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Post by Johnny Verdun on Mar 4, 2002 23:32:58 GMT -5
A couple of observations about the Habs:
Markov made two passes on one shift and created great scoring chances with each. He also made a bad decision later in the game that almost led to a 2 on 1. The guy has vision and can pass. Unless he's part of a deal that brings us a real stud (22 to 24 years old) I say hang on to him. His skating is actually quite good and he could be a very useful player for a long time to come.
Lord are we weak at center.
Ribeiro continues to demonstrate (to me at least) why he can't be counted on anything like the kind of play that would justify his $950,000 salary. He still looks slow (at top speed) and still doesn't have the quickness to get to the open ice where he can make plays. Right now I see him as a 4 0n 4 and powerplay specialist. He's not even close to being able to handle the load at center and if there's space for him on the wing next year (not to mention the year after) I'll be shocked. I would move him as little more than a throw-in. Darcy Tucker was clearly going to be a more valuable player than Ribeiro (by a longshot) and we threw him into the Mick Vukota deal, or one just as bad. I'm a lot less worried that Ribeiro will bite us in the ass than I was about Tucker. If we can't move him he should go back to Quebec. Savard can dip into petty cash and buy him a solo-flex machine and a tub of protein powder.
Traverse doesn't belong.
Asham should be playing. I still want to see Juneau centering Bulis and Asham. I know there is the "if it ain't broke don't fix it" attitude about our third line, but Asham would give it more pop. That line spent a fair amount of time running around in their own end tonight, actually.
Berezin needs to get the puck on the fly more and that's where our defence is lacking. If we want to have a mobile, puck-moving defence, Markov should stay.
By the way, what is with Sheldon Souray? Is it my imagination or does the guy get these seemingly minor injuries and then just can't heal? He's chasing Koivu for the most brittle Hab award. If he were back it would make it a lot easier to waive Traverse (which we should do anyway). I like Bouillon more than Traverse.
As for the Bell Center, it's been a while since I've seen a game (couple of months anyway) and it's a real shock to the system. It's all bells and lights and loud music and t-shirts dropping from the rafters attached to parachutes and being propelled out of cannons and TV and timeouts and guys getting new sticks and pushing and shoving and more TV and loud music. In between, they play a little hockey. It's a freak show, if you ask me. There's no flow. None. Nada. The fact that people are paying $100 or more for the good seats is a joke in itself. The product on the ice is worth about $35, in my opinion. The market is twisted and people are dupes. To pay $85 for a mediocre seat to watch TV and to be told when it's time to do the wave and when it's time to cheer, to watch little video presentations on the players during the time-outs, to have the chance to buy a bad smoked meat sandwich and a coke for $9.75, or not so cold beer for $7.50? I don't get it. I'd rather watch it on TV and hit the mute button when they're not playing. Half the people in the Reds ($100 a pop) were gone by the end of the game. Hockey fans? I don't think so.
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Post by MPLABBE on Mar 5, 2002 0:18:15 GMT -5
It's called winning ugly. Markov is one of our better d-man.Not only can he actually make a pass withouth using the damn boards or glass,but he has improved defensively,if we are to deal him,it better be for a stud in the same age group...on the other hand,Traverse continues to stink and has made Quintal(who was playing good hockey) look like garbage.I am not a big Bouillon fan,but he is 10 times the player Traverse is.In the 2nd period,Traverse picked up the puck,went behind on our net collided with the glass(with nobody hitting him),loss the puck and Heatley got a great chance in front.All because of the Giraffe's clumsiness(sp?).Please,waive him,release him,before he costs us another game. Odjick makes me laugh.Now,he'll probably think he should play 15 minutes per game  ...when the fact of the matter is,he would be more valuable to us by dishing out bodychecks,fighting people and defending our small players every single night than trying to score goals and complaining about his ice time. |
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Post by BadCompany on Mar 5, 2002 9:02:37 GMT -5
Hey Johnny, sorry I missed your "hey" post. Got in too late to respond. Hope you weren't stuck with an extra ticket?
I thought Markov played one of the best games I have ever seen, to be honest with you. That may sound strange, because he wasn't an offensive force or anything, but he was doing all the little things, picking up his check, covering his man in the zone, backing up and supporting his defence partner, etc.. I thought he played a very strong game. On the same hand, I thought Craig Rivet (Markov's partner, coincidentally enough) also played a great game, with one caveat; when he was double shifted with Stephane Quintal (which happened a lot last night) I thought the two of them just didn't mesh, and had no chemistry together. They didn't go well together for some reason. I don't know why.
I thought Brisebois and Dykhuis were terrible. Lets hope Brisebois isn't fully recovered from his ankle injury, because if he is fully healed his play last night was not a good sign.
Traverse, Bouillon, Robidas - makes no difference to me. They are all the same as far as I am concerned. Different *ahem* strengths, different weaknesses, but the same overall affect of the ice. Another reason why we shouldn't be trading Souray and/or Rivet.
Speaking of Souray, I too am concerned and puzzled about his recovery. I mean, the guy was playing for at least two weeks with his injury, so it couldn't have been that bad, and the orginal estimate had him coming back last week. Now, who knows when he will be back. If we had of known it was going to take this long, we should have just let him keep playing through the darn thing, no?
