Into round 2 of the NHL Playoffs and the boys have a lot to say about it. Corey, JD, Erik, Coach, and Rob all sit in on this week’s NHL Playoff review.

With nearly two weeks gone by after the hiring of Marc Bergevin to the position of Montreal Canadiens’ GM and executive vice president, fans in Montreal are eager to see where Bergevin will take this team. At first, the mere hiring of Bergevin had the city ecstatic simply because it ended a month of not having anybody to turn this team around.

Now that the dust has settled it’s time to focus on some of Bergevin’s top priorities. The all but complete recruitment of Rick Dudley as Bergevin’s assistant GM is a great start. Bergevin needs to surround himself with a competent staff before moving forward. Dudley is currently assistant GM – one of many – in Toronto, and in the past has been GM job in Atlanta and Ottawa and had coaching stints in Buffalo and Florida.

Assistant  GM aside, there are plenty of tasks ahead of Bergevin. Off the ice, the Habs need a coach. Since Bergevin’s hiring, Patrick Roy’s name hasn’t been swirling around as much as the names Marc Crawford, Bob Hartley, Michel Therrien and Guy Carbonneau, among others. Whoever is chosen the hiring is expected to be made sometime in the next two weeks.

On the ice is another matter. In order to turn the Canadiens into a legitimate contender, Bergevin will have to take care of a few issues that cannot go unattended.

First off, Scott Gomez. While many feel that a few re-signings – see Carey Price and P.K. Subban – should be on the top of the agenda, any long term contracts will be difficult to work out with the money that Gomez’s contract requires. While there is talk of a penalty free buyout period in the next CBA, it would be irresponsible to move forward with the assumption that things might work out. Under the current CBA, buying out a hefty contract is not worthwhile as there will still be a significant cap hit. Bergevin will need to either bury Gomez in the minors or find a team willing to accept Gomez in a trade without sending another large contact this way. Even if Bergevin does find a dance partner, Gomez will need to accept as he has a no trade clause. Gomez may provide a list of three teams he is willing to go to. What are the chances any of those teams would want him?

Once the Gomez issue is settled, the focus can shift to three time all-star goaltender Carey Price, dynamic defenseman P.K. Subban and breakout Forward Max Pacioretty, who is currently leading Team USA in points in the IIHF World Championships. These three players provide the Canadiens with a core that can be worked around to build a contender. The sooner they’re locked up the sooner the focus can shift to their supporting cast.

Up front the Canadiens also have Erik Cole, Tomas Plekanec, David Desharnais and Lars Eller who help make up a solid nucleus as well as Andrei Markov, Josh Gorges and Alexei Emelin on the back end.

What Bergevin will need to do once the three restricted UFA’s are taken care of is work on depth and size. If Bergevin can supply Plekanec with some talent on the wings, the Canadiens will have two scoring lines. With some size added to a team that had Cole, Pacioretty, Rene Bourque,  Brad Staubitz and small but tough Ryan White the Habs will be tougher to play against.

Bergevin does have plenty on his plate but his tasks are far from impossible. Aside from fear of hurt feelings, nothing should stop the demotion of Gomez. But hockey is a business as well as a sport and biting the financial bullet of paying eight million dollars to a player in the minors will in the end help the team more than hurt it.

Signing Price, Subban and Pacioretty will be affordable with long term contracts and it seems as if the three would like to stay in Montreal and so there is no reason to think the Canadiens will not be able to come to terms with the three players that make up the future of this franchise.

What may be the hardest task will be filling out the roster with the talent needed to support the current players. The UFA pool is relatively shallow and Bergevin may have trouble finding much worth trading. He does have plenty of draft picks over the next two years but they are quite essential to the improvement of the team, especially with a draft deep with talent in 2013. Players such as Lars Eller, David Desharnais and Tomas Plekanec will more than likely hear their names thrown around the rumor mill but until Bergevin makes his first move it will be tough to figure out what road he will take to turn these Habs around in the way he helped turn the Hawks into a basement dweller to Stanley Cup champions.

With Dave Kellerman on hiatus, Corey, JD, Erik, KitKat and Coach break down the Stanley Cup playoffs, and discuss the potential hiring of Rick Dudley as assistant GM of the Montreal Canadiens. Brian Burke needs to take a pill!

Habs GM Marc Bergevin will need to look elsewhere thenChicagofor his head coach. The rumors about Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville being available aren’t true and the organization has stated he will return next season. Quenneville is under contract with the Hawks through the 2013-2014 season.

The search continues, stay tuned for further developments.

Welcome back home Mr. Bergevin,

After quickly scrolling through your Wikipedia page, I see you have management experience with a successful organization in the new NHL, along with an extensive playing career as a journeyman defenceman with various interesting organizations. In my opinion, these are the most important credentials when given the reins to turn our last place Habs a full 180 degrees back towards something respectable.

I’d like to believe that the one time you scored in your own net is the only ‘embarrassing’ YouTube viral video of you, rather than many weird/borderline creepy outtakes from various live broadcasts displaying embarrassment, shame and even fear from other co-workers or interviewees. In the same series of YouTube videos, you can see that there are a few players that find this subject the butt of many ‘jokes,’ pranks and even disrespect, somewhat. However in your case we need not to worry about potential players having a bias to not sign here because they think you’re some sort of clown or joke. I’m not taking anything away from any of the other candidates, as they may know their hockey inside and out, but I find the mainstream media has been promoting one gm candidate and one coach candidate in particular quite extensively, possibly in hopes of getting more access, great sound bites or stirring the pot after the latest abysmal season.

Your first task will be to find a suitable coach to keep the young guys in check, and lead this franchise back to winning. And while I know this town has been waiting impatiently for a bilingual coach with a pulse, or something along those lines, please don’t exaggerate this quality when selecting the next leader of this team. It is important to have emotion, but at the same time, do we need to go from one extreme to the other? It’s great to want a guy who will do anything to win, but there are other sub-stories to the plot. We need a guy who will keep his frustrations in check and not lose control when things don’t go his way, a guy that won’t break down doors or throw sticks across the rink making a fool of himself, a guy that won’t provoke and then remove a skilled and well-mannered goalie (I personally played with this kid two years before the event and was extremely impressed with his talent as well as his well-mannered demeanor) in order to make room for his own son. We certainly don’t need a guy who, most recently, can take a series lead of 3-0 and couldn’t seal the deal without dropping the ball four consecutive times, I think you know who I mean.

As much as this does not reflect the general consensus of people I’ve spoken to, I wouldn’t mind having a guy who has been in this position before and who can come back with a little more experience or be a little more collected this time around. There are two potential candidates in mind who are available, but of course, the choice is yours.

Kind regards,
A Habs fan

After weeks of searching for a new GM to replace Pierre Gauthier, Canadiens owner Geoff Molson found the man for the job in Marc Bergevin. With Bergevin now in place, here are five reasons to be optimistic.

1. His work in Chicago

Bergevin joined the Blackhawks as a pro scout in 2005-06. After finishing that season in 14th place in the West – and 27th overall, exactly where the Habs finished this past season – the Hawks went on to draft Jonathan Toews (’06) and Patrick Kane (’07) on their way to becoming a consistent contender in the league.

Bergevin was director of player personnel in 2010 when the Hawks were Stanley Cup champions before working under Stan Bowman in 2011-12 as assistant GM.

Bergevin is said to be an elite evaluator of talent which the Habs hope to benefit from, especially at a time where they finds themselves with the third overall pick in this June’s NHL entry draft. While there will be no Toews or Kane type players available when the Habs have the podium, it’s fair to say that the Canadiens have a better core of players than the Hawks did when they began their turnaround.

2. Team mentality

It was clear during Bergevin’s press conference that he brings with him a true team mentality to Montreal.

The Habs new GM referred to himself as just a piece of the puzzle and reiterated throughout the conference that it will take a little bit from everyone to find success. When asked by Jessica Rusnak of Team 990 asked about the team’s identity, Bergevin answered, ” Everyone needs to contribute and put everything on the table. You have a lot of little pieces working together to make a winning team”.

Bergervin also stated that while skill is needed to win you could have skill without character and go nowhere. This would lead you to believe that he may tinker with the line-up by bringing in some character players.

3. Price and Subban are Top Priorities

” I think Price is one of the top goaltenders in the NHL. With a goalie like Carey you’re ahead of the game. Also as far as our agents, the priorities are Price and Subban”.

How’s that for reassurance? How many fans do you think let out a huge sigh of relief when those words came out of Bergevin’s mouth?

Coming out and stating his intention to sign these players was a huge step towards earningthe city’s confidence. The only way he could have been more effective in earning Montreal’s trust would’ve been to sign the two young stars.

4. Trevor Timmins stays put

When asked about the future of Randy Cunneyworth, Bergevin informed the media that Cunneyworth was told that he will return to the position of assistant coach but will ultimately have his future decided by whoever is brought in as the new head coach.

Bergevin also refused to go into whether or not he will be reaching out to Rick Dudley in regards to the position of assistant GM. What Bergevin did make clear is that Habs scout Trevor Timmins will be sitting alongside the new GM at the draft table this June in Pittsburgh and added that Timmins has done ” an excellent job in the past”.

Timmins has worked with the Habs for the past ten years and has helped the Canadiens draft such players as Carey Price, P.K. Subban, Max Pacioretty, Tomas Plekanec, and Alexei Emelin as well as former Habs Mike Komisarek, Chris Higgins, Mikhail Grabovski, Sergei Kostitsyn, Andrei Kostitsyn, Mark Streit and Jaroslav Halak.

5. Media friendly

Bergevin said that he will make himself available to the media and that is a plus for not only the press but the fans. After Pierre “Ghostier” the fans will feel closer to the team when the GM actually addresses what is going on with the team.

Gauthier spoke to the media as little as possible and was painfully vague and mind numbingly boring and without personality when he did choose to speak.  Bergevin on the other hand was forthcoming and often joking around when meeting the media for the first time in what was hopefully a showing of what is to come from the 17th GM in Montreal Canadiens’ history.

Needless to say as time passes in Montreal under the hockey microscope it may become a little less enjoyable to meet the media and definitely tougher to crack a few jokes.

The Montreal Canadiens have hired former Chicago assistant GM Marc Bergevin as their General Manager, and the search for a new head coach has begun. With the second round heating, join Corey, Erik, JD, Dave, KitKat and Coach K as they dissect the action, and assess the Habs’ decision.

Now that the Habs hired Marc Bergevin as GM the focus turn to who’s going to be head coach and what to do with Scott Gomez.

Should the Canadiens cut their losses on Gomez through a buyout? This would cost the team $3.5 million in 2012-13 and $4.5 million in 2013-14 against the cap, followed by two more years at $1.67 million. Another option is sending him to the minors or attempt to trade him, only problem with trading him is n o team seems crazy enough to pick him up.

Bergevin will have his hands full in the next few weeks, hopefully he makes the logical move and send Gomez down to the Hamilton Bulldogs of the AHL.

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Press conference featuring Geoff Molson and Canadiens’ new GM, Marc Bergevin, on May 2, 2012.

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Montreal Canadiens Owner, President and CEO, Geoff Molson, announced today the appointment of Marc Bergevin as Executive Vice President and General Manager.

Marc Bergevin becomes the 17^th General Manager in Canadiens history. Bergevin, 46, spent the last seven seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks organization, including the past season (2011-12) as assistant general manager under Stan Bowman.

A native of Pointe-Saint-Charles, Montreal, Bergevin has held various positions within the Blackhawks organization, including director of player personnel for two seasons (2009 to 2011), winning the Stanley Cup in his first season as director of player personnel in 2009-10. Bergevin served as an assistant coach on Joel Quenneville’s staff during the 2008-09 campaign. He also spent three years on the Blackhawks scouting staff (2005 to 2008), including one season as director of professional scouting (2007-08).

