leafs_rock_go_mccabe Posted July 2, 2009 Report Share Posted July 2, 2009 I am happy with the new Canadiens. I feel disappointed that Saku Koivu's tenure here has come to an end, but he's the kind of player whose jersey you could still proudly wear at the Bell. I think the team is improved in several facets. I think it's nice that we have a new look. Last year was such a disaster... From Tanguay's injuries, to Lang's freak accident, to Kovalev's benchings. I think it's time to leave all of that behind and move on. A new direction, as it were! Mike Cammalleri offers us a potential PPG player coming off of a 40+ goal seeason. Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta help fill in our top-6 and bring plenty of experience, defensive awareness, and scoring potential. Hal Gill and Jaroslav Spacek I am unsure about, but the money looks okay for their level of contribution over the past few seasons. A new coach means a new perspective! A new opportunity with some better systems, I hope. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
9400ernie Posted July 2, 2009 Report Share Posted July 2, 2009 In the present: Not bad, could have been much worse. But I'm not happy, moreso less disappointed than I was expecting. However, I would have preferred we brought back Koivu and kept Higgins (combined probably would equal about Gomez's salary); and not lost a good prospect. Cammy replacing Tanguay is a good move in my opinion. Gionta over Kovalev is very debatable but there is some logic to it, particularly under Martin. Spacek and Gill are both good players, although our defense now lacks a #2 guy. We went from being overloaded with third pairing dmen to being overloaded with second pairing dmen: which is better, but we still lack someone to play 30 minutes alongside Markov and never really replaced Komisarek. Lang is also a loss that hurts, and we did lose some depth (although we probably have kids who can fill in). In the future, this is absolutely awful unless the cap suddenly starts shooting up. One problem is we are once again in a situation where in 2 years all our dmen are UFAs and in 5 years our top 3 forwards are UFAs: could Gainey not space these guys out better? The other problem is we could have a lot of trouble re-signing our own guys when their contracts are up and they want raises. We have 18 million locked into 3 forwards (none of them elite) for the next 5 years: that is going to be a major hindrance if some of our young players start performing like they are capable of and then want a salary to match this performance. If the cap decreases, this will be even worse: we have very little salary coming off the books next season. In a way you almost have to hope Price doesn't do too well this season, otherwise he may start demanding 5 million or something and it will be painful to free that up. Agree somewhat but I think if price show us he worth 5 mil we will find the money somewhere.Lost of prospects will be making the jump from hamilton for low salaries so no doubt well move some guys to free up salary by then.heck if we were willin gto take on gomezs salary im sure we can trick someone into taking on some of ours Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HockeyMan86 Posted July 2, 2009 Report Share Posted July 2, 2009 Agree somewhat but I think if price show us he worth 5 mil we will find the money somewhere.Lost of prospects will be making the jump from hamilton for low salaries so no doubt well move some guys to free up salary by then.heck if we were willin gto take on gomezs salary im sure we can trick someone into taking on some of ours metro is gone and we can buy out gill or trade him to free up 2.2m and use a young D man to replace gill if their is cap issues. Also i am guessing whoever we sign on our list of RFA will probably one year deals so we got some wiggle room come the end of the season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmash Posted July 2, 2009 Report Share Posted July 2, 2009 Agree somewhat but I think if price show us he worth 5 mil we will find the money somewhere.Lost of prospects will be making the jump from hamilton for low salaries so no doubt well move some guys to free up salary by then.heck if we were willin gto take on gomezs salary im sure we can trick someone into taking on some of ours We'll find the money somehow, but it will be painful. We have virtually no salary coming off the books: the only players are all making 1 million or less (well depending what our RFAs sign for), they need to be replaced and the replacement will probably make almost the same if it's a Hamilton callup. Additionally, if the cap drops, trading players will become incredibly difficult. Not only will any assets become "more expensive" relative to the cap, but other teams will also be in cap trouble and not jumping to take our bad contracts off our hands. This is why I said all along that having this many free agents the year before the big cap drop is expected is a very bad thing: guys don't take 1 year deals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
losthab Posted July 2, 2009 Report Share Posted July 2, 2009 metro is gone and we can buy out gill or trade him to free up 2.2m and use a young D man to replace gill if their is cap issues. Also i am guessing whoever we sign on our list of RFA will probably one year deals so we got some wiggle room come the end of the season. e could get rid of lattendresse, hamrlik plecanek,, that should free up some cash Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HockeyMan86 Posted July 2, 2009 Report Share Posted July 2, 2009 We'll find the money somehow, but it will be painful. We have virtually no salary coming off the books: the only players are all making 1 million or less (well depending what our RFAs sign for), they need to be replaced and the replacement will probably make almost the same if it's a Hamilton callup. Additionally, if the cap drops, trading players will become incredibly difficult. Not only will any assets become "more expensive" relative to the cap, but other teams will also be in cap trouble and not jumping to take our bad contracts off our hands. This is why I said all along that having this many free agents the year before the big cap drop is expected is a very bad thing: guys don't take 1 year deals. Don't take one year deals if they go to arbitration or something? i am totally not clear how arbitration works so...yea... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
