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What to do with Kostitsyn


hab29RETIRED

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For the last 3-4 years, I've made no secret of how much I like Andrei Kostitsyn.

He has take a lot of unfair abuse from the media and fans. Benoit Brunet was brutal on him and harder on Ak46 then I've probably been on Martin and the Gomez deal. A guy who gets made a Canadian Senator and was the last winning Habs coach, pretty much ran over a bus on Kostitsyn and said something to the effect of "that news that will shake the foundations of the habs will be released", without having a shred of actual evidence to base his idiotic comments on. Exactly the kind of guy who Our wonderful PM Stephen Harper should be picking as friggin Senator!!!!! The french media was behaving as if Ak46 and his brother were guilty of drug trafficking, murder, child molesting or beating up little kids and stealing their lunch money.

AK46 has been a whipping boy for Martin. Any mistake he made usually got his ass nailed to the bench or even to the pressbox. When he played well, instead of being complimentary, the gruff Martin shrugged off his strong play by flippant remarks that he is just playing for a contract. Great motivational technique Martin. Idiot!!!

He hardly ever gets any power play time with his stubbornly idiotic coach constantly choosing to go with Darche and Moen this year, rather then guys who actually have some skill, like AK46 or Cole. Last year it was Darche, Moen, Halpern being chosen over Ak46.

Despite all of this, being an extremely offensively skilled player that hasn't been allowed to play the style that would allow him to be a 35-40 goal scorer he can (and probably will become as soon as he gets out of Montreal), he has put up decent numbers 26, 23, 15 (only played 59 games) and 20 goals. He is criticized for not scoring 35 goals, yet the habs free agent signing Cammalleri has only scored 26 and 19 goals, rather then the 39 he scored in his UFA year, rarely faces the same level of criticism.

AK46 has been among the leaders in hits and goals and is one of the few players with size and skill (along with Maxpac and Cole), yet he is still called soft by some. During the coarse of a game, for the same types of plays that gomez, Cammy and gionta have made, AK46 gets blasted for being lazy, soft and stupid by montreal sportswriters like Hickey and Fisher.

This past summer the habs opened the vault to a 33 year old Erik Cole for a 4 year $4.5M contract, while AK46 just got a one year $3.25M contract, instead of being locked up long term. I probably am in the minority here, but I'd take Ak46 over that term at that salary cap hit over Cole any day of the week.

What worries me is that if the habs do make a trade, it will probably will involve either Ak46 or Weber - both guys I've been very high on. I could see PG making a AK46 for Penner type of trade. Penner is a at forward what Gill is at defense. A big guy who isn't very physical, rarely uses his size and is a soft player. On top of that he is a lazy, unmotivated person, who doesn't come close to possessing the type of skill AK46 has. On top of that the supposedly, soft AK46 tends to lead his team in hits, yet is called soft.

IMO, the best case scenerio is that habs lose him for nothing as a UFA. Worst case is they trade him for worse option.

I think with a coaching change, if the habs were to bring in a higher tempo, offensive oriented coach, guys like Ak46, MaxPac, Cammy should see 10 goals added to their career high goal totals that they have put up in Montreal.

IMO, the habs this summer should lock up Price, Subban,AK46 and Eller long term. Sign them for more money now. The owners will probably impose a salary roll-back like they did during the last lock-out, which would mean if they did sign Price for say $6.5M/10 year deal now. Assuming a 20% roll back that would end up being $5.2M cap hit on a go forward basis. As an incentive, offer them a big signing bonus payable July 1st and front load the contract. But I can't see that happening, as that's not the way the habs do things. Why would the habs brain trust want to use the collective baragining loop holes to their advantage like other teams do??

Anyway, getting back to AK46, I really think the habs need to lock him up now. I think he WILL score 35-40 goals as soon as he gets out of his current situation in Montreal, but given the way JM treats him, he will probably either be treated or opt for free agency to get out of being the whipping boy for Martin. the habs already got nothing for one Kostitysn last year and fear we are going to see the same with Ak46. Sergei Kostigysn, ironically ended up with more points then anyone other then Pleks last year and has more points then Cammy this year.

