Habs Game Day Radio

I must begin by telling you I really enjoy listening to hockey on the radio. When I was a kid I would have by transistor radio tucked under my pillow so I could listen to the games as my beloved Habs would skate left to right on my radio dial.

The announcers are more important on radio than on television where the words augment the pictures on the television or computer screen. For example Mr. Bob Cole could not get away with everything is happening everywhere or oh he scored. Although I have heard that one on previous radio broadcasts.

Growing up listening to Dick Irvin as the english voice of the Habs somewhat spoiled me - although his french counterpart, Rene Lecavalier was certainly one of the best as well.  When I moved to Edmonton in the mid-eighties, I could listen on Radio-Canada to all the Habs games on FM and could only watch maybe a handful of Habs games in English the CBC played on Saturday nights. They had decided that everyone liked the Leafs and only the Leafs at that point. But the weekly games on Radio Canada (french CBC) became my life-line to Habs fandom where I could watch les boys play.

When I came to southwestern Ontario at the beginning of the nineties, I continued to watch Radio Canada on Saturdays and there were times those were not shown - they would play bad movies or documentaries in place of the games. There were no broadcasts of the games on Radio Canada so following the Habs became more of a challenge. As the Leafs got better (Sunbeam etc) the information regarding the Habs decreased significantly.

I enjoy watching the games now on the internet but still prefer to listen, close my eyes and watch the team skate left to right on my radio dial in my minds eye. The past few years the English radio broadcasts have been not great to say the least, and last year were so bad I stopped listening altogether. I was elated when John Bartlett got the play by play duties as I have heard him call the occasional Marlies games. Not so pleased about the retention of Sergio Momesso. Last night's radio season opener was music to my ears. I awaited eagerly for the puck drop and was not disappointed in the least. Momesso however seemed like he had to be prodded to add commentary during play stoppages and did not seem in sync with the play. Hopefully that gets better (though not counting on it).

The pre-game show did not start off promising, I must tell you. There was some Markov talk and when guests said that Markov will make the power play better than last season - they were interupted saying that as per Marinaro, not happening any time soon. Thankfully this was stopped rather abruptly as I was about to turn to check out the French broadcast.  I am not a fan of Marinaro to say the least. I have been blocked on twitter not for being rude or anything - but for having the audacity of gasp - disagreeing. Heavens to mergatroid - I disagreed with some comment or another.  Anyway I digress.

One area that needs to be worked on is the time lag on the internet feed. It was almost two minutes behind. It was mentioned on the post game show that there was a two second delay but on the net it was closer to 2 minutes. My twitter feed erupted a long time before I heard the call.  I understand that there will always be a delay but this seems excessive.

I did listen to the post game with great trepidation as it was hosted by Marinaro - but although it does need work, it was okay. And telling us to tweet our comments to be read on the air does not help at all - how many people are blocked and  not allowed to have a differing opinion? That is a rhetorical question.

Please share your opinions.

Fantasy Hockey

The pre-season for me has just begun. Just when I am hoping and wishing for something positive in the hockey realm, Yahoo Sports has opened their Hockey Fantasy Pools. Last year, the first one I played fantasy hockey, I played in 6 pools as a neophyte I did not know any better. This year I am narrowing it down to probably four.

I have joined forces with Roz (@Tygerlylly) from Tyger by the Tail, and Rene (@hfxhabby) from Pushing the Envelope and am running a league called - The League of Ordinary Smartasses (would have been extraordinary but alas yahoo only allows 30 characters for a league name).  The league has a capacity of 20 teams and if there is a lot of interest we are ready, willing and able to add another league.

***Update the second league is now open called the League of Unusual Tweeples. This league has a capacity of 16 teams.***

If you are interested please by all means send me a shout by e-mail or on twitter at @habbykins and I will send you the necessary info to torment me - nicely.

My promise you (my 5 readers) that I will not use the power of the commish to sabotage or aid any of the participants in this league as much as I may want to. Now do you not wish this was the case at the NHL level.

We have decided to offer some prizes - minimal tokens to go along with bragging rights. These have yet to be determined as we are working on it. As not all entrants are Habs fans the prizes will not ALL be Habs related. We have of course excluded ourselves from winning said prizes so the other 17 players have a slightly better shot.

