Holy Campoli, more like Holy Shit!

Remember what I wrote about panic moves! Probably not since nobody reading this shitty blog anyway. Go read my previous post...


Alright let assume you are up to date I said Gauthier was under tremendous pressure to deliver now or face a clean up imposed from the top soon. I also said that he was the lesser of two evil better him GM than another Rejean Houle. So yesterday Gauthier made another move that reflected his ejection seat situation. Defensively the Habs spent the better part of the camp throwing shit at the wall to see what stick the problem was none of it did. The two reason why they did it is that beyond Markov, Subban and Gorges the talent drop faster than an ACME anvil on top of Wile E. Coyote and Markov setback make that only two quality d-man likely to start the season. The rest are either getting too old Spacek, Gill not good enough Weber or had a so so camp Yemelin. And all the kids at least on defense are NHL ready.


Gauthier boss/owner who just paid a shitload of money for the fabled franchise and may well be eyeing the GM/Coach ejection button a lot lately. Picture a black box with a big red button under a  breakable glass cover. If press it will send a signal to a team of lawyers who are on 24 hours standby ready to draft Pierre Gauthier "resignation" letter. While two security guard also on constant standby will escort him to his car with his stuff in two cardboard box. lolll Yeah it not likely to end that way only the small fish in the corporate ladder get treated like shit!


After all none of these guys are his men and a new owner is really tempted the clean house even under the best of circumstance. When he look at his new team throwing money down the drain (Gomez) Mr Molson is likely getting heartburn. Make no mistake this is roster that got a middle of the pack result at best while spending to the cap in the past two years. And with slim to no chance at a meaningful playoff run except for a fluke Halakinan run. Hell if it was my money I would have likely fire just about everybody in management on day one after closing the sale.  


With all of that in mind and some salary cap left Pierre Gauthier addressed a clear need for a fourth or third D by snatching free agent Chris Campoli. Will that be enough to actually give the team some defense stability? Maybe but let pray that Markov will be back really soon. While Campoli stats are not stellar you can make the case that he played for some pretty rotten teams except the Hawks. Having bad stats on a shit team is like getting V.D from a crack whore you can't help it. Off course you can and should stay away from a crack whore but until you reach UFA status you can't really not play for the teams that draft you or trade for you.


Not everything is dark and cloudy Cole feel like a great addition, MaxPac is back in force and by the look of it Cammaleri is back to Super Saiyan 3 shape shit even Gomez looked good lately. The other good news the throw everything at the wall camp was not a total waste of time at least in offence where some guys did stick. Brendan Galagher may well be the one sticking around and good for him! He got a chance because the team still got some spot needing filling and with Eller not likely making it to the opener maybe somebody else will stick around. So two weeks left of camp and only two pre-season game left time to get serious.  

Good news: It official the Habs are eliminated!

Don't bother playing this season it already over at least if you believe all the experts!


The good news all the same "experts" who are predicting the Habs out have crappy accuracy in making Habs prediction in the past three years so it as likely that Montreal will finish third or win the President Trophy. Off course since the "experts" predicted the Habs will finish around 9th they are as likely to end up with a lottery pick. That's why you play the game to find out! 


And I don't know how they can say last year was all about Price when the year before almost the same players with Halak reached the conference final. I don't like Martin defense first system but you got to admit that it make the guy behind the pipe look good. You could say the same thing about the Bruins and Thomas in fact some of the experts even did! The Bruins who by the way won the cup came one bad bounce close to an early exit against guess who the Habs!

Let me list all the things that went bad for the Habs last year. Markov out again all year Georges out for most of it Cammalleri out for a month, Gomez worse season in his career, Pacioretty "Accident"... Still the team won a six seed. So let see in order for the habs to have about the same bad luck they need to lose two big piece for all the season and two more for months, Gomez should play as bad or worse and Martin should keep playing him! And they will not use that $3,979,490 cap space left because I don't know Molson cheaping out! Yeah all of this need to happen for the Habs to end up with a worse or as bad luck than last year.

I love how the experts point to Cole as the only addition of the Summer then totally forget to mention a guy like Yemelin. That the Habs ace up their sleeves, the team management did not spent six years trying to get this guy to come from the KHL for no reason. I feel like am repeating myself but what the fuck the game is played on the ice!    

Redemption time!

