Posts by Mike Boone

It's a cold and sad day in Montreal.

Shout-out to my Gazette colleague, Linda Gyulai, for posting this on Facebook.

Oops, Canadiens idle.

The Bell Centre was the venue for a gala centennial dinner that raised funds for the Canadiens' charities.

Elsewhere in the great wide world of NHL hockey, Boston, looking a tad sharper than they had at Bell Centre 24 hours earlier, pasted the Leafs.

I watched Chicago at Pittsburgh on WGN.

Stomach-turning homer coverage on the Chi-town station, but a great hockey game and possible Stanley Cup preview.

'Hawks might be breathing easier goaltender-wise with this Antti Niemi guy, who was spectacular.

Chicago is a superb team, but the Penguins, even without Crosby and Chris Kunitz, gave them all they could handle in a chippy game played with playoff intensity.

I'm totally stoked for tomorrow night.

Philadelphia, with a new coach, will tell us whether the Boston game was a mirage or a bona-fide indicator of how good this team can be.

Ryan White got sent down. I liked that kid, but the forward situation is getting complicated and will become even more so when Brian Gionta and Benoit Pouliot are ready.

No word on SK74's lower-body injury. But Jacques Martin said it wasn't serious and they'll decide on Monday whether he can go against the Flyers.

I read in the Comments that Scotty Bowman's CBC interview included his endorsement of Carey Price as the real deal.

Coming from the best coach and talent evaluator EVER, that's good enough for me.

A glorious page from Leafs' history

Viggo Mortensen might have been the happiest person in the Bell Centre.

The movie star loves the Canadiens – and he's used to Hollywood endings.

After an emotional two-hour ceremony to mark the 100th birtrhday of hockey's greatest franchise, the current edition of the Montreal Canadiens beat the bad guys and got the girl in the last reel.

This was not the team Toronto shut out 3-0 at the Bell Centre on Tuesday.

It was not the team humiliated 6-2 in Buffalo a mere 24 hours earlier.

With a recent history of lottery draft pick performances and the weight of 100 years of glorious hockey history on their shoulders, the Canadiens got their second century off to a winning start.

This has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with the centennial or the current edition of your Montreal Canadiens.

I just figured we could all use a smile after last night.

•  •  •

For a cold splash of reality, check out this analysis of the Canadiens by my friend and former colleague, SI's brilliant Michael Farber.

It's their party, and we'll cry if we want to.

Your Montreal Canadiens are 100 years old – and for two periods in Buffalo, they played that way.

Outscored 4-0, outshot 29-8, dominated in all three zones ... against a divisional opponent.

But they scored twice in the third!

So let's get this party started!

What's that you say?

Not feeling too celebratory?

Concerned that the NHL's proudest franchise is sitting 12th, three points ahead of Toronto, which has a game in hand?

C'mon, cheer up!

Buy a vintage sweater, a set of DVDs, a Canadiens' Monopoly game.

You'll feel better in no time.

Or not.

J. Ambrose put it well in the Comments section:

Man, tomorrow night's centennial celebrations are going to be like meeting an ex-girlfriend who looks even hotter than when you broke up with her. And much hotter than your current girlfriend/wife. And your current girlfriend/wife KNOWS it.

Jason Pominville in an Oscar-worthy performance.

(Thanks to video scout Jarred Friedman)

•  •  •

Gui! played 17:13 against Nashville last night.

A goal, an assist, plus-1; 00:57 on the PP; three shots, two hits

Steve Kerley's latest scouting report on tonight's opponent:

The Buffalo Sabres were the first small market team in the NHL. They have scratched and clawed their way from year to year ever since their inception in 1970.

Nothing characterizes the franchise’s history more than the infamous “No Goal” by Brett Hull in 1999.  To add insult to injury, the Sabres then became victims of the new salary cap which led to the loss of star players such as Daniel Brière, Chris Drury, and Brian Campbell.

This season sees them resting their hopes on the stellar play of goalie, Ryan Miller, as they battle Montreal for one of the playoff seeds in the eastern conference.

Kyle Chipchura (left) with Saku Koivu at practice last year. They're teammates again, in Anaheim.
Gazette photo

Kyle Chipchura has been traded to the Anaheim Ducks for a fourth-round draft choice in 2011.

