About last night ...

Price is an arrogant kid. He is a stiff in net. He never accepts accountability for a bad game. It's always "the other guy's" fault. If one cannot accept accountability for one's errors, then there can be no learning or growth potential. It also causes a split within the team comradery. I've been saying it since last year. So now he has blow up his nose. Is that how he dropped those 25 pounds? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm. I was never happy with the Huet trade. We mailed it in with that one. One hundred years of tradition. 24 players and Habsgirl on a mission.

I wish the Habs would get over this 'having to be bilingual' it's what's held this team to relative mediocrity for 20 years or more,.let's face it since Sam Pollock & Scotty left the fold,.the team is mediocre,...two exceptions not withstanding the '86 win & '93 miracle .but that was Won by Players who really did have pride in the 'CH' crest on the chest , the Bleu, Blanc ,Rouge........since the two rare wins,against the odds ....this team stinks ,& hasn't had a Great GM or Coach since,....I believe that Bob Gainey will be the guy to lead this weakened franchise back to health & that does take time, I in no way like to support a loser & it's been painful being a Habs fan all these years, but I was happy to see BG get back here & with that hope came the expectation of him building a Team of the future a new modern day dynasty,..but I think now he needs to look towards having a 'smart hockey thinking new head coach' who doesn't have to be bilingual (yet) someone who can motivate & utilise the players that they have right now, (Price being the exception I think they should trade him for building purposes) but let's get away from the bilingual thing & get a 'Hockey Mind' in there...Keep in mind Bob G couldn't speak a word when he came to Montreal, but did his 'talking' on the ice,in both official languages......That's what we need,..........keep Carbo in the organisation but at something he's a master at, defensive coach. If his ego can't take the 'percieved' demotion,.then FIRE HIM see how he takes that,....but let's get back to building & playing with the 'tools' we've got ( pun intended)

I think now we have enough material for that overdue HIO puckcast.

"I guess Gainey is out to prove that you CAN fire 23 players and keep your coach." - Fun Police

This is the breakpoint of the season. The team will rally together and start to win as all of the pressure has been lifted off their shoulders with the focus now on off-ice issues. The Dallas Stars started to play better after Avery was sent home and this will hold true for Montreal. Players like Price, Higgins, Kostitsyn(s), and Hamrlik will step up after being humiliated. Kovalev, after seeing Ovechkin and Malkin play lights out, will return with a vengence. Everyone wanted a shake-up....here we go! GO!HABS!GO!

...I hate to have to keep pointing this out ...notwithstanding Guy LaFleur's opinions on Kovy ...the first sense of Habs' passion & push-back has happened when Kovalev was pulled out of the line-up ...Plekanec has suddenly begun to show what he can do because with Kovalev not there means HE and AK start to Express Themselves ...Kovalev, who I agree is a very talented athlete ...if HIS mind is in-control of his body ...unfortunately his mind flies in the clouds farther-out into the ether than his plane ...Kovy, through no fault of his own is a 'seducer'...apparently of Fans and other players ...so many of his team-mates are awed with 'the POTENTIALl of his talent' ...again, notwithstanding the relatively middling reality of his real-world productivity ...give or take a season, or part of a season here as will SK when he returns ...there may be a honeymoon where Kovy has hopefully made up his mind for the moment ...that YES, he will be busting his butt ...hopefully if it occurs, this will persevere through the play-offs ...yet ...eventually ...sooner rather later ...Kovy WILL return to his ol' oblivious self Habitant means PASSIONATE HOCKEY http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=423049

