2014 Stanley Cup Playoff Predictions

EAST:
Round 1:
Boston over Detroit
Montreal over Tampa
Philly over NYR
Pittsburgh over Columbus

Round 2:
Philly over Pittsburgh
Boston over Montreal

Round 3:
Philly over Boston

WEST:
Round 1:
Anaheim over Dallas
LA over San Jose
Colorado over Minnesota
Chicago over St. Louis

Round 2:
Anaheim over LA
Colorado over Chicago

Round 3:
Colorado over Anaheim

STANLEY CUP FINALS:
Colorado over Philly

Peter Budaj scores on himself

Canadiens goalie Peter Budaj score on himself in overtime.

Ryan White Lights up Kent Huskins; Will White be getting a ban from the NHL?

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Last night, the Habs Goon/forward Ryan White caught Flyers defenseman Kent Huskins in the head with this dirty check. You have to wonder if the NHL will be giving White a very long suspension? White was given a Match Penalty for this bushleague hit on Huskins. These are also the types of hits, that the NHL is trying to eliminate.

Yesterday, the Flyers GM announced that Kent Huskins is out with a concussion as a result of the dirty White hit.

Today we find out that NHL department of Player Safety has requested in-person meeting with the Canadiens’ Ryan White, which is not a good sign for White.



S/T to Kukla’s Korner for the videos. Last night, White played a grand total of 1:31 and racked up 20 minutes in penalties. You have to wonder if this is the last time that the Canadiens will see this one-dimensional player on the ice this season, if ever.

Bruins 2, Wild 8th in 2012 Uni Watch rankings

So the Montreal Canadians have been ranked first in the 2012 NHL Uni Watch Rankings - the Boston Bruins were ranked second and the Wild were ranked eighth. Below is how the NHL rankings shook out.

1. Montreal
2. Boston
3. NY Rangers
4. Detroit
5. Philadelphia
6. Toronto
7. Pittsburgh
8. Minnesota
9. Columbus
10. New Jersey
11. Chicago
12. Buffalo
13. NY Islanders
14. San Jose
15. Florida
16. Winnipeg
17. Vancouver
18. Phoenix
19. Calgary
20. Tampa Bay
21. Carolina
22. Nashville
23. Anaheim
24. Ottawa
25. St. Louis
26. Edmonton
27. Washington
28. Los Angeles
29. Dallas
30. Colorado

Sabres Pylon Scott was not brought to the Buffalo for his defensive skills

The North East Division teams got tougher this off-season, the much maligned Buffalo Sabres signed former Dallas Star uber punk Steve Ott and former New York Rangers, Minnesota Wild and Chicago Blackhawks pylon John Scott – not to be out done – the Montreal Canadians signed former New York Rangers tough guy Brandon Prust, who shared the NHL’s league lead in fighting majors with the Boston Bruins tough guy Shawn Thornton.

By signing these players – some have said that the North Eastern division teams are playing right into the Boston Bruins hands – last season when the Boston Bruins have at least one fighting major they have a winning record. When the Boston Bruins don't record at least one fighting major last season they had a losing record.

I do predict that these teams are not going to beat the Boston Bruins at their own game. These aforementioned teams were better off to let sleeping bears slumber.

Boston Bruins forward/tough guy Shawn Thornton led the Bruins and tied Brandon Prust for the league lead with 20 fighting majors – thirteen of Thornton’s fellow teams mates dropped the gloves as well. According to Hockeyfights.com, the Boston Bruins were second in the league in fighting majors and held a record of 37-16-8 when they recorded at least one fighting major.

James Cook, Record-Eagle --- A bruising blueliner brought in by the Sabres to contend with fiesty teams such as the Boston Bruins, Scott makes a living as an enforcer. And that role often includes fighting.

"I tell him the only thing uglier than an MMA fight is a hockey fight," Bustance joked. "He's got a good nature. But he's patient like a boxer. He's got a good eye. We can even work with the same foot position so he can do it on skates."

The 270-pound Scott isn't out there for his deft scoring touch. In 146 career NHL games, he's scored just one goal and added four assists. But he's piled up 236 penalty minutes over four seasons with the Minnesota Wild, Chicago Blackhawks and New York Rangers before signing a one-year contract with the Sabres this off-season.

