Conference stkhlm::hockey

    Monteal gets hammered 8-1 by the Blues. Are there any petitions being
    passed around for the "Mario must go' campaign?
    
    Sean

    
    
    There is a petition being passed around for the "Mario must stay"
    campaign.

    Strangely quiet in here lately.  Where are all of the Hab fans?  Or
    should I say "where is THE hab fan"?   Do they have any left?  Will Hab
    fans become like Leaf fans and rent a closet?  
    
    Last year the Habs lost four in a row and fired their coach.  They've
    just lost 4 in a row, all by lopsided scores.  Will they fire their
    cheerleaer...I mean coach?  What does the head cheerleader do now?  What 
    about the comments in yesterday's Journal de Montreal where it was said 
    under the cover of anonymity by some players that they had lost faith in 
    both T-Bo and Jablonski?  Should they get rid of their GM?  What about
    Thorton, Corson, Richer and Baron?  Are they getting the job done?  Who
    did Houle give up for these guys?  
    
    Some many things to talk about yet it's so quiet in here!
    
    Bernie. 

    Here's a funny story.
    
    After being shellacked at home, 8-1, by the Blues the reporters all
    rushed to the Habs locker room.
    Quintal had this to say:
    "We had all planned on going out for dinner together since this was a
    day game. The dinner's been cancelled since being in public may not
    be a good thing at this time. ...... All I want to do now is go home,
    order out some food and hope that the delivery boy didn't watch the
    game."
    
    This team has enough talent to be 4th in their conference. Tremblay
    just doesn't have it as an NHL coach to bring them there. Next up,
    Houle will make a trade for the sake of making a trade; this shuts up
    the reporters for 2 weeks at least.
    
    Andy

    Wouldn't you know it.  I try to goad Hab fans to comment and Andy
    responds.  Deep down I knew that coming from Val D'Or he had to be a
    Habs fan.  He's even tried to pass himself off as Mario Tremblay for
    God's sake (KDHLers will know what I'm talking about)!
    
    Andy, 
    
    I  remember you saying to me "He's always down but damn he's good!".  No, 
    you were not talking about Ray and his tendencies, you were talking about 
    Patrick Roy!!!
    
    Bernie.
    
    

    >>Deep down I knew that coming from Val D'Or he had to be a Habs fan.
    
    	WOW!!!! there.  That's a low blow. I was purely adding more salt
    to their wounds after you'd started it.
    
    >>   I  remember you saying to me "He's always down but damn he's good!". 
    
    	Yes; he's always down. NOOOOOO he's not good. He's not even in the
    league's top 6. Guys like Ranford, Joseph and Hasek have spent most
    of their careers w/ average to mediocre defensive defensemen. I can
    only remember 2 years in which Roy had this (his last 2 in Mtl) and he
    stuck the joint big time. 
    
    So Bernie, retract your comments RIGHT NOW! People may start talking,
    you never know. :*)
    
    Andy
    

    No, I won't retract.  You DID say that Roy was good.  The one thing I
    don't remember for sure is where we were when you said that. I think it
    was Colorado six or seven years ago.
    
    It was beer talk so we can forget about it.
    
    Bernie.
    
    P.S. Is Ray in today?  Ben's PC must be broken or something.    

    Hi,
    
    This is like being in a funeral parlour with Bernie and Andy whispering
    and giggling at the back of the room.
    
    You've read the book, seen the games now buy the video of
    
    "FOUR STRAIGHT LOSSES AND A FUNERAL".
    
    Now we have a bit of an idea what fans of teams that were mediocre for
    years had to put up with. It's only a game, there has to be something
    more worth while to get worried about and I can think of many.
    
    Ted. 

    Ted!
    
    We haven't heard from you in ages!! Welcome back.  
    
    >>This is like being in a funeral parlour with Bernie and Andy
    >>whispering  and giggling at the back of the room.
    
    That and the "four straight..." made me giggle.  
    
    Now I think I'll go check the Maple Leafs topic and see what's going on
    there. Maybe Brian Crook or C.J. or Stephen will make an appearance ;-)
    
    Bernie.

    If they lose tonight, and seeing the game is being played in Florida
    it's very likely they will, Tremblay will get fired.

    I don't think so, why:
    Cause they never have won a game in TBay.
    Cause if Tremblay gets fired, so will Houle and Corey.
    Apparently, Molson's Brewery (owners) are sick and tired of the
    off-ice circus over the last year.
    
    After NOT making the playoffs this year, I expect Molson's to fire the
    3-some and hire Serge Savard as Prez. We're starting to see Savard more
    and more in the media lately. ;*)
    
    Andy

    Put your knives away lads, the Habs finally won their first game in
    T-Bay 4-1. They actually played a very good inspired game, and as of
    this morning anyway, Tremblay, Houle & Corey are still employed by
    Molson...:*))
    
    Ray.
    

    They probably downed a few Molsons last night after the game.
    
    p.r.   ;-)

    Raymond,
    
    I guess you are specialy happy since you can come back in the
    conference.  How did you cope with withdrawal?  Nice to have you back
    in here ;-)
    
    Ton ami,
    
    Bernard.

    Well, I was amazed. I think everybody knew that there were jobs on the
    line with this game.

    Honestly though, whenever that Habs go to Florida it's almost a
    guaranteed 2 game losing streak and I really wonder why.

    Like Ray told me today; last night's game was a MUST win game.
    
    Why? Cause their next 4 games are against: NJ, Fla, Phil, Pitts.
    If they're lucky, they'll  win one (I hear Fla's in a slump).
    
    
    Andy

   If anyone is willing to part with tickets to the April 12th game (vs. Flyers)
   I would like to purchase.... I plan on being in Montreal during that time and
   would like to attend. I'm looking for 1-16 tickets. I kid you not !!!

   Please send mail; PATE::NEFF or call DTN: 225-4313

   Anyone now the price range scalpers are getting for tickets or the number to 
   a ticket agency (legal scalpers) in Montreal ????


_sbn

    I would be surprised if it was sold out already.

    un autre match null, tabarouette!

    and that's good parce que the sens make up one point on them!

    Re. .323
    
    	Oh sure, that's easy for you to say...        8-)
    
    Barry

    Does anybody realize that Ray hasn't put anything in this topic since
    last month! ;-)
    
    Is Ben still alive?
    
      
    

    Question for Hab fans.
    
    Who will they pick in the next draft with their first overall pick? ;-)

    Eh Leury,
    
    	your starting to be as annoying as...Andy!!:*))
    
    Ray.
    

    Is that a compliment?  ;-)

    >>Is that a compliment?  ;-)
    
    Damn right it is.
    
    
    Andy

    Ray,
    
    Don't keep everything to yourself.  It's very therapeutic to talk about
    your problems.  Just browse the Bruins conference.  Those guys are
    always moaning and groaning together.  It's healthy. 
    
    When you're at a funeral parlour, it's not good to sit in a corner by
    yourself not talking to anyone.  People start to worry about you. 
    Come and join Andy and I in the other corner.  We're having a ball. ;-)
    It'll do you good to laugh.
    
    Just let it out Ray, you'll feel better.   ;-)
    
    You're not suicidal are you? 
    
    With sympathy  (yea right!),
    
    Bernie ;-)
    
    
    
    Bernie.

Well I guess it's time to face the music. I'm assuming Ray is using the
old "if you can't say anything nice then don't say anything at all" 
approach. :^) Not a bad idea but hear goes....

