I know there’s been tons of talk this off-season about everything…. wide spread panic about trades, silly media leaks about striking goaltenders… strong scrutiny at pre-season play.

Well, the regular season is almost upon us. With that I thought I’d share one aspect of the Montreal Canadiens play that I believe NEEDS to be improved. It’s a stat that you hear about in the regular season but doesn’t get a whole lot of attention otherwise.

It doesn’t give you a big “crash/bang/boom”…. isn’t spectacular like that Kovalchuk contract. But, it slowly sinks a team.

Shots against.

The shots the opponents manage to get through the defense and unto the Habs net. This has been a stat that has been haunting the Canadiens for far too many years.

Here are the shots against stats for the last 10 years!

1999-2000 – 27.6 – 10th in the league
2000-2001 – 28.0 – 19th in the league
2001-2002 – 31.7 – 27th in the league
2002-2003 – 32.7 – 29th in the league
2003-2004 – 28.6 – 19th in the league
2005-2006 – 30.6 – 21st in the league
2006-2007 – 32.7 – 28th in the league
2007-2008 – 31.6 – 26th in the league
2008-2009 – 31.7 – 24th in the league
2009-2010 – 32.1 – 26th in the league

You can easily see that for the last ten years the Canadiens haven’t been very good in this respect. God forbid, there were comparisons to playing the same type of game as the Detroit Red Wings just last year and the couple of years prior…. “puck possession”.

Watching the pre-season game tonight I did notice that the Sabres got 37 shots on goal against Alex Auld. I don’t really think it’s a huge deal, because of course it is pre-season and there were still many guys in the lineup who will start the year in Hamilton.

However, seeing guys like Spacek give up the puck several times in a few of these pre-season games the way he did, sloppy pass, pivoting the wrong way or looking slow on the puck…. it concerns me a little. For a vet. Although, maybe it’ll take him a while to get it going and not having Markov and Hamrlik to start the season leaves some big holes to fill.

Once the Gill/Gorges tandem (if they are paired up of course) are playing together regularly I believe they’ll be an effective presense on defense. When Gill can block those passing lanes and block shots… he’s quite effective. Last year’s playoffs were a great example.

One “role” I’d love to see on the defense is a big strong mean type player. Someone who would surely clear most traffic in front of Carey Price and/or Alex Auld. I had always been hopeful Ryan O’Byrne would eventually fill that role but with passing years I’m not sure that will materialize. I don’t think it’s really in his makeup. And that’s not a knock on Ryan.

In this pre-season I’ve found Alex Henry brought much of that mean/tough play around the net. Crunching people on the boards…. flattening them in front of the net. Throwing the gloves if needed…. coming to a team mates aid….. Not sure there’s a spot for Alex, but from what I’ve seen, I’d give him a shot somehow.

We have some puck moving D-men out there. When Markov comes back, he’ll bring the high skill that he’s shown for years as one of Montreal’s secret weapons. PK Subban will also have the year to develop and improv his skills. There’s some “shut down” guys, at least paired together in the playoffs last year, Gorges and Gill were incredible.

The one element that I believe would help a bit is a big mean guy who will make you hate playing against him. Hurt you in front of the net, crush you in the corner kind of guy. I’m not really saying this guy should be “a fighter”, but just a really gritty presence that makes it hard to live around the net.

Tonight, Habs got caught with their backs turned to the puck in front of their net a few times. Let’s hope that when the full lineup is in that it gets tightened up a bit.

So let’s eliminate some of those shots on goal!

Last night was a magical night for Montreal Canadiens fans. I thought they would have some special surprises planned but I couldn’t have guessed how it would have unfolded.

I watched RDS for many hours before the game and was impressed from the beginning. I thought it was just great.

When they dimmed the lights in the Bell Center I almost felt goose bumps all over.. I knew something pretty neat was gonna take place.

Then… when the pucks were dumped on the ice and I saw Patrick Roy walking on the ice in full gear…. I was in awe. It was awesome. Seeing all those guys jump on the ice brought back alot of memories. One guy I hadn’t noticed walk on the ice was Mats Naslund… later when he was introduced I was so pleased to see him there. He was one of my favorite players in his time in Montreal.

I won’t try to name every player that skated with the alumni… but let’s just say I thought it was very classy and very cool for the die hard Canadiens fans. Many of those guys I hadn’t seen in their playing days but like some of you (I’m sure) I’ve read about them and have seen their statistics over and over again. I’m not just really a fan of the Montreal Canadiens I’ve seen on the ice….. I’m a fan of the Montreal Canadiens rich history as much as I am the current team they ice year after year.