Chipchura, a 23-year-old native of Westlock, Alberta,  was the Canadiens' first choice, 18th overall, in the 2004 draft. He was taken two spots ahead of Travis Zajak, 10 spots ahead of Mike Green.

In last night's 3-0 loss to the Leafs, Chipchura played 1:59 in the first period, long enough to be minus-2. He made a particularly egregious error in losing the puck along the boards to Phil Kessel, who fed it to Jeff Finger for Toronto's second goal. Chipchura was benched for the second and third periods.

Chipchura has played in 19 games this season. He has no points, 16 PiM and is minus-10. In 68 NHL games over three seasons, he has four goals and 10 assists.

Shout-out to Jbird for this:

The English version of Jacques Martin's press conference.

We'll start with the wisecracks:

• From Sean Gordon of the Globe and Mail, a new brand for the new owner: Molson Flat.

• From my friend and colleague, Patrick V. Hickey: "They were shut out by a guy having a heart attack and by Yann Danis's backup."

• On the third goose egg hung on the Canadiens in their last 10 games: "There's been a terrible mistake. Gillett sold them his soccer team."

Ah, it's good to laugh. Therapeutic.

Because God knows, there was plenty to cry about.

The Canadiens begin the hellish month of December with three intra-division four-point games.

This figured to be the easiest, a W that would give the team some momentum for two against the divisional elite: the Sabres in Buffalo on Thursday and the resurgent Bruins at the Bell Centre for the Cecil B. DeMille, supercalafragalisticextraalidocious, come-to-Jesus centennial game on Friday night.

Oops!

3-0.

On home ice.

To the Leafs.

The Canadiens were shut out twice all of last season – and never at the Bell Centre.

As we say in Québec, quelle honte!

Geoff Molson (left) and outgoing majority team owner George Gillett Jr. at the Canadiens golf tournament in September.
Pierre Obendrauf, Gazette

• AUDIO: Geoff Molson news conference

At his first press conference as Canadiens owner, Geoff Molson expressed satisfaction with team president Pierre Boivin and general manager Bob Gainey.

"Are we going in the right direction? Yes," Molson said. "Bob Gainey has done an excellent job in rebuilding the team."

Molson highlighted the Canadiens' organizational depth, in view of the number of injuries the team has suffered this season.

"I feel we are in the process of building a great organization," Molson added. "The most important thing is to have a winning team."

Wearing a blue suit with a CH lapel pin and speaking the most fluent French of any Canadiens owner in living memory, Molson effortlessly answered the questions he wanted to and politely declined to reveal a sale price or the precise ownership structure of the team.

Molson did reveal he will the Canadiens lead general partner, its chairman of the board, CEO and representative on the NHL's board of governors.

"My style is to give power to my managers," Molson said. He admitted, however, to being a "passionate fan" who will be "involved in the making of major decisions."

"Here in Quebec," Molson said, "the Montreal Canadiens are a religion. We hope to continue that."

Shall we organize an intervention to rescue this guy's wife?

Steve Kerley offers "a Top 10 update on the trials and tribulations in laffland since the Canadiens' last encounter with Toronto on Halloween night."

1. There has been some daylight at the end of the tunnel in terms of Toronto’s overall performance as they have played .500 hockey during the past six games.  The team has won games against Florida, Tampa, and Washington while losing in OT to the Islanders and Carolina. They did blow a tire last night as they were beaten 3-0 by Ryan Miller’s Buffalo Sabres.   They have scored 20 goals while giving up 21 during that time period.  Strangely enough, they have a terrible home record (2-7-3) while ranking 19th in the league on the road (4-5-4).  Even the weak teams usually play well at home.

From a Canadiens fan site in France, where the ladies wear bleu-blanc-rouge pants, a nostalgic video from the 75th-anniversary celebrations.

Go to the web site to see Aurèle Joliat, who was about 102 at the time, take a tumble on Forum ice.

My guru and I on Melnick Underground, talking hockey and music.

Shout-out to my friend MM for inviting a guy with a great face for radio.

Just to correct a misapprehension in the video: I did not spent my youth cheering for the Leafs.

I was a Toronto fan fleetingly, when I was about nine years old, just to annoy my friends. Same reason I liked the San Francisco Giants because they all loved the Dodgers.

•  •  •

Gui! pops one for the Wild.

