Jack Todd hypocrisy!

In today Gazette Jack Todd spent a full article bitching that Pierre Gauthier was not playing the Media game the way he should. While he is partially correct who really at fault for that?

Is it the GM who after hearing for at least the last 4 years the Media and everybody else in Habs land bitch that the Habs are too small got heat for every moves that made the Habs bigger from the same peoples?

Is it the GM who after 3 years of Jacques Martin coaching being decried by everybody in Montreal fired Martin only to have the language zealot in the media raise a fucking shitstorm? To the point that  owner Geoff Molson pretty much had to write a fucking letter to calm you down!

How about the GM who been hearing for 3 years that Hall Gill was great in the PK but was a liability at 5 on 5 because he slower than a snail and hit less than Gionta even if he does have the size to hit harder. The same Media are now claiming that Gill will be a great loss.
How about the Camalleri trade the media bitched about it but they forgot to say that Mike never showed up to any optional was a fucking diva and a cancer that had festered beyond help.
The same media bitched about the Spacek trade after spending almost three years bitching about Spacek play! With reason Spacek was bad and made me rage more often than I like to admit!
The media are bitching that Gauthier is not publicly shopping players like Camalleri and Halak well guess what that does not mean he not shopping them at all he just not telling you!

The truth is in Montreal sports media are used to having their way with the Habs and have gone too far you earned your current treatment. The Habs are in media blackout because the media are acting like bipolar bitch on the rag at the best of time. Let me remind you that you went as far as taking pictures of Carbo on the Golf course once and that what got him traded! That you over hyped guys who clearly cannot stop a beach ball (Theodore) and chased some guys out of Montreal who became Hall of Famer later (Chelios)! Since Gauthier is likely not there next season he does not feel like pandering to you. So get off that ledge Jack take your pills and go see a shrink because you are the problem! And don't worry things could be way worse after all Rejean Houle once was the Habs GM...        

It all Gauthier fault!

I was toying with the idea of bringing this blog back for a while now and recent events have forced my hands. The main reason I stop was that ranting about the Habs on twitter is way more interesting than on a blog that nobody reading anyway. Here my new year good wish in advance

Goodbye Jacques I know you don't deserve half the shit that was said about you but the other half you deserve fully and that was more than enough to fire your ass ten times over anyway.

Don't get too comfortable Randy. Considering the shitstorm that your promotion just raised you would think Martin was the reincarnation of Toe Blake. Lesson learned when you're next in line to coach the Montreal Canadiens get a fucking Rosetta Stone or this handy book BEFORE you get promoted!

And Pierre do us all a favour and fall on your sword before Geoff call the security guard to evict you from the building. You caused most of the mess that the Habs are in right now the shitstorm of last week was all on you. And for fuck sake when you fire a coach have a real replacement ready that not from the system somebody who will think outside the box because he was not in the box!

To the crazy French media, nobody except a few bigot give a rat ass that Cunneyworth does not speak French. I know that you badly need audio content in French but that no excuse for going batshit crazy on this. The truth is most of that shitstorm came from print media and that because the print guys are too damn lazy to want to do translation instead of stuffing their faces but when the last time you heard an Habs coach saying anything worth quoting anyway?

You want to criticize Gauthier choice I got plenty of real shit you can use first he's the same damn style of coach that Jacques Martin is. Second he was part of the organisation, he's part of the problem not the solution. Third he's an interim choice and lame duck already why leave for tomorrow or next summer a choice you should have made two week before you even fired Jacques Martin...  
 

Enough with the bullshit!

Seriously do you really believe the Habs injury list is that long. If so I got some everglade swamp land I like to sell you real cheap!!! The thinking by Montreal management is simple they rather stink up the join in the pre-season with AHL players who are mostly not ready for primetime than risk losing a major piece! The problem is fans are paying good money to watch this sorry spectacle. At least be honest about it and maybe if you got to charge something for tickets to these crappy game make them a charity events. Don't be surprise if come October 6 almost everybody healthy "comme par magie". 


This bring another subject. To be this cautious Jacques Martin and Pierre Gauthier must be under some serious pressure to deliver NOW not in 2013 not in 2014 right fucking NOW. Nothing bad with that unless off course it lead to some rather idiotic panic move.


Geoff Molson must be itching to clean house already. He and his family just bought the damn thing for like the fifth or sixth time in franchise history. (I lost count) Make up your fucking mind about that you want to own it or not? If Gauthier not careful the next Irving Grundman or Réjean Houle will end up GM! lolll By the way that would be an unmitigated disaster better a professional GM than one of these idiot shove in during a panic move. Even if he's a loner who creepily call everyone of his players "Mister" at least he know his job! He's not a former bowling alley manager or your former marketing VP but Pierre Gauthier is a Pro NHL Gm! 

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!    

Riddle me this habs fans! My car is on the fritz!

