HOLY **********#@#@#!!!!

HABS WIN!  HABS WIN! HABS WIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(Dave Sandford/Getty Images)

Glengarry Glen Claude….

Killer Claude: We Miss You

Imagine, if you will, the Habs are protecting a lead of 2-1, or 2-0. Imagine they are playing a team like say San Jose, Florida, or Buffalo. In fact, don’t imagine, actually look at the last 15 minutes of those recent contests.

What happened?

The Habs lost the lead in all of them. Against San Jose and Buffalo, they lost the lead and then the damn game. Why? Because their opponents roared back with their best efforts in the 3rd period. They were aggressive, they sustained their play, they willed themselves to the win.

They showed killer instinct.

The Habs? I can only think of one recent game, against Anaheim, where the Habs forced themselves into the W column after falling behind. Don’t get me wrong, there are some good games where les boys jump out ahead and are dominant. But when challenged late in the game? When the outcome is in doubt, when its close, the Habs just can’t beat their enemy.

Doesn’t matter if they are down 2-1 or ahead, the Habs aren’t nasty and they ain’t tough.

They DO NOT have killer instinct.

We saw it again tonight against Carolina. After taking a 1-0 lead in the 1st period, they fell behind 2-1 in the 2nd period and came out like zombies in the 3rd period. Can you imagine guys like Claude Lemieux or Bob Gainey or… Mike Keane for heaven’s sake, letting this happen over and over again?

Not on your life. And not on Paul Maurice’s or Eric Cole’s either, apparently. You can tell Carolina’s been to the playoffs. They know what it takes to win at this point in the season. Not just fights and body checks. Team toughness. Aggression.

Or like David Mamet wrote: BRASS BALLS.

I don’t now if it’s injuries, lack of size, or defensive-crouch coaching. But if the Habs want to make the playoffs, and actually be a factor in them, well, they should trade in their Maxim Lapierre tin heart for some of that Alec Baldwin rage in Glengarry Glen Ross.

Gainey Out, Gauthier In

Tune in later for our podcast on this week’s events and what it means for the trade deadline and beyond…

…And Laraque is Gone

Well that was fast.

Just two days ago I wrote that coach should play BGL a little more. You want proof positive that he doesn’t read this blog? The Habs bought BGL out today. The cap hit (two thirds of his salary, $1million) will be spread over two seasons, so there’s some relief there for a player who wasn’t getting a lot of ice time anyway.

In light of the situation in Haiti, BGL called the move “classless”. On a more hockey-related note, the Habs got mauled in their last two games against the Rangers and the Blues (yeah, like Carey Price is really going to fight now), but clearly, the Habs didn’t think BGL was the answer to that problem – if they even think it’s a problem.

I for one will miss him. Laraque is a very interesting ‘character’:  A feared warrior who wishes opposing fighters “good luck” before pummeling them. He admits his reluctance to fighting players smaller than him (which is like, the whole league – and who does that anyway?). He takes himself out of games at the slightest sign of injuries to his back, his groin, his toenails but was regarded as the heavyweight champion of the NHL. He probably doesn’t practice too hard either. Dude was a vegan. And a goof (remember those energy drink commercials?)

I don’t know BGL at all, except for what I read, but I always got the sense that he sort of resented the fact that he had to be the one to play the enforcer – that that was his meal ticket. I get the sense BGL wanted to be known for other things too. Georges was much MUCH happier after scoring that goal against Dallas (on the heals of Haiti) than after any fight. Deep down, he’s a lover, not a fighter. And the fans were tickled with him too!

I would say that coach lost patience with BGL, but I don’t think coach ever had any patience for him. Coach barely played him this year. Even worse, according to BGL, coach never even shared his concerns, whatever they were, with BGL directly. And if that’s true, that’s not a good sign.

Equally worrisome is the fact that coach himself could not justify to the press a clear reason why he didn’t use BGL more in that game against the Rangers. He gave two reporters two different reasons.

So what is the real reason BGL is gone? Maybe Coach just doesn’t like him. Nothing you can do about it really. Coach is buttoned up and old-school, and maybe BGL’s gregarious anti-leather act just doesn’t mesh with him. I’m sure BGL’s going to the press about his lack of playing time didn’t help, either.