Scott is ranked as one of the top 10 fighters in the NHL as a result of several vicious beatdowns he's handed out in his four seasons in the NHL.

His most infamous fight came when he was with the Blackhawks. It was Nov. 27, 2010, and Scott destroyed Kevin Westgarth, who is no small man himself.

Even at 6-5, 241, Westgarth appeared dwarfed by Scott, who heaped punishment on the Los Angeles Kings forward. Westgarth tapped out to end the fight, which is somewhat unusual because both participants were still on their feet.

The first thing that the Buffalo Sabres should try to do is teach former MTU defenseman John Scott how to skate, so he can take a regular shift on the ice and not just take up a roster spot. I couldn’t resist when I read this article.

The Rangers valued John Scott so much that they made John Scott a healthy scratch during the Rangers “entire” playoff run, because his former head coach John Tortorella felt he was a defensive liability and beating the crap out of people is not a desired trade that you need in the Stanely Cup Playoffs. For whatever reason, the New York Rangers also failed to resign Brandon Prust in the offseason as well.

Just for the record, I am a big fan of fighting in hockey and I relish a good fight between two willing combatants and would never be an advocate for eliminating fighting in the junior or professional ranks. That being said, let’s not kid ourselves – John Scott has one role in the NHL and that’s to beat the tar out of the opposition but let’s call it as we see it – he can’t skate or play hockey very well at all.

Finally, while the Boston Bruins might have been second in the league in fighting majors last season – all of their tough guys can skate and play a regular shift and a vital role on their team. There aren’t any one dimensional goons taking up a roster spot on their team. So while the Sabres employed Scott to dance with a few Bruins in six league games, the Sabres are still wasting a roster spot on a one dimensional player that has a hard time staying in the lineup.

Kristo, MacMillian and Dell day two Habs development camp

Dan's Daily Dose

Three current and one former UND Fighting Sioux players are participating in the the Montreal Canadians development camp this week. Dan Kramer from All Habs has a really good run down of what has transpired over the course of this week.

GOALTENDERS

Aaron Dell: My favourite of the goalies on day one. I expect him to be offered a contract, be it a two-way deal or an AHL agreement with the Bulldogs. He’s a little slow-moving, but he’s a scrambler, battling for pucks and not giving up.

Based on all that we have heard around here during the offseason – we probably won’t be seeing Aaron Dell in a UND uniform next season. The last word that I had heard, from a pretty good source it’s about 99% that Dell isn’t coming back to UND - so I guess we shouldn't be shocked if to see Aaron Dell sign a professional contract.

Kramer also explains Dell's style to a "T" - Dell is positionally a very sound goaltender and there isn’t a lot of wasted movement.

FORWARDS

Former Fighting Sioux - Mike Cichy: Cichy is very small and skinny. He had to sit out a year of hockey for switching Universities, and doesn’t seem to have spent much of it in the weight room. His legs stand out as being remarkably thin (at one point I quipped that he almost looks like a kid wearing his father’s equipment), not something you want in a professional hockey player for reasons of balance, skating, and strength, so at this point, he doesn’t seem to have much of a future as a prospect.

Danny Kristo: I came away from day one thinking that Kristo looked very small. He is very quick, despite short strides (which can hamper a player). For example, despite both being undersized, his style is almost the opposite of Gallagher’s, who has longer stride but isn’t as fast, which is a testament to Kristo’s footwork. He also has good hands, though he didn’t seem particularly engaged when it was his turn to charge in on net. As such, he wasn’t remarkable. One the size issues, I felt he looked bigger on day two, so I’ll attribute my initial impression in part to his being grouped mainly with the defensemen on Wednesday, all of whom are 6’1″ or taller. Hopefully he commits fully to training with his final year in college, and adds some strength. Tended to only interact with players he was familiar with in Leblanc and MacMillan.

Mark MacMillan: I’ll call MacMillan a pet prospect of mine. He’s filling out slowly, now generously listed at 183 lbs after being drafted at 150, but he does look bigger than in the past. He’s a skilled guy with interesting offensive tools, but had some trouble with a few skating drills (he looked alright at times as well, but it’s an area for him to focus on). A longer-term project, he may be a go-to player at UND next season, so that’s perhaps the only reason to be happy that Kristo will be returning there for another season.