Seeing Dryden in gear, Larry Robinson, Bob Gainey (who we saw in a Habs uni not that long ago), Naslund… Chris Nilan, Damphousse, Turgeon.. Guy Lafleur!.. Steve Shutt…. Serge Savard…. it was great to see Lyle Odelein out there…. Carbo was back in gear and had some strong applause skating in the jersey (great to see… another of my all-time favorite players)… (captain) Kirk Muller was out for a skate….. it was awesome

As always, seeing Jean Béliveau and Henri Richard is always a treat. These guys are always very well spoken and gentlemanly. RDS interviewed Henri Richard and Dickie Moore later on in the evening and I thought it was a great treat…

After Patrick Roy was introduced and he came up to the podium and spoke… I couldn’t help but think that he just should have retired in a Habs jersey. It’s one of the modern day tragedies that the franchise had to face. I loved his speech and I also enjoyed how he mentioned that it wasn’t only a special night for the fans because of the anniversary and the festivities… but also because the fans could witness the Habs beating the Bruins on the night… I thought that was great…. pressure put on the team by an all-timer.

Patrick, you were probably my favorite player growing up and though I somehow tried to put a positive spin on the trade that sent you to another team…. I just couldn’t bring myself to believe that “spin”… because we lost one of the game’s best ever goaltenders. You will always be close in my mind when I think of “Le CH”.

I thought it was neat how Viggo Mortensen was in house to introduce Guy Lafleur. Viggo is a huge Habs fan and a big star in his own right. I’m sure that Viggo really enjoyed being a part of the special ceremonies. Well done man!

Although Guy Lafleur looked like he could still probably skate with some of these players (in the game)…. he announced to the crowd that he was in fact not playing as he cheered them on. Lafleur was probably the first big star that I watched as a kid growing up…. always happy to see him in the Habs ceremonies.

The last of the 3 speakers was Jean Béliveau and I thought it was a big touch of class that they invited Gordie Howe to the events to introduce Jean Béliveau. 2 dominant players in their time and 2 classy representatives for NHL hockey history.

I never get tired to hearing Béliveau speak and seeing his smile as he is always courteous and well spoken. Béliveau was truely a dominant big man in his time…. he captained the team for 10 years and won more Stanley Cups then most players have years in their NHL careers…. the dynasties of old have some pretty impressive records don’t they??

In Béliveau’s final season in Montreal, at 39 years old he played 70 games, scored 25 goals and tallied 51 assists for 76 points… not bad eh?? In the post season that year he had 22 points and won his 10th Stanley Cup. Legend.

There were so many great, great players… it was amazing.

Having Elmer Lach and Butch Bouchard in a ceremony which saw their numbers retired was quite fitting and long overdue. Elmer Lach was one of the best play makers of his era and Butch Bouchard was a strong shut down defenseman who would always deliver a hard check to his opponents.

It was announced that Ryan O’Byrne would be the last Canadiens player to wear the no 3… and in a very classy move, Ryan then took off his no 3 jersey and gave it to Bouchard only to reveal his new number 20. Heck… I thought Pierre Bouchard still looked so big in that Habs jersey that he could’ve broken Ryan O’Byrne in half…. maybe it was just the nostalgia of it all…..

The ceremonies were nothing short of great. I remember watching the ceremonies when the old Forum closed it’s doors and these ceremonies were just as great in my mind.

A great evening!

The constant injuries and lack luster play has certainly been tugging away at the optimism I had coming into the season. A quarter of the way through it’s still pretty hard to read exactly who this team is. But although it is hard to discern it’s not really something that can be faulted on management.

I’m not saying that there haven’t been moves (or “non-moves”) made in the last few years that I think were bad in hindsight leading up to today… but what I am saying is that one can’t honestly measure just how good this team is

We’ve been without our best player and other players who were keyed in as integral parts of this team.

When compared to last year’s team and the “core” that the Habs had prior to this season it still speaks loudly to me that this group is 10-11-0 after 21 games… without Markov… and other pieces of the puzzle also out.

There’s a great article on the numbers without Markov over at Lions in Winter… check it out.

There’s been quite a bit of doom and gloom from what I’ve been hearing in regards to the season and the talk about a “rebuild” has begun. Honestly, I think we’ve just begun “the rebuild”.

The face of the team has changed and some 1 year deals were handed out… I think there’s a further evaluation currently underway…. as there probably always is during an NHL season.

And about this quick face lift… I’m not sure if anyone thought that this “was it”.. that the changes were done. I didn’t think that. I thought this season would be a transition year from the start.

A new core moving forward younger on average and further evaluation on who would be kept and who would be traded away. At least that’s what I assumed.