Now let’s step away from the soap opera and get back to what this means on a hockey level: unless Bob has something else in mind, the Habs remain a physically soft team, and now they don’t even have an enforcer – or, depending on your view of things, an ‘enforcer’.

Georges – we hardly knew ya!

Habs Finish 5th….or 13th…GM’s get heartburn!!!

Parity. It’s what the NHL is all about. In the Eastern Conference, a measly 7 points separate 5th spot Boston from 13th spot Florida. 9 teams fighting for 4 playoff spots! The Habs are 8th right now, but they could finish anywhere on that chart. This is good for the NHL because it gives a lot of fans hope their teams can make it. Hope means interest, interest translates into attendance /ratings / dollars.

But I bet it’s hell on GM’s. I believe there is such a thing as a good GM and a bad one. But parity has blurred the lines. If you make the playoffs two out of four years, and miss them oh so close, it’s now called doing your job. What parity does is cover up a GM’s mistakes, and for the GM’s who are doing a good job, well, if they succeed too much, they’ll be squeezed by the cap (see Boston, this year, Chicago, next year). Not to mention, GM’s don’t get any days off, they have to be experts in the vagaries of each market, deal with ownership issues – owners like to meddle, team presidents like to show-boat – and it’s hard sometimes for the GM to not be a highly- paid servant (see Lawton, Brian).

So why the rant? Let’s all appreciate the gargantuan job Bob Gainey is doing on this team. Ask yourself: how many people out there could really do his job, in this market? With the media, the blogs, the history, the language, the fact that every team is gunning for you, the fact that taxes are higher in Montreal…………….. the fact that your team gets booed and cheered in the same game. Seriously, is there a more entitled sports fan than a Canadiens fan?

It’s insane. We follow this team like our lives depend on it. Well guess what: for people in the front office, their lives actually depend on it.

The rest of us? We can go snow boarding.

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Having said that – there is something all GM’s could do that would enhance their chances of winning: Put more resources into areas the cap doesn’t regulate: Scouting. Send a recon mission to India and find that rare forward. Go to Tibet if you must, but find the players other teams don’t. Hire good Directors of Development and Directors of Player Personnel (these are different positions) – let them cultivate your prospects on the farm like a royal garden. Invest in the front office like its a Fortune 500 company.

So that when you have to trade your star player for salary cap reasons (and you will), there are well-groomed prospects waiting to take the star’s place – because the talented front office people you pay top dollar to have scouted, drafted, developed and groomed a hungry army waiting to do your bidding. There is depth, and it’s cheap.

And you have a culture of winning that gets passed on to the next stewards of the franchise.

Hey….I couldn’t write a blog with at least putting some of my two cents in, right?

Have a great weekend everybody, and look for our podcast on Monday where we talk Stars, Sens, Rangers, and the pre-Olympic push.

Year-End Podcast on Friday, No Trades Please

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.

“On Remplace des Québécois par des Franco-Ontariens”

* That, my dear friends, are the words of wisdom from CKAC host Jean-Charles Lajoie. Another Quebecois gone. I wish I could say this is a fringe element of the media, but it’s not. CKAC is an extremely popular station. And a lot of people read Rejean Tremblay and Bertrand Raymond, in La Presse and Ruefrontenac.com (formerly Journal de Montreal).True, there is good analysis to be had from Francois Gagnon, Jacques Demers, and Yvon Pedneault, among others, so maybe all is not lost, but I can’t help thinking that slowly, surely, the radicals are taking over.

Eric and I have gone over this territory in our podcasts already – but it bears repeating. Some members of the “pure laine” mainstream media are acting like Sarah Palin / Tea Party extremists. Their narrow agenda is not being met, and therefore, they are acting crazy. How long before Bob Gainey gets a Hitler mustache painted on his picture?

Okay, okay, I’ll calm down. Final word goes to Sean Gordon, whose magnificent post on this subject can be found right here.

* Tonight’s projected lines:

Michael Cammalleri – Tomas Plekanec – Andrei Kostitsyn

Max Pacioretty – Glen Metropolit – Travis Moen

Tom Pyatt – Maxim Lapierre – Ryan White

Sergei Kostitsyn – Kyle Chipchura -James T Wyman.

