Fizz, Flop and Firebomb: The NHL-EF Season Predictions

Like most hockey pundits, we here at the NHL-EF have been following the off-season with interest. Certain teams have done loads – Chicago, Montreal – certain teams have done practically nothing – Columbus, Dallas – and certain teams probably should have done nothing, because their actions stank pretty hard – Ottawa, New York Rangers, and Boston.

All of the savvy staffers here at the NHL-EF have taken a long, hard look at each and every stat category, salary cap space, depth chart, and concession stand beer availability for all 30 NHL teams. Now, we could list all 30 teams in the order we believe they will finish, with a little description of why next to it, but frankly, everyone else does that. Also, the three of us do not have anything approaching a consensus on something like the placement of all 30 NHL teams. Instead, we will have only 3, but awesome, categories.

Hero: A team considered likely to win their conference, the league and the Stanley Cup. They are the next thing to god on ice.

Zero: A team considered likely to end up dead last. These guys would have trouble winning games in the AHL, but are allowed to remain in the NHL under the guise of “rebuilding”.

Weirdo: A team that everyone else thinks will be in one of the above two groups, but in fact ends up somewhere else. Confusing, we know, but deal with it.

After much deliberation, some coffee drinking, lots of nachos digested, a triple homicide and watching Usain Bolt run a million km/hr, our decision was for each of us to produce our own list. Enjoy…

Matthew Moxley

Hero: Chicago Blackhawks

- Last season, the young Blackhawk team made it all the way to the Conference Final and lost to a very skilled and experience Detroit Red Wing team. This season the team is virtually the same team as last year’s squad with a few new pieces here and there. Marian Hossa has been brought in to replace Martin Havlat, a pretty good upgrade if you ask me, providing Hossa remains healthy, and the NHL doesn’t investigate his contract anymore. In goal, the reliable, but not Vezina-worthy, Cristobal Huet will be counted on to protect the Hawks net, after Nikolai Khabibulin skated his way over to Edmonton. The Blackhawks d-line looks more ferocious than ever with the likes of Keith, Seabrook, Barker, and Campbell all a year older and hungrier. And yes, I am going to say Campbell is going to have a fantastic year after last years sub-par campaign. After last season’s learning experience, the Hawks are destined for great things this season. In addition, none of the Hawks will hold anything against Patrick Kane for beating up a cabbie, who was probably a Red Wing fan, so there are no worries there. Look for Jonathan Toews and the Hawks to raise Lord Stanley’s Mug come June and Marian Hossa will have finally picked the right team to be on to win a Cup.

Zero: Atlanta Thrashers

- Ever since the Thrashers found their way into the NHL, they have been struggling to become a legitimate contender or even a worthy adversary in the NHL. This team has some young talent that appears to have promising potential, with the likes of Colby Armstrong, Bryan Little, Evander Kane, Tobias Enstrom, and Zach Bogosian, but they are nowhere near ready to take this team to the next level. Furthermore, the team’s only star player, Ilya Kovalchuck is in the last year of his contract, which means he will be a viable option for teams looking to acquire some goal-scoring help before the trade deadline, for a final playoff push. Consequently, loosing him will hurt the team even more, even if they do manage to get a lot for him, those coming back to Atlanta will probably not be able to help the team until several years down the road. However, seeing as they did the same thing with Marian Hossa, General Manager Don Waddell may try to lock Kovalchuck for the long term. Look for this organization to be in the hunt for the 1^st overall pick at the NHL Draft in 2010.

