Patrick Roy's favourite hockey coach will do in-studio game commentary and appear on L'Antichambre.

This lends credence to the rumour that Joel Bouchard will become Pierre Houde's new booth partner.

• Pat Hickey on the transformation of the Lightning

• Cammalleri's summer and he's all over Toronto radio (thanks, Kevin van S)

• One year after the Gainey Purge, Robert L asks: Who would you want back?

• Puck Daddy's 10 Comeback candidates (No current Canadiens, but Mike Ribeiro and Christopher Higgins are on the list)

• Allan Muir of SI lists eight most-improved franchises

• TSN's Top 10 off-season moves (guess whats no. 3)

• These are cool: patterns in penalties and a database of NHL uniforms (good find, petrov14)

• Antti Niemi to arbitration today

• Ben Eager is worth WHAT?

And today's fan video

Any excuse to get some Latin into Habs Inside/Out.

It means "after this therefore because of this."

It is the logical fallacy that chronology implies causation. Except in this case, not such a fallacy:

On Tuesday, Max Talbot called Alex Ovechkin a d-word.

On Wednesday, Washington acquired St. Louis enforcer D.J. King.

Worth noting: Caps general manager George McPhee was a tough hombre who had 257 PiM in 115 NHL games.

And other than his mouth, Max Talbot is not as big as Derek Boogaard.

Ah, the NHL.

Plus ca change ...

* And speaking of guys who could throw 'em, remember John Kordic?

* Yvon Pedneault on Pierre Boivin and Richard Peddie

Watch this brilliant National Film Board documentary, in French, about the 1962 Canadiens.

It includes the hit that ended Lou Fontinato's career.

And René Lecavalier: Sublime!

•  •  •

Re the unsigned  Carey Price: Patrick V. Hickey, the human Google, recalls the last contract José Theodore signed with the Canadiens was announced at the team golf tournament, a couple days before training camp.

So maybe we should all chill out.

• Hickey on the scouting overhaul. And the brilliant Josie Gold Photo Shops Pierre Gauthier's computer screen at FHF

• This is a weird one: Richard Peddie, the guy who runs the Leafs, knocks Geoff Molson for replacing Pierre Boivin

• Randy Cunneyworth sizes up the Bulldogs (Thanks, Mark C)

• Hawks thinking Theodore?

• Hockey News assesses the Canadiens

• Team 990 Archive has Chris Nilan visiting Melnick yesterday

 • Non-hockey story of the day: Kings of Leon cancels show because of bird poop

A cool video to complement that NFB classic on Hump Day

Pierre Gauthier has announced six appointments.  

Serge Boisvert and Ryan Jankowski will join the Canadiens’ amateur scouting group. Vaughn Karpan becomes a professional scout, and Christer Rockstrom will assume scouting duties for European leagues as of September 1st.

It is important to note that Boisvert will be a full-time Quebec scout, replacing part-timers Denis Morel and Michel Boucher.

And as HIO reported last week, Pierre Allard becomes the Canadiens’ new strength and conditioning coach.

So quiet you can hear a boll weevil peeing on cotton.

So quiet that our great and good friend Robert L – who was stoked to do a Carey-vs.-Jaro comparison using stats on how each goaltender performed against right-handed shooters, aged 20 to 26, firing to the glove side from 15 to 23 feet out – instead has teamed up with Francis Bouchard for a history of the Habs on the silver screen.

• Pat Hickey on the Kovalchuk case

• Éric Bélanger talked to the Canadiens, who can't afford him

• Where's P.K.? (Shout-out to Curtoph)

• L'Artiste is gone, but maybe the Canadiens can hire a good artist

• Productivity of Canadiens' homeboys, from Michael Whitehouse

• Yann Danis is going to the KHL, per rushockey on Twitter

• Hot Dogs! Get your hot dogs here! A scary report on sports venue food (thanks, Kevin von Steendelaar)

• Coyotes deal in trouble?