Trade rumors from TSN's Scott Cullen: TRADE RUMOURS - The Minneapolis Star-Tribune suggests that the Wild may have to consider moving goaltender Niklas Backstrom if he can't be signed to a contract extension. - According to the New York Post, Ducks defenceman Scott Niedermayer has an understanding with Ducks management that he won't be dealt unless he requests it. - The Montreal Gazette reports that the Canadiens have been shopping winger Alex Kovalev since the beginning of February, without any takers. - The Denver Post had the Bruins scouting Avalanche defencemen Jordan Leopold, Brett Clark and Ruslan Salei. With Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli admitting he has a wishlist that includes eight names heading into the deadline, the Boston Globe picks eight for the Bruins to target, including: Chris Pronger, Keith Tkachuk, Erik Cole, Jay Bouwmeester, Tomas Kaberle, Nik Antropov, Dominic Moore and Fredrik Modin. - As the Ducks embark on a six-game road trip, theLos Angeles Times suggests that Chris Pronger might not return to Anaheim with his teammates, noting that the Ducks should be happy to get a good young player and a first-round pick in return. Depending on the calibre of the young player, the Ducks may be able to get more than that. - According to the Ottawa Sun, the Sabres may have to consider moving ever-injured Tim Connolly, who is playing well while he's healthy, but will be an unrestricted free agent in the summer. - Amid widespread reports that Maple Leafs defenceman Tomas Kaberle has a list of at least ten teams to which he would accept a trade, the Toronto Sun notes that it's believed all are in the Eastern Conference. - The Delaware County Times reports that the Flyers may want to consider Nikolai Khabibulin if, as rumoured, he's available from the Blackhawks. The paper also has Flyers GM Paul Holmgren working the phones with Florida and Anaheim as well as Chicago. - The Winnipeg Sun mentions that Canucks goaltending prospect Cory Schneider could be trade bait as the deadline approaches. - The Tennessean reports that Predators defenceman Ville Koistinen, a healthy scratch over the last eight games, wants to be traded. - According to the Tampa Tribune, the Lightning have been mentioned in a couple of rumours, with Vaclav Prospal rumoured to Columbus (seems like a long-term deal for the Jackets to accept) and Martin St. Louis to Pittsburgh. The natural exchange for St. Louis would figure to be a package including Ryan Whitney. - The Ottawa Sun reports that the Coyotes have shopped Olli Jokinen, Derek Morris and Ed Jovanovski. The New York Post reports that the Devils may have interest in Morris or Jovanovski. - The Bucks County Courier Times says that the Flyers' rumoured interest in Chris Pronger won't subside, though it would require the Flyers to ship out significant salaries in order to create room. One Flyer mentioned as possible trade bait is third-line winger Scottie Upshall.

Carb is better at press conferences (very composed) than he is at coaching during the games. Why doesn't anyone ask the coach what was his plan during the last two minutes of the Penguins game? Bob is, unfortunately, starting to sound like the Ottawa GM. I like it better when he doesn't say much.

Papers are in distress times with their revenue going down, and scandals sell papers. The last juicy one was Bernier and his biker girlfriend Couillard, the press and the public could not get enough. Bernier is the ex foriegn affairs minister of Canada and got duped in a relationship, so its not that hard for a few hockey players to make some unwise choices. All this fuss its like he forgot Carbos play book after a sleep over

Ok, are all the skeletons out of the closet now? Can we get back to playing hockey? Geesh, there can't be much more out there now is there? Hopefully there is some sign of relief in the dressing room now, all the secrets are out. (i really hope). The news wasn't that earth shattering anyway...I was up until 5 am last night waiting to find out more and this was it? We have all done probably worse than this! Back to hockey, back to a winning streak.

In case anyone cares, Mike Comrie traded back to Ottawa (along with Chris Campoli) for a SJ's first rounder 09 and Dean McAmmond.

The blurb on Laps is that he controlled Crosby in the Q. At NHL com you can check Laps and Crosby's time on ice, including when the shift started and ended. You can look at that yourself. Aside from that Laps -1, Crosby +1, and Crosby had 4 more minutes. Unfortunately for the Habs the NHL is not the Q, Laps is not Riseborough,and Crosby got better. Dale Hunter is the type of coach a team like the Habs need. He wouldn't follow a quick pp goal on a two man advantage by pulling the scorers and playing the pluggers. Most nights the Habs play not to lose. Surest road to defeat in any sport. As for the other matter, urinanlysis. Dale Hunter and jars. Problem over.

Gee, I'm a wise guy, or I think I am. Can't any one hang out with me????

Questions about Bob Gainey, who has sent Sergei Kostitsyn to Hamilton. What did Bob know, and when did he know it? "Tittygate" :-) ________________________________________________________________ "To you from failing hands we throw the torch. Don't put it out."

It is not the time to blow anything up; it is the time things need to come back together. Team is what I believe will fight its way through this. As of now we're in the play offs, and everyone knows what can happen post season. We have seen glimpses. When the Team needed to step up due to injuries early, they did. It can't imaginably be farther from this now. It will come together and yes, there may be new faces. Already old faces are new again! Either way this Team has done the first thing it needs to do; continue to do and nothing else matters without it. And that is fight for the 2 points. Play with passion. And never give up. It's been way too long for this to rejuvinate. Les Canadiens will always rise. And from this despair their climb has begun, as a Team. And yes, hopefully, welcome back #27. New canvas La'Artiste...

the habs need solid goaltending to win. i hope price can manage. olay olay olay nice rump

