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About Dave Stubbs
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Dave Stubbs
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About
Dave Stubbs has been a sportswriter since 1976, which was roughly a decade after he wore the first of many holes through the knees of his jeans playing nets in road hockey (using a modified butterfly popularized by Hall of Famer Glenn Hall). He still has the welts to show on his shins from that rotten, frozen orange ball.
Stubbs kept thick hockey scrapbooks filled with game summaries and Gazette and Montreal Star stories, collected dozens of Bee Hive Corn Syrup photos and put a fortune of hockey cards through the spokes of his bikes. First book ever owned: Scrubs On Skates, the classic by Scott Young (Neil's dad).
Stubbs's fantasy is to travel back in time to the 1950s and watch the great Canadiens dynasty that won five consecutive Stanley Cups. Or a decade earlier, to watch Elmer Lach centre Rocket Richard and Toe Blake on the fearsome Punch Line. Or at least to get Rogie Vachon into the Hockey Hall of Fame – where he belongs.
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So any word on this micro-summit? Anyone going? I was thinking of going, being a close-to-pointe-claire-ite and all...
---
Follow Kamal on HabsAddict.com, Facebook and Twitter
I actually thought that Martin was hired to replace Gainey when he stepped down and then Boucher move on up to us from Hamilton. I guess I was out to lunch on that thought. I had a very hard time at times warming up to Martin style of coaching.
But after the great train wreck was put together by him and we had such a great play off run, I have warmed up to him and have a better appreciation for him.
Boucher could still be back after he gets his feet wet in Florida for a few years.
Ian...the team came together around a goalie. Now that goalie is gone, and I fear he took the magic with him.
Shame about Boucher, though...he would have done well here.
_________________________
"This has to be the mother of all brain-dead decisions." Red Fisher regarding the Halak trade.
I disagree your first statement Clay. The team came together around their leaders, Gionta, Cammy, Gomez, Gill and played like a team. Halak was a part of it, no doubt, and I'd go as far as saying a catalyst in those games and moments when he played in a realm of the unreal. Just as Gill's shot blocking and TOI was unreal and inspiring, and Gionta's constant full bore play was rallying point, Cammy's timely goals an inspiration. No one player can be said to have cornered the market on magic this spring.
FREE TIMO!
Well said punkster.
I believe the TEAM grew together, and Jaro was but a piece of the puzzle. How Price fits into the puzzle will be intriguing.
I do not believe it will be a hard fit. And things WILL keep magically moving along.
TRADE HABS MANAGEMENT:
http://www.montrealgazette.com/sports/Trade+Habs+management/3263041/story.html
If things don't go perfectly to the start of the season it will be very ugly for PG and Price. That is not something I wish to happen simply a reality of the situation that management created.
We all know that life never progresses perfectly. I feel only sympathy for Price and Eller and the unnecessary pressure PG has put them under.
Maybe the reason Price is taking so long to sign is that he recognizes the almost impossible situation that management has once again put him in.
"And I am really looking forward to watching Michael Cammalleri in the NHL. He had an awesome year in the AHL." PIERRE McGUIRE
Where do I sign up?
__________________________
"This has to be the mother of all brain-dead decisions." Red Fisher regarding the Halak trade.
:-) you are already signed with other poeple here, who do not blindly follow...
Bruins still have plenty of work left this summer
No time for Bruins to take some time off / Hockey notes / Fluto Shinzawa
http://www.boston.com/sports/hockey/bruins/articles/2010/07/11/no_time_for_bruins_to_take_some_time_off/?page=full
Assign Michael Ryder to Providence. Because Wheeler and Campbell filed for arbitration, there will be a second buyout window later this summer. But the Bruins will not buy out the $4 million remaining on Ryder’s contract. That would be $1.33 million of dead money applied toward the cap in each of the next two years. Far more palatable cap-wise to send Ryder to the AHL, much like the route Peter Schaefer took two years ago.
Stu Cowan would be banned from this blog along with the fan below BUT not from The Gazette.
"...... When veteran radio reporter Peter Ray cited his wife among Montrealers wondering why Bob Gainey stuck with Price through the Bruins series, the general manager/coach at the time had the unforgettable response: "Carey Price is a thoroughbred. Maybe your wife doesn't recognize it."
Gainey then took another cheap shot, telling Ray to tell his wife that he "doesn't bake bread very well, either. ........ "
http://www.montrealgazette.com/sports/Questions+linger+about+Halak+trade/3263037/story.html#ixzz0tSM1WcfB
http://www.montrealgazette.com/sports/Questions+linger+about+Halak+trade/3263037/Halak+trade+complete+stupidity/3263040/story.html
This is interesting logic. Stu Cowan would be banned from this blog, but HIO pointed readers to Stu's column. Why would we promote wrting we'd ban?
