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saskhab

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Everything posted by saskhab

  1. Habs should dress 7 D. Not dress a D as a forward, but dress 7 D. Gill should be played on the PK exclusively. It's not like they need a 4th line anyways.
  2. 3rd straight 2 point game for Kaberle. As for the 'coming to camp out of shape/overweight' bit, even Chara said the Bruins came to camp in the middle of their training and weren't caught up when the season started. By November they got it together it seems (and remarkably avoided major injury again). Maybe Kaberle just similarly needed some time to catch up on the shortened offseason training. Also, post-first round vs. Montreal his production picked up a lot, but Boston's PP problems (and they're still not great on the PP without Kaberle) were more from being stationary. That's a systemic issue. Kaberle showed tonight that he can be creative and the Habs themselves look for a lot of different options and plenty of shifting of position. And yes, we needed a passer more than a shooter... we had Subban and Weber but we weren't getting them great one-time opportunities.
  3. You guys, there is going to be a reduction in the player's share of the cap next season under a new CBA, and along with that there will be another amnesty buyout period just like what is happening in the NBA right now and what happened in 2005 when guys like Bill Guerin were bought out of their ridiculous contracts. There may even be a modest rollback on existing salaries. Trading for future years isn't that big of a concern for a deep-pocketed franchise at this point. If Kaberle helps Molson's team get to the playoffs and costs the hockey department virtually nothing (Kaberle replaces Spacek's roster spot), I'm sure he'll have no trouble signing off on a buyout without cap implications. Or he could even be traded for another asset going forward. Is there risk? Yes. But there's a lot of risk in giving up on an unhealthy team that is still within a couple points of the playoffs before Christmas. The PP has lacked a passer at the back end, it has a couple of decent shooters. Well, we've got a guy with a great track record on the PP for passing. If he can step into the lineup on the 3rd pair (like Spacek was) and step in with top PP minutes and get Gorges out of there I think we should be quite happy. A LOT can change for next year. We know it won't be same old, same old.
  4. What makes people think we're investing in Kaberle beyond this season? Elliott Friedman recently said that GM's would've taken Kaberle and Brassard if it were the offseason while planning their rosters. It could be that this is a simple Spacek for Kaberle swap for this season and at the entry draft Gauthier moves Kaberle to make room for the players he wants to keep. Nothing says we're keeping Kaberle through next year.
  5. Leblanc played centre in junior, but wing at the World Jrs., I think he's played a bit of both in the AHL. At this point, he's better suited for the lesser responsibility of playing wing in the NHL.
  6. It's really convenient for the team to call him up and have him play as far away from the Bell Centre as possible to get his feet wet.
  7. Paul Martin and Zybanek Michalek are two of the most underrated defensemen in the world. Pittsburgh plays great defense.
  8. I still see a lot of a young Plekanec type in Eller. Eller made the NHL quicker and Plekanec had more upward opportunity what with the Ribeiro trade, but I really believe Eller has it in him to be that 1B type centre. Both seem to react positively to playing in a defensive role. As for the Habs coming back and beating Carolina without Gomez, they scored a goal on the first shift of the 3rd and played even the rest of the game... I don't think that is a very convincing argument that they won because Gomez wasn't there to hold them back. Fact is, throughout that game, neither team was very good. And while Gomez set up a few guys for open chances, the Habs didn't beat Ward unless it was on a rebound or deflection. The Habs just got creamed by Philly without Gomez, too, after outplaying their opponents for the majority of the time he was healthy. I don't think he's an unreplaceable player by any means, but he does do good things out there. And he does some things better than our younger centres do. The biggest problem with Gomez is that he's paid way too much. If he was even making $5m the Habs could've gotten another $3-4m player instead of the $1.75m Campoli.
  9. Gomez only played poorly on the PP against the Whalercanes. At even strength, he was setting up linemates (Moen hit the goalpost, Hal Gill had a wide open chance) and keeping Staal in check. Staal was a complete non-factor until the 3rd period when Gomez was gone.
