Hockey card of the day - 1990-91 Upper Deck #526 Pavel Bure RC

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Source : Beckett.com

      Item Details

• Set: 1990-91 Upper Deck
• Player: Bure, Pavel
• Sport: Hockey
• Team: Vancouver Canucks
• Attributes: RC
• Card Number: #526
• Manufacturer: Upper Deck Co.
• Brand: Upper Deck

Hockey card of the day : 1994-95 Select #165 Jarome Iginla RC #card #hockey #trade #nhl

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Source : Beckett.com

      Item Details

• Set: 1994-95 Select
• Player: Iginla, Jarome
• Sport: Hockey
• Attributes: RC
• Card Number: #165
• Manufacturer: Pinnacle/Score
• Brand: Select

Habs : Around the world

Source : canadiens.nhl.com



After spending a week running the Canadiens development camp, Martin Lapointe’s real season is about to begin.

Nearly 60 hockey prospects descended on the Bell Sports Complex in Brossard in the past week, all with the shared goal of getting themselves noticed. For some, the event marked their first real contact with the Canadiens organization, a sneak peek at their potential future stomping grounds and the staff they could one day be working with. For others, despite their young age, it was far from their first rodeo with regards to Habs development camps. Even for those who had run the gauntlet before, the latest incarnation of the camp offered some key differences in structure and organization – all designed to help give every player involved the chance to get the most out of their continued development.

“This year, our goal was to organize only one single camp. We wanted to avoid holding a first one with our prospects at the beginning of the summer and then another after the draft, as used to be the case. Marc [Bergevin] and I worked together in Chicago and we tried to base what we’re doing here on that model in certain ways,” explained Lapointe, who had been with the Blackhawks staff since 2009 before being hired by the Habs in 2011. “But the way we’re doing things now involves organizing our days a little differently. In addition to the training sessions and scrimmages, we’re giving these young guys the chance to attend seminars with sports psychologists, nutritionists and more.

“Obviously it’s a lot of information to absorb in a pretty short period of time, but it’s a process we’re trying to lead our prospects through,” continued Lapointe. “The later we get in the week, the more intense the on-ice sessions become as we try to put these players in specific game situations during practice to help us gauge how they’ll handle themselves.”

As much as they can accomplish at development camp, five days is far from sufficient when it comes to truly getting to know the strengths and weaknesses of every last one of the prospects on hand. It’s for that reason that when the camp finally draws to a close in Montreal, the Canadiens director of player development hits the road, travelling to the four corners of North America and even crossing the pond to Europe to continue learning about his charges. Getting the chance to see these young players in their own environment, suiting up as members of their actual teams, offers not only the opportunity to view them from a very different angle as players, but also to take the time to interact with them and get to know them as people.

“My job will be to go and see all the players that have been drafted by the Canadiens, whether in Junior, at the university level, or over in Europe,” said Lapointe, who will also be spending a week in Hamilton to observe the Bulldogs. “This year, I’m going to start filming them with my iPad so that directly after a game I can go speak with them and we can go over some sequences together. It’ll make life a lot easier since I won’t have to wait to get a DVD from the coaching staff.

“I’ll also be speaking with their coaches to try and learn as much as I can about the players – things like how they get along with their teammates and how they carry themselves in a team atmosphere,” he added. “It’s even more important to do that with the guys we just drafted since I don’t know them as well yet.”

All these elements help surround Canadiens prospects like never before, allowing the work of Lapointe and his team to be of huge use to the organization when the time comes to weigh in on the progress of the players. While such practices are now becoming the standard among NHL franchises in dealing with up-and-coming players, that certainly hasn’t always been the case.

Having personally already experienced the ups and downs that come for a young player with his sights set on an career at hockey’s highest level, the 39-year-old former NHL forward is quick to admit how much he would have benefited from a similar setup as a teen taking his first strides in the QMJHL.

