habsguy26

Hm... we just got Geoffrion and he will most likely be a 3rd liner at his peak... so I have no idea. We are definite sellers. We either get a prospect like Lander or at least a 2nd.

Rumor has it that The Edmonton Oilers could be interested in Andrei Kostitsyn. If correct, I think Montreal's asking price could be Anton Lander. Thoughts?

I like it. Smith is a good ol' Kingston boy like Dougie and Grapes! (sarcasm)

Bryz won't leave by himself. Someone (besides the Philly faithful) will have to push him to Russia.

Very sad.

Welcome back for another installment of 10 questions! I'm your host, habsguy26. So without further ado, here we go! 1) Who'd get canned first? Brian Burke, Paul Holmgren or Stan Bowman? 2) Pavel Kubina? 3) Which Canadian 'bubble' team is most likely to make the playoffs? Winnipeg, Calgary, Toronto or Montreal? 4) Who will have the highest +/- this season? 5) If you were Holmgren, do you shop Bryzgalov? 6) Sean Couturier, would you give him up for Nash? 7) If you were the GM of any team in the NHL (you decide) who would you offer for Rick Nash? 8) Can you believe its not butter? 9) Who will finish with the highest amount of assists? 10) Does Sidney Crosby play before the playoffs? Okay guys, just a fun little blog before tonight's hockey. Leave your responses in the comments! Also, just a reminder that HF101 is going to be posting his Trade Wars today so don't forget to check it out!

*taken from NHL.com* In the midst of his best NHL season, things just got a little bit better for Pittsburgh Penguins forward James Neal. Neal, who scored his 30th goal of the season in Saturday's 6-4 win against the Philadelphia Flyers, signed a six-year, $30 million contract extension on Sunday that binds him to the team through the 2017-18 season. "I love everything about what goes on here and how we play the game," Neal told the team's website. "I just couldn't see myself anywhere else." Neal could have been a restricted free agent July 1. "As we've gotten to know Neal over past year, he really fits with our group," Penguins General Manager Ray Shero told the team's website. "It's really difficult to find players like this. Neal has size, uncanny release, heavy shot, goes to the net hard, can skate. There's a lot to like even beyond the 30 goals." Playing on Evgeni Malkin's left wing for most of the season, Neal is tied for third in the League in goals heading into Sunday's game in Buffalo (12:30 p.m. ET, NBC), and he's tied for the League lead with 13 power-play goals. He's also leads the League in shots on goals (242), has set career-highs in goals and points (56), and played in his first NHL All-Star Game. Acquired by the Penguins from the Dallas Stars last Feb. 21, Neal had just one goal in 20 games with the Pens, and one goal in seven playoff games as the Penguins were eliminated in the first round by the Tampa Bay Lightning. The 6-foot-2, 208-pound left wing has 103 goals and 90 assists in 292 games with the Stars and Penguins. He's scored at least 20 goals in all four of his NHL seasons.