Mike,
Because he exposed Gainey as a sexist! The same Gainey who used vulgarity in describing "those in the high-up seats" to describe paying fans who booed the goalie - " the thoroughbred" who is 20-49 in his last 69 decisions. But this was never mentioned in the media. The broadcast was right on this blog that day! Yet if anyone on this board makes such similar comments that "Gainey is still there" and "his fingerprints all over it" - yes your moderator will ban them. And delete whatever is said.
That other link (above) of that fan about just one of their "stupidity" moves also is from the Gazette. You have many links to start each day, how is it you missed that 2nd link that everyone I have met in Montreal agrees with? All but your little group here of course!
1) Sexist ? WOW! OK Overreact much ?
2) "All but your little group here of course!" -- Don't like it, find another place to discuss the Habs.
Unless you enjoy THIS little group.
Only an IDIOT would frequent a place they do not enjoy.
;)
Cowan was right on the mark with that write-up. Gainey's comment was utterly classless - all the more so because Gainey is a man of so much class. I was stunned he sunk so low as to utter those words.
And the reporter (Peter Ray) was correct then,and it is still true now - Halak is the better goalie, and should be in the nets.
As for the commenter, well, she has a great point. Stupid indeed...
__________________________
"Peoples will only be truly free when the last king is strangled by the bowels of the last priest" Denis Diderot
all the more so because Gainey is a man of so much class.
--
Is he? He called the fans in the "high-up seats" booing Price by analogy, saying "well the ---holes(he used the full word) in the highup seats in LA booed Daryl Sydor out of there and we did well with him in Dallas."
Broadcast was on the radio and on this site.
Sounds like you may have felt targeted when Gainey called out the ---holes
PS I agree with Gainey, your a ---hole if you boo your team when they need support.
;)
Yes, let's rehash one exchange in a press conference that happened 14 months ago. I was there. The Canadiens had just been eliminated four straight, with Carey Price being booed at the Bell Centre. So Bob Gainey became annoyed when a writer who never covers the team cited the hockey wisdom of his wife. Gainey was exasperated, yes. But classless? Please.
Mr. Gainey is not classless, but he is not infallible either.
"And I am really looking forward to watching Michael Cammalleri in the NHL. He had an awesome year in the AHL." PIERRE McGUIRE
I kind of thought it was funny at the time, but then again, I find All in the Family quite funny too. I guess my sense of humour had a best before date...
TSN
The Los Angeles Kings are denying an online report that they will announce the signing of free agent Ilya Kovalchuk on Monday. The two sides remain in conversation, but no deal is imminent.
they ripping eklund LOL
double post delete
your avatar is hilarious hasboon.
cool story bro
Nice article and respectable perspective from Steve Hindle:
http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog/Steven-Hindle/Coulda-Woulda-Shoulda---How...
Perspective from it's very definition is from a particular viewpoint.
His viewpoint mirrors your own so you find it enjoyable to read. That does not necessarily make it true or accurate.
"And I am really looking forward to watching Michael Cammalleri in the NHL. He had an awesome year in the AHL." PIERRE McGUIRE
I guess it's a good article if your believe in rationalization and rose coloured glasses. Eller has to become a long-term, solid top six player in order to justify this trade (not saying he won't). Everyone on this site seems to be in love with Boyd even though he has been moved three times in four months. He's young so that certainly is a consideration. I still don't see why we couldn't have signed him for nothing as well as bringing back Moore.
Good article, thanks for sharing.
XXIV...and counting
i have to totally agree with this guy. We got younger with the Halak trade ... I liked Boyd when he played for the Flames .. was pretty highly touted, so, I think the bottom 6 is a little better ..
Would I like to see a trade or 2 to improve the top 6 and our D .. definitely , but I dont see it happening. Though, if we could trade AK ... and add Sutton ( or someone with a little Size and Toughness on the point ) as a F/A on Dee , I would feel a little better
Thanks for that. It's a good article and compelling.
I still say the biggest loss this year is Boucher. I'd like to see an article that can convince me otherwise.
--------- Listen to the SmartDog. He knows his poop!
He'll be back when Molson cleans house unless he hires Patrick Roy to coach.
SmartDog,
We couldn't stand in his way. That's part of the game. Detroit lost Babcock from their system, to Anaheim, before he returned to coach them. New Jersey lost Robinson to L.A. before he returned. That's the way it goes.
Let a young coach get in his growing pains in some other organization. This won't be his one and only NHL job. Coaches do not last very long in a job in the NHL. Let him put in 3 years somewhere else and then come here a seasoned pro coach.