“When I was coming up, there wasn’t anything close to this when it came to dealing with young players and prospects. On top of that, in those days, I didn’t speak English either and when I arrived in the United States I was tossed into a world where I didn’t know anyone. It was definitely tough to integrate myself into the rest of the group,” admitted Lapointe, the Detroit Red Wings’ first round selection at the 1991 NHL Entry Draft. “It’s obviously a great feeling for a young player to see that the team that drafted you is taking an active interest in you and your development. It’s important mentally because should they ever start going through any tough moments in their careers, we can at least be there to help boost their morale and give them some tips and pointers that can help them out.”

Habs : Final impressions

Source : canadiens.nhl.com

Prospects and invitees closed out the Canadiens’ annual development camp on Sunday with a fast-paced scrimmage that saw Team Red register a 6-3 victory over Team White at the Bell Sports Complex.

Ben Duffy, who signed a tryout contract with the Habs in late June after leading the QMJHL in scoring during the 2012-13 season with the Prince Edward Island Rocket, scored three goals for Team Red in the win.

“It was a good team effort. Playing with [Sebastian] Collberg and [Erik] Nystrom, they made it pretty easy for me to play my game,” praised the Lower Sackville, NS native, who capped his Junior career with 39 goals and 110 points in 68 games. “I’m here to be a skill player. That’s what I do. Just being on a tryout basis, I knew I had to step up a little more and I think I’ve done that. I think I’ve stepped up offensively and showed what I can do.”

The all-time leading scorer in Rocket history, Duffy believes he made significant progress over the course of his first professional camp experience, and he was looking to close it out on a high note.

“I started off a bit slow. It was my first camp, just trying to adjust and get used to everything. As I got comfortable in my game, I started to hit my stride and I played well,” explained the 21-year-old centerman, who went undrafted and has committed to play for the University of New Brunswick come September to further his development. “I thought I might get a few opportunities [to be drafted], but I think it shows a lot about my character to kind of bounce back from stuff like that and take advantage of the opportunities that I do get.”

Like Duffy, goaltender Zachary Fucale is adamant that he leaves the Canadiens' development camp with a wealth of new information that will prove useful going forward.

“I could name a lot of things [that I’ll take way]. Just the way it works around here is a big thing. The philosophy of the Montreal Canadiens, and playing with guys who are much older, 22 and 23-year-old pro guys. So, it’s different and it’s fun. I think everyone enjoyed this whole week for sure,” mentioned the No. 36 overall selection in 2013, who turned aside 17 of the 20 shots he faced for Team Red. “We’re going to get back to fundamentals and work on little things and make sure we arrive ready in all aspects of the game for September’s [rookie] camp.”

That sentiment was echoed by Michael McCarron, the Canadiens’ first-round selection, 25th overall at the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.

“It’s given me a lot of work that needs to be done to get up and play here,” admitted McCarron, who played alongside Sven Andrighetto and Jeremy Gregoire for Team White. “I had a pretty good weekend here. I just need to work on a few things, like my consistency and my quickness and I feel like I’m right there. So, just a little more work needs to be done and I feel like I’ll get here.”
Nystrom, Zach Hall and Louis Leblanc also tallied for Team Red, who outshot their opponents 38-28. Maxime Gravel, Patrick Holland and Darren Dietz scored for Team White.

Habs : A good soldier

Source : Canadiens.nhl.com

Yannick Weber may have seen limited action for the Canadiens in 2012-13, but at 24 years of age, the Swiss star isn’t prepared to write it off as a lost season.

Having suited up for just six games during the lockout-shortened campaign, the smooth-skating rearguard believes that taking a glass-half full approach to his situation will be beneficial for his career in the long-run.

“It’s not [an] ideal [scenario]. Definitely not,” stated Weber, who has played 115 games since making his NHL debut with the Habs in 2008-09. “I’m still young. I’ve still got a lot to learn, so this past season was more mentally [tough] than it was on the ice. Maybe in a few years I’ll see that it was good to go through a season like this; that it might have been mentally beneficial for me.”