If you have never been in a fantasy league but want to try it. Hey why not give it a try. The downside to fantasy hockey is you may actually be hoping for a player on a rival NHL team to score - last year I did have to cheer for Bergeron on occasion - and yes it made me feel guilty - but I survived.  Even if you do not know anything about the sport there is always fun to be had. I did join a basketball league last year and came in 7th out of 12 - not knowing a thing about the players - dumb luck - maybe.

I have received some comments about my team name (Les Girls) and that was totally expected - after all whom else would name a hockey team after a couple of body parts. Besides it sounded better than the dumbasses - which begs the question is it better to be a smartass or a dumbass - discuss.

Mid-Summer Musings

There have been a few things to chat about this week in the headlines a lot of which are really horrific, some sad and some actually entertaining. Without further ado here is my take on the week.

First off, let me say to those lying turds at Environment Canada - still no rain - but cooler today (having a cup of tea). Thank you for that - you are still turds until that promised rain gets here. Been over a month since we have had any local rain - lawns are brown and crispy need a deluge. They are lying because they give me false hope that it will rain at any time - but as my hubby says 50% chance of rain - hah maybe it will and maybe it won't. If any of my 4 readers work at environment please remember it is not personal at least on my part, will stop the name calling once rain arrives.

A terrorist by any other name...I was shocked by the tragic events in Norway the other day. I am totally amazed that with all that damage done by the blast in downtown Oslo one would think more than 7 would have been killed. Then the terrorist went to camp and went on a 95 minute rampage killing indiscriminately kids and young people. I expect the total dead will be over a hundred. The big question is if the guy is a terrorist or a madman. As homer would say - a little from column A a little from column B. My take is this - if the perpetrator can get punished more for being a terrorist then that is what he is - if more punishment is more severe being a madman then so be it. There is a lesson to be learned somewhere in there somewhere.

Amy Winehouse - dead at 27 set off a debate on drugs, alcohol, too much too soon and the ridiculous idea that somehow sorrow at her death is not warranted. I feel bad for the family and friends of Ms. Winehouse just as I feel bad for the families and friends of other individuals who take their own lives on purpose as well as by accident. It does not compete with the tragedy in Norway nor should it - what it does however - is to humanize the struggles of people in dealing with their demons. Hopefully she will get the peace in death that she did not get in life.

Have been wondering how the people who made the decision on having Aaron Boogaard announce the Rangers first selection at the draft are feeling about that decision now. Does this change how we feel about Derek's death at age of 28? and why the coming together after Derek's death and the division over Amy Winehouse? It is like one is acceptable and one is not but the result is the same - gone too soon.

On a lighter note - The Habs got randier and uglier behind the bench. No offense to Randy Ladouceur and Randy Cunneyworth but Kirk Muller is definitely prettier. The consolation here regarding the prettiness of the coaches - the duo of Keith Acton and Tim Hunter last season with the Leafs were certainly uglier. They were not hired to be pretty. At least with the mis-named Ladouceur there is a big defenseman who knows how to play with an edge and is good with the younger players. Randy Cunneyworth is also a beauty who is good with the youngsters and did great with the kids last year and knows what the group can do. He coaches to get the best out of his players which is not a bad thing. Hopefully they can bring emotion to a bland staff.

Josh Gorges has signed for one year 2.5M as a RFA before going to arbitration. I am thinking that is a good thing for both sides. I am glad he is around this year of transition with a much younger defensive corps than last year. His next contract with the habs may be tied to how the kids do this year. A strong year by Yemelin may mean a different team next year- who really knows. There is a reason it is called the dead season in french too much speculation now the season has to start soon. We still have a week in July and the whole month of August before preseason.

Thank you for your time - and I would love to hear from you. Just drop me a line.

Calling all Puckheads

I recently was invited to join a promising hockey social network called Planet Puckhead. It has potential in that it caters to hockey enthusiasts of all types. Players, coaches, bloggers, fans can have discussions on the game and offer opinions and discuss the happenings around the game we all love.

