Recalled/Assigned: Bourque clears waivers. Sent down to Hamilton.

[Ohashi_Jouzu*]

I want Bourque in our top 9.
We're better with him. No doubt about it.

No doubt? Not even after watching the team go on a 6 game win streak as soon as he was taken out of the lineup? Keep up the good fight.

 

[Richiebottles]

He is a PPG player in the A !

 

[AntonCH]

He is a PPG player in the A !

With his talent and tools shouldn't he be closer to 2 ppg?

 

[mitchmagic]

Always wanted Bourque to have success but too bad he sucks.

 

[beowulf]

Thank-you! Great news.

So refreshing to read this after so much hating in this thread.
Some Hab fans would prefer HATING, HATING and DESPISING vs trying to find a way to get a player going again. No one in our organization can replace playoffs-Bourque (8 goals in '14 playoffs). Would be crazy to throw Bourque away for nothing.

Yes, it's frustrating that Bourque seems to get HOT especially in playoffs and not the regular season. But at least Bourque gets HOT when it really counts (playoffs)...that's why I vehemently defend Bourque (look at lazy-playoff-Vanek...was the biggest floater in playoffs for us...was so pissed off watching him literally/physically figure skate out there while Bourque was again a playoff warrior for us).

Go Bourque Go!! (I want to see Bourque score 8 goals+ for us again in playoffs).




Definitely. This will sound strange...if they can't get Bourque going in regular season (worst case scenario), then give him one last chance for playoffs. We don't know why, but Bourque turns into a playoff warrior when it counts. Gotta take advantage of that for our Habs. 2016 playoffs...I'd be willing to bet bourque will be HOT HOT HOT...many of you say he's HOT when it's his UFA year. Let's take advantage of this. And even if it's not his UFA year (ex: 2013 and 2014 playoffs)...Bourque can bring his ''A'' game during playoffs. Bourque can surely help us win a series with important goals...you don't throw that away. Wouldn't make sense.


2015 + 2016 playoffs (UFA season):
I want Bourque in our top 9.
We're better with him. No doubt about it.





Fair enough...I'm not against AHL time (good wake-up call)...I just didn't like the thought of another team taking Bourque for nothing (waivers...so happy no team took him...Bourque will show these 29 teams they made a mistake...you will see. And this will be AMAZING for our Habs, especially for playoffs. Bourque scored 8 goals recently in playoffs for us (that shouldn't be ignored)...I don't want to lose him for nothing. I'd rather give him another GO for our 2015 and 2016 playoffs (2016 is UFA year for Bourque...he will get HOT again, I'm pretty sure...gotta keep him, gotta have faith...Habs will be rewarded).

AHL (Bourque?):
my memory is fading away...need help! Bourque was already sent down to the AHL? With our Habs? or with Calgary? I forget...

INJURIES:
some of you still forget that injuries can/do happen...very long 82 game season.
1-2-3 serious injuries to our top 9 and some of you will be crying for a Bourque-comeback. Especially if these injuries happen in the playoffs. Our top 9 (ex: playoffs) is a lot sexier with Bourque in it. An injury to Prust...and there goes our only policeman...and we will also be losing a lot of grit/leadership (more pressure on Weise since Moen is not here anymore for PK/grit,etc). Gotta think ahead, not just about the NOW.

Not sure if this is serious or not.

 

[InglewoodJack]

Again, Bourque had one good playoff run. If you can't handle the regular season, you shouldn't take a playoff spot that belongs to someone who grinded it out all year.

 

[Habs Icing]

Jeeze, I'm simply astounded by this thread. A player many - if not most - Hab fans wanted gone has a thread dedicated to him that just won't go away. We're at page 35 and the posts are still going strong. I wonder if most Hab fans aren't closet Bourque fans and i also wonder if DD would have as many posts if and when he is gone?

 

[Deebs]

Rene Bourque is trash. He's a gutless, heartless player that brings down the compete level of everyone he lines up beside. Other players look at him and wonder....how the hell did this clown get a $3.5M dollar deal. He's a complete dog pucker on the ice.

 

[Rapala]

Jeeze, I'm simply astounded by this thread. A player many - if not most - Hab fans wanted gone has a thread dedicated to him that just won't go away. We're at page 35 and the posts are still going strong. I wonder if most Hab fans aren't closet Bourque fans and i also wonder if DD would have as many posts if and when he is gone?

Bork isn't really gone...
He's just hibernating elsewhere this year.

 

[24rings]

Again, Bourque had one good playoff run. If you can't handle the regular season, you shouldn't take a playoff spot that belongs to someone who grinded it out all year.

