InsaneHABSfan

Lets assume Montreal keeps the current core of young talent and goes into the draft looking for "D". Out of: Sanguinetti RD Williams LD Weber LD Strait LD Wishart LD How many have seen any of them play? Sanguinetti sounds like a decent offensive defenseman with 1/2 decent size at 6'1". Nigel Williams is interesting too as he is big at 6' 4" which would help out along the boards. (You cannot teach Big) Young guys are starting to make the rosters early due to Salary cap and lack of Great Defenseman available. I would love to see Montreal take Sanguinetti as long as the Best Player Available was not excessively more valueable then him. Montreal needs "D". The draft really is a big crap shoot unless you have good scouting and a sure thing like Crosby.

Not sure Kostsitsyn and Latendresse will make the team. What will happen to Chipchura if he does not get a shot? I bet Bob Gainey already has his target free agents in mind and is looking at younger free agents to go with the core. As far as trades, Zed, Bonk etc will generate nothing of real value in return. I think Bonk will stay because of the $$$ factor and hope he has a good year. Zed will probably be a throw-in with Abby once Huet is signed. Zed does have speed and is a strong guy so he might have some value to a club like Philly or Toronto that have to tilt their rinks when they go on offense. I am just glad to be on this board to see what everyone else thinks as it is an exciting time for the team with the most Stanley Cups.

Savard would effectively improve the offensive output. I am not sure about his defensive liabilities because I did not see much of him this year. If he could be signed for ~$2mil per season OK. But we know some team would pay him lots of $$$$. Sarich is the same if he is at a reasonable $ value then you have to look. Montreal should seriously look at Redden like every team because he is young which fits the current roster. Arnott is older and may fit in at the second centre position but I would be wary of a long term contract. Whatever Montreal does in the offseason, I hope they don't mess with the speed they have. I would hope Tomas Plekanec would get a shot at the #2 centre position because this guy is the real deal. WoW am I impressed with him! This is a good hockey team that finished with 93 points and should be better next year. I expect teams like the Leafs to take a step backwards to rebuild/reload.

You are right about this being annoying however it does leave time for multiple beer breaks. The fun part is getting down to the last shot and the play that is set up for the win. I like strategy and set plays. It is different from the old days of hoops without the 3-point play and travelling in the paint as it is now. Hoops is a sport you can either love it or hate it. At least my friends all hate it, but I love it. I will never argue about officiating, YIKES it is the pits in this sport. You have to have respect to get a call which is just nonsense in my opinion. NFL is just as pathetic sometimes but they are human so stuff happens.

Carolina is a good example on how to build a team. They played great one year and did not win a cup, so they retooled and look at them now. It is an inspiration for all Habs fans (or any team with a plan) to see how to build and make quality trades. Montreal is well stocked with forwards. The next draft should see them stock up on some Defense to help build a future. Montreal is young, talented and getting recognition from other teams is good for franchise morale. Even the Leaf stations were very wary of the strength of Montreal before their final two games together, and it was SPEED.

Why would anyone want a defensive liability in McCabe? Sure he makes a Powerplay shine with that shot of his, but this is going to be a one-year-wonder type of player. All you have to do is rush the guys at the point (Which Montreal did an excellent job against T-DOT their last two meetings) and you take away the shot. Redden would look nice in a habs uniform and would be expensive. Chara outside of being big is not as good as Redden in my view. Montreal's "D" is not as bad as I thought it would be this year. They played a good season and actually did better than I thought they would. Kudos to the Habs defense this year. I think Jason Arnott would do half decently in Montreal, just not the huge numbers as he is getting older.

WoW, could you imagine St. Louis on a line with Koivu and Higgins? It would be fun to watch and probably effective offensively. As I drift back into dreamland....

This is interesting as I have heard the same thing about NFL games and you are right. Last 2 minutes usually dictate the games outcome which can be bad or good whichever way you look at it. It seems to take FOREVER to get the game over. I find it fun. NFL with the last two minuties is really a waste of time if the winning team gets one first down. Guess every sport has a weakness. Hockey before this year was so slow, if a team was up by 3 goals with 5 minutes left "The Trap" was the dominant theme and victory was assured in most cases. Now the NHL is hot as a lead is not a given for a win.