Weirdo: Tampa Bay Lightening

- They finished 2^nd last in the NHL at the end of last season and received the 2^nd overall pick this past summer which they used to grab Swedish defenseman, Victor Headman, who is NHL ready right now. Is he going to be the savior to bring this team back to the Stanley Cup Finals? No, but he, along with the rest of the team will certainly turn a few heads this upcoming season. The three top forwards, St.Louis, Lecavlier, and Stamkos, all have reason to perform at their best because of the upcoming 2010 Olympic team selection, which all 3 have a chance of making. You can also expect Ryan Malone to have a much better campaign as well after last years skunk of a season. The backend of the team has been re-amped, with the likes of Matias Ohlund and Victor Hedman, both of whom are better than everyone that was on the Lightening’s d-line last season. Also expect Andrei Mezaros to become the reliable puck-moving defenseman many made him out to be. Goaltender, Mike Smith, proved last season that he is a legitimate starting goaltender and is ready for a terrific season after ending last season prematurely, with an injury. Look for the Lightening to be right in the playoff hunt and sneak in on the final day of the regular season. But don’t get me wrong, they will get absolutely schooled by Washington, Pittsburg, or Philadelphia in the first round.

Kieran Jones

Hero: Washington Capitals

- On the verge of awesome last year, the Capitals this year will be an unstoppable force. Ovechkin, Semin and Green will be one year older, smarter and better – who knows, maybe Green will even play defence this season. While rookie netminder Simeon Varlamov does seem like he could be a weak link, he was strong in the playoffs last year, and a little NHL experience could turn him into the next Ilya Bryzgalov, except on a good team. Helping them in the points department is the weakness of the division. Florida – not great. Carolina – just okay. TBay – gong show. Atlanta – how do they still have a hockey team?? If some of their 3^rd and 4^th liners step up and bag a few points, and the D tightens up a little so Ovechkin doesn’t have to score 3 goals a night, they should be fine.

Zero: Minnesota Wild

- Not a great off-season for the Wild. Letting the most electric goal scorer in the Western Conference walk away for nothing in return was without a doubt the worst managerial decision of the last 8 months. Even worse, his replacement is the equally-injury prone but much less talented, much older, and much lamer, Martin Havlat. Sure, he cost a few million dollars less, but with the Wild adopting a new run and gun style without Lemaire, Gaborik could have shot the lights out, whereas Havlat just gets his lights knocked out after a few good hits. Adding to the problem is Eric Lindros-wannabe Brent Burns, with his nonstop series of concussions, and an aging attack. Owen Nolan stank when he was with Toronto, and he sure hasn’t gotten any better with Minnesota. Barring a miracle – say, trading the schmuck Havlat, for Jerome Iginla – the best hockey city in the US is going to be treated to a complete boondoggle.

Weirdo: Toronto Maple Leafs

- They have way too many NHL caliber defensemen – Beauchemin, Exelby, Frogren, Finger, Kaberle, Komisarek, Schenn, Van Ryn, and White. In net they have injury machine Vesa Toskala and unproven Swedish meatball Gustavsson (you try pronouncing it). They have no offensive firepower – Blake, Grabovski, Kulemin, Hagman, Mayers, Orr, Ponikarovsky, Stajan, and Stempniak. The forward depth chart is better suited for a standup comedy routine than an NHL roster. And yet, despite all these negatives, I am going to make a decision a sports blogger should never make. My gut tells me the Leafs will surprise the hell out of everybody somehow, and even though I know they will likely stink their way into a good draft pick, I’m saying they crack the playoffs.

Kevin Roberts

Hero: Philadelphia Flyers

- The Flyers added more leadership, more muscle, and more nastiness over the off season: Chris Pronger. Add to that more reliable goaltending in Ray Emery (I’ll get to him) and Brian Boucher, the Flyers will be a more defensively capable team while retaining their firepower up front. The talented Ray Emery is back in North America having spent a year in Siberia getting his act straightened out. With a new attitude and a fresh slate, Emery is joining a team with a great veteran presence, great leadership, and great management, and should be the same Emery that brought the Senators to the Stanley Cup Finals back in 2007 rather than the Emery that tore that same team apart the very next year. Up front this team is world class and boasts a top six forward bunch matched only by the likes of Chicago and Detroit. Remember that this is a team that is only one year removed from an Eastern Conference championship run. I expect another one this year.

