Koivu in

Saku Koivu will indeed be playing tonight against the Islanders in New York. No word on the Habs' five other Olympians, although I assume that, since they have had a few more days of rest than Koivu, they will be in the lineup as well.

Teemu talk

Just listening to The Team 990 and speculation has come up that the Canadiens are yet again interested in acquiring Teemu Selanne from the Ducks. Considering the way Selanne has been playing this season (26 G, 28 A in 55 GP), it would probably be quite costly for the Canadiens to bring Selanne east. But boy, just picture Selanne and Koivu on the same line -- he could really bring out the best in the Habs' captain. Remember, they are coming off a silver medal at the Olympics...

Back

After an amazing Olympic Games, it's now time to return to the NHL. Before I do, I want to congratulate Cindy Klassen and the Brad Gushue rink especially, and all Canadian athletes in general, for their performances in these Games; it truly was an great time to be a Team Canada fan.

For the less than 2 weeks that will lead up to the trade deadline, there will be lots of rumours flying around, and I'll try to post the most legitimate ones. It's always interesting to hear what people have to say regardless of how realistic the thought might be, but I'll keep the more far-fetched ones out of my posts so as not to be too confusing.

The latest rumours continue to involve Blackhawks centre Tyler Arnason, whom the Canadiens are still looking at. Mike Ribeiro, Richard Zednik and Radek Bonk's names continue to surface as players Bob Gainey would like to move on or before March 9, but there is a strong likelihood that the Canadiens could stand pat and do nothing. José Theodore's injury does free up some salary for the Canadiens to use, so it's anybody's guess as to what Gainey will do. Whatever happens, it will be an exciting finish, so stay tuned for all the updates.

Short news

Hope you're all enjoying the Olympic Games, what a great showing for Canada so far! (Minus the hockey of course...) Just a quick note to let you know that the Canadiens are supposedly interested in taking a risk on Alexandre Daigle of the Wild, who has 28 points in 46 games this season.

Also, while José Theodore claims he'll be back sooner than the doctors had predicted, Bob Gainey says he plans on sticking with the duet of Cristobal Huet and Yann Danis for as long as possible. I think Gainey wants to take advantage of Theodore's injury to let Huet feel comfortable as #1 for awhile, and maybe also to take advantage of the cap space the situation affords him. Remember, players don't get paid salary in the playoffs, so if Theo held out until then, Gainey could potentially seek out a playoff rental without having to worry about cap issues. Remember also that if Theodore is out a certain number of games, insurance pays his salary and not George Gillett. This is all very iffy, but it does provide the Habs with some more options.

Vigilance

Canadiens GM/coach Bob Gainey has to pay attention to the trade rumours that are circulating around the league, especially the ones about teams his club is fighting for a playoff spot with. Even if he doesn't want to necessarily make a move, strategically it may be wise to anyways, as long as he is not giving up the future in return.

For example, the Canadiens would be best served by getting rid of the inconsistent yet talented Mike Ribeiro, although Gainey, patient as he is, hasn't pulled the trigger on him yet in the hope that his playing attitude will change. Recent reports have suggested that the Maple Leafs are interested in the services of Blackhawks centre Tyler Arnason, who might help them make a push into the playoffs. If Gainey acquires Arnason, he will accomplish two things: rid himself of the distractions that come with having Ribeiro on the team; and snatch a potential playoff helper out of the reach of the Leafs. That being said, I know Gainey has decided Arnason is not a right fit for the Habs, but he has to keep his ears to the ground with regards to the teams battling his for the postseason.

Hair growth

José Theodore tested positive for a hair-growth drug which he has used since he was around 21 years old in order to prevent a family condition of hair loss. The drug has been proven to function as a masking agent for a certain type of steroids, but the masking effect of the drug is very weak. As soon as the NHL informed the Canadiens that the drug was a banned substance, Dr. David Mulder, team physician for the Canadiens, informed the league that Theodore was on the medication. Banned substances are allowed to be taken if a doctor states to the NHL that the player is taking the drug for a specific condition - called a therapeutic use exclusion - as was the case with Theodore. Dr. Mulder pointed out that none of this would have become public had the drug testing not been leaked; this wouldn't have been an issue since Theodore was doing nothing outside of the bounds of the procedure for taking medication. The journalists at the press conference were looking for blood and it's completely unfair to Theodore to be hounded as he was by the press for taking a prescribed medication. This is personal information that the public and the press don't need to know.

