Jump to content

Zowpeb

Member
  • Posts

    1108
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    3

Everything posted by Zowpeb

  1. Well I would hardly say Savard is merely boosting his pick over one of a previous regime...Higgins has been one of the best young players in camp, if not the best. I can easily see Hossa starting the season in Hamilton and possibly getting traded... We have a lot of versatility with some of our forwards. Sundstrom can also play RW... Perhaps a Sundstrom-Juneau-Dackell line is going to be our overly expensive 4th line...although I doubt it. There is no doubt in my mind that we need to make some trades and clear out some more bodies...Audette and Perreault are the usual suspects but Dackell is quickly finding his name on that list as well. Especially with Ryder performing well. I'd like to see Ryder get a shot with Koivu and Zednik if he keeps playing this well. I think Bulis could fit in nicely on a line with the defensively poor Ribeiro...Bulis-Ribeiro-Ward could work nicely. I can also see a Sundstrom-Perreault-Audette line for a 3rd line(but only if we match line for line and don't use a primary checking line). That leaves Higgins and Hossa in the AHL for now... If Ryder doesn't cut it or Sundstrom continues his struggles from last year then a call up of Hossa or Higgins would be in the works. They would also get call ups if Dackell or Audette were moved.
  2. I love this kids attitude. Sounds like he has a great work ethic and a strong will to succeed. Confident but not cocky. Of course with all the PR training these guys get you have to take it with a grain of salt...but I think he's going to be a star in this league for sure.
  3. I believe he was saying that Dahlen would be a good signing without guys like Audette on the team...and I totally agree with that. If Audette wasn't there then Zednik would be on the 1st line and Dahlen could slide in nicely on the 2nd or 3rd line... Dahlen is strong, plays hard, and is skilled. I think he would fit in well with the Habs offensive AND defensive schemes. Unfortunately, with Audette around there is no place for Dahlen...
  4. I like Ryder. I think he's going to be a solid NHLer. Probably a good two way 3rd liner... Unfortunately he won't make the team to start the season and he will only make the squad midseason if there are trades made. With Perreault, Ribeiro, Juneau, Koivu all set at C. I don't think we should move him to the wing either... Now if one or two of our C's get dealt he's in there like flint...
  5. FYI. 2 year deal terms not disclosed... Next up: Koivu. [Edited on 2003/8/26 by Zowpeb]
  6. My comments about the forwards having their passes intercepted was more of a reference to neutral zone turnovers. I know what you are saying about our older and smaller forwards but I also find that our C's really need to get back more as well. Koivu is okay but certainly not spectacular in the defensive end. Perreault and Ribs are both awful in their own zone...although I am holding out a slim hope that Ribs can learn this still. I really only have confidence in Juneau, Kilger and Bulis to get back in our own end...as C's. Since Kilger and Bulis have historically played wing and less minutes it has been painful watching Audette, Perreault, Ribeiro and McKay. A Bulis-Koivu-Zednik line might actually be solid in both ends of the rink. I think our offensive AND defensive(for forwards) ability hinges on our second line this year. A 2nd line that is capable in both ends of the ice will help our team defense a lot. With Perreault and Audette around that won't happen. :nono:
  7. I'm not as worried about our D's size as I am about their physical and defensive play. We need to do a better job at clearing the front of the net, clearing rebounds for Theodore and get a better first pass out of the zone. Too many turnovers in our zone and the neutral zone is probably the single biggest mistake by our defense. It is what leads to so many odd man rushes against us. The other big problem is our forwards do not consistently come back to help the defense out. Of course when the forward is skating down the ice looking for his first pass only to have it intercepted it makes it tough to get back into that play...
  8. Anyone have an idea as to where our payroll is going to end up this year? I was thinking that if we can move Perreault, Juneau, Brisebois and Dackell and only take back about 2/3's of that salary in the deals we might be sitting pretty come the trade deadline. If those deals help us solidify our defense I think we could be in a good position. Thanks to our depth on the farm and some quality 2nd to 3rd line type vets we can have some good flexibility if we have payroll room. At that point we could attempt to make an trade deadline offer for a top line player if we are competing. Make the team take Audette back to make the salary easier to swallow and we end up with a good top line finally. I can easily see a Bulis-Ribs-Ward line working for the second line. If the player we pick up is an expiring contract it's even better...then we have a very low payroll and our young guys are a year more experienced. It would allow us to be more active next offseason or at the next draft...
