Anyone feeling bereaved?
The money Bob Gainey’s new/old team threw at Jaromir Jagr is absurd: $4.5 million – $1.2 million more than he was making in Philadelphia.
Puck Daddy says 20 teams were in the hunt for a 40-year-old future HoFer who faded late in his Flyers’ season and in the playoffs.
Would it have been nice to see Jagr on a line with his Kladno homeboy Tomas Plekanec?
Absolutely.
But not at that money.
Jagr is said to be a great teammate with an attitude and work ethic that are an inspiration to younger players.
Again, though, that’s a lot of scratch for a father figure.
And the Stars also signed 40-year-old Ray Whitney on Canada Day.
Hey, it worked for the Boston Celtics …
• Sports Illustrated lists the 24 biggest free agent busts in NHL history. And no. 6 is …
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He turned us down the first time and used Montreal to gain a bigger salary last year.F him… I hope he bombs out!!!
3 of the top 6 worst signings ever are Glen Sather’s. Worst GM in modern hockey.
good, glad habs didnt get jagr, were rebuilding with youth movement, no place for an aging over paid player..right gomez !!
GO HABS GO
Is it remotely possible that the salary cap, which has steadily grown, will begin shrinking at some point, in which case 13-year, $98-million contracts become even more of a burden than they appear now, to the point of bankrupting franchises?
Maybe there’s no such thing as a hockey bubble and that the good times will roll on — but teams such as the orphaned Phoenix franchise and the ailing New Jersey Devils serve as warnings that the future of the NHL might not be as rosy as some owners evidently believe with their absurd signings.
Maybe they know something about the global economy now and in the decade to follow that has so far eluded economists, columnists and other soothsayers foretelling gloom and doom.
Maybe, just maybe, player contracts are the bellwether of what lies in store for years to come. If so, hallelujah, brothers and sisters.
I doubt their caps will shrink. These big contracts give them swollen heads hence the need for bigger celery caps.
http://tinyurl.com/6q5pag6
***Subbang Baby!!!***
I’d recommend switching to more accommodating headgear for swelling heads.
Dave!
Summit game ticket??
Ian…sent last week for 2 in the $110 seats, total $220…, you already responded to me…should have it by now.
***Subbang Baby!!!***
How do you make celery caps? It could come in handy the next time I prepare a big potful of soup.
Richard R
Price is an oyster. Unfortunately not all oysters produce pearls.
Three very high profile left wingers are now presumably on the market: Rick Nash, Dany Heatley and Bobby Ryan.
While it was the Eastern teams that wanted Parise (Pitt, NYR, Philly) it will be the western teams that might want to respond to this major move by the Wild.
Detroit and Nashville almost are forced to respond.
We can be in for some fireworks on the trade market.
I’m just happy they went to the Western Conference….
Good luck ‘winning’ with Heatley….
Wonder when Shea Weber will leave Nashville – hmmm.. he would look good in the blue, blanc et rouge!
Dear Suter and Parise: don’t accept any rides home from the rink with Dany.
___________________________________________________
Being a Hab fan is like buying real estate: only over the long-haul will you appreciate the true value of your investment.
drunk driving fatalities…not exactly what i’d view as fodder for guffaws and laughs.
dumb post.
Too soon Chuck.
Right. Take a taxi. But not with Patrick Kane anywhere in sight.
Richard R
Price is an oyster. Unfortunately not all oysters produce pearls.
Uncool dude.
Heatley deserved jail time for what he did.
Richard R
Price is an oyster. Unfortunately not all oysters produce pearls.
I never really get too bothered by these teams that need to sell tickets who go and sign good-to-really-good players to these monolithic contracts. Very rarely does it produce the desired results, unless that desire is to put butts in seats. Hooray for Minnesota, they’ve got two homeboys (well, Suter’s from Wisconsin) that can help sell tickets but in long run will they make the Wild into a top team? I don’t know, but my initial inclination is to say no.
———————–
GO HABS GO! Maybe 2012-13 will be our year!
“Scott Gomez is an elite NHL player” – VancouverHab
Chat with me on Twitter @TheRealRGM81
I don’t get the complaining about “long term”, “crazy money” contracts.
first, it is common sense for the player to want job security
second, it usually saves the team money in the long term – as the 54 million Cap hit climbs to 70 million these past 2 years
third, its the same rules for every team – and every team must play under the league’s hard cap
fourth, it builds loyalty and familiarity for the fans
how does a long term, high salary contract effect anyone negatively?
if the owners use it, the players like it, and the fans benefit, where’s the problem?
” it builds loyalty and familiarity for the fans”
You can’t be serious!
for the fans of the team signing the player long term it does.
absolutely.
Price signed for 6 years.
He’s our long term goalie.
You think that doesn’t help selling the player to the fans and selling the team to the fans?
yes. I’m very serious.
Ed, that’s different.
He’s one of ours.
The Habs drafted him, and have groomed him. Home grown!
But if he shunned the team’s offer to go to the Canucks, for instance, what loyalty or fan reassurance do you see there? …. none!
“it builds loyalty and familiarity for the fans”
Tell Scott Gomez.
I don’t miss Bob Gainey.
I’m so disgusted. It’s almost enough to give up watching the game altogether.
There was a time when a prospect or free agent would be presented with the opportunity to play in Montreal, and they would jump all over it.
Like the Yankees. It was the ultimate in sports.
Now, it’s all about money. Pure and simple. There are very few, if any, allegiances or loyalties.
David Poile is beside himself, and why shouldn’t he be?
Suter was offered $90MM.
NINETY MILLION DOLLARS!!! And he turned it down.
What is wrong with the world?
We discuss how some find that “Russian” players don’t play with heart. It’s obviously a generalization, but you can’t convince me that these prima donna pros care about their fans or have any more heart, regardless of where they come from.
I’m completely turned off by all of this.
Since the OLF turned down my application as a language inspector for the Quebec Government, maybe I’ll try my hand at Buttman’s job.
One thing’s for certain, Daddy Campbell would be gone, and so would ridiculous long-term contracts!
would you want to play out your entire hockey career in Nashville?
I think every player who becomes eligible for free agency earns the
right to decide where he will play.
your comment was # 666 by the way.
maybe there was an angry Karma there that was unavoidable.
That’s my birthmark!
And yes, I agree (now that I’m breathing again) that a player has a right for free agency.
But when the team that recruited you, trained you, banked on you, promoted you to the community and prided itself around you is basically shrugged off for the sake of what….10%? There’s something wrong with that. IMO.
He could have gone back to them and worked something out.
They don’t do that for free. Don’t be naive. They couldn’t give a crap about any player. They are investments and they do everything they do expecting the possibility of a return. First and foremost, this is the entertainment BUSINESS.
And even then, they took a pay CUT to play together in MN, which is essentially as close as you can get to their hometown. I wish players did similar things for Montreal.
