Plus/Minus reaches for the Pinot

A week has passed since the last Plus/Minus, and the team has lost enough times to change my mind about this "all Plus" business. (See my previous post for foods that can help you deal with all this.)

PLUS

Can we send this in to Cute Overload?

+ I shouldn't condone violence, but Carey Price is the only Hab willing to stand up for Carey Price, so he might as well have given Nazem Kadri that little smack upside the head. (Yeah, I said it. I'm sure Leafs fans are going to start pelting rocks at me for it. Whatever.)
+ Congratulations to Hal Gill on his 1000th career NHL game, and can I again say that his family is so adorable. Also mad props to whoever in the organization decided to have his teammates give flowers to his wife and mother - so cute!
+ Congratulations to Mike Cammalleri on his 500th game, and to former Hab Ryan O'Byrne on his 200th game.
+ Josh Gorges scored a goal!! ...wait, what? They gave it to Travis Moen? Okay, fine, I guess Moen is still a goal-scoring machine.

MINUS

Yeah, so that Bruin is now a Hab

- Hamilton Bulldog Joe Stejskal got hit pretty badly this week.
- Brock Trotter came back from Europe... only to get traded away. Can someone explain to me what is happening?
- Ads on the glass, RDS? Are you freaking serious? I've always hated those, and hoped I wouldn't have to see them on a regular basis, but RDS didn't listen to me. What's next? Is Mario Tremblay going to change his name to Ford F-150?
- Two consecutive losses to the Leafs? It makes my heart hurt.
- People calling for Jacques Martin's head: Firing a coach isn't going to solve all the team's problems. I don't like him either, but pointing fingers isn't going to help us get through this.
- And a Minus to indulge the superstitious side of me: Someone take Carey Price's pink pads (even though the breast cancer awareness angle is incredibly thoughtful) and burn them. Sacrifice them like Carey did to Josh Gorges' stick a couple of years ago. PLEASE.

It's all right. Tomorrow is another day. They might win, they might lose... But the beauty of tomorrow is that we don't know, and that each new game is a chance at a new start. That's a Plus, right?

The year that was, the year that will be.

You're probably all missing Rookie right now, as I am not the most reliable of bloggers seeing as I have missed just about the last ...oh, five games in a row due to the holidays and really, just not being around. I even betrayed you all for a bit by entering the ACC at the same time the Habs were set to face off against Dallas. Note that missing this much hasn't happened in the last twelve years, which either says something about my poker-playing skills or bad train-scheduling abilities.

But the Habs haven't exactly made me feel terrible about missing their frustrating, heart-wrenching, goal-starved performances. My phone has almost been choked to death the number of times I refresh my GameCenter app, hoping it's lying to me. I get back in the car on the way home and callers always seem to be on the verge of becoming clone artists of Angry Sal. It's upsetting and certainly unsettling that this is what they're going through, but maybe sitting these games out is what allows me not to want to panic, and be almost alone in that boat.

Or maybe it's the experience. 1998 was not your bandwagon 2004 year by any means, and that's when I came on board. AKA slumps like these are not the worst I've seen.

This. This is probably the worst thing I've seen.

This year marked a lot of things for the Bleu-Blanc-Rouge, which can (and should be) called upon to remember in times like these:

• Injuries, callups, demotions. Andrei Kostitsyn had knee surgery and Max Pacioretty ...he was just plain not ready. Despite all the flack he gets, Kostitsyn is still third in team scoring and leads with +9, whereas Pacioretty, after his excellent start in the AHL this season, was the lone guy to get on the board for the Habs last night.
• More injuries. The world seemed to end when Mike Cammalleri showed up in crutches to practice that day in February. Despite missing 17 games, he came back just in time for the playoffs and was instrumental in the Habs' run with 19 points in 19 games, 13 of them goals.

(But first we had to see him in That Suit. The one that did not look one bit like this one, unfortunately.)