2. He was one of the best players the year b4 too.

 

[Sterling Archer]

On the same note as someone defending Bork, Charles Manson just got married. I guess everyone is entitled to their views and opinions no matter how messed up.

 

[Harry Wong]

Rene Bourque is trash. He's a gutless, heartless player that brings down the compete level of everyone he lines up beside. Other players look at him and wonder....how the hell did this clown get a $3.5M dollar deal. He's a complete dog pucker on the ice.

Many people seem to agree that Rene Bourque was ineffective this season in Montreal. Many people are angry that he has played poorly and to some without heart. He certainly has been a better player in Hamilton after a short 3 games and it is yet to be determined how he will play in the future. No one knows that.

He like most people controls his own destiny depending how he performs in the next game(s). Since we are all smarter than our current GM, we should await his performance before we judge him as 'trash'. The more up to date concept should be to see if we can recycle him and then reuse himeither for our team, or trade him for players or picks, or as a last resort, buy him out.

I would counsel patience. He is an asset that we are trying to manage to see if he can bring his considerable physical assets and skills to the game more consistently and effectively.

 

[hf27]

Rene Bourque is trash. He's a gutless, heartless player that brings down the compete level of everyone he lines up beside. Other players look at him and wonder....how the hell did this clown get a $3.5M dollar deal. He's a complete dog pucker on the ice.

Tell us how you really feel about the guy.

He may be useful come playoff time if only for a few games.

 

[Teufelsdreck]

On the same note as someone defending Bork, Charles Manson just got married. I guess everyone is entitled to their views and opinions no matter how messed up.

That's an ugly comment. Why not bring Hitler into it while you're at it?

 

[Habskrieg]

Bork will have to stay much longer in the AHL before being called back up. He wants to prove he can be in the line-up? A "vet" like him shoud be able to be a force in the AHL. Our team has been playing much better ever since he left and we replaced him with Sekac. We've also been scoring more since. He'd have to produce more points consistently in order to prove he can fit in again. Otherwise, forget it. He would just waste our time again if/when he's back.

We can leave him the AHL. I'm sure Bergevin could find a way to deal him away to a team.

 

[HCH]

Rene Bourque is trash. He's a gutless, heartless player that brings down the compete level of everyone he lines up beside. Other players look at him and wonder....how the hell did this clown get a $3.5M dollar deal. He's a complete dog pucker on the ice.

Great journalism. We can see that you are a master at personal insults... now how about some hockey analysis.

 

[BaseballCoach]

Rene Bourque is trash. He's a gutless, heartless player that brings down the compete level of everyone he lines up beside. Other players look at him and wonder....how the hell did this clown get a $3.5M dollar deal. He's a complete dog pucker on the ice.

I'm not very impressed by how foul your mouth is. Have some respect for an athlete that has scored 142 NHL goals, completed 4 years of University, and hasn't been the same since getting sucker punched by a frustrated Leaf.

Does your Mommy know you've been sneaking onto her computer and embarrassing her?

 

[Runner77]

I personally would be very surprised if we don't see Bourque back here this year.
How will he perform is unknown. Right now he's doing pretty well in AHL. He's got 3pts in 3gp, from what I've read he's skating hard. It's just 3 games and doesn't mean much, but it's better than him scoring 0 pts and looking disinterested.

Good short sample run -- hope it continues. At least he's showing a sign of life.

Thing is, he's a sunk asset with NHL experience. As much as I feel he's had his share of chances with the Habs, I can also appreciate how some may view him as an easy go-to solution given that no one else will take him. I'm hoping he gets bought out after this season -- with one year left on his contract, should not represent a high cost.

 

[BLONG7]

Rene Bourque is trash. He's a gutless, heartless player that brings down the compete level of everyone he lines up beside. Other players look at him and wonder....how the hell did this clown get a $3.5M dollar deal. He's a complete dog pucker on the ice.

Easy there big fella, sounds like he dated your sister, or something along those lines...not a big fan of Bourque, but wouldn't go as far as you have...not even close...he has struggled since joining the Habs, but boy we all loved him last season in the playoffs...

We all hope he goes down, finds his game, and we can trade him to another NHL team...for a pick maybe...

 

[Runner77]

Bourque is 2 for 2 with us (playoff seasons).

His biggest and best body of post-season work was this past season. Beyond that, we'd be extrapolating by a fair margin, as he's already had short performance spurts in-season. What made last year special was that he did it over a sizeable period. Why can't he just do it in the regular season -- the $3.5 million question, as always.

<2013 playoff season:
Bourque was a VERY gritty, mean power forward warrior for us VS Ottawa. He delivered...BIG TIME (Plekanec was also very solid for us).Yes, it was a short series but this wasn't Bourque's fault. He played really well VS the Sens (2013 playoffs).

