Eyes On The Prize

Eyes On The Prize....signing off, sorta!

2008-12-04T22:19:00.009-05:00

I'd like to thank the readers responsible for an overwhelming 330,000+ visits in the short two and a half years existence of this site.

As you may have read here one month back, Eyes On The Prize has been picked up by Sports Blog Nation, and all the archived content within has been moved there lock, stock, and barrell. Click on the links to find both sites.

A big thanks to James Mirtle, who courted me - I was beside myself, actually. Another thankful nod to the boys at Four Habs Fans, and Julien from Pension Plan Puppets for getting in James' ear about this site.

The new blog, which will feature the new logo you see above, contains several elements of this old site's design. More will come in time, along with certain pieces I have been featuring here for some time. Oh, and the point of view on the Habs remains intact as well!

The Sports Nation Blog has some interesting additions that will make it a lively place to spend time. Read up on what "Fan Shots", and "Fan Posts" are all about. They are lots of fun, and take in the locker room banter of fan involvement to a great degree.

As for this old place, it will remain alive, but dormant for the time being. My contracts with SBN are annual, so one never knows what the future could hold.

Carbonneau Sets A Soft Tone

2008-11-28T22:58:00.009-05:00

I don't get it! I don't understand why a coach who has just seen his club play its best game of the season two nights earlier frigs with the mentality of his team's fragile psyche by starting his backup goalie in what could have been considered a "gimme game''.

It was repeated over and again and nauseum that the Washington Capitals were missing four starting blueliners and three forwards from their regular roster.

It was a perfect opportunity for coach Carbonneau to infer that you should never take an opponant lightly, start Carey Price as usual, and go for the kill. Keep the flow of momentum building from a strong team win.

But no...what does he do, he lowers the entire guard of the team by playing Jaroslav Halak instead, thus informing the boys that this is in fact a night off. An easy one. Two points bagged at the puck drop.

If one chooses not to believe that players actually think this way, the proof was in the pudding served up tonight. Just look at the results speaking for themselves. In preparing for a game, knowing that the backup is playing, the easy game mindset creeps in slowly but surely. It is especially stupid for a coach to announce which goalie will play two or three games before.

In my thinking, if a coach wants all concerned to be on the attentive, it would be a good policy to simply not announce the starting goalie at all. Keep the players on their tip toes and make the decision just prior to the pre game warmup.

All of this has little to do with what goalie Halak is capable of. He's a decent puck stopper, nothing more and nothing less. But if one chooses to believe Halak is the future tender of the franchise, you are sadly mistaken and misinformed.

Price is the guy. The undisputed number one who should only ever sit when the Habs play non playoff bound teams outside their division. A smart coach lets the standings dictate when a goalie plays and not the schedule. Price should play all games against Northeast division rivals, and all playoff bound teams in the conference. Halak starts against the Atlanta's, Islanders, Panthers and Lightning and their ilk.

The Capitals lineup includes the NHL's best player in Alexander Ovechkin - enough said!

Come playoff time, Price might face him in up to seven games, so it is crucial that he gets to oppose Ovechkin as often as possible. The Canadiens gain nothing in having Halak face the NHL's best sniper.

That's no brainer number one.

Goalies, it is often said, get on a roll after a strong performance. When they are hot - and Price has been in a zone - they should be played in between 7 and 9 games running. Sit Price when it shows he's tiring not before it.

Call that no brainer number two.

Carbonneau often rolls the double spins of the two games in two nights, and the backup has to play to remain fresh schpiel, but it's a crock of shit as far as I am concerned. Goalies - especially hot ones - can handle two games in two nights. If they cannot, goalie management won't camouflage the issue, no matter how creative the spin.

No brainer number three.

Now imagine the players on the Capitals knowing two days in advance that there are facing Halak instead of Price. What runs through their heads is akin to, "So this is what Montreal thinks of us, eh? We'll show them!" How would you react once you've felt you've been underestimated?

That's the fourth no brainer.

Again, all this is only about the perception behind the reasoning of starting Halak, and not a knock against him. Had the entire Habs team shown up to play, he would have won the game.

As is often the case with Carbonneau and his coaching decisions, I am usually able to resolve myself by seeing some fairness in a counter argument, but this time, I got nothing. Because I have seen this happen time and again before, his decision to go with Halak bugged me since the moment it was announced. maybe you saw this mess of a concerted effort by the Canadiens coming as well.

What irritates me to an even larger ass rash, is that the coach as team psychologist, ought to have his pulse finely tuned to the temperment of the team. He's got to know how they'll react to things before they have that chance to react. Coaches get out of tune by sweeping such concerns under the carpet after a while. If a coach does it often enough, the team starts trusting the actions he speaks more than his warning words.

The message Carbonneau ought to have sent out should have been, "Price is playing. The Capitals are a strong club and we will need our best to be at their best to win this one."

What he did in essence, is the exact opposite.

The Canadiens have just passed the quarter mark of their 2008-09 season. So far the club has coasted to an acceptable record based on the skill on the team. Admittedly, they've pulled a few irons from the fire to get the record they own, but there are two prime issues that have dogged them since game one.

For starters, the players are not gelling as they have in the past. With the Detroit win, they finally displayed some cohesive team unity. Secondly, there seems to almost be an underlying theme of overconfidence when it comes to facing rivals that ought to be easy meat. The Canadiens approach these games like they are already won. It's a big mistake that even the best teams in the league are sometimes prone to.

As I pound this out on the keys, Carbonneau is likely claiming to a random microphone that he can't fathom why his club failed to show for the game. He might malign a certain lack of leadership from some factions.

My question begging an answer is, "aren't the coaches the most important of leaders?"

Carbonneau got exactly the game he ordered tonight.

Photos courtesy of the Montreal Gazette / Habs Inside Out

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Canadiens Team Effort Could Be A Turning Point

2008-11-27T00:28:00.006-05:00

Bust open the bandwagon doors, your Habs are back!

How quickly perceptions of a team can change upon one simple convincing win!

Beating the Red Wings in Detroit is no small claim in the course of a long season. For a team that had been trudging precariously along for a month, it is a peak and compass point, a moment for reflection, and a weigh removed from a burden, all in one.

If, as a fan, one sound win such as this can alter your faith and perceptions, you can just imagine what it will do for a team desperately needing an injection of self esteem and identity.

Between periods, Habs forward Chris Higgins brought up an interesting point during an interview. When asked how the team would fill the void in light of leading scorer Alex Tanguay's injury, Higgins didn't flinch. In essense, Higgins spoke that with everyone on the team paying the same way, it just didn't matter.

These guys were on a mission last night, and the reward was self rediscovery.

The group wearing the blue, blanc et rouge on Wednesday were cohesive and unrecognizable. Poised, patient, and with purpose. Calm, while appearing intent. They looked as though they were being coached for the first time in a long while and reacted by playing the game as units of five rather than a scrambling bunch of improvising individuals.

What the club displayed was hockey in its most primitive and basic forms. They started by doing the little things right, paying more attention to detail than they have since the season began. Even better, the exhibited an enthusiam rarely seen, for doing such plooding workmanlike tasks as beating an opponant to the puck, only to place a soft dump down the ice because the situation called for it.

Hockey is a game that is popular because of its flashes and artistry on ice. It bursts alive with dazzling manoeverisms of the puck at light speed. It captures your guts and imagination with smashing body crashes and reckless displays of wild abandon.

Winning at hockey, for a great part, involves snuffing out all these exciting aspects with tactical discipline and boring repetitive defensive management. Traps and walls, dumping the puck, and playing safe have no markee value, but they are effective when employed by groups of five lie minded players.

The system has its merits, as it allows are players buying into to it to shine when work is well done. Before teams can expect to razzle dazzle its way to the top, it must first learn command of the basics.

The Canadiens, with the win against Detroit, began building a unity of purpose that should serve them well in the coming months.

Working as a group within a cohesive system made everyone on the team look good for the entire game. In fact, it was as close to a perfect win as had been seen by this club in recent memory.

All during the game, the non stars of the team shone brightly. There was the always calculated Josh Gorges, commanding his position so effectively that you could just see the full potential of the player displayed on every shift. Often seen as a bottom pairing rearguard, by seasons end, he could be regarded as the Habs most reliable blueliner. He's going to run away with the Jacques Beauchamps unsung hero whatevertheycallit award.

The fourth line bangers and zealots - Begin, Lapierre, Kostopoulos, and Dandenault - all wreaked havov consistently on Detroit's best wheels. They played like hellhounds, chasing down every loose puck, and poised to upset everything in their path. It's no coincidence that since Begin has reintegrated the lineup, the club has played sounder defense over the course of full games. His play has lit up Lapierre's game as well, and they are starting to get their due.

Carey Price had something about him in last night's game that had rarely been seen of late, the confident calm of an assured puckstopper. Price was focused so, because the mates in front of him allowed such a demeanor. He was not once caught out of position, never appeared distracted, and played as though the puck looked large to him.

The grinders on the team seemed to inspire the previously misguided offensive core into a more pronounced and deliberate effort. Players such as Kovalev and Plekanec played much better because instead of taking chances, they created chance by avoiding the lure of individual risks. You could see they were buying into a game that brought everyone along, rather than trying to carry too much responsability on their own.

It's tempting to detail each players contribution all down through the lineup, but in context, what each did was similar on the whole. It is how the Canadiens have to approach beating a team that plays like a team such as the Red Wings. Beating Detroit takes a group effort, and this is knowledge the Habs can use against any opponant.

Friday against Washington, with the likes of Ovechkin, Semin, and Backstrom in their midst, the same effort should yield the same reward. Should the Habs procced in the same manner and emerge victorious, it will be because they have begun to take themselves seriously.

That can only be good news!

Photos coutesy the Montreal Gazette / Habs Inside Out

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Don't Bet Against The Habs!

2008-11-26T22:53:00.002-05:00

I guess I can't win for losing!

Over the last year and a half I've bet on Canadiens games four times and lost every time. Three times in the past two seasons, I've propped down a few bills hoping the Habs would come out on top, to no avail.

Last weekend, my friend Wayne - a die hard Red Wings fan - tells me that Montreal will win Wednesday's game because the Wings suck coming home after long road trips.

"Not the way Montreal's playing these days", I told him.

"Guaranteed Detroit losses", Wayne says, "I'd put five bucks on it!"

"Five bucks, that's pretty harmless. I'll take that bet!"

"You're on!", says Wayne.

Now before anyone fires me off a traitor e-mail, understand that I was not going to sit in front of the TV cheering on the Red Wings for a measely fiver. I would be pulling for the Habs all the way as always. It was just that with recent performances, I doubted the Canadiens could topple the Cup champs, no matter what Wayne's expertise told him.

And since I can't win betting on them, why not try placing some bucks on the Cup champs?

Wayne is a cook at the Fifth Wheel Truck Stop - my daily coffee haunt since forever. He often kids me when the Habs are down, bragging about the Red Wings every chance he gets.

I thought this would be a great opportunity to make him swallow a bit of his bull. On top of that, the five I'd win would buy me a burger, and he'd have to cook it! I couldn't pass up the chance for such a good shit and giggle at his expense.

As it stands now, all I've won is the right to pay for a change to nag him over the game.

I can say that he had no faith in his team. He can say the same to me.

I can't win for losing!

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Of Near Brushes With Habness, And The Canadiens Working On The Railroad

2008-11-25T21:32:00.013-05:00

Hockey and the railways have a strong connection and have played an important part in uniting Canada. From the famous locomotive works in Stratford, Kingston and Montreal, to the railway hubs in Manitoba and the Maritimes, as well as in the numerous smaller towns that sprouted up along the tracks, many railroad workers have donned their skates to play for their local teams.

The Montreal Canadiens of 1909, and today's Les Habitants share a connection with the railway industry. During the time of the club's inception one hundred years ago, it wasn't uncommon that several of the team's players found full time or off season employment working on the rails. As train travel began connecting Canada's distant parts in the day, railway stations often had their own teams of players.

Today in Montreal, the Bell Centre sits directly against La Gare Windsor, which was originally built to serve as both the transcontinental terminal of the Canadian Pacific Railway and also as its company headquarters. Since VIA Rail consolidated its operations at Gare Centrale in the 1980s, Windsor Station has seen only commuter trains. These have been pushed far back from the station by the construction of the Bell on the site of the original trainsheds. Parts of the original station, including its surprisingly modernist skylit hall, are still maintained for public use.

So, why you might ask, am I writing about trains on a Canadiens blog?

That's a damn good question too!

Pardon the obvious bad pun, but I got sidetracked. I started out looking up the career of a former NHL player online, and links led me to learn about what this player had done for a living after retirement. As the player in question was a railway employee, it led to my discovering of how train travel and its industry tied into early Canadiens history. Some posts just happen this way, I guess.

This story get its start while my wife and I are standing in line at Metropolis in Montreal this past Grey Cup Sunday, waiting in the queue to see former Soundgarden and Audioslave lead singer Chris Cornell in concert.

Perhaps because I often wear Montreal Canadiens colours when I am out and about, I often get asked the silliest of questions, such as, "Nice hoodie, are you a fan?"

Of course I inform that yes, I am in fact a Habs empassioned nutcase with a blog, no less. It speeds up the conversation, and it helps to separate the casuals from the diehards of Habs fandom real quick.

My wife Joanne is the big fan of all things Cornell. She goes nutso in a similar compulsion as I do with the Canadiens and Springsteen. Me, I just like the Soundgarden stuff Cornell did best, and love my wife more than enough, to brave the chilling cold and make a great time of it. It wasn't difficult! My better half was more than determined to have our asses freeze off in a lineup all in the name of getting the best general admission seats in the house - which we did. Along the way, we met some equally die hard fans, and inevitably, with me in my Habs hoodie, the hockey subject came up.

After a few brief questions, one young woman whom we hung around at the backstage door with prior to the show's start and are now standing in line with informs me that her grandfather once played in the NHL.

"No way?", I ask, "With Montreal?"

"Yes, he played a season with Montreal, and then he went to New Jersey."

Now my brain is reeling, right. The young lady is at the most in her late twenties, but my guess is she can't be no more than 21 or 22. I'm calculating as I speak, while eliminating that Stephane Richer or Claude Lemieux or Rollie the Goalie can't possible have a 20 something grandchild.

I'm messed!

"What was his name?"

After a minute's struggle, she recalls the name - Maurice Croghan.

"He died before I was born. I never met him, but he played for the Maroons."

"Oh, okay, not the Canadiens then. It was the Jersey thing that threw me off. If he played for the Maroons, he could not have played for the Devils of course."

"No, I don't know who he played with in New Jersey, my family just told me he went there after playing for the Maroons in 1935."

In '35, then his name is on the Stanley Cup!", I exclaimed, to her confusion.

"I'm not sure, I'd have to ask."

I told her quickly that the name Maurice Croghan rang a bell, and that I was familiar with the history of the Maroons franchise. If indeed he played in that season, his name would be ingraved on the Cup. I told her I would look it up once I arrived home.

"Do an internet search in a couple of weeks, and you might find somthing at my site", I suggested.

The young lady, whose name I dumbly never asked for, changed the conversation flow from there, and we began talking about where we were from and what we did for a living.

She informed me that she was from the eastern townships of Quebec, in a place familiar to me - Cowansville, Quebec. I made a mental note of it, once I got into researching just who was Maurice Croghan.

As it turns out, Croghan was actually Montreal Canadiens property for a season, upon the disolution of the Maroons after the club's final 1937-38 campaign. In looking up the player, I came upon the interesting connection to the railway industry.

A brief resume of Croghan's short NHL stint reads as such: The defenseman who went by the name Moe in the day, wore number 16 and played in 16 games for the Maroons in 1937-38. Moe Croghan was termed a sturdy defensive rearguard in his day, and counted no goals or assists in his short NHL time. Upon the Maroons franchise going out of business, he became property of the Canadiens, playing in some exhibition games prior to the start of the 1938-39 season - in possibly the Habs most dismal era on record.

Croghan was born November 19, 1914 in Montreal, and played junior and senior hockey in his hometown until joining the Quebec Aces in 1936. Croghan's talent were on display that season, as the Aces ventured all the way to the Allen Cup, and after his successful run he was signed on by the Maroons.

There's no accounting of Croghan playing with a New Jersey based club around this time, but he wasn't far off in stints with the Habs affiliated Providence Reds and Springfield Indians, where he split his 1938-39 season. From 1939 to 1941, he played with the Montreal Victorias of the MCHL and the Montreal Royals of the QSHL.

After his retirement from the game, the native Montrealer relocated to Sherbrooke, Quebec, taking on a job with the Canadian National Railway as a locomotive engineer.

At age 64, Croghan passed away of a heart attack on February 7, 1979, and he is burried in Lac Brome, Quebec. In his obituary seen here, his birth name may have been "Morris" and not "Maurice", as the Lost Hockey website states a photo contribution from a Moe Croghan Jr, and this obit lists a Morris as one of his children. He was survived at the time by his wife, nee Lillian Hartley, and two daughters, Sandra Nicholson and Linda Mailloux.

That was all the detail I could find on Croghan's hockey career and life away from the game. From searching the net, I was led to site called Hockey Railroaders, that featured a more detailed account of how some former Montreal Canadiens players made a living away from the rink.

From the early 1900's, up until World War II in the 1940's, several Canadiens players, as well as other NHLer's worked on the railroad across Canada. Aurel Joliat, Maurice Richard, Dickie Moore, Marcel Dheere, Herb Gardner, Sam Pollock, Joe Cattarinich, Lorne Chabot, Len Grosvenor, Harry Mummery, and Howie Morenz all spent a good deal of their youth and playing days learning a trade that would provide income to them once away from the rinks in summer.

During WWII, the Canadian Pacific Railway reorganized its entire shop systen for the war. Wartime shop production signaled the end of the Great Depression and offered jobs to many of its laid off CPR employees.

The Canadiens original goalie in the 1909-10 season, Jos Cattarinich, was a brakeman with CPR when he met and befriended Leo Dandurand. The pair would go on to own and manage the Canadiens for several seasons, as well as partnering in the tobacco business and horse racing endeavors.

Mummery who played for both the Canadiens and Toronto Blueshirts in 1917, was employed by the CNR as a locomotive engineer. Also working as a fireman during the season, Mummery brought his rail eating ritual to both the firehouse and the arena dressing room. A large man at 250 pounds, Mummery set up pot bellied stoves in both workplaces, cooking large steaks in them with the help of a freshly hosed shovel, a practice he took to while riding the rails and cooking his meat in the steam engine's fire box.

Morenz followed his father and uncle, apprenticing as a machinist with Stratford's Grand Trunk Railway in 1919. The Canadiens future star played for three teams in different levels in the city, one of which was operated by GTR. In one incident, Morenz had dropped a metal block on his foot, causing it to swell badly - not bad enough to cause him to miss that night's game however. After the contest, Morenz's skate boot literally needed to be cut off to remove his swollen foot from it.

Morenz was always proud of his trade, and oftenmentioned that he was a machinist by profession. Two years later, Morenz and his GTR team played a game against the Montreal CNR shops at the Mount Royal Arena. The GTR team led by Morenz steamrolled the CNR's, and Howie scored 9 goals. The performance caught the attention of the Canadiens director Cecil Hart, who then made it a point to sign Morenz.

Before his NHL career got going, goaltender Lorne Chabot worked full time with the CPR in Brandon, Manitoba while playing senior hockey with the Wheat Kings in 1921. A age 16, Chabot had enlisted in the army. Unaware of his age, he was stationed in France, driving an ammunition wagon with the Royal Canadian Field Artillery. He was soon found out and sent home.

Former Canadiens defenseman Herb Gardiner got a late start in professional hockey due to his committments to the war and the railroad. Gardiner had quit playing senior hockey at age 18 to work for the CPR as a surveyor. After serving three years with the Canadian Army, Gardiner rejoined the CPR while playing with the Calgary Tigers in the WCHL. In losing to the Canadiens in the 1924 Cup final, Gardiner made the Habs acquaintance and was signed by them two seasons later.

Len Grosvenor, who toiled with the Canadiens in 1932, worked his entire life, in and around hockey, on the railroad.

Onesime Richard, the father of Maurice, worked as a carpenter for 40 years with the CPR. Each morning he would board the train in Bordeaux and catch a ride to the Angus shop, where he would build freight cars. Maurice joined him in 1942 while playing for the Canadiens Seniors, earning up to $40 a week working as a machinest for the Munitions Department. The future Rocket was on leave a great deal at this time due to his burgeoning hockey career, and did not resign his position with CPR until after his 50 goal season.

Following his retirement from hockey in 1938, Aurel Joliat went on to work for CNR in Ottawa as an agent. He was also later employed as a coach and with the Quebec Liquor Commission.

St. Boniface's Marcel Dheere joined the Canadiens in a trade on Christmas day, 1940 and also found work at the time with Montreal RCAF and Montreal Canada Car. Dheere played hockey at several levels including the Canadiens over the next few seasons before leaving the city. He served in the military in 1944-45, and the strong connections he made while in Montreal set him up for employment with the railway as a switchman for the next 30 years.

After high school graduation in 1943, Sam Pollock was a junior clerk with the railway for a few years, while also working in hockey and baseball. He left the railway for good in 1946 to coach and scout in the Canadiens organization. Three years later, Pollock signed Dickie Moore, a CPR alumni, to a Montreal Junior Canadiens contract on the word of Frank Selke.

Hope you enjoyed this little sidetrack - it was more to do than blogging about O'Byrne derailing!

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33 Things You Might Not Know About Patrick Roy

2008-11-21T04:44:00.018-05:00

Aside from holding numerous goaltending records and counting for some momumental achievements in hockey, Patrick Roy's career has had it's share of interesting moments away from the limelight. Here are 33 lesser known facts and trivial details about Roy's career in hockey.

1 - Mario Lemieux and Patrick Roy not only faced each other in junior, they were in fact born on the same day - October 5, 1965.

2 - Roy's father Michel, and his mother Barbara, were both athletes in their youth. The father toiled some in hockey, but was mainly involved with tennis. His mother was an Olympic swimming hopeful, named after Barbara Ann Scott. Patrick's brother Stephane had a brief NHL career with the Minnesota North Stars.

3 - Patrick's first strides on the ice came on former Canadiens player Leo Bourgeault's (1932-35) backyard rink in Ste Foy.

4 - Daniel Bouchard of the Nordiques and Rogatien Vachon of the Kings were Roy's first goalie idols as a young boy. In the first NHL game his father brought him to, he got to watch Rogie in action against the Canadiens. Bouchard later gave him a stick, that Patrick was known to sleep with for luck, and a hockey card that he always kept carefully placed in his locker. Roy couldn't resist the temptation, and the stick was used in games as a 16 year old with St. Foy.

5 - At age 9, Roy and two Atom team mates were asked to participate in a shootout in front of fans at the Collisee in Quebec. The Nordiques were hosting the Chicago Cougars, whose assistant coach was Jacques Demers. Roy stopped 4 of 6 shots he faced.

6 - At the 1976 Quebec International Pee Wee tournament, Roy helped his team go three rounds deep despite the loss of their leading goal scorer. During the tournament, Roy had his photo taken with a 12 year old Brett Hull.