losthab Posted July 2, 2009 Report Share Posted July 2, 2009 Don't take one year deals if they go to arbitration or something? i am totally not clear how arbitration works so...yea... we are not capped out, not over the cap, bob will leave some wiggle room Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HockeyMan86 Posted July 2, 2009 Report Share Posted July 2, 2009 That's true we do have 10m in cap space left and i think the best plan is to bring back the RFA we need and save the rest of our cap space. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
9400ernie Posted July 2, 2009 Report Share Posted July 2, 2009 Truth be told though if the cap drops that much many teams will be in the same position as us as most teams gravitate to the cap ceiling.So in essenc if the cap drops dramatically the whole cap system could collapse.Guess there will be a lot of unemployed hockey players Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HockeyMan86 Posted July 2, 2009 Report Share Posted July 2, 2009 Truth be told though if the cap drops that much many teams will be in the same position as us as most teams gravitate to the cap ceiling.So in essenc if the cap drops dramatically the whole cap system could collapse.Guess there will be a lot of unemployed hockey players we need a soft cap system then? haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
9400ernie Posted July 2, 2009 Report Share Posted July 2, 2009 we need a soft cap system then? haha lol the players would love that.but it does seem to be getting harder to cram a roster under the current cap number when salaries seem to still be rising probably faster than the rate they were pre lockout.just my opinion not sure if thats true or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomzilla Posted July 2, 2009 Report Share Posted July 2, 2009 No Saku = disappointed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thenumber11 Posted July 2, 2009 Report Share Posted July 2, 2009 Overall I'd say the day was good. Everyone's said it but, the big issue is the money they're spending on some of these guys. In a capless NHL, montreal would reign supreme. The line of Gomez, Gionta and Cam looks good to me. I don't think they're a great first line though. Both defensive additions make sense to me. I'd like to see them retain Schnieder too though... Really I'm happy with the additions and wrecked about the losses. I love Koivu and can only hope he comes back somehow some way (I know, I know...) Tanguay and Kovy I believe still deserved a roster spot for sure. If we're not keeping Koivu, for christsake keep Lang! The guy stated he wanted to stay in Montreal, he played with heart and I think he's one of the guys that is the glue that holds teams together. Last season, Lang went down and so did the team. In my eyes, he complimented the rest of the team too well to make him a one season hab (unless the injury is still effecting him.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
concreteveins Posted July 2, 2009 Report Share Posted July 2, 2009 My thoughts: 1) I think everyone forgets about Gainey's "ace in the hole" so to speak. That is, the hiring of Martin. These signings are a clear cut case of players that can play within Martin's system, which is a defensive system based on puck control, two-way play and teamwork. 2) Some people voice concerns of size. I hear you, but I think we should base this argument on who Gainey signs, or doesn't resign, to fill out the bottom of the third and fourth lines. Besides, it's not like all the players are so small that they aren't durable. For example, in seven seasons Gomez has only lost 32 games to injury. 3) Whoever doesn't think that these players are upgrades from Koivu, Kovalev and Tanguay are not looking at the statistics. They are all younger, have more playoff experience and complement each other well. Koivu and Kovalev are aging, they clearly needed to be upgraded. These signings clearly have a lot left in the tank. 4) A lot of concern about salaries. Sure some of them are high, but what else do you expect? To sign Cammalleri to a 4 million contract or Gionta to a 3 million deal? Gimme a break, and why the hell don't you expect it? 5) The defense is a better, mobile defense. Komisarek could have been retained but at least Gill won't chase the puck or try to rush. 6) Lastly, I will wait to see if Gainey made me happy once he is done, and I know which RFA's and other UFA's are coming. Until then I will leave with a cool stat. Gomez has a better FO% than Vinny. Huh! Go figure eh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
losthab Posted July 2, 2009 Report Share Posted July 2, 2009 the goons just resigne recchi, he is old and small, but no criticism. kessel and savard are no giants, why again are they the big bad broons and we arte smurfs? cuz of goons like lucic, chara, cmon, size is overrated im 5' 10" and could kick the butts of all but stewart and laraque on last years team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
9400ernie Posted July 2, 2009 Report Share Posted July 2, 2009 the goons just resigne recchi, he is old and small, but no criticism. kessel and savard are no giants, why again are they the big bad broons and we arte smurfs? cuz of goons like lucic, chara, cmon, size is overrated im 5' 10" and could kick the butts of all but stewart and laraque on last years team. I always like Recchi he was a good hab too bad he has to go to the bruins hes runied now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