Hey guys, this is another one of my old blogs.. tell me what you think! *With the preseason in full gear, we have gotten to see a preview of what to expect in this defining 2012 NHL season. I know that lately my blogs have been focused on all 30 teams, but today I'm just going to talk Habs. This blog will be (obviously) about what I expect from the players (stat wise) and the team's opening night lines. Also, I'll write a blurb on a few of the rookies and their performances so far this preseason, and when you can expect them in a Habs uniform full time. So without further ado, here we go! Forwards 13 Mike Cammalleri- 35 G, 30 A - 65 P, +10, 10 PPG X factor - Goal totals are expected to rise this year with Cammy apparently being in the best shape he's been since he scored 39 in Calgary. 72 Erik Cole- 20 G, 38 A - 58 P, +4, 9 PPG X factor - Has performed well in the preseason so far. No reason to expect any less from Cole, who is in the first year of a 4 year, 18M pact with the Habs. 52 Mathieu Darche- 10 G, 10 A - 20 P, -5, 0 PPG X factor - Not very impressive on paper, but considering he will be playing on the fourth line, and that he is 34, these numbers aren't bad. You can't win if you don't have a Darche like player on your team. He'll be as valuable as anyone this season. 51 David Desharnais- 13 G, 28 A - 41 P, -1, 2 PPG X factor - Desharnais could see himself playing on the second line if Gomez/Eller falter this season, and if that happens, you will see steady numbers from the 5'7" centre. 81 Lars Eller- 5 G, 17 A - 22 P, -6, 1 PPG X factor - I can see Eller sticking in the bottom nine all season. He just doesn't seem to have the drive, in my opinion. Expect to see low totals again this season. 21 Brian Gionta- 30 G, 19 A - 49 P, +13, 12 PPG X factor - Our captain is poised for another solid goal scoring season. He scored 29 last year, and with no changes to the second line, there is no reason to not expect any more or less. 11 Scott Gomez- 9 G, 37 A - 46 P, -9, 3 PPG X factor - He looked good in his first preseason game last night against Ottawa. If this is some kind of window to the future, you may see a mediocre season from Gomez. Still not worth 7M, but he's (kind of) getting there. 46 Andrei Kostitsyn- 18 G, 17 A - 35 P, +3, 7 PPG X factor - A few nights ago, we saw that AK46 still has that wicked wrister that we know him for, but I still don't think he will finish the season with Les Canadiens. He and maybe a prospect/pick will be traded at the deadline for _______ (fill in the blank in the comments!!) 32 Travis Moen- 4 G, 13 A - 17 P, -6, 0 PPG X factor - One of my personal favourites, Travis Moen is the kind of player we love. A big guy, solid hitter and won't back down from a tussle (although I noticed that after his eye injury last season he didn't drop the gloves at all). He'll be a solid third liner. 67 Max Pacioretty- 23 G, 34 A - 57 P, + 16, 8 PPG X factor - He shows great chemistry with Brian Gionta, and he will be a Masterson Canidate this year. The fact that the guy is still walking is a miracle, let alone playing hockey, at a high level I may add. Look for a big year from Patches. 14 Tomas Plekanec- 19 G, 53 A - 72 P, + 17, 4 PPG X factor - This will be a defining season for Plekanec, who signed a big six year deal back in 2010. He is labeled as a good second line centre, but a decent first liner. Though he scored 70 points in 09-10, he fell back to 60 last year. Injury depending, we may see Plekanec have his best year yet. 53 Ryan White- 5 G, 10 A - 15 P, -8, 0 PPG X factor - I am a big fan of this kid, and unfortunately we may see him being the odd man out. But, you may see him take a roster spot half way through the season. Keep your eyes on this guy. Defense 17 Chris Campoli- 5 G, 18 A - 23 P, -4, 2 PPG X factor - Not a bad pick up yesterday by Pierre Gauthier. Insurance if Emelin or Spacek don't pan out or if Markov gets injured. He will have a decent year this year. 74 Alexei Emelin- 2 G, 9 A - 11 P, +3, 0 PPG X factor - The Russian import who was taken by the Habs in the third round of the '04 draft will finally be making his NHL debut at the age of 25. He will bring part of what we lost in James Wisniewski (Columbus, 6 years, 33M), which is a physical edge but unfortunately he does not bring the kind of offensive talent that Wiz had. 75 Hal Gill- 1 G, 7 A - 8 P, -2, 0 PPG X factor - He is great in the locker room, and solid defender. But, every rose has it's thorn. Gill is aging, plus he was slow on his feet to begin with. He was re-upped for this season, but it looks like it may be his last, at least with Montreal anyways. 