BTH
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Posts posted by BTH
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guys we do not need Jagr nor do we want jagr. He is 39 years old and I do mean OLD. we have a great young nucleus that do not need a prima donna past his prime peckerhead. You all remember what he has done not what he can do. Think about Mats Sundin' would you sign him a 10 mill a year? Like vancouver did? Do you think Mike Gillis would like a do-over? AHHHH yeah he would. What he did 15 years ago was great today he is a 39 year old over the hill phead. Get a power forward get a big centre get some offence he ins not it. We do not need stopgaps. We need to win a cup witin the next 2 years. PG and BOB get it done.
He's not a stop gap, he's additional depth.
Why does his age matter if he is still a high-end player? He has not fallen off nearly as much as you make it sound. Since the lockout:
04-05: 26-23-39 in 32 games with Avangard Omsk
05-06: 54-69-123 in 82 games with the NY Rangers
06-07: 30-66-96 in 82 games with the NY Rangers
07-08: 25-46-71 in 82 games with the NY Rangers
08-09: 25-28-53 in 55 games with Avangard Omsk
09-10: 22-20-42 in 51 games with Avangard Omsk
10-11: 19-32-51 in 49 games with Avangard Omsk
2011 World Championships: 5-4-9 in 9 games with Czech Republic
Note that his recent KHL seasons are comparable to his 04-05 season in the KHL. Even a 40 year old Jagr is arguably Montreal's best winger.
If the Canadiens are looking to win a Cup within two years, they will be looking to make veteran additions like Jagr. They won't win with their current roster. If you want a power forward, Jagr is the closest thing to a power forward Montreal will find.
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I would definitely sign him.
I wanted Montreal to claim Hagman off waivers for some extra scoring depth so I'm obviously going to find Jagr sufficient.
I'm not sure he would have this bad apple reputation if he weren't European. How can Jagr play one game out of four while going a point per game year after year?
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So should Habs be contemplating replacing AK with Jagr? Sounds good to me.
Why not try and have both? It'd be nice to have some offensive depth for a change.
Agreed. I'd rather have AK because he's younger and could be around for years. Having both would be great. We might actually be able to go a full season without Moen or Darche in the top 6.
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Well now my defense pairings are all askew...
Does this mean Gill doesn't come back? Mind you, I still assume Markov and Wiz will be back (or a Wiz replacement will be signed)...
Markov - Wisniewski
Spacek - Subban
Yemelin - Gorges
Weber
?
If Yemelin makes the team, I reckon he will be given gentle minutes with a steady partner until he proves he can handle his own.
Spacek doesn't have the endurance to play 2nd pairing minutes, but what do you do? Subban at least has the wheels to cover Spacek's slowness.
Things make much more sense if Spacek is traded, but I don't know how likely that will be with his contract and a limited NTC.
I think Gill is brought back no matter what, probably instead of Wisniewski (because of the difference in salary). Ideally we keep both and ditch Spacek but we'd probably have to package him with Gomez because the odds of there being more than one lunatic GM in the NHL willing to take these contracts is low.
We can't expect Yemelin to be more than a bottom pairing d-man to start the season so I don't think we should let go of any of our regulars to make room for him. -
The timing would be good -- for him and for the team. I am also a bit skeptical, but we'll see soon enough.
Yeah, I want him to be signed but I've heard this rumour for like 5 straight off-seasons.
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I'll believe it when I see it.
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I agree, they're all due pay cuts. However, if you're Frolov or Zherdev, do you sign for ~1 million in the NHL or go to Russia? Zherdev already has while Frolov is widely believed to do so. More money and they get to play at home. As I noted earlier, Kobasew's the exception from this list, he'll accept a cheaper deal from someone. Ponikarovsky's the interesting case, he barely got a contract from a desperate LA team last offseason and then played even worse. Yes, that should lower his asking price but if the offers are where they should be (about $1 million), I think he too will play overseas. That's why I question if signing them is realistic (notwithstanding Kobasew), I think the only way to get them is to overpay based on what they were worth before, not are worth now.
I'd be willing to pay Frolov more than 1 mill. He's regressed for four straight years but if we accept him as a bottom six player and alter our expectations, I think we'd like him more than Pouliot.
Anyway, I checked the upcoming UFA list on capgeek and there seems to be no shortage of 40-50 point forwards this offseason so these are far from the only options.
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Maybe to the Oilers, Avalanche, Lightning or Stars? They're teams with cap space that might attempt to make the playoffs.
