Baby, it's cold outside.......

And seeing that YouTube replay of Volchenkov colliding with Cammalleri did nothing to warm the cockles of my heart.  I'm of two minds about this team, if Cammalleri is out for a significant amount of time (and by the looks of it he will be) we're pretty much toast.  I don't know if that's a bad thing, at least we have a reasonable excuse.  I had hoped that  the weekend wins against New Jersey and the Rangers were going to be a turning point for our Habs, but the two losses in Florida dispelled that notion rather quickly.  The thing that bothers me the most with this team is inconsistency.  I want to get off the good hockey bad hockey roller coaster, it's starting to nauseate me.  I'm not sure what the problem is, for the most part our off season signings are doing their jobs.  Defense has it's moments and Andre Markov is not yet 100 percent.  There's no contribution to speak of coming from the third and fourth lines, and I'm not sure about the coaching.  I'm certainly no expert but I don't understand why Bob would hire a defensive minded coach and then go out and sign purely offensive players.  *scratches head*

When Bob blew up the team this summer it took me a while to get used to the new look, but I'm basically a positive glass half full type of person and all I really wanted was for the team to be better than last year.  I didn't have unrealistic expectations, I was hoping to finish 6th or 7th in the standings and get through a couple of playoffs rounds.  Bob would have had the season to assess the team and make some adjustments during the summer.  As we stand right now, I don't see us making the playoffs.  Maybe with the return of Andre Kostitsyn and depending on the severity of Cammalleri's injury we MAY have a SLIM chance. The only other positive is the teams we are battling for position are as mediocre as we are.

The only thing I'm sure of is after this season I DON'T want another year of crap.  I'm as loyal as the next fan but one decent season in seventeen is just not acceptable and from what I've heard from Geoff Molson it won't be acceptable to the new ownership either.  I don't care what it takes or who has to go to make this team competative and fun to watch again, please God just make it happen.

Baby, it's cold outside.......

And seeing that YouTube replay of Volchenkov colliding with Cammalleri did nothing to warm the cockles of my heart.  I'm of two minds about this team, if Cammalleri is out for a significant amount of time (and by the looks of it he will be) we're pretty much toast.  I don't know if that's a bad thing, at least we have a reasonable excuse.  I had hoped that  the weekend wins against New Jersey and the Rangers were going to be a turning point for our Habs, but the two losses in Florida dispelled that notion rather quickly.  The thing that bothers me the most with this team is inconsistency.  I want to get off the good hockey bad hockey roller coaster, it's starting to nauseate me.  I'm not sure what the problem is, for the most part our off season signings are doing their jobs.  Defense has it's moments and Andre Markov is not yet 100 percent.  There's no contribution to speak of coming from the third and fourth lines, and I'm not sure about the coaching.  I'm certainly no expert but I don't understand why Bob would hire a defensive minded coach and then go out and sign purely offensive players.  *scratches head*

When Bob blew up the team this summer it took me a while to get used to the new look, but I'm basically a positive glass half full type of person and all I really wanted was for the team to be better than last year.  I didn't have unrealistic expectations, I was hoping to finish 6th or 7th in the standings and get through a couple of playoffs rounds.  Bob would have had the season to assess the team and make some adjustments during the summer.  As we stand right now, I don't see us making the playoffs.  Maybe with the return of Andre Kostitsyn and depending on the severity of Cammalleri's injury we MAY have a SLIM chance. The only other positive is the teams we are battling for position are as mediocre as we are.

The only thing I'm sure of is after this season I DON'T want another year of crap.  I'm as loyal as the next fan but one decent season in seventeen is just not acceptable and from what I've heard from Geoff Molson it won't be acceptable to the new ownership either.  I don't care what it takes or who has to go to make this team competative and fun to watch again, please God just make it happen.

Yo! Habs!

Yo! Habs!

Bits and bites.....

An interesting week in Habsland, we say goodbye to our "enforcer" big Georges Laraque.  According to Bob, he was a distraction and non-productive.  I have to admit after hearing that I was a bit skeptical, I mean after all, how much of a disruption could an animal loving, tofu eating gentle giant that rarely dropped the gloves be?

Last weekend, before the Ranger's game the boys were getting ready, doing the usual guy things; lacing up their skates, beating their chests and having burping contests.  While all this was going on, Josh Georges managed to sneak a photo of Georges practicing his yoga and made sure it made it's way to Bob.

And the rest folks, as they say was history.

