the Panthers seem to be Habs-killers.

It seemed as though the Canadiens were going to take the game 1-0, after Kovalev scored on the powerplay less than 3 minutes into the first period. Montreal fans must've been going nuts as the seconds counted down in the third period....and then Horton tied the game with 11 seconds left.

What a way to kill the mood.

Just to make sure the Habs were really dead after that, Florida won the game in a shootout. I'm sure there were grown men crying over that one.

Even Kovalev was upset over that loss, and he chose to vent his anger by criticizing Coach Carbo for not calling a time out late in the game. Frankly, I'm surprised by Kovalev. He went a whole 5 games before criticizing Carbo and the team.

In other Habs news, RDS is reporting that Carey "The Next Patrick Roy" Price will be starting in goal tomorrow night for their game against red-hot Ottawa. Wow, what a way to test the kid. First, you put him out on the ice to face the Penguins, and now he has to face the top line in the NHL of Spezza/Heatley/Alfredsson. Should he put in another great performance, Habs fans nationwide will certainly be lobbying for his promotion from backup.
--------------------------------
If Habs fans are going nuts over their shootout loss to Florida, then Calgary fans are probably rioting in front of the Saddledome. Why is that, you ask? Well, last night, the Flames were up 4-0 against the Avs - and it was an away game! Imagine that, it looked like the Flames were actually going to win a game away from Calgary.

Then things fell apart. Colorado started to play.

The Avs scored. And scored. And scored. And scored again. All 4 goals game in about 13 minutes, give or take, and only one was a PPG. The game went to a shootout, with Wolski getting the game winner for Colorado. Ouch.

I wouldn't want to be in practice with the Flames today. Iron Mike wouldn't be too happy, and I'd prefer to live.
---------------------------------------
Tonight is TSN's Eastern Conference Matchup Part 2: Pens and Devils. The Pens had a breakout game in Toronto last Saturday, and hopefully they'll catch Marty Brodeur on a bad night tonight. I also hope that the D is a little better tonight than they have been so far this season. Always room for improvement there.

TSN's Eastern Conference Matchup of the week - Part 1: Habs and Panthers

Tonight's NHL game on TSN features the Montreal Canadiens and the Florida Panthers. It should be an interesting game to watch, since the Florida Panthers tend to be 'Habs Killers' - they won last year's series 3-0-1, and have gone 7-1-3 (+1 tie) since 2003-04.

The Panthers started off slow this season, losing a handful of games, but they're starting to pull things together. A pair of back-to-back wins this weekend definitely put them in the 'upswing' category.

The game will be in Montreal, and the Bell Centre can be a hard place to play for visiting teams. Montrealers like their Habs - and they can be a tad, uh, vocal. That being said, it's not like the Habs are hot like the Sens. They're 2-1-1 so far, which isn't horrible by any stretch of the imagination, but they're coming off a hard 3-1 loss to the 'Canes on Saturday. Carbo is mixing things up a bit and sending messages to those who are still on summer holidays. Out are Latendresse and Begin, and in are Murray and rookie Grabovski. Huet will start between the pipes, fighting to prove to Canada that he has the goods to be the number 1 goalie. Price, on the other hand, is just waiting for another shot to prove that he has the goods to be Montreal's numero uno (or numéro un).

Can the Panthers make it a streak of three wins tonight? They'll need some good ol' fashioned Montreal help for that one - perhaps a Bryan McCabe-like brain fart by Brisebois? Oooooohh I can hear the crowd now...BOOOOO!

Tomorrow night's Eastern Conference matchup (part 2) on TSN features the Pens and the Devils. Got me-self a TV reserved for that one!

Pens and Habs, Habs and Pens...who won? Not us.

Yesterday was a day of excitement. People across North America and around the world were thrilled that the Pens were playing. Never mind that it was only their 3rd of 82 games in the regular season - we always get excited when our team plays! I, myself, had a little extra spring in my step. I turned on the internet radio to listen to Lange and Bourque call the game, and I switched on to Game Day Chat so that others could tell me what happened 30 seconds before I actually heard Lange describe the play.

Then, it happened.

Carey Price happened.

True, yesterday I was a tad cautious by not calling him the second coming of St. Patrick, and I'm not quite ready to go there just yet. But wow, Price certainly did put on a show last night at the Igloo. If he keeps it up, Gainey will look like a genius for keeping him in the big league and Price will be knocking on Huet's door for the number one spot. Montreal fans are always looking for a top-flight player to cheer for, and they may force Carbo's hand if Price plays like an MVP.

I really like this kid, and he deserves a lot of credit for standing tall last night.

But did it have to be against the Penguins??

Is the Price right in Montreal? I'm not so sure

Tonight = game night. Habs and Pens. It's gonna be a rough one.

It was 22 years ago tonight that Patrick Roy made his NHL debut with the Habs against, you guessed it, the Pens. Seems as though Carey Price is going to get the start tonight against the Penguins. Jump to whatever "jump to conclusions" conclusion you want, who cares.

To be truthful, the whole Price thing is confusing me.

At the beginning of training camp, Carbo said that he wasn't going to have Price on the team as a backup goalie because he's only 20 and he could use time in the AHL to develop. As a backup, he'd be sitting on the bench most of the time, so Carbo was right on this one.

At the end of camp, Huet got the nod as starting goalie, but Gainey overruled Carbo and put Price in as backup, sending Halak back to Hamilton. Huh?

