Fagstein » Canadiens

CJAD loses Habs broadcasts to Team 990

Fagstein — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 23:16:31 +0000

It was the worst-kept secret in the radio industry: Bell-owned Team 990 has secured the English-language radio broadcast rights to Canadiens games for the next seven seasons.

No financial details have been announced for the deal, but it's clear that the station is putting some serious dough into this contract, because losing out again to Astral-owned CJAD was simply not an option. You can't have an all-sports radio station that doesn't carry broadcasts of the most popular sports team.

No announcement has been made about the play-by-play team yet, most likely because one hasn't been decided. Still, rumours are spreading wildly, everything from Shaun Starr and Elliott Price to having the CJAD team move over to using the TSN play-by-play to bringing back Dick Irvin and the reanimated corpse of Danny Gallivan.

Okay, I made that last one up.

Convergence!

Though it's great news that this little station that could has scored this contract, it's a bit worrisome for critics of Canada's media oligopolies. When Mike Boone wrote about the deal a couple of weeks ago, he said it was helped significantly by a deal Bell signed for regional English-language TV rights on TSN. Bell's business agreements with the Canadiens are many (though Bell itself does not own the team), from the naming rights to its arena and practice facility to its French-language TV rights to mobile rights to broadcasts.

This deal takes Bell one step further toward doing with the Canadiens what Quebecor wants to do with a Quebec City hockey team and what Rogers wants to do with most of the professional sports coming out of Toronto.

There's also, as one Team 990 personality told me during their recent 10-year anniversary party, the problem that the station might be restricted a bit in what it can say about the team. Doing impressions of Jacques Martin might not fly so well when you're the official broadcaster.

What about CJAD?

Though it certainly can deal with not having the Canadiens easier than Team 990 did, CJAD is still going to have to find a way to fill hundreds of broadcast hours every season. And they're going to have to deal with the loss of advertising that comes with losing such a big audience-getter. There's no word yet on what they're planning to do.

There's a story in The Gazette and some discussion in the Radio in Montreal group.

UPDATE: Some comments from the peanut gallery on Hockey Inside/Out.

Koivu fan #1

Fagstein — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 19:28:02 +0000

I've never been too crazy about people who carry giant signs into sporting events, particularly those whoring themselves out to the television rights-holders by trying to get the initials "TSN" or "RDS" or "NBC" into a "go team" message.

But let's give a nod to the anonymous front-row fan holding the "Koivu #1" sign, who combined good placement with perfect timing and is seeing that sign everywhere.

(The photo was captured by at least three photographers: Shaun Best of Reuters, Graham Hughes of Canadian Press, and Pierre Obendrauf of The Gazette).

There was a Facebook campaign (and others, I'm sure) for fans to vote Saku Koivu the first star of the night. It would have succeeded, except Koivu took a late penalty that led to the tying Canadiens goal (he was also in the box for their first goal - perhaps we should add two to his Canadiens assists total?). Under the three stars rules, the person who scores the winner in overtime or a shootout is automatically the first star.

Of course, none of that really mattered. The fans got to show their appreciation, and see Captain K on Montreal ice, perhaps for the last time as an NHL player.

Trades are killer on magazine news cycles

Fagstein — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 02:41:31 +0000

L'actualité ~~this week~~ recently had a profile of Canadiens goaltender Jaroslav Halak teased big from its cover.

On the cover: "Que réserve l'avenir du gardien du Canadien?"

And in the piece itself:

Son mari envisage une seule « folie » : faire fi de sa peur de l'avion et s'envoler pour Montréal si Jaro se rend en finale de la Coupe Stanley l'année prochaine. Et, qui sait, en profiter pour voir un défilé rue Sainte-Catherine...

Thankfully, there's little chance of that now.

There's also a photo gallery of Halak's hometown of Bratislava, Slovakia, and a blog post about Halak's trade to St. Louis ~~to downplay somewhat how much the magazine is two weeks behind the news~~.

We Photoshopped stop signs to say his name

Fagstein — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 03:06:46 +0000

From radio guy and music parodist Patrick Charles, a quickly created song about Jaroslav Halak is a freely-downloadable MP3:

(They made a) Bad Trade, a parody of Daniel Powter's Bad Day.

