Habs off season thread: free agents, trades ...etc

[gohabsgo]

Bob wasn't able to land any big fish free agents yesterday (was hoping for Briere) but made a nice pick up with Hamrlik ($3 million a year, 4 years) - I also like the fact Bob didn't overpay since some team will throw crazy money ( 6 mill) at Souray

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=212551&hubname=

 

[Cosmo]

Hramerlik,I suppose is better than nothing,but in the light of the last few Sc champions,I thought he'd go for North American players.Smolinski,is a washed off player.I doubt the Habs have a better team with those two in the line-up.

 

[Techman]

Some of the contracts that have been signed are insane! C'mon...52 Million for Briere? And there's a salary cap? I'm damn glad the Habs didn't go for that kind of deal.

 

[gohabsgo]

The initial terms were wrong, its not $12 million for 4 years its $$$ 22 million for 4 years!!! I hope Bob knows what he is doing but it doesnt matter, I see the Habs making the post season and a long playoff run for Nos Glorieux

 

[picasso]

Smolinsky

I see him as a solid 3rd liner. His numbers last year were 44 points, 18 goals. Not bad for a 3rd liner and a definite upgrade over Bonk.

 

[picasso]

Hamrlik

I think the signing of Hamrlik pretty much signals the end of Souray's tenure with the Habs. Souray apparently turned down Habs' offer of $5.5M per year. Gainey then inked Hamrlik for the same amount. Hamrlik is a much better defensive player than Souray. Expect him to log plenty of TOI with Markov next season to anchor the Habs blue line. This move is a definite upgrade on defense for the Habs and as we saw with the Anaheim Ducks, outstanding blue line defense gives you the chance to win the SC.

 

[picasso]

Not too late for that big free agent signing... My wish list for the Habs: Vinny LeCavalier, Teemu Selanne.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Some of the contracts that have been signed are insane! C'mon...52 Million for Briere? And there's a salary cap? I'm damn glad the Habs didn't go for that kind of deal.

I couldn't believe the contracts Schneider & Gomez got. Schneider is nearly 40 years old & Gomez is a 13 goal scorer, for gosh sakes!! I'm starting to think that the Leafs got a bargain when they signed Jason Blake for 5 years at $20 million.

 

[Cosmo]

Nothing against Briere, but next year, at 10 millions he will be the NHL's highest salary.Correct me if I,m wrong.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Not too late for that big free agent signing... My wish list for the Habs: Vinny LeCavalier, Teemu Selanne.

Lecavalier? He's not even a free agent. Selanne? He's likely to retire from hockey. If he doesn't, he's likely staying in Anaheim. As for the Habs, i don't see them making the playoffs next year. They didn't improve themselves. They haven't replaced Souray's goal scoring & the loss of Rivet on defence. Hamrlik is a good defenceman.....but he's no Souray. Smolinski? His best years are behind him & i don't consider him an upgrade over Bonk. The Habs lived on the powerplay last season & Souray was a major contributor to that fact. With his big shot & ability to score a thing of the past, the Habs' powerplay will be very average at best. Their goaltending will be better with Price & Huet between the pipes, but you need to score goals to win games. As for the Islanders, they're even worst off than the Habs, having lost the likes of Smyth, Blake, Poti, Hill, Kozlov & Yashin. The Leafs have improved themselves by adding Toskala, Bell & Blake. I see the Leafs in 7th or 8th place next season, with the Habs & Isles fighting for the 9th or 10th spot. Mark my words!

 

[Doc Holliday]

Nothing against Briere, but next year, at 10 millions he will be the NHL's highest salary.Correct me if I,m wrong.

Last year, Briere had a career season & didn't even get 100 points. I don't see him repeating last season's exploits with the Flyers. But he'll be a good fit with that team, considering all the young talent that they have & he'll be looked upon not only for his goal-scoring, but for his leadership. They hope his enthusiasm & experience will make the other kids even better. I predict a very strong season for the Flyers....they might even challenge the likes of Ottawa, Penguins & Rangers for top spot in the conference. Don't forgot....they now have a potential great goaltender on board in Martin Biron, who was a large factor in Briere signing with the Flyers over Montreal. He & Briere are very good friends. As for the Devils, they're likely to slump. The substraction of Gomez & Rafalski will hurt & Brodeur isn't getting any younger. They better hope he doesn't go down for a long stretch. And the Senators? They didn't improve themselves & lost some players to free agency, but the core of their top players remain. They'll likely re-sign Ray Emergy & will hope to trade Gerber away to get rid of his considerable salary (same as the Leafs with Raycroft). Wade Redden will have to considerably improve on his play in order to justify the huge contract they gave him last season. As of now, he's pretty much been a bust since he was handed that fat contract. It's debatable on whether or not the loss of Muckler will affect the team. How will the team look if Bryan Murray doesn't go back behind the bench? Oh, so many questions.....

