Koivu looks to test injured eye at camp

JohnM · Guru

Koivu looks to test injured eye at camp

barry33 · Guru

Thanks Johnny. The article just confirms what I heard on the radio. Gainey can give us all the "I am confident Saku will be fine dialogue". But the fact is, here it is the eve of training camp. it still has swelling and he still complains of vision problems. This is not good. I hope you all have taken a liking to Michael Ribiero because we will be seeing alot of him this season.

JohnM · Guru

Ribs, yeah, I heard he was lighting fast and willing to take a hit without crying after this summers training.

macneil · Guru

i have my fingers crossed now boys , and i like this line "The Canadiens were giving the Hurricanes a battle up to that point, but had no hope against the eventual Stanley Cup champions once their captain was gone." what moron wrote this article , we were giving them a battle (leading 2-0 in games and 1-0 in the 3rd game)had no hope , we lost 4, 1 goal games i believe with 2 in overtime i believe . reporters like this make me shake my head .

chelii chilli · Member

I smell trade coming up soon. We all know that Gainey dots his I's and crosses his T's and there is NO way this team is going to sit and HOPE that Koivu's eye won't be an issue this year.

Look for Gainey to land another centerman in the next month or 2. Even with Koivu heathy, this team needs another centerman (as everyone knows).

Ribiero, Plekanec and Bonk are not replacements.

barry33 · Guru

chelii chilli wrote:

I smell trade coming up soon. We all know that Gainey dots his I's and crosses his T's and there is NO way this team is going to sit and HOPE that Koivu's eye won't be an issue this year.

Look for Gainey to land another centerman in the next month or 2. Even with Koivu heathy, this team needs another centerman (as everyone knows).

Ribiero, Plekanec and Bonk are not replacements.

I agree Chelli. Can anyone name one team in the NHL that would be weaker up the middle then the habs without Koivu?

Ando · Guru

Just how long does Saku think is proper for everyone to 'wait and see' for him!???

Sandbaggers unite!!!

JohnM · Guru

Ando wrote:

Just how long does Saku think is proper for everyone to 'wait and see' for him!???

Sandbaggers unite!!!

Hmmm. Let me think about that one. The proper length of time would be, the length of time it takes for the doctors to say it's a go or no go. Now I'm not a doctor mind you but am able to deduce this.

SpiderManNL · Guru

I have a bad feeling that Koivu will announce his retirement some time during training camp....it fu*king makes me sick to my stomach every time I think about what that inbred hick Williams did to him....we'll probably lose our fearless captain because of that dirty a$$ son of a bit*h.....I'll swear to God...I'll curse that God damn douche bag for the rest of my days.

barry33 · Guru

SpiderManNL wrote:

I have a bad feeling that Koivu will announce his retirement some time during training camp....it fu*king makes me sick to my stomach every time I think about what that inbred hick Williams did to him....we'll probably lose our fearless captain because of that dirty a$$ son of a bit*h.....I'll swear to God...I'll curse that God damn douche bag for the rest of my days.

Ahh Spidey..that is what I love about you Newfs....you tell it like it is, pull no punches, and take no prisoners..now why don't ya tell us how you really feel about Williams lol

SpiderManNL · Guru

I would but my blood pressure almost shot through the roof when I was typing out my last post. lol

chelii chilli · Member

Hey barry,

Vancouver without Morrison.

wright · Veteran Member

chelii chilli wrote:

I smell trade coming up soon. We all know that Gainey dots his I's and crosses his T's and there is NO way this team is going to sit and HOPE that Koivu's eye won't be an issue this year.

Look for Gainey to land another centerman in the next month or 2. Even with Koivu heathy, this team needs another centerman (as everyone knows).

Ribiero, Plekanec and Bonk are not replacements.

Dealing for a quality centerman is easiers said than done. There is a real scarcity of elite level centermen in the league, most teams have one quality centerman and then there is a real step down to their number two guy. Just as in baseball where virtually every team is looking for a quality starter, most teams are looking for another good pivot. To pry a point a game producing center from a team will require a heckuva good package.

Carbo made an interesting comment today when he mentioned Lantandresse by name indicating that he will give young players every chance to take a job away from an incumbent. Suppose the plan if Koviu can't return is to hope that Lantandresse,Kositsyn or possibly Chipchura is ready making someone like Ryder available to land a quality center.

AB Habman · Guru

Saks isn't retiring or going anywhere! Even if he has some peripheral vision problems from his eye, it won't effect his play enough for him to walk away from the big bucks. If Berard can play with one eye, Saku can play also.

Worst case scenario is Saks may miss games at the start and Ribs will take over number one center. Like that has never happened before!

Personally I would put him on wing but I have thought that for years. It would take away his responsiblities of trying to cover the opposing center and having to be Mr. Playmaker.

wright · Veteran Member

AB Habman wrote:

Saks isn't retiring or going anywhere! Even if he has some peripheral vision problems from his eye, it won't effect his play enough for him to walk away from the big bucks. If Berard can play with one eye, Saku can play also.

Worst case scenario is Saks may miss games at the start and Ribs will take over number one center. Like that has never happened before!

Personally I would put him on wing but I have thought that for years. It would take away his responsiblities of trying to cover the opposing center and having to be Mr. Playmaker.

