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Certainly not, some suggest it would be best for his development to spend the season as the starter in the AHL. But can there not be something to be gained having him under the watchful eyes of Waite on a daily basis? If Condon can help us get 2 - 4 extra wins that Tokarski would not have, that could be an 8 point difference in the standings, which at the end of a season sometimes has huge implications.

either way, Gilbert or Barberio don't fit in my ideal line up right now, I'm not head over heels about Barberio here. I simply see him as a decent 7th man with some experience, we can sit here and talk about how soft he is and how he isn't that good, but bottom line is he isn't being begged to be that guy anyway, so why bother saying he cant ever be a top 4 if he won't ever be anyway? My point here is i'm not ready to give Gilbert Pateryn's spot simply because he has been around and used to be alright, Pateryn has played very solid since last years playoffs, and continued on his upswing this whole pre-season, sometimes having to clean up the mess Tinordi was doing beside him. So I say if you got a 2.75 mill guy who can't crack your line up, you do what is necessary to get rid of him, because no one should be ready to pay 2.75 for "depth" under any circumstance when you got 800k options available. I'm not sure what kind of Market a guy like Gilbert even has at this point, but a Trade would be great, a demotion would be less than ideal, but quickly becomes ideal if a team in real tough with their defence takes him off our hands through waivers.

can't wait to see that Pleky line at work for a whole season, should be a heck of a year for all 3 of those guys

i'd rather see them put Gilbert through waivers if they plan to keep Tinordi around. I'm more comfortable with keeping Beaulieu and Pateryn in the top 6 ahead of Gilbert at this point, and I would certainly not rather have 2.75 mill sitting in the press box over the peanuts Barberio or Tinordi make. i'm comfortable with Subban - Markov Petry - Beaulieu Pateryn - Emelin with Barberio and Tinordi waiting in the wings incase of injury or a let down from the youngsters.

Not sure I can stand watching Bourque anymore, can we just try Sekac and Bournival with Eller for a few games, Weise on the 4th line with Manny and Prust? Bourque has one decent moment in each game and spends 96% of his shifts contributing diddly squat.

seems to me like Plekanec is having a hay day NOT going against the other team's Top Line every shift. Thank you Manny, for taking on half of that responsibility. I think if they would have made that move, it was more to make room on the second line for Galchenyuk to play Center, not anything to do with Eller. But i'm certainly glad they didn't, don't care what people say, i'll take the poor man's Datsyuk on my team any day, and thats what Pleks basically represents.

a 3 year 2.75 per would be nice, or a 5 year at 3.25 per

guys there is a lot of 20/20 vision going on in here, at the time of the deal most people thought it was crazy to even consider signing subban for upwards of 5 million long term, he hadn't won a norris yet, was a healthy scratch a few times that season for his playing with fire type escapades. the bridge deal did exactly what it was supposed to do, give Subban 2 years to prove his true value, and he did just that with 2 great seasons in a row. Now as an organization we can't be scared to shell out superstar money for a superstar, because we now know for sure, that is what he is, but thats only thanks to the bridge contract. It is easy to say NOW that we could have got him at bargain price, but that was one hell of a gamble to make at the time. i'm expecting an 8 year deal in the ball park of 64 million, and based on what i've seen from him in the past 2 years, i'm perfectly fine with that.

EX - ACT - LY The guy plays with 3rd string wingers, 3rd string minutes, and when he doesn't get 50 points we act like he failed miserably. We have a big 25 year old center doing reasonably fine with where he is on our current depth chart and what he gets a chance to do in a game. is it always pretty? no, he has his off games like anyone, but given the circumstances i'm not going to sit here and say its ok to ship him off for a few bauer sticks if he doesn't get off his behind and score 25 goals either. As long as he is taking a back seat to DD and Pleks, so will his stats, end of story, and we should not act surprised when he is unable to produce what they do from his current spot on the team. I don't think for a second Eller is the second coming of Pavel Datsyuk, but I do believe the kid is capable of being a 50+ point producing second line Center if he has quality wingers with him like the Gally's for a full season. At this moment that can't happen because Pleks is in front of him, and will be for the next season at least, so i'm not going to expect 20 goals from the guy when he is once again 3rd in the depth chart, and 3rd in all things that follow, ice time, PP time, winger selection, etc. The road in 2 - 4 years to me should look like Galchenyuk centering the first line and being productive, and Eller centering the second line and Being productive. we would have a 1 - 2 punch with size for the first time in god knows what.

What?? are you really trying to say that Plekanec is playing on our 3rd line? and that Eller was centering our second line with Bourque and whoever for 80% of the season? Eller is without a doubt playing on our 3rd line at the moment. Plekanec has the most ice time of ANY forward on the team every game, He plays PP regularly, that is not a 3rd line center. Just sounds like your grasping for straws at reasons to throw Eller under the bus, even to suggest that you AND Therrien don't trust him, like you had some kind in depth conversation on the matter over a BBQ with the guy one day is pure speculation. I believe Therrien trusts Plekanec MORE, and rightfully so, but that doesn't mean he doesn't trust Eller either. Eller is not as good yet as Plekanec is on defensive missions, but still reliable and able to get the job done, and besides was Plekanec really any better at the role when he was 25? It doesn't matter if anyone thinks he is not worthy of being our 3rd line shut down guy, that is where he plays, He is playing 3rd line minutes, playing 3rd line PP, which is barely any, and playing with 3rd line wingers. To expect 2nd line production in that role, when no one else around the league really does as I pointed out in the previous post, is just unrealistic to a gross degree.

