Latendresse traded for Benoit Pouliot

[KoZed]

Meh.

Pin this one on Martin. It was becoming obvious he didnt know what to do with Lats. He had no confidence in him and Lats had no confidence in himself either. Nowhere to go from there but out of town. Still, it's sad that after 3 seasons of steady progress under Carbo, Lats would fall off the map so fast under Martin.

Now it's up to Martin to win the trade by making something our of Pouliot.

[Chips]

Brilliant! A good move for both clubs.

Lats; never developed with the Habs, he needed time in the AHL to develop his game. He suffered because of it; I wish him the best but not against us! (please not against us...)

Pouliot; WOW! I remember this draft; everyone who is anyone felt the habs wanted to pick him up and when MINNY took him 4th I was not happy, then I had a heartattack when BG picked Price; I remember thinking what the hell is going on? we had Theo/Huet and things looked stable for us in Net at the time; What we needed was a big centre; with skill. Pouliot looked like the right choice for us; and if not him another like him! But I resolved myself to accept we picked the best kid available at the time;

Seeing Pouliot in a Habs Jersey will be sweet for me personally; because now in my mind; Bob has his best pick at 5th in PRICE and the 4th pick who should have been a HABS pick in 2005; at least in my mind. Sure Pouliot has struggled in developing into the potential big centre, but he does have speed and skill and a change in system will do him good and give him a second chance at bringing his game to the Pro's. at 6'3" 199lbs; he can put on a few more pounds and IF (BIG IF) he develops into a solid centre or Winger; this will be a turning point.

so I say again. Brilliant! trade.

GO HABS GO!

ps. I hope that Pouliot can be for us what Moulson has turned into for the Islanders!

Edited November 24, 2009 by Chips

[Athlétique.Canadien]

...heartattack when BG picked Price; I remember thinking what the hell is going on? we had Theo/Huet and things looked stable for us in Net at the time;

I was at work when the draft took place. I remember alot of fans were confused and were weary of the move. Some wanted Pouliot and were sad he was gone and then they wanted Kopitar. They said exactly what you did at the time: Price?

I countered that Serge Savard drafted Jose Theodore in 1994 when Roy was still a Canadien. Depth never hurts. And, if one has the opportunity to draft a Fleury/Luongo potential goalie at 5th - so be it!

Cheers Chips, glad you are happy. I'm prayin' for the upside. It'll take a while to truly evaluate him. We can't really judge the kid until February - that is, to get a long term idea of what he brings.

[BCHabnut]

Lats was very good last year as a 3rd liner. He was solid. It will be interesting to see who gets the larger contract at the end of the year. I would wager that it will be Latendresse. Way more NHL games and a solid year vs soft lazy guy with talent. I will reserve judgement on this, but man it's hard not to be a little disapointed. I hope I am wrong.

[hab29RETIRED]

Yeah I can see it now.

I'll show them, how do I put up better numbers? I've got it. I'll park my big ass in front of the net.

I can see that.

DOn't know much about Pouliot. I wouldn't call the trade a win just based on draft positions. History is full of top five picks not panning out out and late rounders becoming superstars. I hope the habs win - I've been pissed about lats all year, he just has shown no interest or desire, but his size scares me. I've read posts that you can't teach speed, well, you can't teach size either, otherwise, the habs would've found a way to make the smurfs they have drafted over the years 4 inches bigger and 30 lbs heavier.

Big guys generally take longer to develop and I think the habs shot themselves by bringing up Lats too quickly - which is also what worries me about Max Pacs.

Anyway, I hope the habs win this deal, but you got two lazy guys who haven't performed to their potential and hopefully its the lazy guy we picked up which will have the lightbulb go off and he'll finally reach his draft potential - and not the guy we gave up.

[Habiman]

Not much of an option on this one...Love Lats, but he has been struggggggling....change of scenery will do him well....I like the speed potential...I think Martin, Gionta and Cammalari will keep him motivated...see memo just released from BG to team....

To: Les Boyz

From: BG

Re: 2009-10 Season

Play hard, no one is safe.