Originally selected by the Blackhawks in the third round (59th overall) in the 1983 NHL Entry Draft, Bergevin enjoyed a 20-season career as a defenceman in the National Hockey League, collecting 181 points (36 goals, 145 assists) in 1,191 regular season games with Chicago (1984-89), the New York Islanders (1989-90), Hartford Whalers (1990-92), Tampa Bay Lightning (1992-95, 2002-03), Detroit Red Wings (1995-96), St. Louis Blues (1996-2001, 2001-02) Pittsburgh Penguins (2000-01, 2002-04) and Vancouver Canucks (2003-04).

Bergevin also skated in 80 career playoff contests, reaching the Conference finals twice in 1996 (Detroit) and in Pittsburgh (2001).

Bergevin played his junior hockey in the QMJHL with the Chicoutimi Saguenéens, from 1982 to 1984 (136 regular season games).

Marc Bergevin and his wife, Ruth, have three children.

P.K. Subban has packed his bags and leaving Team Canada behind at the World Hockey Championship and heading back to Montreal for medical tests. Subban suffered a lower-body injury Tuesday during a pre-tournament game against Switzerland.

Interim Canadiens general manager Larry Carrière confirmed that the decision was made after discussions with Team Canada doctors. Subban suffered a minor knee injury that will need at least two weeks to heal.

P.K. Subban is still listed day-to-day after suffering a lower-body injury Tuesday during a pre-tournament game against Switzerland. Still no word if he will be in the line-up for the Friday’s opening game against Slovakia at the 2012 World Hockey Championship. Sources close to the team said the injury isn’t serious and Subban is expected back for the tournament, team Canada is taking a precautionary measures to insures he can return to the World Championships.

By Bob Mand and Rob Elbaz

With the second round already underway, here’s Radio Sport Center’s Stanley Cup Playoffs Power Rankings: Surprising Philadelphia sits on top following their offensive domination of the Penguins in round one and the Devils, who just barely snuck past the Panthers, are bringing up the rear.

1. Philadelphia Flyers (Last Week: 9) – Very few gave the Flyers much of a shot in round one – but thanks to what has been an absolute juggernaut of an offense and the complete self-destruction of Marc-Andre Fleury, Philly advanced in six games.  Now, they face a New Jersey squad which just barely escaped weakling Florida and many are predicting a quick advance into the Eastern Conference Finals for the Orange and Black. However, Ilya Bryzgalov must show up with some consistency, or the series may go longer than expected… Unless, of course, Hart-snub Claude Giroux (6-8-14) decides to take over.

2. New York Rangers (LW: 3) – The eighth-seeded senators took the East’s best squad to the brink but Henrik Lundqvist was superb (.945 Sv%, 1.61 GAA) and the Rags escaped to face the surprising Caps in round two. A New York offense that was very uninspiring in round one will have to make significant strides if they hope to beat Dale Hunter’s lockdown defense and Braden Dryden … er … Holtby. Still, the Rangers have excellent depth all over the ice and are the far superior team on paper and following a 3-1 game-one victory, things are looking promising.

3. Nashville Predators (LW: 6) – The Preds looked convincing in the first round, dispatching the ever dangerous Red Wings in five games while going two for two in Detroit. Alexander Radulov proved effective in his return to the NHL, amassing a goal and four assists, while veteran center David Legwand was also dependable, chipping in with two goals and two assists. Pekka Rinne was the Preds’ real hero in the opening round, he posted a .944 Sv% and 1.81 GAA and twice came up with 40 or more saves to earn victories for his squad. The Coyotes will have home-ice advantage in the second round, but Nashville finished the season with seven more points and should be the favorites to move on, even after their series-opening “L” in Nashville.

4. St. Louis Blues (LW: 4) – After dropping their first game to the Sharks, St. Louis went on to win the next four, advancing almost effortlessly into the second round. Jaroslav Halak started the first round, but an ankle injury opened the door for Brian Elliott, who filled in without missing a beat. The Blues will face the lower seeded, but presumably more difficult, L.A. Kings next, another team that doesn’t boast much scoring, but wins with solid defense and even more solid goaltending. To get an idea what round two might look like consider this, the last time St. Louis and L.A. met, Elliot and Jonathan Quick both earned shutouts as the teams played 65 minutes of scoreless hockey. In fact at least one team has been held scoreless in three of the four games these teams played this season. After their series-opening loss and perhaps the extended absence of Alex Pietrangelo, there’s certainly some concern St. Lous.

5. Los Angeles Kings (LW: 13) – The Kings advanced to the second round by knocking off the Presidents’ Trophy winning Vancouver Canucks in five games, hardly breaking a sweat in the process. Vezina nominee Jonathan Quick was near flawless in the series stopping 172 of 180 shots. Dustin Brown was just as impressive with four goals and an assist in the first round; he also landed perhaps the biggest clean hit of the playoffs, temporarily knocking Henrik Sedin out of action in game three. The Kings big victory in game one is certainly eye-opening. They are trying to become just the second eight-seed to reach the Cup Finals since the divisional playoff format was abandoned in 1993.

6. Phoenix Coyotes (LW: 12) – As with all of the remaining Western Conference Cup contenders, goaltending was the big story for Phoenix in the first round. Mike Smith came up huge in net for the Coyotes, in a series that saw five of six games go to overtime. Mikkel Boedker played an important role as well in the match-up against the Hawks, he put an end to two of Phoenix’s three OT wins. While Nashville, their second round opponent, made several trade deadline moves which have markedly improved their team, Phoenix was relatively quiet. However, the Coyotes did wisely acquire Antoine Vermette; he led the team with four goals in the first round. Their opening-game victory was notice to all that they’re playing for keeps.

7. Washington Capitals (LW: 15) – Very few anticipated Washington’s surprising upset victory over the defending champion Bruins. Sure, Braden Holtby was excellent, but the Caps’ commitment to team defense and Hunter’s conservative, counter-attacking game-plan is why they face off against the Rags in round two. Unfortunately, they got very lucky on the road to victory with four one-goal wins and two in overtime. Additionally, they were out-shot heavily by the Bruins and had to rely on their rookie goaltender for far too much. Still, they split four with New York during the regular season and if they can walk out of the Big Apple with a split of the first two games, anything is possible.

8. New Jersey Devils (LW: 8 ) – It took double-OT in game seven for the much-favored Devs to squeeze past arguably the worst team (on paper) in the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs. New Jersey blew several significant leads en route to their victory and their PK, which led the NHL in 2011-12, was absolutely awful (66.7% effectiveness). Still, they split six games with second-round opponent Philly during the regular season and Marty Brodeur boasts solid postseason stats (2.06 GAA, .922 Sv%), so one would be wise not to count out the Devils.

After taking a look at some developments that have unfolded in the Western Conference after the completion of the first round, here is a look at some topics in the East as the playoffs have seen the field of teams dwindle down to eight.

Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Philadelphia Flyers

After arguably the most entertaining series in the first round the Flyers emerged victorious in the battle of Pennsylvania. Philadlphia coach Peter Laviolette’s post series comments brought up an interesting debate.

Is Claude Giroux the best player in the world?

There’s no denying that Giroux dominated the series and the fact that he leads the playoffs in goals (6), assists (8), points (14), and +/- (+6) strengthens the argument in his favor. Sure, Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury played what was probably the worst hockey of his career, but that should hardly take away from Giroux’s performance as he created chances, threw his weight around and controlled the pace of the series.

That being said, it’s hard to just write off the two players on the other side end of the ice who could just as easily be classified as the world’s best. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.

While neither of the Penguins’ superstars managed to outshine Giroux in their six postseason games, either of them – and perhaps both – could still be ahead of Giroux on the list of the game’s best players.

Malkin’s regular season performance was MVP worthy as his 50 goals and 59 assists were good enough to make Malkin the only player to surpass 100 points. Steven Stamkos of the Tampa Bay Lightning was the only player to light the lamp more often with his 60 goals. Malkin also finished second behind Stamkos with nine game winning goals (Stamkos had 12) and tied for fifth with 12 power play goals.

As for Crosby, issues with concussions may have limited the Penguins’ captain to 22 games, but Crosby didn’t fail to live up to expectations in those games notching eight goals (three of which were game winners) and 29 assists for a point per game average of 1.68. Even without the success Crosby had in the quarter season he played, anybody who has followed hockey over the past seven years would know that it will take a lot more than a 93 point season plus a single series winning performance – and impressive and dominant one, true – to emerge as the game’s top player.

Boston Bruins vs. Washington Capitals

After knocking the defending Stanley Cup champions out of the playoff picture, is it finally Washington’s time to go deep into the post season?

The Capitals have gone to the playoffs as division champions in four out of the last five years but has yet to make it past the second round. Perhaps all they needed was the chance to play without too much pressure on them. Since missing the playoffs in 2006-07, the Caps have entered the playoffs every year with home ice advantage this year, and have failed to live up to expectations.

Perhaps without the pressure to win, the Capitals can find it in them to push deep into the playoffs and live up to the expectations of years past.

Will Claude Julien return behind the Bruins Bench?

Through each series in last year’s cup run – including the finals – there were rumblings that elimination would result in Julien’s dismissal. Now with the Bruins ousted in the first round, will Boston follow through and give Julien the axe?

It’s unfair to pin the loss entirely on Julien when Rich Peverley (3) and Tyler Seguin (2) were the only players to register more than one goal. Milan Lucic who has the ability to shift momentum over to Boston’s favor at any given time with a big goal or an even bigger hit, failed to find the back of the net even once in the seven game series.

What won’t help Julien’s case however, was his line choice early into overtime in a do-or-die game. As Mitch Melnick of TSN 990 pointed out, you can’t expect to find that game winning goal with the likes of Mike Mottau, Greg Zanon and Benoit Pouliot on the ice.

It’ll be interesting to see if Julien’s name will join Vigneault’s in the rumor mill when it comes to the Canadiens search for an experienced, bilingual coach.

Ottawa Senators vs. New York Rangers

After shocking just about every one in the hockey world by not only making the playoffs but pushing the first seeded Rangers to seven games, can the Sens build off of this year’s surprising success or will they drop down to where they were expected to finish this year?

Ottawa managed to ride into the playoffs thanks to strong years by forwards Jason Spezza (34-50-84) and Milan Michalek (35-25-60) as well as a breakout year by Norris Trophy nominee Erik Karlsson (19-59-78).

As much of a feel good story it was for the Sens, it was just last year that the Tampa Bay Lightning surprised many by taking the eventual cup winning Bruins to seven games in the Eastern Conference final only to finish eight points out of the playoffs the following season.

Another important factor in whether or not the Senators can repeat a playoff appearance is if 39 year old captain, Daniel Alfredsson, decides to play another year. Alfredsson was another big contributor to Ottawa’s success this year notching 59 points (27-32) in 75 games played.

Alfreddsson may not be putting up the numbers he has in the past but his absence would be difficult to replace both on and off the ice.

New Jersey Devils vs. Florida Panthers

Despite being a much more exciting series than anyone had anticipated the result did not really produce too much in the way of post-series storylines.

Ilya Kovulchuk won a playoff series for the first time in his career and so many eyes in New Jersey will be focused on how much of an impact he will have as the Devils purse their hopes of winning their fourth Stanley Cup. kovulchuck won’t be garnering all of the attention in the Garden State as this may be Martin Brodeur’s last chance to hoist the cup.

