Kaberle to Montreal

[hab29RETIRED]

It's funny the world we live in. Instant opinion, instant quotes. Jim Rutherford "should have known better" when he looks back at the decision to sign him. Pierre Lebrun here's from another GM who's "shocked" Carolina was able to trade that bad contract. I hope this works. And I hope it doesn't have cap ramifications this summer. And YES, it's a bad contract.

I would say kabable's contract was probably the worst siginig last summer. To make matters worse, she showed up to camp fat and out of shape - he's already in retirement mode and seems content to collect the money and run.

[hab29RETIRED]

I don't see Eller, Gorges or Subban getting these giant raises you are talking about, Unless Subban starts scoring, I think he will get a fairly cap friendly deal. I am sort of with CC on this. Figure out teh cap stuff later. If you want to win and contend, you have to do stuff like this. If you think your team needs to rebuild, then this is a little crazy. Kaberle may be able to get Cammie scoring a bit more, and that could be the difference between winning and losing. I would preffer to dump a couple of oompa loompas myself, but it doesn't look that easy. A year ago, we would all be going nuts over this deal and showering Gautier with praise.

I have been quite clear about my opinions about this team, but obviously management believes there is still potential. At 4.25 mill, I don't think Kaberle's contract is untradeable.

Maybe you would have been showering PG with praise - I certainly wouldn't. I am all for trading Spacek and was all for trading him last year, but not for softer players then Spacek!!! Certinaly not for losers with a worse contract then Spacek!!! Why do you want a guy who comes from a culture of losing and seems happy being part of that culture???? What is wrong with the Canes this year - they have to many old ex-leafs on their roster!!!! What is wrong with the Flames - again too many old ex-leafs and ex-panthers on the roster!!!

[BCHabnut]

Maybe you would have been showering PG with praise - I certainly wouldn't. I am all for trading Spacek and was all for trading him last year, but not for softer players then Spacek!!! Certinaly not for losers with a worse contract then Spacek!!! Why do you want a guy who comes from a culture of losing and seems happy being part of that culture???? What is wrong with the Canes this year - they have to many old ex-leafs on their roster!!!! What is wrong with the Flames - again too many old ex-leafs and ex-panthers on the roster!!!

Man two years ago you polluted the site with Price sucks, Halak rules posts. You were wrong. You may be right about JM, but I personally think you are not. As far as this signing goes, Gauthier obviously feels that this team can compete.

I am unsure of that and have said several times that I think this team is average.

I don't think this was a bad move though, if you want to compete. I am on the fence right now as to whethrr I would like to see a rebuild or just a catalyst to get Cammie and Gio scoring. The play of Cammie and Gio is the difference between winning and losing this year. If Kaberle help that, I am interested in seeing the outcome.

Kaberle has not played well since The end of last February. I've seen Kostitsyn go through cold spells that long. And he didn't have to go through changing teams, homes, and systems twice.

[Kiwihab]

Now if we can trade Subban for Gonchar and Gill for Souray we can totally screw our D (not to mention lose all our you

G players because we can't afford them)

This move reeks of desperation IM

HO

(null)

[Seb]

lol it's pandemonium around here.

This is meh to me. The Habs needed someone to run the PP. They needed it bad. This is an inexpensive (asset wise) solution to that. Let me ask you this:

What if Kaberle gets the PP going?

And no, 4.25mil is not difficult to move in the off-season, even if things go poorly, for a guy who had 38 points in 58 games for Toronto last season.

Anyway, we'll see. He sucked hard on a team that sucked hard. Bring him to MTL, shelter him a bit, and see if he can get the PP going. Gauthier isn't throwing in the towel on this season, and he shouldn't. He's doing his job.

It's up to Kaberle now to prove whether or not he's over the hill.

[Colin]

Is it possible (I'm stretching, I know) that PG knows something about the pending CBA negotiations that we don't know? I.e. there will be another penalty free buyout period?

[Trizzak]

Maybe you would have been showering PG with praise - I certainly wouldn't. I am all for trading Spacek and was all for trading him last year, but not for softer players then Spacek!!! Certinaly not for losers with a worse contract then Spacek!!! Why do you want a guy who comes from a culture of losing and seems happy being part of that culture???? What is wrong with the Canes this year - they have to many old ex-leafs on their roster!!!! What is wrong with the Flames - again too many old ex-leafs and ex-panthers on the roster!!!

I'm glad hab29 brought this up, cause I think this is actually the only thing that really bothers me about the trade. Is Kaberle a winner? Is he even much of a competitor? It really doesn't seem like it. He has a Stanley Cup... but did he help the Bruins or not hurt the Bruins?

That's why this trade feels so weird... he's not bringing in an attitude that turns a season around.

Hopefully his talent shows up, or this will hurt.

[Commandant]

38 pts in 58 games and just a -2 for a mediocre Leafs-team less than a year ago and people are thinking this is a bad deal? Im hyped about this deal and think its a steal. Bet the Canes couldve gotten more for him at the deadline.

