No Komisarek for Leafs/Canadiens opener?

There's a possibility that Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Mike Komisarek may miss the season opener Thursday against the Montreal Canadiens.

The former Habs blueliner, signed in the off-season by the rival Leafs, pulled a hamstring during Sunday's pre-season game against the Buffalo Sabres.

Komisarek did not take part in the team's practice, Tuesday morning in Huntsville, ON, but did work out in the gym saying it was nothing major and that he doesn't expect to miss Thursday's game.

"It will take a lot more than this to keep me out," he said.

In Case you missed it: Habs News and Blogger Views for August 23

Drop the puck already!

 

I’ve been away from my laptop, for a day or so, with some family time and doing some research for an upcoming post.

Here’s a short roundup of the weekend’s Habs’ bloggings.

Dennis Kane debates the value of packaged collectibles.

The Daily Hab-it sizes up (literally) the Northeast Division.

The story of how the Canadiens stole Ken Dryden from the Bruins courtesy of Habs Eyes on the Prize.

Jason from Flying Frenchmen makes his predictions on the top eight in the Eastern Conference for 2009-10.

Rick Moffat (CJAD’s voice of the Canadiens) in his “Hit the Post” column from the West Island Chronicle.

“Drove by the Bell Centre to see how the giant Koivu banner would be replaced at the southeast corner. Are you surprised its Markov?

Carey would be the better marketing department choice but the Hockey Department must have called this shot.

A buddy tells me Carey Price at the rink in Kelowna on Dany Heatley's GroundHog Day. Carey and Josh Gorges signed autographs. Heatley didn't. Especially not anything with the Sens on it!

If Dany Heatley saw his shadow, that means three more weeks of selfishness until Training Camp or a trade, which ever comes first, right?”

Canadiens.com catches up with legendary blueliner Guy Lapointe.

OhCanadiens will be dong an interview with TSN’s Montreal correspondent John Lu in September. You can email them your questions for John on his thoughts for the upcoming season.

Lions in Winter says we won’t miss Mike Komisarek.

July 1989: A changing of the guard in Habs leadership

The 1988-89 NHL Season concluded with the Montreal Canadiens losing in six games in the Stanley Cup Finals at the hands of the Calgary Flames.

Much like the the 2008-09 off season departures of Saku Koivu, Alex Kovalev ands Mike Komisarek, several leadership changes were about to unfold for the Montreal Canadiens as their 1989-90 season approached.

On July 18, 1989 with five Stanley Cups, a Conn Smythe trophy and four Selke trophies to his name, Canadiens’ captain Bob Gainey announced his retirement.

D’Arcy Jenish chronicled Gainey’s retirement in his recent book: The Montreal Canadiens: 100 Years of Glory

Bob Gainey’s last act as captain occurred on July 18, 1989. He sat at a table in the media room at the Forum with Serge Savard to his right, wife Cathy to his left and a large crowd of teammates, team officials and journalists before him. He spoke in English and French, switching effortlessly from one to the other, performing with customary poise and distinction, as one writer put it, and announced that after sixteen bruising and sometimes punishing seasons, he was through.

“The people of Montreal are known, and rightly so, as the strongest and most knowledgeable fans,” he said. “I tried to perform for them every night I played and I’ll carry with me many great memories.”

Savard spoke warmly of his former teammate. He cited his many accomplishments: the Stanley Cup championships, the individual awards, the all-star nominations and the appearances with Team Canada. “If I can describe Bob Gainey in one word,” Savard said, “it would be determination. He once played with two separated shoulders and no one even knew about it. In his prime he was one of the most feared players in the league. He is one of the greats in the history of the Canadiens hockey club.”

Pat Burns spoke of the future and the challenge ahead. “You don’t replace Bob Gainey,” Burns said. “You put someone else out there, but you don’t replace him.”

A week later on July 26, 1989 longtime Canadiens’ defenceman Larry Robinson, a more than suitable replacement as captain, was left without a contract and signed a three-year deal with the Los Angeles Kings.

