dlbalr

Is that one of the lamest commercials out there or what? It always sends Don Cherry into a tirade - Zigomanis would be the Leafs' saviour this year...despite the fact no one else thought he's an NHL'er either.

He clearly hasn't been 100% in this tournament but they added him anyway. He was listed with the 4th line last night where I suspect he saw very limited time.

I thought it was a pretty good game, I suspect some of the hype state-side may have had to do with the game being the inaugural broadcast of the new Versus channel, NBC Sports Network. There was a small trade today, Anaheim sending Nicolas Deschamps to the Leafs for Luca Caputi. I remember in Deschamps' draft year there were quite a few fans upset that the Habs didn't find a way to get him in the 2nd round. I also remember the Habs saying they'd have taken him had they kept their 1st that year...boy did Montreal dodge a bullet there, given that he was dealt for a guy available on waivers a couple months ago.

That's the approach I'd like to see them take as well. Move out the rental guys and help replenish the prospect base and look to move one or two contracts beyond this year to create some flexibility moving forward to either extend existing deals (such as Price) or to allow them to bid on a better FA or two. At this point in time, I expect the Habs to have the mindset of a buyer for the next few weeks and if things don't turn around, then move the guys like Gill. Back on topic, I remember reading that talks started a couple weeks back or so, at least on a formal basis. In that span, Gorges has had some rough games; I'm hoping that part of the struggles could have been due to the negotiations, hopefully he'll rebound now.

The deal has a salary and cap hit of $3.9 mil each year, however, there was a small signing bonus (750k) included in his 12-13 salary.

I think Litsch is a huge question mark as in whether he'll make the team or not. With Frasor back in the fold, Litsch won't be the 7th inning guy and although he's a converted starter, he won't be the long guy either with Villaneuva. If they want to preserve his value, it may be worth starting him in AAA rather than making him a mop up guy or a one batter RH specialist. It wouldn't surprise me to see him dealt too, they have a few extra depth RH bullpen arms.

From what I read about today's Gauthier presser, Gionta will be the next to come back, everyone is due to return before Markov as well (after the ASB).

Part of me thinks that the bullpen is better but then I remember we were saying that last season. Consider the following as the 7-8-9 inning guys: This year: Santos (CL), Oliver (LH), Janssen, Frasor Last year: Francisco (CL), Rzepcynski (LH), Rauch, Dotel Frankly, last year's back end of the bullpen looks better although it's much better than what it looked like at the end of last season.

Actually, Burke took Steckel off NJ's hands as a cap dump and most certainly did not sign him to an extension. He's a UFA after next year.

You may be the only one who thinks he can be had. For how high they rate him, I think any package would have to involve Subban, they're not going to settle for scuffling veterans and depth guys as you hope they will.

Never hurts to be sure, especially since most refer to me by my first name on here.

Pre cap era, those are different times. Philly, as of today, can acquire a player making max $2.5 million, with all LTIR options exhausted. Schenn's max cap hit is down to just over 2, meaning if they dealt him, they still couldn't take on Cammalleri let alone the others. Yes, teams will make dumb moves for a Cup run, making one where they'd have to waive and bury multiple useful players isn't going to be one of them. They'll spend what they have left on a D (frankly Gill could very well be an option on his own) but not with Cammalleri and surely not for Schenn.

I didn't say that a caretaker GM can't make moves, just that one won't make deals that seriously affect the franchise long-term like a Gorges-type deal does. A caretaker's job is to clear salary and provide payroll flexibility while adding some youngsters to the organization (ye olde firesale). Signing 6 and 7 year extensions goes completely against that. I'm taking a look at what Fletcher did in his term as caretaker. He gave a 2 year extension to Alex Steen, an up and coming youngster at the time. He also dealt 3 guys for picks. In free agency time, he got the go ahead from ownership to sign some long-term deals...which were flops (Finger and Hagman), dealt away McCabe in a cap dump, and traded for 2 young NHL'ers (Grabovski and Stempniak). Nothing overly risky (beyond the UFA deals), basically just cap dumps and young asset acquisition. No core shaking deals or long-term extensions as that should be left up to the incoming permanent guy. Now, today's news suggests to me Gauthier isn't as much a lame duck as I originally thought, I highly doubt Molson would've agreed to a 6 year deal unless he still trusts Gauthier's judgment. Perhaps that changes things for Kostitsyn. As for Philly taking Cammalleri, Gill, and Weber for a deal surrounding Schenn? Philly would never, and I mean never, ever consider that deal. Mike Richards is a franchise-type forward. They believe Schenn can be that as well. Now they're going to move him for a guy who, according to your post a couple above this, is more or less a waste of time for most of his shifts, on a long-term deal they simply cannot afford? As I noted in the Gorges thread as well, we don't know that the deal isn't front loaded to some degree. Let's wait for the actual numbers before evaluating that element. As for Detroit, I don't recall the Draper's and Maltby's of the world signing uber-long extensions. Heck, they're not doing that now with their important depth guys like Darren Helm, instead opting to go short term. The more the Habs go long-term with their core guys (like Detroit has), the more they have to go short term with the depth ones to balance the cap (also like Detroit has). No team can go all long-term and make it work, not with regular fluctuations to the cap. If it were a fixed cap, I'd say it's more of a feasible option but not now.

