Do you like revisionist history?

There's a disease currently ravaging the Canadiens media base and it's acute revisionist history. Today's feature is Daniel Brière, since word got out that he was all pouty and the Habs were looking to move him. For a prime example of ARH (which is one letter removed of the perfect acronym of ARGH), check out Eric Engels who has twittered a many tweets on the woes of the first to get an accent on his jersey.

Spiel #1: Brière not given a chance

Ah yes. Previously known as the Rise and Fall of Guillaume Latendresse. Yup. Because wasting his time skating around no man's land while Plekanec and Gionta furiously attempt to create hockey things only to pass the puck to him and the play dies a horrible death was not giving the prize Francoshrimp a chance. Or the time Eller's line got further split up because having Brière with Plekanec and Gionta ended up being terrible in terms of Brière not being able to help those guys play those defensive roles they're currently up to. I remember the glorious play of Lars Eller skating full stride down the ice with purpose and the puck, making the Florida Panthers look like pylons and just as he reaches their blue line, in comes Brière, cutting across him for no reason, kicking the puck lose from Eller's stick causing a turnover ELLER GOT BLAMED FOR BY MOST BLIND MEDIOTS and forcing Eller to work his ass off to get back to his zone, recover the puck and try again. That was also the game with the extended powerplay where Brière got a chance to do something while Eller's ass was glued to the bench. How did Brière do on that powerplay? He had his stick up around by his waist, the puck came by him, he looked confused, dazed, and watched as the powerplay dwindled to 0 and the game was lost. He was on a line with Pacioretty and Desharnais and spent most of it lost in space. He was put with Gallagher, against lost in space. The problem is you can't have the small guys together too much anyway, especially if one doesn't give a fuck.

My 5lbs Chiweenie has more intensity than this so-called hockey player. And he doesn't even like hockey. (He prefers football).

Spiel #2: Treated like a rookie

Ask Lars Eller off the record how he really feels then get back to me about "being treated like a rookie". You get what you deserve to get, unless of course you're Eller who in FINE Danish fashion will never waiver nor sigh but will find something to do on the ice to contribute, be it a huge hit or a great backcheck or a shootout goal. Brière shrugs and says "well I don't want to peak too early now, gotta be ready for the playoffs". WE HAVE TO GET THERE FIRST ASSHAT. Would you send Brière out in the shootout over Eller? Nope. I'd send Carey Price in the shootout over Brière right now, considering the last time he had a shootout attempt, he looked like it was his first attempt ever and he was scared shitless. This is the guy who used to swing in on the wing and go top-corner all the fucking time! And if you look 100-times more disinterested in a shootout with NO ONE ON THE ICE TO DEFEND AGAINST YOU than you do in game, you have a problem.

Spiel #3: Other vets get plenty of slack

Other vets WHO ARE CONTRIBUTING TO THE TEAM are getting plenty of slack. Gionta's sucking wind these days but he's at the very least hustling in a defensive role and can miraculous pot the rare goal here and there. You put Brière in that role and he'll turn his nose up at it. Bourque gets more slack than fucking Galchenyuk and that's wrong but at the present, Bourque should get more slack than Brière because he actually looks a smidgen more interested in putting the puck in the net than Brière. Hell Brière doesn't even look interested when he's sitting in the box sweating out another one of his dumb penalties. Why should he get any slack? He's been given enough. At the very least Desharnais miraculous freed himself from his own noose.

Spiel #4: Respect

I guess it goes with Spiel #2. They've given Brère so much rope he could string us a new Champlain Bridge. The problem people seem to be missing is this: do you sacrifice 2pts in a tight race to the playoffs hoping this local twat gets his ass going or do you say "sorry bud, I have no time to waste". It's bad enough they fucked Eller around, but like I said before, when he's not scoring he's got other roles to fill. If I'm Therrien I look at my line up and I say "nope, I have no more room to putz around." Either do, or do not. Because frankly there is no try with this guy. They gave him the places to try and he sauntered around like he was on vacation. He'd be healthy scratch in the fucking Swiss League the way he's playing. When you're a Black Hole to hockey plays, the team doesn't have the time to wait for YOU to MAYBE do something anymore.

---

I didn't like this signing. I never liked this player. I'm sick of the "Go French" crap. As the wise Ken Dryden once said, you want to win or be French? Right now, he's not giving us anything to help the team win but giving them plenty of hole to lose with. He's not even giving us anything to make us like him or want more. So why then are we basically being assaulted by every volley of the "just give him a chaaaaaance" media garbage? The worst thing is some of the fans are actually falling for this crap! Mistake city. Eat it. Go back to Buffalo for the nostalgia. There's no room on this team for you, and Louis Leblanc is more useful to us than you.

Trade the guy for a flipping pick already. The torch burnt out long before it was ever lit.

A tale of two losers

I'm sure you've heard the hockey game that got in the way of the fight down in Philadelphia?

In my half-assed playoff preview, I had hoped the Pens and Flyers would just destroy each other. Well, surprisingly, the Flyers are doing it by playing actual hockey! Shocking! I know! However they're driving the Penguins completely mad in the process. And you know what? It's fantastic. That spoiled little brat of a team is falling apart at the seams, rolling on the ground kicking and screaming that mommy won't get him some wins. Or that Fleury is sucking more than Bryz, which is hilarious.

