I agree with Poile and I think Gill is one of the better options for defensive depth, BUT
The frustrating part is why don't we go after decent defensive depth in the offseason? We let guys like SOB and Zanon walk for cheap, don't go after relatively cheap options (like Gill)... and then we have to massively overpay at the deadline to get them.
I guess this comes down to Geofferion. If he's a marginal NHL/AHL player, giving up a 2nd and him isn't too bad. If he becomes a good NHLer, we paid a steep price.
As for Gill, I think he'll be a decent fit, potentially a really good fit if he still has some playoff mojo left.
Poile makes the kind of painful but necessary move that everyone knew needed to be made and instead of just acknowledging that fact and moving on you now retroactively go back and complain because he didn't do it this summer.
SOB was a wash at best on good vs bad for this team. Zanon left for a multiyear deal at way more than he could command here. And Gill signed in MTL so who's to say he would have even considered signing here last summer?
I like this deal a lot. Blake, sadly, probably peaked for his career that day in buffalo. Borque has passed him already, halischuk is light years ahead of him, and now Latta and Puustinen will get their shots. Best of luck to him but I can't see us missing geoffrion
Last edited by ThirdManIn: 02-17-2012 at 05:49 PM.
Reason: unnecessary
I agree with Poile and I think Gill is one of the better options for defensive depth, BUT
The frustrating part is why don't we go after decent defensive depth in the offseason? We let guys like SOB and Zanon walk for cheap, don't go after relatively cheap options (like Gill)... and then we have to massively overpay at the deadline to get them.
I guess this comes down to Geofferion. If he's a marginal NHL/AHL player, giving up a 2nd and him isn't too bad. If he becomes a good NHLer, we paid a steep price.
As for Gill, I think he'll be a decent fit, potentially a really good fit if he still has some playoff mojo left.
Just because it's the summer doesn't mean the price for Gill is any cheaper. Before the season begins most GMs think their team will play for a spot in the play offs. A player like Hal Gill, who helped Montreal's PK tremendously, isn't necessarily available for anything less than an overpayment even then.
Also, you can't really judge a trade by what happens with a piece of that trade in the future. I mean, you can, but it completely nullifies the relevant context. Right now Geoffrion does nothing to add to the team. He is not the top six forward we need, and he obviously is not the defenseman we need. Slaney will not crack the NHL unless Montreal goes through a ton of injuries. The 2nd round pick is valuable in theory, but not necessarily in reality. Even if Geoffrion develops into a good second line player in a couple of years, this team has plenty of good second liners. Poile absolutely has to start turning some of these futures into plugs for holes the current line up has not only to win, but to help retain Weber and Suter. Especially when they are passed over by so many other players on the depth chart like Geoffrion seemed to have been.
Now, get something for Blum, Lindback, and the 1st. Carter?
Poile makes the kind of painful but necessary move that everyone knew needed to be made and instead of just acknowledging that fact and moving on you now retroactively go back and complain because he didn't do it this summer.
SOB was a wash at best on good vs bad for this team. Zanon left for a multiyear deal at way more than he could command here. And Gill signed in MTL so who's to say he would have even considered signing here last summer?
I like this deal a lot. Blake, sadly, probably peaked for his career that day in buffalo. Borque has passed him already, halischuk is light years ahead of him, and now Latta and Puustinen will get their shots. Best of luck to him but I can't see us missing geoffrion
Based on how they played last week, Latta and Puustinen passed Geoffrion as well.
Last edited by ThirdManIn: 02-17-2012 at 06:05 PM.
Reason: edited quote
Poile makes the kind of painful but necessary move that everyone knew needed to be made and instead of just acknowledging that fact and moving on you now retroactively go back and complain because he didn't do it this summer.
SOB was a wash at best on good vs bad for this team. Zanon left for a multiyear deal at way more than he could command here. And Gill signed in MTL so who's to say he would have even considered signing here last summer?
I like this deal a lot. Blake, sadly, probably peaked for his career that day in buffalo. Borque has passed him already, halischuk is light years ahead of him, and now Latta and Puustinen will get their shots. Best of luck to him but I can't see us missing geoffrion
Deal. Poile said he didn't like how much he had to give up. Yes, for some reason, Poile only feels comfortable making moves at the deadline-- rarely in the offseason. So yes, it's going to cost more. I've said this many times before today.
