The Canadiens have only 11 skaters – and no goaltenders – at this week’s Development Camp II.
• Pat Hickey looks at the prospects, including 6-foot-3 sleeper Daniel Pribyl
• Hickey on Pierre Gauthier’s game plan
• Jean-François Jacques, a very large forward, is very available
Hockey Inside/Out: Absolutely everything about the Montreal Canadiens For editorial inquiries, contact Gazette sports editor Stu Cowan. For advertising inquiries, please contact your Gazette sales representative. © 2013 The Gazette, a division of Postmedia Network Inc. All rights reserved. Unauthorized distribution, transmission or republication strictly prohibited. Terms and Conditions Privacy Statement
Loading ...
Richard R
…and I saw Jack Bruce play with Bill Cobham Lifetime Band at Newport in ’70…so there!!!
Well punkster, I saw Jack Bruce, Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker, aka Cream, twice. At the Whisky A Go Go in Hollywood in 1966 and at San Fernando Valley College Auditorium in 1967. Lucky us!
007…I completely screwed up. It was Tony Williams Lifetime band at Newport. Bruce played with him there. Don’t know why I said Cobham. Age I suppose.
Anyways…Cream…now THAT’s a concert. F’in eh!
***Subbang Baby!!!***
Nathan Lawson – The new Sanford.
Need to sign Drew MacIntyre – He rocked last year to the Dogs!
Rutherford on something – Signs Kaberle for over 4mill and gets rid of Corvo who played the most minutes than any Cane D last year. Bizarre.
Drew MacIntyre has signed a deal with the Buffalo Sabres.
http://www.thespec.com/sports/bulldogs/article/558319–bulldog-s-lose-star-goalie-to-nhl-dreams
That sucks – I understand though he wants a shot and The Habs don’t want a backup who is looking to steal Price’s spot which will be his spot probably for the next 10+ years barring injury or contract disputes. I’m hoping that we have a Marty Brodeur situation where all you need is a Terreri to play 10-15 games per year. Does Budaj – Terreri? I’m not sure if it matters. It would have been nice to get something back for MacIntyre though as Lapierre trade yields another big fat 0. How many more years of Gauthier/Martin combo? The wife team’s management & coaching – Muller is having me look to a mistress team – Meet you at the hotel L.A. Kings.
one big key for the habs will be that camm puts together a season of 30 plus goals…that expectation is not out of line….could someone tell why plecks and gomez have so much trouble winning faceoffs in the opposition zone(pp after pp we loose the initial faceoff so many times) and in our zone …i remember on broadcasts the year before and lthis year they mentioned plecks was working on his draws but it does not seem to help…is winning faceoffs like goal scoring you just cannot learn it….on the other hand his % is not that bad but it seems he is very unreliable on key draws…
@christophorr
gorges isn’t strong, he can’t clear the front of his net,
he loses more battles than he wins along the boards.
he has a decent first pass, but he’s unable to turn that into offensive returns.
his shot is average.
he can’t play with markov (gorges worst period as a hab was when he was paired with markov). reason being that gorges likes to join the play and he stunts markov by jumping in first when markov should be the one in the play.
3 million is for your best shutdown defender.
3 million is for you 2nd pairing point-producing dman.
gorges is neither of those for the habs.. he’s an allround player with no real strengths and makes few mistakse with leadership skills and a lot of heart, but he’s not worth 2nd pairing money.
you know who makes 3.25million? dennis seidennberg who is streets ahead of gorges. scores more, hits more and actually plays on the 2nd pairing.
this why gorges shouldn’t go to arbitration. he’s still going to get around 2.75m, but he’ll be ripped apart needlessly for a few hundred thousands.
- Gomez is holding down the “overpaid” button
DS is also 3 years older and has more NHL experience. Gorges may not be worth as much today, agreed. Will he improve and is he worth keeping? I would think yes.
***Subbang Baby!!!***
definitely worth keeping, but I’m not sure how much he can improve.
if at 26, he signs a 2-3 year deal at less than 3 million, he can sign a deal over 3 million when he hits his prime as a dman at 28/29.
as of now, he’s not worth 3 million, and he’s also an RFA that we don’t necessarily have to overpay.
- Gomez is holding down the “overpaid” button
I’ve said all along 2.25-2.75M. I’d be surprised if he got more and it could very well be less.