As for the Panthers, their situation is quite similar to Ottawa as nobody really pegged them to make it as far as they did. GM Dale Tallon signed numerous players in the 2010-11 off-season just to reach the cap floor. The signed players included Jose Theodore, Tomas Fleischmann, Ed Jovonovski, Scottie Upshall, Marcel Goc and Sean Bergenheim.

Not exactly an A-list, but along with a few players brought in via trades – Brian Campbell, Kris Versteeg and Tomas Kopecky – they seemed to get the job done.

The pressure will now be on the Florida Panthers to remain a playoff team now that teams around the league know to take them seriously and the element of surprise that worked to their advantage will be lost.

Well it’s been a thrilling first round of the playoffs and the boys have a lot to talk about here on Montreal Hockey Talk. Corey, KitKat, Dave, Erik, and Jesse discuss the goings on in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

With round one just two victors shy from being complete, some interesting developments are starting to unfold. Here’s a look at some topics of discussion that are bound to heat up as the first round nears completion, starting in the West.

Detroit Red Wings vs. Nashville Predators

There is no way anybody had the Wings pegged as the first team to pack up their bags this post season. Granted the Predators have arguably the best goaltender, Pekka Rinne, as well as the league’s top defensive pairing in Shea Weber and Ryan Suter. Even still, Detroit has been the most consistently competitive team over the past 15 years winning four Stanley Cups in that span. Over the same period they have finished the season with 100+ points 13 times, earning four Presidents’ Trophies and entering the playoffs as Western Conference champions five times.

All that being said, has the time come for the Wings to pass the torch. With Nicklas Lidstrom – the best defenseman since Bobby Orr – facing possible retirement along with fellow countryman Tomas Holmstrom, there will be holes to fill.

Sure, they still have the likes of Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, Johan Franzen and company but without many prospects ready to make the jump to the NHL and an almost irreplaceable d-man leaving a gap on the blue line it may be open season for Western teams to take control of a conference that has belonged to Detroit for so long.

Of course if Detroit somehow manages to sign Suter or Weber this off season then they may just  hold on a bit longer.

San Jose vs. St. Louis

After yet another early exit from the playoffs, is it time for the Shark to finally just blow things up and start from scratch?

San Jose managed only eight goals in the five games it took the Blues to knock them off. Joe Thornton and Martin Havlat had two goals apiece to lead the team. Despite having a stacked offense including Thornton, Havlat, Ryan Clowe, Logan Couture as well as Joe Pavelski and Patrick Marleau (who both failed to register any points against the Blues) the Sharks were unable to put up much of a postseason fight against St. Louis.

One could argue that St. Louis’ impressive defensive play in front of stellar goaltender Brian Elliot is responsible for San Jose’s early ousting. Sure, St. Louis deserves credit but San Jose has been too good for too long not to have had more postseason success.

Clearly the current core of players are not getting the results the fans and management have been so patiently waited for, and it would be surprising if the Sharks’ brass doesn’t decide during the off season to just clean house and start over.

Vancouver Canucks vs. Los Angeles Kings

Has Canucks head coach Alain Vigneault’s leash run out of rope?

Since replacing Marc Crawford behind the bench in Vancouver at the beginning of the 2006-07 season, Vigneault has won the Jack Adams Award as the league’s top coach, led the Canucks to two Presidents’ Trophies and came within one win of hoisting the Stanley Cup.

Despite the impressive resumé, Vigneault has not yet brought the most coveted hardware in sports to Vancouver and although he has received votes of confidence from his players and GM Mike Gillis, there are many who believe he may be on his way out.

If that’s the case, what are the chances he returns to Montreal, the city who not only launched Vigneault’s NHL coaching career, but is currently in search of an experienced, bilingual coach?

Another question coming out of the six game defeat at the hands of the Kings concerns goaltender Roberto Luongo.

Luongo has been under the spotlight in Vancouver for years now and although he is hardly to blame for this year’s early exit, the emergence of Cory Schneider as a competent number one goalie has all but guaranteed Luongo’s departure.

Look to the Tampa Bay Lightning to show high interest in Bobby Lu.

Phoenix Coyotes vs. Chicago Blackhawks

This series didn’t really provide any big questions other than one that may be going through the minds of the Blackhawks; Is Mike Smith for real?

Smith posted a 1.81 sv% and a .950 GAA in the six games against Chicago including a shutout in the series clinching win where the Hawks outshot the Coyotes 33-11.

There is no denying that Smith is the reason the Coyotes have moved on to the second round for the first time in 16 years.

Montreal Canadiens majority owner and president Geoff Molson sent Michael Cammalleri his Canadiens jersey from his last game with the Habs accompanied by a hand-written letter of apology.

Molson was rectifying the classless move from former Habs GM Pierre Gauthier who had told Cammalleri that he couldn’t take the jersey as a souvenir after being traded midway through a game on January 12^th. Gauthier reportedly stormed into the room telling Cammalleri he would need to pay for the jersey if he wanted to take it.

I think we can all say that Mr. Molson should be congratulated for the classy move, bravo Geoff.

Corey, KitKat, Dave, Erik, JD and Coach discuss the goings on in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

With May approaching, the time available for the Canadiens to hire a new general manager is ticking away. And while rumours are running rampant, a source close to the team passed on something disturbing that, after verifying with 3 other sources, I felt compelled to share.

It seems that Gaston Therrien, Michel Therrien, Guy Carbonneau and Mario Tremblay have all submitted applications to the Canadiens for positions within the organization.

While Tremblay is said to have applied for a professional scouting position, the others have all thrown their names into the head coaching hat.

I attempted to contact those individuals through RDS, the network they all worked for this season, no one returned my calls or replied to any emails that were sent.

The disturbing part about all this is the fact that they have all expressed the need for there to be a bilingual coach behind the Habs’ bench. Is this their genuine feeling, or is it an attempt to swing favour in their directions for the soon-to-be vacant head coaching position? The latter turns my stomach.

It is a given that Guy Carbonneau, who was unceremoniously dismissed by former Canadiens’ GM Bob Gainey, and Michel Therrien, who coached both the Habs and Penguins, both have the experience of coaching in the NHL, but what exactly do the other individuals bring to the table?

Gaston Therrien is an inglorious junior coach with no professional coaching experience. Just because you can stand in front of a screen and break down a play on a SmartBoard doesn’t make you a good coach. Ask yourself why he doesn’t have a job coaching right now?

Then there is Mario Tremblay. Many still despise Tremblay for his part in the departure of Hall of Fame goaltender, Patrick Roy. Others question his duties as assistant coach in Minnesota under Jacques Lemaire. What exactly makes him qualified to scout professional hockey players? Prior to his hiring as coach of the Canadiens and after it, Tremblay is a former Hab who is better served as a media mouthpiece than an NHL scout.

Others, like Nashville assistant GM Paul Fenton, have expressed interest in the Canadiens GM position, however if the Predators expect compensation for Fenton, his name can be dismissed right now.

All this being said, the Molsons have their eye on another current NHL coach. They have been advised that, should the Vancouver Canucks be eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, Alain Vigneault may be relieved of his duties, he would then top the list of head coaching candidates. Oh, and the Molsons are currently in Vancouver!

All the rumours may be entertaining to discuss, but seriously, if the Montreal Canadiens want to get back their status as NHL royalty, then the media’s suggestions (which may well be biased) should be disregarded, and Serge Savard should just consider the best candidate available. After all, whether English or French, as long as the Habs win, isn’t it the paying fan that matters most? And how do you keep them happy. Simple…

JUST WIN BABY!!!

Radio Sports Center and Montreal Hockey Talk are deeply saddened to hear that former captain Emile “Butch” Bouchard passed away at age 92. Butch was a member of the Canadiens organization from 1941-1956, he was the captain from 1948-1956. We would like to extend our deepest condolences to his family and friends.

You will be missed Butch.

I was sitting at a bar in Dulles International Airport awaiting a transfer after a weekend of debauchery in New Orleans with a few of my best buds when I first noticed my non-attention for this year’s Montreal Canadiens. The Habs were playing the Panthers in game number 8 of their season. After the loss they fell to 1-5-2, but not one of us had the pride nor interest in asking the bar-wench to set up a TV to show some hockey highlights.

The one Boston blow-hard in our group was ashamed with their start as well, so having him shut up and not basking in his pride or glory made the evening a little easier to swallow. Or maybe it was because we were all nursing nasty hangovers from a 4 day Bourbon Street bender; slamming waters back while having a few beers/drinks at the same time.

The Habs would go on to win their next four bringing them back up to .500, including a home and home versus the reigning cup champs, the Bruins (fuck them), who were suffering a nasty Stanley Cup hangover, probably stemming from a party that cost nearly 100k. Their hangover lasted about a month and a half into this season, but the Bruins still turned it around and made the playoffs (again, fuck them). As for us, we hit .500 a handful of times this season but never exceeded it, at least I wasn’t aware if we did, nor did I really care.

The on-ice product was mediocre with only a few eye-opening performances. On the other hand, there were plenty of significant moments that happened off the ice: questionable management tactics, player frustrations directed at our organization, and even the exposed political issues and language tensions that are still well alive in the Montreal corporate world.

While every club has its demons to deal with every so often, this year’s snowballing of shit rolling down a pile of manure was especially embarrassing. And while it seemed like negatives wouldn’t stop, the season is now over and that shitball has finally stopped growing, with one final nugget added on, Carey Price getting a mild concussion at the very end of the season.

However, the shitball finally settled into a fertilized spot at the bottom of this mound, and hopefully beautiful things can grow from here. We have a top 3 draft pick, P.K. Subban has been named to the Team Canada for the World Championship, which will hopefully gain him respect along with some recognition for his new-found maturity. At the end of the season the boys did play like men, earning five points in their last three games, albeit against non-playoff teams playing uninspired/meaningless hockey.

As bad as the on-ice product has been, the electrifying moments were amplified ten-fold. We saw Louis’ first NHL goal and the ovation that ensued, Lars’ 4 goal thrashing of the Jets as well as Erik’s record time natural hat-trick.

But there were many more disappointing moments, such as blown leads, 26 one-goal game losses, shootout impotency, Cammalleri’s mid-game move, Spacek in Carolina’s locker room talking about the organization being a mess, coaches fired on game-days, the language protest against the Habs and coach Cunneyworth, our leaders being injured for over half the season, the worst finish since 1940 and plenty more.

We didn’t have the downfall that Leafs and Sabres fans experienced, whose teams missed the playoffs after owning top spots in the division at roughly the quarter and half way mark in the season, respectively.

For the Habs, things can only get better, unless, like the Leafs, we miss the playoffs for 6 more seasons. I’m glad I lost hope early, it wasn’t as disappointing.

The Habs thank their fans for their support during their disastrous 2011-2012 campaign.

The season is over and the lottery is done. The only thing left to do is discuss the moves the Habs have to make in the post season in order to avoid this kind of embarrassment from happening again! Join us as we hold a round table Post-Mortem on the Habs season with Corey, JD, Erik, Coach, Rob, Jesse (Ferret), Dave (From the week in review), and even Nick Russo. It’s a no-holds barred event in studio west!

The Canadiens season has come to an end and to many it couldn’t have come any sooner. As they finished 28th overall and had no chance at post-season play at the end of February, it would seem silly to review the month of March as well as the three games in April, but I’ll humor you…

Their record was 7-6-6, their power play stunk and their penalty kill remained effective finishing second overall which only proved that having your PK be your only strength isn’t good for anything other than assuring a high draft pick.

Now, with March/April out of the way here’s a review of the Habs 2011-12 season.