Gino Odjick played a great first period, doing exactly what Gino Odjick has to do to be a force on the ice. Nice, simple game plan, straight up and down on the ice, drive the net, keep your stick on the ice, defend our *ahem, must be catching a cold here* skill players, pick up the garbage. After the 1st though, I thought he tried to get a little too fancy, skating around with the puck, circling back, being a star or something. I didn't like it.
Joé Juneau also played a great game. Petrov I didn't notice until he scored, but what a time to score. Lazy play on the part of the Thrashers, but I'll take it.
As for the atmosphere in the arena, and the game itself? What are you gonna do? An expansion team playing on a Monday night, with extended TV timeouts and camera-hogging, non-puck dropping linesman. The NHL definetely has to do something, but I am not sure there is anything they can do. I heard a suggestion on the radio, where they said they could use the European Soccer form of commercials, which I think involved playing the commercials while the game shrunk to a small corner, or vice-versa, but I don't know too much about that. Anyone? The reason they have all this flash and dash in the arenas is because they have to do something to distract the paying crowd while the players stand around waiting for the same tired TV commercials ("want a beer? we almost lost that one...") to play over and over again and again. If the play was more continuous, then they wouldn't have to, or wouldn't be able to shoot cannons at people all the time.
Speaking of, if I was behind that cannon, I would be aiming it two rows above the glass. Screw this aiming for the upper deck. You want a T-Shirt? Earn it. Catch this 100MPH ball of flesh from 15 feet out, thats what I say.
But then, that's just me.
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Post by Boston_Habs on Mar 5, 2002 9:20:59 GMT -5
Your description of the scene at the Keg is downright depressing.... It's those damn TV timeouts. The solutions are so obvious (wider ice, quicker games), but also too costly for the owners to step up and act in "the best interests of the game"... too much lost revenue for a league that is already bleeding red ink.
Perreault demoted to the 4th line. Is he really playing that bad?
New Jersey looks like they are starting to separate from the pack, which really leaves only 1 playoff spot left for the Rangers, Habs, and Caps to fight over.
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Post by MPLABBE on Mar 5, 2002 12:10:24 GMT -5
Hey Johnny, sorry I missed your "hey" post. Got in too late to respond. Hope you weren't stuck with an extra ticket? I thought Markov played one of the best games I have ever seen, to be honest with you. That may sound strange, because he wasn't an offensive force or anything, but he was doing all the little things, picking up his check, covering his man in the zone, backing up and supporting his defence partner, etc.. I thought he played a very strong game. On the same hand, I thought Craig Rivet (Markov's partner, coincidentally enough) also played a great game, with one caveat; when he was double shifted with Stephane Quintal (which happened a lot last night) I thought the two of them just didn't mesh, and had no chemistry together. They didn't go well together for some reason. I don't know why. I thought Brisebois and Dykhuis were terrible. Lets hope Brisebois isn't fully recovered from his ankle injury, because if he is fully healed his play last night was not a good sign. Traverse, Bouillon, Robidas - makes no difference to me. They are all the same as far as I am concerned. Different *ahem* strengths, different weaknesses, but the same overall affect of the ice. Another reason why we shouldn't be trading Souray and/or Rivet. Speaking of Souray, I too am concerned and puzzled about his recovery. I mean, the guy was playing for at least two weeks with his injury, so it couldn't have been that bad, and the orginal estimate had him coming back last week. Now, who knows when he will be back. If we had of known it was going to take this long, we should have just let him keep playing through the darn thing, no? Gino Odjick played a great first period, doing exactly what Gino Odjick has to do to be a force on the ice. Nice, simple game plan, straight up and down on the ice, drive the net, keep your stick on the ice, defend our *ahem, must be catching a cold here* skill players, pick up the garbage. After the 1st though, I thought he tried to get a little too fancy, skating around with the puck, circling back, being a star or something. I didn't like it. Joé Juneau also played a great game. Petrov I didn't notice until he scored, but what a time to score. Lazy play on the part of the Thrashers, but I'll take it. As for the atmosphere in the arena, and the game itself? What are you gonna do? An expansion team playing on a Monday night, with extended TV timeouts and camera-hogging, non-puck dropping linesman. The NHL definetely has to do something, but I am not sure there is anything they can do. I heard a suggestion on the radio, where they said they could use the European Soccer form of commercials, which I think involved playing the commercials while the game shrunk to a small corner, or vice-versa, but I don't know too much about that. Anyone? The reason they have all this flash and dash in the arenas is because they have to do something to distract the paying crowd while the players stand around waiting for the same tired TV commercials ("want a beer? we almost lost that one...") to play over and over again and again. If the play was more continuous, then they wouldn't have to, or wouldn't be able to shoot cannons at people all the time. Speaking of, if I was behind that cannon, I would be aiming it two rows above the glass. Screw this aiming for the upper deck. You want a T-Shirt? Earn it. Catch this 100MPH ball of flesh from 15 feet out, thats what I say. But then, that's just me. Well,BC,the reason why Rivet and Quintal didn't work well together is simple:both are right-handed d-man.Only Rob Blake and Adam Foote(2 RH shots) seem to work well together... I also can't figure out what's happening with Souray's injury.He had surgery December 19th...he was supposed to be out 2 months!!! we are in the first week of March. |
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Post by PTH on Mar 5, 2002 15:22:08 GMT -5
Interesting how we can have different takes on the same game.
