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Markov re-signs for three years


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I hate it. Sorry to rain on the parade, but the money could have been used to upgrade somewhere else.

Is the gap between Markov and Beaulieu more significant than say.. Statsny over Briere. or Moulson over Gionta.. or Jokinen or Iginla over Bourque...

Yes. Nathan Beaulieu, until further notice, is an AHLer. Only Niskanen at a higher cap hit comes close to filling his shoes. Markov is a top-30 dman.

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Pleaseeeeee don't sign Gionta... God, Bergevin why the hell you want him. Sign someone better, younger than Gio.

100% agree. At a minimum, we need to dump Gionta, Parros, Moen, Bouillon, Murrey and preferably Bourque (who hopefully has value after his playoff performance) from last year's roster. Dumping Briere would be great, but I don't see too many teams willing to spend $4m on him.

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Removing Budaj from the roster (either by demotion, waivers, or trade) will free up another million and a half.

If Budaj is waived and sent to the minors, it frees up $925,000, not $1.4 million. Contracts can't simply be buried in the AHL without a cap penalty anymore.

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Not a big fan of that signing. It will be good for next year, in 2 or 3 that will hurt.

I think Bealiaue and Tinordi will get LD #6 minutes. I would prefer they each play about 40 games each. They still need to sign a RH D for the bottom pair. Don't know that is Weaver or not.

MB would be crazy to sign Gionta now as well, I agree with that for sure.

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I hate it. Sorry to rain on the parade, but the money could have been used to upgrade somewhere else.

Is the gap between Markov and Beaulieu more significant than say.. Statsny over Briere. or Moulson over Gionta.. or Jokinen or Iginla over Bourque...

Just so many better upgrades could have been made. Markov is a great offensive defenseman, but he doesn't scare anybody. Was really hoping he walked and we got Greene or somebody instead.

The Canadiens are a playoff team, but with the same D as last year it'll be Carey Price or bust!

Markov is a proven no 2 defensemen that has consistantly made players around him better. He is able to play in all situations and is highly trusted by the coaching staff. He has also proven he can play in Montreal and have success in Montreal. That being said is the gap between Markov and Beaulieu more significant then the other potential upgrades. I would say without question, and counter with the fact I think simply by having Markov on the team Beaulieu becomes a better player in the long run. Would I have liked 1 less year or less money sure but in the end this is a fair deal for both parties. As for the other defensemen available via free agency I don't think you are going to get the production/dollar as you would with Markov. Guys like Niskanen are going to try to bank on a single big season and a guy like Greene who is reported to be close to signing with LA is a replacement for Murray not Markov. By reading between the lines of Bergevins statement I have a feeling he looked around the trade market for a replacement for Markov and just wasn't happy with the price.

I don't think Markov's contract has anything to do with upgrading our offensive group. When Eller signs we are already at 12 forwards so I always figured if we were going to sign a top 6 we would probably deal away one of Moen, Bourque, or Briere. I actually think locking up markov before the wednesday interview period helps since it sends a message to guys like Moulson that we are serious about winning now.

I also agree with the people above Gionta resigning I would not be a fan of even on a big reduced salary. Nothing against him just don't see the fit.

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Guest Stogey24

I don't know about this one boys, kind of figured it was going to happen though. I could see him being traded before this contract expires.... Or maybe he's a lifer.

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I wouldn't cry if we let Gio walk, that's for sure, but don't be surprised if he does re-sign. "One of the best two-way RW available etc., etc."

There's an element of risk in the Markov deal for sure. Certainly the player he is right now is worth this deal. A lot hinges on when (or if) the next step of his decline kicks in. I think two years at his current level is a reasonable expectation, and one year of his being significantly overpaid is within the realm of the tolerable. If his NTC is only partial, that is an important ingredient in minimizing the risks. And the bottom line is that, while there's risk here, there was far MORE risk in letting him walk. This is at least market value for Markov and probably less.

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Markov is a proven no 2 defensemen that has consistantly made players around him better. He is able to play in all situations and is highly trusted by the coaching staff. He has also proven he can play in Montreal and have success in Montreal. That being said is the gap between Markov and Beaulieu more significant then the other potential upgrades. I would say without question, and counter with the fact I think simply by having Markov on the team Beaulieu becomes a better player in the long run. Would I have liked 1 less year or less money sure but in the end this is a fair deal for both parties. As for the other defensemen available via free agency I don't think you are going to get the production/dollar as you would with Markov. Guys like Niskanen are going to try to bank on a single big season and a guy like Greene who is reported to be close to signing with LA is a replacement for Murray not Markov. By reading between the lines of Bergevins statement I have a feeling he looked around the trade market for a replacement for Markov and just wasn't happy with the price.

I don't think Markov's contract has anything to do with upgrading our offensive group. When Eller signs we are already at 12 forwards so I always figured if we were going to sign a top 6 we would probably deal away one of Moen, Bourque, or Briere. I actually think locking up markov before the wednesday interview period helps since it sends a message to guys like Moulson that we are serious about winning now.

I also agree with the people above Gionta resigning I would not be a fan of even on a big reduced salary. Nothing against him just don't see the fit.

Excellent post!

