Komisarek the Cruncher

I like the Prospal-Arnott-Kovalev line, that would be nice. Prospal-Arnott-Kovalev Higgins-Koivu-Ryder Kostitsyn-Plekanec-Perezhogin Begin-Bonk-Murray Those would be very nice lines for next year. What an improvement on this year. In return for Aebi, I'd rather get something that will be usefull for a few years (Prospal) instead of a Lang who probably as 1 or 2 years left in him (and only one year left on his contract), and at a declining production on top of it. As for the left wing, I'm not sure what BG as in mind with Higgins, Perezhogin, Kostitsyn and Latendresse being able to play there. I don't know if he intends to get an experienced LW? Besides, he would be for 1 year as the 4 others mentionned will be ready for sure in 2 years.

According to Spector's, the race is now between Kirk Muller (who as confirmed having talked to Carbo), Mario Tremblay (played golf with Carbo last week) and Larry Robinson (was with Carbo last week-end). I still say go Kirk. Would be nice to see him behind the bench.

I like it, except I prefer having Arnott then Lang. Keep those same lines, but put Arnott instead of Lang. Lang at 3.8M$ vs. Arnott at ? I expect him to sign at 5M$ about. Before people say its too much, don't forget that there are not that many good UFA forwards available and that teams will be fighting to get them. Can we afford both, probably not unless we max out the cap, which BG won't do. Also, Aebi and Zednick is overpaying for 35 year old Lang. Just Aebi is overpaying. A #1 goalie for an old center who's production is declining is a bit expensive.

I also tought that Koivu was overpaid at first, but with the cap going up and all the huge $ contracts being signed lately, Koivu doesn't sound overpaid anymore. As much as I like Richards, Koivu at 4.75M$ is a better bang for your $ then Richrads at 7.8M$. In other words, I prefer Koivu and Huet (assuming he will make 3M$) then just Richards on my team. In fact, I expect Huet to be at 2M$, so thats Koivu, Huet and Begin vs. Richards, easy choice to make.

I'm 100% positive that they are not brothers.

Good job. I have a better idea about the type of players they are for some of them. I can't help my self but to think that the Habs will name somebody we were not expecting, and like Price last year, most of us will go :?- as our first reaction. I know I was not happy about Price the day of the selection, but after researching on him and taking the time to think about it, I was quite glad with the pick. And now, with Theo's departure and Huet about to sign for a few years (hopefully), that pick never looked better.

Honestly, the positionally sound goalie is better then the reflex goalie. The reflex goalie will pull that amazing game once in a while that the other won't, but overall over the lenght of a season, the positionally sound goalie will bring you much more then the other one.

Also, I don't know why Legwand's name keeps poping up in this site's threads, the guy is a group II restricted free agent, not available, unless we trade for him.

Not what we need and not what BG is looking for. If we trade a D to acquire a forward, then yes, Danny Makov would be a good acquisition, but unless we trade a D, there's no place for him on this team.

Its more then that. With all the player interviews, you can tell that they are confident with him in net. We are not in the dressing room, the guy must bring something to the table that others don't, he as that calming effect on people, doesn't get rattled for anything. Like I said, Koivu was quite direct when he said that signing Huet was the most important thing for this team, and that's at the end of the season when Aebi was with the team. I think it speaks loudly about the importance of Huet for this team. Besides, its better to sign Huet and have Aebi as an asset to trade away to upgrade another position then leeting Huet go and staying with Aebi.

Borderline insulting? All I said was that some were way out in the outfield which is a colourful way of saying they're were flat out wrong. Never meant to insult anyone. Why is saying that your wrong insulting? Its a fact. Anyways, sorry for those who took it the wrong way. I guess some are more easily offended then others, I don't mind admitting I'm wrong if proven wrong. I will try to be more careful next time. As for Huet and top five D, it goes hand in hand. Doesn't matter how good the goalie is, if he doesn't have a reliable D in front of him, he won't have great stats like Huet did, Khabibulin can confirm that one. Yes I meant that our D is understated and yes its reliable, but not great. A reliable D with a good goalie like Huet gives you a good team D. I don't want to ignore your posts, I did talk about D in my previous posts, but we BG mentionning that is priority was with a UFA forward and upgrading offense, not a D, I tought that switching the topic towards forwards was more appropriate. Somebody started a thread about Danny Markov when BG just mentionned that offense was is priority, I'm not a big fan of talking about something that will definetly not happen (when its been confirmed by BG), especially when there is plenty of forwards to talk about. I agree with the young guys generating more offense next year, but BG flat out said that he will be looking at signing a UFA forward to help the offense. It can definetly be a cap friendly guy that contributes by adding depth, thus improving the quality of our top 3 lines we send out every night. Replacing Ribs by almost anybody will be an upgrade for the 2nd line. Pleky would do a better job. I'm just puzzled as to whom BG is interested in with the limited quality UFA forwrds available. My gut says that he is very interested in Arnott. Let the rumors begin.

