Russian report: Habs offer contract and captaincy to Kovalev

TSN.ca Staff
5/27/2009 9:48:01 AM

A Russian sports newspaper reports that the Montreal Canadiens have offered the team's captaincy to pending unrestricted free agent Alex Kovalev and that Saku Koivu is no longer in plans for the team.

According to Sovietsky Sport, the Canadiens don't intend to re-sign Koivu and would opt to re-sign Kovalev to a one-year deal worth between $6 million and $7.5 million. The story also claims that Kovalev would be awarded the captaincy.

The paper adds that Kovalev wants to remain with the Canadiens and negotiations with the team would continue when he returns from holiday. Sovietsky also reports that the Canadiens offered defenceman Mike Komisarek a multi-year contract worth $4 million per season, but the pending unrestricted free agent is holding out for $6 million per season.

Koivu, 34, has been the Canadiens second-longest serving captain. His nine seasons with the 'C' trails only the legendary Jean Beliveau, who was captain for 10 seasons.

"If I'm not signed by July 1, I don't think I'll be back in Montreal," Koivu said last month. "Finishing your career with one team would be awesome in a way, but it's too early to say because I don't know what the team's plan is. We lost yesterday, so I need time to sit down with my family and figure out what's best for us."

Koivu, Kovalev and Komisarek are among 10 Canadiens regulars heading toward unrestricted free agency on July 1. Forwards Alex Tanguay, Robert Lang and Tom Kostopoulos and defencemen Mathieu Schneider, Francis Bouillon, Patrice Brisebois and Mathieu Dandenault are also slated to be free agents.

NHL Draft TweetUp - Information about the Great City of Montreal

Posted by Amanda Fortier
All Habs

We’ve had a lot of questions about how to get around in Montreal, where to stay and what to do while you're here. To try and help everyone who is coming in for the Draft NHL Tweetup, we’ve compiled some general information to point you in the right direction.

There are also a number of good websites that offer information about Montreal, such as Montreal Kiosk , Tourism Montreal and Montreal.com .

Transportation

From the airport to the city

The Trudeau Airport is located on the western side of the Island of Montreal. While it is possible to get downtown using public transportation, it’s not easy. There are 2 options that are pretty simple:
• The cheap option: Take the airport shuttle bus (Aerobus)
The airport shuttle bus departs every half an hour from the airport, and stops at several hotels downtown before reaching the bus terminal, which is its’ final destination. There is a kiosk outside the airport departures level, where tickets can be purchased on arrival. It will cost $15.00 one-way, or $25.00 round trip. You can also arrange to be dropped off at your hotel by reserving in advance. Click on the link above for more information.
• The less cheap option: Take a taxi
It’s relatively quick and easy to get a taxi outside the airport, or on pretty much any major street in Montreal. There is a set fare for trips from the airport to downtown Montreal (and vice-versa) of $38.00 (not including tip). You can find taxi numbers by clicking on the link above, but trust me, you probably won't need it.

In the city

1) Public Transit
Montreal has a very good transit system, with both bus and metro (subway) service, if you want to be adventurous and explore the city. For more information about transit:
A couple of pointers for transit:
• You can buy a one-day pass or a three-day pass. If you plan to do a bunch of exploring, this will probably save you money.
• When you take the metro, pay attention to the direction you need to travel. This can at times be confusing, but there are always maps in the metro that can help you figure out which way to go.
• Google Maps is linked in to the Montreal transit system and give you pretty good directions on how to get somewhere using car, transit or by walking!

2) Taxi
Of course, there is always the option to take a cab. Your hotel concierge can get you one, or you can flag one down on most roads in the downtown area. If the light is lit on top of the cab, they are available to take a fare. Just wave, they’ll stop and pick you up!

3) Walk
Yes, walk! Downtown Montreal is a nice place to walk. Montrealers walk a LOT, so get out and enjoy our beautiful sunny weather. If, by chance, it happens to be rainy... there is a pretty cool underground city that connects a few different malls and such.

