Round 3: Molsons re-acquire Montreal franchise

Congratulations to the Molson brothers on their purchase of the Montreal Canadiens from George N. Gillett, for the modest sum of US$550 M! 

In all seriousness, this event truly makes me happy as it puts an end to a long series of events that began earlier this year when the American millionaire hired Jacques Menard from BMO to evaluate his assets. Gillett, due to the poor economy, was heading into a dark financial hole if he didn't cut his losses which were mostly generated by his Nascar and English Soccer ventures. Today that dark hole turned into a fluffier and greener one.

This day also marks the end of Gillett's run as an NHL owner, a particularly successful one at that. In an industry where proprietors are ecstatic to cover their expenses, Gillett doubled the value of the Canadian franchise over a span of 8 years, from US$225 M (the price he paid Molson Coors in 2001) to US$550 M. 

Numerous other groups were amongst the bidders for the Historic Club, the Bell Centre and Gillett Entertainment Group, including one lead by Quebecor mastermind Pierre-Karl Pelladeau. In the end, the Molsons ponied up their savings and decided to purchase the Canadiens, in order to try and restore to the team the prestige it had possessed under their family in past years. 

The Molsons (Hartland and Thomas) originally purchased the Canadiens as well as the Canadian Arena Company, in 1957. They then proceeded to sell off both assets to their cousins (J. David, William A. and Peter B.)  for approximately US$5 M. In 1971, the Bleu-Blanc-Rouge was sold by the Molsons to a group headed by the Bronfman family. 

In a second attempt to lead the Montreal franchise to more success, Molson Breweries of Canada Ltd. purchased the club from this same group in 1978 and had possession of it until 2001. During their combined 37 years of ownership, the Molsons were present for 11 of the Canadiens' 24 stanley cup victories. But leave it at that, they're 0n an 8-year losing skid!

No need for Hossa!

Pittsburgh can have him all they want, it sure didn't stop the Habs, as they steam-rolled the Atlanta Thrashers 5-1 at the Bell Centre.

Bob Gainey had the final word on Tuesday night, as both his gambles, for the moment, have paid off.

Firstly, Carey Price played very well, even though the Thrashers didn't have many "dangerous" scoring opportunities, stopping 26 out of 27 shots.

Secondly, the offense was explosive, even without the acquisition of Marian Hossa. The Canadiens scored 5 goals on 33 shots and had numerous scoring chances. Chris Higgins had 3 points, 2 goals and 1 assist, Saku Koivu amassed 2 assists and Maxim Lapierre, Sergei Kostitsyn and Andrei Markov (PP) each had a goal. Markov also had an assist and recorded his 50th point, a new career high, on his 13th goal of the season. The powerplay unit converted once in 5 tries.

This all comes to show us Montreal Canadiens fans that our GM, for the moment, knows what he is doing and that we didn't "desperately" need Hossa after all, like we kept telling ourselves before the Trade Deadline. The only thing we do need "desperately" is to be patient with our young squad and great things will come.

Keep faith fellow Habs Fans!

Tanguay staying put

Alex Tanguay will not be a member of the Montreal Canadiens come Tuesday afternoon

According to a TSN.ca article, Flames winger Alex Tanguay won't be traded by tomorrow's Trade Deadline.

Flames GM Darryl Sutter said to the media that "Alex Tanguay is one of the top left wingers in the National Hockey League an he'll be a pretty good player for us down the stretch."

When asked precisely about Tanguay's status, he replied by saying "I'm not trading Alex Tanguay. I already answered the question, I said Alex Tanguay will be a good player for us down the stretch."

This is the day's second blow to the Trade Market as both Tanguay and Mats Sundin have been pulled off of it. Once again, the attention has now increased on the Trashers' Marian Hossa, who is know, without question, the no.1 forward available. Brian Campbell and he are now the cream of the crop of this year's Trade Deadline Day market.