• Another move by the Lightning. And a feature on their new guy (thanks, nightmare_49)

• Rangers closing in on Frolov

• The All-UFA Team

• James Mirtle on 84 UFAs

Hey, AK46's Mom made a YouTube video. The hit on Chara at 1:05 is sweet!

The Players Association has filed a grievance against the NHL for rejecting Ilya Kovalchuk's contract with the New Jerseys.

Distinguished members of the bar: Start your billables ...

Eric Duhatschek's take.

• Michael Traikos on Kovy II

• Allan Muir with more on Kovy II

•  •  •

Mason Raymond and the Canucks avoid an arbitration hearing, scheduled for today.

Two years, $2.5 million and $2.6 million.

The signing pushes Vancouver over the cap, pending LTIR relief for Sami Salo.

The Bruins and Blake Wheeler are at an impasse. Wheeler's agent is Matt Keator, whose client list includes Mike Komisarek.

James Mirtle's list of arby hearings (including Raymond) and his updated list of free agents

• Bruce Dowbiggin on HNIC

• J.T. on P.K.

• Bruno Gervais, good guy

• Wayne Fleming on coaching in Russia

• The Hockey News Puck Panel talks about Tampa Bay's revival

• Nothing to do with hockey, but this becomes the gold standard for retractions. When do we see one from Eklund?

• Shout-out to nightmare_49 for finding Great Commercials in NHL History

HNIC Rewind: Game 7 in Pittsburgh

Brian La Rose has an interesting analysis of the Carey Price contract situation.

It's all conjecture, because the Canadiens and their anointed Number 1 goaltender have done a good job of keeping the lid on negotiations ... assuming they're negotiating.

But it is thought that Price wants a three-year deal worth about $3 million per – equivalent, La Rose explains, to the second contract Cam Ward signed in Carolina.

The Canadiens – again, speculation – want to go short, maybe a two-year deal worth $4.5 million to $5 million.

Here's what we know for sure: A week from today is Aug. 1, and training camp begins in September.

Unless he's working on a trade or an FA signing, the Carey Price contract is the last item of outstanding business on Pierre Gauthier's desk.

If the goaltender is not signed well before training camp begins, there will be a media feeding frenzy in Montreal. The word "holdout" will begin to appear in headlines.

The blogosphere will explode, with "spoiled brat" probably the politest phrase to describe the unsigned goaltender.

And the not-insignificant number of fans who wonder why the team traded its playoff hero will begin to wonder – if they don't already – whether Carey Price wants to play for the Montreal Canadiens.

It could get fugly.

And a contract imbroglio will add to the pressure Price faces this season.

• Josh Gorges in his local paper

• Michael Whitehouse on the Canadiens' history of Quebec-born players

• Assessing Bob Gainey (thanks, showey47)

• Larry Brooks bombs Bettman

Brock Trotter, who had a solid year in Hamilton and was expected to compete for a job at training camp, is going to the KHL.

•  •  •

Adrian Dater's Top 10 NHL centres

•  •  •

How NHL teams got their names

•  •  •

Someone has to do this for hockey

•  •  •

Annakin Slayd, who did that brilliant Feels Like '93, turns his talents to Montreal's late, sometimes great baseball team.

Francis Bouillon grew up in Montreal's tough Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district and benefited from the sports programs offered by Usine 51, a former factory turned into a youth centre.

When Les Jeunes sportifs d'Hochelaga faced bankruptcy and the loss of the building, Bouillon and two partners stepped up to the plate to save the sports organization.

Richard Labbé has the story in La Presse

• Hope for HNIC? (Thanks, nightmare_49)

• Ugliest players of the last 20 years: (Guess which two ex-Habs make the list)

• What's next for Mario Tremblay?

