In light of all the changes we've made since last June I really like where we finally are as a team right now. But in order for us not to just make the playoffs but go deep and do some damage I think 6 things have to be strong. Some, like injuries may be somewhat dependant on luck, but mostly it will depend on skill and desire. Here are my 6 for the new year.

1. We have to remain healthy. What a difference it's made to have our injured players return. Markov getting points in every game he's played in since he's been back from his injury and Gionta and Pouliot bringing speed, spark and scoring threats to Gomez's line. And because these guys are back every position down the line gets a little stronger. Remaining healthy is a key.

2. Goaltending. Our goaltending has to remain as sharp as it has been. Both goalies have stolen games for us and that's what we need. Personally, I hope one of them gets traded. I like both of them a lot. But I don't think we can keep them both, and Bob won't let either get away for nothing. I think at this point with Halak being the 1st star in the NHL last week, we should get close to 1st string value for either one. So if we can add a solid, legitimate top 6 forward we will be that much stronger as a team.

3. Players like Cammalleri, Plekanec and more recently A. Kostitsyn have to continue to play well and score points. If Pouliot can score and have good chemistry with Gionta and Gomez we'll have two really good scoring lines.

4. Martin's puck control system game plan has to be working and more effective with all our players back. We can't let the other teams continue to be in such control of the puck that they end up getting 40+ shots every game.

5. Our special teams have to continue to be strong. Number 1 in the NHL on the PP is fabulous, but we have to somehow draw more penalties and drastically cut back on the numbver of penalties we take.

6. Markov and Hamrlik have to lead our defence and as a group play solid defence in front of whoever is in net. Defencemen like Bergeron and O'Byrne have to be stronger defensively and Bergeron needs to continue scoring and O'Byrne has to be physical.

There may be more that's necessary, but for me these are the 6 most important. Here's hoping the new year will see us rise in the standings, remain healthy and come together as a tean the way we all think we can.

I think we will need more continuity on the third and fourth line, and to have one of them become a true shut-down line like the ducks had the year they won the cup.

we need to trade away the guys we dont need before we loses them..we got to trade S Kostitsyn before he runs off to the khl. We got to trade a goalie because i dont think halak well stay with us sharing games..as it been rumour he also might run to the khl..

So i think bob got to find a way to sign these guys or package them for a top 6 foward or high draftpicks..

I think that this team, fully healthy, playing a disciplined system and firing on all cylanders offensively, has an outside chance of making a serious run. I've always felt that the 2008-09 Habs would be a "second half" team with the potential to charge into the playoffs guided by veteran, Cup-winning leadership (Gomez, Gionta, Gill) that could pull off a first-round upset, from which point momentum will build. However, almost everything has to go right for that to happen. My only consolation is that we're overdue for things to finally go right.

I agree with the points REV-G makes. The keys are

1. Health. This team simply cannot afford injuries to its top-6 forwards or top-2 D (Hammer and Markov). This, incidentally, is the basic and probably fatal weakness of this team. Not enough depth in these slots.

2. Goaltending. Both Price and Halak have looked excellent this year. That must continue and even intensify.

3. Assuming that veterans such as Pleks, Gionta, Gomez at al. play up to their potential (and all the Gomez bashers have forgotten that he has a certain pattern of slow starts), I'll go out on a limb and say that a secret key to this team's chances is...Benoit Pouilot. Seriously! If Pouilot continues to build on what he's shown so far, this means that the Habs will have added that crucial missing top-6 forward that's been plaguing us since September - without sacrificing much in Latendresse. That will give us a much more balanced attack and a much more effective top-6. In turn, that will make us a much better team.

My real worry is Plekanec. This 6-1 road trip probably has Gainey thinking that this team is coming together much like the 08 Habs did around the same time, during a similar road trip. If he stays true to past form, Gainey will thus hold onto Plekanec for the stretch drive even if early negotiations indicate that he will be hard to sign. This in turn will mean we lose Pleks for nothing come July.

The question is: would you rather retain Pleks for the stretch drive in the belief that this team has a chance to pull off something, or trade Pleks for young, elite-level assets back even if it means foregoing two good scoring lines and any chance of doing anything this playoff?

1) Agreed! Benoit Pouliot will be magic if he keeps progressing into that elite top draft pick that he was selected as...

I will do the CHICKEN dance if he lives up to potential this year.

2) Our Goalies need to keep up the effort and give us a chance to win every game.

