blocker

"For those who don’t know, Tim Hortons is the Canadian Dunkin’ Donuts."

Actually, there are Tim Hortons in the states.  

They've spilled south of the border along with cold weather and Celine Dion's CDs.  

Will he be called "Wild Bill"?

First pair of real hockey skates that I bought for my son were used Junior Tacks.  I paid $25.00 for them.  His son's new pair cost $900.00, yesterday.

One of the tough guys I liked was Ted Harris.  He was a really good defenseman, who didn't fight a whole lot, but when he did, he was a force.  One of the best one punch gladiators ever.

His long-time partner was Terry Harper.  Terry fought often and lost almost all of his fights.  But, he was respected because he never backed down.

Lots of front doors around here with hockey sticks displayed.  I took a few old Sherwoods from my basement rafters and put them on the porch.    

Sad.

Rux is right.  Dumb move for Montreal.  You kinda saw this when Therrien threw Subban under the bus after a loss.  Bergevin should have fired Therrien then and there.  

Thoughts -- Zac Rinaldo

Oooh.   Good one.

Kerry Fraser?

Did you ever the hear the joke about Kerry Fraser?

He fell and broke his hair.

I believe he has an MBA or something high falutin like that.

Well, I'm a high school graduate.  So, you can understand my regard for education. 

Take away his size and his shot, and what do you have? A goon

I don't like him either.  He's big and intimidating.  But, IMHO,  whenever someone of a somewhat comparable size confronts him, he backs away. 

A little speculation.

What if you were the owner of a team in a city with a large black population?   What if you had a chance to get a bona fide star?  Who happens to be black.   How much could he be worth from a marketing standpoint? 

You could promote the hell out of him.  He plays an attention grabbing game.  Knows when to shut his mouth.  Has a squeaky clean reputation.   Comes through in the clutch.

I bet there are some owners considering the possibilities.  

Well, I've never seen a glass that was half-full, so there you have it!

Well, I have. 

But, they don't stay half-full very long.

they can say that while his offensive game is almost unmatched, his defensive game is barely NHL-caliber

I bet that's  their position.   And, I'm sure Meehan will point out the fact that his overall ice-times got significantly enlarged during the playoffs.  The Bell Center is going to be sold out during the regular season, whether or not Subban plays.  But, it's an easy argument that they wouldn't have gone so far into the playoffs without him.  

I think Bergevin screwed up when he didn't sign Subban to a long term contract last time.  Subban soldiered up when he signed that "bridge" contract.  Now, he's worth a whole lot more money, and Canadiens should man up and pay him.  If they don't,  he's gone in a couple years.   

If I was Bergevin, I'd have canned Therrien.  He's a fool.  Always has been, always will be.

I've read a few reports that mention Gallagher's game, while good, to be in the 'irritating realm'.

I bet most of the guys who complain about Gallagher would love to have him on their team.

what age did you start ice skating?

As soon as possible.  Make sure they have elbow and kneepads as well as ttheir helmets.  They'll fall a lot and that protection helps.  I'm always impressed with the inate tenacity these of these little guys.  Fall, get up, fall,  get up..over and over.   Take periodic videos using the same disc (or whatever media you use).  You'll be surprised  with the progress, and the kids will enjoy watching them later. 

I take videos during the year of my grandchildren.  Part of every Christmas is spent with them huddled around a TV,  seeing themselves in their games.

When my youngest grandson had just turned 4, I took him to an early season practice.  At one end of the ice was a four to six year-old learning session.  At the other end were 6-8 year olds getting picked for teams.  He had the attention span of the usual kid of 4, so he kinda drifted from one instructor to another in the learning group.   I'm sitting on the bench, and he comes over to me to ask if I'd buy him a slushie after his session.  I tell him yes, and he skates away.   But, he doesn't go back to the little kids.  He goes to the end where they're choosing teams.  After a litttle while, I see one of the coaches with a clipboard, copying his name and telephone number from the tape on his helmet.  

I'm a grampa, so I shut my mouth.   But, that's how come he made one of the teams a couple years early.

He gets another chance with Nashville. 

He whines in the pressy about his concerns about his family.  If he gave a damn about them, he'd not got wasted when his team needed him. 

I hope he does well. 

But, that's a sucker bet.

AND, THERE IT IS!! Living breathing proof confirming what we already knew, refs have their little favourites and guys that they hold a grudge against. Unprofessional....yep....human....yep. Paul did a nice job of confirming it though. Actually kinda refreshing that he was willing to discuss what was rolling around in his head while he wore the stripes.

What we'd always known.  But, finally somebody admitted it.

Hey.

That's really nice. 

stand in your drive way with a stick and a tennis ball, showing off your sick skillz, and who knows?

Ya think? 

I'm going to be 80 next year.    I guess a six or seven year deal is out of the question. 

I'll setlle for two years. 

Hell, for what these guys get, I'll settle for two weeks.

the dump truck full of money will be showing up in the next few weeks.

I don't think it will make a stop at my house.

WTF SUBBAN???? Why would you file???????

In the playoffs, Subban was always on the ice.  Got huge minutes.  But, during the regular season, he was often sat by Therrien because of "defensive lapses".  As a result, his average TOI in the 82 game schedule was less than Andrei Markov's.  Montreal just signed Markov to a deal that's  substantially less than Subban's  asking price. 

Betcha that regular season TOI comparison will be used by Canadiens in the arbitration.   

I never bought any of the bogus reasons Therrien used for his treatment of Subban.  

Makes you wonder.

But personally, I wouldn't touch him with a ten foot poll. Pass.

Me also. 

Difficult to understand how a guy can have the drive to make himself an NHL hockey player, but on the other hand, just piss it all away. 

Yep. Sometimes there's two bumps and a crack.

Good one. 

Made me squirt beer out of my nose.  Makes a sound like mmmfff.  Makes the keyboard sticky. 

Guy had it all.   He should have been an MVP. 

I watched him in preseason.  Had a chance to really study him.  Geez, he was good. 

Dunno why he didn't dominate.   Impossible to gauge what guys are thinking. 

But, he got rich playing hockey.  Maybe that was good enough for him. 

Hey guys,

Sorry this is belated but it has been a crazy couple of days. Mrs Poulin20 and I are pleased to announce the birth of our son Nathan on Friday 27 June. He is 9 lbs 1 oz and 20.5 inches long. He is much louder than my 1st son was in the crying department but miraculously slept through the night last night after a 1 am feeding. I was able to celebrate at bit with @sarsippius and @AJgoal at the draft but also wanted to share w the rest of you!

Cheers and happy Canada day to all our friends north of the border!

Very glad for you.