All Habs news for September 1, 2010
by Rick Stephens, All Habs
Congratulations to Chris Chelios who announced his retirement from hockey after 26 seasons in the NHL. He is a three-time Norris Trophy winner and a member of three Stanley Cup winning — one with the Canadiens in 1986. Chelios will become an Advisor to Hockey Operations with the Detroit Red Wings.
While I respect his career achievements, I was much more comfortable cheering against Chelios (when he left Montreal) than cheering for him when he played for the Habs. Everyone has those types of players that you just aren’t a fan of their game. Now if only Maxim Lapierre would join his buddy Gui in Minnesota.
Mario Lemieux will receive the order of Canada on Friday. Frankly, given some of the odd choices, I’m surprised that Lemieux didn’t have one already.
If you’re into bigoted rants, then RDS is featuring the words of Gilles Courteau, Commissioner of QMJHL. The poor bitter soul has much to whine about including the hiring of Randy Cunneyworth by the Canadiens organization. Guy Carbonneau and Vincent Damphousse also chime in with their myopic perspective.
Much of their collective nonsense has already been debunked especially in a recent article on these pages titled “Crisis in the Q: A Study of Quebec-born Players.” As for what fans want, let’s remind these gents that it’s only one thing: The Stanley Cup. Not petty language politics.
The NHLPA Rookie Showcase, featuring 23 of the top NHL prospects, takes place in Toronto on Wednesday. On Tuesday, the prospects competed in an EA Sports NHL ’11 challenge. Former Canadiens prospect Ryan McDonagh defeated Edmonton Oilers rookie Taylor Hall for the championship.
Many Habs are multi-sport fans including the NFL. So you’ll want to join the All Habs.net Fantasy Football League this season. If interested, head to The Montreal Forum and leave your contact information in the NFL Talk discussion board. If you want to discuss the NFL and fantasy football with fellow Habs fans, TMF is the place to go!
It’s September 1 which means that we are busy planning Habs Tweetups for the season openers. We will have more information later this week on the get-togethers that are organized for Habs fans in at least five cities.
Today, let me bring your attention to October 9 and the Habs Tweetup organized by our Toronto event co-ordinator Michael Kuyaz. It will be held at a new location, the Real Sports Bar and Grill on Bay Street. With this event only, we are only accepting RSVPs until September 19.
So, head to HabsTweetup.com and look for Upcoming Habs Tweetups. Register there!
Yesterday, CBC-Montreal journalist Michel Godbout used Twitter to report an exclusive scoop saying that “a very very reliable source” told him that restricted free agent Carey Price will “strike” if the Canadiens don’t agree to a contract worth $3 million per season.
Here’s Godbout’s tweets including an attempt to build some drama:
@GodboutNews: “BIG sports EXCLUSIVE coming your way in about 3 hours … stay tuned…!”
@GodboutNews: “# EXCLUSIVE: a very very reliable source close to Carey Price says the goalie wants 3 million per or he’s going on strike. Habs listening?”
Twitter was abuzz. Price was trashed. I stayed silent.
As I suspected, the story was false.
I rarely report rumours unless I can personally confirm with a reliable source. Secondly, it just didn’t make any sense to me that the words would be leaked by anyone close to the Price camp. Did it strengthen their case?
In an interview with RDS, Price’s agent Gerry Johannson squashed the rumours calling it a fabrication. Johannson said that negotiations between the Canadiens and his client continue to progress, however he admits there is plenty of work to do before a deal can be announced. Johannson added that he hoped the next few days would be productive and his client will have a deal in hand, ready to start training camp.
Godbout is not a hockey guy but some thought his CBC credentials gave the story the stamp of gospel truth. Today they are disappointed, and Godbout is hiding under his anchor desk. He apparently is following the words of his Twitter profile which read “Respect silence when it means something.”
Our dear friend Allan Walsh clarified the terms of the Jaroslav Halak signing event on the weekend. From his Walsh’s Twitter account:
@walsha: “Jaro will be signing any item you bring for $20 or you can be provided a 8 x 10 action photo he will sIgn for $20.”
I suppose that includes t-shirts. And if you need a shirt for the signing, may I suggest that you head to TrueRivalry.com A good friend Jason responded to my request to design a “blocked by walsha” t-shirt for the legions of Canadiens fans who have done something to irritate the thin-skinned agent.
Jason has also agreed to donate the proceeds from the shirt sales to Ste. Justine Hospital. They are already very popular, apparently even in the Walsh household.
@walsha: “The wife has already ordered 6 of them to wear around the house! She loves it!”
(photo credit: Getty)