Notice something? Due to injuries (Pouliot is indeed injured), the Habs have a 2nd line, a 4th line, and basically, two Hamilton lines. Oh, and Spacek is out too! Yikes!!

* Brother Sergei: I am very curious to see how SK-74 responds to his call up. Will he sulk at the lack of playing time, or be a help to his big brother and the rest of his team? Something tells me Bob and Jacques did not want to call up Sergei, but were leftwithout any other realistic options. I hope Sergei takes this golden opportunity and skates with it. He certainly has the talent.

* Carey Price: If he starts tonight, does Halak start tomorrow? Interesting question: Does Jacques feel he has proved his point with Carey, or is this a simple matter of coach riding the hot hand? Tune in later for the answer.

*Fearless prediction: Habs 3, Columbus 2.

Since You Asked….

Eric Engels of Hockey buzz and Marc Antoine Godin of La Presse have posed the question: The Habs have $45 million dollars committed to 14 players for next year. The Cap next year is about $56.4  So the Habs have $11.4 million dollars to sign 12 RFA and UFA’s set for next year. So if you were Bob, what would you do?

Here’s where the trick is impossible. Godin states that Gainey’s mandate is both to keep players signed for next year and make the playoffs this year. I don’t know if that’s possible. But I sure as hell wouldn’t allow Pleks to walk away.  Godin brings up another good point: that to re-sign all of these players would be tough, and would just result in the Habs staying at the same level they are now. No improvements ’cause the cash ain’t there. Also probably true (read my post from yesterday).

Here’s the breakdown:

RFA’s: Carey Price, Tom Pyatt, Mathieu Carle, Jaroslav Halak, Guillaume Latendresse, Maxim Lapierre, Matt D’Agostini and Kyle Chipchura.

UFA’s: Tomas Plekanec, Glen Metropolit, Paul Mara, Marc-André Bergeron.

Here’s what I would do:

Plekanec: Godin says it’ll cost $4.25 million. OK. Sign him already.

Price: Godin says 3.25. I say no way. $2.75…but true, Gainey may have to go higher cause Brian Burke will want to sign him away.

We would have to say goodbye to: M.A. Bergeron and Paul Mara. I see no need to worry about guys like Chipchura, Tom Pyatt, or even Mathieu Carle. Let’em go. Lapierre and Latendresse get a tiny raise, so their combined hit is $2million.

Now we are at $54million, leaving $2.4 million for: Halak (RFA), Metro (UFA) and D’Agostini (RFA).Which means that Halak may get traded at the deadline for young cheap players with upside / picks, leaving enough money to sign Metro and D’Agostini. If I had to choose between the two, I would sign D’Agostini. He is younger, cheaper, and has more upside. This would also leave some extra pennies for the likes of Carle and Pyatt to fill out the roster, as well as pay for any Hamiltonians making the big team.

Who I would trade:

*AK-46 may get tossed at the deadline to open up some cap space ($3million). If there are no takers, then I would keep AK and hope he gets better – and trade him away as soon as he does – again, for young cheap players with upside, or draft picks.

* Don’t forget the $5million cap hit that Hamrlik’s contract poses. Yeah, he’s been very good. But he costs a lot too – he might be worthwhile trade bait for a young scorer and younger defenceman at the deadline.To my mind, Hamrlik is the first to go. The Habs simply can’t afford to keep him anymore. Hey – that’s the new world order now.

* Halak: If either Hamrlik or AK-46 get traded, I would love to keep Halak. I believe he could bring back the biggest return, or be the most value to the Habs if he stays on the team.

As you can see, I am not concerned with making the playoffs anymore. I would rather the Habs re-stock the farm and get a top-10 draft pick. I would try to rebuild on the fly – so I would keep the big guys like Gionta, Cammi, Gomez, Pleks and Markov – winners and positive role models for young players to grow up with and learn from. I would keep Georges, and Price, I would TRY to keep Halak, but would know that would be tough, and I would keep Pacioretty, D’Agostini, Lapierre, and Latendresse, along with O’Byrne, Spacek and Gill. After that – it’s callups, young players, draft picks – the young’uns I get back from my trading away Halak / Hamrlik / AK-46.

So there’s a theory, but man, I so do NOT WANT to be Bob Gainey right now – ’cause he really has no room for a single mistake anymore. Gainey’s job isn’t as tough as this guy’s, but still…