Posts by Mike Boone

The World Cup, that is.

Spain vs. Holland for the world's most prestigious sports trophy.

A refreshingly MacLean-free CBC at 2 p.m.

And it should be a dandy. Join us here for live blogging this afternoon.

And to warm up (as though that were needed in Montreal's weather), check out The Guardian and  The Onion

• Gazette sports editor Stu Cowan has questions about the Halak trade

• Such a cute couple! Mike Fisher marries Carrie Underwood

• Top 10 remaining UFAs

• How Kovy II misread the market

Please God, let this not be true.

Larry Brooks of the New York Post, who's well plugged-in, is reporting there may be a LeBron James knockoff television special focused on Ilya Kovalchuk's decision.

On the other hand, you can see the possibilities of a commercial tie-in:

Glad bags strong enough for whatever chunks we'll be blowing.

• Must reading: Bill Simmons and Scott Raab on the James special

Shout-out to SeriousFan09 for this very apropos video.

Now that the Sharks have hit the Hawks with a little playoff payback, you don't suppose there's a Carey Price offer sheet being cooked up somewhere, do you?

Nah .....

• Sharks sign Niklas Hjalmarsson to offer sheet. Eric Duhatschek's take

• P.K. takes nothing for granted

• Gui! is a happy hockey player

• Bob Probert laid to rest. To commemorate Probert, a fight at the Tour de France

• Pierre LeBrun on Shea Weber

• Mark Stuart stays in Boston

• Steve Eminger to the Rangers

• Mike Modano to Minny?

Have y'all recovered from the spine-tingling excitement of watching The Decision?

LeBron to Miami.

Now back to hockey:

• Pat Hickey on pint-sized prospect Brendan Gallagher

• P.K. honoured by AHL

• Ian Schultz wants to emulate Milan Lucic

• Juniors eye Louis Leblanc

• Mike Cammalleri has been watching the World Cup

• La Presse reports extra police for the playoffs cost $2 million

• The indefatigable Robert L sizes up the team

• Why not Quebec City?

• Darryl Sutter does something right

• Josh Gorges' Kelowna D partner becomes captain of the Predators

And before we close the book on LeBron James, check out this open letter by Cavs majority owner Dan Gilbert blasting a "shocking act of disloyalty."

Hey, 838 Comments yesterday? Canadiens fans are crazy.

But we knew that.

In a one-hour special, Maxim Lapierre announces where he'll be playing this season.

Informed sources say the choice has been narrowed to Montreal or Montreal.

• Hockey's Future assesses the Canadiens' draft (shout-out to SeriousFan09)

• Matthias Brunet on draft-day screw-ups

• In Pat Hickey's column, Paul Kelly defends college hockey

• A Jarred Tinordi feature at ruefrontenac.com

• Four Habs Fans has home video from camp

• Kovalchuk komedy kontinues

• Down Goes Brown summer reruns

• Glen Sather orders a pizza

• A must-read: Homophobia and Discrimination in Hockey

• Pat Hickey checks in from development camp

• Hickey on the choice of Price

• Arpon Basu on the likely lineup

• Gauthier goes with youth

• Gauthier video from RDS

• Boston has a cap problem

• Whither Avtsin?

• Whither Guerin?

• Whither Modano?

Great Tweet from Larry Brooks of the New York Post: Ilya Kovalchuk will be announcing his decision on Versus. What? He already did but no one was watching?

The Canadiens playoff hero is locked up for four seasons at $15 million  in St. Louis.

That's a nice raise on the $800,000 Jaro Halak was paid last season.

• Pat Hickey on the succession

• François Gagnon's take and Arpon Basu's

• Bert Raymond saw it coming

• Hickey on the "other" Kovy

• Demers' hernia operation a success

• Why not Canada? series begins

• Eric Duhatschek on Bob Probert

• An Elliote Friedman piece on Probert

• Probert's Top 5 (not goals)

• List of players who filed for salary arbitration

And who's going to give it to him?

• L.A.? Nyet!

