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About Mike Boone
Full Name
Mike Boone
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http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/columnists/mike_boone.html
About
I grew up in Park Extension, within walking distance of Dickie Moore's Dairy Queen on Jean Talon. Moore had a place on L'Acadie Blvd., and we used to see him driving around in his convertible with a Samoyed and a very dishy wife.
While "studying" at McGill University during the 1960s, I used to attend games at the old Montreal Forum. My fellow undergraduate reprobates and I would scramble up the stairs to get centre-ice spots in the top standing room section, where aged ushers didn't know or care what we were smoking.
I stood out in the cold for six hours to get tickets to the 1975 New Year's Eve game between the Canadiens and Central Red Army. With the exception of the birth of my daughter, the 3-3 tie was the greatest event I've ever seen in my life.
The Canada-U.S. Gold medal game comes close .... but I wasn't there.
I've been a professional journalist since 1974, when I joined the Montreal Star sports department. I've covered the 1976 Olympic Games, the 1979 Expos, pop music and MSO tours of Europe and Asia (classical musicians are WAY more fun to drink with than athletes). I wrote a TV & Radio column for 20 years and, since 2000, have written a City column for The Gazette.
The best part of being a Habs Inside/Out contributor is attending games at the Bell Centre. I think it's a great building: noisy, raucous and packed to the rafters with Montrealers and visitors who live for hockey.
And I still get goosebumps every time Michel Lacroix booms out "Accueillons nos Canadiens ..."
Having seen the Boston Red Sox win two World Series and the Pittsburgh Steelers add a couple Super Bowl titles, I suppose I can die happy ... but not before another Stanley Cup parade. And I'd really like my daughter to see a historic New Year's Eve game.
I like all the players. Covering baseball gives me a profound appreciation of pro athletes who aren't jerks.
My weltanschauung was summarized by the late great Bill Hicks when he said "all matter is merely energy condensed to a slow vibration, we are all one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively, there is no such thing as death, life is only a dream and we are the imagination of ourselves."
Have a nice day.
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1)Komisarek (goofy bastard) single handedly lost the game for TO, looks good on him
2)Even though the Laffs think they so out-played the Habs, Carey Price was hardly challenged, BUT, had a very encouraging game. He really didn't have to make any game savers, just be steady, which he was.
3)JM was more animated than I ever saw him behind Ottawa's bench, definitely a good sign. Did you catch him on the winning goal? Beautiful!!
4( AK has got to distribute, he does NOT go into the traffic areas
5) speaking of traffic areas, Lattendress, where the hell are you?
6)Metro, Georges, a force, more proof small is beautiful!
7) Gionta, a MONSTER, love this guy!! He definitely fits well with Gionta
8) Moen, Mara, O'Byrne, BGL physical forces, as for Gill, I hope he can pick it up, or else...
9) Camellari....WOW!! Could be a single line team though...
10) Losing Markov, SUCKS!!! F*%'in Laffs, win or lose, they always seem to bite us on the ***!
Bring up Weber for the PP.
Last thing, and, this is personal for me...Kyle Chipchurra, PLEASE make this team once and for all!! JM, give him a long leash, and, see if he's for real, cause if he is, he's got leadership abilty!! He wore the "C" for the Juniors at the Worlds. All he needs is for someone to show some confidence in him, Carbo was a hard head with him...GO Habs
24Cups, was it you that did the cap analysis for this year? Or, anyone else know how close the Habs are to the cap limit, and whether Marky's time on the injury list allows his salary to be not counted?
I recall Les Boys are perilously close to the cap ceiling, meaning that even calling up Carle or Webber to help on D may be an issue.
Secondly, Ryan O'Byrne, unsung hero. We need him to continue to bang and move the puck. He was very good last night.
A pro-rated portion of Markov's salary will be removed from the salary cap based on how long he spends on Long-Term Injury Reserve. Not sure what the final numbers will work out to, because it will depend on whether he can recover fully.
They just gained capspace with Marky's injury. How much I'll let the others tell you.
