dlbalr

When you weren't on here when the game started, I figured you had decided to go. At least you don't have to see Koharski in person, that's a plus.

The problem is, that's basically what you've got as the 2nd line moving forward with Gomez gone in your scenario. That's certainly good 3rd line scoring but obviously would be problematic as a 2nd line. And because you've got 20+ million in the defence, there's no room to bring in another top-6 forward, short of the possible Gomez replacement you cite. And just to try and get this back on topic, on the subject of possible hometown discounts that we hope Markov will give the Habs, I suspect that won't be the case with Yemelin.

Last minute of play proves to be good for Hamilton for once as Dumont scores to make it 3-1! White gets a 10 minute misconduct on the play (the Hamilton penalty barrage continues, you'd think if anything, Koharski would want to get paid for a Game 5) for reasons unknown, no one saw what happened.

Wow, I walk away for 10 seconds and Hamilton scores (Palushaj)? Nice.

I know I'm not ready to make the 2nd assumption yet. I like Eller but at this time, can you say he'll be a good top-2 centre or a good top-9 one? There's a big difference in the distinctions. Can Pacioretty return to form or will he be like Zednik and tail off after a severe injury? Both are legit possibilities. As for Desharnais, is he the player he was in the first 20 games or the one who nearly went a month without a point? All could pan out, none could pan out, or some could pan out. Obviously a guess has to be made but it's far from a certainty either way. As for dumping Gomez, there's no guarantee that makes you better either if you wind up overpaying to bring another free agent in who produces similar results.

I disagree. Aside from a few stars, the best of the rest from Quebec wouldn't be all that much different from a bottom feeding NHL team. Players should play their hearts out for whatever team they're playing for; if they have to be on their hometown team to try, I know as a fan I wouldn't want them on my team, be it Montreal, Toronto, or Tuscaloosa. There's just a lack of Quebec-based talent right now, it's hard to fault the organization for not having too many locals on the Habs as a result as their priority should be to get the best players possible. And it's not as if there aren't many in the organization, the Habs have a lot of Quebecers in the system relative to most of the other teams. But as is the case with the NHL ratio, a lot of them just aren't any good. A team full of Darche's may be nice to have in terms of identifying with some hometown heroes but they're not going to win squat aside from a high draft pick.

Jamie Koharski is doing his best to make sure this ends in 4 with 2 early penalties to Hamilton. The good news is that Russell scored on the first Bulldog penalty. The bad news is the Aeros did soon after. 1 lineup change for Hamilton, Nash is a healthy scratch, Avtsin replaces him while Stejskal moves back to defence.

There are two key assumptions to make from that: 1) They will find a way to move Gomez - is it possible with the backloaded deal? Sure, but it's not as if he's the only player in the league with a frontloaded deal, there will be competition from other teams to unload their big tickets as well. It's also hard to fathom ownership greenlighting an AHL burial for 2012-13 already. 2) The players you have listed have to become the secondary core this team has lacked in terms of scoring. It stands to reason that Eller, Desharnais, and Pacioretty will have cap hits above $1.25 million (average salary with 10 million and 8 roster spots) while Leblanc will come in mere thousands under that as well. It doesn't leave any room at all for external help, at least for external players who want a 7-figure salary. I think both assumptions, though clearly ideal, are hard to make within the next 6 weeks. That's why I think one of the two will go should both insist on multi-year deals.

Regardless, there's him to note as well as other pending RFA's that will get raises between now and then. Here's a quickie version of the numbers (note rough approximations) assuming both Markov/Wisniewski sign multi year deals, hypothesizing a 62 M cap in 2 years time (I think the owners will be able to curtail the annual increases in the pending CBA): Goalies: 6 mil (Let's say Price 5, backup 1) Defence: ~22 mil (Markov, Wisniewski combined for 10.5, Subban at 3.5, Gorges at 2.75, 3 others at 5 combined which likely would include an entry level player) This leaves give or take $34 million for the forwards, less if you want to have a cushion so let's say 33. Already, 23.4 of that is committed to Gomez, Gionta, Cammalleri, and Plekanec. This leaves about 10 million for 9 other forwards. If you give Kostitsyn a multi year pact for around 4 (what it'd take to get him to sign one), you're now down to 6 million for 8 forwards. That's not going to work well unless you get 3 or 4 free agents to pull a Paul Kariya with Colorado. That's why I say signing both Wisniewski and Markov beyond next season isn't palatable unless you manage to find a taker for one of the four forwards under contract (and even then that doesn't help much as you'd need a big-ish ticket player to replace him).

As the Bulldogs need to keep things simple, I'll do the same for this GDT. It's us vs them, them leads the series 3-0.

No scoring in the 3rd which means Hamilton loses 3-2 for the 2nd straight game and now trail the series 3-0. Game 4 goes tomorrow, hopefully attendance will actually crack the 3,000 barrier. http://theahl.com/stats/game-summary.php?game_id=1008626

An early Hamilton penalty wiped that out in a hurry, now an Aero PP.

3-2 after 2, however, the Bulldogs will have 1:10 left on a powerplay to start the 3rd.

I think if it's in the NHL, it won't start with more than a 2. As I said, his asking price can't go up from the 4 he was talking with Edmonton a couple years back. He has limited his teams to basically 8 (NYR, PIT, and all of Canada - he may have said the Habs but it was in the context of speaking about Canada) which will limit his bargaining power. If he wants to get the most money possible, he knows it'll be in the KHL.

Jagr has to know he'd have to take less in the NHL than the KHL. The rumoured stuff with Edmonton had him taking 4 mil a couple years ago (he makes ~5 million if I remember correctly in Russia). 2 years later, that amount's bound to come down.

DiSalvatore scores his 2nd of the game to make it 3-2 Houston.

Just so you know, we are reporting the same info too, before HIO did no less.

1 lineup change for Houston (not that anyone cares but it may come in handy for the next GDT) as J-M Daoust (who Derek insists is a former Bulldog despite all statistical evidence to the contrary, he played for Cincy, not Hamilton) is in for McMillan.

Dawes scores on the PP to cut the deficit to 1. This snaps an 0/21 streak on the PP. Engqvist scores to tie it at 2! Wow!

Bulldogs fail to score on their PP and the Aeros score right after. 2-0 with 4:20 left in the 1st.

Here we go again, 1-0 Houston.

2 lineup changes for the Bulldogs as Bonneau and Schultz sit. In their place go Paul Zanette and Joe Stejskal as Hamilton dresses 7 defencemen.

A little bit of background on how the name got to where it is today and why: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/habs-sign-alexei-yemelin-to-one-year-contract/article2025540/

Since he's now officially signed, I can post here that the Emelin injury is relatively minor. He has an ankle sprain and is out 2-3 weeks.

So is it Alexei Yemelin or Alexei Emelin? Evidently neither, based on the Habs' press release. Now, it's Alexsey Emelin.