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Gainey has a limited amount of choices


SWIFTYHAB

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I study policy decisions by government officials as a my career, and studying what Gainey has to do is really no different, and like all of you know is very exciting especially since we all have the same passion for this team.

But let's consider a few things here that could help us narrow down our speculation.

1. Gainey is not a man who goes back on what he says, he says what me means, and he does what he intends. So he's committed to building a strong team more for the future than for now, but he's not looking to rebuild entirely because he already has the best pool of young guns in the minors. So it follows logically that this week he said that the team is NOT looking for a rent-a-player.

It doesn't seem logically coherent to give up draft picks for UFAs that are going to help this team for only this year without possibly getting them to sign a long-term contract.

However, Pierre Boivin's statement that the habs need to get into the 3rd round to break even might also be indictive of some pressure on Gainey to go out and get a rent-a-player in the hopes of ensuring that Mr. GIllette and Molson do not lose a few million this year.

But this theory really does not hold much water because we have already seen that the owners are willing to lose money now to ensure a viable product in the future. Three players have already been bought out this year with over $5 million dollars invested to allow for younger players to take their roles, and to eliminate any possible distractions to the team. This shows that the owners of this team are willing to spend money to improve this team for the future even if that means acquiring gains through subtractions.

This leads us back to the original statement by Gainey showing us that he is looking for a player who can help this team now and in the future, and who already has at least a 2-3 year contract signed or whose agent is talking with Gainey now to sign one once a trade is completed.

2. Our GM has said quite clearly that a need to be addressed has to be a center position with a right handed shot. Fair enough, but he has mentioned precious little about a powerforward who can play with Koivu or Ribeiro on either of the top two lines, but more urgently with Koivu on the wing. Seeing as how every player slated to be on the top two lines is a left shooter except for Ryder, you would have to assume that a right-handed shooter or winger is what Gainey and his staff have been looking for. With the discussions over Sean Hill, we can also note that he is looking for a strong stay-at-home defenceman who can do what this staff beleived Komisarek could do this season but is still not ready to do.

3. Gainey's first two aquisitions were Langdon and Begin. Both team players, both willing to sacrifice themselves and play hard. Gainey has a preference for these types of players. He is even willing to let Hainsey languish in the minors because he doesn't beleive that he has these qualities of character. So it should seem obvious that if Gainey does not want to play talented players from his own team because of their lack of character, then he certainly won't go out and get other players with similar defincies.

With these indicators alone, you can limit the pool of players available to the Habs greatly.

1. Has to have at least 4-5 strong years left, so anywhere from 23-32 years old.

2. Be signed or willing to sign a 3 year contract

3. As a forward, he must be a right-handed shooter

4. Must be a power forward so around 6'0 and 200lbs if not bigger

5. Can also be a strong and stable stay-at-home defenceman.

6. Must play with intensity and be a team player

So now that we have established what Gainey wants we must also note that a player(s) with these qualities are what many teams also look for. So why, and more importantly which teams would be willing to give up on such a player.

The immediate team that comes to mind is one that is looking to dump salary and rebuild around youth. Also one who does not foresee going to the playoffs this year or for the next 2 years or so with the lockout approaching

So Chicago, Carolina, Columbus, Edmonton, Florida, NY Rangers, Pittsburg, St. Louis, Washington

All these teams are looking to dumb salary and rebuild to one extent or another and would probably be satisfied with a prospect, and a pick. The players that they have available that fit Gainey's needs are:

Chicago

Nathan Dempsey 29 6-0 191

Alexander Karpovtsev 33 6-3 221

Jason Strudwick 28 6-3 225

Carolina

Jeff O'Neill 28 6-1 195

Sean Hill 34 6-0 205

Bret Hedican 33 6-2 205

Columbus

Luke Richardson 34 6-4 215

Edmonton

Adam Oates 41 5-11 190

Radek Dvorak 26 6-2 200

Jason Smith 30 6-3 212

Cory Cross 33 6-5 220

Scott Ferguson 31 6-1 195

Florida

Viktor Kozlov 29 6-5 233

Lyle Odelein 35 6-0 206

NY Ranger

Tom Poti 26 6-3 208

Boris Mironov 31 6-4 223

Brian Leetch 35 6-0 185

Dale Purinton 27 6-2 220

Pittsburg

Marc Bergevin 38 6-1 214

Dick Tarnstrom 29 6-2 205

St. Louis

Scott Mellanby 37 6-1 208

Jeff Finley 36 6-2 203

Chris Pronger 29 6-6 218

Bryce Salvador 28 6-2 214

Matt Walker 23 6-3 227

Eric Weinrich 37 6-1 207

Washington

Jeff Halpern 27 6-0 202

Anson Carter 29 6-1 200

Mike Grier 29 6-1 227

I would personally avoid looking at teams that are currently in the playoff picture simply because they know that it would be easier to address their needs by gauging these selling teams instead of dealing with a team like the habs whose needs and stage of development are probably closer to their own.

However, I would include a few other teams who would sell off some of their players because they are not in the playoff picture.

Anaheim

Ruslan Salei 29 6-1 213

Atlanta

Andy Sutton 28 6-6 245

Buffalo

Chris Drury 27 5-10 202

Rory Fitzpatrick 29 6-2 208

Alexei Zhitnik 31 5-11 214

Minnesota

Brad Bombardir 31 6-1 205

Having compiled this list, I'll have to say that I did not examine the player's contract status, and if someone has access to that info, then they may want to rexamine the list to limit it even further

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