The Sultan of Swank

Just turned on to see Canada's pair for ice dancing... yeah, Ice Dancing. Well Canada rocked the fucking competition, 2 pairs left to skate. Not going to lie. The suspense is killing me. Canada has a huge 6 point lead, but it's not like it's impossible for the Americans or Russians to top them.

Beatnik, I put my Leaf and Crosby hate on hold for the Olympics. Jack Johnson says that he hates Canada... That's not very nice at all.

I think Canada should implement a new olympic strategy. Gold or don't come home. At least tonight we get to watch Canada beat down on America and their rag tag team of players. Seriously, they got nothing on D. also that pretty much highlights why we're going to win the gold.

But Clawson, to be fair. We're a very small nation in terms of population and until what... shortly after the Nagano games... even further than that, our Olympic Athletes were mostly on their own as far as funding and development. Canada likes to see their athletes do well, but we don't and are quite unwilling to throw the same kind of money and give the same kind of importance to our athletes as America. That is except for when we rock the world at Hockey. That's clearly the even which will determine in the minds of most Canadians if these Olympics were a success or not. Speaking of the hockey, the Swiss certainly gave the good ship Canada a scare last night, but I think we'll only get better. Canada has 3 players who in my mind, always find a previously unknown level of play in international hockey. Dany Heatley, Jarome Iginla and Rick Nash... Especially Nash. The only issue I have with our team is the D. I don't like Pronger on the team... at all. We already have 1 player on the team for his rep in Neidermayer, but his rep is golden, his level of play is still high, if slipping, but he provides the leadership and experience on a really young D. I don't feel we need that twice. Living in Niagara Falls now, if the US team makes a very, very, very unlikely run to the gold medal game(I think they'll be lucky to play for bronze), if they were to play Canada, once Canada wins, I'm loading up the truck with people and flags and going across the boarder to gloat about hockey gold, free health care and an honourable reputation in the World. ... ... God bless the Olympic Games. The most acceptable form of xenophobia.

Honestly, anyone who can land a quad, triple. Deserves the gold. Then again, I'm cheering for Canada, and Not America at the Olympics.

Well Canada has always had it out for those lousy Georgians!

I'm so happy that not only Bilodeau won, but is from Montreal as well. That being said, the only sport that matters at these games is the Men's Ice Hockey... or as I like to call it. Men's Ovechkin VS.

P.K. Subban called up... Oh man, I can't wait to see him play. I hope there's a Habs/Leafs game he plays in soon so he can put Schenn to shame.

So Montreal plays really well against teams that have a run and gun sort of offence. They showed that in spanking Pittsburgh on Saturday and by scoring 6 against Washington last night. But against a team that grinds it out like Boston we lost 3-0... Montreal sits precariously in 6th place. Having played 3 more games than 2 of the teams that are only 1 point back. Montreal plays one of these teams, Philly in a 2 game home and home before the Olympic break. Should they win both, Philly would still have 3 games in hand, but Montreal would have a 5 point cushion... It's pretty imperative that Montreal wins both. Now... with the way this wildly inconsistent season has gone, I predict 6-1 Philly and 2-0 Philly.

As happy as I am that it's currently 5-2 after 2... and that through 40 Montreal has dominated the best team in the league. On the goal that was disallowed that could have made it 4-3, I feel that it was kinda a bullshit call. Ok maybe Gill was more just around the net, rather than in the play, but anyone who can explode Hall Gill so bad that he also takes out Carey Price.... well they might as well have given Ovechkin 2 min for being too strong. Washington and New York are the only 2 teams in the league that I fear can come back from up to 5 goals with only 20 to play haha. Washington because they've got the best player in the world on their team, as well as an amazing roster of elite players. New York because well... heh.... Montreal did it to them once. EDIT Called that comeback... please don't blow it in OT. C-C-C-C-C-COMBO BREAKER! Huh with the Gorges injury and breaking the streak I've gotten to use Boom Headshot!, Back and to the Left and C-C-C-C-COMBO BREAKER in the same night...