It just goes to show you that in this day and age, even if you’re going to make a cup run, if you can’t re-sign your pending UFAs before the trade deadline, you’re better off trading them. Just ask Nashville and New Jersey whether they wish they picked up a couple of first round picks for these guys. Suter was offered 98 million. What will PK get as a UFA in a few years?
“This Team is Less than the sum of it’s parts while Gomez is one of those parts.”
I think that many in New Jersey would say that
The playoff run to Game 6 of the Finals (of which Parise was a big part) as motivation for the team who finished in a Habs like position the year before.
The positive impact that had on key players like Brodeur re-signing and Kovalchuk coming into his own as a playoff performer battling through injury.
The estimated $26M in additional revenues from the playoffs
The opportunity to keep Parise, possibly more motivated to stay after the playoff run (rumours seemed pretty consistent that NJ was one of the 3 teams Parise was seriously considering)
Maybe some motivation to resolve the NJ ownership woes
Might all have been worth the risk of getting nothing for Parise by not trading him at the deadline. I don’t think they got “nothing”. This is not an “AK46 for a pick” scenario for an out of the playoffs team.
“Et le but!”
If Minnesota doesn’t make the playoffs next year I’m gonna hit the floor dying of the giggles
my weekly Habs analysis:
http://thehockeybeat.blogspot.ca/2012/06/normal-0-false-false-false-en-ca-ja-x.html#more
Crazy contracts.
I don’t mind if we can sign a veteran for a year or two ( Pricey – speak to your cousin Shane).
We need another top 6 forward.
I find it weird how everyone dumps on Bourque.
He is a number 3 left winger.
We traded a top six forward – who is really a second line guy who had 3 pretty mediocre seasons ( and a great play-off run).
We got back a top 9 forward , a decent prospect ( Holland) , and a second round pick – who knows how that wil turn out.
So Bourque alone cannot replace Cammy.
Expect a solid 3rd liner who has the potential to move up – which would be a bonus.
Some online critiquing the Wild for having half their cap tied up in five players. But most teams now have half their cap tied up in a similar way: I think Gomez, Gionta, Plekanec, Cole, Markov, and Price are almost half Montreal’s cap hit. Would you rather have those six? Or Parise, Suter, Heatley, Koivu, and Backstrom?
Full Breezer 4 Life
Hopefully with Parise and Suter off the market, teams will start making some moves. This has been a very uneventful free agency no thanks to them. Maybe we can go after a winger to help bolster the ranks…like we should.
Capgeek shows 21 players signed with 2.8 million still of capspace remaining.
http://www.capgeek.com/charts.php?Team=18
Regarding Minnesota that is.
How do these guys still have money leftover? 9 players making over 3mil/per (some WELL over 3mil). Mehhh
Signed until they’re 40… I would love to see a cap on the length of contracts imposed. It’s gonna be great for the Minny fans until one or both of these guys gets chronically injured. At least they know when things get untenable, Builder Bob will always be there in Dallas to pick those contracts up. Hey… I wonder if Dallas has any interest in a top 5 center in the league circa 2005?
“This Team is Less than the sum of it’s parts while Gomez is one of those parts.”
No cap on contract length, if owners are dumb enough to keep GMs around who sign those contracts they deserve what they get. No matter what anyone says about Gainey he was always of the perspective that 10 year contracts don’t make good sense. Heck 6 years is probably the max depending on the age of the player. MN is plain DUMB!!!!
He shoots, he SCORES!!!!!!
Does anyone know much about the Sarnia Sting?
I’m just curious to know next year, what kind of players Galchenyuk will have to play with him. I think it is safe to assume that Yakupov will be playing with the Oilers next season…..so would be interested to know if Galchenyuk has some offensive support……
Hopefully if he is as good as we think he is, it won’t matter in terms of producing offensively.
“I think I may have found a way for us to get Griffey and Bonds, and we really won’t have to give up much” -Costanza
1. Based in Sarnia Ont., which I think I visited once for a wedding. It was either Sarnia or Sault Ste Marie – I can’t recall.
2. Named after the singer Sting, who did write a few good pop tunes way back. Dream of the Blue Turtles is utter shite however.
That’s all.
–
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.
haha thx, I will figure out some way to use this info.
“I think I may have found a way for us to get Griffey and Bonds, and we really won’t have to give up much” -Costanza
Sting turned to shite after the Police broke up
______________________________________________________
“It’s just an opinion – I could be wrong”
Why are we talking trades when guys like Doan and Semin are still unsigned — and to a lesser extent Wolski and Arnott? If we want a scoring forward, it’s much better to overpay a bit on Doan than to give up picks, prospects and roster players for Kane/Ryan. We’ve got tons of cap space anyway — if we sign a big-name free agent, Gomez is traded or in Hamilton immediately, taking $7M off our books.
Expect the Wild to trade Dany Heatley now.
They don’t need two 7.5 million dollar left wingers.
If they can get a solid defenceman in return, this Wild team will be very dangerous.
Yeaaa heatlly is gone but should habs fall for him?
SIR PLEKERS
Really don’t like Heatley.
Bit of a baby la la.
Heatley has 2 years left @ $7.5 MM , so they would have to dump Gomez.
______________________________________________________
“It’s just an opinion – I could be wrong”
$35.25 million of their payroll is tied up in 5 guys – Parise, Koivu, Suter, Heatley and Backstrom.
They will have to dump Heatley but he has a NMC.
______________________________________________________
“It’s just an opinion – I could be wrong”
I would never want Heatley on the Habs anyway but if he refused a trade to Ottawa he will def refuse one to Montreal.
Heatley’s views on playing for rebuilding teams was evident when he refused to go to Edmonton!
No way, no how, thank God he’s coming here!
=================================================
The cerebral insight of PJ Stock:
“Le problem est Markov n’a pas jouer un seul game cette annee”
“Louis Leblanc est un kid locale”
” I have a pet peeve”
I’d like to apply for the next vacant “capologist” job for some team.. Doesn’t look like it’s too hard to convince GMs out there to sign people to the age of 40+ with serious cap hit. Likewise, looks easy to convince GMs to trade away blue-chip assets for huge contract players.
Donald Fehr just got some major ammunition why the current CBA should not be changed. When a mid to small market team like Minnesota makes this kind of commitment what does it say about the need to change the CBA? Granted I realize Minneapolis is a large city, but Minnesota has traditionally been a team that does not spend up to the cap or hand out MONSTER contracts.
If I am Donald Fehr, I send a nice thank-you card and perhaps one of those edible arrangements of fruit to Chuck Fletcher and the ownership of the Minnesota Wild.
Gary Bettman must be sitting in his cave wondering what is going on. In that regard, I find myself chuckling…
I’m afraid it will be a long..long..long time before we see NHL hockey again.
However,on a somewhat brighter note,NFL training camps start later this month!
