HEFTER ON THE HABS

WHAT NEXT FOR HABS?

ahefter — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 02:52:23 +0000

Now that the giddiness of the all-star break is behind us, it’s time for the Montreal Canadiens to get back down to business.

It starts with a 2 p.m. skate at Brossard on Monday, followed by the arrival of the Buffalo Sabres for a game at the Bell Centre Tuesday night.

The Canadiens go into the post all-star break in 11th place, eight points out of a playoff spot. If that isn’t scary enough, the Habs are only two points removed from the Eastern Conference cellar.

Now what? Will Carey Price, the all-star, play like an all-star down the stretch and drag this team, kicking and screaming into the playoffs?

Will Erik Cole, David Desharnais and Max Pacioretty continue to lead this team, up front, as they have for most of the season? More importantly, will the Canadiens get some consistant production from the likes of Andrei Kostitsyn, Lars Eller and Tomas Plekanec?

Will Scott Gomez play the way he did down the stretch during his first season as a Hab? Or does the Scott Gomez saga start and end with his salary?

Will PK Subban settle down and play the kind of hockey he played the second half of last season, when he stepped in and stepped up at a time when he was needed the most?

Will we see Andrei Markov in a Candiens’ uniform at all this season?

Will Canadiens’ management continue to apologize for their decision to hire Randy Cunneyworth as their “interim” head coach? Or will Cunneyworth shove the “interim” tag down their throats by proving that he has the goods to be a “full-time” head coach in the National Hockey League.

For the Montreal Canadiens, so many questions, so little time. Thirty-three games, in fact, until the final horn goes on the 2011-12 NHL regular season.

THE LOCKER ROOM IS COMING!

ahefter — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 02:30:29 +0000

Watch this space for further details!

FAMILIAR FARM-HAND GETS CALL FROM HABS

ahefter — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 03:59:09 +0000

Talk about a quick turnaround.

After taking part in Hamilton’s 4-1 loss to Lake Erie tonight, centre Andreas Engqvist found himself on a flight to Montreal after being recalled by the Canadiens.

IMAGES FROM YESTERDAY’S OPEN HABS’ PRACTICE AT THE BELL CENTRE

ahefter — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 21:55:17 +0000

About 15,000 turned up at the Bell Centre yesterday to watch the Canadiens go through their practice paces. The session included drills, a skills competition and a scrimmage.

HABS BUYERS OR SELLERS?

ahefter — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 20:57:35 +0000

As the NHL trade deadline approaches, don’t count me among those who want to see general manager Pierre Gauthier blow up this team and start from scratch.

Never mind whether or not you think Gauthier should still be in charge at this point. The fact of the matter is: He IS. And as long as the Canadiens are alive and kicking in the race for a playoff spot in the East, I think Gauthier should go out there and do everything he can to improve this team’s prospects for this season.

And that does NOT include going into “fire sale” mode.

HABS CLOSE THE BOOK ON CAMMALLERI

ahefter — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 04:40:49 +0000

Exit Michael Cammalleri in a stunning turn of events involving number 13 and the Montreal Canadiens over the last 24 hours: pulled mid-game in Boston and shipped back to Calgary for Rene Bourque in a deal that also involves prospects and draft picks.

When I think of Michael Cammalleri in a Habs jersey, I think of the expectations, and a promise of greatness: we saw flashes of that from Cammalleri during his brief stay in Montreal. A terrific first season in Montreal before the injury bug bit. Habs fans wondered if he might be on course for a 40-goal season that year. There was that terrific playoff two seasons ago, and a solid, if brief, playoff run last season.

WEIRD FEELING FOR EX-HAB HALAK

ahefter — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 23:03:41 +0000

Halak set to face Habs

Jaroslav Halak says it’s great to be back in Montreal. But at the same time, the former Habs’ netminder says although Montreal felt like home when he played here, now he’s “on the other side.”

Halak says he’ll let the fans decide what kind of reaction he gets from the Bell Centre faithful when he takes to the ice tomorrow night against Carey Price and the Canadiens. Halak and the rest of the St. Louis Blues held a late-afternoon practice at the Bell Centre today.

For Halak, it was his first opportunity to “set foot” on Bell Centre ice following the trade that sent him from Montreal to St. Louis in June of 2010. As part of the trade, the Blues sent Lars Eller to the Habs. Halak says he might have a bit of a book on the Canadiens’ shooters, but at the same time, he says the Canadiens know his tendencies, too. “We’ll find out tomorrow,” said Halak.

JACQUES MARTIN WAS RIGHT

ahefter — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 15:15:29 +0000

In the final weeks of his tenure as coach of the Montreal Canadiens, I asked Jacques Martin if Louis Leblanc had made enough of an impression on management to warrant a long-term look in Montreal.

Martin did not skip a beat in answering the question. Martin said a growing injury list had made room for Leblanc on the Canadiens. As players returned from sick bay, Martin said Leblanc would find himself back with the Hamilton Bulldogs, playing major minutes in all kinds of situations to continue his development as a pro.

Exit Jacques Martin.

On the day when Randy Cunneyworth was introduced as the new (interim) head coach of the Habs, General Manager Pierre Gauthier appeared to soft-peddle the inevitability that Leblanc would find himself back in the American Hockey League, sooner, rather than later. Assistant coach Larry Carriere seemed to drive that point home during the team’s recent road trip, when he suggested it would be difficult to send Leblanc back to Hamilton, considering how well he was playing.

Well, Louis Leblanc, a healthy scratch the last two games for the Habs, woke up this morning as a member of the Hamilton Bulldogs, where he will play major minutes and continue to develop as a pro.

STORY CONTINUES HERE:

http://www.cjad.com/Blog/HabsNews/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10332196

MOVE OVER PK

ahefter — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 13:58:48 +0000

Move over P.K. Subban, you’ve got plenty of company.

On a night when Subban stepped up to take his share of the blame for the Canadiens 5-1 loss in Chicago, there were plenty of Habs who should have stepped forward and taken responsibility.

“Looking at myself, I think I cost our team two games in a row,” said Subban.

Yes, Subban was minus two for the second straight game, but he was not alone in that department: Michael Cammalleri, Tomas Plekanec, Josh Gorges and Travis Moen were all minus THREE as the Canadiens dropped their fourth straight; the third in a row in the Randy Cunneyworth era; leaving Cunneyworth looking for his first win as the Canadiens’ INTERIM bench boss. The list goes on: Campoli, Kaberle, Desharnais and Pacioretty were all minus two.

NEW COACH, SAME OLD !#!@!!#!!

ahefter — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 18:11:35 +0000

Jacques Martin bashers were dancing in the streets last night. At least up until around 9:45 p.m., when the siren went on a 5-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils at the Bell Centre.

Some 12 hours after General Manager Pierre Gauthier fired Martin, the Habs took to the ice with Randy Cunneyworth at the helm. Cunneyworth was named interim head coach after Gauthier had determined that the results he was seeing on the ice were unacceptable.

Funny. That’s a word I would use to describe last night’s effort, as well: unacceptable. After Gauthier pointed a finger squarely at Martin and the team’s inability to hold a lead, the Canadiens promptly went out and blew another lead: this one, a 3-2 advantage that Montreal had built up through the opening 30 minutes of last night’s hockey game.