Zero: Ottawa Senators

- The Sens missed the playoffs last year for the first time in 12 years, and unless Brian Murray can cure his team of this Dany Heatley mess, expect the same this year. If for some reason Heater is still in a Senators uniform come October, this team will fall apart at the seams with little veteran presence or management savvy to pick up the pieces. The off season acquisition of Alex Kovalev from the equally troubled Montreal Canadiens will likely do nothing to remedy this situation in Ottawa seeing how he handled those problems last year with the Habs. What a mess… LOL!

Weirdo: Montreal Canadiens

- Coming off one of the most disappointing seasons in franchise history, the Habs made all kinds of moves in the offseason and completely retooled the lineup. Out are leading scorer Alex Kovalev and long time captain Saku Koivu as well as Alex Tanguay, Robert Lang, and Chris Higgins. In are Scott Gomez, Brian Gionta, and Mike Cammalleri, a natural pick as the trio playing on the top line. Going into 09-10, there are just too many questions that can’t be answered before the puck drops. Can Carey Price bounce back from his sophomore slump and be the goalie Montreal fans expect him to be? Will the new crop of forwards mesh well together? Who will provide leadership? Will the Kostitsyns bounce back from off-years? Can Montreal fans and management forget about the train wreck that was last season?

Rebuttal to Jones’ Toronto Maple Leafs comments…

- The Leafs, who were dead last in defense and penalty killing in 08-09, addressed this problem in the off season by picking up three stud defensemen and a backup goalie who led his team to the Swedish Elite League title allowing 14 goals in 13 playoff games (Spesh (Kieran) called him “meatball”, which is obviously a typo of his moniker, “Monster”—no worries). Having scored more goals last year than division winners Vancouver and New Jersey, clearly Toronto has enough firepower in the lineup to compete with the top teams. Burke has expertly molded this team into a contender using the exact same blueprint he did when he was in Anaheim, which resulted in a Stanley Cup championship. Collectively, Toronto’s lineup weighs more than a Greyhound bus, and I’m looking forward to seeing them run over the Mini Coopers of the Northeast Division.

Now we know that pretty much every reader out there will disagree with one, some, or all of our picks, heck, we even want to undo some of our colleagues picks, because they are just way too outlandish. However, thanks to the beauty of the internet, you, the reader, can do something about it and tell us how wrong we are and who you think the Hero, Zero, and Weirdo will be. NHLEF OUT!

The Best of the Rest All-Star Team

In these times of economic despair, people are losing their jobs and finding it difficult to find suitable employment. This goes for NHL hockey players as well. Sure most of them probably have enough money to live a comfortable life until they die, but who wants to sit around on their rump watching Maury, the Price is Right, and One Life to Live, for days, months, and years on end. Not many people. So for you General Mangers who read the NHLEF regularly and are looking to improve the life and well-being of a hockey player who is down on his luck, here is the NHLEF All-Star team of the more notable unrestricted free agents still waiting for a steady paycheck.

Goaltenders
Many Fernandez- At one point he was seen as the Bruins new viable number one goaltender. That was until he got injured and Tim Thomas finally learned how to play hockey at the tender age of 35. Since then, Fernandez found himself back-up to the Vezina Winner of 2008/2009. However, despite this sad sounding career, Manny put up some of the best numbers of all of the back-up goaltenders in the league, posting a 16-8-3 record, a 2.59 GAA, and a 910 SV%. Not too shabby at all. Looking at some teams that could use a solid veteran goalie who can take the number one job if he needs too, would be wise to approach this man. Some teams that jump to mind are Washington, Colorado, Montreal, Florida, Los Angeles, and the New York Islanders (because Garth Snow seems to love signing goaltenders without jobs).

Kevin Weeks- No, he’s not a number one goalie, and yes, there are a lot of better goalies in the NHL. However, he does deserve to have a shot at backing up goaltender who isn’t as established as Martin Brodeur like this past season. He is athletic goaltender who has played his fair share of games and is just 34 years old. Not over the hill just yet, but not a new born either. He would be a bargain, probably signing for just over the league minimum. Teams that need a back-up goaltender and want that back-up goaltender to know he is a back-up, none of that “I am going to steal the number one job” would be wise to sign this man to a contract.