Hotels and Accomodations

We have been lucky enough to pair with the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth to offer a special rate for people attending the Draft NHLTweetup! They are offering a special rate of $199 per night plus a $25 food and beverage credit. This is a really good rate for a very nice hotel (and just between us, I also heard a rumour the players may be staying at this hotel also). Click the link to make a reservation.

Another option in the downtown area is the Delta Centreville. They are offering summer rates as low as $109 per night through TravelZoo. Click here to make a reservation.

Please note that both of these deals require special codes, which you will have access to if you click on the links from this page.

If neither of these hotels work for you, there are a number of hotels in the downtown area. We intend to focus our activities in the area of the Bell Centre, so consider looking in that area. I would recommend visiting Trip Advisor and exploring the reviews if you aren’t familiar with the hotel. There are a lot of upscale hotels in the area of the Bell Centre, but don’t be discouraged, there are other hotels as well.

Please be aware: The Montreal International Jazz Festival starts the following Wednesday, and people may come in early for this. You might want to book your hotel sooner rather than later!

Restaurants and Bars

Montreal is famous for its nightlife and good food. While it would be impossible to list all the good places to go, here are a few areas that you might want to explore.

• Crescent Street – Located right in the area of the Bell Centre, Crescent Street is full of restaurants, pubs and bars. Wander up the street, and you’ll be sure to find something that appeals to you.
• St Laurent Blvd – If you are interested in the nightlife and want to go to the bars, St Laurent Blvd (north of Sherbrooke St) is always a happening place. There are bars and restaurants along here, including the famous Schwartz’s Montreal Hebrew Delicatessen, where you can try a delicious Montreal Smoked Meat Sandwich. Don’t be intimidated by the line up – if you want to take out, you can usually skip the line. But it’s worth the wait if you want to sit down!
• Rue St Denis – A little less nightlife, but a lot more restaurants than St Laurent. It’s a bit further from downtown, but not much.

Things to Do in Montreal

Things to Do in Montreal (that are hockey related)

• Hang out with the Tweeps from Montreal, and come to the TweetUp (of course!)
• Visit the Old Forum (Ste Catherine and Atwater) – there are still parts of the old seats to see. It has been turned into a retail establishment, but if you’re a Habs fan (or even if you’re not), it’s definitely worth a visit
• Visit the Bell Centre and see the new Centennial Plaza... and shop at the Canadiens store (you all know you’re secretly Habs fans at heart, and you are dying to buy a jersey or shirt!)

Things to Do in Montreal (that aren’t hockey related)

If you are interested in checking out other things to do in Montreal, there are a number of big attractions that might interest you:
• La Ronde (our local amusement park)
• For the geeks , the Biodôme/Insectarium/Botanical Gardens/Planetarium (choose the one you are interested in on that page... and just to be clear, I love these places!)
• The Old Port is a cool place to walk around and shop or eat, also right in the area are the Montreal Science Centre and the Pointe-à-Callière Museum of Archealogy and History
• SHOP (Ste Catherine St, St Laurent Blvd or St Denis are good places to start!)
• Titanic The Artifact Exhibit

Hopefully this information will help you plan your trip to Montreal! Of course, you can always ask us questions if you are stuck or need more information. Just contact one of the local organizing committee members:

@all_habs
@amandafortier
@kyleroussel
@metricjulie





We're looking forward to meeting you at the NHL Draft TweetUp!

Montreal Canadiens' medical update

Montreal Canadiens
PRESS RELEASE
May 22, 2009, 2:34 PM EDT

MONTREAL – Montreal Canadiens general manager Bob Gainey issued a medical update today on the status of forward Maxim Lapierre and defenseman Mathieu Schneider.

Yesterday Maxim Lapierre, 24, underwent a minor surgical procedure to his ankle. For most of the season, Maxim was able to play despite the injury. Lapierre and the Canadiens’ medical staff had agreed that surgery would be performed at the end of the season.

