Ovechkin in Montreal...

The latest rumour on the street is that Alexander Ovechkin could possibly be interested in joing the Canadiens in the next few years. He becomes a restricted free agent next season and is good friends with our best defenceman, Markov.

Is there any truth to this rumour? Potentially. Is Ovechkin interested in joining a team that sells out every game? Considering he has top 3 in the league potential, it would be a shame to see his talent go unnoticed in Washington where they only get a lousy half full rink on a regular basis.

So where do we stand on the Ovechkin line? Well, lets just hope Markov talks to his friend frequently in the near future and is able to sell him on the city. After that, its up to the big guy, Gainey, to come up with an offer that is in the $10 Million range.

But lets not hold our breath, after all, wasn't Koivu suppose to lure Selanne?

Hamrlik or Souray?

With the season close to 1/4 of the way through, I feel confident to say that Hamrlik was a better choice for a top two defenceman than was Souray. This statement has nothing to do with the fact that Souray has only played a handful of games.

I enjoyed Souray on the Habs. One of my favorite things about Souray was his mean streak and his strength for protecting himself and his teammates. There was the fight against Darrin McCarty in which Souray absolutely demolished him. McCarty left bloodier than any fight I could remember. Souray's shot was also something to dream of. However, Montreal tried too much to get Souray the puck on the point.

This years powerplay seems much more balanced. They are using Markov more effectively, who is leading the NHL in goals for a defenceman, Streit, and all the forwards. It makes it much harder for a team to defend against because they have multiple weapons.

Now lets look at Hamrlik. He is not as offensive as Souray, but he is a good quarterback with the puck. He moves the puck out of the zone and logs big time minutes. His under rated strength is his defensive ability. We all remember the Spezza around Souray goal. I don't expect to see any of those with Hamrlik. He is strong 1 on 1 and knows where to be.

So, I wish the best of luck to Sheldon, but must admit, Hammer time is a good replacement.

Habs Win!!! Komisarek Scores in OT

The Habs beat the Leafs tonight 4-3. My prediction was 4-2 but 4-3 is pretty close. Komisarek had a great game and finished off with an overtime break away goal to win the game.

Kovalev had an outstanding game along with Kosty and Pleks. Price played a great game with 40 shots although the top line with Koivu, Higgins, and Ryder was mostly ineffective. The Canadiens will need productivity from this line going into the all star break to ensure that the playoffs are reached.

Time to make fun of all those Leaf fans you know!!

Leafs Tonight...Price vs. Raycroft

The Habs face the Leafs tonight in the most storied rivalry in all of sports. For Montreal, they have young hot shot Carey Price in net while the Maple Leafs counter with under achieving Andrew Raycroft.

I would look for the Canadiens to use their speed to over power the slow moving Leafs. With Kubina injured, expect McCabe and Kaberle to get over worked and likely run out of gas. Montreal will look to lay a spank down early after the weekends collapse to the Senators. I expect Kovalev will have a great game as he was mostly ineffective in the game with the Senators. I would look for one of his patented wrist shots from the outside hash marks in the top of the net.

Ryder is also due and if he can get some shots quick and one scores, expect the flood gates to open right up and the Habs to ride that momentum. Ryder is getting chances, he just needs to put the puck in the net and give the Canadiens another dangerous weapon up front.

The Habs will have to rely heavily on Komi and Markov to contain Mats Sundin, the Leafs only real threat. If Sundin is contained, Price could pull out some good numbers.

My prediction is a 4-2 win for the Habs.

Vinny Lecavalier to the Habs?

Another Divisional Game

After a dissapointing loss to the Leafs in a game where they really didn't show a lot of energy or enthusiasm, the Habs seem to be doing a good job versus the Sabres. Huet was looking much better after a less than good game on Saturday night.

The score is currently 1-0 Canadiens and they seem to be getting lots of chances to score. The goal that they did score was a perfect pass from Kosty and a nice play by Pleks to squeek it under the goalie.