losthab Posted July 2, 2009 Report Share Posted July 2, 2009 he is good, but he is small and not as quick as gomez, or gianta, yet no one in the media is saying boston messed up signing a small old player, but when the habs sign a small player...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
9400ernie Posted July 2, 2009 Report Share Posted July 2, 2009 he is good, but he is small and not as quick as gomez, or gianta, yet no one in the media is saying boston messed up signing a small old player, but when the habs sign a small player...... Completely agree we getted crapped on everytime we sign small players.The 93 cup team was full of small players.And some of our most popular players in reent memory were small.I was a huge russ courtnall fan back in the day.Gionta reminds me of him a little. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
losthab Posted July 2, 2009 Report Share Posted July 2, 2009 yup, imagine if boston signed gionta and we signed recchi. what do u think the media reaction would be? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montreal15 Posted July 2, 2009 Report Share Posted July 2, 2009 Disappointed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
9400ernie Posted July 2, 2009 Report Share Posted July 2, 2009 yup, imagine if boston signed gionta and we signed recchi. what do u think the media reaction would be? Yeah i could hear peirre mcguire now lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony5775 Posted July 2, 2009 Report Share Posted July 2, 2009 I think you have to look at these moves as a group. The team needed a major shuffle and thats what Bob did. He was in a position where if he did nothing, he would of been let go. He rolled the dice and I am not sure any G.M. could of done much more. The cap went up this year I believe by 200,000. So chances of it falling are pretty slim. Still hopeful he has room for Kovalev on this team as our Captain. But if not he sure has made me look forward to a new season, after the last one was such a disappointment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElCapitan_mtl Posted July 2, 2009 Report Share Posted July 2, 2009 What will happen to us if we lose our entire first line? Well, I'd say pretty much the same thing as any other team that loses their entire first line. There's having depth, and then there's having depth.... that's not really a contingency that's worth planning for since you're pretty much sunk if it happens regardless. Anyways, I'm of two minds. Emotional, fan mind is very much upset about losing the players we did, especially Mr. Koivu. He's been on the team since I was old enough to watch hockey with any real degree of understanding and I just don't buy the argument that he was old or washed up or whatever. The way it happened too, without even giving him an offer... well, I just feel bad about it and I wish him the best wherever he plays. Analytical mind, on the other hand, is cautiously optimistic. I'm a big fan of both the Cammeleri and Spacek signings, and I think both have been kind of underrated around the league (until Camm played for higher profile Calgary last year, anyway). Both have been good for me in my hockey pools, in any case . I actually don't mind Hal Gill that much either. You could say it's back to overpaying for a lower pairing defenseman, but the two year term is good and he's been pretty solid in the last few years from what I've seen. What I'm not sure about is the Gomez/Gionta pairing. Obviously I hope they rekindle what they had in Jersey, but I'm worried that this seems almost like a sideways move from Koivu/Kovalev. We saw what happened when those two get a good linemate last year, and they could have been signed for far less and for a shorter term than the two former Devils. Someone above had a good point when they said to leave the cap to Gainey and worry as a fan about how they'll play, but there's such a difference in money here that the supporting cast could be significantly improved had we kept our two UFAs from last year. Anyways, I'm obviously hoping that they light it up and that looking back in a year we all agree that these were great moves. If nothing else, Bob never fails to do the unexpected. Every year we're waiting for a big signing and there's nothing, finally this year people get tired of getting their hopes up and suddenly we get five new players in 24 hrs. It should be fun next year! My point was we are no better off if that happens....as it happened last year. Which led to all the panicing at the end, Carbo fired, and the restructuring. We've got the same team with new players, but we have not addressed the depth issue, or the size at centre issue. If we put out one elite line and three other mediocre lines, well, one line can be stopped by any team that has a good defensive line. When we put out two solid elite lines, it suddenly becomes almost impossible to stop both for most teams. They'll shut one line down, and the other will score. So we really have to count on solid performances from Plekanics and A Kostytsin. I don't mind Gill either. He's been solid in Pittsburg, and he is huge. He's the guy who will be clearing Lucic from in front of Price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
losthab Posted July 2, 2009 Report Share Posted July 2, 2009 Yeah i could hear peirre mcguire now lol he would pull his hair out haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
9400ernie Posted July 2, 2009 Report Share Posted July 2, 2009 Yeah i think all in all Bob did pretty well.No complaints,just the salaries but like someone said its not our money.As long as we can keep our future stars ie price and paciretty well be fine, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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