April 23, 2009

Being the bigger person ...

As a fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs, a sad excuse of a hockey club that hasn't qualified for the playoffs since 2004, perhaps it's time I stopped reveling in the failures of teams like the Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators.

I'm older now. Closer to 30 than I am to 20. Perhaps it's time I grew up a little bit more, and stopped dabbling in the schadenfreude trade.

...

Naw, who am I kidding?



Fail.

The Price is wrong. So, so, so wrong.

My favourite quip from last night, however, would have to be "Jesus, Price!" I must admit, it has been most enjoyable watching young Carey, and the Habs, fall from grace. Especially Carey. What a train wreck. A most beautiful train wreck.



One-punch knockout.

Mike Komisarek, ahem, All-Star Mike Komisarek, finally got what was coming to him.

Milan Lucic, I salute you, good sir. Boston Bruins fans are lucky to have you. And Team Canada will be lucky to have you on its side in Vancouver next year.

It's true; I have Lucic Lust (h/t on the most apt terminology to Wrap Around Curl)



The fat lady has sung.

It's going to one helluva interesting summer in Montreal. Gainey's done. Koivu, Kovalev, Komisarek, Tanguay, Lang, Schneider and, most importantly, Brisebois are all unrestricted free agents. And, I don't know about you, but I'd much rather have Georges Laraque, and his zero goals, signed through until 2011 at $1.5 million/season than, say, a guy like Mikhail Grabovski. (Score one for Cliff Fletcher.)

Thanks to Luke Schenn, Mickey Grabs, and another top-ten draft pick this summer, the future is bright in Toronto. The same can most certainly not be said about Montreal. And, well, that kind of puts a spring in my step.

Oh, and I almost forgot: Happy 100th birthday, les Glorieux. Au revoir ...

UPDATE: A poem from the Habs' eulogy, written by the fine folks at the one and only Pension Plan Puppets:

Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
The Leafs didn't win a playoff game,
But neither did you.

13 comments:

kushnir said...

My Next Door Neighbour is a die hard habs fan from quebec.

there have been brooms all over my front lawn and hanging from my windows for about 10 hours now...

bkblades said...

Yes, I enjoyed the "Jesus, Price!" comment myself, too. Really captured his season and the Habs in two words or less.

JaredFromLondon said...

teehee

Deeisbackandinfulleffect...oh yeah and i made out with a guy once said...

I bet neel that no Beantown team would win a championship this year, so please say a prayer for me next time you are..ummm..praying.

If i win, i get his dog, if he wins, he gets tiff.

Avery was awesome last night, with 3 mins left, he decides to "ro" the caps player in the neck. So glad he's back in NYC.

Anonymous said...

Yep, that's some fine, fine hatin' there, boy.

Scott

Grrrreg said...

I'm not gonna come up with a lame come back about the Leafs, it's not worth it, and as much as it pains me, the Habs perfectly deserve to be ridiculed for the disastrous end of their disastrous season. But could we please stop with the "Price is right/wrong" puns? Seriously, it's getting old. "Jesus, Price!" is pretty good though... :)

Anonymous said...

Really?!? A leaf fan making fun of Habs and Sens? Really? you want go down that road, my friend? Grabovski is your future? LOL! 1967 all the way to 2067!!!!

Navin Vaswani (@eyebleaf) said...

BK: "Jesus, Price!" It's perfect, for real.

Jared: I was teehee-ing my ass off last night.

DeeIsBack: For Tiff's sake, I'm going to pray. Lord knows Boston, and Neel, doesn't need another God damn championship. And Avery is the king of douchebaggery. Tortorella is going to kill him. Soon.

Scott: Thanks, man. I thought so, too. I mean, I could have been a lot harsher, but I think the point comes across.

Greg: Deal. No more "Price is wrong" jokes. But I'm glad you can admit that "Jesus, Price!" is actually pretty good. You're one of the few smart Habs fans around, clearly.

Anon: Bring the heat, buddy. You're damned right this Leafs fan is making fun of the Habs and Sens. And Grabs is a lot better than any of the young "talent" over in Montreal. How's Higgins working out? And Latendresse? Yeah, they're both pretty brutal. 1967 for life.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, I forgot about your great future of Pogge in Goal, Stajan at C, Grabs and Jeremy Williams on the wings,Finger and Frogren on D. Stanley's coming to TO, Baby!!!

To be serious for a sec. Schenn is a solid D man. Probably will be better than any young D man Habs or Sens have right now. But you don't have a goaltender for the future and you're thin up front.
Sens will bounce back next year and be a solid team. They now have a decent coach. While the Habs have a ton of UFA's, that's not a bad thing. They way they played this year, you want the ability to change your roster. In the Cap era, the most valuable commodity is cap space which both the Habs and Leafs have. We'll see if Burke the Magic Man can turn this around quickly. I don't think most Leaf fans want to wait 3-5 years.
In conclusion, I leave you with two things Leaf fans hate to hear. 24 Cups and 1967!! LOL!!!!

P.S. I like the rest of your teams.

Navin Vaswani (@eyebleaf) said...

Anon: I'll be the first to admit that the Leafs need a goalie. The team needs a goalie like a crack-head needs a hit. And I'm not sure Pogge is the answer. We'll find out. He's doing well in the AHL playoffs right now.

As for Stajan, he's a good third-line centre. The future? Hardly. But he did have 55 points. That would have, what, led the Habs in scoring? So, don't take shots at Matty! The Leafs also have John Mitchell, who showed a lot of promise this season, and Jiri Tlusty, arguably the best player in the AHL right now.

I have a feeling Toronto will draft a forward to shore up the top two lines. Plus, we did pick up all these collegiate cats.

I'd disagree. As Leafs fans, we're willing to wait 3-5 years. Hell, we fans have been waiting since 1967, so what's a few more years in the grand scheme of things?

I think of all the three teams (Leafs, Sens and Habs), the Leafs are in the best shape right now. Ottawa's got a ton of money tied it up in a few players, the Habs are facing way too much uncertainty, while the Leafs have some good young players, another top-10 pick in the draft, and a ton of money to spend.

And, honestly, I've heard "24 Cups and 1967" so many times that I've become immune to it. It is what it is.

And, yes, go Jays.

Cheers. Thanks for stopping by and thanks for the comments. The ribbing is all in good fun.

Drew said...

Chagrined as I might be, it is IMPOSSIBLE not to like Milan Lucic. Impossible, he's amazing.

Navin Vaswani (@eyebleaf) said...

You are wise, Drew.

looshV said...

What revelry is had when the Jays are winning and the Habs are losing. With the fans booing the American national anthem, giving Carey Price the bronx cheer and a GM scrambling to save his life who has managed to have an incredible 15 free agents; one can see why impending UFA's will surely be flocking at the chance to play for the bleue, blanc et rouge. HA! Gainey is ultimately the person solely responsible for the death spiral that is Montreal.
And Ya, GO JAYS FUCK YA GO!