Larry Robinson signed a three-year deal with the Kings on 07/26/89 playing all three seasons and appear in the playoffs for a record 20 consecutive seasons.

With two key leaders gone from the Canadiens’ ranks, and no clear replacement, the team would be asked to vote on the next captain.

Three rounds of voting wound up in ties between Guy Carbonneau and Chris Chelios.

Savard made the decision to name Carbonneau and Chelios as co-captains, alternating the “C” every other game.

Ultimately, the captaincy would fall to Carbonneau alone.

Despite signing a new five-year deal in February 1990, Chelios was traded in June 1990 to Chicago for Denis Savard.

It was a move that surprised Chelios, Burns and fans alike.

There was speculation that Canadiens’ president Ronald Corey was tired of Chelios’ alleged off ice antics and demanded the trade, but Savard claimed it was his decision based on team doctors’ concerns that Chelios’ knee might shorten his career.

That theory can be thrown out the window twenty years later.

Carbonneau would lead the Canadiens to their last Stanley Cup in 1993.He remained captain until he too was traded in the summer of 1994 to the St. Louis Blues. He would win another Cup five years later with the Dallas Stars and then GM Bob Gainey.

Free agency will be less of an issue in 2010

Criticized by many for not making the big off-season signing for the past several off-seasons, Bob Gainey may have silenced his critics this summer.

Going into the July 1 free agent deadline, Canadiens’ GM Bob Gainey had ten unrestricted free agents to deal with.

What did he do?

He blew up the team, essentially cleaning house of the supposed “cliques” and locker room problems that burdened the 2008-09 edition of the Canadiens.

Although he did offer contracts to notables such as Saku Koivu, Alex Kovalev and Mike Komisarek, those players elected to seek other pastures.

Gainey had been scrutinized in the past for allowing key free agents to walk away (Sheldon Souray in 2007 and Mark Streit in 2008), but this off season he made sure the gaps were filled.

And what a job he did, landing Mike Cammalleri, Brian Gionta and Scott Gomez with contracts that will keep them, barring trades, in  the bleu-blanc et rouge until the 2013-14 season is over.

Jaroslav Spacek, Travis Moen, Hal Gill and Paul Mara were then picked up on the cheap for three,three, two and one-year deals respectively.

He then re-signed restricted free agents Kyle Chipchura, Tomas Plekanec and Guillaume Latendresse for one-year terms.

Curtis Sanford was grabbed to be the bridge goaltender between Hamilton and Montreal.

Based on data from  nhlnumbers.com that leaves $3.2 million and change left over that will likely go to resigning Matt D’Agostini and Gregory Stewart.

Prospect P.K. Subban is signed to a 3-year entry level deal, but it has yet to reflect on the cap.

So what was a panic situation by many, on June 30 at 11:59 pm, now appears to be a well balanced group of players with a new head coach in Jacques Martin and a revamped coaching staff (with the exception of assistant coach Kirk Muller) at both the NHL and AHL level.

What’s good for Gainey is that at the end of the 2009-10 season, he will have 16 signed players in the organization, seven restricted free agents (all of whom are making less that $1 million this season) and five unrestricted free agents.

The principle free agent next season will be goaltender Carey Price.

Pending his performance, we can expect “The Franchise” to sign to a long term extension sometime this season.

In all likelihood, Jaroslav Halak could be moved at the trade deadline. The kid is too talented to remain a backup, unless he and Price go the Hayward/Roy route for another two or three seasons.

With long term signings in place, and a good crop of young players signed and in place, it’s safe to say that come June 30 2010, Canadiens fans will be chewing their nails a lot less than this year .

Not to mention that we won’t be worrying about a #1 or #2 d-man walking away next summer.

A great chat on the course with Captain Kirk

I had a great opportunity to talk with Montreal Canadiens’ assistant coach this week after he finished his second round at the Ford Wayne Gretzky Classic in Thornbury, Ontario.