7 - When he was fourteen, his father gave him a set of 1951-52 Parkhurst hockey cards, and it set him on the road to becoming an avid collector. He still owns the Parkie set featuring the Beliveau and Rocket Richard rookie cards, and his collection has grown to include over a 100,000 individual pieces.

8 - At 16, while playing for the Midget AAA St. Foy Gouverneurs, Roy brought his team to the league title and the the final game of the Air Canada Cup in Victoria. Along the playoff route, he was suspended three games for shoving an official after a disputed goal involving a gloved pass. Roy returned to lead his club to the Canadian midget finals, only to be undone by Burnaby's Cliff Ronning.

9 - Roy's father Michel claims that his son has a photographic memory. During the hearing for the suspension mentioned above, Roy retold exactly where everyone stood and where the puck lie during the incident. He not only was able to name each person and what they were doing, he was able to account for what each person was able to see. His perception of detail also extends to statistical data, such as player stats and hockey card trivia.

10 - There's something to be said for a good goalie on a bad team progressing quicker than a goalie on a good team. All during Roy's development, straight through to Granby in the QMJHL, Patrick played mainly on clubs where he was peppered with shots.

11 - The Canadiens scouts noticed Roy on a trip to Granby to have a look at Stephane Richer. During the game, Granby were killing off a 5 on 3, when three players broke in alone on Roy. After stopping the first two, Roy threw the puck at the third player, gesturing him to give it his best shot. That summer, Montreal drafted both Roy and Richer.

12 - The Canadiens drafted Roy with the third round pick received from trading defenseman Robert Picard to Winnipeg in 1983. Curiously, the Habs had acquired Picard from the Toronto Maple Leafs for goalie Michel "Bunny" Larocque.

13 - In his initial training camp with Montreal in 1984, he was given the number 32. The following season, Roy asked for number 33, but was again handed 32. When Montreal decided to leave Richard Sevigny unsigned, Patrick finally got his wish.

14 - Roy got his chance with the Sherbrooke Canadiens following the end of his regular season in Granby when the baby Habs backup goalie Paul Pageau asked to leave the club to attend his wife's pregnancy. When Sherbrooke's starter Rick Moffat went down to injury, coach Pierre Creamer gave the net to Roy, who had played inonly one regular season game. Roy won the first playoff start, and the rest is history.

15 - Throughout his junior career in Granby, Patrick never won a individual award or placed on an All Star team. Contrary to popular belief, he did not win the most valuable player award with the Sherbrooke Canadiens in their 1985 Calder Cup win. That merit went to Brian Skrudland. The first major individual award earned by Roy was the 1986 Conn Smythe trophy. Not a bad place to start!

16 - Roy appeared in his first NHL game on March 1, 1985 against Winnipeg, and he had current Canadiens coach Guy Carbooneau to thank for it. Patrick was called up in late February from Granby to replace starter Steve Penney, who suffered an injured groin on a shot by Carbonneau. Backup Doug Soetaert was replaced after two periods and Roy made his debut, stopping the only two shots he faced to earn the win.

17 - Upon signing his first contract with the Canadiens, Roy did like most players and went out and purchased his first brand new car. Strolling cockily into a Honda dealership, Patrick spotted the car he wanted and announced to the salesman that he was ready to buy it. The salesman, not recognizing him from Adam, tried to shrug Roy off as just some cocky kid, telling him he couldn't afford the payments. When Roy proclaimed he was prepared to pay cash for expensive (at the time) Prelude, the salesman got serious. The deal was done so hastily by the anxious pair, that Roy's new Honda ran out of gas at the bottom of the first hill he met.

18 - The "Casseau" nickname came from Roy's constant diet of french fries when he made the club in 1985. "Casseau" is the french word for the box holding the chips that seemed to constantly accompany Patrick's meal. Team dieticians and conditioning experts made certain the habit was not long lasting. A Conn Smythe trophy win rebaptized him Saint Patrick for good.

19 - Roy's first NHL start came on October 10, 1985 in Pittsburgh on opening night of the season. He was given the start over vets Soeteart and Penney, and made 23 saves for his second career win.

20 - One his way to winning the Stanley Cup and becoming the youngest ever winner of the Conn Smythe trophy in 1986, fans and media became fascinated with Roy's ritual of superstitions. Beyond holding conversations with his goalpsosts, Roy never skated accross the blue or red line, wrote the names of his children on his stick, kept all the pucks from his shutouts in his locker until seasons end, and used or wore the same equipement for game's on end during winning streaks. By his second Cup and Smythe in 1993, Roy had shed practically all of his eccentricacies.

21 - Patrick's impersonation of axe wielding Ron Hextall cost him eight games during the 1987-88 campaign. In a game on October 19, Roy became annoyed at constantly being bumped and shoved by the North Stars Warren Babe. He then took it upon himself to deliver a two handed paddle whack to Babe's ankle during a scuffle between the Habs John Kordic and Richard Zemlack of Minnesota. When Roy returned to action on November 14, he did it with panache, shuting out the Blackhawks 3-0.

22 - It has often been an opinion that Brian Hayward was the best goaltending partner Roy ever had. Behind the scenes, the pair shared an uncomfortable coexistance. Room mates on the road, Roy often felt that Hayward was trying to sabbotage his starts by partying long and loud the night before.

23 - From the 1988 season until October 16, 1989, Roy had a 35 game unbeaten streak on Forum ice. Dale Hunter of the Nordiques ended the run with overtime goal on that date.

24 - Coach Pat Burns once fined Roy for sleeping in and missing a practice in 1989. The goalie blamed his infant son Jonathan for knocking a phone off the hook that was to bring his wake up call.

25 - Roy suffered few injuries during his career, but he was unfortunate in the early 1990's. In December of that year, the Maple Leafs' Wendel Clark shoved a tumbling Petr Svoboda over Roy, causing him to sprain a medial collateral ligament in his leg. He returned three weeks later to shut out Calgary in his first game back. The following season, he tore ligaments in his left ankle when he ventured out to play a stray puck and became sandwiched in a Graeme Townsend - Donald Dufresne collision. He'd miss part of the 1991-92 season, when the injury was reaggrivated.

26 - When Roy won his second Cup with Montreal in 1993, he and the club set an NHL record that will be near impossible to match by winning 10 consecutive overtime games. In the process the team tied the record for most wins in a row with 11, while Roy became only the second player to earn two Conn Smythe trophies.

27 - Roy played the entire 1993 playoffs with an illegal width goalie stick. (Just kidding!)

28 - After Game 2 of the 1994 playoffs, Roy suffered an emergency appendectamy that caused him to miss game three of the first round against the Bruins. Returning victorious for a game 4 win, an exhuberant hospital attendant claimed to have the actual removed appendix from Roy, and attempted to auction it off.

29 - With relations between Roy, certain team mates, and management sourring in the fall of 1995, general manager Serge Savard had a deal on the table to send him to Colorado when the season began. Savard hesitated to make the move, hoping things would smooth over, but was fired shortly thereafter. The trade would have brought goalie Stephane Fiset and forwards Owen Nolan and Adam Deadmarsh to Montreal.

30 - When Mario Tremblay was first announced as the Canadiens coach replacing Jacques Demers, it caught Patrick offguard and in an uncomfortable way. Someone in the Montreal media mentioned Roy laughing, and it didn't help appease what would turn into a volcanic relationship not long after. Roy explained his giggles by proclaiming that since Tremblay was a former team mate, his signing made him feel old. Tremblay's first words to Patrick were, "You stop the pucks, I'll coach!"

31 - Not long after becoming a member of the Avalanche, Roy represented the club in the 1996 All Star game. Joel Quenneville, then an assistant with Colorado, joined in on a card game with Roy, Ray Bourque and others on a plane trip to the game. In the middle of playing hands, Roy told Quenneville, ''You know Joel, we're going to win the Cup this year.'' The coach, unsure of what he's just heard, says "What?", to which Roy repeats himself, without adding a word of explanation. The Avalanche won the Cup five months later.

32- After Patrick had played in his 1000th career game, the Avalanche celebrated the event by gifting Roy with several tokens of appreciation. The NHL kicked in with the now standard silver stick, but it was the presenter who Roy appreciated the most. Along with his Cup wins, Roy always mentions that meeting Rogie Vachon on this special night would long hold a place in his heart.

33 - Roy had many off ice indiscretions by the time he retired, few of them helping his public image. Lesser known was his kindness away from the lights, bringing kids onto the ice after practices to take shots on him. One particular time, Roy played along with a youngster, letting him score on every rush the whole time he was out there with the legend.

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Gainey Catches Sundin Practice On Hopes Of Restoring Talks

2008-11-21T04:41:00.003-05:00

As per RDS and TSN, the Montreal Canadiens have renewed talks with unrestricted free agent Mats Sundin.

Canadiens general manager Bob Gainey met with the 37 year old Sundin in California on Wednesday in hopes of restoring talks between the two sides.
Sundin has been working out in Los Angeles since early November, where he is expected to begin skating next week.

However, while Sundin is showing signs of returning, he hasn't made any decision yet.
In mid September, the Canadiens acquired forward Robert Lang from the Chicago Blackhawks after deciding to move in a different direction from the Sundin sweepstakes.

"We had developed a priority and had we been able to entice Mats Sundin to comeback and play and comeback and play with the Canadiens, we would have done that as early as June of this summer," Gainey explained at the time.

"(Sundin) didn't give me any indication he was going to make a decision and my hockey department and I were not prepared to wait for a player who may or may not decide to play in November, December or January or February."

As many as six teams have expressed interest in Sundin's services, including the Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Vancouver Canucks and New York Rangers.

Last season, Sundin enjoyed one of his best seasons, finishing with 32 goals and 46 assists for 78 points in 74 games and leading Toronto in scoring for the fourth straight year.

Removal Of Kovalev As Power Play Focal Point The Key To Recreating It

2008-11-18T03:28:00.013-05:00

The formerly top ranked Canadiens powerplay has gone AWOL, and rectifying it is a top priority for the team in trying to get back on track and refind it's consistent winning ways.

The Canadiens PP currently sits 25th in the NHL, having counted on only 12 of 82 opportunities thus far for a conversion ratio of 14.6%. Only the Blue Jackets, Coyotes, Panthers, Devils, and Islanders are faring worse.

In assessing what is not working at present, it is important to understand the reasons behind the unit's lack of success so far.

What is difficult to breakdown, is that Montreal certainly have enough offensive elements to succeed with a man advantage, at first glance. All the keys seems in place, with a nice mix of snipers, forwards strong on the puck in corner board battles, some good sized options in front of the net, and good puck movement from the point. So far, the units used have created enough chances to merit continued patience and faith, but without results both will wear thin.

In past seasons, isolating the prime ingredients for the Canadiens power play success was a simpler matter. In 2006-07, Sheldon Souray's blasts from the blue line were a constant threat. Two reasons accounted for Souray's success: no one dared get in the way of the quickly unleashed bullets, and the shot was most often highly accurate.

In 2007-08, a Souray - lite in Mark Streit manned the point, and while his shots were nowhere near Souray's in velocity, they were accurate and low, and efficiently dispensed. Streit was equally adept at moving the puck as swiftly as he shot it, and that enabled the other shooters big gains.

With either of Souray and Streit, the opposition was kept off guard and guessing due to the varying options, and that was how the Canadiens capitalized most often.

Perhaps misunderstood most in these schemes during this time, was the role of Alex Kovalev on the right side. Other than the changing faces at the point, he is the one of two constants on the first unit. His role is essentially to quarterback the powerplay from the right board out, and it is his work that other teams have keyed on and adjusted to most swiftly this season.

Earlier in the season, the Canadiens sought to employ it's other first unit constant, Andrei Markov, in much the same manner as Streit was worked last year. By moving Markov over to Kovalev's side of the ice, they figured to capalize on the swift passing between the two to keep the puck in constant motion. Unfortunately for Montreal, Markov was not as comfortable on the opposite side, and his shots at the nets are neither as hard, swift or as accurate as the former foils who played there.

By focusing on Kovalev - essentially double teaming him - the opposition has rammed a spike into the Canadiens power play gears. Truthfully, this is not a new challenge. It began late last season, and became more exposed as the playoffs wore on.

As other teams improved their penalty killing against the Canadiens, they also became less fearful of taking penalties, and thus imposed a more physical standard against the Habs five on five.

What other teams do on the penalty kill is quite basic: they position their four point box openly to form more of a rectangle, with the two closest points aimed directly at Kovalev. With limited space, Kovalev often tries to create options where there are none - flipping passes off the ice where there are no clean lanes, or skating a back and forth "S" pattern to open his end of the box and sneak a shot on goal.

The higher forward closest to Kovalev places his stick in the lane of the pointman, and the defenseman playing him also points his stick toward the blueline, thus negating the cross ice feeds. In this coverage, Kovalev dipsy doodles, circling over his own path in an attempt to open the slightest of spaces and lanes.

Where Kovalev becomes his own worst enemy, is when he attempts longshot plays to create movement on the opposition side. His soft flips to the point fail increasingly, because who ever is playing that position can neither one time a shot, or cradle and move the puck swiftly.

The bigger problem with Kovalev being rendered straightjacketed on the power play, is that it stagnates the four players teamed with him. The forward at the opposite side of the ice, the left wing, almost never sees the puck. The player at the net, or beside it, can only react once Kovalev has shot on goal. That player, the center, must also play the right corner, to allow Kovalev an additional pass option. The defensemen are played tightly enough, just daring Kovalev to risk a fragile pass in that direction.

What results is that the Canadiens players possess the puck for great lengths during their advantage, but the five man unit is almost as immobile as the oppositions defensive setup. When a powerplay does not keep the puck and players moving at all times, it spells disaster.

It must be pointed out that the players involved on the unit are working hard to create opportunities during the ticking seconds. This is not to say the unit isn't working misguidedly. They have tried several tinkerings on the unit to no avail, such as employing a fourth forward - be it Alex Tangauy or Sergei Kostitsyn - on the left point in order to spread out the areas from which the puck can be played, passes can be made, and shots can be taken.

The solution does not lie in the removal of Kovalev per se, but it may require the romoval of him as a focal point. Subtracting the club's most offensively gifted player from the unit is a foolish notion, but reinventing how he works during the advantage is the starting point.

To that end, Kovalev sometimes sets up on left side of the ice, facing the exact same coverage scheme. What differs in this setup, is that his cross ice feeds become less of a risk and his shots on net come from a closer range. His stick is also further away from his opponants, which means he can attempt to move to net more freely to create shots and opening. Where this plan runs into trouble is that Kovalev is not as comfortable with it, and he is still the focal point for the opposition while doing the same things that were not working at his usual space.

Where the Canadiens now stand, is in working against what the opposition regularly throws at them in terms of coverage. The secrets of how to conceal the Habs firepower have been shared league wide, and it is now up to the Canadiens to make the required adjustments to get it moving once more.

Most observers have long believed that placing a larger player in front of the goal is the way to go, but the method in which such a situation works is not always clear. A player seemingly poised on the goaltenders doorstep, screening the view and picking up rebounds is often an illusion. Such a player has to keep himself moving, either from the side of the crease into the goalie's view, or crossing the edge of the crease in order to keep defenseman busy and turning away from the puck focus.

Having a player simply stand on the goalie is akin to nullifying the advantage itself, as his coverage then falls in the hands of the netminder. The four remaining players on the offensive are then covered more tightly man to man, and the extra player the team enjoying the power play has, is now two hundred feet away in their own goal. This setup simply doesn't work as most folks perceive.

What is perhaps doing the Canadiens the biggest diservice at present is the fact that the old methods worked with ease for two plus seasons, and that breaking old habits is hard to do.

After pointing to what has ceased working on the Canadiens power play, one is left to wonder what possibly can unstagnate the efforts of the emn working it. A solution might be to decentralize the Kovalev role in it while maintaining the use of his talents.

To do this, the Canadiens would then employ Kovalev and his passing skills on the blueline. He would only shoot on net when obvious chances presented themselves. Otherwise, he would act only as a simple wheel man in rotating the puck to both sides of the ice with defense partner Markov.

Their passes would have to be brisk, and they would ideally not be holding on to it for long periods of time. They would be advised to move it often and fast in order to tire and frustrate the coverage. They would switch places along the blue line during possession to create options to skate in closer during the crossovers. To facilitate puck movement, their wingers would also be in constant motion, swinging like pendulum points from side to side.

The duo at the blueline would not be played as tightly as Kovalev was by himself before, as it would open all kinds of room nearer to the net. The wingers on both sides would then return as more viable pass and shoot options, and more movement overall would be created. All of both wingers and center could attack the net at given chances, creating more confusion for the opposition.

What a scenario such as this could provide if properly deployed is great deal more room and movement while enjoying the advantage. The keys to any successful power play involve creating space and scoring chances by maintaining puck possession options while moving it fluidly to cause confusion and kaos.

The idea of Kovalev playing the point would return the fluidity to the Canadiens powerplay offense.

The puck and the space to create with it would then become more equally shared amongst the unit's participants. In essence, it would be like giving the players back the skills that have been robbed of them by having Kovalev rule the unit.

The recreation of the power play would not work overnight. Players, especially Kovalev in this instance, would have to get comfortable with the new rigors of it. For one thing, Kovalev would have to learn caution and read inopportunity more precisely. Markov and the remaining players would need time to adjust to receiving passes from angles and areas they have gotten away from. It could take as much as ten games for the unit to become comfortable. By that time it ought to be producing at a better clip that what is currently dying before everyone's eyes.

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Roy Guests On L' Antichambre

2008-11-17T13:36:00.010-05:00

Patrick Roy, whose jersey will be retired by the Canadiens in a pre - game ceremony on Saturday, will be the quest tonight on RDS's nightly hockey chat, L'Antichambre.

Host Alain Crete, along with Michel Bergeron, Jacques Demers, and Bertrand Raymond will be discussing the career achievements of Roy, and the show airs at 9:30 this evening. Roy will be joined by Jacques Tanguay, his co - owner on the Quebec Remparts, as a discussion of junior hockey will also be involved.

Count on some surprises from the L'Anrichambre team, including some top 10 Roy moments and a statistical quizzing of Roy - a fanatic of such things.

I will be running a few pieces on Roy this week, leading up to Saturday's ceremony before the Bruins game. Take note that the ceremony will begin at 6 p.m.

This weekend I began to read "Winning, Nothing Else", Roy's biography written by his father Michel. In a contest a Greatest Hockey Legends some weeks back, I was the lucky winner of the bio, in a Wiley Books contest giveaway. Once I'm a deeper into the book, I'll add my thoughts here.

One small interesting detail - trivial as it might be - occurred during Roy's first season playing goal when he was nine. His Atom travel team was selected to put on a shootout show at Le Collissee in Quebec City, between periods of a Nordiques and Chicago Cougars WHA match in 1973. The Cougars coach that night, was none other than Jacques Demers.

Back in September, I posted some content having to do with overcoming the controversy of his departure from Montreal, a flashback to his Hall Of Fame induction speech, and a really strange dream I had of how his night would go down. You can check them out at the links posted below.

Roy Jersey Retirement A Ribbon On A Gift To Younger Fans And Old

Patrick Roy Hockey Hall Of Fame Induction Speech - Inside The Heart And Mind Of A Driven Persevering Warrior

Patrick Roy - In My Dreams!

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Once Upon A Time, The Canadiens Made The Blues Legit

2008-11-16T16:40:00.007-05:00

The Canadiens are in St. Louis tonight to play the Blues in a rare Sunday night game. Often when the Canadiens and Blues meet, I think back to all the players who have shared both jerseys over the years.

The Blues were once the Canadiens Annex, thanks in no small part to Scotty Bowman, who coached the team in their first three seasons starting in 1967.

When the NHL expanded by six teams that year, the Blues, on Bowman's advice, picked apart the Canadiens minor league teams and built a fairly solid roster very quickly. Bowman knew his stuff, and the Blues made three straight trips to the Stanley Cup final.

With a team loaded with former Habs, the Blues lost to the Canadiens in 1968 and 1969. The following year, St. Louis fell to the heavily favoured Bruins in four games. In fact, when Bobby Orr scored the Cup winner flying through the air, it was a former Hab - Noel Picard - who tripped him!

Early Blues history has the Canadiens written all over them. The Plager brothers, Barclay and Bill, who became legends in St. Louis, were once coached by Bowman in junior when they played for the Canadiens sponsored Peterborough (T.P.T.'s) Petes. Bowman lured some great names from the Canadiens past to play for the Blues during those years, including Jacques Plante, Doug Harvey, Ted Harris, Jean Guy Talbot, and Dickie Moore.

Small wonder the Blues contended so quickly!

Since 1967, sixty-six players, including many former Canadiens, have worn both the bluenote and the CH. Here's an alphabetical listing.

Don Awrey, Murray Baron, Normand Baron, Red Berenson, Bob Berry, Christian Bordeleau, Andre Boudrias, Valeri Bure, Jim Campbell, Guy Carbonneau, Shayne Corson, Bill Collins, Wayne Connelly, J.J. Daigneault, Gilbert Delorme, Rory Fitzpatrick, Ron Flockhart, Dave Gardner, Doug Gilmour, Gaston Gingras, Phil Goyette, Ted Harris, Doug Harvey, Sean Hill, Fran Huck, Pat Hughes, Mark Hunter, Mike Keane, Christian Laflamme, Mike Lalor, Guy Lapointe, Michel Larocque, Claude Larose, Gary Leeman, Chuck Lefley, Jocelyn Lemieux, Bill McCreary, Rick Meagher, Sergio Momesso, Dickie Moore, Phil Myre, Ric Natress, Greg Paslawski, Noel Picard, Jacques Plante, Michel Plasse, Stephane Quintal, Rob Ramage, Stephane Richer, Vincent Riendeau, Phil Roberto, Jimmy Roberts, Bill Root, Martin Rucinski, Glen Sather, Brian Savage, Bill Sutherland, Jean Guy Talbot, Larry Trader, Pierre Turgeon, Perry Turnbull, Ernie Wakely, Rick Wamsley, Eric Weinrich, Doug Wickenheiser, and Rick Wilson.

Additionally, several Habs prospects, such as goalie Ted Ouimet, and prospect Andre " Moose" Dupont, also got their NHL careers rolling in St. Louis, after toilling in the Habs system for years.

In 41 years of games between the Blues and Canadiens, the Habs have owned them big time. The teams have met 118 times, with the Canadiens holding a record of 70-25-22, with one overtime loss.

Here's hoping the dominations continues tonight. The Blues owe us!

Canadiens Testing Gainey's Patience

2008-11-16T01:49:00.005-05:00

The Canadiens 2-1 loss to the Flyers on Saturday had some small silver linings, but a loss is still a loss. The good news, if there is anything possitive to take from this game, was that the Canadiens were not blown out of the water like they had been against the Bruins and Maple Leafs this past week.

Still the Canadiens are slumping, having lost four of five, and calls are beginning for something to be done about it.

For General Manager Bob Gainey, the Habs play of late must surely disappointing. Trust that he won't be calling a press conference to discuss it. Gainey, who has an almost legendary patience, won't make a rash move in assessing this team's chances.

