AB Habman wrote:

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 Firstly I had to miss the game last night so I had to go through about 150 posts to get a feel of the game!  Thanks to the Gohabs family and especially those that gave up-dates as the game went on!  Habgirl mentioned that Ivanans was a big boy and others mentioned that Zed sat, so from that, I deduced that Gainey put some muscle into the line up at Zed's expense. I didn't hear about any scraps. Did Downey and Ivanans do their thing and create room for the others?  It sounds like Theo is back on top of his game if he was solid but let in a softy! Was he that good as Laffs shot total was like very low?  Sounds like Saks and Kovy played great from the new debates I read. Were they that good or was Laffs that bad? From what I gather, Laffs are banged up big time and going with an AHL team!  Also I must ask, where was Saks and Kovy the previous several games if all of a sudden they were so great? I guess they just felt like playing!  Also for the Saks gang, It's just one game against a poor team, is it not?  A few took off their blinders and reallized that Saks should be a second line center now all of a sudden after one game he's our saviour?  I'm glad I missed the game because a few posters here lost all objectivity on Saks after that one!   I seen highlites and the best of them looked like Kovy recieved a poor pass. In a heart beat he kicked it up to his stick and shot low to pick the corner! Also Bulis with his great backhand shot to pick a top corner!  Also Saks finally went to the net in overtime and was rewarded! Then he proceeded to celebrate like he won the Cup by himself! I wish he would show half that emotion when his teammates have success!  OK, so where does Habs go from here? If the core players did their thing, will the others follow? Have we ever had a game where every one showed up all at once? Will the core players go to sleep again for several games? It's just one game but it better be a start to some passion and better performances all around! Remember Souray's or Rivet's scraps in previous games? That did squat to motivate the others! This is still a broken team full of problems! One game against an almost farm team that we gave a free point to won't change the fact that Habs have many holes to address!   I do admit the positive is, the big contract players earned a token last night! Finally!   -- Edited by AB Habman at 18:45, 2006-01-29

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Holy smokes AB, I love how both you and And-o find clever ways to give backhanded remarks about Koivu. Let me ask you, who is the teams leading point producer? Who is a + player on a very minus team? He celebrated and you are not happy about it?

See, this is what gets me about some Hab fans. And-o has stated in a prevoius post that he thinks the captain should live in Montreal( i.e be french really And-o eh?). That is just plain STUPID. I get the sense that both you and And-o are/were big Ribiero fans and are just jealous and upset that he is proving you both wrong( embarrasing you both actually).

No koivu is no Ovechkin, Sakic, Thornton, Kovelchuk, Lecavlier. But he is a pretty dam good player on an otherwise crapola team. Stop givin him backhanded compliments...we all get the tone of the post..yer not masking your true sentiments.

It's Ok however. If my gut is telling me the truth, I figure he will sign somewhere else next year for more money and better players. 10 years of bad drafts and horrid back up support will be enough for him. Trust me Gainey wants him, but Koivu may not want the habs and the media influence. So you guys can rest easy...Perhaps Dandenault will have the "C".

Could not agree with muller 93 comments more. Eric Desjardins, patrice Brisbeois, Vinny Damphousse have at one time or another stated the obvious even francophone players don't want to play in Montreal. The french media is absolutely negative in their comments about Koviu. He won't resign with the Habs, and Gainey will not be able to sign a high quality free agent to play for this team next season. around this time next year when the habs have a gigantic hole at center maybe some of Koviu's critics will give him some credit for his abilities.

       The root causes of the Habs mediocre season are 1) an ineffectual defence that has a hard time creating break out situations for the forwards 2) poor goaltending from the teams so called mvp 3) a lack of size and grit from many of the teams forwards 4) poor work ethic from a majority of the players on the team. 5) an overall lack of skill players. yet despite all of these deficiencies Koviu is expected to take this team on his shoulders and somehow without a strong supporting cast lead the team to the promised land. I am not saying that Koviu is above being scrutinized for his shortcomings, a propensity to getting injured, a debatable ability to provide quality leadership in the dressing room etc. Koviu is a quality numer two center, no more no less. Yet in Montreal without a strong supporting cast he is expected to be the second coming of Lemieux.

       Riberio was pushed by the french media to be the go to guy, well he has flat out not produced and given Koviu zero back up support in terms of offensive production. Teams can key on Koviu because they know there is absolutely nothing behind him to help out. Zednik has been a major dissapointment this season, the Canadiens can barely cobble together a second line that shows some sort of offensive threat, yet all the Habs problems are directed towards Koviu. This teams malaise goes alot further than Koviu.

Muller/Wright: I agree 100%.  I would add something, but you two have said it all. 

Wright, you're still new around here, so I'll keep my eye on you in future. 

Muller, I have determined that of all the GoHab posters, you are the one whose opinions most closely align with mine.  (Take that for what's it's worth - that plus $1.15 will buy you a small coffee at Tim's.)  I never disagree with you.  You are the Anti-And-o.

AB Habman wrote:

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 Wow! You guys are making alot of my posts!  I'm trying to bring back some objectivity that the whole team including Saks has played poorly through most of the season and you guys are talking about nationality or something?  Again, it's just one game against a team desimated with injuries!  I'm not trying to give back handed compliments at all! This team deserves none!  When they start playing like a team from goalie out and put some much needed wins together then I'll be complimentary!  

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Ab- I am at the point that I do not even bother making any comment regarding Koivu on here because the replies to my posts usually turn into personal attacks. I have said it before. Some treat the guy like he is a God. I like him. I like what he brings to the table. But to suggest that he is without fault and is not worth any criticism whatsoever is nothing short of ridiculous. He is the captain and the leader. Of course he gets singled out more than say, a Boiullon or Begin would. As I said about Kovalev, you want the team to ante up big bucks so you can be a millionaire then be prepared for criticism. Suck it up boys. Just like the coach was singled out for not leading the team during rough times, so should the captain. Is it always fair? No. Was it fair for Julien to be called out and fired even though he was doing HIS best? No. Of course not. But he accepts that as part of his job and role with the team. And I am sure Koivu accepts criticism as part of his role as captain and leader.

As for this whole "no wonder no one wants to play in Montreal" bull, where do you think Crosby would like to be now?!? Where did Lafleur play most of his career? Belliveau? Richard?  The players that play and stay in Montreal play there because they EXCEL under pressure and welcome it. They rise to the challenge. Belliveue, the best captain that Montreal ever had (no Saks is not in the same league) was booed by the fans. He had negative press. But he fed off of that and Made himself better. Koivu is a good player. A second line center now. He came through cancer and I applaud him for that. But he is not perfect and is not God-like. And to indicate that Gainey should belly up to the bar and give him a 3 or 4 year contract, given his medical condition is nothing short of a very poor business decision. Let another team make that decision. And they will.