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just my opinion come trade dead line remember this old song from the monkees i think it was 1967 calling bob bob a gainey calling bob bob a gainey ZILCH one more time from the top calling bob bob a gainey ZILCH.
Well, it's January and those bleeping afternoon games that the Habs do not show up for are back. I am hopeful because of the way the team as a whole has played. Beside, it's Washington, not Detroit or Ottawa.
Bold prediction: many future Hab fans (i.e. kids) will be in attendance today. Don't disappoint 'em, boys!
Gilbert
From morning radio CJAD: Huet has a flu. Price will play in goal.
I hope this is not another start of the flu season. Or is it just another explanation why Huet is not playing.
The only reason they played Huet, is cuz they wanna trade him. i bet someone wants him, but wanted to see him play so they kept playing him. i hope we do trade him, for a good forward, Price becomes #1 goaltender and Halak comes up.
No, the reason Huet is playing is because Bob & Guy are NHL team management and not fans. They don't have love affairs and unrealistic expectations from young developing players. We all agree Price looks like he will have a great career, but there is just no need to throw him into a 'number one' position in his first year in the NHL. LET HIM GROW. Feed him, water him, pet him and let him grow. Think of him like a Chiapet.
Huet is more then capable of giving Price the time he needs to properly develop.
That doesn't really makes sense. If somebody wants him, they've seen him play for the past 3 seasons, and play well. Again, this is a comment on knowing what others (management) are thinking. None of us are capable of that. We can assume, but we can't know. Personally, as I and a couple of others have mentioned recently, I'd like to sign Huet to a 2-3 yr deal. Makes it easier to decide on trade or keep.
They either need to sign him or trade him. Huet is WAYYYY too valuable to lose him for nothing. Gainey knows this - he would be destroyed in the media and by the fans. I have heard nothing of negotiations so I assume they are trading him - as everyone expects. Without Price, I would crawl across broken glass to have them keep Huet who I think is a little quirky and upsets my buddy Timo too much, but is a fantastic goalie (leading the lead in save percentage counts for something) - and could dominate the league if he can learn to stop those late soft goals.
That being the case, no play-off bound team is going to give up a top NHL goal scorer that they will need for their run, so here (in order) is what we might get for Huet:
1. A strong prospect - Gainey will look for a 6'2" winger (most likely) or center, who'll add toughness and who stands a shot at being a 35-goal guy. Probably only 6 or 8 like that in the minors.
2. Failing #1, a pk and face-off specialist who can also chip in 15-20 a year to replace Slowinski.
3. Failing #1 and #2, Huet will probably go for draft picks and possibly a role player who'll add toughness.
My thoughts. Anyone else have a brave prediction?
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Let the kids play... let the non-performers watch or walk.
Those are pretty much what Gainey is considering doing. However, it might be useful to let Price see Huet handle the Montreal playoff pressure (which is a whooole different breed) for one year before having him play full-time.
i hate to lose Huet for nothing though. It IS a quandary. But I agree, if a trade is made, it should only be for those 3 reasons you mentioned.
Halak is taking over in Hamilton again this year. Three straight wins and only 2 goals allowed:
# Goalie GP MINS W L SOL SO GA GAA Svs SV%
30 Jaroslav Halak 18 1055 9 6 2 2 40 2.28 465 0.921
35 Yann Danis 16 877 4 8 3 0 44 3.01 439 0.909
He was fantastic. I think it was over 100 shots in those three games. Locke also scored two in the last games - maybe the smell of the NHL reminded him he has a chance if he goes for it. Hope he tears it up too.
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Let the kids play... let the non-performers watch or walk.
That is very good news. Can never have too many good goalies. We'll see how the whole Huet situation continues to develop. Wonder if Gainey's been getting any offers for Huet from other teams. Is he still going to be playing in all-star game?
In the cap world especially it's always a question of what are you paying and what's the gamble. As I said below, regardless of how you feel about Ryder or your opinion on the cause of his slump (let's not go there!), he is now a statistical gamble. At a couple of million a year or more, if he was resigned and scored only 15 next year, that would be a bad deal when you have players in Hamilton that could do similar on an entry level contract. Simple math says he goes.