The Canadiens have four games in seven nights this coming week, after which they will be one game shy of the 20 game mark. How they perform during that stretch could be crucial. If Gainey were to make any kind of impact move, it will be here that he begins to seriously ponder such a thing if the team has not shaken it's doldrums and found some level of consistency.

There seems to be a rising number of issues with this season's team. It's character is often questionable. Discipline haunts them at the worst possible moments. Identity might also be an issue. This team wants to be a slick offensive machine, but grinding gears are needed to motor the wheels.

It could also be that the rest of the league has caught up with them in some regards. The club is still a young group, and opponants adjust to them after a certain time, and learn how to play them with familiarity.

These are the assessments that Gainey and his coaches will have to make after the next stretch of games. Time is of the essence in bringing about these decisions, for if Gainey is going to make a statement move, the value of the moved assets will need to be assured. On the flip side of the coin, the assets might also be declining in worth. Tough calls could be made.

Watching the Flyers game on RDS, on more than one occasion commentator Benoit Brunet alluded to the notion that the Canadiens were in fact working hard on the ice, but it was in fact the mechanisms of their work which were causing their problems. Such is typival of a team in search of itself.

The trouble with an extended slump such as this, is that fingers start being pointed amongst team mates, and names start being dropped in order to assess blame. Nothing good ever arises from such behavior. Add that to Gainey's plate!

The coming week will be an interesting one for patient Bob!

A little tie - in side track here, that only has to do with the Canadiens in a peripheral sense.

This is all about expectation, dedication, vision, worry, and foundation. As a Habs fan, you can take it as a call for patience and / or perspective, when wishing on dreams. When something is being built, it takes time to see it through.

The video clip below is from my favorite Jersey devil, and I found that it made for one inspiring song, in light of a whole bunch of things, the Habs included.

The song is called "Workin' On A Dream", and this You Tube clip became glued to my cranium after just two listens. In this video from two weeks ago, a dedication went out to Senator Barrack Obama. I want to send it out to Anna Gainey and T.C. Denault. They both know why. The lyrics to the song are below the clip.

Workin' On A Dream

Out here the nights are long and the days are lonely,
I think of you and,
I'm workin' on a dream,
I'm workin' on a dream.

Now the cards I've drawn is a rough hand darling,
I straighten my back and,
I'm workin' on a dream,
I'm workin' on a dream.

I'm workin' on a dream,
Though sometimes it feels so far away,
I'm workin' on a dream,
And I know it will be mine some day

Rain pourring down I swing my hammer,
My hands are rough from,
I'm workin' on a dream,
I'm workin' on a dream

I'm workin' on a dream,
This struggle can feel like it's here to stay,
I'm workin' on a dream,
But our love will chase the trouble away

I'm workin' on a dream,
The weekend feels so far away,
I'm workin' on a dream,
Our love will make it real someday

Sun rise up, I climb the ladder,
A new day breaks and,
I'm workin' on a dream,
I'm workin' on a dream,
I'm workin' on a dream,
I'm workin' on a dream,

I'm workin' on a dream,
The weekend feels so far away,
I'm workin' on a dream,
Our love will make it real someday

Not everyone is a fan of Bruce Springtseen and the method he uses to attach politics to daily life. I for one, find him to be one of the few songwriters in the rock and roll sphere with enough popularity and balls, daring enough to make that connection. Neil Young is another brave soul, who cares more about society than dollar signs to speak his mind.

Either way, and irregardless of what was mentioned above, if you are a Boss fan, tonight on NFL halftime, a clip of the E Street Band performance of this tune set to football highlights is set to air. The song will be included on the next Bruce Springsteen disc coming in January.

Canadiens Lacking What Begin Brings

2008-11-15T09:30:00.007-05:00

According to Canadiens coach Guy Carbonneau, the Habs played what was possibly their best game in two seasons last Tuesday, when they blanked the Ottawa Senators 4-0 to rebound from what the coach called their worst game in the same span, a 6-3 humiliation two nights prior against the Maple Leafs.

Perhaps the Canadiens just found the one rival in their path with a slower pulse in the Senators, because two nights later, the Habs stunk out the joint against the Bruins.

Truth be told, Ottawa is about as dysfunctional as the Tampa Bay Lightning most nights, and beating them shouldn't have been anything to get excited about. Heck, two nights later, the Islanders handled the Senators with ease, and so went the theory the Habs have cured any of their ails.

Without the benefit of anything more than video evidence to suggest only part of the story, the Canadiens seem in need of some kind of a boost.

To echo the phrase uttered by former disposed coach of the year Orval Tessier, the Habs have looked like they are in need of heart transplants of late.

I call chemistry into question. More precisely, the lack of it.

All kinds of adjectives could be employed to describe the Canadiens recent play. They could include sluggish, uninspired, individualistic, unfocused, distracted, and without heart.

One of the more popular topics of late, when discussing the Habs woes, is the contribution of Georges Laraque, hired to make the entire team taller by a few inches. Or so, it was billed.

Laraque hasn't exactly carved out his niche on the team as of yet, and it wouldn't be a stretch to claim he has been a glaring non factor in almost every game he has been dressed for. Playing on the Canadiens fourth line - an energy line in essense - he has made slow footed Guillaume Latendresse look like Paul Coffee by comparison.

I can't fake it. I like the guy, but there is no polite way to say that Laraque has done absolutely squat so far this season.

Some might suggest that last Tuesday, Laraque's presence kept Ottawa's Chris Neil quiet. That would be true, if they had actually lined up against each other on the ice when the score of the game was still being contested.

While others have contemplated what Laraque is or isn't bringing each game, I have missed what dressing him each game has eliminated, namely the contribution of energetic fourth liner Steve Begin.

Since popping in the insurance goal against the Flyers in the third game of the season, Begin has sat out 8 of the last 11 games this season. He's almost become a afterthought in the Canadiens scheme of things. His name is often mentioned in the same sentence as the phrase "days are numbered" when it comes to his contribution in team terms.

Now, no one will confuse Begin with being nothing more than a simple role player, but here is where putting his role, his traits and attributes, and his dedication come into importance. He brings to the Habs, a deckful of intangibles few players on the team can boast of.

Feel free, if you choose, to see Begin as simply a player who has been the victim of a trio of bad timing penalty calls in the last season and a half. So the guy is overexhuberant - I wish that could be said about a half dozen nameless others.

Begin has the third longest tenure on the club, after Saku Koivu, Andrei Markov and Patrice Brisebois - who skipped two seasons. He was actually Bob Gainey's first acquisition upon becoming the Canadiens GM in the summer of 2003. That tenure, and the path taken, means something to the team chemistry.

Comparing Begin's stats to Wayne Gretzky is missing the point. Begin brings bucket loads of guts, spirit, leadership, dedication, grit, speed, and heart to the team.

Allow me to bring up these questions:

Have you ever seen Begin coil when it comes to dropping the gloves in defense of team mates?

Have ever seen Begin back away from a hit?

Do you know that, as a member of the Saint John Flames in 2001, Begin was voted playoff MVP despite not being his team's leading scorer?

Begin knows what it takes to win, and what it takes to create a winning atmosphere. He's a wild card's loadful of intangibles, enjoying a press box view while the Canadiens lack all the things that he could bring on a game by game basis.

Begin might just play ten minutes a game or less, but he spends the other fifty on the bench yapping. Knowing his character, his contributions eminate from there as well.

Would it be a drastic alteration to the Habs game plan to play him regularly and gauge his effect on the club for two weeks?

As I watch the Canadiens dedication issues lump into a pile, this is one managable move that would barely be cause for friction.

It's time for an injection of heart - it's cheaper than a transplant!

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A Letter From The Gainey Foundation

2008-11-14T16:26:00.004-05:00

A quick follow up here on the Habs Inside Out fan summit donation to the Gainey Foundation after last month's raffle. The amount donated to the fund from fans totalled $1,250.00 and today I received a thank you note on our behalf.

Below, are the contents of the short note sent from Anna Gainey. Take a minute or two to visit the Gainey Foundation website and learn about all their endeavors. A big thanks once more to all the HIO summiteers who gave so generously of their time, their wallets, and of their collections to make this happen.

November 12, 2008

Dear Robert:

On behalf of my family, I would like to extend our sincere thanks to the Habs inside - out group for their generous support of the Gainey Foundation. I received both the money order and cheque you sent by mail.

I regret not being able to meet with you at Baton Rouge the night of your visit. I hope you all had an enjoyable time in Montreal.

Many thanks again for your time and efforts in making in making this donation possible.

Sincerly,

Anna Gainey,
Executive Director

Habs Fans All Star Prank An Embarrassment

2008-11-14T08:35:00.002-05:00

For once I have to agree with the Habs haters out there, and this dumb prank just gives them fuel to spread their wrath.

Just a few days in the 2009 All Star game, six Canadiens players are leading all six starting positions for this year's game. At first the notion of it is kind of fun, as all of Price, Koivu, Tanguay, Kovalev, Markov and Komisarek are players deserving of being in the mix this season while enjoying fairly good starts in 2008-09. The fact that Habs fans would vote often was to be no big surprise.

While everyone recognizes the passion of Canadiens fans, and would have expected them to show up en masse to vote their faves in, it has come to light that certain fans have created "auto voters" that run automatically by voting for a player on a per minute basis 24/7. Fans can literally washthe dishes, make babies, and snore while voting.

Call it what it is - cheating, and term some Habs fans for how this nonsense makes them look - pompous and arrogant, but where something like this really gnaws at me is that it paints all Canadiens fans with one brush. And I don't like the colour of the paint!

It also taints the organization for no reason, and quite rightly perhaps, the NHL, who in all their shrewdness, can never seem to get this All Star game voting thing right for once.

I won't link to this "auto voter", show a scan of it, or spread the word on it further, because it is simply despicable.

I would have liked to cast a vote for Saku, Kovalev, Tanguay and Markov, who I hope to see play in the game, but I now will not. If they were to legitinately get in, along with Komisarek and Price, it would all be good.

As it looks now, the Canadiens will have six starters in the game, and the feeling from the Habs fans, to fans of hockey everywhere, and perhaps even to the players themselves, is that a particular slanted mechanism was used for getting them all in.

Trust me, if this scheme works, it will be an embarrassment to everyone involved.

In a season where the Canadiens should be greatly celebrated by their fans, and the fans of the game hockey everywhere, a devious ploy like this just stains the club from top to bottom.

Somewhere, some twit without much of a life devised this crock, and now all Habs fans will pay for it. Nice move to undue all those seasons of class and dignity by the team.

If you personally have employed this auto vote gadget, please cease to now. The perception of yourself as a fan should be more important to you than getting our guys into some meaningless game anyway.

Do the right thing.

The All Star game is for all fans especially. Not just fans of two teams like any regular game, and not just for Habs fans.

I call for the NHL to cancel this vote, and redo the process, with some kind of blockers in place. The sooner, the better!

Let fairness rule!

One Final Stab At Some Habs Girls

2008-11-12T09:29:00.054-05:00

With my move to Sports Blog Nation about 10 days away, I figured it a good time to bundle all these hunnies together for a final Habs Girls post. I doubt they'll let me get away with it over there as they have a semi PG outlook for the kiddies.

I remember when I was 12, and seeing pictures like this for the first time. It messed up my mind big time, and thankfully I never recovered.

Occasionally I get an e-mail asking me where I find all of these beauties. Two have been sent here but for the rest of them, I'm sorry but I cannot tell.

None come over to pose in the backyard beach. However there are some items of Habs lingerie lying about the house and something can always be worked out.

One young lady had asked a time back to remove her photo. No reason was given, and none was needed. I thought she looked like Celine Dion, so I didn't argue

I think this is the third, maybe fourth installment of Habs Girls pics. I'll try to put up the link to the older posts here at a later date. For now, enjoy the photos and keep the comments respectable.

Until then, keep your eyes on the prize!

Canadiens Get On Track With 60 Minute Effort

2008-11-12T02:49:00.006-05:00

Last night's 4-0 whitewash of the Ottawa Senators was just what the doctor ordered!

There were several key plays, great performances, and turning points in the game, but stood out most was that the game was a unified effort in which every Hab showed up to play.

None of us could ever know, but it is possible this game might have been won starting with a team meeting called on Monday prior to practice.

It was no secret that despite getting off to a 8-2-2 start that the Canadiens were playing some sloppy brand of hockey. It all caught up to them the past weekend. The meeting called by the coaching staff surely caught the club off guard, and for the moment it seems as though it has served to bring all on board back down to the ground.

What the players offered last night was a true measure of the character of the team - it was a character win.

The Canadiens grabbed the lead, held it, kept the Senators scoring chances to a minimum, and capitalized on the mistakes they forced. They had many great scoring chances, but took less risks offensively, and never allowed Ottawa into the game.

Carey Price, in registering his first shutout of the season, was not overworked. It is a testament to the team effort that all he needed to be in this one was solid and not neccessarily spectacular.

It was also heartwarming to see a couple of players who had been squeezing their sticks tightly of late hit the scoresheet. It was a breakout effort for Chris Higgins, who always seems to create more chances than he can capitalize on. The most curious part of his night, were that all three goals were untypical of his play. He seemed invisible to Senators all evening, coming out of nowhere to net a hat trick, unsuspectingly.

As good as Higgins performed, he might not have been the best Canadiens player on the ice.

Saku Koivu and Tomas Plekanec had a few good scoring chances during the game, but their best work came in shutting down Jason Spezza, who wasn't a threat by any means in this game. Of course, Spezza often makes it easy on other centres by being easily outworked on all 200 feet of ice.

The Senators Dany Heatly should see Mike Komisarek in his nightmares for a spell. The Canadiens big defenseman was on his case every time he entered the Canadiens zone. Komisarek seemed on a mission to make Heatly come unglued.

The steadying influence of Roman Hamrlik is unfortunately more evident when he is missed. Not as obvious tonight was the fact that the Canadiens defenseman played their game, and gave the Ottawa forwards practically no clear paths to the net. In consequence to Hamrlik's return, Ryan O' Byrne might have had his best game of the season so far. His did make one near fatal boob, when he pinched, allowing a Heatley breakaway, but his blunders were kept to a minimum and his patience and poise were returned to his game.

Another point of note, is that the Plekanec and Kovalev penalty killing duo is gaining some grit. The had the Senators power play unit - their most devastating asset - off balance all game.

Kovalev's performances are often measured on the scoresheet, but he put in a great effort on a night when his offensive contributions weren't as badly needed. He had all kinds of puck possession time that translated into chances in this game. He did everything but capitalize.

The effort by the entire team was a timely one. It helps in part remove some of the doubt that may have seeped in from a string of horrid showings of late. With a trip to Boston up next, they might need to be even better on Thursday.

Photos courtesy of Habs Inside Out / The Montreal Gazette / Peter McCabe

Examining A Wartime Habs Myth On Rememberance Day

2008-11-11T06:58:00.017-05:00

"He's (Maurice Richard) just a wartime hockey player".

This quote came from the mouth of Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Frank Selke in the mid 1940's, when Richard scored 50 goals in 50 games while World War II raged overseas. While the assumption went more or less undisputed at the time, the notion that Richard was simply a wartime hockey phenominon took root and gained ground outside of the province of Quebec.

Canadiens coach at the time, Dick Irvin Sr.'s rebuttal after the war ended years later amounted to, "We'll the war must still be ongoing, because Richard is still scoring."

While the Rocket never again enjoyed the torrid 50 goal pace he set in the 1944-45 season, he did top the 40 goal mark in three of the following six seasons. Often injured, and playing in newly elongated schedules, the Rocket's scoring feats were practically given an asterisk by Selke's initial comments in the day.

Years later, when Selke moved his talents from the Maple Leafs front office to the Canadiens organization, the perception was rarely put forth by him ever again. Instead, it became Leafs owner Conn Smythe's propaganda in assessing the entire Montreal Canadiens team of era, going so far as to render the club war time cheaters in a sense.

The 1943-44 season was a campaign in which the NHL teams lineups were most drastically affected by players enlisting in the World War II service. The enlisting affected the composition of all six clubs, watering down the product in many views. Several teams lost core elements and the Canadiens were greatly criticized at the time, as it seemed on the surface that the Habs lost less talent than others did to the war.

Smythe, a veteran of the first world war, became a Major in World War II, and served overseas in the 1944 season. Chapters and books have been written recounting Smythe's valiant efforts on behalf of his country. He was without a doubt, a true Canadiens wartime hero.

Where Smythe becomes full of himself, is in his battlefield war of words aimed at the Montreal Canadiens on ice success that built while he was off serving his country. He never quite accepted that the Canadiens gained ground on Toronto while he was not at the helm of the team. Smythe never let go of his notion that the Canadiens organization profited from the perceived weaknesses of others to become an NHL power in the mid 1940's.

In truth, as one can see, the Canadiens did lose a great deal of talent to the war. In the end, what the team ultimately did, was manage their club resources more shrewdly with the war on the horizon.

Around the NHL, the impact of war was severe. The Boston Bruins lost the services of the entire "Kraut Line" of Woody Dumart, Milt Schmidt, and Bobby Bauer after the 1941-42 season. That year the trio had accounted for a total of 41 of the clubs 160 goals, and the Bruins finished third in the standings with 56 points, four behind the league leading Rangers.

The following season, in 1942-43, minus the "Kraut Line", the Bruins finished second, four back of the Red Wings, but scored a whopping 195 goals, an increase of 35 in the absence of their top line. This season, Bruins players would hit the net with even better accuracy, counting for 223 goals, while surrendering a dreadful 268 against.

Losing the "Kraut Line" it could be said, hardly hampered their offense.

In New York, the Rangers also sacrificed a top trio to the war effort, with brothers Mac and Neil Colville, flanked by Alex Shibicky, missing in NHL action starting in the 1942-43 season. In 1941-42, the line's last season together, the trio accounted for 42 goals. In truth, the Colville brothers line were the Rangers second line, as the trio of Phil Watson, Bryan Hextall, and Lynn Patrick, aged 27, 28, and 29 respectively, accounted for 71 goals that season.

What hurt the Rangers most, was the loss of 21 year old rookie goalie "Sugar" Jim Henry to the service, as their goals against ballooned from 143 to 253 in a single season. New York went from 171 goals scored, down to 161 goals that season, but the Watson, Hextall, Patrick trio still packed some punch, hitting the net 63 times between the three of them. In Henry's absence, the Rangers record dropped to 29-7-2 to 11-31-8. In 1943-44, the Rangers employed a horrifying 34 players, while grounding themselves to a 6-39-5 record.

The Maple Leafs were also affected by players having been enlisted in the army. The Leafs lost goaltender Turk Broda and top scorer Syl Apps to the war. Each were undoubtably among the best at their positions in the early 1940's, and their losses surely hurt the team. Howie Meeker, a prospect who had yet to play in the NHL, enlisted and was hurt overseas in a shrapnel blast. Meeker recovered sufficiently to became the Calder Trophy winner in 1946-47.

In 1942-43, the Leafs third place standing involved a 22-19-9 record, while the team scored 198 goals. With Broda in goal, the Leafs allowed 159 goals against. In the 1943-44 season, minus the skills of Broda and Apps, Toronto held onto third place with a 23-23-6 record, only one point shy of their previous regular season. Their goals for increased by 16 goals to 214, while their goals against jumped by 15 to 174. The subtraction of Apps from the lineup was more than made up for by the additions of Calder Trophy winner Gus Bodnar (22-40-62 in 50 games) and rookie George Kennedy (26-23-49 in 49 games).

The Detroit Red Wings were most fortunate in 1942-43. With a lineup that featured neither young stars enlisting, and veterans just old enough to avoid service in the military, they finished second to the Canadiens with a 26-18-6 record for 58 points, a drop of 3 points from 1942-43

The Chicago Blackhawks, a perenial doormat in these times, were mostly unaffected by the war. The season total in both seasons held status quo at 49 points.

What was generally suspiscious to Smythe and others, was the Canadiens going from a record of 19-19-12 in 1942-43, to a superlative season of 38-5-7 in 1943-44. In his mind he smelled a rat, and he blamed the notion that Canadiens players appeared to be the least involved in the war. He spoke his views loud and long enough for them to take hold and became truth to many, but as is often the case, history was simply becoming a version of truth supplied by the loudest historian with the largest pedestal.

If one does not believe the Canadiens contributed to World War, it is surprising to learn that only 8 of 27 players employed during the previous 1942-43 season returned to the club in their record setting year. Many of their elements were off to war, and all that remainded from the club were Maurice Richard, Toe Blake, Elmer Lach, Butch Bouchard, Buddy O'Connor, Leo Lamoureux, Ray Getliffe, Glen Harmon. Only Blake and harmon had made a legitimate name for themselves by this point in their NHL careers.

Richard had tried to enlist, twice, in previous years, but had been turned away both times due to severe injuries suffered in games. Lach also failed his physical. Blake at 32, and often injured himself, fell into the same situation. To the surprise of many, the three who had rarely played together gelled incredibly well. The following season, they would finish 1-2-3 in scoring.

Missing from the previous 1942-43 season, were a core of up and coming stars and able veterans. Joe Benoit, Alex Smart and Smiley Meronek, all set for promising careers, were sent overseas. Benoit had contributed 30 goals and 27 assists the previous year. Smart scored three goals in his first NHL game. Meronek had 9 points in a short 12 game stint before leaving the team early in the 1942-43 campaign. Marcel Dheer, a fourth younger talent also joined rank.

All Star defenseman Ken Reardon was the Canadiens most significant loss, and he was joined by Gord Drillon, a 28 goal scorer acquired from Toronto two seasons prior.

Between Drillon and Benoit alone, the Canadiens were down 58 goals from the loss of their two best shooters - a fact seldom noted in hockey history books.

In a controvercial trade, the Canadiens acquired Montreal born Rangers forward Phil Watson, who had been initially restricted to playing games only on Canadiens soil due to the terms and duties of his enlistement. Over the course of the season, his restrictions were lifted, and he would appear in all games with the Habs. The Canadiens however, paid dearly for his services for one season, sacrificing all of veterans Charlie Sands, Fern Gauthier, John Mahaffy, Dutch Hillier and Tony Demers to acquire Watson.

Perhaps in the final tally, it could be seen that Canadiens General manager Tom Gorman simply managed his club better than anyone else. In hindsight, good fortune and a shrewd knack for talent spotting served him well

When Gorman had taken over the run of the team in 1940, the Canadiens were on the brink of folding due to hard times from the Depresssion of the 1930's. Slowly, Gorman assembled a group of talented players, and they were destined to make the club a league power sooner or later. Injuries to players had stunted this development, and the Canadiens were in fact overdue for a breakthrough season in 1944. Many things, the war nonwithstanding, had fallen into place for the 1943-44 season.

Two off - season moves Smythe made, or in fact didn't make, greatly affected the Canadiens this season.

Having lost goaltender Turk Broda, one of the best in the game, to the war, Smythe loaned the Canadiens Paul Bibeault for a season instead. The price was cheap, as Bibeault was a stiff who'd worn out his welcome in Montreal. A few seasons earlier, Smythe lost Broda's heir apparent in a training camp decision. The goalie, a Toronto native in the Leafs own backyard, would star for the Canadiens in the next seven seasons.