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Well, I'm not worrying about the new CBA. That way lies doom. One of the best posters in the history of this site was Wamsley01, but remember his argument - strenuously advanced in numerous posts - that due to the economic meltdown a massive cap crash was coming; and that, therefore, instead of going on a UFA rebuild in 2009 we should have iced a bottom-of-the-barrel team and then scooped up all the superstars that cap-strapped teams would soon be shedding like rotten fruit?

Sure. If we'd done that, we'd still be waiting.

The point being, it doesn't pay to let hypothetical cap scenarios drive the bus.

As for Kostitsyn, he is a solid second-line forward. If somehow he found himself on a line with superstar linemates like St Louis and Stamkos, then yes, I could see him getting really hot and having a real impact season. But it seems clear to me that he will never be the 'go to' guy who manufactures such a season on his own. I don't subscribe to the theory that he is a victim of the talent-sapping coaching of JM. In fact he is a model of consistency - exactly the same player he was under the freewheeling, unstructured coach Carbo: a 25-goal, 25-assist guy with some physical edge prone to looooong bouts of offensive torpor. I agree that his relatively robust physical game adds an element the Habs need and would have no problem with re-signing him at a manageable rate. If we don't, I'm not gonna rend my garment about it.

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Kosty gets cold, but last year he was not given the right chance to succeed. This year has been different this year. He has had offensive players to play with for a long time. I really hope he is signed because big talented wingers draw big bucks in the ufa market. We have nobody in the pipeline that can replace him. I have always liked Kostisyn. Even though he has huge brain cramps every now and then

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I'd prefer to keep AK. Then again I wanted to keep Radek Bonk, Mike Johnson and Tom Kostopoulos. To name just a few. I'm a fan first and foremost. What scares me is, as usual, the Gomez contract. We're going to have to pay Price, Subban, Pacioretty and others. At a certain point, we won't be able to afford everyone. That Gomez contract, and his 10 goals per year, certainly limits what we can do financially.

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I do not want to lose AK for nothing. Either trade him or sign him (which I'd prefer). I think we can really do something this year and over the next couple. I believe AK is an important part of our depth.

I remember one post from a site that monitored what lines players play on. Every time last year when AK got hot, they put him with Gomez or some other player who was cold trying to get them started, they never did the same for AK because he is a "hot and cold player" maybe if when he got hot they didn't change what line he was on... he would keep scoring.

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I aint too woried about Kostitsyn, who is on pace for 31.5 goals with only 15 minutes /game, whereas superstar Cammalleri is on pace for bout 23 goals at twice the salary, so why not discuss why this bum is now having his 2nd shitty regular season in a row instead, much more concerning to me.

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I aint too woried about Kostitsyn, who is on pace for 31.5 goals with only 15 minutes /game, whereas superstar Cammalleri is on pace for bout 23 goals at twice the salary, so why not discuss why this bum is now having his 2nd shitty regular season in a row instead, much more concerning to me.

You did notice that this 'bum' led the NHL in playoff scoring for two years running before the Habs were eliminated, right?

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I aint too woried about Kostitsyn, who is on pace for 31.5 goals with only 15 minutes /game, whereas superstar Cammalleri is on pace for bout 23 goals at twice the salary, so why not discuss why this bum is now having his 2nd shitty regular season in a row instead, much more concerning to me.

You take the words right out of my mouth. There a handful of guys I would trade before I went after AK and making more money to boot.

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You did notice that this 'bum' led the NHL in playoff scoring for two years running before the Habs were eliminated, right?

Not only that, but it's so early in the season, that if he has one two-goal game, he goes from a 23-goal guy to a 29-goal guy. A hat trick puts him at 36.

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Not only that, but it's so early in the season, that if he has one two-goal game, he goes from a 23-goal guy to a 29-goal guy. A hat trick puts him at 36.

bingo. Just like saying that MA Bergeron is on pace for a 90pts season...

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You did notice that this 'bum' led the NHL in playoff scoring for two years running before the Habs were eliminated, right?

i did put "regular season" in for a reason, but can you explain why he floats, or cant rack up points and help his team win much in the first 82 games?

Like i said, if he gets over 30 goals i will cut him some slack, but when he is scared to hit, go into corners or fight for puck, then he is useless unless scoring, unlike the Belarusian fellow, that was my point, why 46 takes flack when others dont for worse numbers and team play i just cant figure out or see as fair??

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i did put "regular season" in for a reason, but can you explain why he floats, or cant rack up points and help his team win much in the first 82 games?