So the Habs have seeded 6 and are meeting the Bruins again in the first round. They won the first game but I come back to this later. This is Redemption time for many Habs players.

Redemption list.

1: Carey Price (Status almost halfway there.) Great season with a team that came very close to fall apart many times. But to totally make peoples forget Halak he need that ring.

2: Scott Gomez (Status badly needed) Crap season need great playoff run badly before Gauthier find an European team to park his ass.

3: Jacques Martin (Status desperate) 600+ wins 20+ years in the NHL but no cup. Martin is not getting younger and with the crop of new coach's earning their stripes in the NHL right now is likely his last coaching job. Nobody want and need that ring more than Martin.

4: Mike Cammalleri (Status high expectation.) After an amazing Rocket Richard like playoff run last year Mike had a somewhat deflated season. He need to go Super Sayan again if the habs have any hope of going deep.

5: Tomas Plekanec (Status reputation on the line.) Slower season than last year plus many critic have been saying fairly or not that Plekanec did a disappearing act in last year playoff.

6: Hal Gill (Status UFA this Summer and not getting any younger.) On a team that could re-sign Hamrlik, Gorges, Markov not to mention Wisniewski and Sopel... USS Hal Gill need to remind the Habs and the rest of the league why he's still worth the big bucks at 36.

7: Hamrlik, Wisniewski and Sopel (Status UFA this Summer) See Hal Gill

9: The rest (Status highly motivated) The Montreal Canadiens are a team in transition with an aging blue line and many prime assets in the minors this team will change a lot in the near future so for many it now or never. The Habs could easily take a major step back and fall under the 8th line next season for the fans and management it would be a less bitter pill to swallow if they were to add a banner! 1 down 15 to go we can always dream!  

Something is rotten in the NHL kingdom!

I resisted the urge for a while now. The "Chara incident" was commented, analyzed and deconstructed 
to death by anybody who anybody both in 
mainstream media and the Hockey blogosphere. 
I don't want to talk much about intent or if Chara is 
considered a clean player. But I will say that it a bullshit 
excuse being used by apologists. 
These apologists forget one rule in life your intent is worth squat. 


If you ran a red light and hit somebody breaking his neck 
do you think your "intent" will get you a break in court? 
If you drive drunk and kill somebody do you think anybody will 
give a shit about your intention? Pro Sports does not exist in some kind of bubble where civil society does not exist anybody who pretend otherwise should be considered an idiot and dismissed as such. 


The Chara hit was dirty but here the problem by the NHL fuck up standard it was not. The NHL consider that Chara is totally innocent because they decided a long time ago that they don't care how many guys get hurt as long as they get plenty of "Big Hit" to fill all their highlight reels. And anybody who subscribed to the NHL channel on YouTube would tell you the league is obsessed with Big Hit and highlight reel. The excuse that what Chara did happen all the time is just that an excuse to do nothing about reckless hit.


The NHL safety standards are a joke the other excuse I heard by the apologists is that the Bell Center is nefarious for being a dangerous place to play. Guess what the Bell Center is a modern NHL standard rink like almost all the arena of the NHL if the Bell Center rink is dangerous they all are. Ever wonder why every team in the league got many D-men hurt recently? About a little more than a decade ago players started using composite hockey stick that weight next to nothing nobody said anything at the time but it like Major League Baseball letting players use aluminium bat. That the kind of NHL safety standards that lead to this festering mess.


The real problem are the apologists both inside and outside the NHL upper management these enablers are responsible for NHL safety standards that let players wear and use just about any equipment they want and turn a blind eye on reckless hit and erratic disciplinary decision that leave players scratching their head. The apologists are scared that if you take away hit to the head and clean up the sports the next step will be fighting. If you think this situation will change anytime soon you are naive my friend. Reform will only come when the owners want it and most of them just don't give a shit about players safety. To reform the NHL you have clean up the whole upper management to really see a culture change and the current crop of owners are just not interested in doing so now but who knows maybe after the next CBA we can only hope.
   

Thank god for small favors the Kaberle drama is finally over!

The Bruins might be getting better but at least they did not get him cheap. In fact one might say they overpay considering that he is a UFA. The whole drama stress one point GM's who give out no trade clause should be run out of the NHL. Better yet let outlaw the damn practice in the next CBA.
This bring me to the next thing I want to talk about: Things that need to change in the next CBA!
But that for another day.  

