Not Happy About Souray Trade Rumour

[johnnyhasbeen]

What a load of crap. You don't trade your UFAs unless you are not in the cup hunt, if you are in the cup hunt you sign a FA or 2 at deadline. Do you all think we are out of the hunt? Sourey will finish the year here and then things will pan out however they do in the off season. What do you expect to do, trade him to a playoff bound team for a draft pick? Do we need more kids now or an experienced d-man with a great shot. Yes he is UFA this year, until then he is a habs. No team out of the hunt will give you a bag of pucks for an UFA they can't sign. Think about it. He is not even bait for a trade. IF we trade anyone this year it will be a prospect or a goalie, probably for a UFA rentaplayer for the playoffs. We would be buyers, not sellers. Unless of course we are out of the playoff race, which we wont be.

[MFT77]

Agreed! Would be a very big mistake to trade Souray at this time unless we received plenty in return, which is unlikely. Need his offence from the blueline, as well as his physical presence. Who would replace his minutes? As much as Boullion is a fan fave, you saw what happened when he played too much tonite in the absence of Markov. He got pushed around and constantly lost his man, creating many chances. Ninnimaa, no. Streit, could handle some minutes, but all three are borderline 5th and 6th d-men, in my opinion. Also, no one could match Souray's production on the PP. It's sad that Rivet plays any amount of time on the PP. Rather try Niinimaa back there. Definitely keep Souray, unless it's a steal. Hopefully he can be resigned!

[lazy26]

Agreed! Would be a very big mistake to trade Souray at this time unless we received plenty in return, which is unlikely. Need his offence from the blueline, as well as his physical presence. Who would replace his minutes? As much as Boullion is a fan fave, you saw what happened when he played too much tonite in the absence of Markov. He got pushed around and constantly lost his man, creating many chances. Ninnimaa, no. Streit, could handle some minutes, but all three are borderline 5th and 6th d-men, in my opinion. Also, no one could match Souray's production on the PP. It's sad that Rivet plays any amount of time on the PP. Rather try Niinimaa back there. Definitely keep Souray, unless it's a steal. Hopefully he can be resigned!

I sure hope so, and Markov as well. I see the two as a Kaberle and McCabe duo: a pair that can light it up on the PP, and they'll only get bettter. I like Rivet, but I think he's the odd man out, and although I don't want to get rid of him, I don't want to keep him at the expense of Souray or Markov.

[smon]

Sheldon Souray should be delt before he gets hurt, which eventually will happen. Just look at his career. Then he usually goes into a slump following his comeback and just isn't the same after.

Even if he stays healthy, its just a matter of time before teams start keying on him on the powerplay and taking away his shot. Then his stock will plummet. The defense corp can stand the hit. But the team needs a centre. That second line is killing this team. Its quite obvious that the Kovalev, Samsonov line is a disaster and in need of some help that is not available on the current roster or in hamilton.

Its also apparent that Souray will not resign in Montreal and will be lost for nothing in the summer if not delt now. It just makes sense

Think about it - the only teams interested in Souray would be contenders and how many of them have an excess of centres? They aren't going to be able to get a second line centre for an impending UFA defender.

[cmac34]

This is a good topic post. I have been thinking about this issue for the past couple of weeks myself.

The thing is, Souray really is incredibly valuable to our team. Our powerplay wouldnt be anywhere near as good as it is statistically without him. He has scored alot of key or game winning goals as well.

I disagree however, that just because this team is "in the hunt for the Cup" it means we shouldnt consider trading him. These situations need to be looked at long-term.

We are still an upcoming team in my opinion and wont legitimately compete for the cup for a year or two but we're close. No one is denying that. Even if we do happen to win the cup this year, the GM should always look at the team from a bigger picture longer term perspective. You always want to be good and be competing for the cup.

By trading Souray while his value is high, we might really be able to get something good from a long-term perspective. If there are some good possibilities out there from a long term perspective, the ideas should at least be entertained.

However, given that we rely on him so much right now, and given that making the playoffs even this season is still an uncertainty (although it would be a massive disappointment if we didnt) this wont happen for a while.

But i think if the right deal comes along,

Say Samsonov and Souray for a more mobile, and younger offensive defensemen and a 2nd line center.

Why not take it?

Sometimes you have to take 1 step back to take 2 steps forward.

Still, if he would accept a low salary to stay, I would vote to keep him. I like him alot.

[shortcat1]

I am not happy about this recurring rumour. This guy has 10 goals, the hardest shot in the league, makes our power play decent which has been reponsible for a large part of our success. He always plays hard, is the first to step in for a teamate and is TOUGH. He is always chatting on the bench and just seems to display leadership. I don't get it.

i believe that it's not so much as trade rumours as trade talk by hockey talkers

all sorts of scenarios being thrown out with accompanying conjectural moves...

for the better part, i don't put a whole lot of weight on these 'talks'. for those of our level of 'expertise' or closeness of connection to the ones responsible, it's usually just an expression of our desires or fears.

for those who are more in the know or in the 'circle of knowledge', then it will likely only be again an expression of the desires of those involved (gms, players, etc...)

rumours are not worth much more than the wind that they displace or the ink that they spill... (another form of entertainment or amusement)

GO :hlogo: GO!

Edited December 8, 2006 by shortcat1

[David B]

Give him a break Chris, the guy is playing with Rivet.

Yep for sure, a bum like Rivet could have made Larry Robinson look bad if they were partnered up.

[Mont Royale]

By trading Souray while his value is high, we might really be able to get something good from a long-term perspective. If there are some good possibilities out there from a long term perspective, the ideas should at least be entertained.

Say Samsonov and Souray for a more mobile, and younger offensive defensemen and a 2nd line center.

Why not take it?

Souray's value is high due to performance, but this is mitigated by the fact that he's an impending UFA. Any team acquiring him can only count on him until June, or their exit from the playoffs, whichever comes first. That seriously limits what other teams will offer. As for Samsonov - he has that unpopular combination of high salary and low effectiveness so far this year; unless he starts producing, his value is even lower.

I agree that the Habs should consider trading Souray or anybody else if it makes them better in the long term, but I can't imagine another GM offering up something that would make it worthwhile, given the above.

[Pierre the Great]

Its a rumour nothing more. I don't believe for a second Souray is going to be traded