Bill Durnan, the game's only ambidextrous stopper in history, was perhaps the biggest reason the Canadiens turned their fortunes around. He was simply amazing in his rookie season as a 27 year old. In truth few hockey men saw Durnan coming, but soon he would win six Vezina trophies in seven season with Montreal.

Gorman was fortunate with Smythe's next oversight. In the middle of the 1943-44 campaign, the Canadiens GM called around the league to find some interest for an often injured forward he had on his hands that he was unsure would amount to very much. Every team including Toronto failed to make the Canadiens a substancial offer for the so called brittle player.

Returning to the lineup early in the 1944 calandar year after missing four games with another injury, Maurice Richard caught fire once placed with Blake and Lach. He made up for lost time quickly, scoring 23 goals in his final 22 regular season games. He would add 12 more in nine playoff games as the Canadiens captured the Stanley Cup.

Who knew?

Richard would go on to shatter every scoring record in the game while defining the Canadiens organization for generations with his fiery, empassioned play. The Canadiens were lucky - Smythe and four other NHL organizations couldn't have known.

Years later, Smythe made great attempts and offers in the hundreds of thousands to acquire Richard, but the Canadiens would never part with him. He plotted it in some detail, getting the Toronto mayor to honour Richard for various feats, and often spoke of the possibily of making an offer to the media. At one point, a Toronto paper even printed a mock up photo of Richard in the Leafs blue woolies. The courting never amounted to anything serious. Tampering rules would prevent such a thing happening today.

Smythe never admitted to his oversights, just as he was always prepared to brag and take credit for everything his right hand man Selke achieved. It was not in his charcter to admit defeat, as he was a warrior through and through. Credit to others would simply not come from a man as proud as Smythe.

When the Canadiens came up for discussion with Smythe, the questions always turned to how, in his opinion, the Canadiens basically cheated during wartime.

Smythe often underlined that a Canadiens director named Len Peto, had found war time factory work for the Habs players in a Montreal plant that built products for the war, thus helping to keep them from front line duty. This may have been a case putting the cart before the horse, as the Canadiens players doing factory work were refused by the military, but still sought to do their part for the war effort. Smythe, it could be said, did not overlook the convenience of twisting the truth when it came to serving his own needs.

It is doubtful that he ever got over missing out on Rocket Richard. When Smythe was off serving at war, he liked Selke to inform him of prospective deals. In fact, it is often said that when Selke fleeced the Canadiens of Ted Kennedy that year without first consulting Smythe, it would later lead to a feud, resulting in his termination in Toronto because Smythe had not been advised.

In Toronto, once the talent pool accumulated by Selke ran dry, the Maple Leafs under Smythe's full reign, endured an 11 year Cup drought from 1951 to 1962 - an eternity back in the day.

It is just the character of some people, that when they can no longer boast of themselves, they seek to tear another down. That might just be the bottom line in the long held story of the war time hockey player on the team of cheaters.

For more information on hockey during wartime, and an example of the thoughts above, check out Joe Pelletier's Greatest Hockey Legends' "War and Hockey History".

Lest We Forget!

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Nothing Wrong With Kostopoulos Hit

2008-11-09T22:16:00.000-05:00

I finally got around to watching the highlights from last night's debacle against the Maple Leafs. I wasn't too keen on seeing them after the game, the worst one the Canadiens have played in over a year.

Last night, I missed the first ten minutes of the game after arriving home from my daughter's tournament (she was game MVP) and I watched the first half of the game with the sound down and some company in the room. I hadn't seen the Tom Kostopoulos hit on Leafs defenseman Mike Van Ryn, but I had heard a bit about it, and that he'd been thrown from the game.

Late this afternoon I spoke with a Leafs fan friend that called it the most disgusted thing he's seen in years. He's calling Kostopoulos to get 20 games suspension for it. Unfortunately I couldn't give my opinion at the time.

After finding a You Tube clip of the hit, I had to watch it over and over to figure out what the fuss is about. The hit is perfectly legal. The result, anything but pretty.

Van Ryn unfortunately left himself wide open and vulnerable on the play. A player should always be alert and aware of his surroundings and never let up like he did. Stopping to cradle to puck when he knows he's being pursued is just plain dangerous.

There were several intelligent options for a defenseman to make on the play, and any of them should have included Van Ryn bracing himself to take a hit. It is a players perogative to protect themselves when skating to the boards to play the puck, and Van Ryn acted like there wasn't a soul around him.

As is often the case, the officials penalized the result instead of the act, as though it is Kostopoulos' fault that Van Ryn's a lame brain.

I showed my 13 year old daughter the clip of the hit. They teach boys her age in bantam how to give and receive bodychecks. She played three exhibition games last season against that age group. They weren't allowed to bodycheck against the girls team, but that didn't stop my girl from taunting them with a slam or two of her own.

When she saw what Van Ryn did, she was laughing. She couldn't understand what he was thinking when he stopped to pivot on the puck. Neither can I.

Kostopoulos is pretty much faultless in the whole incident. His hitting motion is completely legal, There is no attempt to isolate Van Ryn's head. What was most unfortunate, is that once a player throws himself into a hit, it's practically impossible to put on the brakes. It's akin to turning back once you've jumped from a plane. Kostopoulos can't exactly pull a shute once his momentum has been propelled in Van Ryan's direction.

I doubt that Kostopoulos will receiving anything more than a game for this. I don't even see a two minute penalty on the play.

While searching for the clip, I found this beauty from two weeks back when Milan Lucic of the Bruins hit Van Ryn, shattering the glass in the process. Van Ryn should be made aware that players will attempt to take him out of the play.

Let's hope that everything will be alright in his case, and that he makes a sound recovery and quick return to the ice.

Leafs Hand Habs A Hockey Lesson, And Expose Carbonneau's High Wire Risks In The Process

2008-11-09T04:47:00.005-05:00

Raise your hands all those that didn't see this coming!

You in the back with your arms angrily folded, step to the front of the class!

So far this season, the Canadiens are not playing as a focused and cohesive unit. Their 8-2-2 record is not representative of where they are by any means.

After busting out of the gate with a 5-0-1 record to start the season, the Habs have since stunk the joint out by going 3-2-1. Since the seventh game of the present campaign against the Ducks on October 25, they have allowed 22 goals against, while scoring only 19.

The most recent wins against the Wild, the Hurricanes, and the Islanders were almost accidental in nature. In Minnesota, the Canadiens were lucky that the Wild misfired on ten powerplay chances. They needed a shootout to defeat Carolina. Last Saturday, they struggled desperately to come from behind and beat a weak and confidence lacking Islanders club

Last night, the Maple Leafs dealt the Canadiens a lesson in focus, intensity, and hard work. You could also add humility to the growing list.

Cliches in sports have long been invented to explain away what has infested the Canadiens of late.

No game is won before it is played.

Never underestimate an opponant.

Hard work and dedication will beat skill and talent when it doesn't work as hard.

All three of these old adages apply to the loss against the Leafs, and the Canadiens should be feeling quite humbled about now.

The Canadiens showed up to play the same doormat Maple Leafs squad they easily handled 6-1 in the season's second game. The trouble was, that Leafs team was not their opponant last night. Instead, a hungier and more focused club awaited them, and in the final tally, it was the Canadiens who failed to show up and bring with them an equal appetite.

Part of the Canadiens recurring problem is that they know how good they are. Or at least they think they do. A hockey team might be like a rock group, wherein they are only as good as their last record. The last time I checked, the Canadiens haven't won anything of significance recently.

Some of the Canadiens wins at the start of the season weren't pretty either. The Habs have enough talent that they can often turn a game around within minutes. Learning to rely on that fact is a catastrophic recipe for disaster. The come from behind win against the Islanders, and even the late goal against the Blue Jackets the night before that allowed the team a point in a loss, tends to fuel the notion that they can pull irons out of the fire at anytime.

Last night provided another example. With Toronto ahead by two goals, the Canadiens profited from the Leafs indiscipline by notching a pair of goals on the power play to tie the game. I gather such only served to bolster their overconfidence. What they failed to grasp was that Toronto handed them the opportunities, the Canadiens did not earn them with hard work.

Three successive calls in the Leafs offensive zone, all three for running the goaltender, opened the Canadiens window. It was not the Habs thrusting in the Leafs zone that fed their chances. Once the Canadiens had evened the score, it was as if a forthcoming win was taken for granted.

What disgusts me most, is that even by that time of the game, the Habs had yet to seize that their opponant was their equal.

It should be drilled into this team's collective consciousness that the Toronto Maple Leafs are always going to be a formidable foe, irregardless of what they appear to be on paper, or what their current record is, or how they have played in recent games. The Maple Leafs live, exist, and yearn to eat the Habs alive, especially in a perceived underdog's role.

The Canadiens approached last night's game as though it had already been won on paper.

But why on God's earth would the Habs think they were in for an easy night against Toronto. The Leafs have beaten the Red Wings, Bruins, Senators, Devils, Rangers, and now the Canadiens so far this term - not a sad sack team in the lot. Coach Ron Wilson is the big difference maker. He has his team poised every game, and playing with a do or die edge.

I'd like to see such a temperment instilled into the Canadiens players!

Perhaps the Canadiens are subscribed into the illusions and distractions brought on by the perceptions of themselves by fans and media. In a celebratory one hundredth season, it isn't unlikely.

Maybe it is because there has been no shortage of excuses to pamper their failures game in and game out, even when they win ugly.

It could be that coach Carbonneau isn't hard enough on the team. I see unflaged accountability issues everywhere I look on this team, yet the team's slow start in games is most often blamed on a schedule that gives them too many successive nights off. What a load of crock!

I like Guy Carbonneau as a coach, but sometimes he could be accused of tiptoeing around things when a hammer ought to be employed a bit more liberally. Most of the Canadiens players this season are doing all kinds of good things on the ice, yet their errors seem to be swept under a collective carpet of absent denial.

These issues do not go away by themselves. They need to be confronted head on.

On ice indiscipline on this team is a recurring issue. Two seasons ago, when Carbonneau was a rookie coach, I could understand that calming such habits was a work in progress. Last season it seemed to be dealt with, but it has made a return this season.

When a former players such as Carbonneau become bench bosses, their disrespect for the game's officials follows them. I'm not privy to Carbonneau's words in the heat of action, but his gestures, mannerisms, and consistent facial smirks speak loudly enough to broadcast his opinions.

Players pick up on such vibes, and the attitude becomes contagious. A coach needs to mute such disgust to unseen and unheard proportions, because it affects his players perceptions greatly. Bad officiating gives all players an excuse, and an out, when a coach publically displays a vivid displeasure on controvercial calls. The next bad penalty they take, will always be the referee's fault, in that line of thinking. Trouble often begins when accountability goes off compass.

There's another old sports cliche, mostly passed among coaches: Give players an obvious excuse, and they will run with it everytime.It is the nature of the blamed. A coach who is a former player of 20 NHL seasons ought to know this much, and learn to control his every reflex towards that. He's only passing along bad habits if he doesn't reel the instinct in.

Another Carbonneau goof came at the term of training camp, when he was discussing the composition of the teams individual lines and their roles on the club, In boasting of the Habs apparent offensive gunpowder, Carbonneau publically stated that there was no particular trio of the four whose role was mainly to act in a defensive mode.

All four lines had scoring punch, according to the coach, and all four lines would also be tasked with both offensive and defensive responsabilities. To that end, and with an eye on not damaging any egos, the coach also added that the club had no defined number one line as well.

Twelve games into the season, those proclamations may have served to cause the Canadiens current strife.

Roles need to be defined and underlined specifically on a team. Tasks need to be outlined and detailed to precision without fail. Barring such understood definitions creates a finger pointing atmosphere amongst the team, where players blame others without a word being said rather than take responsability for breakdowns themselves.

Ignoring all of this is a recipe for a rot that can eat at a team's core - witness the Ottawa Senators 15 games into the 2006-07 season for an example of this.

Added all up, the Canadiens are an indisciplined team, skilled but over confident, ill prepared for what is at stake in each game, and unaware of forthcoming consequences. It is becoming obvious enough after only 12 games that other teams are learning how to prey upon such cracks in the foundation.

A redefinition of the team is required in order for the Canadiens to carve out an identity that suits their ultimate goals.

It all starts at the top, with corrections made by those who call the shots.

.

Don Cherry Was Almost A Montreal Canadien, Not!

2008-11-07T17:11:00.002-05:00

Everyone has heard the old Don Cherry tale of playing his lone NHL game against the Canadiens in the 1955 playoffs. Few people realize that Cherry once donned the Habs jersey he would later grow to despise.

Who knows the real story, but it is doubtful an accounting would come from Cherry himself!

Cherry started out in junior as a solid prospect on defense who was signed to a confirmation form (C - Form) with the Bruins in the day. After his first pro season in Hershey, he was called up by the Bruins in March of 1955, to play what would turn out to be his only NHL game.

Did the Habs burn him or what?

All that is known from the game, is that Boston didn't win it.

The Canadiens went on to win the series 4 to 1, but then lost in the Cup final to Detroit in seven games.

In the 1959-60 season, Cherry played the final 23 games of the season for the Trois Rivieres Lions of the Eastern Professional Hockey League. The 25 year old defenseman had been acquired from the Springfield Indians and was in the midst of becoming a journeyman AHL'er. Soon he would play for eight different teams in the next ten seasons.

With the Lions, he was a team mate of future Rangers dynamic duo Rod Gilbert and Jean Ratelle, and one time Habs forwards Dave Balon, Leon Rochefort, and goaltender Claude Evans.

The Canadiens organziation sponsored Quebec based teams and players in the EPHL, and obviously became acquainted with Cherry at the time. After Cherry played with Kitchener, Sudbury and Springfield once more, he was looking to remain in the EPHL, where he had forged a reputation as a tough and dependable rearguard.

Prior to the 1962-63 season, it appears that Cherry was given a tryout by the Canadiens, playing a few exhibition games with the Hull Ottawa Canadiens of the EPHL

Cherry wore number 6 and played in at least a few exhibition games for Hull, as noted by this program for a game against the NHL Bruins.

Curious that an EPHL team would play against an NHL club in exhibition. The Bruins in the day were the NHL's weak sisters, and the Canadiens farm club was a strong minor league affiliate loaded with talent.

Canadiens prospects on that edition of the Hull - Ottawa squad included Keith McCreary, Claude larose, Terry Harper, Jim Roberts, Jacques Laperriere, Germain Gagnon, Andre Boudrias, and goalies Ernie Wakely, Claude Pronovost, and Cesare Maniago.

Few remember Cherry's brief stint in the CH duds. It is likely only after he became famous as the Bruins coach, and later, even more reknown from Coach's Corner, did anyone likely recall his Canadiens cup of coffee.

Of the few recollections from that time, word arises that the team liked Cherry enough to invite him. It is often discussed that the NHL Habs were on the lookout for players who weren't afraid to drop the gloves, and that is where their interest in Cherry may have came from. The following season, the Canadiens signed John Ferguson, and settled the issue of team toughness in one fell swoop.

Why Cherry didn't stick with Montreal could have been that he liked to tip the bottle a touch too much for the liking of GM Sam Pollock. The tryout ended as soon as it began, and the 28 year old went on to sign with the Spokane Comets of the WHL. The Comets had an affiliation with the Canadiens as well, employing the three goaltenders named above, as well as Cherry for the duration of the season.

Cherry then moved on to the Rochester Americans of the AHL, where he would play parts of the next six seasons, in a veteran leadership role that led to his interest in coaching. In Vancouver, he crossed more Canadiens affiliates, in Marc Rheaume, Gagon and goalie Charlie Hodge.

The Canadiens meanwhile, were busy winning four Cups in five seasons from 1965 to 1969.

Were francophone sour grapes born from this?

How Gainey Could Fill Hamrlik's Doughnut? (Or, Gainey's Search For The Next Craig Ludwig)

2008-11-05T12:50:00.010-05:00

While the 2008-09 season is still young, and the Montreal Canadiens are doing as well as possible could be expected with a haul of 17 of 20 potential points, the ultimate goal for the campaign is to bag a 25th Stanley Cup in it's centennial season.

The expectations are high, and anything less than a Cup final participation will be seen by many as a disappointment of sorts.

It has been suggested on many fronts that the Canadiens shoot for moon in this season, and continue to seek to acquire players who will take them to the promised land.

With an 8-1-0-1 record, spotting where the club needs an ungrade at present, is trickier than what it appears on the surface. The team is winning consistently, with a couple of ugly gains thrown in, is scoring at a decent clip, is playing sounder 5 on 5 hockey than they have in years, and overall the team is allowing less goals per game than it has in recent memory.

So what's the problem exactly, and why are fans and media alike clammoring for upgrades?

For starters, it has something inherant with being a Habs follower, that gets a playoff discussing off and running after the season's first game is in the books. It amplifies from there.

Soon, as other clubs have there woes, rumours begin as to who exactly on the available market could be of help to the Canadiens. Next thing you know, snazzy shooters the likes of Marian Gaborik and Ilya Kovalchuk are being speculated with much foundation.

Certain insightful fans of the team - and there's about a million of them with a concrete opinion - suggest that there is a hole that needs filling on defense.

Looking at the composition of the club so far this season, it is apparent that they have sufficient offence to see them through. With nine interchangable gunners up front, the club has the benefit of six "Joe the Plumbers" to fill out the fourth line duties on a given night. The depth at forward allows for some confident navigation through injuries, as we have witnessed so far.

In goal, Carey Price and Jaroslav Halak have been fairly consistent thus far, with each having had one off night that is of little concern.

On defense, Andrei Markov, an All Star, is paired with Mike Komisarek, an all purpose meanie who blocks shots and pounds with a wrecking ball's ramdom precision. A solid an experienced Roman Hamrlik hightlights the second pairing, often placed with either of veteran Patrice Brisebois or greenhorn Ryan O'Byrne. The third due is the solid is unspectacular Francis Bouillon and Josh Gorges, both efficient enough to see the club through. An emergency option lies in forward, and former defenseman Mathieu Dandenault, who could surely handle a few shifts when the penalty box holds three reargaurds or when injuries hit.

But that is all well and fine in the here and now. Canadiens fans meanwhile, are discussing the second, third and fourth rounds of the playoff, and they see a doughnut next to Hamrlik that begs for filling.

As time passes, it is becoming apparent that the play of Brisebois and O'Byrne will not suffice in that role. O'Byrne will be a good one - one day, but lacks the experience at present while enduring the rough road bumps that are what becoming a regular NHL defenseman is all about. Brisebois, on the other hand, has all kinds of experience (most of it wearily undemonstrated), but is too old in his game for it to be depended upon.

The outcry, if you will, has little to do with what is being asked of those players as it appears both are better suited in the roles of a fifth and sixth D-man. Breaking up the Bouillon and Gorges duo to fit one alongside Hamrlik, only brings the issue back to square.

It is clear that for the Canadiens to upgrade, this is where the need is most required.

The problem is, fourth defenseman are not in abundance, and teams looking to deal a potential suitor to the Habs will be greedy for quality returns.

I've no doubt that sooner or later, GM Gainey will start staring into the doughnut, and it will hypnotically gain in size. Something will need to be done.

After all, you only get one chance to win a Stanley Cup in a 100th season once!

Gainey captained the unlikely 1986 Cup champs, a team taken a great length by Patrick Roy, some savvy vets, a fermenting crew of quality youngs, and some able role players. Gainey, as seen by his retirement ceremony last season, has a fondness for the Joe Plumbers workers of the lunchpail crew, and it is likely that he seeks out such a type to fill the apparent void.

The kind of player he may target, could easily resemble former defenseman Craig Ludwig, an unsung player on that 1986 squad.

Ludwig paired with a young Chris Chelios, while Larry Robinson tandemed with Rick Green. Further down, Gaston Gingras, absent from the regular season, ate up PP time and stole Petr Svoboda's (a gingerbread Brisebois if there ever was one!) role, with Mike Lalor added to mix.

The bulk of the work went to the Robinson, Green, Chelios, Ludwig quator, and the were all employed well above 20 minutes per game.

Ludwig was a low maintenance, stay at home, with an angry lumberjack's temperment. His disposition was personified by his stickwork, and he was all shoulders and elbows in his crunches. His first pass was a solid and consistant efficient clearing, and his game held no delussions or surprises. He was what O'Byrne may one day become. Unfortunately, the role Ludwig fillled, is now being taken up to some extent by Hamrlik, who is losing some of his true game by having to be wearly of his partner's failings.

In order to bring the best out of Hamrlik and reduce his workload, a Ludwig of sorts is sought.

Now fans hoping for a splash in acquiring a defenseman, name players like Florida's Jay Bowmeester, or Nashville's Shea Weber as top line players on their want lists. Other names I have heard in pure speculation have included Jay McKee of St. Louis, Matt Schneider in Atlanta and the Leafs Tomas Kaberle - all doubtful for varying reasons..

Once caller into CKAC yesterday said Gainey should even make the Ducks an offer they can't refuse for Chris Pronger!

It's doubtful that Gainey is on speaking terms with Brian Burke from a two year old misconception, but maybe targeting Francois Beauchemin, a free agent next summer, is a sounder and more probable fit next to Hamrlik.

One interesting option could be Nicklas Havelid, a 35 year old vet with the Thrashers who would fit in nicely. He's inexpensive at 2.9 million and a UFA next season, and holds Atlanta's D together most nights. Ruslan Salei and Adam Foote of Colorado are salaries in the same ballpark with an added season that fit the mold.

Detroit's Brad Stuart is signed long term, but word is he is available, as he is standing ion the way of Niklas Kronwall's progression. Would the Wings deal with Montreal? Stuart could be the Habs perfect one year solution, and his contract could easily be turned over a season from now.

Sean O'Donnell of the L.A. Kings at 36 has an interesting resume. A member of the 2006 Ducks championship, and at 1.25 million in his final contract year, a Habs scout should check his foot speed to see if he fits in with fleet footed younger boys. O' Donnell would strictly be a depth addition, should the Canadiens see fit to work Gorges in alonside Hamrlik.

Would Minnesota part with 28 year Martin Skoula, an other skilled vet with Cup experience, and a cheap 1.9 M pricetag?

It doesn't look promising for a return of Mathias Ohlund to vancouver next season. The UFA could be a trade deadline darling that Gainey, with an alluring package could snatch earlier.

Ideally, what Gainey will look for is to acquire someone by the mid season mark. Working a defenseman in takes time. Thirty to fourty games before the playoffs is ideal. The salary would have to be mid range, and preferably expire at season's end without complicating next year's salary issues.

Some of the names mentioned above may or may not be attainable without a great sacrifice of prospects, picks and roster names. Some others might be had by simply swapping O' Byrne, and a third rounder. The Canadiens could also dangle former first rounder David Fischer, who has been slow to come around, but has shown some late bloomer upside of late.

What Gainey would offer in return is anyone's guess, but my take is that such a move would not test team chemistry. The prospects not going anywhere, anytime soon are Max Pacioretty, Yannick Weber, and Ryan McDonagh. Matt D' Agnostini's name will come up, as will goalie Jaroslav Halak's.

Beginning on Friday November 7, the Canadiens play their next 13 games in the following 23 days. It will be a rigourous test. It should also answer some questions regarding Hamrlik's doughnut.