Stand By Your Habs

Fagstein — Sat, 22 May 2010 16:08:19 +0000

Christopher Pennington, author of this pretty good (and bilingual!) Habs anthem from 2008 (available on iTunes), has teamed up withFelicity Hamer of United Steelworkers of Montreal to produce this parody of Stand By Your Man.

The timing couldn't be better. Today is a critical game.

via Amy Luft.

Back on the bandwagon, folks

Fagstein — Fri, 21 May 2010 07:07:51 +0000

Finally, an FTQ campaign I can support.

Speaking of Canadiens pride, local musician Daniel Iorio has written another song about his beloved Habs. This one, keeping particularly current, name-drops Gazette sports scribe Pat Hickey, whose car was vandalized by crazed Flyers fans and has been getting a lot of attention for it.

Listen to The Cheese of Philadelphia:

Je déteste les Flyers

Fagstein — Tue, 18 May 2010 07:53:32 +0000

Welcome to the party, Les Justiciers. (They brought us this last year.)

You know, I was rooting for a Bruins win in the last round. Partly because coming back from 3-0 would mean stealing the Canadiens' Cinderella status. Partly because the Canadiens and Bruins have such a rich history. Partly because it was time to take revenge for last year. Partly because I thought our chances were better against them.

But I'm learning to appreciate the value of a Canadiens-Flyers series. We can take revenge for 2008. The matchup has already been billed as Cinderella vs. Cinderella, and made history as the first 7th vs. 8th matchup since the conference system was setup.

And, because the Flyers fans can be just as much assholes as Canadiens fans, it feels good to hate them.

By the end of this series, the streets of Philadelphia will be orange ... with blood ...

Blood mixed with urine, I guess.

We need a bigger bandwagon

Fagstein — Sat, 15 May 2010 18:22:24 +0000

You can tell your team is going somewhere when other people try to take credit for it.

The Toronto Star is grasping at whatever straws they can find to attach their city to our team. And both Toronto and the United States are taking credit for Michael Cammalleri.

But that's the way it is when you've gone from being the underdog to the favourite. Even though technically Philadelphia has the (ever so slightly) better record and home ice advantage, the pundits are finally calling it for the Habs:

Canadiens in four

Sportnographe

Canadiens in six

Canadiens in seven

Globe and Mail
Pierre Durocher, Rue Frontenac
Dan Di Sciullo, Sports Network
Tim Wharnsby, CBC
James Duthie, TSN (though maybe jokingly)
Rémy Villemure, Fanatique.ca

Flyers in seven

Flyers in six

Sorry, Penguins can’t fly

Fagstein — Thu, 13 May 2010 13:25:39 +0000

Defeat:

Victory:

and ... Oh my God...

Textual (and video) schadenfreude

and, for good measure, a two-weeks-later roundup from the Washington Post, including an interview with coach Bruce Boudreau.

What a night

Fagstein — Thu, 13 May 2010 07:36:05 +0000

7pm: I get off the metro train at Lucien-L'Allier station. The platform is flooded with red Habs jerseys.

Crowd gathers in parking lot as Game 7 begins

7:07pm: I arrive at the parking lot outside the Bell Centre, which has been designated as a celebration area by the Montreal police. A giant screen is showing RDS, and the speakers have plenty of volume for people to hear. The lot is mostly empty, unlike the Bell Centre itself, but a crowd is slowly forming.

Crowd watches the game in the parking lot

Lots of people are sitting, behaving themselves, watching the game.

Crowd reacts to first Canadiens goal in Game 7

7:10pm: Shortly after Sidney Crosby is assessed a penalty for boarding, Brian Gionta scores the first goal of the game to send the Canadiens up 1-0. The time on the game clock is only 32 seconds. The crowd reacts much as you would expect it to.

Crowd getting restless at hearing music instead of the game

7:15pm: For some reason, the crowd is hearing techno music instead of the RDS play-by-play. They start booing the DJ on stage, whose beats are distracting them from the game on the big screen.

Angry fan complains to management about the giant screen

7:17pm: As the fans are getting more and more restless about the music, I notice that the big screen hasn't been showing live game video for a while either. They're showing highlights from earlier games, and this has lasted longer than the usual two-minute TV time-out.