Not arguing his production but it was over 5 games and we all know how anyone can have the one great series and then die out.

<2014 playoff season:
Bourque scored 8 goals and may have reached 10 or more if we reached the Cup Finals (******* Kreider!). He was definitely a power forward warrior/star for us. He delivered the goods.

I can't argue that, you are correct.

LOSE-LOSE VS WIN-WIN...take your pick!:
it's a lose-lose situation right now for us. Why not try and make it a win-win? Bourque's value is at ZERO right now. But his UFA status is in 2016 (not far away). He will be a power forward star again for us. If not (worst case scneario)...find a way to boost his value again and we will at least get something instead of losing him for nothing (ex: Moen for Gonchar...risky but Gonchar is UFA this summer, Moen makes 1.8mil next season). I don't want Bourque scoring 8-10 goals for another team in playoffs...I want Bourque scoring those 8-10 goals for our Habs.

Bourque's goose is cooked as far as 29 other GMs go. This ain't a right-handed defenseman who still has a few lives left on account of scarcity. Given the type of player Bourque is expected to be and isn't most of the time, teams would much rather take a chance on a younger player in their system. Bourque has many more bad games than he does good -- what he's done is pretty unshakeable. He is who is he is, no amount of showcasing or window dressing is going to change that.

Soon-to-be-UFA Bourque will deliver again...I just hope it's with us. Give him a chance. I'm sure he's going through a major wake-up call right now. And if he needs to rest (post-concussion symptoms?? depression??)...I'm all for it. Just give him a chance. Desharnais got many chances...Bpourque deserves some chances, as well.

If Bourque is concussed, then he deserves some rope. However, why is he still playing if that is the case? Why was he used consistently while with the Habs, as if he had no symptoms? As fans, we are only privy to so much however, with all the lawsuits going on in pro sports about players who claim they were forced to play while concussed or who were misled by team doctors, I very much doubt the Habs would be exposing themselves in that manner by having a concussed player, continuing to play in the face of stringent medical protocols.

As far as Desharnais goes, that's an interesting reference. I don't know that we should be comparing a player's woes by trying to draw a parallel to another -- however, even if Desharnais had a lousy start last year, he doesn't have Bourque's track record. It's a lot easier for a DD to get the benefit of the doubt than Bourque. Not saying DD will turn out any better -- who knows what the future holds but so far DD is showing that there is an effort level to his game that Bourque only seldom brings to his game, outside of that incredible playoffs he had last year.

We're a better team with a HOT-Bourque...just find a way to get HOT-Bourque back. That should be our main concern.

We'd sure be a better playoff team with Playoff Bourque. Trouble is finding him in a haystack. You just don't know which Bourque you're going to get.

29 other teams:
yes no team took him (waivers)...I was very surprised (but so relieved *phew!*) since he scored 8 goals recently in playoffs for us (and will do it again). In the end...I care about solving this Bourque ''situation'' to make it WIN-WIN for us (Habs/Hab fans and Bourque end up happy). Bourque can score 8 goals+ again for us...too bad for the other teams who passed up on him.
Work with Bourque and Bourque will work with us. Don't throw everyone away like garbage and we will be rewarded...especially in playoffs.

Bourque ain't no garbage. However, NHL jobs are earned and maintained on merit. He's not fulfilling the terms of his contract. On most nights, the lights are on but there is no one home. You can't have a coach babysit a guy who is supposed to have enough experience to know that he needs to get the job done.

I'm exaggerating a bit (just to prove a point):
You'd need an Evander Kane (playoff warrior?? maybe? maybe not?), C.Stewart (playoff warrior? maybe? maybe not?), or even a Wayne Simmonds (always a warrior, hence why he's not cheap!) in playoffs to replace playoffs-Bourque.
Good luck getting those players for nothing. We already have Bourque (for nothing)...don't throw him away. Don't let another team pick him up in March. 1-2 serious injuries to our top 9 and some of you will beg for a Bourque-comeback. I don't want to trade away prospects/picks to try and find another playoffs-Bourque...I want to find a way to wake Bourque up while he's still a Hab.

Bourque doesn't become more palatable because of weak performances cherry picked from other players. Of course there are others out there who are just frustrating players to roster. That doesn't mean every player can be fixed, nor that Bourque relative to who he has been, can now become some other guy in a sustainable or even predictable manner.

