Have you people watched the preseason and/or the past few seasons?
All of our fringe D haven't excelled so far this preseason, most have been putrid. Weber hasn't created anything offensively, which is supposed to be his strengh, Woywitka looks useless, Diaz is far from NHL caliber, and while Yemelin hasn't been too bad, he hasn't looked like a stud either.
Plus, with Markov already out and all the injuries we have had to our D in the past years, it's not inconceivable that we need more depth.
The only locks for our D core are Subban, Gill, Gorges, Spacek and now Campoli. That is only 5 players. There is still two spots left for Weber and Yemelin. Who knows when Markov will return or if another defenseman won't get injured before then. The only player who lost an NHL spot is Woywitka.
I am curious, as I have not been able to watch the pre-season games about this general consensus (not questioning it, just curious) that Weber has been mediocre.
He has 2 points in 3 games playing with minor league defence partners on mostly AHL calibre teams.
All reviews of him in the press prior to the exhibition schedule talked about his improved commitment and conditioning. I hadn't hurt a negative word about his camp performance until yesterday after the Halifax game. Now he's had a poor camp.
*************** ******* ********
The Campoli signing is NOT related to Markov's injury/ Markov still hopeful to play in game 1 of regular season.
Yea well I'd love to know how Markov plans on going from skating in isolation, to non-contact skating with the team, to full contact practices, to game ready conditioning in the next 10 days.
I am curious, as I have not been able to watch the pre-season games about this general consensus (not questioning it, just curious) that Weber has been mediocre.
He has 2 points in 3 games playing with minor league defence partners on mostly AHL calibre teams.
All reviews of him in the press prior to the exhibition schedule talked about his improved commitment and conditioning. I hadn't hurt a negative word about his camp performance until yesterday after the Halifax game. Now he's had a poor camp.
Where did this come from?
I don't think he has a poor camp, I just don't think he has stepped up to show he is a every day NHLer.
I don't think this signing has any implications, in fact. The team likes to carry 8 NHL defensemen, and Campoli provides the team with that.
Further, it was evident that the club needed another NHL body on the blueline. With Markov being out for possibly a month+, and two aging bodies on the blueline in Gill and Spacek, another experienced NHL player is useful. Gives the team the option of resting Gill and Spacek if necessary in the best case scenario, or insurance in case of injury.
The chances of all 6 NHL defensemen (Markov, Subban, Gorges, Gill, Spacek, Campoli) being healthy at once is unlikely, meaning that one of Weber or Yemelin should always be in the lineup anyhow. Imagine the situation if, while Markov's still injured, another injury strikes the blueline? It'd be unfortunate to be forced to have both Yemelin and Weber in the lineup so early, with only Woywitka there as insurance.
So, on the whole, I'm not surprised, but not altogether happy. Campoli's okay, but he's not fundamentally strong and he runs around in his own zone. I like Weber more than Campoli, but such is life.
Just like they said on l'antichambre and le match last night there was a clear job opening for Yemelin, diaz, weber and none of them have stepped up so far.
Just like they said on l'antichambre and le match last night there was a clear job opening for Yemelin, diaz, weber and none of them have stepped up so far.
Yemelin will be in the opening lineup - they didn't bring him back here for him to go back to Russia.
I don't think this signing has any implications, in fact. The team likes to carry 8 NHL defensemen, and Campoli provides the team with that.
Further, it was evident that the club needed another NHL body on the blueline. With Markov being out for possibly a month+, and two aging bodies on the blueline in Gill and Spacek, another experienced NHL player is useful. Gives the team the option of resting Gill and Spacek if necessary in the best case scenario, or insurance in case of injury.
The chances of all 6 NHL defensemen (Markov, Subban, Gorges, Gill, Spacek, Campoli) being healthy at once is unlikely, meaning that one of Weber or Yemelin should always be in the lineup anyhow. Imagine the situation if, while Markov's still injured, another injury strikes the blueline? It'd be unfortunate to be forced to have both Yemelin and Weber in the lineup so early, with only Woywitka there as insurance.
So, on the whole, I'm not surprised, but not altogether happy. Campoli's okay, but he's not fundamentally strong and he runs around in his own zone. I like Weber more than Campoli, but such is life.
I agree mike, at first glance I didn't care for this move, but after a few minutes, it's probably a pretty decent move. I think there was a side of me who wanted to see the kids everyday yemelin/weber, but if the object is to win, this probably makes us a better team than yesterday.
Nice pickup for you guys. He was solid for us in Chicago last year other than 1 play in the playoffs. Sounds like you got him for less $$$ than he was looking for also.
Just like they said on l'antichambre and le match last night there was a clear job opening for Yemelin, diaz, weber and none of them have stepped up so far.
I like l'antichambre too, best source for hockey info!
They do not know when Markov will be ready, and they were not impressed enough by Yemelin, Weber or Diaz during camp up to now to put half our defense fully on their shoulder. And Woywitka didn't perform enough to win the NHL part of his contract.
If our defense looks like Subban-Gill-Gorges-Spacek-Yemelin-Weber-Diaz/Woywitka for a month or 2, one of the top 4 going down or getting sick would put a seriously unexperienced D on the ice. Campoli at least has experience, and from what I remember was not that bad in Ottawa.
Better for PG to plan ahead and get a guy while we have extra money than risk losing 4-5 games because of it down the road (which is more than enough to miss the playoffs) or having to trade another 2nd rounder. It's a 1 year deal, so it really has no implication long term either.
I don't think it has anything to do with Yemelin, the guy didn't impress but wasn't bad. I think he still needs 2 or 3 games to adapt and we'll have a good D in him. I think the signing has more to do with Diaz not stepping up at all.
Yemelin will be in the opening lineup - they didn't bring him back here for him to go back to Russia.
