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Blair Betts is claimed, fails physical & is sent back to Philly


Commandant

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Have to wonder if he's slowed down due to injuries. Other than that, he'd be great, I think he'd be a permanent fixture on the 4th line.

But it'd put our team up to 49 contracts assuming Blunden isn't claimed off waivers. Not a lot of room for a significant add.

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What about Sean Avery ? We don't have any agitator or guy that can get under the skin of the opponent and fight when needed. And he has some offensive abilities too. He's a specimen, but lot more intelligent than most think. Anyways according to what I remember from ex-teammates talking about him last year.

MTL is not like NYR. It's a different dynamic. We have a great and solid core of vets/leaders, unlike the Rangers where the Captain is a young Callahan and the team is rebuilding around Richards, Gaborik and Dubinsky. Avery here would be surrounded by vets like Gionta, Gill, Gomez and Cammalleri. He would not be a loose cannon out here.

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I think his previous anti-Francophone comments (from when he was playing in LA) wouldn't play well. He is friends with Cammalleri, though.

Didn't he played in the recent Maurice Richard movie? I'm a francophone and don't take care much about his trash talk vs us, although it is not tactics that I would recommend using. Bad taste for sure. He could be a PR nightmare for sure, but he's 31 now and well surrounded, he could be a nice addition on our roster. One problem though is that he would be one of the highest paid player at 4M$ and I'm not sure about our cap space after that.

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Avery would only be 2 million against the cap. Dallas still has to cover half of his contract from him being claimed on re-entry waivers way back when.

Still I don't see him as a fit for this team.

I think Betts brings what we need, and what we aren't getting from Engqvist right now. Only thing that would make Betts perfect is if he was RH... but he's not.

=================

As for the significant addition.... 49 contracts is fine, because we'd almost assuredly ship out a contract if we were gonna trade for someone. I don't think it would prevent us making a move.

If we're talking about adding impact players, we would probably be giving up the quantity of contracts to get the quality anyways.

Weber is still a guy I see as not being meant for this team long term.

Edited by Commandant
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If Avery can help us win, then for God's sake we should sign Avery. It's not about having saints on your team. However, this is a club built on a very tight 'team cohesion' model that succeeds by being greater than the sum of its parts, and there are always enough distractions and drama in Montreal as it is. Adding a big-mouthed hyper-ego is exactly the wrong direction to go given our team makeup.

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Blair Betts is the most interesting player I've seen on waivers yet. I watched him in Prince George when he was with the Cougars so I'm a little biased I guess. I think we really need a player like him right now. He would be perfect on the 4 th line.

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I'd be for claiming Betts but he's not the great faceoff specialist I thought he was. He was just over 50% in 817 draws last year. That said, he's still an upgrade on a couple in that department and certainly has a manageable cap hit at $700k for this year. As saskhab noted though, it would push them to 49 contracts which isn't ideal. Of course, there are always trade options, waivers, or if they have enough cap space and really, really need a contract spot, an in-season buyout can happen as well. I'd claim him but I wouldn't be too upset if he passed through either.

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I'd be for claiming Betts but he's not the great faceoff specialist I thought he was. He was just over 50% in 817 draws last year. That said, he's still an upgrade on a couple in that department and certainly has a manageable cap hit at $700k for this year. As saskhab noted though, it would push them to 49 contracts which isn't ideal. Of course, there are always trade options, waivers, or if they have enough cap space and really, really need a contract spot, an in-season buyout can happen as well. I'd claim him but I wouldn't be too upset if he passed through either.

I would wait and see how it goes. If by Xmas you are desperate for draw specialist grab Zigomanis when Leafs return him to Marlies. Don't worry he will be up sometime. You let him take draw, then get him off the ice.

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Didn't he played in the recent Maurice Richard movie? I'm a francophone and don't take care much about his trash talk vs us, although it is not tactics that I would recommend using. Bad taste for sure. He could be a PR nightmare for sure, but he's 31 now and well surrounded, he could be a nice addition on our roster. One problem though is that he would be one of the highest paid player at 4M$ and I'm not sure about our cap space after that.