I think it came down to improving the team, Bergevin's main objective, he says. Hard to come up with one single reason the team would be improved with Markov gone, and lost for nothing to boot. Gives more time to bring the young guys along I guess, hoping 2 of the 3 young guys platoon for the season, picking up valuable NHL minutes, with minimal effects on our position in the standings.

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Well looks like Subban, Markov, Emelin & Gorges will be around for a few more years, fine by me.

And would be OK to see Gionta get signed for 3rd line role and would guess he could be a 15+ goal guy?

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No idea why you wouldn't want Gionta back. He's still on the upper half of players in the league. He' s automatically going to be a better option than about half the players on any team.

So with a salary cap in place, the question becomes -- will he take the pay-cut necessary for him to be worth his roster spot? He wasn't worth 5 million this year.

Would he be worth 2.5 million? Maybe 2 million? At 2 million he's a steal, any team in the league would gladly take him. I think 2.5 million is where he likely finds equilibrium.

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Resigning Markov is huge news for this hockey team for many of the reasons posted already. You simply cannot let an asset like that walk away for nothing. Despite a slight decline in foot speed, he is still a top tier dman in the league. Montreal has been a top powerplay team for a long time and the only constant has been Markov. His defensive game is very underrated and his vision is as good as it's ever been. Not to mention he is a life long Hab and you can't put a price tag on defining a team culture. It says something about an organization when a player takes the same salary that he has taken for the last x amount of years because he is comfortable and likes where he is, even though he could have got more elsewhere.

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I guess we'll have to agree to disagree.

While Markov is good, he isn't what the team needs. You can get your PP production from PK and Beaulieu. Again, I'm not comparing the two, I just think upgrades are needed elsewhere. A top 4 of Subban Gorges Markov and Emelin is NOT tough enough. They'll get their points, and Price will be Price.. but no team we played in the playoffs feared our blueline. And Tinordi and Beaulieu and Patyrn are only going to get better by playing.. IN THE NHL.

You have a WORLD CLASS goalie. Build from him out. Make the defense a tough, imposing defence. This signing is great for culture, yay he's a Hab for life. But it doesn't bring the Montreal Canadiens closer to the Cup this year, and really hurts in years 2 and 3.

Losing assets to gain assets is not losing assets. The money could have been used elsewhere...

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Beaulieu at 25 minutes a game this year gets 10 ponts and is a -20.

He is not ready yet. Oh, he may be ready for the NHL. He's not ready to play 25 minutes on a top pairing every night. He's not going to step in and be an all-star olympic-caliber athlete who wow's people on every shift. Because Markov is all of those things. Beaulieu can't fill Markov's skates, not yet. Markov is an elite, premium #1 defenseman. There's only a half dozen guys like Dougty, Subban, or Keith in the league. Markov's not on their level...he's on the level immediately below it. He's as good or better than any other team's #2 defenseman in the entire league right now. You can't replace that with Beaulieu, who may not ever crak the top 4 on an NHL squad. He's an unknown. I have higher hopes for Tinordi than Beaulieu. Tinordi will crack the top 4 somewhere, someday. Beaulieu might. Beaulieu may have more potential upside, but he's not as blue-chip stable. Getting to play alongside a guy like Markov certainly increases Beaulieu's chances of getting there.

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I guess we'll have to agree to disagree.

While Markov is good, he isn't what the team needs. You can get your PP production from PK and Beaulieu. Again, I'm not comparing the two, I just think upgrades are needed elsewhere. A top 4 of Subban Gorges Markov and Emelin is NOT tough enough. They'll get their points, and Price will be Price.. but no team we played in the playoffs feared our blueline. And Tinordi and Beaulieu and Patyrn are only going to get better by playing.. IN THE NHL.

You have a WORLD CLASS goalie. Build from him out. Make the defense a tough, imposing defence. This signing is great for culture, yay he's a Hab for life. But it doesn't bring the Montreal Canadiens closer to the Cup this year, and really hurts in years 2 and 3.

Losing assets to gain assets is not losing assets. The money could have been used elsewhere...

The Markov signing does not prevent us from making other moves to upgrade the team. The Markov signing also doesn’t slow down the growth of Beaulieu, Tinordi, and Pateryn. You don’t just hand young defensemen top 4 spots they have to earn it. If we were going to upgrade our top 4 defense this year it was probably going to be Gorges or Emelins spot not Markovs.

Can you elaborate on how exactly Markov really hurts us in years 2-3? Is it because he helps our chances of making the playoffs this year thus losing out on Connor Mcdavid?

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I agree that having Markov around is beneficial to the young defensemen coming up. PK and Markov own this D for now, losing either would be a huge blow.

It's probably more important for Gionta's deal to be only one year.

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That his NTC is only partial in the later years is a very important concession that affords us some protection in the event that he declines and/or Beaulieu develops more quickly than anticipated. Good move Zoot Suit :thumbs_up:

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That his NTC is only partial in the later years is a very important concession that affords us some protection in the event that he declines and/or Beaulieu develops more quickly than anticipated. Good move Zoot Suit :thumbs_up:

Aside from the NMC that Briere got, Bergevin has been pretty excellent when it comes to clauses. Pacioretty and Price are both tradeable to any team in the league if we ever decide to. Emelin's is a full NTC for 14-15/15-16 and partial for 16-17/17-18. Gorges has a limited NTC. Moen's NTC expired. Plekanec has a modified NTC but that was Gauthier.

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