The complete interview, that runs 10 minutes, can be found here.

Though he doesn’t play in as many tournaments as he used to and tries to keep his travelling close to home, the Kingston native tries to play once at week at home but still enjoys the opportunity to play with the pros on occasion.

Unfortunately for Kirk, his team missed the cut to continue into the third round.

I asked him about the Montreal Canadiens on a variety of subjects from the development camp, the hiring of Jacques Martin , Saku Koivu’s departure and the look of the team this upcoming season.

Muller had a chance to check out the development camp on Monday.

The camp was something that Muller thinks is great for the up and coming players, but was glad he didn’t have it when he was a draft pick.

“I was watching some of the drills they’ve been doing and was like thank God I didn’t have to do it. I probably wouldn’t have been drafted as high as I did,” he said.

On new coach Jacques Martin, Muller feels he is a good choice and that he’ll be able to stay level headed and stick to his guns in the tough Montreal hockey market.

He feels this will be a strong puck possession team under Martin this year and hopes the team can bounce back from a disappointing 100th season hampered by injuries and a group of pending free agents.

“We’re looking forward to bouncing back", he said after.

Muller also feels Guy Carbonneau will be back as a head coach in the NHL.

On Saku Koivu’s departure, Muller feels the move will be a good change for him.

“Sometimes in a career like that it’s nice to do a change and rejuvenate you a little bit,” he said. “I think he’ll do well out there.”

Muller felt that Koivu did a great job handling the pressure of being captain of the Canadiens. He should know being a former captain in New Jersey and Montreal.

He feels early captaincy candidates could be defenceman Andrei Markov and possibly newcomer Scott Gomez.

Despite what is generally thought, the decision on who becomes the new captain isn’t always voted on. Muller said that Jacques Martin could decide for himself or allow the players to vote.

Recently signed prospect P.K. Subban can really benefit with time in Hamilton, according to Muller, and that Ben Maxwell could be one of the next big players in the system within a year or two.

He also thinks this could be a pivotal year for Kyle Chipchura, who just signed a one year deal as I typed this.

On any holes in the team, Muller said that GM Bob Gainey has done a good job so far, but felt that additional help on defence might be looked at.

As we spoke on Friday, the Canadiens had just signed defenceman Paul Mara as well as forward Travis Moen.

With the departure of Mike Komisarek and Alex Kovalev to division rival Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators respectively, Muller thinks that it definitely creates a stir with the rivalry.

I asked him about the retirement of Joe Sakic, who he described as one of the best players in the league in the last few years.

“He’s a really good quiet leader that went out, did his job went out and played his job consistently,” he said.

On any rule changes that he could make, he feels the no touch icing should be looked at, but that there should be more freedom in front of the net for defencemen.

His choice for the Hall of Fame: Doug Gilmour

I'll have talks with Brett Hull, Nick Kypreos, Darren Pang and Cassie Campbell up soon!

Who will lead them?

Well the Montreal Canadiens roster officially got trimmed by one more player.

Despite a “rally of the masses” on Sunday afternoon at the Bell Centre, Habs GM Bob Gainey told CJAD radio on Monday that Alex Kovalev would not be returning.

 Fans rallied Sunday to keep Alex Kovalev in Montreal

Hours later, Kovalev took the money ($10 million over two years) and ran up the highway to Ottawa Senators.

The Northeast Division will be fun to watch this season without a doubt.

With Kovalev’s departure and the likely signing of Saku Koivu to either Buffalo, Atlanta, Anaheim or whatever square Eklund’s rumor dart hit this afternoon, this leaves the captain and all assistant captains off to greener pastures.

Mike Komisarek defected to the Toronto Maple Leafs on July 1 and Christopher Higgins was traded to the New York Rangers on June 30.

The question now has to be asked, who will be the next captain?

Andrei Markov has been an assistant captain in the past but is unlikely as a captain.

You have to remember that Koivu was criticized for not speaking French. Markov can barely speak English so it’s safe to rule him out.

