hab29RETIRED

yep. just like how the habs were going to move up and do everything possible to get Esposito i don't know who is worse Eckland or that idiot Bruce Garroich (sp??) from the Ottawa Sun. At least Eckland is working for himself. I really don't know how that ottawa sun guy got a job and keeps his job!

Agree. Especially since Marleau is going to be a UFA next year. I think Pleks is the ideal 3rd line centre. With him we can have three scoring lines and he is also a good special teams player.

I wasn't referring to your comment. it looked like you were replying to somenone else whining about Esposito. I had actually read through about 4 pages where people were whining about crosby until i reached your thread and finally responded. btw, i doubt if he will have his own line, but i do think that at some point he will play with one of Pittsburgh's big 3 (Crosby, Malkin, Staal), which unless he is a total head flop, should assure that he succeeds in pittsburgh, whereas in Montreal, he would've been expected to show he will be the main guy on a line. With Pittsburgh already stacked at centre before drafting Esposito (they already got 4 really good young centres - 3 of them superstar calibre - somebody has to moved to the wing).

I wish people would stop whining about Esposito. If he wasn't from Montreal and was just another prospect, there wouldn't be a single person hoping the habs take esposito. Personally, i see him more of a ribiero/daigle type then a Savard. The only thing that worries me is Patrick Roy's high assessment of him (which would be natuarl since he is Esposito's coach). But i'm fed up with the french media types. If it wasn't for them, Chelios would not have been moved (in an absolute STUPID trade), carboneau wouldn't have been given away and a lot of the other stupid trades made, probably would never have happened and players wouldn't avoid montreal like the plague. Even when they took Choiunard, they were complaining why didnt' the habs take Gagne. If the habs had taken Gagne chouinard ended up being the prospect that panned out, they would have been complaining why didn't the habs take Choiunard. I really think this is on of the habs better drafts and they addressed a lot of the holes in their system. Now if they can only get a real number 1 or 2 centre (I'm really hoping for a Ryder for Marleau trade). btw, did anyone hear anything further on the Kovolev for Tangauy rumour??? I had read that it was reported by Eric Duhatchak who isn't smoking dope like a lot of the reporters (i.e. that fat idiot Bruce Garrohich - not sure about the spelling - from the Ottawa Sun) reporting trades, but wasnt' able to find that on any of his columns on the web. If the habs could do the following i would give Gainey an A+++ this summer (after i think he really screwed up by holding on to Souray): -move Kovolev for a finisher like Tanguay. -Get another centre (Marleau/Briere - I'd rather have Marleau, but i like being able to get Briere without having giving up anything. I also like Gomez/Drury, but they will NEVER choose to come to Montreal). -Get a puck moving defencemen (the guy i wanted was signed to a ridiculous salary by philly) and get rid of at least one of Dandenault or Bouillon.

i think there first pick this year was better then last year. I do wish they moved up for their second 1st round pick to get the russian.

i was actually hoping they would have traded up to get Chernapopov. Esposito scares me too much - scares me bcoz he could turn out to be Denis Savard or Alexander Daigle. I would rather have had the habs gamble on Chernapopov

It's bcoz of idiots like Pedneault that nobody wants to play in montreal.

r you still alive

he played forward bcoz Carboneau must of been on crack most of the year. On a good team i see streit as a 5th, 6th defencemen. Last year on the habs, he was easily the 4th best. The canadiens should dump dandenault and Bouillon.

If this is your idea of a good trade for the habs - I thank god you are not bob gainey. The Sharks would make this deal in a heartbeat. Why the hell would the canadians be stupid enough to give up a 30 goal scorer, a guy who scored 20 this year and has the potential to be a solid 30 goal guy AND a first round pick for Marleau who is a UFA next year?? Ryder straight up for Marleau sounds like a much fairer deal, considring SJ is going to have Ryder's rights a lot longer. I'd love to see marleau in a habs uniform but would NEVER want to give up what you are suggesting. I think playing with Thorton Ryder can be a 40-50 goal scorer, at most i might consider thowing in a 2nd or 3rd rounder. but that is it.

oh i know that minutes after july 1, there will be incredibly stupid signings, but the bottom line is there are a number of successful times who don't get drawn into the stupidity, in fact it usually is the successful teams that don't make dumb signings. Look at the NYR, until the past two years, what have their signings got them??? same for Dallas, Toronto, LA and boston. The teams that did spend a lot on UFA's and are successful are the one's that paid a guy what he was actually worth (i.e. Neidermeyer in anaheim).

I just think that is too much to pay a guy who has a long injury record and for a d-man who is so one dimensional and may also want a no trade clause and a minimum of 3 years. Souray has never been consistant year over year - granted injuries are the main reason (2 years ago his divorce also played a factor), but in today's cap world, offering that much to an injury prone, one dimenstional player doesn't make a hell of a lot of sense.