24Cups, was it you that did the cap analysis for this year? Or, anyone else know how close the Habs are to the cap limit, and whether Marky's time on the injury list allows his salary to be not counted?
I recall Les Boys are perilously close to the cap ceiling, meaning that even calling up Carle or Webber to help on D may be an issue.
Secondly, Ryan O'Byrne, unsung hero. We need him to continue to bang and move the puck. He was very good last night.
The interesting thing to me here (playing devil's advocate once again) are the numerous references to last night's "comeback" win against Toronto.
Heading into the game, the vast majority of the class were gloating about how bad the Leafs are, a team that had no forwards or goalie and that would be fighting for the first overall pick. The Habs were a no-brainer pick to dominate them.
The morning after the Habs eke out an overtime win, the vast majority of the class are pointing to the character it took for the Habs (workign in a revamped lineup, to boot) to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat against the revved up Maple Leafs in their home opener.
Are we always this contradictory? It's the same formula that has Habs fans touting all the merits of every Hab player and then suddenly U-turning and labelling them as useless when they are no longer part of the future for the Habs.
People say we were outplayed by the Leafs, and all I can say is "Well, they STILL LOST, and therefore STILL SUCK" lol
Losers Even After Forty two Seasons
I remember Piere Mcguire freaking out that the Habs didn't sign Francois well I wonder what that Leaf loving bald loser thinks of his -4 last night? Speaking french dosen't mean you should be playing for the habs it's what you bring on the ice that counts.
Btw I don't think I can watch one more game on CBC unless they learn that not everyone on the planet is a Leaf fan. When Toskala makes a save it's a big deal but soso when it's Price even though he was the far better goalie last night.
Elliot Freidman is the only decent guy working for them. I hope Carbo breaths fresh air into the broadcast but until that time I will get RDS again even though I don't know what the hell they are saying....maybe not a bad thing. Maybe if I watch it and listen to CJAD on the interwebs that would work out.
Go Habs Go!
"• François Beauchemin – the defenceman Bob Gainey should have signed because he's great and speaks French and phones his mother every week and speaks French and loves dogs and children and speaks French – was on for EVERY CANADIENS GOAL!"
But he is better then Mara and Gill... and yes, he speaks french. Got something against that? 46 shots on Price? And yes, he speaks french.
-------------- We have a new team! Mike Komisarek: 0-0-0
Don't expect us to start off with a bang, these players are new to each other and need time to build chemistry, laffs were the best team to test our chemestry against because they fail at hockey
There's a lot of speculating about Pax, Gill and a few others, but we need to give the team a little more time before raising the cry about the sky falling . Basically, Leaf games are not real and don't necessarily indicate much. They play frenetically against us, and it's hard to build any sort of rhythm. They can't keep this tempo up against other teams, but they tend to be sky high when they play the CH. I had the Calgary-Vancouver game on for awhile afterward, and the tempo was normal not nuts. So, hang on a bit. In the face of the crazy tempo where the Leafs looked so much faster than us, les boys were a bit perplexed as if they were still trying to figure out the system etc etc. While they/we could be in trouble, or not, we simply can't read that much into that particular game. Despite the high shots against, I didn't see too many 2 or 3-on-ones if any, and that's certainly an improvement.
Ah the sound of people unhappy with a win! Look. We didn't play that well but the Laffs always go all out against us, which they did and we still won with a team that will only get better. By the way, Gill outplayed Komisarek. Period.
The officiating was generous to the home team. Hughson no sooner talks about the three players cross checking one Hab player behind the net and how a nothing hook will get you two and ... voila a nothing hook gets us two and a nothing hold puts us two short. The Laffs couldn't even win with the refs seeing things their way. %&*$% Laffs is right.
Komisarek is a joke. You're welcome to him Burkey. Enjoy his minus season!
