Being BG, what would you do ?

[MAK]

it will be a summer of signing next summer for Bob Gainey. with the way his team as played this year, many tough decisions will have to be taken. he'll have to evaluate who to keep, who to let go. who to sign long term and who to sign short term. will he buy out samsonov or keep him ??

I think that this coming season's lineup could look up something like that.

Higgins-koivu-Ryder

kostitsyn-???-Kovalev

Perezhogin-plekanec-???

latendresse-lapierre-Bégin

extra:murray

Dandenault-bouillon

komisarek-???

streit-???

extra gorges

Huet and halak

I think BG will buyout samsonov. if so 2/3 of his salary will go against the cap.

that leaves us to about 23.112 M of salary. so we have about 21M to play with:

here's the list of RFAs with current salaries:

Higgins:673 K should get around 1-1.5M long term

Ryder: 2.2M will get 2.5M one year deal

plekanec:450K could get around 900K two year contract

perezhogin: 627K: lucky if he gets a raise..let's say he'll stay at 627K

Komisarek: 946.9K will be signed long term at 1.5M

Gorges: 450K will get a one year, 550K contract

speculating that this is what they'll get, it will bring us at 28.475M of salary thus giving us around 16M cap space.

Possible UFA's

souray-markov-downey-bonk-johnson-niinima-aebischer.

the toughest choice will be between souray and markov. personally, I'd go for the youngest(4years 18M would be good) bringing the cap space to 33M

I would love a guy like johnson to stay in mtl. he brings smarts, size and righthandness but I wouldn't overpay for him

[u]Needs for montreal: [/u]

-Defense QB( between markov or souray)

-1st or 2nd line center

-3rd line winger(would jonhson accept a pay cup for a 2-3 year contract??)

-depth Dman with size and a mean streak

-goon for those tough games

That leaves us about 12M to sign who ever's free: guys like drury. briere, gomez, datsyuk... for any of those we'll have to give top $$(maybe not drury).

I also would love an older guy with stanley cups rings and good work ethic to teach those young studs how to act like a pro..a guy like Gélinas to name.

so, what do you think ?? can this be done?? would you go a different way ??

go ahead and have fun, I'm waiting for your replies.

Edited March 14, 2007 by marky_and_komi

[Bacchus]

Forget about the free agent market for centers. I predict Grabovski will be up next year.

Also, I think we will waive Samsonov, and if he clears, they should send him to the minors. Buying him out will hit our cap ... and riding the bus for a while might give him a bit of humility.

If we do hit the free agent market, it should be for a smart puck-handling D. We don't have anything in our system that is ready to come up that fits that bill, and we do need someone. Thing is that it might be too costly ... and no one wants to come to Quebec's crazy media, taxes, weather, and flu galore.

Also, I hope we keep Bonk, unless Chipchura is ready to make the move. But I think he could do with another year in Hamilton.

But truth be told, the next month will determine what will happen to the team this summer.

[MAK]

I don't think that we can start with grabovsky and chipchura at the same time,

though they could be the first to be recalled.

this team will be too young. they'll need a big brother to guide them and I don't think that koivu or kovalev can do that, it's not their style.

[Bacchus]

Big brothers = Souray, Begin, Koivu.

Future will be telling ...

[Chips]

I agree with many of the comments on this topic so far...

The youth moment is here now and this is a fact for us this season because of cap space and lets face it the trade deadline is done. So bring up the kids and get that chemistry working. BG has been very consistent that we hold onto our youth; the kids are starting to prove him right.

Next season. imo is a wait and see game. Hamilton is about to start up their second season and could make a great run. it will give many of the kids the test they have been waiting for, true colours of our youth movement is at hand.

A New Beginning is at hand. Keep the faith, do not change buses, this wagon is good to go.

GO HABS GO!

Edited March 14, 2007 by Chips

[Chris]

Always a good subject with plenty of thoughts. I eject the core and vets.

Perez Koivu Lats

Higgins Signed center Kosty

Primeau Chipchura Johnson

Begin Lapierre Boogard / Murray

Markov Hannon (signed UFA)

Komi Timonin (signed UFA)

Gorges Dandy / Streit

Huet Halak

Kovalev retires Vertigo

Samsonov baught out traded

Other UFA no contracts

Bigger, stronger, tougher, faster and D that can play D and move the puck. I know i'm dreaming but the post was if i was BG.

[Nesquik]

This is my next years dream...

Higgins-Briere-?????

kostitsyn-Esposito-Plekanecs

Latendresse-Chipchura-Ryder

????-lapierre-Bégin

But it won't happen:( I would keep Koivu as a second liner or something but I just think it'll be too much for a salary cap and rather have Briere then Koivu...