Offense

On the plus side, the line of Erik Cole, David Desharnais and Max Pacioretty provided the team with plenty of offense and some hope for the future. Cole earned a career high 35 goals and his 61 points tied his career best. Desharnais and Pacioretty each enjoyed their best years with 60 and 65 points respectively.

That pretty much sums up any positives that the Habs offense mustered up.

Tomas Plekanec finished the season with 52 points. While many would expect more from Plekanec, who is supposed to be the team’s number one center, his point total is actually pretty impressive considering his rotating cast of supporting  wingers throughout the season. Michael Cammalleri, Andrei Kostitsyn, Ryan White, Brad Staubitz, Rene Bourque, Travis Moen among others played alongside Plekanec at various points of the season. The aforementioned list of players probably didn’t help Plekanec’s +/- very much. Plekanec finished the season with a -15 rating putting him 236th out of 247 NHL centermen.

With the additions of Rene Bourque and Brad Staubitz the Canadiens have more size up front. Cole and Pacioretty are the power forwards this team has needed for years. Staubitz and Ryan White (big at heart) have provided toughness needed to let their teammates play with confidence and Bourque’s size provides….well.. we’re still waiting to see what Bourque can or will provide.

Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta each had their seasons cut short due to injuries although with their lack of production while healthy they were hardly missed.

Power Play

Andrei Markov’s absence was instrumental in the Habs lack of success with the extra man. The Canadiens finished the year with a 14.3% success rate. Only the Phoenix Coyotes (13.6%) and Dallas Stars (13.5%) had more trouble making opposing teams pay for their infractions.

Former GM Pierre Gauthier sent Jaroslav Spacek to the Caroline Hurricanes in exchange for Tomas Kaberle in hopes that Kaberle would help the Habs find success with the man advantage. The swap worked out exactly how the Hurricanes and Boston Bruins thought it would.

Defense

P.K. Subban had a rocky start but seemed to find his game under interim coach Randy Cunneyworth. Subban’s seven goals were half of his previous year’s total. However, after finishing 2009-10 with a -8 rating, his 2010-11 rating of +9 more than makes up for producing 36 points, two points less than his career high the year before. Subban also lowered his penalty minute total by five minutes yet still topped the NHL with 47 minor penalties. After leading the league two years in a row in that category it’s quite clear that Subban needs to play a more disciplined game.

Josh Gorges was the only player in the league to block more than 200 shots. His 250 blocked shots are the most by a Habs player breaking Mike Komisarek’s 2008-09 total of 207.

Alexei Emelin quickly became a fan favorite with his thunderous hits. The much anticipated Russian blueliner delivered 236 hits in his 67 games. Only three defensemen (Luke Schenn- 270, Brooks Orpik- 259, Matt Greene- 241) threw more body checks, and Emelin was the only one to have played less than 73  games. Emelin also spent much less time in the penalty box serving only 30 minutes as opposed to Schenn (62), Orpik (61) and Greene (58).

Raphael Diaz was a -7 and earned 16 points (3g, 13a) but played in only 59 games as his season was cut short due to a lower body injury.

Tomas Kaberle, Yannick Weber and Chris Campoli have made it clear that changes need to be made before the Canadiens back end can consistently shut down opposing teams.

Penalty Kill

The Canadiens 88.6% efficiency while a man down was second only to the New Jersey Devils and their 89.6% success rate. The Habs’ shorthanded play was the one constant positive throughout a season of disappointment. That hardly means much after finishing 28th place but an optimist would view it as one less thing to worry about moving forward. It’s clear that the Canadiens will need to improve their five-on-five play as well as their power play going into next season and so having a top notch PK should afford them more time to concentrate on every other aspect of their game.

Goaltending

Carey Price is the only reason the Canadiens will not be picking first overall at the 2012 NHL entry draft. Price’s .916 sv% and 2.43 GAA are not jaw dropping numbers, but they are quite impressive considering they were earned by a goalie on a team with a 31-35-16 record. In Price’s 39 losses (26-28-11) the Canadiens scored two goals or less 26 times, one goal or less 20 times and were shutout six times. There’s only so much a goalie can do, Price provides the Canadiens with a chance to win each time he suits up but until the Habs give him support by scoring goals, his numbers will suffer.

Peter Budaj….well…if the Canadiens can’t make a goalie like Price look as good as he is, there isn’t much hope for Budaj to shine.

Ins and Outs

Petteri Nokelainen came to the Habs in a trade along with Garrett Stafford with Brock Trotter and a 7th round pick in 2012 went to Phoenix

Tomas Kaberle joined the Habs when Jaroslav Spacek was sent to the Hurricanes, Jim Rutherford is still laughing.

Rene Bourque was acquired from the Flames when Mike Cammalleri was shipped to Calgary during the second intermission of a 2-1 loss to the Bruins. The league is still scratching their heads. Montreal also acquired prospect Patrick Holland and a 2nd round pick in 2012 while Calgary received Kari Ramo and a 5th round pick in 2012.

Hal Gill was traded to Nashville along with a conditional 5th round pick in 2013 for Blake Geoffrion, prospect Robert Slaney and a 2nd round pick in 2012

Andrei Kostitsyn joined his brother Sergei and Hal Gill in Nashville in exchange for a 2nd round pick and a conditional 5th round pick in 2013.

Brad Staubitz was signed on re-entry waivers from Minnesota on the trade deadline.

Jacques Martin and Pierre Gauthier were relieved of their duties in exchange for hope.

By Bob Mand and Rob Elbaz

With the start of the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs just over twenty-four hours away, we give you the debut of RSC’s NHL Postseason Power Rankings. The Presidents’ Trophy-winning Canucks took the top spot while the Ottawa Senators will start off bringing up the rear.

1. Vancouver Canucks – Vancouver heads into playoff action as the Presidents’ Trophy winner for the second consecutive season and gets to face off against one of the League’s best defenses as a reward. The Canucks could be in for another heart-attack-inducing seven-game first round matchup. So much rests on the health of Daniel Sedin (concussion) and the psyche of Bobby Lou – who will undoubtedly be on a very short leash with Corey Schneider waiting in the wings. This year, the ‘Nucks weren’t nearly the juggernaut offense that they were in ’10-’11 and they don’t have elite scoring depth by any stretch of the imagination, so fans envisioning an easy ride to the finals should get off the drugs.

 2. Pittsburgh Penguins – Is there anything scarier than a healthy Penguins team? Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are arguably the two best players in the league. James Neal is another deadly threat hitting 40 goals this year and finishing fourth in that department, Malkin was second with 50. Kris Letang has developed into one of the league’s premier defensemen, finishing the year at +21 with 42 points (10g, 32a) in just 51 games. But if there is one team that could give the Penguins a problem it’s the Flyers, Philadelphia took four of six games against the Penguins in the regular season.

 3. New York Rangers – The Rangers won just one of their last four games heading into the playoffs, but didn’t need more than their victory last Tuesday over the Flyers to clinch the East. The Blueshirts will have their sights set well beyond the Senators and the first round; John Tortorella’s troops have as good a chance as anyone in the East to reach the Stanley Cup Finals. Henrik Lundqvist will likely find himself once again among the Vezina Trophy finalists for a fourth time in his career, he’ll have to be on his game to give the Rangers a real chance at the Cup.

4. St. Louis Blues – After re-writing the record books, St. Louis is looking to win their first cup as a franchise. The Bluenotes set the modern-day NHL mark for fewest goals allowed (155) and Brian Elliott did the same with the lowest modern-day GAA (1.56) and highest save-percentage (.940). The team has outstanding depth at forward (including Selke-candidate and captain, David Backes) and a Norris candidate on D, Alex Pietrangelo. They swept their first round opponent, San Jose, in four games this season. Still, they’re a fairly young team (particularly on the blue line) and that might catch up to them over a playoff run.

 5. Boston Bruins – Perhaps one of the more surprising developments of the run-up to the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs has been the complete lack of respect given to the defending-champion Bruins. Yes they’re heavily favored to oust the Caps in round one, but it’s hard to find anyone who believes this team will repeat. Sure, the Penguins can dominate but do people forget the Bruins’ late 2011 run – they went 21-2-0 and basically made the League their whipping-boy for the greater part of nine weeks. This team lead the NHL in goal-differential and were an unbelievable 32-0-0 when leading after two.

 6. Nashville Predators – This is a huge (huuuuuuuuge) postseason for the Preds. With a pair of franchise defensemen whose contracts are up at the end of the year and the status of Alex Radulov up in the air, the time for the West’s fourth-seeded franchise to win is now. They’ll need Pekka Rinne to stand on his head and get some timely scoring from their less-than-dominant offense. They have the tools to go on a deep run, but with so much pressure riding on the second season (and the never-to-be-overlooked Wings waiting for them), can they pull it off? Getting off to a strong early start will be essential, as they were the second-best in the League with a .833 point percentage after jumping out to the early lead.

7. Chicago Blackhawks – How do you improve a team that earned points in 16 of their last 18 games? You reinsert their star player, in this case Jonathan Toews, back into their line-up. With Toews, Marian Hossa, Patrick Sharp and Patrick Kane leading the way, the Hawks’ offense finished tied for fifth in scoring with 241 goals for this season. Chicago was among the hottest teams down the stretch, only a last minute goal from Detroit’s Pavel Datsyuk in their final game kept them in the sixth place in the West. Not that Hawks fans are complaining: They now meet the Phoenix Coyotes in the first round as opposed to the arguably tougher Nashville Predators.

8. New Jersey Devils – Don’t expect too many experts to have the Devils slated as their pick to win the Cup, but they are a solid bet to beat the Panthers and move past the first round. The Devils have found their scoring touch this season even though last year they finished at the bottom of the league with just 171 markers. This year, led by Ilya Kovalchuk’s 37 goals and 83 points, they notched 216. New Jersey finished eight points ahead of the Florida, but the Cats have the third seed and home ice advantage for winning their division, their only real advantage in the series.

9. Philadelphia Flyers – The Flyers would be a sure bet to beat most of the first round competition, finishing third in the East in points, instead they’re the fifth seed and have to square off against the Penguins without home ice advantage. To make matters worse, Danny Briere and James Van Riemsdyk aren’t likely to return in the first round. On the bright side, Claude Giroux is in prime form, the Flyers are still a big, mean team, and with Bryzgalov healthy they could have the goaltending tandem necessary to take on the high flying Penguins.

10. Detroit Red Wings – Despite backing into the playoffs (5-9-3 in their last seventeen), the Wings remain a very formidable opponent. They’re very close to being completely healthy for the first time in months, are the NHL’s top five-on-five squad and can run out elite talents to match with nearly every team in the League. Detroit split six games with the Preds this season and are giving up home-ice advantage but they won a NHL-record 23 straight at home and were a League-best 31-7-3 at the Joe – so those three games in Motown will be huge.

11. San Jose Sharks – The fish woefully underperformed in 2011-12 and had to fight their way into the playoffs during the last week of the season. However they still had one of the best shot-differentials in the League and one of the deepest and most potent offenses in the game. Joe Thornton was huge for them down the stretch with 10 goals and 39 points 35 post-All-Star games. They’ll have to overcome a defense that held them to just three goals in four games (all losses) if they have any hopes of knocking-off the favored Blues.

 12. Phoenix Coyotes – The ‘Yotes ended up on top of the Pacific Division for the first time in franchise history, beating out the San Jose Sharks and L.A. Kings in a tight three-way race. Phoenix earned the title on the back of five straight wins at the end of the season, which included three straight shutouts from Mike Smith. Smith was the NHL’s First Star for the final week of play, and their Third Star the week before. With four players over 35 the Coyotes have the experience necessary to be contenders these playoffs. Leading scorer Ray Whitney, age 39, also owns a Stanley Cup Ring which he earned with the Hurricanes in 2006.