3) Our Defense and Offense need to play well enough to score goals and hold leads.

4) Stay away from the "sick bay".

5) IF and this is a big "IF", we are in position to make a solid run by the trade deadline. BG must pull of a trade that brings a game breaking, superstar to the habs to put us over the top! Another top six forward that gives us potential to become a three line scoring team!

GO HABS GO!

Just a thought, but are the real key points of this team Halak, Carle, and Weber along with maybe Sergei? If we can parlay one, some or all of that into a massive, dynamic, defensive centre who can chip in offensively along with a big, mean, solid, mobile defender who isn't prone to O'Byrne or Gillish moments, are we legitimate?

Can Price carry the load?

Will Halak and Plex walk? I have to wonder what Gainey will do with those two in particular: perhaps these are the true keys to the remainder of this season.

Well, assuming we do make a trade (Halak, etc) to get this other top-6 forward... where do we put him? Who gets bumped off the top 2 lines? I frankly don't see any room for another top-6 guy... I want Pouliot to stay on the 2nd line - I'm liking what I'm seeing so far.
I would think we need one more quality defenseman - a top 4 guy. That means someone the likes of Mara/Gorges/Gill/O'Byrne would have to go. Not sure if O'Byrne can be sent back to Hamilton without being subject to waivers, but that would be my first choice. Gill is very good on the PK, we might want to hang on to him as a "specialist" (like we've done with MAB). Mara hasn't impressed me, but dare we unload a free agent that we just signed? Does that send a positive message to future free agents we want to sign? (same applies with Gill). That leaves Gorges - I like the guy and he plays his heart out, but he's just a little short on talent and size. Maybe he's the expendable one...

Well, as much as I tend to resist playing the EA Sports "make your own trade" fantasy game, with Halak, S. Kostitsyn, and Pleks all iffy for the future, the potential is there for a significant trade. Jeff Carter/Boucher for Plekanec/Halak is the most interesting rumour I've heard and I still think that one might be on the table if and when Bob finds that Plekanec wants more than $5 mil (which is Carter's contract if I remember right).

It's intriguing and probably entirely due to cap issues that Ilya Kovalchuk has not been mentioned in association with the Habs. If I'm Bob, though, I think very seriously about including Pleks in a package that could somehow squeeze Kovalchuk under the cap (assuming, again, that Pleks is heading the UFA route). I guarantee you that Gainey wants that player. It's a super long shot, though - because of the cap. We'd also need to get some sort of credible C back in the deal if it's not to explode our playoff chances.

I agree with Canajun that Gorges, while a useful presence in a cap system, may be expendable. Because he's a helpful player and inexpensive, he would be a desirable commodity - most plausibly as a key additional ingredient in a package with one or more of those other players. Gorges is one of those guys who can be moved in order to clear up space for whichever young D-man the organization feels is ready to step up from Hamilton next season. Mara, on a one-year deal, is probably the guy management has pegged for the role of 'expendable crew member.' But I could see other teams insisting on Gorges.

Gill should not be moved. Besides the fact that he is already quite important to the team, his leadership will be indispensable at playoff time. He is the type of player whose full value is only felt in the postseason.

It will be a very important few weeks for the organization. The line Gainey is walking - rebuilding/retooling while also trying to be as competitive as possible here and now - is a notoriously fine one and full of risk. The wrong decisions could condemn us to still more middle-of-the-pack mediocrity for years to come. The right decisions could restore us to the position we seemed to be in around 2008: a young team with considerable talent and great veterans on the cusp of contention. Do we commit to Gomez/Pleks for the forseeable future? Do we move Pleks/Halak/Kostitsyn for a package including, say, a Jeff Carter? Do we go bold and move heaven and earth for a Kovalchuk? Interesting times.

i think bob well try and move A Kostitsyn also and that well free up the other top 6 foward spots...we know want well happen to A Kostitsyn when we trade his brother...i think we well dump both guys before the olympias..if not i see them running to the khl,well at least S olympia well..

Kovulchuk is looking for the max ($10-$11M range with a long term contract), which is one of the reasons the negotiations with the Thrashers are not going well. Not only does he want the max in salary, he also wants the max for the term of the contract (rather then a front-loaded deal). There is no way we could afford him, as long as we still have the big 3 that Bob signed last summer (Gomez, Gionta and Cammy).

