Sez I
This, literally, will be the first broadcast of an NHL game.
-- Feb. 27, 2020
"Too bad we can't fire the owner. Meh."
We can't fire him but we can disown the team, as many apparently have done.
* to repudiate any connection or identification with."
-- Feb. 25, 2020
Who's to be pitied more, a team that's third-rate or fans who refuse to cut bait? -- Feb. 18. 2020
I liked it better when February and March meant the Canadiens were gearing up for the playoffs, and not treating the two months as spring training for next season. -- Feb. 18. 2020
If Dryden were to write a second volume to follow up his tome on the Canadiens, would he call it The Lame? -- Feb. 18. 2020
Saw Muller writing notes during the game. Was he working on his resume? -- Feb. 18. 2020
How long before we start seeing the team show some esprit de corpse? -- Feb. 18. 2020
Last game Julien blamed the officiating for the loss. Who's he gonna blame tonight? The schedule maker?
"What, Detroit again?!! We already played them three times!!!" -- Feb. 18. 2020
Scandella to the Blues? I thought Bergevin was supposed to run trades by us first before making them. This seems like a slap in the face. -- Feb. 18. 2020
Why is the maximum fine $5,000 under the collective bargaining agreement, especially for an infraction of the kind Chara committed against Gallagher?
Perpetrator AND victim are both members of the players' association. Why should the union be more concerned about the hit to one player's bank account than the hit to another player's face, which, in this case, as someone has noted, belongs to someone recently concussed?
The cap on fines should be raised to at least $25,000 -- for the first offence -- and the determination as to the amount should be left to a panel of retired players who were either nominees for the Lady Byng award or actual winners. -- Feb. 18, 2020
This, literally, will be the first broadcast of an NHL game.
-- Feb. 27, 2020
"Too bad we can't fire the owner. Meh."
We can't fire him but we can disown the team, as many apparently have done.
* to repudiate any connection or identification with."
-- Feb. 25, 2020
Who's to be pitied more, a team that's third-rate or fans who refuse to cut bait? -- Feb. 18. 2020
I liked it better when February and March meant the Canadiens were gearing up for the playoffs, and not treating the two months as spring training for next season. -- Feb. 18. 2020
If Dryden were to write a second volume to follow up his tome on the Canadiens, would he call it The Lame? -- Feb. 18. 2020
Saw Muller writing notes during the game. Was he working on his resume? -- Feb. 18. 2020
How long before we start seeing the team show some esprit de corpse? -- Feb. 18. 2020
Last game Julien blamed the officiating for the loss. Who's he gonna blame tonight? The schedule maker?
"What, Detroit again?!! We already played them three times!!!" -- Feb. 18. 2020
Scandella to the Blues? I thought Bergevin was supposed to run trades by us first before making them. This seems like a slap in the face. -- Feb. 18. 2020
Why is the maximum fine $5,000 under the collective bargaining agreement, especially for an infraction of the kind Chara committed against Gallagher?
Perpetrator AND victim are both members of the players' association. Why should the union be more concerned about the hit to one player's bank account than the hit to another player's face, which, in this case, as someone has noted, belongs to someone recently concussed?
The cap on fines should be raised to at least $25,000 -- for the first offence -- and the determination as to the amount should be left to a panel of retired players who were either nominees for the Lady Byng award or actual winners. -- Feb. 18, 2020
Observed on the fly ...
Hab fans and Bergevin have their differences but there is room for compromise, even when the two sides are far apart:
If he lets us call it a season, we'll let him call it a day.
-- Feb. 15, 2020
If he lets us call it a season, we'll let him call it a day.
-- Feb. 15, 2020
Maybe Kotkamamie has too high a centre of gravity which makes him so tippable.
Should he be wearing a weighted belt? Lead-lined undershorts? Stones in his stockings? All of the above?
-- Feb. 5, 2020
Should he be wearing a weighted belt? Lead-lined undershorts? Stones in his stockings? All of the above?
-- Feb. 5, 2020
"Jean Perron wasn't a bad coach but he won a Cup and lived off that for three more NHL seasons because he had an awesome team to meddle with. The last contender built by the Habs was wasted and only got two of a possible 7 Cups."
"If I remember correctly (and I can't remember where I read it) Perron was a horrible coach. The story I read was that in the playoffs the team essentially mutinied and coached themselves completely ignoring everything Perron said.
