Montreal Canadiens

[habs83]

newper, Cole was on the ice for the morning skate according to rds. Don't have any confirmstion whether he is playing or not, but he is skating.

[habs83]

And because it was an optional skate, they did not practice with their lines, which explain why they weren't update on tsn.

Hope it helps

Weber is scratched, St-Denis plays tonight

[ross10019]

Great posts looking forward 3 years down the line. I for one am really excited at the emergence of Gallagher and Kristo in a few years, but the most important prospect of all may be Quailer given his great size - he seems to be really stepping up in his 3rd year at Northwestern, hopefully he ends up being a big power forward for us to take Cole's place once he's gone.

I know I've been non-stop tooting Eller's horn this year (or to put it more Luongesquely, pumping his tires), but from what I've seen this guy will be far from a 3rd line centerman, in fact I could easily see him as our 1st line centerman or at least a 1A/1B centerman with one of Plekanec/Desharnais.

[habs83]

I know I've been non-stop tooting Eller's horn this year (or to put it more Luongesquely, pumping his tires), but from what I've seen this guy will be far from a 3rd line centerman, in fact I could easily see him as our 1st line centerman or at least a 1A/1B centerman with one of Plekanec/Desharnais.

I did not list them in L1, L2 L3 order...just listing what the club will have under contract at that point. I also expect Eller to be a force in a couple of seasons.

[ericdaoust]

Another game, another blown lead, another point left on the table. That's five times this year that the Habs give up a late lead to eventually lose in overtime. To make matters worse, three of those losses are to Eastern teams which means these blunders are also adding points to a rival team's column.

Don't let the stats fool you, Carey Price was phenomenal. He basically stole that point while the uninspired team continuously turned pucks over and could not get the puck out of their own end. Several of his saves will be on highlight reels.

The reunited top line of Pacioretty-Desharnais-Cole once again led the way offensively. Cole and Desharnais were all over the place and causing problems in the other end all game. Unfortunately Pacioretty is not the same since returning from suspension. He still collected an assist so at least he's getting points while his play is a bit down.

Guys like Mike Cammalleri and Brian Gionta should be ashamed of themselves. A lot of people talk about the Habs having so many injuries and a young current blueline but there is a lot of laziness among the team's veterans. To blame the coach for this would be dumb. NHL players are adults and are able to decide for themselves whether or not to put in an effort. Unfortunately a lot of players on this team just don't show up on most nights.

Alexei Emelin is playing very well lately. He is hitting like a truck and also making some good decisions on the ice. He even saw some power play time and did not look out of place. He had another four hits tonight which is below-average based on his recent numbers.

Rafael Diaz and Frederic St-Denis scored tonight on simple wrist shots that went through screens and Luongo. Pretty simple isn't it? For St-Denis it was his first NHL goal.

Yannick Weber sat out tonight. His confidence has been very fragile since he entered the NHL. When he gets a regular role he does well but as soon as things shift around and his role is reduce his confidence is lost. Diaz appears to be stronger mentally which is showing in each player's respective play right now. Diaz has seen his ice time go up and down and has played admirably for the most part. With Campoli and Spacek returning soon and Markov eventually returning, look for Weber and his one-way contract to be waived or traded.

Lars Eller played alright but took a really dumb penalty that resulted in the game-tying goal.

[Killer67]

#DaysIHateBeingAHabsFan = Today...

[ericdaoust]

#DaysIHateBeingAHabsFan = Today...

On the flip side, one of the items on the CBA todo list is to address ways for teams to get out of bad contracts. I still think the onus is on management figures to not dish out stupid money... or trade a top prospect for an underachieving player previously signed to stupid money.

[ross10019]

A few tweets regarding Markov, not sure if Chesnokov's mention of 3 weeks / 1 month would be in ADDITION to the 4-6 week recovery time that we heard before:

dchesnokov Dmitry Chesnokov
#Habs Markov's physician and friend Konov tells @plysenkov Markov will need at least 3 weeks to rehab + a month to get into shape.

ArponBasu Arpon Basu
Dr. Mulder, #Habs team physician, when asked recently about Markov referenced Tom Brady's ordeal with his knee. Brady came out of it alright

[ericdaoust]

A few tweets regarding Markov, not sure if Chesnokov's mention of 3 weeks / 1 month would be in ADDITION to the 4-6 week recovery time that we heard before:

dchesnokov Dmitry Chesnokov
#Habs Markov's physician and friend Konov tells @plysenkov Markov will need at least 3 weeks to rehab + a month to get into shape.

ArponBasu Arpon Basu
Dr. Mulder, #Habs team physician, when asked recently about Markov referenced Tom Brady's ordeal with his knee. Brady came out of it alright

Tom Brady is just a whole different level of awesome. Markov needs his legs to turn on the ice which is my biggest concern. Again, what a disaster!

[ericdaoust]

http://www.hockeyinsideout.com/news/...kaberle-report

Habs acquire Tomas Kaberle for Jaroslav Spacek. We know what Kaberle does but his acquisition raises far more questions than it answers.