Upon entering for the first time, I must admit I was taken aback on the colour scheme (being the Habs fan that I am) that it was primarily Bruins colours. There is the ability on there to change your home page - mine has almost no yellow. and the header was moved up so there is a nicer visual appeal.

There are groups that have been started for players, coaches, sledge players, ball hockey etc. If there is nothing started that interests you - by all means start one up and people will join if they have something to say. The intent is to have one place where we can talk amongst ourselves and answer and ask any questions that may come up. I, for one, will be asking a question or two in research for upcoming blogs - and I get the feeling others will as well.

It goes live on July 18th and holds promise.  I am hoping that it becomes a gathering place to discussions on various teams bloggers.  There are several groups on there including two I have started - one being for Habs fans and the other for Habs bloggers. I am not sure if both groups are needed but we will have another look at it in September or October and re-evaluate at that time. There is also a group that is for hockey bloggers that is open for discussion and collaboration in the community.

I am finding it very interesting that the site has almost no members as yet who are fans of the NHL teams. So far, a few people have signed up to see what it is like and have not changed their locker (page) to suit their personalities and their teams. There are quite a few pictures of people sharing their memoriabilia which is fabulous.

There are a lot of fans and players from the Tampa Bay region - which is great to see. I know the US south has taken a beating with the Canadian hockey fans and media but the fans I have come into contact with are very passionate and quite knowledgeable. The truth of the matter is that Canadian fans and the US fans from cities in the north who covet the teams find it frustrating to see half empty arenas when tickets are extremely hard to come by up here and when you can get them they cost your first born. So, you can look at it another way we are jealous of the cheap hockey and availability of tickets.

But I digress, the Planet is open for business and we who are there are awaiting the pleasure of your company. There is plenty of room on there for all hockey fans, new and experienced. Oh and please tell them Laura Kenney sent you.

The Curious Case of Andrei Kostitsyn

As I was going over last season for my last posting, it occurred to me that the most under-rated Hab is the one and only Andrei Kostitsyn.  Before you roll your eyes please hear me out.

I know the reasons for him being under-rated - especially being streaky and therefore inconsistent.  Much like Alexei Kovalev, Mr. Kostitsyn is so talented and there are times when it does not look like he is putting forth the effort. There are times when he brings you out of you seat with a move or a spectacular goal, or even a huge hit.

I was expecting a much better year last season for him because of the trade of his brother and therefore less distractions off the ice.  In fact, when I analyze his play of this past season, I feel he had a tremendous year. He was doing extremely well at the beginning of the year, scoring regularly, going to the net and being a total beast.  Then the inevitable happened for some unknown reason, he was taken away from a very productive line and placed with Mr. Gomez. The reason for this was to perhaps ignite Mr. Gomez from his slumber. Unfortunately, the slumber continued and Mr. Kostitsyn's production fell, despite him continuing to play fairly well.  He was also getting involved in the physical play, an aspect of his play that came to the forefront. He has improved his play in his own end and has begun to use his size to hos advantage.

Despite playing on all three lines at different parts of the season, he led the team in hits (140), was fourth in shots (196), third in goals (20), fourth in points (46), was tied with Brian Gionta for the lead in GWG (6) and only missed one game. In my estimation, he had a decent season and if he ends up elsewhere with stable line mates he will be one that got away - even more so than his brother.

This coming season I expect him to continue to grow and possibly learn a trick or two from Mr. Cole, play the body more and develop a little more consistency and chemistry.

I am glad he was re-signed by Mr. Gauthier for one year. If he is paired with either Mr. Eller or Mr. Plekanec for the entire year or most of it - he will be a nice signing indeed.

Two Days of NHL Free Agency

Every year I get in a comfy chair and wait for free agency hoping for the Habs to sign the big one - always hoping hardly ever get anything fabulous - last year the big signing was Alex Auld - really.  The year before the team was redesigned on the front end during free agency, as the former crop seemed uninspired. Out with the old and in with the new.