He played 16:23, including 1:11 on the PP; four SoG, one hit, plus-1

If you get two points for an overtime or shootout win and one point for an OT or SO loss, what do you get for heroism and overachievement?

From this corner, nothing but praise.

Your Montreal Canadiens played their hearts out last night.

As has been the case in every one of the 26 games they've played this season, there were no passengers on the bus.

Non-passengers included:

Tom Pyatt, Ryan White and Sergei Kostitsyn, who were in the AHL when the season began.

Roman Hamrlik and Jaro Spacek, a couple of old geezer defencemen playing too many minutes.

A Dman turned forward, Jay Leach, whose ToI, through 65 minutes, was 1:11.

James Wyman, another AHLer, whose night's work was 2:50.

But no one – not even the guys who barely were on ice long enough to break a sweat – gave less than everything there was to give.

The latest Steve Kerley scouting report:

The Washington Capitals may well have the best collection of building blocks in the entire NHL. 

These young players have brought about a new buzz for the Washington hockey fans that is reminiscent of what happened back  in Edmonton during the 1980's when the Oilers were getting ready to begin their initial challenge for the Cup. 

Along with Pittsburgh, another youthful juggernaut, the Capitals are poised to make a run for the roses to be the eastern seed in this year’s Cup final.

You!

Latendresse!

Quit giggling!

Shout-out to Jarred Friedman for this cute video.

Shout-out to 24 Cups for a collection of great hockey commercials.

Surprised?

C'mon.

Crosby, Malkin, Staal and – despite the absence of Chris Kunitz and Tyler Kennedy – a supporting cast of big, hard-hitting forwards against an undermanned team with an undersized defence.

The stat that caught my eye: 45 hits by the Penguins. That's a high against the Canadiens this season. Michael Rupp had nine.

Earlier this season, in a game the Penguins won 6-1, they had 16 hits.

This time around, the Pittsburgh pro scouts told Dan Bylsma what works aganst the Canadiens:

Hit them, hard and often. Don't give them the time and space to get their skating game going. Wear down the Montreal Bulldogs, playing their second game in as many nights.

So the game unfolded the way Bylsma drew it up:

When Bill Guerin goes into the corner with Josh Gorges, Pittsburgh gets the puck.

When Rupp hits Roman Hamrlik, the pillar of the Canadiens' D feels it, and gets sorer as the game wears on.

The Canadiens taking seven of a possible eight points over their last four games is an impressive stat.

But here's the one, courtesy of CKAC analyst Dany Dubé, that's mind-blowing:

The latest two points were won with 44 per cent of the team's salary cap out of the lineup.

The total salaries of Andrei Markov, Brian Gionta, Hal Gill, Scott Gomez, Jaroslav Spacek and Georges Laraque clock in at $26 million, give or take a few multiples of what I make.

In the lineup and contributing hugely to the win: Tom Pyatt and Ryan White, each making $850,000; Marc-André Bergeron, rescued from retirement for $750,000; Sergei Kostitsyn, $585,00; Maxim Lapierre, $687,500 and Glen Metropolit, an even $1 million.

It's the best team money can't buy.

David Perron, a homeboy who got away, is emerging as a star for the St. Louis Blues.

This goal is sick.

Finally recovered from the Habs I/O Summit, Steve Kerley offers a scouting report on the Columbus Blue Jackets:

 It took five years for the Union to finally defeat the Confederacy during the Civil War.

The Columbus Blue Jackets have had to battle a little longer than that to finally get to the point where they are a respectable NHL franchise.  After finally making the the playoffs last year for the first time, they are now poised to take it to the next level.

Georges Laraque has been suspended five games for his knee-on-knee collision with Detroit defenceman Niklas Kronwall, who is out a minimum of four weeks.

Laraque had a hearing, via telephone, with NHL disciplinarian Colin Campbell this morning. Montreal wags suggested the vegan enforcer "turned down a face-to-face meating."

The NHL announced Laraque has been suspended for five games without pay, and will forfeit $38,860.10 in salary.

"At 8:52 of the first period, Laraque was involved in an incident where he deliberately extended his knee and, through his actions, caused an injury to Detroit defenseman Niklas Kronwall.  Laraque was assessed a minor penalty for tripping on the play. 