With the other option you mentioned, Halak and Pleks would also not work for Carter (let alone Carter and Boucher), since Carter alone makes more money then the Pleks/Halak. , so just from a salary cap perspective you would have to add someone like AK46 to the mix. IMO that is seriously overpaying for Carter. Aside from running the risk of trading away Pleks only to have such a move come back to haunt you if Pleks turns into a consistent 85-95pt, when he is already one of the best defensive players and PK guys on the team, you also have to worry about being able to afford Carter 1 1/2 years from now. Carter is already making $5M this year and only has 1 yr left on his deal. Next contract, he will be looking for an increase as well - lets say that turns out to be $6M. Can we afford to have $24.4M locked up in Cammy, Carter,Gomez and Gionta and resign our young guys that are going to be RFA's????

The only way out of the habs contract mess, is if we can sign Pleks for a long-term front loaded deal that averages under $5M/year (and even then we have a lot locked up in 4 forwards, with Price, Pouliot, MaxMax to re-sign and Markov to resign in 2 years), unless of course, we can somehow move Gomez.

We CANNOT afford to keep Gomez, Gionta and Cammy AND sign another big name AND resign our young guys. IMO Gainey has screwed this team contractually for the next 5 years, unless he can move one of the G's and the Big G is pretty much immovable unless another GM has a brain cramp.

Both the French media and the TB media has recently been suggesting that TB may be willing to move Lecavlier for Gomez, since Gomez's contract is for half the term and less actual dollars paid out over the next 5 years then Vinny (I think it was supposed to be a saving of around $7M-$8M). While I'm sure Bertrand & Co would be doing back flips if that ever happened, IMO, such a move would also be a mistake and a potentially a bigger mistake then our current situation, since Vinny is already looking to be damaged goods and having him for 10 more years with only the last two years at a reasonable buy-out level could turn out to be suicide

You simply can't make the type of moves Gainey has made in a cap system and be successful - you just have to look at the Rangers to see what happens when you screw up with your FA signings.

Wow, hab29, maybe we should just fold. Oh and damaged goods Vinnie should retire. Your negativity is getting tough to read.

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If Kovalchuk is looking for $10 mil, then yeah, we're unquestionably out of the hunt. Sorry for wasting everyone's time.

habs29 takes a reasonable position, but it's probably (not certainly) too pessimistic. Teams manage these cap issues all the time. I'm not going to bother playing with alternative scenarios (e.g., "if we send down Laraque we save this much, and if we do this we save that much, and Hammer will be cheaper in two seasons, etc."), but I'm pretty sure we can slot in *either* Pleks *or* Carter at $5 mil. And the idea that Carter is going to command $7 mil in two years seems a bit much given his erratic career performance thus far.

Nonetheless, the best thing for the organization if we can't re-sign Pleks would be to trade him for a major prospect. Doing that would, alas, put the kibosh on any hopes of competing in this season's playoffs and won't be done for that reason, unless Gainey can somehow acquire a serviceable 2nd-line C on a short-term basis in the process.

Gainey needs to step up, take a position and set his balls on the line.

Plex, Halak, both Kostitsyn's (I say both because I believe one effects the other). He needs to decide and soon.

Our team still has holes. Out third and fourth lines are not productive enough by any standard. Our defense is slow and lacks toughness. If we trade Plex then we need a replacement (#1 or #2 centre as you see it).

There are wonderful and encouraging positives on our team but there is work to do still.

I am a supporter of trading all of those guys. The return should be very large and Bob could dump some salary with it as well (Laraque for one).

You know what kills me about all this talk regarding contract mishaps etc, etc, is that everyone seems to miss the one contract that really is a mishap. Gomez? We can all argue that until the cows come home, but he still brings more to the table than most are willing to admit. Cammalleri and Gionta? Two guys who are close to a goal for every two games played - overpaid? Those who take that stance strike me as people who just don't like any move Gainey makes.

If there's a mistake, I think it's the one contract that seems to get overlooked all the time: Spacek. We're paying $4M/yr for this guy and it's one of those noose contracts that was signed after he was 35, if I recall correctly. Which means that even if he retires this summer, we're on the hook for it for the remainder. The rest of the contracts? All fine by me and the price of doing business in today's NHL. The only contract I dislike - and let me be clear, I don't mind the salary, but the term - is Spacek's. If you could take his $4M and add Laraque's $1.5M off the books at the end of the season, you're looking at a substantial savings and moneys that could go to a lot of other issues.