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Turn And Face The Strange CH...CH...Changes (A Canadiens Blogsite Metamorphosis)

2008-11-04T01:19:00.009-05:00

Dear readers and supporters of this site,

It is with much excitement, anxious nervousness, and a regret or two, that I am announcing that Eyes On The Prize, as it has been known in this space for over two years, will be going dormant in about three weeks time.

This is not bad news!

I have been asked, recruited as such, by James Mirtle of Sports Blog Nation, to act as the Montreal Canadiens blogger at their rapidly growing site. James, and SB Nation, are building something big online, and the hockey community at the site is just getting ready to launch.

I will be one of 30 team bloggers, proudly representling your 100 year old Habs!

Sports Blog Nation looks to be an incredible opportunity, and I am thrilled to have been asked to be a part of it.

I'm beside myself actually, and the fidgety dude next to me either has a woody or needs to take a bad piss!

Kidding aside, this is the kind of serious thing that turns a hobby into a longer term deal. I like it a lot.

Having put in two years of my time's work and effort into EOTP, the decision was anything but simple at first. As friends have been made throught this space, and reader relationships have blossomed into efforts such as the Habs Inside Out fan summit that I helped with, I wanted certain assurances from James and SB Nation that what I do here is what I will continue to do for them.

After much back and forth with Mr. Mirtle, I'm happy to inform you all that this site name, its archives, all links and overall feel will all be migrated and reproduced at Sports Blog Nation. That was especially important to me, as I believed that would have been loyal readers of this site's biggest concerns as well.

What will differ is that the content will be hosted on their template and the look will be adorned with advertisements that generate revenue.

This will be, after all, a paying gig!

The new site will also be hosted at a new address, and once the move is made, a page notifying all readers of the new digs will be posted for easy transition.

Between now and the date of the move, this site will remain active with content on the Canadiens.

I feel quite fortunate to get in on the ground floor on the SB Nation endeavor, and there are a great many people that deserve my thanks and respect.

Matt Gauthier of Habs World and the Habs Inside Out crew have been essential to the popularity and growth of this site. Mike Boone and Dave Stubbs have been especially kind to me, giving certain pieces of mine headline status. Without the privelege of their sites to link my pieces, I doubt that I could have reached the audience I have in such a short life span. I wouldn't even consider moving on without continuing to bring my content to their homes, and that is a promise I intent to honour.

The Canadiens bloggosphere is an incredibly tight and supporting one. In addition to HIO and Habs World, Four Habs Fans, Lions In Winter, and Dennis Kane have always been part of the army for me. Not only have they always supported this blog with comments, links and friendship, they have supplied me with hours of interesting reading and thought provoking insight on the Canadiens. It has been fun to exist as part of their creative diversity. Once I'm settled in the new digs, my support of their work will continue on.

There are two other allies of this site that have always felt like compadres to me. From the early going, Joe Pelletier of Hockey's Greatest Legends has been not only a fan, but a friend and a resource as well. This site was a tiny speck on the net when Joe came along and helped disect and sort what was good about it. I was going in too many directions at once back then, and Joe's encouraging words were defining moments.

T.C. Denault, who writes for both Habs World and The Hockey News, could very well be my missing twin in both conscience and steps. We cheer alike, think in tandem at times, and write of similar notions with equal goals in mind. He's also been an invaluable compass for me in what I do, often challenging me to think more than he knows. I often have to read what T.C.'s latest musings are, as to not duplicated it myself. This gig I am set to embark on could just as easily and justifiably been his.

To all the readers over two years who have dropped by with comments, encouraging words and kindness, I thank you. There are many of you, and a listing of names inevitably leaves others out, so suffice to say that if you have dropped a line here and have been answered, it is because your words gave me a lift and a needed boost. It's never been something I took lightly.

One final appreciative nod.

It has happened on occasion that other sports hub sites have asked me to join their ranks. I've had both the generic and personal requests. It is quite possible even, that an e-mail from SBN was junked without realizing what I was doing. However, receiving a personal e-mail out of the blue from James Mirtle is akin for me to being pricked with a needle while dozing off.

From his first words, James seemed very intent, and referred that I came highly recommended by peers. Of course, that made me inquisitive!

A little later in our conversation, James revealed that it was in fact Pension Plan Puppets, a damn good Maple Leafs blog that holds no prisoners, who were campaigning for me. As James puts it, "It was PPP... he's been pushing me to get you onboard forever."

I guess there's hope for Middle East peace yet!

Seriously, PPP is a great blog for Leafs fans with no delusions. The site has often sent me good amounts of traffic and I never quite understood why. I hadn't spoken with PPP in a good while, but we never tried tearing each other's heads off when we did. We might just be the last two Leafs and Habs fans who respect each other - at least until this Saturday!

Joking aside, this man did me a good turn. I have a long memory for such things.

Finally, to explain why I am posting this weeks before the move, let me just say that I am somewhat of a transparent person, and it would be uncool for me to pretend or otherwise just one day shut down and reappear elsewhere. Honestly - you can tell - I'm excited about this. I couln't wait to share the news!

I've always wanted my site to have a personal touch. After having had the opportunity and privelege to shake hands with those who read and enjoy this site (Hello my HIO Summiteer friends!), the personal touch becomes imperative for me.

This note is just my way of stating that it will continue. After all, you readers out there, are my true employer.

Going off to new places is often a scary adventure. There's a ride waiting, and I'm a hitch hiker.

Readers - thanks for the lift!

When virtual rigormortis sets in, this post will permanently reappear to redirect readers to the new link.

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Should The Habs Go For Broke?

2008-11-03T01:39:00.008-05:00

We've passed 10% mark of the season and our team is 8-1-1. Despite this great start out of the gates, I still think we're capable of playing better. Do I mean 10-0-0? Of course not. Even the great Canadiens team of 1976-1977 lost a couple games despite having nine future Hall of Famers in their lineup.

What I'm looking for is for the team to play some a solid 60 minutes every night for a least a few games in succession. And that is admitted picking of nits on my part, as I'm optimistc that will come in time as the team is young and is gelling with new players in the lineup (Tanguay, Lang, Laraque). Overall, I'm pleased with the team and don't see the need for any major changes. I think a couple of players are capable of stepping it up (Kovalev, Plekanec, A. Kostitsyn, Higgins, O'Byrne) but if the Islanders game was any indication that may no longer be an issue. Well, at least the forwards.

Recently at the Habs Inside/Out Summit, it was brought up that we might need a solid 4th man on defence, as O'Byrne is taking longer to develop and Brisebois, Bouillon, Gorges are not capable (each for their own reasons) to take that slot yet. Or ever. It was also suggested that one can never have enough offence, so a player like Gaborik would be a great addition too.

Naturally, this is all hypothetical but as this blog is focussed on the discussion of all things Montreal Canadiens here is a perspective from the peanut gallery. The question is whether Bob Gainey would pull a blockbuster trade to get a Marian Gaborik type of forward or Jay Boumeester type of defenceman? There are really two ways to look at this kind of scenario:

OPTION 1: Go for broke. It's our centennial season and we have to win a cup this decade. Roll the dice at the trade deadline and trade from your stable of prospects and young players for a key player who would hopefully help you win a Stanley Cup. The last decade or so has been painful and only recently do we seem to have recovered from the horrible hangover that was due to the destructive Rejean Houle / Mario Tremblay duo.

Ultimately, Monsieur Gaborik and Monsieur Boumeester are all UFA's at the end of the year, so in all likelihood we will lose them in the off season like Pittsburgh did with Hossa last year, if we pulled the trigger on a deal for them.

Was the Hossa trade a failure for Pittsburgh?

Any trade must be evaluated from a short term and long term perspective. From a long term perspective it was a failure, as Hossa is no spring chicken and he left for Detroit after a long (albeit singular) playoff run. From a short term perspective, I believe the Penguins failed as well. They did reach the Stanley Cup finals, but that was just short of their ultimate goal, and subsequently they lost Hossa as a UFA. They came close, but close only counts in horseshoes and things that go boom.

So for a run to the Stanley Cup finals, the Penguins lost Colby Armstrong, Erik Christensen, Angelo Esposito and a draft pick and ended up this season with Pascal Dupuis.

Was that worth it?

Well, with all due respect to Mr. Dupuis, I don't think so. Granted, the Penguins managed to weather the loss of all those players plus others who became UFAs (Gary Roberts, Georges Laraque, Ryan Malone, Mark Recchi) at season end because the have a core group of NHL superstars such as Crosby, Malkin, Stall and Fleury. But one can't help but think the Penguins would be even stronger this season if they hadn't made that trade.

As a Canadiens fan, I'm thrilled Pittsburgh made that trade.

OPTION 2: Keep your gunpowder dry. Bob Gainey could elect to do nothing so far, given the 8-1-1 record.

However, the Habs have a ton of players who will be UFAs next year such as Koivu, Kovalev, Tanguay, Komisarek, Dandenault, Begin and Bouillon. Not to mention Higgins and Plekanec are becoming RFAs. As much as we would like it, we are not going to keep all of them considering we have only $1M or so in free cap space this year.

Mike Komisarek is in line for a big raise, which you could probably offset with the departures of Dandenault, Begin and Bouillon plus change, provided his agent doesn't get greedy and he doesn't wish for a return to the NY area. One would be very naive not to think that the Rangers, Islanders and Devils will all make a serious run to sign him if afforded the opportunity. If we signed Komisarek for $5M per season, I think that would be a steal. He's big, he's tough, he's mean and he's a leader. It's been years since we have had someone on defence like him, but I digress.

Beyond our big beheamouth on defence, it really depends if we could convince Koivu, Kovalev and Tanguay to stay for another tour of duty. They are all key components and hopefully they will give us a hometown discount, but one never knows.

Koivu is a winner and has a lot of pride. If he didn't win the Stanley Cup this season and wanted to try his chances with another team I wouldn't fault him after playing on so many horrible Habs teams.

Tanguay is a magnificent player to watch, but let's see how a full season in the spotlight as a francophone player in la Belle Province will treat him. I'm skeptical when you have lunatics like the gang on 110% from TQS screaming on the airwaves every night, or being stalked all the way into the hospital by those sleazebags from the Journal de Montreal.

With Kovalev, I think we have the best chance of resigning him as he has indicated he wants to stay in Montreal, and he would be a good player for all our young Russian players and prospects. Hopefully we can go three for three but who knows?

Lastly, we better hope that a team like Edmonton doesn't make a run at Higgins or Plekanec like they did with Thomas Vanek or Dustin Penner a couple years ago. We then either lose the RFA player in exchange for some draft picks or we have to match the salary offer and then our cap situation is screwed. Another difficult factor is if the Canadian dollar continues its downward spiral. We pay our contracts in U.S. dollars and our revenues are in Canadian currency.

In light of these various free agent question marks, I think there could be some significant turnover. Therefore, that is where our prospects will be extremely important, as they can help fill potential gaps. Even if Gainey rolled the dice and made a run this year, I don't think it should be made simply on sentimental reasons because its our 100th anniversary, but rather because its the right business move to make for the team.

I realize this may generate some criticism from mes confreres/consoeurs, but I think our biggest advantage is the depth we have developed in the quality and quantity of prospects we have.

Lastly, I find Montreal Canadien fans live in a fantasy world sometimes.
Just because you can pull off a trade on NHL 2008 on your Xbox doesn't mean Bob Gainey can pull it off in real life. Therefore a potential Dandenault, Chipchura, Boullion trade for Boumeester is never going to happen. You have to put yourself in the position of the opposing General Manager.

I was the Florida Panthers GM Jacques Martin, and the phone rang with Bob on the other end and he wants to land your top defenceman, you tell him that you want Chris Higgins or Max Pacioretty AND Ryan McDonough AND Jaroslav Halak AND a 1st or 2nd round pick.

You may not get it, but you definitely ask for it. If the situation was reversed, I'd expect Bob to do the exact same thing.

So at the end of the day, unless Bob Gainey can pull another Alex Kovalev for Josef Balej and draft pick type of trade, we sit and hold with the cards we have.
Candidly, I like our hand both for this round, but the next one as well.
Photos of the Montreal Canadiens courtesy of Habs Inside Out.

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An Unlikely Habs Treasure Hunt Find With Odd Coincidences

2008-11-02T23:38:00.024-05:00

A few times in my life, I have come across Canadiens related things, be it a newspaper clipping or old books, in odd and unexpected places. It is a bit of a weird, ongoing coincidence with me, how these things come to me in such odd ways.

One time, in the late 1990's, I was standing in line to buy a ticket to a movie at a local mall. There was a hockey card and memorabilia store right next to the theatre. Inside the store, unknown to me, was a former employer with his infant son of 2 years. The young boy happened to knock over a box of random cards from a table, and while his father was picking the mess up, the boy wandered over to me about ten feet away and handed me a Brian Savage card.

Weird! Like did I have Habs fan written all over me?

That night, Savage scored a pair of goals.

It is another older, and stranger happening, that makes me recall such a trivial thing. It's revolves around a lucky charm, and I'll get to that in a bit.

About five years ago, I was tearing up an old floor in my house and putting a new carpet down, and I found a local newpaper dated February 20, 1954. The Daily Standard Freeholder, it was called back then.

Naturally, I headed straight for the sports section to see if the Canadiens were in first place!

Shocker... they were third in the six team NHL with a 29-20-7 record after 56 games.

I found this old paper again couple of weeks ago. I had it stored away in a basement box, and I encountered it again while looking for articles I could add to the Habs Fans Summit raffle.

My house was built in 1889 and it looks it. There were several layers of linolium flooring underneath the old carpet, and after first finding the front page of the paper, I was careful to lift away each piece as to not tear any pages of the delicate print.

Once all the floor had been removed, I ended up with a complete paper for that date. Lookibg through it, one can't help but think, "holy smokes have times changed!"

A dollar a week deposit on diamond rings!

I was hoping to find more Montreal Canadiens news inside of it, but papers of the day were a haphazard mess of news back then. The sports news itself was spread throughout the paper, seemingly where ever it could be fitted in.

Inside, there was but one NHL game report, from a Rangers and Blackhawks game that for some reason was played in Indianapolis. There were a few Canadiens related tidbits inside. One was an editorial about the effect of televison on sports attendance that featured insight from former Canadiens owner, and then current Alouettes owner, Leo Dandurand. The second was a flashback article to 1904, about a Federal Hockey League (pre NHA and NHL) game between the Montreal Wanderers and the Cornwall Hockey Club with Newsy Lalonde in their lineup.

There other interesting bits of hockey and non hockey related news inside. The QHL's Ottawa Senators, run by former Leafs goalie Turk Broda were coming to town to take on the Cornwall Colts. There was a photo of Marilyn Monroe entertaining the troops in Germany, some time period movie listings, and an ad for the Cornwall City Press, the business owned by my grandfather, soon to be passed down to my Dad. The front page headline was of a Windsor salt plant that had collapsed and fallen into the Detroit river, due to the ground caving in beneath it.

Oddly, the Detroit Red Wings would beat the Canadiens in that year's Stanley Cup final in seven games. The Maurice Richard riots in Montreal were one year 25 days away. After one more Cup in 1955, Red Wings fans would endure a 42 year cupless drought.

Perhaps I have found this paper again now, because the Canadiens and Red Wings could well battle it out for this year's Stanley Cup?

Yes, I know that sounds more than a triffle premature and preposturous, but read on.

Happening upon this newspaper wasn't the first time I lucked out finding Habs history in strange places. Years earlier in 1992, while demolishing a house as part of county crew, I found a local paper from 1956 with an article on Henri Richard scoring his first NHL points. I also opened an abandonned cedar chest in that house, and it was loaded with old copies of Life magazine. I took one home and found all kinds of great shots of Canadiens players brawling with original six rivals.

The article was on NHL popularity after the 1967 expansion. One great shot in it, included here, feature a Canadiens player diving past, or being tripped up by a Red Wings player.

I never got to take the Richard article home. I'd placed it somewhere I'd forgotten, distracted by finding almost $400.00 of 1954 print Canadian bills (twos, fives, tens and twenties) under the linolium floor of an outdoor shed. The money had rusty nail holes rotted through it. I hurriedly stuffed the cash in my workboots, not telling a soul, and forgot all about the Richard paper clipping.

You'd think I had a thing for ripping through old linolium floors, but those are perhaps the only instances in my lifetime where I did. I often wonder what the other floors in this old house have to offer.

The county house is an interesting and very weird tale, with a couple of strange Canadiens twists further thrown in.

What we were doing there was converting the old property into a smoke house, used to train the Glengarry County Fire Department. After clearing the house of obstructions, we demolished attachments to it, such as a carport and the shed where I found the money. We were working a Saturday, which was rare, as we were essentially rained out the Friday before, which was supposed to be our last contracted day on site. As we were needed to finish up, we were given the option of working Saturday at time and a half.

I almost decided not to go. Sunday, the 14th of June, was my thirtieth birthday. I had plans to go out of town for the weekend, but only after they fell throught did I decide to go to work.

Now I'm not much for superstitions or numerology, but finding almost $400.00 cash on the 13th of the month was merely one of the weird sides to all this.

Four days earlier, on Tuesday the 9th, I found a horseshoe, rusted and full of dirt and ground. It was sticking out of the ground, and it tripped me for a loop. I pulled it out and threw in my Canadiens lunchpail, stangely enough, and put it in our work van.

I never thought of the horseshoe as a lucky token - as I said, I'm devoid of any ridiculous superstitions. I thought it would make a cool thing to nail above my shed door. Instead, I threw it in the cupboard under the kitchen sink and forgot about it for a week.

Later on Saturday night, just before supper, I met a friend who bought half of the old money from me at face value. My wife and I decided to use some of the money to go to the bingo that night instead of going out of town. Now I'm about as big on bingo as I am on superstitions, right. So we go, and I win $200.00 - not bad for a guy who has had no money luck his entire life. Happy birthday to me!

On Monday afternoon, I walk to the Caisse Desjardins on the corner to deposit the money I've found and won. Upon leaving the bank, I see a tan brown Bell telephone envelope on the ground in the parking lot. I swipe at it with my foot as I pass by and out slips some bills - $172, American cash to boot!

After a quick count, I turn back to the bank and head for a teller to report the money I found. I give little information other than it being a large amount and leave my name and number for someone to claim it. (The bank is about 300 steps from my front door. I checked back every day until the following Friday and not a single person reported any loss of money. Finders, keepers!)

Upon reporting it, I almost run home to tell my wife and her family next door. I was absolutely insane over having all this money fall into my lap basically, over a three day period. A total of $646 in all.

My father in law mentions that rusty old horseshoe I took home the previous Tuesday. We're almost on the floor with laughter.

Not being superstitious, I lend him the horseshoe, and he places it under his kitchen sink for a week. He buys $30 worth of 6/49 tickets for the next draw.

Not being superstitious, I buy $30 myself, and we then agree to split the inevitable winnings. Neither of us wins so much as a free ticket. He returns the horseshoe.

The horseshoe is still in my home, under the kitchen sink. Someone with superstitions might suggest I broke it's good spell by moving it next door for 7 days.

I'd reply that all members of our family are alive and well!

Oddest of all is that I found the rusted old foot metal on June 9, 1992. One year later to the day, the Canadiens won the Stanley Cup.

The Tragically Hip could write a song about this, I think!

Perhaps the weirdest thing of all ocurred today, as I was writing this piece and went under the sink to retrive the horseshoe for a photo. My oldest daughter has played hockey for nine years now, but to her younger sibling, hockey is an alien life form. I asked my youngest if she knew the good luck horseshoe story, and she didn't.

I was recounting the whole tale to her, rambling away, and when I got to the part on the Henri Richard article and mentioned the Canadiens, she said. "Daddy, does the H in the CH stand for horseshoe?"

"No dear, it stands for hockey, why would you think that?"

Canadiens DVD Released November 4

2008-11-02T14:58:00.005-05:00

I gather that many Canadiens fans are anxious for this one!
The Montreal Canadiens Memorable Games DVD box set is a compilation of the 10 greatest games in club history, as selected by fan voting. The set is hosted by Dick Irvin in english and Richard Garneau in french, and Canadiens legends from Jean Beliveau to Guy Lafleur take you back in time as they recollect some of the most glorious moments they experienced in hockey's most glorious sweater.

The set is being released this Tuesday, November 4 at a cost of approximately $60.00. The set will also be available for online orders from such outlets as Amazon.com, Chapters, Indigo and NHL shop.

The 10 games included in the DVD are:

1. 2/19/08 vs. Rangers (Habs come back from 5-0 deficit to win 6-5)
2. 11/23/03 vs. Oilers (Heritage Outdoor Classic)
3. 3/11/96 vs. Stars (Last game at the Forum)
4. 6/9/93 vs. Kings (Habs win 23rd and last Stanley Cup)
5. 5/24/86 vs. Flames (Habs win 22nd Cup)
6. 4/20/84 vs. Nordiques (Good Friday brawl in Game 6 of the Adams Division Final)
7. 5/10/79 vs. Bruins (Too many men on the ice. Semi-final Game 7)
8. 5/14/77 vs. Bruins (Habs win 2nd of Four Cups in a row)
9. 12/31/75 vs. Red Army (Tretiek puts on a show vs Habs on New Year's Eve)
10. 4/14/60 vs. Maple Leafs (Habs win 5th consecutive Stanley Cup)

To get anxious myself for this release, I scanned You Tube for some vintage clips and came up with these beauties.

Perhaps the oldest colour film of the Canadiens is from a hand held camera in 1956. These final minutes of game 5 against Detroit is the beginning of the Canadiens 5 Cup run. Near the end of the clip, you can see the Canadiens players hoist coach Toe Blake on the shoulders before Rocket Richard carries the Cup off the ice.

Unfortunately, the owner of the clip has disabled embeding priveleges, but ti can be viewed at this link.

1965 finals against Chicago, with Jean Beliveau scoring an opening minute goal

John Ferguson pounds the Leafs Kent Douglas in 1966

John Ferguson fights Bobby Baun in 1966

1968 Stanley Cup final against St. Louis

New Year's Eve 1975 versus the Central Red Army

Habs beat Cleveland Barons 8-1 in 1976

A Habs and Flyers brawl from 1976 with Robinson giving Schultz a good pummeling.

A Classic Larry Robinson rush against the Bruins in Game 5 of the 1978 finals.

Versus Toronto in 1979

The Canadiens and Nordiques Good Friday brawl on April 20, 1984

Greatest comeback in Habs history, 6-5 against the Rangers on Febuary 19, 2008.

Canadiens Winning Ugly A Habit To Discard

2008-11-02T09:41:00.006-05:00

Ten games into the 2008-09 season, and the Montreal Canadiens are in first place in their division, near the league's best in goals scored and allowed, and have gained 17 of a possible 20 points thus far.

And they are far from playing like we know they are capable of.

Saturday's game against the shipwrecked Gilligan's Islanders was a perfect example of this. The Canadiens showed up for the third period, after being totally out of synch for 40 minutes, and snatched a win from the jaws of a defeat that was poised to bite a big embarrassing chunk from their derrieres.

This is not how it supposed to be done.

While many fans are thrilled with such come from behind wins, and term such with words like "character" and "pride", the bottom line is that wins like this aren't good for the team. Proving to themselves that they can defeat an opponant by simply showing up for 20 minutes of hockey, is not the lesson any club should take from a game like this.