Mike, I love your writing and commentary and find it is generally spot on, but I have noticed that you have a tendency to be overly negative towards AK46 (e.g,, questioning whether he is an "earthling"). Admittedly, the kid has much to figure out to be the impact player he can be in this league, and his pre-season performance demonstrated that, but I sometimes feel like you are overlooking any positive aspects of his game and focusing on the deficiencies. I watched last night's game, and while he certainly wasn't a standout player, I don't believe you can characterize it as a bad performance or as him being in a "fog", or anything like that. The other factor to consider is that, before the annoying "Mangiola scandal" last year, AK was playing ahead of the expected development curve, posting something like 21 goals and 12 assists in the 42 games preceding that "news" story breaking, for a 65 point pace (which is the kind of development I think the Habs brass would be happy seeing from Andrei now, in his 3rd full year in the league, or even in next year's all important 4th year). Anyway, I'm generalizing to some extent as i'm sure you have from time to time had very positive things to say/write about him, but lately it seems like it's all been doom and gloom. That said, excellent job on Habs I/O and the podcasts, they are gold for Habs fans everywhere!
ross- I've heard all this "he's only in his 3rd year" crap before. I also adhere to the 4th year is a breakout year school of thought. However, AK is now in his 6th year as a pro (including Hamilton). I also think you have to compare him to the other guys in his graduating class of 2003. Some of them are light years ahead of him in terms of development. I can live with a guy needed more experience and skill refinement, but it's the laziness and indifference that drives me nuts. Shoutout to Andrei - get the lead out of your ***!
Agreed AK is definitely Human.
Seriously, though, I thought he started slow and annoyed me a little in the first 2 periods. I saw him then try some good things int he third and particularly the overtime. Unfortunately, a couple passes missed but I log that on the new system and guys not yet knowing where their linemates are. I saw a lot of that last night, too much of it in the D-zone.
Ak plays on his own, that would be okay if he were Alex Ovechkin.......but he's not.
No I in team AK.
some first night jitters, aggravated by some tenacious leafs...but the VETS did their job as did CAREY... the next game against BUFF will be more to our liking....some thoughts:
MOEN played a big role, as did LAROCk and METRO...yes the 4th is as important as the 1st
JM made a quick adjustment moving PAX down a notch and putting CAMM to the #1 spot....it worked, GIONTA is a sniper, and GOMEZ did well even with the swollen eye, which can really ruin your evening.
PLEK played very well, controlling the play, and for the most part so did ANDRE, other than some silly giveaways, his puck control was excellent, and PAX seemed to contribute some grit to that line.
LAPS's crew did well down low, but for the most part had the jitters..their time will come.
Sure the D were flat footed, but thats the trade off for giant size, it may be of concern against speedy BUFF, but JM will adjust...Markov controls the flow but is now uncertain, its a giant negative, but we have the depth in HAMR/OBRYNE/WEB even CARLE so not to worry.
PRICEY was sharp down low and thats what saved us, the other shots were from the outside and harmless.
Against BUFF i'd like to see STEWY in and LAROCK sitting...and I'm sure HAMR will be ready....yes, it was sloppy, but we are off to a good start!
1.The N.A.G. Veteran & Youth Movement will bring us glory... 2.The LAROCK effect is pivotal to our success... 3.The 80:20 ratio must be adhered to if we expect to regain our elite status...
I sat 15 rows directly behind Carey for two periods last night, and man did he look good. Also saw Markov take his tumble and be helped off of the ice; initially whe thaought that it might have been his knee. Sorry to hear that it was a skate slash. Get well soon, Marky!
Hey Chuck, I was at the game as well in Section 109!
What a game! Boy we are fast!
I was surrounded by the Laffs fans and my son and I were the only ones in our Habs uniforms.
It was the Carey Price show as far as I'm concerned.
I'll be going to Buffalo Saturday night, but first stop is the Anchor Bar! :)
"We will win the Cup one day only with a mature Carey Price in the nets"
Hey, we were in section 109 as well, row 21. Was your son the cute the little guy in the vintage jersey?
Hey, I'll be there, too! Four rows behind the penalty box, I think. Unfortunately I won't be able to get down there early, so no Anchor bar for me... this time. :(
My worst fears come true: Markov may need surgery
New rule: no more skating at the ACC for Andrei from now on.
