GoHabs007

Is he a useful player? Yes. Is he as good as he appears? Nope. As the other user said, he's similar to Gonchar offensively, but worse defensively. The offer is supposedly 4 million a year, which would be an acceptable salary for him. If they can get him for that, then they'll still be able to make a run at a Drury as long as they can dump Samsonov for a pick. The thing that bugs me most about the Souray situation is the team's policy of not negotiating during the season. (Well, aside from Koivu.) If Gainey wanted to make an effort to sign him, he should have done it in the regular season so that he could trade him if negotiations went poorly. The Habs weren't a contender at the deadline, only a possible playoff team who obviously wasn't gonna make a run. His value was at an all time high during the season, they could have gotten good value for him rather than risking losing him for free while they made a failed playoff chase.

I really hope the Habs don't resign Souray. If they do, they're gonna be going into next season with the same core of players that missed the playoffs this year. If the Habs want to win, they need to shake up the core. Let Souray walk and make a big run at Drury or Briere. Both are very talented leaders who bring it every night. That's what the Habs need. They can live without a guy despite having 64 points was the worst +/- defender in the league. Bring in a big name forward and let the forwards worry about scoring.

I never claimed they were. I was simply saying the penalties they've been calling have been penalties. Frankly, I was thrilled when I see a crosschecking call. Guys get away with so much crosschechecking that there were times this season when I wondered if it had been stricken from the rulebook. I've seen guys knock people to the ice with a crosscheck and get away with it, while I guy will take a hook for having his stick vertical for half a second. And from what you're saying in this post, you don't really think the refs should let the players play. Instead, you're like me. You want them to call the games consistently, and that is where the problem lies. If all refs called all penalties by the book, we wouldn't have a problem. There would be a lot of penalties at first, just like early last year, but players would adjust. They would know what they can do and what they can't do. Refs may control a game through inconsistency, but not through calling penalties in general. As for Heatley, I think he's whining because his team is getting dominated. I didn't see a whole lot of clutching and grabbing. I saw Anaheim totally outplaying Ottawa in all aspects of the game. As Messier said, it was a very good game to watch, one of the most dominant 1-0 wins he's seen in awhile.

They have rules for a reason. By "letting the players play," i.e. not calling penalties that should be called, the refs are having just as much an impact on the game. That's how the NHL got itself into the mess it had before the lockout: refs weren't calling penalties by the book and the game suffered greatly.

That's a ridiculous thing to say. I'm an American, so I guess I'm not allowed to root for the Habs? Makes sense to me. I almost always root for the team that knocks my favorite team out. In my opinion, it's better to lose to a Cup winner than someone eliminated a round or two later. In Habs land, it's about 60% rooting for Ottawa, and 40% for the Ducks. Top reasons for rooting for the Ducks are that they don't want to see a division rival win the Cup and they are proud the Habs are the last Canadian team to win the Cup, and don't want another team to take that from them. Also, Ray Emery is not a popular guy among Habs fans.

What kind of a comparison is that? Markov had more assists this year than Ramsey ever had points! As I've said twice already, I'm getting sick of saying it, the Habs overpaid. The thing is, everyone overpays. Unrestrticted free agents who are desirable get overpaid, it's how things work. I'd take him over Souray any day at that price. I'd take him over McCabe and Kubina who are in the same range. I'd take him over Jovo who just got a fat deal last offseason. He's now making 1 million more than Foote and Johnsson, he's worth a lot more than either of them. You put him on the open market, and someone would have given him a 5 year deal for 6 million, you can bet on that. That's money that is much better spent on Markov than Souray. The Habs are much better off keeping Markov, signing a solid stay-at-home D-man, and using their money for a top forward like Drury, Briere, or Smyth. Let the forwards do the scoring and let the defencemen concentrate on defence. If you think he's overpaid at 4 million, then you'll love it even more to know his cap hit is even higher, 5 million.

It's like I said, Souray is more noticeable but not nearly as good an overall player. Sure, he can hit and shoot, but that's about it. He hardly fights anymore because he's injured his wrist so many times. His defense is about the worst on the team, as evidenced by his team worst -28, the worst of any D-man in the league. If he were a forward, he'd be that 4th liner who only plays the powerplay. For every goal he scores, he'll make a number of defensive errors that lead to goals or good scoring chances. Markov, on the other hand, is a much more complete player. He's an excellent playmaker, he makes plays for those around him. His first pass out of the zone is the best on the team. He's the best defensive player on the team. On a team dominated by minus players, Andrei was a +2. He is far more important to the team than Souray is. There's a reason he wasn't cast aside by team Russia like so many of their regulars in the past WC: because he's a very, very good player. He simply does so quietly. And really, in your own end you don't want to hear a d-man's name, because if you do, it's probably because he's made a mistake (like Souray). He's been underrated by those outside of Montreal for a long time, but Habs fans know how much he means to the team. He is right up there with Koivu in terms of importance to the Habs. Did they overpay? Yes. Is it worth it to keep him? Yes. He brings more to the table than a lot of guys who are playing for 4.5-5 million, like McCabe.

Bettman said yesterday they wouldn't be moving.

Stinger is green. And the reasoning behind it? Stinking Ohio State Buckeyes fans. They knew people wouldn't like it if they used yellow with navy blue, because it would remind them of the maize and blue. So instead they made him green. Yeah, how awesome. A green jacket. Stupid OSU fans.

Aebischer will come nice and cheap, he played his way right out of Montreal.

I think the first thing the NHL needs to do is change their advertising policy. They had tons of great commercials this year, but they were only aired during hockey games. I never once saw an NHL commercial during another sporting event. I mean, the people seeing the NHL commercials now are already watching! They're not bringing anyone new into the fold by preaching to the choir! Get some ads on NBC during Notre Dame football and the Sunday Night NFL game. Pay some cable providers to put on commercials during SportsCenter. Pony up and put some ads on during PrimeTime TV.

Absolutely, Gainey maybe overpaid, but you can't blame him. Somebody would have been willing to shell out 6 million for him once he hit the open market. He is easily Montreal's best defenseman. Sure, Souray gets all the press because of his shot, but he is not very good in his own end. You could fill an entire highlight show of him being beaten one-on-one. I'd take Markov over Souray any day of the week, as would any GM looking for a complete player. Also, this signing pretty much ensures Souray will not be back, to there will be no panic signings in Montreal. They have 30 million locked up for players already signed. They still need to resign RFAs Ryder, Higgins, Komisarek, Plekanec, and Gorges. That figures to be in the 7.5 million range for the five of them. That leaves about 7.5 million to replace roster spots held by UFAs Souray, Bonk, Johnson, and Niinimaa. Were they to sign Souray for the 5+ million he'll go for, they will have no chance of making any splashes in the FA market, unless they can find someone to dump Samsonov's 3.5 million onto.

Well, that statement doesn't exactly help your credibility. The Jackets dumped the Stinger shoulder logos after the 2003-04 season in favor of a shoulder logo that is a Union soldier's cap. And there has never been any yellow on the Jackets' jersey. Stinger is greenish, not yellow. That being said, I still think the logo/uniform changes you posted are legit. I know the Habs have said they have no plans to change their uniform, despite the Habs jersey being among those posted around the web. I also know the Jackets are unveiling new uniforms at the draft, and most believe it will be making the 3rd jersey the primary jersey, as you've stated. The pics are fakes.