ricucity

With Bonk now occupying line 3, Dowd is not needed. Let Higgins take line 4, he is a solid two way player and could get 20 points. Dowd won't bring that in the future, Higgins will. We need to see what Higgins can do this year. [Edited on 8-16-2004 by ricucity]

Higgins would be great. He is supposed to have the qualities of a captain, so I think his outlook would be good to hear.

Gainey needs to get aggressive. I think he is the one guy (or Selanne) who can really thrust us into real Cup consideration. We need a scorer like him, and there aren't many out there.

We all know Higgins will be the captain if he can maintain consistency in the NHL.

He has more speed than most grinders, and he is solid on his skates. I think he would be solid.

Zednik will lose his case. With the market the way it is, no arbitrator will give him more money for 2 above average seasons.

Halifax will win the championship...they picked the crappiest guys who will actually play in the crappy WHA for equal competition. Smart picking. Perezhogin...maybe he will play in the WHA. With a stall in the negotiations for the deal that brings European players to the NHL, and his suspension from the AHL, he may get the best competition he can in the WHA.

He was on the third line too, so that off year we could probably cast off. He isn't as fast as he used to be, but he still has a hard and accurate shot. He isn't as good a sniper as Kovy, but he certainly gets the job done.

I would like to see us add a 4 or 5 physical D-man to accompany either Markov or Souray (I get worried about him trying to do too much). Since Cairns, O'Donnel, etc. etc. have been signed, the market is dwindling. Maybe Dan McGillis or Chris Therien (SLOW, but they can hit) for a low price to come in and relieve some guys would be nice. We do need that goon though...we have Begin to be our agitator, but we need someone to dish out the punches along with the words. We also need major help at RW...KOVY! :ghg:

I am getting tired of waiting on Ron Hainsey. He has some offensive skill and is agile, but his attitude and his lack of commitment are something this organization hasn't seen since Mike Ribiero. Seriously though, this guy needs a real attitude change. He doesn't belong here if he is going to pout about not being in the NHL and if he just doesn't become dedicated in the AHL. He sounds more like a Leaf than a habs. If Hainsey can't turn it around this year, I hope he is gone next year. Thoughts?

He has size, but like Glenn Murray, he doesn't use it. LeClair is too fragile now and is reluctant to get near the net and use his body.

He is a center, but I would love to see him play second line and experiment with Ribs at LW and Ryder at RW.

Well let's just cut Ribs, Ryder & Ward for "taking too long to break out" then :eyes: Of course, because last year the teams used that well-known "let's not touch him" strategy on him... *sigh* Sorry man, is Ribs your cousin or something? Datsyuk went through the same thing the year after his breakout...he could usually get away with good stickwork, until he started getting hit. Then he had to bulk up. I am not spewing random crap here.

If he gets a low base salary with performance incentives, I don't see why not. It eliminates the question marks because if he sucks, he is still cheap.

He wanted to play with Lemieux to get that fire he had before in the Pitts.

Woohoo, Habs in Detroit! Now, let's try to find some tickets.

I was joking with DEADmarsh and McCammond. They are done due to injuries.

Yea I guess so, but there still might be some talent to be tapped with Harvey. Ward, IMO, could probably play 2nd line RW with Ryder on the left. Dagenais has no future here, despite what he did in the regular season. Ward could end up being a pretty good power forward, and could hit 40 points on the 2nd line this year.

He is a big two way forward with good speed and stickhandling, able to drive the net and score. I like him, although I am a bit surprised that we didn't go for a big power forward. :ghg:

Um, how about this...I live 20 minutes outside of Detroit, and the Habs play the Wings ONE TIME every year. Original 6 teams, meeting one time a year. Pathetic. That is why there are so few rivalries now!!!

We need Kovy back, plain and simple. He is the ONE true sniper we have on the team (Ryder is more of a "wow, I got the puck on my stick and now I have to shoot" type of player). With Kovy, so many more things happen on offense. Zed's scoring will increase, as Kovy brings a hard shot that renders rebounds for Zed to pound in. Koivu's points will go up with all the assists to Kovy. Kovy can create shots, unlike many players on the roster. He is not extremely fast, but he is agile and can shoot while moving towards the middle. He has a hard and accurate shot from the wing, something we have missed on the top line since Martin Rucinsky. He is not too bad defensively either...he is surprisingly strong and can take men off of the puck...he can go along the boards and come away with the puck as well. He just does so many things for us, and it would be a shame to let him go. We can easily be the highest bidder, and I don't think he would refuse the money from a playoff team.

I would much rather have Amonte than LeClair. LeClair is done, he has no more bite or fire...he used to play with a little grit, but now he can't even get near the net because of a fear of getting thrown on his arse.

If we can sign him near $1 million, go for it...he may show flashes of what he used to be. Put in a ton of performance incentives, and we could have a major steal. But if not him, we could always hope with Adam Deadmarsh and Dean McCamond.

Why don't we go after Todd Harvey for a 3rd or 4th line right winger? We have Sunny and Begin for LW and C on line 4, and I think Harvey has shown flashes of what he was supposed to be in the NHL (a premiere power forward). I think for a low salary ($1 mil) he could surprise and notch 10 goals. He is a good hitter and is physical, and he does play well offensively near the net for a 4th liner...I think he could just be a steal if we sign him to a 2 year 2 million dollar deal. :/)

He really isn't that bad. He didn't get a lot of minutes because he really is in Julien's doghouse. He is a good 4th liner who could put the puck in the net from time to time, and he has some good speed. I think he is a tad overpaid, but with him and Begin on line four, we could have a really irritating line for opponents.