I'll wait until we hear it from a real source...
I may be a secret moderator. Or not.
Finally, how great was it to see Martin's face when Cammy made the final rush to win the game? I think he's stoked just as much as his guys.
I may be a secret moderator. Or not.
he looked just like a kid, hunched over, hoping for the goal :D sweet.
you can't put Cammy up on the top line. that weakens the second line too much. Pleks hustled but i don't know for how many nights he can play like that (unless the top-3 are a constant motivation to him).
and please update us on Markov. that was scary.
Heatley: -3 last night.
Nice start! He should demand a trade since the rest of the team is obviously not helping him out.
I may be a secret moderator. Or not.
I'm happy we got the win but Martin certainly called it right when he said there's a lot of work to do. The game looked a lot too much like last season for comfort. Backing up, conceding the blueline, getting trapped in our zone, being massively outshot - an over-familiar scenario to Habs fans. But Price was spectacular and must have given his self-confidence (not to mention the confidence of the fans) a huge boost. I also liked Gionta, Cammalleri, Plekanec, Metropolit, Moen, Lapierre and Latendresse, and on defence O'Byrne, Gorges, Markov and Spacek. Though some of the others struggled, I didn't think anyone was terrible.
I've never seen Komisarek play like he did last night; he had a good scoring chance and actually make some decent passes, as well as hitting everything in sight. Fortunately for us, his determination to make some kind of statement to his former team meant he let his emotions get away with him. He should have had 2 or 3 more penalties than he actually received. And I liked that we were not intimidated and gave as good as we got. Though I don't think we really deserved to win, it wasn't like some of our undeserved wins early last season when we just didn't seem to be working hard. I thought the effort was there last night, we just seemed out of sync.
Loved the post-game on-ice celebration. Looks like these guys will have fun playing. Yesterday (might be two days ago), Stewart was just one more guy saying that the atmosphere is much better this year than last.
I may be a secret moderator. Or not.
As for Komisarek, he played last night exactly as he always did in Montreal. Komisarek was always the king of the over-aggressive cross-check, a move that was always mind-boggling in how often he got away with it.
Was curious to see him on the Leafs PP. Not sure that's a good role for him.
Plus a couple of high sticks and a flying elbow! I can't recall him being so hell bent to injure someone. he made a statement alright, and the reply from most Habs fans leaves no doubt thaty Komi is officially the enemy. I wish someone else had taken a shot at him after the first run at Cammeleri.
"If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail." (anon)
They probably put him on the PP because he is such a MONSTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I may be a secret moderator. Or not.
All you people talking about BGL giving Komo a beating... KEEP DREAMING!!!!!
It will be exactly like last year with Lucic... he will end up following him around the ice asking him if he wants to go to Timmies for coffee and donuts after the game... Komo will say "listen, georges, I swear I would fight you but my doctor (I mean my mother) told me I cant fight because of a bad shoulder"
seriously tho.... there is no chance the two will ever fight so GET OVER IT.
Komi was a dirty player for the habs, now he is a dirty player for the leafs.
As long as we take advantage of the PP's (like last night), we will be in business
Laracque wouldn't have fought Orr last year. This year might be different. If the Habs take a two goal lead, Komi better watch his six.
I may be a secret moderator. Or not.
why wouldnt he fight orr?
Hes all about the code. They had a nice discussion before the faceoff and decided to go. That is BGL's bread and butter. You need to learn a little something about enforcers in this league
I see we are one game into the season and Habs fans want to complain about the officiating.
Why was Moen penalized? Because he didn't make any effort to avoid Toskala. And it was right on the heels of Toskala getting drilled by Gomez. If the tables are returned, Habs fans would be crying bloody murder if Price was nailed like that two times in a row. Besides, the Habs got away with a few borderline calls in the first period (including a borderline hit from behind by Lapierre)...the reffing was not an issue.
