Hab It Her Way Awards 2013

The best things about summer have come and gone, so I guess it's time for me to enjoy my favourite weather and look forward to the next hockey season. Or, actually, look back on the last season. (That'll take all of three seconds.) Sounds like the perfect time to bring back one of my favourite features: the Hab It Her Way Awards! This year, instead of posting nominees, I've chosen the winners on my own. (Sorry!)

So, without further ado, here are our more traditional categories:

The Youppi! Trophy for Best Hab of the Season

Here, Brendan Gallagher, this is for you. You know, on top of the 28 points, 2 playoff goals, NHL All-Rookie team, Calder nomination, and unconditional love of an entire city.

The Leslie Knope Trophy for Acts of Kindness

Hal Gill saved an owl's life! We've always known that he was a nice guy who seems to treat his teammates really well, but not everyone would go out of their way to save an animal, so this deserves an award.

The Coach Taylor Trophy for Favourite TV Person (Sports)

As usual, this award goes to James Duthie. From his roles in TSN's sketch comedy efforts to his relaxed professionalism in-studio, I don't think I've ever seen a segment where Duthie seemed out of sorts. If there was a clip reel to accompany this award presentation, it would just be of James Duthie, between periods of Team Canada's first game at the World Juniors, around 4 AM EST, saying "If you're watching one of our later rebroadcasts or if you recorded this game to watch later, suck it up next time." It was the most hysterical thing I have ever heard at 4 AM.

The Benedict Cumberbatch Trophy for Best Name of the Draft

Last year's draft was rife with excellent names. This year, not so much. But still, there's no denying the awesomeness of a name like Ben Storm. They waited until the sixth round to draft a guy named Ben Storm? Dude sounds like a superhero! And he was drafted by the Avalanche. That's synergy if I've ever seen it.
Honourable mentions: Stephon Williams (NYI's hottest club) and Rasmus Ristolainen (BUF.)

The Pierre McGuire Trophy for Best Playoff Moment

Thank you, Dave Bolland, for scoring a last-minute Stanley Cup winner and saving us all from the clutches of the evil Bruins!

Plus/Minus: Out of the rabbit hole

Easter is one of the most joyful days on the Christian calendar. The day after a team's last game is one of the saddest days for a sports fan. I'm not quite sure how to feel, since this insane season ended on a high note. I feel like Alice out of Wonderland: I have no idea where I was or what was happening around me. All I know for sure is that now it's over.

PLUS

+ Tomas Plekanec's beautiful-gorgeous 3-on-5 breakaway goal.
+ Finally, Blake Geoffrion got to shake some rust off and actually play a few games.
+ The Cole-Pacioretty-Desharnais line. I don't think I've given them enough Pluses this season.
+ If you're going to wait all season to score a goal, you might as well score it from the other side of the ice with mere minutes left in the season. Nice work, Brad Staubitz!

+ Carey Price's cowboy hat.
+ I love seeing the players close out their season finale by "saluting" the fans with their hockey sticks, but I never would have expected them to toss around so many pucks and give the jerseys off their backs to fans.
+ Jay Baruchel.
+ Last year, I wrote an end-of-season post thanking the Habs players for their season. This year, I saw that another fan wrote one on Tumblr, and it's excellent.

+ Patrick Kane's game-winning shootout goal against the Red Wings was the perfect way to end an exciting game between two teams that I wish I could watch all the time, but instead I'm stuck with, like, Buffalo and stuff.
+ 60 goals for Steven Stamkos. 50 goals for Evgeni Malkin. Holy crap, this league.
+ An unfortunate omission from last week's Plus: Pucks and Pixels Hockey Design, spearheaded by a Chicago Blackhawks fan, has done some excellent work inspired by the You Can Play Project.
+ "Bein' Quirky With Zooey Deschanel" might be my new favourite recurring sketch on SNL.
+ Speaking of Zooey Deschanel on TV, Winston's angry rant on New Girl ended with what might be the best bit of dialogue I've heard all season: "Now go away, because I'm having cereal." ("Because I"m having cereal" is the new "Because it's the Cup.")

MINUS

- Mario Tremblay seems to think that Randy Cunneyworth's lack of québécois heritage is what cost the Habs their season. Really?! REALLY?! There are so many things wrong with that statement, that Tremblay probably wouldn't be able to count them all.
- I loved the end-of-season "Thank You" video that the Canadiens put together, but it hurts a little to see our most talented and dedicated players try to make up for fans and thank them when they know that there are so many idiot "fans" out there who shouldn't be allowed near the Bell Centre next season.

- Federal government cuts to the NFB are not only costing dozens of people their jobs, but they're closing their downtown facilities to the public. I've been to screenings there. I went to a 50-person Q-and-A session with Denys Arcand there. The government can't just take it away.

I'm still thinking about how to adjust to this new, playoff-less reality. I think the traditional Plus/Minus playoff format (one at the end of each round, instead of weekly) is going to come back.