 13. Los Angeles Kings – Consecutive losses to the Sharks in the season’s final week dropped the Kings from third all the way to eighth and forced them to take the ice against the League’s top squad, the Canucks. LA’s defense has been solid all season, allowing just over two goals per game and Jonathan Quick is a legitimate Vezina candidate but unless they find a way to put some goals on the board their playoffs will be over quickly. The good news is, they’ve been better on the attack in the last stretch of the season – putting up nearly three goals per game (2.96) in their last twenty-three contests.

14. Washington Capitals – With the return of Nick Backstrom, the Caps fortunes are that much brighter but losing Tomas Vokoun and Michal Neuvirth (perhaps only temporarily) to injuries puts rookie Braden Holtby between the pipes to start the series against the defending champs – which is not good for business. The Caps will have to hope their elite scorers bring their ‘A’ games and Holtby turns into the next Ken Dryden because they just can’t match the B’s depth. Still, they won three of four against Boston this season and the Bruins are hurting themselves, so there’s some hope for Washington.

 15. Florida Panthers – Congratulations are certainly in order for the Panthers, against all odds they not only made the playoffs for the first time in over a decade but actually won the Southeast division. That said, they’ll have their work cut out for them if they expect to make it any farther. Florida will face the Devils in the first round, a team that earned more points than they did, outscored them, and gave up fewer goals than they did. Jose Theodore will need to come up huge for the Panthers to give them a chance to move past the first round and beyond.

 16. Ottawa Senators – The Senators enter the playoffs on a three game losing streak, dropping them to eighth seed in the East and the bottom spot in the playoff power rankings. They’ll have a tough time moving past the first round against the defensively solid Rangers, but Ottawa does bring a healthy dose of offense to the rink with Jason Spezza, Erik Karlsson, Daniel Alfredsson and Milan Michalek leading the charge. Add to that some surprisingly competent goaltending from Craig Anderson and Ben Bishop, and the Senators could cause problems for the Rangers.

The Canadiens ended their 2011-2012 campaign Saturday on a high note with a 4-1 win over the Maple Leafs. Montreal’s season was far from ideal and most Habs fan will want to wipe this year from their memories but there were at least some positives.

Carey Price, the team’s Molson Cup winner for MVP, gave the Habs a chance to win almost every night. He didn’t always get the offensive support he needed but still left it all on the ice night after night.

The top scoring line of Erik Cole, David Desharnais and Max Pacioretty combined for 84 goals, just over one per game. Cole became the first Hab to reach 35 goals since Alex Kovalev in 2007-08, both he and Pacioretty scored over 30 marking the first time since 1995-96 the Canadiens had two 30 goal scorers.

Josh Gorges finished the year with a remarkable 250 shots blocked to lead the league in that department. He also led the team in shorthanded time playing a huge role in the Canadiens second best penalty kill.

Alexei Emelin cracked the top 15 in hits with 236 in 67 games. The Russian rookie gave the Habs a physical force on the blueline that they’ve been missing since Mike Komisarek left the team in 2009.

P.K. Subban finished the year +9 while leading the team in time on ice with 1968:28 an average of 24:18 per game, last year he went -8. Unfortunately, for a second straight season he led the league in minor penalties, this year he finished with 43 minors, last season he had 42.

With the season over, here’s a look at the team’s top performers for the year:

First Star: Carey Price

Price was the team’s MVP earning the Molson Cup honours for player of the month in October, November, December and February. In his fifth season with the Canadiens Price played 65 games managing only 26 wins despite a .916 Sv% and 2.43 GAA. The 24 year old goalie earned four shutouts this season, bringing his career total up to 16. Many nights, Price would have needed to be prefect to earn a victory, on 26 occasions the Canadiens scored one goal or less, they were shutout eight times.

Second Star: Erik Cole

At 33, Cole enjoyed perhaps his best season in the NHL, potting 35 goals and picking up 61 points in his first season with the Canadiens. Despite seeing only limited time on the power play to start the year, Cole picked up a team high 11 PP goals, one more than P.K. Subban and Tomas Plekanec combined, who tied for second on the team with five each. After a slow start, five points in his first15 games, Cole managed to pick up 56 points in the final 67 games. He had four three-point nights, including March 23 against the Senators when he scored a natural hat trick in the first six minutes, the fastest Canadien to score three goals from the opening faceoff.

Third Star: Josh Gorges

As poorly as the Habs fared this season, it’s hard to imagine where they would have been if it wasn’t for the efforts of Josh Gorges. A true leader, Gorges played all 82 games this season after coming off season ending ACL surgery last December. He led the team in plus/minus, shorthanded TOI and of course blocked shots. Fans can expect the team’s defensive warrior to be a part of the organization for years to come, initially signed to a one year deal over the summer, Gorges was inked to a six year extension on New Year’s Day, the first possible day his contract could be extended.

Fourth Stars (Honourable Mentions): Max Pacioretty and David Desharnais

Both Patches and DD played full seasons for the first time in their NHL careers and did not waste their opportunities. Pacioretty led the Canadiens in points with 65 (33g, 32a) coming back from a horrific injury which cut short his season last year. Pacioretty is the Canadiens’ nominee for the Masterton Trophy and the odds on favorite to win the award. David Desharnais played top line minutes all season without looking out of place, he finished the season with a team high 44 assists and had 60 points on the year.

As the season comes to a close, join Corey, JD, Erik, Coach K and Ray Sabo, as they completely lose their minds on air, and bring the train wreck that was this Canadiens’ season to a screeching halt. And remember to join us on Tuesday, April 10th for our post-mortum extravaganza.

Tune in Sundays at 10:30 for our Hockey Week in Review with Ted Bird, Joey Elias, Dave Kellerman and the lovely Elle.

Goaltender Carey Price is the Montreal Canadiens Molson Cup Player of the Year for the 2011-12 season, while forward Erik Cole is the Molson Cup recipient for the March-April segment.

Cole earned the last segment of the season (March-April), finishing ahead of Carey Price and David Desharnais. The Oswego, New York native has recorded 15 points (12 goals, 3 assists) with a +1 differential in 17 games since the beginning of the month of March. Three of his goals were scored on the powerplay.

Price was the Canadiens’ Player-of-the-Month in October, November, December, and February according to the Molson Cup standings during the regular season. Born in Anahim Lake, British Columbia, Price finished ahead of teammates Erik Cole and Max Pacioretty.

The netminder played 65 games during the regular season, for a career total of 271, ranking him ninth on the Canadiens’ all-time list for most regular season games played by a goaltender. Price posted a record of 26 wins, 28 losses and 11 overtime/shootout losses. He maintained a 2.43 goals-against-average, while blocking 1,754 of the 1,914 shots he faced for a .916 save percentage.

Price recorded four shutouts in 2011-12, for a total of 16 in his career, ranking him tied for 11th on the team’s all-time list. He currently ranks seventh in the NHL in shots against (1,914) and saves (1,754) and sixth with 3,944:06 minutes of time on ice.

The 24-year old goaltender was named the NHL First Star for the week for the period ending on November 20 (2-0-1 record, a 0.65 GAA and a .973 save percentage). Price took part in the NHL All-Star Game in Ottawa, his third participation since joining the NHL.

Match-Up:

The Canadiens (30-35-16) are home Saturday to finish up the season against the Maple Leafs (35-36-10). The game starts at 7:00 and airs on RDS (HD) and CBC.

This is the sixth meeting between these teams this season, they’ve played twice already in Montreal and three times in Toronto. The home team has only won once in this series, the Leafs beat the Habs in the opening game of the season, a 2-0 victory in the Air Canada Centre.

What to Watch:

The Habs may be at the bottom of the East, but certain players have excelled in their areas of expertise. Josh Gorges leads the league with 246 blocked shots, 49 more than Tampa’s Brett Clark in second. Alexei Emelin has shown what he can do this season as well, he’s cracked the top 15 in hits with 236 checks in 67 games.

Toronto is led offensively by Phil Kessel and Joffrey Lupul. Kessel has 37 goals and 45 assists this year, career highs in both categories and his fourth straight season reaching 30 or more goals. Lupul has 67 points (25g, 42a) in 66 games including two goals and three assists in his last four but missed the last month of play with a shoulder injury.

What’s at Stake:

The season ends Saturday for both the Habs and the Leafs, neither has a chance at making the playoffs. The Canadiens have the least home wins in the league, with just 15 victories at the Bell Centre. They’ll want to give their fans a good show Saturday in the season finale against their historic rivals.

Who’s Out:

Tomas Kaberle returned to the Habs’ lineup Thursday after missing 10 games but Alexei Emelin (lower body) was forced to miss that match. He joined Carey Price (concussion), Scott Gomez (concussion), Brian Gionta (arm), Yannick Weber (knee), Mathieu Darche (Ear), Travis Moen (upper body), Petteri Nokelainen (upper body), Ryan White (flu) and Raphael Diaz (lower body) in the Canadiens’ clinic.

The Leafs are missing goalie James Reimer (head), Joffrey Lupul (shoulder), Nikolai Kulemin (finger) and Karl Gunnarson (shoulder). Jonas Gustavsonn (lower body) and Mikhail Grabovski (leg) are day-to-day.

What Else:

The Canadiens can finish as low as 29^th in the league if they earn no points in this game and if Edmonton beats the Canucks in their final game, otherwise they will end the season 28^th. Either way the team will get a top five in the next draft, and will likely draft in the top three. Toronto is currently tied with Minnesota for 25^th place, depending what happens in other matches around the league they could end as high as 24^th or as low as 27^th.

Be sure to tune into Montrealhockeytalk.com after the match for the Montreal Hockey Talk Post Game Show.

Now that’s more like it…The Habs lose in a shootout to the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh, and Coach K returns to once again prove how much fun it can be to kill a leprechaun.

Tune in Sundays at 10:30 for our Hockey Week in Review with Ted Bird, Joey Elias, Dave Kellerman and the lovely Elle.

TSN television took gushing to a new level of overkill last night in its coverage of Steven Stamkos’ pursuit of a 60 goal season.  Not only was Stamkos the lead on Sportscenter and the feature story on That’s Hockey, TSN used what the network called a StamCam devoted exclusively to the Tampa Bay forward in the Lightning’s game against the Canadiens at the Bell Center.

A 60 goal season – while relatively rare in today’s NHL -  is nothing new, and last night’s game was between two also-rans playing out the string.  It’s not as if Stamkos is on the verge of making hockey history or either of the teams was fighting for its playoff life.  On de facto Opening Day for Major League Baseball and the eve of the Masters, TSN exercised horrible editorial judgement with its all Stamkos, all the time drum beating.  And the StamCam?  Come on.  How about the GamCam, relentlessly searching for the best pair of legs in the house at the Bell Center, or the MamCam, looking for the best pair…well, you get my drift.

Hindsight is 20-20 and I don’t begrudge Stamkos his pursuit of a personal best, but on a night when Canadiens goalie Peter Budaj had more points than Stamkos, TSN’s love-in proved to be entirely out of proportion to actual events.

We won! We won!…. Wait a minute, we are trying to get a lottery pick!… We can’t even f@#king lose when we need to!

Tune in Sundays at 10:30 for our Hockey Week in Review with Ted Bird, Joey Elias, Dave Kellerman and the lovely Elle.

Match-Up:

The Canadiens (30-35-15) are headed to Carolina to face the Hurricanes (32-32-16) Thursday, hot on the heels of their 5-2 win over the Lightning. The game starts at 7:00 and can be seen on RDS (HD) and TSN-Habs (HD).

