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About Kevin Mio
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Kevin Mio
About
Kevin Mio is a Montreal Gazette editor who grew up playing hockey, watching the Canadiens every chance he could on television and reading articles about the team by some of the people he works with today. He still remembers going to the Forum with his father to watch the Canadiens and was even fortunate enough to skate on Forum ice with his minor hockey team.
From Mats Naslund to Saku Koivu, he has always enjoyed watching the small, speedy and skilled players, while also admiring the gritty players that are essential to any team’s success.
From his one-on-one interviews with members of the team to a look at other coverage of the Canadiens, he will keep fans posted on their favourite team and looks forward to sharing his love of hockey with other passionate fans.
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Anyone else here going to be at the game next Friday? I refuse to do Black Friday shopping because I'm afraid of how much I'll spend at the Bell Centre.
And Happy Thanksgiving to all!
-- Thank You Saku.
Oh sh*t. I just read the WHATs NEXT part about December... BRUTAL. Thats going to be a tough month for the team. I hope Carey has no other plans than to eat sleep and stop A LOTTA pucks
Did anyone else NOT receive the game stats email last night? I always get it... but not last night.
--------------------------------------------------- Listen to the SmartDog. He knows his poop!
SD, the other night I did a SmartDog post...for the Columbus game. Next time you are away I will fill in for you, haha:) It's fun. Check it out if you have a second - obviously it is a lot of articles back. But I could always use some pointers! :)
Ha ha... thta's awesome. Good post! ...I like Laps as well so we're on the same page... was defending him at the summit. Hope he proves me right.
Not much I can do about you 'probably' being prettier. I'm very okay with that. :P Um... we do need to get you some glasses tho. ;)
PS: And you HAVE to blast Gomez even if he doesn't play!!! Kidding. I'm not that hard on him am I?
--------------------------------------------------- Listen to the SmartDog. He knows his poop!
Next time you leave notify me. I will be ready! :) I could put on some glasses without lenses?
As for Gomez I was going take a shot at him - for being injured. Especially because I was doing a SmartDog post...but that would have flamed the angry words. I can't handle the heat :)
Awesome. I travel a lot so sometimes have to miss the game... I'll keep you posted!
It was almost as if it was written by me... too funny! Of course you are nicer. In my world, you have to bite someone now and then to get respect. Grrrrrrrrrrrr baby!!! Grrrrrr....
--------------------------------------------------- Listen to the SmartDog. He knows his poop!
Hey I would have said that Elissa is much prettier than you but I didn't want it to go to her head! Besides, don't you think there are enough guys on HIO drooling over her! It was a very good SmartDog post by Elissa.
As for Gomez ummm yeah you were brutal on him (you know like a dog on a bone) but big picture-wise I understand your objections. He does take up a lot of cap space, BG did take a big risk, and although I think he's a good player I don't think that he's playing with the same motivation or passion that Pleks has so far this season.
Well we might as well call up the Flower now
Why not call up the Flower, lol? He should be game ready as he and his alumni team are playing in rinks across the country, lol.
Well for some reason I stumbled on this video, as an ex-Komo fan this almost made me puke my cereals this morning, cuz i'm still mad at him for leaving us and also cuz the Laffs colours don't fit him...anyway the guy still looks good and he's doing something good for the kids, so wtg!
http://mapleleafs.nhl.tv/team/console.jsp?catid=8&id=52406
----- AMEN to the JM SYSTEM!!! go habs go -----
What is with all the broken sticks ... I think last nite I saw atleast 6 of our sticks break .. didn't see any Pens sticks break ????
Oh man december is gonna be 1 tuff month!!!!!
MTL4Life
What the Habs need to do is improve the PK. It's a given that other teams are going to try to run roughshod over us and that we'll end up getting the infractions. Damn the instigator rule. If a player takes liberties, a guy like BGL needs to go in and take the extra two and just smoke the crap out of the offender. Stupid vegan code. I think BGL thinks the opposition are little bunnies or cute little lambs. How the hell does a PETA supporter who swears off of meat develop a killer instinct anyways?