It would be more comforting to see the Habs play the first period of a game with this type of intensity from the gate, and then either protect their lead with solid play or continue to steamroll.

Character has more to do with consistency than it has with desperation.

My fear is that there could be pitfalls from winning ugly this way. It tends to give an argument or a free pass to players who spare their effort, coast a little too much, and believe they can pull this rabbit out their hats at any given moment. It is when you start to believe you are too good that players become cocky and arrogant. On the ice, this overconfidence translates into fancy dance passes and individualism.

In truth, last night's Canadiens win speaks more for the Islanders woeful state than it does for anything to do in regards to Montreal.

It is a good that they banked the necessary two points, but this stunt should not be tried against the Red Wings, Sharks or Rangers.

The trouble behind the Canadiens inconsistant play thus far, also happens to be cure for it. The team is deeper in talent than it has been for years. Deep enough in fact, that as much as half the lineup can be playing in the ozone, and it still has enough elements working that it can win. That is as enviable as it is troublesome.

On any given night, it might take only one line clicking to seal a win. Plekanec and Kovalev did it last night. Other games saw the Koivu and Tanguay duo being dominant. Occasionally, as seen last Thursday, it will be special teams and goaltending that pulls it together.

Where this team spins its wheels in the mud, is when it perceives an opponant as being weaker, hence the case with the Islanders. For that matter, one could also suggest that two thirds of the league ought to be easy prey for the Habs. As I see it, that is twenty teams capable of catching the Canadiens off guard on an off night. They were fortunate against the Islanders, in that they are hardly the most confident group of players, even with a three goal lead.

With the amount of talent this group has, it should approaching each contest as though something big is on the line. Turning it on when the game is slipping from their grasp will not do. The killer instinct needs to kick in at the drop of the puck, and not waver when scoring two minutes into the game.

There needs to be a mentality that sets in, that seeks to render opponants helpless right from the start. One that doesn't let up.

A small aside, posted by Linp at Habs Inside Out, that deserves mentioning. It was found on an Islanders message board, I presume.

"Sitting in 324 last night, in the middle of 'Little Montreal', I'm thinking this is gonna blow, listening to the other team's fans all game. Other than Rags games, I've NEVER seen as many opposing fans at an Islander game. After a period or so of listening to them chant, sing, and root passionatly, I realized how much it stinks that we don't have fans like this. No cursing, no "this guy sucks or that guy sucks", no drunken idiots, just a bunch of rabid hockey fans following their team around rooting like crazy (and in French!). Oh, and some extremely hot chicks, too.(what can I say, midway through the 3rd my mind wandered.) I can only guess what games are like up in Montreal. I'd love to see Isles fans show the enthusiasm Habs fans showed last night at our HOME games."

Photos of the Canadiens courtesy of HIO and Jim McIsaac/Getty Images.

A Ball Was Had By All At The Habs Fan Summit 2008

2008-10-26T14:42:00.120-04:00

The Habs Inside Out's second annual Habs Fan Summit has come and gone in a blur.

As was the case 12 months ago on the occasion of the inaugural event, it was indeed a blissful blur once again.

I can only truly speak for my own self, but perhaps this thought resonates throughout all the hearts and minds of the other participants in this weekend. After months of anxious anticipation, the day sure passes by in a flash.

Before you know it, the day is ending, and it seems to leave you wanting more.

Consider this: There were quite possibly 70 or more people attending the game and the individual events. For everyone gathered, there were dozens of immediate new aquaintences made. For those who took part the first time around, there were familiar faces added in to the meet and greet mix. Through the multitude of handshakes, hugs and hellos, there simply is never quite enough time to satisfy one's own curiosity by meeting and spending time with each.

Next time around, I'll do good to split myself in seven!

I arrived in Montreal at about 10 in the morning, and headed straight for Eggspectations. There I met Adam Arsenault (Hyfyarse), Bill Howson (Bill H), Denis Lacombe (Hoegarden), Paul Dube (Habs Rule 1), Chris Rovers (Old Grover), Kevin van Steendalar (YatheHabsrule), and Sherrie Reid - Wilkinson and her husband Tim.

It was right from this moment that I could begin to fully appreciate the importance of Sherrie and Tim's work in making name tags for the group. For any future endeavors by Habs Fan Summit organizers, this is something to take note of. No sooner do I walk from breakfast to the Bell, I have already begun to forget names as new faces start to blur in with those I've just met. The nametags came in quite handy at several times during the day. Thanks Sherrie and Tim!

Last Summit, one of the more enjoyable features was the Bell Centre tour. I think I had even more fun this time around. Perhaps our tour guide being thrown into action, caught off guard, and overwhelmed had something to do with it.

"No pictures of the Canadiens allowed", she said, as everyone with a camera secretly snapped away while Carey Price and Guillaume Latendresse played baseball with a puck.

So much for the idea of our group being split into two or three economically sized groups. We were spread out all over the seats and stands as our girl struggled to be heard.

"I hope I am being enough loud!"

I think our group felt for the poor girl. For her, it must have been like trying to herd unruly cattle with a box of matches in the wind.

One of the first things that blew me away was the hugeness of the new scoreboard when seeing it in person. My good God! I joked that there could be an apartment complex set up with a swimming pool in there and no one would be the wiser.

Our guide explained the significance of the banners raised, the number of seats in the building, the cost of luxury boxes, and how concerts and events are set up.

Youppiville must have been a treat for Herb and Michelle's daughter's and Sulemaan's family as well. I know that Ian was greatly disappointed not to meet his idol and get his pawprint, but it looked he recovered fairly quickly.

Walking through the hall ways of the Bell Centre, history is plastered everywhere one looks. An hour long tour simply does not do it justice. It is truly THE temple of hockey - a literal and pictorial shrine to the evolution of the team, and the game. The whole of downtown Montreal reflects the 100th anniversary of the club everywhere one looks. as does the exterior of the Bell Centre, with it's not so subtle photo tandems of players such as Jean Beliveau and Saku Koivu pictured together.

When the building was inaugurated in 1996, the atmosphere of it at first was awkward and displaced. There was no aura to it at the time, but things have changed greatly over the past few years. It is now one very lively place, in more senses than one. Dare I say it, but with a winning team in the building now, the Bell is coming close to containing a spirit quite similar to the hallowed Forum. A Stanley Cup win will just about clinch that notion.

Everywhere you glance, you see the past and present coming together. I especially love the tribute to the Hall Of Famers. The long verticle black and white photos going back to Georges Vezina are simply stunning. Each time I walk past them, I can't help but feel these are the building and the team's caretakers, watching over. They are something other than ghosts, as they are often referred as. They look to be coming alive, ready to burst from frozen sepia toned poses to score a winning goal or make a game saving stop. I could stand before them, appreciative and spellbound for hours.

Next up on the tour, was what is for many a personal favorite - a trip up to the press box, hanging out with the banners in full view. There were a few stops along the way.

Eight floors up by elevator, we are led down a hallway with a few twists and turns. Pictures in the hall line the walls, including the most recent Cup in 1993, and the parade down Ste. Catherine that ensued. I was looking at some of these, when I noticed a shorter, white haired gentleman make a mad dash right by our group, and turning into an open doorway.

It was Yvon Pedneault!

I was about to follow him, when I realized he'd gone into the men's room. I couldn't possibly chat up Pedneault at a urinal while he's taking a leak, but I thought about it! Twice!

I've always liked Pedneault's work, so I waited in the hall for him a few minutes, hoping for a brief word or two. Most of the group were veered off into the press room lounge, and I though it best that I join them before I miss out on seeing it. Evidently, there was more in Pedneault's hurry than a quick tinkle!

The press room is really cool. It is vaste enough to handle the multitudes of big time games. Along the walls are pictures of 100 years of Habs media men in both languages, and the setup is a very respectful nod to those who have covered the Canadiens so well for longer than I have been around.

The room is named in honour of Jacques Beauchamps, and features pictures of everyone from Dick Irvin Jr. to Rene Lecavalier to Red Fisher. Looking at the pictorial tribute, I realized that many who have covered the Canadiens whether in print or via radio and television broadcasts, are as iconic in some ways as the players they covered. I stood before shots of Danny Gallivan, Claude Mouton and Roger Doucet, and it hit me that in a certain sense, these men might just have defined my teen years as much as Elton John and Paul McCartney had.

Our guide informed us that there was not only refreshments available, but meals as well. It was surprising to me to learn that none of it was free.

Whatever happened to perks?

I guess it would be considered a sort of conflict of interest to be filling the bellies of those in charge of critiquing and writing about the club. I can see it now:

"We'll spring for the filet mignon Monsieur Tremblay, if you agree to display amnesia over those brutal Brisebois giveaways for ten games."

On the far wall end wall, there was a beautiful, enlarged photo of the Stanley Cup, with the engraved names of the 1993 team very prominent. While I stared into the listing of names, I paused at Mike Keane. The surname starting with a K made me close my eyes and envision others - Koivu, Kovalev, Komisarek, A. Kostitsyn, S. Kostitsyn, Kostopoulos. I guess I was dreaming of a future I feel is so imminant.

As I was leaving the room, I thought I saw a familiar face in the corner of my eye. "It's Dave Stubbs", I thought, turning to look at a wall with a vacant space.

I looked back on the wall where I had just walked by, and there was no picture of Stubbs in sight. I must have been gazing into the future again.

Leaving the press lounge, we descended a long flight of stairs that are actually suspended from the ceiling, high above the rink. The steps lead to "La Gallerie de Presse", and an incomparable view of the entire rink and seating area.

Talk about your sight of sights inside the Bell. Not only do the scribes have an unobstructed overhead view of the entire ice surface, but one is also at eye level with Cup banners and retired numbers.

My thoughts here were instantaneous: "Damn, that ceiling area is crowded!" A few more retired numbers combined with a couple of Cup banners, and they will have to start fitting the new pendants in sideways.

Behind the suspended walkway lies the newly unveiled Ring Of Honour, in tribute to the Canadiens 54 Hall Of Fame members. The walls behind the rink's cheap seats have brought out the ghosts from the club's dressing room right into the lap of the common ticket paying fan. I think it is an awesome added touch. It's an incredible nod to the history of the team at the buildings highest accessible point. It is up here that one realizes the pride in the history of the club - all 360 degrees of it, everywhere you look. For a moment, I had a thought for fans of the Columbus Blue Jackets. How on Earth could a Canadiens fan ever get across to them the significance of what all this feels like? Then again...who cares!

When our group first spanned out in the press gallery, everyone was quick to assume a journalist's seat along the row. The raised chairs enabled a good lean and look over down at the ice. I sat there myself, looking over and imagining a laptop before me, notes being scribbled on the side, and the atmosphere of a hotly contested playoff game unravelling before my eyes. This image inside my head was vivid and captivating, but hours later, after an Alex Tanguay goal, I looked up to that area and realized that I couldn't possibly imagine anywhere near what it would truly be like to experience such an atmosphere from that point of view. It made me give thought to the professionals who work the area. I felt a sudden surge of envy inside of me, combined with a deepened respect for all the work that brought them there. I hope that once in a while it hits them that their fortitude and perseverences in life have allowed them such an enviable privelege.

As I walked the area snapping pictures, I heard a voice note that the Gazette's Mike Boone had mentioned online at HIO that his seat in the area was directly in front of where Newsy Lalonde and Joe Malone were displayed in the Ring of Honour. Quickly a group of fans gathered around the seats marked out for the Gazette scribes, and took in the view.

Several took turns and sat in the seats reserved for Fisher, Boone and Stubbs, likely wondering themselves what it would be like to be them for an evening. It was a cute kind of moment actually, and I was handed several cameras to snap shots as people as they posed in their seats.

Only later did I realize it, and tie in a certain significance to those gestures. Right there, in full view of the Ring Of Honour, were our group of Habs fans, unknowingly creating a Circle Of Friendship And Acknowledgement in the very seats of the men whose website brought us all together in the first place.

How's that for scary sentimental notions! Thank goodness such a thought didn't occur to me at the time. I might have spoken it out loud!

At this point, I believe our pretty tour guide learned that we were definitely an unherdable proposition. She had been attempting for a good bit to get us to move along in a timely manner to the next part of the tour, but it seemed that some of us were just beyond magnetized by being where we were.

Steve Kerley, known as 24 Cups online, had decided to walk off along the entire oval of press row. He'd literally vanished from sight. We didn't know if he'd gone off to get a view of all 24 Cup banners or what he was up to, but we were starting to figure that he just wanted to walk the entire oval by himself. Just as Ian and I were about to consider turning into a two man search party, Steve slowly appeared from the end zone horizon, totally unaware that his little trek had enabled us an extra five minutes of time in the Bell's heavenly heights.

I can understand Steve's curiosity. Had the Habs dressing room been available for tourists during the regular season schedule, I might have been found fitting myself into Koivu's equipement or showering in the players stalls.

As we were departing the area, I noticed a press list on the wall by the exit door where a list of all the credentialled media and guests were listed. You could see that there were 3 from the Gazette, a pair from La Presse, and so on. The list was from the previous home game against the Panthers, and two scouts listed as being in attendance were Peter Mahovlich of the Atlanta Thrashers and John Ferguson Jr. of the San Jose Sharks. Let those Marlean and Kovalchuk rumours begin!

From the Bell Centre sky, we then visited one of more unique and personalized areas inside the Bell - the oldtimer's room. Walking into "Le Chambre des Anciens" the first thing one sees is the torch that was passed from captain to captain from the closing of the Forum just inside the doorway leading inside. One one wall, there is a display featuring paintings of all the captains of the team.

There are many iconic photos of great Canadiens inside, including the famous dream team voted by fans in 1985. Jacques Plante, Doug Harvey, Larry Robinson, Jean Beliveau, Maurice Richard, and Dickie Morre, along with coach Toe Blake, pose with the current captain Bob Gainey, and the Habs oldest surviving member at the time, Aurel Joliat.

A funny moment came when our guide informed us about the 48 game rule concerning former players allowed into the group.

The game minimum results from the old schedule from the early 1940's, but when the guide asked if anyone among us knew why the limit was imposed at 48 one of the Summit members shouted out that it was one game more than Darcy Tucker had played with the club.

I'd be willing to bet that our guide had no idea who Tucker was, as she'd just gotten Henri Richard confused with Guy Lafleur, while explaining his exclusion from the Habs Deam Team.

Returning by elevator down to the main floor, we moved on to the press conference room. This is where all the journalists and cameramen gather post game, to get coach Guy Carbonneau's take on wins and losses. I have to say, that I will never forget last season's trip, when Plek - Andrew perfectly mimicked Carbo by answering a series imaginary questions in french, each one beginning with "Ecoute, on n'a pas jouer en equipe". P.A. Had the room in stitches.

Last October, perhaps only 10 or 12 from the group sat in Carbonneau's seat and posed for a shot. This time around, there was actually a twenty foot line that formed in waiting for the chair. Our guide remarked that she had never seen a group so anxious and excited to have their pictures taken here. I explained to her that these pictures were likely to become Habs Inside Out avatars in short order, and that I was about to update mine.

My good guess is that about 45 of us posed before the centennial and McDonald's logos backdrop. I imagine that a healthy dozen of us Summiteers will be displaying these shots as avatars in the coming days.

It was hilarious that so many from the group needed no cue to ham it up from the coach's podium. I was able to capture the various facial dispositions offered by Anthony (Carmine007), Denis Piche, Adam Arsenault, Paul Kininmonth (Saku's Evil Twin), Paul Dube, Chris (Old Grover) Rovers, and Stephen (Connecticut Man) Herron.

Our fearless leader Ian then defied superstition, by opening an umbrella indoors, thereby cursing the Habs on the night. I blame him only slightly more than Brisebois for the 6-4 loss.

Plek - Andrew's legacy of mimicry was almost outdone by Sulemaan Ahmed, who dished out a half dozen frustrated coach's expressions from the podium. I captured three of them clearly. It's not easy snapping shots while trying to hold back so much laughter.

After exiting the press room, the group were brought out into the backstage lobby area, which is actually under and just behind the lowest level of seats at the north end of the Bell Centre. Our tour guide girl explained to us the various functions and processes that take place in that open area, such as catering setups for musical performers. In this space, security is quite tight during events and it is not accessible to the general public. Often, it also serves to host makeshift quickie changerooms for performers such as Madonna, who are newly outfitted after practically every song. To our left, there was a corridor leading to the performers backstage area and dressing rooms.

Directly in front of us, curtained off under the stands, were lunch tables where crews from rocks bands and other entertainment acts could gather and eat. A ways down to the right, around the curved circumference of the arena, were the dressing rooms of the Canadiens players. As an optional game day practice had just ended some of the group were heading off in that direction to see if they could catch a glimpse of a player or two. I was about to follow, when I noticed Yvon Pedneault once more, slipping in and out of the backstage dressing rooms. I tried to chat him up, but he just nodded his head and took off with a guy who looked a lot like Renaud Lavoix. I snapped a quick pick as he blew off.

Funny thing about Pedneault, he's much shorter than you'd guess. He's about 5' 1", making him just slightly taller than Dick Irvin. I recall back in 1984, that I'd gone to the Forum to see the Habs play the Winnipeg Jets, and just prior to the first period ending, I left a minute early to beat the rush to the washrooms. On my return to my seat in the lower level, I made a wrong turn and decided the curtained off corridor was where I had first come through. As I parted the curtains, I walked directly into a televison interview with Irvin and the Jets Paul McLean. I got hussled out of there with a stern arm and a mean look of admonishment. Still, I'll never forget the sight of Irvin doing the interview standing atop of a two step stool.

From the lobby area, I finally wandered down to the corridor's end to find out that I just missed seeing Carey Price leave the Canadiens dressing room. It's unfortunate, but quite understandable that we are not allowed inside the room during the season. Next summer, I have promised myself that I will take the trip with my daughter, and get ourselves pictured in the players stalls.

The tour was now over, and our group was brought to the Bell centre boutique, where our tour coupons were good for a 15% discount on all items in the store. The stuff on sale inside is simply gorgeous, as all Canadiens wear is. I was hoping to get my hands on a retro jersey from 1911-12, but they aren't on sale until they have made an appearance on the ice. I was greatly disappointed. Most of the memorabilia inside is quite expensive. I almost grabbed the Monopoly game and in time I should pick one up. How about a round of Monopoly over drinks at the next Summit. Sounds like a blast!

After mulling about in the Habs store for a bit I chatted outside with Ian, Herb, Dave N, and others, and decided to make my way through the rain to Hurley's to join part of the group and get a bite to eat. I figured I'd best munch early as I knew I'd be busy with the raffle at Baton Rouge come three o'clock. Herb reminded me of my meal at Baton last year, when I ordered a trout plate and received a small portion of fish and a hunk of broccoli the size of John Ferguson's fist.

I arrived soaked and drenched at Hurley's, and no one was there. I ordered a swiss mushroom burger, and I have to say it was absolutely delicious. Herb and his family stopped by shortly after and joined me for a bit. It was a nice quiet moment in what was to be a busy day.

I arrived at Baton Rouge right at three o'clock, found my car across the street and grabbed my box of raffle items, threw my jacket over them and headed to the restaurant. Inside I introduced myself to the hostess and then met up with a small gathering from our group downstairs. Several others had already made their way there, and no sooner had I placed my box on the floor did someone ask me, "when do we buy the raffle tickets". It was a good sign of thing to come!

I had forgot my camera in the car, so I received a second soaking retreiving that. Thankfully, not much later, Mike Boone showed up at Baton with some Gazette ball caps, and my head stayed dry the rest of the day. Unfortunately, after putting my camera down, I didn't use it until I had left.

Soon Ian, Chuck and I teamed together and quickly planned out how the raffle would proceed. Everyone who had promised to add prizes to the raffle had already arrived, and we decided to place them all on one table for viewing prior to starting to sell tickets. We were told by the restaurant that by five o'clock, other patrons would be arriving in the seats next to our area, so we hurried to get things going.

The hour that followed was a dizzying blur. Everyone seemed to be excited about the prizes, and were anxious to get underway. We began selling the ticket stubs and it took us a good fourty five minutes just to meet the demand. Ian and Chuck gave the money we received a quick count and we announced that we had made over a thousand dollars. As we were counting, more people kept coming up to us for more tickets. We were pushing five o'clock when the first tickets were drawn and prizes were handed out.

Keith Bockus, known as Khabo online, was the lucky winner of the Gretzky Collection, he spent a good time looking through the pages and sharing it with others. He was thrilled to have won it, and I was very happy for him. It was nice to see that it went somewhere that it was appreciated. Later on in the evening, Keith informed me that he was so proud of what we had done with the raffle that he might give thought to donating the cards back into our raffle next season. How nice that would be!

Shortly after we began, the Canadiens Rejean Houle popped by for some photos, handshakes, and autographs. He mingled through our group as the raffle went on. Rejean was kind enough to sign a pair of cards I had brought along, and we entered them as raffle prizes for a couple of lucky winners.

One of the funnier moments during the raffle came when we drew the ticket for a prize brought in by Paul Dube (Habsrule1). Paul had gone out of his way to get a $150 gift certificate from Adreneline, a tattoo parlour, and we were excited to add it to the raffle. Paul informed me that the certificate would be good to add a two inch sized Habs logo tattoo, and wanted to make sure that it go to someone who would be using it for certain. I assured Paul that it would be used, even if I had to use it myself.

I informed Chuck and Ian about the gift and Paul's desire, and we paid close attention to where it went. When the time came, the prize was won by Mike, a friend who came along with Adam Arsenault. Now I'm sure everyone noticed Mike and Adam - they were they boys whose forearms are tattooed from wrist to shoulder. Upon seeing this, Chuck cracked, "Great, there a guy who could sure use another tattoo!"

Not long after five o'clock, the raffle was in the books, and everyone ordered and ate their meals. I mingled about and finally sat down with Sherrie and Tim and had nice cold one.

Sometime just before six, some of the group decided to do a little bar hopping. I was all set to follow when a surprise visitor came to our table - none other than Habs Fan 4 from the Four Habs Fans blog. It was pretty cool to run into a fellow blogger. We chatted for a bit and he inquired about how the Summit was going so far. As folks were moving on, HF4 and I hit a downtown bar for some serious blogger talk. He thanked me for being one of the first to give the FHF site props at Eyes On The Prize, recalling that they gained a good bunch of readers from that nod. I was kind of surprised that it was even remembered. FHF has taken on a life of it's own since then, and it was extremely interesting speaking insightfully with HF4 about our sites. We spend a good hour talking about what we each do, much of it in mutual admiration. It was one of my favorite moments of the whole day.

By a quarter to seven, we headed back out into the wind and rain, promising to keep in touch. I found my seat next to Adam and Mike section 309 and sat down to watch a movie on the giant screen that featured images from Canadiens history. As beautiful as the montage is, the sound is quite muddled in a crowded arena, and I could barely make out what Laraque, Hamrlik and Koivu were saying as the address Habs history.

Soon the game began, and my worst fears were confirmed. All day as the rain poured down, I kept saying it was good weather for ducks. No sooner was the game underway, the Ducks soon pourred all over the Canadiens. Within minutes, it was 2-0 Anaheim, and I had a strong feeling I would get my wish to see Carey Price play, but under circumstances I'd rather were otherwise.