Someone tell Ian to make sure the heater on his pool is working, because the Oct. 27th Summit may just be a late October swim in his backyard. I will bring the Bratwursts! Maybe even some Southern Manitoba Mennonite Farmers Sausage, tastes great BBQ’d.
I kind of feel sorry for Ian,taking all this trouble to arrange the Summit,which could very well be in jeopardy.
What are the Ducks asking for Bobby Ryan? Maybe we can throw Pleks in the deal with Weber, and ???????
He shoots, he SCORES!!!!!!
So then bobby ryan will play with eller?
SIR PLEKERS
Well, if we plan to dream…. I’d suspect Ryan to play with Gally… Specially if Pleks is traded.
—
#OperationGomezTirePump
#OperationSubbanDeflatedSalaryExpectations
Tweet it, talk about it. Let’s get rid of Gomez and sign Subban for cheap!
Go Habs Go!
We don’t even know if Gally will make the team and already you’re counting on it being so and wanting to rearrange the deck chairs. That’s optimism. Maybe.
Richard R
Price is an oyster. Unfortunately not all oysters produce pearls.
Now that Parise is off the market… I expect the price to get Ryan has gone way up now.
Pittsburgh, Detroit, Rangers will all want to be involved.
—
#OperationGomezTirePump
#OperationSubbanDeflatedSalaryExpectations
Tweet it, talk about it. Let’s get rid of Gomez and sign Subban for cheap!
Go Habs Go!
They are asking waaaaay too much. The rumour mill has it something along the lines of:
- Established roster player
- Blue chip prospect
- 1st rounder
…Ryan is good, but not that good.
I agree, not worth giving that much away for Ryan…. Let’s dance with what we have…… If we can trade some depth at D and Pleks for a good left wing then let’s do it, otherwise don’t overpay to get them to Montreal like we did for Gomer….
He shoots, he SCORES!!!!!!
First you want to dance with what we have then you propose trading some D plus Plekanec.
Richard R
Price is an oyster. Unfortunately not all oysters produce pearls.
Im glad both of them signed in one day, now for the Habs to acquire Marleau… rumors are Sharks have been shopping Marleau quietly. does it sound quietly enough that Habs are involved?
“Responding to the media , or playing to the media, or listening to the fans is the quickest way to start losing” – Sam Pollock
Ugh, here we go again. This means in about a month we will hear how Vinny is coming to a Montreal again. Argh!!
—
#OperationGomezTirePump
#OperationSubbanDeflatedSalaryExpectations
Tweet it, talk about it. Let’s get rid of Gomez and sign Subban for cheap!
Go Habs Go!
Hahaha Marleau!
“Responding to the media , or playing to the media, or listening to the fans is the quickest way to start losing” – Sam Pollock
I certainly hope not… he is overpaid at this point and it’s all downhill from here.
He shoots, he SCORES!!!!!!
Get off the site, Eklund! LOL
He’s been peddling Marleau-to-Montreal rumours for about 4 years now.
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GO HABS GO! Maybe 2012-13 will be our year!
“Scott Gomez is an elite NHL player” – VancouverHab
Chat with me on Twitter @TheRealRGM81
Just got off the phone to my Minny people and they expect Nash coming over for Suter and Parise by lunchtime
Ooh Aah Habs on the golf course
Well, they must have waited awhile.
With Minnesota right up against the cap, and with good forwards but a pretty brutal D corps after Suter and Gilbert, maybe Brodziak becomes available — a big 20-goal centre who can play RW. It would probably take a proven 2nd-pairing D with a low cap hit though — something we don’t really have. I’d kick the tires with a so-so offer of Weber, Morgan Ellis and a low pick, at least.
Keep Ellis. I have a feeling he’s going to be one of those quiet but valuable defensemen for years to come once he gets a start.
Under no circumstances would I like to see us trade away Morgan Ellis.
Richard R
Price is an oyster. Unfortunately not all oysters produce pearls.
The wild will be better and tougher (which you need for the Western Conf). But they don’t have much depth so that will be an issue and their defence is subpar.
Look for Bergevin to try and rid themselves of Bourque and Kaberle’s contract…Is Eller getting interest, yes he is…With regards to Weber and St. Denis, well Weber will get dealt, not sure where they think St. Denis is (no space for him), you can’t use him as the 7th dman. Hes gotta play everyday. Diaz can be sent to the minors. With regards to Gomez, they may try and to the Hamilton route, but that won’t come until later in summer or during training camp.
Look for the Islanders to go after Bourque (or some team like that) that have to get to the cap floor. I think Long Island is still 10 million under the cap floor. They need salaries…
I’m all for replacing Bourque, but not dumping him for nothing.
When the islanders come begging for Cap stuffing salaries, we tell them… It’s Gomez or you can talk to the flyers about Pronger… Take your pick.
—
#OperationGomezTirePump
#OperationSubbanDeflatedSalaryExpectations
Tweet it, talk about it. Let’s get rid of Gomez and sign Subban for cheap!
Go Habs Go!
It’s kind of nice to see these two guys taking a little less than they could’ve gotten elsewhere – don’t doubt it for a second – for the chance to play together and go back to their roots in Minnesota.
Full Breezer 4 Life
Detroit reportedly offered 90Million over 13 years, not sure they took a haircut to play in the same state as the great Jesse The Body Ventura.
I shouldn’t leave out Mean Gene Okerlund!
Parise to Minnisota i believe.Habs need a 2nd line winger Now!!!
SIR PLEKERS
Lost in all this is the Wild’s signing of Jake Dowell.
So they’ve added Parise, Suter, Mitchell, Dowell, and KONOPKA so far this summer.
Interesting that you CAPED Konopka, as if to imply that was THE best signing they made.
Judging by cap hits, you may be onto something.
—
#OperationGomezTirePump
#OperationSubbanDeflatedSalaryExpectations
Tweet it, talk about it. Let’s get rid of Gomez and sign Subban for cheap!
Go Habs Go!
Say what we will about Konopka, but teammates love to have a guy like that on their bench. No doubt his statistical productivity is minimal, but a player like Parise or Suter is quite happy to know that Konopka is on their team. Right or wrong, it is how players feel.
Dominoes…
Does Minnesota have to shed cap space?
Is Ryan Suter worth $7.5M per year?
nope. $7.538461M apparently.
edit: way to edit your post after mine showed up
no, especially since we really don’t know how good he is without Weber! These are two big OVER PAYs!!!!!!! Fletcher is an idiot, he just mortgaged his team for a Long long time!
He shoots, he SCORES!!!!!!
No.
SIR PLEKERS
I wonder if the Wild plan on icing more than one impact D.
Maybe they’ll go after Weber and Bouwmeester now.
I would suggest Matt Carle, but he’s too young for the Stars.
—
#OperationGomezTirePump
#OperationSubbanDeflatedSalaryExpectations
Tweet it, talk about it. Let’s get rid of Gomez and sign Subban for cheap!
Go Habs Go!
True! Perhaps they’ve got an in on a geriatric specialist.
So Mr. Jagr is moving to Texas next year. He better keep his ‘gambling’ out of New Mexico, That’s my turf!
“Never give up control. Live life on your own terms. Every life comes with a death sentence.”
Gambling? I thought that you were just into the blue!
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Being a Hab fan is like buying real estate: only over the long-haul will you appreciate the true value of your investment.
Shhhhhh!
(you don’t want to end up with the ‘flu’ do you!)
“Never give up control. Live life on your own terms. Every life comes with a death sentence.”
Stupid Lily of the Valley.
___________________________________________________
Being a Hab fan is like buying real estate: only over the long-haul will you appreciate the true value of your investment.
Yeah, but aren’t you in a different profession other than gambling?
I heard blue is your favourite color…or was that green?
———————————————————————-
“Them summer days, those summer days” – Sly Stone
Hot fun in the Summertime
Wow. $196M for the pair of them over 13 years.
Parise and Suter to Minnesota. Called it at 10:32
13-year contracts! $98MM each. For both.
Can you say “Lobotomy”?
My 3-year old grandson has amazing athletic ability.
Maybe I’ll solicit Pat Brisson to come take a look at him and have him negotiate a 25-year deal as of now.
Besides, when he becomes an UFA, he’ll only be 28.
13 years, $98million for each
I know….completely sick.
And as Brian Wilde says, do you think that, ultimately, the Wild will suffer buyer’s remorse?
Wow, Minnesota just went from Pretender to Contender.
Go Habs Go!
NHL Free Agency and Trade Analysis now.
Team By Team Prospect Reports coming soon
http://lastwordonsports.com/
They still have quite a ways to go. Beyond Suter there’s little depth on the blueline (albeit some intriguing younger players), and not much secondary scoring. If Backstrom and Koviu get hurt again like last year, they’ll be hard-pressed to make the playoffs.
That said, they do have some pretty good prospects, so I’m sure that at some point over the next 13 years they’ll be contenders.
With the Parise and Suter signings, they pretty much are on top of ceiling. Do you smell bacon or trade?
“Responding to the media , or playing to the media, or listening to the fans is the quickest way to start losing” – Sam Pollock
Nah, they went from “There’s a team in Minnesota?” to “That team that scored Parise and Suter”
—
#OperationGomezTirePump
#OperationSubbanDeflatedSalaryExpectations
Tweet it, talk about it. Let’s get rid of Gomez and sign Subban for cheap!
Go Habs Go!
Bingo Bill!!! The team that made a splash and ruined their team for a long time… Suter is very over rated and Parise is good, but 13 years at those numbers is a humongous gamble, especially with a new CBA on the way!
He shoots, he SCORES!!!!!!
pretender to contender? laughable…. They went into debt longterm debt…. If they don’t make it big they will rue today….. Those contracts are so inflated, no matter how you slice it commandant…….
He shoots, he SCORES!!!!!!
Well, at least they both (Suter and Parise) went to the Western conference…
Wild got better…
TSN reports that Parise and Suter just signed with the Wild.
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/feature/?id=25880
Parise and Suter are now team mates with the Wild!! Wow!
Habfan17
WOW!
Now we’ll see some big trades with Suter and Parise off the table.
Pittsburgh will go hard after Nash or Ryan. They need a winger for Crosby in the worst possible way.
Full Breezer 4 Life
hopefully Ryan is ours… I don’t mind overpaying for this dude in a trade at all… He is the type of winger who will dominate for the next 10 years
I think WILD getting the pair made it harder for MTL. All the other ‘big players’ (Philly;Detroit;Rangers) are chomping at the bits.
I hope so! Pleks, Kristo, and Weber for Ryan and a 2nd round pick.
Habfan17
Parise just announced that he’s agreed to terms with the Wild.
The Wild just got a lot scarier. I still remember that crazy game that the Habs played against them at the Bell Centre last season. No more of that, I imagine.
Setoguchi, Heatley, Parise, Koivu. Not bad at all… with Coyle and Granlund as prospects. Don’t know their defense all that well, but, I mean, having Suter makes them a lot more formidable.
Please recall in the summer of ’03 when Colorado signed both Kariya and Selanne…that didn’t work out too well.
Nor did the Rangers package signing of Drury and, wait for it….Gomez! And that was only 5 years ago
What does Parise bring to a team exactly if some teams are offering 100m deal to the guy? He isn’t exactly a superstar in the league. He’s a lil bigger version of Cammy imo. He doesn’t exactly bring in fans too and it showed in NJ because they say losing money even with player like Brodeur, Parise and signed Kovy to bring in fans.
“Responding to the media , or playing to the media, or listening to the fans is the quickest way to start losing” – Sam Pollock
I read some posts further down saying how nothing MB has done is really impressive (draft was Timmins’ responsibility though it does appear that MB had a good deal of input, UFA acquisitions, etc.).
I would consider the management culture change to be quite a positive thing. The fact that MB wanted to assemble a team of knowledgeable hockey people instead of placing all the responsibilities upon himself. I also am excited about his emphasis on developing the prospects and on really having coaches and support staff in Hamilton that will show them what it means to be in a hockey market like Montreal – development and retainment, something PG and Gainey did not really seem to care all that much about.
That indicates to me that one of their ultimate goals is to build a team composed of homegrown talent that will be ready for the NHL and, in particular, for the pressure cooker that is Montreal. The Habs now have prospects that can become impact defensemen and impact forwards. It will take a bit of time, but hopefully MB’s decision to invest in them will prove to be worth it.
And now the Red Wings have been notified that they’re out of the hunt for Parise. And MN have locked Suter and are still working out the details for Parise.
It’s official!
His contract is for 13 years…. So much for abolishing long-term contracts.
Unbelievable. Does this mean Lebron James gets the credit, for starting this new trend of UFA’s going to teams together? Or should Chris Bosh get the credit….
Each being reported at 13 years, too. That’s nuts.
___________________________________________________
Being a Hab fan is like buying real estate: only over the long-haul will you appreciate the true value of your investment.
You could blame both!
Or you could lay it squarely on Dwayne Wade!
Suter to Minnesota Wild, Parise far behind?
Detroit has been told they’re out on Parise too
Looks like that’s a done deal, too.
___________________________________________________
Being a Hab fan is like buying real estate: only over the long-haul will you appreciate the true value of your investment.
Looks like the Silver Foxes kid Chuck Fletcher learned a thing or two from pops on how to make a big deal work.
Suter to the Wild, eh?
___________________________________________________
Being a Hab fan is like buying real estate: only over the long-haul will you appreciate the true value of your investment.
I heard that as well, some MIN reporter tweeted it?
So the Pens have withdrawn from the Parise sweepstakes.
