Montreal Gazette

Un Canadien errant - (Normand Harvey)

Member since June 4, 2011

Whistler, BC

Habs fan since: 1970
Favorite current player: Andrei Markov
All-time favorite player: Lafleur-Mahovlich-Shutt-Robinson-Savard-Dryden

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----------------------------------------------------------------------- http://relentlessineptitude.blogspot.com/

Recent Comments

  • Comment on Assault charges withdrawn against former Hab Damphousse
    Looking at the Canadiens CapGeek page (http://www.capgeek.com/charts.php?Team=2), I noticed that Max Pacioretty doesn't have a No Trade Clause, which I thought was odd, as every player of note on the Canadiens seems to have one. Tomas Plekanec, Brian Gionta, René Bourque, Travis Moen, Andrei Markov and Josh Gorges all have NTC's, full or otherwise. Scott Gomez, Erik Cole and Mike Cammalleri had them as well. They seemed to be the cost of doing business, if the Canadiens wanted to attract frontline unrestricted free agents. The previous administration doled them out like candy, evidently. The Nouveau Régime's first contract on a roster player was for Travis Moen, shortly before the start of free agency. Travis did get some no-trade protection, but since then, not one contract signed by Marc Bergevin has one: Brandon Prust, Colby Armstrong, Francis Bouillon, Carey Price, Lars Eller, Raphaël Diaz, Max Pacioretty, P.K. Subban, David Desharnais. None carry a NTC. I think it was Pierre Gauthier who, while discussing that subject, explained that these carried a monetary value, and that if a player insisted on one, then the monetary amount of their deal would drop correspondingly during negotiations. In practice, we didn't really see that. The Canadiens free agents from the 2009 summer all seemed to receive very generous offers, more than they could have expected elsewhere. Mike Cammalleri was famously rebuffed by the Leafs, who thought he was too small, before being showered with millions by Bob Gainey. Brian Gionta, conflicted by the amount and term offered by Mr. Gainey, but wanting to stay in New Jersey, spoke in confidence with Lou Lamoriello about what he should do, to which apparently the Devils' GM responded by laughing and urging him to take the offer while it was there. Based on these supposedly non-apocryphal anecdotes, we can see that the Canadiens were offering at the top end of what the market did, and tacked on a NTC for good measure. Which did nothing to enhance the tradability of some assets in the fold. The Mike Cammalleri deal, which might have brought in a greater haul had he been shopped around, might be explained by the fact that Calgary was one of the few destinations he would waive his veto for. There was no market to speak of, because of the NTC. http://relentlessineptitude.blogspot.ca/2013/06/the-canadiens-should-have-gotten-more.html So the new administration seems to have given in to Travis Moen at the eleventh hour, before he reached UFA status on July 1, but since then they've managed to avoid doing so. For fans who think that players are too pampered nowadays, and have little or no external motivation to perform, this should provide some level of comfort. It's laudable that Mr. Bergevin managed to sign Brandon Prust without the NTC, which previously had been the figurative 'free oil changes' or 'bottomless coffee cup' of the sales pitch, thrown in without much resistance, as part of the package deal. Also, when detractors of Carey Price correctly point out that he has no internal competition for his job, and therefore has little incentive to 'push himself', the lack of trade protection may ultimately deliver this effect. The thought of Winnipeg or Edmonton might be enough to spur him to work harder, if that had been an issue before.
  • Comment on Assault charges withdrawn against former Hab Damphousse
    http://www.capgeek.com/player/142
  • Comment on Assault charges withdrawn against former Hab Damphousse
    Thanks for your take on Mr. Lawless. I came across the article on SI's site, but didn't have an opinion on the source, as I don't follow the Jets closely. I accept your negative opinion of the guy and will take anything else I read from him with a grain of salt, but I wasn't surprised that maybe Buff might want out of Winnipeg. We heard that commonly when the earlier incarnation of the Jets played there, and the same rumours have floated about Evander Kane.
  • Comment on Assault charges withdrawn against former Hab Damphousse
    Yeah, again Marc Bergevin might have some insights on this situation, with his time in the Chicago org when Big Buff was there. It might be a 'buy low' opportunity. A 6'5" rightie D-man with a cannon might come in very handy for the Canadiens. At $5.2M, that'd be a very reasonable cap hit if he played to his potential.
  • Comment on Assault charges withdrawn against former Hab Damphousse
    Wow. Is it possible that Dustin Byfuglien weighed 300 lbs at the end of the season? That's amazing. http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/columnists/bigger-byfuglien-in-no-shape-for-a-trade-210963161.html Too bad for the guy, if he can't get this under control. And that's the sad part, is that it is squarely within his control, it's not like blowing your ACL, or what Josh Harding is going through. But obviously, there's a big issue there, if it was easy for him to control his weight, we wouldn't be having this discussion. Big Buff had a difficult upbringing, growing up with an absentee father, some hardships, you just hope that he can find the right avenues for support and get his career back on track. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- http://relentlessineptitude.blogspot.com/
  • Comment on Subban toasts Norris Trophy win with a little wine
    Hear hear. The Leafs winning would definitely have been the much lesser of two evils, I kept telling everyone too.
  • Comment on Subban toasts Norris Trophy win with a little wine
    Man, you were doing great there, just teeing up every point and driving it 500 yards down the fairway, until you got to point #5. And the Stanley Cup ring. No kid has ever grown up wanting to win a ring. What players want is the Stanley Cup. The trophy. Holding it and seeing his name on it. Not jewelry. I've seen this mention of rings creep more and more into the discussion as an important detail, and I blame the American media and their lack of historical knowledge about the game. They transpose football and basketball terms onto our game, so that a big winger becomes a 'power forward'. And Ray Bourque finally got 'his ring' and we're supposed to all feel good about that. Poppycock. http://relentlessineptitude.blogspot.ca/2013/06/gimme-break-with-raymond-bourques.html http://relentlessineptitude.blogspot.ca/2013/06/raymond-bourque-deuxieme-partie.html ...Sorry Ron, it's a bit of a sore spot with me. It's my issue, I'll deal with it...