• Pierre Gauthier named General Manager. In what can at best be called a bizarre move at a time no one expected anything from Bob Gainey, much less him stepping down, a new/old face stepped up to fill the void leaving Habs' fans more confused than before. He still gets questioned on a daily basis, but now it's "that Gauthier" instead of "that Gainey." More on what he HAS done later, though.
• Mid-February: P.K. Subban called up. His status then was God, with 39 points, a +29 and having all sorts of roles in record-breakers in Hamilton. His status now... not so much. I'm about to quote a girly movie, and I won't tell you which one, but we have to remember what used to be good, otherwise we won't recognize it if it hits us between the eyes.
• 24/7 has nothing on us. Possibly the best thing to happen to both the Penguins and the Capitals was facing the Habs in the playoffs this season. The two seven-game series were supposed to come out with different victors, but when does what's SUPPOSED to happen actually happen, anyway?
• Halaknophobia. Which is quite possibly the most amusing headline Canadiens.com has ever come up with, seeing as they're not Rookie. Who can forget the stop-signs and the walls and agent drama and goalie drama and putting that aside and just winning, for goodness' sake, and winning big. In the regular season, in the playoffs, bringing with it the hero status and The Trade. Oh no.
  
  
• And Pierre Gauthier's move eventually makes some bit of sense. The re-signing of Tomas Plekanec to a six year deal, keeping the guy who's currently leading the Canadiens in scoring where he should be and where he always pictured himself being despite the temptations of free-agency. It's a move that validates itself every day.
• Marc-Andre Bergeron: not re-signed. And thank your lucky stars. Could you imagine the state of the current D when he's what you have to rely on? Not that the suggestion won't be brought up again in these times of so-called peril #JustSayNo
• Guy Boucher named AHL Coach of the Year...only to wind up in Tampa Bay. And that's the last reference to last night's game that I think I'm going to safely be able to use in this post. But you have to admit it has enough bite to act as a motivator. Right? Right?
• Dan Ellis and Dustin Boyd to Montreal for S. Kostitsyn. Harsh critiques and Twitter-wars of massive proportions ensued in what would ordinarily be considered the least blockbuster-esque move in pre-July 1st history. Now, slowly but surely, Kostitsyn has found his niche in Nashville, which at least some of us wished for him (and even those that didn't can take solace in the fact that he's so far from this division it doesn't even matter), whereas Carey Price didn't even need Ellis, and Dustin Boyd, after a tumultuous heart-breaking series of waiver-trips, has exploded for ten goals in the AHL's longest goal-streak this season.
• Finally, a Captain. Brian Gionta was given the 'C', becoming the 28th player to wear it in the Habs' history. He now leads the team in goals (tied with Cammalleri) with 12 and shots with 150 (where he's also eighth in the whole league).
• Markov out again. Emphasis on again, because that word implies that it's happened before. It's starting to be felt only as of late, even if people might forget it happened back in November. That in itself is how far this team has come. Josh Gorges joins him now, and that's going to hurt more, but with injuries to the D comes the reminder of the LAST line of defense, which leads to...
• The resurgence of Carey Price. First stars and Molson Cups aplenty for the guy most had given up on last season, including him in trade rumours of the worst kind that are hopefully documented in many places where we can laugh at them. Who's that guy that didn't even make it to the All Star Ballot and is only behind--who is it? Marc-Andre Fleury in the goalie slot? Hmm.

I'm set to miss a sixth game in a row, unless Santa brought my grandfather RDS and didn't tell him about it. I'm going to go with no. And tonight the opponents are the Florida Panthers. Despite it being the second half of a back-to-back, call it just a little hunch that this team isn't about to surrender a 2010-ending W that easily.

More on Coach

Gotta love these crazy news days, right? Yeah, me neither. I'm trying to counter all this NHL drama by watching me some WB drama.

In any case, all this Guy Boucher news has been a lot to handle in just a few days - and I'm not even the one all over his Facebook fan page.

We thought he was going to stay with the Habs organization, then we thought we lost him, then we thought we got him back, and now it seems like he's gone to the beach. This is probably even worse than knowing that Steve Yzerman, the man responsible for a gold medal at the Olympics, is working for a team that's inferior to both Team Canada and the Detroit Red Wings. OK, maybe that's the Canadian "nationalism" and Original Six jackassery talking. Now, Tampa has both Stevie Y and Guy Boucher. No more Coach after one glorious season with the Bulldogs, where he might have turned a lot of our top prospects into NHL-ready players. And, like the most promising of players, he's been called up.

Why couldn't it be the Panthers? They let all their talented guys get away eventually so we'd have a good shot at getting him back someday.