I may be wrong but I don't recall delving into the captaincy discussion in recent memory.

My quick write-up on the signing (I'm working on my usual Sunday column as well while HWL lines are due soon too): http://www.habsworld.net/article.php?id=2684

It appears my theory was half right. Gorges signed before Kostitsyn but I honestly didn't think either would be getting new deals. Interesting...

Without seeing the exact specifics, who's to say they didn't and that was the end result? Looking at the $3.9, I wouldn't think so but you never know.

Circumstances now are different then they were at the time of the Kaberle acquisition. Winning 1 of 6 has a way of changing that. If Kaberle wasn't around at this time with the present record, I don't think Gauthier would be going out and acquiring him now. As for my argument making zero sense, what is illogical about a soon-to-be-out GM getting orders to not bring in more long-term deals? What's done is done, the premise is to not add more long deals beyond the current team (and if they can move one or two of those out as you encourage, all the better depending on who they are of course). If the core is so screwed up, we shouldn't be in a hurry to encourage a soon-to-be-fired GM (one who you've criticized massively at that, would you trust him to sign a deal to your liking?) to lock up a 20-to-25-goal guy to a 6 or 7 year deal as you're advocating. It's a similar argument for Gorges although his other intangibles would likely lead the GM to sign him before Kostitsyn, if either get extended. Truth be told, I'm not the biggest Kostitsyn fan out there, his cold spells drive me nuts although there's no denying he is a talented player. If he's a surefire 30-goal guy that you attest to, then I'd be more of a fan but he hasn't hit that plateau yet and won't come close this year either. I think he's without a doubt in another organization next season unless the Habs severely overpay him. He's had 5 different coaches since he joined the Habs with similar results each time. If he thinks an organizational change can bring out the best in him, that consistency that has dogged him so far, I'd have to think he'll want to lean that route. Nothing necessarily against the city, just that he'll see a fresh start as a chance to improve. (Of course it could also backfire...) But back to the premise, rebuilding teams with a soon-to-be-departed GM don't sign guys long-term before they get the boot. If you believe the reports that Molson has already asked Gainey to step back in (CBC's Elliotte Friedman a couple weeks ago), that means he's lost the confidence of Gauthier or at the very least will be signing off on anything. All the more reason (at least in my opinion) to suspect there will be no extension talks unless they fire Gauthier and hire the permanent replacement prior to the deadline. If that happens, all bets are off. I agree that the Habs should be more creative in extending their RFA's (though I don't want to sign every potential core piece for 6, 7 years as you've suggested in the past with the likes of White or Eller). I just think we'll see that route taken with Price and maybe Subban over the likes of Kostitsyn.

The radio source is 0/1 so far as the original report was by month's end. I too think he'll be moved but closer to the deadline. It's not as simple as offering an Kostitsyn an extension as most are advocating, especially if the decision is made to change GM's for next year. Gauthier/Gainey/Carriere (whichever is acting GM in the coming weeks) may want to keep him but whoever the new guy next year is (if there is one) may not want him around. As a result, the babysitting GM will likely try to avoid 'hamstringing' the club with any more contracts beyond this year unless they're dealing out a longer-term pact in return (like a Cammalleri for a player with one less season on his deal). The GM may kick the tires on what it would take to keep him as knowledge for bidding on him as a UFA (if he's dealt) but I'd be shocked to see him extended. Heck, on the scale of what could happen with him, I'd put extending him at the very bottom. - Trade him - Keep him past the deadline and have the new GM try to extend - Extend him before the deadline

Nokelainen has passed Weber for the least utilized Hab tonight. Weber has 2:43 of ice time, Nokelainen 2:01...and that was with a PK shift to end the period.

For anyone wondering, the game misconduct to Krys Barch during the fracas at the end of the 1st was for a racial slur against Subban. This could be a story to follow over the next few days.

4 each for Subban and Gudbranson at the end of the 1st. 1:59 left on the PP for the Habs to start the 2nd.

Interesting call to see Weber in for Leblanc. Far be it from me to start speculating something but for as last second as that call was (as I had posted before, he was pronounced out at quarter to 7), there had to be a reason. Wonder if Leblanc was hurt or if it really is showcase time for Weber who played 2 shifts early and has sat ever since. Stats of the period: - Blunden has 5:03 TOI so far, on pace for 15:09. His career high in ice time is 15:17. - There have been 23 faceoffs in the game. Plekanec (6-7) took 13 of them. Plekanec also leads Montreal in hits too (tied with Emelin).

And now the word comes down, don't expect Weber to play.

Weber is in the warmup and might go tonight, no word on who could be sitting. Campoli isn't skating though.