So our boy Jaro Halak is getting some solid time between the pipes. For a guy who was never really given much of a shot to compete for the starting role ever (think back 3-4 years ago – did he even register with Habs fans) he sure is making the best of his situation. Now, I know he got shelled last night and looked tired and hung out – but that comes with the territory.

Think of it this way – he plays as a backup, so that earns you 20 games maximum in some situations. If there’s an injury (like last year) you may find yourself playing 25-30 tops. The rigours of an 82 game schedule creep up very quickly, and if you’re not in game shape, both mentally and physically – you’ll suffer. Sometimes its even harder to come back after an off night, and the bad mood lingers (ask Andrew Raycroft about that one.) Point is, Halak is a good goalie – but he needs more back-to-back-to-back starts to get him into shape for longer stretches.

The way I see it, I don’t think he’s going to be sticking around in Montreal for very long. He’s a solid goalie reaching the prime of his career, and could do well in a fill-in role on a struggling team in order to boost their stats and Jaro’s confidence. If the Habs play their cards correctly, we could come out with a decent return, as we have some depth at the backup goaltending position this year. Perhaps Jaro is there as a safety net for Carey Price – who doesn’t appear to be too interested in elevating his game beyond his current skill set. Who knows? Either way, there’s question marks in goal again this year – and after a few short games into the season, Habs fans have already begun to lose faith in their number one pick and are raising concerns as to whether or not he is a first round bust.

I’m not going to go that far, yet. If Price can’t challenge Halak for the starting job, and plays with minimal effort and has no confidence, then maybe. I don’t see any Toskala or Raycroft syndrome sneaking in just yet. You can credit some of our losses to poor defensive play and bad bounces. That just seems to be the way things have gone lately – key injuries, players still trying to adjust, and a lot of backpedaling. I think the Habs are in a movement phase – trying to push, shove and squeeze their way into a comfortable position before finally settling in to something that works for everyone in the system.

Perhaps the goaltending situation is unique – it always seems the goalie with the least amount of pressure and expectations plays the best. Check out this interesting history. After Roy was dealt, look at how the Habs goalie situation developed.

- Patrick Roy leaves and Jocelyn Thibault is put in place to fill the role
- Thibault struggles and is assisted by Andy Moog
- Moog retires, Thibault continues to struggle and is traded for Jeff Hackett
- Hackett plays solid, but struggles with injuries and is supplanted by prospect Jose Theodore
- Jose Theodore plays well for a number of years, but loses focus and is often injured, and he is replaced by Cristobal Huet
- Huet plays well, but conditioning is a major concern, and Price is given the nod to replace him after stellar play
- Price is struggling as a starter, and now Halak seems to be getting more games

Interesting trend. But this is a discussion for another post.

We can clearly see some changes coming in Montreal – who knows if it is a shift in the focus of the goaltending situation or not. We do know that Martin will ride the hot goalie when confidence is needed. Jaro Halak has returned some of that confidence, but how long can that last? Habaneros are wondering what the future will hold for Halak as well – does he want to stick around, or does he want to try his hand at being a number one somewhere else and follow in the footsteps of guys like Kiprusoff and Turek – journeymen who never really got a fair shake at the starting position…

I keep saying this over and over – the time is right to get good value for our boy Halak. He loyally served the bleu, blanc et rouge and its time he gets some cred for being a solid goalie. I just want to make sure we got something decent in return. Here’s another question – will we ever see another homegrown goaltending prodigy playing for les Glorieux?

My fellow Habaneros I present to you, our shrimps – Mike Cammalleri, Brian Gionta and Scott Gomez.

When you have 3 guys all under 6 feet signing in a hockey hotbed like Montreal, that title is what it amounts to. Three shrimps with the potential for being really tasty (read: skilled) dangling precariously over the flames (read Montreal fans + media). With enough careful prodding and pressure, these three shrimps could turn out to be one of the best combo lines in the game, despite their stature. That’s how I’d prefer it – all under the radar, not making big waves, just being motivated and supported enough to keep clicking and producing. They go out there and give it their all every shift, and if they dog it, we let them know it. I’d like to call that the ’slow cook’, under even heat.

We all know there’s always one jackass at a barbecue gathering that insists on turning up the heat because they’re impatient and figure more heat = quicker end result. Sure the heat provides instant results, but often burns out anything placed within it in short order. You could have a prime slab of beef (Read: Kovalev) but if you turn it up to much, you end up burning it out and you have to discard it.