If there's going to be a trade for Halak, look for someone in his first or second contract making no more than $1M who will grow with this team. If we have to package him, I suppose Plex and Kosty are the logical choices, though if you can sign the Plekanatorrrr for $4.5 - which I believe *should* be feasible, then I think that should be out of the question. Kosty, and his younger sister, IMO are the key players who could be used to fetch something useful.

I'm in the majority that doesn't think trading Plek is gonna work out. We bitch and bitch about home grown talent, and then we want to trade him away? Not many are looking at the option of keeping him. He is still pretty young, he's not some 33 vet.

Hey I have always liked Vinny, but the last two years he hasn't been the same player. I'd still like to have him - but not for another 10 years at a $7.3M cap hit?
Are you saying that if TB was willing to make the move you would want Vinny for another 10 years (after this year), for a $7.3M cap hit????

It's hard to stay positive when last winter everyone was saying the habs cap situation is the envy of the league and over 4 or 5 day period over the summer we turned into the friggin Rangers.

The question is from the teams that would want a rental like Pleks (and have the cap room to take him), are really going t be able to get a stud "can't miss prospect"??? bcoz unless we get a sure thing prospect, I woudn't want to move Plex unless we are getting equal value (which would require us to throw in somebody else since Plex is going to be a UFA).

Totally agree. Gainey looks to have finally won a trade, after a long time in getting Pouliot. I'm in favor of keeping Plex. If we can resign Plex and bolster the D, we may be able to ice a decent team for the next two years. After that we are going to have more cap issues.

The only Solid Dmen we have are Markov and Hamrlik and a PP specialty guy in MAB.

SPacek is a mistake we may be stuck with bcoz of the cap implications of his contract (over 35 signed for 4 friggin years!!!!). In today's cap world, you can't commit to a guy over 35 for more then a year or two. This signing was another example of Gainey being behind the 8 ball when it comes to living in a cap world. If Spacek had been signed for a two year deal at under $3M, he would have made a good 4th Dman.

Gorges is at best a 6th dmen or a borderline 5th.

Obyrne should be the 6th dmen and he is a 6th i'd like to keep bcoz he MAY end up developing into a solid 5th or 6th. Problem is that most good defensive d-men have intellegence, the whole purse fiasco don't give me a lot of confidence in his intellegence.

Gill, while showing he is effective on the PK, scares the hell out of me anytime he has the puck. Again, he is another 6th dman.

Mara is another 5th -6th dman.

I'm excited about Subban and hope that he will be able to jump into the mix next year (I hope the habs leave him i Hamilton this year - we have already screwed up to many prospects). But considering how only last year every was saying that the habs have the deepest D-men prospects in the league, Subban is now the only guy I have any hopes for. Weber too me looks more like a project then a prospect.

So, in a nut shell, we have 4 d-men who can all be considered the 6th dman on a good team and another guy who is way too overpaid to be a #4. What we need are a solid #3 and #4.

Gorges is great offensively. Him, like MOST of the habs D, have been playing roles they are not meant to do, with all the injuries.

I don't argue what Gomez brings to the table. If he was making $4M, i'd be thrilled to have a guy like him. I buy the arguement of overpaying for Cammy, because of his age and track record and progression. However, while again, I love Gionta as a player, at $5M for FIVE years, it is a hard contract to take. In a cap world, he is overpaid. He should have either been offered less money for 5 years (could have been front loaded as an enticement), or offered less years.

Totaly agree about Spacek. As I've stated i another post and at the time of the Spacek signing, this was a real dumb signing. When the Flyers signed Pronger to the deal they did, it was because they made a mistake in interpreting the CBA (extention signed before he turned 35, but not effective until after he will turn 35), however, the Spacek signing was sheer insanity, since we knew that we are going to be stuck with him no matter what happens bcoz of the CBA rules. The habs don't appear to have a cap specialist and if they do, don't seem to be consulting him.

I won't bother going on about Laraque, since I've said enough since the day he was signed.

I wouldn't mind packaging the SK and AK with Halak, but we better be getting back a Phaneuf type dman or Weiss type forward as PART of the package back in return. I see SK as a sleeper pick and a guy who when he works hard, remeinds me a lot of a younger Pleks. SK seems to be a really smart hockey player. I'd LOVE to have a him on a 3rd offensive line. Question is, when he is a RFA this summer, is he going to want to stick around after what already occured earlier and now finds himself on the 4th line. AK, I'm a little leary of. Has he finally put it together nto break out to become a 40 goal scorer like he should given his talent. Or will he be like Kovy and continue to be a streaky player or a player who only plays when he feels like it. As far as Halak is concerned, I think he has shown he has what it takes to be a starter - the thing is its to early to figure out whether he can be better then Price or not.