That is very recent and shows his ability. Is it really his fault that he couldn't understand Chara and Lucic when they grunted, and thus there was no communication or chemistry on that Boston PP. Or is it his fault that Carolina absolutely sucks? I think not, my friends... I think not,

[bar]

The habs are hovering at .500 with one of the worst PP in the league, do you notice when the habs lose it's by 1 goal, can you imagine if all those close goal games were supplimented by I don't know a PP goal here or there? The habs are riding a fine line between success and failure and this year it has been the PP which has them tilted towards failure.

[Seb]

Is it possible (I'm stretching, I know) that PG knows something about the pending CBA negotiations that we don't know? I.e. there will be another penalty free buyout period?

Oh lord, please don't pass up the opportunity to buy out G-Love.

[Habsy]

lol it's pandemonium around here.

This is meh to me. The Habs needed someone to run the PP. They needed it bad. This is an inexpensive (asset wise) solution to that. Let me ask you this:

What if Kaberle gets the PP going?

And no, 4.25mil is not difficult to move in the off-season, even if things go poorly, for a guy who had 38 points in 58 games for Toronto last season.

Anyway, we'll see. He sucked hard on a team that sucked hard. Bring him to MTL, shelter him a bit, and see if he can get the PP going. Gauthier isn't throwing in the towel on this season, and he shouldn't. He's doing his job.

It's up to Kaberle now to prove whether or not he's over the hill.

Actually, it's hard to move, sorry. If he continues to play like he has. That's why you'll coninue to hear quotes about shocked GMs. That's precisely why Carolina traded a player they just signed this summer, and it's not even Christmas yet.

[hab29RETIRED]

Man two years ago you polluted the site with Price sucks, Halak rules posts. You were wrong. You may be right about JM, but I personally think you are not. As far as this signing goes, Gauthier obviously feels that this team can compete.

I am unsure of that and have said several times that I think this team is average.

I don't think this was a bad move though, if you want to compete. I am on the fence right now as to whethrr I would like to see a rebuild or just a catalyst to get Cammie and Gio scoring. The play of Cammie and Gio is the difference between winning and losing this year. If Kaberle help that, I am interested in seeing the outcome.

Kaberle has not played well since The end of last February. I've seen Kostitsyn go through cold spells that long. And he didn't have to go through changing teams, homes, and systems twice.

That's absolute BULLSHIT - go back and produce a single post where I said that! What I had said two years ago was that Price didn't deserve to be playing and would be better served in the minors and he wasn't ready - yes he had a great start to his NHL career, but he struggled and did not deserve to be the starter. At no point did I EVER say to trade him. I said that Halak DESERVED to play over Price.

Even AFTER Halak took the habs to the final four - I had said KEEP BOTH goalies for the following year. Price was the future, but was not the goalie for the present two years ago. I said the same thing when the Habs rushed Lats and MaxPac. Two years ago, i was saying that MaxPac should be send down to dominate and the he didn't turn things around until the Habs FINALLY did send him down.

AT NO FRIGGIN time did I say to choose Halak over Price long-term. so try and get your facts right!

[REV-G]

Let me make a bold prediction. I don't think Kaberle fit on the big bad Bruins nor on Carolina. And I don't think he lost all his ability in the past year. So, I think that while he will still be soft he'll make solid, timely breakout passes, do a very good job quaterbacking our PP and he will be a better fit on our team than the previous two teams he played on. He'll be an upgrade over what we've had and we'll win more games because of our improved PP! I also think he will make some poeple a little better. That's what I think is going to happen. Now we just have to wait and see!!

[BCHabnut]

That's absolute BULLSHIT - go back and produce a single post where I said that! What I had said two years ago was that Price didn't deserve to be playing and would be better served in the minors and he wasn't ready - yes he had a great start to his NHL career, but he struggled and did not deserve to be the starter. At no point did I EVER say to trade him. I said that Halak DESERVED to play over Price.

Even AFTER Halak took the habs to the final four - I had said KEEP BOTH goalies for the following year. Price was the future, but was not the goalie for the present two years ago. I said the same thing when the Habs rushed Lats and MaxPac. Two years ago, i was saying that MaxPac should be send down to dominate and the he didn't turn things around until the Habs FINALLY did send him down.

AT NO FRIGGIN time did I say to choose Halak over Price long-term. so try and get your facts right!

The exact intent of your ranting was missed by me I guess. I don't want to get personal here, or enrage anyone. You did rant a lot about Price and Halak for that entire year to year and a half. I could go back, but I am way too lazy, so I will end this here.,

[Colin]

Oh lord, please don't pass up the opportunity to buy out G-Love.

Well that's the point. I hear there are grumblings of this being the case, and if so then acquiring Kaberle is no different from having Spacek - if you're willing to buy him out at year's end.

[BCHabnut]

I would like to know if Kaberle has a NMC or what all of the options will be for him in the future. If cap space is needed, and he is in fact untradeable, can we bury him in the minors.