  9. Maybe instead of trying to trade Marcel to Ottawa we should get them to trade us Marian... I think that moving Hossa to center would be a good move. However, we need to make room for that to happen. With Koivu holding the fort on our top line and Perreault, Ribeiro, Juneau, Kilger, Bulis all able to play center I don't see Hossa getting any minutes there. Ideally, if we dealt Perreault and Juneau we could let Hossa man the 3rd line center duties. Of course that would leave LW pretty weak unless Higgins has a stellar camp and actually makes the team as a LWer. Zednik-Koivu-Audette Bulis-Ribeiro-Ward Sundstrom-Hossa-??? blah-Kilger-Dackell Could be an okay set-up if the ??? is a decent player from a deal involving the removal of Perreault and/or Juneau. A solid 2 way player who has some scoring touch. Or maybe Zhog gets to make the team for that spot although that would be a pretty inexperienced line... Obviously, we can't depend on too many rookies making the team all at once. Too bad AS wasn't more forward thinking...if he was, Hossa and Ribeiro would have more experience and we could slide rookies in around them easier. As it stands they aren't experienced enough to have too many rookies around them...
  10. Well, let me start off by saying that everyone in the league can be had for the right price. Everyone. If Vancouver offered Bertuzzi and Naslund for Theodore he'd be gone in a heartbeat. Obviously it would never happen though. But it shows that there is obviously a price that is on him. Now, since that type of deal is ridiculous and won't happen it's pointless to discuss. I honestly believe that unless someone really knocked Gainey's socks off he won't deal Theodore...yet. I believe that we should allow Garon to play about 30 games this year. If he shows that he can handle the NHL play and starts to challenge Theodore's job then a deal becomes more possible for next year. Since no one is going to give us an amazing deal for Theodore right now we should hold him. We re-evaluate next year. At that point the best case scenario is this: Garon, as many scouts think, IS better then Theodore and finally showing it. Theodore has another good year as well. We trade Theodore for a superstar player or two and our payroll doesn't increase as a result. Most plausible scenario: Garon has an average season and Theodore rebounds to have another quality season. No change is made. Personally, I don't think Garon is going to challenge Theodore's job this year. I think we will stick with Theodore till at least the last year of his current contract.
  11. Nice work. I'd have Plekanec ahead of Hossa though. I'd also rate Archer higher then that. The kid might not have much offensive ability but I think he's a lock as a good defensive d-man. I honestly think he'll be on our NHL team within 2 years. It's great when your biggest problem is how/where to rate so many good prospects...)
  12. ch_nl, here is my response: 1. I don't think Ribeiro has proven himself to be a proven NHL scorer or even more reliable then Perreault. I DO think that he has proven he deserves a legitimate shot at it. Montreal often lets it's young players languish on lower lines without giving them a true opportunity before we trade them...and then watch them grow into great players. You are continuing this attitude by wanting to keep a 50 point scorer. Tell me, how is Perreault any better then Oleg Petrov? Not much difference other then one is a center and the other a winger. 2. I realise that trades must keep next season in mind. So what is your point? I believe that Perreault is UFA after this year anyways so a team would love to have him. He doesn't make a ridiculous amount of money either, so even if I'm wrong and he does have another year beyond this, it's not a big deal. If you don't think Perreault has any more value then Juneau or Ribeiro then why keep him? I think he does have more value because he is a proven commodity. However, his role should be diminished in favour of developing our young talent. 3. Yes, we have a lot of soft players. Does that mean we should simply ignore the fact that Perreault is? At least guys like Koivu play hard...Perreault is only capable of that in very short stretches...like 1 shift long stretches...per season. 4. Perreault IS NOT one of our most reliable scorers. He is streaky and inconsistent. He does put up an okay number but as a 2nd line center who gets PP time he doesn't exactly excite me. Sorry but 45-55 points is nothing special. Sorry to break your heart on this. 5. Zednik is more of a goal scorer. It's a role he fills as the winger of a good set-up man in Koivu. Perreault's wingers will likely consist of 2 of Zednik, Audette, Hossa, Bulis, Ward. All of these guys are more goal scorers then passers. I think I'd rather have Ribeiro setting them up. So, Ribeiro fits a better role on the second line. I also think that with Perreault's minutes, consistently, and the proper line-mates, Ribeiro can score as many points as Perreault. So much for Perreault's vaunted reliability if this is true...which IMO it probably is. You want to pair Perreault with Sundstrom, on the SECOND LINE? ARE YOU INSANE? Sundstrom is at best a 3rd line player right now. In fact, after his atrocious play last year he needs to have a good training camp to even get that. ugh. 6. Obviously you think Perreault should be on the 2nd line and I disagree. This team has one of the best farm systems in the NHL. Certainly in the top 5. So, should we never allow our young talent to prove itself in favour of mediocre 2nd line talent like Perreault? 7. If you think Perreault is suddenly going to become a good defensive player through practice you really should re-think that. He's been in the league too long and plays his style. He's not going to suddenly become a reliable defensive player out of the blue. At Perreault's age, the player is what he is. Why re-train Perreault to be something he's not when you could be developing a young player for the role? 8. Why this faith in our prospects? Perhaps you don't pay much attention to our farm system but it's VERY good. We have the potential to be a very good NHL team in a couple years if we develop our talent properly. It sounds to me like you would rather have aging veterans who don't score all that much clogging up the spots in the NHL. Spots that a few of these kids need to take their development further. I am by no means advocating an entire team of rookies but we should have at least 3-4 1st - 2nd year players on the team. Throw in Ribeiro, Markov, Bulis and Hossa you see that these guys deserve the minutes to show if they can handle the added responsibility. What happens in 2 years when Ribs is still languishing on 3rd and 4th line minutes, stunting his development, then Perreault is gone and we have to try and let him play 2nd line? At the same time, we'll be pairing him with young rookies. I'd say it would be a disaster. But if we let Ribs develop into a 2nd line center(or at least let him attempt it) then we would have a dependable vet to play with the rookies at that point. I swear the only team worse at developing its good young prospects into NHLers is the Leafs. To often in Montreal we want to have a playoff contender NOW. In the process we screw up our future. I want to build a team that contends for YEARS. The only way to do that is to continue to develop a couple of good young players every year and consistently replenish the farm system with good talent.