Though the Canadiens ended up on the wrong side of the 6-4 score, the game itself was highly entertaining. The Canadiens shot 51 times at the Anaheim net, and there were scoring chances galore. Price stopped a penalty shot along the way, but the Canadiens were way off their game. The defensemaen especially, were soft all game long.

Despite the score and the weather, our group spirit couldn't be dampened. After the game, a group of us headed to the Sports Station bar to have some drafts and talk about the game. Ian was in great spirits, displaying the T-shirt made for him by Dave Reid. Keith showed up still clutching the Gretzky binder.

I talked hockey with Steve, Shawn, Kevin and Chuck. Some readers from Habs Inside Out stopped to say hello and chat. The Teacher, Phillippe and Gabrielle were busy aquainting themselves with those they often chat with on the HIO site when Mike Boone and Pat Hickey of the Gazette stopped in for some drafts, hockey talk and high fives.

Boone asked me about how things had gone and how the raffle had went, and I let him know I had close to $1300 in my pocket. I showed him the tucked in wad bulging from my pocket and Boone suggested we hit the strip clubs. "Not a chance", I told him. Good journalist that he is, he employed this little ditty in print a day later.

I stuck around for a couple of beers, but having to head back home an hour down the road, and feeling pretty pooped, I had to end my summit time a bit earlier than I wished. Church with my daughter early next morning was in the plans, so I said my goodbyes and headed out.

A neat thing about these summits coming together, is that by the middle of day, there are already people discussing plans for next year. I watched friendships were as people aquainted themselves, folks promising to remain in touch, and others not wanting to let the day end. We will definitely be doing this again of course. I hope to involved in some way next time as well. Thanks for the good time and great memories, people!

Robert L Note: There is a thank you list for this event that ought to unravel like a long and winding scroll. So many good, good people came together to make this event happen, but none of it would, had it not been for Habs Inside Out becoming a part of our collective lives a little over two years ago.

The HIO site has grown in leaps and bounds since 2006, and it has come to respresent our water cooler, where we meet daily and talk hockey. It is to them that we owe the friendships we have created among ourselves. A big Habs Fans Summit bearhug to gentlemen named Boone, Stubbs, and Mio, and those whose efforts behind the scenes make the site run. High fives to all readers populating the site, who give the HIO crew the reason for it's existence.

Over a week ago at Habs Inside Out, I ran a thank you list of sorts to those helping to make this year's event happen. As HIO will likely take down the Summit tab at some point, I thought I would post what was written there at this space for posterity. I would like the words I spoke then, to last as long as possible.

A final note - thanks to all who endeavored to make this years Gainey Foundation raffle a big success. I became involved in the idea with humble expectations, but your generosity and spirit blew me away. I hope that in future, this feature of our summit continues and grows.

Here is the HIO Summit tab post, dated October 22, 2008 I called "Getting by With A Lot Of Help From Our Friends".

Much work has been done to put this day together, but before getting on to discussing the agenda of the opening of Duck hunting season, a shout out must be passed on for all those who helped bring about great time we are set to enjoy.

From the moment the Summit 2 idea was dropped at HIO this summer, Rob Sweick (a.k.a Smart Dog) came on board enthusiastically, offering to help out in practically every endeavor.

In the areas of ticket purchasing, travel and hotel accomodations, and scheduling, Rob did much work behind the scenes to help prepare for different situations and scenarios as plans unfolded. Unfortunately for our friend, his work was cut short by a death in his family. He passed along what he had come up with, and was very much hoping to attend the game with us. He could not make it here with us for Saturday, but our thanks and best wishes are extended to him for his time and committment.

Vicky, (a.k.a Habs Chick) took over some of Rob's responsabilities, opening up the Pay Pal account and helping us purchase our tickets. She took care of a wide variety of requests and queries in getting the tickets mailed out. Vicky also stepped in to help with travel plans and accomodations. Due to schedule conflicts, she is also unable to be with us for the game.

Stephen Herron (a.k.a. Connecticut Man1) was essential in helping set up an HQ Summit site where initial information was passed to and fro. In the vital early goings, Stephen helped us gather lists of those wishing to attend the Summit. In communicating ideas and helping sort through all kinds of murky water, Stephen did us all a great many favors making difficult tasks seem a whole lot simpler. He's also great at catching things other's miss - visit his post two entries down from this one for travel info and direction to the Bell Centre. Stephen will also be assisting with the morning tours. He'll be one the first people you meet on Saturday, helping co-ordinate traffic at the ticket window for the tour.

Sherrie Reid (a.k.a. Secret Dragonfly) has made name tags for the group in order to help us all get aquainted that much quicker come Saturday morning. You'll find her either just outside the Bell Centre doors on the east side of the building, or inside downstairs at the ticket window where the tours begin.

Chuck Lewis (Chuck) has been a big booster of the idea of a prize raffle for The Gainey Foundation right from the get - go. He's not only offered some great advice and ideas on how to make this most successful, but he has pitched in with some awesome prize ideas and donations himself. Chuck will be selling the tickets at Baton Rouge - make sure to thank him for all his work and vision.

Bryan Traynor (a.k.a Nightmare 49) was our Montreal area restaurant scout. He made numerous calls and visits in order for us to have the perfect places for a pre - game meal and post game celebrations. Buy him a drink and tell him how much you enjoyed the meal!

As plans progressed for the day's events, Paul Dube (a.k.a. Habs Rule 1) came up with the great notion of a gathering place for all those already in Montreal by morning to meet and have breakfast at Eggspectations. What started out as a small group now looks to be quite large. Thanks, Paul, for coming up with a great way for some of us to begin the day.

As details for the raffle unfolded, participants and donators too numerous to mention quickly picked up the spirit big time, and pitched in with some wonderful prizes. Thanks to them and their generosity, this part of our day will be one of the most memorable.

The Gazette and Habs Inside Out crews, from Boone, Stubbs and Mio on the front lines, to Dru, John and Stu behind the scenes, have helped us out in a myriad of ways. From promotion to support, they have given us a space here to progress our ideas, backed with enthusiasm and some technical support. Let's not forget that without them giving us this great place to connect, this whole event does not happen. Should any of them stop at any of our destinations on Saturday, let them know how much everything they do is appreciated.

There are also several good people inside the Montreal Canadiens organization that have helped us a great deal along the way. They would wish to remain anonymous, but trust this - they know who we are!

The words "class and dignity" are often attached to the club, and it is easy to understand why. Right from the top on down to those answering phones and questions, we could not have been treated better. That's why we are so proud to be fans!

It should also be acknowledged that the efforts of last season's organizing group, led by Jason Weiss (a.k.a. Jay In P.A.), Leigh Anne Power (JT), Vicky, and Bryan Jones (Yeats) who were very supportive in their advice and direction early, and throughout, this process. Props for the trailblazing, folks. We all wish you could be among us this time. Maybe next year!

Ian Cobb was purposely left until the end here. Our good friend took on the reigns of the Summit when it needed someone to herd all these ideas into cohesion. He's done a masterful job.

Ian is kidded all the time, but without him leading us this time around and delegating tasks, this event might not have come together as it has. In regards to practically every facet of this event, Ian has left his stamp. His dedication, direction and openmindedness has enabled so much of this process to progress fluidly.

Throughout this coming together, he has kept tight tabs on where each idea was at. Since late July, he's likely made hundreds of calls and sent out as many e-mails in assurring things were proceding as planned.

When the first group of tickets were sold in no time flat, they were many disappointed fans left out. While it looked as though getting more tickets to the game would be impossible, Ian found a way to grab an additional 25 more. Not only did he work tirelessly to achieve this, he also plunked down his own hard earned money to secure them.

Ian is quite a special man. He's simply inspirational! His motivation for persevering so hard on our behalf has been nothing more complicated than wanting us all to have a great time.

We're all lucky to know this wonderful man. He's a great friend!

Lastly, a great big group shout out to everyone that got on board for this year's Summit.

The numbers were a little staggering to start out with. From the moment the idea was launched, and all through the anticipation leading up to Saturday, your kind words, support, generosity of spirit, encouragement and appreciation has not gone unnoticed or unfelt.

Suffice to say we represent our team well!

A special thanks for photos from the Gazette (newsprints), and Steve (24 Cups) Kerley, Chris (Chorske) Blanar, and Kevin van Steendalar for sharing their memeories via Photobucket, Flickr, and Facebook.

The Crown Jewel Of Canadiens Collectibles

2008-10-21T12:35:00.013-04:00

What you see here are nine Montreal Canadiens cards from 1911-12. In mint condition, judging by recent sales and auctions, the set might be worth a million!

Only the second ever set of hockey cards issued, the C55 1911-12 Imperial Tobacco series of 45 cards is a most sought after set.

The set contains many rookie cards and features 22 future Hall Of Famers, including four from the Montreal Canadiens.

The C55 set is the most common of the three cards sets produced by Imperial Tobacco, who also issued the 1910-11 C56 series and the 1912-13 C57 set.

The cards each feature colour drawing of photos taken from the day, and have brief player information on the reverse. The cards measure 1 1/2" by 2 1/2", and are an extremly rare find, especially in mint shape.

Players in the 1911-12 set were members of the NHA's Quebec Bulldogs, Ottawa Senators, Montreal Wanderers, Renfrew Millionaires and Canadiens. The series, considered the Holy Grail of hockey card sets, is highly prized by collectors. Though it is the easiest of the three early Imperial sets to find, it is the most difficult to complete due to it's size.

The highest priced card is #38 Georges Vezina which often sells at $1,650.00. The cards of Edouard "Newsy" Lalonde and Art Ross go for $800.00. Common cards, or non Hall Of Famers in the series, are rated at $100.00 each. The pricing are general for cards in the good to very good condition.

Other cards in the set include the Cleghorn brothers, Ogilvie and Sprague, Joe Hall, Jack Darragh, Cyclone Taylor, Riley Hern, Joe Malone, Didier Pitre, Jack Laviolette, Percy Lesueur and Tommy Dunderdale.

I'm not sure when it began, but professional grading of cards has helped send issues in perfect condition into stratospheric sales prices. The grading includes ratings on the colour and tinge of the card, the quality and smoothness of the surface, the sharpness of it's four corners, and the squared alignment of it's borders.

Cards are then graded from 1 to 10, docked a point for each imperfection. I am told that a card with more than more four imperfections does not receive a certifiable professional grading. It would then be considered to be in very good condition and perhaps quality due to it's rarety for the prices listed above.

In August of 2006, a 1979 #18 Wayne Gretzky O-Pee-Chee rookie card sold for $80,000, making it the most valuable hockey card in existence at the time.

Several months later the April 2007 issue of Beckett Hockey magazine published an article titled "The Greatest Card Ever Sold" focusing on the recent record setting $100,000 sale of a mint graded 1911-12 Georges Vezina hockey rookie card. The Honus Wagner baseball card is the most valuable sports card in history but legendary goalie George Vezina's rookie card is easily the most valuable hockey card to date.

Finding a mint hockey card from the C55 set is not always easy but even the lower grades of 2 or 3, which are more commonly found, command prices up to hundreds of dollars. The Georges Vezina rookie card would be the crown jewel of any hockey card collector's collection. In the years to come it will be interesting to see what the mint graded Vezina rookie will sell for if it ever goes to auction again.

The Beckett Hockey Collector magazine reported in the September 2007 issue that a rare 1910-11 C56 Newsy Lalonde hockey card had tied the record, selling for $100K as well. The Newsy Lalonde hockey card was graded a 3 out of 10 by SCG, a sports card grading service.

There is no record of anyone having the entire 1911-12 set in top graded shape.

That would have to be worth a million?

.

1928-29 Hainsworth The Human Wall

2008-10-20T09:13:00.004-04:00

The NHL's twelfth season was one that belonged to the goaltenders, and with the puckstoppers outerworldy performance and prominance would come great changes to the game.

Despite the league making alterations to the on ice product over the years to allow for more offense, goalies adjusted to each move in time. It is perhaps a history lesson that teaches that goaltending, defensive systems and coaching always adapts to what offense counters.

In the 1928-29 season, Canadiens stopper George Hainsworth would register a mindboggling 22 shutouts in 44 games. In winning his third consecutive Vezina Trophy, Hainsworth allowed only 43 goals in the other 22 contests. In his final eight games of the regular season, he let in only 3 goals.

GOALIES RULE

It wasn't only Hainsworth, whose prowess stymied shooters. Goalies across the NHL were improving their numbers annually to the offensive detriment of the shooters fans were paying money to see.

New York Rangers goalie John Ross Roach and the Americans Roy Worters had 13 shutouts. Boston Bruins stopper Tiny Thompson has a dozen whitewashes. Maroons goalie Clint Benedict and the Leafs Lorne Chabot had 11 shutouts each. Detroit Cougars goalie Dolly Dobson had 10 and the Ottawa Senators Alex Connell had 7.

The season's worst club, the last place Pittsburgh Pirates, owners of a dismal 7-29-8 record, allowed only 85 goals.

With 15 scoreless ties in the 1928-29 season, clearly, something needed to be done to open the game up. The NHL governors would gather at season's end to rectify the problem, hopefully once and for all, with rules changes designed to bring more flow to the game.

During the previous season, tie games had almost doubled, going from 18 to 37 amongst the league's 12 clubs. Perhaps it was due to restricting offensive rules, smarter play, or better coaching. It is quite possible that the NHL had evened out with less disparity between the stronger and weaker teams now that the league had all the best professional players.

Either way, it was parity at it's most boring time, and the tie games more than doubled, reaching a total of 94 in 1929.

Needless to say, there were no goal scoring records broken in 1929.

HAINSWORTH EARNS HIS STRIPES

Hainsworth, still with 9 shutouts more than the nearest competition and a goals against average of 0.92, would have a season that would live in infamy. Somehow, despite winning his third consecutive Vezina Trophy in three seasons, the Hart Trophy would go to the American's Worters, who carried his team to second place behind the Canadiens. Worters allowed 10 goals more than Hainsworth, but was viewed as being more valuable to his team, as the Americans squad hardly had the stud defenseman the Habs boasted in Mantha, Leduc, Burke, and Gardiner

After the death of Georges Vezina, the Canadiens club unofficially retired his jersey #1. Frenchy Lacroix and Herb Rheaume had both worn the number in the season of Vezina's passing, but Habs management deemed any goalie unworthy of the number thereafter. Starting in 1926-27, the number was worn by defenseman Herb Gardiner for two seasons. In 1928-29, the number went to Marty Burke. It was said that if a goalie were to become worthy of Vezina's number, only then would it be allowed onto a goalie's back.

The 33 year old Hainsworth meanwhile, had won three consecutive Vezina Trophy's while wearing numbers such as 2, 14, and 12 twice. With 49 shutouts in 132 regular season games, they finally deemed him worthy of the number starting in 1929-30. Oddly, Hainsworth never captured the Vezina Trophy while wearing his number.

GOAL SCORING TAKES A DIVE

Not surprisingly, in this stingiest of NHL season, only two players reached the 20 goal plateau. The Maroons Nels Stewart, a born sniper, hit for 21, but was passed by the Maple Leafs Ace Bailey, for netted one more.

The highest scoring Canadien, Howie Morenz, who had netted 33 a season ago, finished fourth in goals with 17.

Curiously, the Cougars Carson Cooper, a player the Canadiens deemed expendable after only six games two seasons prior, was third with 18 goals.

While remaining the NHL's toughest team to score against, the Canadiens were no longer the league's biggest scoring threat. They managed a total of 71 goals, down a goal per game from their total of 116 a year prior. The distinction of highest scoring team went to the continuously improving Boston Bruins, who scored a hardly daunting 89 goals. The Maple Leafs, improved as well, notched 85. The Cougars and Rangers bested the Habs slightly, netting 72 goals each.

PUNCHLESS HABS KEEP PACE

Perhaps lost to the historical revision of this very particular season is the fact that the Canadiens lost only 7 of 44 contests, including only three games on the road. Despite their drop in goals scored, they still found a way to total the previous season's mark of 59 points and maintain their hold on first place in the Canadian Division.

While many NHL squads toyed annually with their lineups to find a winning team, the Canadiens under the guidance of Leo Dandurand and coaching of Cecil Hart, kept intact the core of a team that grew better and better with each passing season. Despite not having won the Stanley Cup since 1924, the management had faith in the club, due to it's consecutive first place finishes, that there was not a whole lot of tinkering that needing to be done to make the Habs a winner again.

GARDINER LENT TO BLACKHAWKS

Prior to the start of training camp, the Canadiens temporarily parted ways with Hart Trophy winner from two seasons back, Herb Gardiner. On August 27, it was decided that the old stalwart no longer fit the team's future plans, and he was conditionally loaned to the Blackhawks for the season to act solely as their coach.

The condition in the deal was that if Chicago were then to employ Gardiner as a player, then the Canadiens could use their right to recall him, which they did on February 12, after he'd appreared in 13 games with Chicago. He would play the final 7 regular season games, and three more in the playoffs as a Canadien before being dealt to Boston for cash in the spring.

FOUR NEW CANADIENS

Few players from the team that dropped an overtime loss to the Maroons in 1927-28 would not return this season. Replacing the likes of Léo Lafrance, Charles Langlois and Gizzy Hart were Gerry Carson, Armand Mondou, Arthur Lesieur, and George Mantha.

Lesieur, a 21 year old rearguard who was signed as a free agent on October 30. After appearing in 15 games with Montreal, he was loaned to the Blackhawks for the remainder of the season, as compensation for the recall of Gardiner. Lesieur would remain Canadiens property until 1940, during which time he became well aquainted with the train tracks between Providence and Montreal.

Gerry Carson appeared in 26 games for the Canadiens, but was loaned to the Rangers for the remainder of the season on February 15. He would return to the club thereafter, drifting between Providence and the big club for five seasons.

Mondou, a 23 year old left winger from Yamaska, Quebec, made the team at camp as a free agent, and would remain associated with the club beyond a decade.

ANOTHER BROTHER ACT

George Mantha was the brother of Sylvio. A winger, a six years his sibling's junior at 20, he would have the longest association with the team of all this season's newcomers. A solid defensive forward who never reached high goal totals, the younger Mantha was a sound team citizen who would never see another NHL sweater by the time his big league career ended in 1941.

The younger Mantha was a versatile addition, as he could perform on both defence and left wing. A fine puck handler with and sharp shooter, he would help most on the power play and in the transition game regardless of position played. Born in Lachine, Quebec, Mantha played junior with the Montreal Victorias and senior with the city's Bell Telephone squad before joining the Canadiens for 21 games this season. Starting next season, Mantha would be a regular in the Canadiens lineup.

THE MILLIONAIRES FAN CLUB

For quite a few years now, an assembling of Canadiens fans known as "The Millionaires" had been taking their place in the high priced fifty cent seat area close to the ice. The name had been giving to the group partly in mocking derision from other fans, as "The Millionaires" tended to be die hards who knew how to get behind the team big time. Not only did they have the tendancy to stand for the duration of the games and cheer loudly, but they also were heavily involved with the team, basically becoming it's first unofficial fan club.

Numbering close to 2,000 by some estimations in the day, "The Millionaires" would band together, figuratively and financially, to honour the Canadiens team and its individual members. Gathering at a local St. Denis street pub for group meetings, they would organize various events ranging from player appreciation nights to parade's downtown, when the Canadiens would defeat the Maroons. They treated players on the Habs with gifts and occasional cash bonuses and at one time it was felt that "The Millionaires" club had the ears of not only the media's influence, but the team's management as well when it came to player moves.

HABS PLAYERS GRAB ENDORSEMENT DOLLARS

While it could not be compared to the latter day hockey fever that grips the city of Montreal, the Canadiens stars were often in demand for all sorts of off ice promotions. After the NHL stepped in to forbid players such as Morenz and Joliat from ghostwriting NHL editorials in the local papers, local businesses jumped forth to offer the stars a little extra cash with promotional ads for their companies. Morenz and Joliat would soon be seen modelling garments such as taillored three piece suits, hats, and overcoats. Nothing was said by the league concerning Pit Lepine's endorsements of Buckingham cigarettes.

Lepine's signature would soon adorn bottles of Froz - Ex, and Joliat added to his income via the promotion of Bee Hive Honey, a company that would in time become very involved in the promotion of the NHL game.

MORENZ, PROTECTED STAR, NOT FOR SALE

Morenz was pure gold for the Canadiens and the league, and both the NHL and it's players understood his worth in filling arenas wherever he played. Once, while playing a game at Madison Square Graden against the Rangers, New York coach Lester Patrick informed his players to go easy on Morenz, who was appearing despite favoring a leg injury. Should the Canadiens return to MSG without Morenz in future games, the rink would be half full and good money would go missing

With Howie Morenz's continued popularity across the league came the inevitable rumours that the Canadiens were perenially about to sell him off for cash. The Boston Bruins were said to make regular inquiries and offers for Morenz, and it was continuously written about in the Toronto media that the Maple Leafs were upping their offer from time to time.

Offers began at $25,000 for his services, but there was never truth to the Morenz trade speculation, as far as the Canadiens management were concerned. Runours hit a feverish pitch when it became known that the New York Americans had offered $50,000 for Morenz. Habs managers Létourneau and Dandurand needed to go on record to quash any thought of it by stating that Morenz was not for sale - nor for silver, nor for gold.

CANADIENS GET REVENGE ON MAROONS

The Canadiens avenged their final playoff game loss to the Maroons from last season by going undefeated in 6 games against their Forum rivals. With four wins and two ties, the Canadiens were also outdrawing the Maroons home game crowds on a steady basis.

While the Canadiens packed them in at the Forum, the NHL's biggest crowd to date was for the Bruins upon the opening of the Boston Gardens. A record 17,000 paid attendance on Tuesday, November showed up to see the Habs down the Bruins 1-0.

HABS ON RADIO

The Canadiens first radio broadcast took place on December 22 in a home game against Ottawa. Local station CJAD broadcast the game in english. Commentators Arthur Dupont and future Hockey Hall of Fame scribe and Montreal Herald writer Elmer Ferguson brought the game's action into living rooms from the third period on, so as to not disuade folks from attending the game.

SENATORS SINKING

Longtime Canadiens rivals, the Ottawa Senators, had hit hard times. Ottawa's financial troubles continued and they temporarily filled their coffers by selling off star Punch Broadbent to the Americans. Their situation had gotten so desperate, that at one time there were whispers the team was being looked at by interests in Chicago. While Senators owner Frank Ahearn dispelled such talk, he did openly admit the troubles and fessed up that the team was available to the highest bidder. They would finish in fourth place, an non factor in a league they helped found.

NEW PLAYOFF FORMAT

The NHL revised it's playoff format to match the first place teams against each other in a best of five series for the NHL championship.

The second place Canadian and American Division teams would face each in one round, while the third place finishers would meet in another two game total goals series. The winners would then meet in a best of three series to determine a semi final winner. The victor would the go against the winner of the division leaders in a best of three series for the Cup.

It was an odd way to determine a Stanley Cup champion, and perhaps unfairly, one of the two best teams in the game would be bumped from the playoffs sooner rather than later.