You don't think an ex-McGill man has that in mind anyway? He already showed his interest in coaching the Habs by taking the Hamilton job. You really think that desire will just evaporate? Come on! You like talking psychology on here at times. You think an achiever like him is not going to be made even more hungry by having to be diverted from the path he was on?
By the time he gets here, Martin's disciplined approach and the new culture of the team, no bullshit play hockey, will be well established. Boucher will be stepping into a situation primed to succeed under the NHL's brightest lights.
That's what I want.
*salivate*
Man, him with Muller as the asst. would be phenomenal.
Go Habs Go!
Couldn't keep him after Martin went to the ECF. No playoffs might have been another story, but, in the end, his system came close to working. No coach can make up for secondary scoring disappearing. The worse part was that there wasn't anyone on the AHL Bulldogs that could have helped out.
As for Boucher, he's still a big question mark. If his stars don't buy into his program in sunny Tampa where hockey players golf all year long, he may be available again soon. I really doubt that, but to call him the Habs biggest loss....there was a certain trade done that'll bite this team repeatedly this upcoming season.
I agree on Boucher being a big, maybe biggest loss, but I'm not sure how we could have kept him considering JM's first year success. Many do not give him credit, but the results were good so he was not going to be let go.
Aside from offering him an asst. position with the understanding the HC position would be his soon, I don't know either.
I thought he was offered AC? But still a promise of a HC position in the future or a HC position now is a tough one to beat. I do not think though that we have seen the last of Boucher in the Habs org.
I hope you are right, but I think Yzerman will implant his claws as deeply as he can into Boucher to make sure he sticks around.
Even if Yzerman keeps him around for a long time, thats not really that long. 5 years would be a very long time. And to the earlier point about how to keep him in MTL: Boucher wanted a HC job. If the MTL AC job was offered or not is fairly irrelevant - and not very news worthy - cause he was getting HC offers and obviously wanted to be a HC.
So that leaves the only other option of keeping him in MTL - firing (or "promoting") JM. That would have been insane with the current situation. Insane.
i hope boyd turns out to be TK but better. Man i miss TK. would love to have him back on the team any day.
He was a punching bag. Great guy, but he has no place on this team.
TK was the epitome of hard work and stood up even if he wouldn't win the fight. Way more heart than many playing in the NHL.
My granpa and cousin have left me messages goin "Viva!"
And of course, in true family spirit, I have replied "Somos campeones!" even though I never thought they'd get past ze Germans, nevermind those buxom blondies. But they don't know that...
Our little secret, aye?
Viva!
Keepin it real, I be chillin as
L.Bugs Potter, esq. Brotha to the Man with the Plan, Product-runnin Lead Houndogg with the Voodoo Flannel Posse, and Pimp Extraordinaire of Habsbros Mama Jones Snow Cones, muthafugga: http://habsbros.blogspot.com
I won't say anything but you will have to talk to your 'bro'.
On another issue, what are the Tampa fans telling Leo about their thoughts on the arrival of Boucher?
They didn't like Leo mentioning that our future coach was there to practice with an expansion team afore takin our reins, tell you that fer nuthin.
Keepin it real, I be chillin as
L.Bugs Potter, esq. Brotha to the Man with the Plan, Product-runnin Lead Houndogg with the Voodoo Flannel Posse, and Pimp Extraordinaire of Habsbros Mama Jones Snow Cones, muthafugga: http://habsbros.blogspot.com
Tinordi hopes to be a hab next season. Please excuse the google translation.
http://translate.google.ca/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cyberpresse.ca%2Fsports%2Fhockey%2Flnh%2F201007%2F10%2F01-4297173-tinordi-avec-le-ch-dans-un-an.php
Really?
I thought fersure he'd set his sights low, low, low, and say all the wrong things.
Keepin it real, I be chillin as
L.Bugs Potter, esq. Brotha to the Man with the Plan, Product-runnin Lead Houndogg with the Voodoo Flannel Posse, and Pimp Extraordinaire of Habsbros Mama Jones Snow Cones, muthafugga: http://habsbros.blogspot.com
That would be great, but I would say Tinordi is a minimum two-year wait. He seems to have the body type and skill set to get it going, but I suspect at least a year of NCAA hockey, plus he'll likely be putting in an AHL season. I think the Habs are going to try and go slower with the kids from now on.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu. http://habsandhockey.blogspot.com/
I agree,no chance it will happen. To me i'd rather see him play at least 2 years of ncaa and play in 2 wjc's then spend at least a year in hamilton.