This is also a second blow to the Montreal Canadiens, as they reportedly coveted both Sundin and Tanguay. All the attention is now on Hossa, nothing more, nothing less.

Keep faith fellow Habs fans!

Habs lose to Blue Jackets, 3-0

Price played poorly against the Blue Jackets

Montreal -- After a great ceremony in Bob Gainey's honour, the Canadiens fell apart at the Bell Centre against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The Canadiens weren't able to put one puck past Blue Jackets 'keeper Pascal Leclaire, who earned his league-leading 9th shutout of the season.

Even though the Canadiens did not score a goal, they had numerous missed opportunities, as the league's best powerplay failed to capitalize on 6 tries. Alex Kovalev was shut down numerous times by Pascal Leclaire on the doorstep, as he tried to squeak the puck in between his legs.

As for Carey Price, he let in 3 soft goals, which made it impossible for Montreal to stay in the game.

Result: 3-0 beating against Columbus.

Hopefully, this will push Bob Gainey to make a move before Tuesday, 3:00 PM.

Keep faith fellow Habs fans...

Why the Canadiens should acquire Marian Hossa

According to many Canadiens' fans, Bob Gainey shouldn't bring in a star forward in before this year's Trade Deadline. He should just let the team like it is, and/or make a few minor tweaks, and let the group grow as a whole.

Personally, I think we shouldn't.

Firstly, like the Ottawa Senators showed us a few Saturdays ago, we have only one competent line, and if it is shut down, so is the complete team. This should show us that the 1st line needs to step up as well, like the "2nd" has done all year long. Guy Carbonneau has tried different combinations, and as trading or "demoting" Koivu to a lower line is not an option, we have to seek out-of-town help. Please don't tell me that Ryder is "back" and that "he is like a trade acquisition, without giving up anything". Yes, he's had one good game all year long, and as he showed us after his first "wake-up" in Florida, he'll fall right back to sleep as soon as possible.

Secondly, we lack playoff experience. Hossa fits the bill (55 GP). Personally, I would not want to go into the playoffs with only Hamrlik, Koivu, Kovalev and Markov with serious playoff experience (Dandy does not count as he is not a regular fixture, as of late, in the lineup). We need to surround our youngsters with talented veterans who are capable of leading them.

Thirdly, Higgins, who we would probably traded with others for Hossa, is a nice young player, yes, but very streaky and slightly injury-prone. As well, every GM in the game knows, "you have to give something, in order to get something". He also does not seem to click with Koivu all the time, only during his hot streaks, and since Andrei Kostitsyn is a fixture on the 2nd line, there is no "premium" space left for him on the team.

Fourthly, we have one of the deepest farm systems in the league. Dealing one or two of our prospects will not change our fate, as we are so deep that they would not even have any spot in the lineup if they were even on the club.

All these reasons spell the same thing: GET HOSSA!

Keep faith fellow Habs fans!

Hossa closer to coming to Montreal

Yesterday, RDS reported that the Montreal Canadiens have ordered Hab-colored equipment for forward Marian Hossa.

This does not mean Hossa has been acquired, but this could indicate that the Canadiens are very close to acquiring his services from the Atlanta Thrashers.

Unbelievable Comeback!

Cristobal Huet and Mike Komisarek celebrate the Canadiens' victory

In near 100 years of history, the Montreal Canadiens had never won a game after trailing by 5 goals. Yesterday night, they did!

The game got off to a bad start for the Habs as Carey Price gave up 3 goals on 11 shots, which caused him to be replaced by Cristobal Huet. Huet wasn't better, being scored on twice by Brendan Shanahan and Chris Drury, both on the Powerplay. From a Montreal Canadiens point of view, the game was over. The Habs were being beaten up by the Rangers and their lead seemed to be impossible to close in on, even though there were 14:57 left to the 2nd period, and therefore 3/4 of the game left to come back.

Indeed, it was time which gave us an advantage, as well as the Rangers' overconfidence.