The Kostitsyn brothers??? Georges Laraque ??? Forget it!

Scott Gomez seems to be an early popular choice, despite not playing one game for the Canadiens.

Sorry Mr. Gomez, but there’s too much tradition to just walk in and take the “C”.

Ditto for Mike Cammalleri and Brian Gionta.

All likelihood two of these three will be alternate captains.

Young bucks Josh Gorges, Maxim Lapierre and maybe Guillaume Latendresse would be a good choices as an alternate captains in my opinion, but I feel none of this trio is at a full leadership level.

Roman Hamrlik is the long-time veteran on the team, but could be moved before the start of the season.

In any event, the Canadiens have never gone without a captain in their history.

Jean Beliveau is the Canadiens’ longest serving captain

Guy Carbonneau and Chris Chelios alternated months in the 1989-90 season when the team vote was as close as the Quebec Referendum vote.

The captaincy of the Montreal Canadiens has always been voted on by the players, so ultimately it will be up to the final roster when it is set sometime in late September.

The players may elect to go a shared route in the 2009-10 season.

Either way, that individual is the go-to man by the fans and media of a team with 100 years of history, and 16 years and counting without a Stanley Cup.

Preferably I want a long standing captain like Koivu (win or lose), and not a revolving door that we saw in the mid-90’s.

But let’s not rule out the current captain just yet, shall we?

List of Montreal Canadiens Captains

Jack Laviolette           1909-10	Emile Bouchard                    1948-56
Newsy Lalonde            1910-11	Maurice Richard                   1956-60
Jack Laviolette           1911-12	Doug Harvey                        1960-61
Newsy Lalonde            1912-13	Jean Beliveau                       1961-71
Jimmy Gardner           1913-15	Henri Richard                       1971-75
Howard McNamara      1915-16	Yvan Cournoyer                    1975-79
Newsy Lalonde            1916-22	Serge Savard                       1979-81
Sprague Cleghorn        1922-25	Bob Gainey                          1981-89
Billy Coutu                  1925-26	G. Carbonneau/C. Chelios    1989-90
Sylvio Mantha             1926-32	Guy Carbonneau                   1990-94
George Hainsworth     1932-33	Kirk Muller                           1994-95
Sylvio Mantha             1933-36	Mike Keane          Apr – Dec       1995
Albert “Babe” Seibert  1936-39	Pierre Turgeon                     1995-96
Walter Buswell            1939-40	Vincent Damphousse             1996-99
Hector “Toe” Blake     1940-48	Saku Koivu                           1999-??
Bill Durnan    Jan – Apr      1948

Russian media filling the week’s rumor pages

2006 Russian Hockey tribute game in Red Square, Moscow

It’s hard to believe that just over 25 years ago, one got little or no news of any kind out of the Soviet Union.

Back then, Pravda was the official paper of the Kremlin.

What was stated in that paper was all the western world, and the eastern world for that matter, got to read about.

Turning the clock forward, the media flood gates have opened.

With today’s communication tools, hockey rumors flood the internet from Russia just as fast as they do in North America.

In just 48 hours, it was revealed through Russian sources, that Sergei Fedorov and Viktor Kozlov will make the jump to the KHL next season.

In a reverse trend, they also revealed that Alexei Yemelin is looking to negotiate with the Montreal Canadiens.

Now it’s revealed, by Sovietskiy Sport , that the Montreal Canadiens have offered Alex Kovalev a one-year, $6 million deal.

One of the stipulations of the deal is that Kovalev would be named captain.

That would indicate that negotiations are off with current Captain Saku Koivu.

Interesting to note that the post also indicates that Mike Komisarek turned down a $4 million offer by the Canadiens and is looking for $6 million.

The reverse defection of Fedorov and Kozlov can hold water, but both the Kovalev and Komisarek stories will stay afloat as well as the Kursk did.

The way Russian journalism once viewed the NHL. This cartoon appeared in the Russian paper Pravda after the Flyers-Russia game in 1976.