Today, the Habs claimed Blair Betts off waivers. Not too bad for a team that needed a little toughness and 4th line presence. The Canadiens now have a much better PK unit because of this move. Think of Betts as the forward version of Gill when it comes to the penalty kill. Except the difference is he is great at faceoff’s and can actually skate. Big difference, actually. This claim also helps them at even strength, giving the Habs their much-needed “bigger” centre. He’s bigger in size, but not big when it comes to his skill. Look at this as a special teams move, that can’t hurt 5 on 5. He’ll probably be gritty in the corners when needed, and for sure in front of the net. This move means that the Habs have cut both Palushaj and Engqvist, finalizing their 23 man roster, with the forward lines looking like this:
Pacioretty-Gomez-Gionta
Cammalleri-Plekanec-Kostitsyn
Darche-Desharnais-Cole
Moen-Betts-Weber
When Eller is healthy, which looks like at most about 2 weeks, it looks as though Weber will be the odd man out, and with Diaz and Yemelin making the team as defensemen, it looks like Weber will spend some time in Hamilton. Woywitka also looks to be cut, having been put on waivers today, the 5th of October. With Markov still out, the defense looks like this:
Gorges-Campoli
Gill-Subban
Spacek-Diaz/Yemelin
In my opinion, when Markov is healthy, it should be Diaz that sits, as I think the whole team was impressed with Yemelin, and his physical side to the game. He also has a very strong first pass, and Diaz has a more offensive minded game.
The goalies have been set since Day 1, as Budaj looks to backup Price. Price said he is more ready then ever for this season, which looks good for the Canadiens and their fans. Look for the Habs to finish in about the 6th spot in the East this year.
The Montréal Canadiens might not have the best team in the league on paper. They might not have the best players on paper, with the most goals and assists in the league. What they have is heart and a motivation to win the big prize. Their goal is the Stanley Cup and they will do anything to win it. They have a team of young players who are developing more and more every season. Their veterans are there to help teach the rookies, making the atmosphere in the dressing room a great one. It almost all starts with the dressing room. If the team is getting along together, they will have a good run. If they are fighting and there is drama in the room, it will show on the ice. The boys on this team work together as a unit, not as individuals. Although they haven't had the best preseason, we see rookies who are putting their all on the ice. Some of them will make the team, some will not. By seeing these rookies, we see that if we get injuries (which happens to every team but even more to this one), we don't have to be worried because the relève (don't know the word in English) is there and ready to go. In nets, we are solid with Carey Price and Peter Budaj. Carey Price had an excellent run last season, after an upsetting one in 2010. Some fans have been saying that he is shaky this preseason but if we look at last season, it was the same thing and he ended up having a stellar year. We have a goalie who could easily be a Vezina contender and we have a second goalie who has had many good seasons in the past. If anything were to happen to Carey, we have a veteran goalie who will be ready to play. Up front, we have some depth, especially with new arrival Erik Cole. Our first line should have a great season and we have other players who can make strong lines. If Scott Gomez and Andrei Kostitsyn decide to really give it their all, it will be amazing. Michael Cammalleri is already showing that he is ready for the start of the regular season and Max Pacioretty has shown us that his injury hasn't had an effect on his play. At the blue line, we have far from the best players in the league but we have players who when they work together can make strong pairs. P.K Subban, who although some people say is arrogant, shows confidence in himself and can play the position well, as well as create some offence. With Josh Gorges back, we have some consistency back. Hal Gill may not be the fastest player out there but he is consistence and plays his position well. Yannick Weber can play both up front and back, which is great. The weaker link of our D would be Jaroslav Spacek but he can be paired up with someone in order to make his line stronger.
This team has depth, motivation and heart. This trio makes a teams chances of winning the big prize a lot bigger. This may not be THE year, but be sure to keep an eye on the Habs because their time will come soon. The fans believe. People say that this team doesn't have a chance but that's what they said in 2010 and look where they got to. If every player puts in the effort, they can make it far. We just need to look at the comments said by players during their annual golf tournament to see that this team is ready for the start of the season and wants the Stanley Cup more than anything.
The Montréal Canadiens have the support of their fans (some of them not always) but those ones who are loyal will support them and cheer them on no matter what. We believe.
Joanne Wafer
It’s not often you get a do-over, but, even so, the Minnesota Wild must surely be looking at its re-acquisition of Patrick O’Sullivan on Monday as nothing more than a “meh” on its indifference scale.