I'm really having a hard time trying to figure out why this team doesn't
win more games. In a previous note Andy mentioned that Montreal has good
enough players to be 4th in the conference and I agree. So what's going
on? Defense definitely needs to be improved but...

I think it's more the coaching. I think they should leave things as they 
are for the rest of the season. Not making the playoffs will simply 
reinforce the need for WHOLESALE changes. Everyone from Corey, Houle, 
Tremblay, and the scouting staff need to go. I wish I could follow this 
up with some real options but the only thing I can recommend is Ferguson 
for the head scouting position and Savard as president wouldn't be bad 
choice. GM and coaches are anyones guess. 

Anybody out there have input? I guess we'll be hearing from Bernie with
a big I told you so. It's probably well deserved. To be honest I'd rather
watch the Sens this saturday than my Habs. It hurts to much to watch them.
:^(

That's it for now. I need to go drink many beers. :^)

Ben 

    Ben,
    
    	Can I join ya,...for the beers, that is!!:*))
    
    Ray.
    

    Me too! and make mine a case of La Maudite!

    But I must say, you ABM fans, you're such a bunch of buzzards. At least
    we Habs fans don't have to wait for entire generations for our team to
    win a cup.

>>you ABM fans, you're such a bunch of buzzards

	Un mode de vie  mon Ami   8-)


Toby

    Hey Ben (and Ray), d'ya guys hear the latest. Jacques Demers is back
    into coaching.
    	Yep, he's coaching Team Canada in a world class(?) tourney.
    Somewhere in the world (Egypt?) he's leading Team Canada Jews in
    a hockey tournament for Jewish people. The coach doesn't have to 
    be jewish. Just last week, as a warmup for this big even I guess,
    Demers was coaching the ex-NHl'ers against the old Nords. 
    
    :*)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))
    
    Andy

Thanks for your coaching suggestion Andy. I hear the Habs will be contacting you 
for that scouting position. They've heard about your abilities to spot young
talent. (ie Witt (sp?), Storr) ;^)

Ben

    Re.331
    
    	Watch it Bernie!! ;-)
    
    Barry (moderator of the Bruins funeral parlor... er, conference I mean)
    
    P.S. If you're a Bruins fan, the ONLY thing to be happy about these
    days is that Montreal is doing almost as badly.

The problem is, you guys have been spoiled.  Montreal has won so often,
that you have no experience of losing.  But everybody goes through a
rebuilding phase some time or another.  That's where the Canadians are
right now, and they're not doing a bad job of it.

The way I look at it, they're two defensemen away from contention...



Bobby Orr and Doug Harvey.

Steve

    Also Steve,
    
    	They are the youngest team in the league...
    
    Ray.
    

    >>They are the youngest team in the league...
    
    Yeah! And they're so proud of it. They keep trading playing that are
    in their prime so they can make room for 'green' rookies. :*)
    
    Andy

    I've never waited for more than 7 years for my team to win the cup.
    I'll be worried if they don't win before the year 2000.
    
    8)

    With the return of Saku Koivu & Marc Bureau, the Habs beat the Whalers
    3-2 in OT Saturday. It was a pretty entertaining game, with the Whalers
    ahead 2-1 w/ less than 5 min to play. Unfortunately, the Habs lossed
    their best defenseman, S.Quintal, for 4-6 weeks with an injured knee.
    
    Ray.
    

    Habs beat the Sharks 4-2 last nite. Sharks had 49 shots on Jose
    Theodore, who played even though # 1 goalie Thibault was ready to go..
    
    A pretty funny thing happened in the Habs org last weekend. With all
    the call ups from Frederiction because of all the injuries, and because
    3 players on the AHL team were suspended, the Frederiction Habs were
    forced to have their coach, Paulin Bordeleau play !!! Bordeleau (father
    of Hab Sebastien Bordeleau) played breefly for the Vancouver Canucks in
    the '70s, before playing for several years for France' Olympic team.
    He's been retired for 8 years...
    
    the baby Habs lossed the game 3-2, BUT Bordeleau had 2 assists, and was
    awarded the game's first star!!!
    
    Ray.
    

    Another example of the league conspiring against the Senators and
    helping the Habs.....
    
    Last week, the Penguins didn't play Lemieux against Montreal (Andy said
    it was because they knew they didn't need him).   
    
    Now, the Dominator has gone back to the Czech Republic due to an
    illness in his family.  He will miss the game against the Habs this
    week but will be back for the Sabres next game.  Why didn't he miss the
    game against the Sens on Sunday instead?  
    
     When will it end?  This is on top of all the past incidents such as -
    the league instructs the refs to favour the Habs; the league sets up the
    schedule to favour the Habs; the league does not strip the Habs of some
    Stanley Cup victories when they were found to have cheated (slanted
    Forum ice). 
    
    
    pete ;-)

    Pete,
    
    	I know a pretty good " shrink " that could help you with your
    "problem"..!!:*))
    
    Ray.
    

Take it easy on poor Papa Pete Ray. He still hasn't fully recovered from
his Red Wings' elimination at the hands of the Avalanche last year. ;^)

As for Paulin Bordeleau, what a story! So when are the Habs going to call
him up? Please tell me he's a defenseman! :^)

Ben

    
Jack Todd's column from the Gazette:
    
    Thinking nice things about Habs

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
OK, class. Tonight we are going to say nice things about the Canadiens -
nothing but nice things.

It's going to be like your mother used to say - if you can't say something
nice about someone, then don't say anything at all. And it's like St�phane
Richer said last week - it's time someone gave the Canadiens a break.

If you think about it, it's pretty easy to say something nice about most
people in the Canadiens organization if you just give it the old college
try, so here it is - the old college try, as we review all aspects of a
franchise that was once the envy of the sports world:

THE MOLSON CENTRE: Very big.

RONALD COREY: Next question, please?

REJEAN HOULE: Nice guy. Actually, a very nice guy. Classy, open, up-front,
honest. Deserves better than he's gotten from above and below. Still,
despite all the heat, willing to tour the press dining room before a game.

MARIO TREMBLAY: If he had spent the last 10 years coaching in the AHL
instead of sitting in the broadcast booth, might even make a good coach.

STEVE SHUTT: If there's one guy you feel sorry for in all this, it's Shutt.
He should be destined for a head coaching job, except that franchises
hesitate to hire assistant coaches off losing teams.

JACQUES LAPERRIERE: Everybody loves Lappy. If they didn't, he might not have
survived while the Canadiens were dumping legions of talented defencemen.

GAETAN LEFEBVRE: The one unquestioned hero of this season-in-a-clinic.

SAKU KOIVU: The franchise.

MARK RECCHI: The star who never quits.

BRIAN SAVAGE: When is someone going to give Savage credit for adapting his
game? Last year, Savage was a pure goal-scorer who could go weeks without an
assist. This year he's third on the team in scoring with 20 goals and 33
assists.

MARTIN RUCINSKY: One of this writer's two or three favorite Canadiens.
Skates, tough, plays hurt. Puts a little excitement in the game and makes
the Roy trade look better than it was.

VINCENT DAMPHOUSSE: The poor man's Mario Lemieux.

TURNER STEVENSON: Some people want Stevenson included on the bad-draft list.
They're not watching closely: with Stevenson you get it all, every night.

DARCY TUCKER: See Stevenson, Turner. Annoying guy - if you're the other
team. Never stops and can only get better. Besides, my friend Steph-anie
Andrade thinks Tucker walks on water, so I can't say anything bad about him.

SHAYNE CORSON: Did somebody call this guy a journeyman? Heart of a lion,
outstanding power forward when he's healthy. Worth every penny.

