Do the Habs have to trade for a backup goalie?

[Rooster]

At the begining of camp, Gainey had said that the Habs would evaluate the young goalies to determine if any of them could land the backup position until Huet's return or else he would have to look elsewhere for a backup.

With today's cuts it seems clear (if there was any doubt before) that Danis is the guy that could fit that position. From what I've seen so far, he hasn't impressed much but has not been horrible.

What are your thoughts? Do the Habs need to get another backup til December/January?

I personally think that Danis can do an acceptable job for the few games he will be called upon to start and that there is no need to spend a draft pick or a prospect to land a temporary backup. He had a good year in Hamilton last year and could further develop with a few NHL starts.

[Brett38]

Yes, they'll give Danis a few games until Huet returns. No need to get anyone else. Theodore will have to win all his games because who knows what Danis will do in his.

[Howie_Morenz]

Originally posted by Brett38

Yes, they'll give Danis a few games until Huet returns. No need to get anyone else. Theodore will have to win all his games because who knows what Danis will do in his.

Brett38 is right. Why waste resources on another goalie? And who is left out there that can stop a puck.

[beckham]

Martin Biron. The Sabres are shopping him and the Habs have an excess of forwards at the moment. I think there is a reasonable chance of the deal going down. Otherwise they would have held Price in camp longer I think, to allow him to compete with Danis for the spot.

I think the team might want another goaltender who is capable of challenging Theodore just to keep him on his toes and keep his ego under control. They don't want to end up in another Patrick Roy fiasco.

[Edited on 2005/9/26 by beckham]

[bookworm]

i hope montreal uses this opportunity to let danis show what he can do in the regular season. barring theo getting hurt, i don't want us to bring anyone else in. if danis struggles, we can rely on theo carrying the load.

[Habby1197]

Impossible that we trade for Biron... he's making 2.1 million this season, no way are we going to pay that to a back up goalie.

[shortcat1]

Nope. (another one-worder).

[beckham]

Theodore only seems to function at top form when he has serious competition. His best years as a habs were when he was fighting Jeff Hackett for starting time. I say bring in Biron and let them fight it out. Personally I think that Theodore is much overpaid and don't think that it is wise to let him sit back and be average. I also think that his personal life could become a big problem in the future.

[Rooster]

The Habs would either have to clear up cap space or forfeit their cap wiggle room (wisely kept in the event of injuries or trade deadline moves) to bring in a guy like Biron. They don't need to do that to acquire what is essentially a temporary backup.

[beckham]

But they would have to pay Huet or Danis at least .5 million, and if they traded away a forward who was making close to 1 million, the extra salary of Biron would only be .5 to 1 million. I think they have room to absorb that without causing any ripples.

Making Theodore work for his #1 status and 16 million dollars.....priceless!:/)

[GreggieMcHabfan]

I say we trade Bonk and a third rounder to LA for an up and comer named Garon. It would take away something we've been lacking for a decade, a big two way centre that can take on any No. 1 centre in the league. However, we'd get a dominant goaltender to play 4 or 5 games until Huet comes back. It will also take valuable playing time from Danis, one of the hottest goaltending prospects to come out of U.S. college hockey, but what the hay.

Sounds like a great trade to me.

It will never happen though. Houle is no longer G.M. of the Habs. We've got some nobody named Gainey.

Oh well.

[BTH]

Originally posted by GreggieMcHabfan

I say we trade Bonk and a third rounder to LA for an up and comer named Garon. It would take away something we've been lacking for a decade, a big two way centre that can take on any No. 1 centre in the league. However, we'd get a dominant goaltender to play 4 or 5 games until Huet comes back. It will also take valuable playing time from Danis, one of the hottest goaltending prospects to come out of U.S. college hockey, but what the hay.

Sounds like a great trade to me.

It will never happen though. Houle is no longer G.M. of the Habs. We've got some nobody named Gainey.

Oh well.

...okay

[shortcat1]

Originally posted by GreggieMcHabfan

I say we trade Bonk and a third rounder to LA for an up and comer named Garon. It would take away something we've been lacking for a decade, a big two way centre that can take on any No. 1 centre in the league. However, we'd get a dominant goaltender to play 4 or 5 games until Huet comes back. It will also take valuable playing time from Danis, one of the hottest goaltending prospects to come out of U.S. college hockey, but what the hay.

