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How Swede it is?
posted by Mike Boone at 18h52 EST on May 7
In his end-of-season review on CKAC this morning, Dany Dubé said the Canadiens have too many forwards who are unidimesional – gritty guys, like Tom Kostopoulos and Steve Bégin, who play their guts out but can't put the puck in the net.
This is an enduring problem with the club: the tough guys can't score and the scorers aren't tough. It's why Bob Gainey courted Brandan Shanahan and Ryan Smyth.
The combination of grit and skill is rare in the NHL. Brenden Morrows don't grow on trees – at least not this far above the tropics.
Dubé said the departure of Michael Ryder means Mattt D;Agostini will get a good look in training camp and would be well-advised to show up in the best shape of his career.
Ditto Kyle Chipchura, who has to improve his faceoffs and consistency.
He thinks Maxim Lapierre should be playing on the wing. And in talking about the Canadiens' search for gritty centres, Dubé pointed out that the team has tried, with varying degrees of success, Joé Juneau, Radek Bonk and Bryan Smolinski.
• • •
Jacques Demers, in today's Journal de Montréal, says the Canadiens need a tougthird line capable of contributing 40 to 50 goals per season.
He;s intrigued by the possibility of Sundin, saying it would "open many possibilities".
• • •
This has nothing to do with hockey. But we all need a laugh, and Canadiens have a Finnish captain and several Russian stars.
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Chris Aung-Thwin lives the highs and lows with the Habs everyday, and now he writes about his favourite team from a fan's point of view
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If we get Sundin, I'm not expecting him to play permanently on a line with Koivu. I'd see his addition as giving us THREE strong lines, with Koivu now being the new 3rd line centre. It would be a great way to ease him into the spot for the future. He and Higgins (if they stay together) would then form the 3rd line we have been envisioning for so long.
If we get Sundin, my lines would look something like this
Andrei Sundin Sergei
Latendresse/Shanahan(we can sign Shanny to a year or two)/Pleky/Kovalev
Higgins/Koivu/Lappy
Begin Chipchura Kostopoulos
Not bad eh?
Not bad at all. I'd like to see strong skilled UFA Ryan Malone come here from Pittsburgh - they'll have a tough time re-signing him, Hossa and Fleury, with Crosby making $9M and Malkin set for a gigantic raise after next year.
1. www.flickeringpictures.com - not a hockey site, but still kinda neat
2. Josh Gorges on Montreal's attack: "They're comin', they're comin' and they keep comin'. Just line after line, wave after wave..."
Brunnstrom will sign with Dallas according to TSN.ca.
So does this make him eligible to play for the team right now? I know when other prospects sign entry level contracts in the spring, they often report to the farm team and play a few games (like Price last year in Hamilton). If he is allowed to play, it could be a huge wildcard for the Stars.
I don't understand. I'm probably missing something here but isn't the idea that he will one day be able to play in the NHL?
no, he can't play in the playoffs
Oli Jokinen, please.
Go Habs!
Hey, Is anyone still around?? lol I feel like there should be tumbleweed blowing across the street right now...What would you think about drafting Jared Staal in this years draft...We have 25th overall pick and right now in the 2008 CSB Rankings he's at #43...Anyone think he'd be worth a shot...heres what I could find...
11 Jared Staal RW Peterborough - The youngest of the four Staal brothers, Jared is also the least hyped at this point in his draft year, although like Jordan, he is gaining momentum as the season progresses and scouts see an improvement in his production. He needs to come a long way with his strength and competitiveness, but Jared has the Staal size and growth potential . Described by many as "raw" and a "project", if Staal scores at a point-per game pace for the remainder of the season and picks up his intensity, he will certainly be looked at in the first round of the draft.
Height: 6.03
Weight: 195
Shoots: Right
Position: Right Wing
---------------------
Also if anyone wants to scout any late picks for the habs check this site out...Lets see who people would take based on scouting reports...
http://thedraftguy.com/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=401...
"If I wanted to hear from an ass, I would fart..."
Boone adding Dany Dube's end of season review is interesting, Dube states "that the Habs have too many unidimesional - gritty guys who play with guts but don't put the puck in the net". Seeing that the Habs lead their conference in scoring i find this puzzling or maybe Dube thinks we need a couple of soft 20 goal scorers to replace Begin and Tommy K and i wished that he would have elaborated more.
Come on now, you know that Kostopoulos and Begin are not goal scorers. They definitely have grit, but they are not big enough, and can not score enough. Have you ever seen Kostopoulos win a fight?
Kostopoulos has 32 goals in 298 regular season games, and has never scored more than 9 goals in a regular season. He has also never had a season in the NHL where he has been a plus player.
Begin has 40 goals in 347 regular season games, and his season high was 11 goals 3 years ago. He has been injured a lot the past 2 seasons, and played only 44 games this year with 3 goals.
Their line got all kinds of praise in the playoffs, and I used to think they were lighting it up like Ryder used to. They had 1 goal in the last 9 playoff games. Yes, we need gritty players, but ones who can also score. We had 4 players over 25 goals this year, while Philly had 7 over 20. Look who's still playing. I think their players, player for player, are much grittier than ours.
nightmare, I notice you did not laugh, so I hope everything is okay. Don't mind sarcastic people who tell you that you are always LOL. It's only hockey, and we need to keep things in perspective, as well as our sense of humour. lol...lol...lol
I think we as fans sometimes hear/see what we want to. Someone says Chipchura is slow and can't score so we forget he scored more than other regulars. Someone says these three players control the play in the opposition's end, what a great shift, and we overlook the fact that the opposition is the only one who scores when they're on.
I agree with you, and I agree with Mr Gainey's view on players like Ryder. Would things have been different with Ryder as a threat on the third or fourth? Maybe, maybe not. Is he taking flak for nothing? Likely.
