BHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHA......

.....sigh.... BHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH


phew, excuse me... this just came in over our wire services here at work:

"NHL: Canadian Press NewsAlert

OTTAWA _ Ottawa Senators sign Alex Kovalev to two-year contract.<"




..... HAHAHAH BRYAN MURRAY YOU FOOL!!! Good luck with that one...

"If I'm not signed by July 1, I don't think I'll be back in Montreal"

So the rumour has it right now... (and let's be clear here, this is still classified as a rumour. Because I trust Russian sports newspapers about as much as I trust 2 month old milk) ... is that Alex Kovalev will be handed the captaincy of the Montreal Canadiens and that Saku Koivu will be sent packing.

TSN.ca reports on the details from the story:

A Russian sports newspaper reports that the Montreal Canadiens have offered the team's captaincy to pending unrestricted free agent Alex Kovalev and that Saku Koivu is no longer in plans for the team.

According to Sovietsky Sport, the Canadiens don't intend to re-sign Koivu and would opt to re-sign Kovalev to a one-year deal worth between $6 million and $7.5 million. The story also claims that Kovalev would be awarded the captaincy.

After the Canadiens epic failure of a season, followed by their inevitable playoff loss to the Bruins there was lots of rumours swirling around about big changes within the organization.

This is definitely not one of the things I anticipated.

The big changes I anticipated might have sounded more like "Montrealers have giant street party after Canadiens fire GM Bob Gainey"

But instead they've awarded the captaincy to someone who seems to be unable to lead a pack of lemmings over a cliff. Someone who has been rumoured to have been unable to play well unless he has a fancy "C" on his shirt.

Boy-oh-boy, if this rumour is true, the Habs are going to have to hire one helluva coach.

Carbo sent packing

I think there's something bigger happening within the Montreal Canadiens.

The announcement that General Manager Bob Gainey dismissed coach Guy Carbonneau came earlier this afternoon as I was heading out the door. I won't lie, it caught me off guard. But the more I thought about it, the more I realize it shouldn't have.

Coaching always crosses your mind when a team is not playing like it should. So it had crossed my mind when "partygate" broke. It seems to me that Carbonneau did not have control of his players.

It also crossed my mind when Kovalev was told by Bob Gainey (not coach Carbonneau) that he was staying home for that two-game roadtrip a few weeks ago. After the two-game hiatus Kovalev told reporters Gainey was the only one he talked to.

"I don't like to tell things to people or say how I feel," he said. "I'm not that open as a person.

"Bob is the only one I open up to and say how I feel."

I think there's more to this story than injured players, underachievement and a goaltender with no confidence. You don't drop your coach with 16 games left in the season if there's not something deeper going on. I don't think this is your standard "shake things up" firing.

To be a fly on the wall at the Montreal Canadiens team meetings.

Hockey Day in Canada.

Oh Hockey Day in Canada... so heartwarming.

Every year the CBC spends the day broadcasting from a small town somewhere in Canada. They also manage to get three games in there, featuring all six Canadian teams and as well as hockey stories and minor league games from across the country. It is extremely cute and gives Ron MacLean ample opportunity to make puns.

It went well, I spent the day plunked on my chesterfield being completely lazy (although i did play a bit of pond on the the terribly soft ice we've got right now) and now I've got some thoughts on the games.


Game 1 — Kovalev's revenge.

Alexei Kovalev was forced by GM Bob Gainey to sit out the last two-game road trip. With that trade rumours swirled and fans wondered.

Apparently there was more than met the eye (and the media).

Kovalev told reporters that he has felt tired this season, has inexplicatly lost weight (which blood tests have been unable to explain), and he felt the break given by Gainey was good for him.

"I have no idea why this has been happening for the last few months,
but I feel better now," he said. "The last few days are going to help
me."

Well it seems like it did help.

Kovalev was on fire the entire game. He made a lot of beautiful passes and scored a classic Kovalev goal where he stripped the puck from a Senators defensemen and put one away with his super-quick release.

Also it seems the fans were pulling for him too. A friend of mine was at the Bell Centre for the game (jealousy) and he sent a text to say that Kovalev recieved the biggest pre-game cheer from the crowd.

Perhaps sentiments helped along by the fact that "party-gate" came out while Kovalev was on his break.

Another thing I noticed was the powerplay of the Canadiens. And for once it wasn't because it was deplorable.

