JMMR Posted April 25, 2007 Share Posted April 25, 2007 http://www.rds.ca/canadien/chroniques/227914.html this just says he got surgery to repair his injured shoulder last friday and on how he still put up major pts this year... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habitforming Posted April 25, 2007 Share Posted April 25, 2007 http://www.rds.ca/canadien/chroniques/227914.html this just says he got surgery to repair his injured shoulder last friday and on how he still put up major pts this year... He'll re-sign for around $4.5 for 2-3 years and have a bad season. I love being an optomist! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted April 25, 2007 Share Posted April 25, 2007 Obviously the injury only hurt his skating, dicipline and defensive play. Not his shot. I hope he doesn't resign. The money can be spent else where. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeLassister Posted April 25, 2007 Share Posted April 25, 2007 I hope he will be back. Our PP would be so pathetic... I can't wait to see Kovalev wit Souray on the first unit at defense and Streit - Markov on the 2nd. We was just wasting opportunities with Rivet, etc... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sakiqc Posted April 25, 2007 Share Posted April 25, 2007 I hope we keep him!! Remember last time he had surgery.. it was on his wrist. And what happened the season after? Imagine now what Souray will do with a bionic shoulder!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fanpuck33 Posted April 25, 2007 Share Posted April 25, 2007 I hope they keep him, provided they go out and sign a solid stay-at-home D-man to play on his right side to make up for Souray's defensive liabilities. Even that, though, won't help Souray's one-on-one skills, which rank among the worst in the league. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMMR Posted April 25, 2007 Author Share Posted April 25, 2007 Souray was actually pretty decent one on one this season it was 2 years ago when he was on the wrong end of too many highlight reels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chicoutimi Cucumber Posted April 25, 2007 Share Posted April 25, 2007 (edited) Here we go again with the Souray-bashing. Yes, his defensive game - while not catastrophic by any means - is on the weak side. He also just happens to have the hardest shot in the league and happens to be an absolute beast on the PP, in a specialty teams era. And he's a character guy, a leader. Re-signing him is a no-brainer for everyone except some of the people on this board. The real issue is: at what price? $4.5 mil, for no more than three seasons, would be reasonable. That he hurt his shoulder is a stroke of luck, it may drive his value down a bit. Edited April 25, 2007 by The Chicoutimi Cucumber Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BTH Posted April 25, 2007 Share Posted April 25, 2007 I'm hoping this weakens his bargaining power atleast a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMMR Posted April 25, 2007 Author Share Posted April 25, 2007 Well in an interview he said 6 million was wayy to much so hopefully he will settle for 5.9 All kidding aside I believe he will sign for 2 years 8 million. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted April 25, 2007 Share Posted April 25, 2007 The special teams era as you call it doesn't really exist. See the Rangers, Buffalo, New Jersey, Detroit. All in the middle of the pack. I might add all had more points then the "dominating" habs special teams. They are also playing in the playoffs which the Habs aren't. If your fine with your highest paid D man being minus 28 and can't play a lick besides when he is shooting that's fine and your entitled to your opinion. I would rather have Timonin or Hannon at a similar price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saskhab Posted April 25, 2007 Share Posted April 25, 2007 One thing that never gets talked about with Souray's defensive game is how much he has improved in hand-eye. He still has the "two left feet" problem, but he seems to be able to at least frustrate a puckhandler, if not strip the puck or knock it away to a different spot a lot better with his reach. It's when the play gets close to his body that he has troubles, mainly because he used to be a clutch and grab d-man and is scared of getting a penalty with his free hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mont Royale Posted April 25, 2007 Share Posted April 25, 2007 We hope that it weakens his bargaining power, but not his shot... we're so selfish! Souray was actually pretty decent one on one this season it was 2 years ago when he was on the wrong end of too many highlight reels. I agree. His last play of the season was an effective check of Sundin, who would have been home free otherwise. Too bad it was the last straw for his shoulder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BTH Posted April 25, 2007 Share Posted April 25, 2007 He has his flaws but he's nearly irreplaceable. That will become evident as soon as he leaves Montreal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brobin Posted April 25, 2007 Share Posted April 25, 2007 Souray was a huge minus, but so were our other top scorers, Koivu and Ryder. I don't think most of that was directly related to Souray's deficiency in play. That said, if we sign a decent stay home defenseman who can play more minutes 5-5, then Souray will not have to play the entire game against the other teams top line. Then we will have decent 5-5 and a great PP, which can definitely move the team up several positions in the standings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted April 25, 2007 Share Posted April 25, 2007 Souray is a stay at home D man, he is not creative or he doesn't skate and make plays. He doesn't move the puck quickly. He played his best when paired with Dandenault because his speed made up for Souray's mistakes. Souray does have a bomb from the point no doubt about it. Minus 28 is minus 28. You can spin that any way you want but he is the worst plus minus on the team. Yes that does say alot about his play. Take away his PP points and he has like 4 or 5 more goals then me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobby Posted April 25, 2007 Share Posted April 25, 2007 I can't see Souray returning to Montreal after seeing what happened for Craig Rivet when he went to the West Coast. Not even if the Habs offer more money than anyone else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chicoutimi Cucumber Posted April 25, 2007 Share Posted April 25, 2007 (edited) Souray was a huge minus, but so were our other