Mathieu Schneider underwent arthroscopic shoulder surgery last week. Schneider suffered a shoulder injury in a game against the Maple Leafs in Toronto on April 4. He missed two games before returning for the last two regular season games of the season. The 39-year old played in the first two playoff games against the Boston Bruins, but was unable to participate in the following two contests.

Both players are expected to fully recover in time for the start of training camp in September.

King Carey

from canadiens.com
May 20, 2009, 4:00 AM EDT

The Habs may have scored over 240 goals in 2008-09, but the fans have spoken and the canadiens.com Play of Year is a beauty of a save by newly-crowned champ Carey Price.

Flashing the leather in the face of Pittsburgh’s Matt Cooke, the All-Star goaltender brought his A-Game into the annual showdown. Facing some stiff competition in the form of toe drags, dangles and backhand dekes, Price’s glove hand all but catapulted the sophomore netminder straight into the finals.

The Best of the Best
Carey Price now joins Andrei Kostitsyn as a canadiens.com Play of the Year champion.
2008-09 Carey Price
2007-08 Andrei Kostitsyn

The first challenger to throw his hat into the ring was underdog Mike Komisarek, whose bone-crunching bodycheck on Tampa Bay’s Evgeny Artyukhin left the Lightning winger peeling himself off the ice in late January. While the hit sent the Bell Centre crowd into a frenzy at the time, it wasn’t enough to edge out Price’s 88.9% of first round votes.
After sidestepping past the Habs’ bruising blue-liner to kick off the competition, Price’s highlight reel save headed into the quarterfinals as a heavy favorite. With a last minute dangle through almost the entire L.A. Kings roster, Christopher Higgins lit the lamp behind Jonathan Quick to even the score at 3. Despite his offensive spark, Canadiens fans opted instead to give props for solid work in the D zone, sending the New Yorker packing with just 36% of the votes in the second round.

After seeing two young vets fall to the wayside, rookie Matt D’Agostini gave it his best shot in Round 3, where Price again picked up two-thirds of the votes over the young forward's dazzling breakaway marker. Not even Robert Lang’s veteran experience could will the 38-year-old past the young All Star in the following round, when his second of two goals against the Rangers lost out with just 35.3% of votes in the semifinals.

With the table set for the final, Price squared off against Habs sniper Alex Tanguay for the top prize. Posting a sequence of shifty moves and sleight of hand, the Ste-Justine native launched a picture-perfect shot past Atlanta’s Kari Lehtonen, making his case for the crown. Entering the POY tourney as the No. 2 seed, Tanguay finally met his match in the Anahim Lake, B.C. native in the final. Thanks to your votes, the 2008-09 Molson Cup champion Carey Price can now add a Play of the Year title to his mantle back home.

Shauna Denis is a writer for canadiens.com

Coming soon: NHL Draft Tweetup in Montreal

Posted by: Kyle and Rocket
AllHabs.blogspot.com


We had such a good time, we are doing it again!

What you ask? Perhaps you recall that All Habs hosted a NHL Tweetup during the first game of the Montreal - Boston series. It's time for a second NHL Tweetup in Montreal. More about that later.

What's a Tweetup? Twitter is a free social messaging utility for staying connected in real-time. A tweetup is a real world social gathering for people who know each other through the online Twitter service. This was an opportunity for Twitter users to meet in person, network, and have fun.

An NHL Tweetup is a gathering of hockey twitterers in cities all over the US and Canada. It was initiated by hockey fans in conjunction with the NHL to watch the first game of the 2009 playoffs. Additional hockey tweetups have continued through subsequent series of the playoffs.

All Habs scheduled the Montreal NHL Tweetup during game 1 of the Habs/Bruins series on April 16th. It was a good turnout for a first time; a dozen passionate Habs fans descended on Les 3 Brasseurs at Ste Catherine and Crescent. (Thank you to @pluc for choosing the location!)

One by one, our little community of Habs Twitterati filed in to the bar. The catch is that nobody had really met before, so there was no way to really know who you were meeting up with. We can assume that nobody was left in the bar alone, so everyone eventually found the right table! Even though the Canadiens lost, a great time was had by all. We didn't get a lot to cheer about, but the spirits remained high just the same. It was not your typical bunch of cranky, demanding Habs fans!