In any event, I think all 3 could really raise their values if they have a strong show at the olympics.

I think if we did sign Pleks to a long-term deal (8-9 years), and heavily front loaded the contract we may be able to get him at something in the $4.5M to $5M range, but other then that I think his agent is going to tell him to wait for free agency. Pleks does seem to like Montreal, so if Bob can get creative like Detroit and Chicago by front loading and offering more years, we may be able to get him for a workable cap hit.

I'd hate lose or trade away our best player - even strength, PP, PK without pulling out all the stops to resign him.

All we need is to make the playoffs.

Any team that makes it to the playoffs is a "contender" as history will confirm.

Gorges is great offensively??

TOTALLY AGREE!!

Given that he is only 27, I think that we should be able to sign him to a a long-term deal to get a reasonable cap hit, the same way that Chicago (Keith, Hossa) and Detroit (Zetterberg, Datsuyk, Franzen) have been able to do.

Even in the worst game Pleks played this season (against TB), he still managed to score the OT winner!

WIth Markov back early, and Pouliot adding more scoring punch, i like our chances more now then I did a month ago.

But it ain't going to be easy, the teams behind us all have games in hand and a team like Philly, will probably wake up (although, I hope they do as badly as we did last year.

As far as the offensive D on the habs, I think he is. He can actually carry the puck out of the zone with the rush, now he needs to work on (as so all the habs, rookies and vets) not panicing in the defensive zone.

i dont think we have seen this team at full forces yet..so to judge this team as a team is impossible because we just got health..i think the only guys we should move is the guys we are not sure if they be back or if they what to play for the habs..i got faith that we are going to have a good 2nd half..iam just worry about losing guys or nothing

I want to echo Colin's perceptive post. I agree on Spacek. At the time, not attending too closely to the cap issues, I thought it a good signing - the acquisition of a top-4 defenceman who could give us the long-needed depth (behind Hamrlik and Markov) in running the PP and helping the transition game. After all, he seemed to do all those things on Buffalo. But he's been a big "meh" so far. Solid, respectable, a decent all-around D-man...but not all that huge an upgrade on Gorges, and locked in for his declining years to boot.

Spacek actually isn't all that overpaid. Propaganda aside, none of our players are really massively overpaid except Gomez (who I confess to simply liking as a player; always did). It's more the death of a thousand cuts: $500 000 -1 mil for Gionta, $500 000 for Gill, $500 000 for Cammy, $1 mil for Hammer, etc.). But that being so, pinching pennies by unloading Spacek, while it would hurt us in the short run, would be a wise move longer-term. Some contender will want him at the deadline. We should consider it.

I have been saying the same thing for the past two years - overpaying adds up. Gainey always seems to overpay whoever he signs. I think the only contract he signed that was hailed as a good move $ wise was locking up Gorges for 3 years. I just don't understand why the habs can't do more of that???? In a cap system, all you really need to do is overpay 6 players by $500,000 and you screw yourself over in being able to add a #4-6 forward or #3/4 dman, or being able to pickup a solid player at the deadline.

Back when Laraque was signed I said that in a cap system you ABSOLUTELY CANNOT sign a 4th line part time player whose role is to just fight for $1.5M, and a lot of people on this site said it was ONLY $1.5M and the habs need toughness and that Laraque can control the play along the boards, is tough to knock of the puck and adds a lot of intangibles. For the past fifteen years the habs have been trying to get tougher by picking up fringe, energy guys and they still haven't learned that just doesn't work. What the habs needed and need now is toughness and size in their core players - NOT in their fringe players. Even if Laraque had not turned out to be the Gentlemen Jim of hockey, the salary, the three year term and then no trade clause - which for me was the clincher of stupidity. Who signs a goon with a no trade clause - even if it is a limited NTC?????

Spacek is overpaid given the term. If the Spacek deal was for two years, I'd have no issue with it, bcoz, lets face it a defence of just Markov, Hammer, O'byrne and Gorges would have been even more scary.