If I had to find a bright side to all this, I guess it would be that Lightning fans finally get some good news. Coach will make Steven Stamkos even better than he was this year. He might make Vincent Lecavalier, who's got one of the most ridiculous contracts in the NHL, worth the ridiculous money he's being paid. Because right now, the best thing Lecavalier's doing for hockey is making Scott Gomez look like one hell of a bargain. (Just kidding, Scott! Let's get some frogurt sometime and we'll gossip.) Or he'll just be one more francophone that RDS can talk to, so we'll have a bit more variety in interview subjects.

Guess we'll have to see what happens next.

What I did on my blogging vacation

...Well, I didn't get a truckload of hours at work like I would have liked. Oh well. I took a little bit of time off because I needed a little break from blogging, and recharge, so to speak. I didn't think it would be so lonely.

It would have been stupid to take a week or two off from the blog during the playoffs, so I waited until there were no more Habs of which to speak. Suddenly everything was very quiet. I even started to miss the scalpers on Avenue-des-Canadiens... yes, the scalpers. That's how bad it got. Heck, I even joined Twitter when I was supposed to be on a break - that, kids, is what we call "taking a page out of the Mike Cammalleri playbook."

I pretty much jumped at the first chances I got to do anything Habs-related: I stared in awe at game-used sticks and equipment at the end-of-season Habs Zone sale. I picked up some merch for myself. I laughed at the teenager and his mom who stared at skates, bewildered: "How are you supposed to know which ones are your size?" I combed my house for exact change for the South Shore buses on the first two days of development camp.

By the way, how does a development camp differ from a scouting combine?

So I hopped on the 90 bus, for the first time since last July, when I spent most of my bus ride on the phone, getting hired for my first real grownup job (which, despite the economy, I fortunately still have and love). But that's a story for another day.

It's a pretty nice bus ride, compared to the loud, hot, smelly, jerky STM buses

You'd think it had been months since there was live hockey in Montreal. ~czechtacular and I dressed for the occasion, chose our seats, and settled in, preparing for an afternoon with no cell reception or WiFi.

Best seats in the house

Considering that my knowledge of each of these prospects is somewhat limited, I spent most of my afternoons watching the drills as a form of hockey catharsis, having snacks, and snapping endless pictures of Kirk Muller. I don't know why.

ok, maybe I do know why. Who doesn't love Kirk?

We even had a Guy Boucher sighting despite reports that he'd miss camp on Tuesday due to "family matters." And by now, we've figured out that these family matters were in Ohio and that Rick Nash was probably Steve Urkel.

Boucher, pictured here with a pink-shirted Jacques Martin and an unidentified bald man

Kids, there's nothing like spending a hot summer day inside a cold arena and finding every opportunity to make a pun on "Hunter Bishop." And, to be honest, Tanner House too. You very narrowly escaped seeing a picture of House captioned "It's not lupus." (But maybe sometime in the future.)

It's good to be back.

Last Plus/Minus before the playoffs

82 games later, and this city is still wondering what to expect from its legendary hockey team.

Well, we can definitely expect to see the Washington Capitals this week. No, we don't know what will happen. The love-hate relationship between fans and players continues, as our Habs just barely made it into the playoffs, almost out of spite. (I kind of want to see them win the Cup this year and have a team leader, exhausted and battle-weary, lift up the Stanley Cup and shout "Is this enough for you, jackasses?")

PLUS

+ We made the playoffs!
+ Bill McCreary is one of my favourite game officials. (I can't name very many others, but I defy you to find a more even-tempered referee with a better mustache.) I'm quite happy that the NHL asked him to Brett Favre it and work for at least one more year.

+ Guy Boucher is the AHL's best coach, his first year in the league? Excellent.

+ to Steven Stamkos for tying Sidney Crosby as the NHL's best goal-scorer this season. (Don't worry, Ovie, you were still the first to reach 50 goals this season. And last season.)

MINUS

Coach: you look how I feel.

- Okay, seriously, team? There were some excellent moments in this week's games but I would have preferred not to sneak into the playoffs by the back door. I'm hoping the Habs were just storing up some energy for the coming weeks. We're playing a team who hopped the express train to the postseason, whereas the Habs got there by... suburban public transit.

