On the eve of Passover # 5770, we put together our noggins to discuss some pertinent issues in Habsland. Is Andrei Kostitsyn overrated? Will he still be a Hab next year? If you had to pick one, would it be AK46 or his little bro SK74? What’s wrong with the power play and how can Martin fix it? Most importantly, will Pat manage to avoid eating bread for an entire 8 days this year?
Would you rather Ryan Kessler or Tomas Plekanec? Would you rather a great power-play or great 5-on-5 play? Would you rather keep Price and Halak or trade one of them? Most importantly, would you rather fart blue smoke or burp green myst? Okay I just made up that last one, but in case you haven’t noticed, our latest podcast is full of questions that need answers. Listen in…
Joo wanna win in this league? Joo gotta have PIZAZZ - lika dat guy Markov. Joo gotta have GUTS – lika dat guy Moore – he’ss a good guy. Most important, Joo gotta have de yeyo, like dat guy…never mind. Our best podcast yet – seriously. We examine why the Habs are playing so well right now, what it means for the playoffs, and how we stack up to the powerhouses in the East. Damn this season is getting fun all of a sudden.
As we undergo Olympics withdrawal, we here at habsradio are having a tough time focusing on the Habs right now. Suffice to say, the quality of games is going to suffer a HUGE drop off. And our enthusiasm for a playoff-bubble team is just slightly diminished as we bask in the after-glow of Team Canada’s thrilling 3-2 win over Team USA. Barring citizenship – is there anyone on the Habs current roster good enough to make Team Canada, or Team USA?
Anyone?
But alas, the NHL season continues, and with the Olympic hockey tournament a vivid guide on how to win hockey games on NHL ice, we view the Habs in a slightly colder light. There remain MANY questions about the home team.
So here, at the risk of sounding Captain Obvious, are what we would like to know, just in time for the stretch drive.
In order of importance:
***I can play, coach. Really***
1. Is Markov healthy / More Injuries?
He missed 2 games before the Olympics, saw light action on Team Russia, and has looked pretty bad for awhile. What is his real status? Injured? Tired? The same questions apply to Benoit Pouilot, Cammalleri, Brother Andrei, etc. If the Habs are to win, Markov et al need to be healthy and at their best. No big headline here
2. How will Pleks and Halak adapt to end-of-season life in the NHL?
These two (just below Markov) hold the key to the Habs playoff chances. Will they be energized by their Olympic experience? The knock on both players has been a lack of late-season / playoff effort, either because their performance faded in the clutch (Pleks), or because they weren’t given an opportunity (Halak).
Well, we’re going to go out on a limb here and say these guys will be given PLENTY of opportunity to prove their critics wrong. Should be interesting.
3. When does Pleks get signed?
(see above)
4. Who gets traded?
PG wants to put his stamp on this team. There are wild rumors flying around about a giant trade with Edmonton, another with Chicago, some interest in veterans from St Louis, and some smaller trades with (again) Florida and/or Dallas. I don’t know what to believe and this isn’t a rumor site.
Wednesday could be a big day with ramifications far beyond this season, or a “treading water” situation where a forward direction remains unclear.
5. Are Gomez and Gionta really a bust?
There have been fleeting glimpses of wonderful play from these two. Gionta especially. But again, after watching Team USA almost put a cardiac attack on the entire Canadian nation, it was clear that these two just didn’t belong in the Olympics this year – at least not among the likes of Parise, Kessler, Kessel, Ryan, Brown, Stastny, and Kane.
***so much promise then***
So these dudes have a lot to prove. And they were acquired specifically with this time of year in mind: The idea that the winning and experienced veterans can fortify the locker room and push the team to new heights, because they have been there and done that. Fair enough. So this is where Gomez and Gionta will earn their money or prove to be a bust.