• Hockey News has a story on Eustace King, the only African-American NHL player agent

• Hockey's biggest contracts (no Canadiens)

• Lightning sign Marc-Antoine Pouliot, who played for Guy Boucher in Rimouski

• Boucher hires Wayne Fleming, fires Jim Johnson and Cap Raeder

• Sami Salo would get hurt playing poker

• Jim Kelley weighs in on Kovy II

• Summer musings from Scott Burnside

And fan careyprice14782 has posted a 2009-'10 highlight mash-up

* Henrik Zetterberg goes with a traditional look for his wedding

* Louis Leblanc's playlist. THREE by Lady Gaga. Kids today!

* Fabian Brunnstrom - remember when everyone was chasing him? - re-ups in Dallas for $675,000 

* Remaining arbitration cases (Bruins are in a cap crunch and may have to walk away on Blake Wheeler)

* Agents think NHL is doomed in a Kovy II arbitration

* Ovechkin practising with Dynamo in Russia

Check out Bob McCown, before he became God

Laugh of the Day: From Twitter, LindsayInJail. Sample: Nobody knows what I'm going through except Nelson Mandela and maybe Joan of arc

Patrick V. went to the football game last night.

• Max Lapierre looks toward third-line duty

• More on Paul Bissonnette and Twitter

• And you think Canadiens fans are passionate? Check out an AC Milan protest

• You be Stan Bowman

• It'll be a great induction speech: JR to the U.S. HoF

• Jannik Hansen (Who?) scores in arbitration

• Just for Laughs: TV business anchor and reporter lose it

Today's video: The 2010-'11 Team (mash-up features Eminem track, so Strong Language Alert!)

A fan asseses the National Hunk League.

Carey Price and Max Lapierre both make her list.

What, no good-lookin' bloggers?

And frequent Commenter badangel demurs (not to be confused with Demers). Her list:

Lapierre and Talbot top my list. (I've always had a thing for the "wrong" ones)

Price, Petr Sykora, Patrick Sharp, Taylor Pyatt (the eyes! woowee!), Parise, Vermette and Souray. Honourable mention to Theodore since he is still pretty hot as he ages.. but the whole Paris Hilton thing ruined it for me.

•  •  •

Ondrej Pavelec: two years, $2.3 million

•  •  •

A great read: Puck Daddy mourns the passing of Paul Bissonnette's hilarious PaulBizNasty rants on Twitter

•  •  •

Kings back in the hunt?

• More from Pat Hickey on Kovygate

• Michael Farber's analysis

• Eric Duhatschek suggests an easy fix

• Now what? – Scott Burnside

• François Gagnon makes predictions from the beach (Canadiens to finish sixth)

• Here's a surprise: Michel Bergeron doesn't like an anglo coaching Hamilton. Robert L looks at the long history of this loopy thinking

• What's a gritty forward worth? In Darroll Powe's case, $725,000 and one-way. Patrick Kaleta: two years for $1.815 million. But Cody Bass's deal is two-way

• Big raise for Nick Foligno

• Forbes lists the world's 50 most valuable sports franchises. No hockey teams, but Uncle George's Liverpool is in there.

Quote of the Day on Twitter: "I wish they would put agents on a reality TV show and put them on a lie detector test and watch them all roast and die."

No confirmation from RDS, but the blogosphere is buzzing with the not-unexpected news that Benoit Brunet is toast.

Question for the Commentariat:

Who would you like to see/hear providing complementary analysis/colour to Pierre Houde's play-by-play?

Yvon Pedneault redux?

Joel Bouchard?

Bob Hartley?

Guy Carbonneau?

Mario Tremblay?

Discuss.

* CapGeek has launched a FAQ

* David Perron signs for two years. $1.8 million and $2.5 million. A sane second contract for a star-to-be.

* Clarke MacArthur got $2.4 million in arbitration, and Atlanta is walking away. So he's a UFA.

* More two-year deals: Nick Foligno in Ottawa, Patrick Kaleta in Buffalo