VALERI BURE: Might turn into Pavel yet.

STEPHANE RICHER: Gives great quote. Stirs things up just when February gets
boring.

MARC BUREAU: Another of our favorite Canadiens. Koivu got all the ink, but
the loss of Bureau in the same game was huge.

SEBASTIEN BORDELEAU: Two more seasons, he's Guy Carbonneau .

CHRIS MURRAY: Goes toe-to-toe with the Grim Reaper..

STEPHANE QUINTAL: Wire-to- wire (injuries aside) the team's best defenceman
this season.

VLADIMIR MALAKHOV: Some nights he's Brian Leetch.

JASSEN CULLIMORE: Biggest surprise of the season and Houle's best trade. Now
on the top defensive pair and deserves it.

DAVID WILKIE: Smartest defencemen the Canadiens have. If Tremblay doesn't
destroy his confidence can be a leader for years to come.

PETER POPOVIC: Another of our favorite guys. Gets too much flak for not
being more physical.

CRAIG RIVET: What the Canadiens need - a defenceman who likes to hit.

JOCELYN THIBAULT: Give him time.

JOSE THEODORE: Ditto.

THE SAN JOSE SHARKS: The team you want to play when you're in the throes of
a one-game winning streak.

THE PLAYOFFS: Are you kidding? With Koivu back? Seventh place. Piece of
cake.

    Is that why Richer was being booed on Saturday night? That quote?
    
    Stephane can't handle the Habs pressure cooker. He's too sensitive
    which puts him off his game. If he could only shut out the world when
    he's on the ice he'd be hall of fame material.

    RIcher "gives good quote"???????
    
    I hear that that's not all he gives that is good.
    
    pete ;-)

    >>I hear that that's not all he gives that is good.
                                 
    Which is why they call him "Te-fan" (w/ a lisp) :*)
    
    Andy

    
    Thanks, Stephen...I needed that.

    So the Habs are going to ruin another young goalie's career by giving
    him shell shock. 49 shots for a guy who should still be in the minors,
    he may play well for a couple of games, but will burn out by the end of
    the season. What a way to protect your investment for the future.
    
    Sean
    

    P.S. Wasn't that Pat Jab. in that Nike commercial serving hamburgers at
    a grease joint? Or is he the one driving the cab (Thibault in the
    future?) 
    
    
    Sean

    Oh good, another ABM buzzard.

    un autre match null, tabarouette!

    We should be hearing from our favorite Montreal fans anytime now.  The
    Canadiens beat the mightly Islanders 4 - 1 yesterday.  I believe that
    they're undefeated in two!
    
    Bernie (dead_die_hard_habs_fan).

    I watched the game. They won it at the end of the first period with two
    quick goals that took the wind out of the Islanders. Theodore played a
    great game.

    
    ...and ther're off to play the might(l)y Leafs.;`))

    I'm torn for tomorrow nights tilt between the Leafs and the Habs.
    If the Leafs win then that's good for the Senators.  If the Habs win
    then that's good for my bet for a case of beer since I bet that the Senators
    would finish the season with more points than the Leafs.  Also,
    cheering for the Leafs is EXTREMELY difficult for me.  
    
    But hey, I can buy my own beer if I have to but I can't buy playoff
    tickets if the Senators don't make it.
    
    Go Leafs Go. 
    
    Bernie.

    I'm not torn at all..:*)
    
    Ray.
    

Bernie, I had no idea just how far gone you were. I don't think there's 
anything anyone can do for you now. To cheer for the Leafs over the Habs??
Blasphemy! 

Ben

    Bernie, go for the beer

    Pretty quiet in here today!  Actually, I'm surprised that there isn't
    a whole lot of noise in the Leafs topic.
    
    Heard this morning that Mario Tremblay is in a unique situation as a
    coach....he's the only coach that could not get a coaching job anywhere
    but with his current club. ;-)  
    
    Bernie.

    Last week in Mtl, the papers had Theodore out to be a god. Meanwhile,
    T-Bo was a bum; though he played Buff to a 2-2 tie (ie. he didn't win).
    
    I wonder what Theodore will be known as now, since the NHL's worst
    team shellacked them. ;*))))
    
    The Mtl reporters came out w/ their list of 'bad apples'. Apparently,
    they are: Baron, Corson, Wilkie, Malahkov, Bure and Richer.
    
    andy

    Well, I think Richer deserves the flack he gets, the lazy bum.

    
    
    
     Didn't relize the B's played the Scabs recently

    Patrick Roy returned to MTL for the first time last nite since THE
    trade last year as the Avs cleanly beat the Habs 7-3. 
    
    Ray.
    

    how did the fans in MTL receive Mr. Roy, cheers or jeers?

    They gave him a good ovation before the game, and cheered every time he
    made a save...Can't say he was a big factor in the win, but he did play
    very well.
    
    Ray.
    

ESPN reported that Roy would get a 5 figure bonus from his teammates if he
won.  Like he really needs it with his salary.

Dean

    Yeah he played well alright; made 34 saves, mostly easy ones that 'hit
    HIM' and was down on his knees on all 3 goals.
    
    Meanwhile, Thibeault sucked big time for the Habs. A goalie that short
    cannot afford to flop down on the ice before every shot. He's just too
    short to be a #1 goalie in the NHL; fwiw, his partner is only a few
    inches taller.
    
    Andy

    To put it mildly, T-Bo was brutal!!!   Looked like my brother out
    there!  The guy spends more time on his knees than Andy Watters in the
    Raiders' dressing room ;-)
    
    I was hoping for an Avalanche win but I wanted the score to be
    something like 8 - 7.  
    
    When was the last time that the Habs AND the Bruins missed the playoffs
    in the same year?  There is a strong possibility that this will happen
    this year.
    
    
    Bernie.

    >> When was the last time that the Habs AND the Bruins missed the
    >>playoffs
    
    		....and the Leafs! 
    
    
    Andy

>   When was the last time that the Habs AND the Bruins missed the playoffs
>   in the same year?

To the best of my knowledge, it has never happened.  Since the first
expansion, the Bruins have missed only Bobby Orr's rookie year.  Before
that, at least since the reduction of the league to six teams, four of
the six made the playoffs.  While the Bruins of those years missed the
playoffs a number of times, the Habs hardly ever did.

The same question might be applied to any combination of two of the
"surviving six" teams, except the Bruins and Rangers, who were pretty
much league doormats in the fifties and sixties.

Steve

    If you look at today's standings, the question could be; When was the
    last time the Habs, Leafs, Bruins and Hawks missed the playoffs..
    
    Ray.
    

    Ronald Corey has to be worried about his job too, I'd say.

    Habs outplayed the Pens last nite (right Warren??:*)), but needed two
    late 3rd period goals to hearn a 2-2 tie in Pittsburgh. With 2:30 min
    left in the game, Tremblay pulled his goalie and had 6 forwards on the
    ice, when Richer tied the game up. Valerie Bure also scored for the
    Habs.
    
    With about 10 min left in the game, and up 2-0, the Pens had a goal
    called back...because of the famous "in the crease" rule again. Turned
    out to be a turning point in the game...
    
    Ray.
    

    If they can play the rest of the schedule like that, they will make the
    playoffs.

    The Habs became the last NHL team to record a shutout last nite in
    Boston as goalie Jocelyn Thibault was the star in a 3-0 win over the
    Bruins. Brunet, Richer and Recchi scored for the Habs.
    
    Ray.
    

It's a record year for shutouts! I beleive we're up to 105 this year and
previous record was 99.