• Two teams still in the hunt

• Elliotte Friedman's take

• The lessons of this year's market

• Souray clears waivers

• Brian Burke keeps his promise

Let's give hockey a rest.

• The template for nurturing, developing and USING young talent: Germany at the World Cup

• Speaking of promising young 'uns: Alexander Avtsin

• Nine teams – including the Canadiens – face cap penalties

• Ryan McDonagh to sign with the Rangers

• Mario Tremblay may hand up his coaching whistle

• UFA winners and losers

The Alexander Avtsin highlight reel

At least one Canadiens fan is excited about Alex Auld.

And guess which HIO blogger got confused at the beach.

The Islanders?

Really?

This is turning into Son of Sundin.

• Auld looking forward to working with Price

• Sather's miscues continue – Pat Hickey

Should we be worried that the official release misspells the name of the prospect they got from St. Louis for Jaro Halak?

The Montreal Canadiens announced today that 23 prospects will participate in a development camp, set to take place from July 6-9, at the Bell Sports Complex, in Brossard.

The list of participating players includes all five players selected at the 2010 NHL Entry Draft held last June 25-26 in Los Angeles, several players under contract by the organization, as well as players invited as try-outs. A first development camp took place from June 1-5 at the Bell Sports Complex in Brossard.

All players will first take to the ice on Tuesday, July 6, from 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. The development camp consists of two on-ice sessions daily until July 9 on both Bell Sports Complex ice surfaces (between 8:45 a.m. and 12 p.m. and between 3 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.). Daily off-ice conditioning sessions are also scheduled.

Ten of the 23 players at camp are Canadiens draft selections, including 2010 NHL Entry Draft first-round selection, Jarred Tinordi. Recently acquired from St. Louis, forwards Lars Leller and Ian Schultz will also be participating, as well as defenceman P.K. Subban and forward Alexander Avtsin.

New numbers from Google Analytics, passed along by David Klimek, the Gazette's marketing stats wizard:

Page views in June: 1,618,680

In June, 2009: 1,273,783

Thanks to all you wacky fans, we were up 31 per cent during a month when the Canadiens weren't playing hockey.

And the mobile version had 78,719 page views.

• More pressure on Price – Pat Hickey

• Arpon Basu not impressed by Auld signing

• Neither is Yvon Pedneault

• François Gagnon's take

• You must be Jokinen – Eric Duhatschek

• Scott Burnside grades the signings

• Jim Kelley: Huge bucks aren't out there

The 2010-'11 season begins Oct. 7 against those ruffians in Toronto.

Here's the starting lineup:

In goal: Carey Price, starting the first year of a nice new contract.

On defence: Hal Gill, Josh Gorges, Roman Hamrlik, P.K. Subban, Jaroslav Spacek and Ryan O'Byrne.

The forward lines: Andrei Kostitsyn-Tomas Plekanec-Mike Cammalleri, Benoit Pouliot-Scott Gomez-Brian Gionta, Tom Pyatt-Dustin Boyd/Maxim Lapierre-Lars Eller, Travis Moen-Boyd/Lapierre-Mathieu Darche.

Backup goaltender: He's tall, he's bald, he's Alex Auld (I love that Pangerism)

Eating hot dogs: Pick two among Ryan White, Brock Trotter, Max Pacioretty and maybe someone who has a great training camp.

Barring injury or a trade I don't see happening, that's it until Andrei Markov gets back.

OK, maybe not a group that scares the Chicago Blackhawks.

But you know what?

Decent team ... with maybe a chance to be good.

Only 98 more sleeps ...

Not likely.

Tomas Plekanec and Patrick Marleau have re-upped.

The champs continue to shed salary: Kris Versteeg to the Leafs, Andrew Ladd probably is next.

Can TSN2 turn Ilya Kovalchuk into a five-hour television show?

We'll see ... and we'll be watching, using the CoverItLive window for HIO input and your comments:

http://www.coveritlive.com/index2.php/option=com_altcaster/task=viewaltc...

Ian Tyson, a Canadian, wrote the song.

But Suzy Bogguss just kills it.

This will be lost on anyone who didn't study Philosophy 100, but what a hoot!