Here is what All-Habs had to say about a few of our forwards as well as about former Fighting Sioux forward Mike Cichy. Kramer kind of confirms what Sioux fans already knew about Cichy – during his time at UND.  During Cichy's short time at UND,  there were rumblings that Cichy wasn’t the most dedicated or hardest of workers on the ice or in the weight room.

This was basically confirmed after his first season, when Fighting Sioux coach Dave Hakstol confirmed that Cichy had come into his first camp with the Fighting Sioux out of shape.  Looks like this might have worked out best for the Fighting Sioux in the end.

More Potential Departures...including Coaches (RW77)

Brad Schlossman has stated that Aaron Dell is likely to sign. There have been tweets that suggest that there may be up to 3 more early departures. We know that MacWilliam and Rowney aren't the other 2.

I also doubt Rodwell and Grimaldi will bolt. For Grimaldi it would be ridiculous...unless he's bolting for an entry contract and assignment to Major Juniors (ala BC's Adam Pineault a few years back) but... that would suprise me. I'm pretty certain that one of the two is Danny Kristo. However, I think the third is just a rumor.

As for Dell, the Montreal Canadiens were trying to sign him after last season but I doubt they're in the mix now thanks to GM being fired. Best bet is Calgary, but I wouldn't count out Winipeg.

In either case, it would solve a lot of the conjecture as to what happens to Tate Maris.

And in other news:

Schlossman reports Cary Eades is a candidate for the Mankato job. This isn't a surprise as I'm sure Eades has been a candidate in several head coach gigs since he came back to UND. It would not surprise me if Eades bolts for Mankato either. Mankato plays gritty...which is Eades' forte. Eades' hire may also keep the higher profile recruits they have from bolting.

As for UND, it would be interesting to see what direction they go. Will they promote Dane Jackson to Associate Head Coach and hire an Assistant or will they hire an Associate Head Coach and keep Dane where he is?

If Dane gets promoted, it would not surprise me to see the Assistant position go to... Karl Goehring. He's already working with the team and has done a decent job.

Or... what about Scott Koberinski? He's been helping UND since I was at UND it seems like... (circa 2002 or so). Koberinski has head coaching experience in the USHL.

John Marks and Steve Johnson will pop up. However, the question would be: Would Steve take a lateral job change especially since UND turned him away twice. I'd hope so as I'd love to see Steve back as a coach.

They could go out of left field and hire Tom Ward out of Shattuck? He has WCHA coaching experience, though with the hated Gophers...

In the end, Eades isn't going to stick around forever. And he is destined for a head coaching gig. I think Mankato would be a good gig if he wants it. That being said, I hope he stays.

Adam McQuaid vs. Ryan White

Good hockey fight as the Boston Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid works over Hab's punching bag Ryan White. The Boston Bruins are second in the NHL in fighting majors with 42.

Related articles

• Adam McQuaid works Raffi Torres like a clown (ndgoon.blogspot.com)
• McQuaid Knees Foligno (ndgoon.blogspot.com)
• Milan Lucic works Patrick Kaleta like a speed bag (ndgoon.blogspot.com)
• Bruins' Adam McQuaid (Lower Back) Misses Practice (boston.sbnation.com)

Time for the NHL to throw the book at P.K. Subban for his dirty elbow

First I want to preface this blog post with P.K. Subban is a great defensive talent, but he is a bit of a punk and this video just proves that point quite nicely. Subban is famous for skating around the ice and running his mouth and doing things like this and when he is challenged he turtles in a fashion that would make Claude the Fraud Lemieux blush.

From my vantage point, it appears that Subban leaves his feet to hit David Krecji in the head with a forearm shiver. That is a violation of rule 48 because the head is the principle point of contact.

This is a big test for Brendan Shanahan the NHL Senior Vice President of Player Safety, he needs to suspend P.K. Subban for this bush league hit, these are the types of hits that the NHL is trying to eliminate from the game of hockey

That fact that Subban plays for the Montreal Canadians means more than likely Subban will get off with nothing in the way of a suspension. Subban needs to sit 2-5 games minimum.

