Maurice Richard

Those intense eyes, that jutting jaw, the unflagging willingness to run over anyone in his way. As a hockey player, Maurice “Rocket” Richard had a variety of assets at his disposal. As a patron of 1950s style, he also made his share of contributions. Perhaps none more than his jet-black slick of hair. With a generous dollop of pomade, Richard always looked the part of the greatest Canadian sports icon of his era. Still one of the most-popular French-Canadian athletes of all time, Richard’s approach to grooming was consistent with his general approach to the ice: some style, all business.

Guy Lafleur

His hairline may have eroded over time alongside some of his skills, but the most-dominant forward of his time may not have been as iconic had he not had that flowing mane following him down the wing. That hair proved so iconic that it played a supporting role in the release of the Flower’s 1979 disco record. As a disco singer, Lafleur was an excellent hockey player. But those flying follicles certainly helped. So much so that the Flower got a hair transplant in the 1990s. That’s how much he needed the hair.

Larry Robinson

Guy Lafleur’s hair may have garnered more headlines, but Larry Robinson was more than just one of the best defensemen of his generation. Before he adopted the buttoned-down closely-cropped look later in his career, the man known as Big Bird had a lot of fun with his appearance. That fantastic bushy hairdo partnered with one of the finest staches in sports history, culminating in an image on the blue line that was equal parts suave and toughness. The short-lived fu-manchu may have been the single-boldest grooming decision in Habs history.

Russ Courtnall

Courtnall became an instant fan favorite in Montreal after being dealt to the Habs in 1988 for enforcer John Kordic. His blazing speed and on-ice charisma endeared him to the Flying Frenchmen lineage. A gorgeous head of hair certainly didn’t hurt. While the styles tended to change over the years, Courtnall generally tended to keep it long and let it flow. Not surprisingly, the player with the leading-man look eventually relocated to California with his family after finishing up his career in 1999 with the Kings.

Jose Theodore

Back in the earlier part of the 2000s, Jose Theodore was the unofficial mayor of Montreal. An MVP backstop for a fledgling Canadiens team, Theo quickly became the most iconic Habs player since St. Patrick. But let’s be honest, folks. The man’s head of hair was superb, which only further contributed to his superstar status in the city. And it wasn’t by accident. A 2006 positive test for a banned substance was blamed by Theodore on his use of Propecia. So the man appreciates how important a good head of hair can be.

The Kostitsyn Brothers

They may have caused some Habs fans to pull out their own hair, but despite their inconsistencies, the flying Kostitsyn brothers never wavered in their grooming. Sergei may not have possessed big brother Andrei’s on-ice skill or size, but his shaggy head scored him some points at barber shops all over Quebec. Andrei had a similar shaggy style early in his career, but his transition into a shorter style may indicate the emergence of a refined, mature Andrei. Either way, style seems to run in the family.

This latest cast will be the first of what should be many to include the insight and corny jokes of TPinch. It may be too early to tell if he knows what he’s talking about, but he does somehow manage to add what certain Habs fans call a certain “je ne sais quoi.”

With a discussion of what to expect from les Habitants, Eric, Pat, and T officially get the 2010-2011 season rolling. Let the Lars Eller era begin!

I actually like today’s trade sending Sergei Kostitsyn for pending UFA’s center Dustin Boyd and goalie Dan Ellis.

But it does have shades of that earlier pickpocketing that saw the Habs nab a player who could skate, shoot and hit (Courtnall) in exchange for a tough 4th liner whose career was on the downturn (Kordic):

a) There is no question that Nashville got the more talented player in this trade. The Habs get a potential 4th liner for a potential 2nd liner.

b) Nashville got cheaper, the Habs more expensive.

c) Boyd and Ellis are UFA’s, but Kostitsyn is signed.