HH, I just want to get things straight here, have you officially mothballed the 'Tank for Victory" campaign?
Yeah. I've stored it in the basement.
Nice!
Maybe you could get something for it at a yard sale....especially if it's one in the southern states. ;-)
He never really bought into that concept. It was the beer talking.
You'd think. It wasn't the beer talking at all. It was lucidity all the way. What changed my mind was the play of our goaltenders. No way we'll tank with their stellar play.
Holy ***! He sure was drinking a lot for a stretch then... and at all hours of the day.
You better tell him to take it easy on the hooch. ;o)
Loss was being blamed on being tired. Sad excuse. If we don't own 1 player that can throw the big baby and or his babysitter off their game, decimated team or not, what's the use.
Price looked like he wanted to go back to bed. Halak should have started. This game is about stamina and determination. Those losers were determined to beat us and we were determined to cry about the schedule and being too tired. Weak
I don't agree. Take two roughly equal teams of elite athletes and mildly sleep deprive one and the rested team will win 4 out of 5 times.
The Habs would have got to their hotels in Pits at what - midnight? By then most Pens were already making Z's. Add that to our injuries... it's just a matter of multiple factors. Not impossible to overcome but you can't deny the facts.
--------------------------------------------------- Listen to the SmartDog. He knows his poop!
What? Two EQUAL teams of ELITE athletes????
Did you self-medicate last nite?
The Habs are not anywhere NEAR the talent level of the Pens, they played well and deserved what they got a loss to a much more skilled and talented team.
Come on, Dog, keep it real! Excuses like that make me ill.
Smabs are Pretenders and have been for 2 decades!
Do you honestly think ANYONE here cares if a leaf fan is ill ?
and if there is a post that reaks of idiocy - it's your signature calling the Habs pretenders for 2 decades.
If memory serves your Loafs have held the "pretenders" title for over 4 Decades.
At least go dump on a team that has worse talent then your team.
Or hey here's a novel Idea. why dont'cha get the h3LL off a Habs board you twit. Notice how theres loads of red, you took a wrong turn. This is Habs Land.
Not Make-Beleaf Land
Ouch, did I upset you with reality, you little twit.
Sometimes, I wish that posters could meet and have a ....
coffee, heh heh heh.
There is no reason to go 'postal' concerning a valid posting, have another 'bleu' and calm down.
I'm a fan of Canadian teams ONLY, Leafs first, if you cannot live with this...well.....
BTW, Habs have been pretenders for half as long which is still a long time!!!!!!
Did you notice Komi pushing in LaPussy's face?
Smabs are Pretenders and have been for 2 decades!
I don't think he was saying the Habs were of equal tallent. Just using two teams of equal talent as an example.
One thing is definitely true - lack of physical play. Moen maybe holding his own, but he definitely cannot dish it out much. When teams play us they are not afraid of being hit, cause Habs rarely do.
Question: After that beautiful TP skate around the net and the subsequent pass out to O'Byrne; If O'Byrne "one timed" his shot,maybe it would have given the fraction of a second advantage he needed to score,given that Fleury had to come to his right to make that terrific save. I thought there was just the slightest of "getting set up" before he shot. In any event the whole sequence was a thing of beauty.
Anybody else see that?
Yes but if he did one time it there is a good chance it would have wound up in the 6'th row.
I always maintained that Habs need to work more on their shooting. Rarely you see any of the Habs players one time it. Most of the shots are in the goalies' chest which makes every slug goalie out there look like Patrick Roy. These guys need to work on some fundamentals.
I agree. There must be stats on this but it sure seems like most shots are on the numbers. Good for football, not so good for hockey. Would it hurt to practice picking corners?
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Well, we're not exactly loaded with snipers are we? Practice would be good though. It's not the goals against that kills us it's the lack of our own scoring.
Heres the thing, pleks pass actually wasnt perfect, it was a little bit behind obyrne so he had to pull it forward to put some weight on the shot. It would have been hard to one-time the shot when the puck is slightly behind you. It was a beautiful play though. I wonder if this is truly Tomas Plekanec, or if its simply "pending UFA" Tomas Plekanec. I think its the former, and good on him for being the difference maker night in and night out for us.