Related articles

• You: Canadiens vs. Bruins Fight Video: Will P.K. Subban Be Suspended for Nasty Elbow? (bleacherreport.com)
• Montreal Canadiens Add A Goon To Play With P.K. Subban (bleedblueshirt.wordpress.com)
• VIDEO: P.K. Subban Elbows David Krejci, Turtles When Challenged By Bruins (sbnation.com)
• Julien: Cross The Line With Bruins, Going To Face The Music (boston.cbslocal.com)

Milan Lucic hit on Jaroslav Spacek

First some disclosure I am a Boston Bruins fans, I am in now way condoning what Lucic did tonight, it was a bad hit and would get Lucic a game suspension during the regular season I have not doubt about it… In this case I think the hands of the NHL Disciplinarian(s) are tied; if the NHL didn't suspend Mike Richards for his dangerous hit on Tim Connolly there is no reason to believe that Bruins forward Milan Lucic will be suspended by the NHL for his hit.

If Lucic is suspended by the NHL then I do believe the Boston Bruins would have a legitimate complaint as well. What do you think is going to happen to Lucic? To the person that suggested that this one hit puts Lucic on par with Pen's Hack Matt Cooke, that suggestion is so far off the mark it's silly. Lucic doesn't have a history of making hits like this, Cooke has made a living doing these kinds of things.

Canadiens embellished Pacioretty's concussion, says Recchi

Nothing like throwing some gas on the fire. This is a story that is breaking on the internet tonight, here is the audio to the interview in question that everyone is talking about, [click to listen]

Fluto Shinzawa, Globe Staff ---In an interview with 98.5 The Sports Hub this afternoon, Mark Recchi emphasized how thankful he was that Max Pacioretty is recovering from the March 8 hit that left him with a fractured vertebra and a severe concussion. Pacioretty could play in the playoffs.
But Recchi speculated that the Canadiens embellished the nature of Pacioretty's concussion to prompt the league to suspend Zdeno Chara.

"He does obviously have a fractured vertebra, but the concussion is obviously really a non-factor," said Recchi, citing how Pacioretty attended a movie several days after the hit. "In maybe a day or two -- maybe a day he felt it -- but he was fine a couple days later. They were trying to get Zdeno suspended and they embellished it a little bit. In terms of that side, they're doing whatever they could to get him suspended. I think the league sent a message that it was a hockey play. That's the important thing and people have to understand. If they deemed it something that was serious, they suspended Matt Cooke up to 17 games for a head shot. They're serious about protecting the players now. That was an interference play at worst. The partitions got in the way. I don't think Zdeno is to blame for that."

Before everyone jumps on Boston Bruins forward Marc Recchi, just for the record Recchis isn’t known for being a dirty player and he is hardly a goon or a thug and Recchi does bring up some good points. I have to admit that I thought the same thing when I heard the announcement last week on Pacioretty. My first reaction was, I thought he was done for the season and that was a chance that his career was in jeopardy. Now we are hearing that Max Pacioretty has made this incredible recover in a very short period of time. Hum!

You can color me skeptical… That does sound a little fishy to me.

Thursday Links – Where is Spring?

The Zdeno Chara and Max Pacioretty incident has really blown up on the Internet and the blogsphere, now the Montreal police department wants to conduct a criminal investigation on the hit. I don’t think that this warrants a criminal investigation. If there is a hockey player(s) that deserve to be in jail it’s Matt Cooke and Todd Bertuzzi, Zdeno Chara isn't a dirty player contrary to public belief. Zdeno Chara didn't have a history of being a dirty player after 13 years of hockey, however, Chara made a bad decision with his hit on Max Pacioretty and Chara is going to have to live with that hit for a very long time.

Don’t get me wrong I am not excusing this hit; it was an unfortunate hockey play that went poorly and ended up ending a player’s season. This latest dustup will only further strain the Habs and Bruins on ice feud and could possibly make the next game in this series a blood bath. There is a strong possibility that the Bruins and the Habs could end up seeing each other in the playoffs as well.

