Habs Report Card: My Take on the first 24 games

10-10-4. Not what I call impressive. Sure, there have been some highlights, but for the most part more disappointments. The coaching and his decisions have been exactly what I expected. Terrible with a daily head-scratcher. Martin isn't and never has been the right coach for the makeup of this team. We are too small up front and not physical enough on the back end to play his "lay-back and wait in the shell" style. Sadly, he is here, and that really sucks.

Lets start with the blueline:

Gorges: A- Let's face it, he is the real Captain of the Canadiens. True leader, he has even chipped in with some points. I have no idea why he wasn't signed long term. The league is seeing how good he is. Value is going up. Markov's salary better not be the reason we cant afford him in the future.

Subban: C+ Take away the first 6-7 games and he gets a B-. PK is playing like he is terrified to make a mistake. When he plays that way, he makes mistakes. Different coach = better stats.

Weber: C Now before everyone goes nuts, let me explain. I do not believe he is best suited to be a dman. He is a turnover machine, even worse than PK. I would make him a winger/point on PP.

Diaz: C I am not really a fan of his at all. I don't know what the strength of his game is and think that he HAS to be the odd man out when the injured guys come back.

Spacek: B- He had played a little better before he got hurt. Biggest key? He is only playing 15+ minutes. Any more, his grade will go down.

Gill: B+ Skillsy is a playoffs guy. His style when games are more wide-open is not near as effective as his shutdown playoff style. He will be an A in the playoffs again I am sure.

Emelin: B Finally, a guy who brings a physical presence to the front of Carey Price's net. He is quickly getting used to the smaller ice surface, and is becoming a steady defensive dman.

Campoli/St. Denis: Incomplete. I don't see St. Denis getting any time with the big club when the injured players come back. Campoli just shouldn't be on the ice.

Markov: (Management: F) Until he proves that he can play and stay healthy this signing will continue to stink. I love the guy, but he played 52 games in 2 years and he has missed the first 24 this year. Hardly a guy I would pay that much money for, especially on a 3 year deal. I hope he gets in the lineup, plays well, and we win. I am just not convinced he will stay healthy and I wrote that in a blog in July.

Forwards:

Plekanec: B The points are there but something is missing in his game. His intensity, usually his strong point, seems to flicker at times. He has great shifts, then horrible ones. Injury?

Pacioretty: A Despite the possibility of a suspension, Max has been a bright spot up front. Drives the net, hits, and is shooting from anywhere and everywhere. Should be a 35 goal power forward. That's a rarity in Montreal.

Cole: B+ If he finished half of the chances he had in the last 10 games, he would have close to 15 goals. After just 1 assist in his first 6 games, he has put up 7-6-13 in his last 18 games. With all of the chances he creates, he should lead us in goals, easily. Best Free Agent signing we have had in a long long time.

Desharnais: C Severely miscast as an NHL center. Too small and not fast enough. His points come from the line he plays on, and he would be better suited to play the wing with Gionta perhaps.

Cammalleri: C- This could even be lower. The points gets him the grade. Effort, and will to win should give him a D or an F especially the last 5 games or so. Allergic to hits. We need him to be much better, and he has proven that he has it in him to be a force.....a positive one.

Moen: A-  I love what he has brought to the team, but I would not be surprised if he is used in a deal. He is tough and a leader. However, his value is at an all-time high. He isn't as good as his 8 goals show. I want him here, but if someone overvalued him, I would think about it.

Kostitsyn: B Was playing very well before the injury and has recently returned. Contract year, has a ton to prove. Hope he stays in Montreal, but like Moen, could be used as trade bait for a bigger fish.

Eller: B Lars brings so much more than points. I believe that we won the Halak trade anyway (Price gets to play, has been MUCH better than Halak since, and Eller is a stud in the making), and his two-way game continues to improve. Should be the center for Cole and Pacioretty.

Gomez: D- I could give him an F or even a G but I will give him a break. I wont even mention the salary (I guess I did, sorry), but when a top 2 center doesn't score a goal in over 40 games then he is terrible. When he doesn't hit, coughs the puck up, and has 4 assists in 13 games it makes it even worse. When he plays, the other forwards get less minutes, especially Eller. Just send him to the minors already.

Nokelainen: C He is hard to grade. 4th line journeyman center who doesn't provide offence, hit or fight is not my style of player, but he does win face offs and he is responsible in his own end: two things that we needed.

Darche: D- Gets powerplay time and still only has 1 point in 24 games? BRUTAL. Its not his fault, its Jacques Martin's man-crush he has. Darche is becoming my new Tom Pyatt, but his "frenchness" will keep him in the lineup even longer. Ugh.

