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Canadiens sign Hamrlik, Smolinski & Kostopoulos


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Staurt - who IMO is a much better defencemen then Hamrlik just signed for $3.5M.

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Staurt - who IMO is a much better defencemen then Hamrlik just signed for $3.5M.

I understand that statisitcs don't mean everything when it comes to judging talent but let's put it this way...

On the defensive side one looks at +/-

(Last season)

Stuart: -10

Hamrlik: +22

On the offensive side for a defenseman one looks at points

(Last season)

Stuart: 22

Hamrlik: 38

Now the fact that he got first line PP minutes probably helped him as far as points go but like Tony said, there's a reason he was a top 2 defenseman on the flames.

Both Stuart and Hamrlik played on the same team last season, so I hardly see the comparison. Just because you like the way someone looks on the ice, does not necessarily mean he'd be a better pickup.

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On the defensive side one looks at +/-

(Last season)

Stuart: -10

Hamrlik: +22

Just a side note. +/- is a very sketchy value of talent...not disagreeing with you but want to make a point.

Below are Stuarts stats last season with 2 different clubs: Horrible +/- with Boston, great with Calgary...so which is it? Is Stuart good defensively or not. +/- is a shady stat as it doesn't show how valuable a player is on the powerplay ot killing penalties.

2006-2007 Bruins 48 7 10 17 -22

2006-2007 Flames 27 0 5 5 12 18

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Yes this are panic moves. Panic moves brought on with a stupid policy of not being willing to negotiate during the year so they couldn;t sign Souray and the fact that no QUALITY UFA's wanted to sign with the habs. The habs could have signed both Souray and Markov during the year and saved considerably, before the MARKET VALUE INCREASED. The flames just signed Reghyr for less money then Markov, hamrlik and whatever it will cost to sign souray now, even though he is definitely a better dman then Souray and Hamrlik.

Semantics 101.

Reghyr signed for less than Markov, because he is not as good.

Markov signed before the market flux - was that a panic move? By consensus, he would have made way more as an FA. Or perhaps it was his signing that drove the market through the roof????? And you think his agent wouldn't have known roughly what the market was going to bear back then?

Souray is not coming back, so comparisons with him and Reghyr are pointless.

No quality - i.e. top 5 or 6 - UFA's wanted to sign with us. Should we have left the gaping hole on D untouched, and hope that cheaper kids could have cut it now in the NHL?

Smolinski fills a hole that was a question mark - they obviously don't feel Chips is quite ready.

We have just picked up two mentors as well, guys who won't be clogging up the roster spots and able to impart a lot of savvy on the kids.

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I would like to put my 2 cents in about the signings. Definitely need help on D, especially in the top 4. Hamrlik should be a solid contributor and is being paid about market price. I would say not overpaid for a top 4, maybe a 2 or 3 d-man who should produce about 40 points. Souray woulda been nice but Hammy should fit in fine. Smolinski for 2 million over one year is great. Solid producer for about 40- 50 points, and very versatile. Depth guy will definitely help and only signed for a year, giving a little flexibility at that point. Addin Souray would still be great, but the chances don't look good. Maybe one more forward, but hard to say.

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Yes this are panic moves. Panic moves brought on with a stupid policy of not being willing to negotiate during the year so they couldn;t sign Souray and the fact that no QUALITY UFA's wanted to sign with the habs. The habs could have signed both Souray and Markov during the year and saved considerably, before the MARKET VALUE INCREASED. The flames just signed Reghyr for less money then Markov, hamrlik and whatever it will cost to sign souray now, even though he is definitely a better dman then Souray and Hamrlik.

How many times does it have to be pointed out that Souray wanted to test the free-agent market, and possibly head west in the process. He wasn't open to being re-signed during the season.

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Kostopoulos is not bad for a fourth line winger - I think this means Garth Murray will be in the AHL this season.

Obviously a downgrade for a Mike Johnson type of player because he lacks offensive upside, but he's pretty good defensively and fights occasionally.

$900,000 is fairly hefty for that kind of a player though, I gotta say. Almost as much as Begin is getting ($1M) and some people here are always questioning that.

He's put up 20pts a season the past three years for some lackluster teams.

Edited by smon
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Kostopoulos is not bad for a fourth line winger - I think this means Garth Murray will be in the AHL this season.

