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Blair Betts is claimed, fails physical & is sent back to Philly


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so we lose woywitka for nothing? bet montreal woulda love to have him back if spacek is gone for a while.

Woywitka would have been waived anyway. As both he and Engqvist were sent to Hamilton when Betts was claimed. Engqvist was the guy who was going to lose his job to Betts, and was the guy recalled when they learned Betts couldn't play in Toronto.

Woywitka was the 9th D to start the year and always headed to the minors.

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Woywitka would have been waived anyway. As both he and Engqvist were sent to Hamilton when Betts was claimed. Engqvist was the guy who was going to lose his job to Betts, and was the guy recalled when they learned Betts couldn't play in Toronto.

Woywitka was the 9th D to start the year and always headed to the minors.

Also from what I have seen Weber > Woywitka

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Also from what I have seen Weber > Woywitka

That was a smooth pp goal by Weber liking that... he did get caught way outta position at leased once in the jets game though (i only saw the first.)

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Weber's offensive skills, PP QBing, and especially his shot are all NHL caliber, no question about any of those.

I worry about his defensive game, but he did look better last night than he did against the Leafs.

Last year I found him very hit and miss though, so hopefully he develops consistency in that aspect.

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Last year I found him very hit and miss though, so hopefully he develops consistency in that aspect.

Any word on Spacek? Is he out and what is the injury?

If he is done then well... Weber will need to develop some consistency..

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Weber has indeed been hit and miss his whole NHL career. To some degree, this is normal for young players...but at some point, the player needs to step up and sieze his opportunities (c.f. O'Byrne, who appeared to lose confidence every time anything failed to go his way). Weber's never particularly given me the impression of a player who can be trusted to step up like that, his reluctance to unleash that shot convincingly and on a regular basis being symptomatic of this. But the absence of Markov, Campoli and Spacek could represent the best (last?) chance he will ever get to truly convince management and grab a regular spot by the throat. And he certainly delivered last night.

For an example of a young guy who *does* thus far appear to have the moxy to seize his chance, look at Diaz. That's two games from him where he shows a willingness to take risks and make plays and move the puck like crazy, while battling - determinedly, albeit not always successfully - in his end. It'd be great to see him, Weber, and Emelin all forcing Spacek off the regular rotation.

As for defensive lapses, what we need above all is a D-man who can alarm the opposition on the PP and move the puck. I'll take the occasional bobble in the defensive zone from a player who can deliver this. Both Diaz and Weber are our best bets in this regard at the moment.

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Nothing on Spacek.... and today is the Habs off day (usually Sunday) so the earliest we'll hear from Martin is tomorrow.

I just had the wind knocked out of him :/ and they kept him out to be safe... i hope...

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Here's a quick update on the situation from a Philly perspective. It looks like he's in serious limbo right now. http://www.csnphilly.com/hockey-philadelphia-flyers/news/Betts-Im-not-a-part-of-the-team?blockID=575124&feedID=704

And, a quick interview on how things played out with the Habs: http://www.csnphilly.com/blog/flyers-talk/post/Betts-on-his-mini-vacation-from-the-Flye?blockID=575148&feedID=6572

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I wonder how bad the injury to betts is, since I would think that even if he weren't available until november that he would be someone the Habs should want on the team. I'm disappointed we lost him - but - we certainly didn't need any more damaged goods on this roster!

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I wonder how bad the injury to betts is, since I would think that even if he weren't available until november that he would be someone the Habs should want on the team. I'm disappointed we lost him - but - we certainly didn't need any more damaged goods on this roster!

From what I understand, the 4-6 month (or longer) shoulder surgery is an option here.

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Weber has indeed been hit and miss his whole NHL career. To some degree, this is normal for young players...but at some point, the player needs to step up and sieze his opportunities (c.f. O'Byrne, who appeared to lose confidence every time anything failed to go his way). Weber's never particularly given me the impression of a player who can be trusted to step up like that, his reluctance to unleash that shot convincingly and on a regular basis being symptomatic of this. But the absence of Markov, Campoli and Spacek could represent the best (last?) chance he will ever get to truly convince management and grab a regular spot by the throat. And he certainly delivered last night.

For an example of a young guy who *does* thus far appear to have the moxy to seize his chance, look at Diaz. That's two games from him where he shows a willingness to take risks and make plays and move the puck like crazy, while battling - determinedly, albeit not always successfully - in his end. It'd be great to see him, Weber, and Emelin all forcing Spacek off the regular rotation.

As for defensive lapses, what we need above all is a D-man who can alarm the opposition on the PP and move the puck. I'll take the occasional bobble in the defensive zone from a player who can deliver this. Both Diaz and Weber are our best bets in this regard at the moment.

Weber just turned 23 years old. At 23 years old Mark Streit was struggling to stick in the minors. He played 58 games between the AHL/ECHL and IHL. He registered 21 points. Weber had 11 points in 41 NHL games as a 22 year old.

I don't understand why this would be Weber's last chance in managements eyes, he is 9 months older than PK Subban, a superstar in everybody's eyes, a superstar who didn't make the league until last September.

PK Subban played one season in Hamilton. He played 77 games and scored 53 points.

Yanick Weber has averaged 49 points in his two AHL seasons.