My car got some serious mechanical problem.
The engine is a mix bag of working parts and parts that are leaking oil it can't hold highway speed for more than 40 minutes. Plus the next day after a ride forget it my car not starting unless it boosted. The front breaks are brand new but the back are old and about to give on me plus I can't find new replacement parts, my credit card is max out and nobody would trade with me for my old parts at the meet swap.
The power steering is loose and there 7 millions persons who think they can drive my car better than me!
Who am I?

It been nice knowing you Max!

Max Pacioretty I salute you with this classic but I fear you just screwed yourself out of a call up this season!

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.                                                

While waiting for Markov!

The Habs are now 1-1-1! One win, One defeat and One overtime defeat! Worse yet the Habs have not scored a single power play goal since the season started. Not exactly panic time but it still leave a bad taste in my mouth. The absence of Markov is a big drag and Subban is being overused to compensate. While the kid is great he will make rookie mistakes and the more you use him the more likely he is to make them and that what happen yesterday. On a positive note AK scored a great goal and maybe that will help jump start his career. Pouliot well what can I say maybe the Habs need to start looking somewhere else to back the Gomez and Gionta duo! That the big problem of that team they got one great duo and one good duo but no great or even good trio! Last time I check a forward line in hockey is composed of three dudes not two! So it clear that the Habs are missing a piece or two to be a real contender.


On a very positive note to end this middle of the week post the Price maybe right after all that was another solid night for Carey.  

Mind fuck!

Last night game was well not great but good enough at least if you're an Habs fans! On the other hand if you're a Pens fan you got to wonder if the Habs are not mind fucking the Pittsburgh Penguins! The Pens were frustrated and off their game for most of the first period. The only thing that kept them in the game is the Habs incapacity at capitalizing on the power play and one sided officiating. M.A.B gone and Markov absence is hurting the team power play a lot something to fix this must be done. Because of Markov bad luck the Habs cannot depend solely on him coming back and staying healthy.

In both Markov and Hammer absence Subban was pretty much the number one defenseman and number one target, thank god he look like the real stuff. On another positive note Carey Price had a solid game and actually kept the team in the game for most of it. One might have issues with the second Pens goal but it is to be expected and Price did not collapse after that. So except for the second period the Habs had a good game. If they start playing 60 minutes soon they might just have a good season at least good enough to avert the disaster that I predicted!      

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.

Quebec city new arena and journalistic hypocrisy!

Vancouver Olympic cost
$6-9 billion

G8 and G-20 Toronto summit security cost. 1 Billion maybe 2 we may never kow

The next time you hear bitching at the Federal, Provincial and Municipal government paying for the construction of a new arena in Quebec city remember all that money spent somewhere else.

Also remember that the Montreal Canadiens renegotiated their municipal Tax to get a sweetheart deal a few years ago! By the way that Tax break is going to cost more to the city of Montreal over the next five years than what the city of Quebec will spend on their own new arena. Remember every museum, festival and cultural center that are getting public money every year! Remember every Canadian movies and TV shows that are getting generous tax break!  So I got to ask where were you to preach fiscal restrain? When GM got their ass saved with money from the Federal I did not hear many Ontarian bitch too much about that!

Back then where the hell was all these offended taxpayers when under the Liberals the Human Resource Development Department lost a billion, not spent, not wasted just fucking lost! If you are coming out of the woodwork to bitch about public money spent to build a municipal arena now you are way, way too late...
Am not exactly trill at the way this new arena will be build but I despise all the "vierge offencée" that we are hearing this week! Sure it done for political reason but guess what everything a politician does is for political reason!

It time for the fucking season to start!

We are still a month away from the start of the season and every NHL fans out there are on the edge. NHL Bloggers are tearing each other up when they don't have a pissing contest with the MSM, you know those so called real sports journalist...
But I digress everybody out of subjects right now because every subject was milked to death!

Kovalchuk: Thank god that drama over!
Carey Price: Signed for two years.   

What else? Actually we got nothing else and we still have one damn month to wait for the start of the NHL season! At least training camp is about to start. I could pull a rumor out of my ass but that somebody else specialty! The current situation beg the question should the NHL start the season in the middle of September? They could still play 82 games you just move a few Sunday afternoon bore fest in the middle of the season for a few Saturday night happening in the middle of September!

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.


  

Being an Habs fan is costly!

Am not a cheap guy but seriously $9.75 of service charges per ticket per game that enough to tick me off!


The ticket business is the only business that I know who get away with charging peoples for the privilege of doing business with them. Now mind you the entertainment business usually charge a per transaction service charge meaning that no matter how many tickets you buy it only one charge not one per item! The banks have service fees but mostly you don't buy things from a bank you get services. Beside if you make many transaction they got service plan that let you have a flat monthly rate.


$9.75 per game, per ticket is just the first of many money grab an Habs fan who want to see a game is victim of. Let pass on the actual price of the tickets mainly because that life in the NHL. At least in Canada

$25 that the price of parking at the Bell center on game night.