Does anyone know what the truth is about him being hard to coach? I am asking because I don't know but it has been mentioned here a few times - that both Carbo and Claude Julien have suggested this.
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Let the kids play... let the non-performers watch or walk.
You have brought this up before about Julien. It is simply not true. Why do you always try to muddy the waters by throwing things out there that are not true. I have never seen it mentioned anywhere except by you. Julien coached Ryder in Hull, in Hamilton, & in Montreal. If not for Julien, Ryder might never have gotten a chance to play in Montreal. In Ryder's rookie season, Ryder played some of his best hockey & was a +10. He was 2nd in points with 63 (Ribeiro had 65); 2nd in goals with 25 (Zednick had 26). Rumour is that Ryder will play for Julien next year, after he signs as a UFA. Then you will know that Julien does not have a problem with Ryder.
Looking at the posts below I would question trading Ryder for now. We have 3 solid lines capable of scoring that are on a roll. Why mess that up now?
If Ryder is going to be traded, do so at the trade deadline. My rationale is as follows:
(1) If he's finally going to start scoring, let him go on a tear which will help our placement in the standings and increase his trade value just before the trade-deadline.
(2) If we deal him at the trade-deadline his salary will have less of an impact on teams affected by a high salary amount so they can use him as a rent-a-player.
(3) He's only started to score recently so what could we expect to get for him right now? He has a grand total of 6 goals and 8 assists with a +/- rating of -3. If you were a rival GM (like Glen Sather of the Rangers) what would you offer for Ryder? A prospect or a draft pick maybe? I sure wouldn't deal Montoya or Prucha for Ryder. And we certainly won't get a big centreman or power-forward for him straight up. So why not wait until the trade deadline?
(4) Once the trade deadline approaches Bob Gainey will need to determine if he trades Ryder or keeps him and risk losing him for nothing in the off-season like Souray. I guess they will determine if he is worth keeping. Had the Habs beaten the Leafs in the last game of the season last year, keeping Souray would have been worth the gamble if the goal was to make the playoffs.
Totally un-related, let's hope for Gold tomorrow by Canada.
Agreed. It's a no brainer. Ryder goes at the deadline for whatever we can get. This is no reflection on the player or the man, it's just a wise business decision.
The Original 24 Cups
Gainey's not worried about "losing him for nothing" because if we don't re-sign him and he walks then we "gain" 3mil in cap space to replace him. ...sometimes thats better then trading a player for a player. Gainey can now shop around and/or have room for package deals....
anyway my postition is to keep RYDER...its always been my position and its not just because of the "potential" 30 goals, it has to do with CHEMISTRY, and thats an indelible asset after 3 years on the squad.
RYDER is POSITIVE in the face of adversity, RESPECTFUL in the face of authority, and INSPIRATIONAL to the younger guns... do we want to just throw that away?
no.
take a close look at that picture, you all know where to find it...and tell me what LATRON is doing?
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1. In my picture you'll find one of the keys to our success...
2. Your not a Hab fan till you watch & UNDERSTAND "The Rocket"
3. Delenda Est Torontium.... Rocket"
I agree with the Soulman. Now is not the time to trade Ryder a) on the chance that he has found his scoring touch and b) because we're winning and he's on a line that is working, at least for now. So his worth can't go down and can only go up. But I also agree with Soulman that it's smarter to get something for him. He probably isn't too happy with being in Montreal right now... and I disagree with you about chemistry. If chemistry gets him six goals in 35 games, it's not the kind of chemistry that you protect. Simply put regardless of the CAUSE of his slupm (and we can all disagree forever on why so let's not bother), it's a hard fact that his numbers make him a statistical gamble next year. And (and this part is my opinion, but I think shared by most and makes sound strategic sense) with our depth in young talent, that gamble is not worth a couple million off our cap when we surely have some 15-20 goals scorers in Hamilton ready to come up.
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Let the kids play... let the non-performers watch or walk.
'Latron' is fourth in goals, first in even strength goals.
