Something about a rivalry

So as Brian Burke decides mortaging two first rounders is apparently worth a sixty point player... when playing next to the number one setup guy in the league, it's effectively hockey time.

Last night's game resembled a PR stunt for Bob Gainey; his new pickups got points, Carey Price looked good, and Curtis Sanford looked like a sieve showing why we can't trade Halak. At time of writing we're losing to the Senators so maybe this propaganda is illsuited... except that 2/3s of the Big Three and Price are not dressed.


Back on topic of Sir Truculent, one thing I'm looking for this season, even more than a post-season position or the competition between Pascal Leclaire and Marian Gaborik on who can play the most games, is a hopeful revival of the habs / leafs rivalry. Sure roughing up Grabo was fun and all, especially when he decides to retaliate against his fierce opponent, the NHL linesman, but really this year I think will be the most exciting series between the two teams. And lets face it, if we're not fighting, the Leafs need to pretend the Battle of Ontario has relevance, and no one wants that.

So here's why the Leafs / Habs rivalry may actually pick up again this year

Size vs Skill: While the Habs aren't nearly as small as we'd like every other team in the league to pretend, we very much are a quick, agile team, next to the pugnastic assault of the Leafs. Our speedy forwards dancing around theirs only to be then rocked by three checking lines will be fun as hell to watch, and is a legitimately different dynamic.

We both actually have players that can fight: Laraque being the de-facto heavyweight is standard by now, but adding Travis Moen is useful if BGL's crippling vegetarianism or back problems stop him from dropping the gloves against Colton Orr, as well as deflecting fists from Grabovski away from the officiating staff. If that fails, at least we can dazzle them with Mara's beard?

Burke and Gainey's UFA pissing contest: Didn't the entire month of July feel like Burke and Gainey moving to grab attention? Be it Burke's microphone magnetism or Gainey's "he seriously signed gionta?" moves, it seemed like the entire off-season was them changing their dynamic and making people think "Those guys are going to suck". Ignoring the negative reaction to team changes depending on where you live, it's kept both the Leafs and the Habs in the limelight all summer, with The Big Three drama, Komisarek deciding one Belarussian mobster teammate was enough, Moen, Mara, and Gill crouching to get in team pictures with Cammalleri and Gionta, and this whole Kessel traded for the Leafs foreseeable future drama, these two teams have not faded. Means that opening night they both get to strut so much more than everyone else.

Komisarek is a backstabbing dick with no tact, who's mouth emits a constant array of untrustworthy bile: Also bears shit in the woods

Montreal's best french player can actually take the body: Though Guilliame is also likely Montreal's ONLY french player, I'm sure this matters when he erases whatever AHL callup winds up in the neutral zone with his head down.

They'll both be fighting for second in the division: Ottawa's yo-yoing positioning notwithstanding, their division is tight, and that means all six meetings actually matter for once, instead of being a curbstomp battle by the conference leader and everyone else middle of the pack, the rest of the conference is likely going to be deflecting much of eastern Canada from the playoffs, making every loss to a divisional rival that much more frustrating... and more fun to watch




We'll find out Oct 1


... Oh and good for theo fleury on the shootout winner. I hate to admit it but that may be his last big moment in the NHL and at least it was in front of thousands of fans who love him.

Gainey's pickups part one: The big three

So most free agents that matter are off the market, lets look at who Gainey actually grabbed while trying to not make short jokes or incredibly lazy puns.

The big three:
... too late on the incredibly lazy puns.

Gomez - Gomez is overpaid! What a cunning observation by the entire media and fanbase. It doesn't change the fact that, in his worst season ever (last year, incidentally) he still amassed more points than anyone on the Canadiens roster last year. I wouldn't expect him to bring a huge [sorry] physical presence to the game, but I can't see a 5'11 centre putting up 60+ points hurting the team, seeing as one just mysteriously disappeared.

Cammalleri - No I cannot spell his name. Cammalleri's biggest issue is everyone saying he can only put up numbers next to Iginla; I didn't know Iginla was on the Kings three years ago, as I could have sworn he was too busy making a first round exit against the Red Wings. He flip flops between having good and bad seasons it seems, which means we wont miss Kovalev (except, looking at patterns, Cam is up for a bad season while Kovalev is up for a good one). He's fast, he can put the puck in the net, and will presumably have Gomez to help with that, though at 5'9 he risks being pushed around by any large defenseman who isn't recovering from a broken jaw via Milan Lucic, just put some size next to hi- oh wait.

Gionta - Montreal managed to draft both the second tallest and second shortest player in the league this draft, though Gionta is, at very least, quick enough to be effective. It's clear there's going to be an attempt to recreate some magic with Gomez as these three will likely form Montreal's first forward line - they may be small but they're quick and have some chemistry already. While I hope to get off the size bandwagon soon it is important to note that while Gomez and Gionta succeeded with a 6'1 Elias, using a 5'9 forward in their place may not be the greatest call. That said, it's not like we have to put these three together, it's just being reported everywhere else. I'd expect him to at the very least be better at actually hitting the net than Chris Higgins, which is always a plus.

So if you took Koivu and put in someone with more points and twice as much cash, Kovalev with more speed [and far less entertaining puckhandling], and Higgins with someone short but actually competent, you have these three. While Gionta hasn't really been that solid since he last worked with Gomez, it's not like we have anyone else putting up 60 point seasons that aren't named Andrei, let alone players who are said to be having a bad season after 60 points (except Kovalev). Just a quick reminder, point structure last year was Kovalev with 65 (getting a whole one more goal than Toronto's 'lets shoot from the blue line' Jason Blake), Markov with 64 (and the honor of having the team never win a game he didn't play in) , Koivu with 50, then jumping down to Tanguay's 41 - and you know you're in bad shape when you're fourth highest point-getter only played 50 games. I'd say by sheer production alone the habs are in good shape, and while we lost some first line size, Gainey seems to be trying to remedy this by getting in a race with Brian Burke over who can hire the most defensemen

Up next; remembering it's 12 forwards and six defense not the other way around, and why no one cares who shoots left.