This is the fourth of four meetings between these teams. Montreal won two of the previous three games, but both of those wins came with Jacques Martin behind the bench for the Habs and Paul Maurice coaching the Canes. Most recently, Kirk Muller led his troops to a 5-3 victory over Randy Cunneyworth and the Canadiens.

What to Watch:

Erik Cole picked up goals number 33 and 34 Wednesday against the Bolts. Cole played over eight seasons with the Canes but never scored more than 30 goals in a season. He’s also just two points shy of matching his career high 61.

Carolina’s biggest threat is still Eric Staal who leads the Hurricanes in goals (24), assists (45) and of course points (69), however, at -17 he also has the worst +/- rating. Jeff Skinner, last year’s Calder Trophy winner for rookie of the year, remains a threat as well with 44 points (20g, 24a) in 62 games.

What’s at Stake:

While neither of these teams will be making the playoffs this year, the game is the last home game of the season for Carolina. Couple that with the fact that the Habs are coming off a game less than 24 hours earlier and the Hurricanes might just have a bit more jump than the Habs.

Who’s Out:

As has been the case most of the season, it may be easier to simply list the Canadiens that aren’t injured, once again the Habs are playing with a full clinic. Carey Price (concussion), Scott Gomez (concussion), Brian Gionta (arm), Petteri Nokelainen (upper body), Tomas Kaberle (upper body), Yannick Weber (knee), Raphael Diaz (lower body), Travis Moen (upper body) and Mathieu Darche (Ear) all missed Wednesday game and are expected to miss Thursday’s.

The Hurricanes are without Andreas Nodl (head) and former Canadien Jaroslav Spacek (lower body).

What Else:                            

Both the Canadiens and Hurricanes are going into Thursday’s game with different coaches than they had at the start of the season. Martin and Maurice are two of eight coaches to lose their job since the 2011-2012 campaign began, David Payne of the Blues, L.A.’s Terry Murray, Columbus’ Scott Arniel, Bruce Boudreau from the Caps, Randy Carlyle from Anaheim and most recently Ron Wilson from the Leafs are the other six. Strangely, Anaheim scooped up Bruce Boudreau when he was let go from Washington to replace Carlyle, while Carlyle was picked up by the Leafs to replace Wilson. The other six coaches have yet to find work.

Be sure to tune into Montrealhockeytalk.com after the match for the Montreal Hockey Talk Post Game Show.

Members of the media covering the Montreal Canadiens voted defenseman Josh Gorges as the 2011-12 recipient of the Jacques Beauchamp-Molson Trophy. The trophy is awarded annually to the member of the Canadiens who played a dominant role during the regular season, without earning any particular honor. Gorges, who won the award in 2009-10, succeeds Roman Hamrlik who was the recipient in 2010-11.

Gorges received the most first-place votes in the race for the Jacques Beauchamp-Molson Trophy, earning 140 points in the overall standings, ahead of forward David Desharnais (102 points) and defenseman Alexei Emelin(44 points).

A native of Kelowna, British Columbia, Gorges leads the Canadiens at even strength with a total of 1,447:44 minutes of play, averaging 18:19 minutes of ice time per game. He is first on the team and second in the NHL on the penalty kill with 303:56 minutes of play, an average of 3:50 minutes per game (third in the NHL). Gorges ranks second with the Canadiens in overall ice time, with 1785:49 minutes of play, averaging 22:36 minutes of ice time per game.

Gorges leads the Canadiens with a +11 plus-minus differential and ranks third on the team with 125 hits. He leads all NHL players with 243 blocked shots. Gorges is one of two Canadiens’ players to appear in all the team’s games this season, after missing Montreal’s last 46 games in 2010-11 with a knee injury.

The 6’1’’, 201 lbs defenseman played his 300th career game with the Canadiens on December 15 against Philadelphia. Gorges took part in his 400th NHL career game on December 22 at Winnipeg.

Created in 1981 to honor the memory of the legendary sportswriter who spent most of his professional career covering the Canadiens, the Jacques Beauchamp-Molson Trophy was first awarded to Doug Jarvis following the 1981-82 season.

Josh Gorges will be presented with the Jacques Beauchamp-Molson Trophy during a ceremony prior to Saturday’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Bell Centre.

2011-12 Jacques-Beauchamp-Molson Trophy Rankings

SEE ALSO 

If Mike Milbury reminds you a lot of Don Cherry, it’s probably because he’s auditioning for Cherry’s job.   Cherry’s not going to be around forever, and if Milbury can use his in at CBC to slide into the current Coach’s Corner slot at even half of what Cherry makes, it would represent a comfortable living, with a substantial Canadian taxpayer-funded pension at the end of the rainbow.

But while they’re the hockey broadcast community’s two most unhinged blowhards, there’s one overriding factor separating Milbury from Cherry.  Cherry speaks from the heart.  No matter how outrageous or offensive his comments or opinions might be, he means what he says, and his bluster is frequently infused with salient points about the game.

Milbury says things for effect, and his transparency is palpable.  This week’s tirade against Sidney Crosby was a shameless exercise in attention-seeking.  In calling Crosby “Little Goody Two Shoes,” a “punk” and the worst whiner since Wayne Gretzky, Milbury managed to slag off the two greatest players of their respective generations in the same sentence.  His outburst was so childish and lacking in credibility that Milbury was forced to publicly apologize in a statement released through NBC, which inexplicably continues to employ him.  When Cherry apologized earlier this season for calling a few former enforcers pukes and hypocrites, he at least had the courage and courtesy to plead mea culpa on the air, which gave it some semblance of sincerity.

In the world of larger-than-life media personalities, there’s a difference between a savvy showman and a wanna-be hack, and it’s the difference between Don Cherry and Mike Milbury.

Match-Up:

The Canadiens (29-35-15) are back home Wednesday to face the Lightning (37-35-7). The game is set to start at 7:30 and airs on RDS (HD) and TSN.

This is the fourth and final meeting between the Habs and the Lightning, the Habs are 1-2-0 in the series winning the other match at the Bell Centre and losing both games in Tampa. Former Canadiens back-up, Mathieu Garon, has started all three games for Tampa this season.

What to Watch:

The Canadiens will have their youth on display again Wednesday night with a full slate of injuries to their roster players. There will be one veteran to keep an eye on, Rene Bourque, he had a goal against the Rangers Friday but has been a bit of a disappointment since coming over from Calgary for Michael Cammalleri.

The league’s top goal scorer, Steven Stamkos, brings his show to town. He’s up to 58 goals already this season with three games left in the Lightning season. Martin St. Louis and Vincent Lecavalier, a pair of fan favorites, are always fun to watch in Montreal, St. Louis has 21 points (12g, 9a) in his 21 games at the Bell Centre, while Lecavalier has 21 (9g, 12a) in 24.

What’s at Stake:

Both of these teams have been eliminated from playoff contention, so the only the only thing that’s really at stake here is how far does Steven Stamkos stretch his lead over Evgeni Malkin in the Maurice Richard Trophy race.

Who’s Out:

Carey Price (head) was injured during practice last week and likely won’t play again this season, neither will Yannick Weber (knee), while Brian Gionta (arm) and Scott Gomez (concussion) are also expected to miss the rest of the year. Raphael Diaz (lower body) has missed 14 games, there is no word on if he will be able to return this season. Petteri Nokelainen (upper body) left Saturday’s game and may be done for the season, but Mathieu Darche (ear) and Travis Moen (upper body) and Tomas Kaberle (upper body) may be able to return before the season ends. Ryan White (flu) has missed the past two games and may not be ready to play Wednesday.

Like Price, Tampa’s number one goalie, Mathieu Garon, is also out, he tore his groin muscle at the beginning of March. Another former Hab, Marc-Andre Bergeron is also out with a back injury. Mattias Ohlund (knee), Dana Tyrell (knee), Ryan Shannon (shoulder) and Adam Hall (upper body) are also injured.

What Else:

Josh Gorges was announced as the winner of this year’s Jacques Beauchamp – Molson Trophy for the Canadiens’ most dominant player during the season that didn’t collect any other award, the team’s fourth star. Gorges leads the league with 243 blocked shots, averaging just over three per game. He averages 3:50 of penalty kill time, third most the NHL. He’s perhaps the biggest part of the league’s second ranked PK, on the team that has given up the second most power plays this season, tied with Ottawa at 301.

Be sure to tune into Montrealhockeytalk.com after the match for the Montreal Hockey Talk Post Game Show.

By Bob Mand and Rob Elbaz

In the final 30-team edition of RSC’s NHL Power Rankings, the New York Rangers secured the top spot while the Canucks’ surge put them close on the Rags’ heels. The Blue Jackets ended their fifteen-week stay in the cellar while the biggest risers were the Islanders and the biggest fallers, the Stars.

1. New York Rangers (LW: 2) – Three first-place votes. The Rangers are back on top of the RSC power rankings heading into the final week of regular season play. They missed a chance to clinch the number one seed in the East Sunday night against the Bruins, but the Rangers are just a single point away from locking up home ice advantage through the first three rounds.

2. Vancouver Canucks (LW: 5) – Two first-place votes. The Presidents’ Trophy is within the ‘Nucks reach as they enter the final week of play in a virtual tie with the Rangers for the first overall seed (though the Rags have more regulation plus overtime victories: ROWs). However the health of Daniel Sedin (concussion) is a serious concern. GM Mike Gillis said he’ll be ready for the playoffs but you can never be sure of head injuries.

3. Philadelphia Flyers (LW: 4) – As they’ve done all season, the Flyers battled through injuries that would have devastated a lesser team. Chris Pronger is out for the season; James Van Riemsdyk is unlikely to return before the playoffs and now number one goalie Ilya Bryzgalov is out for an undetermined period with a chip fracture in his right foot. But none of that stopped the Flyers from beating the relatively healthy Pittsburgh Penguins Sunday afternoon to move a point back of fourth place.

4. St. Louis Blues (LW: 2) – While the Blues locked-up just their second Division title in a quarter-century (and first in a dozen seasons) this week, they’re not exactly finishing the season on a high-note with losses in six of nine. Brian Elliott has shutouts in his last three starts (one a shootout loss) and is making a very convincing case to be St. Louis’ playoff starter – and perhaps Vezina nominee.

5. Pittsburgh Penguins (LW: 1) – Last week’s top ranked team took a serious tumble in this week’s power rankings, slipping all the way to fifth. That type of thing happens when you drop two straight games to the New York Islanders, missing a golden opportunity to put pressure on the division leading Rangers. Follow that up with a loss to the Flyers Sunday and the Penguins now risk losing home ice advantage in the first round.

6. Boston Bruins (LW: 9) – With a huge (repeat: HUGE) win over the Rangers in New York on Sunday, the B’s captured the Northeast Division crown and the East’s second overall seed. With an assist, captain Zdeno Chara set a personal best in points with 52 – second among NHL defensemen. Even without the sidelined Nathan Horton – the B’s have to be one of the scariest teams in the postseason field.

7. Chicago Blackhawks (LW: 7) – The Hawks continued to roll toward the playoffs with big wins over the Blues and Preds to cap a 10-2-2 month of March. However their first-round home-ice aspirations took a considerable hit when they failed to secure two points against the lottery-bound Wild on Sunday.

8. Nashville Predators (LW: 6) – Wrapping two disheartening losses to the Blues and Chicago around an important win over the Wings, the Preds dropped to fifth in the West and will have to grab one more point than Detroit (and at least as many as the Hawks) to acquire that precious home-ice advantage. KHL scoring champ Alex Radulov has six points in six games since returning to the NHL.