I would like to see that. Only thing that scares me is that he might pull an o'byrne on us.
Just because he's tall, doesn't mean he will start purse snatching!
Jeez! You got something against our BIG D-Men ? lol
:P
ZING! Good one!
I always like to see the youth get a push. I cant help but think though that Robinson would've been great for the young D (Subban, Tinordi, Weber and Obyrne), just knowing you have someone on the bench that has your back would do wonders.
Uh-Oh Cat
we agree again.
I could care less what the Habs would have looked like by firing JM.
Guy Boucher as Head Coach with Larry Robinson as his Assistant ?
Man that woulda been nice.
Sorry to all JM supporters.
Jm supporters i,m not but Martin did coach the teams very well in the post just ask Crosby ands Ovie..
At first i was pissed that boucher went to tampa. Then when i actually thought about it for a couple of days it didn't bother me as much. Head coaches are historically fired every 3 or 4 years,very few go any longer other then a few exceptions like ruff,babcock and trotz. I wouldn't be surprised to see bouchers name come up once martin's contract expires. The way the robinson situation was handled bothered me alot more.
2 problems with your theory - which is usually true, that coaches get fired after 3 or 4 years.
1) Boucher (Like PK) is a huge exception to the normal rules that apply to hockey - Boucher combines the
best of the "communicator" coaches, with the best of the "tactical" coaches - he is very young, and is not the
type of coach a normal Gm would fire
2) which brings me the GM - young, intelligent, capable, rational, well connected, well respected, Yzerman is very unlikely to be fired himself.
I say both the coach and the Gm are in place for at least 5 years. Its an impressive combination in tampa.
I'm a big fan of both Yzerman and Boucher.
Let's not forget the fact that Boucher is a Babcock clone, Yzerman knows what Babcock can do, and thus as he has openly admitted has paid close attention to Boucher's career.
The moment Tampa wanted Boucher, I instantly knew Yzerman was going to be a good GM in the NHL.
And also realised the Habs had lost Boucher, and this was before me knowing about Robinson.
Now knowing Robinson was actually a possibility, and could have helped Boucher in his early NHL years.
ARRRRGH!
I'm sure i heard this on nhlxm204 but i believe boucher's contract is a 4 year deal with his option to leave after 3. Don't quote me on it though. But if i heard it right,isn't that an odd option to have in your contract? Would be great though considering JM's contract ends in 3 years.
Boucher alone leaving made me angry, but THEN knowing we could have had Robinson, I was LIVID about losing Boucher then.
Because despite his rookie status as Head Coach, he would have had Robinson a CUP winner as both a Hab player & a Devils Head Coach.
It was a perfect situation as Robinson did not want to return to HEAD coach position.
- I will likely offer counter "positive" points on many other managerial decisions made by this team.
But Boucher/Robinson, the fact that is NOT what the Habs have next season. Frankly speaking makes me sick!
And it COULD have happened, Gainey "stepping down" allowed for this move to happen.
This is NOT speculation.
Another thing is boucher wanted to bring his own coaching staff,which was the reason i believe he turned down the columbus job. So regardless if boucher was our coach or not,we still would not have had robinson. My first choice to coach our defence has always been robinson,with eric desjardins as my second choice.
Robinson would have been a great fit here.
Its kind of scary when you think of it.
How could the Habs not move on this - OK - way worse than that........
Robinson's call were never even returned in the end.
have to run - have a nice evening everyone.
I highly doubt Boucher would have snubbed his nose at Robinson, and IF that story was EVER to come out.
I would spit on the ground that Boucher walks on.
BUT - Again, I HIGHLY doubt Boucher would have snubbed his nose at Robinson. ;)
I could care less what the Habs would have looked like by firing JM.
Guy Boucher as Head Coach with Larry Robinson as his Assistant ?
be carefull, Bill. when your posts start sounding like mine, its usually a sign that there's trouble ahead. :-)
I could not agree more.
LOL
I was PISSED off when GB was allowed to talk to other teams.
People complain about management, but on THIS one, I agree.... Management royally f-ed this up.
JM should have been promoted to Assist-GM
and Boucher to Head Coach, bring in Robinson to Assist, and work with our young D.
Boucher could focus his energy on the existing "fixer-uppers" on the team.
ARGH!
There may be a bone to pick with the 'trapist' approach (employed by most of the league), but I don't think coaching has ever really been an issue with this organization. As a matter of fact, I'd argue that three of the worst coaches in recent Habs' history have each won cups ('71, '85, '93).
was '86 btw
and all 3 had the benefit of arguably the hottest goalies in the playoffs in those years.