In what team does the 3rd line center hit 50 points in a season? Eller can be a Productive Center, the "Spurts" people talk about are when he plays stretches with guys like Galchenyuk and Gallagher, not a hibernating Bourque, and top 6 forward Prust. The moment management feel he can Defensively handle any mission, is the moment we need to move the pieces out of the way to get him on the second line playing a full season with the Gally's. His spurts always align with who he is playing with, everyone remembers the tear he was on in October, he was with the Gally's. They had to break the line up because DD and Max couldn't get it together and needed Gallagher to perform CPR on the line. In the end he is the one who suffered production wise. He was hot during the last month of the shortened season, once again he was with the Gally's at the time called the EGG line, and then he got hammered into hyper space. His production does not meet the expectation placed on him based on where he was drafted, and his potential ceiling, but the thing that should actually be considered more than anything is his current role vs production. Is a guy scoring in the 15 goal range from the 3rd line, with no PP time of consequence to speak of really pooping the bed in anyone's eyes? Would we even be having this conversation if he played on the EGG line for 70+ games and some decent PP time? When I consider some of the 3rd line centers we have had in the past, and their production in comparison, Eller is by no means way under achieving from that spot. In fact if you look at some other Centers around the league in similar positions you will find very little difference. Brandon Sutter in Pittsburgh, 13 goals 26 points from the 3rd line, 24 years old. Mike Richards in LA, 11 goals 41 points, a 29 year old vet. Steve Ott, 9 goals, 23 points in Buffalo and St. Louis. Its not hard to see that Lars really just takes extra flak because of the market he is in, where he was drafted, and not scoring 60 points a season yet is mind blowing to some. But no one really sits down, checks how he is doing in his role compared to others in a similar role around the league. We fail to take into consideration the fact he was never expected to be an offensive dynamo, but a big solid two way center who could eventually play a Bergeron type game. You take away the extra scoring potential situation from a two way forward, put him on the 3rd line, play him roughly 15 min a game, and the result will always fall somewhere between 25- 40 points, 10 - 15 goals. Anything in that realm should never be regarded as a failure, if he played in the top 6 regularly and couldn't get much more than 40 points, then we could have grounds for disappointment.

Budaj is almost certainly done, with signing MacDonald today, they are basically signing their AHL starter, and likely see Tokarski as an upgrade in the back up role, leaving Budaj on the outs.

thats because i'm pretty sure in order to hit the crazy bonuses, you have to be on a ELC as a 1st rounder, guys like Galchenyuk have a bigger cap hit during their ELC than say a guy like Gallagher because you get different privileges as a 1st round selection i'm fairly certain. Being signed as an undrafted free agent, i'm sure Sekac isn't in that special category

Malholtra, Prust, and Weise will be a hell of a 4th line for anyone to deal with, not to mention the instant upgrade in the Faceoff circle as well as the Leadership he brings, now even more important with the departure of Gionta and Georges.

the only nugget I see is people forgetting this is a Transitional attacking team based on speed and quick puck movement. Georges was a shot blocking extraordinaire, on a long term 4 million dollar deal, who made more passes to the advertisements on the boards than he did to his forward's tape. Georges was yet another left handed shot, and of the 3 in our top 4, was the most expendable for sure. Now the top 4 has 4 d-men playing on their proper sides, comfortable, and able to be at their best every night, unlike having to watch Emelin struggle on his offside for half the season. All of the 4 d-men are capable of excellent first passes to help the transition game, Gilbert also becomes an interesting second pair PP guy compared to seeing Georges out there last season.

Bob McKenzie is really high on this guy, and actually wouldn't be shocked to see him scoop up a top 6 role during this season. So I guess we have to be careful how disappointed we are at not signing a big name top 6 forward, when we may have scooped one up without even realizing it.

The move is not a downgrade, the 2nd can become a trade deadline chip, much like our 2nd was in acquiring Vanek. Gilbert is a RH puck moving d-man that can help this quick transition team, transition, Georges was not. Gilbert is also adding more size at 6'3, and stylistically makes a great pair with Emelin, allowing us to have 2 pairings that are capable of moving the puck well. Weaver was excellent as our bottom pairing guy, and if one or two of the kids push hard enough he could become our 6th to 7th much like Boullion was. All of this was done for a few hundred K more than having Georges alone, for the first time in I don't know how long, we actually have 3 Right handed d-men, a solid idea of what the Defense is going to look like this year and where it is heading with Tinordi, Beaulieu and Pateryn all scratching at the door for a chance at full time NHL duty.