I thought Markov played well, but Rivet, Quintal and Traverse all seemed awful to me. Traverse and Quintal could both be serviceable #6 guys, but not as a pairing.....
Johnny V. - Tucker wasn't a "throw-in", I forget what the exact deal was, but it took me about 20 seconds to figure out that it was Tucker for Ulanov. Richer, Poulin, Vukota, etc were all spare parts and UFAs to be. Bad deal still, but Tucker was undoubtedly the key to the deal.
Bash Vigneault for not finding a way to use Tucker properly...
Berezin is worrying me. He's supposed to have flaws - puck hog, doesn't pass, shoots too much, defensively suspect, soft, etc. And those weaknesses are compensated by some serious scoring by a guy who doesn't need top linemates. Problem is, he's not producing, his shots are always off target.
I really wonder if he'll be worth a qualifying offer this summer...
While Savard is an improvement over Houle, that's not saying much. The whole parade of strange calls as to the lineup, the Berezin and Audette deals... I'm starting to worry.
Trading for Traverse wasn't a bad idea IMO, he looked like he could work out. But he hasn't, there's a point when you have to just cut bait. We're at that point...
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Post by MPLABBE on Mar 5, 2002 16:55:19 GMT -5
Interesting how we can have different takes on the same game. I thought Markov played well, but Rivet, Quintal and Traverse all seemed awful to me. Traverse and Quintal could both be serviceable #6 guys, but not as a pairing..... Johnny V. - Tucker wasn't a "throw-in", I forget what the exact deal was, but it took me about 20 seconds to figure out that it was Tucker for Ulanov. Richer, Poulin, Vukota, etc were all spare parts and UFAs to be. Bad deal still, but Tucker was undoubtedly the key to the deal. Bash Vigneault for not finding a way to use Tucker properly... Berezin is worrying me. He's supposed to have flaws - puck hog, doesn't pass, shoots too much, defensively suspect, soft, etc. And those weaknesses are compensated by some serious scoring by a guy who doesn't need top linemates. Problem is, he's not producing, his shots are always off target. I really wonder if he'll be worth a qualifying offer this summer... While Savard is an improvement over Houle, that's not saying much. The whole parade of strange calls as to the lineup, the Berezin and Audette deals... I'm starting to worry. Trading for Traverse wasn't a bad idea IMO, he looked like he could work out. But he hasn't, there's a point when you have to just cut bait. We're at that point... I think this was the deal: We got: Poulin and Ulanov Bolts got: Tucker and Richer I dunno who got Vukota though. Savard is also starting to make me worry.The way he tossed around $$ to useless garbage(Poulin,Darby,Traverse,Odjick) AND signed them to long term deals is downright incompetent.I hope he learns you should never sign role players to long term deals.They just kill you. But what worries me even more when it comes to AS is how many small players he is acquiring.Don't get me wrong,small guys are highly underated and are very valuable.But too have a team full of them is downright scary.After his first 2 deals(Odjick for Stock and a 6th,Kilger for Zholtok) AS looked like a guy who wanted to make his team bigger and stronger.IF you look at his last few deals,it's the complete opposite. |
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Post by PTH on Mar 5, 2002 17:32:21 GMT -5
We got Vukota...
But I think we also gave up a 3d asset. Anyhow, they were all spare parts, other than Ulanov and Tucker.
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Post by MPLABBE on Mar 5, 2002 17:47:10 GMT -5
We got Vukota... But I think we also gave up a 3d asset. Anyhow, they were all spare parts, other than Ulanov and Tucker. To conclude: a terrible Reggie trade.Tucker would be so valuable for our team right now. |
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Newsy Lalonde
Rookie
One of the early stars of the Canadiens.
Posts: 49
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Post by Newsy Lalonde on Mar 5, 2002 20:43:50 GMT -5
Mtl traded - Richer,Tucker,Wilkie & Cullimore for TB - Ulanov, Poulin & Vuckota on January 15th 1998.Yes a bad trade but we wanted Ulanov to play physical aginst eastern teams ie:Philly w/Lindros.
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Post by Doc Holliday on Mar 5, 2002 20:58:39 GMT -5
None of the players we've acquired are still in the NHL while 3 (Cullimore, Richer, Tucker) of the guys we sent are important elements of their respective NHL teams.
...makes you sick doesn't it? And we wonder why our cup is so bare...
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Post by MPLABBE on Mar 6, 2002 0:39:13 GMT -5
None of the players we've acquired are still in the NHL while 3 (Cullimore, Richer, Tucker) of the guys we sent are important elements of their respective NHL teams. ...makes you sick doesn't it? And we wonder why our cup is so bare... Well,I wouldn't consider Richer an 'important' member of the Pens.Tucker and Cullimore are big parts of their respective teams.What a terrible trade. |
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