Jump to content

Habs get Paul Mara...


TheDriveFor25

Recommended Posts

Ugh, wasn't he our worst +/- player when he was with us? I understand the need for some depth, but this seems like a step back to me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Does this mean that either Gill or Spacek are more hurt than we know?

A 5th rounder for a depth guy ufa is alright. He can't skate very well but he is tough and his epic beard may win games by itself.

I really detest giving away draft choices. Mara is an upgrade, because he is familiar with the system, making him better than somebody you might get on waiver wire. I am wondering about Gill and Spacek as well. Maybe there is another trade out there.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I could smell it this time. There was some rumblings

about a O'brien.

Mara cost pennies and he is a appreciated by a lot of players

in habs locker room.

I just don't like him on the ice.

Too bad for Nash, i like defensemen that can pass the puck.

He will still be there next year.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's the draft pick they got for Lapierre, so the deal basically was Mara and Festerling for Lapierre. Makes it a little easier to swallow. Spacek is out for the next week at least and I don't think they trust Nash enough to play regular minutes over that span. Mara will be available for tonight, I think he may play. (And since we lost, someone else needs to do the GDT...)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's the draft pick they got for Lapierre, so the deal basically was Mara and Festerling for Lapierre. Makes it a little easier to swallow. Spacek is out for the next week at least and I don't think they trust Nash enough to play regular minutes over that span. Mara will be available for tonight, I think he may play. (And since we lost, someone else needs to do the GDT...)

I guess that, viewed from that perspective, it is pretty good return for Lapierre. Still, can't help but be a bit annoyed that the team is giving up assets for a player it could have re-signed for 'free'. Hindisght is 20/20, I know. And, the fact remains, it is a pretty good, cheap addition.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I guess that, viewed from that perspective, it is pretty good return for Lapierre. Still, can't help but be a bit annoyed that the team is giving up assets for a player it could have re-signed for 'free'. Hindisght is 20/20, I know. And, the fact remains, it is a pretty good, cheap addition.

There was no need to re-sign him before, the blueline was set with Subban coming in full time and Picard signed as the cheap depth guy. Circumstances change during the year, a spot opened up. So although they in theory could have brought him back in September, they'd have been waiving him in all likelihood. Cheap return, he hits (I added that note to your piece on the site), fights a bit and generally makes the back end a little tougher. Can't complain, that's for sure. To me, this suggests they're targeting an impact forward hence going cheap on the D replacement.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mara is a LD, Weber is a Rd. They have no LD currently. Why would that mean they are shopping Weber?

Since when is Lapierre an asset? He is like numerous 3rd and 4th liners all over the league. They got an ahl defenseman and a 7th defenseman. I don't think teams were knocking down the door for Lapierre. I would rather have White in the lineup.

Mara is a stop gap player on the LD until Spacek and Gill are healthy. A cheap decent move.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I say welcome back! I know he may be slow but he does fill a spot on the bench and allow us to return a player to Hamilton and they need it.

5th rounder, in a year with a weak draft pool at that. No big cost to fill in for injurys, Smart move PG. Mara is a pretty tough dude too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I say welcome back! I know he may be slow but he does fill a spot on the bench and allow us to return a player to Hamilton and they need it.

5th rounder, in a year with a weak draft pool at that. No big cost to fill in for injurys, Smart move PG. Mara is a pretty tough dude too.

I echo the sentiments, I think Hamilton's struggles may have played a small role in this as well (they won't make the playoffs the way they're going). The 5th rounder is in 2012 though, not this year.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mara is a LD, Weber is a Rd. They have no LD currently. Why would that mean they are shopping Weber?

Just in a sense getting more depth on D. If the Habs are going to make a trade to get an upgrade on forward, you have to believe the other team will be asking for Weber in return. He's a young D with potential.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just in a sense getting more depth on D. If the Habs are going to make a trade to get an upgrade on forward, you have to believe the other team will be asking for Weber in return. He's a young D with potential.

