1) Pursuant to my last blog, former Buzzer Al Cimaglia sent along this chilling interview the Fan590's Jeff Samut had with Dave Scatchard, who was recently forced to retire due to post-concussion syndrome.
You will not hear another player speak as truthfully about the issues as Scatchard does in this interview, and be sure to note what he says about the knocks he took as a kid.
2) Stepping away from the controversial nature of last week's discussion, which is sure to continue to evolve as we navigate through another rough season of NHL hockey, here we are, on the precipice of training camp.
Most, if not all the Canadiens have arrived from their summer vacations, and chances are that if you brave the Champlain Bridge to venture out to Brossard this week, you'll catch most of them in action on the ice.
3) Is there a possibility Pierre Gauthier's not done tinkering with his lineup?
Of course there is. With roughly four million dollars in the kitty, it stands to reason he'll make an addition or two before the regular season gets underway.
If he is to make a move, I have a hard time believing it'll be on the blue line. The team is still in need of a penalty-killing forward-- and if that player happens to be a centre, that's a bonus.
4) The Boston Bruins extended an invitation for Chris Clark to try out at their training camp this season. Here's a player that can definitely help the Canadiens in the capacity I just underlined in point #3.
In 53 games with Columbus last season, Clark had 5 goals and 10 assists. He's a gritty, right-handed veteran who can play centre or wing, kill penalties, and serve as another great leader in the room. Not to mention the fact that he wouldn't cost much more than the league minimum...
Why would Gauthier give him a look?
5) The Canadiens scored 44 wins and eight overtime points last season. Of the 16 teams that made the playoffs, they tied with Nashville for the lowest goals for average at 2.60/game.
Here's where it gets interesting: All 14 teams to finish out of a playoff spot last season averaged more goals/game than the Canadiens did. (note: oops, big mistake on goals for averages... mixed up columns combing the stats.
6 non playoff teams had lower goals/game averages than Habs: CJB, MIN, OTT, NJ, FLA, EDM)
6) Looking at goals against, the Habs averaged 2.51/game-- 8th best in the league. Every team ahead of them in the category made the playoffs. Three of them were division winners, and the Penguins missed out on theirs in a tiebreaker with the Flyers.
Of the 14 teams that missed the playoffs, only the New Jersey Devils finished with a goals against average better than 2.75/game.
Amazingly, the Devils finished with a 2.08 goals for average and a 2.52 goals against average, managing six less wins and three less overtime points than the Canadiens accumulated.
7) A couple of candidates for comeback player of the year (and I don't mean returning from injury):
I'll say Martin Brodeur redeems himself despite the general consensus that his best days are behind him. I'd never count a goaltender of Brodeur's pedigree out.
I'll say Ilya Kovalchuk manages at least 30 goals this season.
Sufficed to say, I think the Devils are coming back to the playoffs this season.
8) Say Gomez comes to camp in shape; Cammalleri stays healthy; Cole produces to the level he did last season; and Markov boosts the powerplay by a couple of percentage points, how much will the Canadiens' goal/game average climb this season?
9) Speaking of scoring goals, was this the nicest one by a Hab last year?
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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