It's no wonder that unrestricted free agents don't want to come to Montreal. The team's biggest star is chastised at every opportunity and every aspect of his family life is exposed for the province of Quebec to consume. It's a miracle he had been able to play through this before. I'm not giving Theodore excuses for his poor play but it's not exactly like he has a lot of factors in his favour right now. As Dr. Mulder said, none of this would have become public had it not been leaked to the press, and there's no reason to even still be talking about it. Let's just focus on the Canadiens' game and their quest to make the playoffs.

Hab tests positive for drug use

A Montreal Canadiens player has been accused of testing positive for a banned substance. TSN reports that it is a player who was on the original 81-man Team Canada roster, but the player did not make the team or the taxi squad. That leaves either Sheldon Souray or José Theodore. RDS reports there is a press conference at 6 PM at the Bell Centre. This is how we know it's a Canadien.

Don's deed

Once again the Canadiens were done in by the refs, this time at the hands of the veteran Don Koharski. Don't get me wrong, the Habs are often undisciplined and deserve most of the calls they get, but it seems like they get an unfair share of "iffy" and absolutely wrong penalties on top of that. Even the calm, collected Bob Gainey has complained - several times, I might add - that the officiating was not as objective as it could have been. While the Buffalo game wasn't as severe a case, it's not the first time the Canadiens have received the short end of the, uh... whistle. Or maybe that's just every fan's take on the reffing from their own perspective?

No news to report on the trade front, although scouts continue to be spotted at Canadiens games. Speaking of scouting, word is that Claude Julien has been offered a scouting job with the Habs. No news on whether or not he'll take it, but if he does, it certainly won't be for long.

Modified 3-way deal

CBS and the Ottawa Sun are claiming that Tampa Bay is still interested in José Theodore, and are looking to complete a 3-way deal with Montreal and Columbus. They claim that Brad Richards will be sent to the Jackets, Marc Denis to the Habs, and Theodore to the Lightning.

This rumour is even more ridiculous than the 3-way floating around last week between the Habs, Jackets, and Avalanche. The Canadiens wouldn't give up Theodore in exchange for just Denis, especially since they are enjoying a little more stability than earlier this season. I still maintain that Gainey's course of action will be to rest Theodore as long as he can (read: as long as Huet keeps winning), and then hope that Theodore comes back to the ice refreshed and refocused. As inconsistent and awful as he's been this year, José Theodore is not going anywhere. Thought I'd post this trade talk anyways, but don't put much credence into it.

Update: With the losses of Adrian Aucoin and Ed Jovanovski respectively, the Blackhawks and Canucks are supposedly interested in Sheldon Souray, and have also been sending scouts to recent Canadiens games. I doubt Souray will be dealt unless Gainey is able to acquire a higher-calibre defenseman in return, but don't take this as an endorsement of Souray's play this season - he's been mistake-prone and defensively liable much of the time.

Finally, a solid win

For the first time in a while, the Canadiens came out of the gates with amazing energy, and were able to maintain it for much of the game against the Bruins today. And through this good effort, one can see where they have gone wrong these past few months, and why it's not quite over yet.

The Habs continued to take stupid, mindless penalties, and commit avoidable errors, and you could see how it really took the wind out of their sails. The Canadiens were heavily penalized this afternoon, and while the Bruins could have been assessed several more minor penalties themselves, the truth is that Montreal consistently spend many more minutes in the penalty box than their opponents, and it kills them. The difference tonight was that they decided to overcome that adversity and bring out even more energy. That and, of course, Cristobal Huet, who was incredibly stellar in goal today.

The Habs have to build on this victory and recognize their mistakes. If they can remember that they're still capable of an effort such as today's, and eliminate their amateurish imperfections, they still have a shot at putting together a string of wins. And Mr. Gainey, I highly recommend you let José take an extended rest so that he can regroup and refocus. Perhaps send him on a trip to Paris?

Update: Apparently Mighty Ducks GM Brian Burke was in attendance at both Habs-Bruins games. While that might lead one to believe that a Theodore-Giguere trade is in the works, the more likely possibility is that Gainey is talking to Burke about one of his potentially available defensemen, most notably Ruslan Salei or Keith Carney.

