Zowpeb

Kinda surprised no one is discussing this rumour. Apparently it's been reported by a couple/few places. I hope to god we get more for Perreault then a 6th d-man. I'll grant you that I like Gauthier but he's hardly an upgrade for us on D and he isn't worth as much as Perreault IMO... I would hope that BG could get Calgary to add something to that.

I can see Perreault being dealt to LA or Anaheim. LA isn't getting Allison back any time soon...the insurance results of this mean they've got a few extra bucks too. Anaheim was looking at a C in Comrie and might still want one if the price is right... I also think that St. Louis could use both Perreault and Rivet. They could then move Demtira to RW and Cajanek to LW. Weight and Perreault would be their 1 and 2 centers. With MacInnis out they could still use a d-man.

My guess is that he ends up in the new WHA...

Terms not disclosed...but he's gone for good. tsn.ca has the info...

I would most definitely say the Habs need a potential impact player on offense. I hope to god Katsitsyn can turn into that player... I've said it before and I'll say it again...we are filled with players who are nothing more then 2nd or 3rd liners... Yes we need size but we also need some good talent for our top line. Other then Koivu we don't have 1 player who belongs on our #1 line...and we might not even have Koivu by the time Kastistyn is hitting his stride in the NHL. In the future(say next 2 years) I hope we see something that looks similar to this: ___ - Koivu - Kastsitsyn Bulis - Ribeiro - Zednik Higgins - ____ - Ward 4th line bangers can be found anywhere for a hell of a lot cheaper then we pay. A 3rd line C and a top line LW are needed. I'd like to see a power forward at LW and a big physical body at C on our 3rd line. In 2 years Ribeiro will be steady, Zednik should continue 25+ goals a year which gives our 2nd line chemistry and balance. Koivu will hopefully finally have a real scoring threat on his wing in Kastsitsyn and we could spend some coin in the right spot by grabbing a good LWer. The 3rd line would have grit, be physical and have some scoring punch...Hossa might even be the C we need there... The 4th line should be cheap and made up of bangers, and young guys. The only thing that needs to be done to get to this line-up is maintain our core group of players, dump our dead weight(most of which is gone this year...) and sign or trade for the right LWer and 3rd line C. In losing a lot of our deadweight we should have plenty of coin to sign a good top line LWer without increasing our budget.

I have to agree that if you can get a guy like Comrie you do it... To address the supposed "attitude" issues with him. This is coming from the fact that he's holding out. Lets face it though the kid isn't asking for a tonne of money, it's Kevin Lowe holding onto his offer of $1.35 million for the kid. It's really an insulting offer... If we acquired Comrie and DIDN'T have to trade Ribeiro I'd be ecstatic. Comrie would immediately be the 2nd best forward on this team. I don't buy into his "chemistry" with Ribeiro, but if you put him on a line with Koivu or Ribs you immediately have a very exciting line. Does anyone think that any salary Edmonton does take on from players who aren't prospects they'll want it to be expiring? They have a few players I'd be interested in for the Habs, unfortunately with all the other crap clogging our positions we don't have room for much of it. Isbister, Comrie and Brewer. I'd love to see all 3 of those guys with the Habs. Comrie-Koivu-Ryder Isbister-Ribeiro-Zednik Kilger-Juneau-Ward blah blah blah Markov - Rivet Brewer - Brisebois Souray - Komisarek Would look damn nice...of course we'd have to trade a lot of good talent to get those 3...Hossa, Hainsey, Perreault, ++++. But I can dream...