• Michael Farber on a thin crop

• Eric Duhatschek on the impending UFAs

• Cap space

• Top Dmen available

And ...

• Yvon Pedneault on the trade

• Mathias Brunet's take

• Frankie the Bull welcomes SK74

• Robert L's analysis

•  •  •

The worst news of the off-season is Chris's decision to stop posting Comments at Habs Inside/Out.

Chris knows his hockey, and his analyses are always insightful and provocative. His opinions stand out in a environment where, too often, the gargoyles take over the cathedral.

The people who run this zoo are hoping he reconsiders.

Goaltender Dan Ellis has seen all kinds of skaters up close during his career.
Todd Karol, Reuters

• TSN's Bob McKenzie wonders: Could Price and Ellis co-exist in Montreal?

The Canadiens have traded Sergei Kostitsyn to the Nashville Predators for forward Dustin Boyd, goaltender Dan Ellis and future considerations. The deal also includes future considerations for the Predators.

Ellis, who turned 30 last week, played in 31 games last season, posting a 15-13-1 record. His GAA was 2.69, with a save percentage of 90.9. His career numbers are 2.64 and 91.2.

Ellis's cap hit was $1.8 million last season, and Ellis can become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

Via Twitter, Ellis had this to say: "Very excited about the trade! Its an honor to be part of a team with such great tradition and passion! Hope we can figure something out!"

Boyd, a 6-foot centre who will be 24 next month, split last season between the Predators and Calgary Flames. He collected 11 goals, including three game-winners, and 13 assists in 78 games. He was plus-6 while averaging 12:13 ToI. Boyd, whose cap hit was $700,000, is an RFA who did not get a qualifying offer, which makes him a UFA is he's not signed by Thursday.

Kostitsyn quickly fell out of favour with head coach Jacques Martin last season and split the season between Montreal and the Hamilton Bulldogs. He had seven goals and 11 assists in 47 games with the Canadiens.

As Arpon Basu points out, the Canadiens have found a back-up and mentor for Carey Price – if Ellis signs – and a fourth-line centre who's younger, cheaper, tougher and faster than Glen Metropolit.

And the team has purged itself of the malignancy that is SK74 – safely dispatched to the Western Conference, just in case he ever turns into the player he thinks he is. Over/under on visits to the Grand Ole Opry before he's barred: 2.

The deal ends popular speculation that the Canadiens would happily trade Sergei Kostitsyn for a dog – and shoot the dog.

Subtle bonus if something works out with Ellis: a non-francophone backup – as opposed to, say, Martin Biron – means the usual suspects won't be whining for a homeboy Number One every time Price lets in a bad goal.

Pierre Gauthier, Man of Action ... and still two sleeps till FA Day.

Shout-out to Jarred Friedman for finding a good Dan Ellis interview

• Pat Hickey on the Pouliot signing

• Pouliot deserves another chance – François Gagnon

• Pouliot is working out, looking to put on 12 pounds – Pierre Durocher

• Cap issues hinge on Price – Arpon Basu

• Cleaning up the Canadiens room

• Top UFA forwards – Scott Burnside

• Savard in play

• Rumour roundup

And a video display of Pouliot Passion

Tom Pyatt (left) celebrates Game 3, third-round playoff goal with Maxim Lapierre.
Shaun Best, Reuters

The Canadiens signed Benoit Pouliot and Tom Pyatt to one-year contracts today.

Pouliot was acquired in the deal that sent Guillaume Latendresse to Minnesota, where he scored 27 goals. Pouliot's totals were more modest: 17 goals (none after March 25), 11 assists. And as the Canadiens progressed through the postseason, Pouliot – drafted one spot ahead of Carey Price in 2005 – became something of an afterthought.

Pyatt was acqured in the seven-player trade with the New York Rangers that brought Scott Gomez to Montreal last June. Pyatt was a strong two-way player in the playoffs and was especially valuable on the penalty kill.

RDS is reporting Pouliot signed for $1.35 million and Pyatt for $500,000. Each earned about $800,000 last season.