Obviously a downgrade for a Mike Johnson type of player because he lacks offensive upside, but he's pretty good defensively and fights occasionally.

$900,000 is fairly hefty for that kind of a player though, I gotta say. Almost as much as Begin is getting ($1M) and some people here are always questioning that.

I hope there's a trade of some sort coming up... otherwise, where are the kids gonna play if they make the team??

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I understand that statisitcs don't mean everything when it comes to judging talent but let's put it this way...

On the defensive side one looks at +/-

(Last season)

Stuart: -10

Hamrlik: +22

On the offensive side for a defenseman one looks at points

(Last season)

Stuart: 22

Hamrlik: 38

Now the fact that he got first line PP minutes probably helped him as far as points go but like Tony said, there's a reason he was a top 2 defenseman on the flames.

Both Stuart and Hamrlik played on the same team last season, so I hardly see the comparison. Just because you like the way someone looks on the ice, does not necessarily mean he'd be a better pickup.

No, Staurt was a late season pickup for Calgary. he spent most of the year on a real lousy Bruins team

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I would like to put my 2 cents in about the signings. Definitely need help on D, especially in the top 4. Hamrlik should be a solid contributor and is being paid about market price. I would say not overpaid for a top 4, maybe a 2 or 3 d-man who should produce about 40 points. Souray woulda been nice but Hammy should fit in fine. Smolinski for 2 million over one year is great. Solid producer for about 40- 50 points, and very versatile. Depth guy will definitely help and only signed for a year, giving a little flexibility at that point. Addin Souray would still be great, but the chances don't look good. Maybe one more forward, but hard to say.

The flames - who he played for the last two years were only willing to offer him 2 years and only $4m. They even decided to go with an injury prone Aucion then bringing hamrlik back. The habs not only were willing to pay a lot more then the flames, but also doubled calgary's contract term.

And 4000 Park-Ex residents buy season's tickets...

Another BS signing. After the habs did a pretty decent job at the draft they have gone to their usual practice of signing castoffs that no one else really wants to play depth roles.

We need to add to the meat of the lineup - we have enough turnips on this team!!!!

Edited by hab29RETIRED
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Here's the English article from TSN.

http://tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=212724&hubname=

And Kostopoulos' player page on TSN.

http://tsn.ca/nhl/teams/players/bio/?id=1395&hubname=nhl

Could this be he's looking for a Streit replacement? As good as he played as a forward, maybe Bob and Carbo want him back on D full-time.

Another point based on previous post, the team policies where GMs don't talk contracts until the season is over exists for a reason. Mainly, it's a psychological safety and a hockey move for both sides (players and management).

If Bob had serious contract discussions with Souray all season long and only failed to show that he was a goner, this could have had an immediate impact on both the team and the fans. For one, the fans would be super pissed off and would boo him à la Brisebois. Second, it would potentially disrupt team morale and force Gainey into trading Souray and other disgruntled players. Had the Habs traded Souray before the season had ended, I don't think it sends a positive message to the fans in terms of team performance considering the role Souray played last season.

There are also other scenarios that can be put into play. For example, if Souray is pissed off about not getting what he wants, it could be reflected on his play on the ice. Right there, that's something that any team wants to avoid.

The other possible scenario is involved both something management and player's and their agents might like. It's not secret that when a player is in the last year of his contract, his stats and play tend to be very good. There's a psychological aspect to that. Players want to improve and show their true potential and get paid according to it. GMs know that players will always perform miraculously well in their last year, maybe that's enough of a justification on why management does not negotiate contracts only until the season ends. Also, this situation is beneficial for the player's and their agents. Previous seasons are always a make or break situation in regards to contract negociations. A good season will always result into a solid pay increase. A bad season on the other hand, is most likely to bring a small raise (based on market fluctuation), the same salary or in rare occasions, a pay cut.

When players are rumored to be testing the market at the end of the season for whatever reasons beforehand, it tends to create a certain media pressure (not so much in Montreal though) on the player he easily wants to avoid.

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Tony, by the time a player is a year away from UFA, you know a lot about that player. You should be able to come up with the basis of an agreement if you want to retain the player. Calgary just spend $7m on Iginla and $4m on Regehr... those are fantastic deals given this year's market, let alone next year's. They knew everything they needed to about the players and got them locked up.

