Editorial – Newsflash
November 23rd, 2009 | by Eric Meliton |A couple of days here and there and the Habs are back in the news again. I apologize to my readers this week as I have been swamped with a proposal for work, however, the Habs have been quite busy – on and off the ice.
Firstly, the Habs have more injuries to report – Scott Gomez has joined the infirmary with an apparent lower body injury. He joins Andrei Markov, Hal Gill, Brian Gionta, and Matt D’Agostini on the long-term injury list. The Habs have been hit very hard with this rash of injuries and despite the lack of bodies, the team has survived thus far.
In other news, stemming from a blatant knee-on-knee hit on Detroit Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall, the NHL has suspended Habs enforcer Georges Laraque for five games. What else can go wrong with this team? In his limited contribution to the 2009-10 campaign, Laraque has definitely been a distraction for this club thus far.
By the way, the Habs have decided to try to make some changes to the lineup, acquiring Benoit Pouliot from the Minnesota Wild in exchange for enigmatic forward Guillaume Latendresse. Pouliot is definitely not the impact player that the Habs truly need, but maybe a change of scenery will improve the prospects for both of these players.
The Habs really need some strong play from the remaining core players on this squad. Carey Price is expected to continue to carry the load and maybe GM Bob Gainey can find a home for his strongest trade asset, Jaroslav Halak. Mike Cammalleri is the lone bright spot this week and his chemistry with new linemates Tomas Plekanec and Andrei Kostitsyn. Brother Sergei is also returning to fill in the gaps, maybe this time he will realize the positive situation he is in and not complain anymore… doubtful, but you never know. A few weeks in Hamilton might have done him some good.
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Tags: Andrei Kostitsyn, Andrei Markov, Benoit Pouliot, Bob Gainey, Brian Gionta, Carey Price, Georges Laraque, Guillaume Latendresse, Hal Gill, Jaroslav Halak, Matt D'Agostini, Mike Cammalleri, Niklas Kronwall, Scott Gomez, Tomas Plekanec
By Eric L. on Nov 23, 2009
I think that the reason that the Habs have been winning through injuries is because every other team has just as many. Last I heard, around 20% of the players in the NHL had an injury at some point during the season. Injuries are terrible this year.
By Eric Meliton on Nov 24, 2009
Eric L. – I agree with your comment. Many of the teams are having difficulties with major injuries and the Habs are surviving just like the rest of the teams. My fantasy team in my league has over six players on IR for example, so it’s difficult to keep up with all of these injuries. With the speed of the game combined with the size and skill level of various players, am not surprised if that number continues to climb – especially with the condensed schedule for the Olympics and the lack of a break for the elite players during that time period.