Making 54 fewer appearances this year than he did in 2011-12, however, was at times frustrating for the 2010 Olympian, who spent the better part of the 48-game schedule watching from the pressbox. After finishing with the third-highest point total among Canadiens defensemen a year ago, Weber registered two assists and a minus-1 differential while logging 13:45 of ice time per game in just a half-dozen appearances for Michel Therrien’s squad.

“It certainly wasn’t easy. It was a bit of a bizarre season, too, with the lockout,” confided Weber, who missed eight games after suffering a knee injury on March 7 in Carolina. “We had eight defensemen on the team who were healthy [for the better part of the year]. We had a ton of wins to start the season, so it was really hard at the start to have a chance to play. We didn’t have a chance to have a real training camp and there were no exhibition games, so it was hard to have a real opportunity to be in the top six. For me, it was all about having a lot of patience, waiting for my chance, working hard and staying positive.”

That was easier said than done for Weber, who saw the likes of rookies Jarred Tinordi, Greg Pateryn and Nathan Beaulieu called up from Hamilton and given breaks ahead of him on the Canadiens’ back end. Nevertheless, the young veteran is quick to point out that being passed over for less-seasoned defensemen shouldn’t be interpreted as a lack of faith in his abilities.

“I’ve had good discussions with Marc [Bergevin] and Michel [Therrien]. They both said that they were proud of me, that I’ve worked hard and was a professional during the season,” shared Weber, who Therrien inserted in the lineup on four occasions down the stretch in late April. “They said that they know I’m capable of playing here and that I’m an NHL defenseman. They said they still have a lot of confidence in me. It was good to have a discussion like that. Now, I’ll go into the summer and work hard for next season.

“Being a healthy scratch again and again isn’t easy,” continued the former AHL standout, who considered the possibility of heading to Hamilton for conditioning purposes, but ultimately decided against it. “But all season long, the coaches and my teammates all supported me and they were good with me. It’s good to know they’re happy to have me here.”

Already focusing on the start of a full-length NHL season next fall, the pending restricted free agent is hoping not to be a casualty of the numbers game once again. Looking to force his coach and general manager’s hands when camp rolls around this year, Weber has all the motivation he needs to make the most of his offseason workouts and return to Montreal in fine form.

“For everyone, it’s the same thing. It’s summertime and no one will be playing for four months. In September, when training camp starts, it’s the same thing for everyone,” affirmed Weber on the subject of having an opportunity to compete for a spot on the Habs blue line on an even playing field.

“I’ll come here ready, and it will be a little different than [this year] because we’ll have exhibition games and a proper training camp. I will have a different opportunity than this past season.”

Canadiens : Le CH et pâques...

Flames deal greatest legend in franchise history to Penguins

Source : Montrealgazette.com

He arrived here in the spring of ‘96 for two playoff games, a 19-year-old, largely-unknown, rawboned kid with a weirdly square helmet, a penchant for oversleeping and a name that went on forever (Jarome Arthur-Leigh Adekunle Tig Junior Elvis Iginla). He inherited Jim Peplinski’s old No. 24, if none of the facewashing acumen, and was entrusted with the daunting task of making fans forget an all-time goal-scoring maestro, Joe Nieuwendyk.

That kid scored 21 his first full season. Only 13 in his second.

Fifteen years later, he departs as the most luminous legend this town has yet seen.

No, Jarome Iginla didn’t win a Stanley Cup here, despite a desperate desire. But he has nothing to prove, no more to give, nowhere to lead a franchise that long ago lost its way and has too late at last acknowledged that it must grope frantically for a new direction.

It was time. Past time, actually.

We knew.

He did, too.

And from the flat, drained look of him following the 2-0 loss Tuesday in Chicago -- exhausted by the speculation, torn by emotion and loyalty -- this couldn’t have happened soon enough. At least the
Flames didn’t dither and let this play out all the way until the April 3rd deadline.
Word broke out of Boston pre-puck-drop at the Scotiabank Saddledome that it was a done deal -- a first-round pick (conditional on Iginla's re-signing in Beantown), defensive prospect Matthew Bartkowski and Providence Bruins’centre Alexander Khokhlachev in exchange for future Hall of Famer. To those locals still living in the rosy hue of 2004, steeped in the lore and in nostalgia, it might not seem enough but for a 35-year-old rental that’s more return than many felt would be coming back this way.