Some highlights of the night:

• @twtfelipe won the NHL Gamecenter Subscription.
• @EP31's AWESOME Lucic voodoo doll (Read: Bruins Voodoo Magic )
  
• @pluc's domination of not one, but two "flamms" (they're not quite a pizza, but you get the idea)

We certainly learned some lessons from our first get together. We hope that the NHL will be more forthcoming with their game schedule in future which will really assist in planning. And the NHL committed to be more equitable in their prize distribution. All Habs is also pursuing inclusion of the Canadiens organization in future events. While the Canadiens have been slow to embrace social media, we expect some progress.

The best thing that came out of the first Montreal tweetup is a continued camaraderie between a loyal group of Habs fans. It's safe to say that there's enough love of hockey in this group for a tweetup to be held for just about any reason.

We do have an excellent reason for the next NHL tweetup in Montreal: the NHL draft!

This time All Habs will be joining forces with the NHL. That's right! Montreal will host NHL twitter fans from all over the U.S. and Canada on June 27th just in time for the NHL draft. The location and further details will be announced soon.

Your Montreal organizing group for the NHL draft tweetup:

@amandafortier
@metricjulie
@kyleroussel
@all_habs

Habs ink P.K. Subban to three-year deal

from Canadiens.com
May 13, 2009, 3:24 PM EDT

PRESS RELEASE

MONTREAL – Montreal Canadiens General Manager Bob Gainey announced today the signing of defenceman P.K. Subban to a three-year contract (2009-10 to 2011-12). As per club policy, financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Subban was selected in the second round, 43rd overall by the Canadiens in 2007.

In 2008-09, Subban ranked tied for second among OHL defensemen with 76 points (14 goals, 62 assists) and posted the OHL’s fifth best plus/minus differential with a plus 47. Subban, who led the Bulls to the Eastern Conference Championship (98 points), was runner-up for the Max Kaminsky Award as OHL's Most Outstanding Defenseman (awarded to Ryan Ellis from the Windsor Spitfires). The six-foot, 202-pound defenseman also captained the Eastern Conference Team in his second consecutive OHL All-Star appearance.

During the 2009 Playoffs, Subban, who will turn 20 this Wednesday, May 13, ranked fifth in the league among defensemen with 15 points in 17 games (3 goals, 12 assists), as the Bulls lost to the Brampton Battalion in the OHL Conference Finals.

Last January, the Toronto native won his second consecutive gold medal with Team Canada at the World Junior Championship, presented in Ottawa. Subban led all skaters in the tournament with a plus-12 rating and was tied for first among defensemen with nine points in six contests (3 goals, 6 assists).

From 2005 to 2009, Subban amassed 191 points (42 goals, 149 assists), served 353 penalty minutes and posted a plus-79 rating in 234 regular-season games with the OHL’s Belleville Bulls. He also played in 56 playoff contests with Belleville, compiling 51 points (16 goals, 35 assists), 78 penalty minutes, and a plus-24 rating.

How did some of our Boys do at the Worlds?

Posted by Kyle

Let's see how some of the Habs did at the World Hockey Championships this year in Switzerland. We'll be able to take have a clearer picture if the shenanigans in Montreal dragged them down, or if they truly had dismal seasons.

Tomas Plekanec: 7 games played, 1 assist, 4 PIM, +1. Verdict? Ouch.
Chris Higgins: 5 games played, 1 goal, 1 assist, 2 PIM, +2. Verdict? Snooze.
Yannick Weber: 3 games played, 0 points, 8 PIM, even. Verdict? Meh.
Jaroslav Halak: 4 games played, 1W, 3L, 3.17 GAA, .872 SV% Verdict? Vomit.

So it appears that whatever malaise ruined Plekanec and Higgins' season was not just isolated to Montreal. This has simply been a nightmare season for them.