Basically, they're melting down more than the Habs in a third period. Only without CaKa for defence. However, they're not just being awful but losing every bit of dignity they had.

I don't care if Sidney Crosby flicked away a Voracek's glove. I do care that he's going around starting shit, knowing full well no one will DARE touch his head. The fight he had with Giroux was more of an intense hugging match. Even Scott Hartnell didn't dare punch him one. I have to commend the Flyers for their restraint because I'm sure they'd love to smack him good. And how douchey do you have to be to make the Flyers look like fucking saints?

Bottom line is the Flyers are playing great hockey, and Bylsma is getting out-coached. Again. While his key players are too busy being morons on the ice (hi Neal).

Of course the refs could help by throwing people out EARLIER. (Hi Neal, again).

Hop over across the continent to the Canucks-Kings series. The President's Trophy winner is down 3-0, much like the Pens. However they haven't lost their minds. Sure, we've had a few scuffles, but they were purely emotional outbursts during play. I hate fighting after clean hits, and Dustin Brown's hit on Sedin (the remaining one) was clean and hard. I understand the response as well, considering they're already down a twin. And not soon after, Brown was sent cartwheeling on a great hit (which he admirably sprung right back up and went back to business after). The Canucks are playing like a team completely deflated and at a loss, they're not playing very smart and aren't matching up very well, while probably wishing they had Cody Hodgson around at the moment instead of Zach Kassian.

The Canucks are equally frustrated to be losing. But instead of busting out the petulant child in a full donnybrook, they're continuing to skate and chip and try. Sucks to be them that Jonathan Quick owns their souls. Not much you can do when you face a hot goalie. But did you see that shift by Henrik Sedin? Or the relentless forechecking? They threw everything including the kitchen sink and the soap but came up empty.

Will the Canucks go down that dark path the Pens fell face first on to? The series is still young, and the League has fed this appetite for roidless roidrage. (Or we assume it's roidless). I guess it all depends if Shanahan has the balls to suspend Neal for what he did. He dropped the ball with Shea Weber and now the Penguins pushed him into a dark corner. However what the Pens are doing, the NHL created, and the officiating has taken a step back to allow on-ice assault. And now we're being told the ratings are high! That people are liking this? I'm sorry, no. We're here for the hockey. Hockey fights? They're fine. Hard hits? They're great. But the bullshit crap like crosschecking a kid high, flying elbows, or pounding a guy when he's already down? No, we're not watching for that. And why were we still watching the Pens-Flyers game? Well other than because it's hockey and nothing else was on, much like gawking an accident, you just couldn't look away. All we can do is hope the League has enough sense to make this crap stop instead of this fake caring about player safety.

I half expect these two teams to win their next game, but it wouldn't shock me to see either of them swept. If the Penguins could lose with dignity, it might be do them a world of good. Then again, there might be no one left on the team to douche it up. Maybe.

Are you tough enough?

Le sigh...

Once again I choked on the snide remarks of a local radio host on the official home of the Canadiens about toughness and the Habs supposed lack of. It was in response to what Chicago "did" by signing idiots like Carcillo because they felt they were pushed around by the Canucks in the playoffs. After all, Pierre McGuire convincingly said it was the truth so it must be so! Never mind how drained Keith was, how concussed Seabrook was, how injured Sharp was, how much of a hole Bolland left, how strangely invisible Kane was, and how inept Campoli was. No no they were pushed around! Manhandled! Who knew you couldn't win a series with just Toews and Crawford as your only capable players. Who knew gutting the team of important members from their Cup run would bring about such an outcome. No! It was the reckless, should-have-been-suspended actions of Raffi Torres. Yes that's right! One man!

Gimme a break.

Sure, I'll agree having Montador on their D will definitely help more than having Campoli out there in OT... And Mayers is ok but not a game changer. But Carcillo? Is he there to keep John Scott company? A goon that spends more time taking stupid penalties and not playing in the playoffs is toughness? Exactly what did John Scott prove when he was finally put back in the lineup other than his slow footspeed?

You wanna know what toughness is?

Travis Moen took a skate to the face and needed over 50 stitches. He nary missed a game. Josh Gorges blocked a rocket of a shot with the back of his head where the puck left an imprint in his helmet. He was the first one out on practice the next day as if nothing happened. Tomas Plekanec is at war with Dion Phaneuf and has landed the neanderthal on his ass more times than Phaneuf ever tossed him into the boards. Of course the greatest maneuver Plekanec has on Phaneuf is his ability to blow right past him. I would also like to bring to your attention the many hooks, holds, and high sticks he fights through where instead of spending his time flailing (like a Canuck) he continues on. He wears those feet protectors to protect against players slashing him on faceoffs. Would you dare question Mike Cammalleri's competitive drive? How about looking Brian Gionta in the eye and tell him that because he's small he's soft? Just try it.

Toughness is Lars Eller popping his shoulder back into place as he's taking a faceoff, regardless of the fact that he's Danish. Apparently being Danish is something Glenn Healy claimed was more adept in a coffee shop.

Toughness is PK Subban's smile in the face of irrational hate and false accusations as he scores a clutch goal or knocks an "untouchable" superstar on his backside.

Toughness is Carey Price cowboy-ing up.

Toughness is Yannick Weber textbook-checking Milan Lucic into the boards and skating away with the puck. It's David Desharnais having guys bounce off his little robust frame and giving them the stink eye. It's Ryan White giving the thumbs up in the penalty box. It's Mathieu Darche's heart of gold.