I've joked about the news that the Canadiens have traded for Mathieu Schneider — but it almost seems to be working. They had a deplorable roadtrip in Washington and Pittsburgh (although when Ovechkin does this sometimes it can't be helped.)



But the powerplay looked fabulous last night. They were passing like the Canadiens of last year and Schneider seems to have fit in nicely as the new PP quarterback.

On the other side — Ottawa had Mike Comrie in the lineup. No this isn't 2007, the Senators traded for him.

The Senators general manager reacquired Comrie and defenseman Chris Campoli from the New York Islanders for centre Dean McAmmond and a first-round draft pick.

To help understand what draft pick the Senators traded away I am using an excerpt from CBC.ca: "The 2009 first-rounder heading to the Islanders originally belonged to San Jose, which included the pick in the Andrej Meszaros-Filip Kuba trade with the Senators on Aug. 29, 2008."

Got it? No? Oh well.

What I think this is trying to say is that the Senators will still have their own first round pick should they tank their season (which is very possible). So don't worry, Sens fans, your dreams of Victor Hedman are still very much alive.

Comrie is an unrestricted free agent on July 1. I'm betting this will be one of those one-night stands. However Campoli, a puck-moving defenseman is making less than a million and he's under contract until the end of next season.

Oh yah... the final score: Montreal 5, Ottawa 3

Game 2 — The Return of the Sundin.

It's the kind of stuff that makes you think hockey might be fake... you know, like wrestling. Someone is scripting this stuff, right?

Stuff doesn't work out this perfectly.

Sundin makes his return to the team he played for for 13 years (on Hockey Day in Canada, no less) and scores the final goal in the shootout to win it for the Leafs Canucks.

I am pleased to see that the Leafs fans didn't act like a bunch of fools and boo him. During a television timeout he received a huge standing ovation that lasted until it was time for puck drop, for which he was on the ice. The refs stood back and let him gather himself.

Good job Toronto fans.

Score: Canucks 3 Leafs 2 (Shootout)


Game 3 — Squeezing the stick a little too hard.

Edmonton... to win a shootout you need to hit the net. All three shooters for the Oilers couldn't even get a shot on Kiprusoff.

Sam Gagner actually lost the puck on the way into the net. The look on Craig MacTavish's face was absolutely priceless.

Score: Calgary 3, Edmonton 2 (shootout)

Overtime — Final thoughts on the day.

- I am actually really sick of "Hockeyville". It was cool the first year, but it's beginning to get repetitive and kind of seems like filler.

- I was a bit skeptical about the CBC picking up PJ Stock as their sort of... well.. what does he do? Anyway, he has really grown on me. He cracks me up, his self-deprecating humour is refreshing. You could tell it took some time for him to work out the kinks of broadcasting but I think he's got it now... he's definitely brought some spice to the CBC set which can sometimes seem a little bit too serious. His blog posts also crack me up, I can just picture him saying this stuff.

- Alexander Ovechkin is absolutely dismantling the NHL this year (see video above) — he got his 43rd goal today (8 more goals than the nearest challenger... although Crosby and Malkin both have more points) and he had a slow start. Unreal. Crosby and Ovechkin had a little battle through the media today. Ovechkin said Crosby talks too much and Crosby said he doesn't like Ovechkin's showboating on the ice. Not exactly Avery versus Phaneuf but still fun.

And that's it for my epic Sunday afternoon post. Somebody get me a beer.

Apocolypse in Canadiens land.

I'm on deadline for another story right now — but this is apocalyptic!

Canadiens GM Bob Gainey is keeping struggling forward Alexei Kovalev in Montreal for the team's two-game roadtrip to Washington and Pittsburgh.

Nope, no injury. They literally think he's playing so bad that they would rather him just stay home.

Gainey has not denied that he would trade Kovalev before the March 4 trade doomsday. But its certainly a random move if there's no trade intentions.

The second sign of the apocalypse is the Canadiens sent Sergei Kostitsyn to HAMILTON!? What is going on. Greg Stewart will replace him in the lineup in the motherclub.

I'd say Gainey is near pulling the trigger on some sort of deal.

the post that shoulda posted yesterday.

... and I never finished it. But i figured i'd post it.

Chicawga is on fire.

6-0-1. And they put the boot to the Edmonton Oilers last night... 9 -2. wow.