I really don't see him leaving.
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But are those guys (not so much Kobasew, I think he's the exception here) willing to take 3rd line money? Zherdev will likely bolt back to Russia as will Frolov who showed with the Rangers he can't play defence, limiting his 3rd line ability. Ponikarovsky wound up playing in the bottom 6 for most of the year and didn't produce. If he waits long enough in free agency, I think someone will give him a contract if he's willing to settle for a 6-figure salary. Would I take a flyer at a Halpern-type salary? Perhaps, but I think I'd prefer Halpern at that type of money.
Their '10-'11 salaries:
Zherdev - 2M
Frolov - 3M
Kobasew - 2.33M
Ponikarovsky - 3.2M
All of them are due to pay cuts after disappointing seasons. That's borderline bottom six money for borderline bottom six players. (Borderline in that they can play in the top six when there are injuries.)
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That's a scary list for the wrong reasons. The guys I've italicized I don't expect to play next year in the NHL due to age (Madden), inconsistency (Zherdev, Kobasew though someone may take a flyer on these 2), or outright suckiness (Frolov, Ponikarovsky, the latter having had just 3 more goals than Pyatt in the same number of games). There are a couple decent pieces on that list though, I'd like Handzus myself but I think he'll want to be paid more than a #3 C based on the contract he is finishing.
I'm talking Halpern or Pouliot replacements.
If you expect them to be third line players, Frolov, Ponikarovsky, Kobasew and Zherdev really aren't that bad.
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Some possible additions to the bottom six forwards:
Handzus, Ponikarovsky, Kobasew, Brunette, Madden, Frolov, Prospal, White, Zherdev, Vrbata, Belanger, Higgins.
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*sigh* Apparently I should have added, "No Gomez bitching." It's invaded every other thread though, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised.
Well, there are only two big questions this offseason: Gomez and the D.
How much can we speculate on Halpern, Auld and Picard?
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I like it BTH. However, Marinaro on the Team 990 maintains the club offered Markov one year at the same salary he made this year, and his agent countered with a 3 year deal. I like your 4.5 for cap reasons, may not happen. Yes, I'm aware he's a talk show host, and not a member of the teams hockey department!
Who knows, Markov's contract is the most unpredictable. If it's a 3 year deal, the cap hit will be lower than it would be for a one-year deal. So if Montreal offered 1 year, 5.75M, the counter offer was probably something like three-years, 5M per or something.
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There is no doubt that Max rounds out the top six when healthy, but beyond that, there is no depth guy when a top 6er gets hurt
Last year Pacioretty and Desharnais were in the AHL (or injured) and Eller was a fourth liner. Next year, there is enough depth on this team that Moen shouldn't have to play on the second line. Although you and saskhab are right, they could use a Chris Higgins type. The Jagr rumour is interesting but I'm not sure he can play bottom 6 hockey.
I feel like our team next season will be almost identical.
ALL OF:
Markov at - ~4.5M
Gorges at 3.5M
Gill at 2.15M
Picard at 660K
ONE OF:
Wisniewski at 4.25M
Hamrlik at 3M
Bieksa/X at 3M
Halpern is either retained at the same rate or replaced with a similar player.
Ditto Auld.
Gomez stays.
Kostitsyn re-signs for something similar, maybe a slight raise.
Pouliot probably gets traded for a Bournival.
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There are a couple but those players won't help in the grit department. Palushaj we're all familiar with now, he's lighting it up again but is undersized even when compared to the current roster. Engqvist brings the size element but isn't a particularly gritty player. I've been paying close attention to Andrew Conboy during the radio broadcasts as that's the type of the player the Habs could use (gritty with a little bit of talent) but he simply has not played well in the playoffs. A new round brings new hope though.
What about Dawes?
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Fair enough. As you point out, I did moderate my original assertion somewhat; and in the end I waver on this. The problem is, by not having guys like this, you're basically conceding 1-2 injuries to the opposition in any given playoff run as a result of deliberate injuries. That's why it may not be as simple as saying 'we're above all that.' But I hear where you're coming from and 'sort of' agree.
After the big deal Gauthier and Molson made out of the Pacioretty injury, they would be huge hypocrites to hire Cooke.
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Yep. This is the Cup window opening.
Andrei Kostitsyn also really impressed me in this series. Throughout his career he's always been the one guy on the Habs that seemed to be completely unafraid of Chara. Eller too seemed unintimidated by him.