Ben

    re:-1
     "The Habs became the last NHL team..."
    
    enough said

    at least they're not fighting for last place in the NHL with the likes
    of San Jose, Boston and Toronto.

    The Bruins outplayed the Habs especially in the first two perids. 
    Shots after 2 periods were 25 - 10 in favour of the Bruins and the
    Habs must've had 5 power plays in that time.
    
    The Habs had luck on their side last night.
    
    Bernie.

    	Yeah, but somebody has ta tell the B's players that the goal of the
    game isn't to hit the crest on the goalie's sweater, it's to get the
    puck past the goalie. 
    
    Barry
    

    As I said in the other conference,  the word for the day should have
    been UPSTAIRS!!!.  The Bruins have trouble finishing.  I don't see too
    many potential 30 goal scorers in that lot except maybe Carter who
    was the best Bruin last night.
    
    Bernie.

    Habs trade Murray Baron for Dave Manson.

YES!!!!!!!!! Of course I would hate Manson if he wore any other jersey. So Ray,
what do you think? Why would Pheonix trade Manson for Baron? Is it a money
thing?

Ben

    The addition of Manson doesn't make the Habs instant Stanley Cup
    contenders, but I think Houle made a good trade. Manson and Baron are
    the same age (and both are - 20 this year...), so there's no real
    advantage there. Chris Murray, who was also involved in the deal was
    immediately traded to the Whalers for Gerald Diduck. 
    
    Ray.
    

    	The Habs got Gerald Diduck? From the time that he was with the
    Isles I kinda hoped that the B's would somehow end up with him. He's
    always been a good steady defenseman and in my opinion might even be
    slightly underrated. Of course I've never had the chance to watch him
    night in and night out, but he's always played well against the B's,
    and that was before EVERYONE seemed to play well against them. 8-)
    
    Barry
    

    NO...Diduck ended up in Phoenix.....Bobby Smith pulled a fast one on
    Montreal and traded Murray back to the Hab's division for Diduck.  Habs 
    weren't too happy about it.
    
    pete

    What do ya mean, pulled a fast one on the Habs?!?!? Since when is
    Murray a " blue chipper " ??? Do you really think Murray will make a
    big difference in the playoffs picture?!?!
    
    Ray.
    

Ray,

RE. -1

Sounds like standard Habs bashing to me. The trade is a good one for Montreal.
IMHO!

Ben 

    Just reporting what I heard and read mes amis!!
    
    pierre

    Another reason to hate the Habs.  They now have the dirtiest player in
    the league on their roster.  
    
    I hate the Habs!
    
    Bernie.

    re:561.395
    
    What Dale Hunter plays for the habs now?  

    The Dave Manson of 4 yrs ago is not the same Manson the Habs got.
    BACK THEN, he'd fight, rough it up and get some pts on the PP.
    
    Bad scouting report I'd say (Cournoyer or Demers?) :*)
    
    
    Andy

    seems to me the back scouting report is what's in the previous
    reply...:*). Just how many times have you seem Manson play in the last
    years Andy?!?!:*))
    
    Ray.
    

    Big win last nite by the Habs (with Manson in the lineup Andy..:*)) in
    MSG against the Rangers, 5-4. Didn't see the game, so I can't comment
    on it..unlike other noters in here who comment on things they don't
    see...right Andy!!:*))
    
    Ray.
    

    Ray,
    	Last year, the Jets were on many times as the 2nd game of the
    HNIC double-header; Manson even rode the pine a few times due to his
    inconsistency. Back w/ the Hawks he was a nut case AND a good hockey
    player when he found the time to play. Savard tried to get him many
    times but couldn't afford him. Now, 3 years later, a WEAK Habs team
    can afford him. Thing about this Ray! :*))))
    
    Andy

    you know, for a guy who says he hates the Habs so much, your certainly
    up on Savard's inside tradings these past years, Eh?!?!:*))
    
    Ray.
    

    Andy,
    
    You are right on with Manson. I always liked him, but he was in the box
    too much of the time and he never really exploited his potential. He is
    a good defenseman, and what many don't know about him is that he has one
    wicked slap shot. But he never takes it enough. If somone can sit him
    down and say "on the power play, when we give you the puck, wind up and
    hit the puck, not our opponents".
    
    Les

Well I did see the Habs, and Manson played an all around solid game. He was 
physical, he logged a lot of icetime, (Quintal was thrown out early for being
the 3rd man in a fight.) and he did did take a nice shot on net that resulted
in a goal when Brunet picked up the rebound. All this after a long day for
Manson that started at 05:00 am when he jumped on a flight for NY.

Ben

    Ray,
    	You can say that I'm "well informed".
    
    Meanwhile, apparently Baron was a -4 or -5 in his debut in Phoenix. ;*)
    
    
    Andy

    Habs chocked Saturday by loosing 4-1 to the Whalers..:*((
    
    BUT hurt the Sens chances to make the playoffs...:*))
    
    p.s.: smylies are for Bernard Leury only...:*))
    
    Ray.
    

    Yet another reason to hate the Habs!!!

    
    
    
     Brodeur scores a playoff goal...is this a record? 
    
     Embarrassing :*(

    I didn't see the highlights of Brodeur's goal but tell me....
    
    Was Thibault in the net when he scored or was he pulled for the extra
    attacker at the time?
    
    pete

    re -1      What do you think???? 
    
    If montreal can just play 60 minutes the same way they played the
    second periode they have a good chance of winning. Other than that it
    doesn't look good for them. What was the fight all about at the end of
    the game,I missed it?
    Regards
              Sean
    

    re -1
    
    Would it make a difference if I added a smiley face?
    
    pete ;-)

    
    >What was the fight all about at the end of the game, I missed it?
    
    Martin scoring, what else! ;`)

    re .409
    
    "If montreal can just play 60 minutes the same way they played the
        second periode they have a good chance of winning..."
    
    your optimism is admirable.
    
    as Mom would say:
    
    If the bear hadn't stopped to shit in the woods, he would have caught
    the rabbit.
    
    go Sens go

    Nobody said the Devils would blow away the Habs; they'll just win
    every game. :*)))
    
    Brodeur is NOT the only goalie to have scored in the playoffs. Hextall
    scored against the Caps on '89 (Arp11th); that must be the playoffs.
    
    End of game fights; Rivet got speared by Gilmour so he tried to jump
    him. The Devils took exception to that.
    
    Habs got a goal called back when Richer was called for 'in the crease'.
    Most Hab fans will say he was pushed in by Gilmour. If that game
    would've been played in Mtl w/ Kerry Fraser as ref; yes, he would've
    been pushed in. ;*)))
    
    Andy

    Ray, your brother parties as well as you play hockey...

    Ray's on vacation. He'll be back for abuse on Monday.
    
    Andy

    Is Manson playing tonight?
    
    I hear that he made a comment the other night about the
    refereeing...something like he knew who the ref was betting on to win
    the Cup.
    
    The league is holding a hearing today about whether he should be
    suspended or not for the game tonight.
    
    pete

    Pete,
    	He apologized (?) :*), the very next day. No one's ever been 
    suspended before for 'comments' about a referee; he'll be fined.
    
    Andy

    re -1
    
    They haven't?   They sure tried to suspend Jim Schoenfield when he made
    the "doughnut" comment to Koharski.
    
    I hope the replacement refs don't wear their yellow sweaters tonight if
    the regulars boycott.
    
    p.r.