There was a lot of promise for this year to redesign the back end much like the front one was two summers ago. During the year however there were many devastating injuries on the defence, necessitating a procurement of more defencemen to finish the year. The Habs had so many on contract at the end of the season the question became not who would they get from other clubs but who would be kept. The decision was made too sign oft-injured Andrei Markov - an elite d-man when healthy, Yemelin - a large prospect from Russia who by all accounts plays with a mean streak, Hal Gill - a big bodied, capable but slow defenceman, Yannick Weber- a smaller sized quick guy with a wicked shot. These guys are to complement the young stud PK Subban, and the way past his prime, Spacek. The other defenceman who is still RFA and is expected to sign is Josh Gorges - a hard worker and shut down defensive specialist. These are the guys who were picked over such notables as James Wisniewsky, Brent Sopel and the fabulous Roman Hamrlik. Those three who were not signed are fabulous defencemen who will do extremely well with their new teams, I am certain. There is always some risk in choosing not to re-sign players but the quality in this case when you think about it is astounding. Hopefully history will show the choices were good ones.

The first day of free agency in habsland brought a big winger with a penchant for coming up huge in big games and leaving it all on the ice, Erik Cole. His contract is a little hefty but not outrageous and if he continues not to take a shift off and leaves it all on the ice he will be a hero. You see, in Montreal, to be a hero one has to leave it all on the ice hence the love affair Montrealers have with players such as Darche, White, Nilan and the like. But to be one with a scoring touch wow you get vaulted into the stratosphere - Saku Koivu.

One of the questions going into free agency was who in the heck would back up Carey Price. Last season was Alex Auld - capable but did not play enough to keep sharp despite being 6-2 at times he did not look solid. The Habs signed a capable backup in Peter Budaj from Colorado. I think it is a good signing because he will be better with the full-time goalie coach Pierre Groulx. Hopefully they get together sooner rather than later. He is signed for two years.

Day two brought nothing new to the habs and I believe they are not totally done tinkering with the lineup. I am hoping they will bring some more real grit and sandpaper to the lineup in a Konopka from the Islanders.

In my opinion the team that did the best improvements so far include Buffalo, Florida and Washington. Oh to be a hockey fan in Washington this season - hang on it will be fun.

Insanity - Part Deux

I was asked to submit an article to the Down Goes Avery season ending blog where 30 bloggers were challenged to take a irreverent look at their teams past season, off season and outlook for next season.  Here is an expanded version of events as I see them. Without a doubt this off-season will be interesting to watch in habland. Please feel free to leave a comment-they are always appreciated by all  bloggers all the time.


Free Agency: Insanity

The definition of insanity according to Einstein is to do the same thing repeatedly and expect different results – so yes my team is insane.  So far Pierre Gauthier has taken to doling out one year contracts to all the same players at the same money. Last I checked none of them are getting any younger, nor are they getting any quicker and certainly are not growing vertically.  They have a lot of free agents on the defence this time around, so we will sign some of the billion defensemen that were around last year, BUT only the ones so far that were around at the beginning of last season.  

The update on this is two restricted free agent signings on the offense – the long and the short of it, Max Pac and David Desharnais.  Good signings for a good price – 2 year contracts for each of them at least they may be around at the end of next season.  I expect the Habs to look at free agency to bolster the first two lines - I hope for Laich or Leino of course so does every one else. What we will get is probably Dupuis or Talbot or Jagr any of whom would be an upgrade on Pouliot whom I do not believe will be brought back.

The defense at the time of this writing consists of Subban, Gill, Yemelin, Spacek and now Markov. RFA's are Weber, Gorges, and Picard. UFA's are Wiz, Sopel, Mara and Hamrlik.  In the crystal glass I see signing of Weber (he has stated he will be at the Canadiens hockey camp for youngsters) Gorges should be either signed or dealt this week.  Unfortunately this all means that Wiz, Sopel, Picard, Mara and Hamrlik will not be re-signed.  the one I really hate to see go is Hamrlik - He has been able to step up to the plate whenever he has been asked and has served extraordinarily well in trying circumstances. If by some miracle Spacek can be moved or convinced to possibly retire then I would definitely have Hamrlik back in the fold no doubt about it. Wiz's rights should be moved at the draft hopefully to a western conference team.

Coulda/woulda/shoulda time at this time next year perhaps, but it looks like almost the whole team will be free-agents at the end of next season.

