Weekly show about the Montreal Canadiens and the rest of the NHL. This week’s show will airs today at 5pm ET and is hosted by Chris G, Reggie, and Erica.

We will be talking about today’s game between the Habs and the Caps. We will be joined by Harry Hawkings from RockTheRed.net . We are looking forward for your phone calls!

We promise that you will get more then the 15 seconds you get from traditional talk radio to voice your opinion.

Phone: 1-877-455-4945
email: habs.360@hotmail.com

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Things are getting ugly in Montreal. This has been a nightmare of the season for the Canadiens, and frankly, it seems that just when you think it can’t get any worse, it always does. The problems with the team are well documented, so I don’t want to waste your time giving my opinion on why this team is not performing. In fact, rather than harp on negatives, I prefer to look at how they can make the best out of this bad situation.

In a nutshell, the organization needs to start thinking about the future, and not about how they can maybe squeak into the playoffs and get run over by New York, Boston, Philly or Pittsburgh. It’s not going to happen. Even if it only took 92 points to make it in, that would mean the Habs would have to go 21-7-3 the rest of the way. This team is simply not good enough to pull that off.

Now that we got that out of the way, here is my 10-point plan for the remainder of the season, which would hopefully act as the starting point for a successful 2012-13 season.

1 – Trade Andrei Kostitsyn

Do we need to look at TSN’s list again of teams looking for a top 6 forward? Kostitsyn has his critics, but he has a great skill set, he has good size and he can put the puck in the net. Would be an attractive rental for a playoff team, and the Habs could potentially acquire a decent prospect in return.

2 – Trade Hal Gill

Gill notoriously elevates his game come playoff time, and there would be no shortage of interest should he be made available. With the demand for defensemen high and the supply low, perhaps the Habs could squeeze out a second round pick for Gill.

3 – Trade Travis Moen

Moen has a Stanley Cup ring, plays with jam and is a very capable third line shutdown winger that can chip in with some offense. He is yet another player that would be in high demand should he be made available. Like Gill, the possibility of acquiring a second round pick in return for Moen is not unreasonable.

4 – Don’t trade Tomas Plekanec

Not that this is rumored or anything, but with the number of teams looking to acquire help at the center ice position, I have to think teams will be calling Montreal to check on his availability. This is the kind of move that should be made in the offseason (I believe they should explore it in the offseason), not right now.

5 – Keep Louis Leblanc in the NHL for the remainder of the season

The priority now should be development for next year, and I feel it is important that the Canadiens start defining a role for Leblanc going forward, so that they know where they can pencil hm into the lineup at the start of next season.

6 – Call up Aaron Palushaj from the AHL

Palushaj, the player Montreal got in return for Matt D’Agostini, has never really gotten a real chance to showcase his skill at the NHL level. He is a point per game player on a bad Hamilton team, has tons of speed and has good vision. Use the rest of the season to play Palushaj in the top 9 and see if he figures into Montreal’s plans for next year.

7 – Announce that Andrei Markov will miss the rest of the year

I doubt this will happen, which is more a testament to the stubbornness of Pierre Gauthier than anything. His famous words: “ca progresse bien”, which translated means “he is progressing well”. There is no point in risking further injury to Markov; the goal should be to have him healthy and ready to go for the 2012-13 season.

8 – Re-sign Carey Price

Want a way to make your fans happy? Re-sign your franchise player to a long-term (4-6 years) deal. What better time to do it than when the team is struggling.

9 – #FailForNail or #FailForMikhail

Ok, I don’t actually mean trying to lose so that they can draft Nail Yakupov or Mikhail Grigorenko. What I mean is if you get rid of your expiring contracts and you turn your attention towards the development of your young players (i.e. getting them more ice time), naturally the team will continue to fall in the standings. This will result in the franchise getting their highest draft pick since Carey Price at #5 overall in 2005.

10 – Ownership should make a decision NOW if they plan on firing Pierre Gauthier, and if that’s the case, do it NOW and put an interim GM in place.

The Canadiens should absolutely turn their attention to next season, and that means if ownership does not envision Mr. Gauthier retaining his role as General Manager for the 2012 offseason, he should not be the one calling the shots as the February 27 trade deadline approaches.

Weekly show about the Montreal Canadiens and the rest of the NHL. The show airs today at 3pm ET and is hosted by Chris G, Reggie, and George.

The Habs have won 2 consecutive games including a 7-2 win over the RedWings! What should we expect of them right after the break? Call us in and tell us!

We promise that you will get more then the 15 seconds you get from traditional talk radio to voice your opinion.

Phone: 1-877-455-4945
email: habs.360@hotmail.com

Click here to listen to this week’s show.