Wow I've read a lot of things I disagree with in this thread...and I'd like to give my responses to some of them. From Bonavistaman --------------------------------------------------------------------- "2.)Get rid of Audette, Sundstrom, Perreault, and either rivet or Quintal. by getting rid of those guys gainey may be able to pick up a big top line player and Komisarek will be able to get in the lineup. " ---------------------------------------------------------------------- It's tough to trade for a big top line player when you are offering 3 guys with virtually no value. One of our better prospects would likely have to be included in any deal for a top line player. Some teams are looking to dump salary for next season which may make it possible...but some teams aren't worried as much about it and may want the talent they're receiving locked up beyond this year. Sunny and Perreault have expiring contracts... From ch_nl ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "1. Our defence is so poor that our forwards doesn't get the chance to score. 2. Our offensive play are to poor that the defence looks worse than they really are. I'd say that the truth is somewhere between." ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Well, I agree that it's somewhere in between...both our offence is poor and as is our defence. This team has had the same problem for a couple years now...there is only a couple guys with any decent talent...Koivu, Markov, Theodore and to a lesser extent Zednik. This team has a pretty high payroll considering it has no real high end talent... From Moosehead ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Claude Julien didn't pull his goalie last night because he felt the way his men were playing, the game was lost. Claude Julien should be dumped by Gainey for that statement alone. He obviously doesn't inspire his players any more than Therrien did. Spud is a good career minor league coach. Being the headcoach of the Habs during this difficult rebuilding period is definitely a job which is above his capacities. I suggest Bob Gainey goes behind the bench himself until he can safely give the job to Doug Jarvis or somebody else. " ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Julien is doing fine. He's good with young players and has proven he can win at the lower levels. The players seem to respect him right now as well. Wouldn't you actually want a guy who is good with young talent during the rebuilding period of a team??? I think the answer is obviously...yes. There are a lot of coaches who don't pull goalies in the final minute when they're down by 2 goals or more. To suggest firing him for this is pretty ridiculous... Gainey needs to stick to GMing duties. GM/coaches rarely work well...look to Pat Quinn as an example of this failing. Gainey needs to clean up the contractual messes that Savard put in place, let the young guys get experience and pick up some high end talent with the money left after dumping overpaid guys. There is about 18 million in 6 guys who should be moved...we have young guys capable enough of replacing 3 of those roster spots. The 16 million left over could be used on 2-3 players of higher end talent. From Aussie ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Our defense aren't playing together anymore, so the time might be to move Brisebois. And/or Rivet. I think Toronto could afford him. If they weren't in our division. If STL was still interested, I would gun for it. Oh, and trade Theodore now. Just because." ------------------------------------------------------------------------ I'd trade with Toronto...why not. If we think we're rebuilding I couldn't care less about trading in the division. Let's get healthy for the future...a future that will include a better CBA. Trading Theodore now is just stupid. Trading Garon right now is stupid. If you really want to discuss this it deserves it's own thread. From Habs77 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ I think the answer to "what now?" is simple. Now Gainey needs to make some noise... there was no point making any moves when the team was playing well, but now is the perfect time. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ I agree with this completely. I think a trade is imminent. The team started out well...then slumped. The fall back to earth was probably expected but if this team loses it's next two games, and Koivu is slated to come back just after that, it's the perfect time to make a change. The line-up will need shuffled anyway with Koivu and Kilger's return(was assigned to AHL for "conditioning" btw). I think the move with Kilger and the wait around Koivu's return combined with the teams recent play is a recipe for a trade. If we get Gauthier I expect one of our RD to be moved(Rivet, Quintal or Breezy) to STL. Hainsey will go back to Hamilton and Komi will come up. I also expect Sundstrom and Perreault to be moved pretty quickly. To be honest if we're dealing with STL I'd love to see us use a d-man with Sunny and Perreault to get a guy like Cajanek...

Well, the Perreault who you are so quick to point stats out about will not get nearly the playing time to get his 45-55 points with Koivu and Ribeiro ahead of him. He disappears for many games at a time...and usually has quick starts and fades. For a guy we will have as a 3rd line C he is too soft and plays poor defense. We don't need that on our 3rd line...we need guys who are responsible defensively and don't make mistakes. We could trade Perreault for a better wing option with Koivu and put in a more suited 3rd line C who will also probably be cheaper. Bulis or Kilger could be that C... I don't really know where you are hearing any of the "hype" on Kilger but I'd love if you could post a link or direct me to it so I could laugh at the person directing this hype. I don't see it anywhere. You however, are not giving him the credit he deserves. You can't compare him to Zholtok who has received some top minutes on expansion clubs while Kilger has played 3rd line for us. Do you honestly think any team would give up more then a guy like Kilger for Zholtok??? Zholtok = Petrov = mediocre 2nd line guy. You also don't think Bulis did well with Juneau and Dackell? Do you realise this was our checking line and these guys played probably the most minutes(maybe 2nd most of forwards) per game for us 2 years ago? I'd say there is no problem with their chemistry...it's that Bulis is the best LW on the team right now and deserves to be on a better line. You want to put Ribs on the wing with Zed and Koivu? The same Ribeiro who is excelling as the C for Zed and Hossa. The same Ribeiro who disappeared when put on the wing the past couple years. All of this you seem to want to do so that we can let Perreault play on the 2nd line apparently. Why do all Perreault fans seem to put his status above the team overall? We had the same problem when the trade Petrov discussions started a couple years ago. I'm not saying that Perreault is a bad player...I'm saying he is not suited to a 3rd line role and he's got some value. He's therefore expendable and his value would be better used in a trade to fill another hole on the team.