26 Josh Gorges- 3 G, 13 A - 16 P, + 11, 0 PPG X factor - He is coming back from a major injury and he looks better than ever. He'll play 20 minutes every night, and will be quarter backing the first P.K unit. 79 Andrei Markov- 12 G, 47 A - 59 P, +19, 8 PPG X factor - Like Gorges, Markov is coming off a major knee injury, and though he may miss the first week of the regular season, we will probably see the old Markov that we know and love. 6 Jaroslav Spacek- 1 G, 13 A - 14 P, -4, 0 PPG X factor - He's lost some weight this past offseason, and he is faster. He actually won a footrace against Sabre Speedster Nathan Gerbe. I actually did a double take. He'll kind of bounce back from last year's bad season. 76 P.K Subban- 21G, 38 A - 59 P, + 23, 14 PPG X factor - Love him or hate him, Pernell-Karl Subban is a budding superstar. Barring a sophomore slump, expect him to pull off HUGE numbers. He'll get a big contract next summer too. 68 Yannick Weber- 2 G, 18 A - 20 P, -1, 1 PPG X factor - Weber has the potential to be a second pairing defeseman, but right now he may be on the outside looking in due to the strong play of Emelin. Goaltenders 30 Peter Budaj- 7 W, 11 L, .912 SV%, 2.89 GAA X factor - Budaj may be a step down from Alex Auld (Ottawa, 1 year, 1M) on paper, but Budaj has the potential to be a great back up for Carey Price. Expect to see an OKAY season. 31 Carey Price- 38 W, 26 L, .925 SV%, 2.25 GAA X factor - Remember last time his preseason debut was horrible? Just chill out guys. Carey will be as good, if not better than he was last season. Maybe, just maybe, we can see a Vezina nomination. 2011-2012 Starting Line Up LW- 13 Mike Cammalleri C- 14 Tomas Plekanec RW- 72 Erik Cole LW- 67 Max Pacioretty C- 11 Scott Gomez RW- 21 Brian Gionta 'C' LW- 32 Travis Moen C- 51 David Desharnais RW- 46 Andrei Kostitsyn LW- 52 Mathieu Darche C- 81 Lars Eller RW- 53 Ryan White LD- 79 Andrei Markov 'A' RD- 74 Alexei Emelin LD- 76 P.K Subban RD- 26 Josh Gorges LD 6 Jaroslav Spacek RD- 75 Hal Gill 'A' 7th D - 68 Yannick Weber Starting Goaltender - 31 Carey Price Back Up Goaltender - 30 Peter Budaj Rookies Brenden Gallagher- I think he has the potential to be a top line forward. But for now, he will be returned to the Vancouver Giants of the WHL, where he will tear it up again. I think you will see him in the NHL full time before you know it, in about two or three years. Nathan Beaulieu- I like this kid's game. I can't believe we got him at 17th overall this past draft. He was expected to go in the top 10! He has a good, if not really good first pass, and his shot from the point is pretty good. Expect him in the NHL in 2013-2014. Jarred Tinordi- He has had a shaky preseason so far, but hey, its his first pro experience. He's a big kid, with a good stick. His skating could use work, but other wise a solid prospect. Rookie year could be 2014-2015. * Montreal Canadiens skaters through 59 games: Forwards 13 Mike Cammalleri- 13 G, 15 A - 28 P, -11 *Traded to Calgary for F Rene Bourque, Peter Holland and a 2012 2nd round pick* 27 Rene Bourque- 16 G, 5 A - 21 P, -4 72 Erik Cole- 22 G, 22 A - 44 P, +10 52 Mathieu Darche- 5 G, 7 A - 12 P, 0 51 David Desharnais- 11 G, 32 A - 43 P, +10 81 Lars Eller- 12 G, 10 A - 22 P, +5 21 Brian Gionta- 8 G, 7 A - 15 P, -7 * 31 GP* 11 Scott Gomez- 2 G, 7 A - 9 P, -4*29 GP* 46 Andrei Kostitsyn- 12 G, 12 A - 24 P, -6 32 Travis Moen- 9 G, 7 A - 16 P, -3 67 Max Pacioretty- 24 G, 21 A - 45 P, +1 14 Tomas Plekanec- 12 G, 29 A - 41 P, -14 53 Ryan White- 0 G, 1 A - 1 P, +5 *2 GP* Defense 17 Chris Campoli- 2 G, 4 A - 6 P, -2 *21 GP* 74 Alexei Emelin- 2 G, 2 A - 4 P, -4 75 Hal Gill- 1 G, 7 A - 8 P, -7 *Traded to Nashville for Blake Geoffrion, Robert Slaney and a 2012 2nd round pick* 26 Josh Gorges- 2 G, 10 A - 12 P, +15 79 Andrei Markov- 0 G, 0 A - 0 P, 0 *0 GP* 6 Jaroslav Spacek- 2 G, 7 A - 9 P, +1 *Traded to Carolina for Tomas Kaberle* 22 Tomas Kaberle- 2 G, 14 A, - 16 P, -4 76 P.K Subban- 3G, 20 A - 23 P, +5 68 Yannick Weber- 4 G, 12 A - 16 P, -2 Goaltenders 30 Peter Budaj- 2 W, 6 L, .906 SV%, 2.73 GAA 31 Carey Price- 22 W, 29 L, .917 SV%, 2.37 GAA *9 losses in Overtime/Shootout* Okay guys, what did you think of that? I obviously had some big expectations of this year's Habs at the start of the pre-season, but now all that has faded. I really just want a high draft pick.