This is a very important game for the Canadiens as it is another divisional game which seems to mean that it is another must win game. Besides from the Senators, the conference is going to be a nail biter.

Here's hoping for a great third period....

Be Glad We are not the Leafs

This morning I think we should be happy that we are not the Leafs and that we are not being managed by JFJ. When we look at the Leafs minor league team, the Marlies, you don't see many players who look like they will ever make it up to the big leagues and have productive careers. The one guy who might do something is Justin Pogge, but his hype has dropped off since his world junior accolaides.

When we look at the Bulldogs, and I live in Kitchener so I have seen a number of Bulldog games, we have lots of good young talent. Look at our lineup on Thursday night, we had five of our home grown First round picks in the line up.

When we look at our potential stars in the making, we can include the likes of Sergie K., who likes like he will likely be better than his older brother Andrei. Who else do we have?

Ryan O'Byrne
JP Cote
Pavel Valentenko
Corey Locke
Janne Lahti
Maxim Lapierre
Matt D'Agostini
Jonathan Ferland
Duncan Milroy

I am not saying that all these guys are going to make it big in the NHL, but what if 1 out of 3 make it to have successful NHL careers? That gives the Habs a wealth of talent to pull from and a lot of opportunities to trade some of there young talent to pick up that final piece of the puzzle.

The Leafs have traded away all of their draft picks in the past so that they now have for the most part, and team of old men, and a farm system that has been depleted from years of abuse, and no cups to show for it.

Times are looking good for the Canadiens, but the Leafs appear to be heading into another 40 years of cuplessness.

Stanley Cup Underdog?

After watching last nights game against the Flyers, I went to bed with a feeling that the Habs could possibly be one of the most under rated teams in the NHL. The game against the flyers, who are doing pretty well, was domination. The game was not even close.

Kovalev scored on of his famous goals. He scored the exact same goal against the Thrashers. He is hot, he is playing well, and he is playing well defensively. Hopefully Ryder finds his stride because Koivu and Higgins are playing great and generating tons of offence.

There are not too many people who predict a team like the Canadiens to make any noise in the playoffs but who gave Edmonton a chance two years ago? The Habs are built for speed and smart defence. They try hard and they are playing with confidence. Those are most important when the playoffs come around.

They simply need to keep trying hard and don't let there great start end up like last season where they fell apart after Christmas. But this team is different than last year, they are older, more responsible, and are being led by a coach who has a little bit more experience.

Next spring should be exciting.

Trade Looming with the Canucks?

It was recently reported that a number of Vancouver scouts and the assistant GM were in attendance for the Atlanta game on Tuesday night. It is believed that the Canucks are looking for a top six forward to improve upon their pitiful offense.

I can't see Montreal trading away a top six forward to improve on their team because they are stacked in net, and their young defence is coming along quite well. I can't see Montreal even considering a trade with the Canucks at this point but maybe Gainey has a plan that no one can figure out.

This sounds like nothing more than a rumour, but only time will tell.

Price Starting at Home for the first Time

Well Carey Price has officially started his first game in the NHL at home in Montreal. It seems as though he will continue to play with his cool, calm, and collected nerves. It ensures consistency.

There is no doubt that Gainey and Carbo are grooming Price for the starters position. The question is, when will this 'Change of the Guard' begin? Is Huet going to get traded before the trade deadline?

I would argue that if Huet and Price continue to play they both are now and no injuries plague either players, I predict that Huet will complete the year in Montreal. However, if Price gets hot, and starts a number of games in a row, watch out, you might see Huet dealt to a team that has an injury or a team that is lacking goaltending....possibly the leafs?

The bottom line is that Price is going to be the future of the Habs and Price is going to be good enough to take the Habs to the big dance during his career.

Yashin a Hab???

The latest word coming out of the speculators is that Alexei Yashin is interested in playing in Montreal along side fellow Russian Alex Kovalev. I am not sure what to make of this. I have despised Yashin ever since the whole fiasco that occurred in Ottawa.