Gorges will soon be fighting for a spot with the depth the Habs have on the blue line in the system. The Habs didn’t try to sign Hamrlik for nothing.
Gorges +14 in two full seasons with the Habs (last year he was injured the first year he played 7 games) – He can hold his own and IMO Gorges > Seidenberg who can hide behind Chara’s shadow.
Year Team League GP G A PTS +/- PPG PPA SHG SHA GWG PIM Shots PCT Hits
2010-11 Montreal NHL 36 1 6 7 -3 1 0 0 0 1 18 20 5.00 55
2009-10 Montreal NHL 82 3 7 10 2 0 3 0 0 1 39 52 5.77 85
2008-09 Montreal NHL 81 4 19 23 12 2 3 0 1 0 37 63 6.35 94
2007-08 Montreal NHL 62 0 9 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 32 41 .00 -
2006-07 Montreal NHL 7 0 0 0 -1
so you’re saying that gorges hasn’t been hiding behind hamrlik, markov, gill, komisarek in the past 3 years?
- Gomez is holding down the “overpaid” button
The only reason Gorges plays top four minutes is his heart – Playing on one good knee – Playing without fear. I’ve seen floaters in my day (AK27, AK46, The Chicken, Post-Lucic Komisarek, Samsonov etc…). Gorges is no floater.
Gorges is definitely no floater. He’s one of the hardest working players on the team, but sometimes just being a hard worker isn’t good enough. He’s well-suited to be a 3rd pairing dman playing 18-20 minutes a game and to fill in as a top 4 in case of injuries.
- Gomez is holding down the “overpaid” button
Well this year’s stale UFA market is even drier. I would have liked Konopka on the 4th line but from watching the Bulldogs last year especially during the playoffs I really think Engqvist fills the role for a big shut down center (6’4 200+lbs). White & Moen can share the occasional glove drop. NO KOVALEV!!! I’m not too worried – check out the Eklund video on youtube – hilarious!
My armchair GM 11/12 Habs –
rough salary guess-timates in brackets = cap hit of 61.694 mill
leaving 2.606 million for adding sandpaper (cap ceiling 64.3 million)
Camm 6 – Pleks 5 – Cole 4.5
MaxPac 1.625 – Gomez 7.357– Gio 5
Darche 0.7 – Desharnais 0.850 – AK46 (off-wing) 3.25
Moen 1.5 – Engqvist 0.900 – White (0.9)
Eller 1.27 (Plug into 3rd line center duty when healthy – then White centers Darche & Moen on 4th line & Desharnais moves to LW on 3rd line)
First call up – Palushaj
Markov (lefty) 5.75 – Gorges (lefty) (3)
Gill (lefty) 2.25 – Subban (righty) 0.875
Yemelin (lefty) 0.984 – Spacek (lefty) 3.833
Weber (righty) 0.850 (can also use as RW/PP specialist a la Streit)
Diaz (righty) 0.9
first call up – Nash (lefty)
Price 2.75
Budaj 1.15
-0.5 Laraque buyout
I have some incredible news. It comes from an extremely reliable source close to another source who talks to his barber regularly. He’d cut me off if he knew I was spilling the beans here, so please keep this on the QT. This is going to be a blockbuster signing:
Anyway…two names tonight who I am hearing could be Habs soon…Alexei Kovalev (e4) who minutes after signing his big two year contract in Ottawa 2 years ago, announced how he wanted to return to Montreal after the contract. Kovy loves Montreal, and Montreal loves Kovy.
Ain’t that grand news? Oh, the other name…who cares? Let’s plan the parade.
BILL, great news! But I got to tell ya, he is flying with his own plane to Belleville on Friday. He is coming to our annual pool party on Saturday. He is building a huge house on the water here and retiring. We are going fishing for Muskie on Sunday.
We are all done, except for the arbitration for Gorges and White signing. No more trades or moves.
We are a much better team this year and now about the coaching!!
Jarvis is showing the Boston team how to win face offs now.!
Muller’s magic coaching special teams is now gone.!
So, is Martin working the bench alone this year, or does anyone know.???
: S *Double take followed by cold shiver*
Hey Ian… I’m actually thinking I can get to the summit now, and I’d like to bring my dad along.