But the fact that Pierre Gauthier was able to get something for S. Kostitsyn is a miracle. The fact that he got a capable 4th liner who is stronger, bigger, faster and ten years younger than Glen Metropolit and actually fills a need for the Habs, is something good too.Frankly, I am shocked that Gauthier was able to get as much as he did, considering Kostitsyn has poisoned the well so vociferously.

But one of these players needs to be signed for this trade to make any sense at all.

Plus, this trade raises a lot of  intangibles:

a) Will the Habs be able to sign Dan Ellis? If they do, this trade could be a huge win for them. If they don’t, and Sergei plays to most of his potential, Nashville wins this trade hands down. My gut says Ellis walks, because he is only 30, and might want to sign with a team that needs someone to play 40-50 games, pay him more than his current salary of $1.8 million but not want to pay out Tim Thomas money.

My gut: Ellis will look to San Jose or Tampa Bay before he even signs with Montreal! Boyd might just sign with the Habs, though.

b) Could this put more pressure on Carey Price to sign with the Habs? There might be some gamesmanship at play here. The Habs need to sign Price, but since the Halak trade, Price had all the leverage: He knew the Habs didn’t have any other goalie to negotiate with, so he could take his time until an offer came that he liked. Well, now the Habs have someone else to negotiate with, at least until July 1st. And if Price doesn’t get an offer sheet from another team, he is stuck with the Habs terms. This way, Pierre Gauthier might be sending a message: “I am going to sign this guy if I can’t sign you”.

My gut says: I may be over-thinking things here.

c)How will this effect the play of Andrei Kostitsyn (assuming he stays on):I’ve always found Sergei to be the more social and um… mentally stronger, of the two brothers. Sergei strikes me as someone who, in the right situation, can make friends wherever he goes. Andrei? Not so much. Andrei always produced better when his younger brother was around. Sergei didn’t seem to be effected by any of that, one way or the other. The question is this: Was Sergei a distraction for his brother or a friendly presence that made him more comfortable? The answer holds the key to Andrei’s season.

My gut: Andrei starts slow, but will eventually adjust. Sergei will have a great season in the NHL one of these years.

d) Post-Halak trade, what happens to Lars Eller and Dominic Moore? This is the trickiest question of all. Assuming Boyd takes the 4th line center position, that leaves the 3rd line center slot open for Dominic Moore (or Max Lapierre). So what would happen to Lars Eller? Does he stay down in the AHL or do the Habs play him on the wing?

This is another ramification of the Halak trade. For the trade to pay off and for Eller to live up to his billing, the Habs need to take every opportunity to develop Eller properly, which to me, means that he plays good minutes in his natural position and that the team is very patient with him and clear that they don’t need him to produce right away. But if he is good enough to make the Habs out of training camp, and Moore is also signed, where does Eller play? If the Habs let Moore go and pencil in Eller in the 3rd slot, well, what happens if Eller needs some fine tuning and experiences the inevitable hiccup? Who plays then?

My gut: Sign Moore, slot him in for the 3rd line. If Eller makes the team, let Eller play center on the 4th line and Boyd can play wing. He wasn’t brought in for his scoring touch anyway.

Things are certainly more interesting than I thought they would be just a few days ago.

This one’s a can’t miss if we’ve ever had one…

I’ve been thinking about Malcolm Gladwell lately and his book, The Tipping Point.

I am a sweet, doe-eyed hockey fanatic

The book explores the idea that sometimes small changes / phenomena – like how a single person with the flu can start an epidemic, or how hush puppies became huge only after the right fashionable kids in New York started wearing them – can quickly result in big changes or trends.  Applying it to hockey teams, a tipping point could be reached when some minor adjustments result in a big winning streak.

Since the Habs returned from the Olympic break,they’ve won 4 straight, and 5 of 6. They should have won all 6. At the same time, the play of the Habs’ third and fourth liners has been off the charts.

Coincidence?……Is it possible that the Habs have hit their very own Tipping Point as a result of the minor changes in the play of these “minor” players?