2011/12 Outlook: Reality Bites

So with essentially the same team as last year with a couple of changes it looks like same top 6 (barring any trades or signings) and some minor changes in the bottom 6.  

I am hoping for a big free agent signing for the Habs but in reality it hardly ever happens.  The big news in Montreal will be who is not coming back rather than who is added to this roster. Maybe there will be addition by subtraction. If I hear one more time this is a tight knit group I am going to scream so loud the south americans will call and advise me to keep it down. Time to step up to the plate, cowboy up, get er done because there are a whole lot of free agents at the end of this season including Price and Subban and not everybody will survive. In other words, in my humble opinion, this is the last season for this group as we know it.

Hey, let’s plan the parade.  Do I think this is a possibility? Check that definition of insanity again.  But then again....there is a reason they play the games.

Habs 2011 Recap Insanity Part Un

I was asked to submit an article to the Down Goes Avery season ending blog where 30 bloggers were challenged to take a irreverent look at their teams past season, off season and outlook for next season.  As my blog post was getting too big (I kept adding to it all week), here is part un of events as I see them. Without a doubt this off-season will be interesting to watch in habland. Please feel free to leave a comment-they are always appreciated by all  bloggers all the time.  Part deux will be posted tomorrow.

2010/11 Recap: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

The Good – Finding a couple of players in the minors who were able to step up when the team needed it and having the guts to trade for a million defensemen who were all used this past season. One goes down? No worry, just pick up another. Some were upgrades; some were serviceable.  Carey Price did have a very good year, and then there is Subban who took his game to a new level when pressed. There were also some finds on the offensive side of things with Eller as well as Pacioretty and Desharnais filling in admirably when the injuries started to pile up a bit.

The Bad – Too small and too inconsistent; too many passengers for too much of the season; taking shifts/games/weeks/months/season off.  Now I can see having a bad shift or game or even a slump happens to everybody in all skates of life, but how long do these have to last? What was that Gomer? Oh yes - you have to play better lest you let down your team mates etc. How many times did you say this during the year? As one company in a former line of work would say: Just Do It. 

The Ugly – While it is difficult to find ugly on my team of beauties I find myself looking squarely at JMart and his usage of the would-be marvellous top liner Travis Moen. There is nothing wrong with Moen. He plays hard etc., but beautiful hands he does not have.  He gets space and takes off down the ice on a break or semi-break regularly and if he had Cammy’s hands he would score 50 goals a season. Alas that is not the case.  Shakes head and rolls eyes. Can it get any uglier than some of the mean-spirited thing that have been said and done to my team - The hit from Chara was ugly but to add to it the verbal insults from the Boston media and some of the players was bad enough - BUT then the fans continued it.  Patches got some disgusting things sent to him on twitter.  This in my opinion is totally uncalled for hey, it is after all is said and done a game. 

Let me say This about That

Now that the Stanley Cup has been awarded I have some things to say (surprised?) I will be blogging all summer but intermittently because of commitments.

*The Bruins won Lord Stanley's shaving mug - pretty fitting.  In my opinion, it was preordained by the WWE oops I mean NHL.  And my congratulations to the winners.

*Twitter is once again saying Benoit Brunet is not going back to RDS. Is that not what we heard last year? So, until official - same as usual expect no changes.

*Markov to sign with the habs is another good one. It has been imminent for a while - wake me up when it is done please or when it is decided he should take a hike. FYI I think it does get done.

*Gorges and Pacioretty are RFA. (Duh-I know) They should be signed soon I hope.

*Does anyone know or care what happens on Hockey Night in Canada vis-a-vis Bob Cole and the Bruins broadcast team?  That sounds like a bad band name. - And now ladies and gents give it up for Bob Cole and the Cherry Bruins Corporation.

*Wonder how the Bruins fans feel about screaming Diver and Faker to Kesler now - do they care?

*Kaberle- after all the but i don't wanna leave - he has his name on the Stanley shaving mug and has a chance at free agency. Maybe he will end up on a defensive pairing with Hal Gill...hmmmm on second thought no that would be too bizarre and besides we already have too many.

*Gomez will have a better 2011/12 season....I mean can he possibly do worse?  we shall see won't we.