Not long after that, some people on the other side of the crowd make the same realization, and rush to the CKAC tent, which is playing audio (but no video) from the game on loudspeakers.

Crowd searches for another option as screen goes blank

7:23pm: The screen is now completely blank. People who complain to the technicians they find behind the barricade get shrugs in response. One reports she was told they were only doing a test, and didn't actually set this up so people could watch the game. (Seriously, could there be a more douchebaggy thing to do to fans than cut off their feed during Game 7?)

The crowd disperses, looking for some not-overflowing bar or other venue to watch the game with fellow fans.

I make my way to Jimbo's, a small pub on Bishop St., whose HD television isn't quite as big as this one but which at least has some room to stand. I make it in time to see Dominic Moore score Goal #2.

Ste. Catherine St. sits empty after the first period.

7:45pm: The first period is over, and the Canadiens have a 2-0 lead. I head out in search of food. Being on the western side of downtown, I immediately think of Boustan.I walk to Ste. Catherine St., which is relatively deserted, and make my way up Crescent, which is very active.

As I get to the restaurant, there's a long lineup for food. It seems I'm not the only one with this idea. But no fear, there's a TV in there, and I can catch the action if I'm still there when the second period starts.

7:55pm: As I'm standing in line, suddenly a guy in a Boustan shirt appears in front of me with a tray that has my order on it. I consider this interesting because I haven't made my order yet. Even though I only go there once a week or once every couple of weeks, they know me and they know what I come there to eat.

8:05pm: A large group of young fans hear that Reggie's (the student bar at Concordia) is showing the Habs game, and they decide to move there. One of them protests that they should wait until at least the next commercial break so they don't miss anything, but is eventually convinced to go along while the game is running. What are the chances they'll miss something important?

8:07pm: Michael Cammalleri, the NHL's playoff goals leader, scores his 12th of the postseason to make it 3-0 Canadiens.

8:10pm: Travis Moen adds a shorthanded goal to make it 4-0 Canadiens. This game has gone from advantage Montreal to out of reach.

8:42pm: The second period is over, but not before Pittsburgh scores two goals to get back in the hunt. I finally pay for my food, resist protests that I should stay as some good luck charm, and head out into downtown again. Crowds are growing outside any place with a TV set.

I pop by the Bell Centre, where a huge crowd has amassed on Centennial Plaza. Some are just out for a smoke break. Some are taking a look at the various monuments, and others are praying to them.

I head back to Jimbo's to watch the third period.

9:20pm: After the Penguins are assessed a penalty for having too many men on the ice, Brian Gionta scores on the power play to make it 5-2 Canadiens. Even though the room I'm in has only about 20-30 people, my ears start ringing from the noise.

9:45pm: We count down from 10 seconds, and the game is over. After the handshakes and a couple of postgame interviews, I head out to see what kind of fuss is brewing.

Habs fans are all over Ste. Catherine St. at Crescent

9:46pm: The crowd on Ste. Catherine is forming quickly, people heading from all directions to converge at the corner of Crescent, where flags are waving, people are cheering, and everyone has their camera out.

Olé olé olé olé

9:49pm: Partial nudity didn't take long. The crowd is festive, but not violent.

Crowd celebrates Habs win

9:50pm: Trying to get around is becoming increasingly difficult.

A group celebrate the Canadiens' win with musical instruments

9:51pm: Some in the crowd take to expressing their joy in song. One man with a guitar is singing the "na na na na hey hey hey goodbye" song, except no one can hear him over the cheering.

Fans celebrate after the game at the parking lot outside the Bell Centre.

9:57pm: I return to the Bell Centre, and thousands of fans are streaming out of it in all directions. That stage and screen that sat unused during the game is now the site of a party, though most people coming out of the Bell Centre have other plans.

I head back to Jimbo's again, and get to the drinking part of the evening. I had decided before the game that I would take a tequila shot for each Canadiens goal. The team's success would be at my liver's expense.

10:15pm: Some coworkers who had been treated to loge seats at the Bell Centre arrive at the bar and we start drinking together, amazed at what has just happened.

11:30pm: Two police officers in full riot gear walk into the bar and draw the attention of the bartender:

- Is this your fire extinguisher?

- No.

