Wedding bells for Plekanec and your Saturday Habs links
by Kevin van Steendelaar on Jun 18, 2011 12:08 AM EDT
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Well this is the first chance I have had to formally congratulate the Boston Bruins on winning the Stanley Cup. OK where's the Pepto Bismol?
The Bruins were clearly the more deserving team, if you can really call them that, given the lack-lustre performance by the Vancouver Canucks. It would have been nice for the west coast boys to have pulled it off, and given the Bruins the dubious distinction of being the first team to outscore their opponent in the Finals, and still lose the series. Oh well, didn't happen.
As the Cup was being presented, I was envisioning Zdeno Chara "accidentally" hoisting NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman over his head. Again, it didn't happen.
The aftermath and rioting was totally disgraceful and shouldn't be pinned on fans disgruntled over the end result, because it was not. The Canucks could have won 8-0 and anarchists would have done just the same. Of course our Bruins supporting fellows at Stanley Cup of Chowder are again ignorantly seeing otherwise and paralleled those in BC to the "Habs fans" rioting in Montreal last year.
Maybe they should read this piece on how the '93 riot began, after the Montreal Canadiens Stanley Cup win, and they would have a better understanding of how these riots evolve, rather than relying on the media's immediate interpretations.
But in the meantime Chara and co. will parade Lord Stanley's mug through the streets of Boston Saturday afternoon, while Mark Recchi prepares for his medical career.
For those of us here who will not be tuning in, here's a few Habs links to peruse. At least one Habs player got a ring this spring. Congratulations to Tomas Plekanec and Lucie Vondrackova who tied the knot Friday.
Plekanec reportedley proposed to Vondrackova, a popular singer and actress in the Czech Republic, during dinner in Montreal. It is also reported that the couple is already expecting. To give you an idea, this wedding is hitting the Czech tabloids like the Royal Wedding or the Beckhams did.
******
Economics could play a role in the next Stanley Cup in Canada
Well while the Bruins, for some reason, signed Jack Edwards to a new extension, RDS has reassigned Benoit Brunet from out of the broadcast booth.
And much like Jack Edwards, who won't go away, the talk of Jaromir Jagr coming to Montreal has resurfaced for the second time since the Montreal Canadiens were ousted from the playoffs. Kyle Roussel says no, again.
HabsWorld looks at some options for the Habs at this year's NHL Entry Draft, including our mock pick Mark Scheifele.
Serge Savard is seeking a different kind of Cup . Savard was an avid fan of the ponies dating back to his playing days. Sometimes it got him into a bit of trouble.
CJAD's The Habs Show wraps it up for the season this Saturday (5-7pm). I'm be joining host Barry Morgan for the panel section at 6pm to talk Stanley Cup Finals and what to expect from the Canadiens in the off-season?
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Hey, how about them Bruins!!!
We Bruins fans are still in a state of modest disbelief. While we were confident that we had a good team I’m not sure that too many fans could envision this outcome. It was an eventful year highlighted by “Mr Floppy’s” remarkable season and low lighted by injuries to players like Marc Savard and Pacioretty and the riots that befell Vancouver.
The Bruins have a solid and young core, several promising prospects, no irreplaceable UFAs, around $10M in cap to spend and the 9th and 40th picks in the up coming amature draft. Its more fun when both the Bruins and Canadiens have strong teams. I hope that Montreal can keep pace.
As annoyed as I am with the Bruins becoming the weakest Cup winner since at least Carolina, I’m already looking forward to the media hand-wringing when Boston doesn’t live up to expectations next year. They just don’t have the horses and I doubt they end up with a historic goaltending performance and the 4th-best shooting in the league again. Of course the “Cup hangover” excuse is ready-made, but still — they are a fairly shallow club. And while they should make the playoffs… I doubt they end up facing three goalies playing below replacement level again, and I certainly wouldn’t build my club on that expectation!
Saw an article about how the Bruins will find it easier than the Hawks to keep their Cup-winning team together. Had a bit of a laugh at it. The Bruins are weaker than the Hawks now, let alone the Hawks’ Cup-winning team. They need to do more than just keep their club together if they want to contend.
Exceedingly disappointed in Vancouver, who put up one of the weakest performance of all clubs the Bruins faced. I would’ve expected them to at least match Tampa in dominating Boston. Makes me wonder if the Western conference isn’t a wee bit overrated.
Then again, when I said the Bruins would only win if Luongo melted down AND Thomas was amazing, I wasn’t exactly wrong.
Let’s just hope this doesn’t put in the idea that thuggery is a way to win the Cup in any copycat GM’s minds. The last thing the league need is more brutishness.
Roussel’s arguments on Jagr fail to convince. I’m not sure why people are so resistant to the idea of signing Jagr for a year for cheap. The Habs just happen to need a tough-minutes RW to play for Plekanec, and he should be able to fulfill that role quite well and on the cheap. Worst-case scenario, he plays on the third line and AKost takes the spot instead. So what gives?