In these remaining 14 minutes of the 2nd period, Michael Ryder, of all people, scored twice, his first goal being a beautiful shot up-high on Rangers' keeper Henrik Lundqvist. Even after these goals, the Montreal Faithful didn't think any comeback was possible, but there was still hope...

The 3rd period was decisive. Two goals scored by Alex Kovalev and Mark Streit (more or less, he deflected a Michael Ryder shot with his left leg...) trimmed the Rangers' lead to 1 goal.

Then, Marek Malik took a selfish penalty for slashing at 14:22 of the 3rd Period, bringing the league's best powerplay onto the ice. 1:14 later, Alex Kovalev ripped a shot to Lundqvist's right and scored.

The game was now tied and off to overtime. The Rangers had the best chance of scoring and therefore erasing their mistake during the overtime period, as Scott Gomez, came very close to re-directing a Brendan shanahan pass past Canadiens' keeper Cristobal Huet.

The game was now off to shootout. After 4 missed opportunities, Saku Koivu came onto the ice as the Habs' 2nd shooter. Koivu came in slowly on Lundqvist, and then deeked him out rapidly, to score. The Rangers' 3rd shooter, the streaky Jaromir Jagr, had to score to extend the game. As he drew close to Huet's crease, he lost control of the puck while attempting a deke. The game was over, the Canadiens had won, 6-5!

Olli Jokinen: Pros and Cons

Dear Readers, I present you, without further adue: Olli Jokinen.

Olli Jokinen is a 29-year old center playing for the Florida Panthers. His natural goal-scorer instincts and his above-average hands, as well as his good face-off abilities, have turned him into a star-superstar player at the NHL level. On February 5th, Jokinen reached the 200 goal mark. Over his past 3 seasons, Jokinen has scored at least 29 goals, and over his past 2 (not including 2007-08) has had 89 points or more.

Jokinen’s talent, goal-scoring ability and his “affordable” contract according to today’s market (08-09: 5.25M, 09-10: 5.50M), have turned the Finn into a hot commodity.

Many teams, like the Montreal Canadiens, could benefit from the acquisition of such a talented player, even though the bounty required to acquire him would be quite high. As an estimation of Olli’s worth, from a Habs’ point of view, expect the Canadiens to trade Chris Higgins, Ryan O’Byrne, Mikhail Grabovski and 1st round and 3rd round Draft Picks to the Panthers if Jokinen were to be acquired.

Although Jokinen’s team, the Florida Panthers, seems to be going nowhere, even with the acquisition and stellar play of goaltender Tomas Vokoun, Jokinen hasn’t voiced his displeasure publicly or hasn’t gone to see his GM Jacques Martin to ask him to be traded, but who knows, as the Trade Deadline draws nearer, he might.

Keep faith fellow Habs fans!

Bob Gainey Tribute

Saturday, February 23rd 2008 will be a very special day for Bob Gainey. On that day, the Peterborough, Ont. native will have his number 23 raised to the rafters by the Montreal Canadiens.

Let’s have a quick look at Mr. Gainey’s 16-year NHL career:

In 1973, he was selected in both the NHL and WHA amateur drafts, 8th overall by the Montreal Canadiens and 7th overall by the Minnesota Fighting Saints. Gainey ultimately chose to play for the Canadiens, with whom he became one of the best defensive specialists of all-time, winning four consecutive Fran J. Selke trophies (awarded to the league’s best defensive player) from 1977-78 to 1980-1981.

He also won, with the ”Bleu, Blanc et Rouge”, 5 stanley cups (1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1986).
He was also the Canadiens’ captain from 1981, until his retirement in 1989.

In total, he appeared in 1160 regular season games, scored 239 goals and registered 263 assists.

In 1992, he was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame. According to Viktor Tikhonov, a legendary Soviet national team coach, he was the world’s best all-around player and, therefore, for the majority of his career, he was regarded by many in the Soviet Union hockey system as the greatest hockey player ever.
In 1998, he was ranked 86th in The Hockey News’ list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players.
From 1992 to 2002, he was GM of the Dallas Stars, with whom he won the Stanley Cup for a 6th time in 1999.

