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Habs Sign Marc-andre Bergeron


Guest Huet#39

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Putting aside my dislike of the signing itself, the timing surprises me. Smells like another one of Bob's patented Panic Moves. We're 2-0 and the season is long. Was it really necessary to sign Bergeron right now without giving one of our prospects a fighting chance to step up in Markov's absence? It's not like other teams were exactly beating down the door to sign Marc-André. We could have waited 15-20 games and then reached out.

Sometimes I wonder if Gainey understands that prospects need actual ice time in a variety of different situations in order to develop properly. But hey, why come up with a long-term solution in-house when you can just live hand to mouth via lower-tier free agents on one-year contracts? PLAN THE PARADE!! :lol:

i think this is more a pp signing than a defense one...other than weber who in hamilton is really ready to make the step up? subban isn't ready just yet and carle's alright...but we're down two d-men, at the end of the day gainey is damned if he does and damned if he doesn't...if he brings up subban or carle along with weber...the critics come out and say omg he could have got bergeron for cheap...he signs bergeron to one year 775, 000 and people say omg how could he not bring up more prospect...obyrne is out 8 weeks, thats what 6 weeks atleast no skating then 2 skating then god knows how long before he's back with the team and in shape/speed then you factor in if he's going to have the same confidence or is he going to be playing conservative so he doesn't risk injury again...700 odd thousand for bergeron to qb our pp isn't a bad price...people complained when gainey picked up schnieder last season then cried when he went down with injury...im sorry, but from what i saw during preseason the pups weren't ready for this level yet and i doubt that 2 weeks would have made them any better...and like an earlier poster said, this signing is great for the trade deadline...cheap dman who can score on the pp what team wouldnt want to give up something decent for that going into the playoffs?...we're not losing much money here either gainey didnt go spend 3-4 million on him...its not like we're losing large amounts of money here...

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Good signing for the price, im sure were gonna roll at 7 d man for a while, so Webber is definitely gonna get his shot too.

Once O'Byrne and Markov come back we'll have 8 Dmen,

It's bad for Weber's development now, and bad for O'Byrne's development later.

Waiting was worth the risk imo.

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I don't understand why he wasn't signed, he seems decent, but...

There was no need for Gainey to sign MAB as fast as possible. He could have given Weber 5 or 6 games to see what he can do.

we're down 2 dmen for 2+ months, weber will still be up here...

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The way I see it Gainey got him as insurance in case another D gets hurt. I'm not sure the team can absorb 2 kids (WEber and Subban). I am sure that Gainey and Bergeron also talked about a trade (trade Bergeron) once all the D returned.

I am however disappointed with not letting a kid the chance to play a regular shift.

I do believe that Gainey may have made this deal because he has no room for flexibility. The Habs stink = Gainey is fired!!!

I'm on the fence with this deal! I have to sleep on it

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Once O'Byrne and Markov come back we'll have 8 Dmen,

It's bad for Weber's development now, and bad for O'Byrne's development later.

Waiting was worth the risk imo.

It's not bad at all Guy Boucher is the best coach in the AHL by a mile.

Plus Webber gets 8 weeks with the big club.

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The way I see it Gainey got him as insurance in case another D gets hurt. I'm not sure the team can absorb 2 kids (WEber and Subban). I am sure that Gainey and Bergeron also talked about a trade (trade Bergeron) once all the D returned.

I am however disappointed with not letting a kid the chance to play a regular shift.

I do believe that Gainey may have made this deal because he has no room for flexibility. The Habs stink = Gainey is fired!!!

I'm on the fence with this deal! I have to sleep on it

which kid? weber's playing tonight...bergeron's not...

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Marc Andre is arguably the best D man left in free agency.

Still out there: A look at the remaining free agents

Friday, 09.25.2009 / 2:25 PM / 2009 NHL Offseason News

Marc-Andre Bergeron Minnesota 14-18-32 in 72 GP Bergeron owns one of the NHL's biggest slappers from the point but struggles in his own zone. He could thrive in the right situation with a team that can maximize his strengths.

highlights

as for his poor play in his own zone, he was the only Wild D man that had a + plus minus last season.

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Bergeron's only going to Hamilton to get in game shape. As soon as he's game-ready, I'll bet you money that he'll be up here and in a starting D spot faster than you can say 'Marc-André Bergeron.'