 

[z/m(Ret)]

Souray

Souray can become a net asset for the Habs if he gets picked off by an Eastern Conference team. The astronomical amount of money Souray will be offered can only weaken a team's competitiveness.

Souray is a cheater. Last year, he choose not to keep with his team responsibilities to focus only on power play stats and polishing his Hollywood-type image, a clear indication that 2006-2007 was strategized in anticipation of making the big bucks on the West Coast.

Sure enough, Souray's big slapshot achieved stardom status for him. Other than that, he's a -28 player, a liability in his end zone and not much of a team player.

 

[z/m(Ret)]

Hamrlik -vs- Souray

Hamrlik is a good defenceman.....but he's no Souray.

Great if he's not! Souray managed to trick many fans and GM's into believing that he's a top defenseman, whereas he has little to show besides a big slapshot, perhaps the league's biggest.

With the kind of money Gainey would need to dish out in order to keep flash-in-the-pan Souray aboard, Habs are way better off with Hamrlik.

 

[anon_vlad]

Montreal has the largest seating capacity in the NHL and, despite their lack of success on the rare occasions they are invited to the playoffs, sell out during the regular season. There is therefore little incentive for them to improve from the boring losers they are and will continue to be.

 

[z/m(Ret)]

This move is a definite upgrade on defense for the Habs and as we saw with the Anaheim Ducks, outstanding blue line defense gives you the chance to win the SC.

A Markov/Hamrlik tandem, as good as it sounds, does not compare with Niedermayer/Pronger, let's get real here. Niedermayer/Pronger last year's combined totals are way above Markov/Hamrlik's: 128 pts -vs- 87; 28 goals -vs- 13; +33 -vs- +24; 17 PP Goals -vs- 6; 54:35 mins per game -vs- 48:20.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Souray's big slapshot achieved stardom status for him. Other than that, he's a -28 player, a liability in his end zone and not much of a team player.

I agree with you. Souray is terrible defensively. However, his bread n' butter is his big shot, which was a great asset & the key to Mtl's success on the power play. The Habs lived & died with the pp, which means that without their big gun Souray to run it at the point, they'll be in deep shit if they can't find some other way to score goals.

I also agree with your statement that it could be an asset to the Habs if some other team in the eastern conference signs him, therefore blowing their budget on an overrated player. However, i can't see anyone in the eastern conference with the budget to sign him other than the Isles. I still expect him to sign with a western conference team. He would have liked to head to the west coast, but i doubt LA, Anaheim or San Jose now has the money to sign him. Am i wrong?

I was surprised not to see the Rangers go after Souray. I liked the fact they signed Drury, even though he's not worth what they gave him. I question the Gomez signing. Makes me wonder if they ever bothered checking his stats over the past 4-5 years before they decided to open their treasure chest to him.

 

[z/m(Ret)]

I agree with you. Souray is terrible defensively. However, his bread n' butter is his big shot, which was a great asset & the key to Mtl's success on the power play. The Habs lived & died with the pp, which means that without their big gun Souray to run it at the point, they'll be in deep shit if they can't find some other way to score goals.

With Souray most likely to be gone, Habs ability to score on the PP dropped significantly. On the other hand, their 5-on-5 overall performance should improve with Hamrlik aboard. As for finding ways to score goals, Gainey hopes that Higgins, Ryder, Plekanec, Streit and Latendresse's will emerge before he's out of a job.

I also agree with your statement that it could be an asset to the Habs if some other team in the eastern conference signs him, therefore blowing their budget on an overrated player. However, i can't see anyone in the eastern conference with the budget to sign him other than the Isles. I still expect him to sign with a western conference team. He would have liked to head to the west coast, but i doubt LA, Anaheim or San Jose now has the money to sign him. Am i wrong? I was surprised not to see the Rangers go after Souray. I liked the fact they signed Drury, even though he's not worth what they gave him. I question the Gomez signing. Makes me wonder if they ever bothered checking his stats over the past 4-5 years before they decided to open their treasure chest to him.

