One recurring theme this season is the constant back and forth from many fans about who they’ve thought can and will prevail in goal for the Montreal Canadiens. While everyone probably has a favorite sometimes this “debate” has gotten ugly.

But the point of this little blog article isn’t really to go there. Instead, I want to once again state something that to me seems quite obvious.

This team won’t get far without playing stronger team defense. Name your goaltender…. even pick names like Roy, Brodeur or Tretiak….

The point is that time and time again this season I’ve seen some “same old” situations. Say like the other night…. on Monday night.

Montreal VS Washington. Game 3. The Habs are pushing hard…. then what happens?? Spacek ends up diving on a play… sliding into Halak… pushing him into his net… the puck goes in. Can’t really fault Halak on that one?

This theme has played itself out all year. You can’t fault either goaltender for alot of those kinds of plays all season long…. and as for a goalie’s confidence… well, if you were in goal and hung out to dry often by your team’s defensive play… you’d probably shrug your shoulders too. I mean, what the hell can you do about it being in goal. You can’t really make defensive hockey plays for your guys and you obviously can’t score any goals to help even up the score. (I’ll get back to team defense in a minute)

Now… game 3… fast forward to Halak getting pulled… and Price comes in.

This very scenario plays out again for the 4th goal of the game. What happens?

MA Bergeron (I believe, correct me if I’m wrong) attemps to clear the puck out of the Habs defensive zone…. it’s picked off… Caps have a couple of guys in close…. Price is left to clean up the mess.

And yet, some people will want to blame him for that goal. What’s up people?

Team defense…. if you speak with alot of coachs…. will be credited for winning games. Maybe even the Stanley Cup.

Now, back to the Canadiens team defense. Something that I have to say is that at times in this series I’ve been impressed. Why have I been impressed? Let’s put it in context.

Washington is the best offensive team in the league. There is not another team that can score goals like they can. Yet, the Habs defensive play at times have managed to shut them down. It can be said that maybe the Caps were just playing bad. But I don’t buy that. It’s happened for several long stretches that the Habs have dominated play. They obviously had a game plan and at times executed that plan to a T.

Gainey was heavily criticized for signing a couple of these guys too…. Spacek and Gill. They’ve played great hockey. Not perfect. But they’ve managed to put their sticks and/or bodies in the way of the likes of Ovechkin and co. Which is no small task.

Seems to me that this really is Hal Gill’s time of year. As I watched game 3, I was really impressed with many small things that he was doing with that long reach of his… and sometimes even though he didn’t crush his opponent with bone breaking hits… he would simply bump them out of position…. which is essentially a sound defensive hockey play. Gill has also taken up alot of real estate in front of his goaltender blocking many shots. Credit him for his strong play in these playoffs. I can see how valuable he was in Pittsburgh for their cup run.

I believe Washington has a game plan against both these guys. Something to watch for when Price is in goal. The Caps forwards will be crashing the crease more. You’ll see bodies falling on him more then you’ll see them falling on Halak. Jacques Martin and co need to find an effective way to clear these guys out.

In my mind there really is no goaltending debate at all. Both of these young guys have shown over the last couple of years that they have the ability to steal a game or 2 or 3. But experience also shows that they cannot be counted upon for a series win or playoff birth. Even back in 1993 when Roy was in the pipes…. the Habs had some other players making waves in that playoff run.

Hoping that he’ll be back sometime.

And RDS is reporting that Andrei Markov started skating and that there’s a chance that he could be back in the lineup as early as late December.

Imagine if Markov did come back healthy and ready to go by early January… just in time to get in sync for the playoff run….

Gomez, Spacek, D’Agostini and the newly acquired Benoit Pouliot were also skating today.

The game against the Penguins had the Habs down Markov, Gill, Gomez, Spacek, Gionta, D’Agostini and Andrei Kostitsyn…. am I missing a few???

The team played with effort and heart.

Imagine what this team may look like in Januray or February is these guys are back and the team is relatively healthy. I’m optimistic… At the rate of NHL injuries this year though…. there are no guarantees.

I thought I’d take a look at what we could see individual players achieve in 2009. What career achievements could be made by players on the Habs roster. I haven’t listed all the possible numbers…. but listed many.

So here’s my little preview!

Mike Cammalleri

• Needs 34 games played to reach 400 games played in the NHL
• Has 155 career assists, could break the 200 assist mark
• Has 287 career points, will definately break the 300 point mark

Scott Gomez

• Has 578 career points, will break the 600 point mark
• Has 1914 total shots, will break 2000 shots

Brian Gionta

• Has 473 career games, will break the 500 game mark
• Has 160 career assists, could break the 200 assist mark
• Has 1351 career shots, could break 1500 shots

Andrei Kostitsyn

• Has 186 career games, will break the 200 game mark

Tomas Plekanec

• Has 184 career points, will break the 200 point mark

Glen Metropolit

• Has 338 career games, could break the 400 NHL games played mark

Guillaum Latendress

• Has 82 career points, will break the NHL point mark

Georges Laraque

• Has 667 career games, should break the 700 game mark
• Has 98 career assists, will break the 100 mark.