A year and a half after having stepped down as GM of the Stars, he was named GM of the Montreal Canadiens, with whom he has been ever since.

Marian Hossa: Pros and Cons

Ah! Against the Leafs! Marvelous!

As we all know, Trade Deadline Day is approaching. One week from today, we will only be 2 days away from one of the most exciting days on the NHL Calendar. That day will also be a gut-wrenching one for us Montreal Canadiens fans, as we await to see who Big Bob will be targeting and trying to acquire: Marian Hossa or Olli Jokinen?

In this article, I will document the pros and cons of acquiring Marian Hossa.

Here we go:

Marian Hossa, a 29-year old czech right winger, is especially renown for his offensive abilities.
His combination of great hands and his ability to keep the puck make him an offensive threat at any moment, and so does his explosive shot. Eventhough he isn't much of a physical presence, the offense he generates makes up for it. Over his past 3 seasons (not including 07-08) he has scored 36 goals or more and has had 82 points (1 PPG) or more.

His position also makes him quite intriguing, because he is a right winger, and could therefore fill the void left by Michael Ryder' downfall, as our 1st line RWer. He would also add some size (6'1'') .

Two cons against Hossa are his status after July 1st, the date after which he will become an unrestricted free-agent and the salary he might command on the open market.

Like we saw last season with Daniel Briere and Chris Drury, Marian Hossa could easily be offered a 4-5 year contract worth US$8-9 M annually.

One big question is: Do the Canadiens have the will and the ability to dish out all this money to a guy like Hossa, especially with the RFA status' of Andrei Kostitsyn and of, in a few years ,Tomas Plekanec, Sergei Kostitsyn and Chris Higgins and with Mike Komisarek's UFA status after the 08-09 season ?

Another con against Hossa is his trade value. As one of my colleagues pointed out, if Peter Forsberg can get you Scottie Upshall, Ryan Parent and two high picks (1st and 3rd rounds), what can Marian Hossa get you?

An approximation would be Chris Higgins, Ryan O'Byrne , one of Kyle Chipchura, Corey Locke or Mikhail Grabovsky and a first rounder. A condition to such a trade would probably be a negotating period with Hossa and his agent on an extension.

All this is a short resume of what is going on inside the Canadiens' Front Office's heads. Hopefully, they won't explode!

Keep faith fellow Habs fans!

Canadiens: Week 2 (10/8-10/14)

Wednesday, October 10th, 7:30 PM:


(1-0-1)


VS


(1-1-0)


Saturday, October 13th, 7:00 PM:


(1-1-1)


VS


(1-0-1)

Canadiens lose to Leafs in OT

Toronto-- A combination of bad penalties, horrible giveaways and leaving Cristobal Huet by himself to face the Maple Leafs resulted in the Habs' first loss of the season.

Eventhough they started the game strong by scoring 2:43 minutes in, the Canadiens coughed up their early lead when Leafs defenceman Ian White ripped a shot past Cristobal Huet, after multiple unsuccessful clearing attempts by both Alexei Kovalev and Andrei Kostitsyn (Kastsitsyn).

Later in the opening frame, Andrei Markov played aggressively on the penalty kill and shot a puck past Vesa Toskala.

Andrei Kostitsyn (Kastsitsyn) added to the Tricolore's lead with his 1st goal of the new campaign.

Over the next 2 periods, one player would step up for the Leafs, scoring twice and leading his team to overtime, that one player being Alexei Ponikarovski.

A couple of moments into overtime, Mats Sundin was penalized, thus giving our dear Canadiens a 4-3 powerplay.

After numerous failed scoring attempts by Mark Streit and Alex Kovalev and after the Habs botched the aforementioned powerplay, Canadiens' defenceman Francis Bouillon was sent to the Sin Bin.