However, I sat and thought about this one. What I have realized is that Yashin could be an asset to the Canadiens if the money is right. The right price for the Canadiens is no more than 2-3 million a season for no more than two years. The key is that Gainey can not get locked into a contract for a player who has had a history of being trouble in the locker room and being lazy on the ice. If it doesn't work out, Gainey would have to find someone to take him off his hands which will be much easier if he has a manageable contract.

Will Yashin take a much smaller salary than he is used to? Well I guess that depends on how much he wants to play in Montreal.

Whether you agree or disagree that Gainey should consider Yashin as that big center to support Kovalev you can't deny that his potential point production is attractive for a guy who puts up just under a point per game and could be part of a dynamic punch with the other big Russian.

Samsonov, Going, Going.....

The word on the street is that Gainey is about to continue his offseason tune up by buying out the contract of unhappy, non-productive Sergei Samsonov. This should cost the Canadiens 1.2million for the next two seasons.

The most important part of this buyout should be to remove the bad attitude which can be contageous. The other thing it does is ensures an open roster spot for some of those up and coming Bulldogs like Kostitsyn, Chipchura, or possibly Grabovski.

I am really looking forward to seeing who is going to move up from the Bulldogs to replace some of the open roster spots.

Habs Offseason So Far

Bob Gainey and company have been rather busy since the Montreal Canadians season was ended by the Toronto Maple Leafs.

After deciding to let Jaroslav Halak go play in the World Championships for team Slovakia he immediately signed 19 year old goaltender out of the WHL's Tri-City Americans Carey Price to play for the Hamilton Bulldogs.

He then went on to sign Andrei Kostitsyn's younger brother Sergei from the OHL's London Knights and Matheiu Carle out of the QMJHL. Price, Kostitsyn and Carle have all been with the surprising Hamilton Bulldogs of the AHL who are currently beating the Hershey Bears in the Calder Cup finals with a 2-1 series lead.

After that Gainey moved on to probably the 2 most important issues, trying to resign both Andrei Markov and Sheldon Souray. Souray coming off a 26 goal 64 point campaign where he also broke the NHL record for PPG scored by a defencemen in one season with 19. With all these good stats Souray had there was also some bad ones. He was a team worst -28 and made his way on the highlight of the night a few times but for the wrong reason. It is believed he could make more then 6 million over 4 years on the open market but the Habs will likely be looking to sign him for something much less. Reports are that he was offered a 4 year deal worth anywhere from $4.25-$5.25 per year. Markov on the other hand had another solid season with 49 points and a +2 rating. He was given a 4 year deal worth $5.75 million a year which was more than I personally thought he would get but then again Montreal NEEDS him more then they need Souray.

Some smaller moves by Gainey was trading for the twin brother of WJC stand out Kris Russel, forward Ryan Russel from the New York Rangers and went on to sign him to a 3 year pro contract. NYR were unable to come to terms on a conract with Russel so they accepted a 7th round pick in this years draft instead of losing him for nothing. Last year he played for The Kootney Ice of the WHL and was on a line with current Montreal draft pick Ben Maxwell. He is a good offensive player with good vision but is small which is his weak spot.

The Habs also signed Finish Elite League player Janne Lahti to a 1 year contract. The 25 year old had a solid season for HPK last year netting 20 goals and 14 helpers. He is a big (200lbs, 6'2) winger who also has a scoring touch. Both players are expected to start in the AHL next year with Lahti maybe cracking the big clubs roster.

It is said that Montreal will try to be active in the free agent market. If they can get rid of underachieving winger Sergei Samsonov's salary that will free up some valuable cap room to help them sign players like Chris Drury or Daniel Briere. If they are unable to sign Souray look for the Habs to turn they're attention to Nashville's defencemen Kimmo Timonen or San Jose's Scott Hannan.