I know there are some hockey fans on here so let's get some hockey talk going. It was a blast to see the Habs destroy the Leafs last night. It was like watching a team of men teach a team of boys how real hockey is played. It's gonna be a long season in Leaf land and you will see many bandwagon jumpers jump ship from the Leafs this year. Even when the Habs were "rebuilding" they were never this bad..lol
The Nucks look decent this year. the best goalie in the free world along with one of the top defensive units(Please stay healthy) and one of the best 3rd lines in hockey with Kesler-Burrows-Hanson, and now a su[perb 4th line with the top shot blocker in ryan johnson and hordachuk. Bernier is perfect with the sedins...only problem is the second line...pyatt sucks and raymond is too young, everyime he gets the puck its like he's a 15 year whose just seen a girl in her bra and panties for the first time and doesnt know what to do. But we're 10 million under the cap so we can fix that..younger, faster, and bigger..we have a personality now and wont get bossed around We'll fight for a playoff spot, but considering how much cap space we have left..with some cheeky moves who knows.
sundin screwd the leafs last season,,, he should have allowed a trade to jump start this horrible leafs team this year,,,, amazingly when habs were whipping the leafs,, seemed like leafs fans accepted,, incredible,,, GO HABS GO we play flyers tonight
Great - not only do I get to hear you when FC Porto beats Sporting, but I also get to hear it when my Leafs lose to your Habs It will definately be a long year in Leaf land, but I've been pining for this for years now. Had the Leafs actually gone through some semblence of a rebuilding year a few seasons ago, we'd be contending for a Cup now. INstead, they hired a GM with little experience at running a team (great at scouting and drafting, but what's the sense in being great at drafting if you don't have picks?!) and the team went into the shitter - no surprise. Schenn was a good pick and I exoect that he will go back to junior for more seasoning, and a few of the kids up front like Kulemin and Tlustly look like they have some skill. Perhaps Kaberle good be shipped for a package of picks and prospects and the Leafs need to continue to go on this rebulding phase and not be swayed by a couple of playoff dates. Also, imagine how much better the Leafs would be if Sundin had gone to Montreal for the rumoured Higgins and a 1st rounder and if Kaberle had gone to Philly for the rumoured Carter and a 1st rounder at last seasons trade deadline That's two-thirds of a first line, as far as Toronto is concerned. The biggest problem in Toronto is that management can ice a decent team or a crappy team and there is not urgency to build a winner because the fans will come. Every Canadian team in last 10 years or so who has gone through some troubling times had seen attendence dwindle - yes, even the Habs - but the Leafs never see that because fans will always come out in droves.
Um, no - he was offered a no-trade clause in his contract and he accepted it. He was under no obligation to waive it. It was his right given to him by Leafs' management. If there is to be any blame, it would be to JF Jr. for handing out no-trade clauses and huge contracts to crappy vets like candy to kids. Also, Richard Peddie should also front some of the blame - after all, he was the one who hired JF Jr. instead of going after a more experienced GM, one who has the ilk of taking on the most high-profile GM position in hockey...
i could not have siad this better myself you hit it right on habs did go through it but fans put pressure on management by showng their dissapointment during the games,,,, anyways amigo this was a great post
i understand that ,, but sundin could have allowed them to trade him late in the season knowing the leafs would have somthing in return,,,, look now,, he aint helping you guys at all,,, and you got nothing for him anyways its the way we see it in montreal and our media
Well, there's a couple of things here to consider: 1. Trades between the Leafs and the Habs happen as often as Middle East peace treaties - hardly ever. Imagine the uproar in Toronto had Sundin been traded to Montreal and then the Habs winning the Cup. That wouldn't go over too well here; 2. The Leafs were going through a late season surge and believed that a playoff spot was in reach. Let's just say that the Leafs did make the playoffs as the 8th seed - who would they have faced? The Habs and their newest center Mats Sundin! Leafs management couldn't let either one of those scenarios happen, no matter what the reward was in the form of a trade or if it meant getting nothing in return for not trading him...
LOL forcasporting no doubt it would have been weird to see sundin in a habs uniform,, those comments were funny and very true point well taken
man leafs lose another one today vs blues at home,, 5-4 after leading 3-1 oyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy that victory against the wings is now erased,,, anyways habs playing flyers shortly GO HABS GO QUEST FOR 25 IS ON
yesterdays results Canadiens 5 Flyers 3 F Blues 5 Maple Leafs 4 F Sabres 7 Islanders 1 F Devils 1 Rangers 4 F Canucks 1 Capitals 5 F Red Wings 3 Hurricanes 1 F Predators 3 Blackhawks 2 F
I agree with most of your post except for the Habs attendance. Habs have led the league in attendance for many years now. Montreal is by far the most electric arena in hockey. Toronto is a morgue in comparison. Quietest and least entertaining fans in the league.
