What's Next For Les Canadiens?

davetherave wrote:With Celine Dion buying the team, who knows what's coming? LOL

free Celine CD's for the first 10,000 fans..Hello...Montreal Canadian ticketing....I want to cancel my season tickets.

davetherave wrote:With Celine Dion buying the team, who knows what's coming? LOL

Montreal in VEGAS confirmed :****:

Seriously, new owner, new GM, new coaching staff, new Captain, 14 new players... I heard from a few sources (M4) they are trying to resign the Zamboni driver but his agent said he needs the confirmation that he won't clean all the blood that Komisarek spreads all over the ice trying to intimidate Lucic again.

Mass Exodus LOL

Le Junior de Montreal move to Le Centre Bell. Fixed!

davetherave wrote:

Cap'n Clutch wrote:

davetherave wrote:

504Heater wrote:I would like Higgins please. Release him from your evil clutches. :fighting:

Why?

He's had 'promise' ever since he came into the league...hasn't fulfilled it.

Look at what happened to Ryder. Perhaps we can perform a similiar reclamation project on Higgins?

Ryder went to play for Julien who had coached him at several levels.

Not sure what you can do with Higgy. His work habits are apparently less than exemplary.

I don't think so. Higgins is a leader and a much more complete player than Ryder is.

Every team in the league would love to have him.

davetherave wrote:

504Heater wrote:I would like Higgins please. Release him from your evil clutches. :fighting:

Why?

He's had 'promise' ever since he came into the league...hasn't fulfilled it.

27 goals in '07-'08 and he's a two-way player.

asq2 wrote:

davetherave wrote:

504Heater wrote:I would like Higgins please. Release him from your evil clutches. :drooling:

Why?

He's had 'promise' ever since he came into the league...hasn't fulfilled it.

27 goals in '07-'08 and he's a two-way player.

That was in 07'-08 where he showed signs of fulfilling the promise. This year, significant dropoff in the offensive play expected of him. Injuries as well.

Higgins is young though, so he gets a pass in that respect.

Questions also arose about his work ethic this year. He was inconsistent in his overall play.

So one can't say he's delivered on his promise...yet.

Would he do well outside of Montreal? Quite possibly.

I dunno. I'm a fan of his. He's the type of player I'd want on my team.

I didn't hear about questions concerning his work ethic though.

HowieMorenz wrote:Mass Exodus LOL

Dung, sorry Howie. I hope these comments aren't making you feel worse. Your team is the better for some of these guys leaving.

davetherave wrote:
That was in 07'-08 where he showed signs of fulfilling the promise. This year, significant dropoff in the offensive play expected of him. Injuries as well.

Higgins is young though, so he gets a pass in that respect.

Questions also arose about his work ethic this year. He was inconsistent in his overall play.

So one can't say he's delivered on his promise...yet.

Would he do well outside of Montreal? Quite possibly.

I think it might be better to strike this year from the books for players in Montreal. Most of them anyway. This was the year of nightmares - and I think a few of them just might need a change. That gets thrown out there a lot, but I really believe it here. Higgins would be one who would flourish away from the Habs I think.

asq2 wrote:I dunno. I'm a fan of his. He's the type of player I'd want on my team.

I didn't hear about questions concerning his work ethic though.

All coming out of the probing universe of Montreal hockey media.

I would love Komisarek, but Ottawa has no need of a player of his type unless we were moving Phillips or Volchenkov and Smith.

Ugh, Komiserek is extremely over rated IMO. Markov made him a lot better then I think he is. A lot better!

He had a bad year (along with 19 other guys) but he is a nice player. Everyone has their own opinion though. He could play on my team any day, but he would have to get along with Lucic, because he would be on my team too...

davetherave wrote:

asq2 wrote:

davetherave wrote:

504Heater wrote:I would like Higgins please. Release him from your evil clutches. :drooling:

Why?

He's had 'promise' ever since he came into the league...hasn't fulfilled it.

27 goals in '07-'08 and he's a two-way player.

That was in 07'-08 where he showed signs of fulfilling the promise. This year, significant dropoff in the offensive play expected of him. Injuries as well.

Higgins is young though, so he gets a pass in that respect.

Questions also arose about his work ethic this year. He was inconsistent in his overall play.

So one can't say he's delivered on his promise...yet.

Would he do well outside of Montreal? Quite possibly.

He has a good work ethic, I don't know who is saying otherwise. I just base my opinions on what I see to be honest. HIggins was on fire at the beginning of the year, when he played with Tanguay and Koivu. THen Carbonneau changed the lines and he played in 369 line combinations after that...

I like this guy, I like his skills, his laser and his attitude. I would gladly trade Kelly + one of our D for him.

Marakh--here's one for you...well, two for you.

Compare Chris Higgins and Mike Fisher.



And why would Gainey take Kelly and an unnamed Sens d-man for Higgy?

davetherave wrote:Marakh--here's one for you...well, two for you.

Compare Chris Higgins and Mike Fisher.



And why would Gainey take Kelly and an unnamed Sens d-man for Higgy?

Is Chris Higgins "good in the community"? That's what makes "stars" in Ottawa.

The latest on the battle of ownership of Le Club de Hockey Canadien--and its related assets, notably Le Centre Bell--features a familiar player...this from The Montreal Gazette:

New horse enters race for Habs

PAT HICKEY, The Montreal Gazette, May 27, 2009

A late entry with an impressive pedigree might turn the quest for control of the Canadiens into a three-horse race.

Geoffrey E. Molson, whose family is a major part of the team's storied history, announced yesterday he "is considering the possibility of submitting a proposal to acquire the Montreal Canadiens hockey club." While there had been reports this year that the Molson family might be interested in submitting a bid, yesterday's announcement was the first formal acknowledgement that a Molson was interested in re-acquiring the family heirloom. Geoffrey Molson said the bid would be on behalf of members of his immediate family, including his brothers, Andrew and Justin.

Until yesterday, the battle for control of the team appeared to have come down to a fight between two Quebec-based corporate giants - Quebecor and BCE.

Geoffrey Molson's possible entry into the race would seem to be too late in the process, but it might be an indication that the sale isn't going as smoothly as owner George Gillett would like. The timetable for the sale calls for a deal to be completed before next month's National Hockey League entry draft.

Gillett, who will only admit he is reviewing his portfolio as part of an estate-planning exercise, faces a July deadline to repay a loan he took out to finance the purchase of his other iconic sporting asset, the Liverpool FC soccer team.

While the news release announcing the 38-year-old Molson's interest was vague, you have to believe he wouldn't be floating the idea if he weren't serious.
Molson has the advantage of being an insider.

He is a director the Molson Coors Brewing Company, which owns 19.9 per cent of the hockey team and is the brewery's representative on the Canadiens' board of directors. He said yesterday he would not participate in the work of either board when the sale is under discussion. His brother, Andrew, is vice-chairman of Molson Coors and will also remove himself from any discussion of the sale.

Geoffrey Molson played hockey at St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y., and has an MBA from Babson College in Boston. He learned the brewery business from the ground up after working for Coca-Cola and a New York-based consulting firm.

The Molson family's involvement with the Canadiens began in 1957, when brothers Thomas and Hartland Molson bought the team from Senator Donat Raymond.

They sold the team to their cousins, David, Peter and Bill Molson, in 1964.

The Molson brothers held the team until 1971, when they sold the club to a group headed by Peter and Edward Bronfman.

Molson Breweries bought the team in 1978 and owned 100 per cent until Gillett arrived on the scene in 2001. During the period the family controlled the team, the Canadiens won 11 of their 24 Stanley Cups.

phickey@thegazette.canwest.com