Toughness is Max Pacioretty stepping back onto the ice this October.

Toughness isn't just physical. Toughness is standing up for an identity that says skill, intelligence, and the will to compete is how the game should be played. It's not rock'em sock'em. It's not Slap Shot. It's not Don Cherry. Toughness is skill. Toughness is grit. Toughness is the ability to compete with the guys next to you.

I for one commend the Habs for their identity. But to this radio host it apparently means I'm naive, just like the team.

Funny thing, though. I seem to remember in that season the Canadiens showed the Presidents Trophy Canucks that there's more to the NHL than just playing the Oilers every week...

My 15 lines of fame

This afternoon I was listening to Randy Tieman on the Team990 while at work, like I sometimes do. Today I caught my nemesis, Brian Wilde (known as Mr. Tennis by my brother which says it all as far as his hockey smarts go considering how long he's covered the team), talking for maybe 40 minutes about the Habs. Aaaand of course, like ALWAYS, the conversation turned to Carey Price. He openly congratulated the CTV cameraman for setting up his camera on Price in practice for the whole time during that retarded 2-on-0 drill catching the frustration and the stick breaking. He mentioned how he'd be happier if Price had a better practice work ethic (which is contradictory to reports on how he's got a stellar practice work ethic this season). He was talking about Halak's amazing numbers and on the side mentioning Price's own amazing numbers considering the competition he faces behind a porous defence and how they'd both be in the higher echelon of the 900s if they were on actual good teams. (Cough, Fleury's at .909 and his backup is at .913 if you were curious). So I decided to try an experiment. Granted I was at work, in a rush, and he got to my email before I was wisked away to a long meeting... In any case, the way Randy edited my email pretty much confirmed slightly what I figured: That the city's media has an agenda to drag Carey Price down and feed the brainless population that laps up their drivel.

Good practices do not necessarily mean good play. How many times have we seen this team go through solid practice play only to come out like a pack of zombies? How many times do the players rip at their goalies, nearly taking their heads off in practice, yet act like they're afraid to even will the puck towards the net in a real game? As the kid was standing on his head yet losing games while making 40 to 50 saves or being eaten alive by backdoor plays (like that Atlanta game), how much fun is it to be behind a team that acts like it couldn't bother to put up more than one goal? If the 2-on-0 drills were to bring them confidence, it sure didn't show in the next game. And if you stick a camera on a guy long enough, then for sure you'll find something.

As to the Halak/Price thing, no one seems to talk about the rebound control and how it affects the shot total in that almost every shot on net for Halak gives a player at least 5 chances whereas with Price, you get maybe one more chance if you're lucky...

Practice is a touchy subject, and Randy brought up something about baseball, which ain't hockey... The late, great Terry Sawchuck was noted as horrible in practice, but for some guys, practice is just there. However, when they step onto the main stage, it's like a switch goes on. Ever watch Kovy in practice? Most of the time he's at center-ice stickhandling around someone while the team does stuff but he does drills when called upon, however if you had the camera on him all day and wanted to prove a point on a lazy attitude he might have, which clip would you show if you filmed practice? Whether he does well in practice or not is moot, that excercise wasn't exactly set up for his benefit. And frankly when the team was in a slump earlier last season, Price would soften up his goaltending in practice to try and help his teammates gain some confidence, earning him a pad-slap of thanks from Coach Carbo on one occassion. He even mentioned how he tried to help his buddy Gorges score by giving him something to shoot at.

Anyway, Randy ignored what I was alluding to with the camera, but I didn't expect him to read out the whole email anyway. What I was alluding to was that I wonder how Halak was handling those 2-on-0 drills. I'd like to see that tape. Judging by how much trouble he has in breakaways/penalty shots I don't think he did much better if he even was part of that drill (could have been off with Pierre Groulx doing some other stuff). What the CTV cameraman captured was a tiny, one sided, snapshot on a bad day just so these guys could come on air and go "eh eh see see he's throwing a fit, he's frustrated, look at how crappy he is". And honestly, if I had a dollar for every stick Price has snapped in practice I'd be fucking rich.

He also ignored my observations on the rebounds, but hey, you can't mention that because that might get some people thinking. While the Habs were running around on the PK, I even got my dad to notice this annoying problem of Jaro's in that he has a hard time freezing the puck because of his rebounds, and he knows absolutely nothing about hockey (case in point my brother and I were passed out in front of the TV with the 67s vs Oshawa on and he thought they were the Sens winning yet another game). Because you just can't criticize anyone except nitpick Price. You can't mention the defence allowed those "crappy" teams to win those games. You can't mention how much Halak inflates the shot total by being made of rubber. You can barely mention that the team couldn't be bothered to score more than 1 goal (if he's lucky) or take advantage of weak goalies or act like they'd rather just stand around for 60 minutes. Only Pierre McGuire mentions the passive aggressive play of the team, but even he will throw his two cents out like the Harvey Two-Face that he is. As my twitter buddy Kyle mentions: "So when Marc-Andre Fleury is joking w/teammates, McGuire says he's unflappable. When Carey Price jokes, his "care level is zero". Explain?"

