Montreal Canadiens

[habs83]

At this point it's far more interesting to think about the future than the present...

True...so let's play "Be the GM"...

While the vast majority of the fanbase in montreal hopes that a new GM will be named this summer, share with us what you would do if you had the job. List the moves you would make to right the ship. (Realistic moves, no Gomez-for-Bobby ryan kind of moves) Re-build? Plugging the holes? I'm curious to see if a consensus can be reached.

I'll be the first to go:

mode: Quick rebuild
1-Gomez in the AHL. Not bought out, cap space is far too valuable.
2-Trade Plekanec and the right package of 2nd round picks in the next two drafts for the 1st round pick of the Minnesota Wild in 2012 and Matt Cullen. Cullen is very strong on faceoffs, can play on the PK and pay on d on the PP. He is also a UFA after next season. Plekanec to Minnesota makes sense since they have a lot of quality prospects in the pipeline, but nothing that will have an impact in the NHL soon, except for Granlund.
3-Sign Ryan Suter to whatever contract he wants. We all saw what happened when Markov went down, so if it happens again next season, another stud would do wonders. If both are healthy, the Habs have possibly the best D corps in the NHL.
4-Sign Konopka. One of the best faceoff guy in the ligue, tough, played a lot on the PK two years ago.
5-Try to sign Jagr to a contract...yes I know, tough to sell. Not much top 6 wingers on the market this summer.
6-Draft Galchenyuk or Grigorenko and Forsberg or Faksa with the two first round picks in the top 10, possibly top 6 or 7. Except if the Habs win the lottery, it would be Yakupov + Grigorenko/Galchenyuk.
7-sign Price to a long term contract and PK to a two years contract. The two of them can be sgned for under 10M per at these conditions. Subban will then be resigned long term after that deal (path similar to Price's)


Roster next season:
Patch-Desharnais-Cole
Jagr-Eller-Gionta
Bourque-Cullen-Leblanc
Geoffrion-Konopka-White
Darche

Markov-Suter
Subban-Gorges
Kaberle-Emelin
Diaz

Price
Budaj

roster in three years, without taking into account trades, futurs draftees or UFA signed:
Patch-Desharnais-Forsberg/Faksa
Leblanc-Galchenyuk-Gallagher
Bourque-Eller-Kristo
Geoffrion-Bournival-White
Schultz

Suter-Emelin
Subban-Gorges
Tinordi-Beaulieu
Bennett

Price
Who cares

All of that cap compliant for years to come!! A lot of uncertainties (Why would Suter and Jagr sign here, possible busts at the draft), but hey, one can dream.

[ericdaoust]

Habs sign Patrick Holland to ELC...

http://canadiens.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=621095

[ericdaoust]

http://www.hockeyinsideout.com/news/...noone-practice

Gomez/Palushaj back, Leblanc/Engqvist to Hamilton...

[ericdaoust]

True...so let's play "Be the GM"...

While the vast majority of the fanbase in montreal hopes that a new GM will be named this summer, share with us what you would do if you had the job. List the moves you would make to right the ship. (Realistic moves, no Gomez-for-Bobby ryan kind of moves) Re-build? Plugging the holes? I'm curious to see if a consensus can be reached.

I'll be the first to go:

mode: Quick rebuild
1-Gomez in the AHL. Not bought out, cap space is far too valuable.
2-Trade Plekanec and the right package of 2nd round picks in the next two drafts for the 1st round pick of the Minnesota Wild in 2012 and Matt Cullen. Cullen is very strong on faceoffs, can play on the PK and pay on d on the PP. He is also a UFA after next season. Plekanec to Minnesota makes sense since they have a lot of quality prospects in the pipeline, but nothing that will have an impact in the NHL soon, except for Granlund.
3-Sign Ryan Suter to whatever contract he wants. We all saw what happened when Markov went down, so if it happens again next season, another stud would do wonders. If both are healthy, the Habs have possibly the best D corps in the NHL.
4-Sign Konopka. One of the best faceoff guy in the ligue, tough, played a lot on the PK two years ago.
5-Try to sign Jagr to a contract...yes I know, tough to sell. Not much top 6 wingers on the market this summer.
6-Draft Galchenyuk or Grigorenko and Forsberg or Faksa with the two first round picks in the top 10, possibly top 6 or 7. Except if the Habs win the lottery, it would be Yakupov + Grigorenko/Galchenyuk.
7-sign Price to a long term contract and PK to a two years contract. The two of them can be sgned for under 10M per at these conditions. Subban will then be resigned long term after that deal (path similar to Price's)

1) I think Gomez will be bought out as I believe the new CBA will bring in a free-buyout period that doesn't count against the cap. It's also better to not have Gomez be a distraction in Hamilton. If he goes the AHL route I'd rather see him loaned to another team.

2) I don't think Plekanec can be packaged like that to the Wild. I don't see them biting on that considering they would be moving a top pick for a guy considered to be underachieving under a new contract. It's the right idea from the Habs' perspective, but often times with those long contracts you end up eating a few years before the player regains trade value.

3) This move would be 100% dependent on Plekanec being moved. I actually think Suter stays in Nashville.

4) I was cheerleading to sign this guy last summer. Give the guy 3-4 years at his current salary to pry him away from the competition. You know what you get from this guy. Top fighting, good face-offs and good penalty-killing. I knew the Habs had a hole in that spot, and later they made the trade of a propsect and a late pick for Nokelainen.

5) I am open to the idea. I think the Art Ross expectations from the past have been tempered and the fans would not get on his case for a slump. I just don't see him leaving Philly, let alone for a lower-seeded team.