I like this trade for both teams. Good luck to Gill and Nashville.

Love this deal!!

Well yeah. I remember in 2008 or something, he, his brother Sergei and Roman Hamrlik were caught hanging around with some of the Montreal mob members...

Canadiens winger Andrei Kostitsyn HAS asked agent Don Meehan to explore trade options. He will not be a Canadien after the Deadline. Stay tuned.

Thanks for your opinions @seamusxx12 and @WingNut722. Appreciate them! And Digity, Yes I thought that too, I just really wanted to get this up last night. Maybe HF would be interested in doing another next season too.

Hey guys, this is part 7 of Trade Wars: Habsguy26 vs HF101. Please vote on the above trades and comment to tell us what kind of job we're doing! Its getting narrower and narrower as we go by and the end is near. So far, we have 8 of the needed 15 deals completed. They are as follows: and the latest trades... I love these two trades. The Lightning acquire the goalie they need to make them an elite team at a little cost, and Winnipeg gets 2 great prospects for some veteran rentals. Harding would be the Lightning's franchise goalie for the next 7 years or so, and I'll take this deal any day of the week. He hasn't had a real chance to start, but with Tampa, Harding will be the undisputed #1. In Tampa, we are deep in forwards with Stamkos, St.Louis, Lecavalier, Downie, Malone and now Connolly taking Purcell's spot rounding out the top 6, so his loss is not very big. Carter Ashton is the main piece going back to Minnesota in my eyes. He is a decent prospect (here is is prospect report ---> http://www.hockeysfu...s/carter_ashton) but we have two good prospects by the names of Richard Panik and Vladislav Namestnikov who make the loss not as painful. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wu_WgS1h8d8 Going to Detroit will be Johnny Oduya and Chris Mason, to solidify their lineups come this spring. Oduya was a staple in the New Jersey defence that won a few championships and will bring a good presence to Detroit and Chris Mason is a better back up than Ty Conklin/Joey MacDonald. Winnipeg receives a top-tier goalie prospect in Petr Mrazek, and a future second line centre in Landon Ferraro. This is definitely a rental trade, as we in Winnipeg will probably be selling come February 27th. Now to discuss the other trades proposed by HF101 in his latest entry... The Phoenix Coyotes offer: Ray Whitney and a second round pick To the Boston Bruins for Jordan Caron Offer Declined: I initially accepted this offer, but upon further examination I decided to decline. Caron is among our best prospects here in Boston and is already fitting nicely with our team in Boston. Ray Whitney would be a good addition for Boston to help us push deeper into the play offs, which is why I am going to counter offer. Counter Offer: Boston Bruins offer: Jamie Arniel and a 2012 3rd round pick to The Phoenix Coyotes for Ray Whitney and a conditional 2012 2nd round pick (if Phoenix makes the playoffs) This trade is better for both organizations in my opinion. Phoenix acquires a young, versatile prospect in Jamie Arniel ( here is his prospect profile ---> http://www.hockeysfuture.com/prospects/jamie_arniel) while we receive Whitney and an unlikely pick. Plus Phoenix gets a guaranteed 3rd rounder. The Colorado Avalanche offer: Kevin Porter To the New York Islanders for Milan Jurcina plus a conditional fifth round pick in the 2012 round draft (if Jurcina doesn't sign with the Avalanche) Offer declined: Right now, I feel that Kevin Porter doesn't fit into the plans of the Islanders. We are looking to make the playoffs, and acquiring a prospect for a depth defenceman doesn't really make sense for us. Plus, I have plans for Colorado that I will address in my offer from Carolina. The Dallas Stars offer: Thomas Vincour To the Carolina Hurricanes for Tuomu Ruutu Offer declined: I am declining this offer for 2 reasons: 1) Vincour is a decent prospect, but we don't feel he enough is worth Ruutu. and 2) We feel Ruutu would be a better fit for Colorado and I will address that in my offer to them later on in the blog. The San Jose Sharks offer: Jamie McGinn and a Fourth Round pick in the 2012 draft To the Montreal Candiens for Travis Moen Offer declined: We are going to respectfully decline this trade because we feel that Travis Moen fits into our future plans and we wish to resign him in the summer. McGinn may be too good to pass up though, which is why I am going to propose another offer to HF since he appears to be interested in trading him. The Anaheim Duck offer: Saku Koivu and a third round