All Habs News: Thursday September 1, 2011
Happy Birthday! All Habs community: Natalie Paruzel, Rany Saycon NHL: Rod Pelley, Jeff Woywitka, Mats Zuccarello
►Will Belak’s death trigger action?: The answer to that question is likely (and sadly) ‘no.’ With the NHL family losing three enforcers in the past few months, you are justified if you expect a commitment to change from league offices. It’s unclear if there will be any significant action by the NHL but Bill Daly hinted loudly that while the league was “troubled” and “concerned” about the death of Wade Belak, their initial response would be limited to advising players that help is available.
Three deaths and the NHL promises pamphlets.
Should we be surprised? If the NHL sits on their hands when the career of the best player in the game is in jeopardy due to hockey violence, then why do we expect a call for action with the deaths of Belak, Derek Boogaard and Rick Rypien? Let’s not forget the league’s ludicrous explanation for not disciplining the vicious hit by Zdeno Chara on Max Pacioretty.
An equal helping of the burden for addressing hockey violence and providing support for players at-risk must come from the NHLPA. They have been remarkably absent from the discussion to find solutions to protect current and former NHL’ers.
►Habs new red line: Bell Centre staff are busy getting ready for the first gathering of the 2011-12 season and the arrival of 21,273 faithful fans. This week they installed a new Habs-branded red-line dotted with the Canadiens logo.
►Jaro who?: Almost one year ago, fans lined up to collect an autograph and say farewell to their hero, Jaroslav Halak at Fairview Mall in Pointe Claire. It’s fair to say that most disagreed with the Canadiens decision to go with Carey Price as their goalie of the future. Pierre Gauthier’s record of moves with the Habs has been spotty, but he gets an A+ for the Price / Halak decision.
It was a far different story on Wednesday night with Halak’s visit to Montreal going almost unnoticed. 25Stanley.com reports that Halak and his wife quietly dined in a posh St. Laurent restaurant with player agent Alan Walsh.
►Rise up!: The Canadiens marketing folks revealed their new “Rise Together” campaign which features two halves of players faces merged together in a single image. In one of the promotions, Carey Price is paired with P.K. Subban.
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The folks at Habs Eyes on the Prize continue with their look at the Canadiens top 25 players under age 25. Today, author Stephan Cooper profiles Max Pacioretty.