And he’s a mercenary for selecting deep-pocketed teams to vie for his services. Hmm, notice how they’re also all good teams? Why would he want to go to a weak club? And what’s so mercenary if he signs for cheapish? And his strength just happens to be puck possession alongside the boards… so when did he become a power play specialist?
I’m still hoping for a skilled forward in the first round, someone with real upside. We’ve already got all the Tinordis we can possibly need. Swinging for the fences might not be such a bad idea. And please, for the love of Stanley, no goalies.
Gotta wonder about the Bruins. I’m pretty darn certain Seguin WILL break out next year, which means they have a pretty darn sweet 1-2-3 punch at C. And then your 4th center is either Peverley or Kelly? Or those go on the wing (say, Peverley instead of Recchi on Bergeron RW)? They have 7 millions to spend and only bottom of the roster guys coming off-contract.
I don’t think much of Ference, Boychuk and McQuaid, but Chara is only 34 and, if they send Kelly away and then sign 2 4-millions D (Hamrlik?).
They are due for a regression, for sure. But it looks to like they’ll actually be better.
Time will tell…
Some. But they really need D — they’re really very shallow there. Ference-Boychuk is their second pairing right now, and that’s really a third pairing at best. At least it’s available on the UFA market this year.
And I’m not terribly impressed with their wingers either… like you said, they’ll need to move one of those Cs there. It could work. But there’s no guarantee Seguin will break out just yet, he could progress more like JVR, and even if he does break out he’s likely to be more Tavares than Stamkos.
They’re not missing the playoffs or anything, but I see them in the 5-6 range. But definitely, Chicago they are not. And it’s inevitable they’re going to be overhype. I dunno if he was serious, but Gagnon is already tweeting about a repeat. O_o
I’d really enjoy the Habs trading down and taking Nikita Kucherov with a late first, getting a second rounder and then taking Arzamastsev in the third round.
Puck Worlds: Chasing Pucks from here to Turku.
For Twitter Updates on Puck Worlds, follow @puckworlds. For updates plus additional witty banter from yours truly, follow @saskhab.
A lot depends upon how the league intends to call the game, particularly during the playoffs. If they will allow what should normally be called interference, roughing, and unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, then the Bruins will enjoy similar success next season unfortunately.
Why not Jagr at any price?
Well, why not Kovalev? He’s a year younger. At least Montreal is top on his list, and he did have good chemistry for one season with the club.
Both are poor choices both with the players we have, what we need, and how the game is being called now.
This team needs some toughness. Someone that can play as a regular (versus a Laraque who cannot play hockey), and create space for the rest of the team just with his presence.
Do you think Brad Marchand is going to act like the tough guy if he did not know he’s got someone like Chara there behind him?
Jagr won’t provide that. He won’t provide points either whether he comes cheap or not. Not at his age. Not with this team. Especially considering he has not played an NHL game in 3+ years. And, even if he has changed from being a sulking prima donna type, it will be difficult to recondition the media who want stories to write about.
I think it would be an “interesting” chance to take, but not a wise one.
I can’t agree on the toughness issue, especially when most of the “regular players” brought up (Rupp for example) aren’t any better at playing hockey than any of the Habs’ 4th-liners.
The Habs handled them quite well against the “TOUGH!” Bruins in the playoffs by simply not engaging them after the whistle. The whistle went, they skated to the bench, and that was it.
If the purpose of toughness is to prevent the Bruins from their post-whistle stuff, and that happens because of how imposing Chara is, then wouldn’t you need someone to quiet down Chara? The only players who can do that are useless goons. I think you’re better off not engaging them at all.
What the Habs really need is more quality forward depth. Pacioretty being healthy and signed means the Habs have more top-6 forwards than they did at the beginning or end of last season. Gauthier needs to go hunting for a couple quality wingers so that Moen and Darche end up on the 4th-line when injuries happen rather than the 2nd-line.
Jagr is one option (he looked good at the World Championships and the man can still skate really well which is encouraging) as he would presumably bump Kostitsyn down to the 3rd-line. Wingers such as Miettinen, Higgins, or Torres are also options out there. Gauthier needs at least one quality 3rd-line winger, preferably 2 on short-term contracts.
Well, I think you’re largely right about the toughness issue. Mainly because of the difficulty in obtaining someone of that ilk, who can actually play hockey and they can put in the game with some confidence that he won’t be a liability.
However, it is not just about post-whistle matters, it is about the space created for skilled players to operate. Per example, John Ferguson enabled Cournyer to do what he did best: skate and play hockey, and not have to mug and grind with goons.
Granted, finding someone like that is difficult.
If there is only one good thing that comes out of the Bruins winning the cup, I think it is that they will be the litmus test for the Habs. The Bruins best players in the playoffs (aside from Thomas) were young players who will be back, and the NHL is happy to have teams like the Flyers and Bruins be successful. There is little incentive to call the game cleanly.
