Blogging About The Montreal Canadiens and Canadiens Hockey

When I thought that Jaroslav Halak wouldn’t get any recognition with all of these trade rumors swirling around, NHL.com lists it’s top Slovak players which Halak rounds out the top 10.

1. Zdeno Chara, D, Boston — Chara, the two-time winner of the NHL’s Hardest Shot competition, was sixth in the League in average ice time (26:04), second on the Bruins in hits (169) and finished with a career-high 19 goals, 31 assists and a plus-23 rating in 2008-09. He became the third Bruin to capture the Norris Trophy — joining Hall of Famers Ray Bourque and Bobby Orr.

2. Marian Hossa, F, Chicago — Recent surgery to repair a small tear in his right rotator cuff certainly won’t keep him off the Slovak Olympic roster. Hossa led his countrymen in goals (40), points (71), shots (307) and plus/minus rating (plus-27) with Detroit last season. He has 719 points in 775 career games during his 11 NHL seasons.

3. Marian Gaborik, F, New York Rangers — The two-time NHL All-Star has reached 30 goals in five of his eight seasons, including a 42-goal performance in 2007-08. He skated in 502 regular-season games in Minnesota, registering 219 goals and 437 points, before signing with the Rangers this summer. Gaborik made his Olympic debut in 2006, scoring 3 goals and 7 points in six games.

4. Pavol Demitra, F, Vancouver — In his first season with the Canucks, in 2008-09, he had 20 goals and 53 points — his seventh straight season of at least 50 points. It also marked the 10th time in the last 11 seasons Demitra scored at least 20 goals.

5. Michal Handzus, F, Los Angeles — The 6-foot-4, 218-pound center not only finished fourth among Slovakian scorers with 18 goals and 42 points last season, but he was first in faceoff winning percentage, (54.5, on 1,320 attempts), tied for second in takeaways (28), fifth in hits (75), and sixth in blocked shots (69).

6. Lubomir Visnovsky, D, Edmonton — A dislocated shoulder limited him to 50 games in 2008-09, but he still produced at least 30 points for the fourth straight season. Visnovsky, who was voted the best player in Slovakia during the NHL work stoppage in 2004-05, is a key contributor to the Oilers’ power play and a veteran of three Olympics.

7. Andrej Meszaros, D, Tampa Bay — He was second among Slovakian players in average ice time per game (24:10) and amassed 68 hits and 98 blocked shots. Prior to last season, his first season with the Lightning, Meszaros hadn’t missed a game in his first three NHL seasons. He had 16 points in 52 games in 2008-09.

8. Milan Jurcina, D, Washington — Jurcina appeared in a career-high 79 games last season and set personal highs in assists (11) and points (14). He was first on the Caps and among Slovaks with 131 blocked shots and second with 157 hits.

9. Marek Svatos, F, Colorado — The 27-year-old, a top-six forward with the Avalanche, has registered at least 30 points in his four NHL seasons. He had a career-high 32 goals and 50 points as a rookie in 2005-06; he had 14 goals and 34 points last season. Svatos also played in the ‘06 Olympics.

10. Jaroslav Halak, G, Montreal — The 271st pick in the 2003 Entry Draft took over as the backup to Carey Price following the trade of Cristobal Huet. He went 18-14-1 with a 2.86 goals-against average and .915 save percentage in 34 games last season, and played for Slovakia at the 2007 World Championships.

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Ever wonder where your favorite team stands against the Salary Cap? Me too. Too bad there aren’t sites on the Internet that showed such things. Oh wait, there is!

Here are a few sites that I use for salary caps and cap hits for the Montreal Canadiens and other teams I may be interested in seeing.

These sites are not maintained by the NHL so you may see some inaccurate information, and they may not be updated as quickly as you want them to, but they are a good gauge.

Hockey Buzz: Cap Central
NHLNumbers.com – One of the more detailed charts available.
Cap Geek – Thanks Mazzie

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The 2009-2010 NHL schedule is set to be released today. This is just a pre-post to the post because I won’t be around so I’ll just add it here when I get a chance. Expect the schedule to be out around noon on the NHL.com website.

Montreal Canadiens 2009-2010 Full Schedule

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With the release of the 2009-2010 NHL schedule expected tomorrow Tim Wharnsby, of the Globe and Mail, indicated that a source has suggested an outdoor game between the Canadiens and Capitals may be on the NHL agenda in late November.

The idea was discussed three weeks ago with the competition committee and reportedly got approval as long as the NHL could accommodate the request, and with the Canadiens centennial season coming to an end on December 5th it makes pretty good sense.

The Big ‘O’ (Ovechkin) at the Big ‘O’ (Olympic Stadium), it kind of suits don’t you think?

The NHL season expected to start on October 1st, the Montreal Canadiens will head to Toronto to face the Maple Leafs in the Air Canada Centre. I can’t freakin’ wait!

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This is a sticky post! I will be posting other individual posts below this one so don’t be afraid to check them out as well.

So I haven’t done many updates since the Canadiens started on the downward spiral that ended up with them leaving in the first round of the playoffs, but I figure a good time to start back at it would be the NHL 2009 Entry Draft. Tonight during the draft I will be updating this post with each pick as well as other draft information for those of you who aren’t able to watch it on television.