Weber didn't play much in Montreal, and performed admirably under dire circumstances against a far superior opponent. Halak had a decent season in Montreal, but this was pretty much a disaster tournament for him, including an 8-1 drubbing at the hands of the Czecks where teammate Tomas Surovy whacked him in the bean after yet another goal.

How about some former Habs...how did they do?

Mikhail Grabovski: (does he even count?) Either way, he went for 3 goals, 6 assists, 2 PIM, -1 in 7 games.
Janne Niiniimaa: He certainly doesn't count, but for what it's worth, he had an assist in 6 games.
Alexander Perezhogin: 3 goals, 3 assists, 6 PIM, +5. Impressive! And he didn't try to play tee ball with anyone's head.
Mark Streit: Ah our old friend Mark. He only had a goal and 4 helpers in 6 games. 8 PIM and -3 as Switzerland's top ice time getter and scorer. Well done Mark!
Marcel Hossa: He did rather well for himself; 3 goals, 2 assists, 4 PIM, -1 in 5 games for Slovakia.
Ron Hainsey: He averaged the 2nd most minutes on the team, and as a result picked up 2 goals, 4 assists for 6 points. 0 PIM, and a +2. Perhaps the most impressive of the lot!

Is it me, or is a pattern developing? Former Habs have done a heck of a lot better than current Habs. I'm not going to bother getting in to the reasons why this happens, because, quite frankly, I have no idea. I'll say that maturity is a part of it, as a few of those guys were boys when they played with us. Otherwise I've got nothing.

If there were any prospect Habs on any of those rosters, sorry...I missed them. Please feel free to add them below, as well as any other thoughts you may have.

Make it Seven!

from: Make it Seven (click the link to add your support!)

It's an exciting time for professional hockey in Southern Ontario and it has nothing to do with the playoffs. Jim Balsillie has made an offer to purchase the Phoenix Coyotes and relocate them to Southern Ontario. Jim stated, "I am excited to move closer to bringing an NHL franchise to what I believe is one of the best un-served hockey markets in the world". Read the full release statement here.

We are building an exciting online community to help promote bringing Canada its seventh franchise. Sign up here for updates and alerts as we build this site and show the hockey world that we are ready!

Together, we can make it seven!

Halak struck by teammate at World's

Jaroslav Halak didn't have a very good world championship tournament playing for Slovakia. Halak gave up several weak goals against Canada and was eventually pulled. Halak ended the tournament with a 1-3 record, 3.17 GAA and .871 SV%.

But the ultimate insult came in a game against the Czech Republic after the Slovaks gave up their eighth goal in an 8-0 loss. Halak was struck in the head by his frustrated defenseman Tomas Surovy.

Tomas Surovy Hits Own Goalie, Jaroslav Halak in World Hockey Championship 2009

All Aboard the Pain Train!

Posted by Kyle Roussel

Invisible Rust is Worse than Surface Rust

If you've ever done body work on your car, you know that sanding off surface rust is not that hard, or that big of a deal. Put on some putty, sand, buff and repaint. It's the rust the resides beneath the paint, that you can't see. It grows, deepens and spreads. Then one day, you bump your car against something as innocuous as a shopping cart, and the whole cancerous mess is revealed. No amount of buffing or sanding will help. You're now talking about cutting out entire sections of your car's body and welding on new sheet metal. That is a very big deal and is very difficult, and unless done by the pros, the patchwork always shows.

As our 100th season was falling apart at the seams, even before the Bruins bounced us in 4 straight, it was becoming apparent to me that things were heading down the wrong path. I'm unsure what the organization was thinking in going in to this season with so many unrestricted free agents. I don't mean that in a condescending way...I truly don't know what the thinking was. Was it simply the thought that frequently, and historically, players searching for a new contract come up with "career years"? Was the idea that so many of our UFAs would all have "career years" at the same time, which, by extension would carry us to the cup?

Could the thinking from from an entirely different place? What I mean is, could George Gillet have insisted that Gainey allow as many contracts to expire as possible so that when he sells the team, the new owners would have as little committed salary to pay as possible going forward?

