Habs Trade D O'byrne

[HabSteve]

Montreal Canadiens traded D Ryan O'Byrne this morning to the Colorado Avalanche for forward Michael Bournival

http://www.rds.ca/canadien/chroniques/309701.html

[HabSteve]

Bournival is a player in the QMJHL this year for the Shawinigan Cataractes, 10 goals 14 assists in 17 games. 6'0 feet 187 pounds. was a 3rd round selection for the AVS and is 19 years old.

[jennifer_rocket]

For Michael Bournival apparently.

[HabSteve]

and the official release from the Canadiens :

MONTREAL -- Montreal Canadiens General Manager, Pierre Gauthier, announced today the acquisition of forward Michaël Bournival from the Colorado Avalanche in return for defenseman Ryan O’Byrne.

The 18-year old Bournival played 17 games with the QMJHL Shawinigan Cataractes thus far this season, recording a team leading 24 points (10 goals and 14 assists) and serving 10 penalty minutes. He also scored one goal in two games for Team QMJHL at the 2010 Subway Super Series.

Since the 2008-09 season, the 6’ and 187 lbs center has tallied 108 points (45 goals, 63 assists) in 121 games with the Cataractes. Bournival was also assessed 76 penalty minutes.

A native of Shawinigan, he played minor hockey in the region, including a season with the Trois-Rivières Estacades of the Midget AAA league (33 goals, 23 assists in 52 games) and joined his hometown QMJHL team in 2008-09 before being drafted in the third round, 71st overall by the Colorado Avalanche at the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. Bournival also represented Canada at the U-18 World Championship in 2009, scoring twice and adding an assist in six games.

Ryan O’Byrne was pointless in three games with the Canadiens this season. He was credited with 11 hits and five blocked shots with an average time on ice of 14 minutes and 54 seconds.

Since he first joined the NHL, O’Byrne has amassed 16 points (2 goals and 14 helpers), served 181 penalty minutes and maintained a -3 plus/minus ratio in 128 NHL regular season games with the Canadiens.

http://canadiens.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=543183

[I1IscottieI1I]

Mike at the 2010 Combine

[ColRouleBleu]

Good for Ryan, he was clearly not in JM's plans so best of luck to him

[jennifer_rocket]

Good for Ryan, he was clearly not in JM's plans so best of luck to him

Agreed. We will see if the prospect we received in return ever amounts to anything, but it's probably a good idea to move O'B instead of having his 2010-2011 season amount to eating hot dogs.

[RSD]

Bye Bye O'Byrne.

[maddienmike]

This I am not happy about this our D is getting old we need some one to be there to step up and I really liked OByrne, well I hope he gets a better chance to play with his new team,and I hope this doesn't come home to bite us good luck OBie hope everything goes well for you sad to see you go

GO OBIE GO :(

[raydourque]

Good luck and all the best in Colorado Ryan. Please don't haunt us.

[Guest]

Best of luck to OB. Obviously not part of our future plans, therefore getting a prospect for someone sitting in the pressbox every night looks good for us right now. We'll see how the kid develops.

[Undefeated]

I don't know how i feel about this unless we can get some younger D in the off-season, we will not be looking good considering only Spacek and Subban will be under contract....Don't get me wrong i love that we're picking up young prospects, but we need younger D's

[BigTed3]

I'm satisfied with this move. OB was clearly not in JM's plans and was basically eating up salary cap space as the team's 8th defenceman. I don't think it means OB was the worst defenceman on the team, but seeing as he was JM's least favorite, we at least got something in return for him. There's no harm in having another prospect in the pool, and I'm sure certain pundits will be happy to have another guy from the Q to fawn over.

There are some other interesting implications from this move:

1. It solidifies Picard's place on the team.

2. It means the Habs believe they have a guy in Hamilton, be it Carle or Weber or Henry, who could be ready to step in should the injury bug hit.

3. It frees up cap space and a roster spot, particularly if a decision is taken in Boyd's case to move him off the roster too. Is this just leaving flexibility for later in the year or is there a plan in the works to make another roster move? I still believe Desharnais should be strongly considered and that Guerin could be another interesting option.