Can I get my name on the list? or do you need my email or something?
Great!
Click onto my picture, go to my profile and send me an e-mail. Then I will have yours to contact.
Unlike the old Habs Inside/Out, I don’t seem to be able to message you that way. When I click on your picture, I see your profile, but there’s no option to email you or contact you.
unless I’m missing something
613-968-9807
ok I sent it, check for my email from my hotmail account, then delete your info
Well I guess Konokpa was “good enough” to play on the Sens 4th line. Maybe someone here can explain that to me? I’ve seen a few folk here say that Konokpa wasn’t “good enough” for our 4th line. I’m a tad bit confused by that, the guy has a better face-off % than our 7 million dollar 2nd line center, yet he isn’t good enough for our 4th line..?
not one single team offered him more than $700,000 for 1 year, and the one that did is a lottery team in the middle of a long-term rebuild.
that contract is pretty telling of his perceived value amongst GM’s around the league.
well, he is what he is. He’s a 4th line mucker who fights and happens to be very good at face-offs. Most of the teams in the league already have a tough guy in place. He’s a 4th liner, it’s not like they are in demand and being offered huge deals right? I just laugh at the comment that “he’s not good enough” for our 4th line. Mark my words, the NHL is heading back towards the NHL of the 70′s with fights and knuckle-draggers. The NHL has seen the huge popularity of the UFC and they know it will be a way to raise the viewership in the states. Now, they will never admit that, because it isn’t PC. But mark my words, I see it happening. Look at the team that just won the cup, the Boston Goons. Look at the way the NHL has leaned in not suspending plays like the patches hit. It is clear to me that this is a direction the NHL wants to go in because it see’s it as profitable. The habs will have small, speedy, skilled players, and the other teams will counter that by playing smashmouth hockey. I watched all season, it was clear that other teams game plan against the habs was to dump the puck and be very physical. Because they know that we just can’t match that kind’ve hockey.
I was one of the people who toyed with idea of signing him too, don’t get me wrong
but at the end of the day, I think we all needed a reality check… because we feel our team gets bullied by other teams, we are all very excited to see some toughness added
consider the fact that he signed with one of the worst teams in the league for 1 yr $700 000, the Habs and most other teams could have had him and all his face off wins and fights for like 750k or so… but not one other GM thought he was worth it.
I don’t know bud, I think we just got a little over excited for him.
I guess we’ll see this season if he can become an impact player and prove them all wrong.
Ottawa is a non playoff team, in a major rebuild.
The Habs are a playoff team.
Konopka is a very limited player, he is good at faceoffs, and he gets a ton of penalties, but does not offer much else.
He is not even big.
Ottawa is arguably going to be the worst team in the eastern conference this year, so there’s that.
He wins face-offs, sure. But he doesn’t do anything else.
Are you serious? Ottawa’s 4th line is the equivalent of a respectable NHL franchise’s AHL affiliate’s 3rd line…..on a bad day.
Just cuz the guy can win faceoffs doesn’t mean he’s good enough to be a Hab. He’s a lousy skater, a LH Center (which we have plenty of), and not that good defensively.
There’s a reason why he was only offered a 1 year deal for just over league minimum, from one of the worst teams in the league, who’s currently rebuilding.
- Honestly yours
I think you missed my point. You’re saying, “hey, that 4th line fighter isn’t a very skilled hockey player”. and I’m saying “uhhhhhh, yaaaaaa”. get it. He’s a 4th line fighter. Saying he’s not skilled is an oxymoron. You’re talking about him like we want him on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd line. No, he’s a 4th line fighter. Ever see the boogey man play, he wasn’t very skilled either, but he had his purpose and he did it well.
and P.S. – Ottawa has Neil, who’s considered one of the best 3rd or 4th liners in the NHL. They now can put him on a line with Zenon and not have him do all the fighting. Not to mention they can win the face-off and get puck possesion, which is exactly what a 4th line is supposed to do. Not score goals, get puck possesion and bang and crash giving your other three lines time to rest.
I understood your point and I know that you are well aware he doesn’t have much in terms of hockey skills.
You opened your post with “If Konopka was good enough for OTT’s 4th line, why wasn’t he good enough for ours?” and I replied by saying that OTT’s team is so brutal that someone good enough to play for them (especially a 4th liner) isn’t necessarily good enough to play for us.