I had the same thought when I made Weber's trade odds the highest of any d-men yesterday. I don't think Mara's pick up accelerates that though, this is just injury depth for a week or two I'd suggest.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I feel like this is a step backwards. Sure, Mara might be a great guy in the dressing room, but he didn't do anything his first time around to prove to me he can still play.

This deal also tells me that Spacek's injury is probably worse than originaly expected.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here comes the Cup!! :rolleyes: Hard to get excited about this: marginal cost for marginal gain.

Mara is actually an interesting case. He was a major offensive defenceman for the early part of his career, albeit on an awful Phoenix team, scoring 42 and 47 points in 03-04 and 05-06. Then, right at the point in his career when his game should have matured (around age 28) his numbers suddenly went into the toilet (18 points and -22 with Boston). Ever since then he has struggled as a near-marginal NHLer, although he did get 10 powerplay points with the Rangers in 2008-09.

What the hell happened? Who 'gets old' at age 28? Did he suffer a serious injury or something? Is it a case of pigeonholing, such that he actually has neglected potential to produce some useful offensive numbers? This is one career arc I don't understand.

Anyway, I thought he was OK with us on the first go around despite the bad +/-. Warm bodies with NHL experience can't hurt given the state of our blueline.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I feel like this is a step backwards. Sure, Mara might be a great guy in the dressing room, but he didn't do anything his first time around to prove to me he can still play.

This deal also tells me that Spacek's injury is probably worse than originaly expected.

It's a lateral move, really. Spacek's going to be out for a bit (at least 7 days since I believe he's now on IR), likely a bit longer. Since Martin wasn't comfortable using Nash regularly, they needed to bring someone in who could log a few extra minutes to stop Subban, Wisniewski, and Hamrlik from playing huge minutes. The deal also will allow Nash to be sent down at some point, making the cap impact virtually nothing ($160,000 difference in salary). Hard to call it a step backwards, not a step forward either though. It is what it is, a depth deal to get through the next couple of weeks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I knew he was gonna come back... damn it why could we not get a D from Hamilton? Who cares if they het depleted lol!!

Anyhow... at we know Mara is 100% healthy... he hasnt played at all this year 2011 I believe... or almost

At the end We traded Lapierre for Festerling and Mara.... Doesnt look too bad

Edited by CoRvInA
Link to comment
Share on other sites

i know i know... U also know I have been screaming for more Dmen since Markov got injured... and how we had to minimize the impact on the remaining ones before they were all hurt... well too late for that. Mara came a tad too late... but better late then never...

on the plus side I'm sure Mara will drop the gloves against anyone who crashes the net.

I'm content... He was well liked in the dressing room and you never know what can happen with a marginal guy who has had a brilliant past

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd take Mara over my guess of Jim Vandermeer. :)

Mara is fine. He prevents us from dressing an AHLer until Gill and Spacek come back, the room is familiar with him, he's a warm body in case of future D injuries and he's a veteran.

Now I guess that the Habs make a similar move for a 3rd line forward and then they're set.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Paul Mara ? Is that the best that PG can do ? My problem with this deal is that we already had Mara here and he was a bust. Truth of the matter is that I would have prefered to have O"Byrne still playing for us and as for LaPierre we got ripped off. C'mon PG stop embarrasing us and make a trade for a real player that will help us go deep into the playoffs. My suggestion is that we get Chris Neil to start and then give away AK for a bag of pucks or ship him to Nashville so he can play with his crazy brother.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please, i think your going a little overboard on O'Byrne. Who by the way is minus 13 over the last 10 or so. He is a RD, he is not better than Wis, Weber or Subban. So he still wouldm not be in the line up.

Mara is a plug until Gill and Spacek are back, Than he is a # 7. lapierre is waste, White is more noticable than Lapierre.

I do like Chris Neil and Movign Ak46.

PG did what he had to do currently. He will try and land a forward or 2.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...