When it turned out to be Pittsburgh, for a pair of forwards, Yale's Kenneth Agostino and St. Cloud State's Ben Hanowski, and a first-round pick.

How well either of the U.S. college prospects and the pick turn out is, naturally, anyone’s guess. Identifying kids and projecting their upside always a crapshoot. But no one could’ve forseen that Joe Nieuwendyk would eclipse Kent Nilsson and Iginla would in turn eclipse Nieuwendyk when those deals were controversially struck, either.

Only time can make those determinations.

When news filtered out that Iginla was to be a healthy scratch against the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday, no one was buying that "protecting the asset" rhetoric. Something was up.

The destination turned out to be a surprise.

In leaving, Iginla joins a select group of players who’ve graced the jersey - Kent Nilsson, Lanny McDonald, Al MacInnis, Mike Vernon, Theo Fleury - that transcend it.

With Iginla, as with all lasting heroes, the influence went far beyond the 525 goals and 1,095 points. He became a source of pride to this community. A double Olympic gold medalist. An All Star. A
Maurice Richard and Art Ross Trophy winner. Respected and revered league-wide.

Not the community presence McDonald was, maybe. Not the feisty bantamweight underdog to make an emotional investment in, as was Fleury. Not the sublime talent of Nilsson, certainly. He never won a Conn Smythe, as MacInnis did, or was a championship difference-maker, like Doug Gilmour.

But the entirety of the package, the unassuming person who at least outwardly never seemed to change as the millions mounted, the commanding power forward who was indisputably the game’s best player for a spell, the guy who’d still stoop to offering to buy a weasly media mutt a cafe latte at Starbucks rather than flee at the sight of him, made him singular, unique. Add those franchise-busting numbers and his is a legacy that’s impossible to top.

For everyone, including those of us who’ve covered his exploits from the beginning, from the moment he ventured down from his mom’s house in St. Albert, it’s a vastly different Calgary Flames’ landscape today. But that’s change, and change - even for an organization as resistant to it as this one
- is inevitable.

With the hard one out of the way, more deals may be in the offing. Jay Boumeester, perhaps? The first, and most important, domino has fallen,

Iginla exited the building Wednesday night. Reportedly said his goodbyes to his peers and left. It would’ve been a gong show had he hung around, he knew, and his teammates, still holding out faint playoff hopes, had a game to try and win.

So everyone expects him to say a proper goodbye, 10:30 a.m. today.

He did well by Calgary. Calgary did well by him. They part on the best of terms. Those are the kinds of relationships you remember.

An era has ended. The scoreboard Iggy Dance is now but a kitschy memory. His iconic No 12 jersey will undoubtedly one day hang up in the rafters of a building he dominated for the better part of two decades in a city that embraced him like no one else.

Jarome Iginla heads to Pittsburgh with the hopes and dreams of that city stuffed somewhere in his checked luggage.

There’s nothing anyone in this town would savour more than seeing him at long last hoist that jug-eared silver chalice aloft in early June. If only to make up for the lingering pain of 2004.

Calgarians will have to live vicariously through him and his exploits this spring. At least now they have a playoff team to cheer for.

After all, it’s the closest anyone around here will get to a Stanley Cup for a long, long time.

Habs : Galchenyuk not going anywhere

Source : montrealgazette.com

The Buffalo Sabres have sent Mikhail Grigorenko back to the Quebec Remparts.

And a costly turnover against the Canadiens may have hastened the New Jersey Devils’ decision to return Stefan Matteau to the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada.

But Canadiens coach Michel Therrien said Alex Galchenyuk is staying in Montreal even if he is fighting his way through an offensive slump.

Therrien said the key for youngsters Galchenyuk and Brendan Gallagher is the ability to play at least 12 productive minutes a game and they have done that. And, while Galchenyuk has only one assist in his last 10 games, Therrien is happy with his progress. He’s averaged 12:39 of ice time and has three goals and 10 assists.