Who really cares that once upon a time he got traded away (along with a first-round pick) for Pavol Demitra to try and get Marian Gaborik to stay with the franchise well into the twilight of his career? Gaborik probably never intended on staying no matter what the team did, however much money the team threw his way.
Who really cares that the Wild have basically just gotten back a human suitcase more well-travelled than the worn body of a 40-year-old prostitute on the verge of retirement? All that matters is the here and the now.
Who really cares, all due respect to O’Sullivan and the publicized personal trials and tribulations he’s had to endure, about what has transpired in his past? It is just a business after all.
And who really cares that the 10-7-2 Wild are actually surpassing expectations early this season? No one should be, especially no one affiliated in any shape or form with the Wild, because to care would be to become content with what is still by and large a mediocre record. That’s why the rationale behind this move is so confusing, because the team has in essence turned to the one player who has been complacency personified over the course of his career.
O’Sullivan first got drafted by the Wild in the second round of the incredibly strong 2003 draft. While the first round saw such gems as Ryan Getzlaf, Eric Staal, and Zach Parise get drafted, even in the second round, names such as Patrice Bergeron, Shea Weber, and Jimmy Howard were still available to be had. Many thought O’Sullivan belonged in that special group of talent-laden players, especially after his 53-point season in 2007-2008 with the Los Angeles Kings. And yet his career took a different turn when he staged a mini-hold-out to start the following season, failing to show up for training camp and signing a three-year, $8.775-million contract four days before the team’s season opener. I mean, as far as salaries go, a $2.925-million-per-year average isn’t too crazy, but let’s just say everyone’s lucky Mike Richards didn’t captain the Kings then or we all would have been told to death just how bigger than his britches O’Sullivan was acting.
After getting the contract he wanted with the Kings that year, his production and development didn’t so much regress as it did just stall. And then came the kiss-of-death trade to the Edmonton Oilers, a three-way deal that saw Justin Williams go to L.A., Erik Cole go to the Carolina Hurricanes, and O’Sullivan to what would become the graveyard of his career in Edmonton, where he posted a league-worst +/- -35 last season en route to being placed on waivers this past off-season before eventually signing a two-way contract with Carolina.
"So, let me get this straight: I shouldn't be letting pucks go in my net?"
If you’re getting the impression that O’Sullivan is just an oversized human hot potato no one really wants to hang to for too long, you’re not alone. I mean, no one even took a chance on him when Edmonton placed him on waivers, leading to the Oilers trading him for defenseman Jim Vandermeer, his consequential buy-out by the Phoenix Coyotes (because the Coyotes are so adept at goal scoring, didn’t you know?), and his short-lived stint as a Hurricane.
Really, the only reason Minnesota is taking a chance on him now is because injuries are starting to pile up at forward with the none-too-bright James Sheppard still trying to figure out where he went wrong riding an ATV in the off-season, Chuck Kobasew nursing his lower body, Pierre-Marc Bouchard still out with a concussion, and Guillaume Latendresse conveniently requiring surgery to repair both a torn labrum and a bilateral sports hernia and taking his sweet time to return, lest he be discovered for the third-liner he really is who just got insanely lucky 20 times over last season.
As such, O’Sullivan should get plenty of opportunity to prove to the Wild (and to the Hurricanes, and to the Oilers, and to the Kings, and to the Coyotes) that the team made a mistake getting rid of him initially.
Hopefully the presumed chip on his shoulder isn’t made of potato like the rest of him and lasts at least the remainder of this year so he can resurrect what’s left of his career. And if it doesn't help the Wild right off the bat, so be it. It's not the end of the world. Because it is a move made to at least try and improve the team, because judgment should only be reserved for a few weeks in anyway, and, finally, because the only thing Wild should ever really live to regret is investing all that time and money in Gaborik.
Apparently all the doling out of mere fines has, surprise, surprise, caught up with the NHL with the number of blind-side hits increasing exponentially. Now, one of the game's brightest young stars in the Los Angeles Kings' Drew Doughty is injured thanks to this collision from Carolina Hurricane Erik Cole on Wednesday night. I would say Cole should get suspended, but when Phoenix Coyote Shane Doan makes a case as to why he shouldn't have been suspended for his clear-cut illegal hit on Anaheim Duck Dan Sexton last weekend, it kind of makes you wonder if discipline for this kind of thing is a waste of time and energy on the league's part. Doughty will reportedly not be able to play in the Kings' Thursday game against, ironically, the Coyotes.
