Habitforming Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 Just curious, do most think Plek is a flash in the pan, and not worth keeping? I mean his stats + his PK abilities are near tops in the league, I know everyone bemoans losing someone for nothing. If we trade Plek it has to be for a 1-2 center...we cannot give up our #1 unless we get a potential centre back, there's just no one in the system to replace him, and they will not have the cash to go get someone. My opinion, is unless there's a dumb GM out there willing to trade a centre as good as Plek is for, the habs should try hard to sign him. Just as an aside, we mention the other facets of Gomezs' game when we bring up his contract. "He has good playmaking skill, good two way player" etc. I worry that we are undervaluing Plek as a coping mechanism, resigning ourselves to the fact we're going to lose him. I don't think it's a matter of people thinking he is a flash in the pan, but if he is going to demand top guy money, he had better be a top guy player for the duration of his contract. This is where the concern comes in from fans and media. He is having a great season so far, but he has yet to show any consistency in his career to date to warrant the money or term he is seeking. If he is looking to sign long term he had better be prepared to tone down the value of the contract. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saskhab Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 Well, there hasn't been any statements of value on Plekanec's future deal yet... because there hasn't been a single conversation between Plekanec's camp and Habs management about a new deal at all. There's just been Gainey on record as saying he'd like to re-sign him, but no actual work done to accomplish that goal. We haven't even heard if Plekanec is interested in signing with the Habs again or if he wants to test the market. No salary or term has been discussed by either side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bar Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 I really like Gainey and most of the moves he's made, but he has to get in contact with Plek, I can't see what he's waiting for to actually have a conversation, unless he doesn't want to distract Plek from his game, that could be it, but I'm not sure. The longer the season goes, the more his value goes up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 ok bar, so to get my pride and signature back i'll bet you Pleks gets moved by the deadline. I don't see BG paying alot of money for someone who is generally pretty inconsistant through his career and is soft. He is having a monster year no doubt, i just believe he is playing way over his head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 ok bar, so to get my pride and signature back i'll bet you Pleks gets moved by the deadline. I don't see BG paying alot of money for someone who is generally pretty inconsistant through his career and is soft. He is having a monster year no doubt, i just believe he is playing way over his head. And what happens if/when you lose? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Puck Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 I really like Gainey and most of the moves he's made, but he has to get in contact with Plek, I can't see what he's waiting for to actually have a conversation, unless he doesn't want to distract Plek from his game, that could be it, but I'm not sure. The longer the season goes, the more his value goes up. I'm not sure why this is true. I think it's pretty clear that his value has dropped over the last couple of weeks since AK got injured. This is probably why Gainey hasn't made an offer yet. If he returns to his highly successful play before his AK returns then his value will continue to rise. If he doesn't his value will fall. I suspect Gainey wants to know which of these 2 things will happen before he signs Plekanec. This may mean paying more for him then signing him right now. On the other hand it may mean paying less. It all depends on Plek's play. I would rather have Plek show he deserves the extra cash than try to save a little money by signing him now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chicoutimi Cucumber Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 Well, there hasn't been any statements of value on Plekanec's future deal yet... because there hasn't been a single conversation between Plekanec's camp and Habs management about a new deal at all. There's just been Gainey on record as saying he'd like to re-sign him, but no actual work done to accomplish that goal. We haven't even heard if Plekanec is interested in signing with the Habs again or if he wants to test the market. No salary or term has been discussed by either side. Where'd you hear this disconcerting bit of news? I've said all along that I believe Pleks is gone. In a way, tanking in the next couple of weeks will make this easier to execute and would be about the only silver lining. (Silver lining, not because I dislike Pleks, but because our cap situation prevents us from re-signing him and losing him as a UFA would be gross negligence on Gainey's part). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 I guess i'll have to keep my signature up. I have been wrong plenty of times. I just have a gut feeling on this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saskhab Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 Where'd you hear this disconcerting bit of news? I've said all along that I believe Pleks is gone. In a way, tanking in the next couple of weeks will make this easier to execute and would be about the only silver lining. (Silver lining, not because I dislike Pleks, but because our cap situation prevents us from re-signing him and losing him as a UFA would be gross negligence on Gainey's part). McGuire said during the Blues game that he talked with Plekanec's agent, and there hadn't been any talks yet on a new contract, not even preliminary ones. Bob said he wanted to sign him at the mid-season presser. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexstream Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 (edited) McGuire said during the Blues game that he talked with Plekanec's agent, and there hadn't been any talks yet on a new contract, not even preliminary ones. Bob said he wanted to sign him at the mid-season presser. I want to renew my contract with videotron. it's up in october. I haven't contacted them. Edited January 22, 2010 by alexstream Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habitforming Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 Well, there hasn't been any statements of value on Plekanec's future deal yet... because there hasn't been a single conversation between Plekanec's camp and Habs management about a new deal at all. There's just been Gainey on record as saying he'd like to re-sign him, but no actual work done to accomplish that goal. We haven't even heard if Plekanec is interested in signing with the Habs again or if he wants to test the market. No salary or term has been discussed by either side. yeah ok Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saskhab Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 (edited) Vancouver was scouting the Habs/Blues game the other night quite heavily. Initially, some thought it was for the Blues, but now they are wondering if it was for the Habs to get a depth d-man: http://communities.canada.com/theprovince/...for-a-deal.aspx Mara and O'Byrne were the assumed targets. Edited January 22, 2010 by saskhab Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlbalr Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 yeah ok Not sure what the sarcastic remark is for, he's going off of what was said during the last game on the broadcast - I heard it too. Per Plekanec's agent, no formal (note that this doesn't mean informal) talks have been held yet. Perhaps you've heard otherwise but he's not pulling this out of thin air... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bar Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 I guess i'll have to keep my signature up. I have been wrong plenty of times. I just have a gut feeling on this one. Haha I accept the bet Chris, I'm sure we can come up with an addition to your sig if ya lose the bet! I see the reasoning behind trading Plek...I'm just worried is all, I don't see any C prospect in the pipeline, and if we dont have the money to sign plek, we wont to sign anyone else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zowpeb Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 Haha I accept the bet Chris, I'm sure we can come up with an addition to your sig if ya lose the bet! I see the reasoning behind trading Plek...I'm just worried is all, I don't see any C prospect in the pipeline, and if we dont have the money to sign plek, we wont to sign anyone else. No C prospect in the pipeline??? That's open to a healthy debate... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bar Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 I'm open to the debate, but I cannot see any C ready to step into a #1 or #2 line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chicoutimi Cucumber Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 Yeah, you probably need to trade Pleks in return for a guy who can make a credible claim to at least the potential of being a #2 C (but not as good as Pleks) or you need to trade Halak to get back a cheap young player with that plausible claim (e.g., isn't Patrick O'Sullivan a LW/C?). Anyway: it won't be easy. We should remember that Pouliot is a natural C. I don't like the idea of messing with his progress, but it *is* a fall-back position. Frankly, this is where Grabovski would be a useful fellow to have in the system. I always thought it was regrettable to unload him like that, when we had so few C in the system. He'd give us an actual option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hab29RETIRED Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 (edited) I'm open to the debate, but I cannot see any C ready to step into a #1 or #2 line. Do we have anyone who can even step into a #3 Center role? Laps sure doesn't fit the bill for even the #4 role anymore. Last year there was talk of Maxwell stepping up, but it doesn't lookl like he has improved either. Keep hearing the cogliano rumours from dckland's site, but really if we aren't going to be able to keep Pleks, do we really want ANOTHER small center?? Pouliot has size (needs to hit the weight room though) is a natural center, but do we really wan't to convert him back to center, considering the success he is having on the wing??? It's getting old on how badly mgmt is failing in filling the holes on this team. Centre For years we have been saying that we need a BIG #1 center and we trade for Gomez. 