“He’s playing a mature game,” Therrien said after the Canadiens practised in preparation for

Tuesday’s visit from the Buffalo Sabres (7:30 p.m., TSN, RDS, TSN-690 Radio) . “Sometimes he’ll miss a few things, but we’ll sit down with him and show him. He’s part of every power-play meeting and every penalty-kill meeting. We know he’s going to be there and he’s going to be ready.”

Therrien said the 19-year-old is still adjusting to the jump from junior.

“He has a tendency to handle the puck too much and try to make the good play,” said Therrien. “In the NHL, the play is so tight and the opening is so small and you have to see it. You always have to do the percentage play. It’s part of the learning process. You have to accept what the other team is going to give you. When there’s time, you have to make the play and where there isn’t time, you can’t force the play.”

Galchenyuk was a scoring machine with the Sarnia Sting in the Ontario Hockey League but said he wasn’t overly concerned about the drop in production.

“I’ve never played in the NHL before,” he replied when asked about the slump. “I’m getting chances and sometimes it works and it sometimes it doesn’t. But I’m working hard on both ends of the ice and I know the points will come. You always want to score goals and have assists and things like that, but the team is winning and my job and my line’s job is to ensure that the goalie isn’t scored on.”
Galchenyuk, who is playing with Lars Eller and Gabriel Dumont, has been doing a good job on that front. He has a plus/minus rating of plus-8, the third-best on the team after the injured Brandon Prust (plus-13) and Gallagher (plus-9).

“I feel that I’m better in our zone and I’m learning every game,” said Galchenyuk. “It’s getting tougher with the schedule, but I feel I’m doing pretty good.”
As for that slump, he might want to talk to Colby Armstrong, who scored his first goal of the season in Saturday’s 2-1 win in New Jersey.

“It was a relief,” said Armstrong. “New Jersey plays a tough game and it was good to chip in in a tight game like that. I was getting chances, especially the last five or six games and I wasn’t sure whether to snap or laugh. You keep chipping away and it’s going to come. I’ve been in that position before but, obviously, this is the longest I’ve ever gone.”

The Canadiens are in the thick of a three-way battle with Pittsburgh and Boston for the top spot in the Eastern Conference. On paper, this is an easy week with two home games against the Sabres sandwiched around a trip to Long Island. The Sabres and Islanders are out of the playoffs, but captain Brian Gionta noted that each team has a win over Montreal this season.

“You have look at this as two games against desperate teams,” said Gionta. “There’s so much parity in this league that you can’t take anything for granted.”

There was good news on the medical front, starting with the confirmation that Michael Ryder will return to the lineup after missing one game with an undisclosed injury. He practised Monday on a line with Gionta and Tomas Plekanec.

Rene Bourque (concussion), Brandon Prust (shoulder) and Yannick Weber (lower body) all skated Monday with strength and conditioning coach Pierre Allard.
“They’re progressing and that’s good news,” Therrien said of the trio. Ditto for defenceman Raphael Diaz (concussion) who is working out in the gym while awaiting clearance to skate.

Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/sports/Hickey+Galchenyuk+going+anywhere/8116611/story.html#ixzz2NyOnojw7

À Montréal pour y rester

Source : Rds.ca

La question était sur toutes les lèvres, à savoir ce qu'il adviendrait d'Alex Galchenyuk pour le reste de la saison, et le Canadien de Montréal a finalement confirmé sur son compte Twitter que l'attaquant recrue poursuivrait son cheminement dans le giron de l'équipe, à l'instar de son coéquipier Brendan Gallagher.

Le directeur général de l'organisation Marc Bergevin et l'entraîneur-chef Michel Therrien les ont avisé de la bonne nouvelle lundi matin.

Gallagher a contribué au tout premier but en carrière de Galchenyuk le 22 janvier dernier face aux Panthers de la Floride et ce dernier lui a rendu la pareille dimanche, le 27 janvier, contre les Devils du New Jersey.

Canadien montreal : Le CH et pâques...