[KEEP26]

out with the old and in with the new...maybe Latendresse just couldnt lose the attitude that the team had last year..any way i think this be good for both guys..

[JCPetit]

I can see that.

DOn't know much about Pouliot. I wouldn't call the trade a win just based on draft positions. History is full of top five picks not panning out out and late rounders becoming superstars. I hope the habs win - I've been pissed about lats all year, he just has shown no interest or desire, but his size scares me. I've read posts that you can't teach speed, well, you can't teach size either, otherwise, the habs would've found a way to make the smurfs they have drafted over the years 4 inches bigger and 30 lbs heavier.

Big guys generally take longer to develop and I think the habs shot themselves by bringing up Lats too quickly - which is also what worries me about Max Pacs.

Anyway, I hope the habs win this deal, but you got two lazy guys who haven't performed to their potential and hopefully its the lazy guy we picked up which will have the lightbulb go off and he'll finally reach his draft potential - and not the guy we gave up.

Pouliot is not exactly a midget either.

[dlbalr]

Sounds like Pouliot will be more than just DTD as originally suspected:

Benoit Pouliot remains sidelined with a jammed wrist. He still can't squeeze the stick.

http://www.startribune.com/blogs/71816467...._MDua_eyD5PcOiU

[JCPetit]

Montreal members, be careful when walking near tall buildings for the next few days, Not only for concrete, but for RDS personnel as well. They will be devastated.

I think it’s a great trade for both players so I’m jumping off the ‘fire Gainey bandwagon’ for now. I believe Pouliot is a third line centre at best and has all the talent to be a second line winger if given the time. He has speed and plays a crash and bang type of game. Remember, McGuire hasn’t had a real job 3-5 years and is only a step above The famous Mike Milbury.

Latendresse get another opportunity to be a NHL player without the press telling him how great he is. I’m guessing that $2 million Gainey offered him in the summer, looks pretty good right now.

Now if Gainey would only offer St.Louis the K-bros, Plex, and Stewart for Backes, Berglund and Junlund he would solve the Financial problem and the big second line centre in one shot.

Can’t believe the one day I go for 4 hour infusion Gainey makes a move and I’m last to know.

First of all, Pouliot doesn't play centre; he is a left winger and will remain at this position.

Secondly, both teams were obviously at a point where they had lost confidence in these players. Who will be the steal? Very to say. Maybe no one will become a great player.

As far as what the experts are saying, well, it doesn't mean much. Here in the East, we haven't seen much of Pouliot, but we know that Lats was struggling. And it did not start with Martin. He was not dressed a few times by Carbo last year. And whatevet Lats might say about the lack of opportunities, I don't buy that. He has had a lot of ice time, with good players, to prove himself.

I suppose that he was the same situation with Pouliot and the Wild. Let's just hope that a change of scenery will help both players. I doubt that it will, but who knows?

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

We just have to trust Martin on this. He has a pretty decent track record with young talent; if in his judgement Lats was not going to amount to much, then so be it.

I waver on Latendresse. He's huge and scored in junior; he got around 16 goals per season without any PP time. It's easy to extrapolate that he can score 25-30 eventually (although given his lack of creativity, over 50 points seems a stretch somehow).

On the other hand, his junior coach apparently said he would never be an NHL power forward, that he doesn't have the right mentality; he is both slow and seemingly lacking in that positional instinct and creativity that slow-but-productive players like Dave Andrechuck have; and maybe most tellingly, unlike a guy like Andrei Kostitsyn - or, more to the mark, John LeClair - he has never, ever, in all his time in Montreal, shown any sustained flashes of serious offensive talent.

Think about that. Guys like Kostitysn or, when he was with us, Leclair, drive you crazy because they tantalize us with what we've seen them do, but they don't consistently do it. Lats has never tantalized us with anything except his size and his ability to dominate along the boards. More than anything else, that to me suggests that the hoped-for 'breakout' might never happen.

Beyond that, this is another indicator that Bob is completely disgusted with our development program over the past 5 years.