I think though that the best past Habs role players (guys like Skrudland, Riser, Nilan, Jarvis, and the list goes on) came through the system, not the waiver wire or free agency.
Imagine if the Habs remained fairly intact but got a big winger, or a big center? That's what they did with the Big M, with Damphousse, with Walter, with Savard. They got the parts to bring the team together.
This team is closer than we all think. I hope the players sense that.
My guess would be that Dube felt there were too many "4th liners", and I somewhat agree with him. Our third line was the Smolinski line, which was very limited offensively. Look at the teams left in the playoffs...they all have a pile of scoring depth, and you don't really see those prototypical 4th line grinders anywhere but the 4th line. We didn't have the Scottie Upshalls, Dan Clearys, or Jordan Staals. The difference is these players, if needed, have the offensive ability to fill in the top lines. We could not say the same about most of our 3rd and 4th liners...dispite Gui!'s endless opportunities.
Boone, did Dany Dubé have anything else to say about Ryder's departure? Did he confirm the reports by you and Francois Gagnon that Ryder was throwing paper airplanes, talking on his cellphone, and smiling while in the press box in Philly?
It all looks so trivial now, does it not?
Hey if we sign Sundin should we offer him a no trade clause:=)
If there is any doubt that we need to improve up front then just take a look at the Flyers roster of forwards for next year.
LW - Gagne, Hartnell, Upshall, Van Riemsdyk
Centre - Briere, Richards, Carter, Umberger
RW - Lupul, Knuble, Kapanen, Downie, Giroux
Knuble and Kapanen are the only guys in their 30's on this list. Montreal needs to upgrade their forwards if we are going to keep up with Philly and Pittsburgh next year.
The Original 24 Cups
The only one that scares me is Umberger! :)
Gilbert
A goal scorer and a improved third line would put the Habs over the top. They seem to be a fair way off of Detroit but so is the rest of the league.
I think there is a short-term need for a defensive defenseman that will not be filled internally. A trade for someone in the last year of his contract would make me a happy camper.
ps
thought you were golfing today?
ebk - too cold for golf today. I'm off for a boys' cottage weekend in Muskoka starting tonight. It will be me against the black flies. I hoping that the scent of single malt Scotch will fend them off!
The Original 24 Cups
Too cold for golf? Wow....
How there can be black flies if it is too cold to golf is what I'm trying to figure out...
:P
24, well have a great weekend.
There are few guys in the league that I respect/fear on the other time more than Sundin. For my money he is one of, if not the best, hockey players in the league.
That being said, in my mind he's a Leaf through and through and I don't really care to see him in the bleu blanc et rouge. I know this sounds silly to some but it's just how I feel about the Habs, their rivals and the league in general. This man is the heart and soul of the club we live to hate and I'm just not comfortable with placing that heart (as big and strong as it is) in our body. There must be some kind of hockey medical ethics against it.
There comes a time for some superstars when they just become so identifiable with their club, that to me they are that club, no matter where they go (e.g. M. Richard, Yzerman, Brodeur, Sundin) and there are some places they can't/shouldn't go. Try to imagine if back in the day the Rocket decided to sign with the Leafs, or if in the late 90's Yzerman decided to go end his career with the Avalanche? I'm sure there are a few examples of these kinds of things happening, but it just doesn't seem right to me. If Sundin wasn't a Leaf or wasn't with another club that had such a fierce rivalry with the Habs (i.e. Boston) and still had the same identity to his organization, then I'd be all for such a signing. For me though, the rivalry plus his identity with that team that we rival is just too much.
Besides, I don't think he'd do it anyway. If he signs somewhere other than Toronto (which I think he'll feel too guily about anyway considering his deadline decision), it won't be in the Northeast and probably not in the East. I see Detroit or Vancouver as being better fits for him.
Having Sundin with Montreal would be great. But, do you think he would have a tough time mentally & emotionally playing against his old team? Would he have the same gusto and drive like when he played vs. Mtl? I imagine there would be an adjustment period.
He might be a nice menture to a young prospect like Fabian Brunnstrom as Kovalev had done with our young Euro-Rus talents. It also fits with getting vetran grit come playoff time. Plus the it answers the big Center need, albeit only a short-term fix. Imagine the PP options....
With that said does he fit on a team that growing from with a young core? I hate his boarder-line dirty cross-checking in front of the net knowing that only a Vetran like him and Chelios could get away with, but it would sure be nice to have it happening for us instead of against us. For the most part Montreal has shyed away from this type image, but is the ingrediant were missing? Time will tell I guess.
I think becoming a legitimate Cup contender with a guy like that on the roster trumps a whole lot of other issues, including image. No one's calling the leafs a dirty team because of Sundin. If he wants to muck it up in front of the net as a Hab...bring it on. As for growing from within, I don't think that one would be an issue either. The team's core would still be homegrown youth. Sundin would just be a temporary fixture...like renting a limo to take you to the prom rather than driving your dad's ten-year-old pickup. It's still you and your girlfriend going on the date...you just have a better rig to get you there.
http://habsloyalist.blogspot.com
Haha, nice analogy ;)
Honestly, I'd like to see Brian Rolston in a Canadiens jersey. I think he'd be dynamite.
Me too but I think hes really liked in MIN as well as he liking the team... I would suspect he would be returning with them. But I would agree he's got all the ingredients we would be looking for in a winger for Koivu.
I was thinking that too. But, Sundin would be a treat for a year or two.
Why is it that nobody on the Habs ever picks sweater number 13? At least not in many many years. 13 is not retired. Ist it the bad-luck-thing? Anybody know?
It's not a luck thing at all...they were just saving it for Sundin.
http://habsloyalist.blogspot.com