I was watching the game as it happened in time, no one ever wants to see a player get hurt on the ice, never. That being said, hockey is also a physical sport and people are going to get hurt, unfortunately a player was hurt in this situation. Was this a penalty, you betcha, it was called a five minute major on the ice, it was a classic definition of interference; Pacioretty was no where near the puck when he was driven into a metal stanchion. There has been an on going debate on whether Chara meant to do that, short of giving him a polygraph; I don’t know how we will ever figure out if Chara meant to do it or not.

We have learned nothing in the last week

So here we are a week after the Trevor Gillies hit on Cal Clutterbuck and we are right back at square one again, another horrific incident and another player out with another concussion. Sometime in the future, tonight, tomorrow or next week there will be another hit like this that will make its way onto YouTube.Com and the fans and the media will pick the hit apart and the various NHL fan bases will spar over the hit in question.

So what does the NHL do going forward? In this specific instance should Chara pulled up and not followed through on the hit, yeah probably, the puck was already by him, Chara didn’t pull up and Pacioretty was hurt on the play and carried off the ice on a stretcher and taken to the hospital. I would be willing to bet that Chara feels bad about the hit that he put on Max Pacioretty, I don’t think that there are that many players in the NHL that intentionally want to hurt people. I have also seen where some pundits have said that Pacioretty put himself into that situation by instigating and stirring the pot with Chara over the course of the season and that Chara had enough.I wonder if the league took that into consideration when they made their ruling?

In conclusion; I think that the NHL has pinned themselves into a corner with their past decisions and at times I question whether they really have a clue what they are doing? There is evidence by some of the NHL's recent decisions involving on ice incidents that the front office has no clue what they are doing. That being said, NHL hockey is a physical game and short of taking hitting out of the game, injuries and questionable hits are going to be part of hockey. The way the NHL responds to these hits going forward is going to make a difference on how often we see these types of hits. I also believe that as long as we have a certain player out patrolling the ice conducting acts of thuggery we will continue to have this discussion.

The Colin Campbell Wheel of Justice needs and has to be more consistent going forward, if not the NHL will never improve it’s player safety. While I think that the NHL "probably" made the right decision in this case under their current guidelines and rules it does seem like the only acceptable response to some fans and the talking heads and a percentage of NHL players would’ve been to give Chara a game or two suspension for his hit. I don’t know if the NHL is at that point yet in the discussion but I wonder if that isn’t on the horizon in the future? To be continued.

Links to the Story...

NHL Misses Opportunity to Send Message of Safety by Not Suspending Zdeno Chara [NESN.COM]

Montreal Police Launch Criminal Investigation for Zdeno Chara's Hit on Max Pacioretty [NESN.COM]

Chara: 'It was just a hockey play'[Sabres Edge] Here is what Zdeno Chara had to say on the matter.

"I totally understand. He's in the hospital so he's got the right to be emotional so I respect that," Chara said. "I obviously feel bad he got hurt. As a hockey player we all feel bad when something like that happens. ... I'm wishing him to a fast recovery and hopefully he'll be back on the ice soon. That's all we love to do. We love to be hockey. When we go out there, we take risks and sometimes we do get hurt. But it's just very unfortunate."

Air Canada threatens NHL over headshots [Toronto Sun]

That’s hockey?! NHL still whistling after Zdeno Chara’s rub-out of Max Pacioretty [The Vancouver Sun]

Poking the bear [Sportsnet.ca]

Personally, I see Pacioretty as a player who poked the bear for three straight games, then was foolish enough to put himself in a position where the big Bruin could exact payback.

We're not saying the payback was legal. It wasn't -- the puck was nowhere near.

But we are saying that if you expect Chara to know that turnbuckle was there, then you have to grant that Pacioretty did too. He also knew Chara was after him, since Pacioretty had antagonized Chara off and on for most of three games.

The Habs forward rolled the dice and lost. He could have hit the brakes, he could have gone inside. He chose instead to attempt to squeeze past Chara down the boards, and it was a bad decision.

McKenzie; Pacioretty not happy with Chara or League Decision [TSN.COM]

Bettman say Pacioretty hit horrific, but part of the game. [TSN.COM]

Fans want Canadiens to acquire some muscle

Apparently the Montreal Canadian fans are tired of seeing their team getting pushed around physically on the ice and would like to see their team add an enforcer to their line up. Seems logical after the Boston Bruins handed them their ass earlier this month.