    Jocelyn Thibault had a terrible night in nets, and the Habs lossed 6-4
    to the NJ Devils. Habs are now down 0-3 in the series, although the
    Devils played only one good game so far, game 2.
    
    Ray.
    

    I saw ony the 3rd period.  The 5th NJ goal was certainly a soft one. 
    HNIC had a great replay on the empty-netter, of Tremblay at the bench
    beckoning Thibault from the net, then following the play to centre, then
    his reaction when the Habs coughed up the puck, & his head
    swivelling to follow the play back down to the goal at the Habs' end. 
    Analyst John Garrett was pretty disgusted at the Habs' failure to get the
    puck into the NJ end with their net empty.            

    Based on last night, I guess my question asking if T-Bo was in the net 
    when Brodeur scored wasn't that far fetched after all.
    
    
    pete ;-)

    Actually Pete, Brodeur tried to score again last nite...
    
    Ray.
    

A very disappointing loss for the Habs. With a bit of luck, this team
could actually be up in the series. 

It would be nice to have Jablonski available to put in but... 

It would be nice to have Odelein instead of Richer but...

It would be nice to have Kovalenko instead of Thornton but...

:^((((

Ben

    re -.1
    
    It would be nice to have Lemaire intead of Tremblay but...
    
    
    :*)
    
    Andy

    I really think that they should start Theodore for
    the next game. They don't have much to lose. He could 
    come in and make 40 saves, and maybe save a little face
    for the Habs. I can't believe I thought it would go 7 games.
    I guess it still could . :)
    
    
    
    Chris

    Chris,
    
    	I was sure Theodore was going to start the second period last nite.
    Now, I'm sure Thibault will be in nets for game 4. Two months ago,
    Tremblay and Houle decided to go w/ Thibault as # 1 goalie. If they put
    Theodore in for game 4, it will just be more "egg on their faces" for
    making yet another bad decision...:*((
    
    Ray.
    

    Ray,
    
    Is it too early to discuss who will replace Mario Tremblay?  Did you
    catch his press conference on Monday?  He's about to go postal!
    
    Bernie.

    Bernie,
    
    	If he's not fired, I think he should resign.
    
    Ray.
    

    By the way Ray, you asked about our buddy Lance.  Well in Monday's game
    he had more hits than the entire Habs d-men have had in the playoffs.
    
    Bernie.  :-)

    It would be nice to have Roy and Keane instead of Thornton and
    Thibault....
    
    It would be nice to have Chelios back...
    
    and LeClair....
    
    and Lemieux
    
    and even Knuckles Nilan...
    
    
    and there is lots more to add to the list....
    
    
    Sean

    What a coaching move I made yesterday when
    I said they should start Theodore :)
    
    Recchi my man is flying. The one Hab I
    picked and he is doing well
   
    Chris

    The Habs won their 1st ever playoff game in the Molson center and
    avoided a sweep by winning 4-3 in triple ot last nite. Patrice
    Brisebois scored the winning goal. Mark Recchi, by far the best Hab in
    the series scored 2 goals again last nite.
    
    Ray.
    

    Ray, you forgot to mention the good move
    by starting Theodore. :)
    
    59 saves with a stretch of 31 saves before one 
    went by him.
    
    Chris

    Yes Chris, it was a gutsy move to put the rookie Theodore in nets. Had
    NJ won by a lopsided score with Theodore week a some goals, it could
    have been devastating for his career. The kid  showed good composure
    and played very well. IMHO, Theodore is the Habs goalie of the future,
    and hopefully, he'll be in nets again Saturday.
    
    Ray.
    

    btw, by winning last nite, the Habs kept a streak alive. The last time
    they were swept in 4 games in the playoffs was....1929!!
    
    Ray.
    

    Ray,
    
    Does that represent the first round only?
    
    
    Chris

    I think the article said it was every series...
    
    Ray.
    

    Well I am not positive, but did the Habs not
    get eliminated 4 straight in the 2nd round
    when Pat Burns was coaching them. Not real
    sure of the year.
    
    
    Chris

    
    yup, Burns mentioned that himself on the CBC (must be true) last night
    and he had quite a chuckle. He also pointed out that they didn't lose
    at home so it was different. CBC commentators also pointed out that the
    2 times the Habs have been swept, they came back to win the cup the
    next year. I guess that won't happen now.
    

    I believe the habs were swept by boston a couple years back, can't
    remember which year though.
    
    The only "streak" I've heard mentioned in the same breath with this
    year's crop is the overtime win streak, which still extends back to
    1993. 
    
    al

    Also, I think I heard Dick Irvin say last night that the Habs were
    swept in a couple of best-of-5 series in the '80s, i.e., not "swept in
    4 games" (as Ray said) but still swept.
    
    -Stephen

    Stephen,
    	I remember Edmonton beating them in 3 straight in GreAtzky's 
    	1st playoff year.
    
    
    Andy

    Ray, the streak that you are talking about is swept "on home ice".  The
    Bruins did beat Montreal four straight in 1992.  I believe Rick Bowness 
    was behind the bench for the Bruins.
    
    >>Yes Chris, it was a gutsy move to put the rookie Theodore
    
    Chris, mon ami says that it was a gutsy move,  I say that it was a
    desperate move ;-)
    
    Bernie.

    The Devils took the Habs out of their misery Saturday by winning 4-0.
    With their backs to the wall facing elimination, the Habs didn't even
    show up...at one point in the game, shots on net were something like
    34-9...Totally unnacceptable performance by this under acheiving team,
    and changes will have to happen this summer. The Habs haven't
    eliminated anyone ...since winning the Cup in "93...Just had to slip
    that in somehow..:*))
    
    Ray.
    

    Ray,
    	Big press conference this aft given by Rejean Houle. They do this
    every year after being eliminated; keeps them in the news, hence, it's
    a good marketing move.
    
    The press conference will then be talk about for the next 2 weeks. At
    that point, the Habs will fire Tremblay; another 3 weeks of media
    attention. THEN, they'll hire a coach; that'll given them media
    attention til the draft. No wonder they hired Houle as GM; he used to
    work in marketing for Molson.
    
    Andy

Too much finger-pointing
Changes must be made after a sorry end to an ugly season by underachieving
Habs

by Red Fisher, The Gazette

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

This infernally long season finally is over the Canadiens, as a team, left
dead in the water on the Jersey shore. It ended with Saturday's 4-0 loss to
the New Jersey Devils in a shameful, spiritless performance as unsightly as
gray ashes, but when did The Desperate Season start?

Does it go back to last August when Lyle Odelein, one of the best of the
Devils in this five-game series, was traded to New Jersey during the
off-season for St�ph-ane Richer, who went pointless against his former team?
Is that what it was all about: delivering experienced defence for
underachieving offence?

Partly.

How much did Pierre Turgeon's trade to the St. Louis Blues for Murray Baron
and Shayne Corson hurt? One night, he was assisting on all of the Canadiens'
goals in a 5-4 loss to the Phoenix Coyotes. The next day: gone. Was that the
reason?

Not entirely.

This season was supposed to belong to Jocelyn Thibault. He had played very
well under difficult conditions last year. On some nights, he excelled. A
comer, they called him. An eye-catcher. The message was: wait 'til next
year. Watch him grow. A star is born.

The painful reality is that it didn't happen, and through it all, management
stood still. The team's deficiencies in that area were as obvious as a
goaltender's five-hole, but the problem wasn't addressed. Inexplicably, the
game plan was this: if you ignore it, the problem will go away. It didn't.

