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About Dave Stubbs
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Dave Stubbs
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About
Dave Stubbs has been a sportswriter since 1976, which was roughly a decade after he wore the first of many holes through the knees of his jeans playing nets in road hockey (using a modified butterfly popularized by Hall of Famer Glenn Hall). He still has the welts to show on his shins from that rotten, frozen orange ball.
Stubbs kept thick hockey scrapbooks filled with game summaries and Gazette and Montreal Star stories, collected dozens of Bee Hive Corn Syrup photos and put a fortune of hockey cards through the spokes of his bikes. First book ever owned: Scrubs On Skates, the classic by Scott Young (Neil's dad).
Stubbs's fantasy is to travel back in time to the 1950s and watch the great Canadiens dynasty that won five consecutive Stanley Cups. Or a decade earlier, to watch Elmer Lach centre Rocket Richard and Toe Blake on the fearsome Punch Line. Or at least to get Rogie Vachon into the Hockey Hall of Fame – where he belongs.
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I'm sure the Canucks will change their entire strategy now that they've heard Dagostini is coming back. lol....
They will now use only 2 lines and leave the Sedins to play around on St. Catherine street....they'll still cream us.
Lafleur, coming out rather gingerly on the right side.
Leave him there PLEASE!
1 assist in 3 games with the dogs.....not good. He really is struggling. I don't know if it is the concussion he suffered or what but I hope he finds his game
No! Please no! He didn't do much better in Hamilton.
Two weeks already eh? Time flys when we're... having fun?
Oh noooooooooooooo
I was talking to Doug state side about putting on a charity game in Brossard at our next summit. Might get Boone and Stubbs to partisipate as coaches after they draft their teams from a list of us on the site who wish to play in the game. Anyone who wishes to play should let me know so we can start to organize it.
Depending on the date, count me in.
I sure hope D'Agostini enjoyed riding the bus in Hamilton and comes back with a renewed zip to his game. The Bulldogs have a very good team again this year. Here is hopeing that some of them are getting close to being NHL ready and that includes the Hamilton coach. Jacques Martin might be moved up to the front office in a year or so.
The only move that Gainey should do. bring Boucher up and watch 3 and 4 liners produced
This Just In: TSN is reporting that Gainey is thinking about thinking about thinking about making a move.
Considering he has been one of the proactive GM's in league during the year, I don't get your comment.
Ya sure, Higgins was such an integral piece of our offensive prowess when he was here.
We had enough part time floaters on the team and the garbage was jettisoned.
Once a Habs fan, always a Habs fan
Jokinen is not gem, this will be his second time traded in a year. He was said to be a cancer in the Florida room and now the same is going on in the Fames room. If he couldn't get much going playing with Iggy, he has got less to work with in New York.
With regards to Higgins, and the prospects. For now Gainey has won the trade. Unless The " Prospects " comes up and makes a lasting career in the NHL, and productive also, I can't see how you can say that Bob lost the trade. The only thing bad about the trade right now would be the salary of Gomez, other than that the trade as it stands right now goes to Bob. IMHO
To you from failing hands we throw the torch, be yours to hold it high.
higgins is on the move to Calgary.
So I'm thinking that if Cami is out long term than its time to pull the plug on the season and become a seller.
There's a problem with that though. There are 8 teams between 13th and 6th that are all in running to make the playoffs. Three points separate those positions. The playoffs are still a possibility, and then anything can happen. You never know, Halak and or Price may run for 16 straight games without being scored on. hehe
Next, the only player we really have available for selling is Plecs (FA), and I think he should be signed for a few more years.
They can't move Halak or Price as both will be more valuable this summer.
Don't give up yet!
They call me Shane
Mara and Metro could probably be moved for mid-late rounds picks, but your right... we really don't have much to offer as sellers.
"How would you like a job where when you made a mistake, a big red light goes on and 18,000 people boo?" Jacques Plante
Pleks is homegrown. It would be stupid to give up on the only "product" of the organization that turns out right.
It's not inconceivable that we could sucker a contender into thinking Hal Gill will help them in the playoffs.
Yeah, just ask the Penguins...
Definately. If only we had a smart, modern, hustling G.M. like bigjcc526 says.
This is for any of you unfortunate Habs fans living in the Toronto area or for any of you Toronto Trolls who love to hang out here on H I/O....
Prior to yesterday;
Have the Toronto fans been calling for Burke's head on a platter?
Wilson to be drawn and quartered?
Once a Habs fan, always a Habs fan
It's just the same old Toronto stuff, giant trade in the hopes that it fixes everything without thinking about the long-term results. Their cap problem around goaltending/defence just got a whole lot messier for them since they still have to creatively loss Finger off their cap and find goal scoring without a big treasure chest left to sign forwards.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu. http://habsandhockey.blogspot.com/
Its true others before him might have done that, but Burke is different. At least he knows what type of team hes trying to build.
Anybody watching the Montreal-Quebec hockey thing on TVA. The game took me by surprise, it was great!
HOW TO BE AN EFFECTIVE NHL GENERAL MANAGER- (as a special favor to BOB("what free agents?") Gainey)
Lesson 1-Do not trade players after they have had a mediocore season,otherwise known as "selling at the bottom".Similar to the stock market sell at the top, buy when everyone is nearly finished selling,otherwise known as the "bottom".Trying to trade young players like Plekanik and Price for an operated on Lecalvalier who has a gigantic salary would have severely hamstrung our team.You are lucky Tampa Bay was even dumber than you,and nixed the deal.As you can see Plekanic is having a great season and there is probably even more upside to come.No more "Ribero for Ninama" type trades-PLEASE.
Lesson 2-If you must trade young players trade them for OTHER BETTER young players.Note Toronto now has Dion Phaneuf a great young player.Yes they gave up some average to above average players players but they have Phaneuf for at least 5 years and probably 10 years.A great trade to help build a team.What place are they in?What place will Montreal be in at years end??? Probaly somewhere between 10th-13th,(as long as you keep playing Price.)
Lesson 3- Do not mix a defensive dull witted coach,with offensive quick scoring forwards.It is a mismatch.Look at Phoenix,Pittsburgh,Ottawa for an example of communicate creative young coachs.I realize its easy to choose that which we feel comfortable with ie.You Bob Gainey were an up and down your wing defensive forward so it was natural to pick a defensive coach who does not yet realize there is no red line offside,but unlike when you played we currently do not forcheck,we are lost in the offensive zone,and are not a grinding team.Also letting a player with Heart go for nothing(Koivu) and not naming a captain is saying "there is no Captain".In other words it is BUSH.It also makes the Canadiens look like a classless organiazation.
Lesson 4- Get Dale Tallon to pick your draft choices.In a few years Chicago went from the Outhouse to the Penthouse.
Lesson 5-Do not make make statements that turn out to be obvious mistruths .It makes you look ridiculous; ie."Guy Carboneau hire was the best thing i ever did" and then firing him a few weeks later.Or signing Theodore to a 5 million a year contract (instead of trading him for Kovolchuk which you had the option to do when he was drafted) and then dumping him in a trade. Which leads me to the next and most important thing..
Lesson 6-KNOW what your players are doing outside the rink.Especially if undesirable persons or undesirable actions may be occuring.With the millions invested by the team and by fans who pay big bucks to see them you should be aware of any extracurricular activities that can be detrimental to the team .It is the minimum.
Lesson 6 -If after 7 years or before, your team is not moving up,do the honorable thing and let someone else have the job.RESIGN.
nuff said
Dale Talon - paper work, what paper work - how does this cap thing work anyways?
Who was the coach when Ottawa went to the finals?
Lesson 6 Know what your players are doing outside the rink.
Like Sutter does, which is why Dion is gone. But wait, that contradicts with lesson 2 that states Dion is a great young player.
Very good post.
Add in 3A, or 4:
Hire a coach who knows how to make in-game adjustments, quickly when Plan A is clearly not going to work. (Hint: this does not mean shuffling lines in any fashion, like throwing s_ _ _ at the wall).
"Do not make make statements that turn out to be obvious mistruths .It makes you look ridiculous; ie."Guy Carboneau hire was the best thing i ever did" and then firing him a few weeks later."
I have always assumed that something happened in those two weeks that forced Gainey's hand.
L1- it takes 2 GMs to tango
L2- teams trade problems, not solutions
L3- All championships stem from great defence and timely offense. The only exception was the Oilers from 84-88.
L4- Tallon signed Huet long term, but, yes his draft picks were good. You don't have to be terribly smart when you're choosing #1 or #2.
L5- At the time, BG was talking up his coach until players like Kovy decided they should get ice time no matter how piss poor an effort they gave.
L6- It may be time to go- but show me a decent replacement first.
L3 - Popular misconception
The 3 Penguin Cups came from great offence and timely defense.
The Habs won in '86 and '93 because of great goaltending and timely offense.
The statement, "offense win games and defense wins championships" is a sports cliche, nothing more.
Your last sentence in lesson 2 about Price. Where would the team finish if Halak played all remaining games to this season?
The biggest reason why the Habs should play Price from here on in. 13th is better than 11th.
Thats a great post Gerry, I agree with everything, I especially went on about lesson 3 last year. Sure some will argue but to me none of those points can be argued.
Hey guys, I found Scott Gomez in this rap video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHkj804LCl0
actually I think he's talking about a lot of the guys on the team at moments HA
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You are comparing Gomez to Skee-Lo. Does Gomez Have a girl who who looks good and does he call her? Or does he too just get the Hood Rats?
"So what you just got to do is just get you a bunch of these hood rats, run through them, just knock them out. Boom, boom, boom. And once you've done slayed like of them hood rats, now you ready to go up to the upper echelon type ho. You know what I mean?" 40 Year-Old Virgin.
lolmore about the first line of the song. just tryin to cheer myself with having gomez around for a long long time
Higgins to calgary for joikenen..,...LOL although i must say i was sad to see higgy and his beer belly go :(
NYR 's trade Ales Kotalik and Christopher Higgins to Calgary for Ollie Joniken and Brandon Prust. Glen Sather is waiting for Daryl Sutter to make the trade. That is what TSN is reporting.
Ouch!, now when we play the Laffs, our midgets are going to get even more tossed around (ala Plekanec in the last Flames game) with both Komi and Phaneuf back there. Our lack of size and grit is going to be even more obvious now.
Scott Gomez. #22 in Active players career assists. Youngest on the list. With the likes of Recchi, Modano, Lidstrom, Chelios, Brindamour, etc, etc...
About #30 in Active career points...
Dont underestimate the long term effect of a player like Gomez. He is also only 30 with at least 8 years left in him. You will se him surpass most of these players...
There may be other teams, but only ONE Club De Hockey...
People are upset because of his salary...
Drury is like what.. 6 mill? He does not worth it if you ask me.
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Komisarek: 0 - 4 - 4 (-9) http://www.nhl.com/ice/player.htm?id=8469460
Gomez is not a bad player....it is his salary that hurts as you said. If it wasn't for his salary I don't think he would get bashed that much. The problem is his contract hinders a team in a salary cap world. Lets face it....our team is mediocure on a good day this season and Gomez salary hit hurts us in getting a forward who can make a difference. I don't think we can be a contendar with him and his salary on the team.
I liked Sutter's comments yesterday saying that if you only have a few guys making big bucks it is hard to make a contendar as you can't get all the right pieces.
Toronto has some expensive Defense that is for sure. Komi and Pheneauf are 10 mill a season combined.
Bergie for G(eneral) M(istake)
Isn't D'ago just another good young player potentially ruined by bad development here? Montreal should be the place for young players to develop properly. This should be a priority for the management. We are lacking depth because of this.
If Dags wasn't called up before his 2 week conditionong stint he would have to go through waivers. But your point is right. Our youth has not been managed properly. Hopefully the same mistake will not be made with PK.
Correct, that is why he's back. The only reason...
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Komisarek: 0 - 4 - 4 (-9) http://www.nhl.com/ice/player.htm?id=8469460
Perhaps Flames are making a run at Kovalchuk and clearing space?
Who do they have left to trade for Kovalchuk Doug? They aren't going to move Iginla or Bouwmeester. Phaneuf and Jokinen could have been key pieces in deals for Kovalchuk, but too late for that.
__________________________________________
http://berkshireonthehabs.blogspot.com/
So,lets get this all figured out....the next time the Habs Play the Loafs with their Big Bad DeFENCE,and our Lil Guy's get beat-up theres no B.G.L. ....PERFECT ...WELL DONE....and we're paying him anyways....way to go Bob !!!!
BGL was never there to help. Nothing has changed.
I'd grab Boogaard and TooToo,but thats next season................
I would bring the Boogie Man to town for sure. Martin doesnt have the team to play the style that he wants. We need a new coach/GM
http://gushuecards.webs.com/
Dude, its not like VGL, not BGL, was doing anything anyways. He's the Gandhi of Goons, the Pacifist Enforcer. Give me a friggin' break.
The Toronto Bulls vs. the Montreal China Shops.
Hey did you know the leafs pay 1 million in cap for tucker for the next 4 years?
Besides Laraque wont fight anyone.
There may be other teams, but only ONE Club De Hockey...
Either you just like stirring the pot or you just really embrace stupidity, don't you. Get beat up much at school??
Ya I forgot all the Lusuck vs BGL fights AND HOW LUCUCK WASN'T INTIMIDATED....
this guys is a top three waste of time poster on here. he dribbles garbage.
Yer diapers are fuller than your brains
...good one Stephen
Habitant means PASSIONATE HOCKEY
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=423049
Your a waste of time and probably a few other things.
I think it's time for your meds.
----------------------------------------------------------- "Fans are great, but the quickest way to start losing is to listen to them." - Sam Pollock
Statistical chance that BGL would fight a Leaf after he roughed up one of our guys while he's sitting the season out are the same as if he was playing in the game where it occurs.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu. http://habsandhockey.blogspot.com/
ok halalk will get a better return after the big O.the leaf get a big D so they can answers for they 1 round pick. But guess what 5 on 5 dost not come easy'
for all of you gainey haters i just want to throw this out there.
alot of you complain that mtl hasn't been far in the playoffs since Gainey has been gm.
guess what... we went just as far as washington (but we don't have ovechkin, semin, green et al),
vancouver (without the sedins and luongo),
boston (if we got knocked out the hurricanes after a season like boston had, Gainey posters would be burning in the street)
new jersey
and othe teams.
to be succesful you need to have a good team (on paper Gainey ahs done that) and pure luck (exhibit A: Carolina Hurricanes)
Thanks for the post! Habs fans are too pessimistic it's not even funny!!
I said it here and out of here many times, I still believe we a good team last year, we were simply not lucky at ALL with injuries (not very hard to know although many ppl don't think that was a big factor)
This year and last year no we didn't and don't suck....BG did a hell of job, i would love to see anybody here trying to negotiate something better so easily...
we gotta give our new players some time to know each other and their skills, which they have already started to ...be patient
----- AMEN to the JM SYSTEM!!! go habs go -----
If you look at last year, something had to happen in early January cause the nosedive started right around there. And that sort of nosedive doesnt come out of nowhere, so I dont know about the luck factor.
Habscore: your avatar reveals you are splendidly babilicious, so I must measure my words. While I admire your loyalty, I question your claim that this team needs more time. We saw a largely full and healthy squad when Markov returned, and they did not look very impressive to me. This team is filled with veteran players who should not need a full season to get to know each others' on-ice play. I cannot ever recall an NHL team successfully building through free agency, and Gainey's experiment may well provide conclusive evidence that quality teams cannot be built through free agency. That said, your optimism is always appreciated!
------------------------
”Playing goal is like being shot at.”
--Jacques Plante
but does the current team give you any indication that they are any good? And why do we have to compare against teams that didn't make it far? A lot of people say - well, at least we are not the leafs... well, if this is your target (just an example) than you can't possible get very far. This is how you become complacent.
I don't even try and justify our team anymore. This site has become so depressing it's not even fun anymore.
I support every single thing the Canadiens do or not do.
I support every single player as if he were Guy LaFleur.
I'd like to see the punks here go through a quarter of what Bob has gone through and see who comes out on top.
They call me Shane
This is not about BG's personal tradgedies. This is about a hockey team that is not good. Don't mix up the two. You support mediocrity all you want. I root for them and hope they do well, but won't smile and skip around when the team is crap. I'll voice my displeasure/anger/disappointment/disillusionment if I choose to .