I am also reassured that he went out and got a young guy back. Had he traded Gui for a 30-year-old, I'd really be wondering if he's lost the thread.

[Trizzak]

woah, pulling an early season deal!

Wonder what Lapierre is thinking about his place on the team...

[Chips]

woah, pulling an early season deal!

Wonder what Lapierre is thinking about his place on the team...

There is no doubt, each and every player on that habs team is thinking twice about effort; hopefully, this trade does good things to the effort level and intensity of each player; with specially attention to SK as he returns to the habs... not many get the kinda second chance he is getting.

Make it count !

GO HABS GO!

[Habitforming]

First of all, Pouliot doesn't play centre; he is a left winger and will remain at this position.

Secondly, both teams were obviously at a point where they had lost confidence in these players. Who will be the steal? Very to say. Maybe no one will become a great player.

As far as what the experts are saying, well, it doesn't mean much. Here in the East, we haven't seen much of Pouliot, but we know that Lats was struggling. And it did not start with Martin. He was not dressed a few times by Carbo last year. And whatevet Lats might say about the lack of opportunities, I don't buy that. He has had a lot of ice time, with good players, to prove himself.

I suppose that he was the same situation with Pouliot and the Wild. Let's just hope that a change of scenery will help both players. I doubt that it will, but who knows?

Pouliot does play centre and it is his preferred position.

Maybe that's why he has had a hard time to find his way so far playing out of his comfort zone.

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

If the kid's a 6'3 C then this trade looks pretty damned good.

I am wildly unimpressed with Latendresse's departure. He basically slags Martin for not explaining his role, grumbles that he never saw top-6 ice time (I guess he felt entitled to it), and rips the Habs for not giving young players a chance - specifically, not signing them to long-term contracts. I guess he deserved a 5-year deal for $2 mil per.

Could it be that JM is simply not a coach who accepts any attitude of entitlement or BS from his players and is continuing the purge of Country Club Canadiens?

[brobin]

I tell you, the gutting of our locker room is not complete. It is pretty clear to me that the old "leadership' of this team stunk. Gutted them and we still have attitude issues with Lats and SK and probably Laps...

I wonder who else still needs to be purged before the leftovers wake up and realize they are highly paid professionals working in a merit based system. If they don't like it, or the coach, then get lost.

[JoeLassister]

Sounds like Pouliot will be more than just DTD as originally suspected:

http://www.startribune.com/blogs/71816467...._MDua_eyD5PcOiU

Pouliot himself :

"Ça fait une semaine et demie et je me sens beaucoup mieux. Je ne peux pas dire exactement dans combien de temps je serai de retour, mais ça s’en vient bien. Je verrai avec les médecins à mon arrivée à Montréal."

"It's been one week and a half. I can't say exactly how much time left until my comeback, but it's going well. I'll see with the docs when I'll arrive in Montreal."

rds.ca

[Colin]

Most interesting. First, Pouliot feels he's pretty close to a return from his injury, so that's good news. Secondly, he thinks he was misused in Minny and wonders why he was turned into a winger when he feels centre is the spot for him - and since Montreal apparently may have coveted him, one has to wonder if he was the big centre Bob was looking at the year they drafted Price.

I mean, if that's the case, this really has to factor into the whole Plex contract stuff. If Pouliot gets to play centre here and finds the game he had in junior, then that pesky contract stuff with Plex is moot. Of course, that's incredibly premature, but I can't help thinking that, in making this trade, Bob is both shaking up the current roster, and making a hopeful play for the future of the franchise down the middle. If the Habs do put Pouliot back at centre - particularly when Gomez comes back healthy - where does that leave the three? Can we keep all three? Who plays third line shut-down, or do we try to roll three attacking lines?

The long-term ramifications are very intriguing for me.

My personal opinion is that this is a no-lose trade for either team. This is a change of scenery trade which was necessary for both players. Just like Ribs was never going to become the player he is today in Montreal, such is the same for Lats and Pouliot. I think Lats will find some confidence in Minny, and I'd like to think he can become a 25-goal man there. Pouliot? Apparently, when you read his scouting reports anyhow, the sky's the limit.