- Do you mind if we keep it here?

- Are you serious?

The fire extinguisher - which apparently some kids were playing with outside - is placed behind the bar. If anyone on Bishop is missing a big red fire extinguisher, now you know why.

12:30am: I take my fifth and last tequila shot, and stumble toward the metro to take the last train home. I cross at least one fan who is more drunk than I am.

Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey hey, good night.

Spectaculaire arrêt de Halak

Fagstein — Wed, 12 May 2010 21:18:06 +0000

Ad from CKAC in today's Journal de Montréal

Speaking of clever Canadiens ads, CKAC came up with this simple yet effective one, which appears in today's Journal de Lockout.

Infopresse has the credits.

Let's hope it's proven right tonight.

Je suis Canadien

Fagstein — Wed, 12 May 2010 07:50:37 +0000

I believe.

In the words of the enemy

Fagstein — Sat, 08 May 2010 18:49:10 +0000

If you pick up the print version of The Gazette (or at least the sports section), you might have noticed that there's a lot of articles and columns from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and before that the Washington Post, commenting on their hockey teams.

A column from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Gene Collier in today's (Montreal) Gazette

Since you may not have picked up the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette recently, you probably haven't seen the Montreal Gazette columns that have appeared in those pages:

Dave Stubbs column in Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Even though, in an ideal world, no sports journalist is biased toward the home team, the reality is that Gazette sports columnists know more about the Canadiens and talk more about the Canadiens than the opposition. There's an unavoidable Montreal-centric perspective. So it's useful to get an idea of the other side.

Sharing copy like this isn't new. Both the Gazette and Post-Gazette have done it before, their editors tell me. The Gazette did it two years ago with the Boston Globe and Philadelphia Inquirer.

"Basically, the idea is to give Gazette readers an in-depth look at the visiting team from reporters who cover that team on a regular basis and know that team as well as our guys know the Canadiens," says Gazette sports editor Stu Cowan. "Also a chance to read some different opinions and styles of hockey writers from other cities."

When the Canadiens faced the Washington Capitals in the first round, Cowan contacted the Washington Post to see if they'd be interested in sharing copy. The Post jumped on board, and columns from Thomas Boswell, Tracee Hamilton and Mike Wise appeared in the Gazette.

(There's a bit of irony here, in that until recently the Gazette was a subscriber to the Washington Post's wire service. The Post cut Canwest off after Canwest filed for creditor protection.)

Washington's not a hockey town

In Washington, though, there wasn't much reciprocation. Even though the Capitals finished the season as the National Hockey League's best team, there was little space in the sports section of a paper known for political stories to fit what are essentially wire stories from Montreal. In fact, I couldn't find a single Gazette piece that was used in the print version.

The imbalance is particularly striking simply because hockey in the U.S. capital isn't as important as here. They have an NFL team (the Redskins), a baseball team (the *spit*Nationals*spit*), an NBA team (the Wizards), plus college and other sports. Even during the hockey playoffs, they have to devote pages to these.

"When I contacted the Post hockey editor on the weekend of the NFL draft to ask which one of their columnists would be writing on the Caps, the answer was none: they were all writing on the NFL draft, even though the Redskins are brutal," Cowan wrote to me by email. "The Redskins are to D.C. what the Canadiens are to Montreal."

But the Post did use the Gazette pieces online, and it looks like they got some interest there.

"The Gazette columns were a big hit on the Post website throughout the series and on some days recorded higher traffic numbers than our own stories. They enriched and broadened our coverage to a considerable degree," says Matthew Vita, Washington Post sports editor, somewhat press-release-like. "All in all the content-sharing was a great success that we envision using in the future."

Then, in Pittsburgh

After the Canadiens epically came back from a 3-1 series deficit and advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinal, Cowan was himself contacted by two Pittsburgh papers - the Post-Gazette and Tribune-Review - looking to setup a similar agreement. "I had to make a choice and went with the Post-Gazette," Cowan said.

In Pittsburgh, this kind of sharing has gotten routine.

"Every playoff series, we try to hook up with a newspaper to run at least a column a day from 'the other side'," says Post-Gazette Assistant Managing Editor/Sports Jerry Micco. "We do it for other sports, too. Particularly for the Steelers. Throughout the week, we'll do RSS feeds from the opposing newspaper's site as well as trading copy. We rarely have space for copy throughout the week from the opponent, but on the Monday after a game a 'view from XXX' is a mandatory run in our section."

