139 replies to this topic

[Machine of Loving Grace]

http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=388101

The Montreal Canadiens traded defenceman Hal Gill and a conditional 5th round pick in 2013 to the Nashville Predators on Friday in exchange for Blake Geoffrion, Robert Slaney and second round draft pick in 2012.

Gill, who has spent the last three seasons with Montreal, will be an unrestricted free agent after signing a one-year deal worth $2.25 million in the off-season.

The 36-year-old blueliner will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season.
Originally drafted in the eighth round by the Boston Bruins at the 1993 NHL Entry Draft, Gill's size has made him a coveted stay-at-home presence throughout his 13-year career.

The 6'7" Gill has played with the Bruins, Maple Leafs, Penguins and Canadiens throughout his career, winning the Stanley Cup with Pittsburgh in 2009.
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[dlbalr]

Initial reaction: Excellent return for the Habs, even though Geoffrion hasn't played too well this year. In other news, that brings the Habs to 50 contracts. (Slaney was a contract-ballast throw in with the Cody Franson deal too.)

Guess the value of Gill article can be scrapped...

[Turd Burglar]

A 2nd and 2 young forwards with size. I don't see how we lose out of this.

Now we have a value on Gill, Moen should be worth more than a 2nd as well.

[Machine of Loving Grace]

Similar to the Moore deal, this is Nashville knowing they needed to make a big offer prior to the deadline if they wanted their hands on a sellers player.

Blake Geoffrion going to the Canadiens is a bit of a surprise because he actually grew up near Nashville and was always considered one of their first ever "homegrown" talents, even if his bloodlines suggest Canadiens royalty. I hope he survives the impossible comparison of Boom Boom.

Robert Slanley is likely an AHL regular but hey who knows. He has good size and is only 23. Might become a decent bottom six player one day but he seems defensively inept.

Oh, and a 2nd Round Pick in 2012. Very nice.

[dlbalr]

The conditional 5th is if Geoffrion plays 40 or more games with the Habs in 2013. If yes, they lose the pick. If no, they keep it. Nothing to do with re-signing Gill which was my first suspicion.

[Habinator33]

Have to be happy getting a 2nd round pick and 2 players back for Gill. I figured his value was more along the lines of a 3rd rounder but I guess Nashville got desperate.

[Dalhabs]

Guess this means PG is going into sell mode. It was a bad season with some nice upsides (the wins over Winnipeg and Detroit). Hope we get some more nice deals done.

[Machine of Loving Grace]

I really hope people keep their expectations about Blake in check. He does have some really great tangibles. Fantastic skater, good energy, good slapper (hmmm wonder why) and he's a smart two way player you can put on the bottom six and not complain much. However, he hasn't shown much of a scoring touch yet in the NHL. That doesn't mean he'll never have one but right now he's an excellent college player (Hobby Baker winner) still finding his NHL game. He'll be fantastic for our bottom six and Nashville will likely get that conditional fifth.

Oh, and he's also a descendant of Howie Morenz.

[JoeLassister]

Great return for Gill. I'm very pleased with this.

[mineral]

I wonder if Blake will go straight to the Hammer or if the Habs will get a closer look at him with White on the 4th line for a few games. At this point in the year, why not play the kids a bit more.

I too was surprised at the return on this. My RDS app posted the news before we knew what was coming back for him. I was telling people in the office here that it would be a 4th -- maybe 3rd round pick. But wow, 2 bodies (albeit at least one lame) and a 2nd round pick. Wonder if Moen will get us the "Craig Rivet Special" again this time around

[bbp]

This is higher value then I'm pretty sure any of us would have guessed.

I don't know if anyone said this, but lets give credit to where credit is due.

Good Job Pierre Gauthier.

That is a excellent trade, maximized value for sure right there. I really think this is one of those trades you would qualify as a great trade. Something people have been saying has been missing from Gauthier's resume. Awesome trade.

[Machine of Loving Grace]

Definitely a great trade. Goes well with his great signing of Cole. Neither should save his job.

[Mercury10]

http://www.hockeysfu...blake_geoffrion

Just read what hockeysfuture says about Geoffrion and if its all true, he sounds like another Eric Cole. I was only hoping for a 2nd rounder for Gill so to get the other 2 pieces is a bonus especially if Geoffrion pans out.

[Helmethead]

Two things stick out here.

1) it has become clear as day that the Habs are sellers.