Well, CH_nl I couldn't disagree with a number of the things you said more... While I agree that you need veterans around the rookies you need to remember that this team is rebuilding. You don't like the idea of Perreault on another team? IT's fine that you are a fan of his but some Habs fans are taking this to the wrong extreme. I agree that it's nice having Perreault around while Koivu is out but let's face it, he's too expensive for a 3rd line center who is soft, not physical and plays no defense. There is no point having him around and playing a role he's not suited for. I also don't think anyone is "hyping" Kilger. He is simply a physical player who plays a strong defensive game. He's ideally suited to the third line. I don't know if I'd have him as a RWer like Habs77 had but he is a 3rd liner... I agree about Hossa...he needs to earn his minutes. He's showing he deserves his 2nd line time right now. I'm not personally as high on him as some but he's doing well so no worries. As for Zhog, he is in the AHL this year...only problem I have with slotting him in as our top line RWer next year is that I don't think he'll ever really be a true top line RWer. I hope he proves me wrong. You may have been thinking of Kastsitsyn needing a full year in the AHL. He is definitely top line material and probably needs a year in the AHL next year. Let's face it. We don't want a high payroll next year with the lock-out looming. If we can keep our payroll in the low 30 million range that's fantastic for next year. Our younger guys will also be able to play in the AHL and continue developing...

I hope we start Theodore in this game... We have a tough schedule the rest of the month and need to make sure we win the easy games...

A few things... Hossa-Ribeiro-Zednik Ribs and Zednik should stay togther...they have good chemistry. In fact, Hossa may not be putting the points up but I think he's played well. This line is playing well in general and IMO should be our second line. It did well at the end of last year, in pre-season and so far this year. Why would ANYONE want to break this line up right now? Sundstrom-Perreault-Audette This line is currently has Ryder on the left and is on fire. Ryder has done well but I think all the chemistry on this line is between Audette and Perreault while Ryder is just playing with high energy and creating opportunities. I think that by shuffling Perreault and Audette to the 3rd line we'll balance our scoring out. Put Sundstrom on their wing once Koivu returns...he's solid defensively and a good passer which both Audette and Perreault can use. Kilger-Juneau-Dackell This obviously would/should be our checking line. Another proven line for us. Now for the Koivu line: Bulis-Koivu-Ryder Ryder is all about shooting the puck, playing big and creating chances. Koivu needs a guy like this on his wing. Both Ryder and Koivu would be better served playing with each other than Ryder and Perreault...IMO. Bulis brings some more size, defense and a good all around game to this line. Now I think that if we do this we should see the 3 "scoring lines" get similar ice time. The "4th line" of Kilger-Juneau-Dackell should also get good minutes. Basically we could trot out 4 lines each getting similar minutes per game...or send out the line that is "hot" a few more shifts at the expense of whichever line is playing cold.

No Bulis??? I think we'lll see this for our lines: Bulis-Koivu-Ryder Hossa-Ribeiro-Zednik Sundstrom-Perreault-Audette Kilger-Juneau-Dackell I also think we'll see Dackell moved before long...and Ward will take his spot. I hope, and think, this will happen within a month or so... Audette and Ryder may get switched around...but I think Ryder plays with great energy and has a good shot. He certainly deserves a shot on this line at least...better to try it against the Pens than anyone else. Ribs line will not change. It's been the same for much of pre-season, the first few games and the end of last year. Don't see any reason for them to change it now...especially since it's clicking. Perreault needs a defensive guy like Sundstrom on his wing. Sunny is also a decent playmaker so him and Perreault may click. That is one expensive 4th line...at least as far as 4th lines go.

