Seb

BG will have a 1st rounder at this draft and at every draft in the foreseeable future. A team that builds through the draft doesn't just change philosophy when things are starting to go well. We may not see anything special in the draft after the top 20 picks, but let us not forget Mr Timmins who has proven he can draft very well, and to not give him an opportunity to do so at least once a year is a big mistake. And Bob knows it.

We're better than last year for the simple reason that Plekanec has matured, and Andrei Kostitsyn is maturing as well. Plekanec is good enough to play with Kovalev, and when kostitsyn is good enough to play with them, they'll be our first line.

Lapierre's coming up one way or another. Granted, the habs have only played 4 games, when Carbo's patience runs out with either Lats or Grabovski, Lapierre will be back. They're delaying it for 3 reasons: 1. Giving the guys who made the team in training camp the benefit of the doubt, giving them a chance to play, 2. Waiting for Lapierre to get used to playing the wing, because they've asked him to be a 3rd or 4th line winger, though he's naturally a center, and 3. Waiting to see how well Plekanec plays on the 2nd line, because if he's capable this season, Grabovski will be the one to go down, as we have enough defensive centers to play the 3rd and 4th lines. Lats or Grabovski are going down, but my money's on Grabovski.

I think they've got Streit on the fourth line because 1. He's too good to sit in box all the time and 2. because his defensive minded presence eases the burden on Begin which lets him loose and run wild and do what he does. Niniimaa plays because if he doesn't, how can Bob trade him? P.S. Begin= #2 in the league in HITS (94 in 28GP) Komisarek= #8 in the league, #1 among Defence in HITS (85 in 28GP) Nhl.com, see for yourselves.

As the title says, this is only a dream... But with the current situation in Toronto, it is becoming more and more possible that the club will look to move their captain. Now with that being said, they would probably want picks/young players and cap relief(which is what everyone wants nowadays), but as the habs stand now, cap relief isn't something we can really offer. So the possibility of getting our hands on Sundin aren't out of the question, all we would need is for Gainey to find some cap relief somewhere and then maybe send someone underachieving(not going to name anyone, we've all got our own ideas) with an expiring contract, a young guy or two, a second round pick, and bam, we've got Sundin as a SECOND LINE CENTER. This would strike fear in the heart of any opposing coach, who does he send his checking line out against? For the sake of line suggestions, I'll assume Kovalev would still be around after these deals and that Samsonov would not be, leaving possibilities of (first 2 lines): Higgins-Koivu-Ryder Latendresse-Sundin-Kovalev <--There's a solid what? 690 lbs on this line? !!! or Latendresse-Koivu-Ryder Higgins-Sundin-Kovalev I could keep going and list every different possible permutation of these six players, but I'll let you do the dreaming instead. Now while this is all a great dream, we need to take into account exactly HOW difficult it would be to pull off. First, Sundin commands a salary of 4.5, but he would represent 6.33 million against the cap because of the average salary of his contract. 6.33m is a great deal of money and it would cost a few young players packaged with some money wasters to get anywhere near 3-4 million of cap relief. This relief plus what we've already got under the cap(which is about a million? a bit less?) would be enough to land him, meaning that some salary will obviously be sent to Toronto in the deal. Second, Sundin's got a no-trade clause. Seeing as how he turns 36 in february, he'll possibly want to waive his no-trade clause due simply to the fact that he has won no cups and there are none in sight in the near future in Toronto. Also, the thing about a no-trade clause is the player will usually speak with management to tell them which teams they would like to be traded to. Would he come to Montreal? We've got no swedes on the roster right now, but I don't think this would bother him. With his acquisition we'd be vaulted into top contender status (depending on our standing when the deal is made), which would give him an opportunity to play for the cup. I don't think he's worried about the montreal media, as he's played a large portion of his career in Toronto, whose media is pretty bad too. Actually, I think if he was traded to Montreal, the Toronto media would be all over him, which could be a concern. So wether or not Sundin would waive his clause to come to Montreal is up in the air, I don't even think John Ferguson Jr. could tell you right now. Sundin's contract is for the rest of this season and has a team option for the next at 4.5m, which is still cheap for this good of a player. This somehow came up and I was really interested, and like everyone does when a sweet thought comes up, I checked if it could actually work, and it could. We know Gainey will be looking to clear some space to sign our free agent defensemen, so by letting Sundin walk at season's end, there's 6.33m plus the possible 2.5m extra that's supposed to be added to the cap next season. And who knows! Maybe when we let Sundin walk away at the end of the season and everyone's offering 5 million, he comes back for a new cheaper contract to Montreal(depending on how much we've got left after the D sign) and says "Let's do it again!" Sundin's been knocked lately for his production, but honestly, he plays with Tucker! In Montreal, he will finally have someone to play with. Also, Sundin's been known for consistency, something our friend Alex Kovalev has not been known for, so maybe Sundin's the guy we've been looking for to get Kovalev to produce every night. As nice as it seems, I'm still going to be realistic about it and say that the chances of this move happening are slim to none. "Et voici Sundin à la ligne bleue, c'est deux contre un! Sundin, passe à Kovalev, ET LE BUUUT!!!" I dare to dream...

Anyone remember how old Stevie Y was when he was named captain of the wings? How old is Higgins now? I'll let you guys do the math. Besides, Higgins reminds me of Yzerman in the way he plays and what kind of person he is. If koivu were to suffer a career-ending injury, we would play out the season without a captain, and next year Higgins would be wearing it without a doubt. Lovin' the Habs this year, and I hope Koivu sticks around as long as he can cause he's a wicked player!

I also just sent an application. This is officially my first post, so call me new if you'd like, but I've been following this board since about christmas last year. I tried to join a few months ago but it didn't work, though I mostly enjoy reading what people have to say. I saw this thread about GMs needed and I'd LOVE to get back into a sim league. I was in one last year with people I knew and it lasted a whole season and it was a great time. I think I'm a good fit for the job as I'm a student living in residence alone without a job. FYI, I go to the University of Waterloo and I'm in engineering. I'm just hoping I will be considered for a GM spot and if not, then hopefully placed on the waiting list. Now that I've signed up, I'm pumped to post. Just have to find a picture...