It's Playoff Bracket time!

Playoffs start soon, so it's time for us to introduce the third annual Hab It Her Way NHL Playoff Bracket. Yay!

I try to find a theme for the random pictures I use for every matchup. This year, I tried to find common ground between the teams playing each other in the first round. We're not that different, after all.

In the West:

The Canucks and Blackhawks meet early in the playoffs this year. I always love this series, but it'll be particularly tough to root for one team since both Roberto Luongo and Corey Crawford are local-boy goalies.

The Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks are both from California. That's all I got.

Detroit and Phoenix are lucky enough to have wonderful, gentlemanly captains with quite a few seasons' worth of wisdom. That's MISTER Nick Lidstrom and Shane Doan to you!

Anaheim-Nashville might just be the battle of Young Guys That Nobody Wanted As Habs Except Me. Sorry, Kyle Chipchura and Sergei Kostitsyn. (Is there a way to sneak Matt D'Agostini or Greg Stewart into this too?)

In the East:

The Washington Capitals and New York Rangers introduced some spiffy new throwback jerseys this year. That's something I know a little bit about.

Why not choose at least one series and focus on the players I don't like? Congratulations, Philly captain Mike Richards and Buffalo goalie Ryan Miller (if you're not still injured). You know what you did.

What do the Canadiens and Bruins have in common? Well, in case you didn't know, they hate each other.

Two teams. Two bloggers. Two beloved coaches. It's my Dan Bylsma against Czechtacular's Guy Boucher.

Click on the picture above to see the bracket full-size and you should be able to print it out quite easily! I keep track of the scores of each game, higher-seeded team on top, lower-seeded on the bottom. (I cleared that up in the MTL-BOS and LA-SJ series.)

Plus/Minus: I'm happy I'm typing this so I can rest my voice

It is Monday, six days after I cheered like a madwoman, and I still sound like an idiot. (See: Subban, Pernell Karl, and my previous post.)
Great week, right? Habs beat the Blackhawks in a fantastic goalie battle and Original Six matchup, and I got to watch a Montreal-Toronto game at a Habs Tweetup in Toronto.

PLUS

+ PK Subban's slap shot. So amazing that it gets a Plus, because it also got me a sore throat and a little bit dizzy for 15 minutes because of all the jumping and screaming.
+ Carey Price, winner of this season's Molson Cup, has been awesome and played a huge role in getting his team to the playoffs.
+ Congratulations to Roman Hamrlik on being voted this season's "unsung hero." Also, thank you, Roman!
+ Ryan White *almost* got another Gordie Howe hat trick. Had he accomplished the feat in Toronto I would have been dancing in public, and even more hoarse than I already am, so maybe things worked out for the best.
+ Hot on the heels of Jarome Iginla reaching the same plateau, Joe Thornton has 1000 career points.
+ 2 Not to be outdone, Jarome had a hat trick this week. (And so did Aaron Palushaj with the Bulldogs!)
+ 2 for two of the Chicago Blackhawks: holy crap, Corey Crawford is really, really good. And Jonathan Toews played a role in the Habs' win on Tuesday (getting my team into the playoffs) and played a huge role in the Hawks' win on Wednesday (getting his own team one step closer to the playoffs).


MINUS
- Some of the other Canadian teams did something pre-game to recognize that April is autism awareness month. It would have been nice for the Habs to do something.
- Benoit Pouliot: You know I love you and all. Now are you done with all your trips to the penalty box? You're better than that, man!

- The idiot who posted this comment on a story about Jennifer Botterill's retirement. Either he doesn't know what "funny" is, or he really just is that stupid, or he's never met a girl in his life. I'm not sure. Theories welcome.
(And by the way, ringette sucks and being good at it is quite an accomplishment, as that stupid ring thing is much harder to handle than a puck.)

I haven't fixed a schedule yet for playoff Plus/Minuses. Depending on how things go, I may take more time between them and only post a Plus/Minus at the end of each playoff round like I did last year. But more importantly: the playoffs are coming! The playoffs are coming!

It's April 5th already?

I can't believe the season is so close to being over. I've been looking forward to this Blackhawks game since before the season started, and I can't believe that the day has arrived.

No idea why, back in September, I sprang for tickets to this Blackhawks game without a second thought. Why I chose a game that I'd have to pay for right away and wait seven months to see, I have no idea.

Maybe it was because I wanted to see the season finale, come hell or high water or any position in the standings.

Maybe it's because, as one of my friends reminded me last week, Canadiens-Blackhawks is one of those matchups that you can just never pass up.

Maybe it's because I have this weird life goal to see all of the Original Six teams in person, and after tonight I'll have five out of six. (I'm also 5/6 of the way to seeing all of the Canadian teams. I think I just figured out where all my money went.)

Maybe it's because Jonathan Toews is the Internet's favourite hockey player.

