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2012-13 Habs Lineup: the Forwards


hankhab

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No one is suggesting taking the Steinbrenner approach of trading our young talent for veterans, but the reality is while we have some nice prospects, I don't see any who will be 100% for sure NHL ready on October 1st

The idea of signing a stop gap in free agency for 1 year or 2 max, isn't going to hurt the guys we have.

Exactly.

Ditto. My reasoned position anyway.

But I do have some respect for MB giving Gomer one last shot/ one shot under his watch. I have never really considered it as a possibility, but just imagine Gomez actually turns things around!?

How about:

DD-Pleks-Cole

Patches-Gomez-Gio

Bourque-Eller-Armstrong

Moen-White-Prust

Nokia

Nope. Leaves me pretty underwhelmed. Bourque does not fit into AK's shoes, and Cammy remains unreplaced.

If we had a hot young winger en route I could see it, but the fact is we don't. Unless Leblanc blossoms or Gallagher becomes that winger. Seems, like Commandant said, at least a season or two away, if it happens at all. I would be going after a long-term replacement for Cammy, and, unless they sign Semin, I guess that means a trade.

We have to remember that one or more of the top six wingers is likely to be injured at any given time and I don't wanna see much of Bourque, Armstrong or Moen in that role...

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I think the reality is that Gomez will go to camp, if he doesn't excel, he will be demoted. Thats all there is to it. It makes no sense to buy him out this year, his cap hit would still be way too high, so if he's not going to raise the bar, he'll be playing in the AHL. On a happier note, it seems bergevin is expecting at least one young guy, he mentioned Gallager or Leblanc, to force his way into the lineup. Given his rapid development so far, I'd say the early favorite is Leblanc.

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I think the reality is that Gomez will go to camp, if he doesn't excel, he will be demoted. Thats all there is to it. It makes no sense to buy him out this year, his cap hit would still be way too high, so if he's not going to raise the bar, he'll be playing in the AHL. On a happier note, it seems bergevin is expecting at least one young guy, he mentioned Gallager or Leblanc, to force his way into the lineup. Given his rapid development so far, I'd say the early favorite is Leblanc.

It really will be interesting to see if one can! Leblanc had NHL time, I never thought he looked too out of place there. Gallagher had that amazing training camp/pre season... but with both dd and gio I find it hard to imagine him being moved up, unless Bourque proves himself and one of the three goes on the 3rd line. Or Galchenyuk could surprise people by working amazingly hard in the off season!

I agree that it is most likely going to be Leblanc given the NHL time he saw last season.

I wish Gallagher had played those last few AHL games so we could see where he was at versus older players.

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We need top-6 talent. Leblanc has size and looks like he will be a solid all-around NHLer, but most seem to peg him as a third-liner. Based on his NHL work to this point, I'd tend to agree. Do we want a 40-point guy on our second line? Or, if Gallagher has another blazing camp, is it worth taking a chance on him? Talk about a long shot. But I'd rather put the raw offensive talent up there and see what happens.

Gomez: fer chrissakes, send him down already. Unless he suddenly reverts to 70-point form there are infinitely better uses for that money.

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Really hate saying this, because I know he has been junk for two years, but I think a healthy Gomez and Gionta together need another chance. MB did not sign a UFA and he will not land a good top 6er in a trade without giving up talent. Unless the trade is a win, I would rather develope youth and take another hit this season. The farm is just now starting to look good again. If I am MB, I look for good trades but try not to damage the core too much. If the roster is set, my guess is that we miss the playoffs, barring some chemistry miracle.

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Really hate saying this, because I know he has been junk for two years, but I think a healthy Gomez and Gionta together need another chance. MB did not sign a UFA and he will not land a good top 6er in a trade without giving up talent. Unless the trade is a win, I would rather develope youth and take another hit this season. The farm is just now starting to look good again. If I am MB, I look for good trades but try not to damage the core too much. If the roster is set, my guess is that we miss the playoffs, barring some chemistry miracle.

A reasonable take. Man, that Cammy trade is looking worse and worse, in hockey if not cap terms.

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A reasonable take. Man, that Cammy trade is looking worse and worse, in hockey if not cap terms.

Wait to you see Patrick Holland this season. That trade is one of the better moves PG actually made. Simply because we acquired Holland, he's going to be a stud.

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We need top-6 talent. Leblanc has size and looks like he will be a solid all-around NHLer, but most seem to peg him as a third-liner. Based on his NHL work to this point, I'd tend to agree. Do we want a 40-point guy on our second line? Or, if Gallagher has another blazing camp, is it worth taking a chance on him? Talk about a long shot. But I'd rather put the raw offensive talent up there and see what happens.

