Permanent Rumour Thread

[MMPL]

I don't think that because there are 5000-8000 less fans at the game give you an opportunity to raise broadcasting prices...

I agree

[Quebecois]

We'd have a pretty good top 6, a solid D and great goaltending - but somewhere along the way, we'd have to draft a star offensive forward or sign one to a big contract if we intend to remain contenders.

Since when is that not enough to be a contender? Especially since a D that potentially includes Markov, Komi, Hammer, McDonagh, Subban, Emelin, Weber is MORE than solid.

If our top 6 forwards in 5 years are Pleks, Higgins, Kosty x 2, Latendresse and Max Pac is anyone actually going to say we won't have enough to contend for a Cup?

Edited October 24, 2008 by Quebecois

[Seb]

I believe the economic situation in the states right now will finally show, once and for all, if small market teams such as Nashville, Atlanta, etc, can survive in the NHL. Times might get too tough for them and they may be forced to move. We'll see.

[Mont Royale]

I would hope the Habs stay away from Gaborik.

Missing games because of groin problems the

last 2 or 3 seasons, smells of chronic to me.

And, we have to give up major assets. And,

he's looking for a longterm deal for major

cap space or he goes UFA.

Off topic, out of curiousity: are all your posts truncated for a reason, or do you just like to hit Enter, or are you commenting in the form of a poem?

Just wondering.

[alexstream]

Off topic, out of curiousity: are all your posts truncated for a reason, or do you just like to hit Enter, or are you commenting in the form of a poem?

Just wondering.

[habs rule]

Anyway, Gainey is discussing this whether we like it or not. It's a big risk - but - it wouldn't be the end of the world. We'd be able to keep our core of young players together along with Gaborik. The trouble is that we'd have to be absolutely sure he's re-signing with us if we're going to give Higgins and Halak. If it's a question mark then we absolutely should not do it. But I think Gainey knows that.

According to Mr Gainey as of today he has made no inquiry of minnie and has had no discussions he actually went so far as say that he is not interested in Gabby due to his being..........wait for it.......INJURY PRONE (Ok that parts my interpetation)

[Wamsley01]

I think it is extremely optimistic to think that this downturn will not affect the cap.

There is a real possibility that some cities will lose their teams. Saskhab is right in that the boxes and season seats

are already cash in hand and will not show up this year. But that is a Bettman special in that he is pushing the real

problem away and projecting a rosy future.

Teams are in trouble and even a 10 cent drop in the dollar will affect next year's cap. One thing is for sure, it will not go up.

It is not the time to dick with team chemistry and acquire an injury prone guy who expects 8M+ per season.

Why is everybody so quick to toss Tanguay, Koivu, Kovalev or Komisarek aside to bring aboard Gaborik?

I say Kovalev is not untradeable - 30 page thread

I say Koivu should not be retired - 20 page thread

I don't understand this board sometimes.

[Ecurb]

Off topic, out of curiousity: are all your posts truncated for a reason, or do you just like to hit Enter, or are you commenting in the form of a poem?

Just wondering.

I just like to keep my responses short, less chance of looking like

an idiot.

I've been following this discussion and Gaborik would be one of the

few elite type players I wouldn't want us to add. He seems to have

chronic groin problems. Thats a BIG red flag to me.

And I don't undersatnd why some would think we need to add an

elite winger. Tanguay, A.Kostitsyn and Higgins at LW. Kovalev,

Latendresse and S.Kostitsyn at RW. And Pacioretty coming as

soon as next year. Thats not a position of weakness, IMO.

In fact as soon as next year as some have pointed out, we're going

to have serious cap issues. Better to stay young at wing, since we

have nice depth there. Even D'Agostini is a possibility as a 3rd line

RW.

We'll have 4 major UFA's next season in Kovalev,Tanguay,Koivu

and Komisarek. Just trying to fit 3 of them in under the cap looks

like it might be a problem. I'm leaning towards not re-signing

Kovalev because of his age and he'll take a spot away from some

some of our youth. He'll probably also be looking for a 3 year deal.

I love Kovalev and think he's our most skilled forward, but for the

reasons mentioned above and a probable 5M cap hit, I pass.

As for the cap, it might not go down next year, but I don't see it

increasing and I do expect it to do down the following year. This

is not a good time to be signing players to longterm deals. Yet,

I would sign Koivu for a couple of more years, and sign Tanguay

and Komisarek for 4+ years at around 5M per.