Kadri will get to see how far off he realistically is from the NHL, it'll be great for him. Obviously it's on an emergency basis because Toronto traded away half their team, and the other half is injured or sick, but still, it'll be fun for Leafs fans to see him. Personally I can't wait for next season and P.K. Subban to win his first of 11 consecutive Norris Trophies Christ cakes! I just took a look at the first year Gainey was GM. Maybe not so great after all, obviously hindsight is always 20/20 but look at our D from 2003... Markov, Komisarek, Hainsey, Beauchemin, Souray, Rivet and Bouillon.... To be honest, salaries aside..... that's pretty dang good if they were in their prime haha.

Bob Gainey is reported to be stepping down as GM of the Montreal Canadiens today at 4pm. Pierre Boivin has called a presser for 4 regarding immediate change in the management of the team. If this is true, as it likely is, I'm not sure how I feel about it. On the one hand there's Bob Gainey... One of the most respected players ever, possibly one of the best 2 way checkers in the history of the game. Habs captain for what? 9 years, 5 cups as a player, 1 as a GM in Dallas. On the other hand, there's the fact that while Bob Gainey has pulled Montreal out of it's darkest times (1997 - 2004), he hasn't done much more since then and many have critisized his unwillingness to sign players during the season, and an inability to land a marquee player in Montreal (Although I was thrilled with Cammy). Clearly having the level of respect that I do for the man, it's hard to say that I'd prefer someone else as GM. Gainey has at times been too patient, and dropped the ball repeatedly with impending UFA's, but I worry of the very real risk of the Habs hiring a francophone GM who decides that the team needs to be French and have a French captain etc etc and does what the mid 90's Habs did with Savard and tank... and then not even draft well because they'd rather draft the best Quebec talent rather than the best overall talent... Change makes me nervous. EDIT: Pierre Gauthier new GM

I feel that they could have gotten much more than Oduya, Cormier and a first.

Atlanta really seems to have gotten the shit end of this one. Halak it like that! 45 saves, perfect in shootout, Gionta victimizes Rask in the shootout. 6th place.

Full credit to him too, in the first 5 min it could have easily been 3-0 'Nucks

Bunch of times.... not recently to the best of my knowledge though. Montreal gets solid goaltending and withstands a Vancouver flurry at the start of each period and seemed to take control around the halfway point of each period. Vancouver helped us out with a few diving penalties along the way, and they ran Halak with 2 min to play. Pretty exciting game to watch.... If Sergei brings skills like that (Holy shit did he victimize Kesler on the first goal) to Boston, than maybe he's turned the corner.

I think having slept on the deals. They definitely make Toronto a better team, but anyone who seems to think that they can somehow make the playoffs this season are drinking some funny water. They've got 26 games left to play and are 12 points back with 45. Everyone can agree that 93 points seems to be the magic number the past few seasons. That would mean Toronto has to go 24-4 to make the playoffs. Now granted, the 8th place, and the teams surrounding it are in a pretty good log jam right now, but even if the Rangers, Habs, Thrashers, Bruins, Panthers or Flyers only win.... around half their remaining games it would put 8th place around 85-90 points. Which means Toronto would not only need to win around 20 games, and hop over 7 teams. Now, these do improve the Leafs quite a bit. But even with Toronto's usual Late Feb push, it ain't gonna happen. Having said that, if Toronto could finish 11th or 12th, I'd really appreciate that, because I'll be really, really pissed if Boston gets Taylor Hall.

Doesn't Giguere's contract end after next season?

Toskala and Blake for Giguere

Well, I mean Toronto's taking the cap space for Anaheim, but that 1st round pick is also a pretty big deal. So I'm going to assume that Anaheim has no real interest in Toskala, but do in whoever the prospect would be... but who would it realistically be? I don't think Burke would dunp Kadri.

Now they're saying Giggy and a #1 for Toskala and a prospect. Lord Jesus, there is a large part of me that wishes it's Kadri.

How good are Sjostrom and Aulie? Who would they compare to?

Phaneuf, Sjostrom, Aulie to Toronto for Stajan, Hagman, Mayers, White

I'm not overly familiar with the West(I follow my Hawks and that's about it haha), but how Valueable is Phaneuf realistically?

Eklund (I know...), is reporting Phaneuf, Sjostrom and more for Stajan, White and more