("The Circle of Hawks" was made by Kat, lead contributor to Runs On Duncan, which you should already be reading.)

Or maybe it's because I kind of like the Blackhawks. I know, I know, I wrote this post already about the Los Angeles Kings. Don't worry, I don't think I love the Hawks as much as I love the Kings, much less the Habs. There's just something about the Western Conference, and the Original Six, that I really like. I was very happy to see Jonathan Toews win a gold medal, a Conn Smythe trophy, and a Stanley Cup all in the same season. I'm still kind of surprised that he's such a great captain, and that he's been so composed since such a young age. (Pretty sure this has already been said: Jonathan Toews is my Sidney Crosby. Deal with it.) Joel Quenneville knows how to rock a mustache, and the Hawks have my favourite fan video series in "Joey The Junior Reporter."

And while I may not call the Hawks my first or second team, I wouldn't be opposed to receiving the same gift as the main character on Samantha Who?:

The very handsome Eddie Cibrian bought her a Hawks jersey personalized with "Smartass" on the back. I don't own one, but if I did I might have done the unthinkable and worn it to tonight's game. It's probably the only piece of enemy apparel I'd wear to the Bell Centre. Don't worry, I'll never become a real Hawks fan because I'm one of the few people who cannot stand "Chelsea Dagger."

The only major similarity between this game and the Kings game, both of which I chose to buy tickets for, is that the opposing goalie is a local boy. The Bell Centre was not very nice to Jonathan Bernier. Please, Montreal, do not boo Corey Crawford for no reason.

Even if I do have a reason, I won't boo. I'll be too busy cheering for my Habs in their last regular season game at home. I may or may not sound all hoarse on the radio tonight, but I'll have a good excuse.

Go Habs Go!! 

Another one of those days

So... the NHL is busier when there's no hockey? Is that how it is?

First, Mathieu Darche gets a new contract for next season. His salary is undisclosed, and according to people who know hockey, it's a "one-way" contract. So if I understand correctly, he might be needed to rally up all these former St. Louis Blues prospects in Hamilton but regardless of what jersey he wears he'll still make a Hab's salary. Or something.

Then, we find out that Marc-André Bergeron needs knee surgery. Some people could take his injury as a reason why our power play included a few less crazy slapshots... mystery solved.

Then Tomas Plekanec and the guys in charge decided to keep him in Montreal for six more years, costing the team a very appropriate $5 million per season. He played just as well as our most expensive guys this past season, so it is definitely not too much. Stop hating. Hating on Pleks means hating on goals, and if you hate goals then you should watch golf or something.

Coming soon to a Hall of Fame near you...

The Hockey Hall of Fame announced this year's inductees, and while there was unfortunately no love for deserving Montreal sweethearts Guy Carbonneau and Pat Burns, my XX chromosomes are very happy about the first women to be inducted: Cammi Granato and Angela James. Finally there'll be more than just a plaque about women's hockey at the HHOF!

The Bruins and Panthers did some trading today. There were draft picks involved and then everyone went to Tim Hortons, if I understood correctly.

Scott Niedermayer, captain of the Anaheim Ducks and this year's Team Canada, announced his retirement today, but it's really just a coincidence that he held a press conference right before tomorrow's NHL Awards and Friday's draft. Totally a coincidence.

Brent Sopel of the Chicago Blackhawks proves that I completely misjudged him and his My Name Is Earl mustache by agreeing to bring the Stanley Cup to Chicago's Pride Parade, accompanied by his family.

Rollie Melanson, having already coached B.C. boy Carey Price in Montreal, will now coach St-Leonard boy Roberto Luongo in Vancouver.

Oh, and the schedule was announced for all of next season's NHL games. Yes, that ALSO happened today.
Some highlights for the Habs:
We open and close the season against the Leafs in Toronto.
The October 13 home opener, against Guy Boucher's Tampa Bay Lightning, will happen less than two weeks before the Phoenix Coyotes come to town on October 25th. Yes, czechtacular will need lots and lots of paper bags to breathe into. I'll probably buy some wholesale.
This year's Dec 4th anniversary game (does it matter every year, or only once a century?) will be in the afternoon against the San Jose Sharks. California boys are going to freeze if it's anything like it's been the last few Decembers.
Luckily we broke the December 23rd curse last season, because the Habs will be in Carolina on that very day.
Last season's seats for the Habs vs Flames game at the Bell Centre were slightly better than the ones we had the year before. On January 17th, we might get to the first row of the blues!
The Heritage Classic will indeed be happening on February 20th.
Jaro doesn't come back to town (just go back to the playlist if you're sad) but he'll get to make stops on his old teammates when the Habs go to St. Louis on March 22nd.
In general, there are just a few too many back-to-back games for my liking. I prefer it when the players have a day off between games, especially if there's travel involved.

... was that it?

Congratulations, Chicago Blackhawks

2010 Stanley Cup champions.