I am not suggesting that Weber is Subban, but he has been pretty damn productive at the OHL level and at the AHL level and is still very young.

Mark Streit was a disaster in his first season defensively. He struggled to maintain a starting defensive role and was used as a forward for the majority of his time in Montreal. Mark Streit was 28 when he joined the Canadiens. After the Habs let him go, all I heard was what a mistake it was, how the Habs haven't adequately replaced him etc. yet Weber is down to his last chances 5 years younger than Streit with a better resume?

Tomas Plekanec at 23 had two pro games under his belt. Everbody has high hopes for Desharnais' future growth, he is 25 years old. Diaz will be 26 in 3 months.

It is inconsistent logic to afford some players opportunities for growth and cut off others at younger ages and stages of development. It is inconsistent based on pre-conceived notions or unrealistic expectations.

Weber should be allowed growing pains like any other player regardless of whether the Habs are struggling because of injuries. He should be allowed to grow into a Streit level player and be treated with patience. Diaz is more polished because he is 3 years older, let's rejoin this conversation in 2014/15. Short term thinking can lead to long term mistakes.

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The only problem i see with Weber, is where does he fit into this team long term.

He's a RH offensive first Dman.

PK Subban is a RH offensive Dman, who is younger, and better at both ends of the rink.... so that takes up 1 spot.

Diaz and Weber are both Righties who are more offensive than defensive.

Long term, there is probably only room for 2 guys in that spot and there needs to be a defensive presence on the right side of the defence as well.

Thats why i think at some point Weber will be traded for help in an area that we are weak.

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Mea culpa. I wasn't trying to slag Weber exactly. It's more that players seem to wear out their welcome after hanging around on the fringes of a team for a certain period of time - I'd say that, after three years of failing to become a roster fixture, or 3-4 years of falling below initial expectations, we tend to look elsewhere and forget about the player's age. Now, my earlier post kind of unreflexively assumed that the Habs' organization would do the same with Weber. His name keeps popping up in rumours and they did, after all, do something like that with Latendresse - although they more characteristically give up on players closer to age 25-6 (O'Byrne, Ribeiro, D'Agostini, Lapierre, Hainsey, etc.). Looking at Weber's record, though, there is progress there: 2 seasons in the AHL with cups of coffee with ye Habs, followed by a half-season's worth of NHL games last year. While it is reasonable to ask him to begin stepping up more assertively at this point, you're right - he surely should get more time from us. (Funny, he seems to have been around longer!)

I still think there's something to the 'best before' date for young players, though. How long can a guy hang around the fringes of the roster before he himself loses faith in the organization or they just start to find him mouldy? When was the last time the Habs waited 5 years for a kid to evolve into more than a fringe player? It's kind of an interesting hockey geek question, how long the average club 'waits out' a prospect.

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I still like Weber and having too many good offensive d men that can be serviceable in the defensive zone is a good problem. So that’s all he needs to do is be serviceable in his ow zone and be productive in the o-zone.

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Guys like Betts are always made available via the waiver wire. Right now for instance we have a guy like Eric Nystrom. Nystrom is currently on re-entry waivers meaning we'd be liable for only half of his remaining salary. Kid is 6'1, 200 lbs and is a reliable 4th line guy who can bring an added element of toughness.

.

Perfect 4th line type of guy who just 2 seasons ago scored 11 playing on the 4th.

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Weber just turned 23 years old. At 23 years old Mark Streit was struggling to stick in the minors. He played 58 games between the AHL/ECHL and IHL. He registered 21 points. Weber had 11 points in 41 NHL games as a 22 year old.

I don't understand why this would be Weber's last chance in managements eyes, he is 9 months older than PK Subban, a superstar in everybody's eyes, a superstar who didn't make the league until last September.

PK Subban played one season in Hamilton. He played 77 games and scored 53 points.

Yanick Weber has averaged 49 points in his two AHL seasons.

I am not suggesting that Weber is Subban, but he has been pretty damn productive at the OHL level and at the AHL level and is still very young.

Mark Streit was a disaster in his first season defensively. He struggled to maintain a starting defensive role and was used as a forward for the majority of his time in Montreal. Mark Streit was 28 when he joined the Canadiens. After the Habs let him go, all I heard was what a mistake it was, how the Habs haven't adequately replaced him etc. yet Weber is down to his last chances 5 years younger than Streit with a better resume?

Tomas Plekanec at 23 had two pro games under his belt. Everbody has high hopes for Desharnais' future growth, he is 25 years old. Diaz will be 26 in 3 months.

It is inconsistent logic to afford some players opportunities for growth and cut off others at younger ages and stages of development. It is inconsistent based on pre-conceived notions or unrealistic expectations.

Weber should be allowed growing pains like any other player regardless of whether the Habs are struggling because of injuries. He should be allowed to grow into a Streit level player and be treated with patience. Diaz is more polished because he is 3 years older, let's rejoin this conversation in 2014/15. Short term thinking can lead to long term mistakes.

Great post I love when you said here.

and agree, I was shocked to see everyone writing weber off during the pre season.

Before we trade Weber we should remember Mark Striet. A player who could not play defense in Montreal, he goes to Long Island makes All star on defense and is named Captain of the team.

But lets be serious as well the Islanders are terrible and will finish near 15th for the next 2-4 years.

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