I don't know, but what I do know is that half of our team is eligible to leave as of July 1st. Some see that as a great thing - lots of cap space, an opportunity to clean house, a chance to get a new face and identity to the team - a fresh start. The catch to that line of thinking, as I've been saying for a long time, is that cap space is useless unless you've got players that want to come to play for you.

This is the "beneath the surface rust" that I was talking about. The problems on our team go a lot deeper than just a couple of wayward kids, who would otherwise be labeled as surface rust.

Finally, the Truth is Coming Out!

Now comes this report from La Presse: http://www.cyberpresse.ca/sports/hockey/200904/30/01-851793-ces-joueurs-qui-ont-peur-de-montreal.php

If you're not up to speed on your French, I'll highlight some key points in the article for you:

According to a prominent agent representing hockey players (speaking on the condition of anonymity in order not to strain relations), between 75 and 80% of unrestricted free agents do NOT want to play in Montreal. Reasons for that include: high taxes, harsh winters, and wives (seriously?). Curiously, politics and the education system were left off that list, though I'm sure they figure in to it as well.

The unnamed agent goes on to say that most players today are aware of Montreal's great past...but don't care much for it. It makes for great stories, but doesn't carry much weight today. They use the past 15 years as more of a reference point. And between all of us, the last 15 years have been anything but peachy in Habs-obsessed Montreal. Two additional incidents were referenced as making HUGE waves around the league's players, again which contribute to players wanting to stay as far away as possible:

• The uncalled for booing of Carey Price in the playoffs;
  
• The journalists who staked out Jose Theodore, checking up on him to see if he really was injured.

Again, curiously left off the list was some idiot reporter and photographer barging in to Saku Koivu's private hospital room after his eye had been severely injured a few years back. Imagine the genius thinking there: a guy has a badly damaged eye. Let's take this camera and blindingly bright flash and bombard him with it. Awful.

In short, the pressure is immense, ALWAYS on, and the press make Montreal an unpleasant fishbowl. None of this is a groundbreaking revelation, but now it's out there in print for all to see. Does it carry any credibility? I say it does. Will it sink in? Not a chance. Some will dismiss it as garbage journalism, since there's a mysterious agent who refuses to identify himself...it could be fake, right? I don't see that as the case. I see it as the ugly underbelly finally showing itself. Look at the past few years. Bob Gainey made offers that were over and above what they eventually signed for to the likes of Brendan Shanahan, Daniel Brière, and Ryan Smyth. All chose to go elsewhere despite being offered more money to play here, and knowing that they'd have all the ice time and opportunity in the world to succeed. Clearly, there is something - or some things - that are preventing players from signing here. It's as clear as day, and the question that does not need to be asked is "why doesn't Gainey sign anyone?". It's clear that Gainey has tried. Many times in fact. The last time I checked, Gainey was a pretty well respected man in NHL circles. I'm sure there are many players that would love to play for him. The question that needs to be asked and more importantly, resolved, is "why won't premier free agents sign here - and how do we change it?".

Any Mechanics in the House?

How does this get fixed? The tide was changing, as recently as last year. Vincent Lecavalier went on record as saying that Montreal is becoming a hot destination again. Not coincidentally, the Canadiens were playing the best hockey the city had seen since the cup run of '93, en route to an Eastern Conference title. Winning cures everything. But when the wheels fell off this year, the fans and media were ready to devour this team. People were, and still are out for blood. Consider that in what was supposed to be a celebration of 100 years of Les Canadiens:

• The head coach was fired, shortly after being labeled as the GM's best move since taking the job
• Several young players were exposed as being a little too committed to the nightlife, and not enough to practice
• Other players were linked to organized crime
• The team's on-ice performance was less than impressive (injuries, lack of character, lack of skill)

There's probably more that I'm forgetting (and please leave a comment below if I have forgotten something)...but surely NONE of these are things that HELP attract talent here. The only thing that can help is winning. Peace and quiet, and winning. Sadly, peace and quiet will never reign, and winning is a tenuous proposition. There's going to be a storm of controversy this summer over many things:

• The Canadiens draft needs. Media wants more Francophones. More Canadians. What will happen?
  