- The Leafs just love to screw with us, don't they? They lost the Rangers game that they should have won, and then decided to beat the Habs in OT (way to twist the blade, Dion Phaneuf), just to make sure to do their part in our squeak into the postseason.

- I've got to be honest. Lately, Jacques Martin hasn't really been as reassuring as a confident coach should be. The only big risk he's taken is starting Halak all week after some losses, but that's about as risky as ordering soup instead of salad.
- If the rumours are true that those guys in charge of the Flames want to rid themselves of Jarome Iginla, then they deserve a Darwin Award. I'll get the campaign going right after I make sure Pierre Gauthier makes Iginla a Hab.

NOT SURE IF IT'S A PLUS OR MINUS

Playing a team that I like in the first round of the playoffs. Last year when the Capitals played the Penguins in the playoffs, I told everyone I'd be okay with the results no matter who won. Then the Penguins eliminated the Caps, and I was not a happy little girl.

We'll see what happens, I guess.

Habs win! (Yes. They do.)

Regular season is winding down, and I know this because people are winning things.

Allow me to stop you before you say "not games, ha ha."

After the news that ~czechtacular's favourite person, Guy Boucher, (I'm not exaggerating... if he's not her favourite person then he's definitely in the top 10) was named the best coach in the AHL, the Habs' two end-of-season awards were... um... awarded.

The 2009-10 cumulative Molson Cup was awarded to Jaroslav Halak... not much of a surprise there, he played consistently well throughout the season, was named a star of the game quite often, and only missed the games where he didn't start. He won by a pretty big margin too - 63 points to runner-up Carey Price's 48. Tomas Plekanec came in third in the standings with 43 points, and if you're surprised not to read any other names here, they were probably injured at some point this season.

This year's Jacques Beauchamp trophy (apparently now the Jacques Beauchamp-Molson trophy, I guess it got married or something), awarded by the media to the team's "dark horse" went to Josh Gorges. Or in formal terms, the member of the Canadiens who played a dominant role during the regular season, without earning any particular honor. But that sounds a little condescending. Personally, I'd have given it to him last year (that's what she said?) when it was awarded to Maxim Lapierre. Don't get me wrong, Max was fantastic last season, but he got the positive attention he deserved. So maybe this was like Scorsese's Oscar for The Departed... because honestly, if anyone doesn't know by now that Gorges is a good hockey player and an important part of this team, then they're an idiot. When I was in California, rewatching the Habs-Kings game on TV, the commentators noted that as a younger player in San Jose, he didn't really have a specific role on the team, nor was he secure on the roster. Then, he was traded to Montreal right around the time I started watching a little bit of hockey (and thus decided to keep an eye on the new guy that everyone hated for replacing Craig Rivet), and now, just as the LA guys said, he's an important part of our defense. Plus, he nearly got his head cracked open and still played the next game.

Runner-up was the very deserving Glen Metropolit, who works hard and is an all-around good guy. He skated today! Injury be damned.

(By the way, at press time that Canadiens.com article said Gorges was last year's Masterton nominee for this team, when in fact it was Patrice Brisebois. I know that, and they forgot? Do they need an extra pair of eyes over there? Because I'm not that busy right now.)

Anyone else notice this?

In the midst of all of tonight's hockey excitement (Habs come back against Bruins! Caps and Rangers score a million goals! Kovalchuk traded to the Devils!) I can't help but think about some of yesterday's news.

The Columbus Blue Jackets decided to part ways with coach Ken Hitchcock. It all sounds just a little bit familiar.

Per an NHL.com article:

Hitchcock led the Blue Jackets to the first playoff berth in franchise history last spring...

A team whose entry into the playoffs both surprised and excited their fanbase, the likes of which hadn't been seen in a very long time (or in this case, ever)?

The defense, usually a trademark of Hitchcock-coaches teams, has struggled -- and 2008-09 Calder Trophy winner Steve Mason hasn't matched last season's performance in goal.

A sophomore goaltender who wasn't putting up the same numbers he had as a rookie, numbers which catapulted him into the spotlight and caused his elder, former #1 goalie to be traded away?

"It's terrible news," Nash, the Jackets' captain, told the Columbus Dispatch. "It's terrible news. It's terrible we couldn't play better and the coach had to be fired..."