2 of which, many of us remember seeing ourselves... ;)
BTW, what does that say about the "almost-was" that is JM ? with arguably the hottest goalie in these past playoffs (without counting: Leighton le magnifique)
same. exactly. know why? because that's what should have been done!!
I've been following Boucher since his days in Drummondville - the guy is more than a coach.
When guys like PK and O'byrne and Eller and, and, and - whoever - makes a mistake, there's a need
for a guy like Boucher to calm them down, rebuild their confidence, develop them at the NHL level.
also, its not mentioned here alot, but Gomez and Gionta (especially Gomez) are huge Robinson fans.
how clever it would have been to get someone like Robinson involved.
its truly remarkable, almost impossible to believe, that NONE OF THIS WAS DONE.
And when I bring it up here, I'm shot down by the Status Quo Junkies, who swallow everything management
offers up as the Gospel Truth.
( I am NOT TONY, I swear)
Remember this moment, because when I do disagree with you. You will not lump me in that category.
Boucher/Robinson in MTL IMO would have = Success!
Much more then Martin.
I'm writing it down so that I don't forget. :-)
Was Kerry Fraser's long-lost, English twin officiating that match?
I love Howard Webb.
Doesn't take no guff from nobody.
Great officiating.
Keepin it real, I be chillin as
L.Bugs Potter, esq. Brotha to the Man with the Plan, Product-runnin Lead Houndogg with the Voodoo Flannel Posse, and Pimp Extraordinaire of Habsbros Mama Jones Snow Cones, muthafugga: http://habsbros.blogspot.com
i agree howard webb is one of the best, his experience in the EPL lets him work with primadonnas weekly so he knows his ship.
but he did mess up the sneijder free kick, and the de jong yellow could have been a red (viewed by some). I think at that point in the game (around the 25th-30th minute) it's just tough to give a straight red to anybody...especially in a world cup final. the pressure is IMMENSE.
some blame on the free kick has to be directed to the linesman, he should have saw the deflection at the very least.
I hope you're not talking about that soccer game today. Because that was some crap reffing.
No, it was NOT crap.
It was great officiating. No guff accepted.
He missed the Iniesta dive but everything else was on the money.
Keepin it real, I be chillin as
L.Bugs Potter, esq. Brotha to the Man with the Plan, Product-runnin Lead Houndogg with the Voodoo Flannel Posse, and Pimp Extraordinaire of Habsbros Mama Jones Snow Cones, muthafugga: http://habsbros.blogspot.com
Except for the free kick that went off the Spanish wall, that should have resulted in a dutch corner, but instead became a goal kick which ended in the game winning goal. That was the big one, but the ridiculous number of dives he fell for were BS too. So yeah, he was crap.
Howard Webb did hos best. He could easily have sent off De Jong, Van Pummel and Robben.
The Dutch disgraced themselves with one of the dirtiest displays ever seen in a world cup final.
i guess you forgot about zidane's headbutt ;)
No,but his son apparently refs in the ahl,which scares me a little.
What might make Soccer more entertaining is allow players to keep hacking away at the ball for 4-5 seconds after the golaie makes a save like in hockey when Chris Lee is reffing.
Better yet: Have FIFA take Chris Lee off our hands!
_____________________________________
Cheer for the crest on the front of the jersey, not the name on the back.
The winning team’s soccer federation will receive about $31 million in prize money from FIFA. The Spanish Football Association has promised to give each of its 23 players a bonus of 600,000 euros (or about $758,000 in U.S. dollars)
FIFA will pay the final’s losing organization around $2.4 million. It gave out prize money to the tune of $7.5 million for a team getting out of group play, $9 million for reaching the quarterfinals and $18 million for reaching the semifinals. Losing in the semifinals was worth $20 million.
Maybe Canada could do like the UK and divide up into 4 'countries' (West, Ontario, Quebec and East)for the hockey world championships and olympics...Hockey needs more drama. There just isnt enough hate between Canada and Sweden, Finland, Germany etc.
I think that would just have us getting our butts kicked. Theoretically we could assemble two teams for the OLY, but not 3 or 4 especially if you start dividing on territorial lines with the weakness from Quebec right now.
- I shall always remember Captain Koivu. http://habsandhockey.blogspot.com/
Maybe the world juniors would be a good place to try it out first.
Paul the octupus DESTROYS maggie the monkey
100% success rate!
------------------
88 is the new 23
Big deal! With eight arms, you're bound to be always pointing at the winner!
We have quite a few months to go yet before we can start watching the best game on the planet! What do we do next for sports entertainment??
Oh ya! The Alouettes play Edmonton tonight at 7pm eastern. Go Als Go!---More Fan Summit Information-----------------
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