I tend to agree with you regarding Koviu's return to the NHL. Hard to figure Gainey would be caught flat footed byKoivu inability to return. Berard is playing in the league with limited vision in one eye, the problem is his once promising career flatlined after the injury, never allowing him to reach his true potential. If Koivu has decreased vision in the one eye his value to the team is greatly reduced, and so are the Habs chances for success this coming season.

barry33 · Guru

AB Habman wrote:

Saks isn't retiring or going anywhere! Even if he has some peripheral vision problems from his eye, it won't effect his play enough for him to walk away from the big bucks. If Berard can play with one eye, Saku can play also.

Worst case scenario is Saks may miss games at the start and Ribs will take over number one center. Like that has never happened before!

Personally I would put him on wing but I have thought that for years. It would take away his responsiblities of trying to cover the opposing center and having to be Mr. Playmaker.

The truth is Ab, that Gainey HAS been caught flat footed by this. We are going into this season with Ribs as our number one center. Need I say more? Everyone makes excuses for why Gainey did not get a legitimate pivot. Language, media etc. The bottom line is to get the job done and win. Carbos job will be to WIN hockey games as a coach. No excuses. No "oh well I do not have a number one center" or "we have too many injuries". Win is the bottom line or you are gone. Gainey should have known, more than anyone,. the challenges of playing and managing in Montreal yet he took the job. When he was hired he never said anything about media or how tough it was to get free agents to play in habland. Now that he has been shunned in his attempts he brings it up. Say what you want about Andrea Savard, but did you ever once hear him make excuses about why he could not get free agents? It pisses me off that we are limping into the season with marginal improvement at best and a worse team than last year if Saks can't go. As far as trading Ryder for a legitimate number one center..dream on. Mike Milbury is no longer a GM.

wright · Veteran Member

barry33 wrote:

AB Habman wrote:

Saks isn't retiring or going anywhere! Even if he has some peripheral vision problems from his eye, it won't effect his play enough for him to walk away from the big bucks. If Berard can play with one eye, Saku can play also.

Worst case scenario is Saks may miss games at the start and Ribs will take over number one center. Like that has never happened before!

Personally I would put him on wing but I have thought that for years. It would take away his responsiblities of trying to cover the opposing center and having to be Mr. Playmaker.

The truth is Ab, that Gainey HAS been caught flat footed by this. We are going into this season with Ribs as our number one center. Need I say more? Everyone makes excuses for why Gainey did not get a legitimate pivot. Language, media etc. The bottom line is to get the job done and win. Carbos job will be to WIN hockey games as a coach. No excuses. No "oh well I do not have a number one center" or "we have too many injuries". Win is the bottom line or you are gone. Gainey should have known, more than anyone,. the challenges of playing and managing in Montreal yet he took the job. When he was hired he never said anything about media or how tough it was to get free agents to play in habland. Now that he has been shunned in his attempts he brings it up. Say what you want about Andrea Savard, but did you ever once hear him make excuses about why he could not get free agents? It pisses me off that we are limping into the season with marginal improvement at best and a worse team than last year if Saks can't go. As far as trading Ryder for a legitimate number one center..dream on. Mike Milbury is no longer a GM.

Barry, I think you need to direct your anger to me, not AB, I was the one who said that Gainey would not be caught flatfooted by Saks inability to play. In my posts I did mention that it would take a heckuva package to land a quality center, and I am under no misguided beliefs that Ryder alone in a deal would get the job done. Still believe that Gainey's approach is pushing the Habs in the right direction, but obviously if Saks can't go it is a major step backwards for the organization. Even the best GM's make missteps as evidenced by the cap difficulties New Jersey is in with one of the best in the business as their GM. There is a very real chance that the Devils will lose a key component of their team, whether it is Gomez,Gionta,Rafalski.

Can't imagine that Gainey did not have continual medical updates and a realistic prognosis for Saks injury during the offseason. If Gainey was aware of the jeopardy of Saks career he probably still would not tip his hand in terms of trying to make a deal to land another center anyways. As a player Gainey dealt with adversity and as a gm I think he will do all he can do to improve the club if Saks can't go. He pursued Arnott without success, but who is to say that he is not working on other options at present.

barry33 · Guru

Wright- I am just angry that we are in this position to begin with. Here it is a month before camp is to open and we are not sure if Koivu can start the season (VERY doubtful) or play at all. How did we get in this position to begin with? I will not be as cold as some posters on this site in regards to Koivu. I do not think that anyone on this site (even And-O) feels that Koivu gets hurt on purpose. He has had an incredible string of bad luck and has a black cloud following him. Having said that, it is what it is. We are heading into camp without our captain and our number one center. All last season, 80% of the members on this board complained about Ribs and wanted him gone. Now that we are stuck with him and have Samsonov on his wing everyone is all optomistic and the guy is gonna pot 40 goals.

Yes Berard plays with a bad eye, but there are key differences. Berard is not a center. The one bright spot to Koivu's game has been his passing. His ability to see the open man and hit him with a pass. Just ask Ryder and Higgins. When you cannot see peripherally on your left side it limits your abilities to see your wingers. Other teams will exploit that weakness. They will know that Koivu has a hard time seeing to the left and will take the puck that way all the time. Lets face it. Even if he does play this year he will be half the player he was.