Defensemen
Martin Skoula- He will just turn 30 when the NHL season kicks off, Skoula would make a decent 3-6 defensemen on any team. He is not a huge offensive threat, but knows how defend the better players on opposing teams. He is not injury prone, so he will give you at least 80 games a season. Teams looking for defensive depth such as Edmonton, New York Islanders, Florida, and Carolina might want to try and get this guy.

Rhett Warrener- This guy is not skilled, he is injury prone, and he is not pretty to look at. But if you are looking for a guy that you can plug into your backend (that came out wrong) to block shots, take a beating, and drop the gloves once in awhile, this guy is your man.

Mathieu Schneider- If a power-play quarterback is what you are looking for, this guy brings it to the table. Schneider is one of the top power-play defensemen in the game and is currently without a team. Age is an issue however, at 40, so he won’t be the same all-around defenseman most of us know him as. But he will provide leadership and power-play points to any team he goes to. Every team that finished in the lower half of PP% should be looking at this guy.

Dennis Seidenberg- It is a mystery to why this guy is still available or why Carolina gave up on him, but he is out there. He’s only 28, hit career highs in all major stat categories last season, with 70 games played, 5 goals, and 25 assists, for a total of 30 points. He also had 6 points in the playoffs this past season, and was instrumental in Carolina’s surprising run to the Eastern Conference Final. No, he’s not a franchise defenseman, but he is a guy you can plug in at the 4, 5, 6 spot and he will bring you both offensive and defensive upsides. Any team would be wise to sign this guy for a bargain.

Greg de Vries- He is on the downside of his career for sure, but he will also sign for next to no money, so he can become a very affordable 6 or 7 defenseman. He is at the age where his experiences in the NHL are of some value to the next generation of players as well.

Chris Chelios- Just joking, he should just retire already. We just needed a sixth guy to round out this squad on the backend.

Forwards
Robert Lang- Lang is a solid point producing centre man who would be an asset to any team, for the right price. He proved how valuable he was when he went down to injury last season with the Habs, and the team never really recovered afterwards. He is dependable for secondary scoring, but he can also play as a primary scorer, if he is put in the right situation.

Todd Bertuzzi- After a year in Calgary, Bertuzzi reestablished himself as a NHL player. He is not the same threat as he was in his Canucks days, but he is yet another decent player to fill the role of secondary scorer. His size and aggressive play would benefit smaller teams such as Montreal, Phoenix, and say it aint so, Vancouver.

Mike Comrie- Comrie earned $4 million last season with the Islanders and the Senators. Needless to say he understands he will be taking a pay cut if he returns this NHL season. Not yet the star many made him out to be in his Edmonton days, Comrie provides a second or third line centre that can pass, score, and dangle. For the right money, he would no doubt be a benefit to any team. Also he brings Hilary Duff to the team as well…so that’s always appreciated…you knew it was coming…you know the NHLEF too well.

Petr Sykora- He won the Stanley Cup last year, netted 20-plus goals for the tenth season in a row, is a decent age at 32, and he is available to any NHL team. Out of all of the forwards thus far, Sykora is the best secondary scorer that is available. He can help any teams power play and makes other players look even better i.e. Sidney Crosby and Evgani Malkin. Teams such as Ottawa, Toronto, San Jose, Washington, and Dallas who are looking for solid secondary scoring, should inquire for this guy.

Alex Tanguay- Some say he is overrated, some say he is underrated, but either way, he is the top overall forward left on the market. He is strong both offensively and defensively. He is a five time 20 goal scorer and is only 29. If gets a chance to play with some skilled players, he could be a very good signing. He is going to taking a pay cut from last year, so pretty much any NHL team can afford him.

Rob Niedermayer- This grinder has a cup ring and knows his role on a hockey club. He is a big guy who can win you face-offs. A team looking to make a run at the Cup this season may look to Rob for some experience and depth. And if you sign Rob, there is always a chance Scott may want to come play too, not likely, but you can always hope.