The other issue i had was that the habs added Spacek, Gill and Mara, with really only Spacek having any potential at all of being able to play a #3 or #4 role. If you are going to be picking up free agents, why try to fill #5/#6 positions through the UFA market rather then trying to move kids on the farm, or letting O'byrne or Gorges stay in those roles??? These kind of UFA signings would not have been necessary if we didn't let our own UFA assets always walk away, rather then trying to move them at the deadline. I know it was a centennial year - its a point that has been harped on enough, but given the performance of the team leading up to the deadline, the habs had no business hanging on to as many UFA's as they did. I think the only two guys that Gainey actually tried to move last year were Begin and Dandenault. Similarly, making the decision not to play Ryder and then hanging on to him and lose him to free agency is just terrible asset management.

Can you imagine some of the holes we could have filled and dept we could have picked up, if we had moved, Ryder, Streit, Souray, Kovy, Tanguay, Komisarik??? Gainey did a great job onloading Rivet. Why he hung onto these other guys to try and just squeak into the playoffs, or in Streit's case, not sign him when he was affordable is beyond me.

I like Gomez too and what he brings to the table, but we can't afford the luxery of what he brings at a $7.3M cap hit.

If Gainey can unload Gomez and Spacek before next year, I think we have something to build on and have the flexibility of resigning our own RFA's during the next two years (Pouliot, Price/Halak, MaxPax) and UFA's (Pleks, Markov). I think Spacek may be easier to move if one of the top 5-6 contenders lose a key dman, but Gomez is a different beast. I know it is going to be hard, but for the past two years the rangers tried to move Gomez and it was pretty much the consensus that his salary was unmovable. But Gainey bit out of desperation. I think there are a few franchises that may be desperate (i.e. Atlanta if they can't retain Kovulchuk, Nashville, Columbus), that are at risk in their markets and need a big name player that might bite at the 4 years Gomez will have left.

If we can't move their salaries we run the risk of being unable to retain our better players and RFA's and I know I may be being overly negative, but I just can't us seeing being able to become a contender with so many salaries dragging us down. Everybody talks about moving Pleks and Halak (which I really am not in favour of), but their salaries come out to under $4M. How can we possibly pick up a guy like Carter as has been suggested in the media when he is already making $5M and only has a year left. Even if we bought out Laraque and traded for Carter, what do we do in two years time when Carter and Markov are free agents??? It's been said that Hamrlik's salary is going to come of the books, but you still need to pick up another #2 Dman. Even if someone like Subban steps up next year and becomes the stud dman we all hope he will be, you still have to resign him as a RFA in two years time.

IF you look at the long-term picture and our salary commitments, I find it very hard to optimistic about our future.

Off the top of my head, Markov as well, but your point still stands fairly well.

I would not be upset if Bob did sign Plex for a reasonable contract. I just see a rare opportunity for our club to make a major deal for a major impact player or players depending on who we package. I do not remember the last time we had true bargaining power. How many years had we wanted to make a huge trade with "Ryder, Halak and a second" as our key trade pieces?

I do have a small warning alarm going off inside of me regarding Plex though. It feels so much like Theo in his one great year.

Spacek played some great hockey and helped to save us from oblivion when Markov was down. He is not a superstar and is not making superstar money. We are a little spoiled with Markov because he is a superstar but he isn't making superstar money. Markov is worth 7 million and will likely get it in his next contract.

I love Gorges but Kozed is right on about him. A hard working, balls to the wall, give all you have player with little size and little skill. He will battle anyone in the corner for the puck but once he has it he has no idea what to do with it.

Again, the issues that are of concern with you and many of us habs fans, are for the most part valid. I don’t agree entirely in your assessment to resolve those issues as internet GM’s. I have come to accept the fact Gomez will be with us for at least a couple of years and think his play will eventually become acceptable ( not the money ). The same holds true for Hamrlik his play is acceptable it’s just we look at him as a financial burden that would free up cap dollars. I really don’t believe either will be moved.

I suggest to you the same question when I suggested to fire Gainey. I was asked ,who would you get to replace him that is BETTER?. I agree with your assessment of Gainey as a Below average GM, his cap and asset management , for me has always been suspect.

Spacek, the scouting reports on him are very clear, ‘ he has difficulties when playing his off side (RD)’ He is left handed and we ask him to play the right side, is this his fault?. Keep in mind O’Byrne is the only RH d-man on the roster today, and as far as I am concerned ,O’Byrne is playing so much better than I expected.

The pit-falls are simple and understood by almost everyone. There are ways where it could be made to work, that means trade and as usual, personal preference will be argued forever on this site. I have my own solution worked out with only teams that need help, this will never happen because Gainey has no history of multiple team trades.