"It was humiliating," said Oilers veteran Sheldon Souray. "It was a real poor effort. They pretty much exposed us in every area of the game. They took it to us all over the place. All the way around we got outplayed. It's been a long time since I have been part of a game like that."

Sheldon Souray... being humiliated. Remember that time Jason Spezza undressed him a few years ago.... and then the highlight reel goal he was on the wrong end of every night on sportscentre... yah...


magic sortof.

Kovalev scored a shorthanded goal last night against the Hurricanes, but his magic was not enough. The Habs couldn't stop Eric Staal who had two goals. The Canes won 3-2.

I'm concerned about the Habs. The powerplay is not clicking and they're taking a lot... A LOT of penalties (Habs took 11 of the game's first 12) . The fact that they have a number of injuries (notably, Carey Price, Saku Kouivu, etc) is a sidebar. They haven't been clicking all season. They don't have any consistancy on the power play. They never really replaced Mark Streit who was one of the most underrated powerplay quarterbacks in the NHL last year. Carbonneau seems frustrated.

Soul Searching.

Kovalev weaved his magic touch last night to win the game with the final shootout goal. 

Montreal shouldn't be going to a shootout with the St. Louis Blues. 

I can see the small vein in the side of Guy Carbonneau's neck beginning to pulsate everytime he hears the announcers say that the Canadiens powerplay is running 0 for 18. 

Yes. The top powerplay in the NHL for the past few years is 0 for 18. One of the main problems is the man himself: Kovalev. They need to stop trying to carry the puck into the zone. Dump, chase to the corner and then start your magical passing. Seriously, if you chase, you will win. You're fast. 

You can't very well put the puck on net if you can't even get into the zone and control it for a few seconds. 

Now, in my humble opinion, a second way to score is to look where your passing. I know, I know... this is outrageous...but trust me. Before you step on the ice, look down. What colour sweater do you have? Make sure you remember that. You seem to be forgetting. A lot.

The Canadiens have until tomorrow night to get their act together when they visit the Carolina Hurricanes. 

overtime heroics.

Philadelphia came out and gave me that feeling I got in Game six of the Boston Montreal series... that "oh dear" type feeling. Well actually the feeling is potentially described with a few more colourful words than "oh dear" but let's keep it civil here.
As I was saying, Philadelphia built up a 2-0 lead after the first period, (this is after Andrei Kostitsyn missed a penalty shot and Brisebois got a goal three seconds after the period ended.

The Canadiens managed to tie it up by the end of the second period with a goal from Andrei Kostitsyn and Alexei Kovalev. Kovalev's goal brought a bit of controversy as it first appeared to have been put in with a high stick. But after some tense examination it was ruled that the stick was at crossbar level when the pick made contact with the stick. Then to start the third, the Flyers greeted the Bell Centre with a power play goal. Kovalev decided to keep it exciting by waiting until just 29 seconds left in the game. And then Killer Kostopoulous decided he didn't want to play overtime and scored 45 seconds into the extra period.

puzzle.

game five. still. Canadiens started playing like a bunch of schoolboys after Kovalev scored. They looked terrible. Game is 4-1, probably should've been worse.


*edit* 2:59 a.m. -- it was worse. it was 5-1. Price will rebound... right?

Kovalev is #%*^ ING ridiculous.

Alexei Kovalev made the Bruins defence look even worse than Sheldon Souray. Kovalev scored the Canadiens first two goals of the night in jaw-dropping fashion, both were defense-splitting, soft-handed, make-Tim-thomas look simple type of goals. Those goals started the Canadiens toward their seventh straight win this season against the Bruins, with their final game of the season series on Saturday evening in Montreal. Should the Bruins lose that game on Saturday it could put their playoff hopes in jeaprody, especially the way that Washington is coming on.

There was a playoff atmosphere in Boston, as a hourd of fans travelled from Montreal for the game and made people notice them throughout the game.

Mike Komisarek left the game in the first period, with an injury which appeared to have to do with his knee or hip. It didn't look like much, just a bump with another player off the faceoff, but he hobbled off the ice favouring his knee. I haven't been able to find any word about the extent of his injury.

This win puts the Canadiens in first in the East, but the New Jersey does have 2 games at hand.

In other news, the Crosby-less Pittsburgh Penguins put up another notch in the win column against the Tampa Bay Lightening.