BRUINS SURPRISE CANADIENS

While the Canadiens had hit their stride during the season with a 16 game undefeated streak, the Bruins were also hot with a 15 game roll without having lost. Montreal's record from January 12 to February 21 was 9 wins and 7 ties through 16 games. The Bruins started their two weeks earlier, and did not lose in the month of January, going 13-0-2. Through the final 30 games of the season, the Habs had lost only twice.

The Canadiens had met the Bruins four times during the regular season, and held a 2-1-1 edge. Even though Montreal had shut out Boston twice - in their first and last meetings - the Bruins had finished only two points back of Montreal overall.

The series began with two games in Boston, which would be followed by three in Montreal. In Boston, Bruins goalie Tiny Thompson shut the Canadiens down in back to back 1-0 wins. The Canadiens season ended on Forum ice on March 23, as the Bruins edged Montreal 3-2 for a series sweep.

Another very good season had ended in disappointment. The Canadiens likely did not know what had hit them.

The Bruins meanwhile, had to wait for 5 days while the other rounds played out. The defending Cup champion Rangers won their two game total goals series with the Americans while the Maple Leafs ousted the Cougars. The Rangers quickly dispatched Toronto by scores of 1-0 and 2-1 in overtime.

The 1929 Cup final was the first time two American franchises were pitted against each other. The Bruins beat the defending champ Rangers in two straight. The Bruins George Owen, became the first NHL'er to permanently don a helmet for protective purposes rather than for prior injury reasons.

Looking forward to the 1929-30 season, the Habs were confident to again be among the NHL elite. Perhaps some tinkering that would allow their offense to become unleashed would put them over the top.

Gaborik Rumours Proof That Habs Fans Have Gone Loopy For a Cup

2008-10-19T23:27:00.006-04:00

Marian Gaborik a Montreal Canadien - doubtful in Bob Gainey's lifetime!

You see, Gainey just isn't into the type of player and person Gaborik has represented himself to be so far in his 8 year NHL career.

Now, first off, I must unequivocally state that I like Gaborik as a player package. Tools aplenty he's got - no need to list them.

The toolbox unfortunately, is a whole other matter.

On that matter, I want Gaborik the individual, about as badly as I want Bob to resign Patrice Brisebois to a long term contract extension.

In eight NHL seasons, Gaborik has topped the 70 point plateau just once, with 83 last season.

In reports or rumours, he has so far refused either a $10 million dollar deal over eight years, or an $8 million buck contract spread across ten seasons. He isn't worth either.

I read such things and think, "Gainey likes this guy because....

Strictly based on past production, future projection, and injury history, a reasonable offer sounds something like no more than 6 million per across three seasons.

The injury prone Gaborik has helped the Minnesota Wild to one successful playoff season. He plays for a team run by a trio of former Habs bleeders and sweaters with names such as Lemaire, Risebrough, and Tremblay.

If those former Canadien warriors cannot convince Gaborik of the merits of playing a complete game of hockey on a rink that extends 200 feet, it is doubtful that former Selke winners Gainey, Carbonneau and Jarvis are interested in failing where others have jogged in similar quicksand.

Want another angle of logic on this?

Somewhere out there, lies a team more desperate for Gaborik's services than the Canadiens well oiled machine. Let them part with more to get him. Perhaps the best prospect in the Canadiens pipeline is college defenseman Ryan McDonough, and any club talking trade with the Habs would demand him in the package. Gainey is not about to let go of McDonagh any time soon. He has top pairing potential and should one day be the Canadiens best defenseman.

For Gainey, with as many as 10 players to sign for next season, it is unthinkable that he would wish to add such a hefty contract in light of the raises due next season. That would really mess with his deck of cards.

The Wild won't part with Gaborik before the final seconds of the trade deadline. They will maximize their asset until then, if they are wise.

By that time, Gainey won't screw with the Habs chemistry.

.

Koivu Rejuvenated In New Habs Scheme

2008-10-19T11:30:00.008-04:00

Five games into the 2008-09 season, the Canadiens leading scorer, with 2 goals and 6 assists, is none other than captain Saku Koivu.

Raise you hands, and grab your deodorant, those who saw this coming!

"Why is Koivu off to such a good start?", you might ask.

"Will it continue?"

As the Canadiens prepared to face the upcoming season, there was much talk that acquisition of a third offensive centerman to complement Koivu and Tomas Plekanec was just what the Habs needed going forward.

After Canadiens GM Bob Gainey realized that Mats Sundin's mind was somewhere between Waldo and Jimmy Hoffa, he settled on bringing in Blackhawks pivot Robert Lang as a plan B.

What the acquisition of Lang has produced so far, is pretty much the same scenario that was envisioned in targeting the bald headed meatball of indecision. Lang has given the Canadiens three well structured offensive trios.

So far in this new season, Montreal has hit the net 20 times in just five games. Lang with three goals, matched by Gainey's other summer steal in the name of Alex Tanguay - also with three - have accounted for close to one third of the club's total goal production.

It could get even better than this.

The theories of a trickle down effect from having a well balanced offensive game have so far proven true. Consider that injured forward Chris Higgins - the team's third leading goal scorer from last season - has yet to make an appearance, and that the perceived top line of Plekanec, Alex Kovalev, and Andrei Kostitsyn has yet to get untracked.

At the moment though, it seems that captain Koivu has so far been the most beneficial contributor to this new offensive scheme. While no one likely saw such prowess returning to Koivu's game, it is interesting to examine the reasons why it is happening. It is also imporatnt to note that there a very good reasons why it ought to continue.

Put me down as one who believes the soon to be 34 year old Koivu just might just have a career season in 2008-09.

The most obvious explanantion would be that the acquisition of Tanguay, who seems to have gelled nicely with Koivu, has expanded what Koivu is capable of doing as a linemate. Tanguay's quickness and vision enable Koivu to be less of a one dimensional player. As a member of a line in possession of the puck more often, rather than continuously battling for it, Koivu is freed both creatively and energetically to offer a different set of skills to his line.

Over the past few seasons, Koivu has been saddled and shackled with both seconding Higgins in working the corners and providing the one dimensional Michael Ryder with scoring chances. At present, he is actually working less and accomplishing more offensively.

As a centerman, what Koivu is capable of, has often gone underappreciated. Over the years, it was generally a given that he overworked himself and tired easily. In approching this season, in adding Lang, it was assumed that Koivu's load would be lightened, and that is how the changes have so far unfolded.

While Tanguay has been all that was expected and more, the emergence of Guillaume Latendresse on the trio has helped the line gel even quicker.

I've watched Latendresse studiously for two seasons, and often proclaimed at this site that he has all the tools - size, shot, intelligence, and dedication - to become a solid NHL forward. His biggest deterrents over two campaigns have been his skating, his hesitancies, and his linemates. Despite all of what I felt where holding him back, Latendresse managed a pair of 16 goal seasons, which to me, was all that was needed to understand that better times would come with increased possibilities.

That time is now at hand for Latendresse, and is making the most of it, and turning disbelieving naysayers into word chewing converts.

I've noticed a pair of skills from Latendresse of late, that I only ever caught in inconsistant glimpses previously. Firstly, he's becoming increasingly difficult to budge from the puck along the boards and in corners. He has started by heading there with the threat, promise, and delivery of a crunching hit, and is making it a habit of emerging with the puck on his stick.

More importantly, he has gained the required confidence to manage his puck time rather quickly and efficiently, and is revealing himself to be a rather smooth setup man. Everything saw the perfectly feathered pass to a charging Roman Hamrlik against Toronto and likely assumed it was an aberration of sorts, but Latendresse has been slipping all kinds of passes to his linemates that have been turning into scoring chances of late.

Against the Coyotes last night, Latendresse stunned me with a pair of moves that led to goals by Tanguay and Koivu. Both plays featured him skating backwards while passing the puck off. He was not credited with an assist on the second. Clearly, playing with top line players has brought about a different perception of Latendresse's game skills, even from a believer's point of view.

While Tanguay and Latendresse may be clicking with Koivu early on in this season, it should be pointed out that more often than not their timing isn't yet up to mid season standards. Fanned shots, missed passes, and overall cohesiveness still aren't yet in synch.

Imagine, that as time passes and communication improves, the trio should only get better.

Older Habs fans might recall Koivu being in a similar scenario before. Going back to the 1996-97 season, in Koivu's sophomore year, he was also one of three offensively gifted centres, and he started the season on fire.

Koivu at that time, was seen as the club's third center, behind Vincent Damphousse and Pierre Turgeon, who each were coming off ninety plus point seasons. Damphousse was the center best matched against other teams top lines due to his two way hockey senses. Turgeon, at the time, was becoming increasingly pointed out in Montreal for his defensive liabilities.

Koivu, meanwhile, slipped through this scrutiny and was battling for first place in the NHL scoring race.

No way?

Way. Look it up!

Nine games into the season, Turgeon was so humilated at being retrogated to third line center, he went bawling into Rejean Houle office demanding a trade. He was captain at the time, a choice rubber stamped and steamrolled by Habs president Ronald Corey.

Had Houle had the backbone of an experienced GM he would have advised Turgeon to grow some balls and battle for his stature on the club, but instead he buckled, and dealt the infamous "Tin Man" to the St. Louis Blues for Shayne Corson and spare parts. It was like like the Patrick Roy fiasco's second domino.

Turgeon, for the record, played his final game in a Habs uni on Koivu's left wing. He notched four assists.

Shortly thereafter, Koivu was injured in a knee on knee hit in a game against Chicago. The Habs went from having three productive centerman, to having just Damphousse in his prime. Hell beckoned!

When Koivu returned, the scenario was quite different. Much could be said about the next decade of Koivu's time in Montreal, but the tale is an exhausting, detailed, and fruitlerss one.

Suffice to say that this current edition of the Canadiens is the best team that Koivu has been a part of since the first 20 games of the 1996-97 campaign. We might now get to see what may have occurred had he not been injured after one of the club's top centerman was traded off.

The Finnish player deemed finished by many, might just finally fullfill his potential.

Now wouldn't that be a gas!

Photos courtesy of the Montreal Gazette and Habs Inside Out.

Kostitsyn Hit Anything But Legal

2008-10-19T07:32:00.011-04:00

There is no news yet as to the condition of Canadiens forward Andrei Kostitsyn after being knocked unconscious by Phoenix Coyotes defenseman Kurt Sauer during Saturday's 4-1 Habs win.

News should be forthcoming in a day or so, after tests are done to establish the severity of the injury. As with any blow to the head, it is expected that matters will proceed cautiously.

Two things are angering me about the hit, and the lesser concern is that no penalty was called on the play. Considering the stagnant state of NHL officiating, it's almost not a surprise.

What bothers me most is that many are terming the check as a clean hit. I don't see it that way.

A clean hit is a body check, plain and simple. It is hip to hip, or shoulder to shoulder, but generally body against body. Clean checks never include targeting a player's head in any manner.

In this instance, Sauer raised both gloves together, one holding his stick, and thrusted into Kostitsyn's chest, above the logo. Sauer was practically immobile as Kostitsyn skated in on him, and the hit had the effect of a clothesline.

Watching the clip of the play included herein, one can see Kostitsyn leave his feet upon impact. His head then hits the glass before a second impacting blow, when he dropped to the ice. The injury, as yet not known, likely has been caused by the impact against the glass or the ice.

Some angles of the play pan straight down the right side boards, and show that Kostitsyn had perhaps six feet of room on the outside of Sauer to skate by. The defenseman instinctively knew where Kostitsyn would go, and chose the unsafest option to slow him down or stop him.

Defenders of the unclean check will state that it appears that Kostitsyn had his head down at time. That defense always makes me shudder.

Of course, it is good hockey sense and skill to skate heads up. In the instances in which a player bares down in stride and lowers his gaze to slip by an opponant, liberties are often taking to ring a player's clock.

However, the head down angle is still no excuse. Players simply should not target the one area of the body a rival will most need beyond his playing days. I find it inexcusable when players target the head area of a rival. There's never a good reason for it, especially when a body on body slam is a readily available option.

Kurt Sauer is not a dirty player, and it is reasonable to believe he simply acted instinctively to stop a slippery player. It happens all the time, but that doesn't make it right either.

In raising his forearms and fisted gloves into a round thrusting ball aimed at Kostitsyns upper torso area, Sauer committed a foul that ought to have been penalized. There wasn't a whole lot that was legal about the hit, other than Kostitsyn having puck possession.

Sauer's raised elbows also followed through on the impact. It's difficult to state for certain whether they were part of the blow to the head, but one can see Sauer's elbows leaning against the glass after Kostitsyn was bounced and is crumbling to the ice.

Because such moves commonly go uncalled in the speed and action of the game, it gives the impression that it is a tolerable play.

It might be, but it shouldn't be. When the head is involved, it is clearly a dangerous and disrespectful play. One that the rules of the game should be helping to deter.

From it all, I get the feeling that Kostitsyn will be okay after all proper precautions are taken. He most surely will be diagnosed with some grade of concussion. The fact that he rose to his feet himself, and resisted the use of a stretcher speaks of the trainers on the spot understanding that he was a good deal cognicent, if still somewhat dazed.

What is second in importance after his health will be his on ice recovery. Often an injury of the sort renders a player timid for a spell, and sometimes permanantly.

My take is that the elder Kostitsyn is one tough bugger, in an old time hockey kind of way. He won't allow such a thing to hinder him, just as he did not allow his epilepsy to hamper his career goals.

Photos courtesy of Habs Inside Out / Montreal Gazette

Who Were Habs Butch Bouchard And Elmer Lach?

2008-10-18T22:13:00.027-04:00

If you watched the ceremonies (of course you did!) prior to the Canadiens home opener on Wednesday, you were no doubt treated to the first wave of pomp and circumstance having to do with the Canadiens one hundreth anniversary.

As the old saying goes, only the Montreal Canadiens and the Catholic Church truly understand ceremony. If you've been a Habs fan for any length of time, you know that the Canadiens do this well simply because practice makes perfect.

I always liked the comparison to the church - kinda like God and the Habs, hand in hand.

For the younger generation, watching such things as the centennial unfold has got to be quite the series of discoveries.

I have a younger friend of mine, who has been a Canadiens fan for about 10 years, who is just now starting to get caught up in the history of the team. Each time he sees me, he almost runs to me with a new curiosity.

I can tell there is a Habs related question just by his expression.

When did this or that happen? Who was the guy that used to wear number 12? How come, in my EA Hockey '09, there's a Habs goalie that catches with both hands?

T.J. is a fun kid to talk Habs with, cause he's so inquisitive. He's a real pleasant chat, a studious listener. and has the fun habit of enunciating Vezina like "vagina".

I was thinking of him, and youngsters his age while watching the Canadiens unveil the Ring Of Honour on wednesday. They must wonder aloud who all these legends are, and why anyone would still care today.

The simple truth is that the Canadiens, unlike some other organizations when they change regimes, do not forget their history. Their fans do not allow them to forget their history. Their history does not let the team forget it's history.

"So who were those two old geezers at center ice for the ceremonial faceoff?"

"Ninety year old versions of Gretzky and Pronger", I offer, to a twisted look and a raised eyebrow.

Emile "Butch" Bouchard and Elmer Lach were the best in their time, that being the 1940's to mid 1950's, and they marked the game and their era by making such lasting impressions that, in 2008, what they achieved translates into long, more than deserved ovations by the gathered fans.

Don't take it from me - I wasn't even close to being there!

I first heard these names at the foot of my father's coach.

"He's good, but he's no Butch Bouchard!"

"Elmer would have found that open winger!"

Over time, through reading tons, the odd clips, and testemonials from the day, the impact of Lach and Bouchard on Canadiens history is easily rendered.

From the mid 1930's to 1941, the Canadiens were such a dismal operation, that they bordered on extinction. Had it not been for the cross town rival Montreal Maroons being even worse, the Canadiens in fact might not exist today. Believe it or not, the team was tanked so badly by brutal management (The Canadian Arena Company owned both the Maroons and Habs.) that it seriously contemplated a move to St. Louis. NHL wisdom, led by the Maple Leafs owner Conn Smythe, stood up against such silliness.

By the early 1940's, the Canadiens needed heroes, and some serious salvaging. They slowly began getting their act together, and pieces one by one, began falling into place.

The Canadiens team of that era, was not unlike the Habs squads from 1996 to 2003. Both edition's desperately searched for direction.

In 1940, Montreal received a gift from the Toronto Maple Leafs, when they fired head coach Dick Irvin Sr. At Irvin's first training camp that fall, a centerman named Elmer Lach from Saskatoon, was given a tryout. Irvin knew how to recognize talent.

Lach had also slipped through the Leafs fingers. After Toronto's Smythe termed Lach a "peanut" to his face, Elmer bolted town with his tryout money in hand. Two seasons later, he easily impressed Irvin with his smooth passes and reckless demeanor. Accompanying Lach by train was another hardnose warrior, defenseman Ken Reardon.

One camp later, in 1941, it was Bouchard's turn to impress the coach. Bouchard had played in the Canadiens system for a season, showing surprising progression for a kid who had only begun skating at age 17. Four seasons later, he wanted to make the Canadiens so badly, he would bike the roughly 25 km trek from Longueuil to the Habs camp in St. Hycinthe. Not only was the youngster in better physical shape than most veterans on the club, Bouchard had the strength of an ox and the perseverance of a mad bull.

When Irvin teamed Bouchard with Reardon, and Lach with veteran Toe Blake and a rookie named Maurice Richard, the Canadiens quickly became competitive and respected. Their darkest age, was now in the past. Not long thereafter, the Canadiens became acquainted with glory, winning Stanley Cups in 1944 and 1946, while Lach and Bouchard became perenial All Stars.

Lach won the Art Ross Trophy twice, and the Hart Trophy once, and had three first team All Star nods to go along with a pair of second team merits. In 1954, he retired as the NHL's all time leader is assists and points.

In Bouchard's day, the Norris Trophy had yet to be awarded, but his stature in the game is shown by his four successive All Star team berths, starting with the second team in 1944, followed by three first team awards from 1945 to 1947. As coach Irvin had often stated, had there been a Conn Smythe Trophy for playoff MVP in the day, his vote in '44 and '46 would have gone to Bouchard.

What characterized both players was their toughness in the trenches. They achieved their iconic statures because they were warriors without compromise. Bouchard was not only one of the bigger and tougher players of his era, but he never hesitated to let his size speak, threaten, and hinder. As fearsome as he was on the ice, he soon became the ultimate leader off the ice and in the Canadiens fan community.

Lach was often a daredevil on skates. His fearlessness led to an injury plagued career, but only in extreme cases did it keep him from game action. During his time Lach broke elbows, wrists, ankles, and fractured his skull. His nose bore the brunt of his recklessness, though bent and twisted as it was, the player was a persevering non complainer who lived to compete. Somehow, through all this, coach Irvin nicknamed him "Elegant Elmer", because of his on ice prowess.

The roles played by Bouchard and Lach on the ice were a mere fraction of their contribution. They were cornerstones in launching the Canadiens into greatness.

By 1943, the Montreal Canadiens were nothing more than one of six NHL teams, differentiated perhaps by a Flying Frenchmen flavor. They had won four Stanley Cups in 33 years of existance, as the NHL's oldest franchise, but the clubs that joined the Canadiens in the late 1920's were rapidly gaining ground. The Detroit Red Wings, New York Rangers and Boston Bruins had won three Cups, and the Maple Leafs and Blackhawks had a pair of championships to their credit, at that point.

In the following decade, the Canadiens would leave the other five clubs in the dust in terms of Cups wins. Much of the credit for the Canadiens greatest seasons and accomplishments are often found under the resumes of Maurice "Rocket" Richard and Jean Beliveau - and rightly so!

While there is no denying the individual greatness of these two Habs icons, it is perhaps lost to history what influence and example Lach and Bouchard laid as groundwork.

Lach was the centerman on the Punch Line, perhaps hockey's greatest trio ever. On the left side was a devilishly driven Toe Blake, who reached his potential as a player while centered by Lach. Blake surely learned a great deal about the game in his most productive seasons, and what he garnered in observations surely translated into the excellent coaching career that followed.

Elegant Elmer was also the Rocket's centerman. In the season that Richard scored 50 goals in 50 games, Lach was the NHL's leading scorer with 26 goals and 54 assists. The assist mark and point total, while not having the Rocket's benchmark headline worthiness, were amazing accomplishments in their own right. At season's end, Lach was awarded the Hart Trophy as the NHL's MVP. In today's hindsight, it seems an erroneous choice given what Richard did, but at the time the merit sought to award what was at the core of greatness. While some may have grumbled that the award passed Rocket by in his greatest moment, no one has ever disputed that Lach was the grease that kept the wheels turning.

It should be seen that Lach was the churning gear that propelled the Rocket's motor. That truly is Lach's legacy - lighting the Rocket's fuse!

Butch Bouchard's passing of the torch is much more testimonial that it is statistical. In fact, it might even be something more felt than it was seen, more emotional than it could ever be thought or pondered.

Emile Bouchard, through his on ice accomplishments, transcended for many, what it implied to be a Quebec born Montreal Canadiens player. Prior to him, few wore the jersey with more pride and distinction, or matched his commitment and dedication to what the CH logo represented in the hearts of locals.

Bouchard was a lunchpail common whose work ethic not only inspired, but provided a crystal clear vision for a great many Montreal Canadiens hopefuls. His contribution to the club is as vital as that of Georges Vezina, Didier Pitre and Newsy Lalonde's in establishing the hockey team's identity some thirty years earlier

After seven seasons in the league, Bouchard inherited the team's captaincy from Blake, and the example he set laid out a template for every team captain who followed.

He was gracious, accommodating, respectful, persevering and yet, humble. Bouchard met all public functions, represented the club with a dignity rarely seen for a hockey player, and sought to give something back to his community well before it was advantagious to a player's public persona to do so.

In his time, he used his name to help build outdoor rinks in impoverished areas of the city of Montreal, where the city's poorer kids could play hockey. He was a trailblazer in such notions. Hockey's millionaires of today do such things in recognicent blinks, without sacrificng an ounce of sweat. Bouchard made it his mandate. All he was doing then, on a salary that was far less than his overall worth, was giving back.

The 2008-09 Canadiens organization honoured his endeavors without mentioning his name, when they announced they would build five outdoor rinks in the Montreal area.

Bouchard allowed and accepted all such demands and intrusions into his life with grace, decency and a compassion for his public - one that absolutely adored him in his day.

Today, Butch Bouchard is often remembered as the Montreal Canadiens first Quebec born captain. What he truly gave as a player and person, is best epitomized in the man that became Jean Beliveau. In class and substance Bouchard was Beliveau's template.

Elmer and Butch were pillars - the cement of the foundation that is the Montreal Canadiens.

Cement is heavier to raise to the glorious Canadiens rafters than cloth, but with a lot of hands pulling....

Numbers 3 and 16 in Lach's name, have more than earned their place among the greatest of Habs players.

Here's hoping that fate allows those jersey to go heavenly before their precious souls do.

Visit the Bouchard and Lach bios at the HHOF site, and at Bouchard's amazing fan site.

Also check out T.C. Denault's excellent piece on Bouchard at the Habs World site.