Realistically, we can’t sign both Price and Plekanec . Price can be replaced, Plekanec cannot be replaced so my vote is package Price, AK, SK to St.Louis for Perron, Junlund, Andronov and Conklin. Trading Conklin to Edmonton after. Why Perron, he is being moved all over on different lines and is now listed on their depth chart as third line LW when he is RH. This suggests he could be available.

Carolina has real problems, I would trade the rights to Emelin with Weber and D’Agostini for, Rights to, Babchuk and get Jiri Thusty. Getting Babchuk brings the same point shot as Bergeron only he is RH and 6’5” only available next season ,( playing KHL)
There should be no question that in order to improve all areas, the caliber of player and cap management we are going to have to overpay slightly to get other GM’s to even look at the offers.

Some day I will post my complete trade just to piss Habsy off. . .might even do it in the wrong thread. There are some that are void of ideas and solutions that would rather post a negative response to everything, rather than build on ideas.

I can't believe you singled me out by name. Thank you, as I read more than I post. Now I've just got to hear your fantasy trade. You mean it's even more lunacy than the above mentioned trade?? flipping Ty Conklin to Edmonton? I don't care what "thread" you do it in. How am I being negative? Because I accused hab29retired of being negative? I read all of his posts, but I doubt I'm alone in thinking he comes off a little strong in his views, but that's his style. It's official, I've gotta hear your trade, please enlighten us!!!

And then package Gomez, Markov, Hamrlik, 3 1st rounders for Malkin and Crosby, then deal Malkin to the capitals for Bäckström and Mike Green. Then we use a timemachine and bring in Stephane Richer to play with Crosby and then get Jose Theodore of 2002 and were set.

LOL . . .Exactly my point, why not create a ‘idea’ for yourself, outlining you’re pearls of wisdom, as to why the suggestion is madness, at best. also how you would resolve the cap issue?. Even better do some research for a change and come up with a improvement, or at the very least a point by point reasoning as to why this is lunacy . Then we all can build from there.

I fine Hab29 articulates his concerns very well and he does have suggestions to build on.

btw, my post was meanth to be sarcasm....

Cant we all just get along..iam a betting man and i bet gomez is not going anywhere as the team was build around him..(unless tampa bay trades vinny to us,ever i dont think that might be the greatest move,but habs fan what him)

i been thinking that why no ones wearing the C this year, maybe bob got a trade in place for vinny but waiting for the end of the year so the cap would work this year...lol i hope this gets everyone going

Looks like this thread has gone over a cliff.

Lets try to bring it back to some sense of reality again.

Although i enjoyed the sarcasm of Dal...

and certainly like the question around why the team has not picked a Captain yet...

and yes don't we have some cap space to work with?

finally, if BG does not make a move this year and puts us into the final months of this season to fend for ourselves with what we have, I expect a few trades and moves that will change the makeup of this group for next year. IT has to happen...

At this point I like the idea of staying H E A L T H Y!

The push to the Olympics will be fun and the Final stretch will be exciting I'm certain of it.... GO HABS GO!

Happy New Year! and all the best for 2010. GO HABS GO!

You know, you're absolutely right about Spacek being used on the wrong side. I forgot about that. For years I have issued qualified defences of Patrice Brisebois's tenure with the Habs on the grounds that his notorious -34 season was a product of his being forced to play on the wrong side; and here I am grumbling about Spacek, who is being abused under the same circumstances. I withdraw my critique of Spacek!!

Nonetheless, that's still a dubious contract.

PM Koivu is wise to have unease about Plekanec. The reason is simple. He is playing this season with consistent, go-for-broke courage. He did the same thing in 2008 and in the second half of 2007. But he did not display the same intestinal fortitude in 2009, nor in the first half of 06-07, and never yet in the playoffs. The Pleks of 2009 was a player often praised for "working hard," but he worked really hard along the perimeter and tended to avoid traffic.

So the question with Plekanec is whether he is consistently able and/or willing to play confident, balls-to-the-wall hockey on a nightly basis. This question simply cannot be answered in a contract year when he has the greatest incentive he will ever have to pack his guts night after night. Gainey has to make a call based on his knowledge of Plekanec the man.

I don't envy Gainey this decision. No one has any way of really knowing how Plekanec will pan out long term. It's essentially unknowable. And yet if he guesses wrong - if he rewards a 65-point player with a massive contract, or if he deals away the new Pavel Datsyuk - he will never be forgiven. That's a tough job, man!