Sounds like a great trade to me.

It will never happen though. Houle is no longer G.M. of the Habs. We've got some nobody named Gainey.

Oh well.

Super response. It had me laughing. Thank you for a very funny little bit of irreverence. :lol::lol:

[Howie_Morenz]

Martin Biron 10 year career:

246 games

101 wins - 103 losses - 25 ties

13773 minutes played - 17 shutouts - 2.44 GAA.

Nice numbers, could be a good pickup. However (There is always a however) we need to make sure our defense is solid. Jose is the man, Danis needs a shot at backup. If Huet is so good trade him for a good young future defenseman.

There are many goalies in the organization and adding another one will not make this team better. If we were looking for a starting goalie then beckham brought up a good idea. Try to get Buffalos best. He will not be free and would cost us dearly. Plus $2.5 million Nah!:nono:

[GreggieMcHabfan]

Sorry, too much coffee. I'm glad you got it, though.

My sincere response: Danis will be fine until Huet comes back. He may even replace Huet. Seriously, Danis will serve our back up needs just fine.

[shortcat1]

Originally posted by GreggieMcHabfan

Sorry, too much coffee. I'm glad you got it, though.

My sincere response: Danis will be fine until Huet comes back. He may even replace Huet. Seriously, Danis will serve our back up needs just fine.

I agree with you, Greggie. My earlier answer 'Nope' was somewhat not complete.

Nevertheless, its succinctness pretty well defined my attitude on that question. My attitude is 'What question?' and/or 'There's no question of getting someone else who will play maybe 5 - 7 games between the beginning of the year to when Huet returns, nevermind the waste of money that this acquisition is going to mean.'

[Rooster]

There is a question. Danis hasn't locked the position yet. The Habs WILL get somebody else if they do not have confidence in him. I agree that circumstances give Danis a huge edge to start the season in Montreal but he hasn't played well enough to "close the question". Tonight will go a long way towards determining who will start the season as the backup (if the Habs have confidence that Danis will be acceptable in his role he will stay, but if he doesn't win that minimal confidence -and the jury is still out- they will look elsewhere).

[CoRvInA]

I agree with keeping what we've got ...but the question remains How do we keep theodore on his Feet! without burning him . He can't play 70 games and expect to be tip top for the playoffs... Melanson will give special attention to both Huet or Danis ... Julien has to give them as many games as possible and hopefully they will improve and impress so that Jose will feel the pressure ... this is what we have to cross our fingers for... that Our backups stand to the challenge during the first two months.

[Makh2o]

Originally posted by beckham

Martin Biron. The Sabres are shopping him and the Habs have an excess of forwards at the moment. I think there is a reasonable chance of the deal going down. Otherwise they would have held Price in camp longer I think, to allow him to compete with Danis for the spot.

I think the team might want another goaltender who is capable of challenging Theodore just to keep him on his toes and keep his ego under control. They don't want to end up in another Patrick Roy fiasco.

[Edited on 2005/9/26 by beckham]

I honestly can't see the Sabres trading Biron to the Habs, their division rivals.

[Leafs Suck]

I honestly can't see the Sabres trading Biron to the Habs, their division rivals.

IMO Biron is a proven #1 goalie. He would be a good fit on a team like Carolina who needs a safety net incase Gerber struggles.

If Danis falters, their are still guys like Potvin, Shields out there. Too bad about Potvin, if he wasn't so over the hill he might be worth taken a shot at.

[BTH]

After watching tonight's game, I can only say that I don't have much faith in Danis. He's not ready for the NHL.

I don't think Biron is the answer though. We might as well play him for 7 or 8 games. He won't lose the season for us.

Also, it's true that we're division rivals so they wouldn't trade him to us.

[beckham]

The division rivals thing doesn't mean a fiddler's fart. Both teams get something from their division rival. Who is to say that Biron would do more damage to Buffalo than Hossa or whomever would do to the Habs? Nonsensical, just like the "free agency" reasons for not playing a rookie that are constantly brought up. No NHL GM takes those factors very seriously.