The hype machine on Yemelin's hitting has caused people to think that if he doesn't concuss or sexually abuse somebody out there he hasn't played a good game. I only saw his first two games but from them and what I gather from reports on last night I don't see any problems with him being a regular D man on a very good team.
He'll take strange routes out there sometimes but even everybody's favourite Hamrlik made 1 or 2 massively retarded plays per game. Yemelin has all the tools and just needs to refine his positioning a little and he'll be a good one. May take a bit of time due to the language issue but that's ok.
Yemelin proved reliable to me. Not amazing, but reliable. We can expect him to perform well and pick up his game without fearing he'd be a liability.
We sadly can't say as much for Weber. Awful camp. The point of playing with AHLers and Junior guys is to see if YOU can be the fixture, if YOU can make it happen to them. Emelin proved he could do his best with Nathan, while Weber proved he needed to have a fixture as a backup.
A fact that many people raised: this isn't a top 4 signing, which is why I don't think we have further bad development for Markov or Subban medium term. I think the organization just don't trust Weber to fill the position we hoped he'd fill right now, and we can't afford to wait for him because more young men are coming quickly. We need to make room for them, so trade Weber.
It's a depth signing made to accommodate a short/medium term need to replace a disappointing prospect. The end. Nothing to panic over.
I get the concerns on the injury front...but I really don't understand some of the comments being directed towards Campoli.
Picard 2.0?
Rather and Mara?
Another Sopel?
Campoli is not a superstar, but he's not garbage. He's a very good bottom pairing guy and brings mobility. I'm tired of seeing these bottom pairing guys who are pylons and can't move. Campoli is good for the role you expect him to play and is a decent second option for the point on the powerplay.
It's pretty obvious that Weber wasn't delivering and having him as your #6 to start the season with Markov out isn't ideal. It's also pretty clear Yemelin will make it.
Campoli, Spacek and Yemelin will duke it out until Markov comes back.
I don't think it has anything to do with Yemelin, the guy didn't impress but wasn't bad. I think he still needs 2 or 3 games to adapt and we'll have a good D in him. I think the signing has more to do with Diaz not stepping up at all.
Yemelin will be given time to adapt to NHL game flow and rink size. They might sit him once in a while but I expect a good solid second half of the season from him.
This probably has something to do with all the shorthanded goals we've let in.
We signed Campoli for our 2nd wave PP unit IMO... and he's good enough to play 3rd pairing minutes right now.
Yemelin proved reliable to me. Not amazing, but reliable. We can expect him to perform well and pick up his game without fearing he'd be a liability.
We sadly can't say as much for Weber. Awful camp. The point of playing with AHLers and Junior guys is to see if YOU can be the fixture, if YOU can make it happen to them. Emelin proved he could do his best with Nathan, while Weber proved he needed to have a fixture as a backup.
A fact that many people raised: this isn't a top 4 signing, which is why I don't think we have further bad development for Markov or Subban medium term. I think the organization just don't trust Weber to fill the position we hoped he'd fill right now, and we can't afford to wait for him because more young men are coming quickly. We need to make room for them, so trade Weber.
It's a depth signing made to accommodate a short/medium term need to replace a disappointing prospect. The end. Nothing to panic over.
Yeah, and like i was telling my friend, it's never a bad thing to have a lot of NHL d-men at your disposal. Vancouver had Ballard in the press box for quite a few games in the playoffs last year, and he's much better than Weber.
I don't think it has anything to do with Yemelin, the guy didn't impress but wasn't bad. I think he still needs 2 or 3 games to adapt and we'll have a good D in him. I think the signing has more to do with Diaz not stepping up at all.
I disagree, I don't think the habs brass ever really expected Diaz to make the cut right away. This is simply a depth acquisition because Markov is out and Spacek/Gill aren't any younger and PG felt we needed a proven dman with nhl games under his belt. Going into the season with both Yemelin/Weber without an adequate 7th dman could of been disastrous. Now if someone goes down or needs a night off we can cover them. I believe he will be in the top 6, but both yemelin and weber should get a fair amount of icetime with injuries ect.
Yemelin will be in the opening lineup - they didn't bring him back here for him to go back to Russia.
I'm not sure about that. He will be on the team, that's for sure, but not necessarily on the opening day lineup. The guy showed up in questionable shape, and despite some nice movement on the ice for the transition game, I found him very slow and passive in his own end. Even Weber works harder than him in his own zone. That said, it could be an adaptation problem.
I think that Martin has to be true to the players he had last year, so I bet Weber will play before Yemelin. Yemelin will have to wait for his turn, then fight to stay in the lineup, no matter his experience.
I know people want to love him, but if he's not good enough, then too bad.
I'm really not impressed by habs' d-men. One of the best is Gorges, which is not a good sign in my opinion. The guy has heart and people love him, but he's a 5-6th d-man at best.
I d rather have 1 top 4 in Hamrlik playing top 4 minutes (not top 2 like last year and previous years) than 2 6th D in Gill + Campoli for roughly the same salary..
How could anyone be dissapointed with this move? Our defense has not been very good in the pre season. At best. This is clearly a guy who turned off some teams by his attitude regarding the whole contract signing process. In terms of how he was regarded before this off season: he rewarded the Islanders with a late 1st round from Ottawa (granted Comrie was included) and he rewarded Ottawa with a 2nd round pick! The same value we got for the Wiz.
In terms of what he brings, it certainly wont be physicality. He is obviously replacing Weber. Yemelin has his spot down.
Also those of you criticizing Spacek are in for a reality check. This guy is going to be a top 6 defenceman. He looks faster out there and has always been a relatively solid player in terms of positioning.
Lets say that Markov is out until the All Star break - worst case scenario. That will give us:
