Montreal Canadiens

[ross10019]

Just to add to my game report from last night, Tomas Kaberle has 13 points in 20 games since being traded to Montreal. This while playing over 20 minutes just twice.

Thanks for pointing this out Eric. So ironic that he goes to a town where hockey is nowhere near the front pages, and does nothing, then he comes to a hockey cauldron where people are expecting he is going to get burned to a crips by heavy expectation, and instead, probably in part due to bigger "distractions" involving the team, he just quietly plays the effective offense-oriented game that was largely expected of him. That's a pretty damned quiet 50-pt pace stretch for a Dman, hardly no buzz at all.

[ddp]

Gomez and Pick for Carter. It makes sense. The GM there is getting fired anyway. Actually both GM's are getting fired! One can only hope.

[ericdaoust]

Gomez and Pick for Carter. It makes sense. The GM there is getting fired anyway. Actually both GM's are getting fired! One can only hope.

The gap between the two players is astronomical. IMO Gomez has the worse trade value in the entire league other than Rick Dipietro. The only hope for trading Gomez involves his salary vs his cap hit next year. Cap hit is 7.3 million but salary is about 4.5 million. It would help cap floor teams get to the floor while keeping their budget down. Only problem is... the new CBA is likely to bring changes to those rules.

[ddp]

I think some teams would be more than happy to pay Gomez 2.75 mil to be their 2nd line center. Nothing to do with the trade, I'm just saying he's NOT a TERRIBLE hockey player...he's just a joke for what he makes.

[ericdaoust]

I think some teams would be more than happy to pay Gomez 2.75 mil to be their 2nd line center. Nothing to do with the trade, I'm just saying he's NOT a TERRIBLE hockey player...he's just a joke for what he makes.

Agreed. If he was bought out he would find work easily for 2-3 million. The problem right now is the cap hit of 7.3 million with 2 more full seasons remaining. So keeping our value range of 2.75 million in mind, Gomez's current cap hit means that you're taking a player worth 4.5 million out of your lineup.

This same logic applies to Mr. Cammalleri (dammit Gauthier your influence is getting to me too!) as well.

[ericdaoust]

Funny that the Habs/Wings were the only game yesterday which obviously leads to more eyes watching the game and as of this morning everyone is scrambling to pick up Desharnais off of their waiver wire? He is a popular guy on the forums today!

[STONE.]

Thoughts on Gionta in a points-only league?

I wouldn't expect miracles, but if he can stay healthy, is he still a 50+ point threat in future years (2-4?)?

He's really not that old (32ish?) and was pretty consistent until last year. 50 would be all I'd need to bank on....

[ericdaoust]

Thoughts on Gionta in a points-only league?

I wouldn't expect miracles, but if he can stay healthy, is he still a 50+ point threat in future years (2-4?)?

He's really not that old (32ish?) and was pretty consistent until last year. 50 would be all I'd need to bank on....

He's been hit-or-miss in the GP department. He either plays all 82 or misses 20+ games to injury. I'd peg him for a 55-point pace over 82 games but keep the injury possibility in mind. Not that any NHL player is actually safe these days...

[ddp]

I think Gionta is no more than 50pts now. Unless of course Pleckanec is somehow traded for Getzlaf! teeheee

[ericdaoust]

I do wonder if the presence of Rene Bourque will make Gionta better. Having Gionta and Cammalleri was redundant to me as they both shoot well but neither is good at playing along the boards. Bourque is more of a net presence than Cammalleri so I imagine over a full season it could give him better shooting lanes. It's just speculation at this point though.

[ericdaoust]

An unnamed source tells me that from now on Carey Price will handle shoot-out attempts by turning his back to the shooters.

[habs83]

Here is a little article that is putting the "Habs are such a smaal team" argument in perspective. I, for one, was

http://www.habsaddict.com/2012/01/ha...oenick-on.html

To summarize, all the teams in the league are 6'0 or 6'1 on average, and the Habs are on the 6'1 side (and it can't be solely because of Hal Gill). The Habs are surprisingly the ninth heaviest team in the league too.