As for the game, I was very impressed with Cammalleri (man he is shifty!) and Gionta. Those guys played great. Plekanec had a good game, as did Metropolit and the fourth line. On D, Gorges looked decent and I like Spacek, although the diving slide to break-up of the potential 3-on-1 by the Leafs on a Habs line change was unorthodox and risky!
Price had a good game with a few anxious moments. Nothing to be concerned about for a season opener on the road though...he handled it well despite being peppered with shots. By the way, I noticed that he was down on his knees a lot in the butterfly...curse you, Rollie Melanson, you're STILL ruining Carey Price! ;)
As for the negatives...
Pre-game, I mentioned that the Leafs were going to be a bit more scary than people thought. Their top 5 forwards are NOT as good as ours on paper, but they are not as horrible as people would like to think. And Stalberg is scary: big, skilled and fast.
Oh and Laraque needs to beat the living snot out of Komisarek next game. Komisarek only fights guys smaller than him or guys his size who start off at a disadvantage (Moen was on the ice and so was Staal in pre-season). BGL needs to come up to him and demonstrate the new code for the year: you hit our guys, we mess you up. If Lucic can make a mess out of him, BGL will pulverize that little turncoat. And last night's game demonstrated that Orr won't be a deterrent.
I may be a secret moderator. Or not.
good to see komi shots get blocked as he shoots it right at on coming defenders no matter what team he plays on. thanks for the W komi
Missed all of the game (someone had the bright idea to call a meeting last night), came back and watched Canadiens Express.
Happy that Price was solid and I'll give the guys a few games to gel. They seemed out of synch but that's to be expected with so many new faces. I still think Gill will get his game back but do agree that he shouldn't be with Mara. I am quite optimistic about the PP. That's one area they don't work on much during camp and they still looked pretty good out there. Once they get their timing - and hopefully Markov - back, it'll be something to see.
Gionta is always in position to take a great shot. That guy needs to be captain and needs to teach some of our young guys how it gets done.
I may be a secret moderator. Or not.
- not a very good game by our boys but we did steal two points on the road from a division rival. Not being alarmist, but the season could be decided after only one game if Markov is out for a long time. Here’s hoping for a quick recovery.
- so much for speed, skating, and puck possession. The laafs played with confidence and the Habs appeared to be awkward as they fought the puck all night long.
- Martin should have dressed AK46, we could have used him:-)
- Gomez played a great 15 minutes, too bad the game is 60 minutes long.
- Metro on the PP was shades of Carbo but he saved the day.
- Gill had a rough night but Mara was no better. Montreal’s defense couldn’t clear the zone as our transition game was very weak
- Gionta could have had a hat trick. He’s a real opportunist as he is always in scoring position and has a quick release.
- Pleks played a solid game.
- Props to Moen who gets his clock cleaned in a fight and then comes back to score.
- thank goodness that Komisarek and Beauchemin were on the other team. They won the game for us.
- Price had a great outing as he allowed us to stay in the game and win a contest in which we were outplayed. Seemed very alert and sure of himself.
- the "Faceoff 2009" logos have to go. I hate the ice being cluttered with useless ads and self promotion. As well, there are way too many TV ads during the course of the game.
- Tim Hunter is one meaning looking dude behind the laff bench. I’d invoke the ‘24 Cup code’ if I ever met him in a dark alley.
- nice touch when the fans sang O’Canada without musical accompaniment. That would never happen in Montreal.
- it’s been mentioned that Burke could/should have signed Cammalleri instead of trading three picks to get Kessel. An important tidbit to tuck away for the next five years.
- I’m off to see the autumn colours up in Muskoka (No, I’m not one of the five). I’ll catch up with my team when they start their western swing.
My only real worry right now is Markov. Let's hope the hospital visit was more precautionary than anything else.
Didn't think Weber was ready when I saw him play in pre-season and PK is still too raw on D. I thought Carle improved a great deal as camp proceeded so I'm wondering if he might not be the call-up. Might be time to see if he can handle the big leagues.
I may be a secret moderator. Or not.
