27 years old Kostitsyn is strong as an oak, he is not afraid of the heavy circulation, he has a deadly shot and underrated passing skills. He sure won't take charge of a line but he can play at a dominant level. He will give you 20 goals per season; 30 if he receives regular PP time.
You won that trade.
PS a lot of fans and "experts" labelled him as "inconstant"; imo ALL the 20-30 goals scorer are, de facto, inconstant! I think it is a matter of expectations.
Apparently AK fired his agent Meehan after this trade? Not sure why, anyone got details on this? Mad about going to Nashville or just better to part ways at this point?
I highly doubt AK doesn't want to PLAY for nashville. Going to nashville, after expressing that he wanted to stay in montreal twice in last month, is probably a bit of shock for him, most likley because he was building a home in Mtl. So i can understand the guy not wanting to move. As for wanting to PLAY, he definatly wants to especially since NSH is going into the PO's. I watched the intreview this afternoon, and i can tell you that: He's not most outspoken infront of the cammera, bit shy and the reports kept asking him as to if he's going to play up to his potential and if he was missued in Mtl and kept asking him about that time he said he wanted to stay in Mtl, then got traded. He didn't seem pleased to be questioned about him not playing well.
IMO the guy was played great, played good season last year, was top hitter, was still hitting hard, has one heluva shot, plays hard more consistently that he's being advertised.
Also you have to take into account the terrible season, multiple chaochign changes, game plans and players traded; he was definatly missuesed and has always been expected to be a first line winger. Which he CAN be, but he certainly is more of a top 9 winger, who knows his role and knows his no 40g scorer. But he can pot 30 and 20 consistently. With Gionta out and cammalleri traded, Habs have been looking for that top 6 winger, which AK was 'not' but the habs are terrible this year, so i dont think AK is to blame.
Anyways, like with SK, he will be a treat to watch if you don't have the expectations of some (most) habs fans.
Definatly will be rooting for the preds and if there is will sport a NSH avatar.
GL.
Kostitsyn was on pace for 32goals 50pts+ before Cunneyworth took over. Last season, he was leading the habs with the most GWG and most hits. When he's on, he can literally dominate on the ice. He just needs to get his confidence back. Trotz is a good coach, I'm sure he will be able to bring the best out of Kostitsyn.
I'm cheering for Nashville to win the cup. Best of luck.
While AK is a rental, the good news is, I don't think he has a ton of prospects in the future. So if he plays well enough to get an offer to stay in Nashville and play along with his brother, we might have a good chance of resigning him.
I'm a little concerned by the news I'm hearing from AK's camp...but i'm hoping SK can convince him not only to come here and give it a shot, but really immerse himself in the Nashville locker room and culture. If AK enjoys it, welcome aboard long term
I'm a little concerned by the news I'm hearing from AK's camp...but i'm hoping SK can convince him not only to come here and give it a shot, but really immerse himself in the Nashville locker room and culture. If AK enjoys it, welcome aboard long term
lots of talk about him not wanting to be traded, first and foremost. I remember a month or so ago he said he would sign at a discount because he loved Montreal so much. Just not sure if he's excited to be here....
That said, I think he'll love it here and be very successful here. Just a little apprehensive
I'm a little concerned by the news I'm hearing from AK's camp...but i'm hoping SK can convince him not only to come here and give it a shot, but really immerse himself in the Nashville locker room and culture. If AK enjoys it, welcome aboard long term
Quote:
Originally Posted by gopreds9
lots of talk about him not wanting to be traded, first and foremost. I remember a month or so ago he said he would sign at a discount because he loved Montreal so much. Just not sure if he's excited to be here....
I remember reading a post from a Montreal fan earlier that says AK just doesn't really like change. Which makes sense with the hometown discount he would've given to the Habs. I think that's his main motive if he's less than thrilled at the moment. It probably wasn't that he didn't want to play for Nashville it was probably that he just didn't want to leave. He was building a home in MTL and if comfort in his surroundings was what he was looking for, a trade is going to shake that up big time. But I think he'll be okay. Aside from his own brother he's got Gill and Bouillon that he played with up there and I'm sure they can help him settle and fit in the best they can. I have a feeling our locker room and coaching staff will make the transition a smooth one, he just doesn't know that yet.
If the guy plays well, he'll get an offer from Nashville. He might get an offer from Montreal. If he wants to go back to that zoo over a place that's contending and in a system that would suit him well, so be it.
If he doesn't play well in the next 20 games and the playoffs, I see the KHL calling.
If the guy plays well, he'll get an offer from Nashville. He might get an offer from Montreal.
