You know, most players in the league have weaknesses. Those who have few well the posters on this board would think it would take "too much" to get. I'd take Preissing and Corvo for this year over what the Habs have.
I know you cannot have the best of both worlds all the time. But there are better options out there that do not require the Habs to essentially be playing with 4 men on the ice. Guys like Schneider, Leopold, or Morris are ideal because the team does not suffer when they are playing. There is a reason the Habs got rid of Streit.
What would you guys think of Brent Sopel? He's right-handed and owns a big shot. Chicago has apparently been trying to trade him for cap purpose even though his cap hit isn't that high for a top 4 D-man ( 2.33 M/year). I think he could look good on a pairing with Hamrlik. The only problem is the duration of the contract, he's signed for 3 more years if I'm right, but I don't think it would be all that hard to get rid of him if he's indeed worthy of top 4 minutes.
Swap out Bouillon for Preissing and I don't think we're really getting smaller. Even if we play smaller.
Markov/Komi -- Nough said.
Hammer/Preissing -- Good compliments, insulation for Preissing.
Gorges/O'Byrne -- See above.
Hmm. For me the motivation is to improve in the most immediate short-term on the O'Byrne/Brisebois spot, not replace Bouillon. I have confidence in O'Byrne working out in the somewhat longer term, but I don't mind procrastinating a bit on his growing pains. Although we should probably expect to have at least 1 d-man almost perpetually injured, that's a more fair NHL-wide model, I think.
Swapping out Bouillon for Preissing would definitely make us smaller... "play smaller" is all that matters there, and I wouldn't want to do it.
I do fear Preissing's contract potentially representing an impediment to some of our upcoming players in future years. Although when you look around the league at what defensemen in general are signing for, it shouldn't be an immovable contract if we do find ourselves with youngsters ready and with a need to re-invest that cap space elsewhere.
I guess it comes down to the pricetag. If LA was trying to cut the contract loose for almost no return, I'd take him. If they want something "real" for him, no thanks.
What would you guys think of Brent Sopel? He's right-handed and owns a big shot. Chicago has apparently been trying to trade him for cap purpose even though his cap hit isn't that high for a top 4 D-man ( 2.33 M/year). I think he could look good on a pairing with Hamrlik. The only problem is the duration of the contract, he's signed for 3 more years if I'm right, but I don't think it would be all that hard to get rid of him if he's indeed worthy of top 4 minutes.
Sopel seems to fall out of favour pretty quickly in recent years. I don't have any real personal observation on his play, although I vaguely recall him not being particularly well thought of in his return to the Canucks. After which he seemed to have trouble getting a new contract? I seem to recall it catching a lot of people offguard when he parlayed a tryout in Chicago into such a lengthy and lucrative contract. But now they want to dump him too? Red flags are going up for me...
Still, not unlike Preissing, if a player was essentially "free"... and if you could stomach the potential that you might have to "get rid of him" if it failed to pan out... it might be worth considering, depending on the scouting report on him. In our fantasy world, it's easier to contemplate such things than it is for Mr. Gainey in the real world, perhaps... the money is real to him, the player who might get bumped by Sopel is a real person, as is Sopel himself if we subsequently have to "get rid of him"... so I can understand if Gainey just plays the hand he dealt himself before the season started and "lives with" Brisebois and O'Byrne.
Hmm. For me the motivation is to improve in the most immediate short-term on the O'Byrne/Brisebois spot, not replace Bouillon. I have confidence in O'Byrne working out in the somewhat longer term, but I don't mind procrastinating a bit on his growing pains. Although we should probably expect to have at least 1 d-man almost perpetually injured, that's a more fair NHL-wide model, I think.
Swapping out Bouillon for Preissing would definitely make us smaller... "play smaller" is all that matters there, and I wouldn't want to do it.
I do fear Preissing's contract potentially representing an impediment to some of our upcoming players in future years. Although when you look around the league at what defensemen in general are signing for, it shouldn't be an immovable contract if we do find ourselves with youngsters ready and with a need to re-invest that cap space elsewhere.
I guess it comes down to the pricetag. If LA was trying to cut the contract loose for almost no return, I'd take him. If they want something "real" for him, no thanks.
Well, yes, I was arguing a hypothetical. The ideal, though, to me is to keep O'Byrne in a 10 minutes a game. For the cap to work, Bouillon and Dandenault make the absolute most sense. Perhaps Begin and Kosto would equal them, but you see.
If we keep Bouillon, either he, O'Byrne, Gorges or Preissing need to sit in a healthy lineup, ON TOP of Brisebois. That is not a good spot, I don't think.
Well, yes, I was arguing a hypothetical. The ideal, though, to me is to keep O'Byrne in a 10 minutes a game. For the cap to work, Bouillon and Dandenault make the absolute most sense. Perhaps Begin and Kosto would equal them, but you see.
If we keep Bouillon, either he, O'Byrne, Gorges or Preissing need to sit in a healthy lineup, ON TOP of Brisebois. That is not a good spot, I don't think.
Bouillon, Gorges, and Preissing are on the light side... so I vote for O'Byrne to sit on top of Brisebois. Less chance of him escaping that way! (Definitely not a good spot for Breezy, anyway!)
But seriously, I automatically assume O'Byrne sits. Maybe even goes back to Hamilton at times... I haven't seen anything I believed to contradict his waiver exempt status this year.
And if we have that many viable defensemen around, it may free up one of the motivations for keeping the versatility of Dandenault around. We have ample checking forwards. If we also have ample D, his versatility (and salary) becomes obsolete. Probably ahead of any of the D.
Bouillon, Gorges, and Preissing are on the light side... so I vote for O'Byrne to sit on top of Brisebois. Less chance of him escaping that way! (Definitely not a good spot for Breezy, anyway!)
But seriously, I automatically assume O'Byrne sits. Maybe even goes back to Hamilton at times... I haven't seen anything I believed to contradict his waiver exempt status this year.
And if we have that many viable defensemen around, it may free up one of the motivations for keeping the versatility of Dandenault around. We have ample checking forwards. If we also have ample D, his versatility (and salary) becomes obsolete. Probably ahead of any of the D.
(Definitely not a good spot for Breezy, anyway!)
