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Koivu, Habs Talking Contract


Habby1197

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I think it's a must to get Saku signed, I think a long term deal would be the best idea. Something like 12 million over 4 years. It's clear Saku can be a great #1 centre over that span and we don't have anyone in the system to replace him.

For the money, and everything else he brings to the table... Losing Saku would be a disaster to the franchise, and I don't see Gainey letting him walk.

http://www.rds.ca/canadien/chroniques/196074.html

Edited by Habby1197
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I think it's a must to get Saku signed, I think a long term deal would be the best idea. Something like 12 million over 4 years. It's clear Saku can be a great #1 centre over that span and we don't have anyone in the system to replace him.

For the money, and everything else he brings to the table... Losing Saku would be a disaster to the franchise, and I don't see Gainey letting him walk.

http://www.rds.ca/canadien/chroniques/196074.html

unless he has accepted that he has reached the top of his game this year ( still to determine in playoffs) and from then its all downwards (gradually mind you) because of his age then yes he should sign for that amount! but all indicates that his agent will push him to get at least 4Mil per year if not more!

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Nice to see that they're starting to talk now. Koivu is obviously our number 1 guy to bring in this offseason. Without him there are no habs. :hlogo:

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I hope they sign him, but at a price that allows him to become our number 2 center. As he declines (which he will, even his PPG this year is nothing great), it would be nice to bring in a big number one center and move Koivu down to number 2. This way we get to keep his leadership while improving up the middle.

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We need him, no question. There is no one in the organization who can replace him.

There is no one in any organization who can replace him but he is getting a little worse (I think that his PPG is very good though) now. It's time to give him a fitting salary. I have no doubt that Koivu would take a cut in pay to be able to stay in Montreal. If we can get another top 2 Center than we're fine. The problem is that either Ribeiro would have to go or Koivu would play third line.

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Ribiero is clearly not a #1 or #2 center. He is a power play specialist, that's about it. I think something like 80% of his points are on the PP and he is minus 11 or something. He should be traded with zednick for a good offensive LW. Plus it will free up space for Kostistyn.

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80 percent of Kovalev, Ryder, and Markov's points come on the PP too. Ribs has definitely struggled this year, but he has been on a sucky line most of the season and he is still in the top 4 for points and PPG. He was also healthy during that horrible 6 weeks when everyone on the team was a minus most nights. Koivu and Kovalev missed most of those games. Koivu is the only plus on the team I think.

I still think ribs can turn his game around and be a decent 2nd center. That said, if we can get Koivu at a price that makes him our number 2 center, ribs is expendable. The problem of course is finding that top center who can average 1.25 PPG and be a game maker.

From what I have seen, the biggest flop this season is Zednik, followed by Bonk. Ribs is fairly cheap and is producing much more then those two. Zednik is really sucking giving he was a first line player most of the season. He needs to be replaced soon and we also need a decent 2nd line LW.

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You have faith in Ribeiro but not in Bonk? Ribeiro is a good player but Bonk is one of the best on the team. I'm saying that based on his great work this season and throughout his career. People have got to stop bashing this guy.

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You have faith in Ribeiro but not in Bonk? Ribeiro is a good player but Bonk is one of the best on the team. I'm saying that based on his great work this season and throughout his career. People have got to stop bashing this guy.

Bonk is responding from the change and I expect to be there PRESENT and testify about this on Saturday and SEE the man go BONKERS on the Knuckle heads!!

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I agree that Koivu is more of a good 2nd center. I would like him for 2.5 to 3M$/year and sign a top #1 center (Olli Jokinen anyone???). Trade Ribs and Zednik for a good solid D.

We have Latendresse and Kostitsyn as LW for our 2 top lines.

Kostitsyn-Jokinen-Kovalev

Latendresse-Koivu-Ryder

Those would be very nice lines for next year :) 2 vets with a rookie per line. There's also Perezhogin as a backup if one of the 2 rookies doesn't work out.

We need help at D!!! For our forwards, all we need is a new top #1 center and then we are set.

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Well, Bonk has been a flop so far, based on his salary. Him and Zednik are suppose to be two of our top players and are paid accordingly. Bonk is coming around and I believe he will ultimately prove to be a valuablel addition to the team. I would not dump Bonk, I am just disappointed in his performance SO FAR, given how much we have invested in him.

My point was that for the amount of complaining about Ribs on various boards, he is a fairly cheap player and has produced, just not to his potential. He is actually one of the top "points per dollar" guys on the team. Zednik in contrast is suppose to be a winger on our number one line and has sucked.

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A quick and concise answer.

SIGN HIM!!!!

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80 percent of Kovalev, Ryder, and Markov's points come on the PP too. Ribs has definitely struggled this year, but he has been on a sucky line most of the season and he is still in the top 4 for points and PPG. He was also healthy during that horrible 6 weeks when everyone on the team was a minus most nights. Koivu and Kovalev missed most of those games. Koivu is the only plus on the team I think.

I still think ribs can turn his game around and be a decent 2nd center. That said, if we can get Koivu at a price that makes him our number 2 center, ribs is expendable. The problem of course is finding that top center who can average 1.25 PPG and be a game maker.