Micco says the agreement has been a win-win for the two papers. He listed two major advantages for him: "1. It frees our writers up to cover the Pens. Even if they write an opponent's story, it's not going to be a column. 2. I allows our readers to get another viewpoint on the series."

Still, the Post-Gazette isn't using nearly as much copy as the Gazette is, even though their sports editor said the Gazette has "excellent hockey writers" and "our fans here want as much hockey as they can get this time of year." They have the Steelers (and its quarterback in the news recently) and Pirates, while Montreal can focus on the Canadiens (with the occasional mention of the Impact), running two or even three pieces a day from the Post-Gazette.

"Basically, the popularity of the Habs in this city goes through the roof during the playoffs, with people who don't normally follow hockey jumping on the bandwagon," Cowan writes. "The copy-sharing agreement allows us to provide additional hockey coverage during the playoffs, with a closer focus on the visiting team."

What do you think?

None of the editors mentioned much about direct response to the enemy copy, so I'll leave that to you: Do you think the new perspective is a valuable contribution, or a waste of space?

For analysis, you can read these columns yesterday and today from Ron Cook and Gene Collier, and these columns from Tracee Hamilton and Mike Wise of the Washington Post.

Running over penguins is fun

Fagstein — Wed, 05 May 2010 07:44:53 +0000

A fellow editor noticed this ad that appears in Tuesday's Gazette. It's an ad for Ford that seems pretty generic until you think about it for a second.

Ford ad in The Gazette, May 4, 2010, Page A12

The text says "Passion to go the distance". Penguins in the windshield, and in the rear-view mirror is the Capitol Building in Washington. At the bottom, the logo of the Canadiens.

Ford hasn't had the best of luck trying to be funny in advertising in Canada, but this one was pretty cute. Not the most subtle ad ever created, but still relatively clever.

And hey, full-page colour ads pay my salary, so I'm not going to complain.

There was something I read recently (and, of course, can't find now that I want to link to it) about car companies wanting to stop having Canadian firms develop their own marketing campaigns. Instead, they could just use U.S. ads in Canada. This is a pretty good reason not only to keep Canadian-specific ad campaigns, but locally-focused ones.

It’s gonna feel like 93 forever

Fagstein — Sun, 02 May 2010 23:28:58 +0000

Remember how I said the number of Habs songs was disappointing this season, particularly since the massive roster overhaul over the past year has made those old ones obsolete?

Well Annakin Slayd, who produced music videos in both languages over the past two years, has updated its anglo one for 2010, replacing references to Kovalev and Komisarek with Cammalleri.

UPDATE (July 25): The inevitable parody version went up a few weeks later:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xr9iwTFTsPA

The experts have spoken

Fagstein — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 05:20:51 +0000

Capitals in four

Capitals in five

Capitals in six

Capitals in seven

Nobody.

Canadiens in seven

Gérald Tremblay, Mayor of Montreal

Canadiens in six

Canadiens in five

Nobody.

Canadiens in four

You know who you are

Totals

Canadiens win: 5
Capitals win: 38
Series goes seven games: 1

Hail Mary, full of ice

Fagstein — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 08:15:37 +0000

Concordia's journalism program, which has been making a habit of posting its class TV productions onto YouTube, has produced this 45-minute documentary about Canadiens fandom - one of the few things we can claim to have an advantage over all the other teams in the NHL.

It features interviews with everyone from Brian Gionta and Maxim Lapierre to Mike Boone, Pierre Houde, Jacques Demers, Réjean Houle and J.T. Utah.

Spoiler alert: The Canadiens aren't a religion, but they do have a lot of enthusiastic fans.

Your 2010 Habs playlist

Fagstein — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 19:48:15 +0000

I don't know if it's because of the recession, because nobody expected the Canadiens to even make the playoffs - much less be able to compete against the Washington Capitals - or just because the Justiciers Masqués aren't on the air anymore, but the number of Habs songs and Habs-related song parodies produced in preparation for this year's playoffs is pretty sad compared to previous years.