That’s one less for the Habs to challenge.
Zach Parise is not going to Pittsburgh.
Likely choosing between staying in NJ or going home to Minny
Points to Ponder:
Habs finished with 78 points and therefore missed the playoffs by 14 pts. (Ottawa, Washington 92 pts.).
Habs had fewer goals against than four Eastern Conference playoff teams (Florida, Philadelphia, Washington, Ottawa), and scored fewer goals than all these playoff qualifiers except Florida.
Making up 14 points is difficult, although New Jersey, Ottawa, Florida and St. Louis (and maybe others) were non-playoff teams the year before. On paper, we should be able to put up more goals if Markov and Gionta stay healthy. But of course, other key players may suffer injury. Unfortunately, I feel Colesy and Patches may drop down in production, but Pleks and Bourque should go upwards.
“May you live in interesting times.”
Erskine,Hannan,Eminger,absolutely! If they got Size and Nasty do it!We need one of them, “Que Blamo Gusto Amigos! Hola!
One common comment that I see all the time is that Montreal needs more grit and sandpaper if they want to play with the likes of the Bruins and Flyers.
I find this frustrating. The Bruins are not a dominant team because of grit and sandpaper…they are a dominant team because they have some extremely talented players.
Chara is big and tough, but he’s also one of the top three defencemen in the NHL for the past decade.
At forward, they had six forwards score at least 20 goals (Seguin, Marchand, Lucic, Krejci, Bergeron and Kelly), and Horton was a shoo-in to join them until he was felled by an injury.
They had six players with at least 50 points, and Horton and Peverley almost certainly would have hit that plateau were they not injured.
Even the Bruins fourth line is one of the most talented in the league, with Paille, Campbell and Thornton combining for 22 goals while forechecking the other team very hard.
So many hockey fans have an obsession with size that might make an Amsterdam madam blush, but size is not good enough if that is all there is. You need guys who have boatloads of talent. The Bruins, as much as I detest them, have not mindlessly sought size so much as they have sought bigger guys that can skate and score.
I see so many people are ecstatic with the Prust signing, which I find a little amusing given how much the discussion has resembled that that occurred when Georges Laraque was signed a few years ago. If Prust can give the Habs the kind of minutes he gave the Rangers in 2010-11, then I will be happy with him. But if he simply plays like he did last year, he’s going to be a waste of money.
Compare Prust to the Bruins fourth-liners. Paille (who was a top-scorer in the OHL with the Guelph Storm) makes $1.3 M per season, Thornton (whose game is similar to that of Prust minus the penalty killing) makes $1.1 M and Campbell (who is almost a clone of Prust minus the fighting) make $1.6 M. Montreal is paying Prust $2.5 M to do the same job.
I’m not saying that Prust was a bad signing. But the Bruins have been very smart about how they build their team. They have not overspent on role-players and have built up a formidable offence (tied for second last season, fifth the season before that), which allows them to get by with a defence corps that is largely dedicated to keeping the puck out of their own net and does so as well as any team in the league.
If Montreal wants to compete with the Bruins, size and grit won’t be enough. They are going to need to find some talent to match up with a team that is three scoring lines deep and a team that can roll four lines comfortably, allowing them to keep their top players relatively fresh for the entire game.
The size obviously helps make them tough to play against. But while Lucic is obviously a physical beast and Horton has a mean streak at times, most of the Bruins top-9 forwards are more talented than they are physical. Marchand does not intimidate anybody physically, he is just simply dirty. Krejci, Seguin, Bergeron, Peverley, Kelly, Pouliot…none of those guys is notorious for their physical play.
well we’re equal in subbans…
this all comes from that 8-6 game. if you don’t want to fight don’t fight, score board always hurts more.
“If you don’t want to fight, don’t fight”. The Bruins didn’t give the Habs that option during that game (ask Pyatt, Hamrlik, Spacek, etc) and exposed the team as a soft bunch of pansies. That game was the most embaressing game ever as a Habs fan. It is nice to see MB start to address this but he still has a way to go. John Erskine and another big D man would be so nice to get this summer.
not one guy that was picked up can win a fight against lucic or chara… sorry not enough “sandpaper”
Bruins were pushed to the top tier when Ottawa’s GM passed on Chara and kept Redden. Who was that GM?
“May you live in interesting times.”
It was either Muckler or Bryan Murray. Either way it was stupid.
Well said but for some reason as good Boston is on paper the Habs midgets always give them a run for it, with the new guys it should get better ,as for Prust he could be on is way to be the next C. Neil or even Nilan
Chris, I stopped reading your post when I got to the “Amsterdam madam blush” crack, I was laughing too hard. Witty. Well done.
Anyway, I’ll resume reading your post now. Keep ‘em coming.
People need to remember that the Salary Cap is now 70.2 million dollars.
Two years ago it was 56.4 million, an increase of nearly 14 million in just 2 years.
With the cap and floor rising at this dramatic rate we have inflated salaries on the UFA market.
I keep hearing the same refrain from fans at nearly every signing “so and so is overpaid” he makes X amount more than player Y
We have to remember that contracts signed last year, 2 years ago, 3 years ago, and more are no longer comparable to new contracts today.
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We also need to remember there is a new CBA on the horizon and signing players at inflated dollars for severe terms (extremely long contracts) is especially risky. If the cap goes down those players can become Gomez’s in a hurry, especially with contracts as long as are being speculated about, 10-13 years… Even at 70.2 mill the insane bonus structure Parise wants isn’t justified no matter how you couch it.
He shoots, he SCORES!!!!!!
That’s true, and it’s a fact that seems totally lost on a lot of people, just like tax rate differences and their effect on salary demands in different markets.
Someone playing for the Predators pays 35% of their salary in income tax. Compare that to someone playing for the Canadiens, who pays 53%. On a two million dollar contract, the Predator takes home 1.3 million. The Canadien takes home $900,000.
On your point, two years Gomez was eating up 13% of the Habs’ salary cap. Now, it’s about 10%. Still too much, but a significant drop.
Full Breezer 4 Life
Let me preface this post by saying I like Lars Eller — he rarely takes a shift off, has good size, is well-spoken, etc. But, in order to get a top 6 forward, we will need to dangle some blue chip carrots, and I think Lars may be worth trading if we can get a solid LW to play with Pleks and Gio.
I’d consider trading Eller, Bourque, and Diaz for that solid LW. Then, I’d sign Arnott to take Eller’s spot. Arnott brings veteran experience (our oldest forward is 33), has won the Cup, and did well last season (17 goals) for St. Louis, where Mellanby was an assistant.
Call me crazy, but I’d consider it.
Dear Crazy
I think trading Lars is not a bad idea persay, that would depend on the return, but I would much rather trade 30 year old Plekanec, than 23 year old Eller.
I would call you crazy. I think Eller will be better than Pleks in the very near future. I would rather trade Pleks than Eller. Especially if it means getting a better LW.