Just don't single me out again v-habs, please. Take a look at some of the other posts since your trade of the century. And consider some of the top contributors to this site. None of them suggest off the wall, fantasy drivel. The Cucumber, Wamsley, Colin, Kozed, Chris, Fanpuck, Simonus, to name but a few. Just imagine the names they can all come up with, it makes the average person roll their eyes. Another EA sports trade. You're right though, I'm not closely monitoring the daily situation in St. Louis. I promise, I won't comment on your trades anymore. Happy New Year.

I would not make a big move. I may be mistaken, but I think that this team, if it remains healthy, can surprise us.

The only adjustment I would make, if I was Gainey, would be to trade Halak. But there are conditions:

1. I would trade him before the trades deadline, only if we had improved our position in the standings to the point that missing the playoffs would be unlikely.

2. I probably would put one or two players, including a defenseman (Mara or Gorges) and a draft pick (or a prospect like D'Agostini or Trotter), to get a better, right-handed defenseman.

3. If I feel that my young defensemen in Hamilton are ready to play in Montreal and replace Mara or Gorges, I would go for an extra winger, preferably a young man capable of scoring 20 to 30 goals. Hopefully, this would give us the opportunity to see Subban in Mtl before the end of the season.

Sign Plex for $3m then Gomez just slips him a coupla million when nobody is looking . . .

Haha...I wish this would happen!

There are times when I also think that meddling with the roster might cause more harm the good. On the other hand, I always seem to return to reality and know we are only short one true scoring winger and perhaps a RH d-man. I would rather our competition be forced to react. However, I am concerned ( perhaps overly ) that our competition will make their needed improvements and pass us by, and then we will be back to react mode.

Whether we like it or not, the Leafs are a much improved team than they first indicated. Keep in mind, as usual we play the last game of the season against them, would hate to see them knock us out of a playoff spot as they did two years ago because we were missing 1-2 upgrade players over today’s roster.

Boston just acquired Miroslav Satan that might replace the loss of Kessel for basically peanuts. We shouldn’t take this move too casually he still has value at age 35 in a playoff race.
ASSETS: Has a deadly shooter's touch and loads of deception to his game. Is virtually unstoppable on breakaways and a major scoring threat on special teams.
FLAWS: Tends to get lazy at times. Doesn't use his size nearly enough. Gets down on himself when not scoring goals.
CAREER POTENTIAL: Top six winger.

More controlled, systematic play. (This is on Martin)
Continued production from the top 2 lines. (This is on Pouliot, Kostitsyn and health)

I also think it would make a difference if we could upgrade our 12th forward. It sucks that we have one of D'Agostini and Laraque on the ice every night. I'd rather have a Kostopoulos in that spot or a Mike Johnson.

I don't have the competence to add much of anything to the interesting discussion , but I do want to thank you guys for such interesting considerations . I tend to see our glass as very much half full, not half empty, and come to think of it I rather think we're at least 3/4 full at this point.

The myriad discussions and minutiae, including historic tax burdens Bob must contend with in competition for players; especially given the US indifference to social justice, just reinforces for me how incredibly difficult the Mtl mgr's job is.

He must contend and keep hope alive every year. He must progress and renew, attract, judge and trade in a bowl circumscribed by a cap.

God bless this New Year for all of you and especially, the gang whose balls and our hopes are on the line with every act, uncle Bob et co.

Cheers

The only move Bob can REALISTICALLY make is trading Halak...and I'm not even sure he's gonna do it. Mostly because i don't believe Halak's value throughout the NHL is very high!

That might change after the Olympics, but right now, we will NOT get a top 6 forward for Halak.

What the Habs need is to stay healthy and continue to play aggressive hockey. Not the passive crap they were playing just before they went on the road trip!

They need a real 4th line as well, a make shidt tough guy, a defenseman and a want to be checker who shows up 1 or twice a month isn't my idea of a 4th line.

Funny you should say that, I always thought Mike Johnson was very undervalued here and was a great 3rd line player for us.

Just a reminder THE OLYMPIC TRADE FREEZE BEGINS MIDNIGHT FEB 12, ENDING MIDNIGHT FEB 28 2010.
The trade deadline is March 3rd. so there really isn’t that much time to get any trades completed

I understand O'Byrne is not making the trip to Washington ??????