I would give up 4 first rounders for Phaneuf in a heartbeat. The habs have enough young players in the pipeline and cand trade some of them for picks later on. Guys like Bourque, Pronger,Lidstrom, Neidermayer only come along every so often. The risk with Phaneuf is if mentally he can take the next step or not - but i'd be willing to take that gamble. I wouldn't take the same gamble on Vanek, but if you can get a guy who can become one of the league's top 5 dmen for the next 10 years, i'd give up the draft picks. The harder part is willing to pay him enough (have to be at or close to the league limit), for calgary to let him walk (which i don't think they would do in any event). Remember the last dman that was offered a big contract as a RFA was a Scott Stevens. Are you saying that you wouldn't be willing to give up 4 first ronders to get scott stevens in his prime???

Like i said, for calgary not to match, you would have to offer close to the league max. You have to keep in mind that both Kiprusaff and Igilna are UFA's next year, there is no way that the flames are going to let their youngest and most valuable asset that they have the rights to for another 5 years walk away for nothing when they may also lose Igilna and Kipper next year. I think the habs need more help on the D then an impact forward. They have a lot of young forwards who may be enough, but they are awful on defence. Unless of course they can dump Sammy and Kovy's salary - then i'd make a push for Brierre or Drury, although i think we would have absolutely no chance to sign Drury. ALso keep in mind that during the next two years you also have Marleau, Thornton, Lecavailier that could potentially become free agents as well and it would be nice having the cap room to make a push for one of them. I think anything over $9M/2yr for Souray is over paying. Personally, if i was in Bob's shoes i wouldn't pay more then $4m/yr , but given that he just had a career year, we have a lousy D and that he can probably get some idiot to pony up $6M plus. If we could dump Dandenault and Boullion i'd go as high as $4.75M, but i can't see anyone wanting those two overpaid, under-acheiving bums.

I'd love the habs to make an offer to Phaneuf. But for the flames not to match the offer it would have to be close to the league max and for the habs to benefit, you woul notd want a 4 year deal, bcoz, it will probably be another 3 years for Phaneuf to hit his stride and be one of the top 3 d-men in the league and at that point, you would only be getting true value for one more year and then he would be close to being a UFA. For the Habs to make a push at a RFA like a Phaneuf or a Vanek, I think you need to have closer to a 7 or 8 year deal (and then you pray to god that the guy doesn't get hurt). I thought he probably would have got around $6M, maybe a bit more if someone got stupid (which isn't inconcievable considering some of the morans that are GM's or owners), but i was hoping that when he said he would take less to stay in montreal it would have been in the $5M range.

That's what i was saying when he signed kovolev. Even back when he was with Dallas. Wasn't he the GM when they gave big deals to Arnott, Audette, Guerin??? that's fair enough, but i was really hoping that we could get him for $5M or less. There's not much room going after a free agent now - especially if we sign Souray. I'm hoping that the habs lock up Higgins long-term now otherwise they are going to pay through the nose in another couple of years. I totally agree with you on that. I was pissed at the number of 1 year deals gainey has been signing guys to - which is why i really think we need to lock up Higgens to a long term deal - won't he be a UFA in 2 or 3 years?? i think if you sign a guy to an escalating long-term deal you have a better chance of convicing him to stay. There's always the risk on the players side of taking 1 year deals - he could get injured or have a lousy year. The 1 year deal that Kariya signed with colorado blow up in his face as he played lousy and was injured in Colorado, which meant he also had to take lower deals when he signed in Nashville. He will cash in now, but that's after taking 3 years at less then market value. that's my worry about Markov as well. I don't think he has played up to a 5.75M level - he is easily the habs best d-man but he is not a 5.75M player yet.

No way in hell that Gomez or Drury would ever sign with the Habs. If gomez leaves NJ, it will be for the west coast. THere's no way in hell drury would ever want to play in montreal. Bonk is as good as gone - too expensive. who the heck is the captian?????? Yeah, there is no way that the other guys lineup is in montreal. Bur really, Gomez or Drury is realistic??? NO bloody way either of them would want to sign with Montreal. leaving Koivu out of the mix is just plain dumb! You seriously think we would have any hope in hell of making the playoffs with these dmen???

Is he really a guy who is going to be a #1 or #2 center. in the playoffs he has taken a defensive role and if that is what we want him for, he is going to be a lot more expensive then Bonk. When he got traded at the deadline the word was he was looking for $3M+. There is talk that SJ may move Marleau. I'd rather go after him then Zubrus.