There should be no questions regarding AK27. He's a veteran general. He's much smarter than the coach. RDS+La Presse = Yentas Carbo = Putz Gilette (sic) = More Chins than a Chinese phonebook "Trust your car to the man who wears the Star" - Stalin

I can't say I hope that Guy Carbonneau is replaced...............but if He is Bob Hartley would be an excellent replacement. Given the skill of this team and Hartley's experience I think he could take us where we want to go. Now that the daydream is over heres to hoping that Carbo can right this ship that seems to be extremely of course. ------------------- Individual records are nice to get, but before the season starts, you want to play to win the Stanley Cup! ~ Guy Lafleur

Our Montreal Canadiens will make the Playoffs! I think all this buzz and hoopla over nothing will tick them off. Watch how they play tomoro. A big thankyou to Boone and Stubbs for not bandwagoning against the Habs that shows your true professionalism and that you follow your "Code" (make sure it's true before reporting it!). There is a hockey game to watch tomorrow people!

we always talk about how ufa's wouldn't want to sign here. there is another side to that story. i guarantee you the habs are in the process of ticking off a majority of the agents in the league right now. they represent habs players in contract years and are watching their commissions going down with every game. their skilled clients are not getting enough icetime, they are not getting prime ice time and they are constantly being shuffled throughout the lineup. what do you think these agents are advising their other clients to do?

I just want to watch Hockey. I dont want to hear all this B.S. about Criminal connections amongst the players. We all have or know someone that has had some sort of criminal activities but no one is GUILTY BY ASSOCIATION. La Press disgusts me! RDS built this up last night as THE APOCALYPSE of the team. Give me a freakin' break!!!!! I would bet every dime I have and then some if any of these Tabloid Artists didnt have and dirt on them. I credit this site for not piggybacking on this non-story. Perhaps they are doing some due diligence first before commenting which is respectful reporting. I guess they learned their lesson from supporting La Foy's story on the "Kovy Leak" that he supposably spoke to a Russian reporter about not coming back. Darren Dreger at TSN killed that story! All this B.S. only gets legs because when the fans eat it up. I dont know why some do but this isnt Europe where sensationalism journalism reigns. I thought we had more common sense and were able to filter out the *** from whats important. This is now a world is of Paris Hilton admiring intelligence. I just want to watch hockey!! Get it??

So much for doug's post on the mob-related activities not hitting HIO front page...

Have you heard? The big La Presse scoop is that Kovy was abducted by aliens before the game in Washington and The Management at CH covered it by telling people he needs a rest. Oh....wait...Sorry that was a National Enquirer story.....forgive me..those two papers are so alike I got confused. As for BGL. His "code" is killing us. I heard him mention in an interview on RDS that when his career was over, all he will have is respect from other players because he adhers to the code. Maybe he should check his million dollar bank account. His duty is to the people that sign his check. I can just hear opposing coaches say to their "Dure", " Just politely decline Georges offer to dance and endure his 15 seconds chatter and his code will make him go away." Don't believe it? Case and point Donald Brashear who creams Boullion and gets away with it. Maybe we can get those aliens I refered to earlier to put Kenny linseman into Coded George Laraques body.