"Mr. Laraque's actions were dangerous and caused a significant injury to his opponent," Campbell said in the league's statement.

Black armbands on L'Antichambre?

The late, not-as-great-as-they-made-him-out-to-be Gui! is a good guy.

It's not easy being the Great Francophone Hope.

The Canadiens rushed him into The Show before he was ready.

As my guru, Pierre McGuire, never tires of pointing out, Latendresse needed AHL time.

But the team needed francos who could skate and chew gum at the same time..

Latendresse handled the pressure with dignity, good humour and class.

But if you saw the game on Saturday night, Tomas Holmstrom gave a pretty good demonstration of what Gui! was supposed to be ... and wasn't.

The kid has great size and good hands. But he can't skate – the highlight reel is an oil painting – and Gui!'s physical game is sporadic, at best. Did ending Rob DiMaio's career make Gui! less of a banger? Maybe.

But look, amateur scouts know what they're doing. A deluded scout is an unemployed scout.

Guillaume Latendresse was still available in the second round of the 2005 draft. The Canadiens traded up to get him with the 45th overall pick.

"My mind was already elsewhere," Latendresse told RDS.

No kidding. Mind elsewhere. Body anywhere except the lip of the crease. Partner and baby on the South Shore.

Dude was a mess. The francophone media built him up to think he was a Top Six forward. When that didn't work out, Latendresse became a disgruntled – and inept – third and, finally, fourth-liner.

Benoit Pouliot went fourth overall – one spot ahead of Carey Price. André Savard, who preceded Bob Gainey as general manager, loved Pouliot.

Some said he was the draft's second-best prospect, after Sidney Crosby.

The skinny on Pouliot: Very talented. Big, fast. But a bit of a dog, in the pejorative English rather than complimentary French sense. (The latter connotes toughness and perseverance, i.e. positive traits, as opposed to licking privates and napping on the porch.)

Knocks on Pouliot in Minnesota include "unprofessional", "no hockey sense" and "smallest 6-foot-3 guy in hockey."

So they could have announced this trade at the Westminster Kennel Club.

Jacques Lemaire couldn't get the best out of Pouliot. Maybe Jacques Martin can.

Arpon Basu's take at The Daily Hab-it

Worth noting: Minnesota super-scour Blair Mackasey is a Bell Centre regular who knows Latendresse better anyone in the Wild organization. He must have signed on to this trade.

Shout-out to Laurent for the video.

A fun Monday morning at practice.

The Score's Cabbie – last seen joking with a surprisingly loosey-goosey Carey Price after a Canadiens' playoff loss in Boston – dropped by Brossard to do a shtick with Mike Cammalleri.

Turning to the Montreal media, Cammy delivered a critical appreciation of Van Morrison. Check out the audio.

Jacques Martin had praise for:

• Carey Price, whom the coach lauded for hard work;

• Cammalleri, praised for his "bon éthique professionel", his shot and his obvious delight in playing in a passionate hockey market;

• Andrei Kostitsyn, lauded for commitment to winning battles, puck support and net presence;

• Tom Pyatt (speed and versatility) and Ryan White (size, physicality and positional play). "They play the game the right way," Martin said of the kids. "They make good decisions."

AUDIO: Jacques Martin | Mike Cammalleri | Tom Pyatt | Carey Price | Ryan White

Shout-out to Chris O'Brien for this vintage video.

Truncated edition because I dragged my sorry ass to Hurley's to hoist a couple with the Habs Inside/Out Summiteers.

I know: it's a filthy job, but someone has to do it.

The game?

Very exciting ... and would have been more so if Georgers Laraque's back were still bothering him.

It's SRO in Canadiens' sick bay, but BGL has returned to lose a fight in Washington and take six minutes of first-period penalties against Detroit.

And it should have been more.

I mean, c'mon.

How is that hit on Kronwall, which damaged the MCL in his left knee, not a five and the toss?

The Canadiens took six minor penalties in the first period, handing two 5-on-3s to a team with a textbook power play.

The latest from Stouffville Central Scouting's Steve Kerley:

Over the years, one of Detroit’s greatest strengths has been their transition game. 

This is not only true for the team on the ice but also for the management team that oversees the day to day operations of the franchise. There is no better team in the NHL than Detroit when it comes to turning over their players - both in terms of building blocks and role players.  It is the secret to their success.