Sam Pollock, 1925-2007, RIP

On August 15, 2007, a man that many in the world of hockey remember as one of the greatest hockey minds in NHL history, died at the age of 81. Sam Pollock, was that man. A legend in the lore of the Montreal Canadiens, he started working for the Habs in 1947 as a scout, working his way up the ranks to become the club's GM & vice-president. During his time with the Canadiens' organization, the Habs managed to win 9 Stanley Cups. With Pollock at the helm as the GM, he managed to engineer many wise trades and drafts, landing Hall of Fame players like Ken Dryden, Guy Lafleur, Steve Shutt, Larry Robinson. In 1971, he hired a bright young coach by the name of Scotty Bowman away from the St. Louis Blues. Bowman went on to become the winningest coach in NHL history, and added 5 Stanley Cups in 9 years with Montreal

It truly is a sad day for the Pollock family and friends. Our prayers should be with them.

Habs Sign Brisebois?! It's Deja-Vu All Over Again!

I don't buy for one stinking minute that the Montreal Canadiens' defensive depth is so weak that GM Bob Gainey felt it would be an improvement to sign Patrice Brisebois. For any length of time Brisebois is in the lineup, he's blocking the progress of any Habs farmhand / prospect / 7th or 8th defenceman on the team. That by itself is detrimental enough for the Habs. When you compound it with all the bad plays he will make, and I guarantee they will happen in 2007-08, this signing is a step or two backwards for the Canadiens organization.

I don't see Brisebois as being a good influence on any of the younger players, which is a typical role for an older veteran brought in to any NHL team. The thought of Brisebois being bumped up during a game due to an injury or a long penalty is frightening enough. This signing clearly smacks of nepotism based on Carbonneau & Muller's past playing relationship with Breezy. If Carbo thought he was frustrated with the likes of Samsonov & Kovalev last season, he ain't seen nothing yet.

Mighty Duck Penner Flies North to Edmonton

Dustin Penner must be a happy camper today, given that Anaheim chose not to match the Edmonton offer sheet of a 5 year, $21.25 million dollar contract. Actually, Penner likely started down the road to ecstasy 7 days ago, when he signed the offer sheet. The 7 day wait is a league rule, to allow the original team the chance to match the offer. For Penner, he was going to get a big raise, it was just a matter of whether his home would stay in sunny California, or move to northern Alberta.

In return for Edmonton signing Penner, Anaheim will receive the Oiler's own 1st, 2nd and 3rd round draft picks from the upcoming 2008 draft. I'll give some credit to Edmonton GM Kevin Lowe for making such a gutsy move, especially since Buffalo thwarted his earlier offer sheet move to try and sign RFA Tomas Vanek.

There is a chance that this Penner move will backfire on Edmonton, making him the biggest free agent albatross, since...hmm, Bobby Holik? Penner was the Anaheim player most often benched last season. It's no secret that head coach Randy Carlyle was not impressed with Penner at times, due to his indifference / inconsistency. It's going to be a big test for Penner to rise to the level of expectations of Oilers' fans, duhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gife to the relatively big salary. I'm not saying he won't do it, but at this point I'd say it's a 50-50 gamble that he sinks or swims in Edmonton.


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