6. PK, PK, where art though, oh PK?
PK Subban was the lone highlight in the Habs losses to the Flyers before the break. He could be a huge star for the Habs. After all the trade dust has settled (where I assume every defenceman not named Markov is up for discussion), will PK spend the rest of his year in HabsLand, or in Hamilton? The answer will indicate how desperate PG really is to make the playoffs this season.
7. Who will bring the physical edge?
I’m sure the players returning from Vancouver learned one thing about Teams Canada and USA: They played very physical. Those players bring those lessons home to the NHL, where they will be applied to the final twenty games – which is already the most physical portion of the regular season. Imagine all the players coming back with axes to grind and pride to defend.
This is an old story for the Habs, but the question remains – who brings the lunchpail and the clothesline for Montreal? Candidates include O’Byrne, who plays better with Markov but who has been inconsistent, there’s Moen, and a little Gill….and……gulp…….that’s it!!??!!
The return of (the somewhat larger) Pouilot and Andrei to the forwards corps will help, a more aggressive Laps would help too. But man, after the Olympics this teams looks more SOFT than ever.
Ahhhhh….so many questions, so little time. But all will be answered in the coming weeks.
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Our podcast returns next week, where we will discuss the games against Boston, San Jose, LA, and Anaheim, and the merits of what might be a different lineup than the one we have now.
Have a great week, and welcome back.
Let’s face it, 2009 sucked!!! In fact, the whole friggin decade sucked! We go over just how sucky it really was and – more importantly – whether we can expect more of the same suckiness in 2010. Goodbye 00’s – Hello 10’s! 10 is so much nicer a number, don’t you think? Pretty sure the Habs do…
Habs Radio Episode 12 Part 1 [14:58m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download Habs Radio Episode 12 Part 2 [14:57m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download Habs Radio Episode 12 Part 3 [14:56m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Our inaugural, end-of-year-2009 podcast will be posted on Friday. Eric and I have a lot of goodies planned.
Until then, some notes:
The margin of error for the current Habs is, and always will be, razor thin. Injuries, penalties, slumps, goaltending, special teams…all these factors have to break the Canadiens way for them to pull out the win. Why? They simply do not have enough top-line talent across all positions, so they can not afford any off nights.
It is going to be hard for the Habs to get less penalties as the season goes on, for three reasons:
1 – The Habs play an aggressive style on the backcheck, and a lot of their d-men are a little slow. That translates into a lot of hooking and cross-checking penalties. No one wants to be the one to cough up the puck to the enemy.
2 – Now the Habs have a reputation – so it is difficult for the refs to look the other way. For a variety of reasons, refs are sometimes hesitant to call a penalty if its close (if it’s late in the game, if its against the home team, if they don’t want to unduly influence the outcome, etc). But the Habs’ bad reputation will only reinforce the refs’ thinking when they see the Habs misbehaving: “there they go again”. It’s very tough to change a reputation in mid-season.
3 – Fatigue: As Eric Engels notes, there may be a fatigue factor setting in. Again, the compressed schedule, injuries, penalty kill and coach’s penchant for playing 3 lines instead of 4, could all add up to fatigue. Which means mental mistakes and stupid penalties. Interesting to note that coach has not been running practices on off days lately.
The Department of ‘Please don’t trade Halak, AK-46, or D’Agostini’: I don’t think Bob is going to be able to get equal value for AK-46 right now. Same with Halak. These players are worth much more to the Habs than they are to another team.They know their roles, they know the system, and on the Habs, they know the pressure is on them to play their best every game. And they are CHEAP, YOUNG, and SIGNED, so they have no leverage against the Habs. Not to mention, their good play puts pressure on other young players to play their best (see Carey Price and Max Pacioretty for examples). So why is there any urgency to trade these guys?
See you Friday.
In addition to all the weekly goodies, we discuss Jacques Martin’s handling of the young and incredibly important forwards on the team, as well as the French media’s obsession with Guillaume Latendresse.
Episode 8 Part 1 [14:59m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download Standard Podcast [14:59m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