Oh this kills me. I know the hype of James is way too much but he is a great player! He and the Cavs are up 3-2 against the Pistons and it is due to Lebron. The NBA does not suck as it is fast and exciting. Sort of like what the NHL is now, fast and exciting. I know this is just my opinion.

My Grandpappy God Rest His Soul told me never to judge a man unless you walked in his shoes. I will never boo or talk in degrading terms of anothers nationality or beliefs. We are all different and have unique ideals and beliefs and walk spiritually in different ways. Playing national anthems at games should be done 1/2hour to 45 minutes before the game (Similar to the NFL and NBA) as it does not have anything to do with the game except get a rise out of the attendees.

I'm happy because my Mom who had a stroke(Sad part) just before Mothers Day is doing great and up and walking so quickly(Happy part)! I just saw my income tax refund and the Habs WILL make the playoffs again in 2006! Life is good.

Arnott could fit as long as it does not hinder the development of younger players. If Ribero was removed from the lineup and Arnott inserted that would be OK. Plus no more than $2.5 to $3 million per year for Arnott. This cap thing has everyone thinking real hard now. I am also wondering how Colorado can sign Blake and Sakic while paying Theo his big $$$. The NHL cap is very interesting.

mathieu30 thanks for posting the article link. I thought it was just me seeing Ribero skate slow for the puck many times. There is an interesting core on Montreal to build on and I am looking forward to see what Bob Gainey does to tinker with the lineup. He did say on TSN that they will look at free agents for whatever that may mean. (Seeing as Montreal has free agents to resign)

I have a small feeling that you do not like Lang. When he was younger he was excellent. Now it would be a financial gamble only if Montreal did make a Lang for Zed trade. I am nuetral about it. Lang can put the numbers up which Montreal desperately needed when Koivu went down with an injury.

Kovalev may be overpaid a bit, but his skill has value to Monteal. If you want goals you have to pay sometimes and he was Montreal's target to resign. PLUS, he wants to play for Montreal which is good. Attitude and willingness to help teach will help Montreal's younger players also has value. Kovalev can only do so much when he has no superstars playing with him. Look at Sundin in Toronto, he has no-one capable playing on a line with him and Toronto fans want Sundin's head on a platter. Koivu and Kovalev do not look comfortable together where Higgins and Koivu look like a good combination. Montreal just has to find within the organization for someone to play centre for Kovalev and he will be fine. Or, try and get Marc Savard or Robert Lang as an example. Not a big issue just have to have faith that this will be worked out for 2006/2007 season.

kaos, when I read your comments I find you have a voice of reason. No way Tampa is going to lose Richards while the cap is going up. Also there are other spare parts that Tampa can get rid of in order to keep Brad. (Dingman, Kabina, Grahame are GroupIII UFA) There will be much movement this year in UFA and trades as teams retool and I expect Montreal to do their part as well. Not expecting a major move by BG, however I do see some small moves to help offensively.

This is a good thread and the above comment from Fanpuck33 is very accurate. You cannot get Richards without giving up equal value. I sort of chuckled at what people were offering here as I thought I was on a Leaf board. Instead of trading everyone, the Habs should look at letting UFA players go that just did not pan out. The core is good and the farm team has a centre that should make the team. (Chipchura) If the Habs are SERIOUS about building a contender compared to the old Gainey days it must be done at the draft and raiding younger players from other teams. There is a Centre on Nashville by the name of David Legwand who has 207 points in 388 games, is big(6'2") and has made a name for himself in a non-hockey market. He only played 44 games this year due to a leg injury but this should not be an issue. I believe he is UFA 26 years old but would be easier to trade for if he is RFA as Montreal has Lots and Lots of assets. Signing Huet then sign and trade Abby to a team for a good draft choice or young defenseman would also be reasonable. Possible players Montreal could obtain(Only 1 or 2 guys from list): Marc Savard- Atlanta (Total Offense) David Legwand- Nashville (Power play, good defensively, YOUNG!) Jarkko Rutu- Vancouver (Why not he gets under everones skin) Ed Jovanovski- Vancouver (good defenseman everyone wants) Cory Sarich- Tampa (Good Defenseman) Wade Redden- Ottawa (Another Good defenseman everyone wants) I am a Colorado fan but a habs fan also from long ago. -Jeff