Give me one example when Gainey traded a valuable prospect/player in order to get someone. Cases like Ribeiro, Rivet, Theo and Grabovski do not count since he wanted them out of here more then he wanted the counterpart in.
Gainey doesn't like giving players he still has hopes on in trades (he might but the counterpart should be significant). He got Tanguay for a pick while he could probably have obtained him a lot earlier for a player or two.
So - unless things go horribly wrong in defense, I bet we will stay as we are, at least till the trade deadline.
Brisebois filled in fine in last year's playoffs. The defense was good enough to get us to the final 4, maybe not good enbough to beat Pittsburgh, we'll never know, but good enough to beat Phillie.
The objective is to win not be conf. final tourists like Philly ended up looking last season. Defensive depth is essential for a long playoff run, Breezby is not going to cut it against the hard playing wings, sharks or stars when even guys like Datsyuk and Ribeiro start hitting Dmen hard hard on the forecheck.
If we were to get a Bouwmeester it would only be as a rental. Unless the prices for UFA d-men drop, I don't see us trading for a guy of that calibre AND signing him. One way to recuperate some value is to trade his rights at the draft so a team can sign him before UFA status.
Say you trade McDonagh and a lesser prospect(White or Wyman) for Bouwmeester at the deadline or sooner. Then at the draft trade JB's rights for a 2nd and 4th rounders to a team looking to add him as a UFA. That way you at least recuperate 1/2 or 1/3 of what you paid, lessening the cost.
If Jeff Finger can get $14M from the Leafs, many teams will be bidding for the services of Bouwmeester. I still don't think they should trade McDonaugh, even if they could trade the rights of a UFA deadline acquisition at the draft.
KUBINA would be great...
Leadership, size, grit, good shot, right handed
Perfect #4 D
but I don't think we need one RIGHT NOW!
At the deadline... maybe, but the season is young
Kubina also has 2 years left on his contract at 5 million a season... Get him and kiss Komi or one of our forwards good bye at the end of the year.
Sorry no.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lyle_Odelein
If the Habs trade for a D-man it will be close to the trade deadline, so the cap implications would be lessened. It's hard to say how much said move would improve our team, but I would guarantee that I would hope Gainey would not be sending out both Chipchura AND McDonogh unless we were getting another number 1 D-man in return.
Bouillon's comeback will stabilize the third pairing and kick Brisebois out of the line up - which is already a huge improvement. Gorges or O'B can play with Hamrlik.
Down the road, Weber can be called up, or Valentenko if he wakes up.
Maybe on a 500 or sub-500 team but not on a cup contender. Not sure what the fitish is with Gorges on here...
Look around the league, their aren't too many teams with players better than Gorges as their #4. Maybe some teams at the same level.. but not too many teams have better Top-4's than us as of this moment.
I loved Gorges efforts killing off that 5 on 3 yesterday. He's not a #4 defenseman but he's improved greatly since being a healthy scratch early last year. He's very versatile and smart with the puck. Just wish he was a bit heavier.
Last edited by gillyguzzler: 10-14-2008 at 11:52 AM.
Reason: a
Look around the league, their aren't too many teams with players better than Gorges as their #4. Maybe some teams at the same level.. but not too many teams have better Top-4's than us as of this moment.
Not too many teams win the Stanley Cup either.
I want the best offense, the best defense, and the best goaltending. I don't want "not too many teams are better."
I want "no team is better."
We led the league in offense last year, and we have a decent shot at doing it again this year. Price and Halak have the potential to be the best goaltending duo in the league. That leaves the defense. We have the cap room and the prospects to make it happen. At the trade deadline I want a top 4, if not top 2 defenseman.
I want the best offense, the best defense, and the best goaltending. I don't want "not too many teams are better."
I want "no team is better."
We led the league in offense last year, and we have a decent shot at doing it again this year. Price and Halak have the potential to be the best goaltending duo in the league. That leaves the defense. We have the cap room and the prospects to make it happen. At the trade deadline I want a top 4, if not top 2 defenseman.
I think Price and Halak have a lot of upside, but to say they are the top duo in the NHL is a pretty big reach. Last year in the playoffs, goaltending was what eventually did us in, especially late in the Boston series and the whole Phillie series. Few things in hockey are more dvastating than your goalie giving up a weak goal.
Goaltending and a lack of "garbage" goals were the 2 primary causes of our loss.
I think Gorges will be a solid top 4 this year. He was damned close last year.
Also, I'd like to see Valentenko crack the line-up this year.
I like him too.... but he is not ready ....and it was crystal clear in trainning camp... he might never end up playing in mtl... mostly because guys like mcdonaugh, webber and subban are already in front of him in next year's depth chart.
hmm, seems we disagree Mike. I would've said Kaberle. I always liked Kubina but somehow he seems to have not been the same since he left TB. I've always thought Kaberle was underarted around here, but he looked disinterested on Saturday I thought. So, right now, I'd do nothing.
