Uncle Cliffy Grabs ... Well, Grabs, Actually.

Is this what Bob gave up in order to have Mats Sundin hem and haw for the next two months? TSN is reporting that our once-upon-a-time future number 2 centre Mikhail "Grabs" Grabovski has been dealt to the Leafs for prospect Greg Pateryn and a second round pick in 2010.

What do I think? We had high hopes for Grabs last year, and some had him penciled in as Kovy's centreman. He didn't really show a lot early season, and got sent down. He then became everyone's favourite trading chip in deals for Marian Hossa, Mats Sundin, Alex Ovechkin, Ilya Kovalchuk ... you name it, Grabs (and Ryder, Halak, O'Byrne and a pick) were traded for it. Still, we liked Grabs until he went all petulant child and refused to travel with the team after being scratched. Personally, that's the moment I turned on him like a viper. Arrogant little fuck.

With Pleks installed on the first line, Saku on the second, and a host of other prospects in the pipeline, RFA Grabs was probably out the door sooner or later. Bob and Timmins got themselves a useful pick and another high school defenseman from the States. The Leafs got a speedy, offensively gifted prospect, who I hope turns into the next Lonny Bohonos or Luca Cereda. See, sometimes in a trade you wish the guy leaving well ... but Grabs sulked and went against the family. That's usually enough to earn my scorn, but now he's a Leaf too, so fuck him.

Grabs grabs his first (groan...): Habs 6, Broooooons 1

Yours truly was delighted to attend the game last night in the first use of his 1/4 of a pair of season tickets. So an actual first hand account follows. If only I wasn't drunk on crappy Molson products costing $9.50, I might have remembered something.

Plan the parade - well, 6 goals is a miracle. And it was balanced scoring - all four lines chipped in. As HF29 boss Warren noted, the new acquisitions and balanced scoring are making up for the loss of Souray, even on the PP. Grabovski gets his first NHL goal, Bégin gets his first of the year, and the usual suspects (Kovy, Higgins, Markov) were in on the act. Even Breezer scored, and I cheered. Please refer to my note about drunkenness above.

On the defensive front, Huet was stellar as usual. Really kept us in it in the first and made some key saves when the game was still close. And The Hamr was really impressive in person. You only appreciate his play when you can watch the whole ice and see him be in the right position all the time - TV cameras don't show that.

The sky is falling - we needed a power play in the last 3 minutes just to get to 20 shots for the game. We were blessed by a crappy performance from Manny Fernandez and Zdeno Chara doing his best Breezer impression (h/t msevigny in the comments last night). The original Breezer, even while scoring, sucked, with two glaring giveaways. And sing with me - "where have you gone, Michael Ryder, Habs nation turns its lonely eyes to you, woo woo woo.."

Chez Parée bound? There may not be enough dancers to accommodate all the Habs who get in. Ryder is the designated driver waiting in the car.

9 lap dances out of 10. The lack of shots and help from crappy Bruins took a little away from this one.

Next evil foe - the Carolina Hurricanes Friday night. How many times do we have to play these guys???

Habs Chop Off Some Parts

So the Habs made a huge round of cuts today before they head up to the glory that is the St Jovite - Mont Tremblant region with its many bars and strip clubs that have their own rules.

Those who have been unceremoniously dumped like a 20 dollar hooker include Yann Danis, Sergei Tits, HF29 favourite Matt D'Agostini, Corey Locke, Jonathan Ferland, J-P Coté (he's still around???), and Duncan Milroy. Danis, Locke and Milroy all have to clear waivers before going to Steeltown. We're losing at least one of them.

There are 27 players left. Survivors of today's cuts include youngsters Kyle Chipchura, Ryan O'Byrne, and Mikhail Grabovski. I will drop dead if Chips or O'Byrne actually make the big club. They are anglo rookies! It can't happen!