You have to go with Theodore over Thibault. No questions asked...I can't even believe this is being asked. How many Hart or Vezina's has Thibault won again??? As for last nights game: Alfredsson's goal was hardly Theodore's fault. The team played awful. We have about 3-4 forwards in total who have any idea how to play defensively. I think we only have 3 defensemen who know how to play defense too. Our d-men don't or can't clear the front of the net effectively. Our forwards don't come back enough. We play a style to clear our zone along the boards but don't have the forwards to play that style. Quite honestly the entire team outside of about 7 guys needs to be blown up and put back together. We all know this and we all know we're rebuilding with that purpose but I'd rather see a harsh change now than a slow agonizing one that'll last all year. Honestly our top 3 lines should resemble this but can't thanks to a lack of top end talent: LW - Koivu - RW Bulis - Ribeiro - Zednik Sundstrom - C - Ryder Markov - RD LD - Komisarek Hainsey - Rivet Those are the only forwards who deserve to be on the team. Unfortunately Zednik, Bulis and Ribs are 2nd line players. Koivu needs real wingers. I might not even have Sundstrom around other then he deserves a shot since he's historically been good defensively and still young. The 3rd line C needs to be a guy with size, grit and some defensive and offensive skill...like a Ricci, Madden, Holik, Lapointe, etc... Our defense needs help badly. Brisebois just needs to move on...I think he's got a bad wrap here because he was forced into an unfair situation for his game. Rivet is purely average. Quintal is too old. Might as well let Komisarek and Hainsey learn in the NHL. With a true 1st pairing defensive d-man(like a Norstrom) we'd have a couple of work horses to go 27 mins a game. Komisarek needs a solid defensive vet with a good all around game beside him. Rivet can be an effective defensive partner for Hainsey. Until we get rid of Perreault, Dackell, Juneau, Brisebois, and a couple others this won't happen because of our current payroll. Getting rid of those guys would free up about 10 million not counting that we'd get some salary back. Our problem has been the same for 4 years now: Other than Koivu, Markov and Theodore this team has no one who even resembles a high level of talent. To compound matters the 2nd - 4th line talent doesn't have the grit it needs to compete in the eastern conference.

No mention of Damphousse for the goaltending job in Hamilton?? Nice little article on the Bulldogs...

Anyone know what Edmonton's asking price is on the trade market? Any rumours????

Leafs don't need a goalie... Problem with trading Audette is purely a salary issue. I think Atlanta would take a shot at him if he wasn't making so much money... You can't just dump a guy making 3 million a year without taking on salary in return or swallowing a chunk of his pay. If the Habs were willing to eat 3 million of his contract we could probably dump him to someone and take back a low salary in return. Unfortunately that would still see us only saving about 1 million or so on the whole contract. So why not let Audette see if he can turn things around...which is what we're going to do.

The games are usually pretty reserved with all the business types that attend the games...but if you are a hockey fan you can definitely feel the electricity during the Leafs and Habs games. I usually attend at least one Leaf-habs game a year in Toronto and it's a blast. Dirty Leaf bastards...worst fans in the world and the worst organization in hockey. My tips to you are to spend a lot of time at the bars in Montreal. Great nightlife, beautiful women. Some of the sexiest women in North America. I think Montreal is one of the most fun cities in North America to party in. Strip clubs are great, some good pubs, some great dance bars, great food, cafe's, etc. Don't forget to tip anyone serving you. Doesn't have to be a huge tip but they get pissy if you don't...even if the service was crap. All of Quebec is like that. If you ski or snowboard you should head up to Mt. Tremblant for a day...the resort has come a long way in the past 5 years and probably has the best slopes Eastern Canada. It's about 1.5 hours or so from Montreal, so it's pretty close. I'm a snowboarder and I try to get up there once per year myself... And it gets pretty cold in mid-winter. Have fun.