Edited March 14, 2007 by Nesquik

[Wamsley01]

I would let Souray/Bonk/Johnson walk. And take the cap room and recreate the identity of the team.

With all the depth in the minors you have to see if the kids can replace Bonk/Johnson.

I would let Souray go, My opinion, I don't want to start another Souray's value thread.

This team is becoming to similar to the Leafs rebuilding structure that I cannot stand. It has been a solid 6 years of mining our prospects and it is time to see if we have any gold. After last night it looks like we may.

Build the core around the Kids and try to sign a big Free Agent and like mentioned above add a gritty vet like Gelinas and a solid puck moving d-man.

And hope for Price to push Huet. If he is what we hope he is, I think he will be ready sooner rather than later.

[MAK]

Big brothers = Souray, Begin, Koivu.

no major playoffs experience at all from these guys. besides, the way that team reacted to adversity, they need help big time.

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

Absolutely sign Markov. (4.5 mil?)

Try to sign Souray. But I sure wouldn't cross the $6 million threshold for him. If not, reinvest that dough in a Sammy Salo-type D-man if you can.

AND I would do anything in my power to sign a bona fide C, like Briere. If that included freeing up cap space by demoting Samsonov, so be it.

A UFA C would be unfortuante for Plekanec, who is emerging as a legitimate #2 C. But Koivu-Plekanec is just too weak up the middle. I put Pleks nominally on the third line, but really, try to give him comparable ice to Koivu; as coach, I would adopt the classic 'we have four good lines here, no hierarchy' argument to encourage Pleks to continue developing his offensive game and also prepare Koivu for the possibility of being eased out to pasture if Briere/Pleks turns out to be our most effective offensive rotation.

Everyone else is expendable. Bonk, Johnson, even Aeby, these are good players...I LOVE Bonk's game...but that's the whole point of having young talent, so that they can give you great value, freeing you up to sign a handful of big contracts.

Higgins-[briere]-Ryder

kostitsyn-Koivu-Kovalev (?)

Perezhogin-plekanec-any young guy that fits, or Streit

latendresse-lapierre-Bégin

extra:murray

Markov-Souray

Dandenault-bouillon

komisarek-Gorges

Huet and halak (or Danis)

Edited March 14, 2007 by The Chicoutimi Cucumber

[alexstream]

I'd spend 10M on Souray (5.5) and Markov (4.5)

Souray is what I want the team to be. He's my team leader, he's maybe even my next captain if Koivu retires early. Great attitude, healthy grit, big mouth, says the right thing, can make Kovalev and the gang stfu, can call out players... etc. He's the ultimate leader IMO...

Also with a new contract, I do think that he'd produce a bit less... but would compensate by playing a sounder defensive game.

I'd do whatever it takes to withdraw Sammy's salary from the cap. I would re-sign Johnson and Bonk ONLY if they take paycuts... 3M total for both of them. the $ saved can be used for the RFAs...

Rivet, Sammy and Niinimaa's salaries being cut, we are able to sign Brière, Datsyuk or whoever to a juicy 6.5M contract. (and 2M over)

That 2M + an increased cap (3M?) gives the necessary $$ for the raises to Markov and Souray.

[Wamsley01]

I would love to resign Souray....at $4 Million.

If you resign players based on affection and importance to a city you end up paying $4.75 Mil/year to a player who has averaged a PPG one time in his career......10 years ago!!

And from the comments on the board that we need a new Center and Pleks is number 2, we will be paying almost $5 Million a year for our captain and 3rd LINE CENTER! That is suicide in the new NHL.

Souray is a -31 in the last 2 seasons combined. $5.5 Million a year?

Out of our top salaried players who is earning what they make?

Huet? Bonk?

And people wonder why the Habs are in the position they are. You have to ride your underpaid talents and we did for awhile this year with Markov and Souray but that situation is over now.

It is time for the kids to step up. The future of this franchise rides on them, not Koivu/Kovy/Souray.

Gainey has to assess the worth of these Free Agents and let them walk if they insist on more.

Anybody who is an NBA fan will tell you what it is like being capped out because you overpaid your core to long term deals. DON'T DO IT BOB..PLEASE

[Mr. Nasty]

I for one hope the Habs resign both Bonk and Johnson. I would expect however for them to take reduced salaries as they are great shut-down players. (Both guys were considered Selke candidates at the halfway point in the season) I am all for giving rookies a chnace but lets not go overboard. A lot can be said for experience. Imagine a couple injuries and you are suddenly replacing Chipchura and Grabovski with locke and Ferland

Money will be saved since Rivet is gone. Niinimaa gives the a couple more million. Replacing Abby with Halak save another million. If Kovalev does have to retire then the Habs can get his salary back ala Lamoriello style. That is a lot of money to resign Souray and markov and still dip into the free agent market.