Maxim Afinogenov- The Sabres and Maxim finally parted ways after several disappointing seasons by the Russian. Once referred to as the next Pavel Bure, Maxim has struggled to find consistency. However, when he does get into a groove he is one of the most dangerous goal scorers in the game. Signing this guy is a roll of the dice, can either be a big payoff or a bust. However, like most European players without a NHL suitor, Maxim may skate his way on over to one of the Russian leagues.

Boyd Devereaux- This former 6th overall draft choice of the Edmonton Oilers has yet to find any real offensive success in the NHL. However, he is a hard working player who can fit on the 3rd or 4th lines of any NHL team. Look for this guy to sign somewhere out of the norm such as Nashville, Columbus, or Florida.

Tomas Plihal- This Czechoslovakian native is only 26 and is on the free agent market. He has played 89 NHL games, but has only totaled 16 points. However, that was on a San Jose team that had plenty of other guys to depend on for points. Given his lack of success in the NHL so far, he will not be signing a very large contract, which makes him an affordable inquiry. Given a more pivotal role on a NHL team, might trigger his sniping potential.

Manny Malhotra- Drafted 7th overall in 1998 by the New York Rangers, Malhotra is trying to find a team that will take his third line centre capabilities. He is not a huge offensive threat, but can be a dangerous from time to time. His defensive skills are right near the top of the league for forwards, which is always great to have for any teams’ penalty killing units. Look for this guy to either sign with a Canadian team or go to one of the European leagues.

Dominic Moore- This Harvard graduate and brother of Steve Moore is best known for his time with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Last season he put up an impressive 41 points in 63 games with the Leafs, not bad for a waiver pick-up from the previous season. However, he was dealt to the Buffalo Sabers and struggled offensively only scoring 4 points in 18 games. Moore is a hard working grinder, who can score on occasion and is a team player in the locker room, and all for an affordable price. He will no doubt be picked up sometime before the season starts.

Marcel Goc- At only 25, Goc is another youngster that the Sharks decided to part ways with this offseason. With the oddest sounding last name in the NHL, Goc suffered from playing on such a skilled team, probably not getting as much ice time as he would get elsewhere. He has the potential to become a top six forward in the NHL for a long time. Teams looking for secondary scoring at a very cheap price should look into this guy before he packs his bags and signs with a European league.

So there you have it, the top players who are still looking for a place of employment. We provided some poor analysis which may help some General Managers make their decision on whom to sign at the last minute to round out their roster. We know it’s not nearly as good as an “All-Star Team” or even a regular NHL team, but we have to try and provide some ray of sunshine to these players’ sad summers thus far. NHLEF OUT!

Are You an Ottawa Senators Fan?

This post is fairly simple: You maybe an Ottawa Senators fan if:

- You’ve watched the Ottawa Senators playing in the tiny Civic Centre which is located underneath a football field.
- You remember the 70 losses the team suffered in their inaugural season.
- You thought that picking Alexander Daigle was a phenomenal pick at the time.
- You remember Alexi Yashin donating $1 million to the National Arts Centre and de-donating $1 million from the National Arts Centre.
- You’re Gord Wilson.
- You remember the awesome dual of Damian Rhodes and Ron Tugnutt in goal.

Damian (left) dealing with some sexual harassment and Ron Tugnutt (right) pretending to catch a puck.

- You read the Ottawa Sun on a regular basis and believe what is being printed.
- You listen to the TEAM 1200 on a regular basis and believe what is being broadcasted.
- You remember a time when Patrick Lalime was a legitimate number one goaltender.
- You remember Wade Redden being a decent offensive defenseman.
- You observed Hossa, Chara, Havlat, Redden, Alfredsson, and Spezza all playing on the Sens at the same time.
- You remember how good the Battle of Ontario used to be.
- You know who Laurie Boshman is/was.
- You remember Jani Hurme fighting Felix Potvin.

Jani pummeling Felix "The Cat" Potvin. It also appears Jani broke his neck.