That could have turned everything...butif he was to release the one timer he would have had to hit the other side of the net as Fleury was left and moving right.....he should have one timed it along the ice short side...by waiting he shot at the right side of the net and had Fleury moving ..he just made a hell of a save. The puck was behind him a bit and he isn;t exactly a sniper but man that was like an insurance goal for the Pens...a shorty after having scored earlier would have likely meant a ferociosu last tem minutes and I think I would have bet on us getting a point if that had gone in.
Yup, Ryan had the chance at a game saver and it was just bad luck that he did not bury it.
He is under-rated by this forum.
Smabs are Pretenders and have been for 2 decades!
WARNING: TROUBLING CONTENT AND REALISM ABOUND .....feel free to check my math as I hope to be wrong
Some very, very scary stats(yeah its just number but sccaaary.....this site sports club stats has uss with a 15.8 percent chance of making the playoffs)......http://www.sportsclubstats.com/NHL.html
As Showey pointed out the pace of three point games this year supposedly means that we would require 98 points to make the playofs.....well....let's just consider what that means......we have played 25 games and have 57 games to play......we have 25 points (.500 hockey..but not in today's NHL). Let's also asssume that 98 points is a little high and that the rate of 3 pointers will slow slightly...let's say 95 points is required.......that means we need 70 points in 57 games......to have a CHANCE....scaaaary. To put that in perspective we need to play 13 games over .500 from here on in.
If we play .500 hockey from here until the end of December withour depleted lineup.....we have 18 games over that stretch at that point we would then have 43 points in 43 games. Still no Markov but hopefully a far healthier roster anyway. From there we would have 39 games to get 52-55 points to squeak in. So anywhere from 13 games to 16 games over .500 over a 39 game stretch.....so our record would need to look something like 26-13 (mix and match 3 pointers how you wish but we need 13 games better than .500 at a minimum and actually 16 if the current pace held true).
If we maintained this rate of .500 hockey until Markov's supposed return after the Olympic break....we will have played 63 games...if we only have 63 points at that point we would need 32-35 points in 19 games!!!! so a stretch record when everyone is hungry for points of 16 wins and 3 losses at worst or a combo involving 1 pointers but they would be of little use at this stage. That is not realistic. For that 19 games if we put ourselves in a position to only require 22-26 points I think we can take a healthy run at things, hope that the number of three pointers diminishes, be in full blossom and then the idea of a great stretch run at least becomes something we could at least strive for. In order for that to happen we need to have approximately 73 points when Markov returns. So we need 48 points in the next 38 games to have a chance. .500 hockey WILL NOT CUT IT FOLKS......WE NEED TO PICK UP THE PACE.
On another note despite my repetition of the term repeatedly during this post I vote the term ".500 hockey" be removed from hockey vocabulary as it no longer applies. Injuries or no injuries if this team has any shot of making the playoffs this myth that we can play .500 hockey until Markov comes back and then make a run is unrealistic.....we need to be far closer than that when he returns so asw everyone's favourite tv analyst Pierre Mcguire says noone throws you lifejackets in the NHL they throw you anchors. It's sink or swim for this team...right now....they can't be waiting for knights in Under Armour to come gliding in....they need to perform despite the ridiculously steep challenge they face.
Despite the negative and daunting nature of this post I am not of the tank it school of thought.....I am a competitior and want to make the playoffs. I think we can but perhaps folks like myself need to bury the hatchet with the Gomez thing,etc...at lest until the season is over. It hink these boys really need our help and that has to come in the form of positivity...so if you are sitting beside someone at the BEll who boos, pop him in the nose.....explain later. Every game from here on in is crucial.....every point is crucial and any support we can offer is required. Despite the urges we all feel to let out our displeasure let's just blow sunshine up these guys asses from the outside and elt the hard asses like Muller and Martin motivate them.....GO HABS GO!
For the record, except for maybe two teams in the East, every team needs to pick it up a bit. Parity!