(On a side note, I'd like to take this time to yell at McGuire because I couldn't before... WE ARE NOT PISSED OFF AT TONY MARINARO BECAUSE HE REPORTED THE PRICE/MARKOV SPAT! WE ARE PISSED BECAUSE HE OPENLY SPECULATED HIS OWN OPINION AS FACT THAT THERE IS A RIFT IN THE ROOM, THAT THE PLAYERS ARE DIVIDED, AND THAT THE TEAM IS FALLING APART AND SOMEHOW PRICE IS THE CAUSE OF IT ALL WHEN HE ISN'T YOU MONUMENTAL JACKASS! There, I feel better now).

The only competent players on this team are the goaltenders. But why can't we be satisfied with having two different, but equally good young goalies who have a very tiny injury history (mostly play injury rather than wear and tear like some young tenders)? And why does this town have some vendetta on the youngest of the two? Is it because his only failure was not winning a Cup in his rookie year, ignoring the fact the number 1 powerplay in the East couldn't even be bothered to try and score on a lengthy 5-on-3 that would have turned that Philly series around? What no one realizes is that if you trade one of them, what was once a "richness" in goal suddenly becomes a questionmark as no one understands that after Price and Halak, there is no one NHL ready (and Desjardins is a long stretch). I bet these same people are bitching about how the Habs let Vokoun go for nothing eons ago when in reality it took him 15 years to finally play his position properly. But as Gainey said, be careful what you wish for...and thank god that Lecavalier trade fell through.

However, when you guys do run the kid out of town, may you all enjoy two more decades of "mediocrity".

Soapbox: And now a word from our sponsors

When was the last time the Habs had almost a week of me-time between games? I think it was some time last season... All this means is I get to hear more bitching and whining, speculations, and idiocy! Yay!

Thankfully Montreal gets a radio station from Burlington, Vermont. Escapism, thy name is rock alternative.

Are you a douchebag or do you just play one on tv?
I'm not too sure I understand the logic behind game star selections by our local media anymore. Earlier this week in a 1-0 loss, Carey Price stopped 29 shots and kept his team in a game against the number 1 team in the division. Star selection was Pouliot for his -1 and forgetting to back check on the lone goal, Tyler Myers for being tall, and Miller naturally. In a similar turn, the slumping Panthers rolled into town to give Jaro a 1-0 shutout with the game star selection going to Pouliot again (with good reason, as he scored the only goal), Vokoun who kept his team in the game while flopping around, and Jaro of course. Does this logic seem a little flawed? In both games both the winning team's goalie and losing team's goalie face the same amount of shots (30 for the Sabres game, 38 for the Panthers game) yet they snubbed the losing goalie against a top team but give the losing goalie of a weaker team that second star? And by that brownie point logic for Myers, why not give Plekanec the #2 star for his yeoman work on the penalty kill?

Even Red Fisher was wondering what was up with that.

Are you a douchebag or do you just play one on the radio?
On the same subject of goaltending, I'm really tired of Team990's team of whiners bitching about Price's emotions. Sometimes he says he wishes the kid would show more emotion. Other times he says he's fed up every time he sees Price raise his hands after a goal. I don't know if he has ever noticed, but EVERY goalie in the NHL when they let in a goal they were screened on by their teammates raise their hands in a "if you're going to block me, block it, otherwise get out of my way" manner. Price is pretty reserved compared to most goalies really. Though we've seen him smash post even after he makes a save (it's a sign to his teammates to get their ass in gear after he's stopped the 5th breakaway on the night). It's the right kind of emotion. It's telling everyone that he's here to compete, what are you doing? Unfortunately, he tends to take it out on himself by punching a wall or snaping a goalie stick in two (which should strike fear into anyone, really, considering those are pretty solid sticks). Though everything is back to normal the day after. However, would you guys rather Price does like Vokoun or Turco and call out his teammates to the media? Let's face it, in that Washington game, ending the night with .930 save percentage behind a team that did fuck all against a weak goalie blowing a prime chance to take it to an over .500 team, Hal Gill was directly responsible for those two first goals. Bad luck off the skate is annoying, but backing up into your goalie's face is unacceptable. And since Jacques Martin doesn't seem to say anything during games except mutter cuss words under his breath for every penalty assessed, who else on the ice is going to tell them to wake up?

At least he has a pulse! Too bad the majority of you don't seem to realize how much he cares about playing and winning games, and are drooling about trading him and ruining everything.

And on the subject of radio, Joel Bouchard is one grim reaper to wake up to every morning when he calls in to CHOM (the only station my shitty clock radio picks up properly unless there's a shift in the wind). No wonder the Juniors are having a tough time this year? I'd be pretty depressed listening to this guy coach every day would probably ruin my confidence too. Well, coupled with his dull insight, this morning his thought on the Devils game was that the Habs should have won it and it was probably a point that evened out from a previous game Jaro or Price stole to no points. I don't know about you, Joel, but a previous stolen game where there were no points in the end, do not come back to you later rather they come back to haunt you. It's the old "should have could have" thing. The game against Calgary they should have won and could have won as the team play great that night but Jaro was letting everything in. Every game a defenceman has kicked a puck in their own net that ended up costing them big time in the end (Colorado, Chicago, Washington, etc). How about that game where Price faced 55 shots? Oh yea, that was a 2-0 loss. How about the Pens game Chris Lee stole away, or the Ottawa game Kerry Frasher put his hair on? How about the list of games the team didn't show up in where they looked content in letting their goalies just do everything? If one or more of those game had brought the Habs an extra point in each, they would be higher in the standings, Joel.