CSS North American Skater Rankings
CSS North American Goalie Rankings
CSS European Skater Rankings
CSS European Goalie Rankings

1. New York Islanders: John Tavares
2. Tampa Bay Lightning: Victor Hedman
3. Colorado Avalanche: Matt Duchene
4. Atlanta Thrashers Evander Kane
5. Los Angeles Kings: Brayden Schenn
6. Phoenix Coyotes: O Ekman-Larsson
7. Toronto Maple Leafs: Nazem Kadri
8. Dallas Stars: Scott Glennie
9. Ottawa Senators: Jared Cowen
10. Edmonton Oilers: Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson
11. Nashville Predators: Ryan Ellis
12. New York Islanders: Calvin De Haan
13. Buffalo Sabres: Zack Kassian
14. Florida Panthers: Dmitry Kulikov
15. Anaheim Ducks: Peter Holland
16. Minnesota Wild: Nick Leddy
17. St. Louis Blues: David Rundblad
18. Montreal Canadiens: Louis Leblanc
19. New York Rangers: Chris Kreider
20. New Jersey Devils: Jacob Josefson
21. Columbus Blue Jackets: John Moore
22. Vancouver Canucks: Jordan Schroeder
23. Calgary Flames: Tim Erixon
24. Washington Capitals: Marcus Johansson
25. Boston Bruins: Jordan Caron
26. Anaheim Ducks: Kyle Palmieri
27. Carolina Hurricanes: Philippe Paradis
28. Chicago Blackhawks: Dylan Olsen
29. Tampa Bay Lightning: Carter Ashton
30. Pittsburgh Penguins: Simon Despres

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From NHL.com:

Los Angeles Kings defenseman Denis Gauthier has been suspended for five games, without pay, as a result of a blow to the head delivered during NHL Game #732, Jan. 31 against the Montreal Canadiens, the National Hockey League announced.

Under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, and based on his average annual salary, Gauthier will forfeit $56,451.61. The money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.

Gauthier was assessed a five-minute major for charging and a game misconduct for hitting Canadiens’ defenseman Josh Gorges at 3:50 of the second period.

Gauthier will miss games at Ottawa on Feb. 3, at Washington on Feb. 5, at New Jersey on Feb. 7, at New York Islanders on Feb. 10 and against Calgary on Feb. 12. He will be eligible to return on Feb. 14 against Edmonton.

Gorges did not return for the third period of the game against the Los Angeles Kings and sat out yesterday’s game against the Bruins as a precautionary measure. No word yet on when he will return.

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Well, it was definitely a good night for the Habs, especially Alex Kovalev who left with a brand new Honda 4×4 for being game MVP.

The Montreal Canadiens totaled for four points, three of those going to Alex Kovalev who notched 2 Goals and 1 Assist. Andrei Markov had a goal late in the first period after an excellent feed from Alexander Ovechkin.

Mike Komisarek had the only penalty of the game, a hooking call late in the third. I’m so proud. You definitely wouldn’t find a better Penalty Kill on a team that’s for sure.

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Final Score (SO):
East: 12
West: 11
SO Winner and MVP: Alex Kovalev

Scoring Summary
FIRST PERIOD
WEST
1 – 1:16 – Tkachuk scores (1), assisted by Nash (1) and Hejduk (1).
2 – 19:48 – Marleau scores (1), assisted by Thornton (1) and Niedermayer (1).

EAST
1 – 6:26 – Ovechkin scores (1), assisted by Savard (1).
2 – 9:30 – Staal scores (1), assisted by Boumeester (1) and Kovalev (1).
3 – 16:34 – Kovalev scores (1), assisted by Kaberle (1).
4 – 19:23 – Markov scores (1), assisted by Ovechkin (1) and Savard (2).

SECOND PERIOD
WEST
3 – 3:29 – Souray scores (1), assisted by Hejduk (2).
4 – 5:14 – Boyle scores (1), assisted by Doan (1) and Campbell (1).
5 – 8:27 – Nash scores (1), unassisted.
6 – 9:02 – Hejduk scores (1), assisted by Boyle (1) and Nash (2).
7 – 10:34 – Souray scores (2), assisted by Thornton (2) and Marleau (1).
8 – 16:46 – Iginla scores (1), assisted by Thornton (3) and Marleau (2).

EAST
5 – 1:21 – St. Louis scores (1), assisted by Kaberle (2).
6 – 2:11 – Parise scores (1), assisted by St. Louis (1) and Streit (1).
7 – 7:45 – Malkin scores (1), unassisted.
8 – 13:35 – Kovalev scores (2), unassisted.

THIRD PERIOD
WEST
9 – 0:32 – Doan scores (1), assisted by Modano (1) and Brown (1).
10 – 2:33 – Toews scores (1), assisted by Kane (1) and Souray (1).
11 – 15:18 – Kane scores (1), unassisted.

EAST
9 – 2:17 – Heatley scores (1), assisted by Savard (3).
10 – 13:19 – St. Louis scores (2), assisted by Streit (2) and Bouwmeester (2).
11 – 16:21 – Bouwmeester (1), assisted by Ovechkin (2).

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Rosters

* = Captain

TV Listings
All listings are in Eastern Time

CBC
Sunday, Jan 25
5:50pm : 57th NHL All-Stars Game

NHL Network
Sunday, Jan 25
4:00pm : Live from the 2009 NHL All-Star Game: All-Access Pre-Game Show
9:00pm : Live from the 2009 NHL All-Star Game: Post-Game Show

Versus
Sunday, Jan 25
6:00pm : 57th NHL All-Star Game

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