Yes he did play in The Rocket. He played the goon that the Rags brought up for one game to knock Maurice out. But Maurice ended up ######ing him up twice in a row.

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I would wait and see how it goes. If by Xmas you are desperate for draw specialist grab Zigomanis when Leafs return him to Marlies. Don't worry he will be up sometime. You let him take draw, then get him off the ice.

Zigomanis went down yesterday, actually.

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What about Sean Avery ? We don't have any agitator or guy that can get under the skin of the opponent and fight when needed. And he has some offensive abilities too. He's a specimen, but lot more intelligent than most think. Anyways according to what I remember from ex-teammates talking about him last year.

MTL is not like NYR. It's a different dynamic. We have a great and solid core of vets/leaders, unlike the Rangers where the Captain is a young Callahan and the team is rebuilding around Richards, Gaborik and Dubinsky. Avery here would be surrounded by vets like Gionta, Gill, Gomez and Cammalleri. He would not be a loose cannon out here.

"Our organization believes that the players’ safety in hockey has become a major concern, and that this situation has reached a point of urgency. At risk are some of the greatest professional athletes in the world, our fan base and the health of our sport at all levels. Players’ safety in hockey must become the ultimate priority and the situation must be addressed immediately. As a proud father of three hockey players, I want to help create a healthy and safe experience for them, and I certainly never want any family to go through what the Pacioretty’s are experiencing at this moment.

We understand and appreciate hockey being a physical sport, but we do not accept any violent behavior that will put the players’ health and safety at risk. On this specific issue, I am asking for the support of the 29 other NHL owners, to address urgently this safety issue. And I am willing to play a leadership role in coordinating this group effort."

- Geoff Molson

If the Habs sign Avery or anybody like him, they are hypocrites and will be called on it.

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"Our organization believes that the players’ safety in hockey has become a major concern, and that this situation has reached a point of urgency. At risk are some of the greatest professional athletes in the world, our fan base and the health of our sport at all levels. Players’ safety in hockey must become the ultimate priority and the situation must be addressed immediately. As a proud father of three hockey players, I want to help create a healthy and safe experience for them, and I certainly never want any family to go through what the Pacioretty’s are experiencing at this moment.

We understand and appreciate hockey being a physical sport, but we do not accept any violent behavior that will put the players’ health and safety at risk. On this specific issue, I am asking for the support of the 29 other NHL owners, to address urgently this safety issue. And I am willing to play a leadership role in coordinating this group effort."

- Geoff Molson

If the Habs sign Avery or anybody like him, they are hypocrites and will be called on it.

I 100% agree, no Avery.

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"Our organization believes that the players’ safety in hockey has become a major concern, and that this situation has reached a point of urgency. At risk are some of the greatest professional athletes in the world, our fan base and the health of our sport at all levels. Players’ safety in hockey must become the ultimate priority and the situation must be addressed immediately. As a proud father of three hockey players, I want to help create a healthy and safe experience for them, and I certainly never want any family to go through what the Pacioretty’s are experiencing at this moment.

We understand and appreciate hockey being a physical sport, but we do not accept any violent behavior that will put the players’ health and safety at risk. On this specific issue, I am asking for the support of the 29 other NHL owners, to address urgently this safety issue. And I am willing to play a leadership role in coordinating this group effort."

- Geoff Molson

If the Habs sign Avery or anybody like him, they are hypocrites and will be called on it.

I don't want to sound like I think Avery is my fav player or a role-model and all, but when did he get a suspension for a cheap shot or causing an injury to someone else? Most of his trouble are with his mouth and I believe that with more maturity now, and surrounded by a core of good vets, he could really contribute to this team with his energy and toughness. He can go in front of the net and score on occasion as well. Precisely the kind of player we lack on the 4th line, and a player that can jump on the 1st line for a couple shift to mix things up.