I admit, there are a lot of other reasons why the Habs have won 4 straight and 5 of 6 since coming back: The rest definitely helped, especially for the older guys. The Habs are healthier. The Gomez-Gionta-Pouliot line has played very well, and the goaltending has held up.

But all of that is just the price of admission. In order to just have the chance of winning, every team needs to be healthy, to have a good first line and get decent goaltending. But to win consistently, the Habs, and most teams, need everyone on the team to play well all the time.

Before we get to the Tipping Point of the Habs As The Theory That Explains All, look at the other teams in the East: Holes in almost every lineup (save Washington, Pittsburgh, and maybe, maybe, New Jersey). Buffalo has excellent goaltending and a few great front line players, but not much else. Boston, Tampa, the Rangers, Florida, all suffer from the same thing: Lack of steady players once you get past the excellent front liners of Bergeron, Chara, Stamkos, St Louis, Gaborik, Henrik, Vokoun etc. Ottawa and Philly have more good skaters, but for they don’t have standout goaltending. None of these teams have every player performing great. Because not all of their players are great. They don’t have enough depth (I’m simplifying a little bit with certain teams – injuries play a factor with Boston, team chemistry for Philly, for example – but you get the idea).

So why are the Habs winning lately? I believe it’s because their depth scoring has been INCREDIBLE. Metro has 2 points in 2 games (including a career-high 15th goal. I repeat, Glen Metropolit might score 20 goals this year). Brother Sergei had a goal and an assist last night – and he has been the best Habs forward in the last 4 games, save Gomez and Pleks. Down the list we have Travis Moen with 2pts in 2 games.  Mathieu Darche: 2pts in 2 games. Dominic Moore: 3 pts in 4 games.

Glen Metropolit: Hockey Super-Hero?

That’s 5 skaters who have scored 9 points in the last 2 games.That’s an average of almost 2 points per game from the depth players. And that’s before we talk about the specialized skills, steady defense and special teams coverage they have been providing (Brother Sergei was on the ice for the final 3-on-3 scrum last night and has become a very steady penalty killer. Moore wins a lot of faceoffs, most of Metro’s goals come on the power play, etc).

Add all of that to the price of admission – the fact that the Habs best players, Gomez, Markov, Plekanec and (last night) brother Andrei – are performing to their skill level, and now you have a team that wins consistently.

Sometimes, it’s the depth players that are the glue that stick the team together (ex-Habs like Robert Lang and Frankie Bouillon are doing that for their teams). Sometimes it’s the depth players who can serve as the tipping point for the team, that extra catalyst or motivation that causes everyone else to step up their game.

In the past, I’ve expressed my doubts about the depth of this team, especially on defense. But that was before Moore came on board, Sergei started getting actual minutes and Darche won a spot on the team. Now it’s only been a week, and the real test is if they can keep it up. If they do,maybe the Habs have hit a tipping point for their season and will win with consistency.

If they falter, my bet is that this will be just another random hot streak.

Brother Sergei had a good Olympics. His skills and physical attributes are clear and evident. He’s had his up-and-downs for the year, but seemed to have come around. So after two games of so-so post-Olympic performance on the second line, what does Coach do?

He plans to drop Sergei down to the fourth line for the game against LA and he will replace him with……Tom Pyatt!

REALLY?!!!?

Now I like Tom Pyatt as much as the next guy, and he deserves to stay with the big boys based on the current lineup, but does Coach really think a guy like Pyatt is a true second-liner, better than what Brother Sergei could be? Is Coach really so bereft of ideas that he can’t find another way to motivate a talented young forward to play better – one who was playing well for the big club right before the Olympics?

GROAN…..and here we have yet another insufferable “lesson” about the value of “hard work”. Pyatt brings his hard hat and doesn’t complain, and apparently, Sergei…not so much…

But here’s how I see this latest line shift: If a coach doesn’t have faith in me to turn things around, why would I have any faith in myself?

Is it any wonder the young forwards have lost all confidence in themselves this season?