I’d prefer we acquire a 4th line C that brings size/toughness, defensive responsibility, energy, and a good FO%, preferably with a RH shot. That might be a tall order, but ZK only brings the faceoffs and willingness to fight. We can/should do better than that.
- Honestly yours
I saw Derek Boogaard play against the Canucks in Vancouver, and he is without a doubt the worst hockey player I have seen in the NHL. He was so far behind the play and his checks occurred so long after the puck had gone that his being a fourth liner with Minnesota is not a testament to his skill but an indictment of the state of refereeing and the game in general in the NHL.
As far as being a good fighter, you can Youtube his bouts with Georges Laraque. Mr. Laraque would clean his clock on a regular basis, he was a vastly superior hockey player and fighter, and he couldn’t help our team.
———————————
Let’s do something like this again: 1) Mike Cammalleri 2) Brian Gionta 3) Hall Gill
http://relentlessineptitude.blogspot.com/
The only reason Mr. Konopka will play on the Sens fourth line is because they don’t have a fifth or sixth line.
———————————
Let’s do something like this again: 1) Mike Cammalleri 2) Brian Gionta 3) Hall Gill
http://relentlessineptitude.blogspot.com/
Arnott, Langenbrunner and Stillman are still out there…
Perhaps Captain Gio can make another phone call to his buddy Jamie
I am kidding. I am happy with our team. Mr. Gauthier is right, this is a new team, they are still bonding together, the additions of Cole and Budaj are good enough. We just need a 4th line forward.
Slow, slower and slowest, but not in that order
Canes trade Joe Corvo to the Bruins for a fourth round pick.
Habs sign G Nathan Lawson to a one-year contract.
So basically Bruins traded Tomas Kaberle and a 4th for Joe Corvo.
Here’s the release on Lawson :
Lawson, 27, played his first 10 NHL games with the New York Islanders in 2010-11, posting a 1-4-2 record, a 4.06 goals against average and a .893 save percentage. He spent most of the season with the Islanders’ development team in the American Hockey League (AHL), suiting up for 16 games with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. He recorded 6 wins, 5 losses and 4 overtime losses, with a 2.90 GAA and a .913 save percentage.
A native of Calgary, Alberta, Lawson played a total of 83 games in the AHL over the past three seasons, posting a 41-30-9 record with a 2.46 GAA and a .922 save percentage. Lawson ranked second in the AHL in terms of save percentage in 2008-09 (.927) and in 2009-10 (.922), both seasons with Bridgeport.
The 6’2’’, 203-pound goaltender played 75 games between 2004 and 2007 with the WCHA Alaska Anchorage Seawolves.
Lawson joined the Islanders as a free agent on March 2, 2008.
What deal do you guys think Gorges might get from arbitration?
Are we talking over or under $2.75 million?
Oh over. I’ll say 3.25
There must be some question marks about his health status no? I mean he’s PROBABLY okay but we can’t know. I wonder if that’s taken into account.
Questions for sure. Probably is okay, yes. The Habs are in a better position than any other team to know what’s up with that. I say the 3.25 area based on his rehab & recovery having gone well. I also take into account that you never know for 100% sure. But the way these GMs have been spraying $$ around, you have to think that a lot of teams might gladly pay him that or more.
RE: 3.25mil: Reason, thy name is kempie… at least this time.
3.25? no way!
career high 23 points? he’s not a top pairing dman.
he’s at best a 2nd pairing dman, and most suitable as a 3rd pairing dman.
he has way too many glaring holes to his game and arbitration is not a good idea for gorges. He’s going to get ripped by the habs brass.
- Gomez is holding down the “overpaid” button
The Habs offered him 1.3M so I figure between 1.75-2.25, maybe as high as 2.5M.
Crazy talk.
1.3 was just to qualify. It’s a meaningless number in these negotiations. Yet that’s where your reasoning starts.
AT LEAST 3mil.
AT LEAST.
And to your friend: point out these holes for me, will ya? pfft, 3rd pairing. bwaha.
Edit: Though if you’re right, Aitch, I’ll be thrilled. (Fingers crossed).
I’m thinking right in your range, 2.25 to 2.75…. but according to his agent, the idea is to work out a deal before the hearing.