Blunden: C A guy that took Ryan White's spot as a 4th line winger that hit, would stand up for teammates and was responsible in his own end? Obviously Martin would send a guy like that to the AHL. He should have stayed till White came back.

Palushaj: D- When I watch him, I wonder if he just got his first pair of skates as a birthday present. He has no balance, does not provide any offense, and is often out of position. Doesn't hit either. Why is Blunden in the AHL again?

Engqvist: F Has to be running out of chances in Montreal. Looked out of place and uninterested in his 8 game stint. With the Habs so desparate for a big centerman, he had the chance given to him on a silver platter. He failed.

Goalies:

Budaj: B+ Great numbers in limited action, and from what I hear/read is a super teammate and love the fact that the Habs signed him. He knows his role and that is key.

Price: A- Starting to roll, the MVP of this team by a country mile. Will be a Vezina threat for the next 10 years. Leader on and off the ice, taking over as the dependable leader that we hoped he would be.

Habs Hit Leaders - After 21 Games (9-9-3)

A major stat when building and evaluating a team, in my opinion, is the number of hits that your team throws. Below is the "Hit Race" for both forwards and defensemen - total hits (games played)

After game on November 21, 2011 - 21 games (9-9-3)

Forwards

Cole 58 (21)
Moen 40 (21)
Darche 26 (21)
Gionta 24 (21)
Pacioretty 23 (21)
Eller 20 (19)
Kostitsyn 18 (13)
Plekanec 16 (21)
Blunden 14 (8)
Nokelainen 14 (19)
Palushaj 9 (11)
Desharnais 9 (21)
Engqvist 5 (8)
Gomez 3 (12)
Cammalleri 2 (16)

Defensemen

Emelin 43 (13)
Gorges 27 (21)
Subban 21 (21)
Gill 16 (16)
Spacek 12 (12)
Diaz 12 (21)
Weber 11 (21)
St. Denis 1 (4)
Campoli 0 (1)

Newfs only: NHL Scoring Race - Dec 20, 2011

As a tribute to my fellow Newfoundlanders, I will be updating the NHL scoring race amongst the guys from The Rock!

 As of Dec 19th games:

POINTS:
1. Luke Adam - Buf - 20
2. Michael Ryder - Dal -  20
3. Ryane Clowe - SJ - 19
4. Teddy Purcell - TB - 17
5. Colin Greening - Ott - 16
6. Dan Cleary - Det - 16
7. Adam Pardy - Dal - 1

GOALS:
1. Michael Ryder - Dal - 11
2. Luke Adam - Buf - 10
3. Colin Greening - Ott - 8
4. Dan Cleary - Det - 8
5. Ryane Clowe - SJ - 7
6. Teddy Purcell - TB -  6
7. Adam Pardy - Dal - 0

Blog #22 - Looking back: Atlanta Braves Predictions

 Its been nearly 2 weeks since the Braves broke my heart. September was very difficult to watch as a life-long fan. The starting staff got hurt, McCann and Prado did not return to form after injuries, and this team forgot how to hit. Fredi Gonzalez showed his true colors as a manager (USELESS) and his disregard for the bullpen arms caught up with him during the final few weeks. On the bright side, the epic collapse cost Larry Parrish his job. Had we snuck into the playoffs he may have been extended. Another positive? We have learned that Frank Wren is THE BOSS. I am really enjoying his line of accountability for this ball club.

 Looking back to my Blog from July 10th, here is what I predicted for the second half. Obviously my end-game prediction was off, but I am not going to hide away from my predictions. @stevieincognito does not hide!

Stevieincognito's BOLD predictions:
1. Dan Uggla leads the team in HR with 30. He raises his average at end of year to .240
2. Brian McCann finishes with .320 25-90 and is in top 5 for MVP voting.
3. Jason Heyward gets red-hot in August and finishes with .265 20-70
4. Chipper Jones plays in 40 of the last 70. Finishes with .267 13-65
5. We make a trade for a veteran reliever, and a RH bat (gut is saying Willingham), Prado gets on a roll in August, & the lineup scores .75 more runs/game.
6. We add Moylan and Medlen to the pen. Proctor and Gearrin out. Kimbrel saves 46 games. Venters gets 8.
7. Hanson leads the team with 19 wins, Jurrjens gets 18.
8. Second half record: 41-29. Season record: 95-67. Wild card champs, NL champs, WS champs.

Ok, I was right about Uggla. He did lead the team in HR with 36 and did rise his ave to .233 - a major upgrade on the sub .200 ave he had at the time.