Habs continue to roll beating Phoenix last night 4-1. The game got ugly when Kurt Saur nailed Montreal's Andrei Kostitsyn with a dirty hit (some would argue it was clean - like that deranged Dinosaur, Don Cherry). Saur refused to fight Georges Laraque but accepted facing off against the much smaller,. but fearless Tom Kostoupolous. Laraque then went on to lay the smack down on Todd Fedoruk in a lopsided fight. When Higgns comes back Montreal will have 3 legit scoring lines. Not even the Red Wings can boast that this year. Our 4th line is also as good as any in the league. This team will not only punish you on the scoreboard, but will beat you down physically. We started seeing traces of that last season with guys like Komisarek leading the league in hits and blocked shots. This year no team can roll into the Bell Centre expecting to come out without some serious bruises. Mats Sundin apparently is in Toronto training hard to start playing again. Who knows if it will be with the Leafs. He'd have to take a serious pay cut to come back and play for them. Habs "Plan B" Robert Lang, has looked impressive so far this season for the Habs. Looks like we didn't need Sundin after all although that would have been nice.
Since 1993 when the Habs last won The Cup - both the Leafs and Habs have missed the playoffs a total of 5 times. Leafs have missed the last 3 seasons in a row and look poised to miss a 4th. Since the "new era post lock out NHL" the Leafs have yet to make the playoffs. Leafs all-time playoff record is under .500 - pretty lame. 240-252-3 Habs all-time Playoff record - 398-273-8 - That's 125 games over .500 Unmatched. Leafs don't come close. I consider Detroit now the 2nd most successful behind the Habs in hockey glory. Leafs are a distant 3rd. Canadiens have made the playoffs 77 times in their history. Leafs have made it to the playoffs 60 times Did you know the Leafs have only won 5 division championships and ZERO Conference Championships? In contrast, the Montreal Canadiens have won 24 Cups, 8 Conference Championships, and 22 Division Championships? All that and they never played in the worst Division of all time - Norris Division. Habs win. Leafs are not on the same level as a franchise.
Prior to George Gillette (sp?) buying the team, the Habs were in a flux attendence wise. Was it alarming, probably not, but suffice to say that the team was going through some hardships earler this decade when the transition of ownership was taking place. The ACC may be a morgue at times, but Toronto has been selling out since the 30's
We could have a lengthy discussion on the histories of our clubs (and we may have to over some beers on an upcoming Leafs/Habs Saturday night - PM me ) but here's some food for thought - ever wonder how great the Habs would be had they not had a monopoly over Francophone players born in Quebec? Look at the names and birthplaces of the great Habs players and you'll see the common denominator - any major Quebec born player up to the late 60's was Habs territory pretty much by birthrite. In contrast, the other 5 clubs prior to the advent of the draft and expansion from 6 teams to 12 had to "sponsor" minor hockey teams across Canada in order to ensure talent to their name. Imagine if Toronto had exclusive rights to players born in Ontario - Bobby Orr in a Leafs uniform Imagine seeing Maurice Richard with the Rangers, or Jean Belivaeu on a line with Gordie Howe in Detroit, and so on...
I don't want to see Sundin in a Leafs uniform unless he's willing to sign without a no-trade clause. What's the point when this team is poised to miss the playoffs for an unprecedented 4th time in a row (up to this past season, the Leafs had never missed the playoffs for more than 2 seasons in a row )...
The whole "monopoly on quebec players" thing is blown out of proportion and a bit of a myth. I wont get into it right now but what you just said is exagerated
READ: http://liam.ca/ed20040319.html We did not have exclusive rights to all Quebec born players; the way it worked in the old days was that young players even early teens were signed by teams. Not surprisingly the Habs being local saw alot more of the kids playing in their backyard and signed a lot of them. In order to get Beliveau we had to buy a whole league. French Canadian players were disliked outside Quebec and treated like second class citizens so no wonder most of them wanted to play in Montreal. Later on I believe that we were allowed to protect 2 Quebec born players a year and this is where this myth started but in actual fact we only exercised that option a couple of times. So there!
Yeah, that's great - get the opinion of a Habs fan, why don't you. Ever wonder if there's a hint of bias in that opinion of his?
If you read the entire article I sent you a link for, you will see that it was in fact not by a biased Habs fan but backed up by many sources of some of the most well known and respected people in the game - such as Scotty Bowman. Fact is, in those days the Habs organization was way ahead of it's time and deserved all the success that followed. If you read the article you will also learn Habs were the first to start the whole "farm system" used by all NHL teams today. Sorry Forca, but your Leafs have been cursed with bad management and stupid owners for many decades - John Ferguson Junior is just a more recent example. It doesn't matter who the GM is in Toronto. As long as the ownership and top executives in the organization (Richard Peddie, Larry Tenebaum etc..) remain in power, you will never see the Leafs win the Cup. The only bad management I can ever recall in the entire 100 year history of the Habs was in the mid-90's when Rejean Houle was named GM and traded Patrick Roy for peanuts. We Hab fans didn't put up with that very long and the franchise went on to build the right way. I predict the Leafs "rebuilding" process will take much longer and will take years to get to the point that the Habs are - an ultra competitive young team with a rich farm system, top scouts, and smart management. Both Leafs and Habs current rosters average the age of 27, yet both teams are worlds apart. I laugh when I hear in Toronto talk shows about how young and inexperienced the Leafs are as if that is an excuse. Other young teams like the Habs and Penguins are just as young, but tons better.