The Montreal Canadiens may have been eliminated in the second round during the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs, but as much as it is saddening, it is exciting.
Once the Habs did make it into the playoffs, everyone predicted that they would at least go to the Stanley Cup Finals. That, of course, did not happen. The most important lesson, however, is to realize how much they did accomplish.
Most of the sophomores, and especially the rookies, did not play every game of the season. Some were not called up until most of the way through the regular season (with a couple not becoming a regular until the playoffs).
The list of these rookies and sophomores includes: Kyle Chipchura, Matt D'Agostini, Mikhail Grabovski, Sergei Kostitsyn, Maxim Lapierre, Guillaume Latendresse, Gregory Stewart, Josh Gorges and Ryan O'Byrne. This was also Andrei Kostitsyn's official first full season.
All have shown significant amounts of talent, clearly good enough for Guy Carbonneau to give them the opportunities to shine.
If the Canadiens can manage to keep the current roster identical for the 2008-2009 season, they should have another shot at repeating at the Eastern Conference champions.
By this time, the rookies and sophomores will have more chances to get comfortable with each other and with the veterans such as Alexei Kovalev and Saku Koivu.
Of course, that means picking up the skills that both Kovalev and Koivu have, something that cannot be learned anywhere else. The abilities those two men possess are beyond special.
They managed to once again hold the top power play in the National Hockey League.
They proved the management knew what they were doing with any deal and every single choice they made (such as the Cristobal Huet swap).
Even with a couple of trades expected to take place (Michael Ryder likely to be one of those), it is unlikely this team will be any different if left as is.
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4 months ago
that is the fun thing with having an actual reliable roster: we dont expect that much of a change during the summer.
change or not, gainey seems to be determined to even strenghten the forwards which is even better. we have to wait and see if he is going to get one of these big fishes finally ...
from 4 months ago
Yeah i'm curious who he will try to pick up this summer, too... who do you think it will be?
from 4 months ago
I have no idea ... it is more who will agree to come!
maybe he will try to get back at talking with Hossa. but still, I m not so sure! Chris kelly would be an interesting call as well, but I dont know how it goes between him and the sens.
by the way, what do u think about having an experienced goalie with Price? or do u want to stick with the two youngsters?
from 4 months ago
I saw on Really off the Record that Patrick Lalime was looking for a new place...I know he's not the greatest, but wouldnt he make an interesting backup??
Yeah I wonder if they'll try for Hossa again, especially since he's doing good now in the playoffs for the Pens!
4 months ago
Montreal should be looking at getting something up the middle too. We got punished in the second round by Philly because of small forwards. Doesn't help when the forwards average height is hovering around 5'11. Anyone see the lineup when they were shaking hands with Philly, they were all bigger than the Canadiens.
from 4 months ago
lol! I know! I guess we should get back to the "trio of Smurfs" old times! I know, apart from Kovalev and the Kostitsyn, they are pretty small out there.
at the same time, u take a look at a guy like Latendresse. he is HUGE but come on, he does not do anything on the ice.
he does not score,he does not pass, he does not skate, he is just there to make it look like an actual french franchise. if only he could have hit a bit more, maybe the other ones would have survived! we cant get koivu to go and hit the players, that is too much risk. same thing for kovalev...
agreed, we should get a strong forward to add some muscles to the guys out there ... but not another kostopoulos/smolinski if possible. a guy who can hit/score from time to time/skate well and win face offs. in brief, I am asking too much!
from 4 months ago
Omg I know, the poor Habs are so small. Great for speed (obviously!!) but not so good for physical. Beyond someone like Latendresse, Komisarek, Kostopoulos and Begin nobody really has the muscles to put up a physical battle.
And like you both say, need someone who's physical AND offensive!
Those seem so hard to come by now, huh??
4 months ago
Michael Ryder is a UFA this year and in all likelihood will NOT be back seeing he sat in the press box or the remainder of the Habs playoff season. He and Mathieu Dandineault were apparently both talking at the Bell Centre locker clean up like they would not be back.
One rumour has Olaf Kolzig coming to Montreal. He has already made it clear he has no plans to return to Washington. He has ties with Price as he is the owner of the Tri-City Americans (Price's Jr. team) so he could make a good mentor. Jaroslav Halak's agent has reportedly said he wants his client to have more playing time next year so Gainey could trade him to a team looking for a potential number one.
The Habs clearly need a big man who is not afraid to go to/stand in ront of the net. Guillaume Latendresse could be that guy if he stayed consistent and needs to shed a few pounds/take some power skating lessons..... Here's a toss out: How about getting Sean Avery if his spleen is healthy? The ultimate ass/agitator backed up by the #1 power play.....hmmmmm... But alas his attitude would be outmatched by the ever scrutinizing Montreal media.....
It will be interesting to see how Mr. Gainey goes into the FA market this year as there are still a lot of young players in the system he can fall back on..
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