From fluke run to solid challenger where do the Habs sit?

When will the Habs be taken seriously? Hey like everybody else I did it after the last playoff I was pretty negative on their future chances of going deep again. In fact I was really piss off that the Habs just gone cold with only 7 wins to go for a cup because I also felt it was a one time ting! Some of the labels used was "Lightning in a bottle" "fluke run" more respectfully "Cinderella run" or it all Halak and Cammy. While Halak was a big factor and his trade spelled doom for most observers including myself the Canadiens pretty much picked up where they left off after the Pens round.

We can't talk fluke run or easy calendar anymore! Not when the team sit on top their division with barely a few points behind Washington in the conference. Not after crushing the Canes 7-2 limiting the Bruins to one goal in a 3-1 win and a 2-0 shutout against the Canucks in the same week! The Power Play also came back to life with 6 goals in three game this week! This is a team that did great with almost no power play production what would they do now that they do get some?

Now that nobody can't use the calendar to put down the Habs what would be the next excuse? What would be the next thing that keep them from being ranked way higher than 10 on most power rankings.
My money on Markov injury!
Update: This is a two part post Tomorrow I report on how well the Habs did in most power rankings!

Law of intended consequence!

First erratum apparently you should never blog in the middle of the night half asleep or half drunk it make you forget to check some facts like can a team send down players who are 35 or older in the minor to save cap space! Unfortunately for me and the Habs you can't! Fortunately for me nobody read my shitty blog in the middle of the night anyway who am I kidding nobody reading this shit period!


Why was Halak traded anyway? Wrong question why was Halak traded to a western conference team? Every time a team move a player that may become a franchise player it always easier to dump him in the conference you don't play in. This is especially true of goalies the thinking is that since you don't get to play that team on the other conference many time it not going to bite you on the ass too much if the player is say the next Patrick Roy! Am not going to discuss the idiocy of trading away that kind of asset because you know my view on the matter and the deed done. Plus it help that Price is having a good start!


This is an intended consequence that is well known another one less discussed is that you may get to steal points away from conference rivals. If the player really become a franchise player and help his team win more they will meet and likely defeat many teams in your own conference. take a look at the blues schedule and result for October.

Results October Saint Louis Blues

Sat Oct 9, 2010 Flyers Blues 7:00 PM FINAL PHI (1) - STL (2) OT    Recap                                          

Mon Oct 11, 2010 Ducks Blues 1:00 PM FINAL ANA (1) - STL (5)   Recap                                          


Thu Oct 14, 2010 Blues Predators 7:00 PM FINAL STL (3) - NSH (4)   Recap                                            

Sat Oct 16, 2010 Blues Stars 7:30 PM FINAL STL (2) - DAL (3) SO   Recap                                          


Mon Oct 18, 2010 Blues Blackhawks 7:30 PM FINAL STL (2) - CHI (3) OT   Recap                                            

Fri Oct 22, 2010 Blackhawks Blues 7:00 PM FINAL CHI (2) - STL (4)   Recap   

Sat Oct 23, 2010 Penguins Blues 7:00 PM FINAL PIT (0) - STL (1) OT   Recap   

Thu Oct 28, 2010 Blues Predators 7:00 PM FINAL STL (3) - NSH (0)   Recap   

Sat Oct 30, 2010 Thrashers Blues 7:00 PM FINAL ATL (3) - STL (4) SO   Recap   

Out of six possible points for the Eastern conference the Flyers, Penguins and Thrashers managed to make only one each. It would be better if the Blues did not give away so many loser points but still it three points! The Blues are playing the Bruins today and the Rangers tomorrow later this month they will play the Devils and the Senators. While they will play the Habs once later this season all the points that they get off Eastern conference team may well make the difference for the Habs at the end of the season. Remember the Habs made the playoff by one point last year. If Montreal does not waiver too much and fix their fucking power play it may not matter but if it come to a nail bitter those points might make a big deal! So Go Halak Go!

Now this is where things get dicey what if both team have great playoff run and end up meeting in the final. That the very definition of the law of unintended consequence. Gauthier chicken might come to roost at the worse possible time! With so many team having a crappy season so far it a real possibility.                                                

What if the Habs had more home games!

