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Post by Douper on Mar 6, 2006 13:41:15 GMT -5
They did in 86 with a rookie Goalie and rookie lineup!
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Post by franko on Mar 6, 2006 13:58:45 GMT -5
Honestly we can post all the "scoops" we want (it's that time of year anyway) but ultimately can the Habs go all the way by plugging a few holes? Cheers. Depends on what holes are plugged. Honestly. The hole in goal may or may not be plugged enough. A bit of a February run does not a playoff run make. But I really don't know that after all has been said and done and repaired and rested Theo will be able to return to Vezina form and carry us to the Cup finals. I think that Huet will do just as well as Theo might (and is a more than adequate replacement for Garon). The thought is the same: if there is a buyer for Theo, sell. Minus: he could (and I say could) come back to bite us. Plus: rid of a huge contract. And distraction. The hole in defense must must must be plugged if we are to go any further than the second round (or even first, as Boston will not be our opponent this year). I thik this is our biggest area of weakness/exploit. The D is still too tentitive when under attack and (harp harp harp) can't get the puck out of the zone when under pressure. Too many brain cramps. I have no idea who Bob might be able to pry from anyone, but to go anywhere he must. The hole in offense is seems to be filling itself in. Nice ot see Zed score the other night. Nice to see Bulis scoring occasionally. Higgins has been a pleasant surprise. Bob seems to have been able to tweak enough and lets the lines stay together, so that they are getting used to one another. I'd be very careful bringing another 1st or 2nd line guy in to disrupt the chemistry that is seems to be forming. I would let Ribs (I'm biased), Sunny, Bulis, Pleks, Dandy, Streit, Locke (sniff); maybe Zed (I just have enough of a feeling about him to keep him), probably the Cube, and picks go. Eventually we are going to have to make a decision: pay the price for a run, or stand pat every year and think "maybe next time". I may not have liked Quinn's way of doing things but at least he took action! |
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Post by Polarice on Mar 6, 2006 14:50:48 GMT -5
Eventually we are going to have to make a decision: pay the price for a run, or stand pat every year and think "maybe next time". I may not have liked Quinn's way of doing things but at least he took action! Look at them now!! |
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Post by Andrew on Mar 6, 2006 15:02:43 GMT -5
Honestly we can post all the "scoops" we want (it's that time of year anyway) but ultimately can the Habs go all the way by plugging a few holes? Cheers. The hole in defense must must must be plugged if we are to go any further than the second round (or even first, as Boston will not be our opponent this year). I thik this is our biggest area of weakness/exploit. The D is still too tentitive when under attack and (harp harp harp) can't get the puck out of the zone when under pressure. Too many brain cramps. I have no idea who Bob might be able to pry from anyone, but to go anywhere he must. Agreed. If Calgary loses out on the Jokinen sweepstakes, perhaps they'd be interested in Ribeiro as a consolation. I'd love to see us trade for Leopold who's a good puck mover. |
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Post by franko on Mar 6, 2006 15:09:30 GMT -5
Eventually we are going to have to make a decision: pay the price for a run, or stand pat every year and think "maybe next time". I may not have liked Quinn's way of doing things but at least he took action! Look at them now!! I liked the fact that Quinn took action, not the action that he took (actually, I do like the action he took . . . from a Habs perspective!). |
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Mar 6, 2006 15:29:34 GMT -5
The hole in defense must must must be plugged if we are to go any further than the second round (or even first, as Boston will not be our opponent this year). I thik this is our biggest area of weakness/exploit. The D is still too tentitive when under attack and (harp harp harp) can't get the puck out of the zone when under pressure. Too many brain cramps. I have no idea who Bob might be able to pry from anyone, but to go anywhere he must. Agreed. If Calgary loses out on the Jokinen sweepstakes, perhaps they'd be interested in Ribeiro as a consolation. I'd love to see us trade for Leopold who's a good puck mover. Actually Gainey has been looking for a righthanded puck-moving defenseman for a while. Right now the only reliable tape-to-tape passer on the blueline is Markov. Bouillon has flashed it here and there but he's not as consistent as Markov. After that .... Cheers. |
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Post by Forum Ghost on Mar 6, 2006 18:41:33 GMT -5
There is still plenty of room for improvements and dealing quality prospects like Perezhogin, Kostsysin, Plekanec and even Higgins should not be out of the question if the return can make the team better. Of course, like many, I'd rather we deal Zednik, Sundstrom, Bulis and other less interesting assets but you got to give to get... I agree to some extent. I think the Kovalev and Jokinen situations are different. Jokinen is much more sought after than Kovalev was. Also, when Kovalev was slated to become a UFA there were a number of other similar wingers on the market, which lessened the demand for Kovalev. It also allowed the Habs an opportunity to negotiate exclusively with him while other players (Glen Murray, Ziggy Palffy, Pavol Demitra, Miro Satan, etc.) were signed by other teams. Jokinen is the only legit #1 center out of the free agent crop of 2006. And as a bonus, he's only 27. It is probably going to take a high-end prospect to get him. Balej was not a high-end prospect. To get Kovalev, he was sufficient. However, during this year's trade deadline, a prospect like Balej, IMO, wouldn't be enough to get Jokinen. Not with teams like Ottawa and Calgary seeking him as well. But I do agree, we have to give to get. Getting Jokinen would be great, but if he leaves (and there's a good chance that he will since it's unlikely that the Habs will pay him $6M) is it going to be worth it to give up one of our top youngsters? Will two months of Jokinen be worth a Higgins or Kostitsyn or Perezhogin? These are the decisions that Bob's paid the big bucks to answer. |
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Post by Forum Ghost on Mar 6, 2006 18:47:49 GMT -5
If the Habs miss out on Jokinen, they can set their sights on either Jason Arnott or Daniel Briere this summer.
Both are UFAs in July.
Arnott has a brief history with Gainey and Briere might be tempted to play in his home province.
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