On the ensuing powerplay, Leafs' Montreal Canadiens Killer Tomas Kaberle one-timered a Mats Sundin pass past Huey.

The game was all over.

2007-08 New Jerseys -- Northeast

Boston Bruins:


Buffalo Sabres:


Montreal Canadiens:



Ottawa Senators:





Toronto Maple Leafs (Ugh!):

Latest Transactions

17th of July:

- Bruins acquired LW Peter Schaefer from Senators for RW Shean Donovan.

- Hurricanes acquired C Matt Cullen from Rangers for D Andrew Hutchinson, F Joe Barnes and a 3rd round pick in 2008.

- Canadiens re-signed D Josh Gorges, D Jean-Philippe Cote, D Andrew Archer, RW Duncan Milroy, C Corey Locke and G Yann Danis.

Canadiens Prospects: Ryan O'Byrne

Birthdate: July 19th, 1984
Hometown: Victoria, British Columbia
Position: Defense
Shoots: Right
Height/Weight: 6'5"/225
Drafted: 2003, 3rd Round Pick (79th Overall)

Assets:

- Big Frame
- Skating speed
- Mobility
- "Can flat out crunch players"
- Heavy shot from the point

Flaws:

- Too many minor penalties
- Needs to improve on his reads and reaction time

2006/07 Stats: 80 GP: 0 G, 12 A, 12 PTS, -7, 129 PIM

Note: With the lack of real depht on defense, O'Byrne has a serious shot at making the team out of training camp.

7/5/07 UFA SIGNINGS

11:50 PM- Red Wings sign G Dominik Hasek:
1 year at US$2 million (Without Bonuses)

9:00 PM- Nickle1371 sends in the following:

Do you think Patrick Kaleta will be in the sabres line-up next season? also do you think the sabres will go after comrie or souray. (sorry if we do take souray from u, cuz we want it bad too lol.)"

Dear Nickle,

I do think that Patrick Kaleta has a chance of making the Sabres out of training camp, especially with the losses of Daniel Briere, Chris Drury and Dainius Zubrus. He played 7 games for the Sabres, managing 2 assists and 21 penalty minutes. But nothing is certain.

I do also believe the Sabres went after New York Islander Mike Comrie, who could of filled their need of a speedy and gritty 2nd line center. Comrie signed with the Islanders a few moments ago.

As to going after Sheldon Souray, I am not so sure Darcy Regier was too kean on signing a defenceman for over US$5 million, with a lack of defensive ability. I also believe the Sabres lost a big part of their forwards this offseason, and did not need to sign defencemen, but needed to concentrate their money on forwards who could replace the ones who left via the UFA market.

I hope this helps,

I Want It!

8:34 PM- Islanders sign C Mike Comrie:
1 year

8:33 PM- Sabres sign G Jocelyn Thibault:
1 year

5:50 PM- Ducks sign D Shane Hnidy:
2 years

5:34 PM- Islanders sign F Bill Guerin:
2 year at US$9 million

4:20 PM- Canadiens sign D Jamie Rivers:
2 years

1:18 PM- Devils sign G Kevin Weekes:
2 years at US$1.375 million

11:33 AM- Columbus Blue Jackets sign D Jan Hejda:
1 year

2007-08 Canadiens Lineup

MONTREAL-- Having signed our last free agent, I think I should give you fans a look at this year's Montreal Canadiens lineup:

1st Line: C. Higgins -- S. Koivu -- A. Kovalev

2nd Line: G. Latendresse -- T. Plekanec -- M. Ryder

3rd Line: J. Lahti -- B. Smolinski -- A. Kostitsyn

4th Line: M. Lapierre -- S. Begin -- M. Streit

1st Pairing: A. Markov -- M. Komisarek

2nd Pairing: R. Hamrlik -- J. Gorges

3rd Pairing: M. Dandenault -- F. Bouillon

Starter: C. Huet

Backup: J. Halak

Bench: T. Kostopoulos

Notes:

1) J. Lahti and T. Kostopoulos are inter-changeable.
2) A. Kovalev and M. Ryder are inter-changeable.
3) M. Streit could be in J. Gorges place, T. Kostopoulos in M. Streit's place and J. Gorges in T. Kostopoulos' place.

