Phew! New Habs Jersey's Retain Their Cool!

Phew!

The Canadiens new Reebok's are in, and the reactions are unanimously positive!

A giant sigh of relief was heard eminating from the heavens of hockey this morning. With a team so richly steeped in tradition as the Canadiens, not messing with it was a no brainer. There will be no rumblings from 1260 Gauchetière St. W this winter with the Habs retaining the classic look.














If these newer jersey are to keep players from being weighted down by dampness and heat, then the Habs have retained their cool in more ways than one!



















This is the perfect makeover, as the Habs have chosen to alter almost nothing - only the collar now sports a sleeker V - look. I won't even venture to qualify to new shapes with an adjective!

Here are some closeups of the finer details of the jersey.




































One poster I read this morning remarked that he hoped the numbers style and name plate lettering also remained in tact. I can't see it being otherwise.

Another interesting note is that at the Canadiens online shop, they are taking pre-orders on 14 player jerseys, and one of them is Carey Price - lo and behold. His # 31 is available with the likes of Koivu, Higgins, Latendresse and others. Very interesting.

Oh, and Cristobal Huet has fine tined his mask to go with the newer duds! Rumour has it that the other side was influenced by Jaroslav Halak's mask design, and features a painting of Carey Price raising the Cup!



















The good news all around is that the Canadiens jersey remains the class of the league, as always. Leafs fans look good in them still, as they always have. This Buds fan feels so snazzy is his disguise, he's doing his best Gene Simmons and is a hit with the ladies!




















So far it seems, that only the Original Six teams are totally content with their new jersey unveilings. On the whole of the NHL, the sharpening up of logo's is actually gaining a more positive response than the streamlined jersey's are. Some jersey's I've seen are pretty brutal, but the majority of the changes, being that they are from non-hockey hotbeds, aren't likely to start bonfires in mid town anytime soon.


















I liked the new Senators logo, but the absense of a stripe scheme is horrid. Word is that the these new Reebok's are hard to fit into, and even harder to get out of.















Still, their look is miles ahead of these new Leafs uni's!















A great site to keep up to date on all the changes, news and views is called Tournament of Logo's. There is a running vote playdown on the best crest's in the NHL. The Habs have passed the first round and the Leafs were dumped.

Here are some of the alterations of Canadiens jersey's in the early years of the team. As you can see, the changes made today are hardly anything compared to days gone by. The globe logo of 1924 was to celebrate the Canadiens as World Champions, as Cup winners were prone to call themselves then.

For a look back on the Habs jersey's and logo's of old, check out the various links at this fan site.

Is Paying The Price in Cristobal's Crystal Ball?

What a troublemaker that Carey Price, upsetting the evolving Canadiens goaltending hierarchy by becoming too good, too soon!

Three years and three goalies in succession, all of whom have captured the imaginations of Habs fans, has created the happiest of problems for Canadiens GM Bob Gainey.

First Habs fans fell in love with Cristobal Huet, as he rescued the Canadiens from the "Theodore returns to Chipmunks size" season. He wins the Roger Crozier Saving Grace Award and then follows up with an All Star game appearance this season.

Then Jaroslav Halak arrives seemingly out of nowhere to relieve the Swiss cheese otherwise known as David Aebischer, who had bumbled the mission of backing up Huet so badly it basically burried the Habs playoff chances. Halak, one year removed from the ECHL, almost pulls off the impossible and propels the Canadiens to within a win of the playoffs. He is named to the AHL All Rookie team goalie and could very well duplicate that feat in the NHL also.

Which brings us to Price, who has caused this stir by living up to mountains of hype by winning everything within his reach this season. The words calm, cool, and collected will describe him throughout his career.


















Master Bob now has to tiptoe around the delicate issue of manoevering around all of three goalies with starter status in their mettle. With either one of the crowd possibly becoming number one, what's a Lucky Bob to do?

Common sense dictates trimming from the top, meaning Huet as the oldest and most expensive goalie, who is in the final season of a two - year deal before gaining UFA status, is the most likely of suitcase candidates. Trade value will dictate when and what happens in Huet's case, as well as the performances of his cohorts next season in Montreal.

Should Halak and / or Price steal Huet's thunder, anything becomes possible at any point in the season.



















Huet, a solid and poised goaltender who has just begun to make a name for himself the past two season, the additional competition is hardly welcome. It is written in the sky somewhere, with no clouds obscuring, that Price is the Canadiens future in goal. In this regard, it is highly doubtful that the Canadiens will pay what amounts to a backup goalie the numbers Huet is currently earning.

Make no bones about it, a trade is on the Habs horizon involving Huet, sometime between now and next March's trade deadline. Due to Huet's injury this past season, the Canadiens were prevented from shopping Aebischer. That was a card they surely would have liked to play had things gone smoother. Now they have lost the Swiss goalie when they could have had something gouda in return. ( Sorry - I work for Kraft, where cheesy puns come naturally! )

The Canadiens will not want to part with Huet and come up empty handed in the same manner.
























Given the loss of Aebischer ( gaining by subtraction in my books ) and the impending move of Huet down the line, it is imperative that the Canadiens make a qualifying offer to Yann Danis, an NHL calibre goaltender burried beneath a pile of quality puckstoppers in Montreal.