- You remember Patrick Lalime fighting Robert Eshe and Brian Dafoe.
- You remember Bryan Murray almost fighting Lindy Ruff.
- You remember Anton Volchenkov trying to fight Mario Lemieux.
- You remember Peter Bondra in a Sens uniform.

Bondra, in a Sens uniform.

- You’ve hugged Sparta Cat.
- You’ve adapted to all three names of the Sens current arena; The Palladium, The Corel Centre, and Scotiabank Place.
- You know who Rod Bryden is.
- You’ve wanted to beat-up Darcy Tucker.
- You knew Mats Sundin was a useless, bald, goof before he played for the Canucks.
- You know that Radek Bonk was taken 3rd overall in 1994, while Daniel Alfredsson was taken 133rd overall in the same draft.
- You went to Elgin Street during the Senators Cup run in 2006.
- You backed up John Mucklar’s decision to keep Redden and part ways with Chara then quickly regretted it, deeply.
- You thought Ray Emery was the coolest man alive, with his cars, suits, tattoos, and temper.

Ray acting cool, notice the backward cap, multiple necklaces, slight facial hair, scissors gesture, and the famous rapper on his right.

- You are a member of the Sens Army.
- You know what the Sens Mile is/was.
- You remember letting Pavel Demitra go for nothing.
- You remember the one season that Bill Muckult played for the Sens and did not score a single goal.
- You know the real reason to why Mike Comrie was re-acquired, Hillary Duff.

A photograph of Hillary Duff, without Mike Comrie.

- You feel you have a personal connection to Carrie Underwood because she is dating Mike Fisher.

A photograph of Carrie Underwood, without Mike Fisher

- You wet your pants when Jason Spezza undressed Sheldon Souray and scored on Jose Theodore in OT at the Corel Centre. (A true, true fan was actually in the building)
- You were pumped when Dominick Hasek became an Ottawa Senator.
- You remember Daniel Alfredsson’s thread locks, which made him look like Chad Kroeger from Nickelback.

Daniel and Chad trying to look like each other. Maybe they are the same person...who knows.

- You wanted to kiss Steve Duchesne when he scored to put the Senators in the playoffs for the very first time.
- You’ve wanted to slap Wade Redden.
- You miss Todd White.
- You’ve gone golfing earlier than expected most playoffs.

If you fit into 90% of these points, you are most likely a dedicated Sens fan. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? We will leave that up for debate. NHLEF OUT!

Bob Gainey and Corruption

Bob Gainey trying his Superman impression, which is anything but super.

We all know that the Montreal Canadians are the most storied franchise in NHL history. Heck, they are probably one of the most storied franchises in all of professional sports. However, over the past several years or so, they have become one of the most unclassy, laughable, and pathetic franchises in the NHL, despite remaining to be one of the most valuable teams in the NHL. The management deserves to be called out, so the NHL-EF will do just that. By the end of this article, one should understand how corrupt this franchise truly is, thanks to one man, Bob Gainey.

Ever since winning the Stanley Cup in 1993, the team has been in a downward spiral. However, because no one wants to read a novel about the Canadians about the last 15 years, we will just focus on the last season or two. Bob Gainey, the current General Manager of the Habs, deserves most of the blame for tarnishing this franchise. We will start with his moves for the goaltender position.

Gainey surprised many people when he chose a young goaltender, by the name of Carey Price, 5^th overall in 2005, a draft best known for the welcoming of Sidney Crosby to the NHL. Gainey’s pick at the time looked foolish, considering he had a Heart and Vezinia Trophy winner on his squad, Jose Theodore, and an up and coming French net minder, named Cristobal Huet. However, as time moved on, Theodore began to show his true colours and become an average goalie at best, which lead the way for Huet to tender the Habs goal. Gainey traded Theodore for nothing to Colorado, and it seemed like Huet would be the number 1 tender and Price would earn some valuable NHL experience as the back-up. However, this was way too simple for Gainey, he just had to show that his pick of Price back in 2005 was better than picking Sidney Crosby and that Price is indeed Patrick Roy and Ken Dryden combined. He quickly shipped an unsuspecting Huet to Washington for nothing, and gave Price the number 1 job at the tender age of 20. Price has been suffering ever since because of this rush move. He has performed well sometimes, but more often than not he shows his age and exhibits poor outings, particularly in the playoffs. Not only did Gainey ship two number one (at the time) goalies away for nothing, but also tremendously slowed the development of their “next” franchise goaltender.