They call me Shane
unfortunately not true....look at the games in hand...98 points right now is the playoff cut off at this pace ....we are on pace for 82....the 8th place buffalo sabres are on pace for 101 points. Yu have to factor in games played...
Nothing so sobering should make me wanna drink so early in the day.
Not arguing with the math, but it is far from being without just Markov...there are 9 regulars missing. I think playing .500 is about the most we can hope for. Playing much above that, with, essentially the Bulldogs, I think is next to improssible,
I am impressed with the heart, the fight and "never give up" attitude this team has shown this year, but reality is reality....no team in the league could succeed with this amount of injuries.
Even the mighty Pens struggled with having far less injuries than we have.
Indeed those are scary numbers. To make the playoffs at this point without Markov, with so many guys lost to injury would be surprising, but I do think we have shot. The way this team has played with so many regulars gone gives me hope.
I TOTALLY agree about not booing our own players at games. That's just dumb. But we can't (and I don't think you can either) just pretend that someone is good when they're not. We need to debate it. I know I know, you think I'm just reserving the right to say how much Gomez and his contract pisses me off. And that's partly true. But here's why it's necessary. First, because ups and downs are part of everything. If you don't let your kids know when you're not happy they grow up to think they can do what they want anytime anywhere. I know kids like that they're called bad kids. And second, because it's just expression. We need to express ourselves. It's HOW we express ourselves. Just trashing someone without saying why, putting out ideas about what they are doing or not doing... that's just being an a-hole.
I give my support to the team through intelligent (well, mostly) dialogue that's often positive and almost always constuctive. But would I boo Gomez at a game? I've seen three games live this year and haven't booed him yet.
--------------------------------------------------- Listen to the SmartDog. He knows his poop!
How does one express themselves when a player is not pulling their weight?
Fans reserve the right to boo when they rationally think it is the case
Remember these pros are collecting mega bucks that you can only dream about, it is a factor Dog!
As far as the stats analysis, wow, we're cooked and already cooling, thanksgiving will not save us!
Play the dogs and cue up 'Tank time'! How else are the Habs to improve dramatically?
Smabs are Pretenders and have been for 2 decades
Why dontcha bring that mentality to the ACC... I think delusional Loaf fans still have not started booing that team, and righfully deserved for 4 Decades too.
Your team SUCKS - go boo them and get off our team.
Yes true fans do 'boo' at the ACC, the centre of the Hockey universe!
You fans sing some dumb 'Ole' or 'Away' when you THINK the Habs have won??? (Is this a Soccer game?)
Now, THAT is dumb, stupid and disrespectful of the opponent.
I know the Habs are caput this year and for years to come. Get over it!
Smabs are Pretenders and have been for 2 decades!
The only thing stupider than one of your posts is trading away your top draft pick while risking ending up in last place. Of course you're gonna come here and try and start something. You're jealous as you should be. Not one of us posts on any Laffs site, and for good reason. Habs have the most supporters of any NHL team. When the Habs play on the road our fans practically take over the crowd in cheering, and sing ole.
You're welcome to write your gibberish here. I always get a big laugh out of listening to rejects like you.
@Bill J, don't even bother with this one. He aint worth it buddy.
Hey stats guys... here's a number I would like to see. How many points does Pleks get per game when Gomez is in the line-up vs not in the lineup? I keep hearing that he is 'making space' for Pleks. Ridiculous to me... by that logic your 4th line players should be your top point getters. But would like to know if Pleks gets as many points without Gomer to so effectively distract the oppositions best D.
Yuk.
--------------------------------------------------- Listen to the SmartDog. He knows his poop!
You've got to factor in that Pleks is in a contract year and if history is anywhere accurate, players pick it up big time to get the prize, long term, mega bucks!
He will probably ask and get $4-5 million over 5 tears, another nail in our coffin! Front ended too, ouch.
What will the others demand, I shudder to think about it! ie Markov, $6Mil over 6 years fur sure...
Gomez is a real anchor to the Cap room and if he does not produce when he returns well another Blake like the Laffs got stuck with. No trade deadline subtraction.
The Cap is a joke to original six, rich, economic teams and to share their revenue just enrages me!