When and where Bob Gainey pulls the trigger on a deal, he'll be doing it from positions of strength. All the more reason to retain Danis in the fold.


















The Canadiens deepest strengths presently are goalies en masse, and a jealous amount of prospects that are the envy of many organizations. In dealing from any of these positives, the Habs will look to shore up holes at center and depth on defense, while going for the home run of key returns.

Seeing as the Canadiens are quite capable of yanking the ripcord on a multi player transaction without suffering decimation of ranks, the deal would possibly include Huet in addition to a pair of prospects.

It could happen at the draft table or on the eve of July 1st. My bet has Gainey throwing his sevens come early October, when all prospect assessments are more thorough.

Until then, the rumour mill will become a distraction of major proportions.

The Return Of Cristobal Huet

There's good news on the Cristobal Huet injury front according the Canadiens official website. While most reports have had him gone until the post season, there had been some rumblings that a possible return was sooner. My understanding was that once the website commented on the goalie's progress, a return could be envisioned.

No date has been suggested as yet, but it it is inconceivable to suggest that rookie Jaroslav Halak would be asked to play all seven remaining games. It's almost as inconceivable to think coach carbonneau will be giving David Aeboscher the go ahead to start anytime soon. The Canadiens will run with Halak until Huet's return.















Here's what the Habs official site had to say on Huet:

"With opponents already having their hands full contending with rookie sensation Jaroslav Halak, the news might get worse for the opposition with All-Star Cristobal Huet inching closer to a return to the Habs' crease.

With the team coming off sweeping a home-and-home series against the Bruins and Huet taking part in his first full practice with his teammates Friday morning, there were no shortage of smiles on the ice at the Bell Centre.

"It feels great to be back practicing with the guys and getting to face shots that are a little more dangerous than Rollie’s," said Huet with a smile in reference to all the time he’s spent skating with goaltending coach Roland Melanson of late. "I’m still not at 100% yet. I haven’t felt any discomfort, even if the muscles in that area are a bit tired. It’s important for me to get back in the swing of things before being ready to compete once I’m back to 100%."

Those anxiously awaiting a precise return date for Huet are not alone.

"We still haven’t really set a timetable for when I’ll be back. We’re taking this day-by-day," explained Huet. "All I really know is that I’m not playing Saturday night and we’ll see how my leg responds to the next couple of practices."

Huet isn’t the only one surveying his progress, these days.

"He looked good to me out there," said Steve Begin. "He really worked his tail off in the gym to be able to come back as soon as possible. We’re all thrilled to see him back on the ice with us and looking forward to having him in the lineup."

Other thoughts:

With Thursday's 6-3 win over the Bruins, during which the Habs scored four goals in the third period, the Canadiens have now collected 24 points (10W-4OTL) in third period comebacks this season. Once again they did it with the help of their young guns. Tomas Plekanec, Christopher Higgins, Maxim Lapierre and Jaroslav Halak were excellent yet again for Montreal, with Lapierre's goal proving to be the winner. Andrei Kostisyn also had an assist in Plekanec's goal near the end of the second period that swung momentum in Montreal's favour.

Christopher Higgins said there's no secret to the success that he and linemate Tomas Plekanec are having down the stretch in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

"It's all about work; if we're not working, we're not having success," Higgins said after he and Plekanec scored second effort goals to help the Habs beat the Boston Bruins 6-3 last night.

While most people enjoy these types of games, I hesitate greatly to call them character wins. As I've said before, character shows up at the start of the games, not just in the third period out of desperation. Luckily they fell behind to Boston and not the Sabres or Rangers or it would have been game over!

Pat Hickey alluded to this about Dave Lewis' mustache in his column and I must say ditto!

















Some guys look great with a moustache, others don't. I shaved mine off 6 years back and have never missed it. I look at old pictures of myself, kind of hanging onto that 70's cookie duster, and I wince!

The 'staches suited guys such as Magnum P.I., Eddie Shack and Lanny MacDonald, to name a few. Someone ought to tell Bruins coach Dave Lewis his just makes him look like a Hitler subserviant.

Much talk about Carey Price's great regular season with Tri-City of late.

Price's record with the Americans this season was 30-13-1, with a GAA of 2.45 and a .917 save percentage. The Canadiens may have intentions of staring his pro career in Hamilton, but his play at training camp may force them to think otherwise. Watching his play during the WJC, he reminded me oddly of Huet down the stretch last year, when he seemed to resemble of big wall of plywood facing the shooters. Like Huet, Price is at his best when square to the puck and shooter. He rarely compromises himself in situations of two on one breaks and his stand up style fits his size to perfection. I believe that much of the Canadiens work in grooming him is already accomplished.

If he is indeed ready for the bigs, it would be wise to place him there starting next season. A goaltender of his calibre needs the continuous growth that comes with playing behind defenseman of the same grade. Having him ply his trade with lesser talents at the AHL level is a risk to his developement.

A beauty of a site all Habs fans must witness is Canadiens Memorabilia.com. Dave Stubbs of the Montreal Gazette has been featuring some awesome team photo shots from the 1950's five in a row champions online, and they are something to see.

The site has an easy membership sign up at no cost and features hundreds of collectibles that many folks have never seen. I'll be doing a feature on it myself soon enough, but here's a little sneak peak.