• Free agents; who to keep, who to attempt to sign
• New coach
  
• New GM (Although I'm not convinced that Gainey will be gone)
• New owner

The latter is, of course, the largest factor of them all. A new owner would presumably want his own people in place, especially a Serge Savard who himself has 2 Stanley Cup rings as Habs GM. The timing on all of these issues is critical. If changes don't happen in the very immediate future, you can bet that things will probably not change. You can't have such significant turnover when an important draft is right around the corner. Oh, and just to add more fuel to the fire, did I mention that the draft is in Montreal this June? Different management groups have different perspectives on what type of player to acquire, and what type to stay away from. Serge Savard practically outright refused to draft European players, opting instead for North American talent. As a result, we drafted such luminaries as Terry Ryan, Lindsay Vallis, Turner Stevenson, Matt Higgins, and Brad Brown. Ouch. Stevenson was the only one to make a decent career, albeit as a 3rd-4th liner. Now we have a ton of European talent, unfortunately much of it does not even want to play in North America, much less Montreal: Pavel Valentenko, Alexei Yemelin, and Alexander Perezhogin come to mind. Again, ouch. My point is strong focus and scouting at the amateur level is so crucial for the Canadiens because free agents don't want to play here. Someone has to, so it has to be players that you own the rights to.

Everything is Up in the Air

No team has more drafted talent on its active roster than the Canadiens, and I think that's where it will have to keep coming from. That's a credit to Trevor Timmins and his scouting staff. The challenge for management and the coaching staff will be to create an environment of winning and excellence within their organization which will materialize on the ice. They need not only good players, but they need good players who CARE. It's fairly obvious that many of the players on the Habs roster simply don't care about the team's fortunes. I'm talking mostly about the Kostitsyn brothers. Perhaps my biggest disappointment with this team is that with Gainey as GM (then coach), Carbo (before he was canned), Jarvis and Muller, you had perhaps 4 of the team's best character players of all time. Why they couldn't get more passion from their players, or recognize that there's no character there is beyond me. All that being said, only when the Canadiens give off the perception of stability and success will free agents begin coming here. I thought Gainey was on the path to creating stability until he fired Carbo at the "nudging" of several players. Nothing like telling the players that they're truly the ones in charge.

Then there's the fan expectations and the media glare. We have to hope that people in both of those circles begin to understand the impact they have and the impressions they create around the league. The playing field is so level now that there really isn't any incentive to coming to Montreal. Given the choice of the same money, less taxes, the same sport, but more privacy and less pressure, which would you take? Be honest - put yourself in the shoes of someone who isn't from Montreal, or isn't a Habs fanatic. The answer is pretty clear to me.

When all the dust clears, I bet is that Gillet stays as owner (for now at least), as does Gainey as GM. It's too critical a summer for such major change. It would only stir the waters of controversy, which require very little agitation to begin with. What decision will be taken for the new coach? Lemaire, Hartley, Robinson, and Crawford are all available. Don Lever is already with the club. Is the next coach among these names? No matter who is hired, there will be controversy surrounding it. There needs to be a strong hockey management group in place to make those calls, and should Gainey & Gillet be gone, who's left to make those decisions? Pierre Boivin?

If you ask me, the Canadiens stand on the brink of a long downward spiral. But they also stand a good chance of recovering and remaining a competitive team if a lot of things go the right way. A lot of "ifs". I'm not sure if they'll all fall in to place, and if they don't, I think we're in for a couple years of turmoil as this team tries to put itself together again. Think about it - every level of this organization has a huge question mark hanging around its neck, from the ownership, right down to the empty roster.

It pains me to think that this could get a lot worse. I thought we were done with the dark years, but I fear that shadow is creeping up on us again. What do you think? Am I out of my mind with pessimism? Are the Canadiens in a good spot going forward? Please share your thoughts! It's going to be a long time before we see the Habs on the ice again, let's keep the conversation going!