Breezer's back and ready to go - almost

[Habsfan84]

Patrice Brisebois was feeling at home yesterday, and it had nothing to do with the fact he owns a shack in this resort community.
"It's good to be back on the ice with the boys," said the veteran Canadiens defenceman, who missed the start of training camp because of a groin injury. "I didn't feel any pain, and that's good. I was a little tired, but it went well. Now I have to get into game shape."
Brisebois hopes to play in one of the two remaining exhibition games, but said he wasn't sure he'd be ready to face the Bruins tomorrow night at the Bell Centre.

Brisebois is something of a wild card in the Habs' lineup. The only current Canadiens player to be part of the team's last Stanley Cup win in 1993, Brisebois's days as a top-four defenceman might be over. But his experience and his ability to play the point on the power play could earn him some significant ice time.
The question marks are his health - he has a history of back problems and underwent surgery last season in Colorado - and how he will handle the situation if he is a healthy scratch.
Meanwhile, no other teams expressed interest in the nine Habs players who were placed on waivers before being sent to the American Hockey League's Hamilton Bulldogs on Monday.
I was hoping players like Yann Danis, Jean-Philippe Côté, Corey Locke, Jonathan Ferland and Duncan Milroy would get a chance elsewhere, because they appear to be at a dead end in the Canadiens' organization. While most of them are in position to become unrestricted free agents next July, they're now labelled as career minor-leaguers.
The good news is that the Bulldogs, the defending Calder Cup champions, will be bolstered by Carey Price or Jaroslav Halak in goal and should be tough to beat in the AHL.
Esposito going back to junior: Anyone who saw Angelo Esposito play in the Pittsburgh Penguins' two exhibition games in Montreal won't be surprised to learn he's going back to the Quebec Remparts for another season.
While Esposito has skills, Penguins coach Michel Therrien said the Montrealer has to become stronger. He also noted that Esposito, whose stock dropped in the June draft - he was the 20th pick overall after being ranked No. 1 by Central Scouting a year earlier - has to develop more confidence.
Theodore on the mend: The Colorado Avalanche is hoping goaltender José Theodore will be able to play in Saturday's exhibition game against Phoenix. Theodore, who underwent arthroscopic knee surgery on Aug. 29, has been working out on his own for the past several days.
O'Brien alive and well: Two years ago, some friends from Saint Mary's University told me that Wayne (Red) O'Brien, a former classmate who went on to play linebacker for the Alouettes in the late 1960s, was dying of cancer. They were holding a benefit auction to raise some money for him and I was happy to put the touch on the Als and the Canadiens for some memorabilia.
I was pleasantly surprised when O'Brien walked up to me in the press box after the first period of the Canadiens-Bruins game Sunday in Halifax.
"It was a tough go for a while," O'Brien said. "When I walked out of the hospital after all the chemo and radiation, I weighed 157 pounds."
O'Brien said the cancer is in remission, but he has been unable to return to his teaching job.
"I do some work here (at the Metro Centre), which gives me a chance to see some games and concerts," he said.