conditional pick (if the Capitals do not play in the conference finals) To the Washington Capitals for Jeffery Schultz Offer declined: I believe that the Washington Capitals have greater needs than Koivu and we address those needs in the offer to Edmonton The Minnesota Wild offer: Josh Harding To the Tampa Bay Lightening for Teddy Purcell and Carter Aston Offer was accepted earlier in the blog Now to send my offers out to HF101...... First offer: The New Jersey Devils offer: Vladimir Zharkov and a 2012 4th round pick to The Dallas Stars for Sheldon Souray In Vladimir Zharkov, Dallas receives a good, two way NHL ready prospect who can play the power play and penalty kill ( here is his prospect profile ---> http://www.hockeysfu...ladimir_zharkov ) and would probably be ready to play for the Stars now. On our end of the deal, Jersey receives a defenceman who has had a solid bounce back season after playing on loan for Hershey last season. This would be Souray's second stint as the Devils, as they drafted him back in 1994. New Jersey could use him because we absolutely need to generate as much play off revenue as possible, and Souray would help us push further. Second Offer: The Carolina Hurricanes offer: Tuomo Ruutu and Bryan Allen to The Colorado Avalanche for Joey Hishon, Cameron Gaunce and Tyson Barrie Colorado will receive this years' cream of the crop when it comes to the trade deadline. Tuomo Ruutu would definitely help Colorado score a few goals and should Duchene or Statsny go down, Ruutu would be there to pick up the pieces. This year, Ruutu has 17 goals and 30 points, which would be good for 4th on Colorado. Additionally, Colorado would receive a very good depth defenceman Bryan Allen and would be capable of playing on Colorado's 2nd pairing with Jan Hejda. On our side, we receive 3 good prospects in Hishon, (http://www.hockeysfu...cts/joey_hishon) Gaunce, (http://www.hockeysfu.../cameron_gaunce) and Barrie (http://www.hockeysfu...ts/tyson_barrie). This move definitely puts Carolina in a great position heading forward and gives Colorado a good chance to go deep into the play offs. Third Offer: The Montreal Canadiens offer: Andrei Kostitsyn, Hal Gill, Yannick Weber and a 2012 2nd round pick To the San Jose Sharks for Jamie McGinn and Marc-Edouard Vlasic I really like Jamie McGinn and I think he is a great young forward who will score some goals, get into the gritty areas and drop the gloves occasionally. Marc-Edouard Vlasic is a key defenceman and would help the Habs tremendously. He is also french! Going to San Jose, will be consistent 20 goal scorer Andrei Kostitsyn (UFA), penalty killing defender Hal Gill (who is one of the reasons why the Habs penalty kill is one of the best in the league, also a UFA), a young, puck moving defenceman in Yannick Weber and a guaranteed 2nd round pick, which will probably end up being 31-39th overall. I think this is a good deal for both teams. Fourth Offer: The Ottawa Senators offer: Filip Kuba To the Anaheim Ducks for: Jason Blake A one for one deal. Straight up. Ducks get the depth defenceman they need to make a push and Ottawa gets Jason Blake, a veteran that would help balance the top 9. This deal also allows for some of Ottawa's younger defencemen like Jared Cowen or Brian Lee to step up and take a larger role on the team. I think this is a fair offer for both sides. Fifth Offer: The Washington Capitals offer: Jeff Schultz, Mike Knuble, Braden Holtby, and a 2012 1st round pick (Colorado) To the Edmonton Oilers for Ales Hemsky, Magnus Paargarvi-Svensson and Cam Barker Saved the big one for last. Edmonton gets Jeff Schultz, a guy who is capable of playing a 20 minute, mistake free hockey game, a power forward still capable of 20 goals, a future number one tender, and a top 15 pick for Ales Hemsky, someone who could benefit from playing with Ovechkin and Backstrom, or even Brooks Laich and Johansonn, a young forward in Svensson whose stock is dropping and Cam Barker, a former top 3 pick who hasn't lived up to any of the hype at all. But obviously, the main piece here is Hemsky, who I believe could have an 80 point season if he played 82 games with Ovechkin. This trade benefits both teams. Okay guys there you have it. Part 7. HF will likely get part 8 up as soon as the end of this week, as we want to finish this before the deadline. Its getting narrow so the trades are becoming easier. Anyways, see you later, and happy hockey! Don't forget to leave a comment and vote on the two latest deals, we need your feedback! P.S Hope you guys had a special Valentines Day and got to spend it with someone special