Both Jagr and Kostitsyn are question marks. But at this stage Kos has the greater potential considering his age advantage.
Does anyone really think we would get Jagr cheap? Because he skates well in the World Championships, he’s going to be productive with our club?
Again, my question is if we’re going the soft route on old talents then why not Kovalev? He is still arguably the most “talented” player in the world next to Kovalchuk. What good it does us is questionable, but at least we know he would love to come back, and did enjoy some success, here albeit for only one season.
The thing about Ferguson though, is that he was a quality player. In a 30-team league he’s probably a first-line player if not a star on a team. Like you said, a modern-day Ferguson would be difficult to acquire.
At Kostitsyn’s age he is what he is; expecting him to have a breakout year is unreasonable unless his playing situation changes significantly. A 20-25G, 40-50PT playing tough-minutes alongside a bona-fide centre is nothing to squeeze at mind you. I think Jagr has 60-point tough-minute upside for next season if he signs with the Habs. There’s no guarantee mind you but he looked good at the World Championships (especially his skating). It is looking like he will end up in Detroit or Pittsburgh though.
Kovalev at this point has 3rd-line, PP specialist upside… he’s declined a fair bit, especially his skating. The Habs PP has been very good for years so they don’t exactly need another PP guy and there are potentially better even-strength players out there than Kovalev (Miettinen, Torres, Higgins for example). I also don’t think management would move for him because it would be bringing back a key figure in the pre-2009-rebuild Habs and it would shake up the culture a bit (I don’t put much stock in that but it’s probably a consideration for them).
Basically I believe it comes down to Jagr having the potential to contribute a fair bit at even-strength and be an upgrade over Kostitsyn while Kovalev is definitively neither of those at this point in his career.
Bruins supporting fellows at Stanley Cup of Chowder are again ignorantly seeing otherwise and paralleled those in BC to the “Habs fans” rioting in Montreal last year.
Wait, it happened last year too? I thought it was just the incident after the Quarterfinals in 2008.
I can believe most of the rioters being anarchists and punks, etc. but a good amount of reporting for the two weeks leading up to Game 7 was on the subject of, “What is Vancouver going to do if they win/lose?”
If there was such concern, the city didn’t really try to keep a lid on it very well in my opinion. In Boston they wouldn’t let us have a viewing party at the Garden, and the cops were out and a very strong presence.
I was down there after the clinch, and it seemed pretty much in control, didn’t feel like there was any immediate threats.
But that’s in the past, I hope they nail those a-holes to the wall for what they did. Shameful.
Definitely in 1994 there was little preparation for a riot, there was no mass viewing parties back then but there was little police presence. This year, they challenged the potential riot severely by allowing 100,000 people into the streets to watch the games. Even with all the police presence, they still rioted, mainly because in a crowd of 100k people the chances of having significant numbers ready to act ridiculous is quite high.
If they had the police presence but kept the crowds dispersed, in bars, homes, etc., the chances of such a riot is much, much less. In Montreal, there is generally an element ready to riot no matter what, hiding out and waiting until cover of darkness and coming out with masks. Others will join in for sure that come out of the bars to the streets to celebrate. Montreal’s a really young city… it can’t be emphasized enough. I suppose Boston is as well what with all the universities. Montreal is similar.
Much like being struck by lightning, cities that riot after a sports event once are more likely to do it again. It becomes ‘normal’. Much like copycat crimes, really.
Puck Worlds: Chasing Pucks from here to Turku.
For Twitter Updates on Puck Worlds, follow @puckworlds. For updates plus additional witty banter from yours truly, follow @saskhab.
The rioting is a pathetic and shameful disgrace, and there is no excuse for it, anytime or anywhere.
Viewing the participants in the riot: It is a simple lack of respect for the city, themselves, and others. And, many of the people rioting were fans. It’s getting tiresome reading the stories how “these were not fans who were rioting”…
From the city’s view: it is a lack of proper police enforcement. There is no excuse for it.
When the Red Sox won in 2004 at Yankee stadium, nothing of this sort happened because there was substantial measures taken to enforce safety. I’m not a baseball fan so it was irrelevant to me, but I think it is safe to say that the Yankee Red Sox rivalry is the most heated one in sports now, but there was (A) either enough respect to draw the line at rioting or (B) proper police enforcement taken. I’m inclined to think it was the latter.
The Bruins will still be in good shape next year and some to come. They just won the cup and still have the 9th pick in this summers draft. Seguin wins the cup in his rookie year. Chara still has several good years a head of him. Floppy (Thomas) as he’s called by many, gets the job done. Rask has proven he can play in this league. Overall, the Bruins front office is doing a better job than the habs front office. Disappointing to see PG signing Gill, who is nothing more than a d-man trying to play goalie in front of his goalie. Its time to move forward with good young d-men, that can skate, hit and move the puck.
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