I have been a habs fan and hockey fan for about 36 years, I bleed the Bleu, Blanc and Rouge. I have watched their ups and downs even when I was in Phoenix, AZ for 13 years. Now I am back in Malta, New York and have watched every game I could for the past 11 years. I am a dire hard fan to the end and will not give up on this team. However, my observations to what I am seeing out of the best franchise in sports, yes over the Yankees, makes me want to projectile puck like the girl in the Exorcist. Kostop may have earned the "A" to be temporarily worn on his sweater, but putting a 4th liner out with 90 seconds to play when down by 1 is very odd. I love Guy C. as a player and respected him enough and want to give him time to blossom as a coach, but some of the decisions he is making should ring a big bell in Gainey's head that maybe at this moment in time he still is not ready run the boat of a fast sinking ship. I believe Guy Lafluer's comments about the shuffling of lines do seem to be a direct relation to issues of chemistry on this team. Is firing or demoting Guy the key to the issues, maybe so - maybe not, but it may be too late at this point in the season to bother worry. Kovalev is lazy at times, but this is way deeper than him. If you look at most successful players in the NHL, most times you will find someone else who is a contributor to their success. Lecavalier - St. Louis, Ovechkin - Semin or Backstrom, Datsyuk - Zetterbeg, Kane - Toews, etc..... Who do the Canadiens have that can rank up there with some of these combinations? I am syaing that Kovalev could use someone with a close skill set to his to play on the same line. I am not sure that will completely kill his laziness at times, but it might boost his confidence a little and enable better penetration into the zone. I have pulled my hair out this year on the dump and chase. They are not the Flying Frenchman of the 70's. Also, the turnovers in their own zone and Offensive zone penalties have been a killer. Now that Matt Schnied is here that might eliminate the turnovers a little more and obviously we see the difference on the Power Play already. I cannot blame Carey Price for the Gonchar Goal, but wonder when he is going to steal a game for the Habs. All the issues should not ride on his shoulders, but taking away a goal or 2 is a really big momentum booster. They played well over the last 2 games. I give them tons of credit for not lying down on last nights game. However, my point is that maybe they do not have the correct tools to be successful. They are missing a true superstar on this team that might be able to pair up with Kovalev or groom one of the younglings to provide the tandem role I was referring to. Also, that was great they fixed the power play, but defense seems to be a major issue. Look at all the goals we gave up in the road trip, that will tell you where things are at. A top 10 defensive defenseman with stanley cup experience would help some of these younger players like Gorges, Kom, and Boullion. It does not seem like breezer or Hammer are getting it done. Gainey really needs to do something if he believes this team has any chance. If not, this season is at a loss. I do not see the Habs defeating the likes of Washington, Philadelphia Boston, or New Jersey in the 1st round. I am really sad to even say that, but I always fight to believe in the Habs no matter what. Make the right moves Bob, you have the power. "In Bob we trust" as the saying goes. Please provide the faith us fans need to keep in your new era of leadership. Jim G.

tanguay should be back next week so we'll have a nice roster shake up i'm going with tanguay - koivu - kovy patches - turtleneck - andrei k higgins - lapierre - dandeneault (lats when he comes back) 4th line of assorted players. - does carbo bargain for the right Price before games?

Chipchura is definitely trade bait...if there is a package in a trade, he is definitely part of said package...he played awful last night...almost like he has not learned a thing in Hamilton...too bad, I had high hopes for him.

Read this article in the 'other wing' http://habsinsideout.com/otherwing/j-t/15920

So another La presse story about nothing. Big scoop eh? this is why no one trusts you paper.

This story (mob association) simply cannot be true. If there was one single thread of truth to this story, you have to believe Grabovsky would be sleeping with the fishes by now.

Everyone is taking these close losses harder than the blowouts...why? Because at least they had a chance to win and that just makes things more frustrating, at least with a blowout you can say they were never in it...AK46 had an open net and whiffed in the 3rd with a tie game. They are playing better, they still hold a playoff spot, there is still a quarter of the season left...they will make the playoffs and salvage this season...keep the faith, you'll see.

http://www.intelligencer.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1441258 Finally, thanks fellas! PK SUBBAN STORY

The Habs will most likely never attain Stanley status again when they have to compete in a league with one hand tied behind their back. We are their worst enemies. It's like being in a marriage with a spouse that expects you to be perfect and when you are not, rips you apart at every chance. Can nobody see why our "pure laine" players such as Lecavalier, Marleau, Briere do not want to play here? I don't blame them. We seem to think that the more pressure we put on them, the better they will perform. It won't happen. Christ himself could not lead this team to a Stanley cup in this quagmire of stress. Our "religion" should maybe involve a little more worship so to speak and a little less crucifixion. Jean Perron? Is he not dead yet?

Hire Boone's guru as coach, he points out our flaws in no time every time the Habs are on TSN, yet Carbo can't figure it out still

Korneev and Emelin don't have contracts for next season. I hope Bob can lure them to North America. Korneev probably has a better chance of playing top-four minutes for the Habs (maybe with countrymate Markov) if Schneider doesn't return next season.

Yahoo! sports is calling Ovechkin's goal against us the other night the "Goal of the millenium"....

I have to wonder, does Carbo have a man crush on Tom Kostopoulos?

I think you're being unfair to Carbo Mike. If it was that line's turn to play, so be it. He has just taken the "NHL-as-house-league" concept to its natural end. I think Carbo and his assistants would be fine coaching a bunch of mites, pee wees or bantams. I like their underlying approach to the game and would let my kids play for them anytime!

We don't need Laraque. We just need one of the Kostitsyn bros. to call one of their Mob Goons to take care of them on the ice!

While we're bashing the media... MAJOR props for no comments on this on front page on this website. I don't think it's a 6 out of 10 as Boone contends... I think it's a 2 out of 10 with it's ultimate destination unknown pending more news, if there is any.

I WANT VINNY with the C.H.