Naturally, you fail to acknowledge where I say Gill can help this team, because you are so caught up in complaining about complaining.
Gill can be one of the most frustrating players in certain respects. He is a slow skater, and he can be kind of goofy and uncoordinated. Sometimes a bit of a pylon and a turnover machine.
But....as long as he is in a limited role he has a huge upside as well. As long as he is in position he is a decent d with good reach. He steps it up in the playoffs. And on the penalty kill, Gill is like having a second goaltender. He is basically a volunteer wall.
I think Gill is an excellent acquisition for you guys. Best of luck in the playoffs.
Gill can be one of the most frustrating players in certain respects. He is a slow skater, and he can be kind of goofy and uncoordinated. Sometimes a bit of a pylon and a turnover machine.
But....as long as he is in a limited role he has a huge upside as well. As long as he is in position he is a decent d with good reach. He steps it up in the playoffs. And on the penalty kill, Gill is like having a second goaltender. He is basically a volunteer wall.
I think Gill is an excellent acquisition for you guys. Best of luck in the playoffs.
He's probably a 3rd pair / PKer for us with either Ellis or Josi as his partner so he'll have a puck mover to balance out the pairing.
Gill can be one of the most frustrating players in certain respects. He is a slow skater, and he can be kind of goofy and uncoordinated. Sometimes a bit of a pylon and a turnover machine.
But....as long as he is in a limited role he has a huge upside as well. As long as he is in position he is a decent d with good reach. He steps it up in the playoffs. And on the penalty kill, Gill is like having a second goaltender. He is basically a volunteer wall.
I think Gill is an excellent acquisition for you guys. Best of luck in the playoffs.
If he can get our PK back to anythinbg respectable he will be well worth the price. Weber and suter gobble up huge minutes so e can certainly protect him in other situations if need be
does anyone think we could get anything for cube or hillen? a late pick or future considerations? ha
I could see Cube going on deadline day for maybe a 5th or 6th, but I find it more likely one will be waived, and the other will sit in the press box and fill in for the rookies should they need a day off or start to struggle.
This is a great trade. I expect Gill will play a very similar role Shane O'Brien did last year in that he will anchor the top PK unit with Klein while playing on the third pair with either Ellis or Josi. I don't think you'll see either Ellis or Josi benched in favor of Boullion or Hillen for multiple games.
Not only does Gill increase the depth of the blueline, he should increase the effectiveness of the PK both due to his own play and the fact that it allows the Predators to have two units with space eaters with Gill and Weber. Of course, he should also stabilize that third pairing from an experience standpoint.
I expect that he'll be tried with Ellis first, but actually think Ellis and Josi will be swapped in order to spread around the mobility after a couple of weeks.
Having Gill on your team can be very frustrating to a fan. It does help if you know what his limitations are.
- He is dreadfully slow. His top speed is poor, but his real weakness is acceleration and change of direction. He will get beat to the puck in situations where you will think it was not possible. You will get scored on because of that. However, Gill understands this and uses careful positioning and his reach to compensate pretty effectively in most situations. He's fine when he can read the play and stay under it, but if a play develops quickly, like because of a missed pass or a weird bounce, he can easily get caught. As a side-effect of the careful positioning Gill will very rarely take opponents to the boards in a defensive play as this would take him out of position - a risk he's rightfully not willing to take.
- Gill is neither soft nor tough, he's physically neutral. He is big and strong, but uses that only deny scoring areas for opposing players. He does this very effectively against other big and strong players who are looking to park themselves in front of the net, and struggles more against players who tend to move in and out of the front of the net. Gill doesn't shy away from contact, but he isn't a punishing player to play against like, say, Pronger is.