The draft is a joke too, as someone posted, equal chances for missing the playoffs (stops teams from tanking)
Three balls for missing teams, one ball for making the playoffs and none if you go to the finals.
Imagine, a Family just won $50 mil, the Pens COULD win the lottery and get Taylor??? Wrong!
Smabs are Pretenders and have been for 2 decades!
I though we had an agreement?
Yeah, you were going to read around it. Gimme a break.
--------------------------------------------------- Listen to the SmartDog. He knows his poop!
Wish I had posted last night before the game. I was thinking there's no way they could win this one - AK out on top of everyone else, two new call-ups, and two games in two nights with a late night red eye flight in between and playing the Stanley Cup champs. Duh.... so given that the boys did pretty well. While I would've loved to see a win it would've taken a small miracle.
I'm almost reluctant to say it but there's a lot going right...
1. I said last summer Martin was Gainey's best aquisition. You might argue that it's Cammy, but as much as I love having him on the team, I would still say Martin. The team's not perfect but he seems to handle the players well and most nights and most periods the team is right in it, playing tight, strong hockey.
2. SK has proved what we all hoped - that he's got the tools and a new attitude to go with it. First or second line, take your pick.Other young guys - MaxPac, Pyatt... are looking less like question marks and more like good players.
3. Hard not to be impressed with what our D is able to do without Markov and Spacek. Even MABs is playing better. I"m going to miss the Hammer if we lose him.
I could go on. But only one other thing sticks in my head.... I just can't help it... seriously, is anyone missing Gomez? At all? To me I miss him like I miss Hal Gill. For Christmas all I want is Bob to sign Pleks and deal Gomer Pyle at the trade deadline. Pleeeeaaassseee.
Anyway, I have more faith in Bob than I have in a long time. The Lats move was a smart one... sent some ripples through the place and got rid of someone who had used up all his chances. I'm hoping he's SantaBob and sees what I see now. The team is showing we have the depth in our system to fill holes with players who are only get better. All we need is one thing - cap space to sign the guys we REALLY need. Like Pleks... like Price... Metropolit...
SD
--------------------------------------------------- Listen to the SmartDog. He knows his poop!
I miss Gomez and no I am not gomosexual. The whole team misses Gomez. You have to get past his salary before you condemn him. You don't acquire a guy with his abilities and think, "oh, we don't need him!" Without a doubt he and Gionta bring alot to the table. Look at most of Gio's goals. The better part of them were set-up by Gomez if not the whole play that resulted in the goal. If his salary was 5-6 million nobody would be saying poop, except maybe a nerdy little doggy who's name I wont mention. ;-) Gomez opens up a lot of ice. It's nice to see Plex and Cammy grab the team by the horns and will them to victories or at least competing in the games they lose. Add Gnomey to the mix and we're even better. You laud Martin and you're correct in doing so. He may very well get the best out of our little Gnomez and if he does you'll begrudgingly accept it. Look how AKost's game turned around. As for trading him, it aint gonna happen before 2013 if it does. His cap hit in 12/13 and 13/14 is 7.357 million but the actual salary will be 5.5 and 4.5 million respectively. Teams looking to pass the salary floor could very well take the 7.357 million hit while only needing to pay the 5.5 or 4.5 million. Nevertheless Gomez is needed back. Big time.
I am sorry but your post is a reach. We will see the impact of Gomez next year when we will be forced to let some of our core leave. Gomez's intangibles will not make up for the loss of Pleks, Price or Halak.
mjames
I agree. Gomez is missed.
Well HH, I can tell you this. When Gomer is back, I will watch a game with a buddy and ask him to point out all the things Gomez does well. Because I truly and honestly have watched for it but can't see that he's more than at BEST a marginal upgrade from Koivu or Kovy. Out of respect for you and others (though I know I am far from alone) I will TRY to see what (some) other people see that I don't.
--------------------------------------------------- Listen to the SmartDog. He knows his poop!
Fair enough.
Do I Think Gomez was a smart move? Probably not the smartest, but the fact of the matter remains, we are a better team with him than without him. If he was making $4 million, I dont think anyone would have a problem with him, but we're paying him $8 million this year and he has a cap hit of 7.3 million, so I can definitely see why some people are upset with him.