A shouting match erupted at a Montreal Canadiens practice today. An argument between forward Scott Gomez and assistant coach Randy Ladouceur was so long and intense that some media observers thought it might turn into a fistfight. The assistant coach was apparently upset at what he considered a lack of intensity during a drill, so he let Gomez have it. The underperforming centre, who is among the league's highest-paid players but has only one goal this year, responded. The spat continued for several minutes, first in front of other players before the men left to exchange words in a corner. Head coach Randy Cunneyworth never intervened in the dispute; he said later, with a smile, that his assistant had the situation under control. Gomez is also downplaying the incident; he says he simply messed up an exercise and the coach let him have it. He says things like that happen every day. With the Habs struggling this year, this isn't the first tense moment at practice. But veteran team observers say it's been many years since they've seen a spat like this, and compare it to a memorable 1996 argument between then-coach Mario Tremblay and enforcer Donald Brashear. That one got so bad that Brashear was sent to the dressing room, and was traded a few days later to the Vancouver Canucks. Cunneyworth refused to say during a news conference after practice if Gomez might not play tomorrow night against the Boston Bruins, and he would also not confirm the presence of Andrei Kostitsyn in the lineup. Btw guys, new Trade Wars:Habsguy26 vs HF101 will be up TONIGHT, check it out! http://www.hockeyforums.net/index.php/blog/29-trade-wars-habsguy26-vs-hf101/

Man, there were two votes for Toronto last night and they're gone now?

Great blog. My 16-20 trades will be up tomorrow around 5ish.

It will never happen, but we need to stick a team in Quebec and Hamilton. There was actually a recent study that said Canada could support 2 more teams. http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=387334

Trade talk stating Moen is about to be traded to the Sharks for McGinn and a 4th. Keep your twitter open.

Me too Irish. I think later on, I'm going to come up with something different.