Losing crucial ground

Another effortless game, another avoidable loss. Mindless giveaways, endless time spent in the defensive zone. These Canadiens are pure awful, there's no other way to describe it.

I'm starting to see Gainey's plan here: see if anything's possible with this sorry bunch in his first 10 games or so behind the bench, and then start to make some decisions. At this point, it would be wise for the Habs' coach/GM to give up on the season and try getting some bang for his buck with trades. That would give him the chance to really put his stamp on the team and flush out all the poison that's dragging this organization down. I'm not saying this to knock André Savard, who is a very intelligent hockey man; this team's problems go back way before he was a part of it.

One must really beg the question: are the players on this team worthy of enjoying success and raucous applause from their fans if they're even capable of it? My personal answer right now is 'no' - I would have a very hard time cheering for these guys after their consistently lacklustre play - but a few digits added to the 'W' column might persuade me otherwise. For now, though, this is absolutely pathetic.

Rumour on the Fritsche

Update (3:26 PM): The rumour has been declared a hoax. It's too bad, and not for the sake of the possibility of the trade, but because a potentially good source for rumours has lost some credibility. Whether Theodore will still end up getting traded remains to be seen, though it will be difficult. Gainey will most likely shop for a top-4 defenseman, as he has previously stated he would.

So now that the rumour is just about everywhere on the Internet, I figured I'd post it. I try not to post ridiculous rumours that seemingly have no basis, but sometimes I give into the temptation to legitimize Eklund's fantasies. According to Bob McKenzie, his Tampa Bay (Richards-for-Theodore) rumour was completely false. Anyways, this is the MTL-COL-CBJ rumour:

• To Montreal: Marc Denis, Ian Laperrière
  
• To Colorado: José Theodore
  
• To Columbus: Dan Hinote, Tom Fritsche
  

Draft picks here and there, details not yet known about whose would go where. Eklund claims this rumour is completely false, but it seems pretty legitimate. It works in terms of the salary cap, and it has even been published in today's La Presse. If this deal goes through, Eklund is officially the biggest liar in the game. If not, this Tom Fritsche character that divulged this information is going to be in a lot of trouble with a lot of people.

And this from Mike Boone in today's Gazette:

I asked a knowledgeable writer whether the NHL had any expansion plans.

"Probably not," Pat Hickey replied.

Too bad. It would be great to have professional hockey in Montreal.

(© The Gazette (Montreal) 2006)

Michaud to Hamilton

Canadiens' goaltending prospect Olivier Michaud has been reassigned from the Long Ice Beach Dogs to the Habs' AHL affiliate Hamilton Bulldogs. Something's definitely up... I'm still hearing things about the three-way trade.

New rumour

Something big is brewing between the Canadiens, Colorado Avalanche, and Columbus Blue Jackets. That's all for now.

The next step

It is quite clear that something is going to happen to José Theodore in the very near future. At the very least, he will be watching the Bruins game from the bench tomorrow night, and maybe even on Saturday. Seeing as how the Canadiens have three games in 4 nights, however, Bob Gainey will have to make a decision quickly, because Cristobal Huet cannot play all three games.

The next step for Gainey, in my opinion, is to send Theodore to the minors for a conditioning stint. There's no point letting him play in the NHL right now; Theodore's trade value decreases with every game he plays, save for last Saturday's Leafs game. If Gainey wants to either a.) Have Theodore back in form to make a playoff run, or b.) Have him back in form in order to facilitate a trade, sending him to the minors is the best option for that.

The Canadiens can't afford to let Theodore ride out his own personal Streak of Awful in the NHL, because it will continue to cost them valuable points in the standings. Sending Theo to the minors will allow Gainey to assess whether the duet of Huet and Yann Danis is up to the task of minding the nets, and, if not, Gainey will have to consider which other goaltenders are available around the NHL. A commentator on CKAC thinks that since Theodore usually plays well against the Bruins, he should be in nets tomorrow night in Boston, but I highly doubt he'll be given the opportunity. He's been given far too many chances to regain his confidence, and he has flopped horrendously on each and every one of them. There comes a point where you have to take some sort of drastic action, and for Gainey and Theodore, that point has been reached.

Update (12:37 PM): I take all this talk of sending Theodore to the minors back. He would never clear re-entry waivers, and the Canadiens would be stuck with half his contract when a team would pick him up. This new CBA really puts some teams in a rut...