Vacation...

Tragically Hab and The Doc are currently on vacation, but we'll be back, ready to blog Gomez, Mara, Moen, Cammalleri, Gionta, Spacek and all your other favourite Habs.

Can you say Stanley Cup 2010? 

Interesting signings...

Gionta, Cammalleri, talented but tiny. Spacek, perhaps a really good, quiet move for a puck-moving defenceman. Hal Gill, beast, giant, slow.

A new team, a new identity. More promise? On vacation now, but more to come as the summer unfolds.

And what of L'Artiste?

Gomez a Hab

Higgins to the NYR...wow...as per TSN. 

Thoughts on the Draft

Pretty good summary of the Canadiens' picks can be found here:

http://habsinsideout.com/boone/20778

As for the overall feel, it didn't seem as though things were quite as unpredictable as you might have otherwise guessed. The first 30 picks went largely in order of what the experts had predicted, and there wasn't much movement in terms of players being swapped or huge jumps in pick position.

The night started off with the big news of Chris Pronger being traded to Philly, and that was really it in terms of impact moves until earlier today when the Flames acquired the rights to negotiate with Jay Bouwmeester. In perhaps a bit of a surprise there was hardly any noise at all from the hometown Habs, although with UFA season kicking off on Wednesday that will surely change in the very near future. Right???

Feeling Drafty

It's the big day in Montreal, as the NHL holds the first round of it's annual entry draft. Many questions will hopefully be answered before the day is out, including:

-What order will the top three prospects (Tavares, Hedman and Duchene) go in, and who will they go to?

-Will we see any trades (picks, players or both)? Rumors continue to swirl about Lecavalier, Bouwmeester, Kaberle and others, so will anything actually come to pass?

-What crazy scheme will Brian Burke orchestrate?

-How soundly will Garry Bettman be booed?

-What position will the player from Minnesota that the Habs draft in the first round play?


For the answers to these questions and more, tune in to TSN tonight at 7 PM.

Come on Molsons...

Bring us Vinny. 

Habs Sold

Looks like deja vu all over again, with the Molson family set to take over majority control of Les Habitants from George Gillett pending the necessary league approval.

The price of the transaction is expected to be in excess of $500 million.

No word yet on what effect (if any) this will have on management and the roster with the entry draft set for this coming Friday in Montreal. It's expected that more information to those ends will come out later in the week as details on the sale are expanded.

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=282431

Congratulations...

to the Pittsburgh Penguins, the 2009 Stanley Cup Champions...as I predicted. And many of you did, too!

Alex Emelin signs in Russia

Well that's too bad. Habs could have used him.

Oh well. Better get Vinny.

Quick hits...

What a final it has been so far...this blogger says it goes seven.

Some quick rumours...TEAM 990 reports that Vincent Lecavalier purchased a house last week blocks from the Canadiens practice arena in Brossard. This is VL's third Montreal-area residence, but the proximity to the rink, and the suburban location, is puzzling. The previous two pads are a condo downtown and a house in the neighbourhood where he grew up. A sign of things to come?

TEAM 990 also reports that the Canadiens should announce a resolution to the coaching staff situation later this week. Kirk Muller and Doug Jarvis have both sat down with Jacques Martin and been formally interviewed. I'm betting Muller stays and Jarvis goes down to the AHL.

Predictions on the staff: Muller, Lever (he's Gainey's guy), Marc Crawford (a few have rumoured him, he has a Cup, get him on there), and David Marcoux as the goaltending coach (he of Calgary fame). 

Jacques Martin to coach

Apparently, Mario Tremblay will be an assistant. Back to the scene of the crime...

So Martin went from a new candidate to coach in four hours. You gotta love Montreal. 

That Was Fast...

Jacques Martin is the new head coach of the Canadiens. A press conference is scheduled for 2 PM to officially introduce him.

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=280562

Winged Wheel Keeps on Rolling

Up 2-0, and without their Hart Trophy candidate? Did anybody expect this from an "old" team playing on short rest?

For those thinking that the Pens can still take this, recall that in 32 previous series where a team has gone up 2-0, that team has won 31 times. Also, does anybody really see this Detroit team losing 4 of the next 5? Seems pretty unlikely to me...

Pens in Seven

They'll come back.

And also: a new coach in Montreal? Rumour is Jacques Martin.

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/2009/06/01/habs_martin/

Red Wings/Penguins: The Sequel?

It's looking more and more like we're going to be seeing a repeat of the Finals from last season with both the Pens and Wings holding commanding leads over their opponents in the Conference Finals. Unlike last year though, these Penguins have experience to draw on in a potential championship showdown, while the Wings remain an unflappable model of consistency. Should be a really interesting series.

Oh yeah. And if that wasn't good enough on it's own, there's also the Marian Hossa defection to spice things up even more. While the Penguins/Capitals series may have had the marquee names, this one has the potential to be just as good (especially considering what's on the line).

Currently on vacation...

...but that doesn't stop predictions. 

Wings in seven.

Pens in six.

And these Briere for Price rumours are an absolute joke. 

Another Year...

...and another season where a Canadian team won't win the Cup. As Habs fans, I don't know if we should be happy or sad that we're still the last northern franchise to take the title way back in 1993...

Thankfully though, the second round hasn't been lacking in excitement this year (Canadian draught notwithstanding). The Caps/Penguins series is headed for a climactic Game 7, the Blackhawks have shown that youth and inexperience can be overcome with raw talent, the Red Wings continue their methodical pace, and the resurgent Hurricanes stand on the brink of eliminating the mighty Bruins. Certainly lots of things to keep your attention while you wait to see what becomes of the Habs over the summer.

Another interesting storyline that has arisen this postseason pertains to the goaltending situation for Team Canada in the 2010 Olympics. Going in, it seemed like a two-horse race between Luongo and Brodeuer, but neither of them exactly set the World on fire with their respective performances. Has this opened the door for another contender to step up (Cam Ward or Marc-Andre Fleury perhaps?), or will the two big names still be there when it comes time for the selection camp? Feel free to comment or vote in the poll to let us know what you think.

Donald Sutherland

Off topic, but...is it just me, or does Donald Sutherland now do the voice-over for every other commercial? on television? And every other one is done by his son Kiefer. And the odd one is then done by Dennis Leary.

Whatever happened to James Earl Jones?

Come on, Bettman...

Let Balsillie have the Coyotes. Let him move the team to Canada.

Make it seven.

http://www.makeitseven.ca

More Predictions - Round 2

Hey, just because the Habs are done doesn't mean we'll stop posting. There will soon be trades and a draft to start thinking about, and we'll do what we can to provide updates and commentary where they're possible.

Until then, there's still playoff hockey to be played. For Round 2, I'm going to go with:

Detroit over Anaheim in 6

Chicago over Vancouver in 7

Washington over Pittsburgh in 7

Boston over Carolina in 7


Nothing like a little dissension amongst bloggers to keep things interesting...

Also, for actual expert picks we direct you to the wheel-spinning monkey.

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/feature/?id=11809