No other solution but to fire the coach of a team whose season has been, to say the least, disappointing?

Maybe it's just me, but this sounds an awful lot like last season's Canadiens. We'll have to see how - and when - Columbus turns around. Will the team need to clean house? Or has our example proved that a new roster might not always make the huge difference you hope it will?

In any case, I know one thing: Columbus can't have Brian Gionta. Sorry.

Rookie gets in the game

Okay, usually I try to stay away from trade rumours, mostly because it weirds me out that players get traded around like commodities (it's like GMs are kids with hockey cards, saying "Oh, I really want your Drew Doughty! What do you want for it? I have a Rick Nash...")

Also because this.

But a couple of them have piqued my interest over the last couple of days. (Especially since Dion Phaneuf was apparently up for grabs.)

First, there are reports that Ilya Kovalchuk may not be chained down in Atlanta like we thought he was. I don't know what you'd have to trade for a player like him, but I'd be interested to see where he ends up. (By which I mean, um, here. So that the Habs don't have to play against him.)

Also, apparently the Penguins miss Hal Gill and want him back. Really? I know there are some Habs fans who'd give him away for a bag of chips, but if a team like Pittsburgh really wants something, what are they willing to give up? Play hardball, Bob. Keep at it until you get us Dan Bylsma.

Does anyone think there'll be any more major transactions, or is Gainey pretty much done his shopping for the year?

What a day!

Wow... even if today we'd been able to update this blog as things were happening, ~czechtacular and I would have had quite some work on our hands. (Donations to the Hab It Her Way Manicure Fund, which we don't dip into that often but a girl's gotta take care of herself sometimes, are heartily accepted.)

I guess days like this make up for those lazy summer days when there's no trade news, no gossip, and nothing hockey-related to look forward to.

So I guess we should get to today's business:

Mats Sundin announces retirement. Tells journalists he plans to use his free time growing hair.

And yes, if you're interested, we can start taking bets on when he'll un-retire and at what price.

His announcement was marked by a severe lack of nostalgia regarding the year he won the Stanley Cup.

(Which reminds me, I wish Patrice Brisebois all the best.)

Sergei Kostitsyn suspended and stuff. So he refused to be sent to Hamilton, and was so upset that he demanded a trade, and as a result the organization suspended him. Tsk.

Why, Sergei, why? We've seen his potential, and he could be much more important to the team than he is right now with the skills he has, but there's something that's holding him back from doing anything. I don't know exactly what it is (I doubt very many people do) and I'm probably better off not knowing, but I'm just disappointed that this is all happening.

I guess at this point we can only hope that whatever this problem is gets sorted out (whether it's a question of ego or an actual conflict) because honestly, what team would take a player who got himself in the news this preseason for being a diva? (... okay, maybe San Jose, but this Heatley business is a story best told by someone else at another time.)

All this to say that I want the old Sergei back. The fast, energetic, scrappy Sergei who helped the team win games.

Three players get A's. (And they didn't even have to study!)

From the press release:

"Montreal Canadiens’ Head Coach Jacques Martin 

announced today that defensemen

Andrei Markov, Hal Gill and forward Brian Gionta 

have been named assistants."

(I'd like to start by saying that as a perennial rookie, it's good to know that "assistant captain" is an acceptable term to use, and whoever told me that I had just made up another term for what should be called an "alternate captain" was wrong.)

All great choices. I think Jacques Martin could have expected to have some heavy objects thrown at him if Markov didn't have that A on his jersey. Gill is an experienced player, and he's coming off of a Stanley Cup win, and he just seems like the kind of guy that his teammates would have trouble hating, so he's a very logical choice. Gionta's shown us what he can do, and he's a great player, and I've heard he's a pretty good leader and he's come off as very personable in interviews so I'm sure that his teammates and game officials will like him.

(Dear Josh Gorges: I would probably have given you an A, but you'll be just fine without the extra responsibility.)

Lost at "C". We've got three assistants, but no captain yet.

I'm still not clear on whether this means that Markov, Gill, and Gionta are out of the running to become captain, but I guess we'll find out in due time.

Or will we? Didn't Jacques Martin promise to name a captain before the season started? I may have expressed my distaste for this idea, but I've got to be honest that I'm not happy he reneged

on his promise. He's only been coach for a few months and he's already going back on his word? For some reason that doesn't give me a very good feeling.