The cap-stressed Canadiens are unlikely to be active on July 1, so there won't be much in the way of Sundinian speculation this week.

Glen Metropolit, Marc-André Bergeron and Dominic Moore become UFAs on Thursday.

There is the remote possibility Carey Price will receive an offer sheet.

If Gauthier were to make trades, he probably would have made them at the draft in Los Angeles.

But you never know. Habs Inside/Out will keep an ear to the ground, and the Commentariat may feel free to tell the GM how to do his job.

• The focus shifts to free agency

• Not a vintage year for the Q

• François Gagnon on drafting Americans

• Was Tinordi a Timmins home run? – Arpon Basu

• Quotes from the draft

• Bruins are busy

• Free agent lists: Eastern Conference and Western Conference

Watch this video long enough and you'll see fourth-round pick Morgan Ellis

On Day 2, the Canadiens select Mark MacMillan, a forward from the BCHL and Morgan Ellis, a Dman who played for Cape Breton in the Q, in the fourth round (113 and 117 overall).

The fifth round (147 overall) brought an intriguing pick: Brendan Gallagher, a 5'9" RW who scored 41 goals and had more than 110 PiM for Vancouver in the WHL, and  Gallagher, who's not afraid to drop 'em, is the son of the team's strength and conditioning coach.

The team's final choice, 207th overall in the seventh round, was John Westin, who plays for the Modo Juniors in Sweden.

Those tempted to dismiss these kids as no-chancers might consider Andrei Markov, a sixth-round choice (162nd overall) by the Canadiens; Hal Gill, who was an eighth-round pick (207th overall) by the Bruins; Travis Moen, a fifth rounder (155th) for Calgary, Jaro Spacek, a fifth-round pick (117th) by Florida; Tom Pyatt, fourth round (107) by the Rangers, and Josh Gorges, who wasn't drafted at all.

Oh, and in 2003 the Canadiens picked a pretty good goaltender in the ninth-round, 271st overall

AUDIO: Pierre Gauthier | Morgan Ellis | St. Louis Blues president John Davidson talks about getting Jaro | Danny Biega of Pointe Claire (Louis Leblanc's teammate at Harvard, drafted by Carolina)

Hockey players can be jerks on occasion, as evidenced by any Sean Avery highlight reel you'd care to cue up.

But baseball players?

They're really special.

In 2007, Chicago Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano signed a five-year contract worth a cool $91.5 million.

Check this dugout altercation between Zambrano and Cubs first baseman Derek Lee.

Where's the BGL Code when you need it?

Pierre Gauthier trades up five spots to pick a big – 6'6", projected to go to 230 lbs – defenceman who has impeccable bloodlines and was captain of the U.S. Under-18 national development team.

Jarred Tinordi, the son of former NHLer Mark Tinordi, turned 18 in February.

Scouting reports laud a kid with size and the inclination to use it. Tinordi can skate and has a hard shot.

He is supposed to go to the University of Notre Dame this autumn. But Tinordi's junior rights belong to the London Knights, and the Canadiens may wish to guide him toward a first-rate OHL organization and the coaching of Dale Hunter.

How badly did the Canadiens want Tinordi?

To move up from 27 to 22, the Canadiens surrendered their second-round pick.

The Vancouver Canucks conditionally traded their pick, at 25, to Florida but would have kept it if Tinordi were still available.

DRAFT AUDIO: Jarred Tinordi | Mark Tinordi | Guy Boucher

• No qualifying offer to Pouliot

• Emerson Etem is a hot prospect from the golden state – Pat Hickey

• Much suspense surrounds Canadiens

• TSN's predictions

• Who the heck is Tyler Toffoli? Scott Cullen's mock draft

• Top Russian prospects

• Boone blogs live, at 7 p.m.

And, if your stomach can take it, Sergei sounds off.

Canadiens general manager Pierre Gauthier met the media today in Santa Monica.

Pat Hickey was there and recorded the proceedings.

"National Hockey League" and "funny"

Thanks, GG11

•  •  •

Marleau and Pavelski re-up in SJ