Ow dude. That's hot.

I think we have a lot of these jackasses in Montreal. Hopefully, the king of the grill (read: Gainey) has the patience to put up with the fans over developing his talent, because after awhile we know he’ll end up being thrown upon his own fire.

See this? - Trust me, you don't want any of this. This old dog is gonna taste like shit.

Are any of you Habaneros out there hungry? I know I am. Bring on the season!

See, this is how you bend over to take my salary...

Apparently Scotty Gomez, my Habanero homeboy who I’m proud to have represent me as a Habs Hispanic on h’ice, had a short interview with TSN about the upcoming season and his current preparations. The usual comments were given, as to be expected by every new player that winds up in Montreal:

1) I’m looking forward to the challenge by the Montreal media and fans
2) I understand the environment is a pressure cooker and I’m not scared
3) I’m looking forward to doing my best because Montreal is a wonderful hockey city to play in.
4) I’m learning French so I can relate better to the fans.

All I have to say is, good luck. You can say you’re ready for the onslaught based on what you’ve seen and been told by former players, but absolutely NOTHING will prepare you for what to expect during your tenure in Quebec. Unless you’re a French speaking national who has Rocket Richard like ability, Flowing locks and charisma like Guy Lafleur, the bravery of Jacques Plante, the swagger of Patrick Roy and the endurance of Beliveau, you will not win the fans over.

You could learn to speak Quebecois and all the intricacies of Joyal, you could put up 3 pts a game, score the series winning goal in the Stanley Cup finals and even change your name to Gomaise to appear more Franco-friendly – but someone, somewhere will have some kind of negative comment.

“Meh. C’est un Americain.”

I’m telling you right now – Montreal fans and media find ways to criticize the most minute thing in order to have something to bitch about. We spend more time and energy dissecting and dismantling our current greats so they don’t surpass the memories of the feats of our past greats. Its a denial on a grand scale. No one will be better than the Rocket – its downright blasphemy. Not to mention, the rumors and reports of the Montreal faithful.

I SAW HIM IN A BAR SNORTING COKE OFF A TRANSVESTITES CHEST !

HE’S PART OF THE SOPRANOS CREW, HE CAME FROM JERSEY AND NEW YORK AND BROUGHT HIS MOB TIES WITH HIM!

HE’S AMERICAN SO HE MUST SECRETLY WANT THE BRUINS TO WIN SO THATS WHY HE PLAYS LIKE CRAP AGAINST THEM!

But hang on, its not all bad rumors – wait for this one:

GOMEZ IS GOING TO SCORE MORE THAN 50 GOALS THIS SEASON AND WIN THE ROCKET RICHARD TROPHY

GOMEZ IS GOING TO BE THE NEXT CAPTAIN NOW THAT HE CAN SPEAK FRENCH AND WE’LL AUTOMATICALLY WIN THE STANLEY CUP

GOMEZ IS GONNA TAKE A PAY CUT SO HE CAN BENEFIT THE TEAM

So Scotty – hombre, muchacho, hermano…. I hate to break it to you but when you get a taste of what the REAL montreal fan base is like, you’re going to wish you signed for less somewhere else. In fact, you’ll be so burnt out and have such a bitter taste in your mouth that you won’t care what you sign for, so long as it gets you out of town.

Drury: "Dude, if you leave Montreal in less than two years, you lose the bet and have to eat this stick."

It won’t matter that you speak French, or that the thought of the media presence doesn’t scare you. Eventually, it will get to you. And you will probably leave. And you probably won’t enjoy your stay. I hope you had a good summer and you’re feeling ready, because you’re really going to understand what all the others said before you.

Don't listen to Drezz. I know what I'm doing.

Stay strong, homeboy.

Everyone has a story as to how they end up cheering for their favourite sports team. Today, I’m going to tell you how I came to be a fan of the Montreal Canadiens at the tender age of 6. I haven’t looked back since – and over a quarter century later, I’m still as passionate about les Bleu, Blanc et Rouge (that’s blue, white and red for you non-frenchies) as I was back then. Here’s how it all went down.