JVR is another Max Pac, Toronto would be crazy to deal him for Georges, even crazier than dealing Kadri if you ask me lol.

my point exactly, regardless if he plays Lucic hockey or not, a bigger body is harder to out muscle than a smaller one, its just physics. It is also a step towards changing the mind set that this team is full of small players and is easily thrown around when it matters in the playoffs, a stigma strapped to our ankle like a tether for years.

I still believe Georges alone will not get us Kadri, Shanahan is running that ship now, and even he can't be that dumb

Bigger Body doesn't mean Tougher Player, contrary to popular belief. A small forward may not use his size to throw his weight around during a game, and a Big forward may also play a more finesse style and not throw his Body around. But when the playoffs start, and you got these big teams like Boston and 75% of the west teams throwing their weight around, who is most likely to maintain possession of the puck in the offensive zone, the small forward or the big one regardless of style? See how the bigger forward makes a difference, even if he doesn't play rough and tough hockey?

I get the Aura around the Kadri option, he grew up a hab fan, is in Carlyle's doghouse, but objectively speaking, no way is Georges worth Kadri, we would need to raise that with a solid pick or prospect. And the next point to be made about kadri is, he is coming off a bridge contract next summer, so whatever cap space you save this season, gets blown to bits with a 12 ga. next summer when he commands a 5 million+ price tag and produces like he deserves one, because he is capable.

I can't see Georges commanding Kadri in return, and I can't see Georges being considered for trade by MB if all we get is Kulemin in return. Bob McKenzie has already confirmed it's Georges for a forward, and based on my thought process, Lupul does seem like the trade that makes sense from a Hockey stand point. Who else can we realistically get for Georges, that wouldn't make us look stupid? We have to believe Toronto's offer is what really opened MB to the thought of trading Georges and not cap woe's which we currently are not plagued with. We actually have one of the better cap situations going into free agency even if Subban gets big money we have spare cash to make a few solid moves.

I'm thrilled about this deal, no idea how we pulled it off, or how we even got the extra pick, but words like fleeced, robbed, grand larceny come to mind. Now don't get me wrong, Parenteau still has some work to do to shake off this reputation of being a floater, and to deal with the francophone side of the pressure. But with that said, I truly believe this guy is a 45 - 55 point getter, and really was hit by an off year he never recovered from, BUT far from finished. Briere on the other hand was done, with his current role, he was nothing more than a 30 point guy at best who could fill in top 6 when there were injuries. Parenteau's most unproductive season ever as an established NHLer was still more productive. I hear people calling him a poor man's Vanek, but if you really sit back for a moment and think about it, were we really going to get a Vanek for Briere? Is he the answer for our top 6? Probably not, we are probably setting him up to replace Gionta on a line with Eller and Bourque, be a bigger body up front and get some PP time. The top 6 solution is still to come in my opinion, so our "Vanek replacement" has yet to be announced if you ask me. But based on what i'm hearing in the hockey world, and seeing from MB, my guess is he will be an established top 6 somewhere else, and will be a bigger body. this deal is just icing on the cake at the end of the day, more depth, bigger body in the line up, and a higher production ceiling.

So far, MB has not done anything to make me question his ability to move this team forward in a good way, I'm sure the idea of trading anyone outside Subban, Price, Galchenyuk and Gallagher is an ever open possibility in our front office. Did he wake up one morning and say "hmm i'm trading Georges", i'm sure he didn't. Fact is he probably was approached by an offer that was quite good by the Leafs, a few pieces were moved around, and we wound up with a possible Lupul for Georges scenario. Lupul may be injury prone, but were talking about a recent all star, and a player who shows up and plays with character every game, his only downfall is his injury prone status. However after acquiring Parenteau earlier, and possibly landing a guy like Lupul, were bigger and deeper at the forward position already. So we have some breathing room to withstand a few injuries up front, but when this group would be healthy, we are talking about a machine that will be running full tilt, 3 lines of top 6 type hockey. And replacing Georges Leadership and veteran status with a guy like Boyle for 2 seasons until one of Tinordi, Beaulieu, or Pateryn are ready to assume the top 4 positions really doesn't scream HORRIBLE at me. We are clogged up the most in Defense, the 3 kids can't stay bottled up in the stands or Hamilton forever, and all 3 are NHL material and ready to break in full time any day. It seems like the solution to getting bigger and deeper up front, is to trade from the back end, while signing bigger free agents and releasing smaller players. Parenteau is bigger than Briere, Lupul is a bigger forward coming in. Everything is leading to Bigger forwards coming in. If everything that has happened and rumored took place the team so far would look something like this Pacioretty - Desharnais - Lupul Gallagher - Plekanec - Galchenyuk Parenteau - Eller - Bourque Weise - Prust - Bournival Subban - Boyle Markov - Emelin Tinordi - Beaulieu We're talking now, about 18 players on the ice, and only 4 of them are under 6 foot. based on where this team has been for years with its size, i'd say this problem is being addressed and fixed at a pretty solid pace by Bergevin. The guy has a plan, and the plan involves things most of our fanbase has been screaming for, for years. So anyone crying over the politics of a Georges trade, really needs to realize that to acquire assets(in our case, bigger forwards), you need to trade assets(in our case, expendable top 4/5 d-men), It is as simple as that.