Exactly!

He wasn't signed, so he hasn't had the opportunity to practice and/or participate in pre-season games. Give him a week (maybe 2) in Hamilton to shake off the rust. He'll be with us before the end of the month.

In the meantime, it gives some of our bulldogs a chance to make a splash. As much as I like what I've seen from Subban so far, I don't believe he's NHL ready. Let's stop forcing young, unprepared kids into our line up. Imo, there's are a few d-men in Hamilton who deserve a chance over Subban. His offensive skills are great, but he needs a lot of work on defensive.

You wonder why teams like Detroit and Anaheim have well rounded teams... It's cos they make everyone of their players go through the system. Some spend less time than others obviously, but the point is, their players are prepared.

I'm a firm believer in the Farm system. Even Larry Robinson did his time in (I believe) Sherbrooke. He was called up 1/2 way through the season and made such an impact that they kept him. It's possible that they sent him back down for a month or so (my memory is a lil foggy, that was 30+ years ago), still, he played in Sherbrooke before he joined the Habs. So many good players have gone through the farm system, playing in the AHL is not a punishment.

Unless you're an Ovy, Malkin, Crosby and/or Taveres, there's no harm in spending a season or 2 in the AHL. It's there to prepare the kids for the eventual jump to the NHL. Letting players rot in the AHL is a different story... And a completely different thread/post.

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Get him in shape and get him in there. Good signing for the money, I am happy to have him on the team.

+1 I'm with Dutch on this one.

Get him in shape and get him in there. Good signing for the money, I am happy to have him on the team.

+1 I'm with Dutch on this one.

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Once O'Byrne and Markov come back we'll have 8 Dmen,

It's bad for Weber's development now, and bad for O'Byrne's development later.

Waiting was worth the risk imo.

There's no guarantee that we'll have 8 d-man when O'Byrne and Markov will be back. Other d-man could be injured by that time. And even if everyone is healthy then, Gainey could trade Bergeron easily. Power-play specialist are a very good trade-asset around the trading deadline. Especially when they have such a low cap-hit.

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I love this

5 ft 10 in

Why is that relevant? We have a big defense, he's going to Hamilton and he's clearly going to be a PP specialist. And if you thought it was a bad thing, why would you love it?

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The way I see it Gainey got him as insurance in case another D gets hurt. I'm not sure the team can absorb 2 kids (WEber and Subban). I am sure that Gainey and Bergeron also talked about a trade (trade Bergeron) once all the D returned.

I am however disappointed with not letting a kid the chance to play a regular shift.

I do believe that Gainey may have made this deal because he has no room for flexibility. The Habs stink = Gainey is fired!!!

I'm on the fence with this deal! I have to sleep on it

Are people forgetting that O'Byrne and Metro are injured as well?

Having 2 green d-men playing on an already shaky defense would NOT be a good idea.

Use Bergeron (once he's ready) and have a Bulldog take the other spot left by O'Byrne.

I think that's perfect, we have another experienced d-man in Bergeron and there's still a spot for and AHLer.

Chippy should take Metro's place.

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I think that it's most likely that the hockey minds got together and came to the consensus that Weber wasn't ready, and so went out and got Bergeron. This also sends a very good message to the team..i.e. management is part of this team and will support you. I like the decisiveness of this.

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Logical move but yet another veteran signing to play in a spot that could have been filled by a young d-man. We have Carle, Belle, Henry and of course Subban down on the farm. In my opinion, it's a low risk high reward move, if he pans out as a 6th/7th d-man then its great, just wish we could have given Weber a couple of games. I guess Bob felt now was the time to grab him, let him shake off the rust, while Weber gets his feet wet.

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It gives us another option on D, and takes up little cap space. Some of these free agent signings with low expectations have turned out to be amongst our better players (Lang, Schneider). Webber will get plenty of chances to prove his worth in the next 2-4 months.

Kind of looking forward to maybe seeing Webber and Bergeron the same power play actually. Fireworks from the point!

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Why is that relevant? We have a big defense, he's going to Hamilton and he's clearly going to be a PP specialist. And if you thought it was a bad thing, why would you love it?

:rolleyes:

It was sarcasm, sir

We have a big slow D .

Think about why no one has signed him yet

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