MONTREAL -- As the NHL trade deadline draws nearer, Montreal Canadiens fans believe their inconsistent and undersized squad should ply the market for more muscle.

A QMI-Leger Marketing poll suggests 50% of Habs fans believe the team needs to pick up a bigger, tougher player if they hope to return to the Eastern Conference final. Hard-nosed Ottawa Senators winger Chris Neil was at the top of the fans' wish list.

The Canadiens, who haven't had an enforcer since Georges Laraque was bought out in January 2010, are noticeably smaller than such rivals as the Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers. Defenceman P.K Subban is the team's leader in penalty minutes, but ranks only 31st in the league with 86 minutes in the box.

Is there a Colin Campbell conspiracy?

www.montrealgazette.com/sports

Apparently the Montreal media was less than amused with watching the Montreal Canadians get their asses handed to them last night in Boston. If you don’t want to get into a fight, do not lock up with a tough guy that has a reputation of pummeling guys who makes his living with his fists. This article is highly entertaining and worth a look. The author also suggests that there is a conspiracy by Colin Campbell to look the other when his son commits a questionable and egregious act on the ice. My first follow up question would be who determines what is considered egregious and questionable?

Montreal Gazette ---- There was no supplemental discipline coming from the NHL Thursday, hardly surprising given the fact the league probably couldn’t organize a haircut at a skinhead convention.

Canadiens head coach Jacques Martin wasn’t willing to discuss the provocative final-minute use by Bruins counterpart Claude Julien of his roster’s foil fists with the game’s result by then well decided.

That resulted in the pummelling by Boston’s Johnny Boychuk of pacifist Habs defenceman Jaroslav Spacek, the chasing around by Shawn Thornton of rearguard Roman Hamrlik, and the bloodying of Montreal forward Tom Pyatt by Gregory Campbell, the ankles-sharpened son of NHL disciplinarian Colin Campbell.

Photos of the Pyatt-Campbell scrap show the latter clearly having nearly lost his left elbow pad, which is hanging from his arm and essentially being used as a tethered weapon.

In hand-to-hand combat, Pyatt was badly over matched by a player who has 10.7 penalty minutes for each of his NHL goals. But in this case, he was cannon fodder.

Leaving Thursday’s morning skate, a box lunch in hand and a baseball cap tugged low on his head, Pyatt wore a blue-black shiner beneath his right eye and had seven small stitches zippered high into his right cheekbone.

This article also suggests the same Colin Campbell conspiracy theory as well. Same Montreal newspaper of course. Maybe it's just a Montreal Gazette thing? Of course they aren’t going to be amused because their team was taken to the wood shed last night and exposed for being a bunch of pansies. Last night Hab's Punk P.K. Subban was yapping at the Bruins all night long while hiding behind the refs.

While the game featured the silliest fight of the year between goaltenders Carey Price and Tim Thomas, there were others that fell into the gratuitous violence category. There was Johnny Boychuk who kept beating on Jaroslav Spacek even after the Canadiens defenceman had stopped fighting, and Gregory Campbell who used his elbow pads as weapons against Tom Pyatt. It’s the sort of action that the NHL should be compelled to look into but, then again, the guy who handles discipline for the NHL is Colin Campbell, who is Gregory’s proud dad.

While we’re on the subject of the way the NHL views fighting, it’s ironic that it has taken a hard line on shots to the head, but doesn’t have any problem when Brent Johnson rearranges Rick DiPietro’s face with a left hook. That incident was on Thomas’s mind as he faced Price, but the Canadiens goalie had the grace not to press the advantage when he landed on top of Thomas after a graceless - and punchless - waltz. [Read the whole article here]

Me personally, I don't think there is a Colin Campbell conspiracy but I am a Boston Bruins fans so I might not be seeing it from a Hab's fan perspective, I have seen a lot more egregious thuggery and other questionable stuff go unpunished by Colin Campbell. Puck Daddy seemed to be hinting at this conspiracy as well .   I do think the Hab's were exposed last night as being a bit soft. I do think we will see other teams playing Canadians in a physical manner.

