Thursday was a busy day for hockey in Minnesota, with the Flyers making the biggest noise. But the Canadiens also made a move, securing defenceman Andrei Markov with a new three-year contract.
Markov will meet the Montreal media at noon on Friday, so we will have more on him later.
Here’s a look at some of the other news and commentary from Thursday:
Daily Hab-it: High risk, high reward
La Presse’ Marc-Antoine Godin writes about the Markov deal and the future of Benoit Pouliot with the Canadiens.
Holmgren shakes up Flyers: Globe and Mail
NHL rumour mill going crazy: Duhatschek
Brad Richards won’t waive n-movement clause: ESPN
And for the draft Friday night, here’s the official order via NHL.com
Loading ...
haha, good point. Would’ve made for a compelling game though! And I’m not positive I want to be the first team to have to play in that barn…
I am a 28 years old doctor, mature and beautiful.and now I am seeking a good man who can give me real love , so i got a username Andromeda2002 on–s’e'ek’c'ou’ga’r.c óm–.it is the first and best club for y’ounger women and old’er men, or older women and y’ounger men,to int’eract with each other. Maybe you wanna ch’eck ‘it out or tell your friends!
I think PG should be on the phone with Jay Feaster right now extolling the virtues of Scott Gomez
Pierre LeBrun tweets,
“Kevin Epp, agent for RFA-to-be Josh Gorges, says he hasn’t spoken to Habs GM Pierre Gauthier for weeks but hopes to see him this weekend”.
That sounds ominous but you never know. Their last conversation might have ended with the general idea that “we both want a deal, let’s talk around draft time”. Remember Price wasn’t signed until late Aug. last year.
Someone explain to me the status of backup goaltender Alex Auld? Would he be a free agent in July or will the Canadians re-sign him or is he under contract.
I understand that Carey Price backup next season might be G Drew MacIntyre.
Any word of this?
READ, RESEARCH AND WRITE ARTICLES ONLINE
http://www.articlespluss.com
Auld will be a UFA on July 1. There has been no confirmation that he will be re-signed at this point. To not re-sign him is a terrible mistake in my opinion. Check out this article about that situation (http://wp.me/p1n6pU-3s) if you like.
Visit me at http://www.bleedbleublancrouge.wordpress.com and http://www.thehockeywriters.com
Great take on Auld. A 6-2-2 record with a guy who doesn’t complain about being the #2 goalie should be a sure thing to be brought back next season. I also like your point on why Carey Price wasn’t mention as a Vezina trophy candidate?
READ, RESEARCH AND WRITE ARTICLES ONLINE
http://www.articlespluss.com
Thanks So Much. Glad you enjoyed it.
I have no clue why there is no movement on him as of yet, but time will tell. With all the buzz around Markov and Gorges et al … they may be speaking and we just don’t know it yet. Hoping that’s the case!
T
hanks for visiting the site – hope you’ll come back and leave your thoughts!
Visit me at http://www.bleedbleublancrouge.wordpress.com and http://www.thehockeywriters.com
I agree Auld was a perfect fit. He should’ve played more games, but that’s JM’s call. He played well in those he did, won most and was a team guy throughout. He’s also Price’s size which makes for a similar style, and issues. Good for coaching and the team.
Congrads to Markov for re-signing with Montreal. I hope he can stay healthy and play a full season next season.
Also, congradulations to the Team990 and Mitch Melnick and the gang for winning the rights to broadcast Habs games on the radio.
READ, RESEARCH AND WRITE ARTICLES ONLINE
http://www.articlespluss.com
It’s like 6 days to free agency kicks in. No GM is gonna trade a draft pick for the right to talk to the Wiz’s agent for 6 days when it’s obvious to everyone he’s gonna test the market. Why give up a draft pick when you can give the guy an offer July 1st?
Because that way we can debate air.
PG also stated that he had interest in Wisniewski ages ago. Maybe not trading those rights indicates that there could be negotiations at some point if they haven’t already happened.
The Wiz certainly has a great opportunity to test his market value. He could also be very interested in staying and playing with the Habs.
We’ll know in the upcoming days and weeks.
True, only the Wiz and PG know the answer to that. I’m sure even if PG didn’t want to make an offer to the Wiz, he would have at least chatted with the agent to find out if Wiz is open to negotiations on re-siging with Montreal. and I’m sure the agent said, “we’re gonna wait till the first and see what comes our way, you’re welcome to submit an offer for his consideration.”
I haven’t ever seen air, prove to me it exists.
Are you kidding me? Fans here have accepted less substantive indication of existence.
Take for instance Scot Gomez’s best years. I am told they really happened.
Please. Don’t add any credence to the best is yet to come crowd.
Want empirical evidence? Ask Mr. Gomez to show you his Calder trophy or his two Stanley Cup rings.
That’s as Hard as hard evidence gets.
To get dibs on the guy while no one else can offer something? But yeah, at this point, Wiz will probably just wait til July 1.