Like i said, if he gets over 30 goals i will cut him some slack, but when he is scared to hit, go into corners or fight for puck, then he is useless unless scoring, unlike the Belarusian fellow, that was my point, why 46 takes flack when others dont for worse numbers and team play i just cant figure out or see as fair??

I don't see Kostitsyn taking flak, actually. If anything, he has received an inordinate amount of praise on this site over the last while.

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i did put "regular season" in for a reason, but can you explain why he floats, or cant rack up points and help his team win much in the first 82 games?

Like i said, if he gets over 30 goals i will cut him some slack, but when he is scared to hit, go into corners or fight for puck, then he is useless unless scoring, unlike the Belarusian fellow, that was my point, why 46 takes flack when others dont for worse numbers and team play i just cant figure out or see as fair??

Small point, but I think he's already hit three or four posts. That's a lot of posts in a short amount of time. He's also the first guy to get into traffic to dig the puck out. He may not go for the hit, but he plays an excellent finesse game. Now, if only someone could put the puck on his tape on the PP, I think you'd see twice as many goals. However our PP is worse than anemic, everyone is a pylon out there, and with the lack of movement, it's easy to cover.

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I would not like lose AK for nothing but i would send him to Nashville with his brother

for let's say...Jonathon Blum.

I'd take Geoffrion! But same as you, I'd prefer to hang onto AK.

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I'd take Geoffrion! But same as you, I'd prefer to hang onto AK.

Geoffrion isn't the player he was when he came up last year. He's dropped way down the lineup to the point where some are calling for him to be benched/sent down. Blum's much more valuable in my opinion.

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Geoffrion isn't the player he was when he came up last year. He's dropped way down the lineup to the point where some are calling for him to be benched/sent down. Blum's much more valuable in my opinion.

I wouldn't trade Ak46 for both of them.

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Small point, but I think he's already hit three or four posts. That's a lot of posts in a short amount of time. He's also the first guy to get into traffic to dig the puck out. He may not go for the hit, but he plays an excellent finesse game. Now, if only someone could put the puck on his tape on the PP, I think you'd see twice as many goals. However our PP is worse than anemic, everyone is a pylon out there, and with the lack of movement, it's easy to cover.

Arpon Basu had a piece a while ago on Markov, and Cammy came up in this context. Cammy was quoted as saying that a key factor in his decision to come to Montreal was that the PP is crucial to his game, and to succeed on the PP he really needs a defenceman who can move the puck. Markov was that guy in his estimation. So Cammy himself is probably not surprised that he's struggled somewhat, given that the key to his point production has been out for two years.

What's more impressive is how he has delivered hugely in the post-season despite this handicap. Why can't he do that all the time? I dunno, but I will always forgive a guy who delivers in the clutch a lot more than I'll forgive a guy who doesn't.

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Arpon Basu had a piece a while ago on Markov, and Cammy came up in this context. Cammy was quoted as saying that a key factor in his decision to come to Montreal was that the PP is crucial to his game, and to succeed on the PP he really needs a defenceman who can move the puck. Markov was that guy in his estimation. So Cammy himself is probably not surprised that he's struggled somewhat, given that the key to his point production has been out for two years.

What's more impressive is how he has delivered hugely in the post-season despite this handicap. Why can't he do that all the time? I dunno, but I will always forgive a guy who delivers in the clutch a lot more than I'll forgive a guy who doesn't.

Two years ago, the habs got in to the playoffs on the last game. Last year they finished 6th, but werent' very far from 8th. If they don't make the playoffs, becuase they didn't get production from their $7.2M, $6M and $5M men, who cares what they WOULD HAVE done in the playoffs.

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Two years ago, the habs got in to the playoffs on the last game. Last year they finished 6th, but werent' very far from 8th. If they don't make the playoffs, becuase they didn't get production from their $7.2M, $6M and $5M men, who cares what they WOULD HAVE done in the playoffs.

:rolleyes:

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Two years ago, the habs got in to the playoffs on the last game. Last year they finished 6th, but werent' very far from 8th. If they don't make the playoffs, becuase they didn't get production from their $7.2M, $6M and $5M men, who cares what they WOULD HAVE done in the playoffs.

Last year, if they WOULD HAVE scored in game seven in the Bruins series, they would have won the series.

Juse sayin'. ;-)

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