Hey guys, just going through my old blog page and found one that received both positive and negative criticism. Just gonna copy and paste it and see what you guys think. Ryan White Signs 1 year deal with Montreal First of all, congratulations to Ryan White for signing a one year deal with the Habs. Good signing for the Habs. White plays with a lot of poise and is one of maybe 2 players who will drop the gloves at any moment so they need a guy like him to play physical for them. He has a year to prove he belongs because there are plenty of guys who could fill that role. For those of you who are unaware of Ryan White, he is the kind of player we lost in Maxim Lapierre, whose physical and scoring presence was missed deeply in this years play offs. Ren Lavoie of RDS reports it's a one-way deal worth $625,000 for the season. NHL Re-Alignment According to Minnesota Wild owner Craig Leipold, the NHL will re align its divisions for the 2012-2013 season. Leipold was quoted as saying the Winnipeg Jets will join his Minnesota Wild, Chicago Blackhawks, Nashville Predators, St.Louis Blues, Dallas Stars and possibly the Columbus Blue Jackets in the new Central Division. He made no mention of the 2010-2011 Central Division champion Detroit Red Wings, which is the team most likely to move the Eastern Conference to accommodate the Jets' move. The NHL Board of Governors are scheduled to meet in December to resume talks of realignment. The Jets will play in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference this season, joining the Washington Capitals, Tampa Bay Lightning, Carolina Hurricanes and Florida Panthers. If you ask me, I think the NHL should look a bit different than this. After looking at the locations of all 30 NHL teams, I came up with my own opinion. Western Conference Pacific Vancouver Canucks San Jose Sharks Los Angeles Kings Phoenix Coyotes Anaheim Ducks North West Calgary Flames Edmonton Oilers Winnipeg Jets Colorado Avalanche Minnesota Wild Central Chicago Blackhawks St.Louis Blues Nashville Predators Dallas Stars Columbus Blue Jackets Eastern Conference Atlantic Boston Bruins New York Rangers New York Islanders Washington Capitals New Jersey Devils North East Detroit Red Wings Montreal Canadiens Toronto Maple Leafs Buffalo Sabres Ottawa Senators South East Pittsburgh Penguins Philadelphia Flyers Carolina Hurricanes Tampa Bay Lightning Florida Panthers Okay, so, with the Pacific, it makes more sense geographically if the Canucks joined that division. It would give more variety of games too. Winnipeg moving to the North West means more match ups with the Flames and Oilers which is what everyone in Canada wants anyways. Dallas moving to the Central is quite self explanatory. It makes sense geographically. Now we head East. In the Atlantic, I definitely think the Bruins and Washington should move. If Boston moves to the Atlantic, it does unfortunately mean less Habs-Bruins regular season games. But it makes the four or five they would play even more special. In the North East, not only do the Red Wings move divisions, they will change conferences, which is inevitable and very un-heard of. Then, to the South East, the Pens-Flyers rivalry will be maintained while they move to what could be the weakest division in the league this upcoming year. Okay so there it was. This was before the whole realignment plan was pitched so I had no idea that they were just gonna have 4 divisions or anything like that. Leave a comment on what you guys think!