While I've got your attention...
...stop trying to trade everyone.

Keith Ballard is evil
He chopped his goalie in the head. He ran into his former goalie and injured him for a bit. He now injured Senators' Jesse Winchester (who ran into him, actually) adding more pain to their hurt. And we learned this weekend that his low hit on AK46 sent our Big Brother to surgery for knee ligaments. On the shelf for four to six weeks. Probably won't go to the Olympics. Team Belarus will only have one Kostitsyn now. And poor Andrei... it seems every time he heats up this season, someone hurts him. Though this would be a nice time to give Brock Trotter a little taste of the NHL, Bob. He's only the highest scorer in Hamilton, and came off a hat trick last night. Considering Pleky and Cammy have fallen into a funk without their Belamullet, it wouldn't hurt to try. Just saying.

We wish you could stay
I know they're off for four days and it's probably better for White to head back down, save some pocket change, and get some playing time...but can we please keep him up here? No one brings the energy like that rosy-cheeked forechecking cherub. That fourth line actually has some use, and he does more in 6 minutes than BGL does sucking air off the bench. Plus he kills penalties.

GAME!
This Thursday I'm going to see our Habs fend off the Dallas Stars! I'm hoping they don't come out flat after the four day layoff. I'm also hoping Turco and Price will play... And I don't wanna see Alex Auld. He doesn't have golden goalie pads.

I'm sick of seeing nothing but football on my TV. Go away, football!

Soapbox: 9-11! Calling all twats!

So the hallmarked 20 games hath passed and the torches are lit. It's getting a little pitchforky by old yonder Bell Center. The natives are restless and the media has gone batshit insane. Well, more than usual. The lackluster effort in Nashville didn't help. How does one explain it all? Well, how about some True or False!

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Statement: The Habs have no prospects that are any good and the future is teh suck because all our forwards are checkers.

FALSE!
Before running off the Jacques Cartier Bridge (after climbing the suicide fence) with a sign pinned to your shoes that says you just can't take anymore and can't take anything coming, do yourself a favour and go watch a Bulldogs game or two. Then take a gander at the prospects in the pipe who are plying their trade in various schools across the USA. Guy Boucher is doing a fine job teaching these young greenhorns the finer points of pro-hockey while yelling his head off at the shitty AHL refs. Never under estimate the mighty mite of Brrrrock Trotter. PK Subban leapfrogged Yannick Weber, I'm very serious about that. And one of these days Andrew Conboy will storm onto the ice in bleu-blanc-rouge, a giant. I knew Vincent Lecavalier in high school and watched him play for the school team, but I'm confident to say Louis Leblanc shows more promise now than what he showed us then. Also can you not say this young scorer wasn't born to play in the Saint Flanelle?

They say hindsight is 20/20.

And I don't care who was picked after Andrei Kostitsyn. Who's to say those players would be the same they are today? And stop talking about Kopitar. Carey Price was the need and the right choice.

Statement: Mob mentality works in riots, also in newspapers!

TRUE!
All the "Fire Gainey! Fire Timmins! Fire the anthem singer!" are getting a bit rediculous. In a city that never allows a team to accept the high draft pick without pure luck (Carey Price) and where it's all some rediculous rhetoric of "Stanley Cup or Nothing!" which was pretty valid when there were 6 teams running about for the year, it's time to wake up and smell the parity of the new bollocks NHL. Yes, the one where hockey dead zones get all the naturally good players and where the hockey hot zones have to fight over the scraps they hope develop into good players. (See above). If it's not Sergei vs Coach Martin, it's the Halak vs Price, or Guimauve getting endless RDS praise while Andrei gets laughed at when he's checked into the boards. Anyone wonder why Sergei is banished to Hamiltonia while Gui gets the sleepy sleepy wakey wakey get your ass to the rink and play treatement? But what does Price have to do to get any respect from the twat Jack Todd? (And a couple of the Gazette writers actually, you know, the crabby ones). Snarky, even after 53 saves in a solo effort. You know, I'm cool with fans being all "the Mighty Halak, he's so abused by this team" 'cause they're fans, they're allowed to be marginally idiotic (or fully) regardless how annoying it is... But a guy in print in a local newspaper talking about the local team and constantly spews nothing but bile in their general direction? Yup, my dad knows him. He's an ass in person.

Yes, Jack Todd was wondering why Price was even playing in Phoenix, let alone Nashville. I could just stand on a building and say "Hey Todd, FUCK YOU~!" but that would disturb my good neighbors.

I don't read the French rags, but I know what they say. It's not much different, only laced with more Chez Nous.

Before you think about running the current stock of players, prospects, and staff out of town, think of the alternative. You could get Pierre McSplooge as a GM. (Vomit. Gag). Or Serge Savard will come in and trade Price for Owen Nolen and send Markov out like he did Chelios, because you know he'll never play for very long!

Statement: Injuries, to key players, can dent a season. Deal with it.

True!
Take away your number 1 defenceman, a promising young giant defenceman looking to rebound and was, remove the sparkplug hardworking journeyman for a few games, allow many others play with their injuries (hey it's up to them), and then finally lose your number 1 forward that stunts the line to merely Mexican Squid...sprinkle in a forward masquerading as a defenceman who causes more goals against than goals for, add bangers who won't bang and scorers who won't score... Yes, it will be tough. Yes, other teams have significant injuries. Yes this fucking marathon Olympic season is a recipe for disaster. All we can do is hope they work through it. Coach Martin, the ball is in your court.