I have no doubt in my mind he is gonna wait till July 1st. If I’m 99% sure of that I’m sure the 29 GM’s in the league are too.
Maybe Detroit is willing to give up theirs to talk to him seeing as its a likely destination for him anyways.
edit: 2nd round that is
-When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro-
It happened last year. Philly dealt Hamhuis to Pitt on June 25.
Arm chair GM time…
Trade – Wiz (= 3rd rd pick) + 17th pick for TJ Oshie
July 1st – Sign E. Belanger
July 1st – Use remaining $5M (or less) to sign 23rd player [Jagr, Leino, Laich, Kopecky], which could give us a pretty solid 3rd line [AK/Eller/Oshie].
FORWARDS
Mike Cammalleri ($6.000m) / Tomas Plekanec ($5.000m) / Andrei Kostitsyn ($3.250m)
Max Pacioretty ($1.625m) / Scott Gomez ($7.357m) / Brian Gionta ($5.000m)
Mathieu Darche ($0.700m) / Lars Eller ($1.270m) / T.J. Oshie ($3.000m)
Travis Moen ($1.500m) / Eric Belanger ($1.250m) / Ryan White ($0.850m)
/ David Desharnais ($0.850m)
DEFENSEMEN
Andrei Markov ($5.750m) / Josh Gorges ($2.750m)
Hal Gill ($2.250m) / P.K. Subban ($0.875m)
Jaroslav Spacek ($3.833m) / Alexei Yemelin ($0.984m)
Yannick Weber ($0.875m)
GOALTENDERS
Carey Price ($2.750m) / Drew MacIntyre ($0.500m)
BUYOUTS: Georges Laraque ($0.500m)
CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter)
(these totals are compiled without the bonus cushion)
SALARY CAP: $64,300,000; CAP PAYROLL: $58,720,509; BONUSES: $400,000
CAP SPACE (22-man roster): $5,579,491
I would love that. We can dream..
Wiz to move up is a possibility. Could be Gorges as well if its true that he’s asking too for much. Jagr is not coming here says his agent. and I do like Leino, always did well for me in my pool.
-When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro-
I like a lot of your thoughts there. Funny – about a month ago, I had a few guest writers on my blog do the exact same thing as a challenge. Give it a read – you could have been one of the panelist yourself! (http://wp.me/p1n6pU-2I)
The only major disagreement I have is Drew McIntyre. I know he’s 500K less than Auld, but I don’t think he has what it takes to be a proper backup with Price. You can read my thoughts on that here (http://wp.me/p1n6pU-3s).
I really like the fact that you’re including Ryan White in your roster as well. I love that kid! Great hockey skills and he doesn’t take “crap” from anyone.
Visit me at http://www.bleedbleublancrouge.wordpress.com and http://www.thehockeywriters.com
Oshie would be a great fit on RW. So would Okposo from the Isles. Ahhh…dream on.
Fan since ’71
Good point that the Habs can actually have Cap space if they use their youth. AND still pick up another valuable and slightly pricey (3 mil) forward.
It bugs me that both Gainey and PG seem to want to spend all their money in the off season. Why not put some faith into young players, keep our salary with some space for needs when the season is cooking.
well done, that seems like a good possibility
it’ll be interesting to see what PG does with the money he’ll have at hand
But you didn’t include the UFA (Jagr, Leino, Laich, Kopecky) in the starting 12 forwards…..
UFA $ and placement in the line-up depends on who it is, which i left open to speculation. the point is we’ll have money to add a significant piece if there is one is available.
Gord Miller saying Ryan Smyth to Calgary in exchange for a late round pick
Theres Calgary’s problems solved right there. LOL! If anyone should have started a rebuild it should’ve been them and not Philly, but im still happy to see the Flyers being broken up.
-When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro-
Exactly eh! Just what calgary needed, more veterans and less draft choices! Anyone have an idea what they would be getting from Buffalo if Regehr waives the NTC? And wasn’t that handled well, so we just traded our stud defenceman, but decided to ask him to waive the NTC after the fact, that way we can make him look bad if he doesn’t want to go to that beautiful Queen city in Western New York.
I work in Calgary…my coworkers are threatening a lot if this deal goes through. The fans here are ready for a significant change in the team’s culture. This is not what they were looking for.
A quote from a coworker “This is like the Habs bringing back Kovalev for $6 million”
Lol Markov.
“Who’s the first player you’re gonna hit in practice?”
Markov – “Jacques Martin”
3 Mill is too much for Gorges.
2.5 – 2.75 for 2, take it or leave it.
EDIT: Hearing Ryan Smyth is headed to Calgary, picks involved…….. but who cares unless somehow it bleeds over in our direction.
-When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro-
where’s the audio posted?
TSN
“Wanting is often more pleasurable than having.It is not logical but it is often true.” – Spock
TY
Well there goes Markov’s PP TIME. Step right up Roland!
Whooo! It is great to see the WPG franchise to bring back the old name, Jets. My friends in Manitoba sure will be joyous over the return of team name.