1) What does this mean for Andrei Markov? Will he ever return? We know the team/player have not been 100% honest throughout his rehab so is there more at play here once again?

2) The Habs have Subban, Gorges, Kaberle, Gill, Diaz and Emelin as regulars. Yannick Weber sat out last game. Frederic St-Denis played yesterday but has a two-way deal so he will likely go back to Hamilton. But that leaves Campoli and Markov as dangling players if/when they get healthy. What gives here?

3) Will this be another bad contract that kills the team for the foreseeable future?

4) Is Gauthier just throwing a bunch of crap at the wall hoping that something sticks?

I will chime in with more thoughts tonight when I'm home from work. This is just what I'm thinking right now. Lots of uncertainty in Hab-land. What are your thoughts?

[habs83]

Well...that's a surprising move that came out of left field.

My first few reactions:

1) It should help the PP ... now. Kaberle has many flaws in his game, but he know how to QB a PP.

2)What it means is that when (and that moment is unknown) Markov is healthy enough to play, Montreal top 6 on D will be Gorges-Subban-Markov-Kaberle-Gill-Diaz/Emelin/Campoli/Weber. Is it just me or this really isn't bad at all. For me, it's a close call between Diaz and Emelin for the sixth spot, but with the addition of Kaberle, a guy like Emelin would be more appropriate. Diaz as the 7th, Weber and Campoli traded or waived. But because of all the injuries, there will be ample time to evaluate the options.

3)I don't like the contract of Kaberle, given how he played last season in the playoffs for the Bruins and early this season. But hey, it will be another contract that will expire in three seasons, which does not influence our analysis that we made in the last couple of posts. But what this contract does, is limit the amount available to sign Price and Subban at end of the season. The value of Spacek lied in the fact that he was gone at the end of the season. Now, there is 4.25M tied to a D that was once a stud PPQB, but is getting older.

Not much structure in what I just wrote, hope it makes a little sense.

[ericdaoust]

I really believe that Gomez is being bought out. That, combined with the cap rising (it does every year) should give the team enough cap to re-sign their players while giving no room to do anything else.

[habs83]

I really believe that Gomez is being bought out. That, combined with the cap rising (it does every year) should give the team enough cap to re-sign their players while giving no room to do anything else.

I main hope is that something in the next CBA allows the teams to buy contracts without penalties, like in the previous one... I am not a fan of having a 3,5M and 4,5M cap hit over the next two seasons for a ghost, which will happen if the Habs buy him out at the end of the season. I would rather bury him in the minors.

You know what... I just re-read what I just wrote, and I changed my stance. Free that 3-4M per season, and sign everybody you need to. BUY HIM OUT.

[ericdaoust]

Now that I've had more time to think about the Kaberle situation...

The team is better today than it was yesterday. That is a given. He moves the puck well which should help the forwards be in better scoring situations. Despite his lack of shooting over the years, he brings some assets that will help the power play. The Habs have had trouble with the basics this year. They have trouble getting the puck in the zone to set up for a scoring chance. Often times careless blind passes are fired in any direction which results in a turnover and a clearing of the puck by the opposition. Kaberle has the ability to handle the puck himself or make a more intelligent pass to help the team gain the opponent's blue line. In that regard, Kaberle is a net gain over what the Habs have at the moment.

What worries me is the sudden clutter of defencemen on the roster and on IR. Clearly this is a precursor to something else happening - either a trade or some demotions. I think Yannick Weber's days with the Habs are numbered. I would hate to see Diaz sent to Hamilton but it might be inevitable unless the team waives or trades Campoli too. Equally concerning is the length of the contract. This isn't just a gamble on a rental player. This is a three-year commitment made to an underachieving player when the team already has its fair share of underachieving overpaid players. If not for the quality of young players in the system the team would be on par with the Calgary Flames at this point.

From Pierre Gauthier's point of view I compare the trade to a politician in his final year before elections trying to sway voters. He will over-spend desperately trying to sway voters. If it works, then he gets re-elected and he gets to enjoy the perks of his position for one more term. If he fails, then it is of no difference to him because the consequences will fall on the successor.

What I mean is that I think Gauthier is feeling the pressure. If the team continues the downward trend he will lose his job so he took action. The Kaberle trade is meant to save this season. Beyond this season, well, he'll cross that bridge when he gets there. Or maybe it will be another GM that will have to cross that bridge...

[ddp]

Yes you are correct sir. Trying to save his job. I just don't understand why they don't see everything we all see. *what cause they are professionals and are where they are and we are where we are for a reason!? Thats crazy. Gauthier and Gainey screwed the pooch. GOmez, Spacek, Markov, Gionta, Cammalleri, Cole, Campoli and now kaberle are all ridiculous contracts. Is it true thats what we have to pay to land players to come here? Christ. 5 mill for Gionta to score less than 50pts, 7 mill for gomez to have less than 40pts...on and on and on...

I won't get started on David Fisher over Giroux or Chouinard over Simon Gange when they were on the same line! (General habs Failure year after year in the scout department) Andrei Kostizin? BAH!