Canadiens sign Kostopoulos

MONTREAL-- Bob Gainey wasn't lying yesterday when he told the Media that he still was looking at some players, on whom to spend his remaining US$2 million.

He has spent, according to TSN, US$900,000 of it on veteran winger Tom Kostopoulos.

The 28-year old will be playing for his 3rd NHL team, after stints with Pittsburgh (2001-2004) and Los Angeles (2005-2007).

He has totaled 70 points (25-45) in 231 NHL games.

Note: This signing surprises me, as I would be tremendously stunned to see Kostopoulos making the team out of training camp, with guys like Mark Streit, Andrei Kostitsyn, Kyle Chipchura competing seriously.

Gainey had US$2 million to spend on a replacement for Mike Johnson, and has wasted half of it on a career 4th line/reserve player. Instead of putting convincing offers on the table for guys like Glen Metropolit, Kyle Calder, Jeff O'Neill... he gave up, and signed a "10 point a season" guy.

7/4/07 UFA SIGNINGS

ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS ?
E-mail me at: afi.ville.49@gmail.com

5:30 PM- Sabres re-sign D Teppo Numminen:
1 year at US$2.6 million


1:45 PM- Islanders sign LW Ruslan Fedotenko:
1 year at US$2.9 million


1:35 PM- Thrashers re-sign LW Slava Kozlov:
3 years at US$11 million (US$3.66 annually)


11:35 AM- Canadiens sign W Tom Kostopoulos:
2 years at US$1.8 million (US$900,000 annually)


10:05 AM- Flames re-sign RW Jarome Iginla:
5 years


10:00 AM- Maple Leafs re-sign G Vesa Toskala:
2 years at US$8 million (US$4 annually)


8:55 AM- Rumor Central (Teams Interested):

RW Bill Guerin (VAN, CBJ)
D Sean Hill (MIN)
LW Slava Kozlov (DAL, ATL)
D Sheldon Souray (NJ, SJ, DAL, NYR)

8:50 AM- Top 5 Free Agents:

5) D Brent Sopel
4) LW Slava Kozlov
3) LW Brendan Shanahan
2) C Peter Forsberg
1) D Sheldon Souray

Those are the players you want!

MONTREAL-- Signing defenceman Roman Hamrlik and center Bryan Smolinski were moves Canadiens GM Bob Gainey is not likely regret, as both players are quite happy to be playing in Montreal:

Hamrlik: "I got a few offers from teams in the U.S., but I told my agent I'd love to play in Canada," the 33-year-old Hamrlik said from Zlin, Czech Republic on a conference call, comparing hockey in Canada to playing soccer in England. "It's great hockey."

Smolinski: "Being in Ottawa a a few years and seeing that rivalry with Montreal, it'll be interesting to see it from the other side. "It's a beautiful city and it's an Original Six team. It'll be an honour to wear that jersey."

As you may have seen with the previous quotes, both skaters are tremendously motivated to be playing for the NHL team with the most Stanley Cup wins, an emotion that wasn't necessarily present last season when the Canadiens signed winger Sergei Samsonov, who was just happy somebody signed him. He was never welcomed in Montreal after his slow start and his bad mouthing of the French media.

Bob Gainey has played it "safe" this offseason, adding players who's "no.1 choices" were Montreal, and who have put up consistent numbers throughout the years.

On the other hand, Samsonov had been plagued by injuries and had put up incosistent numbers over the seasons, when he was signed by the Canadiens last offseason.

Gainey has changed his strategy this offseason, going after hard working players who bring team spirit and leadership to the dressing room, instead of over-paying for selfish players.