2) the buyers are paying through their noses for roster upgrades

If Gaultier is shrewd, he continues being an agressive trade partner prior to the actual deadline. I think that given the high rate of return on yesterday's and today's trades, teams that are on the bubble might be more willing to become sellers cause of this; sub sequentially pushing values down as we approach Feb. 27th.

Figure that Montreal still has two fairly attractive assets, (Moen & Kostitsyn) that will most definitely help us accumulate the draft picks and prospects needed to replenish our stock.

[dlbalr]

I wonder if Blake will go straight to the Hammer or if the Habs will get a closer look at him with White on the 4th line for a few games. At this point in the year, why not play the kids a bit more.

I too was surprised at the return on this. My RDS app posted the news before we knew what was coming back for him. I was telling people in the office here that it would be a 4th -- maybe 3rd round pick. But wow, 2 bodies (albeit at least one lame) and a 2nd round pick. Wonder if Moen will get us the "Craig Rivet Special" again this time around

He won't be with the Habs, he'll be in Hamilton tomorrow. As for why not to play him, may as well preserve his waiver exemption, he's close to the GP threshold.

[Machine of Loving Grace]

Figure that Montreal still has two fairly attractive assets, (Moen & Kostitsyn) that will most definitely help us accumulate the draft picks and prospects needed to replenish our stock.

I'm kind of hoping that if we get a first or second now for Moen and/or Kostitsyn, we try to push a team to give us their 2013 pick to spread these out.

[dlbalr]

I'm kind of hoping that if we get a first or second now for Moen and/or Kostitsyn, we try to push a team to give us their 2013 pick to spread these out.

Don't forget the Habs have a pair of 2nd's in next year's draft as well. Unless you think they'll get one for both and want to make it 3 each year.

[Machine of Loving Grace]

Don't forget the Habs have a pair of 2nd's in next year's draft as well. Unless you think they'll get one for both and want to make it 3 each year.

I'd prefer three seconds in 2013 because if my expectations are wrong and the team does a complete turnaround, there's two second round picks to trade for rentals without giving up your draft position. If the team does my expectations and is still a bottom 10 NHL team, that's three second round picks to fulfill any need we need in the future.

[Habsfan84]

Great return for the Habs on this one. I would of been happy with just the 2nd rounder, but two bodies as well dont hurt. I hope Geoffrion turns into something to make this trade even better.

A bit sad to see Gill go. He was a great mentor and did everything asked of him in his time in Montreal. Good luck in Nashiville Gill. I'm sure he will be missed. He was the only Hab big enough to restrain Chara when the Habs pissed him off.

[hab29RETIRED]

well we got the expected 2nd. Can't forumulate an opinion without finding more about the guys we got. My worry is this is a quantity over quality trade (i.e. 3 for 1), but not sure if the two other guys are bona fide NHL'ers.

DOn't know anyting about Slaney - if he is a good of a prospect as Fransen was supposed to be, i see the upside.

As for Geofferion, my worry is that we went for the name and legacy then teh players. He had a good run for a bit last year and then the only thing i had read was that he had some concussion issues. If he can actually score and is healthy we win. BUt for now, it looks like an appease the fans and media pickup.

[Machine of Loving Grace]

Slanley isn't very good right now. He looks more like an ECHL player. Only 23, things could change.

[Commandant]

Firstly, fantastic deal. Thank you Gill, thank you gauthier.

Only downside to this deal is the extra contract, but I'm sure that will soon be remedied.

The 2nd plus Geoffrion is more value than even I expected for Gill.

Hell we got more for gill than Dallas got for Grossman, pretty incredible.

As for when we want picks, get 2012s, extra 2nds can be used to trade up for Galchenyuk or Grigorenko and that needs to be priority #1 for this season.

[ForumGhost]

Wow, much more than I was expecting to get back. The players may not amount to much on an NHL level, but seems like Geofferion has potential and if he can stick in the NHL, even as a 4th-liner, his bloodline will make him a crowd favorite.
2nd pick is the real meat of the deal though. What does our pick pool like look this year at the moment?

[Commandant]

We currently own

Our 1st,
Our 2nd
Pred 2nd
Our 3rd
Our 4th
Our 6th

[Commandant]

Given this value we should trade every guy we can.

Trade Moen, Campoli, Weber, Kostitsyn, Darche.

Hell let it be known that we have a 2 time Stanley Cup champion and former Calder winning centre available for cheap.