patience is a virtue

I am a little confused by the hyperbole here from normally balanced posters such as CC and C. Gomez completely useless? No doubt it was a hail mary trade then that has only gotten worse with time, but watching Gomez dominate possession while carrying the puck up ice like no other is proof enough that he is far from useless. i'd say the jury is still out on his season. if he continues to adapt to playing the wing with Pleks and registers 25 or so more points (for 30+ in 50 games) before the playoffs, i'd say he's had a reasonable bounce back year.

you sir strike me as someone who thinks they know more than they do. certainly, no one could have predicted 3 years ago the kinds of trouble Markov has had. "hindsight", by definition, is analysis after the fact. after the fact, you may rant and rave about how silly it was 3 years ago to bet on Markov, but that is exactly what it would be - silly. i do not think it will take a miracle for Markov to prove worth the wait. vision and passing are the keys to his game. if his knee is serviceable (he will be far from the first NHLer to recover from such prolonged messes) i do not expect it will take him long to remind us why he is one of the best defensemen in the world. just because you have cap room, doesn't mean you can replace the likes of Markov. i hope he recovers and joins a resurgent team for the home stretch and playoffs.

hindsight is a wonderful thing. i for one am happy that the CH have stuck with Markov. he is worth the wait. i hope!

on the bright side. always on the bright side... if markov comes back in march and the habs go 10-3-2 between now and then, then there is no better "trade deadline" upgrade we could ask for.

Here's my question - is Emelin because JM chose to make room, or because something is up with Diaz? Has there been any word, official or media, on why Diaz has missed practice two days in a row? Injury? Going down the Hammy? Trade? Whatever the case, here's hoping Emelin continues to adapt quickly to the right side. Quick enough to put the fear into some Flyers tonight!

He's in. With Kabs again. Willey and Kamal twisted JM's rubber ears into submission.

I don't get this. The Kings are struggling more than the Habs this year and had even higher expectations. They just fired their coach. They want to shake things up. I have no clue really, but all the King's blogs I read say Brown is not a good captain - he doesn't lead. LA has two star centres and not enough firepower on the wings. Brown is an all round power forward, but not a pure goal scorer like Cammi. If we take Penner off their hands (for 3rd or 4th line depth, just for this year), offer a depth dman (needed in LA) and provide a pick or young prospect, I don't see why LA might not be interested... And I don't see why Penner has to be a burden - he walks at the end of the year and provides some depth in the meantime. We just called up Blunden for god's sake! Penner has to be better than Blunden.

The more I think about this, the more sense it makes. Penner, though overpaid, walks at year end and provides some much needed depth on the wing in the meantime - the cupboard is pretty bare in Hammy! The BIG Q here is whatelse does LA want? I'd bet they're asking for Tinordi or Beaulieu in on the deal. PG won't go there. He could offer one of the other D he just drafted, plus a 2nd round pick...

Ya, my bad on the addition. I was adding the numbers at eliteprospects and must have missed something. Forgot about capgeek. But Penner and Brown for Cams and Campoli is interesting. Penner's contract is up at the end of the season. Depends on what they want in addition. A pick I would do - 2nd rounder, tops.

I just stumbled across this rumour in the rumour thread. Dustin Brown to Mtl and Mike Cammalleri back to LA. Both teams had higher expectations for this season. Both of these top six wingers are struggling to produce. Each offers what the other team needs. Cams is a sniper who loves life in Cali. He'd fit in well with Kopitar or Richards. He can score 50-80 points in a season - hard to predict, but no doubt he would benefit from playing with an elite centre, and the Kings happen to have two of em. Also, he's pretty much a guaranteed playoff performer. Brown is a power forward who forechecks, hits, consistently puts up 50 points and rarely gets injured/misses games. He's also two years younger than Cams and almost $3M cheaper. He plays on the PP and PK. I gotta think that LA wants something else in this deal to compensate for contract size and age differences. Someone said that need more depth at D. Surely we could part with Campoli, Diaz or Weber? Also of note - LA seems to have cap space. I did some quick adding of rough numbers and got $57-58M Thoughts on Brown? On this possibility?

On the surface, I like the sound of this and it seems somewhat doable. Brown is 2 years younger, half the price, and a super-durable, hard hitting power forward, plus a consistent 50 point scorer. If it's for Cams and a bottom pairing dman (Diaz? Campoli?), we shed salary, and loosen up the log jam at the backend. I do worry about losing Cam's playoff intensity and production, but Cams seems frustrated in Mtl, and Brown is an amazing combo of forechecking, hitting, point production and durability, all for $3.2M. Gotta be one of the best deals in the league (for the team, that is). No trade clause?

ROTFL But seriously. We have all been frustrated. The Habs have blown way too many leads and lost way too many should-have-wons. But just think: they have stayed in the hunt while floundering. they are OK (well, 9 points of a possible 12 so far in Dec is much better than OK actually) even at their worst. what i'm excited about is that you just can't keep this team down for much longer. there are way too many goal scorers who are frustrated and looking for ways to break out - Cam, Pacs, Gio (when he's back) and PK on the PP. Put another way, we've been climbing the ladder with half our offense (Cole, AK, Pleks, ~DD) if Kabs and Camps are the experienced puck movers who will help get things rolling a bit, watch out when The General returns - and he will return! Funny, I am so optimistic about the rest of the season right now, but it's not because I actually think the team is finally playing up to its potential. It's because they are winning and scoring loser points even while struggling. Note to the critics: if the team can amass these kind of points while struggling, it seems doubtful that JM's job is overly threatened. it just feels like it when he blows another third period lead is all

sorry, i meant that they would work themselves into 4th by the end of the season (not during Dec) with the help of Markov.

lol. indeed. i love emelin and really think he is top 4 dman material long-term - a big hitter with some offensive upside. i have no idea if campoli can bring what is required to be a top 4 dman. yet, i can understand JM on this one. the habs really need to win this game. not the time for emelin to be making errors adjusting to playing on the right.