From what I have seen, the biggest flop this season is Zednik, followed by Bonk. Ribs is fairly cheap and is producing much more then those two. Zednik is really sucking giving he was a first line player most of the season. He needs to be replaced soon and we also need a decent 2nd line LW.

Here are the stats:

player PPG PPA | G A | %PPG %PPpoints

Ribeiro 7-12 | 10-21 | 70% - 61%

Ryder 10-17 | 19-11 | 53% - 56%

Markov 3-12 | 7-23 | 43% - 50%

Kovalev 5-10 | 10-21 | 50% - 48%

and just for fun

Koivu 3-10 | 11-23 | 27% - 38%

Edited by Peter Puck
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A quick and concise answer.

SIGN HIM!!!!

There's nothing more to be said, but I'll say it again anyway: SIGN HIM!

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Excellent stats Peter Puck as I was reading this thread I was thinking no way Koivu let alone any Canadien has 80% of his points on the pp. Ribs is just that a PP specialist at best he can not play 5 on 5 because he is week and does not have the space needed to perform. In the New NHL he is slow which puts an added hindrance on the Habs transition game. He is cheap and does pick up some big points now and again but he should not be playing any more than 6-9 minutes per game and most if not all of that should come on the PP if he and the Montreal media can not accept this then he needs to get shipped out of town.

And as fro Koivu being the only plus player on the team.

1 C SAKU KOIVU

2 C STEVE BEGIN

3 D ANDREI MARKOV

4 R ANDREI KOSTITSYN

5 R ALEX KOVALEV

6 D MATHIEU DANDENAULT

7 D JEAN-PHILIPPE COTE

8 R ALEXANDER PEREZHOGIN .

All of the above are plus players, although some have played few minutes or are currently in the minors.

Edited by JMMR
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I wouldn`t sign him for too much money, the guy's always injured.

I know he`ll a get a raise but I just hope it`s too much so we can bring a big winger to give him and kovalev some support.

and if bob decides not to sign him, I hope he`ll go chasing jokinen...

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Habs will sign Koivu, I can't see it being any other way. He has leadership in the dressing room, and an excellent relationship with the public. On top of that, he can usually get us 50-60pts, and play steadily on the PP and PK.

I would NOT sign him to a long-term contract though. One thing that scares me about him is the lymphoma. It could easily recur without a moment's notice and take him out again for a long time.

I think Bob has been advised on this and I doubt we'll see a long-term contract.

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Habs will sign Koivu, I can't see it being any other way. He has leadership in the dressing room, and an excellent relationship with the public. On top of that, he can usually get us 50-60pts, and play steadily on the PP and PK.

I would NOT sign him to a long-term contract though. One thing that scares me about him is the lymphoma. It could easily recur without a moment's notice and take him out again for a long time.

I think Bob has been advised on this and I doubt we'll see a long-term contract.

If Koivu was out for a long time, is salary doesn't count in the cap so offerig a long-term contract wouldn't matter. In fact, the longuer the contract, the bigger the discount we can have. A 3 year deal for 9M$ would be nice. He's always injured, he's not getting younger and we have seen is prime, so yes I want him back but for a reasonable price as a 2nd center. Let's go after a top line center...Jokinen would be awesome...a pair of Fin centers.

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If Koivu was out for a long time, is salary doesn't count in the cap so offerig a long-term contract wouldn't matter. In fact, the longuer the contract, the bigger the discount we can have. A 3 year deal for 9M$ would be nice. He's always injured, he's not getting younger and we have seen is prime, so yes I want him back but for a reasonable price as a 2nd center. Let's go after a top line center...Jokinen would be awesome...a pair of Fin centers.

I don't think the cap is what he was talking about. If Koivu is diagnosed with cancer there are bigger things at stake than money against the cap.

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Okay, the points changed a bit after the last game and 80 percent was an exaggeration. However...

Ribs has 31 points with 19 on the PP.

Ryder has 30 points with 17 on the PP.

Kovalev has 31 points with 15 on the PP.

These are hardly dramatically different. In fact, Ribs is only getting points on the PP now because that is the only time he has quality players right now. Since Bob took over, Ribs has 4 PP points. Take those away and he was 27 points, 15 on the PP. In other words, the same ratio as the others.

I never mentioned Koivu since he is the only one who is dramatically the other way. That is not really a good thing. Koivu has been very dissapointing on the PP. He gets the most PP time and has little to show for it, even playing with the top PP line.

I just don't buy this nonsense about Ribs just being a PP specialist. He is great on the PP, but half his points were 5-5 and this in a year he is "struggling". He is 3rd on the team in points and has a better PPG average then Ryder.

Seriously, for all the complaining about Ribs, there are plenty of players costing more and doing less.

Now I personally think Plus minus is a bogus stat (I have seen lots of minus that had to do with the crappy play by the D, nothing to do with the forwards, but that said, the only players that have a plus that play much are Koivu, Markov, and Begin. So that leaves the rest of the team in various degrees of suckage, including Ribs. :)

By the way, another thing I notice is that the Koivu line always plays with the best D line. Ribs typically had some combination of Komi/Striet/Boullion. I never understood that logic. If the coach is so worried about the poor defensive play of the second line, why not give them a decent defense pairing to help balance the line? (no offense to Boullion, I like him but he had a horrible couple of weeks during the team slump). Puzzling but now solved as Ribs is on the 4th line.

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