Follow me on twitter www.twitter.com/chrisg1980

Weekly show about the Montreal Canadiens and the rest of the NHL. The show airs today at 3pm ET and is hosted by Chris G, Reggie, and George.

Should the Habs start shopping some players out? Let us know.

We promise that you will get more then the 15 seconds you get from traditional talk radio to voice your opinion.

Phone: 1-877-455-4945
email: habs.360@hotmail.com

Click here to listen to this week’s show.

Follow me on twitter www.twitter.com/chrisg1980

A lot of people are saying that the Montreal Canadiens are cooked.

Of course, this is a reference to the team’s hopes of succeeding this season; but now there is new meaning to this term as the team has launched a magazine called “Cooking with the Canadiens”.  It includes various recipes and cooking tips from the players themselves. You can check out the team’s website for video clips of the announcement featuring some of the players’ wives.

ProSportsBlogging got a copy of this magazine, and after reading through it extensively, here are my TOP 10 DISCOVERIES FROM THE CANADIENS COOKBOOK.

10 – A big hit is “Randy Cunneyworth’s Breakfast of Champions” consisting of an English Muffin with English Cream and a cup of English Tea.

9 – Even though he was fired, Jacques Martin’s recipes are included. The best part is the section where Tony Marinaro comments on how he can do everything better.

8 – Don’t make any of Hal Gill’s meals. Everything goes right through him.

7 – Andrei Markov’s meals are so good that they will make you weak in the knees. Those who think they can find better food won’t have a leg to stand on.

6 – I assume this book is for people who are dieting, because the cover includes an endorsement from former Hab Mike Cammalleri who says “they’re a bunch of losers”

5 – PK Subban’s recipes take way too long to make, mainly because he insists that you do everything all by yourself.

4 – “The Tomas Kaberle Guide for Fixing the TV in your kitchen” is a comprehensive manual that covers everything, except for the 2 buttons he can’t fix: “POWER” & “PLAY”.

3 – “The Scott Gomez Non-Alcoholic Beverage” is only good for the Minors.

2 – To those fearful of food poisoning, know that if you contracted anything bad, Pierre Gauthier will gladly acquire it from you.

1 – The breakfast category does not include any egg recipes, because that would require the Canadiens being able to beat something.

Weekly show about the Montreal Canadiens and the rest of the NHL. The show airs today at 3pm ET and is hosted by Chris G, Reggie, and George.

We will be talking about the Cammalleri-Bourque trade and want to hear what you think of it.

We promise that you will get more then the 15 seconds you get from traditional talk radio to voice your opinion.

Phone: 1-877-455-4945
email: habs.360@hotmail.com

Click here to listen to this week’s show.

Follow me on twitter www.twitter.com/chrisg1980

On the surface; the Mike Cammalleri-Rene Bourque swap is a push. Both players were struggling on their respective teams this year and will likely be better off with a fresh start elsewhere. Cammalleri is a more skilled and dynamic player than Bourque, but over the past few years, their production is virtually the same in terms of goals. The difference between the two is how they score their goals. Cammalleri’s goals are often “skill” goals from the perimeter, whereas Bourque’s are not as pretty. Both are also known for stretches of invisibility, as was seen this year from the two of them. I can go and on, but essentially, this trade could be equally beneficial to both teams in the short term. The fact that Montreal gets a 2nd round pick and a prospect (Patrick Holland) is a bonus; and they save approximately $2.7M against the cap. On that level, they did win the trade.

Having said that, I feel they lost this trade because the return that they got doesn’t properly address what they need. Pierre Gauthier can try to spin this into a positive all he wants (how is Mr. Markov doing by the way?); but the Canadiens are not a playoff team this year – they were not before the trade and they are not after the trade. Accept that. They need to rid themselves of some veterans, get younger and go through a quick rebuild as they already have some good young assets in place. If I was told two days ago that Mike Cammalleri was getting traded tomorrow, I would have hoped they could get some NHL ready prospects who could finish the rest of the year with the Canadiens and be ready to make an impact next year. Instead, they replaced a 30 year old on the decline with a 30 year old on the decline.

If it had to be a trade with Calagry, they should have asked for some combination of TJ Brodie, Greg Nemisz, Sven Baertschi, Mikael Backlund. That would have been a better move in the long run. All Pierre Gauthier really did was take a step sideways.

Speaking of Gauthier, his handling of this was disgraceful. I didn’t think it was appropriate to trade someone in the middle of a game like that, and him going on record saying “I’ve been working on this for a month” is equally disrespectful. How would you feel if your boss fired you, and tells you “oh by the way, I’ve been working on getting rid of you for a month.” It may be true, but no one wants to hear that.