I was way off with McCann. As stated earlier, he never recovered from the oblique injury. He played everyday but he was horrible at the plate in the second half. Final stats: .270 24-71

Jason Heyward. Wow, where do I begin? He showed flashes for a game or two and i would feel better about my prediction. Then, he would go a week without hitting a ball hard. Final stats: .227 14-42

Chipper actually played more down the stretch than I thought he would, and exceeded my expectations for the season. He will be back, to further hamstring our chances. .275 18-70

We didn't trade for a vet reliever and it really really hurt us. We needed a guy to take some of the pressure off of the young arms at the end of the pen. The RH batter we brought in was Matt Diaz and his Rafael Belliard type power. However, we did acquire Michael Bourn and the offense did seem to have a bit more stability. However, Martin Prado didn't help much.

My finest prediction moment. Moylan and Medlin did return (Peter went out for the season shortly after). Proctor and Gearrin were out. Kimbrel saved EXACTLY 46 games, Venters saved 5.

Both Hanson and Jurrjens got hurt and finished with 11 and 13 wins respectively. Tim Hudson led the team with 16 victories.

Second half record: 35-35. Season Record: 89-73. 2nd in the East, Missed Playoffs.

Interesting note: The top 9 highest payroll teams are all out of the playoffs now. The Braves were 15th highest.

October 5, 2011 - Poll results: Montreal Canadiens 2011-12: Leading Scorer Predictions

Thanks to everyone for their responses. My pick is also below. I went with Pacioretty. If these predictions are any indication, we all believe that we are going to have an improved offense!

 Pacioretty 42 - @vivianmtl

Cammalleri 42 - @NastyKnate

Cammalleri 40 - @RichSavarie 

Cammalleri 38 - @SoPoHab  

Plekanec 35 - @stacy_814

Cammalleri 35 - @Habsfanontario 

Cammalleri 35 - @RogerHulan

Cammalleri 35 - @imisssaku  

Cammalleri 35 - @beakermania  

Cammalleri 35 - @habsfan6731

Gionta 35 - @RindaMichelle

Pacioretty 34 - @Stevieincognito 

Pacioretty 33 - @PaciorettyFans

Gomez 22 - @ReallySorce

 

Sept 23 - Poll results: Favorite Nintendo (NES) game ever?

In a SHOCKER, no game was selected twice. Here are the poll results, all with 1 vote each.

Ice Hockey, Super Mario, Super Mario 3, Dr. Mario, Castlevania, Contra, Blades of Steel, RBI Baseball, Tecmo Bowl, TMNT, Mega Man, Ninja Gaiden, BaseWars, ExciteBike, Duck Hunt

Thanks to all who sent in answers!

Inside the mind of Incognito (Blog # 21)

Sometimes I like to sit around and daydream. I often think about cool jobs that I could have. Some days, I am the starting centerfielder or closer for the Atlanta Braves. A Chippendale’s dancer or team mascot would be sweet. Other days I am James Bond, not in the movies, but in real life. However, of all the awesome scenarios that I think of, the one that brings me the most excitement is when I think about being an action movie/television star.

The possibilities are truly endless.  I could be the next Arnold, starring in recreations of The Predator or perhaps Commando. I could star in The Expendables 2. How cool would that be? Stallone, Li, Statham, Van Damme, Norris, Crews, Willis, INCOGNITO. I can visualize the trailers now. Maybe I could become the new Burt Reynolds, drive a Dodge Challenger and star in Smokey and The Bandit 3. I have the chest hair, and sexy facial hair already so why not? I could make a REAL version of Mission Impossible. Start the movie by killing off Tom Cruise and actually telling an interesting story that fans of the show would actually want to watch. I could star with Will Ferrell in Old School 2 or maybe a baseball movie, or even a movie where we both understand and can talk with cats.  Get your popcorn ready folks!

My real passion though would be to star in a TV series like Hawaii Five-0.  I would be McGarrett, and Uggla would be Danno. I would also love to play a role in Human Target if it was still around. Perhaps I could get MacGyver back on the air. I can make a pistol out of elastic, a push pin and a stick of gum. I could also star in remakes of Knight Rider/Air Wolfe/A-Team/Matlock. Look at it this way: Republic of Doyle is one of the great TV shows on the air today, and that has a Newfoundlander as the lead role, so we know that society is ready for all of this action!

Oh well. I don’t think that I will actually be any of these things but I am happy that I have such a ridiculous imagination. I have no idea where it comes from, but it makes life interesting to be sure.