Moen:
many (not all of you) of you would have thrown him away for nothing. He was a warrior for us. At least we got Gonchar for Moen. Glad the Habs didn't put moen on waivers. I just hope our PK can find a way to be strong without Moen. I do feel better about our PP with Gonchar there. Looks very very smooth out there on the PP. Very surprised he still can bring it! (was thinking Therrien would keep him at 12-15min/game and just there mostly for PP,etc.... good surprise).

Moen's case is more distinguishable than Bourque's. He has a cheaper contract but more importantly, he has a track record of being an effective defensive forward with some physicality, who has only been sidetracked by overwhelming injury. Bourque has mostly been healthy, and even when he was 100%, he still found a way to producing negative stats over a significant period of time. Not a surprise that Moen had some residual value even if, it was only Gonchar.

P.S.: it's funny...a lot of you write that Bourque may never deliver again in playoffs...it's as if some of you don't want to see him deliver again in playoffs. You'd rather be right than see Bourque deliver again in playoffs for us (or you don't want to be wrong??!).

We absolutely want him to deliver. Not just in the playoffs but now as well. Thing is, where is the "on" switch? No one knows.

I really don't get this. This is why I ask some of you...don't you want the Habs to win CUP #25? If yes...you have to dress the players that give the best chances for the team to go as far as possible. Bourque in our top 9 in playoffs VS no good replacement...our Habs are better with Bourque in playoffs.

We don't know that he can do it again, otherwise Bourque would be doing it right now. Thing is, just because we'd not be using Bourque, doesn't mean his replacement wouldn't be offering a positive contribution. We have more quality depth than ever before -- this is why Bourque will be only one option amongst many. If he's earned a call-up by the end of the season, so be it. But he'll be on a very short leash.

Yup. And he could be awesome for us again. Why would we want to see Bourque do well with another team when he could deliver again for us. This Hamilton wake-up call could be the answer...and if it doesn't work rotate Bourque between 13th forward and 3rd liner...until it works or until playoffs. Just find a way to make it work 'cause we will I guarantee you need Bourque for playoffs. Some of you act like injuries don't exist to our top 9 (regular season + playoffs)...it can happen any game/playoff series...another GREAT reason to keep playoffs-Bourque.

A roster spot is a very valuable thing to waste. The NHL is no place for prolonged experimentation and the "hope" of a turnaround by enduring repeated failure of a chronic nature. Ultimately, it impacts the team on many levels. Bourque may get another shot but his deer-in-the-headlights act is likely never to leave him.

 

[Monctonscout]

With guaranteed contracts, I wouldn't be surprised if the Habs gave him another look. If he keeps doing well in the AHL maybe somebody trades for him, I doubt it happens unless the Habs eat 600-1 mil both years.

 

[LastWordArmy]

2. He was one of the best players the year b4 too.

An unsustainably high on-ice shooting percentage made him look good over a very small sample size of six weeks.

Over the last 2 1/2 full seasons he's been on the team, we've seen who he is.

Playoffs or Not... I'm gonna take the big sample size of 141 games of regular season Crap and say thats what Bourque is, over the 22 games where his shooting percentage was through the roof.

Chances are that we could keep him on the team all year, put him in this year's playoffs, and we are gonna get crap too.

If he's such a playoff beast and is so clutch, why do his only other two playoff appearances look like this...

60 pts in 78 games in the AHL regular season followed by 1 point in 5 AHL playoff games.

40 pts in 58 regular season NHL games followed by 1 point in 5 playoff games.


Clutch is a myth.

Want proof? Claude Lemieux's career playoff PPG 0.68. Career regular season PPG 0.64.
The one player who everyone believes is the most clutch playoff player ever... really wasn't... he just had a few hot playoffs (that were better than his regular seasons) and just as many cold playoffs (worse than his regular seasons).

Bourque got hot... and got some puck luck. It happened to be in April/May... nothing more to it than that.

 

[Hoople]

He is a PPG player in the A !

Perfect.

He is well suited for the AHL and since he is having such great success there, he should be a Bulldogs lifer.

 

[Runner77]

While Lefebvre's hard ass methods are questioned and for many despised, I suspect they won't be that highly contested when it comes to administering them upon Bourque.

 

[The n00b King]

You guys keep saying he's a playoff warrior but I only remember him being good in the series Vs. the Bolts and then nothing else after that. Are you guys dreaming?

We've been saying the same song ever since Bork got to Montreal. He's lazy, he's a bum etc. That's what? 4 years ago man? The guy has not produced at all ever since he got here. And we traded Mike freakin' Squid for this guy. Sure, squid had his faults, but hell he sure put the puck in the net and he had playoffs performances LIGHT years ahead of anything Bork ever showed.

This guy is going to get traded. Count on it. He's never playing for the Canadiens again.