It ridiculous the prices of tickets in Montreal but yet they sell out every home games! And the Habs are not alone the top five NHL market can sell their tickets at outrageous price and still sell out everyone of their games! This beg the question, why every team get to play 41 home game? This is a league that got about 5 teams selling out every game at scandalous price and five team that cannot fill half their arena if they gave away the tickets for free! 


An easy fix is to have those big market play 51 home games and split the extra earning with the visiting team 40/40/20. 40% goes to the big market home team 40% goes to the small market visiting team 20% goes to the league.


40% off a sell out crowd in Montreal is worth a lot more than 100% off an half empty arena that the average ticket price for the few peoples who actually turn up was 30 bucks! You know what you get for $30 at the Bell Center? The price of parking on game night plus half your first beer!
If you're a top earner and are keeping this league afloat should your fan base be rewarded with more home game? And if you're a small market hemorrhaging money 31 home games to sell is a lot easier than 41 plus the added rarity mean that you're likely be able to ask more for tickets on average.
The Islanders with their No Habs No campaign is not really targeting Islanders fans by the way it directed at attracting even more Habs fans so let take the next logical step in the new CBA!        

You lose some and you win some! And sometime fate is just a fucking Bitch!

So the Habs are now 2-1-1. Five points out of eight considering the anemic power play the fact that no team really dominated the Habs and that Price is not yet the utter epic failure that I predicted it not so bad a start. If the Habs can win tonight against the Senators we can consider this to even be a good start. By all account they could do worse! The Sens, Pens, Devils and Sabres are all having a worse start than the Habs and while it not a surprise when it come to the Devils considering their recent roster shenanigan it is for the rest of that group. 


The big surprise come from the Leafs who are now 4-0 and while I will not call them "The Laugh" for a while I fear that Toronto fans are in for a rude awakening when their team face teams who are in better shape than the Habs, Sens, Pens and Rangers. My money is on reality coming to bite them in the ass next Saturday October 23! Truth be told it way too early for anybody to make any conclusion on this season start after all right now the Islander are in eight place and the Bruins played only just 2 games. 


On a positive note Gorges got the power play monkey off the Habs back yesterday! 
I feel George Carlin will curse me from his grave for using the wrong expression but what the fuck it worth being haunted for a while. Hell being visited by the ghost of Carlin is something I would consider an honor anyway! loll  

And so it begin!

The Habs have played their first pre-season game last night and thing did not go so well for Carey Price...
Now am not one to say "Told you so!" and the booing was very premature but I do believe this is just a glimpse of the shape of things to come. Thing may and will likely get a hell of a lot worse for the 23 years old "not a kid anymore" Price! You think last night was bad just wait until their 2 points on the line! Just FYI we will "Chill Out" we you have one good period! For the sake of fairness the whole team looked disorganized in the first period but an elite number one goaltender is expected to keep his team in the game when that happen Price was not even average but it a pre-season game and accident are bound to happen.

So let put all that drama aside and look at the positive note of this first pre-season game.
Weber got a wicked shot if he use it more he might end up a superstar in the NHL! Palushaj and Leblanc have a bright future in the NHL they both are not making the team out of camp but we can expect that they are first on the line for injury call up. When the team finally settled down they turned thing around, it may have been too late for this game but it looked a lot tighter.

NHL players on twitter. To follow or not?

So Hockey fans, Habs fans and bless your heart Leafs fans do you follow NHL players who are on twitter? I know I don't because they never say anything interesting anymore, mind you that a problem with pro athletes in general.

These guys make millions and are so afraid to jeopardize their status that we never heard anything but rehash cliché from them! While I can't always mute, escape or skip a cliché filled TV/Radio/Newspaper interview I got no reason to go out of my way to follow players who bore me to death! Where are the Roy, Carbonneau, Lafleur and Ali of the current NHL, can you think of anyone? 

The last interesting quotes from an hockey players was about sloppy seconds and Sean Avery got so much grief over it I bet he never said anything but cliché after the incident!

Updated: And if you happen to know NHL players who are actually interesting to follow on twitter add them in the comments bellow.


  

Habs inspirational quotes and pictures!

With Habs facing their biggest challenge in... Well in living memory even last year playoff round with the Bruins was not this one sided and that round ended really fast I feel they can use a few motivational quotes!

They did it why not you!












That was 17 years ago what are you taking us for Leafs fans?







I post more when they come to me or you might send me some in the comment bellow!





Inner Circle - Sweat (A La La La La Long) big hit in the summer of 1993!!!