So the 3 young rookies, the Big Four, plus Kostitsyn give the Habs a lot of scoring depth for next season. I'm not convinced changes need to be made.
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I'll think about this tomorrow.
My first thought is that I wouldn't be disappointed with an almost identical team. I feel like there was a significant amount of growth in some of the young players that the team's offense is much deeper now than it was in October. Then factor in a healthy D and the team is a contender.
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The Habs need to go for it next season.
How many opportunities do you get to have Subban/Price making $4M combined? They are like Kane/Toews last season. They need to be bold and roll the dice on Markov and get a Bieksa or reup Wiz. Then get another impact guy.
Deal with the issues the season after.
This team is on the cusp if they make the right moves.
Not only those two, but Eller, Desharnais and Pacioretty are really cheap support guys considering how much they've improved over the year. One of the reasons why I really liked the Habs acquiring Eller was because he would be a great bargain until his first contract.
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Every game was a coin flip. Nothing you can do but look toward next year. Price, Subban, Desharnais, Eller and Pacioretty's development give Montreal a lot to look forward to.
Well I hope this was the last game as a habs for Gomez, Moen, Mara, Hamrlik and Spacek.
Unfortunately, I think Pouliot will also be gone the same route as SK74 this summer.
I thought you wrote somewhere that you wanted Mara to be brought back. I don't think he will be, but I wouldn't mind. I liked him a lot more this time around than last year.
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Generally, I pay little attention to the nominees for the Masterton but seeing Ian Laperriere as a finalist really bugs me. The Masterton is awarded to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey. Correct me if I'm wrong, but in order to have those qualities, should a player not have to, you know, actually play during the season? Or failing that, at least make an attempt to play? Laperriere played as much in the NHL as me and Youppi did this season while Youppi practiced more; Laperriere missed the season due to a concussion...and Philly's cap troubles. I've no objection to Emery and Langkow being the other finalists (they're no brainers to me as Langkow did manage to come back after training all year) but among the other hundreds of players in the league, they couldn't find one who actually played and exemplified those qualities? Either no one has these qualities, or the voters didn't try very hard.
At least they didn't pick Georges Laraque.
I think Emery will win.
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Cammalleri - 25:13
Plekanec - 25:07
Gionta had over 24 minutes too.
The only Hab to get more icetime last night was Subban!
I don't think I've ever heard of three non-superstar forwards getting so much icetime, even more than all the d-men, in a non-overtime game.
Martin really shows a lot of confidence in these three and Gomez (20 mins) to play them so much.
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I would have to see that quote to believe it. Cole did Leaf games for 25 years, he was the Montreal Danny Gallivan.
I'm not sure where they're getting it from but I found a massive amount of people over at least 5 different message boards claiming that he grew up a Habs fan.
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"I just saw it and I know it looks really bad, but I can assure you that is not part of who I am," said Ference. "I apologize. That is not part of my repertoire. My glove got caught up there."
"I did what I had to do," Recchi said. "Zee has taken a lot of heat, and I felt it was very important to get some focus elsewhere. I'm sorry if it hurt some people, but at the same time I think everybody knows my reputation for 22 years. ... I felt the need to protect our captain. It's important. That will be the end of it and you won't hear anything said by me anymore."
Nobody said it was Hab bashing. It is a bias that manifests itself in nit picking and hypocrisy. Subban gets maligned, Marchand does not. It is absurd that Cherry can sit on his pulpit and kickstart the whole national Subban hate and then praise Marchand, a player who shows ZERO respect for veterans.
It goes on in here, it goes on everywhere. When somebody dislikes Martin they look for reasons to show you why he is a failure, not reality or anything that supports the opposite view point. Halak/Price was filled with this bias styled analysis.
If the CBC and TSN/Sportsnet were centered in Montreal we would receive an entirely different perspective on these matters.
When you have a telecast that has four Boston alumni (Stock, Cherry, Galley, Milbury) an accused Leaf homer (Bob Cole), a Sens announcer (Dean Brown) and an ex Leaf (Healey) and announcer that works for Leafs TV and was born in Toronto (Greg Millen) the results shouldn't come as a surprise.
Bob Cole is supposedly a Habs fan. I can't find it written anywhere official but I've seen several message board posters claim that they have heard him admit this or that they heard this somewhere. (By the way, the "catch phrases" section of Cole's Wikipedia page is pretty funny.)
The Official TV Thread
in The Lounge
Posted
Yeah, as a fan of the books, I'm liking the show a lot. (Missed tonight's episode though.)