Most interesting trade coming out of Montreal in a VERY long time.

[Habsfan84]

Lets see how it pans out! I'm kind of excited to see how each player does in a new setting!

[Habsy]

Colin, I love the enthusiasm, but doesn't the flip side concern you? The Wild, an organization that covets it's young players, and tries to build through the draft, just unloaded it's 4th overall pick, for a player that is a weak skater, and plays a one-dimensional game. We're now thinking about a repalcement for Plex, with a player who has 9 goals total, in his career? Benoit looks like one skinny 6"3 player to me. I don't mind seeing Gui go, and frankly, he looks like a little bitch with his comments on the way out, but wow, we're getting too excited I think.

Edited November 24, 2009 by Habsy

[hab29RETIRED]

Pouliot is not exactly a midget either.

He may have the height, but he weighs in under 200 and less then SK74.

[Colin]

Colin, I love the enthusiasm, but doesn't the flip side concern you? The Wild, an organization that covets it's young players, and tries to build through the draft, just unloaded it's 4th overall pick, for a player that is a weak skater, and plays a one-dimensional game. We're now thinking about a repalcement for Plex, with a player who has 9 goals total, in his career? Benoit looks like one skinny 6"3 player to me. I don't mind seeing Gui go, and frankly, he looks like a little bitch with his comments on the way out, but wow, we're getting too excited I think.

Of course it's way too early to tell anything but:

1. Do we really think Gui was going to be more than a 3rd line quasi-grinder with the ability to chip in offensively?
2. Round hole, square peg. You take a gifted attacker and put him into Lemaire's system, and what's going to happen? Hello Gaborik.
3. And if you think Benny looks like a skinny tall guy, I would have to agree. So does Lecavalier, IMO. Not trying to make a skills comparison there, just pointing out that skinny guys can have talent too.

Again, not saying we won this trade or that we should be throwing our hats in jubilation, just saying that this trade intrigues me. There's a lot of potential that's been untapped and under Martin - the guy who brought to fruition a whole pile of strong players in Ottawa - maybe we'll see some interesting results. I have to think that Martin decided that Lats just wasn't going to fit with this edition of the Habs, and went to Gainey to point that out. Who knows what Martin saw, but he knows more about hockey players than anyone on these boards.

Colour me cautiously optimistic. I'm certainly not overloaded with glee.

Hey, at the very least, we took a 6 minute per game guy and traded him for an 11 minute per game guy. Neither of whom was doing anything particularly useful. Change of scenery trade at the very least. I'll take that.

[lazy26]

What's so funny about it? 4-5 years ago, he was the next big thing. He was in 2005 basically what Subban is now, and I'm sure there already plenty of people with Subban jerseys.

I have every single one of Latendresse's 20 different rookie cards... which was not easy to obtain... No shame in getting something Habs-related that you think will stick around for a while, be it jerseys or other memorabilia.

[Habsy]

Now you're talking!! I too believe that Jacques Martin can help this player. I have this confidence in Jacques, that he may even get through to Sergei K. Time will tell the tale, as always...

[KoZed]

The Habs top brass were expecting Lats or Pacioretty to win the 2nd LW spot and none even came close. Since Martin likes his depth wingers to be speedy puck-pursuer, Lats fell out of favor real fast. It's also why Chipchura isnt seeing any ice and might be the next to leave. Still very disappointing to see yet another draft pick that couldnt be developed to its full potential. Not a great record for the team there.

Pouliot is an intriguing prospect, but I fear disappointment again. The Habs were very high on him in 2005, which, when you think about it, might not be a good sign. I remember someone from the organization comparing him to Lecavalier because of his size and fluidity on skates. I hope they actually plan on giving him an offensive role and not hypnotize him with "play without puck" and 3 years later wonder why his scoring instincts are gone, like they did with Lats. I'm guessing C is not in the cards for Pouliot yet since that 2nd scoring LW is becoming such a critical spot to fill.