All Entries in the "Montreal Canadiens" Category
Hockey Independent Playoff Roundtable: 2013 First Round Predictions
With the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs set to begin just a few hours from now, four members of the Hockey Independent writing staff have come together to predict each and every first round series of this year’s postseason. The contributing authors to today’s piece will be Cris Cohen (New York Rangers), Seth Levin (New Jersey Devils), Bill Philp (Tampa Bay Lightning) [...]
Rink Recollections: Jeff Odgers, NHL, 1991-2003
By Brian D’Ambrosio Jeff Odgers played every NHL game as if it were his final. He never took a game for granted –scared that his career could fade away at any moment. Odgers scrapped and gritted his way onto the roster and he made sure he never provided his coaches with a sufficient reason to [...]
Brendan Witt: A Life of Old-Time Hockey, New Beginnings
By Brian D’Ambrosio Brendan Witt knew one of the Philadelphia Flyers would approach. After all, the bruising fourth line tended to drop the gloves. Slightly after the six-minute mark of the first period, the “Dan Line” -consisting of Dan Kordic, Daniel Lacroix and Scott Daniels - hoped to send a message. “Philly put these guys [...]
Julien Completely Justified in Rant on Montreal Embellishment
From Mike Ribeiro to Max Lapierre to today’s P.K. Subban and Max Pacioretty, the Canadiens have definitely employed their fair share of players with a knack for embellishment that would make most academy award-winning actors jealous. However, while the faces in Montreal may have changed, the tired old rhetoric has remained the same. The Habs [...]
Bruins’ Six-Game Winning Streak Snapped in 4-3 Loss to Montreal
BOSTON, MA – Fresh off their sixth consecutive victory on Saturday afternoon against the Lightning, the Boston Bruins were back on the ice again on Sunday evening in an original six battle with the Montreal Canadiens. Despite this being the second half of a back-to-back for both squads, the intensity was high with sole possession of [...]
Honey, I Lost the Kids (part 2 of 2)
In the first part of this epic, we promised three pieces of evidence to explain how Garth Snow does things with the sole intention of job preservation. We pointed out how he is relatively awful at drafting in part one. Part two will speak to other shortcomings, starting here: Two- Garth Snow uses salary cap [...]
Honey, I Lost the Kids – part one of two
It’s almost like a reflex when you ask hockey fans about the best way to build a winner “It’s the draft!” Drafting allow you to develop players or trade for established ones. Since the Isles have had no playoffs since 07-08, they’ve been in rebuild mode. We’re going to look at this draft rebuild with [...]
Hockey Myths Exposed – Defensemen Need Time to Develop
Anyone who has watched more than a handful of hockey games gets serenaded with statements that are undisputed in the hockey world, but in reality it doesnt make a lot of sense. We’ve already disproved the myth that power forwards need years to develop in our article “Ninogate,” in which we use the “talent is [...]
Ninogate
Well, here’s something that falls into the newfound category “typically Islanders.” The agent for Nino Niederreiter publicly declared no confidence in Garth Snow or Jack Capuano, and said that he wanted his client traded. Then the fun began! The twitterverse exploded with fan outrage! The message board (is there any message board worth reading other [...]
Destination Unknown, part four
Part Four: The most important rebuild of all After covering all aspects of the Snow rebuild – the on ice acquisitions, the redevelopment of a minor league system, the new arena’s impact on free agency- there is one area that is in DIRE need to a rebuild, more than even the outdoor concession stands at [...]
Destination Unknown, Part 3
Part Three: Free Agents aren’t actually Free Chronicling the failures of the Garth Snow regime takes time, energy, and ideally, beer. In fact, watching the Islanders play is best done through a haze of sudsy goodness. We suggest that if you’re looking for a Belgian Style ale that’s full of deliciousness, you’d be good to [...]
Hockey Independent Roundtable: Preseason Stanley Cup Predictions
Hello everyone and welcome again to the Hockey Independent Roundtable. In today’s piece, five HI writers will provide you all with their early picks for the playoffs ad the Stanley Cup. This piece will double as Part III of my five-part 2013 NHL season preview. Part I –> Northeast Division Preview Part II –> Eastern [...]
2013 NHL Season Preview: Part II: Eastern Conference Outlook
In part II of my 2013 NHL season preview, check out previews and predictions for the entire Eastern Conference. Part I –> Northeast Division Preview Part II –> Eastern Conference Preview Part III –> Hockey Independent Roundtable: Preseason Stanley Cup Predictions Part IV –> 2013 Boston Bruins Roster Predictions 1) New York Rangers – Even [...]
2013 NHL Season Preview: Part I: Predicting the Northeast Division
Alas, after nearly four months of bickering over every last nickel and dime that could possible be salvaged, the NHL and the NHLPA have signed a new collective bargaining agreement, making way for a 48-game 2013 hockey season! After remaining optimistic throughout most of the process, I became a bit skeptical in the last week [...]
Jay Wells: Rugged Defenseman Reflects on Scrappy 18-Year NHL Career
By Brian D’Ambrosio Jay Wells selflessly battled numerous enforcers of substantial note: Bob Probert, Jay Miller, Dave Brown (a few times) and Marty McSorley, among the list. One of the game’s exemplary teammates, his career spanned from 1979 to 1997, a period in which Wells stood up to the roughest individuals to ever to patrol [...]
Hockey’s Christmas: 10 Predictions For 2012 Free Agency
In many ways, July 1 and the opening of unrestricted free agency is much like Christmas for hockey fans. Puck heads wake up early and rush to their living rooms early in the morning. But instead of checking underneath a Christmas tree, they’ll make a beeline straight towards the nearest computer. As the clock strikes [...]
2012 Hockey Independent Mock Draft: Final Wrap-Up
The Hockey Independent crew has come together again; this time to piece together a 2012 NHL Mock Draft for your reading pleasure. The contributing authors to today’s piece will be Cris Cohen (New York Rangers), Seth Levin (New Jersey Devils), Alex Muscat (Detroit Red Wings), Bill Philp (Tampa Bay Lightning) and myself, Benjamin Woodward [...]
2012 Hockey Independent Mock Draft: Selections 1-5; The Future Stars
The Hockey Independent crew has come together again; this time to piece together a 2012 NHL Mock Draft for your reading pleasure. The contributing authors to today’s piece will be Cris Cohen (New York Rangers), Seth Levin (New Jersey Devils), Alex Muscat (Detroit Red Wings), Bill Philp (Tampa Bay Lightning) and myself, Benjamin Woodward (Boston [...]
Eastern Conference Breakdown: What It Will Take To Get Into The Playoffs
As we enter the stretch run of this 2011-’12 NHL campaign, the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference remains as cloudy as it’s ever been. With each team having only 15-17 games remaining on the schedule, let’s take a look at how the final standings may end up, one month from today, when the regular [...]
Five Deals That SHOULD Be Made Before The Deadline
As the late February NHL trading deadline approaches rumors have began to surface in every corner of the hockey world. From buyers to sellers and rentals, a plethora of deals always seem to be made this time of year. This year, as a few top-tier players are slated to become Unrestricted free agents at year’s [...]