*When looking at the Habs past season please remember without Price - they would possibly be a lottery pick team.

*Ever wish you could combine players and amalgamate them - I am always looking for Pooche but not finding him on the roster. For my two non-habs fan readers it would be pouliots body and talent combined with Darche's work ethic and determination and sounds better than Darliot.

*speaking of Pouliot I am hoping he does not get re-signed - or I may have to rename my twitter account to DownGoesPou...something you really should not do to your own team (It was suggested I use DownGoesSubban but ummmm NO)

*Recchi's career is finally over and he will undoubtedly make it to the hall.  Too bad he had to step out of his perceived persona to do it.

*There will be a master blog coming out next week on DownGoesAvery next week and I am the Habs contributor. There will be a companion piece on this site when it is available.

Please add to the list in the comments section I 'd love to hear from you.

Utter Crapola

As I sit here with my second cup of tea - musing about the events of this week in the hockey world - I am amused that my favorite hockey team is now fining fans for showing support to the tune of 1K per day - Hey at my age I would owe them one heck of an amount of money to be sure.  There are a couple of things I could do - I could drop the H and call them Abs - if they sue, I could say I meant Avs and it is a consistent typo - That would necessitate changing my twitter name to Abbykins.  This would confuse the heck out of the people who so graciously follow me there - to say nothing about what I would have to do to this blog and the pain it would be to change it to Abbykins - and people would think possibly that it is about primarily an advice column or something to do with religion.  So what I have ultimately decided to do with this is to further ignore it - and if they  decide to come after me - I will never in my lifetime or my childrens lifetime be able to pay it - and you can't get blood from a stone.

It was a strange week regarding life on my timeline this week - Derek Boogaard by all accounts an all around great guy is no longer with us - ***cause of death has been confirmed as accidental overdose of alcohol and Oxycodone **** I hope he rests in peace.  Harmon Killebrew also passed away this week at home after stopping the cancer treatments that were prolonging his life but certainly not the quality of it I am sure. Jon Moncrief a journalist who covered the L.A. Kings also passed away at the age of 42.  At the risk of sounding maudlin - may they rest in peace and God bless.

I would be remiss if I did not mention the suffering going on with floods and fires.  Hopefully Ma Nature gets it all straightened out very quickly and quits her PMS or whatever is wrong with her. Gotta tilt the country pushing the water from Manitoba west to put out the ugly fires in AB -

Speaking of Manitoba, it appears that Winnipeg is getting their team back in time for next season - and it will not be the Yotes - but another team from Atlanta - Wow I feel sorry for the fans in Atlanta - that would be two teams lost to Canada - I think as do many others not fans fault but faulty ownership - I guess the Yotes was personal grudge after all - and we know how the NHL (Napoleons Hockey League) holds those - will be interesting to see if at the presser the fans of Winnipeg cheer for Napoleon - they probably will. - Just this once - then all bets are off.

My Habs have finally made some noise starting to sign some prospect and free agents who are based overseas.  So far I am liking the additions, but something tells me I will not be totally enthused when it comes to the subtractions.  I expect some changes on ice in Montreal for next season - hopefully for the better but stranger thing have happened.

Off ice changes continue to happen in Montreal - it seems like Mr. Molson is wearing too many hats.  Yes I know he is the owner and by all appearances he will be an active one.  I sense the tide starting to turn regarding Mr. Molson - first the copyright thing and now the 22% hike in the price of tickets - I guess someone decided gouging is the best way to increase the bottom line - who is now in charge of the publicity department?  Okay, rhetorical question.

Next signing I want to see is Mr. Pacioretty for a long term deal. But it will probably be on the defensive side.  I still think there will be a trade or two - possibly with Philly or Caps or possibly the Sharks.  Remember all - in order to get quality you have to give up quality.  Maybe a sign and trade or one similar to the Halak trade - I have become accustomed to expecting the unexpected -

Hope you enjoy reading this little blog and give me your thoughts - I always enjoy hearing from you.  Have a fabulous Victoria Day weekend Canada - hopefully the weather cooperates - bring sun where needed and rain where needed and not vice-versa.