Right out of the gate, it’s been hard to see who this team is. They’ve played without their best player… without whom they have played terribly in previous seasons.. yet they are now just below .500.

Were some games totally lack luster performances??

Yes!

But I’m not all doomsday yet about this season. If this core could get into the playoffs without key players and have them in the playoffs… then who knows.

However, where I honestly do start to think in almost doomsday terms for this season is with the recent injury of Brian Gionta who is tied as the top scorer on the team with 8 goals.

The way the supporting cast has been playing on the team, Latendress, Lapierre, Andrei Kostitsyn, Pacioretty…. I’m just not sure. I’d like to think that they’ll somehow find a way to step up. If it was all just some kind of 20 game slump for these guys then we’d still be in decent shape but without some solid secondary scoring coming VERY soon… (like tonight!!!!) then I’m not sure we’ll hang in there.

Tonight Ryan O’Byrne comes back into the mix which may help the defense a bit. He’s not the savior but if he manages to provide some grit in front of our net it will be an improvement.

By trade deadline if we’re not in the playoff race then the obvious question will arise as to which player has trade value and what deals can be made. Although many are suggesting these scenarios now, 21 games in the season.

This kind of brings up another subject… what is expected of the organization? What is considered a success?

I would like the Habs to win the cup. Honestly.

But I don’t expect them to.

What is a successful franchise in terms of results? Maybe I’ll jot some of my thoughts down and write about it.

In 3 years, all the ducks fell in a row… the team finished 1st in the east and were ousted of the playoffs… they start the following season strong… injuries dominate.. barely make the playoffs.. lots of drama… mass disappointment.

This year most people would have said big changes needed to be made… big changes were made… key injuries to the Habs again (as many other teams in the NHL)… and disappointment has turned into “let’s blow it up”.

I’m not convinced that it’s time to talk about blowing up the team. I believe it’s time to look at who to drop and who we can add (and how we can add them).

That’s my $0.02 for now.

The Canadiens have had 2 big injuries and 1 minor injury in their first 2 games and thankfully last night everyone made it out ok!

Here’s a few thoughts on some ups and some downs so far (in no real particular order).

Ups : Carey Price

All through the summer with all the speculation and chatter about the upcoming season and the questions around all the new players there was another subject kind of floating around.

How would Carey Price play this year?

Now granted, we’re 3 games into the season. There are 79 games left to be played but in his first 2 games Price looked very sharp. He faced a ton of shots in both his games and at the start of the first game, I remember hearing a commentator saying he looked nervous… soon after the rubber was bouncing off of him and he looked composed.

At times his rebound control looked very good.

Downs : Injuries!

So in 2 games the best player on the Team Andrei Markov gets hurt and is out for months… followed by Ryan O’Byrne’s injury.

In a previous article I wrote about Markov I mentioned his offensive production last season… ranking 1st in the league in assists among defensemen and 2nd in overall points among defensive.

Markov is the team’s quarter back and he simply can’t be replaced.

I feel bad for O’Byrne, not that I don’t also feel bad for Markov having been hurt with a major injury, but O’Byrne really seemed to be playing with confidence. Ryan was looking good. Big guy at 6’6 who can skate well for someone his size, long reach and playing physical.

I thought Ryan was poised to have a strong year.

Ups: Georges Laraque, Travis Moen

Many people were calling for Laraque’s head over the summer and going back months into last season.

I thought that if Georges could be healthy he could definitely help the team not just with dropping the gloves every now and then either.

Back when Laraque played in Edmonton I remember watching Oilers games and there were a few things that stuck in my mind about Georges. Yes, one of those things were that if he dropped the gloves he was quite able. But another thing that stuck in my mind was that he could be strong along the boards.

So far, Jacques Martin has played Laraque a fair bit and used him in a couple of different combinations and his play along the boards has been strong. In all 3 games he was able to control the puck along the boards and open up the ice a bit.

Travis Moen is probably one of my favorite players in the lineup. I thought he had a very quiet training camp but since the first game he’s picked it up.

Moen will drop the gloves, he checks well, seems to be well positioned, he will go to the net, block the shots and when he’s banging around the net he seems to have pretty good hands. I remember Tom K could have had about 35 “garbage goals” last year but could rarely capitalize on the chances (Tom…. I love you man)… I suspect Moen will get more of these opportunities then Tom did.

Ups: Brian Gionta, Scott Gomez, Mike Cammalleri

I’ve been very impressed with the way Gionta has been playing. He seems to find a way to get into openings where he can put a shot on goal. And of course, sorry to use this term again… but he plays big!

Generally, I’ve really liked what I’ve seen from all 3 of these guys. The only thing that I’ve found lacking is that their play hasn’t been consistent. But, to be honest, we’re 3 games in. In last night’s game they were very good in my opinion.