That being said, he got injured at the 20 game mark pretty much, so well have to see what he brings to the table when he gets back before we start judging him. He needs to shoot a little bit more IMO, otherwise hes been pretty decent.
-A friend of mine pointed out that for both he and Gio, there numbers are in decline and that's a sign of a player not to pick up. Can't stop thinking that... though Gio was doing pretty well. But I'll give Gomer a good look when he's back and see if I can see what you guys do. I guess I just don't get it.
-------------------------------------------------- Listen to the SmartDog. He knows his poop!
Well the teams working hard because they have so many young players who are trying to make a name for themself. Plus, most of them played together in hamilton so its not like theres chemistry issues. Also, with all the injuries, the team could easily write off every game, but Martin has them playing with the "nothing to lose" attitude.
Im impressed with what Martin is getting out of the young guns thats for sure. Cant wait to get Gio and Gomez back. If our top line is pleks/AK46/Cammy, then Gio/Gomez/Sk74 is a hell of a second line.
1)Agree....2)Agree.....3)Agree......hey, we're on a roll here. Oops! I knew it would have to be in there somewhere, LOL. Gomez! Dog, you really have to get over it. And, I for one do miss Gomez. I'll take a vet like him in last night's game over any of the baby Habs who have been called up.
Don't make me have to open up a can of SmartDog Woopass on ya! He's not in ALL my posts but they guy is gonna come up.
Would we have played better with him in the line-up? You may be right but I honestly and truly don't think so. I think he's soft, plays too much in the periphery and too much his own game. My one hope (besides trading or him being hit by a meteor) is that Martin reigns him in like he's been able to do other players already. Even salary aside I don't like the game he plays, and it shows on the scoreboard that it's not working as well as it should. You have to admit that.
--------------------------------------------------- Listen to the SmartDog. He knows his poop!
Sergei is looking good. His play to bank the puck off Fleury's pad on the two on one was magnifique!
Martin is also doing a good job of showing him confidence. When you're coach puts you out on the PK, you know he believes in you.
Sergei's been working hard and making things happen. Good on him, and I hope he keeps it up!
SK is definately playing his way onto the top two lines. remember he's still very young,and may just have to mature,physically and mentally.
A few errors but he does not look bad and is creating some chances. He will score in the next game, assuming he plays.
mjames
I don't know if anyone else noticed, but Sergei is very confident that his brother isn't that hurt, very good sign. Also he's cracking jokes in post game interviews, good sign for him personally. Yesterday he had all the reporters cracking up.
__________________________________________
http://berkshireonthehabs.blogspot.com/
These Bellarus guys are really macho. It's cool.
--------------------------------------------------- Listen to the SmartDog. He knows his poop!
Let's hope he's right, would be nice if someone didn't have a worse injury than originally expected. Good to see Sergei back in action up here and having a good attitude.
In December, Montreal could feature Gomez/Gio/SK74 and Cammy/Pleks/AK46, now wouldn't that be something?
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu. http://habsandhockey.blogspot.com/
Those friggin Penguins. Not sayin I hate'em but (I've mentioned this) I have no respect for them, those smarmy loser bastiches. Built on incompetence, consecrated by inefficiency, and rewarded with years worth of top-end draftees, they make me sick.
We come out hard, we come out with Jack Marty work ethic and THIS is how we're rewarded? I demand retribution. I demand justice. I demand a Penguin socked in the eye. Is that too much to ask? I thought we had their number. Did Tendre Guidoune leave with it? I feel so ripped off.
I propose the institution of a public inquiry that will look into Pittsburgher's supposed "claim" to Eastern superiority on the basis that it is contrary to Lord Stanley's design. Lose to win? I don't think so.
But most importantly, I just wanna know who I can sue.
Je suis
Sieur Bugs Potter, écuyer. Major-général du dépôt de munitions Fort Gainey, contre-amiral du torpilleur de classe-II Sainte Flanelle, et sous-secrétaire du ministère de la Défense Tricolore.