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Batten down the hatches. The Whalercanes are in town, hot off their shootout win because Jussi Jokinen is the shootout king. But if you, my Habs, make Leighton look like the second coming of the Goalie God, then LET'S GO TAYLOR HALL. Manny Legace is no better! All I ask is I come home from a delicious sushi dinner (mmm...sushi pizza...I'll have 4 please) to a better effort than Nashville, OK?

Soapbox: It's getting kind of personal...

A blaring headline on my twitter screen reads "NHL wants Balsillie out of mix for Coyotes". As curiosity compelled me to click it, the subtitle of the article made me laugh extremely out loud (good thing I live alone). The subtitle proclaims "Team owners conclude Canadian billionaire would be untrustworthy".

Heh.

Now the summer soap opera of the Coyotes has brought as much amusement to me as Dany Heatley's ongoing soap opera, but the previous comments of Daly, Bettman, and now the BOG have totally jumped ship to the Comedy Network. Apparently the perfect character to buy a struggling team needs to be like the ever honest fraudsters that have recently plagued the League and currently find themselves residence in jail. I'll even take a stab at our dear George Gillett, who for all intents and purposes didn't really want to sell but ended up going for the money 'cause that pricetag sure was delicious enough even though I can see him getting more out of a Saudi prince for his soccer team... (And sorry George, but I hear the football league is going to be in heaps of problems some day soon thanks to overspending and underfunding, but hey, the Molsons say "hi").

Declarations topping this motion in the Anti-Bals charge this time is noted greedster Jeremy Jacobs, owner of the Bruins, and Craig Leipold, ex-Preds current-Wild owner, on the fact that Balsy would be untrustworthy despite the fact they approved him as an owner 3-times before fucking around with him. Also Leipold should know that Balsillie was so untrusting that William "Boots" Del Biaggio III got a higher nod over him...with intention to move that franchise anyway to Kansas City later, but that's fine 'cause Bettman would OK that one...you know 'cause it's not a hockey market but makes the NHL look big. Some notion that "bigger means it's good" or something. Whatever. (Also gotta laugh at the BOG snub nosing Balsillie's mock-season tickets drive, when Kansas City itself was peddling luxury boxes, but it's supposedly not considered the same thing).

Of course with the Pens, Bals wanted to move that deadbeat team (at the time) to Canada too, so that's why he was shuffled out on it. But it also took Lemieux to blackmail the city with a move to Kansas City if their new building wasn't built. Hey, Kansas City seems super popular! And it isn't even really in Kansas! (It's Missouri, which sounds like misery, and yes I know about the minor minor leagues there, but I also know many of them are folding because no one cares to see them).

Difference is, Pensburgh is a fairly viable hockey market. I mean, at least they get SNOW and don't have golf as their major selling point. And after being horrible for so long, now live off the easiest choices of drafting and a Stanley Cup for their troubles. Preds? Eh. When they have to explain to you what icing is on the jumbotron time after time, I start questioning. And while Garth Brooks is a fairly big hockey fan, he wouldn't even buy the team either... But the Coyotes don't have a bad set of players either. Despite that, they still can't sell tickets until the Habs or the Flames roll into town.

And your theory about "who would care about a Rangers vs Hamilton/Waterloo game" is moot because no one gives a damn about a Rangers vs Phoenix game either.

Plain and simple: no one gives a damn down there. Sure there are fans of the team, but most of the people in town would rather just head over to the Cardinals across the street (if they do even that). And no one gives a damn elsewhere. Like the Panthers--and I know Panthers fans--there are fans of the team, but they are so far and few that while the team was a step away from making the playoffs the NFL still took the centerpiece of the papers. Not that they paid them much attention anyway. Hell, hockey below the Mason Dixon line is moot in newspapers, as a first hand experience during the playoffs while vacationing in Washington/South Carolina. (I barely found a team shirt and when I did it was just Ovie and Semin...oh and the store was very very empty). And I pity the fool that has to deal with the local broadcasting of Lightning games (cringe). Makes you wonder if anyone can stay a fan of teams via these outlets when they don't even put the effort to said the players' names correctly. Isn't that right, Corey Price?

But you want to get personal, NHL? OK. The NHL started because the team owners were upset at the constant arguings, wranglings and general annoyances by Toronto owner Eddie Livingston. If the BOG had any balls of their own like they did in 1917 and got fed up with Bettman's constant arguings, question dodging, nose up in the air, Napoleon attitude and Daly's ass-licking followings, could they maybe do the same? In particular, say, the Canadian teams tired of paying for their failed "brothers" when lord knows that money would never go the other way should a local franchise need some cash, break the League and create their own? Call it the Canadian National Hockey League. After all, we wouldn't have problems selling tickets or TV time up here to our audience, and Bals could make his franchise all he wants in both Hamilton AND Waterloo (and Quebecor could make their QC team too boot). Winnie would return. I dare say, a team in the Maritimes. Our league's cashflow would nary miss a beat, nor suffer loss of interest, but I can't see the Rags and the newly rejuvenated Hawks or Bruins happy with sharing their money to feed the struggling franchises in the sun. I can also see many of the teams like Buffalo and the hockey holiday ticket price hikers of Florida suffering way more from lack of Leafs/Habs fans. On the flipside, I do know the Habs and Leafs would be very happy to NOT be sharing their profits to keep Vinny happy in beachland. (Sorry to Habs fans outside Canada though, but there will probably be a way to get Habs games somehow on TV, and if not, there's always the internets. If I can find a way to watch Dallas or Chicago, then anyone can). Eventually, through this scenario, would the Bettman NHL turn into a one-team NHA league like Livingston's?