Possibly apocryphal but that's what I read."
Coach Al MacNeil was called incompetent by Henri Bouchard* -- and he ended up winning a Cup as well.
Maybe that's what's been the Canadiens' problem for the the last two-and-a-half decades -- their coaches haven't been sufficiently horrible!
"C'mon, Julien, try a little harder. You call that terrible?!"
*From Wikipedia:
"Unfortunately, MacNeil had a frosty relationship with most of the team's francophone players, most notably Henri Richard. He was the first Canadiens coach in recent memory who couldn't speak French at all. When MacNeil benched Richard during the final series against the Black Hawks, Richard publicly criticised the coach, calling him incompetent. In game seven held at Chicago, being tied at 2–2 after the first two periods, the Canadiens scored the winning goal early in the third to take the series and the championship, with Richard scoring both the equalizer and game winner. MacNeil and Richard hugged at the end of the game, but that did little to patch up their differences. Winning the Cup, however, was not enough to save MacNeil's job; he was demoted to head coach of the Canadiens' American Hockey League affiliate, the Nova Scotia Voyageurs, while the fluently bilingual Scotty Bowman succeeded him as head coach of the Habs. MacNeil won three Calder Cup Championships (1972, 1976, 1977) in six years with the Voyageurs."
Richard didn't give MacNeil enough credit.
From the same article:
"Crucial to the Stanley Cup victory was MacNeil's decision to use rookie goaltender Ken Dryden in the playoffs despite Dryden having played only six regular-season games in 1970–71. MacNeil was presumably impressed that Dryden won all these games, allowing only nine goals (1.65 GAA). Another crucial choice was having rookie Rejean Houle mark the Black Hawks' goalscorer Bobby Hull. Houle was nicknamed the "shadow of Bobby Hull" as Hull managed to score only one even-strength goal in the series."
-- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_MacNeil
-- Jan. 24, 2020
"If I remember correctly (and I can't remember where I read it) Perron was a horrible coach. The story I read was that in the playoffs the team essentially mutinied and coached themselves completely ignoring everything Perron said.
Possibly apocryphal but that's what I read."
Coach Al MacNeil was called incompetent by Henri Bouchard* -- and he ended up winning a Cup as well.
Maybe that's what's been the Canadiens' problem for the the last two-and-a-half decades -- their coaches haven't been sufficiently horrible!
"C'mon, Julien, try a little harder. You call that terrible?!"
*From Wikipedia:
"Unfortunately, MacNeil had a frosty relationship with most of the team's francophone players, most notably Henri Richard. He was the first Canadiens coach in recent memory who couldn't speak French at all. When MacNeil benched Richard during the final series against the Black Hawks, Richard publicly criticised the coach, calling him incompetent. In game seven held at Chicago, being tied at 2–2 after the first two periods, the Canadiens scored the winning goal early in the third to take the series and the championship, with Richard scoring both the equalizer and game winner. MacNeil and Richard hugged at the end of the game, but that did little to patch up their differences. Winning the Cup, however, was not enough to save MacNeil's job; he was demoted to head coach of the Canadiens' American Hockey League affiliate, the Nova Scotia Voyageurs, while the fluently bilingual Scotty Bowman succeeded him as head coach of the Habs. MacNeil won three Calder Cup Championships (1972, 1976, 1977) in six years with the Voyageurs."
Richard didn't give MacNeil enough credit.
From the same article:
"Crucial to the Stanley Cup victory was MacNeil's decision to use rookie goaltender Ken Dryden in the playoffs despite Dryden having played only six regular-season games in 1970–71. MacNeil was presumably impressed that Dryden won all these games, allowing only nine goals (1.65 GAA). Another crucial choice was having rookie Rejean Houle mark the Black Hawks' goalscorer Bobby Hull. Houle was nicknamed the "shadow of Bobby Hull" as Hull managed to score only one even-strength goal in the series."
-- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_MacNeil
-- Jan. 24, 2020
It seems rather obvious why the team's playoff hopes peter out with Bergevin as GM: It's called the Peter principle.
-- Jan. 20, 2020
-- Jan. 20, 2020
Habs record without Byron in the lineup: 17-37-3
Habs record with Byron in the lineup: 190-88-14
Isn't it obvious? Byron's importance to the club is unrelated to his actual performance on the ice.
He's the team's talisman -- "... a charm to avert evil and bring good fortune; something producing apparently magical or miraculous effects."