Pure Speculation 2011-2012 Habs

I was reading the blog Bleed Bleu Blanc Rouge http://bleedbleublancrouge.wordpress.com where the challenge was put out to design the 2011-12 Habs with salary cap etc.  There are some very interesting possibilities listed there indeed.  I am taking up the challenge as I have some ideas (go figure) on how my Habs should look going forward.

Here were the Rules of the Game:

1. You MUST stay within the annual Cap Space
2. You can NOT deal existing contracts (ie fantasy trades)
3. You MUST live by the RFA Rules
4. Current BUYOUTS must be respected
5. Bonuses Set at $1M (undisclosed)
6. Laraque Buyout is still on the books @ $0.5M
7. Cap amount is set at $61.5M

I think the interesting question is who to keep on defense. Many seem to think will it be Markov or Wisniewski, I believe it will come down to Wisniewski or Hammer.  Hammer has been a workhorse the past few years and really deserves to get the spot - but the Habs cannot continue rely on him to get the job done - to continue with the horse metaphor the old gray mare just ain't what she used to be. So here I choose Wisniewski over Hammer at 3.75M. I re-sign Gorges at 2.25M, Weber at 800K, Gill at 1.75M. I try to keep Markov but not at any price 2 to 3 years at 5 to 5.5M - certainly no raise has been earned there.  The contract will expire before his 35th b-day so it would fit under the current CBA.

So for the defense I am spending 18.7 Million - pairings Subban 0.875 - Gill 1.75; Gorges 2.25 - Weber .800; Wisniewski 3.75 - Markov 5.5 - spare Spacek 3.8.

Goalies- Although I would not have said this last year - Price 2.75 + Johan Hedberg 1.2 total: 3.95 - this will allow habs to give Price more of a break during the year.

Forwards: under the rules I cannot trade existing contracts (I think at least one will be) Gomez 7.3, Cammalleri 6, Plekanec 5, Gionta 5, Moen 1.5, Eller 1.27.  I re-sign Kostityn 3.25, Pacioretti 1.2, White 800K, Desharnais 500K, Darche 550K.  In free-agency market I go after Brooks Laich 3.5 - wld over pay, and Ville Leino 1.5 - total 37.12 for forwards.

Total: 59.82 + 500K Laraque = 60.32M

My projected forward lines - barring training camp surprises:

Gomez/Gionta/Pacioretty

Cammy/Plekanec/Laich

Eller/Leino/Kostityn

Desharnais/White/Moen

Taxi squad: Darche

So there you have it MY 2011-12 Montreal Canadiens.  Please let me know what you think.

Mr. Cournoyer and other signings

As some of you know by now - I am sure you heard me somehow, somewhere saying I was going to go get my my Habs Tee Shirt and jersey signed by Yvan Cournoyer.  That momentous occasion was yesterday and it certainly did not disappoint.

There was a line up to be sure - most of those lined up had memorabilia from the 1972 Summit Series - Then Cournoyer made a stab at it and Henderson Scored for Canada. That particular photo of the goal celebration was everywhere and quite a few were signed by all members in that photo.  It got me to thinking - All the great saves, games, championships etc in Tretiak's career and the thing he probably has signed the most was a loser moment - now that would drive me insane.  It would be like Phil Esposito having to sign photos of when he was being introduced in Moscow and fell (gracefully - NOT) on his posterior.

When I finally got my turn to get my items signed, I was star-struck.  Could not string together a full sentence if my life depended on it.  Thankfully Mr. Cournoyer is a truly nice guy and helped my awkwardness - told people we grew up together - me watching television and him on the ice.  Then we all had a good laugh.  He signed my jersey

and added to my t-shirt 

I also had the pleasure for all you Leaf, Red Wing, Detroit, Chicago fans - and I know there must be one or two of you out there of meeting four former players. I got the signatures of two - Mr. Ullman and Mr. Flaman.

They were really nice guys and looked very well - Asked Mr. Flaman how he was keeping - he answered - so far so good (he is about 85).  Mr. Ullman was a treat as well.  The other two gentlemen who were there signing were Mr. Bower and someone named Mr. Hull - 

While talking about my adventure and non-gift for the gab on this particular occasion on twitter my esteemed friend @cokeaddict wondered what will happen when we go meet Mr. Dryden - I am sure there would be pics of that situation if I open my mouth and all that comes out is bda bda bda.  God help me lol.  No worries I will share.