6) I think the Habs will end up with Grigorenko or Dumba. They have been ranked 2/3 from what I've read and this is likely where the Habs will be drafting. It depends on what the Oilers want.

7) Keeping Subban and Price is a must. They are doomed if they don't continue building around these guys. My only fear with Price is that he will want a shorter deal which expires the year he becomes eligible for UFA free agency.

[ericdaoust]

I gave some thought to PK Subban's up-and-down season and came up with some interesting observations. Clearly he has been poorly supported this year and the lack of true talent back there has put him in some tough spots.

My priority order for dmen (sorted by offensive talent this year):
1) PK Subban
2) Tomas Kaberle
3) Yannick Weber
4) Rafael Diaz
5) Josh Gorges
6) Chris Campoli
7) Alexei Emelin
8) Hal Gill (traded)

My priority order for dmen (sorted by defensive talent this year):
1) Josh Gorges
2) Hal Gill (traded)
3) Alexei Emelin
4) PK Subban
5) Rafael Diaz
6) Yannick Weber
7) Tomas Kaberle
8) Chris Campoli

Note: Spacek barely played so I did not include him.

Average rank:
PK Subban (1+4=5)
Josh Gorges (5+1=6)
Rafael Diaz (4+5=9)
Yannick Weber (3+6=9)
Tomas Kaberle (2+7=9)
Hal Gill (traded) (8+2=10)
Alexei Emelin (7+3=10)
Chris Campoli (6+8=14)

So generally speaking, I'd say PK's struggles speak more to the lack of support around him. Despite his struggles I think it's obvious that he still ranks in the top-four at both ends of the ice. So what does that say for everyone else? There is no reason to trade him or do anything other than keep nurturing him and bring in better support.

[ericdaoust]

Again I missed parts of the game since my mind was on other things. Hopefully things stabilize for the stretch drive because I bought my house last night.

Kudos to Max Pacioretty who scored goals #29 and #30 in this game. Just a year ago he was unconcious on the ice with a concussion and a broken neck. That's a pretty amazing comeback trail to go from uncertainty to a top-line player. He still goes through some stretches where he doesn't use his size enough, but you can't deny his goal-scoring touch. His development seals the deal when it comes to the trade that saw Craig Rivet leave town for Pacioretty and Josh Gorges.

PK Subban also had a very good outing, posting a goal and two assists, including a great takeaway in the final minute which eventually set up Pacioretty's empty-netter. Just like that he has 30 points in 67 games and is even on the plus-minus scale, which is impressive considering the huge minuses throughout the roster.

Aside from that, the only thing that stood out to me was the injury to David Desharnais. He appeared to injure his hamstring or something in that area as he was favouring the back of his leg. According to RDS he will not play Saturday. He should be cautious as there is nothing to play for. No reason to turn a muscle pull into a tear which can cut into his offseason training schedule.

[ross10019]

Louis Leblanc recalled to replace Desharnais, who won't play on Saturday in Vancouver due to that LBI suffered versus the Oilers last night.

However the injury is apparently considered minor, so it's quite possible he'll play on Monday in Buffalo.

[kluu]

lol random thought - when did brad staubitz become a canadien?! how strange

[ericdaoust]

lol random thought - when did brad staubitz become a canadien?! how strange

He was put on waivers because Matt Kassian passed him on the Minnesota depth chart.

In other news, Andrei Markov is back!

[ericdaoust]

Surprise surprise, we have a new player on the team. Andrei Markov returned to the lineup after what seems like a decade on the IR. Has he played yet since the lockout? In all seriousness, Markov showed why he is such a great player. His skating was good at times and sluggish at other times but his puck movement was outstanding. He makes great decisions and his passes are always on the mark.

In less important news, the Habs beat the Canucks 4-1. The main star of this game was Carey Price who turned away a ton of chances early in the game to keep it within striking range which allowed the team to get on a roll once the players woke up.

PK Subban had another great game, which included a ton of rushes to create scoring chances and some agitation to counter the likes of Kesler and Burrows. His goal ended a great sequence on a 5-on-3 power play. Some great puck movement led to a one-timer set up by Markov. The goal was Subban's seventh and he now has 31 points this season. He should come close to matching last year's 38.

Brad Staubitz had another solid showing with an assist and a fight with Zack Kassian where Staubitz landed a few good shots on the face. It's nice to finally see a team that can counter the other team's physical play.

I'll say it again: has anyone called Alexei Emelin's agent yet?

Erik Cole and Max Pacioretty were outstanding even though they were missing their setup man David Desharnais. Thomas Plekanec took his place in the middle and things rolled along as usual. Cole had two goals, both assisted by Pacioretty.

Blake Geoffrion scored his first goal with the team, which gives him one more than his dad had during the Canadiens.

Louis Leblanc and Aaron Palushaj both brought great energy.

I highly recommend seeking out the post-game interviews with Geoffrion and Pacioretty on CBC last night. Both players came across very well. It offers some great insight into who they are as people.

[ericdaoust]

Max Pacioretty is ranked #9 overall in goals right now. Just FYI. It's pretty amazing how valuable a 30-goal guy is these days.

[ddp]

They need to extend Max P NOW.

This team will contend as soon as next year...book it. They just need a few tweaks and another scorer. Bye bye gomez.

[habs83]

They need to extend Max P NOW.

This team will contend as soon as next year...book it. They just need a few tweaks and another scorer. Bye bye gomez.

Since Pacioretty is signed through 2012-13, he can't be extend until July 1st.

[ross10019]

As reported on TSN990, Habs confirmed Desharnais will be in the lineup against the Sabres tonight.

[ericdaoust]

As reported on TSN990, Habs confirmed Desharnais will be in the lineup against the Sabres tonight.

Good to see, just for the sake of continued production from that line.