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.

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!! 

WWS What Would Sam Pollock do?

What would Sam Pollock do with the Habs goaltenders situation?
Sam would have traded Halak for Lars Eller, Ian Schultz and probably a few more assets because he's Sam, just to bring back Halak as a RFA with a side deal made with @walsha six months ago. Needless to say Pierre Gauthier is no Sam Pollock!