We can also be sure Downey is a goner....and the cap is going up again!

Just listen to Ovechkin:

WASHINGTON POST: Tarek El-Bashir reports Capitals superstar Alexander Ovechkin points to his club's recent 8-game losing skid as further proof his team needs more depth next season to be competitive. "We need players. We need help. We are young, that's why we need guys who have experience, guys who [have played in the] playoffs. Sometimes experience wins the game", said Ovechkin. El-Bashir said Ovechkin's comments reflect a growing opinion amongst the club's core players. Ovechkin acknowledged that owner Ted Leonsis has promised management will increase payroll for next season to bring in some veteran talent.

[Fanpuck33]

If Kovalev does have to retire then the Habs can get his salary back ala Lamoriello style.

1. If he is forced to retire because of a medical condition, then his salary would not count against the cap.

2. Only players who sign a contract at 35 yeards old or older count against the cap if they retire during their contract. (See Malakov and Snow)

[Mr. Nasty]

1. If he is forced to retire because of a medical condition, then his salary would not count against the cap.

2. Only players who sign a contract at 35 yeards old or older count against the cap if they retire during their contract. (See Malakov and Snow)

That's what I meant. and Mogilny?

Even if he signed the contract after 35 then Kovalev could be exempt from the cap if it is proven that he is cannot play because of his health. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/sto.../BNStory/Sports

[Wamsley01]

I for one hope the Habs resign both Bonk and Johnson. I would expect however for them to take reduced salaries as they are great shut-down players. (Both guys were considered Selke candidates at the halfway point in the season) I am all for giving rookies a chnace but lets not go overboard. A lot can be said for experience. Imagine a couple injuries and you are suddenly replacing Chipchura and Grabovski with locke and Ferland

Money will be saved since Rivet is gone. Niinimaa gives the a couple more million. Replacing Abby with Halak save another million. If Kovalev does have to retire then the Habs can get his salary back ala Lamoriello style. That is a lot of money to resign Souray and markov and still dip into the free agent market.

We can also be sure Downey is a goner....and the cap is going up again!

Just listen to Ovechkin:

WASHINGTON POST: Tarek El-Bashir reports Capitals superstar Alexander Ovechkin points to his club's recent 8-game losing skid as further proof his team needs more depth next season to be competitive. "We need players. We need help. We are young, that's why we need guys who have experience, guys who [have played in the] playoffs. Sometimes experience wins the game", said Ovechkin. El-Bashir said Ovechkin's comments reflect a growing opinion amongst the club's core players. Ovechkin acknowledged that owner Ted Leonsis has promised management will increase payroll for next season to bring in some veteran talent.

Rivet's saved money will go to Markov. Niinimaa's will probably be used up by the small raises due to our Young RFA's. The only way there will be cap space is if Souray is allowed to walk. Plus Bonk and Johnson will probably not take paycuts to stay with the Habs. Don't count on Kovalev retiring as part of an offseason plan.

[Mr. Nasty]

Rivet's saved money will go to Markov. Niinimaa's will probably be used up by the small raises due to our Young RFA's. The only way there will be cap space is if Souray is allowed to walk. Plus Bonk and Johnson will probably not take paycuts to stay with the Habs. Don't count on Kovalev retiring as part of an offseason plan.

I guess we will have to wait and see.

[Athlétique.Canadien]

I'd spend 10M on Souray (5.5) and Markov (4.5)

Agreed. Gainey will be shrewd in resigning UFA's and RFA's. I have faith in that. Gainey had every player signed a full month before the Leafs and many other teams last summer

They'll have to cough up this dough. Some fans don't want to but 2 division rivals in Boston and T.O. have big D contracts. Souray is a leader in spite of his gaffes.

It'll be interesting to see what Gainey does. :hlogo:

[JoeLassister]

WTF Esposito ??? I wish the habs won't draft him. Too much of this type of player.

