Comments on: Habs have to shake things up !!!

By: habsfan67

habsfan67 — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 23:06:18 +0000

You're right Carbo and Gainey aren't idiots you are! If you could not see the shortcomings of the team before the game against Ottawa and the game against Pittsburgh you are blinded by your love for the team, I love this organization but I can see a lack of heart and effort when I see it and I don't have a problem acknowledging it.

By: Shawn84

Shawn84 — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 12:13:33 +0000

Yo Garniss, I think you are going a bit over board, by the time your done you'll have everybody benched and no team to play with. First thing Rivet has already been pulled to pass message to the team. This message was no matter who you are you can get pulled for a game. Rivet is a big part of the leadership on this team. So Carbo already did what you stated in your post. 2nd Markov was benched a couple games ago for the whole 3rd period, once again to show everybody that if you don't play well this can happen to you. 3rd I would never replace bouillon with niinima, he a liability and bouillion is coming of a knee surgery and needs to find his grove again he has been out for more than half a season. If you want to break the little confidence that samsonov has sure bench him again, which is rediculous. You don't want the guy to hate you or the team. He has been a healthy scratch and now he his on the 3rd line, so the message is clear to him that if he keeps it up he will stay there. He wants to be on the top 2 line and now it is up to him to work for it, that's were that stands. This is what get me really worked up is that you want to send koivu down a couple lines …. ok fine but you will take 1st line centre … NO ONE! koivu higgins and ryder will alway be on the same line unless there is an injury or a trade, or to jugle some lines. But to make you happy we can call koivu's line the 3rd line and bonk's line the first, so your wish is granted. Koivu is the heart and soul of the team and put's up a fight every time he is on the ice, how about you start watching the games! Carbo did everything right now it's up to the players to step up, if they don't respond well there will be some changes before feb 27 and in the off season. Carbo expects the team to play in his image which is working your A$$ of each time you are on the ice, and he knows what he's doing and he is taking notes. So every thing you wrote about is either absurd or has already been done. Try to think of somthing better to say next time! Carbo and Gainey aren't idiot's. Gainey is rated amongst the top 3 GM's in the league, but Lou Lamorillo is GOD! Go Habs Go, Bob will get you the missing elements needed to help us out in the playoffs! Signed a true Habs Fan who believe's!

By: Shawn84

Shawn84 — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 12:12:21 +0000

Yo Garniss,

I think you are going a bit over board, by the time your done you'll have everybody benched and no team to play with. First thing Rivet has already been pulled to pass message to the team. This message was no matter who you are you can get pulled for a game. Rivet is a big part of the leadership on this team. So Carbo already did what you stated in your post. 2nd Markov was benched a couple games ago for the whole 3rd period, once again to show everybody that if you don't play well this can happen to you. 3rd I would never replace bouillon with niinima, he a liability and bouillion is coming of a knee surgery and needs to find his grove again he has been out for more than half a season. If you want to break the little confidence that samsonov has sure bench him again, which is rediculous. You don't want the guy to hate you or the team. He has been a healthy scratch and now he his on the 3rd line, so the message is clear to him that if he keeps it up he will stay there. He wants to be on the top 2 line and now it is up to him to work for it, that's were that stands. This is what get me really worked up is that you want to send koivu down a couple lines .... ok fine but you will take 1st line centre ... NO ONE! koivu higgins and ryder will alway be on the same line unless there is an injury or a trade, or to jugle some lines. But to make you happy we can call koivu's line the 3rd line and bonk's line the first, so your wish is granted. Koivu is the heart and soul of the team and put's up a fight every time he is on the ice, how about you start watching the games! Carbo did everything right now it's up to the players to step up, if they don't respond well there will be some changes before feb 27 and in the off season. Carbo expects the team to play in his image which is working your A$$ of each time you are on the ice, and he knows what he's doing and he is taking notes. So every thing you wrote about is either absurd or has already been done. Try to think of somthing better to say next time! Carbo and Gainey aren't idiot's. Gainey is rated amongst the top 3 GM's in the league, but Lou Lamorillo is GOD!

Go Habs Go, Bob will get you the missing elements needed to help us out in the playoffs!

Signed a true Habs Fan who believe's!

