Still, more toughness on the blue line is absolutely ESSENTIAL. Souray can't do it all. That rumoured "Gauthier" trade with Calgary looks more and more enticing.
I agree, and I think it could be pretty easy to solve. In light of all the Gauthier trade proposals started by Flames fans, it seems he has become pretty expandable on that team and could probably be had for cheap. I'd rather have him on the 3rd pairing than Bouillon.
Also, Komisarek would probably do a much better job in that regard than Rivet. He's much stronger and more physical. So trading Rivet for a forward (a big physical 3rd liner ala Grier would be my choice) and bringing back Komisarek could help solve that problem a little more.
I'm starting to be anxious awaiting for that 1st Gainey move.
I think I have to agree with anyone who's been mentioning Anson Carter. Both Craig Rivet and Carter are 29-years-old, so the age isn't a factor from either side. The Rangers have quite a few guys back on "D", including Joel Bouchard who should be receiving regular shift, but Rivet would probably crack their top six. If not, Sather could flip him to a certain Habs rival, one of which is severly lacking on the defence.
Carter makes 2.8 million, and has five points so far (4-1-5). Rivet makes 2.5 million, and also have five points (1-4-5). The stats don't tell the story though, because Carter is simply a struggling player. In that case, I think we would need to cover Carter's extra $300 000 worth of salary, and add a second round draft choice, along with a decent prospect.
I've always like Rivet, and I think he sometimes gets a bit of a hard knock around here, but with Quintal only being payed $450 000, and Komisarek and Hainsey needing quality minutes, Craig is the logical man to go.
I agree, and I think it could be pretty easy to solve. In light of all the Gauthier trade proposals started by Flames fans, it seems he has become pretty expandable on that team and could probably be had for cheap. I'd rather have him on the 3rd pairing than Bouillon.
Also, Komisarek would probably do a much better job in that regard than Rivet. He's much stronger and more physical. So trading Rivet for a forward (a big physical 3rd liner ala Grier would be my choice) and bringing back Komisarek could help solve that problem a little more.
I'm starting to be anxious awaiting for that 1st Gainey move.
We wouldn't have any problem clearing the crease anymore...
Well, that works for me, but it still doesn't answer the question of why Smythe left the ice after that play under his own power. This isn't about being big, strong or tough. This is about "protecting your goaltender" and I don't care how big or small you are, you respond to such a blatent foul, and you respond emphatically, effectively and IMMEDIATELY. This should have been grilled into all these guys heads by the time they were 14. It was in mine at that age. If you don't, then its going to keep happening. The miracle is, with all the runs at Theo that have been permitted to occur over the past couple of seasons, it's a wonder the guy is still able to play, but we WILL lose him sooner or later to injury because of it. It happened on the Varada play, and it'll happen again. Quite honestly, I just don't understand any hockey player standing by and watching someone run his goaltender like that without going nothing short of berserk, but I played in a different era, so that might explain it.
Well, that works for me, but it still doesn't answer the question of why Smythe left the ice after that play under his own power. This isn't about being big, strong or tough. This is about "protecting your goaltender" and I don't care how big or small you are, you respond to such a blatent foul, and you respond emphatically, effectively and IMMEDIATELY. This should have been grilled into all these guys heads by the time they were 14. It was in mine at that age. If you don't, then its going to keep happening. The miracle is, with all the runs at Theo that have been permitted to occur over the past couple of seasons, it's a wonder the guy is still able to play, but we WILL lose him sooner or later to injury because of it. It happened on the Varada play, and it'll happen again. Quite honestly, I just don't understand any hockey player standing by and watching someone run his goaltender like that without going nothing short of berserk, but I played in a different era, so that might explain it.
I agree, but this is the coach's job to make sure that nobody does it. Don't look further. Julien is responsible to tell his players NOBODY ROUGHS OUR GOALIE WITHOUT PAYING THE PRICE. Souray is a mean guy that can take care of those things, Quintal can too, etc. But Julien doesn't make his players accountable for it. He seems to prefer not getting a retaliatory penality. So therefore, it will continue to happen as long as Julien doesn't tell his players clearly that if they don't stick up for Theodore, THEY are the one who will end up paying the price (benching, sitting a whole game, etc.).
Quintal is quite tough, and just wait until Komo comes to town. Rivet shows periodic spirts of toughness and Boullion does as much as someone his size can. The only blueline softies on this team are Breezebois, Markov and Hainsey, who doesn't even play that often.
Quintal is tough in that he's capable of dropping the gloves with anyone in the league. He's a fine fighter and will drop 'em when he sees fit. He's certainly a team player. What Quintal is not however, is a mean defenseman. He's not a crease-clearer. On one of Edmonton's goals (I believe the second), it was a typical Quintal play in front of the net: trying to play the bouncing puck, rather than abusing or at least tying up his man.
We see this a lot from Quintal, and it's always been a problem. He's never played the man in front of the net. He's never delivered big hits (partially due to his lack of mobility, partially due to a real lack of a mean streak).
Rivet is quite similar. He'll act more agitated on occasion and will sometimes drop the gloves as we saw in Calgary, but in general his instincts seem to be to play the puck rather than the man. Most goals against Montreal are scored as a result of the opposition having a presence in the crease, and that's because there's only one crease clearing defenseman in Montreal: Souray.
Markov actually does a superior job to Rivet and Quintal in the crease because: a) if he plays the puck, he seldomly loses a battle for puck control; b) he has enough sense to tie up the opposition's stick
Bouillon is also a poor crease clearer. Sure, he's extremely strong for his size, but he's not a strong player overall. He can make huge hits in the same way Tootoo can; they have tremendous lower body strength and overall strength that if they get skating at full speed they can cause some damage. But when it comes to play down low, along the boards or in the crease, where Bouillon can't use a running start, his lack of overall size is exposed.
The objective here isn't to increase the size of Montreal's defense, it's to increase the aggressiveness, mean streak which will lead to a more effective crease-clearing defense.
The objective here isn't to increase the size of Montreal's defense, it's to increase the aggressiveness, mean streak which will lead to a more effective crease-clearing defense.
Totally agree with your thoughts on our defence.
Like him, or not, Dykhuis was one of our more physical defencemen in front of the net. He lacked in many other areas, but he would make life miserable in the crease area.
. Rivet shows periodic spirts of toughness and Boullion does as much as someone his size can. The only blueline softies on this team are Breezebois, Markov and Hainsey, who doesn't even play that often.