Well, scratch that theory. Apparently Emelin is out and Campoli is in, with Kabs: Gorges-Subban Kabs-Campoli Gill-Diaz Is Campoli a shooter?

Big night in the East. Everyone but Tampa Bay playing. Three points separate 6-12. As much as I don't want NJ to gain points, I do hope they beat Florida. My guess is that the Cats, like the Leafs, are ready for a tumble down to the bubble. The only teams we I don't think we can catch are Philly, Boston and New York. It will be interesting to see what happens in Pitts (now that hope for Crosby is sadly fading) and Wash (under Hunter). I'm still hoping the Habs can go 8-3-3 in December (my prediction at the beginning of the month) and work themselves into 4th for the playoffs, with the help of Markov, of course.

Someone on HIO said that Campoli can only play on the left. Same goes for Gill and Kabs. So you have to split up Subban and Gorges to play Campoli. Diaz is a righty. Gorges-Subban Kaberle-Emelin Gill-Diaz would have to become something like, Campoli-Gorges Kaberle-Subban Gill-Emelin Perhaps the problem is that none of those must-play-lefties seem suitable for a top D pairing? I'd actually rather see Campoli stay in the pressbox and JM try, Emelin-Gorges Kaberle-Subban Gill-Diaz I'm quite curious to see how playing a regular shift with Kabs would impact PK's goal scoring stats.

+1 Best to find out if he can play on the right in the NHL ASAP. Left D that can play on the right are that much more valuable. Does anyone know if he played on the right for extended periods in the KHL?

Yes, it was a gamble - that's why we got him for next to nothing. No, he has not sucked lately - lately he had started to turn it on in Carolina. Furthermore, the guy had 47 points last season, despite a rough time in Boston. I really can't see this working out disasterously. As The CC said, it's risky, but almost all upside for Mtl. Worst case scenario status quo .500 until Markov returns and some creativity to dump Kabs in the off season. Best case scenario, PG just created the most fearsome one-two PP punch in the NHL - with Markov, Kaberle, Subban and Emelin... Beaulieu... on the blueline.

Toronto's strong start is fading. I have no doubt the Habs will finish ahead of the Leafs and that Burke et al will be in the doghouse again. I liked BG a lot as a GM. I think PG has been even better. I agree with pretty much every gamble he has made and his gradual effort to balance the team in terms of 5-on-5 strength and more size and grit. Super impressed he got Emelin over and Cole to sign with us. His approach to Halak vs. Price was bang on and I expect we will say the same about Wiz vs. Markov in the long-run. There is no doubt a short-term crisis at this point, despite all the unfulfilled potential and close games. I think PG needed to do something significant, but not too dramatic. He accomplished that exactly in the trade for Kabs and addressed the team's key issue - the PP. I can think of nothing I could improve upon as manager. Looking forward, I hope DD and Eller can rise to the challenge of being 2-3 Cs, but I am not sure. I would be probing for 2C options, as I am sure PG is doing. Trade or let Moen and Nokia walk and sign new gritty 4th liners in the off season.

There's a lot of premature ejaculation happening amongst Habs fans these days and this trade put many folks over the top. It's like everyone became a bloody capologist overnight and Kaberle's contract has doomed the Habs for the next three seasons. The vitriol is a bit ridiculous really. Some people's sense of self seems to be link by an emotional umbilical cord with the Habs on a game-by-game basis. Being a fan is all about emotion, but taken to the extreme, it verges on mental illness. But what really blows me away is the media's reactionary and negative response to the deal. I don't want to get into another defense of Kaberle and PG. Time will tell whether this gutsy PG move was foolish or brilliant. I'm betting brilliant. The Habs are still just 6 points off the division lead, despite their monumental struggles. And no, one or two games in hand is not a big deal. They have lost a lot of close games and should-have-wons. They could easily be tied with Boston right now - a few bounces this way or that way. That's not an excuse. It's a fact. A fact which tells me that this team can contend and that a small change like the Spac-Kabs deal might tip the balance and set off a nice run towards the playoffs...

AK46 is my answer. Emelin might get a shot at it too. But I am more interested in the room he creates down low by working the puck adeptly from up high.

= the voice of reason loud and clear. however, it is important to note that PG has not only proved to us and the team that he's in it to win, but that desperation has indeed set in. if Kabs is a bust and the team continues to struggle like this, PG may have just made his last big move and the cap situation may be someone else's mess to work out next summer... And that would suck, cause I love what he's done so far, but he had to make a move. i can't think of a much better one than this.

I think you are bang on here. Cap solutions can be found if Kabs is a bust. But you can't change basic personality traits. People say he isn't intense, not a winner, has a bad attitude, etc. I don't know, but I do admire the core group of hard working winners BG and PG have focused on gathering as a team. They are fighters inside, winners, and you know all these lost games that could have been won are just killing them. They haven't given up. I hope PG has just made the bold move that will help them win, and that there are enough positive, hardworking attitudes on the team to raise Kaberle's boat.

ye of little faith