He shoots, he SCORES!!!!!!
I think current management might be more of a help to Eller in realising his top 6 potential. A one, two center line up of Galchenyuk and Eller is highly possible in a few years.
I think Gainey will try and bring Gomez to Dallas for Jagr. Yes I know he is not the GM but he has a voice there.
It would take some weird kind of Stockholm Syndrome phenomenon for Gainey to trade for Gomez.
–
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.
That is easily the best post I’ve read on here in some time, kudos HFS 72.
MB has done a good job so far. I say good job because he has remained calm, cool, and collected, and the worst thing he could have done is a knee jerk reaction to where the team is at.
The team is much more talented than last year’s record. Maybe the lines can be a little more consistent and allow the team to build some chemistry. Chemistry and the right player mix is the key. Even the Habs of old, the 1970′s great teams, had a mixture or talent, skill, and role players. It takes time to build that special mix, more so when you throw a salary cap into the mix.
Not only do the Habs have some talent on the current roster, but there are some great prospects in the pipeline. The biggest mistake MB can make is rushing players onto the Habs before they are REALLY ready. Galchenyuk, let him play another year of junior and then Hamilton. The kid is not ready for NHL action yet. Let’s see what he does without a Yakupov on his wing…. Does he still put up the same numbers? Move him to Hamilton. Got to remember AHL is filled with creme de la creme of players from lower levels…. Let the kid adjust to tough competition and see how he does…… just my 1/2 cent……
Go Habs Go
So according to Capgeek, the Minnesota Wild have 15million and change in capspace with currently 22 players signed. If indeed they get both Suter and Parise, won’t those two contracts push them right up to and possibly over the cap given the contract demands we have heard about? Would a Clutterbuck or Granlund become available?
Also via TSN, Parise and Suter are talking to each other and it may be a joint signing.
That would be quite the Coup by Minnesota. All of a sudden the RedWings look like a much different team if they don’t land either of these fellows. Have to believe most other teams in the west are cheering for Minny to get them rather than Detroit.
Most western teams are hoping they land in the east, if not on their team.
Believe it to be between those two now.
According to Renaud Lavoie (RDS’s legitimate reporter), they’re both close to a lock for Minnesota. I guess BG’s influence is not so bad with Dallas. Too bad they don’t want his Gomer.
When Minny traded for Gilbert last year there was a thought that it might have been done, in part, because of his connection with Suter.
When I do my (non-2012 draft) prospect reports later this summer, Granlund will be the #2 guy not currently in the NHL. He’s a stud. I doubt Minny moves him.
They may look at something to free up cap space, but it won’t be Granlund IMO.
Granlund will be centring one of their top two lines (with Mikko Koivu) very soon.
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Ben, when are you projecting your Prospect Reports starting?
I’m aiming somewhere from the 15th-20th of July.
With 30 teams to go through, I want it to take us through the days when there is really next to nothing in hockey news, and then when they are over we’ll have the Canada/Russia World Junior Challenge, and then the start of NHL training camps.
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$7.5M a piece should be doable. Kovalchuk and Richards’ legal contracts have a cap hit of $6.7M.
–
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.
So does that mean that technically a team can have a single year payroll where they exceed the cap amount in actual dollars paid out, because the actual caphit of that season is below the ceiling?
For instance, if Parise gets a 12Million upfront bonus and Suter gets 8Million up front, but the caphit is reduced due to term. Therefore the actual dollars paid out by the team that year would exceed the cap but be okay.
Yes. And then Escrow is used league wide to make sure the actual dollars spent by all teams do not exceed the players 57% share of revenues.
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That is what I thought, but kind of had a brain fart and needed to ask. Thanks Ben.
They also have UFA defenseman Kurts Foster who would fit nicely on our blueline. I keep harping on one big D.. I think it’s team most pressing need that has no imminent suitable candidate in our system.
I see all the potential among our forward prospects that it gives me hope that one could make it onto the big stage successfully.
Yah, I should have looked at the Dmen as well. I am in agreement with you Trin, would love one more big tough crease clearing dman. Given Bergevin played that position, given the contract he just gave Price, I have to believe he is noodling a way to get one.
If those two get what they are asking, highly unlikely in MN, they will be very overpaid for too many years!!!!! Especially Suter……
He shoots, he SCORES!!!!!!
In all likelihood Weber, Diaz, or both will be gone come training camp.
Who still thinks we should trade for Erskine or Hannan??
isn’t Hannan a UFA?
CRAP!, I forgot all about that!
Even with one of those guys gone we still have 7 NHL defenceman and Frederic St. Denis.
I’d deal Weber for prospects or picks… or as part of a package to get a LW. (not as the centrepiece, but as one of the add-ons).
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I agree commandant, we have a glut of Dmen, especially with Ellis, Tinordi, and Beaulieu rising fast….. Diaz and Weber are both good offensive Dmen and we should be able to get something for them…. Maybe we wait to see how Markov does…… If he blows out his knee again or the other one, he will be done. I think he will bounce back this year, but we need to hedge our bets on Markov by keeping the two young guys around until we know more… Additionally, I believe Diaz is an RFA and hasn’t been signed yet, no?
He shoots, he SCORES!!!!!!
Yes he is
Habfan17
Yep!
Been on the ‘acquire a steady 4th-5th D’ bandwagon for a while and looked at Erskine but don’t really want to trade for a defenseman. Defensemen are what we have to trade with. So would love to pick up Hannan UFA. Or maybe Eminger from NYR.. who JJ Daigneault may be very familiar with. I think if we pounce early we may be able to him or Huskins from St. louis for between 1.5 to 2. mill.
Hannan is literally waiting to be singed, I see no rason why we should not have signed already, I like Eminger too.
You are always an insightful poster Mr. habstrinifan
When Hannan was last a UFA he signed cheaply in Calgary because he desired to be as close as possible to family and friends out west.
I’d take him, but is he really gonna want to come to Montreal, and the East?
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Thank you. I have learnt a lot from almost everyone here, including yourself. It’s fun, informative and also helps to work out the occasional ‘angry fan’ syndrome.
Some posters like Commandant and Un Canadien and Tom Nickle are actually near brilliant on hockey matters… probably better than 90% of the twitter bloggers.
Others, like John Belyfull add more than hockey banter with their wit.
And then there’s Timo.. whose inexplicable mancrush for MAB, reminds us that “everybody loves somebody”.
Just kidding Timo!
You don’t trade your depth….poor planning if you do. Of course if the right deal comes along you consider it. But trade this, trade that, dump this, dump that. I hope Bergevin , Therien and crew are as thoughtful and deliberate as necessary.
wjc
Again there guys, Hannan went from a top 2 or top 4 paring defenseman several years ago all the way down to a fringe player. I don’t think anyone wants to sign him, period.