But the biggest (and best) news that I have to report to you?

There's less than 24 hours left. Yay!

Preseason jitters (yes, it's a long post)

Quite a few things are happening with our Habs in these final days leading up to the regular season, and it feels like fans need to train and psych themselves up just as much as the players. (That’s in part because we know winter’s coming. Get out your throwback jerseys and your snow tires, ladies and gents, the season’s changing.)

So here's a little overview of a few hot topics that have been peppering fans' and journalists' discussion of the team as the clock winds down to our season opener.

THE NEW GUYS. We’ve done a pretty good job of welcoming our newcomers so far, just as they’ve done more than their share of singing the city’s praises. (Seriously, Scott Gomez, any more singing and you’d be joining the cast of Glee.) It’s a good thing that Montrealers follow their hockey so intensely... can you imagine being a casual Habs fan and seeing a picture like this: 

We’re basically going into a season of Who’s Dis Guy?*

This season is going to prove whether or not we were all right: Should Bob Gainey have cleaned house as obsessive-compulsively as he did? Are guys like Gomez and Gionta a little too eager to play in front of the most intense city in the league, before they’ve even seen our dark side? Were we, the fans, right to turn our backs on the Habs who disappointed us? Everyone’s been jumping the gun and answering these questions lately, but personally I think we need to wait it out until we know for sure.

THE LINEUP. Today five more players were cut from Montreal and sent to play for the Bulldogs. Definitely a gain for Hamilton, and maybe not a huge shock to us. It was pretty obvious that a player like Curtis Sanford was signed to back up and support young up-and-coming players who could use an experienced, big-brother figure.

Cutting Sergei Kostitsyn was a bit of a shock to me, since I had assumed (or, at least, hoped) that he’d be back this season and rarin’ to go. That wasn’t entirely the case. Still, the cut was Jacques Martin’s call to make, and as fans all we can hope for is that the coach’s decisions are in the team’s best interests. Which reminds me...

THE COACH AND THE CAPTAIN. We’ve got an experienced coach, a man carefully chosen by team management out of a vast ocean of, um, available francophone coaches. I’ll be honest and admit that I didn’t exactly know much about Martin before he was hired, so I’m going into this season a little blind.

I don’t doubt that he knows what’s right for the team, and I tend to lean toward trusting coaches and team management more than the average armchair coach (if only because I’m aware that they’re standing behind the bench and I’m sitting on my couch with my cat). However, I’ve got to comment on this decision to appoint a team captain. Last time I checked, this was Canada and 2009. How about a little democracy? If you want a guy to lead this team, this half-new team recovering from a season of fail, why not ask the guys who are in that team? To me, an election seems like the most logical process, although I’m hoping that whatever method Martin is employing to make his decision will make sense.

As for the identity of this as-yet-unnamed captain? I’m not too sure about who I think it SHOULD be (maybe because, as I mentioned, the lineup changed too drastically, and we could maybe wait until the regular season starts), but as for who it WILL be, if I were a betting woman I’d put money on Scott Gomez. I don’t quite know why - chalk it up to female intuition, I guess.

In any case, we’ll find out by the time les boys are done with their retreat. Which reminds me...

THE PRESEASON RETREAT. None of the players seem to be pulling a diva fit or criticizing Teen Ranch in Ontario, so why is everyone else so scandalized? Some local anglo sports reporters in particular can't seem to say enough about it.

I don’t care where the retreat takes place, as long as the guys get to practice and rest and bond. Isn't that what matters? The only thing I’m worried about was a joke by canadiens.com writer Manny Almela implying that guys like Ryan O’Byrne might look like this if they sleep on bunk beds:

And I’m only worried about that for two reasons:

I know the importance of a good night’s sleep, and I hope O’Byrne, Gill and their teammates of all sizes have been getting their share of shut-eye

It’s a hilarious sight gag that I kind of wish I could see for myself

So, in these final hours, I hope that the team’s preseason enthusiasm doesn’t fade as fast as their idealism probably will.

*If you were wondering, ”Who’s Dis Guy” is a running joke between your bloggers, usually alluding to a player whose face you cannot recognize.

Photos used in this post are not our property. They belong to habsinsideout.com and Warner Brothers.