So that in a nutshell was how I spent my day yesterday.  Thanks to my daughter (bratlet) for the fabulous birthday/mothers day gift - I truly enjoyed every minute - 

Habs, Soaps and Meanderings

As I am having my tea this morning, I decided to share my thoughts on last nights Habs/Bruins game, the series amongst other things.

I am elated that Price is the goalie Bob Gainey thought he was and not the one I did.  Yes, I am eating my words now just as I did earlier this season...You see I predicted a lottery pick for my beloved habs because of the few changes brought into a team that squeaked into the playoffs.  And yes, my son the Leaf Fan (yeah I have one of those-and this time he was right-and I am not as right as I usually am) was correct when said Price is going to have a huge season. And please pass the ketchup so the words will taste better - thanks.

The game last night was very exciting (duh). And it appears that some people are awakening from their long winters nap...coming out of hibernation as it were.  It is a good thing from my point of view.  But it is only one game, in a string of games to capture Lord Stanley's mug - but it has started off on the right foot - only 15 more wins to go.

The famous soap operas are leaving the air after forever and a half.  My fave was Another World - and that has been gone a long time.  You gotta wonder how warped the writers of these shows are/were to come up with the story lines they did - five days a week for a hundred years.  At times they were repetitive - almost like they ran out of plot lines and forgot they used it already.  But we continued to watch regardless-

As the playoffs started, the Habs have this game face thing going with us fans.  Fabulous-I had my war paint put on a picture I took wearing my Cournoyer Jersey.  A short time before game 1 I changed it to a picture of a slightly (haha) younger me with the addition of the war paint.

Yeah I know I was a cutie pie and what the heck happened.

That is it for now.  Please leave a comment.

Welcome to the Sandbox - Grumblings on the State of Hockey

The state of hockey is deplorable however revenue is up because the Canadian dollar is up.  There is NO ONE who seems to be looking out for the best interest of the game.

Basically as I see it, the powers that currently be are pitting one country against the other, the haves versus the have nots.   Bad on ice officiating, conflict of interest in meting out supplementary discipline, lawsuits galore..  If you build it we will come - did i say that, what I actually meant to say was - we may come.- If we start to not protect the players better I will pick up my puck and go home...but first Mr. Cooke - here is a bonus for you.

I will suggest to you that the NHL needs to have a lot of teams that hemorrhage cash to keep the players salary cap under control.  The cash cows (Toronto, Montreal, and Boston etc) of the NHL are offset with the Atlanta, Phoenix, and Floridas of the league to keep salaries down and therefore keeping the league viable in the sun belt.  That is not to say I would like any fan to lose their franchise.  For argument sake, if these franchises are moved to where they will sell out every night and the salaries increase as a result (cap and floor)  do other teams begin to have a problem with the cap floor?  It is a circular argument to be sure - much like the chicken and the egg.

We can only hope that Napoleon may be losing his grip on the BOG. The league is a joke - a laughing stock. Pretty bad when your disciplinarian has a son playing in the sport and there is ample evidence to impeach him - in a democracy.  The path is clear in this case - where there is a clear documented conflict of interest - the status quo is not an option...Mario threatening to take his puck and go home because in his mind the Islanders were not punished enough - then first time an opportunity to further punish them they get nailed again (not by any means am I defending the undefendable).  This is the same dude who condones having Cooke on the payroll and has him as an alternate captain.  Bet before the suspension was handed down - Mario was consulted.  Would not want to offend him after all-did the Penguins get Crosby the same way? Good question .

In my opinion the best thing that can be done for the state of hockey than a full cleaning house of the powers that be in New York.  A fresh slate with real hockey people with transparency being mandatory in my opinion.  If the league cleans up its headquarters and shows some improvement in running its operations it will be able to have better owners so the ownership fiascoes that are currently rampant in the NHL would be diminished.

It is time for the pettiness and childishness to stop - in fact it is long overdue.  Please let me know what you think.