I’d like to see 3yrs @ 7.5 mil
Mr. Gorges and his agent were wise to file for salary arbitration, it just gives them more options and strengthens their marketing position.
As far as the figures thrown around by posters on HIO, be aware that the market may have shifted upward with the recent free agent signings. During the hearing both sides use comparables to establish what they think is a fair salary. What we thought Mr. Gorges was worth in June may no longer be the case, with the money that was thrown around at average players.
———————————
Let’s do something like this again: 1) Mike Cammalleri 2) Brian Gionta 3) Hall Gill
http://relentlessineptitude.blogspot.com/
Anyone else see Gorges has filed for arbitration?
Posted it below at 4:04 pm
hahaha shoot
NP, guess it can be it’s own post.
His agent hopes to re-sign before arbitration, so that gives an indication of where Gorges wants to play.
Will be interesting to see what kind of deal comes out of it!
Why can’t I see my comments
Why can’t I post
Can anyone tell me why I can’t see my comments when I post them from my laptop. The same crap happened a few weeks ago. It’s very frustrating not being able to comment.
Keith Yandle signs with the Phoenix Coyotes for 5 years 26.25 million.
Tomas Kaberle to Carolina, 3 years for 12.75M.
wow, 5.25 mill per for Yandle.
Even wowier – Kaberle for 4.25!
Did they actually watch the playoffs?
I can’t believe the Burke-ian mindmeld voodoo spell he cast on the rest of the league to make everyone believe he was a PP QB and gifted defenceman wasn’t broken by his horrible performance in the playoffs.
Maybe they don’t watch hockey in June in Carolina?
———————————
Let’s do something like this again: 1) Mike Cammalleri 2) Brian Gionta 3) Hall Gill
http://relentlessineptitude.blogspot.com/
Yandle – 5 years – $26.5 million per Darren Dreger on Twitter.
So much for those BS rumours.
And Carolina signs Kaberle to a 3 year, $12.75 million deal.
Kaberle too,
DarrenDreger Darren Dreger
Tomas Kaberle agrees to 3 yr, $12.75 deal with Carolina!! Done.
but 4.5 is too much for Cole….Nice work Carolina
Screw you tom.
It could technically be a sign and switch, couldn’t it?
But the rumour’s probably void at this point.
An interesting article on Delmas.
Thanks. I wondered where he came from. Good pick up.
Is Delmas supposed to the starter in the AHL
* Madre de Dios! Yo prefiero el bocadillo sin lechuga! Zen’s a Sen! WTF? When, when, is PG gonna learn that in order for matter to exist and function in at least three dimensions, he must begin with one dimension. Buildin’ blocks, baby, buildin’ bl…zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…
* If I’m Bettman, I’m gettin’ a little nervous about somethin’. Well, to be accurate, a little nervous about nothin’. Specifically, the almost absolutely nothin’ that NHLPA boss Donald Fehr has said since takin’ on the role. Nope, too busy doin’ his homework and linin’ up all his l’il ducks. One might take it for granted, but it would be virtually impossible for anybody takin’ on that kinda high-profile role to keep clammed up like that and for so long. Put it this way: If it were Burkie, the press releases would be flyin’ out the door faster ‘n Hrundi V. Bakshi’s roll of toilet paper in Blake Edwards’ The Party. Not sure I’d want to venture a round of No Limit Holdem with the ol’ Fehrster.
* The Habs’ PK plans for 2011-12 aren’t yet fully fleshed out. There’s still a TON of unsigned UFAs floatin’ around. No coincidence.
* Speakin’ of UFAs, noticin’ that among the list of “Top 3″ remainin’ unsigned UFA D-men are two former Loafs. There’s no way, no way I tellz ya, that former Loafs will continue to dominate the list of “Top 3″ remainin’ unsigned UFA D-men over, say, the next decade or so.
*cough*
* This just in: Kovy has found a new home. Yes, that’s right, producer’s of the BBC One’s Strictly Come Dancing have announced that Siberian professional dancer, Pasha Kovalev, will be joinin’ the lineup for the upcomin’ season.
* Speakin’ of Siberia, in any global conflict, that is the front General Bryan Murray would be relegated to mannin’.
Like your Fehr comment. I’ve been saying for a while that he’s gonna have Bettman’s ass, and then his job. That’s not a fight Bettman can win, ask Bud Selig.