And if there was ever a year we needed more songs, it's this one. We can't just take the songs from last year and replay them - it's hard to get excited about Saku Koivu, Alex Kovalev, Mike Komisarek and Christopher Higgins since they all play for other teams now.

Still, a few amateur songsters have stepped up to the challenge:

Les Canadiens

by Clermont (featuring Kra-Z-Noize)

Montreal Canadiens 2010 playoff song

by Vince Colletti/Tanya Kassabian

Go Canadiens!

by Alex G.

Make it 25!

by Alex G. (also available in French)

Go Habs Go! (Séries 2010)

by Martin Scully

CH en série

(also translated - badly - into English)

Habs Romance

by Patrick Charles, Cat Spencer and Mark Bergman for CJFM. Sung by Lissa Vescio

UPDATE:

Feels like '93 (2010 version)

by Annakin Slayd

Habs Fight (woo-hoo!)

by CHOM FM

The Cheese of Philadelphia

by Daniel Iorio

Je déteste les Flyers

by Justiciers Masqués

Bye Bye Flyers

by Virgin Radio

Gold'Halak

by Porn Flakes

Stand By Your Habs

by Christopher Pennington and Felicity Hamer

Old stuff that's still good

And there are those songs from previous years that don't reference any individual players (by far the minority) or reference some of the few still around:

Go Habs Go!

by Christopher Pennington

Bring the Cup Back Home

by Daniel Iorio
via Team 990

Bleu Blanc Rouge la chanson

via CKAC

Ghosts of the Forum

by Bob Olivier and Sylvie Choquette
via Team 990

Go Go Habs Go

by Éric Allar

La coupe est à Montréal

Les Habitants Go Habs Go

by Vilain Pingouin

Go Habs Go (Nous sommes les plus forts) (YouTube)

by Marc Onana

Halak!

And in honour of our goaltender:

Halak (Get Back)

by Justiciers Masqués

Chanson de Halak

via CKAC
This parody of Brown Eyed Girl actually dates from December 2007 - when Halak was a backup to Cristobal Huet and David Aebischer.

And finally...

In case we win this series against the Capitals:

Let's have a riot

by Paul Brown, The Paul Brown Show on Edmonton's The Bear 100.3

Go Habs Go!

The anti-clinching scenario (UPDATED)

Fagstein — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 02:07:06 +0000

UPDATE (April 9): With Friday's Rangers win over the Flyers, the Canadiens' chances have dropped from over 99 per cent to 97.7 per cent (note to CHOM: Use that in a promo somewhere). Things have happened to make it more likely that the Canadiens will fall out of the playoffs, but it's still highly unlikely.

All of these things need to happen for the Canadiens to fall to ninth place and miss the playoffs:

The Canadiens must lose in regulation Saturday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Bell Centre
The New York Rangers must win in overtime or a shootout against the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday, giving them two points and the Flyers one
The Boston Bruins must get at least a point in their remaining two games

That middle part is the most unlikely. A regulation win by the Rangers would drop the Flyers out of the playoffs. A regulation win by the Flyers and the Rangers don't make it. An OT/SO win by Philly and the Rangers lose the tiebreaker with the Canadiens. A point for the Flyers makes them tied with Montreal, and they win the tiebreaker with more wins.

The Bruins are in sixth only because they have a game in hand. They still need a point to break the tie after 82 games. Because they lose the tiebreaker against all three other teams, if the Rangers and Flyers both get points, the Bruins need at least a point to make it to the playoffs.

If Montreal gets a point against the Leafs, the Rangers won't be able to catch the Habs (they could match in points and wins, but the third tiebreaker is the record between the clubs, and the Canadiens won 3 of 4). A win against the Leafs, and the Habs finish no worse than 7th place.

Complicated enough for you? All eight teams have already clinched in the West.