[huzer]

In a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately world, both players are piles of rubbish except one costs more, is what I've been reading this morning. I prefer Kaberle to Spacek, if for no reason that I haven't been impressed with Spacek at all since he's been with the Habs. Cole is doing better with the Habs than he did during his brief time in Edmonton (just recalling all of the "Cole can't play outside of Carolina!" complaints when he was signed), so why can't Kaberle return to form with the Habs? If he doesn't, he's no worse than a bad Spacek. And here people are openly talking about Gorges (a good defensive defenseman) commanding $4m+ this off season as if THAT would be a good contract.

[Commandant]

I would like to know if Kaberle has a NMC or what all of the options will be for him in the future. If cap space is needed, and he is in fact untradeable, can we bury him in the minors.

If he had any clauses Montreal can choose to make them void after acquiring him, or choose to continue them.

[BlueKross]

Looks like lateral move to me. The wolves are hounding at the door. Power play specialist, I don't know. The only good thing that I can see is that he seems to stay healthier than Spacek.

[habs rule]

holy smokes, it doesn't matter who coaches or manages this team they need to be fired immediately and whoever we find is not the guy he must be fired right away. One loss fire em all start over. The team has had significant injury problems over the last 2 years. But the coach and GM have managed to keep the team competitive, They needed someone anyone to help with the pp. If markov had played all year we would have won at least 5 to 7 more games. so obviously we need pp help. PG goes and gets some. not good enough fire him JM working with a rookie line up half the bull dogs are up here. They are in the playoff hunt in spite of everything not good enough fire him he has no personality. They came within 1 goal of beating the bruins last year not good enough fire everybody and trade the rest. This nonsense gets very tiring to read. I suggest all of you who know so much more about hockey that JM PG and Bob go apply I am sure that all your NHL experience will come into play and you will be snapped up in a minute, but 10 mins after getting the job Habs 29 will want you fired so don't think you have a career.

[JCPetit]

It should help the PP, but I don't see him in a Habs uniform too long. I hope not anyway. Obviously, he is a policy insurance (not a very good one, I agree), in case that Markov won't be back when expected.

[Habsy]

It should help the PP, but I don't see him in a Habs uniform too long;

That's true. If we try to find positives. These one goal, shootout style losses? If Kaberle can chip in a few power play assists per week, it could literally be the difference between winning and losing these tight games.

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

Well, this pretty much addresses my ongoing question about whether the organization wants to win NOW. Clearly, they do, and are willing to give themselves cap headaches going forward if they think they can acquire a player that will help us get better.

I'm not in hysterics over the cap implications. That will fall to next summer to resolve; but I'm pretty sure Gomez will be gone whatever happens. And no, I do not believe that moving Gomez is an impossibility, People are much too fatalistic about bad contracts. Time and again teams have succeeded in liberating themselves of such contracts.

I'm also not in a tizzy over the supposed logjam that will occur on D 'once everyone is healthy.' There is no guarantee that we will EVER have everybody healthy back there. New injuries occur all the time and you can always move out a dude like Weber who (on Commandant's analysis) is redundant in terms of organization depth anyway. Besides, I am a fanatic about the importance of a deep back end, so the more talent we have there the better.

So, if we stop freaking out about the cap hit and the supposed impending log jam, this trade seems like a no-brainer. Yes, Kaberle has struggled since leaving TO. That is why we were able to acquire him for a song. Conversely, unless there is some identifiable reason for why he has struggled - e.g., he is damaged goods - then it's not unreasonable to gamble that he can recover at least some of his old form. The bottom line here is we acquire a guy who has a long track record of running a power play. Such a player will be potentially HUGE for a club whose main problem has been a pathetic PP.

I think the sensible approach here is to wait and see. In pure hockey terms, it's not a gigantic gamble because Kaberle is surely no worse than Spacek. Most importantly, we didn't sacrifice yet another pick. Don't overthink the other stuff.

[brobin]

The exact intent of your ranting was missed by me I guess. I don't want to get personal here, or enrage anyone. You did rant a lot about Price and Halak for that entire year to year and a half. I could go back, but I am way too lazy, so I will end this here.,

To be fair, many of us ranted about Price vs Halak. We were right. Halak should have been the starter that year and ended up being the starter. That is very different from wanting Price traded away. It was more about playing the guy who was hot at the time. In the end, Price came back much stronger and much better.

As for Kaberle, it could have been worse. If they traded Emelin for Kaberle, I might have to go torch the Bell Center. I am not keen on the contract, but it is a small gamble. Frankly, signing Markov long term was a much bigger gamble.

[BTH]

Wow, I thought the board was going to be ecstatic about this... (although I admittedly wasn't aware Kaberle was having such a bad season.)

Habs just improved the team now (I'm assuming even a fallen off Kaberle is better than Spacek) while getting younger. There is a silver lining to the fact that this gives us cap troubles: it means they'll almost definitely have to get rid of Gomez.

Anyway, I predicted a 2nd for Wiz type deal but this is just as good if not better since we get to increase our chances of making the playoffs without sacrificing any youth.