[Guest]

Lets also remember we have Tinordi in the system. Cant forget that monster.

[ColRouleBleu]

TSNBobMcKenzie

Bournvial scouting report: Smart, hard-working 2-way forward with hockey sense/character. On radar for Team Canada/WJC. Will get a look.

[jennifer_rocket]

Lets also remember we have Tinordi in the system. Cant forget that monster.

He's arguably nowhere near ready to play in the NHL, though. I think the move is intended to free up cap space and add flexibility, as O'B was basically becoming an unused 8th d-man who would have to lcear waivers if he was sent down. We picked up a prospect instead of losing him for nothing. Perhaps we may see a forward recalled to fill the empty roster spot?

TSNBobMcKenzie

Bournvial scouting report: Smart, hard-working 2-way forward with hockey sense/character. On radar for Team Canada/WJC. Will get a look.

Sounds alright.

[wmarcello]

I'm definitely happy with this move. The Habs have no shortage of D-men outside of the top 6, and even if they did, that type of defenseman is easy enough to acquire. Chances are OB was never going to fill a top 4 role, and because of that he was basically just eating up cap space.

I wish him all the best in Colorado. Good on PG for getting something for him.

[Guest]

He's arguably nowhere near ready to play in the NHL, though. I think the move is intended to free up cap space and add flexibility, as O'B was basically becoming an unused 8th d-man who would have to lcear waivers if he was sent down. We picked up a prospect instead of losing him for nothing. Perhaps we may see a forward recalled to fill the empty roster spot?

Most definitely JR. I just thought it important to point out that we have some future options on D. We have a glut of OB level D-Men at the momment ( at least in managements eyes)sitting in Hamilton,, so immediate needs dont seem to be a priority.

[HabsRuleForever]

Good luck in Colorado Obie Wan.

[BeanCountingHab]

Good move, nice to see deal an asset and get something back instead of leaving him in the press box all year.

[Habs_Hockey_Nutz]

Good on O'Byrne to finally get a chance with another team... he definitely wasn't getting that with the Habs this season for whatever reason. I like the fact that the Habs now have cap space to make a move of sorts. Guerin? A call-up from Hamilton? More changes to come?

It does make thinks interesting no doubt.

[Carey__Price31]

Like this trade. Good luck with the Avs O'Byrne.

[BigTed3]

Tinordi is a long way away in my estimation and he may end up being nothing more than another O'Byrne, although he appears to play with more intensity. We have a few options in Hamilton in terms of guys who can move the puck a bit better but none with great size outside of Alex Henry. And our D corps is looking thin for next year in particular, when we have only Spacek and Subban signed and the possibility of bringing Gorges back as a free agent. Everyone would like to see Markov back but I think most of us are hoping the Habs can fill those last two spots with guys who are not named Hamrlik or Gill. We are at present still short of right-handed defencemen and that should be PG's top priority in the off-season (or even at this year's trade deadline).

Based on the scouting reports offered, particularly that from TSN, one could wonder if this kid Bournival has the potential to be a solid two-way guy like Patrice Bergeron or Simon Gagne. He looks like he needs to fill out but it bodes well that he plays with hustle. I'd say best case scenario he ends up like a Bergeron-type, but it sure would be nice to see a couple of our prospects make team canada's wjc this year and get a sneak peek. The odds are probably against this guy making an impact in the NHL, but as I said, it doesn't hurt to have another prospect in the system.

[Guest]

Good on O'Byrne to finally get a chance with another team... he definitely wasn't getting that with the Habs this season for whatever reason. I like the fact that the Habs now have cap space to make a move of sorts. Guerin? A call-up from Hamilton? More changes to come?

It does make thinks interesting no doubt.

Rumour mill should be in full operation now.Eckland will be in his glory.

[Vince87]

I have to say, I like what Hockey's Future wrote about Bournival in their 2010 Avalanche draft review. I don't think we could've gotten a lot more for OB than this young guy. Still I wish OB all the best in Colorado, kinda liked the guy and hope he goes on to have a career in the league.