Bruins and Habs brawl

Michael Cammalleri's Penalty Shot Goal against the Boston Bruins

The more I watch this video the more I come to the conclusion that the penalty that led to the Cammalleri penalty shot was very weak and a brutal call by the official.

Edit: in looking back at this play that led to the penalty shot, I must conclude that this was a bad call by the NHL on ice officials, their incompetence cost the Boston Bruins the game and points in the standings, there is no way that the Montreal Canadians deserved a penalty shot on that play, maybe hooking but that was even stretch.

Leblanc's major-junior jump

First off I was surprised when I read that Louis Leblanc was going to play for Harvard last season. This kid has QMJHL written all over him.

Last summer, I was having a casual conversation with a high-ranking official within the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League when the subject of Louis Leblanc came up.

The Canadiens had recently selected Leblanc in the first round (18th overall) of the 2009 National Hockey League entry draft. The 6-foot, 178-pound centre from Pointe Claire had already announced he was headed for Harvard University to play NCAA hockey.

The QMJHL official, although obviously somewhat biased, thought Leblanc was making a mistake by not playing major-junior hockey.

"If the kid was going to go to Harvard for four years and get his degree, I'd say, great, go for it," he said. "But he's not. He's probably only going to play two years and then sign a pro contract and leave."

He added that by taking the NCAA route, Leblanc would jeopardize his chances of making Team Canada for the world junior championship, explaining that by the time the selection camp was held in December, Leblanc would only have played about 10 games with Harvard, while major-junior players would have played more than 30.

He also said that as a French-speaking first-round pick of the Canadiens there was no doubt the club would sign Leblanc to a contract. He added that if his hockey career didn't work out, Leblanc is a smart enough kid to get accepted into just about any university and would have the money to pay for a Harvard education once he hangs up his skates.

Basically, his thinking was that Leblanc's No. 1 priority right now should be hockey.

I was thinking about that conversation last weekend when Leblanc announced he was leaving Harvard after only one year, signing a three-year entry-level contract with the Canadiens that reportedly could be worth as much as $3.6 million U.S.

Leblanc played 31 games with Harvard last season, posting 11-12-23 totals, and failed to make Team Canada.

Leblanc will play this season with the QMJHL's Montreal Juniors and the spotlight will be shining very brightly on him. The Juniors will hold a press conference with Leblanc on Tuesday at a Crescent St. restaurant, which you can be sure will result in a media circus.[Read the whole story]

First off I want to preface this with I am not anti-CHL like some of my fellow college hockey bloggers are, personally I see the benefits of both leagues and the NCAA can’t expect to win over all of the blue chip American players. I also don't think it's productive and to constantly stoke the flames of discontent when it comes to the NCAA vs the CHL doesn't solve anything and you’re never going to change anyone’s mind anyways.

I never understood why this kid didn’t make team Canada during last years WJC as well. Leblanc is definitely the real deal. Also, former Fighting Sioux hockey player Jonathan Toews as well as a few other Canadian NCAA hockey players had managed to make the team Canada WJC roster while playing College Hockey in the USA. The question out there is who pressured Luis Leblanc to leave Harvard and sign with the QMJHL? Did someone convince him he wouldn’t be making the Canadian WJC if had stayed at Harvard?

The lastest on the Canadian's Sieve.

If Carey Price isn't careful he is going to be a goalie without a team. I don't know but it would appear that the Canadians don't value Price as much as he values himself. Personally, I would take Antti Niemi over Carey Price any day. As a Bruins fan I have never been impressed with Carey Price; I think he is over rated and I think that the Canadians let the better goalie Jaroslav Halak walk this spring.

TSN.CA Staff --- The Montreal Canadiens' contract negotiations with restricted free agent goaltender Carey Price are certainly going at a slower pace, but that does not mean the club is looking at other options in net.

Price's agent Gerry Johannson told the Montreal Gazette on Wednesday his understanding was that there was no truth to the rumours that the Habs could go after unrestricted free agent netminder Antti Niemi.

"(The two sides) are not necessarily close, but it's not that we're not close in a bad way," he explained to the Gazette's website Habs Inside/Out regarding a new contract. "We're having good conversations and we both are committed to getting things done."