"• François Beauchemin – the defenceman Bob Gainey should have signed because he's great and speaks French and phones his mother every week and speaks French and loves dogs and children and speaks French – was on for EVERY CANADIENS GOAL!"
lol
Price had a great night. Although I'm sure he wants that 3rd one back, there were others he just plain stole. The coordination in the D zone wasn't great and is a work in progress. Everybody made mistakes out there, but it's October 2nd, so all you analysts take a chill pill. The Habs demonstrated resilience throughout the game that was lacking last season. My only wish was that they didn't hit the post in the last minute so as not to give the laffs a point.
BTW, did you see what I mean about Moen? He knows when to play. And Metropolit hopefully has quieted the Chips boosters as far as 4th line center goes. Oh yeah, Komitraitorasaurus only likes to hit smaller guys from behind or hit players in the face with his stick. I would send all his infractions (from last night) to the league in a video package and see if a suspension for a game isn't in order. What a cowardly cheap shot artist.
Well, 2 points and counting. Time to shuffle off to Buffalo.
_________________________________________________________________________
Beliveau- his legend is 600' tall and growing...
OOOHH Komi's big shot was everyone ducking? Not!
Feel-good stat of the day...Leafs winless in their last eight home openers! HAHAHA
__________________
Just as no culture has a monopoly on beauty or value, no religion has a monopoly on truth - Voltaire
That does make me feel better about Markov. Not completely, but it has brightened my day THANK YOU...
There may be other teams, but only ONE Club De Hockey...
*$&@g filthy leafs.....
The words may not be "on board," but the sentiment is kosher.
Hoping Andre is okay.
Markov gets hurt in his last two outings at the ACC? there is something really messed up about that..
leafs will be at the bell on halloween... i think that is just fitting...
GO HABS!
From Dmitrey Chesnokov's Twitter: Sergei Kostitsyn is in a good mood, upbeat about the future. Will post the Q&A on Puck Daddy.
Chesnokov is known for his great interviews with Russian hockey players. He goes straight to the source and was on the phone with Seigei tonight. I'll post a link to the interview tomorrow.
Thanks!
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu.
Check out what our former 1st rounder, Chris Higgins, is up to... and how he looks:
http://www.cbs.com/late_night/late_show/video/?pid=jHoPs_MhIIf4VDMmIzTq2...
hahah thats solid hockey hair higs
Max Laps for Cap
1) One-sided officiating really pisses me off. How did the Leafs got a PP after Komisarek knocked Moen into Toskala? And why no penalty for cross-checking Gionta? Or Hagman cross-checking Lapierre? These were dangerous plays... obvious penalties. And Mara gets called for a .56 second hug that doesn't even slow the guy down.
2) Leafs fans (and TSN) claiming we stole this game? I presume their argument is that they outshot us, Clearly Wilson told his players to shoot the puck any time they're inside the blue line. In the first period especially, all their shots were from so far away, they weren't really threatening.
3) Let us pray to that Markov's OK.
Do you miss them? A team of the most recent (as far as I know) and still currently active ex-habs
tang koivu kovy
higgs ribeiro ryder
zubrus grabovski recchi
begin lang kosto
dandy
streit komi
souray hainsey
schneider cullimore
bouillon
vokoun
garon
How many wins does that team have? Ours is 1-0 this year.
----- "Come on, let's keep a little optimism here." -- Han Solo, Return of the Jedi
not at all actually, why? do you?
I'll take the team we have thanks.
despite the win, here are my concerns:
- d'agostini played zero shifts in the third period and a total of 10:48 of ice time
- latendresse didn't do much at all
- pacioretty didn't look in sync today
- gill and mara are way too slow to be paired together
-I will not respond to destructive criticism about: D'Agostini, Price, Plekanec, O'Byrne
I thought Latendresse did well finishing his hits, One change I would make after watching tonights game is switch Pacioretty with D'agostini.
I thought Jacques Martin was supposed to preach defensive hockey.
I thought we were never supposed to be outshot under Martin.