By: passionch

passionch — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 11:56:50 +0000

I hope and expect a major deal brewing up by the trade deadline because Montreal needs something more now to go far in the playoffs. Not something blockbuster but something that will shake up the lines because the Habs isn't dominating enough even if they do win.

Let's see how the other teams will do/decide in the next few days (buyer/seller) so a few trade speculations comes up! I just hope we don't give up too much because Montreal is just a few seasons away from being a contender and sacrificing too much for a team that isn't solid, is not worth it. We got the right foundations and need to build it up smartly.

By: Les-Habitants

Les-Habitants — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 21:55:05 +0000

I've always liked Nagy, and while he is playing well in Pheonix, I think he'd be a good pickup if he becomes avaliable – and yes, he can and has played center. I think he'd probabley have enough skill to keep up the Kovalev, something Plekanec said he had trouble doing. I don't like the Forsberg idea, personally, because we would have to give up substantial assets and I don't see this team, as well as we are playing, going for the cup just yet.

By: Garniss

Garniss — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 15:32:12 +0000

my opinion…put niinima in for a boullion or rivet or markov and give thme the messge they cna be repalced move streit back for a little while and bench two of them and for the forwards bench samsonov after every bad game as wel las bench kovalev till he gets the message to show up everygame when he is counted on to score…and if he can't or won't trade him for a decnet palyer at the deadline because who knows if he'l lhow up in th epalyoffs either??? koivu send him downa couple lines and same with ryder i would bench koivu to send a message to the team personally!!! higigns is a ghost isee more heart out of bonk and plekanec now than anyone else on the team…perezhogin is palying with heart to but everyone else should be sat…put downeyt in to shake things up…anything will do!!!!

By: habsoverserver

habsoverserver — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 13:31:42 +0000

as far as koivu giving it everything he's got, it sure isn't much. koivu ranks 26th in scoring among centers, which is poor considering he is a first line player in a 30 team league. of the 25 centers who are more productive than koivu, only one has a worse +/-. koivu is at the bottom of the nhl for his position and ice time. koivu ranks 477 in +/- out of 515 forwards in the nhl.

i didn't say i would bench koivu. i said that a disciplinarian coach would bench a player that was at the bottom in plus/minus. as a reminder, the habs benched lafleur when he struggled. the habs benched larouche when he scored 50 goals but forgot to play both ends.

koivu makes 4.75 mil per season, top on the team and well ahead of what the average center makes. while the effort may be there, the results are not.

By: Shawn84

Shawn84 — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 11:46:53 +0000

even though our top players a negative plus minus, we are 2nd in the east for total goals against and 10th in the league. I don't think the 3rd line is on the ice for the whole game, so the other line's must be doing something right on D. I think you've lost it if you want to bench koivu, ryder i can understand he is a one dimensional player but you can't bench a guy that give's it everything he's got when he's on the ice! higgins and ryder wouldn't be as good as they are if it wasn't for the captain! And yes we need smolinski badly!

By: Shawn84

Shawn84 — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 11:37:23 +0000

I totally agree, to be honest i would rather see the habs pick up smolinski(save on $$$$ for winger or D) instead of forsberg. As good as forsberg(could be maybe), i think smolinski could be the big gritty centre that could help out kovy and Tender(if he stays on the 2nd line), cuz i believe we would also need a winger for that line ......bertuzzi, nagy, tkachuck. That would mean trying to get rid of samsonov( he can find his former self on another team). This is how things would shape up. Bob definately has some moves coming up, that's right more than one!

Higgins-koivu-ryder
????- Smolinski- kovy
Latendress-bonk-johnson
begin-plekanec-streit(murray)

By: habsoverserver

habsoverserver — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 11:33:19 +0000

It's a long season and almost everyone in the East sucks. The Habs will make the playoffs. They are 17-4-4 at home which is more than enough to pack the stands with fans eager to part with their money.

Though they excel on special teams, nine of Montreal's top 12 scorers have a negative plus minus. The third line is the only one with any defensive awareness. Koivu and Ryder have the worst plus/minus on the team.

The third line has almost as many even strength goals as the first line but has an infinately better plus/minus. Carbo shoud give Johnson and Bonk twice the even strength ice time and try to limit Koivu/Ryder/Higgins to powerplay time. If a strict coach like Bowman, Keenan or Hitchc-ck ran this team, Koivu and Ryder would be benched.

I think they need to trade for Smolinski to anchor the second line.