Gainey's self-portrait in his office in the Bell Centre.

So that’s the goaltending situation Gainey gave the Canadians. Let’s move onto the blue line. The Canadians do draft well and are able to find some diamonds in the rough at times. This is true with their blue line. The Canadians developed Sheldon Souray, Mark Streit, and Mike Komisarek into top notch defensemen. However, with Gainey’s philosophy that no player should be paid over $2 million, he lost all three to free agency and got nothing in return and replaced them with guys like Ryan O’byrne, Josh Gorges, and Patrice Brisebois. Not the greatest replacements if you ask me. It is true that the three ex-Canadians are being paid too much for what they bring to the table on their new teams, but all three are one hundred times better than any of the replacements that Gainey “found.” Their power play has never been the same since Souray and Streit left, which is somewhat important for victories in today’s NHL.

Moving on to the most pathetic aspect of the present day Canadians, forwards, Gainey truly shows his colours. First of all, Gainey does not believe in having a true superstar. He insists on having a team loaded with 2^nd and 3^rd liners, who he can pay 1-3 million dollars each. It could be argued that he is reversing this trend this offseason with the acquisitions of Scott Gomez, Mike Cammalleri, and Brian Gionta, but they are hardly “superstars,” just good players getting paid way too much. The reason for these pick-ups is because Mr. Gainey pretty much let his entire team go for nothing, which is another genius move by the goof. Bring in a bunch of random players that have never played together, that will improve your team. Even with these new and expensive pick-ups, the Canadians still lack a true number 1 centre, and are still averaging about 5’1 up front, which is not really scary for opposing players, such as Zdano Chara.

Gainey responding to a reporter telling him he has something on his chin. (That is your eye Bob)

Let’s see who he let go for nothing (we will stick to the three players that I want to discuss) Alex Kovalev, Saku Koivu, and Alex Tanguay. Firstly, he gave up on French Canadian, Tanguay after a season where he was injured for a large majority of the games. Tanguay could have been re-signed for a reasonable 2-3 million dollar contract for a few years, and could have become a bargain, because he has the potential of being a 40-50 goal scorer if he is given a chance in the right situation. Moving on to Alex Kovalev, Gainey let him go for nothing, (a move I back up) despite a rally in Montreal for the guy. You would think you would try to please your fans if they are rallying for a player, right? Lastly, Gainey chose not to approach Saku Koivu about a new contract. Koivu is the longest serving captain in Habs history, is involved actively in the city, especially on the cancer scene, and is a solid 2^nd line centre. It is absurd that Gainey would not let Koivu finish his career in a Habs uniform. It is also sad that Habs fans didn’t rally for this guy, I guess he has to beat cancer a second time to get some respect in Montreal. This shows how ridiculously unclassy and unprofessional this man and organization is. It is also foolish to let all three of these players go for nothing, because now the team really doesn't have a candidate for a new captian, an extremely important role on any hockey team. Tanguay, Kovalev, and Koivu are all great candidates for a team captian, but they are gone for good, not a smart move. Can you honestly see Gomez, Markov, or Lapierre leading this joke of a franchise for years to come?

Gainey observing a hot female, who is actually not that hot, in the crowd, rather than focusing on the game at hand.

So that’s Bob Gainey in a nutshell, oh, wait, he also fired Guy Carbonneau out of the blue, when the team was struggling, and put himself behind the bench and lost even more games than Carbonneau would have lost. When asked how surprised he was when he was fired, on a scale of 1-10, Carbonneau replied with 12. This truly shows how unruly Gainey is. He is probably one of the worst General Managers in NHL history, right behind John “Everyone gets No Trade Clauses!!!” Ferguson. NHLEF OUT!