So now the big question is, do we have the real Habs now?  If this weekend is any indication of what's to come, we could be in for a fun ride, I'll take a giant leap of faith and even consider putting the noose and stool back in the cupboard, for now.

Is Benoit Pouliot the fifty goal scorer we've hoped and prayed for all these years?  Are the hockey Gods finally smiling upon us?  If Benoit turns out to be the real deal, I'll seriously consider joining the church choir.  A little praying it forward never hurts.

So Mike and Max got a little chippy during practice this week.  This does not surprise me at all, in fact I wonder why it took so long. Mike Cammalleri has the eye of the tiger.  When he's sitting on the bench, he looks like a horse chomping at the bit, he can't wait to get back on the ice.  Having to watch Max doing piss all game in and game out would get extremely frustrating for a guy like Mike.  I know the feeling all too well, the same thing goes on in the business world.  You work your tail off and yet you have colleagues who just float around literally useless raking in the bucks and getting all the pats on the back.  Maybe it's just a coincidence but Max finally got involved last night and earned a buck or two.  Maybe I'll follow Mike's lead and drop the gloves tomorrow at our morning meeting.  It's worth a shot.

Halak is claiming his position as the number one goaltender.  What does Bob do, I don't see how he can keep both Halak and Price at the end of the season.  So, do you keep the guy who's been winning the important games and give up on a 22 year old goaltender who could have superstar potential?  A very tough call and a big gamble, Bob has his work cut out for him and better him than me.

Bits and bites.....

An interesting week in Habsland, we say goodbye to our "enforcer" big Georges Laraque.  According to Bob, he was a distraction and non-productive.  I have to admit after hearing that I was a bit skeptical, I mean after all, how much of a disruption could an animal loving, tofu eating gentle giant that rarely dropped the gloves be?

Last weekend, before the Ranger's game the boys were getting ready, doing the usual guy things; lacing up their skates, beating their chests and having burping contests.  While all this was going on, Josh Georges managed to sneak a photo of Georges practicing his yoga and made sure it made it's way to Bob.

And the rest folks, as they say was history.

So now the big question is, do we have the real Habs now?  If this weekend is any indication of what's to come, we could be in for a fun ride, I'll take a giant leap of faith and even consider putting the noose and stool back in the cupboard, for now.

Is Benoit Pouliot the fifty goal scorer we've hoped and prayed for all these years?  Are the hockey Gods finally smiling upon us?  If Benoit turns out to be the real deal, I'll seriously consider joining the church choir.  A little praying it forward never hurts.

So Mike and Max got a little chippy during practice this week.  This does not surprise me at all, in fact I wonder why it took so long. Mike Cammalleri has the eye of the tiger.  When he's sitting on the bench, he looks like a horse chomping at the bit, he can't wait to get back on the ice.  Having to watch Max doing piss all game in and game out would get extremely frustrating for a guy like Mike.  I know the feeling all too well, the same thing goes on in the business world.  You work your tail off and yet you have colleagues who just float around literally useless raking in the bucks and getting all the pats on the back.  Maybe it's just a coincidence but Max finally got involved last night and earned a buck or two.  Maybe I'll follow Mike's lead and drop the gloves tomorrow at our morning meeting.  It's worth a shot.

Halak is claiming his position as the number one goaltender.  What does Bob do, I don't see how he can keep both Halak and Price at the end of the season.  So, do you keep the guy who's been winning the important games and give up on a 22 year old goaltender who could have superstar potential?  A very tough call and a big gamble, Bob has his work cut out for him and better him than me.

Desperately Seeking Sunshine........

This is by far my least favorite time of year.  Christmas is over, three long months of winter to get through before hearing the sweet sound of birds merrily chirping, a sound that I love because it's a sure sign that spring is in the air.  It's been a very gloomy and damp couple of weeks, not overly cold, but just grey and bleak.  The Habs dismal performance over the weekend did little to lighten my mood.  It's time for a pick me up.  A big dose of good old vitamin C, not out of a bottle or a juice container, but the real deal.  So I'm off for a long weekend in March to la la land (California).  It's been four years since I've been, I need my fix.  Sunshine, warm weather, the beach, my favorite restaurant and outlet shopping. Heaven.  And an afternoon  visit to the Honda Center to see my beloved hockey team suck in the flesh.  If you happen to tune in to watch the Habs play the Ducks on March 7th, keep an eye out for the nut in the Duck's Koivu jersey cheering the Habs. That lightly tanned, well fed nut with a smoking hot credit card would be me.  Am I there yet?