[MAK]

WTF Esposito ??? I wish the habs won't draft him. Too much of this type of player.

a center playing with the remparts!! I sense a chouinard, here !! quik, lets run away :ninja:

[Athlétique.Canadien]

a center playing with the remparts!! I sense a chouinard, here !! quik, lets run away :ninja:

good one

[cfposi]

Lats - <insert> - Ryder

Higgs - Koivu - AK46

Johnson - Pleks - Perez

Begin - Lapierre - Milroy

Extra: Murray

Call-up: Grabs

Markov - Streit

Komi - Bouillon

Gorges - <insert>

Huet - Halak/Price

Basically, say goodbye to Souray, Bonk, Abby, Ninni. Trade Kovy, send Sammy to AHL (where he will likely fly back to Russia). Take that money and sign a FIRST line center (I like Drury, but hes not the only one) and a medium/young defenceman. Everything else stays the same, we have some chemistry we can build on, and we leave some cpa space for deadline moves should we need extra punch for the playoffs. JMO

[Bullsmith]

The biggest single need the Habs have is size. We are lacking it everywhere. Guys like Gorges and Johnson are tall, but they're small and they play small. This is simply a reality and other teams know it.

It's possible to win without size- both Buffalo and NJ are relatively undersized for example, but I really believe one of the reasons we hit the wall every Christmas is we wear down for lack of size.

Things are getting better. Latendresse and LaPierre add good size. Kosty plays pretty big for a high-speed skill player. Perezhogen's strong as hell, it's his brainfarts that are causing him trouble. In the system we have decent size coming at the back (O'Byrne is huge, both Emelin and Valentenko are physical impact players like Komi is. Price is a giant compared to Huet and Halak) Where this problem really shows is at center. Koive and Pleks are seriously small NHL centers. Grabovsky's even smaller (at least less physical) Chipchura's not exaclty a giant. The other centers with both offensive and physical presence (White, Maxwell) look to be at least a couple of years away. Likely four or five years from making a real impact.

For this reason I would be VERY surprised to see Bonk go without being replaced by another large and fairly expensive body. His size and strenth have been a huge asset.

I can't believe we're seriously talking about Koivu, Pleks and Grabovsky as our three top centres. I like them all a lot, but that just smells like a losing lineup, even in the new NHL. Unless we trade a little center for a big one, My guess is Bonk stays and Briere goes somewhere else.

[shortcat1]

it will be a summer of signing next summer for Bob Gainey. with the way his team as played this year, many tough decisions will have to be taken. he'll have to evaluate who to keep, who to let go. who to sign long term and who to sign short term. will he buy out samsonov or keep him ??

I think that this coming season's lineup could look up something like that.

Higgins-koivu-Ryder

kostitsyn-???-Kovalev

Perezhogin-plekanec-???

latendresse-lapierre-Bégin

extra:murray

Dandenault-bouillon

komisarek-???

streit-???

extra gorges

Huet and halak

I think BG will buyout samsonov. if so 2/3 of his salary will go against the cap.

that leaves us to about 23.112 M of salary. so we have about 21M to play with:

here's the list of RFAs with current salaries:

Higgins:673 K should get around 1-1.5M long term

Ryder: 2.2M will get 2.5M one year deal

plekanec:450K could get around 900K two year contract

perezhogin: 627K: lucky if he gets a raise..let's say he'll stay at 627K

Komisarek: 946.9K will be signed long term at 1.5M

Gorges: 450K will get a one year, 550K contract

speculating that this is what they'll get, it will bring us at 28.475M of salary thus giving us around 16M cap space.

Possible UFA's

souray-markov-downey-bonk-johnson-niinima-aebischer.

the toughest choice will be between souray and markov. personally, I'd go for the youngest(4years 18M would be good) bringing the cap space to 33M

I would love a guy like johnson to stay in mtl. he brings smarts, size and righthandness but I wouldn't overpay for him

[u]Needs for montreal: [/u]

-Defense QB( between markov or souray)

-1st or 2nd line center

-3rd line winger(would jonhson accept a pay cup for a 2-3 year contract??)

-depth Dman with size and a mean streak

-goon for those tough games

That leaves us about 12M to sign who ever's free: guys like drury. briere, gomez, datsyuk... for any of those we'll have to give top $$(maybe not drury).

I also would love an older guy with stanley cups rings and good work ethic to teach those young studs how to act like a pro..a guy like Gélinas to name.

so, what do you think ?? can this be done?? would you go a different way ??

go ahead and have fun, I'm waiting for your replies.

being gainey, i know exactly what i'd do... it'd be the same as what he'll do... he'll ignore our 'wise' and 'learned' suggestions... :lool: :lool: :lool: :lool: :lool: :lool: :lool:

GO :hlogo: GO!

[Strummerman]

What I would do if I was Bob Gainey is slap my head for not trading for Luongo. Then slap it harder for not trading Souray away when he signs with LA. Then slap it even harder when Markov signs with Pittsburgh. Then slap Samsonov for being a bust and then punch Carbo for screwing up ...then retire I guess...