  13. I would like all the people who want Perreault to stick around to explain to me why he should be here over other players... My reasons for trading Perreault are as follows: 1) He is easily replaced by Ribeiro or some other young player. 2) He has decent trade value and that could be used to fill a more pressing need. Primarily on defense!! 3) He is soft. 4) He is poor defensively. 5) He is not a good passer and our second line has too many shoot first players(I won't call them snipers because it would be an affront to snipers). 6) He is not a 3rd or 4th line player so there is no point in moving him down the depth chart...in this instance, he'd be more valuable being traded. 7) We've seen in the past that our coaches do not want him on the ice in crucial situations which severly limits any advantages he may give us in the face off circle...since he's not wanted on the ice due to his defensive liabilities. Basically, I know that many want him around because he is a consistent 20 goal scorer and solid face off man. But that's all he is, whereas, we have young players who have a higher potential upside then this. These young players will not acheive their potential playing behind Perreault. Nor will they acheive their potential playing with him!!!
  14. Crap. I forgot Sundstrom...lol I suppose he would slide into the 4th line or possibly the 3rd line LW if Higgins/Hossa both have a bad camp. Sundstrom had an atrocious year last year and if he rebounds can be a very effective 3rd line player. I think he's going to be a player to watch during camp and pre-season. If Perreault was gone we could let Juneau play 3rd line center and have a 4th line of Sundstrom - Kilger - Dackell. Which would be a pretty damn good 4th line...
  15. I think we'll see: Zednik - Koivu - Perezhogin Bulis - Ribeiro - Audette Higgins/Hossa - Perreaut - Ward Kilger - Juneau - Dackell Dwyer(spare forward) Ryder, one of Higgins/Hossa will be the primary call-ups. Markov - Rivet Souray - Brisebois Quintal - Komisarek Quintal will be on his off side. Hainsey is the first call-up. Traverse is the spare who should get virtually no minutes. Looking at our defense you realise that Brisebois needs to be traded because with Komi, Hainsey, Markov, and even Rivet, can all put up some points but we're lacking on physical players. Brisebois being gone let's Komi slide into more minutes and a better pairing, Quintal can move to his proper side and Hainsey gets NHL development time which is what he truely needs. Brisebois needs to be traded for so much more then his media lambastings. Rivet is not a true top pairing d-man and it will hurt us big-time. If Souray gets re-injured or struggles to regain his form our defense is SCREWED.
  16. The reason people want to see Perreault gone is because he carries some decent trade value, is easily replaced by Ribeiro or some other young guy, is soft, a poor passer and plays poor defense. He can score some goals and is probably one of the top 3 face-off men in the league and that's where is trade value comes from. He'd be ideal on a lower tier team that doesn't have depth at center. They were interesting lines but I must say that I disagree completely with Markov being on the last defensive pairing. If this team is fighting for a playoff spot...and we should be...then I don't think we should see the rookies taking over like that. If Perreault, Brisebois, Dykhuis, Dackell and Ribeiro aren't on the team then they are likely traded and you need to account for that in your lines...obviously, they'd be traded for someone... I'd like to see us deal Perreault, Breezy, Audette, Dackell, Rivet and Dykhuis well before trade deadline. Basically, I'd like to see: Zednik- Koivu - Perezhogin Bulis - Ribeiro - Ward Higgins - Juneau - Sundstrom Dwyer - Kilger - FILLED BY TRADE Markov - FILLED BY TRADE Souray/FILLED BY TRADE - Komisarek Hainsey - Quintal Of course, all that is dependant on Zhog, Higgins and Hainsey having good camps. I don't know how strong Souray is going to be for us this year. I think our biggest need is on defense. By far...