47 shots? Unbelievable!
Mara and Gill looked slower than molasses in the middle of a Montreal winter. Our D-zone coverage looked like a bunch of pee-wee players, chasing the puck like bumblebees.
Lucky to get 2 points out of it. We'll need to improve Saturday vs. the Sabres.
Although I agree about the D, I have noticed that some Gainey bashers never want to list any positives for fear that it might hurt their argument to fire him.... how about you give the team a few games to find each other out there?
A lot of those 47 shots were from the outside. I thought the D did a great job in front of Price, moving out the bodies and taking care of the rebounds. Price deserves praise for his rebound controll tonight as well. What I didn't see tonight was many Leafs second chances or Price flopping around in the net. If the D can keep that up and limit the giveaways (which should happen once the D pairings build chemistry) Price is going to have a big year.
Mara and Gill NEED to be split up...a D pairing that slow is just asking for it...not that Mara played bad, (didnt play great either) but him and Gill both just dont have much speed and they were totally out of sync tonight causing alot of turnovers in our zone...getting Hamer back will help, but who is the odd man out? I thought Obyrne played well and dont wanna see him in the press box just yet
Glen Metropolit is my favourite player, what a guy
Max Laps for Cap
Remember that red telephone that call up Batman and Robin from that old show, I wonder if there's one to call up the Breezer out of retirement...
FULL BREEZER!!! :D
<-----Georges Laraque: hockey player by day, sponser boytoy by night.
In Komisarek laffs have found a replacement for Brian McCabe. Good pick. Kaberle must be thrilled with his new partner.
I'm still in awe that you called that goal by the Laraque line lol
You will always be a Canadien in my eyes, Saku
I find it hilarious that the Laffs went out and spent over 4 million a year on that loser, when they have a better verision of him in Luke Schenn. Schenn is only 20, and he's already way better than Komisarek.
The Komisarek big-shot BS will soon come to an end, and the Leaf fans will then realize what we knew all along - Komisarek is an big talk, no walk, overrated defenseman that throws out nothing but BS cliches to show off his "leadership".
I realize the tone of my posts are very aggresive and very Komi-hating. I may have celebrated that OT win a little too much ;).
Me too Mike, I reinstated the victory shot. Which was good luck a couple of years ago...
Mike Komisarek, thanks for giving us the win tonight. Can you imagine some of the posters on here if one of our defenceman took 5 minor penalties, especially such a stupid one with 4 minutes left in the game when your team is ahead by 1 goal. He cost the Leafs the game and Wilson and Burke and McGuire still think he is a great defenceman. You will not be missed in Montreal Mike.
Man I hope Markov is Ok. And is Gill ever BBBBBIIIIIGGGGG and ever SSSSLLLLLLOOOOOOOWWWW out there. I hope he plays better than he did tonight. I don' t want any whipping boys on the team this year.
We need a replacement Breezer, don't we?
Markov should come back in Montreal and check out his injury, maybe even stay for a while until it gets better. In the meanwhile, they should call out Weber or whoever good from Hamilton to take the D on away games.
<-----Georges Laraque: hockey player by day, sponser boytoy by night.
habs D is totally out of sync, and very very very slow. If Markov is out for more than 2 weeks, their season is finished! remember last year when Markov, got injured? habs didn't win another game without him.
Gainey, the worst GM in the game of hockey, just guaranteed himself getting fired at the end of the season. paying 3 mil apiece for 3 washed up D men. you must be kidding. he should waive Gill and resign Dandy. letting Bouillon go for Mara and Gill? Gainey has totally lost his marbles. must have dementia. Gainey has killed our D, actually making it worse than last year. thanks Gainey for NOTHING!
habs will finish 11th, due NO DEFENCE!
Another prediction? That's right get right back up on the horse. I mean you previous prediction wasn't that far off... Habs lose to the Leafs 4-1 right??? CLOSE, other than us winning, us scoring 3 more goals, and if you erase everything reason you had you would have been right...