As for Lang, Kostopoulos, Begin, Dandenault, Bouillon and Brisbois

they can all be replaced by Chipchura, D'Agostini, Pacioretty, Stewart,

Valentenko and maybe Emelin at a smaller cap hit. That might mean

taking a small step back since well be adding so much youth, but

longterm we should be ok.

If we're going to make a deal I'd be looking for a dman. To be more

specific I'd be looking for a right dman to play along side of Hamrlik.

I'd want him to just have one more year left on his contract. And

I want him to be a legit top 3 dman. Thats the only glaring weakness

I see on our current team.

[Mont Royale]

I just like to keep my responses short, less chance of looking like

an idiot.

Funny that you post that and proceed with a long post!

What I meant was, your words extend across only about half way across before starting a new line, compared to everyone else's. Maybe it's something to do with my settings, or yours.

[Ecurb]

Funny that you post that and proceed with a long post!

What I meant was, your words extend across only about half way across before starting a new line, compared to everyone else's. Maybe it's something to do with my settings, or yours.

I'm glad to have amused you.

To answer your question its something I've trained myself to do. I find it annoying to read e-mails

I get and have to scroll right and left to read them because they are so long. The same is true for

other sites I visit on the interent. I know thats not a problem here, but its become a habit keeping

lines short. I suppose going to the other extreme can be annoying also.

The long post was partially in response to your post, but was also about something I'm passionate

about. Keeping the core of this team together is going to be tricky. So many issues to worry about.

Will Gillette still want to spend near the top end of the cap if the Canadian dollar continues its free

fall. When the CBA expires you'd have to think most owners will want a new deal because most are

having a hard time just meeting the lower part of the cap. How will that effect us if we start signing

alot of our players to longterm deals.

[BTH]

Since when is that not enough to be a contender? Especially since a D that potentially includes Markov, Komi, Hammer, McDonagh, Subban, Emelin, Weber is MORE than solid.

If our top 6 forwards in 5 years are Pleks, Higgins, Kosty x 2, Latendresse and Max Pac is anyone actually going to say we won't have enough to contend for a Cup?

Hammer and maybe Markov will be gone by the time these guys make it and are starting to hit their potential. We'd have 4 or 5 rookies/sophomores/generally inexperienced players on D all playing at the same time.

We'd also be lacking a #2 centre - some would even say a #1 - and Higgins is probably best for the third line.

They'd be playoff calibre but not a serious contender.

[saskhab]

For the record, the bad economy should affect the cap, and so will the CDN dollar's value, I just don't see it being so drastic as to: a) completely offset the revenue generated by all the ticket price increases this past summer

b) offset the great local spikes in some markets, particularily Chicago.

League wide revneues determine the cap. They are an accumulation of all the revenues of all 30 teams. Montreal is going to generate a ton of money this year. That could be offset somewhat by the Candaian dollar's drop, but the sheer volume of merchandise being sold out of Montreal this year will be huge. And all that hockey related merchandise, from the Monopoly games, to the hockey cards, to the 7 alternate jerseys, the All-Star Game... could be enough to support two NHL franchises.

Not one team lowered their ticket prices this offseason that I heard of. Most increased their ticket prices. Even a drop in total attendance could still mean an increase in ticket revenue.

The NHL makes pretty decent money in Europe. There were twice as many games in Europe this year as opposed to last year's total.

If Chicago hits it big time this year (and all indications show they could), that is a HUGE market with tons of revenue generating potential that has been added. Chicago could go from small market revenue take ins to one of the top 8 franchises in revenue production this season alone. That benefit will be felt league wide.

Dallas also has a re-energized fan base, another very large market. Same with Boston. There aren't many big market teams that are struggling in the US right now... I can only think of the Kings as one of the drags.

That being said, a lot of things could go wrong in this next year with a hostile economy. But enough to derail revenues to the point where the total will drop, making a salary cap reduction? Very unlikely. More likely is a smaller rise in revenues, or a hockey economic slowdown rather than a hockey economic recession.

[Ecurb]

For the record, the bad economy should affect the cap, and so will the CDN dollar's value, I just don't see it being so drastic as to: a) completely offset the revenue generated by all the ticket price increases this past summer

b) offset the great local spikes in some markets, particularily Chicago.

