Originally Posted by NRG87
I tired myself out with the Forwards section, and I need to leave my house soon, so I'll be more brief with Part II.
Defensemen:
2.1 - Summary : Again, we have some solid depth at the NHL level. We’re in even better shape here because we’re less handcuffed with bad lengthy contracts in the coming few years, and we have a number of talented young defensemen who have already either established themselves (Gorges, Subban), are in the process of doing so (Weber, Emelin, Diaz), or project to do so in the future (Beaulieu). The main question mark is Markov's health, as a lot of asset management moves in the coming year will depend on whether or not he can get back to his Norris-like self.
2.2 – Player by player assessment:
Markov (5.75M, 3 years): Obviously, it’s hard to judge whether or not this will have been a fruitful move until we see if he can recover from injury. It will either be a great signing – getting arguably one of the top 10 defenseman in the NHL at a very good price – or a bad move, having signed damaged goods for 3 years. I’m hoping it’s the prior. This PP will improve by leaps and bounds when he returns. He’s also our best defensive defensemen and can play massive minutes, so he will also help reduce opposition scoring chances, and alleviate the load for other defensemen currently being overutilized and exposed.
Spacek (3.83M, 1 year): He’s been much better this year than last year. He’s currently being forced to play more minutes than he should, but Markov’s return will hopefully fix that. With the emergence of so many of our younger defensemen, I don’t think he needs to be re-signed, unless Markov struggles to stay healthy.
Gorges (2.5M, 1 year): He’s been good this year. I’m hoping is unusually high current offensive production doesn’t lead to his next contract being overly inflated. He isn’t necessarily great in any one area, but he’s good enough in all areas, he appears to be a good leader, and he’s still young.
Gill (2.25M, 1 year): He’s struggled this year, and I don’t expect him to be re-signed. I would have rather seen the Habs re-sign Hamrlik, even if it would have been more expensive. He’s a great guy and leader to have on your team though, and I think he’ll improve once Markov returns to alleviate Gill’s workload.
Campoli (1.75M, 1 year): We haven’t been able to see him this year due to injury, but with Gill and Spacek likely not returning, he may be a good option to re-sign depending on his play once he returns since it appears as though we will have a very young core of d-men for next year – maybe too young.
Emelin (984K, 1 year): I believe he has what it takes to become an everyday NHL d-man, and he’s been better than expected despite some mistakes. He also bring a dimension that is lacking on this team: physicality. While we could argue that Diaz has been better than Emelin so far, we have to remain cognizant of the mix of defensemen required on the team to be successful on the long run, and I believe the team needs to focus on doing whatever it takes to groom Emelin to be a successful full-time player for next year. Martin needs to give him more playing time.
Diaz (900K, 1 year): He’s also been better than expected, but he’s not quite as ready as Weber for an everyday role. He needs to go down to Hamilton to improve his strength and positioning. I’m also not sure where he fits in on the long run, since I expect our top-six to be Markov, Subban, Gorges, Weber, Emelin and either Campoli or another veteran (preferably with size). If we go with Diaz full-time in our top six for next year, our d-man mix will likely be too small and young (even though it would have an intriguing level of offensive skill & transitional passing/speed).
Subban (875K, 1 year): He hasn’t been great, but he hasn’t been as bad as people are saying. I think he is a victim of the very high (justified) expectations we’ve put on him. I’m not worried about him at all, and I am confident he will be a stud for us for years to come.
Weber (850K, 2 years): He’s arguably been our best d-man this year, and I think he has established himself as a serviceable everyday d-man who should be a full-time player on our team for years to come. He’s actually quite strong in one-on-one battles down low, and his positioning has been improving. He’s also been our most dangerous player on the PP so far.
2.3 Proposed pairings when healthy (% of 5-on-5 time):
Markov-Subban (40%)
Gorges –Spacek (35%)
Campoli-Weber (25%)
Gill & Emelin (#7 – swapping in with Spacek from time to time & #8 – swapping in with Weber from time to time)
2.4 Projected pairings for 2012-2013:
Markov-Subban (40%)
Gorges-Weber (35%)
UFA/Campoli-Emelin (25%)
Diaz
2.5 - Goaltending:
I'm not going to start another thread to say that Carey Price is our #1 goalie and one of the best in the league. His play has been good, but he's capable of being better. Martin needs to stop using Price 70+ games a year, and if the team isn't confident with Budaj (who is signed for 2012-2013 too), then they need to find a backup they are confident giving 15-20 games to.
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