Original post:

Despite losing to the New York Islanders in a shootout, the Canadiens are on the verge of clinching the playoffs with two games remaining. The chances of clinching are about 99 per cent at the moment, and the scenario for them to fall to ninth place is very complicated and precise. All these things need to happen:

The Canadiens lose both remaining games (Thursday vs. Carolina, Saturday vs. Maple Leafs) in regulation. A single point in either game by having it tied after 60 minutes would clinch a playoff berth.
The New York Rangers win all three of their remaining games (Wednesday vs. Maple Leafs, Friday and Sunday vs. Flyers). Two wins and an OT/SO loss would tie them for points with the Habs, but they'd lose the tiebreaker with one fewer win.
The Philadelphia Flyers get at least a point in their remaining two games, both against the Rangers. But since the Rangers need to win both games, that means the Flyers must lose both, but lose one in overtime or a shootout. A single point ties the Habs for points, with the Flyers winning the tiebreaker.
The Boston Bruins get at least three points - through wins or overtime/shootout losses - in their remaining three games (Thursday vs. Sabres, Saturday vs. Hurricanes, Sunday vs. Capitals). Two points would tie the Habs, but the Bruins would lose the tiebreaker with fewer wins.

If any of these things doesn't happen, the Canadiens end the season in no worse than eighth place. I'd say "what are the chances", but I wouldn't put any curse of fate beyond this team.

Red Fisher’s almost-100 years

Fagstein — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 08:42:50 +0000

Red Fisher

Lost in all the hoopla of the Habs centennial is a really long piece by Red Fisher (it was spread out over three pages) about his career covering the Canadiens and all the great moments of the second half of its first century.

I point to it particularly because Fisher goes into a bit of detail in how he got started in the news business, before he even started covering the Canadiens:

A man named Hugh E. McCormick helped make the dream a reality.

I was a first-year student at Sir George Williams College, The Georgian's one-person sports staff, when McCormick, the owner of the suburban N.D.G. Monitor, Westmount Examiner and Verdun Guardian, sent out a call for college students to report on the sports activities at their schools. A phone call to his office told him I was interested.

"You've got the job," McCormick said immediately.

"How much do you pay?" he was asked.

"Nothing," he said.

"I'll take it," I replied.

It goes from there to an adorable story about him writing a story about a junior football game for the Standard and having it tossed in the garbage by an editor.

But what gets me is that Fisher worked for free, and later took a significant pay cut, just so he could follow his dream of reporting on the Canadiens early in his career.

Half a century later, not much has changed. Plenty of young journalists would make a similar choice now, willing to sign their souls to the devil to get a press pass into the Canadiens dressing room.

More insight into Fisher's career can be gleaned from this Dave Stubbs piece, first published in April 2006, when the Habs honoured his 50 seasons covering the team.

Speaking of the Canadiens centennial, Mike Boone's weekly Eeee-mail makes note of the team's mastery of marketing (to the point where we're all getting sick of it). Jack Todd echoes that, noting the contrast between the Habs' history and its present (and perhaps suggesting a link between the non-stop commemorations and the bad performance of the team).

By the way, I used to find it funny that Boone's column, which appears opposite Red Fisher's Red Line page every Saturday, was essentially a column about Fisher himself. Only Boone could pull off writing a column about another columnist and making it worth reading. Sadly, even Boone has reached his limit. Last week he officially retired the Living Legend of Sports Journalism schtick after 10 years.

A moment of silence for the passing of one of The Gazette's silliest running gags.

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We Photoshopped stop signs to say his name

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Stand By Your Habs

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Back on the bandwagon, folks

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Je déteste les Flyers

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We need a bigger bandwagon

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Sorry, Penguins can’t fly

Defeat:

Victory:

Textual (and video) schadenfreude

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What a night

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Spectaculaire arrêt de Halak

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Je suis Canadien

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In the words of the enemy

Washington's not a hockey town

Then, in Pittsburgh

What do you think?

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Running over penguins is fun

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It’s gonna feel like 93 forever

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The experts have spoken

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Hail Mary, full of ice

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Your 2010 Habs playlist

Les Canadiens

Montreal Canadiens 2010 playoff song

Go Habs Go! (Séries 2010)

CH en série

Habs Fight (woo-hoo!)

Je déteste les Flyers

Gold'Halak

Stand By Your Habs

Old stuff that's still good

Go Habs Go!

La coupe est à Montréal

Les Habitants Go Habs Go

Go Habs Go (Nous sommes les plus forts) (YouTube)

Halak!

Halak (Get Back)

And finally...

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The anti-clinching scenario (UPDATED)

Original post:

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Red Fisher’s almost-100 years

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