Injuries? Few, if any teams, suffered as many. On one terrible night in
early December, Marc Bureau and Saku Koivu went down with major knee
injuries. Bureau missed 49 regular-season games, and the post-season. Koivu:
32. Shayne Corson missed 24 games, Vladimir Malakhov 17 and Patrice
Brisebois, 33. Ten games before the end of the season, Malakhov suffered a
cartilage tear in a 3-1 loss to the Washington Capitals and he was still
playing through it, painfully, on Saturday.

Were injuries responsible for The Desperate Season?

Partly.

The season had started well with ties against Ottawa and Anaheim and
victories over Los Angeles and the New York Rangers all at home. Six out of
a possible eight points. On a roll: ain't life grand? Then: six losses in
their next eight games. Ten games into the season, the rich kids were at
.500, which is little more than the thin line of NHL mediocrity. They were
never to walk that line again.

It is mid-November and the Canadiens are in Washington with some heavy
baggage, a 6-9-3 record. The natives, including a few with squatters' rights
in what has always been a proud dressing room, are restless. A story in La
Presse quotes an unnamed player this way: "When (assistant coach Yvan)
Cournoyer tells us something, we laugh."

After the morning practice, several media people trailed coach Mario
Tremblay.

"I know this is not your time to meet with the media," a reporter mentioned,
"but would you have a comment on the La Presse story?"

Tremblay kept on walking, then stopped, turned and directed a stream of
profanity at the reporters.

Several weeks later, unnamed players suggested that the team had lost
confidence in goaltender Thibault. Too many soft goals, they said. Too
fragile, they insisted. Teams can't win with goaltending like that, they
suggested.

A pale and shaken Thibault was asked about the story. "I've had some bad
games," he agreed, "I've had some good ones. You can't face more than 40
shots game after game and expect to keep on winning. I'm doing my best."

It has been a season of on-ice under-achievement, up to and including
Saturday's finale in New Jersey. It has been one of controversy off it, and
of mean spirits in the dressing room. Family was out, back-biting in. Nobody
will ever know for certain, but that may have been the biggest reason for
The Desperate Season.

It has been a season of too many days and nights of long knives, of sniping
and finger-pointing. Where, for heaven's sakes, was the respect for one
another.

Who's to blame? Injuries are to blame. The players are to blame.
Inconsistent goaltending is to blame. A gosh-awful defence is to blame.
Management is to blame.

A team effort so what now?

There'll be changes at every level, of course. There must be.

"Tell me what you have in mind for Valeri Bure," the young skater asked
management early in the season. "I want to stay, but only if I can
contribute. but I can't contribute unless I play. If I can't contribute
here, send me somewhere, anywhere I can."

"Be patient," he was told.

When you're 22 and you're not playing, it's hard to be patient.

Does Brian Savage stay? What about Richer, who almost surely didn't want to
return to Montreal in the first place? Corson?

Does David Wilkie, a healthy scratch 16 times during the regular season
stay? Why would he want to?

Only moments after Saturday's embarrassment at the Meadowlands, Canadiens
president Ronald Corey let it be known that general manager R�jean Houle
would be back for a third season. Some time would be allowed to pass, and
then the general manager would decide whether or not coach Tremblay would be
back. Friends is friends, and business is business, eh?

Tremblay's troops barely made the playoffs with a 77-point season, then
needed a goal in the third overtime last Thursday at the Molson Centre to
avoid an unclean sweep out of the first round. Tremblay knows as well as
anyone that coaches are paid to win, and at this time of the year there are
no ties. Lose often enough and, more than likely, you're gone.

Did GM Houle get the job done?

Houle is a good and decent human being, who is a long, long way from
understanding and settling comfortably into the jungle mentality of the
hockey business at the general manager's level. He's still a neophyte in his
profession, still learning, still hoping for better things. General managers
aren't moved as frequently as the coaches they hire, which is probably why
president Corey says Houle will be back. Don't take it to the bank yet.

Houle has made mistakes. He'll make more.

A big mistake was that he was too close, too loyal to the friends he hired,
too anxious to please his players. It's a loser's game. He saw good things,
hope, comfort and promise in areas where none existed.

He didn't take one step back, look at the big picture and do something about
addressing his team's weaknesses. He tried, but didn't find the talent it
takes to win.

Sadly, now that The Desperate Season is over, he still believes he did.

    Very good article that summs it up pretty well.
    
    Ray.
    

    >>Very good article that summs it up pretty well.
    
    That's because it was written by Red Fisher, Ray. Not Bertrand Raymond.
    
    Tremblay must go; any knowledgeable hockey knows that. 
    He's already said he WON'T quit.
    
    If Houle doesn't fire him, then Molson may just walk in and fire all
    3 (Corey, Houle and Tremblay).
    
    Andy 

I'm really hoping that all 3 get the boot. With the right people running
the show this team, (with some tweaking) could be a real contender. 


Mario Tremblay - He's shown he isn't a motivator and the guys just don't
                 play for him.

Rejean Houle - The Odelein/Richer, Kovalenko/Thornton, and Turgeon/Corson-
               Baron trades have proven he can't make the right trades.

Ronald Corey - He's responsible for the 1st 2 guys being there so he should
               go. Besides, I'm sick and tired of seeing his face behind the
               bench during every game. :^)

Corey's replacement should be Savard. I'm not sure about the GM position but
I'd like to see Pat Burns come back. (He has not said he wouldn't accept the 
job!)

Ben

    Burns will be coach in Detroit next year.
    
    pete

    Wait a minute. The habs make 11 million dollars? Ronald Corey won't be
    on his way out with that kid of profit. Why would Molson fire someone
    who is making them some good money? and considering this is a Canadian
    market franchise that's really an accomplishment.

    Ben
    
    	Pat Burns was offered the job of asst-coach in MTL around X-mas
    this year, but turned it down. Bertrand Raymond (who else, right Andy)
    came out w/ this scoop in this morning's paper.
    
    	What ticks me the most about this year's Habs is particularly the
    way they lossed, not only in the playoffs, but all winter long. Back in
    the 'ol days', I was used to see at least half the players on the Habs
    being to sore to even carry the Cup over their heads at the end of
    another winning season (Bob Gainey played an entire series w/ two
    seperated shoulders...), and when they did get eliminated from SC
    competition, the Zamboni machine would have as much blood in it as snow
    from the players efforts before shaking hands w/ their opponents...My
    Oh my, how times have changed...:*(((
    
    Ray.
     

Ray,

I'm not surprised that Burns passed on the the asst. coach job. Tremblay 
should be HIS assistant. But this doesn't mean he'd say no to being the
head coach. With regards to lack of effort, I was glad to hear Recchi 
complaining about guys not showing up. Unfortunately, I'm now hearing 
trade rumours involving him. I guess his grit, determination, hustle, and
effort are making the others look bad!

As for the 11 million dollar profit ...imagine the profit if they'd gone 
all the way to the finals!

    
    any idea how much Burns is making as a 'media-star/person'?
    A lot of teams are looking for coaches so I think he could be picking
    and choosing a location if he decides to go back coaching? If thats true,
    he well knows what Montreal is like to coach in and I don't think it
    would be his first choice unless they hand over MAJOR $$$'s. Of course,
    he was trained in Toronto which goes in his favour...
    

    Burns got over $800K from the Leafs this year... in addition to
    whatever he got for his media work.
    
    -Stephen

    Re :  MAJOR $$$$$'s
    
    What makes you think that Ray has money?
    
    p.r.

    Pat Burns' neice says he's going to Detroit...

    
    what sports pages did you get that out of Gary?
    

