Bergevin is an interesting choice. A Montreal-born defenseman who played just under 1200 games in the NHL, Bergevin is an ideal candidate – but lacking in the knockout experience that someone like (Red Wings Assistant GM) Jim Nill would have brought to the table. That said – he has spent the better part of the last decade in critical hockey positions such as Assistant Coach, Director of Scouting and as a scout. He truly is a guy who has seen the game from all angles – the ice, the bench as a coach, the scouting and operations sides. Bergevin played a large part in a turnaround that saw Chicago go from a last place team with young talent to a Stanley Cup Champion in 2010. If ever there was an appropriate situation for him to join it is this one.

I like Bergevin – especially over Pierre McGuire (the other rumored choice). Montreal needs stability and experience. Bergevin will provide both of those things going forward. The question now becomes: who will be his coach?

Typically new GM’s like to surround themselves with people they have worked with in the past and can trust. Where does this leave Patrick Roy who has been thought of as the front runner for that position?

Finally – where does this leave Scott Gomez and a few other players who seem to be on the outside of the corps of young players who will lead this team out of the basement of the Eastern Conference? There have been reports this morning that Gomez will be bought out. I’m not sure that makes any sense whatsoever.

Gomez’ contract last 2 more seasons with a cap hit of 7.3M each. In reality though, his true costs are $5.5M and $4.5M, which does present an opportunity to attract teams that need to hit the cap floor – but want to find savings. A buy out would mean that Gomez’ cap hit would be $3.5M this season and $4.5M next followed by two subsequent seasons of $1.6M cap hit penalties. Essentially a buy out doubles the remaining length of a contract – meaning that if at all possible, Montreal should try to move Gomez, or hope that the new CBA allows teams to cut one contract going forward (as was the case the last time the CBA was negotiated).

A buy-out is certainly still an option – but if I were GM, I would want to exhaust the other options open before jumping into an expensive situation that could handcuff the team for the next 4 years.

We’ll see what happens.

Have you selected another team to follow as they make their way towards the Stanley Cup finals? (Barf).

Or have you moved seamlessly into the baseball season – waiting for nights where shorts and a t-shirt won’t result in hypothermia?

I have to say its been tough for me to watch the post-season without the Habs. There are teams that I hate less than others – so there is always the simple option of cheering AGAINST those teams that I can’t stand.. (aka the Bruins and Flyers).

For the first time in a long while there are some serious perennial under-dog teams that have huge potential. Teams like Nashville, St. Louis, Florida, and Pheonix have always been a non-threat in seasons passed. Great young teams all now though.

So how do you cheer?

Yes, the outcome could effect whether the Habs or Oilers pick second overall in the draft – but ultimately this is not what the schedule makers envisioned when they chose to end the season with this classic match.  With a win the Habs will “lock-up” the third worst record in hockey. If they lose and the Oilers win – the Oilers would finish in 28th spot by virtue of more wins.

This is hardly what people want to be cheering for at the end of the season, and ultimately it really doesn’t matter much to Habs fans what happens. The difference between 2nd and 3rd in the draft lottery is less than a 5% percent chance at getting the 1st overall draft pick – likely Nail Yakupov.  Furthermore, Montreal fans would probably be happy with 3 or 4 of the top offensive players in the draft – after Yakupov the case could be made for any of Grigorenko, Galchenyuk, and Forsberg – for and against. Grigorenko probably fits team needs best, but rumors of his work ethic waning during the season raise red flags . Galchenyuk was hurt for most of the season following ACL surgery, and then injured his shoulder taking a faceoff. His offensive capacity is not in dispute – but he still represents a large gamble for a team that picks him without having seen him do any of what Yakupov and Grigorenko have shown this season in the CHL. Filip Forsberg has had a good season playing with men in the Swedish league – but 17 points in 43 games is not what you would term elite for a high draft pick as a winger.

So how will you cheer tonight? My mind is made up – I’m fine with drafting 3rd. Beat the Leafs.

Go Habs Go!!!!

From the firing of coaches on game-days, to terrible panic trades, to the trading of players in games – the season was a bit of a sh!t show.

Still, 81 games ago did you think it was even remotely possible that Eric Cole would have 11 goals on the powerplay and rank 13th over-all for goals? Having played in all 80 games to date, the former Hurricane has destroyed his critics who said he couldn’t play away from Carolina and Eric Staal – putting up the best numbers of his career next to an undrafted centreman who stands 5’7″ tall, and a guy who less than 5 months before the season began – broke his neck.