Foods and drinks mainly Beer will also cost you an arm and a leg. Once upon a time the game started at 8:00 or even 8:30 PM you always had the time to eat somewhere else before going to the old Forum. So it no surprise that now the game start at 7:30 or even 6:30, they want you hungry and thirsty!


Souvenir for the kids you can't go to a game and get back empty handed that gonna cost you!  


The Reebok EDGE Montreal Canadien Authentic Home Jersey will cost you $289 on Amazon. Likely made in a Chinese sweatshop by the way! Did I mention that if you want your mom to see you on TV you better wear one! On the other hand if you don't want the wife to know you were at the game...  It no surprise that the team has a fake jersey problem at that price!


Come to think of it that $9.75 service charge is not so bad after all! If you can afford the stiff ticket price and the rest, the service charge should not bother you much... Otherwise RDS has every Habs game in HD.

I miss the Nordiques!!

I am an Habs fan always was, always will be but I came to the realization in the past few years that I miss the Nordiques! In fact I miss them a lot!


Why? Well it feel to me that the Montreal Canadiens players and management was trying a hell of a lot harder to win when they had to fight for the heart and minds of the province! It why a few sports columnist want more local guys to play for the habs it not just a language thing they also think that local talent got an extra motivation to perform!


The Habs vs Nordiques rivalry helped a lot with that. Remember 1993 if the Habs had played the Sabres in the first round they might not have recover from losing the first two games! You get eliminated to the Sabres or any other team in the NHL you might hear about it for a month. You lose to the Nordiques and you never going to live that down! That what was at stake after the first two games for Guy Carbonneau, Patrick Roy, and the rest of the 17 local guys on the 1993 Habs roster!


1993 habs roster 17 local Guys

Centres

21 Guy Carbonneau (Captain) Local
15 Paul DiPietro Local
18 Denis Savard (A. Capt.) local
25 Vincent Damphousse Local
29 Jesse Belanger Local
47 Stephan Lebeau Local

Wingers
11 Kirk Muller (A. Capt.)
12 Mike Keane
17 John LeClair Vermont apparently close enough!
22 Benoit Brunet Local
23 Brian Bellows
26 Gary Leeman
31 Ed Ronan
32 Mario Roberge Local
36 Todd Ewen
45 Gilbert Dionne Local
6 Oleg Petrov††

Defencemen
5 Rob Ramage
27 Mathieu Schneider
14 Kevin Haller
24 Lyle Odelein
28 Eric Desjardins Local
34 Donald Dufresne Local
38 Sean Hill
43 Patrice Brisebois Local
48 Jean-Jacques Daigneault Local

Goaltenders
33 Patrick Roy Local
37 Andre Racicot Local

"Après les deux premiere partie l'équipe c'est mise a gagné sur l'orgueil!"
Loosely translated. "After the first two games the team started winning on pride and sheer will!" If you think pride and willpower does not apply to the 2010 NHL you can always ask Alex Ovechkin and Sydney Crosby how they liked their long Summer! Pride is the reason the Bruins and the Leafs are always playing a little better against the Habs. Pride for a lack of a better word is good! That why I miss the Nordiques they motivated the Habs like nothing else!   

Year of the last chance!

For many in the Montreal Canadiens organization this is the year of the last chance. If the Habs have an ugly year these guys might all be gone by the deadline.




1. Andrei Markov : If he get hurt again or contract negotiation stall expect him to get moved at the deadline. We lost too many assets with no return to UFA in the past Gauthier will not make the same mistake that Bob Gainey did before!




2. Roman Hamrlík : Yeah we all hate his cap hit! The same cap hit that keeping him in Mtl because nobody want him and the Habs are too cheap to send Hammer to the bulldogs! Gauthier is probably stuck with him until the deadline but at the deadline if the Habs are already out expect Hammer to finally get moved!




3. Jacques Martin : If the season goes bad or if the Habs exit the playoff early he's the likely first scapegoat that Gauthier will throw to the wolves! The team did better than expected in the last playoff but three games with no goals against the Flyers that a black mark on Martin that will require one hell of a season to heal in my book!




 4. Hall Gill : Yeah we all love USS Hall Gill he's a warrior and had an amazing playoff run but he's an aging warrior who's getting slower! Gill is also turning UFA next year and his past playoff performance make him an attractive rental at the deadline if the Habs are out. Off course Pierre Gauthier might just sign him to an end of career contract for dirt cheap! 50/50 chances of that happening. 




5. Pierre Gauthier : Eller and Price if either of these two guys are not having a superb season Gauthier is dead GM walking! Hell Geoff Molson might replace him anyway even if they do. Short of a cup Pierre Gauthier time with the habs are counted. The new boss is not likely to keep the last administration in place for long if they don't get some real result fast.




That it for today if you don't agree or got names you want to add don't hesitate to comments!!