Although I can't put it as eloquently as you Bugs, I agree. Rewarding terrible management with top picks makes no sense. I get the parity thing, fine, but the lottery should be near random for every team that misses the playoffs, and every team should have a shot at #1. Basically if you miss the playoffs you get three balls in the tumbler, make the playoffs you get two, make the finals and you only get one. Still promotes some parity but doesn't reward a team for sucking on purpose. And if anyone thinks the Pens didn't suck on purpose before and the one year after the lockout, they're delusional.
__________________________________________
http://berkshireonthehabs.blogspot.com/
They should at least do it like we do in hockey pools. If you pick first first round you pick last second round.
-------------------------------------------------- Listen to the SmartDog. He knows his poop!
Agree. That would be a welcome change, although I certainly prefer berks proposal. Futility shouldnt be rewarded.
Who truly cares about what other leagues do anyways? Nothing wrong with the NHL being leaders instead of followers for a change.
In their defense, neither Crosby ('05 draft lottery) or the Staal pick (second overall in '06) were really expected (in the lockout offseason, the Pens brought in Gonchar, Palffy and Recchi to join Sid and Mario, and during the season both Mario and Ziggy retired). The picks from '02-'04 were becaus of terrible teams that featured household names like Milan Kraft, J-S Aubin and Josef Melichar.
C'mon, get real. EVERY other sport does it. You have to make the right picks and then develop them correctly. That's sour grapes.Wahhh. The Wings and Devils have done Ok w/o high picks imo.
Ummm Malkin and Crosby came "No assembly required" my man. They werent picks that required development. They were two of the three best players drafted since MArio Lemieux. Pittsburgh got lucky, plain and simple. If they finished just a bit higher and dont get Malkin and/or Crosby, they dont win the cup, plain and simple.
2004 - Ovechkin - Malkin - Cam Barker - Andrew LAdd - Al Montoya
2005 - Sidney Crosby- Bobby Ryan - Jack Johnson - Benoit Pouliot - Carey Price
Are you going to try and tell me that if they get any of those players other than ovechkin, crosby or malkin they would still win the cup? And even if they just had crosby or just had malkin, they dont win the cup! Those two were 1-2 in scoring in last years playoffs!
They got LUCKY. There was no skill involved in anything Ray Shero has done! Its not like taking Malkin behind ovechkin was a reach! If ovechkin wasnt in that draft, Malkin goes first overall hands down! It was a no brainer pick!
You're right in saying the wings and devils have done Ok without top picks, and you're right that top picks dont guarantee results, but that doesnt change the fact that pittsburgh got lucky that the tops picks they happened to get are who they are. Hence the sour grapes. They got handed a great team, they didnt earn it. Unless, of course, you consider utter futility for multiple years is considered "earning" it.
If I sucked a my job for multiple years, I'd get fired not promoted.
A diseased slug woulda picked Malkin...
Je suis
Sieur Bugs Potter, écuyer. Major-général du dépôt de munitions Fort Gainey, contre-amiral du torpilleur de classe-II Sainte Flanelle, et sous-secrétaire du ministère de la Défense Tricolore.
Every othe sport does it. has it helped the detroit Lions,Pitt Pirates,L.A Clippers. it is what it is.Don't whine about it. We've had some nice draft positions where we've blown our picks,just like many other treams
Je suis
Sieur Bugs Potter, écuyer. Major-général du dépôt de munitions Fort Gainey, contre-amiral du torpilleur de classe-II Sainte Flanelle, et sous-secrétaire du ministère de la Défense Tricolore.
I think you misunderstood me. I am the biggest believer that the habs have serious scouting and/or development issues. I was just illustrating how pittsburgh got lucky in their picks. Chicago got high picks, but their picks werent slam dunks, and they developed a lot of good, young talent, so I give them full marks for drafting and development. I just dont give pittsburgh full marks because they got lucky with timing. They sucked in the years that netted them two super studs, and I was simply illustrating that we shouldnt be in awe over their drafting and development skills.