20-25% upgrade over Koivu at over 2 times the cap hit. He's played better since coming back from his injury and been great with Pouliot, but no matter how well he does, you can't help factoring his contract into his evaluation. Forwards We lack size and pick up the smurf line - the positive is that at least two of them aren't shy from going hard into traffic and Cammy both are good leaders. Toughness up front I hated the Laraque pickup and am glad to see him go, but liked the Moen pickup. But other then him, who else do we have that consistently throws his weight around??? Who else do we have who can even step up when we are getting pushed around??? D-Men We need to bring in Dmen who can move the puck and make the tape to tape pass to clear the zone. Neither of the 3 guys signed this summer have been able to improve our transition game. Spacek hasn't been bad, but hasn't really improved things a whole lot either. Issue for years is that we have a lot of guys that should be #5-7 Dmen and we picked up two more over the summer that fall in the same category, despite already having Gorges, O'Byrne. On our currnet D we have Gorges (legitmate #5) and Gill, Mara, O'Byrne, Bergeron who are all at best #6dmen on a good team. toughness on the Blueline Mara has stepped in occasionally he really isn't overly physical and really isn't a guy that encites a lot of confidence. At best a #6, maybe a #5 on a marginal playoff team like the habs. Gill with his size should be pounding guys, but I think he watched to much The Friendly Giant as a kid, bcoz while he has the size of a doverman, he doesn't even have the bark of a chiwawa. Which I suppose is well enough, since the character Laps has shown this year, suggest he will probably never be anything more then a chiwawa and a team really doesn't need more then one of those. Gorges, is a good #5 and if there was a way to put his heart in Gill's body, the two could combine to form a decent #4. O'Byrne, at the start of the year looked like he may shed the #7 position label and be on the way to developing into a #4-5, but now looks to back on track to be a career #7. At least with him, he still has age on his side and can still improve. Specialist roles and the salary cap In a cap era, you can't have specialists eating up cap room, you need to have guys who have the skill level to contribute on a regular basis and take a regular shift. Yet we signed Laraque, a guy who really can't play a regular shift, doesn't really or wouldn't fight when the heat of the moment required it, and would only fight in the circus/side show staged boughts. You have Hall Gill, who is going to be the one of many habs who are going to lead me to get an ulcer this year. Whenever he is on the blueline in the non-PK situation I'm afraid to watch. He has been effective on the PK, but I doubt if this guy can regularly make tape to tape pass even if isn't being pressured. You have Bergeron, who was signed out of necessity when markov went down, but there is a reason why as a Dman this guy was passed over by 29 teams even though he scored 14 goals last year. At least Bergeron is a cheap signing, but I shudder at the suggestions by some on this site that he be signed for $2M. For one trick pony's like that, you really can't spend more then $500k-1M. But at most you can have one guy like that. Pouliot has been the only really good pickup through a trade on this team in a LONG time. Lets hope he continues to shine and meet the expectation of a #4 pick. But boy do we have a LOT of holes to fill! If we aren't going to resign Pleks, we may as well trade him Halak and our "depth" on the blueline and go for a lottery pick to replace him, bcoz, we don't really have the cap room to go after anyone else to be a player in the free agent market. Last year's July 1 Drunken sailer binge and the trade that preceded it made sure of that. Scary thing is that in another 1 1/2 years Markov and Ak46 are also UFAs. Let's hope Subban is ready to take over by then! Edited January 23, 2010 by hab29RETIRED Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JacksonJ Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 Someone posted earlier that the canucks were scouting habs defencemen for their playoff push. In addition to Sedin and Kesler at centre they also have Schroeder and Hodgson in the system. Maybe we try and dangle something a little better in an attempt to get one of their top prospects (Hodgson would be amazing in my opinion). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chicoutimi Cucumber Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 Someone posted earlier that the canucks were scouting habs defencemen for their playoff push. In addition to Sedin and Kesler at centre they also have Schroeder and Hodgson in the system. Maybe we try and dangle something a little better in an attempt to get one of their top prospects (Hodgson would be amazing in my opinion). I fail to see what we have that Vancouver wants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 I fail to see what we have that Vancouver wants. More snow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyhasbeen Posted January 24, 2010 Share Posted January 24, 2010 More snow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habsfan Posted January 25, 2010 Share Posted January 25, 2010 More snow. Good one! It's +7 and raining today in Montreal. Whatever snow we had is quickly melting away! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bar Posted January 25, 2010 Share Posted January 25, 2010 Haha...this is a silly rumour...buuuut, Souray gave a list of teams he wouldn't reject a trade to...think the habs are on it? Not that I think we should get him, I think it'd be a step backwards...just curious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IN THE HEARTS OF MEN Posted January 25, 2010 Share Posted January 25, 2010 actually if he's replacing MAB then it's sideways cause they both suck. MAB sucks more but souray costs more... hence, sideways Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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