Have you ever found yourself in a position where you had a girlfriend/boyfriend and you loved them so much that you knew that they were your life’s partner ? Suddenly a new person arrives and they appear to be everything your partner is yet just ‘that much better’ in and out of the bedroom. You tease yourself with the idea of leaving your ‘sure thing’ yet a nagging question arises in the back of your mind.”Will it last?”
This was the dilemma that Pierre Gauthier and The Habs faced when the play-offs faded into a summer’s eve. Carey Price is their life partner – young, attractive and will steady with age and perhaps learn to do exciting things .Jaroslav Halak was the mistress who gave Les Habitants a two month ride that would have turned Mae West red with envy. Somewhere, Gauthier and the Molson Brothers could be heard muttering ; “Will it last?” Roughly the same age – Halak has the maturity that Price will gain and on those nights that Price is mature, he is a far more talented goalie than Halak .Le Bleu,Blanc et Rouge could not wait for a honeymoon to begin – Halak was out while Price was back in.
The problem is not that the organization traded Halak – the problem is what they obtained for him. One proven N.H.L guy and then perhaps an Ian Schultz thrown in would have silenced Gauthier’ s detractors.To receive two prospects in Lars Eller and Schultz is like flipping an escort the bird instead of the one hundred dollars they deserved after delivering the goods for three play-off rounds.Thank the Lord that Halak doesn”t have a pimp or else Gauthier”s suit may have appeared a bit ‘roughed up’ at team press conferences. I hope that either Lars or Ian can play goal – that’s the only way they will make the Habs faithful forget their two month love affair unless the duo net a total of sixty goals if and when they play with the big club.
After toying with goaltender Dan Ellis, who they received in a trade that brought both him and Dustin Boyd from Nashville in exchange for Sergei (I wanna beer) Kostistyn – the Habs settled with Alex Auld as Carey Price’s water boy. Ellis wanted money that Les Canadiens put aside for Poutine and signed on in Tampa. Auld should be great for Price as he has been around the block and perhaps more importantly – he is from Cold Lake, Alberta. Price may benefit from someone who is from not just the same country as him but from the same neck of the woods. Auld is young and talented enough to keep Price on his toes… after all, a complacent Carey is a bad Carey.
“Slapshoot…top shelf !” These are the sole three words that Marc -Andre Bergeron backed up with actions. One word should be easier to retain than three so it was a surprise to most when the letters d -e – f – e – n – c – e spelled d – i – s – a – s – t – e – r whenever the rearguard was in his own zone. Habitually , a player that pots so many points on the power play does not end up more negative than Mel Gibson’s phone conversations. The emergence of P.K. Subban not only evoked an initial tear for J.C. Tremblay , it aided Les Habitants to make a decision and enable M.Bergeron to join Paul Mara to discover other teams to haunt. Spacek, Hamrlik, Markov, Gill, Gorges, Subban and O’Byrne offer The Canadiens a perfect blend of maturity and youth on defence that make the team’s rearguards the most stable part of the organization.
“Do not score and you will be rewarded.”
Okay.” replied Benoit Pouliot … “May I tell Tomas Plekanec and Andrei Kostitsyn ? ”
How else can the signing of Pouliot to a one year deal and Plekanec to a six year deal be explained. Both players couldn”t find the back of the net in the play-offs although the duo did a very good job on defence. Plekanec deserved what he got financially as the team’s leading marker yet his lack of goal scoring when it counted most made many worry that a long season takes a toll on his Czech physique. If his lack of scoring touch continues every play-off , the Habs are stuck with him while Simon Gagne lights the lamp for The Lightning.. Andrei Kostitsyn – a Pouliot twin in the post-season , never regained his composure after a knee injury interrupted his most prolific period as a Hab. It came at the worst possible moment as the close checking in the play-offs never allowed him to get his MoJo working.Brother Andrei has a year left on his contract and if he doesn’t produce – The Grand Ole Opry could use another brother act to replace The Statlers.
Workhorses Dominic Moore and Glen Metropolit have been replaced by a younger batch of third and fourth liners with the likes of Boyd,Tom Pyatt, J.T. Wyman, Mathieu Darche and possibly Schultz. All these players give Gauthier the extra money to sign Price and they will take turns diving in and out of the line -up. Darche should see a number of shifts as he makes the best of his ‘last chance’ in the big leagues while the ‘good’ Lapierre shall stage an epic battle with the ‘evil’ Lapierre for a permanent spot as the team’s resident Beelzebub .The former should arise from the ashes as Maxime knows that his days may be numbered in Montreal after inking a one year deal.
As with any NHL squad – there will be surprises as players such as Olivier Fortier , David Desharnais , Mathieu Carle and Ben Maxwell could have outstanding camps and win a position with the big club. Brian Gionta, Scott Gomez and Michael Cammalleri will all be more productive barring any serious injuries as the trio are comfotably numb with their surroundings in Montreal while Travis Moen plays himself in Being Travis Moen.
My guess is the starting line -ups will be as follows in no particular order or line…
Fowards
- Brian Gionta, Scott Gomez , Mike Cammalleri
- Benoit Pouliot, Tomas Plekanec, Andrei Kostistyn
- Travis Moen, Lars Eller , Dustin Boyd
- Tom Pyatt, Maxime Lapierre ,Mathieu Darche
Defence
- Andrei Markov, Josh Gorges
- Roman Hamrlik, Jaroslav Spacek
- Hal Gill, P.K Subban
with Ryan O’ Byrne covering Markov’s spot until the talented Russian returns from a torn ACL just before Christmas.
Goaltending
Carey Price
Alex Auld
and the Captain is…?