Why would Gainey do this? We all know that Price is going to be the franchise goalie in Montreal, and we know that he won the Calder Cup with Hamilton last season (and he was playoff MVP), along with tons of other honours. Blah blah, whatever. What matters is that Halak has more experience and has proven himself to be capable of playing in the NHL - he stole Abby's job at the end of last season (though that's not exactly hard to do). Price had a hard time in the pre-season games and could use a lot more playing time in Hamilton in order to polish his skills. Everyone knows that goalies take longer to develop, and this lack of play could set him back even further.

I have to wonder what Carbo's motives are for starting Price in tonight's game. I know that the Pens haven't come flying out of the gates this season like Ottawa, but it's not like they're a crap team. They have one of the best offenses in the NHL, led by the best player in the world. I think that Price will have to stand on his head like no other, or risk disaster. Does Carbo think that Price will falter tonight, and could this be his way of sending him to Hamilton in exchange for Halak? It's possible. I just hope that the Montreal crowd doesn't get on Price if he does crash and burn - we all know how critical they are of their own.

One thing's for sure though: at the end of the night, we'll know if Gainey's a genius, or if he made a really stupid mistake.

Random hockey news...

Welcome to the 2007-08 NHL season. The NHL would lead you to believe that the season actually begins in late September when Anaheim takes on LA in London, but who cares. I officially declare today to be the beginning of the season. I am just that important that I can make such a decision. (Okay, so I just arbitrarily decided to make today the day since training camps are kicking off this week)

The onslaught of hockey news is undeniable. Everywhere you look, there are stories about players hoping to bounce back from a poor season, teams dreaming of playoff games, and rookies hoping to show everyone up and earn a spot in the big club. Oooo the excitement is almost unbearable...

Here are some of the hockey headlines today:

Scott Niedermayer has been suspended by the Anaheim Ducks for failing to show up for training camp. This decision is not surprising or unexpected - it is merely a formality. Scotty is still trying to decide whether he should suit up or hang up the skates, so Brian Burke had to suspend him so that Niedermayer's US$6.75M salary won't count against the cap.

I'm a little conflicted over this story. On the one hand, Niedermayer is a phenomenal player, a future Hall of Famer, and he deserves to have time to mull over his future in hockey. That being said, Scotty's indecision is not good for the team, and it ties Burke's hands. He has a huge salary that could be spent on another player if he retired, and should he stay and bring Selanne with him, Burke will have to juggle the roster to make everyone fit under the cap. The longer they hold out, the more difficult it will become.

Carey Price, future superstar Habs goalie, is looking to crack the Canadiens lineup this season, and I think that he just may do it. Sure, it's unlikely, but if anyone can do it, Price is the guy. He was spectacular at the 2007 World Juniors (which included a shiny gold medal and serious MVP honours), had a great season with the Tri-City Americans in the WHL, then started in goal for the Hamilton Bulldogs in the AHL playoffs, leading the team to the Calder Cup and capturing MVP honours.

Guy Carbonneau, head coach of the Canadiens, said that Carey will only make the big team if he proves worthy to be the starting goalie. Should Huet remain the team's starting goaltender, Price will begin the season in Hamilton so that he can play tons of games and develop his skills.

Peter Forsberg is not even close to being NHL ready, but that hasn't stopped several teams from inquiring about his services. Hockey Insider Darren Dreger reports that five of the six Canadian teams are hoping to lure Forsberg to their fine cities, but the chance of that materializing is slim to none. I have to concur with Dreger in that Forsberg will most likely land in Colorado or Detroit or Philly - if he returns to North America.


This is non-hockey related, but congrats to Perdita Felicien, who won the GOLD medal at the Intersport Gugl-Meeting today in Austria.

Canadiens to retire Big Bird's #19 and Bo's # 23

The Montreal Canadiens, one of the most storied franchises in the NHL, will retire the numbers of two more players this coming season.

The rafters of the Bell Centre are currently occupied by Jacques Plante, Doug Harvey, Jean Beliveau, Boom Boom Geoffrion, Howie Morenz, Maurice Richard, Guy Lafleur, Dickie Moore, Yvan Cournoyer, Henri Richard, Serge Savard and Ken Dryden. On November 19th, when the Ottawa Senators visit the Canadiens, the Habs will retire Larry Robinson's #19. Three months later, on February 23rd, the Canadiens will retire Bob Gainey's #23 when the Habs play the Blue Jackets.

Larry Robinson (aka 'Big Bird') was a defenceman for the Habs for 17 seasons and is considered to be one of the best blueliners in NHL history. He holds many team records for defencemen, including games played (1202), career goals (197), assists (686), points (882) and points in a season (85).

Elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1995, Robinson went on to have a successful coaching career. He has been the assistant coach of the New Jersey Devils, as well as the head coach of the LA Kings and the Devils. He led the Devils to the Stanley Cup in 2000, after he was named the interim head coach at the end of the season. He is currently an assistant coach in Jersey under Brent Sutter.

Bob Gainey, who played for the Habs for 16 seasons, is considered to be one of the best complete players in NHL history. He played a defensive-style of hockey, and was awarded four consecutive Selke Trophies as a result. He was also an important player on the Montreal teams that won 4 consecutive Stanley Cups in the late 70s, and again in 1986. He retired from the game in 1989 and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1995.

Gainey has also been very active in the hockey community after retirement. He has been a head coach with the Minnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars, as well as the interim head coach for the Canadiens. In addition, Gainey has been a General Manager since 1992, first with the Stars (where he won the Cup in 1999) and now with the Habs.