Habs finish 11th, based on your troll calculations I believe that puts us 6th. And after last night I really want to let go of Mara...
You need to change your screen name. An Afcionado is someone who is enthusiastic (in a positive way) about his favorite team, has a liking of said team, and is supportive...Just a thought...
Lastly your prediction, well in troll terms a guarantee really doesn't mean anything, that Gainey is fired. You should fill a book with your predictions and guarantees and call it, "HOW WRONG CAN ONE PERSON BE". You can have the title, ENJOY...
There may be other teams, but only ONE Club De Hockey...
TROLL ALERT! TROLL ALERT! Get back to your laff hideout in that cave below the swamp that reeks of bat guano and your own b.s.!
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Beliveau- his legend is 600' tall and growing...
You're a real piece of work, I would hate to read your post if they acually LOST the game tonight. I'm very thankfull that you are not the GM.
hee hee
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Chorske's Rule #1: as the Habs' lead in any given game increases, the probability of a HIO poster predicting an imminent Stanley Cup championship approaches one.
OK.
Good game. Not pretty. Heckle and Jekyll (Gionta and Gomez) played very well. OB also. Price was good.
Here's the game. We just won on the road at the ACC Home Opener. Imagine the reverse...........
Anyone got the private Red Alert hot line cell number for Bugs? Call him ASAP.
The defence didn't look great out there tonight but it is only the first game friend. Let Martin and Pearn work on the system and then see what happens.
Yeah bring back Bouillon, because all 5'8" of him was really handy for blocking shots or using his reach to stop passes to replace big bodies Gill and Mara. Having just O'Byrne on as a big-body D-Man would really work well wouldn't it? Oh wait we tried having just Komi last year and the the other teams walked all over us in our own zone when he was injured or he came back with testicle seperation syndrome. You need big bodies on D and Gill and Mara are those big bodies, Dandenault and Bouillon would not be the right replacements as Bouillon has crap hands and no speed, Dandenault is a 3rd-pair man and reliable but big bodies were necessary and Gill and Mara are those big guys to give physical prescence in the D-zone.
D will be better this year, Hamrlik will be up soon and give steadier hands to the 2nd pair, allowing Gill to stay 3rd-line where he should be and provide a steady PK prescence while not getting overworked, some guys just aren't cut out for over 20 mins a night on D work.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu.
Um, it's the first game of the season tonight. Just wow.
<-----Georges Laraque: hockey player by day, sponser boytoy by night.
Mara played good game, as well as Spacek. Gill on the other hand had a couple of bad turnovers...
So Komisarek has seemingly become the embodiment of the new Leafs... I might end up concentrating
all my Leaf hate toward him. Cross-checking players half his size in the back...
Ex nihilo nihil fit
Metro on the PP is nothing new.
I agree on the Max-Pac thing, he didn't seem to flow well with Gionta/Gomez and worked his own way off the Top 6, I'd say put him in Hamilton but we really don't have a lot to work with since we can't just bring up Sergei since he's being a problem case and he has to be made to work his way up in Hamilton if the situation is resolved with him and he needs to be made to spend at least a month or two with the Dogs anyway, send Max down and have him get more experience. Only spare forward right now is Stewie and he's not up for it either, D'Agostini's a possibility though if you kick him to the 2nd, put Stewie 4th and move Moen to the 3rd. Or call up Weber and dress him 4th-line and be ready for 2nd-wave PP duties.
I'll give AK46 some time to sweep out the cobwebs, I know he's a favourite punching bag but I see that shot of his and I can't help but think what happens when he uses it and his speed all the time.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu.
Any word on Markov? I'm like Boone, and celebrated too much for the first game of the season (with a Sabres fan and two dudes who don't know mch about hockey....in Pittsburgh) So I didn't hear much of the pro-Leafs broadcast.
Please! I was sober as a goal judge until the siren sounded.
Weren't you blogging from home? You ht the bottle as soon as I did.
apparently he is cut, missed the team bus because he is in toronto hospital. hopefully not achilles tendon, but if he had to be carried, not a good sign.