  17. So what are the chances that we'll see a trade of some sort before the season begins? Could be any one of Breezy, Perreault, Theodore(from the rumours), Ribeiro. Personally, I hope we deal Breezy and Perreault for a decent LWer or defensive upgrade...and I hope it happens before training camp begins. Any thoughts? Also, what rookies does everyone think will make the team out of training camp? My guess is that Hossa, Komisarek, Ward and maybe Perezhogin or Higgins...but I expect one of Zhog or Higgins to be in the AHL to start the season. Higgins chances depend on whether one of Perreault or Ribeiro is dealt as well as how well he adjusts to the physical play. Zhog's chances really only depend on his adapting to the North American style...I think has a better chance of making it before Higgins.
  18. I'm in for the football pool. Hopefully you still have room available... Send me an e-mail at batcountry9@hotmail.com
  19. Wow, this is ridiculous. Okay, Tanguay is SO ######ing overrated it's not even funny. If the guy doesn't play with Sakic he's terrible... Now if the offer was for Hejduk and Morris I'd be FAR more interested...but I still don't know if that would be enough. A good young goalie like Theodore is almost impossible to find. Now, I think we actually have 2 of them and that Garon might actually make Theodore expendable but I also think that decision should be left alone for another season. It's a tough call, if Gainey thinks Garon is going to be better and Theodore is going to repeat last season then he knows Theodore's value will fall bigtime. Of course, after a deal to Colorado Theodore's numbers can't help but at least be solid...it's a catch 22 for him right now. Best thing he can do right now is keep Theodore. If he's not playing like he should then deal him in the next off-season or the deadline at the earliest. If we trade Theodore right now we better get a hell of a lot more then Morris and Tanguay. Christ, that deal would kill us...
  20. I'm not sold on Gauthier being that good. Personally I think he royally screwed up Anaheim in his time there. Notice how well they've done since he's left...
  21. I actually hate our defense right now. The future looks strong with Komi, Hainsey and Markov but right now it's simply awful. In my opinion, our defense and poor special teams played a large contribution to Theodores collapse last year. I don't see that changing this year. Rivet had more turnovers then Breezy in about 8 less minutes a game just 2 years ago. Rivet shouldn't be a top 4 d-man. He's a solid #5 guy but that's the extent of it right now. He has the potential to be on the 2nd pairing but he hasn't, and likely won't, get there. Honestly I'd like to see: Markov - TRADE(acquire a good phyiscal, defensive partner for Markov) Souray - Komisarek(Breezy can be part of the trade bait for above) Hainsey - Rivet Now this is assuming Souray can come back and play like he is able to. The 2nd and 3rd pairings would play fairly even minutes. The top pairing would get 26+ minutes a game.
  22. Naslund and Recchi???? I never thought I'd see their names in the top 10 let alone top 3... I'd have to say Maurice Richard is number 1 but it's a tough call. Beliveau is up there. So is Plante, Harvey, Lafleur, Dryden and Roy. Robinson and Gainey are high on my lists but certainly not top 3. If you take Goalies off the list then I'd say: 1. Maurice Richard 2. Jean Beliveau 3. Guy Lafleur 4. Henri Richard But really, 2-6 would be really muddled. What would your all-time team look like??
  23. Got any other conspiracy theories you'd like to share?
  24. You forgot to add: "Now get your ass out of town."
  25. Well it's a tough call but currently I'd say we need both a big physical top pairing d-man and a power forward type for one of the top two lines. Komisarek will eventually be the d-man we need but realistically he's probably 2 years away from contributing at the level we'll need. I DO NOT want to watch Rivet fill that role in the meantime. We don't have a real big up and comer as a power forward which is unfortunate considering they take longer to develop too. But this is an area we can fill through signings if need be. With Zednik, Hossa, Bulis and Higgins all probably going to be ready with the next 1.5 years I'd say that this isn't a pressing need. I do understand that none of these players is the big physical player that some guys want but let's face it...there are only a few guys like Bertuzzi in the league. There are only about 5-8 wingers of note, currently in the NHL, who would fill what we want. All I'd like to see is guys with grit and okay size. So for this year, with our offense being what it is and our defense thin and inexperienced I'd like to see a good, solid, physical defensive d-man. One who doesn't turn the puck over like Rivet, Breezy and Dykhuis.
×
×
  • Create New...