- Gill has almost no offensive game. This is mainly because he's not willing to take risks with his positioning. He doesn't have much of a shot, and in any case he rarely shoots. In breaking out from his own zone, he does make good clearings from tough spots and rarely misses a short pass, but he almost never makes a longer passes to a forward up the ice. If he has the puck between the red line and the offensive blue line he will always dump the puck in. The only good offensive attribute he has is that he doesn't seem to hand-cuff his defensive partner or the forward line. I don't know quite why that is, might be just the high percentage game he plays limits opponent's possessions, although I tend to think that Gill's game is easy to understand to his team mates, which makes it easier for young offensive players to play with him.
- Gill may be the best penalty killer of all the skaters in the league. He does do this a bit silly looking thing where drops to the ice to block shots and passing lanes, but it seems to be pretty effective.
- Gill graps and holds because he has to, which will lead to penalties. Those penalties tend to go down in the play-off and Gill's effectiveness goes up a bit as a result.
Overall, Gill is a PK specialist first. In 5-on-5 he should be sheltered, as he will get scored on when forced to move. Gill has played main shutdown pair roles previously, but that's probably past him today, unless he matches really well against someone specific (I'm thinking Holmström and Franzen here).
Really good deal for the Preds, I think Gill will make an already impressive defense that much better. You can't teach size and while the knock on him may be that he's slow, he's also a handful to try and get around. I think Rinne will certainly appreciate having a defenseman of his size/reach in front of him. Again, great pick up for the Preds.
I agree with Poile and I think Gill is one of the better options for defensive depth, BUT
The frustrating part is why don't we go after decent defensive depth in the offseason? We let guys like SOB and Zanon walk for cheap, don't go after relatively cheap options (like Gill)... and then we have to massively overpay at the deadline to get them.
I guess this comes down to Geofferion. If he's a marginal NHL/AHL player, giving up a 2nd and him isn't too bad. If he becomes a good NHLer, we paid a steep price.
As for Gill, I think he'll be a decent fit, potentially a really good fit if he still has some playoff mojo left.
What incentive does Montreal have to trade Gill in the offseason? More trades happen near the deadline because that's when more players are available. Yes, it would be nice to build the perfect team in July and not have to worry about making deadline trades, but that just simply unrealistic. The problem is and always has been availability, not because Poile procrastinates until February.
Gill is far from from a gritty player ; he`ll gently push guys around but is not a hitter at all. What you do get, is a good PK specialist ; you`ll love seeing him drop to the ice and flop around like a dying fish yet block all kinds of shots! Gill is a great guy and I wish him and the Predators all the best.
and with this trade, Nashville has definitely become my #1 team in the playoffs (assuming the Habs don't make it, of course). They already would have been, but this cements it.
I love Gill. I'll miss him, but the trade had to be made..
Yes, it would be nice to build the perfect team in July and not have to worry about making deadline trades, but that just simply unrealistic.
A blind tuna fish could have seen we need veteran D-depth last off-season.
Overall I'm happy we got Gill. I really haven't seen the guy play much over the last 2 years, but he was great for Montreal and Pittsburgh in the playoffs a few years back. Just hope he still has something left...
A blind tuna fish could have seen we need veteran D-depth last off-season.
Overall I'm happy we got Gill. I really haven't seen the guy play much over the last 2 years, but he was great for Montreal and Pittsburgh in the playoffs a few years back. Just hope he still has something left...
Nice dance around the question, I'll give you props for that
Wow, we just got a lot bigger on the blue line. Exactly what we needed. A guy who can clear the front of the net against the big boys in the NHL.
What does his contract look like? Will he be in a Preds Uni tonight?
Quote:
Originally Posted by 101st_fan
He'll still be taller than Ellis.
ROFL,
ANYWAY, yah I'm in agreement, mtl just needed to get younger for a year however. Pred's fans in the playoffs you'll love em, especially when he just gently interferes with someone and no call is made. He clogs up that passing lane in front of the goaltender and his interview post game will be with it. Preds will defintely be my team for the playoffs. (also great mentor for the young guys, did wonders with subban and weber in turning them into pros.)
He is big and strong, but uses that only deny scoring areas for opposing players. He does this very effectively against other big and strong players who are looking to park themselves in front of the net, and struggles more against players who tend to move in and out of the front of the net. Gill doesn't shy away from contact, but he isn't a punishing player to play against like, say, Pronger is.