The fate of our national sport rests in the hands of two American lawyers.
Yikes.
Picard signs with the Pens – 1 year, 600 K deal.
Alexandre Picard signs a one year, two-way deal with the Penguins.
Josh Gorges filed for arbitration.
I other news Konobody cares.
So you can scrap Gorges’ name from any trade rumours going forward.
Good luck to Picard, he always seems to be on the fringe of the NHL/AHL border.
DarrenDreger Darren Dreger
Sorry if this is out there. Josh Gorges filed for arbitration yesterday. Agent Kevin Epp says goal is still to get him signed before arb.
the Gorges going to arbitration is expected. He’s a 26 year old dman who puts up at best 20-25 points and was injured most of last season. He’s a great team player, but I don’t expect arbitration to kind to him. Atleast not give him more than everyone expects he should get. I’m thinking 2-2.5m. Can’t wait to have him back though. I think they should just give him 3 year/8m deal and then they can both be happy.
What’s wrong with this:
AK-Eller-DD
Moen-White-Darche
Trick question!
Nothing?
hehe, exactly!
eller will most likely be injured for a few months into the season
your fourth line centre is a winger who lost 60% of the faceoffs he took last year?
I was big into Konopka for a while, the high faceoff percentage, PK time and the toughness make for a very alluring utility player. Shortly afterwards, I watched a few youtube clips of him actually playing hockey… and… he’s just a terrible skater. He may have some nice attributes, but his speed and overall ability 5 on 5 make it so that he doesn’t really fit in our style of play. What we need is a 4th line that is tough AND can play hockey, and to me Moen and White are a great start to that. All we need is a solid 4th line center, maybe a Dog coming up, and we’ll have a 4th line that can rival Boston’s. And they have one of the top 4th lines in the league, a big reason the rest of the squad can stay fresh for longer, they eat minutes and get the croud/team pumped.
Konopka reminds me of the NHL’s shortest-named player:
Jon Sim.
Looks like some guy who’s laced them on after a few years of being an out-of-work plumber, and scores a few goals a season off his butt and belly.
—Hope Springs Eternal—
a terrible hockey player who put up 55, 55 and 57 points in the AHL before coming to the NHL?
This isn’t directed toward anyone specifically. But I’ve seen people mention several times that they think Engqvist will have a shot at being this team’s fourth line centre this season.
Is there any specific reason why?
He’s slow, not strong for a man his size, and while he’s good defensively he doesn’t read and react quickly at all. He’s a very long term project in my opinion and won’t be seeing the NHL on a regular basis for another couple of years, if he does at all.
It’s obvious: we haven’t seen enough of him to determine that he sucks the bag so hard that he should be run out of town on a rail and PG should be keel-hauled and forced to watch Paris Hilton’s My New BFF reruns…
So he therefore must be the most amazing player around who will fit whatever role each poster thinks needs being filled, and is the answer to all our wildest dreams.
That’s why.
—Hope Springs Eternal—
Having watched him in Hamilton a bunch, I just don’t see how his skillset translates well to an NHL game when he just gets by at the AHL level.
I agree, I see nothing special at all with Engqvist at this point in time. I don’t see why White can’t be 4th line centre, he started out at that position…
I dunno – I thought he acquitted himself pretty well in his first call-up last year. I was at the Koivu game and he didn’t seem out of place to me.
He does have defensive specialist written all over him though.
has good mobility and size (6″4, 200lbs) is reliable defensivly was hamiltons top penalty killer he can play wing or center but excells at center has some offensive potentiol, doesn’t take bad penalties and he comes cheap at only 900k and is on a two way contract so if he doesn’t work out for whatever reason you can send him to hamilton
basically hes bigger tom pyatt with better faceoff skills.
below is his scouting profile:
ASSETS: Has excellent size and defensive ability. Is cerebral and displays some two-way upside.
FLAWS: Doesn’t use his size enough in terms of physical play. Lacks high-end offensive acumen.
CAREER POTENTIAL: Big defensive center with some upside.