Habs fan here. I am pretty sure Kostytsin will adjust. I mean a lot of players don't want to leave a city where they have played for years at first. Once he gets playing, he'll forget about it.
Kostytsin was never stellar in Montreal, but he was a good 20 goal guy. He shows a lot of talent at times. In 2008 as a rookie, he, Plekanec and Kovalev were awesome together. We all expected him to turn into a 40 goal guy after that. But it never happened.
He and his brother are different in a lot of ways. Sergei is more lively. When Sergei played with the Habs he dropped the gloves alot against much tougher opponents. Andre is the quiet type. Hope he does well with you guys.
AK was my favorite player who had played in Montreal in the past 10 years. Happy is go the Preds, who were rougly my 4th favorite team in the past 10 years. Will cheering for them more than ever.
Is biggest issue, he seriously lacks of Hockey IQ most of the time. If in terms of natural skill he literally match guys like, Kessel, Vanek, and even Toews, is Hockey IQ is as high as an AHLER guys. Is also not always the most hard worker player out there, but Martin upgrade it up, and that nothing that Trotz can't fix. Just like Sergei.
For his shot, is not a dirty goal scorer, he's not accurate as Sergei is, but his wrist shot very strong and loud. Most of the goal he score are rocket lauch from 30 feet-ish from the net. Just have to look on NHL.com anyway. Makes very good hits too and hits lots, 100 + in the past 4 season and will for sure this year.
He can also make great play sometime like here on Eller's hat trick, (starting at 0:22)
You'll love him, and appreciate him unlike most of my fellow Habs fans who were seemingly unable to. He's one of my favourite players but he was constantly mismanaged by our coaching staff. Would flourish and then get taken off the line. Any time anything went wrong, it was either Eller or Kostitsyn who would be scapegoat and see their ice-time cut. Give AKost a bit of confidence and time to adjust to a consistent line and you'll have a new 30 goal scorer.
Also, I'm officially on the Nashville playoff bandwagon Go Preds!
You'll love him, and appreciate him unlike most of my fellow Habs fans who were seemingly unable to. He's one of my favourite players but he was constantly mismanaged by our coaching staff. Would flourish and then get taken off the line. Any time anything went wrong, it was either Eller or Kostitsyn who would be scapegoat and see their ice-time cut. Give AKost a bit of confidence and time to adjust to a consistent line and you'll have a new 30 goal scorer.
Also, I'm officially on the Nashville playoff bandwagon Go Preds!
Amazing how similar to the positive feedback we got after the SK deal this sounds....Oh man if he can increase his production like his brother
Hi, (another) Habs fan here (again). Go Preds Go! and for what it's worth you've my support now in the playoffs. I predict once AK settles in and if he gets top-six and pp icetime he'll easily be one of your top three producing forwards through the rest of the season and playoffs, protects the puck well, opposition's checks bounce off him, will want to score a goal more than make fey passes back and forth. With the dumb system and tragic way Habs have developed and managed assets over the last years, we didn't deserve him.
If you have a player who can put the puck on his stick, he'll score a ton for you.
If he's motivated, he's a monster. If he's not motivated and you still put the puck on his stick, he'll score at least.
He's a classic sniper IMO. Don't expect him to dominate but when he's really on he can. The good news for you is that if you have a good C feeding him, he won't miss.
Kostitsyn was on pace for 32goals 50pts+ before Cunneyworth took over. Last season, he was leading the habs with the most GWG and most hits. When he's on, he can literally dominate on the ice. He just needs to get his confidence back. Trotz is a good coach, I'm sure he will be able to bring the best out of Kostitsyn.
I'm cheering for Nashville to win the cup. Best of luck.
same here, I will cheer for the Preds during the playoffs and hope they win the cup. I already ordered my #46 yellow tshirt from the preds website.
If you have a player who can put the puck on his stick, he'll score a ton for you.
If he's motivated, he's a monster. If he's not motivated and you still put the puck on his stick, he'll score at least.
He's a classic sniper IMO. Don't expect him to dominate but when he's really on he can. The good news for you is that if you have a good C feeding him, he won't miss.
Ha, that's Sergei's skill. He is making passes we've never seen in Nashville before him.
Thing is... he played with scrubs in montreal and played 10 min per game no poweplay time... and still managed to score 15-25 goals per season.
He's a horse, his shot is unreal, nice hands, underrated playmaking abilities, he has all the tools; play him with a good playmaker and he'll score 30.
The average height of NSH's blueline would rise dramatically. For instance, Francis Bouillon 5'8" & Hall Gill 6'7" would be pretty much the same average height as the Suter & Weber pairing
Good for Poile for saving the first rndr to use in the other TDL trade in order to grab Gaustad.
Go Preds!