  10. So which 10 games are the Habs allowing Avtsin to attend?
  11. And quite frankly, those little trial periods can be quite good for a player's development. Leblanc is playing pro hockey for the first time, and since he didn't see any preseason action, it might not be bad for him to play on a 4th line and try and see how he matches up against lower level NHLers. Easier to do this at home, though, as with last change you can prevent him being out there against guys like Giroux/Jagr or Briere. The Habs gave a couple game teasers to guys as varied in skill as Plekanec and Subban to Lapierre when they were 20.
  12. Well, we tied it. We won some weird add-on after time expired.
  13. Can Willsie be called up without waiver exposure?
  14. But Subban was with Gill when they were minus. Remove Gill from the top pairing and insert Gorges and it's a big swing. Gill was the issue, not Subban. Both Gorges and Subban are legitimately good players and I wouldn't want to saddle them with Gill, unless Markov comes in as one of the partners here (Markov-Gorges or Markov-Subban).
  15. Gillett inherited the arena debt from the Molsons, though. The Canadiens were still in the red when Gainey buried guys/bought out Czerkawski, MacKay, Audette, and Dykhuis.
  16. Emelin certainly ventures out to the right side plenty to make hits if need be (the Tlusty one, for example).
  17. Obviously, a business doesn't want to spend money when they don't have to. But there was also the fact that waiving Boyd and stashing him in the AHL meant that the team could never recall him. He'd most certainly be claimed on re-entry waivers as he'd be a depth player at below minimum wage with NHL experience. Having Boyd was great for Hamilton because he was too good for the AHL and was never getting recalled, but Gauthier's job isn't what's best for Hamilton. Gillett was willing to bury millionaires in the AHL, and to be honest if the terms of the CBA aren't changed regarding buyouts, it is definitely a conversation that Gauthier and Molson will have to have regarding Gomez.
  18. I know teams have found it burdensome at times. But beyond that, no. But I suppose it's a measure to prevent a team like Montreal, New York or Toronto from building up far superior farm systems. I just don't see why in baseball they can have a ton of different farm teams and in hockey you only really have one, with an agreement with another. Some teams want a western based AHL quality league. I see no reason why the old AHL can't keep its current traditional members and make it kind of like the ECHL currently is, or like major junior is with more than one roughly equal quality league. If the LA Kings want to use the Ontario Reign or Bakersfield Condors as their main affiliate, I see no reason why the Habs can't come in and offer to set up an arrangement with the Manchester Monarchs. Then we can follow both the Bulldogs and the Monarchs.
  19. Been having similar thoughts. There may not be a star in the group (though Gallagher has some great potential) but its much better overall than I thought it was in the summer.
  20. Weber will be in the lineup somehow, be it bottom pair D or bottom six forward.
  21. Darche may as well stick around as the 13th forward. I think people forget he's approaching 35, so really he's starting to decline. And he was really never above a 4th line guy that could do spot duty in the top 9 to begin with. Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves with roster decisions. If we get to the point that Diaz or Emelin is going down, we're 100% healthy which is something I'm still doubtful is on the horizon.
  22. Scott Kishel is having a great senior year as well. He had a big injury last year that limited him to only 7 games, so he's been a forgotten man. So that's 5 potential rookie D's that could be signed. Hopefully the next CBA expands the 50 contract limit and the Habs invest in a second AHL club.
  23. Usually the guy being loaned is a longshot/former hotshot that is now on the way out of an organization. Eric Chouinard was loaned to Utah a number of years ago when he was about 22, and soon after he was traded. You still want your top guys in your own organization. Wahl used to be a pretty decent prospect, but looks like Calgary is losing faith in him and is ready to part ways with him if need be.
  24. Kostitsyn, Gill and Campoli were all on the ice today with the trainer.
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