We could've had Markov signed last summer for less... and we still got him for a good price by this year's standards. Hopefully Bob learns his lessons. I know Buffalo must be really regretting not signing Briere for 5 years last summer.

Anyways... Kostopo. I don't know why we signed him, but I do think we must have at least a minor trade forthcoming. I still don't see the potential for a major trade, though.

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Brad Stuart with the Bruins and Flames is 2 different situations that can't even be compared.

With the Bruins he was showcased all season long and got considerable amount of ice time because it was known ahead of time that he would test the market after the Bruins had contracts talks with him that didn't go so well. In Calgary, he was there on a similar role in Boston but in a secondary position. If Stuart was as good as he everyone claims, he could have EASILY gotten a multi-year deal at some absurd price tag that everyone handed out on July 1st.

Comparing Hamrlik's contract offer in Calgary to what he got paid in Montreal is also a flawed argument. The Flames had Stuart and Hamrlik to re-sign and got Aucoin around a little less than 2 weeks before the UFA period because talks with Stuart stalled and needed some insurance. Aucoin was that. He was also insurance in case Hamrlik didn't sign either. Not to mention, the Flames signed Sarich at 3.6M$ a season for 5 years. Imagine, they paid Hamrlik 3.5M$ this past season, you're going to tell me in comparison to Sarich, Hamrlik is worth 4M$? One fair deal right there.

What the Flames offered Hamrlik (2 years at 4M$ per season based on what you said) is because of Calgary's FINANCIAL STRUCTURE. Dion Phaneuf alone will eat a huge chunk of cap next season on his own. Regehr signed a nice raise too. It was either a take it or leave it situation for Hamrlik. Montreal's situation is completely different. First off, the best defencemen has signed a 4 year deal this season so Hamrlik is most likely gone when his contract ends at the same time as Markov. Right there, that shouldn't cause a cap problem. Secondly, their other defencemen aside Komisarek is the only one who can have an impact on the financial structure. He did sign a two-year deal but two-years from now his value will have increased but before then Bouillon and Dandenault's deals will end and won't likely get picked up only it's for a pay cut or if they significantly improve down the road. Prospect wise, Valentenko, Fischer, McDonagh and the rest of the D prospects (including O'Byrne) will be on their entry level contracts and if they make the Habs, it will be for cheap. Other prospects who could make the team will be on their 2nd NHL contracts, not much of a pay increase there.

Basically, Bob paid him what was market value. As for the terms, it wasn't a coincidence he gave him 4 years. Just look at the structure and you'll see it makes perfect sense.

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Tony, by the time a player is a year away from UFA, you know a lot about that player. You should be able to come up with the basis of an agreement if you want to retain the player. Calgary just spend $7m on Iginla and $4m on Regehr... those are fantastic deals given this year's market, let alone next year's. They knew everything they needed to about the players and got them locked up.

We could've had Markov signed last summer for less... and we still got him for a good price by this year's standards. Hopefully Bob learns his lessons. I know Buffalo must be really regretting not signing Briere for 5 years last summer.

Anyways... Kostopo. I don't know why we signed him, but I do think we must have at least a minor trade forthcoming. I still don't see the potential for a major trade, though.

Yes, but part of keeping a player happy on your team is paying him based on his value. Markov was showing some signs of being an excellent dman at the end of the last season but in the season that just passed, he showed he could carry the team defense on his back.

Either way, for all we know, Markov probably didn't want to talk about a contract extension last season.

Don't worry so much about Kostopoulos, worst case scenario is he ends up in Hamilton if a prospect snags his job.

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oops...my bad...mods please delete my topic...didnt' realize we were discussing all signings in this thread...

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Boring signing from a boring GM ... we have to face it, we have to like Bob like an old 70 years old man loves the women he has been with for 45 years.

No more excitement ... Bob isn't a bad GM, he just isn't a flashy one ...

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Kostopoulos? :unsure:

Either there is a trade coming or more likely some AHL rookies that we expected to make the team this year will be in Hamilton for at least another year.

Team would still need depth players to travel with the team in case of injury. Better a guy with good experience than a rookie who would be wasted as a healthy scratch most nights.

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