Sorry but I disagree. I'd rather get a prospect and/or draft pick and also free up the cap space than lose him altogether to simply 'gain' cap space. If we get a decent trade for him I don't view that as throwing him away.
At the end of the day, Gainey will need to decide if Ryder is worth keeping and losing him at the end of the year for no compensation.
Kovy's the best. Period. End of story!
In praise of Alex Kovalev!
Kovalev, A Leader And Big Brother
http://wwwrealitycheckeyesontheprize.blogspot.com/2008/01/kovalev-leader...
I have dreams of Koivu hugging it, unwilling almost to let it go, and bawling his eyes out.
Good on Kovi. Young players need somebody who can take them under their wing and help them with learning the ropes, especially in the city like Montreal. Hope some of his hockey talent will rub off on both bothers as well.
Robert, the are only two Habs-related blogs that I read regularly. Habs I/O and yours sir.
Wow! I appreciate that thought very much. Your kind words Mr. Sulemaan, and those of others here are very motivational to me.
The Kovalev article was one I found that I thought would be of great interest to English only readers. Often the French press are slagged off as a bunch of manics, but there are many quality writers and thinkers who do not deserve to be lumped in with the more sensationalist press.
Being from Ontario, I considered myself very fortunate when I was young to be schooled bilingual. My learning of the game came from such sources.
Another thing to be thankful for, is Mr. Stubbs allowing myself and others to post links here for all Habs fans to enjoy.
Thanks again for the lift!
Corey Locke scored two for Hamilton tonight:
HAMILTON 4 GRAND RAPIDS 1
Friday, January 4th, 2008
HAMILTON, ON – Corey Locke had two goals, including his first-career shorthanded marker and the game-winning tally, to lead the Hamilton Bulldogs to a 4-1 win over the Grand Rapids Griffins on Friday night at Copps Coliseum. The win marks the ‘Dogs third in as many games and improves their record to 13-14-1-5 on the season.
The Bulldogs took a 2-0 lead with two first-period goals in a span of 2:04. At the 5:27 mark, Corey Locke capitalized on a giveaway by Grand Rapids netminder Jimmy Howard to open the scoring with his ninth goal of the season into an open net. The unassisted goal was Locke’s first-career shorthanded marker and was also the Dogs’ first shorthanded tally of the season. Locke then potted his second tally of the game at 7:31 of the frame from Duncan Milroy and Mathieu Carle.
Hamilton then scored again just 34 seconds into the middle stanza when Greg Stewart tipped home Eric Manlow’s shot from the point to make the score 3-0. Matt D’Agostini also earned an assist on Stewart’s sixth goal of the campaign.
Grand Rapids snapped Jaroslav Halak’s shutout bid at 15:12 of the final period when Darren Helm scored to cut Hamilton’s lead to 3-1. Evan McGrath and Jamie Tardif drew assists on Helm’s fourth goal of the season.
Ajay Baines put the game away for the Bulldogs by scoring into an empty net with just 37 seconds remaining in the contest. Andrew Archer and Manlow picked up helpers on the 4-1 goal.
The Bulldogs did not have a power-play opportunity in the game but went 2-for-2 on the penalty kill.
Between the pipes, Halak stopped 24 of 25 shots to earn the win for the Bulldogs and has now allowed only two goals in his last three games. Halak’s counterpart Jimmy Howard allowed three goals on 28 shots in a losing effort for the Griffins.
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"Vote Saku for All-Star... or little Timmy gets it!!!"
Hope the guys show up, they haven't fared well in the past playing afternoon games. It's time for the real carey to show up and maybe watching team canada will get his motor going.
Martin, thanks for the post. Totally didn't know that the game was at 12:30 tomorrow. Phew! :)
Is it also on CBC?
Good question. Hey timo, i notice that you don't post often on Boone's blog. Do you make it a point to stick the the main page articles?
I did notice your message specifically to me was on both pages though, which was why I was wondering
;)
No point. Probably a coincidence. In fact I think I made a few comments on Boone's blog just last night. But I could be wrong since I have quite a few Havana Club drinks.
Oh, and I just looked up on canoe.ca and looks like the game is not being broadcast by CBC - how typical. Leafs hockey primetime, here they come...