Even though Jaroslav Halak is with the St Louis blues, he still holds a special spot with many Habs fans.

Today Jaroslav was saying his goodbyes and thank yous to fans in Montreal and there were estimates of about 5000 fans showing up to meet Halak.

Personally, I’ll never doubt him. He just did everything he had to do in order to find his number 1 job that he now holds in St Louis. Played the ECHL, played the AHL… starting, backup… always worked hard.

I’m happy that he’s getting a number one job.

Here the link to the interview.

And here’s the video player:

(Courtesy or RDS)

Best wishes to you Jaro!

Here’s short game 7 post game interviews by Mike Cammalleri and Hal Gill or the Montreal Canadiens along with Sidney Crosby and Bill Guerin of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Found this great video by the Montreal Gazette on team Captaincy. They ask some questions to different people in attendance what they think.

Then there’s a nice interview with Mike Cammalleri.

Enjoy!

Edited
Previously had embedded video but had a problem with it’s streaming. So please click here to view the video from the Gazette’s website.

The Hockey News website has a short video interview with P.K. Subban.

Subban talks about his preparation for training camps, diet and excercise.

I’d love to see him get some games in Montreal this year.

Click here to view the video interview with P.K. Subban.

As I watch this interview with Alex Kovalev a few things go through my head.

He loved Montreal

Playing in Montreal for the Canadiens has to be a tough job at times. Really…. it’s a tough place for guys to play, but I really believe his heart was in Montreal.

Ask Saku Koivu and I’m sure that he’ll tell you about the challenges… actually, there are some interviews out there where he mentions the pressure..etc. He’s not the only one to talk about it either. They pretty much all have.

After seeing this interview, I really believe Kovalev wanted to stay and finish his career in Montreal. First question he’s asked starts with  ”Are you happy…”.

Kovalev had many many fans in Montreal. He could “wow” the crowd at times with his amazing skill with the puck… great passes and a great shot. He also did alot in the city for charity.

Kovalev also had his critics, as everyone does, in Montreal. If you’ve followed different sports media you’ve probably heard some call for Kovalev to be traded over and over again….. it seems like at times certain players fall into a “love ‘em or hate ‘em” category. Kovalev was in that category for some.

All nostalgia aside, because I am geniunly looking forward, I think it’s pretty special in today’s NHL that a guy like Kovalev who’s got a ton of natural talent and can pick from a few teams will want to stay in a place that can be so tough on players.

I’ve got a ton of respect for Kovalev. He was one of my favorite players. Frustrating to watch at times but that frustration only stemmed from the fact that I saw his enormous talent and he didn’t always live up to my expectations. I will assume that many others were frustrated in that same way.

I believe he wants to come back

Watching the video he openly talks about it… coming back to play some more NHL hockey in Montreal. Mentions retiring as a Canadien.

Now watching the video yeah, I do believe that Alex Kovalev would like to retire a Hab. But when he starts playing in Ottawa he might enjoy it there too. Ottawa fans love their hockey too and I seriously doubt there’s as much pressure in that hockey market. So although Alex feels that way today he will likely warm to Ottawa quite a bit.

If anyone hasn’t seen it, you can view the Alex Kovalev interview here.

Thought I post a few articles that I read and really enjoyed. Short and sweet!

Gainey’s been there and wants to be there again
by Dennis Kane

Shooting the Breeze with Terry Harper
by Dennis Kane

HW Interview: Matt D’Agostini
by Habsworld

Montreal Canadiens features from the National Film Board of Canada
by Ya! The Habs Rule! (aka Kevin vanSteendelaar)

Hockey’s futureTop 20 fall prospects
by YourHabs

Can’t wait to see some hockey!!

Here’s another video from Habs TV.

This question from 12th of januray 2009.

“On a scale of 1 to 10, how much do you wish Angelina Jolie would adopt you?”

Gotta like this challenging question!

Markov wants her as his girlfriend… Tom K says not as my mom… and Josh Gorges says he certainly wouldn’t want her as a mom…

I thought this was pretty funny.

I was having some fun watching some clips of Mike Cammalleri score some goals on youtube and started watching him on OTR.

Interesting what he says…. “who wouldn’t want to play for the Montreal Canadiens”… not a direct quote… but something to that effect in the first few minutes. Good answer!

Refers to Bob as “Mr Gainey” and Michael Landsberg as “Michael Landsberg”…. Another good one!

Cammalleri mentions in this interview that if Gainey hadn’t went out and traded for Scott Gomez that he didn’t know if he would have chosen Montreal. Said that it showed the UFAs the direction that the team was going.

I’ll say it again, I wasn’t a fan of that Gomez deal at first… but seeing the moves Gainey made to complement Gomez adding some speed, puck moving + scoring skill and some size…. I personally like the way the team is shaping up.

Mike Cammalleri on OTR:

Now for anyone who wants to say about Cammalleri… “yeah, but he scored all those goals because he played with Iginla..”… blah blah blah..

Check out his numbers in LA for the 06-07 season.
81 games – 34 goals – 46 assists – 80 points – +5

In Calgary last season (08-09).
81 games – 39 goals – 43 assists – 82 points – -2

I guess he can play hockey… with or without Iginla.

Welcome Mike Cammalleri!

RDS is reporting that Roman Hamrlik did an interview with a  Cech republic news agency in order to address the LaPresse story about Mangiola.