    According to a well informed source, Mario Tremblay was just fired.
    
    Bernie.

    RE: -1
     
      TSN says he resigned.
               
    Dennis

    Tremblay resigned...its official.....did he really have a choice??
    they need a coach not a cheerleader!
    Rik...

    How true is all this ?
    
    Chris

    I see that some of you need a bit of 'credibility' before believe
    this. 
    
    Well, Dave, call the wife; Mario has 'quit'. We'll know more in a 1
    day or 2 but by 'quitting' Mario has saved Houle AND Corey's ass.
    
    The reason he quit is simple; the Habs UPPER management of Bertrand
    Raymond(Journal de Mtl), Rejean Tremblay (La Presse) and Red Fisher
    (The Gazette) got together and went for the jugular. All 3 have been
    even on TV (they're newspaper reporters for god sakes) cutting down
    Tremblay and others. They got Burns out of Mtl, later got Demers fired,
    and now it's Mario's turn.
    
    Houle MAY have saved his ass for next year but if he keeps making bad
    trades (Roy, Turgeon, etc.) he'll be gone too. Anyways, it's just a 
    matter of time before Molson hires Savard back....as President.
    
    
    Andy

    I would think that they would have a hard time
    filling the position.
    I mean, who would want that job... really.
    Molson should go in and clean house... I have to agree.
    
    
    Chris
    

    Ottawa Citizen reprinted a column from today's Gazette (Jack Todd, not
    Red Fisher) saying Corey, Houle, & Tremblay are all amateurs & Molson
    should put a 1st class professional in charge of the Habs.  He says
    Savard's business interests made the GM-ship a part-time job for him, &
    for that reason he shouldn't be re-hired.  He suggested Lemaire, or
    maybe Bowman.
    
    -Stephen

    Errrr,  I'd volunteer to clean out Molson's house!  However, I'd likely
    need help cleaning out the Ex (I do know someone who is a potential
    candidate). 
    
    
    (insert many sounds of Hiccupping, Belching and passing gas here)! 
    
    
    pete ;-)

    A few names will definitely be mentionned in the coming weeks
    (Robinson, Gainey, maybe even Ted Nolan) but the one that may stick
    will be Ray's bud; Alain Vigneault.
    
    He's a young Pat Burns. Tough and fair w/ players, has been coaching
    for lots of years (replaced Burns in Hull when Burns left for Habs AHL
    team), asst. coach for Sens, asst. coach for Team Canada Jr (gold),
    was successful in all 3 QMJHL he's coached w/ the players he had.
    He's a french canadian; the reporters will demand that.
    Finally, he's played minor hockey w/ Ray. ;*)
    
    Andy

    Maybe I wasn't clear in .465:  Todd was proposing Lemaire (or Lacroix
    or Gainey or Bowman) for Corey's job, not Tremblay's...

Knives were out for coach

by Red Fisher, The Gazette

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

They walked into this place, staring straight ahead, heads erect, both
wearing cloned dark, black suits. Canadiens general manager R�jean Houle
shuffled a few papers on the table in front of him, coughed nervously, and
said:

"I want to announce that Mario Tremblay has offered his resignation as head
coach of the Montreal Canadiens, and I have accepted it." Then he turned to
his former coach and said: "Mario?"

Beside him, former coach Tremblay ran his tongue over his lips, reached in
front of him for a full bottle of distilled water. He swallowed quickly and
then began speaking, at first strongly, then haltingly when he mentioned
family, about a career of two short seasons now lost forever . . . of what
could have been, perhaps should have been, but never will be.

Tremblay's resignation was not a surprise. It was his decision to make, and
it was the right decision. He was doing it for his family, for his wife and
two daughters, he said.

This past season was difficult, he said, not because of his team's
underachieving 31-36-15 regular-season record, not because his team fell in
five games to the New Jersey Devils. No, not that at all. It was the too
many nights of long knives that brought him to this place on this day, it
was the too many tears his wife, Colette, had shed.

The Canadiens family was important to him, he said, his own family far more
important. It was time for some peace, some rest . . . a time to live. Tears
should be shed in private.

Tremblay talked about a lot of things on this sun-splashed day, yet arguably
the darkest of his life. He talked a little bit about how much he loved the
job he held for the last two seasons. He talked a lot about what had driven
him from it. He talked about long knives.

"If you're the head coach of the Montreal Canadiens," he said, "you have to
live with it. But where does it stop? I'm a human being like everyone else.
How far is it supposed to go? This year, I have never seen criticism going
that far.

"If you guys are honest," he added, reaching for the water bottle, "you'd
agree with me."

When an inexperienced coach is armed with a three-year contract, when his
team delivers a stunning 90 points the first season and an empty 77 points
the next, he should expect criticism but I agree with him.

I have covered this Canadiens family for 42 years. Seventeen Stanley Cups
have been won during that time. Eleven different coaches, starting with the
legendary Toe Blake, have been there, have come and gone. Coaches have been
criticized, a few resigned, many fired, all were criticized but none with
the frequency and venom Tremblay has faced this season.

Once, coach Blake didn't like something I wrote. That night, he burst into a
room of 30 people before a regular-season game, his face beet-red with anger
and threatened to "biff me one." We didn't talk for the next eight months.
Stuff happens.

Another time, coach Jacques Lemaire was left shaking with anger over a
critical column I wrote the day after he resigned from his job. We didn't
talk until last week in New Jersey (sigh) almost 12 years later.

When you're the head coach of the Montreal Canadiens, you're applauded when
you win, you're criticized when you lose, and this shabby bunch had too many
losers. Tremblay knows that.

But nobody should be expected to endure, almost on a daily basis, what
Tremblay and his family had to face this season. Nothing is worth it: not
the job, the CH on his chest, or the mighty fine, dark-black suit. Nothing
is worth the tears.

Tremblay says he loved working with "my boys, my players." He should be
ashamed of some of them, and they of themselves. You don't volunteer for the
CH. They find you, and once they do, you must earn the right to keep it.

Tremblay earned it with his 12 seasons as a player. He was something less as
a judge of his own on-ice talent, but what he surely didn't earn was to be
trashed by several of his players in the days since the series loss to the
vastly superior Devils particularly when they didn't have the backbone to
allow their names to be used with their views.

Yvan Cournoyer earned it with his 16-season Hall of Fame career, with his 10
Stanley Cups. He didn't earn the criticism he received from an unnamed
player midway through the season.

"I'm not proud of that," Tremblay said yesterday. "You see something like
that, and it's not fair, not fair."

He reached once more for the distilled water.

The bottle was empty.

Much later, Journal de Montr�al writer Andr� Rousseau had a question for a
colleague:

"All that Mario has gone through this season, all that stuff that was
written, how do you think Toe would have handled it?"

"There'd be lots of dead bodies around," he was told.

    After the press conference, Mario went to a radio station to be on 
    a talk show that he use to work on for 8 years (before becoming the
    Habs coach). Rejean Tremblay has a 10 minute spot on that show and
    called in a 5:20pm to talk about the day's event; he knew Tremblay was
    on the air. They let both Tremblay's go at it.....for 20minutes.
    
    Mario blasted him w/ examples of how Rejean T and Bertrand Raymond
    (Ray' fav) went out of their to 'teach me a lesson'. 
    