9. New Jersey Devils (LW: 11) – The Devils look to be firmly locked into the six seed in the East, without much chance of moving up or down in the standings next week, which probably suits them just fine. The Devils are set to square off against the Panthers, or perhaps the Capitals, and while they won’t have home ice advantage New Jersey will own the better record going into the series.

10. Detroit Red Wings (LW: 8 ) – Detroit has been ice cold since the final victory of their record-setting 23-game home winning streak, posting a 6-10-3 mark and right now barely hanging onto the West’s fourth seed. Jimmy Howard – at one time on pace to be the first NHL goaltender to hit the fifty-win plateau – got just his second win in two months last week.

11. Los Angeles Kings (LW: 13) – With a 7-2-1 mark in their last ten, the Kings have put themselves on the verge of the playoffs and the Pacific Division title. It will come down to what should be a certain ‘W’ over the Oil and a season-ending home-and-home with the Sharks.

12. Ottawa Senators (LW: 15) – The Senators are getting hot at just the right time, with four straight wins to punch their playoff ticket. They’ll be led by the league’s top scoring defenceman, Erik Karlsson, whose 77 points (19g, 58a) are 25 more than second place Zdeno Chara’s 52. Craig Anderson and Ben Bishop are both healthy and seemingly capable heading into the postseason giving the Sens an unexpectedly competent goaltending duo 

13. Florida Panthers (LW: 12) – A win here, an overtime loss there and the Panthers inch ever closer to locking up the Southeast division. With a three point lead over the Caps, the division isn’t theirs just yet, and the two teams square off next Thursday. Still, as long as the Panthers get one more win or the Sabres lose one more game, Florida will be headed to the playoffs for the first time since 2000.

14. Phoenix Coyotes (LW: 17) – Every time we think we can count out the ‘Yotes, they find a way to get themselves back into the hunt and back-to-back shutouts of Pacific rivals Anaheim and San Jose is certainly one way to do it. Congratulations to 39 year-old Ray Whitney who hit the thousand-point mark with a goal and an assist over the Ducks on Saturday.

15. Washington Capitals (LW: 19) – Nicklas Backstrom returned to Washington’s lineup Saturday, giving the team a much needed boost as they try to wrap up a playoff spot, unfortunately, Tomas Vokoun is now out indefinitely with a groin injury. Sitting in eighth place with the Panther’s not too far ahead of them and Buffalo hot on their heels the Caps will be looking back as much as they look forward in their last three games.

16. San Jose Sharks (LW: 16) – The Sharks are doing just enough to keep themselves in prime position to secure one of the West’s last spots. On talent alone this team should be one of the best in the League let alone the conference so unless they’re able to pull out an amazing postseason run after the nigh-on debacle of their regular season – 2011-12 can’t be viewed as anything but a massive disappointment in San Jose.

17. Buffalo Sabres (LW: 14) – After earning points in nine straight games with a 7-0-2 record, Buffalo’s charge up the standings faltered with a pair of losses Friday and Saturday night. The Sabres no longer control their own destiny and will have to hope that Washington slips enough in their last three games to let Buffalo sneak into the playoffs.

18. Dallas Stars (LW: 10) – When a team in the midst of an end-of-season playoff race loses three of four on the week (the lone victory being against hapless Edmonton) they deserve to fall. The Stars have a week to outpoint the Sharks to steal eighth in the west but they absolutely must beat the Fins at home on Tuesday.

19. Colorado Avalanche (LW: 18) – After dropping four in a row, the Avs managed to hold onto their playoff hopes with a big win over the Flames in Calgary. Still, with just two games remaining and needing to leap-frog two teams the Avs’ postseason optimism is all but a pipe dream.

20. Winnipeg Jets (LW: 20) – The Jets will have to wait until next year for a shot at the postseason, any lingering hope the team might have had disappeared after Saturday’s OT loss to the Lightning which officially eliminated them from playoff contention. The team has nothing to be ashamed of this season, they finished far better than expected and treated their adoring fans to 23 home wins with one more home game to play.

21. Calgary Flames (LW: 21) – Surprise, surprise the Flames will miss the playoffs and a real shot at a game-changing player in June. It’s hard to tell whether GM Jay Feaster thinks he’s building towards something or is just trying to frustrate southern Albertans into trading their red and gold for copper and blue.

22. Tampa Bay Lightning (LW: 22) – While the Lightning may need to improve their defense and goaltending next season, their offense is just fine. With 56 goals and four games left to play, a Lightning record, Steven Stamkos will pick up his second Maurice Richard Trophy. Stamkos also set an NHL record for overtime winners the season, picking up his fifth OT winner Saturday against the Jets.

23. New York Islanders (LW: 28) – The Isles won a pair of games against the Penguins last week, with Kyle Okposo scoring three goals and an assist in those two games. Okposo reached 20 goals for the first time in his career, with three games left he is one of just three Islanders to hit the mark this season. John Tavares is also having a career year, he has 78 points (31g, 47a) to lead the team.

24. Carloina Hurricanes (LW: 24) – Kirk Muller can hold his head high after doing his part to turn around the flailing Carolina Hurricanes, he’ll finish his first season behind the bench above .500. The Canes were 8-13-4 when Paul Maurice was fired, they’re now 31-32-16 with three games left. With Muller at the helm, Eric Staal and Cam Ward both improved their seasons after dreadful starts.

25. Anaheim Ducks (LW: 23) – The Quackers’ recent stretch of poor play has them tied with the Maple Leafs for the fifth-worst record in the League. However, the Leafs’ late-November win over the Water Fowl in Anaheim breaks the tie and (currently) has the Ducks in-line for an outside shot at number-one overall.

26. Minnesota Wild (LW: 25) – The Wild have won three in a row – which has been enough to push them from the third overall pick last Thursday to the current owners of the eighth selection come June. Consequently, we’re bumping them down a spot for their apparent ability to win only when it hurts the franchise.

27. Toronto Maple Leafs (LW: 27) – You have to hand it to the Leafs – they don’t do things in half-measures: When they lose, they go all out. Since Randy Carlyle took over at the beginning of March, Toronto has gone 5-8-2 including an 8-0 loss to the Bruins and a 7-1 loss to the Flyers. In the ACC the chants of “Fire Wilson” have stopped, because he was, only to be replaced with chants of “Fire Burke” and “Let’s Go Blue Jays.”

28. Edmonton Oilers (LW: 26) – Taylor Hall has had season-ending injuries in his first two NHL seasons. This was one of the reasons some suggested Tyler Seguin should go number one overall in 2010: Hall’s fearlessness (some say recklessness) puts him in far too many dangerous situations. Perhaps the Oilers’ brass should have a talk with their dynamic young winger about playing more guardedly.

29. Columbus Blue Jackets (LW: 30) – For the first time in more than three months, the Blue Jackets’ (fifteen-week) reign at the bottom of our power rankings has come to an end thanks to a three-game winning streak and a 9-7-0 month of March. In addition, they still have Yakupov to look forward to, so perhaps there’s some light at the end of the tunnel for Columbus.

30. Montreal Canadiens (LW: 29) – Team owner Geoff Molson finally gave Canadiens fans something to celebrate last week when he announced the firing of GM Pierre Gauthier. Whoever is chosen as the next GM will have his work cut out for him as he tries to pick up the pieces next season. He’ll need to re-sign Carey Price and P.K. Subban while being saddled with the heavy contracts of Scott Gomez, Tomas Kaberle, Brian Gionta and Rene Bourque.

After being officially eliminated from playoff contention by the Flyers last Saturday, the Habs played a trio of meaningless games last week against the Panthers, Rangers and Capitals. The Canadiens still came to play last week, earning two points on a pair of shootout losses and finishing the week 0-1-2 against competition that had lots of motivation to play hard. Montreal did have some standout performers on the ice this week, but all three stars go to an off-ice member of the organization who stole most of the Canadiens based headlines.

First, Second and Third Star: Geoff Molson

Thursday morning, Canadiens owner and team president Geoff Molson announced that general manager Pierre Gauthier and special assistant Bob Gainey had been relieved of their respective duties and that the search was on for the next GM. Molson’s announcement sparked one of the biggest celebrations amongst Habs fans this season. Former GM and Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Serge Savard has been brought in to help the owner find the next general manager.

Mr. Molson made it clear during his press conference that the current season has been a disappointment but the organization is still committed to greatness. The direction this team will take is still uncertain, but Geoff Molson has taken the first step in improving this team by breaking from the current culture, which has seen the team take backwards steps in the past two seasons.

Joey is out of town this week, but we are proud to have Bibby Dollas in studio with Ted, Elle, and Dave to discuss the firing of Pierre Gauthier and the rumors surrounding his replacement prospects. A lot to talk about this week on the Hockey Week in Review.

Live from Hurley’s Irish Pub. The crew has been drinking since 4 and is fueled up and ready to go. JD brings some of his most epic ranting skills downtown for a Rock’em Sock’em evening of Habs discussion.

Tune in Sundays at 10:30 for our Hockey Week in Review with Ted Bird, Joey Elias, Dave Kellerman and the lovely Elle.

Match-Up:

With the season coming to a close, the Habs (29-35-14) are in Washington Saturday to take on the Capitals (39-31-8) in a game with plenty of meaning for at least one of these two teams. The puck drops at 7:00 and the match airs on RDS (HD) and CBC.

This is the fourth and final meeting for these two teams, aside from looking for their first win against the Caps this season, the Habs will also be looking for just their second goal as well. Montreal is 0-3-0 so far versus the Capitals, they suffered a pair of shutouts in their first two meetings against Washington and dropped the third game 4-1.

What to Watch:

For the Canadiens, next year’s preseason has started early. Peter Budaj will get the call in goals and plenty of youngsters have a chance to show what they could bring to this team next season. Frédéric St-Denis played game number 13 with the Habs against the Rangers Friday, he finished the night a +1 with over 19 minutes of ice-time and appearances on the power play and penalty kill.

After missing 40 games with a concussion, Nicklas Backstrom has been cleared to play for Saturday’s game. At the time of his injury, Backstrom was leading the Capitals in scoring with 42 points (13g, 29a) in 38 games. Rene Bourque, then with the Flames, caused the concussion with a nasty elbow that earned him a five game suspension, it should be interesting to see if that has any bearing on the game.

What’s at Stake:

With the season nearing its conclusion, several players like Aaron Palushaj, Louis Leblanc, Blake Geoffrion, Frédéric St-Denis, and even upcoming UFA Brad Staubitz will want to take advantage of the remaining four games to show they belong in the NHL next season. The same could be said for interim head coach Randy Cunneyworth, it is doubtful he will remain on as coach of the Habs next season, but he’ll want to prove that he deserves a job coaching in this league.

The Capitals are tied with the Sabres for the eighth and final playoff spot in the East, they can’t afford to lose against the last place team in the conference.

Who’s Out:

Tomas Kaberle (upper body) was not dressed for Friday’s match against the Rangers but could be ready to return to play Saturday. Brian Gionta (arm), Scott Gomez (concussion), Yannick Weber (knee), Mathieu Darche (ear), Travis Moen (upper body) and Raphael Diaz (lower body) are out. Andrei Markov left Friday’s game visibly in pain after contact to his left knee. The injury was described as minor and he should be in the line-up Saturday. Also, for those worrying, Markov has ACL surgery twice in the last three years to repair damage to his Right knee, not his left.

With Backstrom set to return, the Capitals are just without defenseman Tom Poti (groin) and goalie Tomas Vokoun, who is day-to-day with a groin injury suffered Thursday against the Bruins.

What Else:

March 31 at 8:30 pm (local time) marks Earth Hour, an initiative championed by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). This year the NHL is partnering with WWF to have all 30 NHL teams turn off all non-essential lighting turned off in every arena across the league, including the 10 that will have matches underway, from 8:30 to 9:30. Earth Hour is designed to raise awareness and spark action to counteract climate change. In 2011, over 5200 cities in 135 countries participated in the event in some way.