I received my first pair of skates from my old landlord when I was 5 years old. I would play shinny hockey with the older kids from the neighbourhood on a creek that froze over in the winter. At that point, my eyes opened up to the sport, and I finally realized the allure of plunking your ass down in front of the TV at 7 pm EST every Saturday night with the channel turned to the CBC for their broadcasts of Hockey Night in Canada. In those days, Dave Hodge and Don Cherry wore baby blue blazers and the intermission segments were set up in more of a newscast format. I would join my father as we watched a game each weekend, and it became a weekly ritual. Except there was one problem.

I don`t like the Leafs. No matter what my father did to convince me otherwise, the Leafs were too boring for my tastes and lost too often to be taken seriously, which would lead to my interest waning by the middle of the second period. It wasn`t until I saw the explosive talent of this kid from Brantford that I started to pay attention to the hockey broadcasts fully.

That kid was Wayne Gretzky, and that year he amassed a record setting 212 points in a single season. He was my new favourite, and the young and talented Edmonton Oilers became my team. My folks bought me a Gretzky sweater for Christmas and I wore it with pride 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. Now, when I went to the creek to play hockey, I envisioned myself as a mini-Gretzky, channeling his skill to try and outplay the big kids. But there was another problem. I wasn`t the only one – there were 7 or 8 OTHER Gretzkys out there too. I`m not one for being the same as the next guy, so this just wouldn`t do.

One of the older kids sensed my disappointment and offered me some advice. He told me that there were 20 other teams to cheer for, all with players that were as fantastic as Gretzky (well not really, but he was trying to cheer me up). So he talked to my Dad and basically told him that I needed a team to call my own. So that Saturday, he plunked me down in front of the TV and told me to watch a few games here and there to see if there was a team that I could get behind. It took a few weeks, and I had to plug through games featuring Colorado, Detroit, and other snoozers and losers. I had lost a bit of faith – I didn`t want to cheer for a team by default. I wanted a connection with a team. I was too young to express that, but I knew what I felt.

One evening, the stars aligned and everything fell into place. My uncles were over at the house for a visit on a Saturday night to watch a big match up between two teams. I thought to myself, “Great, another Toronto and Detroit matchup. Boring.”

How wrong I was – you see, the main reason my uncles were over was to root for their respective teams, and tonight, it was Toronto and Montreal. Not knowing much about these team from La Belle Province, my uncle sat me down on the couch beside me and fed me all these wonderful stories about their history, their great players and all the championships they had won. Not to mention, they were first in their division, and perennial contenders for the Stanley Cup. I was intrigued, and after the first period I was hooked. Now this uncle of mine was my favourite uncle, and we had a strong bond (mainly because he had two daughters and always longed for a son). We were pretty close, so sharing our excitement over a team was something that I enjoyed.

I remember watching him jump off the couch after an overtime goal, and the passion he had while watching these little Frenchmen whipping around the ice, making the Leafs players look like pylons. I watched my uncle razz my father and other uncle, and I joined in. I remember that day vividly, because it was THE day I became a Montreal fan. I had found my team, and it will forever be one of my favourite childhood memories.

Much to my father`s dismay, I began sporting blue, white and red more frequently and became the black sheep of the family (along with my uncle) at an early age. Everyone else cheered for Toronto. Not me – and I`m a better person for it! I experienced the highs and lows with the team throughout the next 25 years – 2 Stanley Cup wins, the emergence of a young kid who would become the greatest goaltender of the modern era, and then the subsequent collapse of the team in the 90s, followed by a renewed enthusiasm and hope for the future.

If these first 25 years have been this great, I can`t wait for the next 25. And if the first 100 years of the franchise have been this successful, I can imagine how the next 100 will be. All I know is I love my team, and will support them until I`m gone and hanging out with the Forum ghosts in the afterlife. This guy is a Habanero for life.

Go Habs Go.

If you like your Habs like I like my Habs, set up shop and stick around. There may be some funnies, there may be things you get pretty pissed about. Either way, I’d love to hear about it. Feel free to drop me a line, or leave some comments and tell me how much this blog sucks, or how good/bad the Habs are. I don’t care either way – I’m a big boy and I can take it.

On topic – be prepared for a few anecdotes in regards to the Canadiens in the next few. Oh, and if you’re looking for something a bit more serious but with some frayed edges of fun, check out TBN – The Breakaway.net – its an online message forum where puckheads gather to discuss hockey-ish things. What they lack in breaking news and sources, they make up for with content and heart.

See you soon, my Habaneros…