    Here's one of the best examples given:
    To talk to Mario, a reporter must go thru the Habs PR guy (Donald
    Beauchamp). Every reporter does it except 3: Rejean, Bertrand and Jack
    Todd. Mario decided to treat ALL reporters the same. One day, Rejean
    Tremblay showed up and Mario told him he was in a meeting w/
    Laperriere and he should see Beauchamp for a time slot. Rejean said:
    "Tabernac, this isn't gonna end here. You better read the paper
    tomorrow." Rejean then walked over to his colleagues and said:
    "Tabernac, he's gonna pay for this in tomorrow's paper". The next day, 
    Rejean Tremblay said that Mario was a PeeWee coach and ran practices
    that had no flow or sense....and on and on....
    
    Mario said that that hurt him cause he knew this time that a reporter
    went too far. 
    
    Rejean had this to say for his defense: "I didn't swear!"
    
    What Mario did was what Burns/Perron/Lemaire/Demers didn't do.
    He showed up to a press conference to announce his 'firing/departure'
    and unlike the previous coaches he nailed the media for their lack
    of professionalism in Mtl. Bravo Mario!
    
    There's more (20minutes of it) but I'm cramping up now. :*)
    
    Andy

    poor mario. He really didn't deserve it. Many coaches do so much worse
    and never get crap.

    Well Andy, you fell right into Mario's trap. 
    
    	By diverting the attention to the 'bad rap' he got from the press
    during his coaching days, Tremblay deflected what the real root cause
    of his resignation is.
    
    	I really like Mario Tremblay, the man. However, as a head coach,
    Tremblay was way over his head. When he was hired, every fan scratched
    their heads, and the reporters just wrote what people thought, plain
    and simple.
    
    	I can't remember a season where there were so many disgrunted
    players on the Habs (Savaga, Wilkie, Brunet, Thibault, etc). Also, I
    can't remember the Habs playing so disorganized as this year. 
    
    	Richer, Corson, Thornton, Baron and Manson are all players Tremblay
    insisted GM Houle go get in trades. None of these players panned out in
    the playoffs. Also, after the last game in NJ, when asked to confirm
    Tremblay's return next year, Houls said he would need some time to
    evaluate the situation...This was the REAL reason Tremblay decided to
    "help" his buddy and resign.
    
    BTW, I will never defend Rejean Tremblay because I don't read his
    articles, but I will defend Bertrand Raymond. He never attacked Mario
    personnally.
    
    Ray.
    

    BTW, I doubt Alain Vigneault will be seriously considered for the job.
    After what they went through w/ Tremblay, the Habs must get a man with
    NHL coaching experience. I'd see Pat Burns w/ Alain as assistant-coach.
    
    Ray.
    

    What about Jim Monteith as head coach of the Habs?
    
    He has been able to handle the Montreal media pretty well whenever he's
    had to deal with them.  Plus, his teams have been successful in
    Montreal the past few years.  Of course, the Habs may have a hard time
    trying to pry him away from his current team...it would likely lead to
    some messy negotiations.
    
    pete  

Pete,

Why in the world would Jim leave right in the middle of a dynasty run?
Not to mention the fact that he would no longer have immediate access 
to the penalty box to chew out his players. :^))))

Ben

    NO Ray, I didn't fall in any trap. I know exactly what Mario was trying 
    to do. He was very successful at it. EVERYBODY (I guess) agreed he
    didn't have it as an NHL coach but what Mario did 1/2 thru his press
    conference is chew the 'media gods' of Mtl. They seem to think they
    can criticize in a very meaningful way, anybody they want. The tables
    were turned on that day cause that's the only time that Mario would've
    gotten the chance to do it; NOW was the time for him. It felt great.
    
    For years, EVERYBODY's been saying how the Mtl media was mean and
    nasty. Tremblay made them pay for it. The 'media gods' plain and simply
    were going tooooo far in the Mario saga. I don't read Bertrand Raymond
    like you do but some people that do find him to be the most 'negative'
    hockey writer around. The dif'rnce between Rejean Tremblay and Bertrand
    Raymond is that one doesn't mince words (ie. PeeWee coach comment)
    while the other is very tactful; SAME DIF'RNCE!!!
    
    Andy

    When Mario was named head coach 2 years ago, only one reporter drove
    from MTL to the Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean area to do interviews with friends
    and family; Bertrand Raymond. He came back w/ pages of positive
    feedback from Mario's 'native land', and put it in the paper.
    
    As far as I can remember, BR never went behond his responsibilities as
    a sports reporter. It never was 'personal' between him and Mario. The
    only thing I heard him say the other day after the press conference was
    that most reporters found Tremblay had become very arrogant since being
    coach, and for someone who had absolutely no experience at all, they
    found that to be somwhat annoying...BTW, a lot of players also had a
    problem w/ Mario's arrogance...
    
    Ray.
    

    re:-1 "BR never went behond his responsibilities as
        a sports reporter...."
    
    not to be confused with our own Ben Robillard who would never berate
    the Habs regardless of responsibilities etc.

And not too be confused with Barney Rubble who never had anything negative
to say about anyone!

Ben

    Well, it looks like once again, ma man Bertrand Raymond was the 1st guy
    to do his homework, as he announced on Saturday Alain Vigneault has
    signed a contract to become the next Habs coach. Nobody on the Habs has
    come out and made it official yet, but the entire NHL community are
    treating the news as reality, because the exclusive report came
    from...Raymond!!
    
    Over the year, I've " earned " a reputation in here of being a dye hard
    Hab fan, with all the "qualities" that come with that. Now, if it's
    true that my friend Alain is now the coach of the Habs, some of you
    lads won't be able to stand me in here anymore!!!
    
    Ray.
    

    It's now official. Bertrand Raymond (Journal De Montreal reporter)
    called a news conference today to officially announce HIS choice as new
    Habs coach, Alain Vigneault. Raymond let GM Peanut Houle make the
    announcement, along w/ the news that Dave King was named asst-coach.
    
    Ray.
    

    Dave King??????
    
    Bertrand Raymond and Rejean Tremblay are gonna skin him alive.
    
    King is known to be an anti-francophone (the Lemieux incident is
    famous). Bert and Rejean are pro-francophone. I guess Houle hired
    King so that Bert and Rej could feast on King for now and leave
    him, Houle, alone for a while.  :*)))
    
    Andy

    There was an article in the Calgary papers last week saying that the
    Habs realy wanted King to be head coach, but know they had to have a
    francophone, so they offerred King an asssitants job...

    Ray,
    
    Did you hear your man Bertrand Raymond's comments yesterday?  Your
    friend Alain might be in for a rough ride.  Raymond said "Apparently
    Vigneault treated the press as second class citizens in Hull, he better
    have changed!"
    
    I think that Vigneault is an excellent choice. I've always been
    impressed with him.  He's bright, articulate, a carreer coach with 9
    years of professional coaching experience.
    
    Bernie.
    

    Red Fisher in today's Gazette is somewhat negative -- he says the Habs
    needed a coach with NHL experience, & basically dismisses Vigneault's
    experience with the Sens, because the Sens were so bad.  
    
    It's an interesting choice, not a particularly safe one, although the
    hiring of Dave King as assistant does put an experienced man in the
    picture.  Vigneault is perfectly bilingual, King not at all; so
    presumably he's not a threat to step into the big job.
    
    -Stephen

    I was very impressed w/ Dave King at the press conference. He actually
    spoke (pretty good) french for the first 30 secondes!!!
    
    I know he's been accused of being 'anti-francophone' and all, but I
    don't buy that. Yes, he had a run-in w/ Mario 13 years ago, but to say
    he's against the "frogs" because of that, there's a big difference...
    
    Bernie, dont; worry about BR. I'll have a little chat w/ him...:*))
    
    Ray.
    

              eh?
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