If you ever read my replies to people who say we should tank, I always say to look to anaheim, philly, new jersey, and detroit, who never have super high draft picks, but always remain competitive. I also say to look at atlanta, phoenix, and the islanders and see how tanking has worked for them.
Sure you have to make good picks and develop them correctly. But, in every draft, there are maybe 3-5 players available who can step in and immediately help a team. You don't get those guys by drafting middle of the pack. I agree with Berkshire on this one. The draft needs a makeover.
That idea has a lot of merit. Even sounds...fair! Therefore, it cannot possibly be done in Bettman's NHL.
Buttman will have none of that!
That's a pretty good idea actually, which means no chances in hell the League adopts it.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu. http://habsandhockey.blogspot.com/
I am wondering if Carey Price will get the start on Saturday against Washington? I believe so because he played exceptionally well against them last week. That being said, he really needs to work on his five hole. Those two goals should not have been in the net, he just needs to close up a little bit more. Thoughts anyone?
I thought we played really well offensively last night, but tonight the Habs just weren't shooting the puck enough. That is why Ovie is great, he just keeps on shooting until it goes in.
Sidney Crosby is good - I get it, but everyone is so stuck on him. I am sick of hearing about it. The Olympics haven't even started yet. Yes, he is Canadian. I am proud. But there is another whole team in Pittsburgh too.
MaxPac - Looking alive again, second night in a row. His first shot was so close, he definitely is getting better. I hope he wasn't rocked too bad, with our luck he'll be out of the line up on Saturday too.
Any more words on our ever increasing injured players?
Price was screened and the shot deflected off the Habs defenceman's stick on the first one = not one he should be expected to stop; Gonchar scored from two feet away with a nice move to open Carey up and then slide it between his legs = he might of stopped it with his stick protecting his five-hole but sometimes you have to give credit to the opponent for a nice move. also, who had Gonchar? I didn't see the third goal.
Lastly, is Price supposed to score too?
Cant really blame price when we only scored 1 goal. We easily could have scored 4 but we had some trouble burrying our chances. Carey played well enough last night considering it was our second game in two nights, and you could see the D was very tired. Thats without even mentioning that we were essentially the montreal bulldogs last night. It actually turned out better than expected because I thought we were going to get rocked.
I thought Price was okay but the three goals he let in were stoppable . I am sure he would like them back. If he played like he had in recent games and with a few bounces in our favor we would have won or tied. We had some chances.
I am not too concerned with the five hole - it is the glove hand . He needs to go to baseball camp .
mjames
Screened on the 1st goal and questionable on the other two goals. Sometimes you have to be lucky and have bounces go against yeah. That's part of the game when other teams capitalizes on their chances. Guerin was allowed to whack whack away at the puck until it went in. Gonchar floated to the net untouched and scored. It is simple as it comes when this team played back to back games and making a few mistakes that caused this team to lose. Overall I was very pleased how they played last night. Go Habs Go!!!
Guerins goal was BS, that play should have been whistled, and there was a delayed penalty call which definitely should have been whistled once the puck went between careys pads. The second the ref loses sight of the puck hes supposed to whistle, and from where the ref was standing, there is no way he saw a loose puck between prices pads. I dont know who said what to make the officials hate us so much, but we're getting the short end this year. Im not usually one to blame officiating, but when game in and game out were getting questionable officiating, it becomes frustrating to watch.
Couple rough goals tonight for Carey, but this loss doesn't fall on him. GO BULLDOGS GO!!!
Errrr I mean... Go HABS GO!!! =) =)
"The NHL was going to test the Stanley Cup for lysteria, but then they realized it hasn't touch a Maple Leaf product in over 42 years!"
...IF I was Jacques Martin ...I would play Carey under most circumstances even if We lose ...as long as He played exceptionally well despite the loss
...in tonight's case ? ...overall Carey did not play poorly ...but there were a couple goals He was sloppy on
...I would play Jaro Halak in Saturday's game ...not to punish Carey, but first, Jaro needs to play, ...and it is premature to allow Carey to sit on His laurels
...alternating, after losses, with Halak is the best thing for Carey Price at this time
Habitant means PASSIONATE HOCKEY
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=423049