I think that Souray's marketability, more than his on-ice net worth, will decide where he will be playing this coming season. Therefore, look for teams with problems selling season tickets to bid the highest.

A season ticket package in the lower bowl at Sommet Center in Nashville sells at US$4,000 a piece. With a marketing strategy geared to introduce Souray as the new Messiah, someone within Predators management, might believe that the fans will buy the 1,600 season tickets and some required to cover Souray's pay cheque, tickets that, otherwise, wouldn't have been sold. Selling hot air is what a manager does best.

Arena sold out, the team is in the money, management did its job. Winning games, the Cup, that's secondary.

 

[picasso]

Lecavalier? He's not even a free agent. Selanne? He's likely to retire from hockey. If he doesn't, he's likely staying in Anaheim. As for the Habs, i don't see them making the playoffs next year. They didn't improve themselves. They haven't replaced Souray's goal scoring & the loss of Rivet on defence. Hamrlik is a good defenceman.....but he's no Souray. Smolinski? His best years are behind him & i don't consider him an upgrade over Bonk. The Habs lived on the powerplay last season & Souray was a major contributor to that fact. With his big shot & ability to score a thing of the past, the Habs' powerplay will be very average at best. Their goaltending will be better with Price & Huet between the pipes, but you need to score goals to win games. As for the Islanders, they're even worst off than the Habs, having lost the likes of Smyth, Blake, Poti, Hill, Kozlov & Yashin. The Leafs have improved themselves by adding Toskala, Bell & Blake. I see the Leafs in 7th or 8th place next season, with the Habs & Isles fighting for the 9th or 10th spot. Mark my words!

Yes, LeCavalier is not a free agent but Tampa's mandate from ownership is to drop payroll big time and word is LeCavalier can be had at the right price. As for Telanne, he's still got a couple more productive years in him. With his offensive skills, he'd be a great mentor to the younger Habs front line of Higgins, Latendresse.

I don't think the Habs are quite done with their offseason shopping. Listening to Bob Gainey's press conference today, while he acknowledged that he's probably done with landing UFAs, what's left unsaid are trade possibilities. The Habs are loaded at the goalie position with Huet, Halak, Price. They still have cap room and Kovalev and Ryder are definite trade baits. They also have some real prized talent on their farm team Hamilton which by the way won the Calder Cup. So their roster for next season is far from set. As for Isles and Leafs, who gives a fuck...

 

[picasso]

A Markov/Hamrlik tandem, as good as it sounds, does not compare with Niedermayer/Pronger, let's get real here. Niedermayer/Pronger last year's combined totals are way above Markov/Hamrlik's: 128 pts -vs- 87; 28 goals -vs- 13; +33 -vs- +24; 17 PP Goals -vs- 6; 54:35 mins per game -vs- 48:20.

ZM,

Where did I say that the Markov/Hamrlik blue line is of the same caliber as Niedermayer/Pronger? Anyone who follows the NHL pretty much knows that the Duck's tandem on the blue line was the best in the league last year. My point is the Markov/Hamrlik combo is a definite upgrade over Markov/Souray/Rivet and you need to have a strong D-line to go far in the playoffs.

 

[Doc Holliday]

My point is the Markov/Hamrlik combo is a definite upgrade over Markov/Souray/Rivet and you need to have a strong D-line to go far in the playoffs.

I dunno. The Markov/Hamrlik tandem is a good one defensively,but they won't score as many goals as they did when Souray was leading their powerplay. The Canadiens need goals, not defence....plus, their defence has already improved with the substraction of Abbischer. You say that you need a strong defence to go far in the playoffs. Sure...but strong goaltending is much more important. The Canadiens will have to make the playoffs in order to go far.....right now, as it stands, i have absolutely no reason to believe that they'll be better than last year. Every team in their conference has improved other than the Islanders, Sabres & Senators. I can't see the Sabres & Senators missing the playoffs, so once again, the Habs will be in for the fight of their life in order to make the playoffs. But this season, the Flyers will be a force to reckon with and i can't see Montreal doing any better than 10th place overall in their conference, therefore missing the playoffs once again.