top scorers, Koivu and Ryder. I don't think most of that was directly related to Souray's deficiency in play. That said, if we sign a decent stay home defenseman who can play more minutes 5-5, then Souray will not have to play the entire game against the other teams top line. Then we will have decent 5-5 and a great PP, which can definitely move the team up several positions in the standings. This is very perceptive. The real issue here is our lack of really high-quality top-4 defencemen. Because of that lack of depth, Souray plays as our #1A guy. In reality, he should be a third or fourth defenceman at even strength, who turns into the #1 guy on the PP. The team's weakness at D leaves him somewhat exposed. It's a situation akin to the one facing Brisebois, who was (ridiculously) asked to be our number one defenceman because everyone else was so awful. This made him look much worse than he actually was. Were by some miracle the Habs to acquire another major defenceman, Souray would drop a notch in the depth chart, not playing so many key defensive minutes but still racking up the powerplay time. And a lot of this whining about what he CAN'T do would go away. He remains THE best defenceman in the league to have on the powerplay, and it would be idiotic to get rid of him. Besides, getting rid of him in no way addresses the underlying problem - weakness on D - but only intensifies it. Think about it. If you take the $4-5 mil and pay another UFA defenceman instead (assuming any will want to come here) you'll either be: -signing a stay at home type, trading off Souray's offense for imporoved defense; -OR getting an offensive defenceman who is not as good as Souray; -OR signing two mid-range defencemen (and we have enough of those as it is). I don't see how any of these options make us stronger. Especially when you factor Souray's character and leadership into the equation. Edited April 25, 2007 by The Chicoutimi Cucumber Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted April 25, 2007 Share Posted April 25, 2007 Bobby, i agree he won't be back, but i'm confused about your statement about Rivet. He is the worst D man on the Sharks. He looks better because that team especially the D is so much better then the Habs. I would trade for that roster in heart beat. The Habs are starting to make the turnaround and youth movement. It won't be too long until they are back in the playoffs reliably. Once the final pieces of garbage are removed the Habs will be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saskhab Posted April 25, 2007 Share Posted April 25, 2007 Bobby, i agree he won't be back, but i'm confused about your statement about Rivet. He is the worst D man on the Sharks. He looks better because that team especially the D is so much better then the Habs. I would trade for that roster in heart beat. The Habs are starting to make the turnaround and youth movement. It won't be too long until they are back in the playoffs reliably. Once the final pieces of garbage are removed the Habs will be fine. If Rivet is the Sharks' worst d-man, why are they playing him up to 26 minutes a night? Not including O/T games? Souray was rarely asked to play against top lines. Markov and Komisarek did that duty every night. Opposing coaches tried to work the matchups so they'd get their top guys out against Souray's pairing or the Bouillon-Dandenault pairing, and when they caught the Habs, they often got good chances. Souray did kill penalties and play a lot of PP, that's why his minutes were larger. ES minutes, I think he would've been at best 5th on the team. I remember Bouillon and Dandenault taking a lot of 5 on 5 shifts because they didn't play a lot of special teams. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted April 25, 2007 Share Posted April 25, 2007 Because there are 2 rookies on the back end. They needed a vet to split up all the rookies on the team. So i assume you would take Rivet on your team rather then the other 5 D men the Sharks have. Not me, he is number 6. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saskhab Posted April 25, 2007 Share Posted April 25, 2007 Because there are 2 rookies on the back end. They needed a vet to split up all the rookies on the team. So i assume you would take Rivet on your team rather then the other 5 D men the Sharks have. Not me, he is number 6. Right now, in the playoff stretch, I'd probably rather have him out there logging big minutes than Christian Ehrhoff and Matt Carle. He's proven to be much more reliable, much more adaptable to any situation the Sharks face (down a goal, up a goal, PK, PP, match up against top lines). We're not asking if I'd rather next year have Rivet or Carle. Of course I'd want Carle, he's got plenty of upside and I'd presume he'd be a habs for a long time. In the here & now, being the 2007 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Rivet is above Carle, Ehrhoff, and Vlasic on their depth chart. Although Vlasic maybe not as much, they'd also play him in any situation, although they don't seem to use him on the PP like they do Rivet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobby Posted April 25, 2007 Share Posted April 25, 2007 Rivet has averaged more playing time than any other Shark defenseman since he landed there. That makes him their #1 defenseman. I think the actions of the coaching staff speak a lot louder than the words of a fan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted April 25, 2007 Share Posted April 25, 2007 The answer is simple, Rivet (Montreal Canadiens version) can't be compared to his San Jose version because in San Jose, Rivet is complemented with all the right players and paired up with solid defencemen. If you're going to tell me that he wasn't worried about the back end of the ice when he was paired with Niinimaa or Souray then you're wrong. The least of his worries are the defensive coverage when he's paired up with Vlasic or Carle who already do a better coverage than all of he Habs defense aside Markov. Every one of you said the Rivet deal to San Jose was a steal by Bob Gainey for a reason from a Montreal perspective. From a San Jose perspective, they got a solid player back who fits their system well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobby Posted April 25, 2007 Share Posted April 25, 2007 Vlasic is O.K. defensively, but Carle? The guy is awful in his own zone, pretty much a PPQB and not much else. I don't think you watched the Sharks play if you feel that Carle, or even Vlasic, is a shut down defender. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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