I’m curious where that came from. No offense, but I don’t think he compares to Pyatt in terms of mobility. In fact, from what I’ve seen, Engqvist has below average speed and quickness. And in terms of a defensive game, Pyatt proved that he’s well above average defensively in the NHL. We haven’t seen that from Engqvist.
on another note for optimism he was a plus 11 with 9 points (4 goals) for hamilton in 20 playoff games last year (white was a plus 5 with 8 points in 13 games in comparison)
Nobody is questioning his abilities as an AHL player here.
exactly which is why he and palushaj are both first in line for the fourth line role next year.
Lack of other options?
Thank God Konopka’s signed.
Now we can move on to talking about things that actually make sense.
—Hope Springs Eternal—
Habs need MAB.
are you crazy, he could shoot that’s it! He doesn’t fit in a team defense system (Liability!). Besides Subban’s shot keeps getting better, and with any hope the Markov stays healthy (I think he will be fine) the PP is going to be better than ever!
I wish people would stop bashing Price already!!
Chill, dude. It’s an ongoing joke.
I dream of MAB’s chariot flying up my nose.
MAB RULES!
Timo is his 2nd lieutenant!
He’ll probably be included in the Stamkos trade. Gomez/Spacek for Stamkos/MAB
Sounds like fun playing against Neil and Konopka.
Just keep the important players off the ice when the Habs go up 5-1 late in the third.
lol,and there is no doubt that the Eastern Division teams have toughened up and encircled our Habs thus a possible beat down year.Sounds injury prone to me!
Beh, none of our injuries came from fighting – a couple of awkward falls and shot-deflections.
Oh, and a mafia-style hit gone wrong.
—Hope Springs Eternal—
Sounds like great fun. With those guys either eating important minutes, or sitting on the bench and overplaying everyone else, we’re gonna cream the Sens this year.
Sens signed Konopka.
I’m glad so everyone can stop talking about signing him. He has no skill (except face-off’s and fighting), what would be the point in taking a guy that won’t fit into Martin’s team. With the habs he would have played 8 min a game and would most likely sit in the box for more time then he spent on the ice. We just lost a good player (Halpern, who was roughly as good as Konopka on the face-off’s but had much more skill than Konopka.) because he just didn’t seem to outright win any spot on the roster. Halpern was great at the penalty kill but when it came to normal 5 on 5 he drifted up and down the roster, sort of a “jack of all trades but master of none” kind of scenario.
Besides Martin has said many times that they are not in the market for an enforcer, he always says “look at Detroit, they have been successful for many years without an enforcer”. Why would Gauthier sign a guy that his coach doesn’t want. It wasn’t that long ago that the habs dumped Laraque.
It’s time to face the facts for a lot of the hab fans out there that want a bruiser on the team. The Montreal system wants speed and skill up and down the line up, as soon as you add someone a little slower and with less skill into the mix it throws all the momentum of the play off which will drastically change the entire game!
I wish people would stop bashing Price already!!
The difference between Konopka and Laraque is that Konopka can kill penalties and win faceoffs.
You say faceoffs and fighting are his only positive attributes…well, that’s all you need for a 4th line centre, really.
I don’t really care that we didn’t get him specifically but we do need someone like him.
He’s not even that good at fighting. He’s just willing to drop the gloves more often than others. I don’t quite understand what the big deal is about this guy. Would’ve been a waste of a roster spot if we signed IMO.
Scotty Bowman regularly tweaked the line-up faster/tougher as needed depending on who Habs were playing.
Maybe JM is not as wise as Scotty Bowman.
Also, your comment “He has no skill (except face-offs and fighting)” – well, face-offs and fighting are two of our weakest areas. I can see both sides of the fighting argument, but face-offs are huge and we sucked (thanks Scott!) To play puck-possession hockey you need, duh, the puck.
How would you address those weaknesses?
Picard just signed with Pens 1 year 2 way
Hope he makes the big squad – I’ve always liked that guy for some reason.
That’s the thing too, with Halpern and Pyatt gone that means that Plek, Gio, Cammi, Gomez are still going to be killing penalties, thus wearing them down and less energy for offense…this is not good.
White, Moen, Eller, Desharnais actually. Top players will be killing them too, but so what? Plek is a PK maniac. The guy scores shorthanded goals like no one else.
Would you rather be in Vancouver’s shoes where the Sedin twins don’t even know what ‘PK’ stands for?
so true Avatar.
If Pleky isn’t killing penalties, we’d be wasting one of his best talents.