Be sure to tune into Montrealhockeytalk.com before the match for the Celtic Show live from Hurley’s Pub in downtown Montreal, and after the game for a live edition of the Montreal Hockey Talk Post Game Show.

Ding Dong the witch is dead! Gauthier and Gainey have been given their walking papers and the crew has a lot to say about the next move for the Habs.

Tune in Sundays at 10:30 for our Hockey Week in Review with Ted Bird, Joey Elias, Dave Kellerman and the lovely Elle.

The news many in Montreal were waiting for finally broke Thursday morning. Pierre Gauthier was relieved of his duties as general manager of the Canadiens, and joining him on the way out will be special assistant Bob Gainey. In his search for a replacement, owner and team president Geoff Molson has retained the services of former GM and Canadiens legend Serge Savard.

While Molson’s comments during his press conference to announce the move suggested that the new GM did not necessarily need to speak French, Savard was unambiguous when he was interviewed later in the day. His comments on TSN990 about potential candidates made it clear that a qualified individual “has to be able to communicate to the people in French.” He reiterated and expanded on those comments that evening on Sportsnet’s Prime Time Sports, “When you’re in the province of Quebec, you have 80 per cent of Francophones … The guy doesn’t have to be Francophone, but (he) has to communicate in French.”

Conversely, Savard admitted it was just as important that the candidate be able to speak English as well, explaining, “If my guy doesn’t speak English, he’s not qualified either, because he has to communicate with the people in English as well.” It’s clear to most why the right candidate needs to be able to speak English, English is the working language of the NHL meaning every other GM speaks the language as do the grand majority of the league’s players and their agents.

So why then does the candidate need to speak French? Shouldn’t Savard and Molson be looking for the best candidate period, not simply the best bilingual candidate?

The simple fact is the best candidate is a bilingual candidate. While French may not factor into the back room negotiations with players, agents or other GMs, and while it certainly won’t factor into the roster tweaking moves and salary cap fiddling our new manager will need to occupy himself with almost daily, French will factor into the new general manager’s ability to communicate with the fans, his clientele, a part of the job that can no longer be ignored.

After the era of Gauthier and Gainey Montreal needs a general manager that will engage his public, that normally rabid pack of fans which has been alienated and rendered somewhat disinterested by years of secrecy and downright neglect. English is the working language of the NHL, but French is the working language of Quebec, home to the vast majority of the fans of Les Glorieux. An important task for the new GM will be to show these fans, in English and French, that he understands them and their passion for success, this task will be almost as important as building a team that will achieve this success.

Truthfully, this team is not many roster pieces away from being competitive. They have shown throughout the season that they can compete with the elite teams of this league, beating the Red Wings 7-3, beating the Canucks in Vancouver, beating the Rangers two of three times heading into Friday’s final meeting.

What the team lacks is consistency, a bit of experience and the ability to finish strong. These problems will need to be solved more by the team’s next coach than their next GM, of course, it will be the GM’s job to find the right coach. So if Savard’s first question to his candidates is “can you speak French,” his next should be “who do you have in mind for a coach.”

Match-Up:

The Canadiens (29-34-14) are in the Big Apple Friday to take on the Eastern leading Rangers (49-21-7). The game starts at 7:30 and airs on RDS (HD) and TSN.

This is the fourth and final meeting between the Habs and Rangers. After dropping the first meeting 5-3, the Canadiens have scored a pair of convincing victories, a 4-0 win on Nov. 19 and a 4-1 win Jan. 15. Max Pacioretty had two goals and an assist, Desharnais had a goal and two assists and Cole had three helpers the last time Montreal and New York squared off.

What to Watch:

Erik Cole scored his 31^st goal of the season against the Panthers Tuesday reaching a new career at high at age 33. It was also Cole’s 10^th power play marker, which matched his career high in that department, he’s also far and away the team leader. Rene Bourque is also worth watching, but not because of any spectacular play, just the opposite. Bourque is -18 in 33 games with the Habs, he has four goals and three assists. Bourque has been either even or negative in the last 21 games.

After going down 2-0 against the Jets Wednesday, New York responded with four straight goals including a shorthander by Michael Del Zotto to get things going. Marian Gaborik had two assists in the game as well, he continues to lead the Rangers with 71 points (38g, 33a) on the season.

What’s at Stake:

The Canadiens have five games left to play, they would need to win all five to finish the year at .500. The Rangers have a solid grip on the top seed in the East, but a win against the Habs would put them that much closer to clinching the conference so don’t expect them to take Friday’s game lightly.

Who’s Out:

Tomas Kaberle has missed seven games with a lower body injury but could be ready to return Friday. Scott Gomez (concussion), Brian Gionta (arm), Travis Moen (upper body), Mathieu Darche (ear), Yannick Weber (knee) and Raphael Diaz (lower body) are still out.

For the Rangers, Michael Sauer (concussion), Mats Zuccarello (wrist) and Steve Eminger (ankle) are injured.

What Else:

Thursday, Canadiens Owner Geoff Molson announced that general manager Pierre Gauthier and special advisor Bob Gainey have been relieved of their respective duties. Gauthier has been under fire because of the Habs’ disappointing season. Gauthier had been criticized for bringing Tomas Kaberle and Rene Bourque onboard despite their unattractive contracts and recent history of underperforming. Gainey’s claim to general managerial infamy is his trade that brought Scott Gomez and Tom Pyatt to the team from the Rangers. The Canadiens gave up Chris Higgins and prospect Ryan McDonagh while allowing the Rangers to rid themselves of Gomez’ 7.33 million dollar cap hit. McDonagh has six goals and 24 assists this season with the Rangers and is a team high +27, Gomez has two goals and nine assists in 38 games for the Habs this year to go along with a -9 rating.

Be sure to tune into Montrealhockeytalk.com after the match for the Montreal Hockey Talk Post Game Show.

President and owner of the Montreal Canadiens Geoff Molson announced during this morning press conference that Pierre Gauthier has been relieved of his duties, no replacement has yet to be named. Molson also announced that Bob Gainey has been replaced with Serge Savard effective immediately, Savard will assist in the process in choosing the next GM of the Habs.

More to come…

Pierre Gauthier’s relieved from his duties as general manager of the Montreal Canadiens. Habs owner and team president Geoff Molson has called a news conference for Thursday at 11:45am to formally announce that the club has relieved him of his duties. No news if he will introduce the new GM, stay tuned for further information.

Don’t count me as part of the crowd crowing over the Toronto Maple Leafs missing the NHL playoffs for the seventh year in a row.

For one thing, it’s unseemly to revel in someone else’s misfortune, especially when your own team’s season has been nothing short of catastrophic.  If anything, Montreal Canadiens supporters should feel some empathy for their Toronto counterparts.  Hardcore Habs fans like to bellyache about how they deserve better than what they got this season.   How about the unswerving loyalty of Leafs fans who endure bitter disappointment every year?  Don’t they deserve better?  Toronto is no less passionate about the Leafs than Montreal is about the Canadiens, but there are 45 year old Leaf fans who’ve lived more than half their natural life span without so much as a sniff of the Stanley Cup, while Montrealers in the same demographic have been witness to eight Stanley Cup parades, even if they had to watch their first two from their parents’ shoulders.

Petty jealously over the fact that the PQ chased taxpayers and big business down the 401 and built Toronto into Canada’s de facto national capitol is a lame premise for hoping their hockey team bottoms out.  And don’t look now, but the Leafs are only three points ahead of the Canadiens, and could bump Montreal out of that top 2 or 3 draft position that Habs fans are counting on to produce the Canadiens first franchise forward since Guy Lafleur.

So bask in the Leafs’ misery if you must, but be careful what you wish for, because karma has a funny away of giving you what you want at your own expense.

Warning… The views expressed by Rob Elbaz of Montreal Hockey Talk, in regards to Kaberle, are not necessarily those of Radio Sports Center… As for the rest of us, join in and listen to us breakdown another shootout loss to the Florida Panthers.

Tune in Sundays at 10:30 for our Hockey Week in Review with Ted Bird, Joey Elias, Dave Kellerman and the lovely Elle.

Well, we’re just about at that time of the year when misguided patriots from Tofino to St. John’s and all points between will urge their fellow countrymen to support whichever Canadian team or teams make it to the Stanley Cup playoffs, as if geography and citizenship have anything to do with it.

Never mind that it’s not the Olympics or world championships and that NHL rosters are made up of a dog’s breakfast of Canadians, Americans and Europeans.  The premise that real Canadian hockey fans cheer for Canadian-based teams falls apart the minute you factor regional rivalries into the equation.  Do you really believe that Ottawa fans could suspend their hatred for Toronto and support the Leafs – or vice-versa – under any circumstances?  Try telling a die-hard Calgary fan that they owe it to their country to cheer for Edmonton or a longtime Oilers fan that they should support the Flames and see if you don’t get a bucket of hot tar sands thrown in your face.  There are people outside and even inside Quebec who would rather stick their head in a trough full of cobras than cheer for the Montreal Canadiens.

Of course, the point is largely moot this spring, because Vancouver is the only one of the seven Canadian-based teams assured of a playoff spot, although Ottawa and Calgary still have a shot.  If you want to cheer for the Canucks, Senators or Flames, that’s your choice, but you shouldn’t feel obliged to do so just because they’re the only games you can get into without a passport or birth certificate.

Match-Up:

The Canadiens (29-34-13) are back at home to face the Southeast leading Panthers (36-24-15) Tuesday night. The game is set to start at 7:30 and airs on RDS (HD) and TSN2.

This is the fourth and final meeting between the Habs and Panthers, Montreal is 0-3-0 in their previous three games. The Panthers have started three different goalies in each game so far, but Jose Theodore wasn’t able to earn the win for Florida in his start. He left the New Year’s Eve game in the second period with a lower body injury, but Scott Clemmensen was able to complete the victory in relief.

What to Watch:

If Andrei Markov dresses for Tuesday’s game, it will be his eighth game of the season, one more than he played last year. Markov has only picked up one assist and is -2 in his previous seven games, but he has stayed healthy.

Tomas Fleischmann and Stephen Weiss have been leading the Panthers’ offense and both have been hot recently. Both Fleischmann and Weiss have seven points in their last six games. Florida has also gotten decent offensive contributions from their defensemen this season, Brian Campbell is second overall in defensive scoring with 49 points (4g, 45a), while Jason Garrison, with 16 goals, is tied for second in goals scored.

What’s at Stake:

With Saturday’s loss to the Flyers, the Habs are officially out of playoff contention. On the other end of the spectrum the Panthers are holding a three point lead over the Capitals for top spot in the Southeast division. Every point counts for the Panthers who are trying to make the playoffs for the first time since 2000.

Who’s Out:

Yannick Weber (knee), Brian Gionta (arm), Scott Gomez (concussion), Tomas Kaberle (upper body), Mathieu Darch (ear), Travis Moen (upper body) and Raphael Diaz (lower body) are out.

The Panthers are missing Jack Skille (shoulder), and Matt Bradley (concussion).

What Else:

The Canadiens won’t be going to the postseason for a seventh time since winning the Stanley Cup in 1993. Since the birth of the NHL in 1917 up to the Habs had only missed the playoff eight times before the ’93 cup win. The Panthers entered the league the season after Montreal last won the Cup. If they can hold on to their position for the next two weeks, they’ll earn just their fourth playoff appearance in that span.

Be sure to tune into Montrealhockeytalk.com after the match for the Montreal Hockey Talk Post Game Show.