Calgary gave him top 4 minutes last year but he looked plain bad a lot of the time. He’s still living off his reputation of years past.
He’s had a string of 4 or 5 bad seasons and is fading fast. Not sure what happened to him several years ago?
Injury, attitude, different game after lockout…?
Have to love the fact that Gainey is no longer part of the Habs mgmt yet still is required dumping ground material. Aaaaah to be able to harbour ill will for so long, I am jealous of those.
Don’t think you are refering to my post questioning Gainey’s ‘advisory’ input re Jagr. It is fair however, while not ‘dumping’ on this habs legend, to ponder how involved he was with the (ill-advised?) Jagr signing.
No not you Trin, but for people to assume Gainey was the decision maker on Jagr, then that means Savard made the UFA signings for the Habs and the coaching hires. We just have to forgive and forget as it relates to Bob Gainey and the GOmez move. No good comes from dwelling on the past mistakes of his tenure. I am more than sure MB has seen the difficulties presented in having the Gomez contract and will learn from it.
Edit: And I don’t think a bad signing, the guy still has great skill, the Flyer players loved having him on roster last year, and Dallas has oodles of cap room with a new owner who needs to make a splash.
Ill advised…in who’s opinion…I suppose the question mark means maybe not. I asssure you if Dallas can make the playoffs with a couple of 40 something, they will be quite happy
I am not privy to the needs of the Dallas Stars, so time will tell.
wjc
I didn’t say that Dallas’ selections were Gainey’s doing, but rather that he had a hand in it. They didn’t hire him for his looks, Gerry. I’m sure there’s some influence there.
I am confused how anyone would expect MB to announce what he plans to do with Gomez. If he says “I’m trading him” or “I’m going to bury him in the minors”, it puts him in a situation from which he can’t return.
Gomez’ actual salary for 2012-13 is $5.5 million. In 2013-2014, his actual salary is $4.5 million. His salary cap value is $7.35 million.
In the warped world of salary caps, he might be of value (even if he plays like he deserves $550000). Who knows? Maybe Gainey will convince the Stars to trade for him again?
I completely agree…. You never know what teams will need to do to hit the cap floor. It’s possible Gomez could be sent some where and the Habs actually get a 7th rounder or a player (highly unlikely, but we can dream).
The bottom line is, no need to show what cards we will be playing until we decide to play them. Nice to see no one is dumb enough to suggest buying him out, that would be a mistake at ANY point and time.
If the cap floor stays where it is Gomez would have value. It may mean throwing in Weber to get the deal done, but then maybe the Habs get a 3rd round pick, basically for Weber. It could be structured that if Gomez hits 20 goals and 20 assists, it becomes a 2nd rounder.
Habfan17
Training camp, evaluate, decide, execute. Keep is 90%….trade if the right deal comes along… put on waivers if he does not have it anymore. My bet is he plays and gets back to the 60 point level. No reason to believe otherwise. Therien is no fool and won’t be fooled. Bergevin did not fall off a turnip truck and his experienced staff will have their imput.
Gomez is only 32 years of age……key….right team mates, right coach and style to bring out what he does best. Then sit back and enjoy….Remember when Lafluer was finished and retired and then came back…..not comparing him to Lafluer just saying stuff happens.
wjc
Just checked the Stars website. Slim pickins. Gomez, Weber and Diaz for Goligoski?
Richard R
Price is an oyster. Unfortunately not all oysters produce pearls.
Just out of curiousity, can anyone tell me where Geoff Molson is ranked in the top 100 wealthist Canadians??
The article says rounds out the top 100 wealthiest in canada with a net worth of $490 million…
http://www.thestar.com/article/727959–thomson-clan-tops-canada-s-richest-list-rogers-family-fifth
Not a billionaire, like Sabre’s Terry Pegula? In this case, Mr. Molson needs the Habs to be profitable.
“May you live in interesting times.”
So Geoff and his dozen or so cousins are worth $490 million while the Habs are worth $550,000,000. And I strongly suspect that most of that $490,000,000 is tied up in Molson Coors shares so his purchase of the Canadiens would requiring them to borrow and leverage against their shares.
Can’t see them having any strong desire to pay someone $7.3 million to play hockey in Hamilton.
Yup, agree Frank.
I hope people read this and understand what it means but HIO is fantasy central at times. Unfortunately most get lost past 3 zero’s.
And yes, I knew what the Molson’s are worth
Goes better when they hear it from a third party
Thanks arcosenate
Can’t he just increase production on Molson Canadian? You know turn the tap a little more open and voila he has more money!
Nobody is being paid 7.3 million. Lets not confuse his cap hit and salary.
As of right now, the highest PAID player in the Montreal Canadiens organization for the 2012-13 season is scheduled to be Andrei Markov
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I understand completely but was not the point that I was going for.
I think he’s a little higher than me.
Not by much, Forbes have you in their rising like a bullet class!!
Really? When do the cheques start arriving?
Are you going to the summit Frank?
Corporate AGM is either that week or either side. Hasn’t been finalized so cannot make commitments.
Me neither. We’re awaiting a large contract confirmation, and delivery delay is 10 to 16 weeks, so it could fall right in there.
We’ll have to do the fishing outing instead.
All I know is he as more doe, rae me then… yours truly. With a lot more where that came from.
wjc
P.K Subban just tweeted…”great question HabFab”.
If Armstrong palys well…great…if the Habs do not…then he is the type of character guy that could be moved at the deadline if healthy for at least a 2nd round pick. If the Habs are playing well and Armsrong does well…great value…I see no downside to this signing…I have no problem with injury prone players if they are at fair value…because aside from the odd freak of nature…EVERYONE is injury prone….it is the NHL…everybody gets hurt at some point.
Boulioon is another character guy…a tough stay at home guy….another commodity that we need AND another commodity that is often sought after come deadline should we be out of the picture.
Next years draft (suppsoedly a very deep one) has the Habs currently loaded with 3 2nd round picks. We are suddenly very deep at forward in prospects….the future right now looks as good as it has.
This team if healthy could be a playoff team…and if not? who cares we are on track to rebuild…this is a win win season IMO….it is a transition seasont hat if the stars align could also be a decent and competitve season with the Habs having assets to make a run at deadline…or be sellers…really doesn’t matter..I am just excited for what is taking place….great pieces in place and what looks like some pretty clear direction.
I agree, as much as I dislike the guy I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. He had some decent years in Pitt, some Crosby guy was there as well, but maybe he can be useful here as well.
Come on, he says he grew up a Habs fan, what the hell…
Excellent post, very positive Krob.
We need a round of applause for the much maligned Mr. Gautier for garnering all those 2nd round picks.
