Who's going to win the Stanley Cup? Definitely not your 06-07 Canadiens.

For the time being I'm saying it's the Sharks. Mainly because they've got miracle boy Joe-ey and he'll be cooking up something hot. Or maybe it's because Cheechoo sits creepily on a surfboard and reminds fans that his middle name is Earl.

I just honestly think that this team is just all together. And for the time being, I really don't know who's going to make it. I just think the promise is there unlike some teams. That and their solid goaltending where Toskala is prime trade bait for any shortcomings in D or otherwise.

And let's look at it realistically, a Habs fan can only hope that their team of "guys we picked up off the sidewalk" will only suffer minimal losses and suddenly gel with each other to creep up to a last second playoff spot playing valiantly like Valkyries in the mist (They're as fast as girls!) - only to be crushed painfully in the second or third matchup like this year.

The fan has two choices, to start yelling that it's the end and cower in fear. Or we can blindly believe in our GM with snappy catchphrases like "In Gainey we Trust", hoping to clean the house to get ready for the 25th Cup.

To be honest, the team ain't all bad - you've got the "You're not Theodore so you're ace" netwiz Huet, the rough-and-tough rookie Latendresse and a bunch of neat veterans to tie the bow. But let's look at the troubles of preseason, we finished in the flipping bottom of the division - but hey we fared better than the Canes. The thing is the severity of Habs losses can't compare to say - Edmonton fans suddenly changing their lines if they don't get a good game. Captain Pirate eye Koivu (the fans are still bitter, they want their eye back. Oh and a rematch) is playing quite well and he might even do better than he did beforehand with 20/20 vision.

But Ribeiro? He was so bad they traded him for a dotty Finn veteran. The second line just couldn't score with him and when Plekanec stood up, he suddenly fit the puzzle. But what if it was just a lucky shot? What if the line stays mediocre, and it was just that the Sens were just worn out on that final period? To clear things up, Ribs' linemates were Kovalev and my sweetheart Samsonov. To be fair, they're definitely going to do well for the team - they just need to stop shocking the preseason socks off the fans.

Let's not be too depressed here - under the dandy leadership of Cap'n, the team could actually pull through quite well despite their troubles. And I'll be praying a lot more for an injury free team. Maybe some things might work our way and... Conference semifinals? I'll er... knock wood.