We all know that the Habs are really small at the center position, but, as we can see with Desharnais, having two big, skilled wingers can help. The top 9 wingers right now are:

Cole
MaxPac
Kostitsyn
Bourque
Moen
Gionta (Blunden)

The fourth line isn't a bunch of smurfs with White, Darche, Blunden (usually) and Nokelainen battlling for icetime.

On defense, Subban, Gill, Emelin, Gorges stand from average to pretty tall.

There is a misconception, even among Habs fans, that the team is generally small. In fact, the team does not have a big center, aside from Eller, in the top 9, but the rest of the line-up isn't small. Could the roster use a little more grit? Absolutely! But this roster won't be physically dominated on any given night.

What can be taken out of this analysis is pretty damn evident, something that all Habs fans know, but it is simply highlighted even more after reading this: GET A BIG FREAKING CENTER WITH SKILLS ASAP.

[ericdaoust]

Here is a little article that is putting the "Habs are such a smaal team" argument in perspective. I, for one, was

http://www.habsaddict.com/2012/01/ha...oenick-on.html

To summarize, all the teams in the league are 6'0 or 6'1 on average, and the Habs are on the 6'1 side (and it can't be solely because of Hal Gill). The Habs are surprisingly the ninth heaviest team in the league too.

We all know that the Habs are really small at the center position, but, as we can see with Desharnais, having two big, skilled wingers can help. The top 9 wingers right now are:

Cole
MaxPac
Kostitsyn
Bourque
Moen
Gionta (Blunden)

The fourth line isn't a bunch of smurfs with White, Darche, Blunden (usually) and Nokelainen battlling for icetime.

On defense, Subban, Gill, Emelin, Gorges stand from average to pretty tall.

There is a misconception, even among Habs fans, that the team is generally small. In fact, the team does not have a big center, aside from Eller, in the top 9, but the rest of the line-up isn't small. Could the roster use a little more grit? Absolutely! But this roster won't be physically dominated on any given night.

What can be taken out of this analysis is pretty damn evident, something that all Habs fans know, but it is simply highlighted even more after reading this: GET A BIG FREAKING CENTER WITH SKILLS ASAP.

They don't need a big centerman. They are fine down the middle right now. The team's biggest issue is not size, it's showing up. A lot of ice time goes to players who often times have their mind elsewhere during the game.

Gomez, Gionta, Cammalleri, Plekanec, Kostitsyn... that's a lot of ice time and payroll for part-timers (Plekanec is awesome defensively but his point-totals fluctuate insanely). I'm glad to see them move Cammalleri as it is a step in the right direction to correcting this problem, even though Rene Bourque by reputation has shown similar tendencies.

On D there is a major problem of redundancy. They have Kaberle, Campoli, Weber and Diaz who are all basically the same type of puck-moving defenceman. Not to mention the amount of payroll missing by Andrei Markov's absence.

I think people are starting to understand the picture. Based on the players outlined here, that's more than 15 million in payroll flushed down the drain which puts the team on par with cap-floor teams. Hence the results we're seeing this season.

[ericdaoust]

Andrei Markov skated today for the first time since his latest knee surgery. It begins again...

[ericdaoust]

Tonight's projected lineup from TSN Ice Chips:

Canadiens scratches on Tuesday are Chris Campoli, Travis Moen (upper body), Petteri Nokelainen (upper body) - TSN

Tuesday's Projected Lines vs. Sabres:
Forwards:
Pacioretty - Desharnais - Cole
Bourque - Plekanec - Gomez
Kostitsyn - Eller - Blunden
Darche - Engqvist - Weber

Defence:
Gorges - Subban
Gill - Diaz
Kaberle - Emelin
Campoli

Goaltenders:
Price
Budaj