Hey guys. You may remember my very first topic on this site was about how the Canadiens could be fixed. I suggested either we get a new coach, acquire a top 3 scorer, or a tough guy. Well, unless you've been hiding under a rock, Jacques Martin was fired earlier this year and replaced by Randy Cunneyworth, and Michael Cammalleri was traded to Calgary for Rene Bourque (during a game I may add). Under Cunneyworth, Montreal is 6-14. Before they fired Martin, they were 13-12-7. This was obviously a panic firing by Gauthier, and both he and Cunneyworth are expected to be let go by the end of this season. If I were the Molson brothers (I can dream) I would let Cunneyworth come back as an assistant, but I would look externally to find a new head coach. ​Habs potential coaching candidates: 1) Patrick Roy This would be my number one choice, hands down. Roy, who currently owns, manages and coaches the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League said he’s open to the possibility of returning to the organization where he began his NHL career. Patrick is a great candidate for the Habs' coach for plenty of reasons. He feels he owes the team after leaving so dis-gracefully, He'd be great for Price(and Budaj), he is currently leading the Remparts to a 33-14-5 record, and he just so happens to be french. The Hall of Famer would definitely be a great hiring for the Habs, as a fan, I hope they come to terms. 2) Guy Boucher??? This is a little less crazy as it sounds. The Lightning are having a sub par year, and Steve Yzerman is a new GM who could pull the trigger on a panic firing. Boucher would certainly have no issues coming back to his roots. The former Adams Trophy candidate is well known for his defensive styled hockey, and his 1-3-1 forecheck trap that had the league scratching their heads. He is also french! 3) Clement Jodoin Jodoin is currently the head coach of Montreal's AHL affiliate, The Hamilton Bulldogs. But before that, Jodoin had an impressive run in the QMJHL as head coach of Sidney Crosby's Rimouski Oceanic going 151-95-8-5. He has won a total of 3 CHL coach of the year awards ( with Halifax, Lewiston and Rimouski) and will forever be a great coach in the QMJHL history books. I know I said Montreal should look externally, but Jodoin has paid his dues and deserve a great of chance as any other candidate. He is also french. 4) Randy Carlyle Yes, that Randy Carlyle. The 1981 Norris Trophy winner could be a dark horse in the running for the next coach of Montreal. He won a Stanley Cup with Anaheim in 2007 and he coaches fast pace, crash the net styled hockey; the style of coaching all Habs fans having been dreaming about. Being a former defenceman, and coaching a few great defencemen (Pronger, Niedermayer etc.) his hiring could be beneficial for young defencemen P.K Subban, Alexei Emelin, and Raphael Diaz, who all appear to have great futures with the Habs. And no, he does not speak french, but it should (but it won't) be the last thing the Molson brothers look for. Top candidates for the next GM 1) Patrick Roy Need I say more? If Roy takes our coaching job, his title would likely include GM and Team President. 2) Pierre McGuire Although he was born in New Jersey, McGuire can speak fluent french. The current NBC analyst was named specifically by colleague Pierre LeBrun as a potential candidate for the GM job in Montreal. McGuire won two Stanley Cups as a scout and assistant coach with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1991 and 1992. He then joined the Hartford Whalers as an assistant coach and was later named assistant general manager. In 1993 he was named head coach, leading the team to a 23-37-7 record in the 1993–94 after replacing current Flyers' GM Paul Holmgren in mid-season. Holmgren replaced McGuire as head coach following that campaign. McGuire is a liked and respected figure around the NHL and would probably make a good GM. 5 players that would help the Montreal Canadiens tremendously: 1) Andrei Markov and Brian Gionta The two players that would help us out the most are already under contract with us. Gionta, our captain, hasn't played a game since January 10th, and hasn't had a point since December 6th. He has 15 points on the year after a 29 goal, 47 point season last year. Granted, he has only 31 games under his belt this year but for 5 million bucks, his performance has to be better than 0.5 points per game, or he will be traded or bought out. Markov on the other hand, hasn't played since November 13th, 2010. His last point was on November 11th. He signed a new deal with Montreal last summer, and it has since been highly criticized because he has yet to have even a full practice. He was expected to be ready for the start of this season but there was a set back. Then, it was expected he would return in early January, but obviously nothing has happened. That was the last we've heard of Markov. He is a key contributor to our powerplay and was one of the reasons we had a strong one in the late 2000's, and may be the sole reason why our powerplay is dead last today. Extremely similar to the Indianapolis Colts' situation with Peyton Manning, Markov could be the teams' MVP without even playing a single game. 2) Johan Hedberg Peter Budaj has done a fine job this season, but if Carey Price is having one of those games where he just doesn't care (been a few this year) I'd feel better having 'Moose' coming in instead of Budaj. Hedberg is without a question the best true backup goalie in the NHL (by that I mean goalies who couldn't be a number 1 somewhere else, like Schnidner and Harding) and would be a valuable asset to any team. 3) Jeff Carter I'd love to have Jeff Cater. Who knows where he'll be traded at the Deadline this year, but its certain that he will not be a Blue Jacket come February 27th. It would probably take a roster player, a prospect and a pick and if Pierre Gauthier wants to keep his job, he will put an offer in. Carter would help Montreal tremendously, and he'd be our number 1 centre for years to come. Plus, he'd score a few goals. The main problem in Montreal could be though, the Montreal night life. 4) Manny Malholtra I don't think any rumours have surfaced that Malholtra is on the trading block, but he would be a great pick up for Montreal. We could use a centre who can win a bunch of faceoffs, and Manny is among the best in the league at doing that. 5) George Parros (taken from my debut topic)It's not like he would be difficult to obtain (likely a low draft pick, 4th round at the highest, or a minor leaguer.) Also, the dude can play hockey. Sure, he only has 16 goals and 30 points in 378 games, but in those 378 games, his +/- is +11. That's pretty good for an enforcer last time I checked. He's one of the best fighters in the NHL, very respected league wide, good locker room guy, he has a degree from Princeton, AND, he has a sweet stache. What's not to love? Make it happen PG!!! Okay guys so there it is. This blog is coming off a huge 5-0 win over the Leafs, so I hope I don't jinx anything! Happy Hockey P.S If you haven't already, don't forget to go check out "Trade Wars". Its a series of blogs that I and another member by the name of HF101 collaborate on and it really is fun. The link will be at the bottom. <Trade Wars> http://www.hockeyfor...guy26-vs-hf101/ <Twitter> https://twitter.com/#!/allanrayer

Nice blog. Keep it going!

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