Habsaku said: "I hope this is not true because it would be ridicoulus. Looking at this years roster I cant see us finishing even in the top 25 look at our freaking lines for gods sakes(injuries): Marcel Hossa -- Mike Ribeiro -- Donald Audette Jan Bulis -- Yanic Perreault -- Michael Ryder Niklas Sundstrom -- Joé Juneau -- Andreas Dackell Grdie Dwyer -- Chris Higgins -- Jason Ward How the hell are we supposed to win, were even weaker then last year and two years ago. We wont score a goal. I say play the kids, mold this team while its young, then target Ovechkin. No pain, no gain. If we do this successfully we'll be set for years because wed be full at every position." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- You are missing Zednik and Koivu in those lines and obviously they won't miss much time, if any at all. To state that the team will not even be in the top 25 because of those lines is ridiculous. Throw our top 2 scorers back into the mix and everything changes. I believe the top couple lines are shaping up to be: Bulis-Koivu-Audette Hossa-Ribeiro-Zednik These 2 lines seem fairly set right now. With Koivu's injury we haven't seen it play together much but from everything I've heard this seems to be the plan. I can see the last 2 lines being: Sundstrom-Perreault-Ward Ryder-Juneau-Dackell I think Perreault needs a good playmaker and defensive guy on the wing. Sundstrom is very capable of both of those things. Ward brings some grit and skill to the line. When Kilger comes back he takes over Ryders spot...or if Juneau/Dackell is traded the line can be shuffled with Kilger sliding in at C or LW and Ryder can play RW if Dackells gone. Our D for the season(barring any trades) will probably be: Markov-Rivet Souray-Brisebois Bouillon-Quintal(obviously this pairing could suffer the most changes if Hainsey or Komi proves they belong) A Brisebois trade will immediately open the door for Komisarek...so I don't see Brisebois moved unless Komi is ready to step in and play with a lot of minutes. I believe our defense is a very big weak link in our game. Our forwards don't help much and our d-men are more workman-like than anything(Markov is the only exception) There is no reason to rush Komisarek, Hainsey, Higgins, Perezhogin or Plekanec right now. Ward, Hossa and Ryder are all essentially rookies so they should be given their shot now. All 3 of them have spent a lot of time in the AHL too so they need to be given a shot now. All 3 of them have proven they've earned it as well. Combine to that Ribeiro is still relatively inexperienced, especially as a 2nd line player, and we have enough rookies on the squad.

I think Timander and Therien are two guys we should consider looking at IF we plan on trading Breezy and lose Dykhuis. While I don't see anyone taking Dykhuis with all the other d-men available I think Therien and Timander would bring some nice grit to our D. Don't know if either of them play the left side but that's what we need right now. I'm not a fan of playing Quintal on his off side with Komisarek...plus Souray is injury prone...

I believe today is the deadline for protection lists... Anyone know who we are not protecting? Anyone know the draft order? I'm not sure how it works exactly... I think Dackell and Dykhuis would be two very good players to dangle out there. If they get taken it clears some unneeded salary from guys who would be useful on a number of other teams(even at their existing salaries). Unfortunately they aren't need enough for anyone to trade for them so the waiver draft may be the best way to move them. One big waiver draft rumour is that Cujo will be left available so the Wings can bypass his no-trade clause...and the team selecting him will have to send something to the Wings in return for them not pulling him back and leaving him available.

I really think that Sundstrom and Perreault should play together... Sundstrom is a good playmaker and a very good defensive forward. Perreault is poor defensively and a shooter. If they could get some chemistry together they could work well. We just can't put two shoot first wingers on Perreault's wings...

I thought he was going to Medicine Hat...

Wasn't trying to be insulting by calling you biased but obviously it's tough to be overly critical of your own brother...unless of course he used to beat you up when you were younger. Which raises this question: Are you an older or younger brother?

I wouldn't want Berg or Belak in our top 6 let alone top 4 or 5..ugh. As bad as Dykhuis and Traverse. The Leafs lines are probably going to end up as: Antropov-Sundin-Mogilny (same as last year) Roberts-Newy-Nolan (gritty line, good 2 way) Tucker-Reichel-Renberg (a solid 3rd line, in both ends) Fitzgerald-Green-Domi (a scrappy line) Unfortunately it is a great line up if they all stay healthy and Antropov continues his development. But these are all things that I don't think will happen. Antropov will never be more than an average player who happens to have great line-mates IMO. Roberts and Nolan are almost guaranteed to get injured...hell, Nolan's back may already be screwed up. They have no back-up goalie and their D is in serious trouble. Can Belfour start in 65 games? I don't think so... They have some depth but they are aging, have injury prone players, and no good youth IMO(Cola is the only legit prospect they have). They'll make the playoffs obviously but they won't get past the 2nd round.

LOL...if you are looking for a biased answer...