Gomez: fer chrissakes, send him down already. Unless he suddenly reverts to 70-point form there are infinitely better uses for that money.

Leblanc may be second line talent in his prime, but right now? Not a chance IMO.

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Leblanc may be second line talent in his prime, but right now? Not a chance IMO.

Yes likely a super fit alongside Eller, on 3rd line, but i still think he will come into camp a lot better shape physically and i dont think anyone doubts his Hockey IQ is above average. He and Eller are destined for top six, may still not be a couple-few years yet.

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I think a team will take Gomez for 2 years at $5M per with a cushion of $2.3M on the floor. I think the habs will obviously have to scratch a few itches with depth upgrades. Perhaps even along with Gionta to sell the duo in an American market. I think the habs can afford to unload depth(Bourque, Kaberle, Weber, Diaz, Geoffrion, Palushaj) and not be too hindered as long as they come out with piece(s) that fit perfect in the puzzle moving forward.

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I think a team will take Gomez for 2 years at $5M per with a cushion of $2.3M on the floor. I think the habs will obviously have to scratch a few itches with depth upgrades. Perhaps even along with Gionta to sell the duo in an American market. I think the habs can afford to unload depth(Bourque, Kaberle, Weber, Diaz, Geoffrion, Palushaj) and not be too hindered as long as they come out with piece(s) that fit perfect in the puzzle moving forward.

Maybe I'm too much of a pessimist, but no team on earth will take Gomez & Gionta (cap hit $13M) in a trade. They're simply too expensive for players in their decline. My take is Gomez goes to Hamilton (or Europe) and Gionta finishes the year on the third line OR gets traded at the deadline.

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I think we can move Gomez to a floor team if we offer a good prospect as enticement. But our idiotic management every year kept hoping he would turn it around, despite having a system and coach that made it impossible for Gomez to turn things around.

I think in a no pressure situation and playing wide open hockey, behind someone like Tavares, or having wingers like hall or yakupov on the second line, Gomez can put up 50+ points.

Maybe I'm too much of a pessimist, but no team on earth will take Gomez & Gionta (cap hit $13M) in a trade. They're simply too expensive for players in their decline. My take is Gomez goes to Hamilton (or Europe) and Gionta finishes the year on the third line OR gets traded at the deadline.

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Cammalleri? evryone needs a sub 20 goal scorer for $6/year, we will really miss him.

Agreed. He looked terrible out there last year. I still have hopes that Bourque can turn it around, half a season with inept coaching is a little too soon to call him a dog.
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Maybe I'm too much of a pessimist, but no team on earth will take Gomez & Gionta (cap hit $13M) in a trade. They're simply too expensive for players in their decline. My take is Gomez goes to Hamilton (or Europe) and Gionta finishes the year on the third line OR gets traded at the deadline.

All out comes are possible. Im just looking at teams like Nashville and Phoenix that have almost complete rosters with 12-14 million before they hit the floor. Do they flip for gap stops or sign less established players to ridiculous contracts just for the sake of having contracts.

Could be viewed as a retooling of sorts.

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All out comes are possible. Im just looking at teams like Nashville and Phoenix that have almost complete rosters with 12-14 million before they hit the floor. Do they flip for gap stops or sign less established players to ridiculous contracts just for the sake of having contracts.

Could be viewed as a retooling of sorts.

I think they stay put and wait to see what the cap floor will be under the new CBA.
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All out comes are possible. Im just looking at teams like Nashville and Phoenix that have almost complete rosters with 12-14 million before they hit the floor. Do they flip for gap stops or sign less established players to ridiculous contracts just for the sake of having contracts.

Could be viewed as a retooling of sorts.

I don't think it would be to difficult to move Gionta if we wanted to - as long as he shows himself to be healthy. Gomez is a different story. I doubt if he would fit into Nashville's system.

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I don't think it would be to difficult to move Gionta if we wanted to - as long as he shows himself to be healthy. Gomez is a different story. I doubt if he would fit into Nashville's system.

Should be noted that Gionta has a NTC

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I should have known that, considering that he even gave one to laraque.

Should be noted that Gionta has a NTC

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I should have known that, considering that he even gave one to laraque.

I don't see what's wrong with giving Gionta a NTC. 20-30 goal scoring winger with tons of heart and has been a good captain for us. I really don't see what Gionta did aside from getting injured that makes him someone we need to throw away. I guess the only way a Habs fan will want to keep a captain is if he survived cancer.

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In Gionta's two healthy seasons, he led the Habs in goals both years.

We keep complaining we don't have a 2nd line winger who can score goals, and thats true we need another one to play LW... but why do we want to throw away one of the goal scorers we do have?

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