It's all food for thought. At the same time, it isn't uncommon in the business world to reward failure with a bailout or two, but the NHL isn't the automobile industry. So when the BOG and Bettman and Daly finally get their heads out of their arses perhaps they'll smell the real scent of the manure they've set themselves up with. However, if by September, Jerry Bruckheimer offers a bid on condition to move the team to Las Vegas and he gets the OK to do so, then the League has officially nuked the fridge.

The thunder rolls...

Soapbox: My feelings on demographics

Ways the NHL doesn't get it with us female fans:
- Pink jerseys
- Never the proper sizes for t-shirts
- "Gem stone" logos for t-shirts
- Ice girls
- The Capitals Puck Bunny-ish page, Scarlet Caps.

Why do we need to segregate ourselves from the boys? The Canadiens have their funny videos of random questions with the team answering them truthfully or (in Price's case) sarcastically. Every now and then we're presented with a "My Essentials" where a player is telling us which books and movies he likes and thinks we should all read/watch. The iPod lists appear every now and then. Last season they had spotlight interviews where we got the scoop on who was watching CSI until the wee hours of the evening and such. But it's all together on the Canadiens page, not separated.

Then again I hail from the video game industry so I know all about "demographics" where men try to tell me to my face what us females like to see in games (and usually turn around to screw that all up and make it what they like anyway).

I guess I see it differently being born and bred with hockey even though I'm really the only BIG fan in the house. I'm also the only right-handed person in the house but I digress. Even my mom is rather meh to that kind of site. Considering it's from a team in a city that goes ballistic when half an inch of snow touches the ground--and I have personal experience with that (my uncle lives in DC)--I guess they feel they're breaking down barriers and are catering to the wives/girlfriends/sisters of male hockey fans by going crushed velvet with sexy photo snaps. Whatever floats your boat I guess. I'm just glad the Habs don't use Ice Girls...

Soapbox: What I heard on the radio and other tangents

I don't usually listen to Team 990 unless I'm tuning in to a Juniors game, but the radio this morning was absolute crap (I got 3 music stations, and 1 talk radio for traffic) so I pushed that rarely used 4th button to see what was up. Interestingly enough, or maybe not, I happened upon a semi-debate over NHL fighting and what to do with it in the wake of how the NHLPA responded, saying their players voted to NOT have it removed. I wasn't going to talk about it because, frankly, everyone has...but one guy said something that just kind of boggled my mind a bit. His stance on the possible removal of fighting in the NHL was, to him, derived by how it might make for an awkward situation between himself and his little boy should the boy ask him why the players are fighting.

So I'm thinking about this...and I'm absolutely confused.

Do people not know how to talk to their children anymore?

An adult should know how to explain it to their kids if they do happen to ask. Especially an adult who knows the game enough to be on a radio show dealing with the sport. It's the same way an adult should turn off the TV if they don't want their children watching something they feel they shouldn't be watching. All it needs is a simple explanation. If it's a heat of the moment thing, then say so. If it's a setup, then say so. Add in a few things about how you disapprove of it and how you shouldn't copy that, and voila. Your kid shouldn't be off to the local rink ready to punch the next person who checks him. It's not awkward to talk to your kids about it. It would be more awkward to talk to them after the fact, should they replicate what they've seen and gotten themselves in trouble or hurt someone.

I honestly don't know if I've ever heard of a kid asking his dad about the subject, regardless... The kids I see at the Bell Center are the first ones standing and cheering when someone gets into an altercation.

My own dad, however, doesn't get it. Then again, he doesn't really understand hockey either despite watching it for so long. He's more of a tennis guy anyway. His stance on it is "if these guys did this outside the rink, they'd be in jail". I could say the same for the guy swinging his elbows at someone's head...

When I was little, I remember seeing Habs/Nordiques bench clearing brawls. Not once did I go to my dad, or my cousin, or my uncle and ask why the players are fighting. I guess even at a young age I understood that someone did something bad and it just escalated into an all out war. And "war" is how hockey is described sometimes... But it's a very emotional game. People are playing at top speeds, working hard under pressure to win, working to make the home crowd looking down at them happy, working to earn their pay and make their coach keep them on a line. So one thing leads to another and BOOM you might have a tussle or two, a jostle, a push, a shove, and maybe a few punches.

My stance on fighting is I couldn't give a damn, so long as it's in the pro level and doesn't fall into the "stupid" category. Fighting has no business in the league with under-20 children regardless of how big the boys are in the CHL or the Q. Of course, I'm as big a fan of Big Georges Laraque (even before he was a Hab) as I am of Alex Kovalev. I appreciate good, speedy hockey that some fans call "soft", like the Penguins game on Tuesday. But even in those "soft" games, you'll see the pileups. Fighting is the step above roughing. Frankly no-touch hockey is the most boring thing in the world...