At the most, probably a little less less, Dawney is more like league minimum, $500,000 top and Murray was not eligible for arbitration, so probably more like $600,000.

I think Huet is one of those late bloomers, like Kiprussoff. Not saying that he's as good as him, but I think he will do a fine job. He brings a calm confidence to the team. If captain K said that it was BG's #1 priority to bring him back, he must be a good influence for the team. I agree that the Aebi might be back talk is like the Biron might be back talk, ya right. They only say that to not have their hands forced by the other teams. In the RDS article, they talk of a 2M$/year contract for Huet, at that price, I say sign him and Danis and get rid of Aebi and invest in a scoring forward.

For all the discussions that went on in this thread, like I was trying to clearly explain, as it was obvious that this was the #1 Habs need, BG went on record yesterday (go see RDS article) that he is looking for a forward on the UFA market, not a D. I still don't understand that some of us had to justify this obvious need to some of you. All of you dreaming of a big D are way out in the outfiled, ain't gonna happen, as offense is clearly our #1 problem, not D. We were top 5 in D with Huet in net. He also wants to resign Huet and Bouillon (that was also obvious) and he clearly said that its time for Bulis to go look somewhere else to make room for the young guys Apparently, he also was very evasive about Ribs future, which means be-bye Now lets all drop the available UFA D talk and lets concentrate on the available forwards. Selanne (will probably resign with Anaheim, but would be nice) Marc Savard (too small and too $ for what he brings) Arnott (how many times did BG mention he wanted a big rright handed center, Kovy and Arnott with Kost or Perez would be a nice line) Sakic (only in a million years) Shanahan (not exactly what we need, getting old but would be a nice addition if not too expensive) Samsonov (another small forward who often gets injured, no thanks) Peca (horrible offensive stas in the last three years, I'd rather pass, but still an upgrade on Ribs) Parrish (another Ryder type player?) Elias (would be nice, but doesn't fill our center need and 8M$ is a lot for 1 player) Langenbrunner (would be a nice addition) Straka (reconnecttion with Kovy could be nice, but always injured, small and disapears in the playoffs) Alyn McCauley (better then Ribs, but not all that great) Anson Carter (depends at what price, but would ba a nice addition) Those are the most interesting ones, there are others of lesser quality. Maybe BG will trade for a center and sign a depth addition as UFA? Interesting summer coming up.

I don't know if you're making up all these incidents, but it can't happen that often for the simple reason that its physicaly almost impossible to hit the glass and have the puck go over it? The only times that can happen is if the puck is turning 360 degrees on its self and it the top (and I mean top) part of the glass so that the turning momentum of the puck keeps it going forward and not bounce back toward the opposite direction and how often does that happen.... The rule is good, fair for both sides and contributes to the new offense in the league. Allowing to dump the puck over the glass like before would slow the pace down again and would reduce the number of goals in the league. Sorry I like the new offense and I don't want the old boring NHL back.

OK. Being boring/relaxed doesn't make a bad coach, the reason why I say he would not be Carbo's choice is because Carbo went on record that the #1 criteria is was looking for in his new coach would be someone highly motivated and energic that can crank up the troops, and Bossy doesn't fit that criteria.

