Posts tagged Bob Gainey

Price in goal and the deadline is on

Mar 4th

Posted by Yves in Montreal Canadiens

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Been up for a while, looking at work…. 6:41 am here, 5:41 am EST.

Halak doesn’t make the trip to Buffalo because he’s sick… so Carey Price is in goal tonight.
I’ll bet that he (Price) will try and impress tonight… of course he has too.
One thing that I’ve gotten tired of is how Price has become, for some, a bum… he was the best and after a tough spell some people have written him off…
Price is in his sophmore year… he’s a young guy… and this year he was given responsibility as a No1 goaltender in the NHL.  So he’s struggled a bit in his sophmore year… gosh, he’s not the first NHLer to do so…
Like it or not, there is a learning process and for a young guy given the No1 job in a market like Montreal you can bet it’s been a learning curve unlike any he’s had in his previous goaltending duties.
If some of you out there would have been GM… Price along with many current roster spot holders would have been gone…. some for nothing and some in trade scenarios based in pure fiction.
Today, I’m hopeful Gainey will attempt to make a move to improve the team. But one thing that I appreciate about Gainey is that he will certainly measure what he’s trading VS what he’s acquiring making sure the Habs aren’t weakend long term and that they are strengthened short term.
He won’t sell the farm…. and of course a trade can be measured in different ways… short term success vs long term success…etc…
Anyway…. Game on!
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Gainey understands Kovalev

Feb 22nd

Posted by Yves in Montreal Canadiens

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Over the last week, an incredible amount of stuff was written and shown on the sports networks about Kovalev and that his time was up in Montreal.

I’m always been a fan of Kovalev. And I likely always will be.
One thing always struck me… and that’s through all of this media storm in cup hungry montreal where so many people had written him off in the panic of the terrible month february has been… that probably no one knows exactly what was spoken about between Kovalev and Gainey… and quite possibly no one really knows what type of relationship they have.
Personally, I believe that Gainey and Kovalev have the highest respect for one another. Each share in being quite gifted hockey players…. some of the Russian players had called Gainey the world’s greatest hockey player years back…. and of course, Kovalev has mad skillz he can move around with the puck like no other.
I can say one thing on this subject and that’s I hope that Kovalev keeps playing with the fire he did VS the Senators…. the fans love him… and I think he holds that close to his heart. I remember last year getting his father (or trying to) to come to montreal during the playoffs because of the atmostphere.
Just read this great blog post by Robert L.. check it out.
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Former Habs – Interviews 19/02/2009

Feb 19th

Posted by Yves in Legends

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Here’s a couple of interviews by Habs greats Lafleur and Cournoyer…

I love the Cournoyer article… and I somewhat agree with the Lafleur interview (about the Kovalev situation of late)….
Although something had to happen to spark the team not sure I like it.
I’ve always been a fan of Kovalev, with the ups and downs. I hope their discussion (Gainey and Kovalev) and Kovalev’s current “rest” will bring some fruition…. he’s got mad skillz.
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Slump?

Jan 31st

Posted by Yves in Montreal Canadiens

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Habs haven’t played up to their talent level.

So far this season it hasn’t quite been like the last. More injuries to key players… and we’ve seen flashes of what the farm guys can give.

Personally, I think if there is a time to slump in a season it’s now. Coming off the all-star break. Still alot of games left and the rush is on.

Of course, by slump, I don’t mean it’s “the time” to loose for a month. But if there is a time to have some struggle… here it is.

That being said…. if there is a time in the season where you want to peak… it’s going into the playoffs. For sure.

Guys back from injury… time for something to happen. Get the sync back…

I suspect that Gainey will once again be a buyer this year. Not sure if Vinny is the guy.. although, if you can get him please do!!

Lookin’ forward to a win today!

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Habs VS Isles – Who will step up?

Nov 24th

Posted by Yves in Montreal Canadiens

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At the start of the season the talk was about how deep the habs were, there was lot’s of talk about a couple of the prospects in Hamilton and talk about being atop the league with whispers of a cup coming to Montreal had become common.

I’m still not sure I would panic at this point but I must say that at this point of the season, we’ve seen both great potential and also some of the things that may need a “tweeking”….
One of the things that sticks out a bit and has been talked about is on the D. Especially now that Komisarek is out. Brisebois is having to be in the lineup full time… O’Byrne is getting prime time…
About Brisebois, I think that playing  a certain number of games, he can give some quality. Playing full time, I’m concerned that the quality will surely diminish.
For O’Byrne, I thought he was gonna play a great game against Boston…. he came out being much more physical, which is an important part of his game.  Not sure if it’s all psycological, but he’s made quite a few mistakes… some being quite costly.
I’m starting to wonder if playing Dandenault at D wouldn’t help at least in the short term. He’s a guy I think works hard, plays his role and he’s played on D most of his career…
I would love to see a couple of farm “teamers” come up and maybe shake it up a bit… like D’Agostini, Maxwell.. Max Pac.. but I think it’s hard to make those moves because there aren’t  very many guys you can move to make room.
I’m sure whatever happens, Gainey isn’t sitting around “hoping for the best”…. if there is a good move to be made, I’m confident he’ll pull the trigger.
Tonight, the Islanders are in town. I really want to see guys play hard…. and EVERY shift. Tonight, they gotta start kicking the monkey off their backs.
Hard hitting, hard skating…. lot’s of shots on goal.
One would hope that this is “the slump” in the season, and that the tides of work ethic (etc..) will bring the habs to peak at the end of the season… what a story that would be.
Peace!
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