League wide revneues determine the cap. They are an accumulation of all the revenues of all 30 teams. Montreal is going to generate a ton of money this year. That could be offset somewhat by the Candaian dollar's drop, but the sheer volume of merchandise being sold out of Montreal this year will be huge. And all that hockey related merchandise, from the Monopoly games, to the hockey cards, to the 7 alternate jerseys, the All-Star Game... could be enough to support two NHL franchises.

Not one team lowered their ticket prices this offseason that I heard of. Most increased their ticket prices. Even a drop in total attendance could still mean an increase in ticket revenue.

The NHL makes pretty decent money in Europe. There were twice as many games in Europe this year as opposed to last year's total.

If Chicago hits it big time this year (and all indications show they could), that is a HUGE market with tons of revenue generating potential that has been added. Chicago could go from small market revenue take ins to one of the top 8 franchises in revenue production this season alone. That benefit will be felt league wide.

Dallas also has a re-energized fan base, another very large market. Same with Boston. There aren't many big market teams that are struggling in the US right now... I can only think of the Kings as one of the drags.

That being said, a lot of things could go wrong in this next year with a hostile economy. But enough to derail revenues to the point where the total will drop, making a salary cap reduction? Very unlikely. More likely is a smaller rise in revenues, or a hockey economic slowdown rather than a hockey economic recession.

I love when people, who know whats going to happen, let us know early so we can

protect ourselfs.

Thanks ...........

[Zowpeb]

I love when people, who know whats going to happen, let us know early so we can

protect ourselfs.

Thanks ...........

??

[Canajun]

...another Haiku from Ecurb :ninja:

[Athlétique.Canadien]

Sorry about the non-Habs rumour here but I just had to post this. Ek = Madness.

The Sens would grab Khabibulin, make room by sending Spezza to Calgary, and the Hawks would sign Forsberg...All by Thanksgiving. I am also working on a trade rumour between Vancouver and Florida ..., a Leafs rumour that would bring a player from the Southeast Division.....,a Red Wings rumour.....that would move a d-man to Boston, a Rangers rumour that would open up cap space for..., and a Minnesota rumour that would see Gaborik staying put... Ek

Eklund link to Hockeybuzz for the article.

He's off his rocker I guess

[habs rule]

Sorry about the non-Habs rumour here but I just had to post this. Ek = Madness.

Eklund link to Hockeybuzz for the article.

He's off his rocker I guess

he just came out of appendicitis surgery and the doc has given him "the really good shit" would be my guess

[habscout]

For what it's worth, and Eklund rumours are not worth much. This one makes a small amount of sense, for only these two reasons:

a) Shanahan seriously considered signing with Montreal 2 years ago, to the point that Gainey wined and dined him (ie. gave him a personal tour of Montreal, including a helicopter ride).

b) Shanahan is starting to get desperate, since he realizes the Rangers won't resign him and he's given his agent the go ahead to talk to other teams, albeit a "little" late.

http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?post_id=17595

Of course, the whole cap situation in Montreal is not Shanahan-friendly, even if he wanted to take a pay cut to the NHL minimum wage level.

[MFT77]

Sorry, but i just don't see Shanny coming to Montreal. No room on the wings for him. He's too late.

[MAK]

Miss Shanahan said no 2 years ago. Screw them !!!

now he would like to come to montreal ?!! thats BS

all he deserves is to play in florida or in phoenix!! or worse: new jersey !!

[habs rule]

I recall about a month ago the rumour was out there that Shanny was coming to Montreal, when they asked BBG about it he said he had absolutely no interest in Shanahan, I assume that is still the case. Hopefully the doctor will reduce Ek's dose so he can come back to reality. But of course his reality is very different from ours. I do wonder what colour the sky is in his world.

[MFT77]

If Shanny would sign for the minimum and be willing to play on the 4th line, then i say do it, otherwise i agree and let him try somewhere else. He missed the boat 2 years ago.

[Habsfan]

If Shanny would sign for the minimum and be willing to play on the 4th line, then i say do it, otherwise i agree and let him try somewhere else. He missed the boat 2 years ago.

Agreed! unless it's to play on the 4th line, I don't want shanahan in MTL!

[Chris]

I'd rathe rplay Laraque. BG already said he was NOT interested in Shannahan.

[BTH]

If he's willing to take a million or less and also willing to play on the 3rd or 4th line then we don,t really have a good reason not to sign him. But for any more than that and it just isn't worth it, we already don't have much cap or roster space. It'll be an interesting possibility if one of our wingers gets hurt long term.