Good analysis, but I don't agrre that Fedorov brings as much as Koivu. Captain K is superior, a future all famer doesn't mean that he's still good. Put Koivu on that line and he would do a much better job then Fedorov. I think that the Habs second line is superior. Kovalev by himself just makes it superior. Brule is a promising kid, but far from having proven anything. Besides, I know BG will get us a much beter center then Ribs. Same for the 3rd line. We probably have Kost or Perez droping on that line from not making the 2nd line. Not a whole lot better, but better. Markov is superior then Foote. Foote is no longuer the great player he was. He's going to turn 35 this summer and had a -16 rating this year vs. +17 for Markov. Bouillon is superior to Westcott. If it wasn't for is injury at the end of the season, Bouillon would have finished in the top 10, maybe even top 5, in the league for block shots and hits, Westcott doesn't bring that much to the table. We are not that much superior, but we are at every position.

1) We agree to disagree. 2) Being energic doesn't disapear on TV? You either are or not and he's not, case closed on that one. Don't need to know someone personally to know that. Its quite easy to say who's energic for anybody who appears on TV as often as he does. After seeing them a few times, you know if they're energic people or not, how complicated can that be to understand? 3) As for his comments, the guy would say things like "the Sharks of Anaheim" or the "the guy, what's his name, they have who's a good scorer" while talking about the best players of other teams, in fact top players in the league. He doesn't follow NHL anymore, he doesn't even no the teams and players properly. He may know the technical side of hockey, but his overall knowledge of today's hockey is very weak. That's what I meant and that would make him a lousy coach. How can you coach and not know the players in the league? 4) Could be usefull but won't happen.

I would like to add that line referees are also allowed to call high sticking penalties, so four sets of eyes missed those penalties.

I would say that Kovalev can match Zherdev, in fact, I prefer Kovalev. But your right, we have more depth at all positions, and they don't have a Markov to match us at D like we don't have a Nash.

I agree, I don't want to trade Souray, it was meant it the sens "if" we trade Souray. To get a good forward via trade, we might have to include him in a trade. If we have to for a very good center, then I would trade him. He's easier to replace then finding a good center.

They're not my favourites either, but assuming we trade Souray, it's not a guaranytee that we will ba able to sign any of the others, and we could end up having to settle for one of them, and they're not that bad. Better defensively then Souray at least.

I was talking about this year for Columbus (the team didn't make the playoffs, it wasn't the goalies fault who did a decent job), not about next year and their future. The team was not ready to burst out and make the playoffs this year, but I agree, they have a decent chance next year, but it won't be easy. I agree with most of your comments except Fedorov, yes he can contribute, but just a little, I would not mention him as a plus for the team, like Ribs can contribute a little, but I would not mention him a plus for the team. Personnaly, I think that Habs have a better team then Columbus, so yes I think that the Habs will easily make the playoffs next year.

1) Being 50 does matter because he hasn't been involved in hockey since he retired, which means a long long time. I retired player who is 40 and out of hockey means he hasn't been out for long. How can someone come in and coach after being out of hockey for so long. The game as changed completely. Yes being 50 is not old for a coach, it was meant in the sense that he has been out of hockey for too long to come in as a coach in the NHL just like that. 2) As for his energy, well guess what, BG is not energic, just like Bossy. He would not be what Carbonneau would be looking for, and this is quite obvious. A person his or not energic, it shows everytime, wheter you are on TV or not, why do I even have to explain this, its basic. Thanks for proving my point with your own counter argument. 3) As for Bossy being a smart hockey man, sorry, you obviously never watch him and his dum comments on 110%, because you would not be saying this. The guy is a joke. Good players are most of the time very good because its natural to them, not because they are smart hocker man. Most coaches were average players in their days (if they even played in the NHL), not super-stars. They are guys who studied the game, it was not natural to them like the super-stars. How many great players tried as coach and were horrible, the vast majority that tried. 4) Bossy would be a terrible addition to the coaching team.

My pleasure guys I guess that my Chartered Accountant background and dealings with these types of contracts and escrow agreements makes easy for me to understand it. If any of you have a question, don't hesitate to ask, this is right in my field of expertise. Here's more info: The rumors of the players wanting a lower cap this year (more around 43M then 46M) is to lower the escrow because a lower cap would almost guarantee the players of being able to cash their full salaries next year, therefore the league would lower the escrow % (it was 15% this year) retained on their paycheck, therefore the players would be getting more cash everytime they get paid, instead of having to wait until the end of the summer to collect it. Expect this to be a major factor (interest earned on that extra cash at their salaries can be quite a big amount) in determining the cap this year. I expect the cap to be between 42 and 44 top, not the potential rumors of 46.