I actually felt more confident having his pk unit out there rather than some our our pp squads. I like it.
-When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro-
I don’t think Martin trusts Eller and DD that much yet to put them on the PK. I know they had stints on it but not enough. And I like Plek for his offensive skills better than for his defensive skills…which isn’t to say that I’d take him off it completely.
Very true…. and theres only a handful of decent forwards left in the ufa market. Theres gonna be a trade, maybe not today, but definitely in the not too distant future. And it won’t be anything big enough to stop the presses or light up HIO………..well maybe HIO.
-When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro-
Anybody know Pierre Gauthier’s phone number….?
Man i want to give that man a piece of my mind right now!!!
Okay so. The Habs were rumoured to be talking about a deal with the Blackhawks. Renaud Lavoie just tweeted that the Habs are looking to acquire a big forward.
Frolik is from Kladno, Czech Republic. We do have another player from that place. He’s 6’1 – 195.
If Moen was rumoured to be going back. I’m wondering if Gauthier can actually pull off a Moen and Spacek for Frolik trade.
This sounds like a rumour from a couple of days ago.
I don’t know Frolik but I wouldn’t mind moving Moen. He seemed to have some fire when he got here but less as time goes on.
I’d bet it’s for Bolland. RH center.25yrs,6′ – 180 lbs.
“Wanting is often more pleasurable than having.It is not logical but it is often true.” – Spock
You mean you wish it was for Bolland. No way Chicago moves him.
I’d be good with that, but nobody’s taking Spacek.
If I knew you personally. I would bet you a nice bottle of wine or case of beer that Spacek is a Red Wing before the end of the month.
I’d love that bet Tom… I win either way, either I get a free bottle of wine, or we dump Spacek.
Yeah, on second thought……
If I knew you personally, I’d accept that bet!
I would take that bet, just so that I could win either way.
———————————
Let’s do something like this again: 1) Mike Cammalleri 2) Brian Gionta 3) Hall Gill
http://relentlessineptitude.blogspot.com/
Seems like an unrealistic trade from Chicago’s point of view.
Yeah, but this whole thing started with me saying that Stan Bowman is an idiot.
I have been idly daydreaming about Frolik since that rumour popped up over the weekend.
Frolik has boatloads of potential – 20 goals his first two season in the NHL. He didn’t seem to fit all that well in Chicago for some reason. But I think he’s got more upside than most of our younger forwards.
Kostitsyn-Eller-Frolik would be awesome!
Another soft peripheral forward.
JM will be so excited!
At least Pouliot teased us with some finesse and toughness. Not enough, but at least a little.
Why would we want Frolik? He isn’t physical and is inconsistent with scoring. You can pretty much write that rumour off…..we would have just kept pouliot instead. Pouliot scored more and was heavier in weight
I think that Frolik has been a much better player to date that Pouliot has:
In 183 games Pouliot has 37g 35a for 72 pts. 0.39 PPG
In 241 games Frolik has 53g 73a for 126 pts. 0.53 PPG
The difference being we would not have to give anything up to keep Pouliot but we let him walk.
In my opinion Frolik is not that big of an upgrade. He is inconsistent and is not physical. Mind you if we traded him for Moen I really wouldn’t mind. I get frustrated when JM puts Moen in the top six. The guy has stone hands
I kinda see Frolik as a very big upgrade on Pouliot and if we were to sign him long-term (he’s currently an RFA) then I could see him being a cheaper replacement for Kostitsyn – who is likely to walk at the end of this contract.
He’s also been a fantasy favourite of mine for the last two seasons
(I agree – the chances Moen gets are infuriating as he seems utterly incapable of putting the puck in the net!)
I wouldn’t mind Frolik at all. Not a physical player, but he would give us more scoring depth in case of injury. he had a really good series against Vancouver.
If PG is indeed talking trade with Chicago, then another player he should try to target is Bryan Bickell. The guy is big (6’4, over 220), can put up some points and hits a lot as well. I don’t see why Chicago would let him go, since he has 2 years left on a cheap cap hit, but maybe a deal could be worked out. I think he would be great on the 4th with White and Enqvist or whoever.
lol great minds think alike
I would prefer if it was for Bryan Bickell . I would love to get him. he is good defensively and is massive