I don't mind keeping Streit as the 6th man. But the cube has sucked. He gets the occasional hit, but the rest of time he is chasing after the opposition like a chicken with his head cut off. To me, Rivet WAS NOT a 3rd/4th calibar d-man. He would have been great in montreal if he was the 5th/6th d-man. Neither Rivet, Bouillon, streit, Dandenault could crack the top 5 in Detroit, Anaheim, calgary, NJ, Buffalo, Ottawa, or any other team that has a decent D. Even in SJ, Rivet IMO comes in after Carle, Hannan, McLarren, Vlasic and Erhaff. Yes, offensively, Rivet has more points in the playoffs, but that is only bcoz the Sharks have a deadly powerplay. Defensively, Rivet has the worst plus/minus on the Sharks D, he is VERY average and certainly NOT worth the $2.5M he was getting in Montreal. Gainey absolutely made a steal of a deal for Rivet. I would have been happy with a 2nd round pick to get rid of him.

Kovolev may not be there to teach work ethic - but the guy should be professional enough to have some work ethic. The way he played for most of the season and then the way Mr. clutch who said he loves that time of the year, played in the habs last three games was just ......I'd say he was bloddy awful, but i'm not sure if the turkey even showed up to be able to say he was bloody awful. Shooting drills.......kovolev given the number of shots he takes, you wouldn't know he actually practices his shooting. the guy is a joy to watch when he is stick handling and actually decides to shows up and puts forth the effort. But the rest of the time you want to strangle him. I'd hate to coach him!! I'm pretty critical with Carboneaue, i really think he screwed up with samsonov and a lot of his line decsions (as well as basic strategy deciscions when things weren't going the habs way). But i really don't know if even scotty bowman could have gotten kovolev to show up on a consistant basis. As far as dandenault an Bouillon go......... i hope they are gonzo. The habs NEED LEGITIMATE #1, 2, 3 and 4th spot defencemen. To me Bouillon, Dandeanult, Georges (at this point in his development) and even streit who was pretty versatile, are at what you'd look for in at best your #6 defenceman... to me they are more like the 7th depth D you have for insurance. I think Komi will be a solid # 2 or #3, IMO Markov is right now a #2, but has the potential to be a #1, Souray is a nice #3, #4 offenncive defencement. Hannan would look good. I was choked that Chara went to to B's last year. He was exactly what the habs needed.

if we got a mid pick or even a bag of pucks it would be worth it to unload the salary. As talented as he is, he i just too much of a distraction and for a young team he has too lousy of a work ethic to be wearing an "A" hey, not so loud, the Common's language committee might come after you for grouping French with black, irish, yellow, mexican, etc. I think that may be the understatment of the year. Let's face it they were dogs acting like prima donnas. lapierre, bégin and latendresse on the other hand show a refreshing work ethic and attitude - something that has totally been lacking from the quebecois players in recent years.

i just read hockeybuzz an felt like throwing up - this is one time I hope that Ekland is on crack "Brisebois....The Habs may indeed make a pitch to get Patrice back in the fold. The other team I am hearing tied to Brisbois is the Islanders..."

Anyone read Rivet's interview with a SJ writer, where he pretty much trashes montreal? This is the same clown who went on and on about what a great place montreal is to play. One month later and suddenly montreal is to much of a pressure cooker and not a fun place to play.

why the hell would we want to WASTE a first round pick on a "Aaron Downey" type????

in Hickey's article he says buying out Samsonov will cost $1.2M for the next two years??? I thought he only had 1 year left? Get rid of: -Samsanov -Kovolev -Bouillon -Dandenault -Bonk (if he can't signed for under $1.8M) -Johnson (if he can't be signed for under $1.6M) Allowed to walk: -Souray (if he costs more then $5M - personally i don't think he is worth more then $4.5M but the market price for D-men has gone totally out of wack) -Aebishaer -Ninnima Replace with: -True #1 Centre (Brierre, Gomez) -Gritty winger who can consistantly score and is willing to pay the price by setting up shop in front of the net (i'd love Smyth if he wasn't going to cost $6M) -At least two quality d-men to replace the pathetic job Bouillon, Dandenault, Souray and Ninnima did Lastly - sign Markov!!!! I'm also hoping there won't be a problem signing Price - can you imagine if he decided he wanted to go back in the draft!!! I'd also like to see the Habs hire an experienced assistant coach. Last year they got Andy Murray as an advisor. In my mind he SHOULD have been the coach!!!! WHY, WHY, WHY, can't the habs ever hire an EXPERIENCED coacH?????? do we have to be the friggin training ground for rookie coaches??? I think Demers was the last experienced guy the habs have had. Carbo needs help - obviosuly he is not ready yet -He may not be as bad as mario tremblay, but he isn't even Claude Ruel at this point either!!! They need someone who knows when it is time to make a goaltending change - not because the goalie is to blame, but just to change the momentum.