David Desharnais was considered as the thrid (possibly fourth) line centre when the season started. While every one focused on the duo of Scott Gomez and Tomas Plekanec, there is literally none among us who could have imagined that lil’ Davey could muster 60 points this season. Hands up if you thought he would score on pace with Lucic this year. Keep them up if you thought he would outscore Daniel Alfredsson, or Thomas Vanek, or Rick Nash, Johan Franzen, Ryan Getzlaf, and Bobby Ryan. Its a testament to Desharnais’ talent that he has continued to score at every level of hockey – long past most expected him to fail.

Desharnais owes a good deal of his 44 assists to the guy who has ridden shot-gun since their time together in the AHL – Max Pacioretty. When Zdeno Chara smashed him into the stanchion at centre-ice in that fateful game last season – my first instinct was that Pacioretty might be dead. The impact was so great, and the angle so treacherous that  until we saw Pacioretty move a few moments after regaining consciousness, the entire Bell Centre and millions watching at home held their collective breath. For a moment the brutal rivalry that had boiled over between the Habs and Bruins ceased to matter, as the gravity of such an uncommonly devastating impact ripped all of the noise form a normally boisterous crowd.

Since then, all that Max Pacioretty has done is gone on to be in the top 20 in the NHL for goals scored, Top 40 in points (tied with Alex Ovechkin), and finally emerged as the young power-forward of the future that Montreal has pined for since John Leclair left for the Flyers. It is almost uncompromisable what the Two and a Half Men line has been able to accomplish this season.

And so – rather than complain about how that line has single-handedly ruined our shot at Nail Yakupov , my cap is off to them. With two games to go in one of the worst seasons I can ever remember – I remain encouraged abut the future of the club. With Cole, Desharnais, and Pacioretty – I know we have some good years to look forward to in the future.

Go Habs Go!!

The good news is that Montreal has even less of a chance at gaining points over the final 3 games which could have an impact on which position that will draft in the 2012 entry draft. Budaj will start in net with Robert Mayer playing backup. It is highly unlikely that Mayer will see any action as long as Budaj can remain healthy.

Tonight – I’m hoping that Stamkos can hit #60 (it’ll take 2), that the young players in the lineup can play a solid-yet-unspectacular game, and that the Bolts win in regulation.

Its a great time to be a fan non?

Go Habs Go!!

The Caps desperately need this game. Montreal feels the other way.

Go Caps Go!!!

If you want to watch Geoff Molson’s live press conference at 11:45 am you can do so at the TSN.ca mainpage.

What do you think??

That is all that I will say about tonight’s game.

Question: Can you remember a better free agent signing in the HISTORY of the Montreal Canadiens than Eric Cole has been this season for the Habs?

With his incredible natural hat trick to start the game last night, Eric Cole has tied Max Pacioretty for the team lead in goals with 30. At 33 years of age, there were a great many pundits who criticized Pierre Gauthier for signing a player who many felt was fragile, and incapable of playing away from his long-term home in Carolina. Boy has he proved his critics wrong. With 55 points Cole follows only Josh Gorges for the team lead in +/- as a plus 10. I shudder to think were the team would be without him, and I simply can’t imagine how profound an impact his presence has made on Max Pacioretty who has emerged as a similar type scoring power forward with 30 goals and 58 points.

Go Habs Go!! (But don’t go too well.)

Most importantly the NY Islanders beat the Leafs bringing their point total to 71 points after 73 games. Your Habs sit just behind them with 69 points over the same amount of games played.

The Oilers also won last night, bringing their total to 66 points after 73 games. So Lets go Isles and Oilers over the home stretch.

Buffalo enters tonight’s game just 2 points back of Washington for 8th spot in the East – so there should be ample motivation to win tonight.

This is the time of year when scoreboard watchers get ancie!!

Go Sabres Go!!!

While this season has been torture to watch, the one redeeming factor was that at least there would be top-end talent coming into the Habs’ system should they continue to lose. Now we’re on the verge of doing serious damage to the quality of player we can select with our first pick in the 2012 draft.

The good news is that Ottawa can climb into first place in the North East Division (and thus 2nd in the Conference) with a win at home tonight.   Either way – it appears as though the Sens and Bruins are on a first round collision course. It would benefit either team to go all out in an attempt to gain valuable home ice advantage.

So Go Sens Go!! And for the love of Pete Montreal – don’t force this game into overtime!!!