They’ve displayed nice skating, passing and the ability to get shots off.

Downs: The team’s tighter defensive system

Heard lot’s about Martin’s system and how protecting the goaltender was going to be a priority.

The team looked disorganized at times… but see, we’re still just 3 games in. And of course, take away Markov and O’Byrne… you get the picture.

We’re just a few games into the season and really these are just some of my observations in these 3 games. In 10 games the team’s defense and offense could be quite different. There could be greater chemistry and a flow in both the offensive and defensive game… or more of the same.

Who knows??

The only way to find out how it will turn out is to keep watchin’…. and if you’re anything like me you certainly will be watching!

Jacques Martin has made some more cuts and now we have the team or roster together that will start the year.

The cuts that were made today were Ben Maxwell, Tom Pyatt, Yannick Weber, Mathieu Carle and Curtis Sanford.

No real surprises in the cuts. I thought there could be a chance that Weber might start the year with Montreal but that won’t be the case.

I think that each of these young guys have shown they are very close. Maxwell and Pyatt could very well be called up as injuries arise in the forwards as will Weber and Carle with the defensemen.

Although I wouldn’t say that any of these 4 young guys really stood out for me in camp there were positives for each.

I liked the fact that Ben Maxwell came into camp heavier, having bulked up a bit.. about 15 pounds or so. I would look to see Maxwell burn up the AHL while he waits for a call from Gainey.

Tom Pyatt came in the Scott Gomez deal and I really knew nothing about him whatsoever. I figured he was just part of a couple of throw in players that we would essentially never see in Montreal. But after seeing him in camp I really think he’s a promising young player. He had a strong camp.

Mathieu Carle didn’t impress me much at first, I thought he was a bit nervous looking. But Martin played him a few times and he seemed much more comfortable (I thought) the more he played. This was Carle’s 3rd camp and he was hoping to make the team I’m sure, being healthy this year after suffering injuries the last 2 years.

One thing about Carle though, how will he take going back to Hamilton? I’m hoping he takes it well and works hard. Because I’m sure we’ll see a bit of him this season. The reason I ask is that it seems to me that I had read a report last year that he had requested a trade being frustrated at not getting his change during last season.

Mathieu…. I’m cheering for you man…. We may see you soon.

As for Weber he showed that he’s got that big shot… can move the puck well… and as we saw some of him last year I’m sure we’ll see some of him this year.

With Carle and Weber going to Hamilton, it meant that Ryan O’Byrne made the cut. O’Byrne, of course, had a hard year last season and some people were calling for him to be traded… giving up on him. But O’Byrne has talent and he’s got important assets.. size and wing span being a couple of those assets.

O’Byrne played many of the pre-season games and overall he played well. Ryan looks confident and he looked like he fit in more so than last year. O’Byrne has also found a bit more of a mean streak which is an added asset that was not really present in his tool box last season.

With several young defenseman who may be “close” to jumping in I’m wondering how will and who won’t get a shot… P.K. Subban is also in the mix as a great young prospect. Of course, there’s O’Byrne, Weber, Carle…

I believe O’Byrne will definitely keep his spot if he plays like we’ve seen so far.

But it’s always nice (and important) to see a little competition.

Ok… now I’m goin’ to sleep… then when I wake up… there will only be one sleep left before opening day!

But it soon started to turn for the worst for the Habs.

Seemed like the team looked a little unorganized last night. There were many mistakes made and way to many odd man breaks for the Sens.

One Alex Kovalev had a 2 on 1 with Shawn Belle back on D and there wasn’t too much he could do. Kovalev let go a terrific shot like we used to see in a Habs uniform and just like that…. he made himself more at home with Sens fans.

Does last’s nights game mean much? No. It’s still pre-season and I suppose the defense wasn’t full of the most experience NHL DMen with O’Byrne, Belle, Benoit and Anderson taking 4 spots. It’s an important step in pre-season to ice prospects with NHLers to help in the evaluation process which helps to see where these prospects are at.

I’m curious to see who will be in the lineup this evening as Montreal meets the Boston Bruins.

I want to also mention that I’m glad Ryan O’Byrne is trying to make his presence felt. He played a good game in Montreal and again in Ottawa he tried to be more physical dropping the gloves last night. Some people have believed his time is up but I wouldn’t give up on him. He still shows great potential and having some more big veterans around like Mara and (Stanley cup winning) Hal Gill may help his development. Happy that the Montreal fans were cheering him on the other night at the Bell Center.

And now, the painful highlights (if you’re a Habs fan) of last night’s game courtesy of Sportsnet: