Steve Bégin

• Andrei Markov talks to Dave Stubbs about the captaincy and other stuff

• Tomas Plekanec looks for a bounce-back season

• Pat Hickey on Max-Pac's strong camp

• François Gagnon nominates Roman Hamrlik

• Sean Gordon of the Globe and Mail on Georges Laraque's vegan diet

• Eric Duhatschek asks whether young stars like Ovie and Sid can save the NHL from itself

• Pierre LeBrun's training camp questions, including:

Are the Habs any better? It really depends on how quickly so many new faces can come together and find chemistry, and that's no small task. It also depends on how Gomez and Gionta can rebound from subpar seasons and whether they can rediscover the magic that made them effective as New Jersey teammates a few years ago. Goalie Carey Price also has much to answer for after a mediocre season. It's hard to see the Habs as anything but a bubble team fighting for the last playoff spot in the East, but stranger things have happened. Either way, Gainey had no choice but to change the dynamic of a team that came apart, on and off the ice, last season.

• Boston Globe on Steve Bégin (Thanks, nightmare_49)

Four of my all-time favourite Canadiens have worn number 22:

Donnie Marshall (a bit ahead of my time, but you have to love a homeboy Verdun anglo)

John Ferguson (hey, screw the Code!)

Steve Shutt (the unHiggins)

Steve Bégin

I don't know that the compliment is heard often in his native Trois-Rivières, but Steve Bégin is a mensch.

Heart.

Guts.

Work ethic second to none

And along with fellow overachiever Francis Bouillon, the best waiver pick-up in the history of the club.

Can't second-guess the move, given the Canadiens' fourth-line logjam.

But I hope Steve Bégin helps the Stars enough to get one more contract.

He's a good man who'll be missed by everyone: teammates, media, fans

Bégin's last practice with Habs: Georges Laraque is stuck between Stéve Begin (left) and Mathieu Dandenault at practice on Thursday.  THE GAZETTE/John Kenney

The Canadiens continued to tinker with their lineup on Thursday as general manager Bob Gainey shipped Steve Bégin to the Dallas Stars.

In return, the Canadiens receive Doug Janik, a 28-year-old defenceman who has played only 13 games with the Stars this season. He will have to clear waivers by Saturday and will be assigned to the Hamilton Bulldogs.

Bégin has been a healthy scratch often this season and was becoming frustrated at the situation. He voiced those frustrations more than once to the media.

Below is the release from the Stars on their acquisition:

Courtesy of Cory Kornelsen, editor of McKeen's Hockey, a scouting report on Ryan McDonagh:

Robust two-way defenseman .. commanding all-access skater that is strong on his edges with sharp acceleration .. has become more productive this season because he's anticipating the play incisively and is asserting himself more offensively with the puck .. has underrated hand skill and a quick shot that he is beginning to get on net with more frequency, as he's already surpassed his career high with four goals on the year .. his on-ice vision and creativity with the puck are mediocre, although he makes calculated decisions and doesn't rush into many mistakes .. suffocating one-on-one defender that is a pillar of strength on the backend and is one of the most physically imposing defenders in college hockey .. lacks prototypical height but it doesn't matter because he boasts tremendous strength and has a mean streak .. his influential backwards and lateral mobility allows him to maintain tight gaps before angling off his man to the wall .. fiercely covers his net and clears his crease area with conviction .. a safe bet to play in the NHL sooner rather than later.  

 • Ryan O'Byrne and the sophomore jinx

• Jarkko Ruutu pleads innocence 

• Steve Bégin talks to his coach

• Canadiens fans voting for all-Hab All-Star lineup 

• Damien Cox and Ken Campbell of the Hockey News on the Kostopoulos hit

• Mathias Brunet on Brian Burke

• Bruins in Burke hunt?

• Scott Burnside weighs in on Burke 

Canadiens' Steve Bégin credits his dad for encouraging him when he was young and his wife for helping him when he became a professional hockey player.
Dave Sandford, Getty Images

In this week's one-on-one, The gazette's Kevin Mio sits down with gritty Canadiens forward Steve Bégin, who has ben a crowd favourite in Montreal almost from the moment he arrived because of the way he plays the game. He struggled with injuries for most of last season and his presence on the ice was missed. This season, back at full strength, Bégin has picked up where he left off.

Bégin discusses his new hairdo and what drives him to play the way he does.

What gives you that spark, the energy that makes you such a fan favourite?

"That is what I am known for; that's what brought me to the NHL. I always played that way since I started playing hockey. My dad always said that if you want to make it to the next level, you got to work hard. So there's no secret. Anything you want, you're going to have to work for it. Nobody is going to give it to you. Work, work and work. That is what he taught me."

It takes a special person to go down and block shots these days, since they come so fast and hard. Why do you do it?

"I always did it, even when I was younger, so it's a reflex. I always did it and I'm always going to do it. Everything you can do to help the team win, you need to do it and that is part of it."