Come on people show some gratitude.
wjc
Looking at attendance for 2011-2012, very surprised to see Detroit to be so high up there, everytime I saw a game from there it looked empty:
http://espn.go.com/nhl/attendance
Pay per view is where the real money is. PAY PER VIEW. That is why Crosby is paid so much….big draw……Pitsburgh play Detroit and they get a million more pay per view hits
The arena is just atmosphere.
wjc
Does anyone else think that Gainey throwing $4.5M at Jagr is further proof that Gainey no longer has his famed judgment? It’s a sad thing to acknowledge.
how is it a bad signing? 1 year deal and it’ll help put some people in the seats. for a team with lots of cap space why not.
Intriguing top 6. Something like:
Eriksson/Benn/Jagr
Whitney/Roy/Ryder
There’s also Morrow
in fairness to gainey he is not the gm in dallas… its joe nieuendyk its like blaming a signing on serge savard instead of marc bergevin
You do know that Gainey isn’t the GM of Dallas … right?
Full Breezer 4 Life
I would not have been too happy had the Habs signed him for that amount, but Dallas has cap space, and 20 goals and 50 points gets you alot of money nowadays in the NHL.
when did he ever have good judgement?
I suspect he has a little more good judgment than you. Unless, of course, you have a Stanley Cup as a GM, too?
I would be more concerned with what dastardly thing Bob has evidently done to Joe Nieuwendyk, usurping the GM position and making wildly ill-advised signings.
Or we could understand that Joe Nieuwendyk is alive and well and making managerial decisions for the Dallas Stars, thereby making him a more obvious target for criticism.
I can’t believe Serge Savard gave Price that contract and what was Serge doing when he contacted Prust. Heck for that matter what the Hell was Serge Savard doing when he hired MT and brought back the breezer!!!!
Why did Savard sign Price for all that money?
———————————————————————-
“Them summer days, those summer days” – Sly Stone
Hot fun in the Summertime
The kid has to pay for his new house.
Well Savard could have offered him a little less.
———————————————————————-
“Them summer days, those summer days” – Sly Stone
Hot fun in the Summertime
Not me. BG is not / not the decision maker in Dallas ; he was hired by the GM, Joe Nieuwendyk, to provide inputs in these decisions.
ALWAYS Habs -
D Mex
Gainey is NOT the GM of Dallas. That job is Nieuwendyk’s.
Stop spreading BS!
———————————————————————-
“Them summer days, those summer days” – Sly Stone
Hot fun in the Summertime
Advisors don’t sign players. GMs do.
Pile on!
(this is fun)
***Subbang Baby!!!***
Great “analysis.” As always. NOT! For such a horrible judgment he certainly knows how to sneak into the GM position from that advisor role pretty well!
It may be a tad expensive but so are most of the deals that have been done in the last days. The G.m`s tend to go all in event though they know it`s bad for them and even though they have a new CBA to negociate. Can`t help to be ont the player`s side cause the g.m.`s are their own worst enemies.
Would have paid half for Jagr although i recognize that even at his age he has more up sides than down sides.
Well, lets just say, his role as advisor is just that. He gives his opinion and a decision is made. Dallas will make that Jagr money back 10 times over and the playoffs are another story. People will buy Jagr sweaters, come to the arena to see the future hall of famer, and buy pay-per-view hits. Marketing Dallas stuff, especially at Christmas will create even more wealth
Wish I had 1% of what he will generate, not counting the excitement and skills he seemingly still has.
wjc
Respectfully, you’re nuts.
First, Dallas has 19 players signed and $20M in cap space. Dallas could have paid $10M for Jagr’s 20-25 goals and still had tons of room for all the other players that they’re not going to sign anyway. It’s only a one-year contract, and it isn’t as though Dallas is mortgaging the future, so why all the hate?
Second, Gainey isn’t even the GM in Dallas. If the U.S. president makes a bad/good decision, it’s kind of silly to blame/credit his VP. For all we know, Gainey strenuously advised against the signing — though I’m sure this isn’t the case, because it makes a ton of sense.
I’m reading a lot about bad management, even though MB’s feet are barely wet.
Can we show a little patience, people? The team hasn’t hit the ice yet.
Last year, we all agreed (well, most of us) that JM wasn’t getting the most out of his players, given the defensive nature of his style of play. And he was too subdued, not involved enough, and certainly not vocal enough. We all screamed for change. We wanted a coach who could let the officials have it. We wanted a coach who would light the fire under the players’ collective arses.
I think we’ve got that now as well.
Now that the Gainey era has moved on to Dallas, let’s stay optimistic and believe that the new management will get the best out of our better players.
And speaking of the Gainey influence, doesn’t anyone find it ironic that Dallas has signed two 40+ year old players under Bob’s influence, when they put Mike Modano out to pasture by dumping him when he turned 40?
Irony can be very, um… ironic.
Our new GM took the first step in building a organization model off the chicago blueprint. which is great news.
player wise, well i’m confused, if this is a youth movement, are we gonna go with the same team as last year with the addition of some role players. It would be silly to expect better results with the same lineup. i have a feeling there is a move coming up; i just think that the last few big UFAs have to clear up before teams start talking trade.
To be clear, I’m not saying Bergevin is bad, or made bad moves, just that nothing stands out as awesome, under his tenure.
I feel like the last awesome Habs news we got was Bergevin’s hiring, and after that all was just maintenance moves.
Sure there’s Galchenyuk, but that’s more on Timmins.
Under his tenure? And how many weeks would that be?
Jeez Louise, we’re nitpicking before we’ve seen any lice.
It’s summer, and this is a hockey blog, of course I’m nitpicking, there’s basically nothing else hockey related to talk about than nitpicks.
Maybe it’s time to step away from the computer then…
Hey I’ve been away from this place for 5 o6 day, gimme a break here !
No….Scott Howson passed on Gaucho…….
“May you live in interesting times.”
I agree, with Parise and Nash not done yet and the CBA situation, cut them some slack! MB has done pretty well so far, the bottom 6 is better than it was at season’s end. Sure they could use a mean crease clearing defenceman and a 2nd line left wing, but they don’t grow on trees and there is a cost. Besides, we don’t know how close some of the prospects are. From what I have been able to find online, Pateryn is a player with plenty of sandpaper and he is 6’2″ and around 220lbs. Give him and Nash a chance. There may be a few other surprises too!
Besides, If MB makes all his moves now, what will we have to look forward to for the rest of the summer? There won’t be anything to come here and post about
Habfan17
Fans just do not want to admit that we are in a building mode. Just do not know if they realize how empty was the Habs structure before Bergevin took over. Of course they want everything NOW but they will have a bad surprise cause it will take a few years before we can really aim higher.
I think there’s frustration with that perspective because it’s what was promised when BG took over, and we went in the wrong direction.
When Shiram is pushing for a blockbuster trade, you know the team is taking it slowly.
It all depends what a guy has left in the tank….you cannot generalize like that. Brodeur signs 2 years at 40 years old and most goalies are finished at 36. Depends how he took care of his body and his genes.
wjc