The end was sour for Mike Cammalleri, especially being booed in his last game at home, but in only two and a half years he gave a lot to the Canadiens franchise. He elevated his game when it mattered most and he was fun to watch. He also did some charitable work, most notably his “Cammy’s Heroes” initiative of inviting two war veterans to every home game.

Good luck Mike and thanks for all you did for the organization.

Yes, he was traded during the game tonight!!   Going to Montreal is Rene Bourque, Patrick Holland a second round pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.  Going to Calgary is Camalleri, Karry Ramo and a 5th rd. pick in the 2012 draft.

Weekly show about the Montreal Canadiens and the rest of the NHL. The show airs today at 3pm ET and is hosted by Chris G, Reggie, and George.

Here are a couple of topics that we will cover today:
· 2-6 record with Cunneyworth behind the bench. Have you noticed any difference in the Habs play?
· The Habs need ± 56pts in 42 games to make the playoffs. Can they do it?
· Was the win vs the Jets a sign of things to come or just a lucky win?
· What do you think of the Josh Gorges signing?
· Now that Gorges signed a contract, will/should the Habs sign Price/Subban before end of season?
· Rate Louis Leblanc’s play when he was with the Habs. From 1 (poor) to 10 (excellent)
· If Gionta, Gomez, White, and Markov came back tonight, who would you sit?

We promise that you will get more then the 15 seconds you get from traditional talk radio to voice your opinion.

Phone: 1-877-455-4945
email: habs.360@hotmail.com

Click here to listen to this week’s show.

Follow me on twitter www.twitter.com/chrisg1980

2011 was an interesting year for Montreal. They went to a game 7 overtime against the eventual stanley cup champions in the first round of the playoffs. They signed veteran winger Erik Cole in the summer. They made some interesting trades, including the Kaberle for Spacek deal. They got off to a terrible start in the 2011-12 season. The biggest story came at the end of the year, when they changed coaches and created a major controversy because of it.

Will 2012 be as exciting as 2011 was?

Here are 12 BOLD predictions as to what may be in store for Habs fans.

January: After suffering another setback, the team announces that Andrei Markov will miss the remainder of the 2011-12 season.

February: When it becomes clear that the Canadiens will not be making the playoffs, Pierre Gauthier trades Hal Gill, Chris Campoli, Travis Moen and Andrei Kostitsyn at the trade deadline to contending teams. He is unable to trade Mathieu Darche, as no one is willing to meet his asking price of a first round pick and a top prospect.

March: Habs fans get some good news when the team announces that Carey Price has signed a 5-year – $25 million dollar contract extension.

April: Owner Geoff Molson and Pierre Gauthier hold a press conference at the end of the season after failing to make the playoffs. Molson shocks the people in attendance when he announces that he has no intention of finding a new General Manager. It is also announced that Randy Cunneyworth will not be retained as Head Coach.

May: After missing the playoffs despite lofty expectations, the Buffalo Sabres do the unthinkable and fire Head Coach Lindy Ruff. Ruff is then hired by the Montreal Canadiens.

June: With Columbus not wanting to spend another first round pick on a Russian, Montreal trades several draft choices (including their top 5 pick) and a prospect to move up to #1 overall. They select Nail Yakupov. Close to June 30, it is announced that PK Subban has agreed to terms on a 3-year contract extension.

July: The Habs sign Dustin Penner to a cheap 2-year deal following his subpar season. Renowned faceoff-specialist and fighter Zenon Konopka is also signed after Petteri Nokelainen leaves to go back to Finland. After trading him at the deadline, Montreal also brings back Travis Moen. RFAs Emelin, Diaz and White are re-signed as well.

August: The owners and players agreed on a new CBA earlier in the summer. One clause allows each team to buyout 1 player without it counting against the salary cap between August 1 and August 15. The Canadiens elect to exercise that option to rid them of Scott Gomez.

September: Leading up to the start of the regular season, the Canadiens trade a package featuring Mike Cammalleri and David Desharnais to Colorado for Paul Stastny.

October: Habs lineup for Game 1 of the 2012-13 season – Price in goal. Markov-Emelin; Gorges-Subban; Kaberle-Diaz on defense. Pacioretty-Stastny-Cole; Yakupov-Plekanec-Gionta; Penner-Eller-Leblanc; Moen-Konopka-White up front.

November: A combination of a hot start by Brendan Gallagher in Hamilton and Montreal’s desire to improve their defense results in a trade of Brian Gionta and Yannick Weber for a veteran D-man. Josh Gorges immediately becomes the team’s captain.

December: Despite being the #1 team in the NHL and off to their best start in franchise history, the Canadiens are forced to fire Lindy Ruff after his McGill transcript leaks out and it is revealed that he got a C- in his French class.