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Avery has never been a dirty player.

An agitator? Yes.... an asshole on the ice? Absolutely?

But what is there on his resume as far as dirty hits go? I can't think of any.

The guy gets lumped in with players like Matt Cooke all the time, but I don't see him doing the same stuff.

That said I don't want him, because he scares me as a locker room cancer.

Edited by Commandant
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I don't want to sound like I think Avery is my fav player or a role-model and all, but when did he get a suspension for a cheap shot or causing an injury to someone else? Most of his trouble are with his mouth and I believe that with more maturity now, and surrounded by a core of good vets, he could really contribute to this team with his energy and toughness. He can go in front of the net and score on occasion as well. Precisely the kind of player we lack on the 4th line, and a player that can jump on the 1st line for a couple shift to mix things up.

Detroit had a lot of good veterans too when he was there, they didn't do him any good. Dallas had several veterans, they pretty much went to management and demanded they get rid of him. I could easily see him wreck the chemistry in the Habs' room. As for helping offensively, he had a whopping 3 goals last year so even in that department, he won't help.

Talent wise, is he good enough to play somewhere in the NHL? Of course he is. Given all that comes with him though, is it worth the baggage to upgrade the bottom 6? Probably not.

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I don't want to sound like I think Avery is my fav player or a role-model and all, but when did he get a suspension for a cheap shot or causing an injury to someone else? Most of his trouble are with his mouth and I believe that with more maturity now, and surrounded by a core of good vets, he could really contribute to this team with his energy and toughness. He can go in front of the net and score on occasion as well. Precisely the kind of player we lack on the 4th line, and a player that can jump on the 1st line for a couple shift to mix things up.
Avery has never been a dirty player. An agitator? Yes.... an asshole on the ice? Absolutely? But what is there on his resume as far as dirty hits go? I can't think of any. The guy gets lumped in with players like Matt Cooke all the time, but I don't see him doing the same stuff. That said I don't want him, because he scares me as a locker room cancer.

He's not as dangerous as Matt Cooke but he is cheap.

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David Steckel, Blair Betts, these guys make sense for that pathetic 4th line. problem is that whatever makes sense for the habs, Gauthier seems to have no interest. Why the heck is Weber playing on that 4th line as a RWer if there is no intention to put him on the PP.

Thats just bad coaching I'm sorry.

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What about Sean Avery ? We don't have any agitator or guy that can get under the skin of the opponent and fight when needed. And he has some offensive abilities too. He's a specimen, but lot more intelligent than most think. Anyways according to what I remember from ex-teammates talking about him last year.

MTL is not like NYR. It's a different dynamic. We have a great and solid core of vets/leaders, unlike the Rangers where the Captain is a young Callahan and the team is rebuilding around Richards, Gaborik and Dubinsky. Avery here would be surrounded by vets like Gionta, Gill, Gomez and Cammalleri. He would not be a loose cannon out here.

Avery has already played with played with some Vets as well with Cammalleri, Gomez so he may aleady have that rapport however he is not what we need on this team. I want to see a player who won;t be a distraction, you will give 110% every shift. I'd much rather see a guy like Betts or Brule or Mair.

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Betts is everything the Canadiens need.

Face offs

Size

PK

I would really like to see Gionta and Cammys minutes really diminished on the PK and a guy like this helps with that. Cammy and Gionta should be saving those special minutes for scoring not defending.

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He's on waivers.

Good on faceoffs. Great PKer. I'd love to see montreal grab him for the 4th line centre role.

He's better than Engqvist.

Good call Commandant on Betts !

And Sean Avery cleared waivers..

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Really glad to see him here... Like I said in the first post, he's everything we need.

Well, everything with one exception, it'd be nice if he was a RH shot... but hey, even as a lefty with Engqvist a righty, i still think Betts is a huge upgrade.

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