Another thing they went on is the misconception of it being soley North American. I'm guessing these guys never saw the Russian players overseas and how they nearly kill each other...?

Do I think the NHL needs to stop fighting? No. I want the league to stop the cheapshot artists who dirty the game with their stupidity. It's rare you'll find a guy dying from a fight, and Don Sanderson was a tragic accident... However, more careers have ended from the hands of repeat offenders in the "dirty player" department. A guy already suspended 5 times for a dirty intentional head hunt shouldn't be in the league anymore. Remove these players, you may have a better game to watch. If the league really cared about players safety like they claim, THIS would be their topic du jour, not fighting.

But like the bad roads in Montreal, it would take a death or two to make some real noise on the real issue. And I think it would be way more awkward to explain to one's son why the NHL allows a player who aims for a vulnerable player's head and knocks him three ways into next week to play, when his roster spot could be given to someone more deserving...

That said, TSN needs to shut up about Sergei vs Grabs. It's getting lame... I'm hoping the twat gets scratched again so Sergei won't get anymore weird made up 10 minute misconducts.

Soapbox: Blah Blah Blah and More Excuses

To quote the biggest Leafs fan ever, Mike Myers, "Ex-squeeze me? Baking powder?" but I'm really sick to death of hearing all the grief Nos Glorieux are getting for their 7-1 wake up call to Toronto. And I'm not just talking about random fans posting on random comment boards. I'm also talking about you, the nation's television station generously paid for mostly by my tax dollars just like everyone else, CBC's Hocky Night In Canada, with your one-sided biased announcers and Don Cherry. Let me show you a comment posted on The Star about last night from Leafs Nation because it basically mirrors the HNIC staff's own perception:

"There was no reason to attempt to run up the score on the Leafs last nite. It was a shameful move to bulk up some aging players stats. Our Leafs will remember this crap & pay-back will come. Cujo halted the Habs futile attempt at this cowardly move that they will regret sooner than later. Give the youngster a break, it's a long season and there are more positives now than the Muskoka 5 had to offer. Enjoy the moment Hab (Contender or Pretender)fans Ha! Ha!"

Firstly, this ain't your grandma's hockey anymore. Every point counts, as does every goal. Goals are used to break ties in the standings. Exhibit A: Look at the standings right now. In two games play, 1 win and 1 overtime loss puts the Habs 1st in the Northeast, 3rd in the East in general. Why? It says so at the bottom: superior point percentage vs fewer games played, greater number of points earned in games, greater difference of goals for and against. Say at the end of the year the team is tied with the evil Flyers for first. No one wants to come up short because they were being "kind" to the Leafs one night.

Secondly, bulking up aging players stats. Look at the age of both teams and you'll find the Habs have exactly the same number of players in their mid-20s or under. Leafs have TWO goalies who are designated veterans in the 30+ category (Cujo is over 40). Habs have TWO goalies of 21 and 23. Funny how these kids are more capable of carrying a team than two veterans. Ever wonder why Huet was traded? Would it matter to the Leafs if they let Pogge play?

Thirdly, this notion of giving the youngsters a break... May I direct your attention to February 19th of the last season in a game against the Rangers. Habs were down 5-0. Habs rallied back to win 6-5 in a shootout. Determination, that's one thing the Habs have always banked on. And on the flipside, look at the game against the Sens in March of that season. Habs were up 7-1 and took a nap in the 3rd period, the struggling Sens scored 4 more goals. Carbonneau said it best, that he was satisfied his troops didn't take the Leafs lightly. They're a young team, give them an inch and they'll go the whole mile. It's a team that almost mirrors ours last season. The underdogs, pegged to finish low in the standings, yet surprised everyone by going fulltilt to 1st in the East and two playoff series. We've been there, we've done that, we know how it works. The difference is more than just goaltenders but the quality of the entire staff involved. I don't believe Wilson has what it takes to reform that ragtag group of players. If he can't make do with what he's got, he's gotta find a way to do it. Lindy Ruff is doing it in Buffalo. Carbo did it last year. We don't have any Ovechkins, Crosbys, Staal brothers. We got hard workers, and a strong group organizing it. The players love it, the city loves it, and the fans love them. What Wilson said in his after-game presser would not have sat well at all here. Finger pointing veterans instead of finger pointing yourself. Neutralize the outcome, not publicly criticize. Then again, public relations was never his forte... (Frankly those veterans he criticized were telling the press exactly why they lost, and did it better than their coach). But he wasn't even half the player Carbo was, so I'll leave it at that. The high of beating Detroit has definitely been grounded by the Tricolore. In fact, Detroit's loss to them is the perfect example of a team taking them lightly. Montreal, however, will not roll over. Habs still have things to prove to the world as well, since many, in particular in Leafs Nation believe the Canadiens were a fluke last year. And that's far from the truth.

Oh and Cherry, Dandy and TK are not members of the so-called Number 1 Power Play Unit. Third period was lock down, the guys were trying things out and having some fun, and Sergei was trying for a hat trick (Sergei is a young player of 20 who came up midway last season by the way, not an old timer bulking stats). Funny though, no one ever said anything like this when Detroit kept the peddal to the medal and beat up the Habs, running Roy out of town...

This is the NHL. There is no pity and no surrender. Habs fans sing Ole Ole Ole even when they're losing (it's a Go Habs Go type cheer). And there are still 80 games left to play, boys.