Travis Moen

• Has 362 career games, will break the 400 game mark
• Has 487 PIM, will break the 500 PIM mark

Andrei Markov

• Has 571 career games, will break 600 game mark
• Has 255 career assists, could break 300 assist mark
• Has 945 shots, will break 1000 shot mark

Josh Gorges

• Has 246 career games, will break 300 game mark

Roman Hamrlik

• Has 1157 career games, will break 1200 game mark in the NHL
• Has 564 career points, could break 600 point mark
• Has 58 career PP goals, should break 60 career PP goals
• Has 2694 shots, will break 2700 career shots

Jaroslav Spacek

• Has 33 career PP goals, could break 40 career PP goals

Paul Mara

• Has 639 career games played, should break 700 games played
• Has 943 career shots, will break 1000 career shots

Hal Gill

• Has 851 career games played, should break 900 games played
• Has 985 career shots, will break 1000 career shots

Carey Price

• Has 93 career games played, will break 100 career games

I’m not surprised that he’s been listed as he was a bit pricey for his age.

But then again, that’s all part of the UFA game. It’s really a bidding war.

Then we get to see the salary dump trades that often happen once a player is signed in a contract that pays him a bit more then his worth…. and/or under performs.

All that I can really say is that if Spacek can give 2 more consistent seasons at the pace he’s been playing at then the contract really isn’t so bad. Spacek’s age is what is a little scary.

Roman Hamrlik’s deal is harder to swallow then this one.

I’m willing to wait for hindsight to tell me how bad this deal is/was.

It’s just easy to predict that at 35, he won’t be worth the money.

Going into “Free agent frenzy”… I was “super looking forward” to that date.. to see what if anything was gonna happen with my loved Montreal Canadiens.

I was floored when Gainey pulled off that trade for Scott Gomez. I was totally floored…

I didn’t like that deal at all. Gomez comes with a hefty price tag. Mind you, I do think that he comes with considerable puck moving skill… but it was obviously a commitment to take on that contract.

By noon time, July 1st…. I had a doom and gloom feeling… and couldn’t shake it… but as soon as the signings started (not montreal’s… but in general) I felt much better.

Montreal’s day started with the signing of Jaroslav Spacek, an offensive defenseman from the Buffalo Sabres. I was not thrilled at this signing…. 3 years for a 35 year old… but after checking out his numbers… he has seemed very durable… and fairly consistent… he has pretty much always been a “plus” player in +/-… except in his Columbus years…

Then later… Hal Gill… which I didn’t like at all either… essentially, I had gone through about 2 days of Mr Negativity in regards to the Habs after the draft. Then when I thought about Gill, I actually felt a bit better. He’s big…. and what sold me a bit on him, was that he made it to the cup finals 2 years in a row and won last year. And he was used in both playoff runs. He could be effective in clearing room for Price… which we need.

I was ready to step out.. and go with the family to the July 1st fireworks… when all of a sudden, I saw that the Habs signed Mike Cammalleri.. at first I thought.. “wow.. Gainey landed Mike Cammalleri!”.. all of a sudden, it was looking better. I was starting to become very optimistic.

When I got back late that night… what??? Gainey signed Brian Gionta?? Now, I was floored.. the face of the team was changed… and changed much more dramatically then anyone could have guessed.

Now, most of these guys are small…. which seems like a problem. But I gotta say… 2 years in a row… 2 puck possession teams won the cup. Some of their most important players weren’t huge in stature… (think of Crosby and Maxim Talbot)

It surely didn’t seem to be a problem when the Canadiens finished 1st in the east 2 seasons ago and all the “experts” picked them to contend for the cup.

There are many variables that come into play for a team to succeed. Is the team well disciplined? Do they really play within their coach’s plan? Are they having an injury free season (Habs 2 seasons ago)? Are they having an injury filled season (Habs last season)? Do the players get along? How is the dressing room? etc…etc.. etc..

If rough and tough teams won the cup every year… then Philly should have won several years running…

Talk was about re-signing Kovalev… which I had hoped for … some talked about Tanguay.. Koivu… Even though there has been an overwhelming consensus about changing the team’s core. But that wouldn’t really “changed” the face of the team.

I would certainly welcome back any of those guys if Gainey and Martin think they fit. I’m hoping that Martin runs a tight defensive system this year… and shots on goal go down…. Gionta and Gomez played their best years under such a system.

I love Kovalev… I love Koivu… Koivu has been one of my favorite players for years and years. I would take them back in a heartbeat.

Tanguay… if it’s true he chose not to play in a little pain in last year’s playoff… I don’t mind him going.

After a couple of days to think all this over… I’m very positive about this year’s team. Although, there are still a couple of holes to fill. Gotta have 1 more D-man.. And, get a bigger center.

I’m really lookin’ forward to the pre-season camps…. really really lookin’ forward to it.

So we have 3 new core guys locked in for 5 years….. next year, I believe there’s only 1 guy who will be UFA… so this will be the core for a few years.

I’m optimistic.

Go HABS!