Would it not please the hockey gods if he were to dress for today's game and sit on the bench the entire time?
They must not be denied those who are smitten.
-- Dec. 1, 2019
Correct me if I'm wrong but if I understand the Canadiens' salary structure properly and their knack for securing talent, they have plenty of space left for crap?
-- Nov. 26, 2019
What will the players find harder to erase from their memory?
A.) Blowing a 4-0 lead and losing 6-5 to the Rangers?
B.) Getting blown out by the Bruins?
C.) They blow?
-- Nov. 26, 2019
Hudon is trash.
That's rather harsh. We all should try to be a little more tactful: "Hudon has failed to live up to low expectations."
-- Nov. 26, 2019
If only they [Molson, Bergevin, Julien] had evolved into a triumphvirate.
But evolution as we know it happens slowly and haphazardly (and not always successfully; look no further than RN).
Give the three amigos time. Another 8 years should do it.
-- Nov. 26, 2019
What are the chances Price's ranking among goaltenders is the same as his number by the end of the season?
-- Nov. 26, 2019
If the Habs current losing streak extends much further, can Michel Therrien 3.0 be far behind?
The Canadiens won't be rushed into making a rash decision.
They're going to wait until Alain Vigneault is fired, and then hire him to replace Julien.
It's the natural order of things.
-- Nov. 24, 2019
The air is thick with despair.
I'd settle for a disappointing win.
-- Nov. 23, 2019
Has anyone told Domi it's a contract year?
I believe so. That's why his scoring has contracted.
-- Nov. 23, 2019
The NHL should be ashamed of itself.
Where was the concussion spotter when the Hab players were taking all those brain-dead penalties?
-- Nov. 16, 2019
[Rex] Murphy's grasp of the English language is so strong it throttles concision.
-- Nov. 14, 2019
[Nate] Thompson is the team's sparkpud.
-- Nov. 12, 2019
I wonder who they're going to replace Don Cherry with on Cockroach's Corner?
Cherry went from Thumbs Up! to Time's Up!
-- Nov. 11, 2019
Habs record with Byron in the lineup: 190-88-14
Isn't it obvious? Byron's importance to the club is unrelated to his actual performance on the ice.
He's the team's talisman -- "... a charm to avert evil and bring good fortune; something producing apparently magical or miraculous effects."
Would it not please the hockey gods if he were to dress for today's game and sit on the bench the entire time?
They must not be denied those who are smitten.
-- Dec. 1, 2019
Correct me if I'm wrong but if I understand the Canadiens' salary structure properly and their knack for securing talent, they have plenty of space left for crap?
-- Nov. 26, 2019
What will the players find harder to erase from their memory?
A.) Blowing a 4-0 lead and losing 6-5 to the Rangers?
B.) Getting blown out by the Bruins?
C.) They blow?
-- Nov. 26, 2019
Hudon is trash.
That's rather harsh. We all should try to be a little more tactful: "Hudon has failed to live up to low expectations."
-- Nov. 26, 2019
If only they [Molson, Bergevin, Julien] had evolved into a triumphvirate.
But evolution as we know it happens slowly and haphazardly (and not always successfully; look no further than RN).
Give the three amigos time. Another 8 years should do it.
-- Nov. 26, 2019
What are the chances Price's ranking among goaltenders is the same as his number by the end of the season?
-- Nov. 26, 2019
If the Habs current losing streak extends much further, can Michel Therrien 3.0 be far behind?
The Canadiens won't be rushed into making a rash decision.
They're going to wait until Alain Vigneault is fired, and then hire him to replace Julien.
It's the natural order of things.
-- Nov. 24, 2019
The air is thick with despair.
I'd settle for a disappointing win.
-- Nov. 23, 2019
Has anyone told Domi it's a contract year?
I believe so. That's why his scoring has contracted.
-- Nov. 23, 2019
The NHL should be ashamed of itself.
Where was the concussion spotter when the Hab players were taking all those brain-dead penalties?
-- Nov. 16, 2019
[Rex] Murphy's grasp of the English language is so strong it throttles concision.
-- Nov. 14, 2019
[Nate] Thompson is the team's sparkpud.
-- Nov. 12, 2019
I wonder who they're going to replace Don Cherry with on Cockroach's Corner?
Cherry went from Thumbs Up! to Time's Up!
-- Nov. 11, 2019