I'm not denying that he could have an effect not too far off from Robert Lang's half-season. That is, completely revitalize the system by bringing an element that was sorely lacking for so long (Powerful winger) but we already got that in Eric Cole and Max Pacioretty's development AND Rene Bourque's potential.
We need skill and finesse and that's either going to come by trade (Bobby Ryan, Patrick Marleau or whoever else is on the table) or by developing some of our younger players who've shown glimpses of their ability (Leblanc, Gallagher, and so on).
Doan's a good player but the absolute best reasonable expectations we could have would be 50 to 70 points (like Cole) but he's even older and scores less than Cole. 50-70 points is great, but not at more than 6m.
Because 4th lines have a use in the NHL and require a certain type of player. Nokia, Prust, White and Moen are 4th liners on this team. Geoffrion and Gomez too, maybe. Leblanc isn't large enough for the 4th line nor has he maximized her potential (which I rate as higher than most here). He should play next to Eller or Pleks if we don't sign another top6 winger.
Leblanc is perfectly suited for 4th line duty. Not only is he quite good defensively in a checking role, but he is also a good forechecker and cycler, and is good along the boards.
I would consider Leblanc more effective than White for example.
In addition, it is perfectly natural for rookies to get sheltered on the 4th line when getting broken into the league. Not only does it keep their icetime down and prevent rookie mistakes from costing you on the scoresheet, but it also gets them in more favourable matchups and helps them learn the nuances of the NHL game.
Leblanc is always going to be a checking line forward with the ability to put points up. I would be willing to bet quite a few dollars that you will see him at some point getting 5-7 minutes a game this season playing alongside the other 'fourth liners.'
Leblanc is perfectly suited for 4th line duty. Not only is he quite good defensively in a checking role, but he is also a good forechecker and cycler, and is good along the boards.
I would consider Leblanc more effective than White for example.
In addition, it is perfectly natural for rookies to get sheltered on the 4th line when getting broken into the league. Not only does it keep their icetime down and prevent rookie mistakes from costing you on the scoresheet, but it also gets them in more favourable matchups and helps them learn the nuances of the NHL game.
Leblanc is always going to be a checking line forward with the ability to put points up. I would be willing to bet quite a few dollars that you will see him at some point getting 5-7 minutes a game this season playing alongside the other 'fourth liners.'
Why play him "5-7 min" a game on the 4th line, when he can play regular, full 1st line minutes in Hamilton this year?
Doan is the perfect example of an nhl'er that has his contract expiring just at the right time....this being one of the thinnest crops of free agents in ages. No way at his age he's on the upward hill. He played his cards right, let pretty much everybody else sign. Read the book co-authored by Martin Lapointe and Brendan Shanahan on how to spend the summer on a free sight seeing tour of north america , with specific attention on reading the part how you absolutely, positively have to factor in the " Montreal equation "......I think it's referred to as the 25%bonus clause.......
Would have been a great addition .......4 years ago. Not saying that his next couple of seasons are going to be trash, not at all !, just saying that the lenght and money he's gonna get in the next few days will only reflect the fact that he played his cards right on a lousy year, will not reflect his real value.
Like others said, for the moment, let's consolidate P.K, and try to work some kind of long term deal with Pacioretty, see what this " healthy" group of guys can do, watch the kids evolve in Hamilton for a year. I don't see a reason at this point to dish out the kind of contract Doan needs to move out of golftown. ....I predict he does not sign below 6 mil$ / year.......
Rather we play it out till feb. and see by that time if we're in contention......rather get an impact " rental" player if possible then, than being stuck with a 4 year deal to Doan.
I'm pretty sure you're being sarcastic. Doan's not worth **** all, I'd rather try Palushaj/Gallagher than Doan (Doan @ 4yr/30m that is)
Not sarcastic at all. $30M/4yrs is certainly not an "ideal" pricetag for Doan, but at the end of the day he's the best player on the UFA market right now. And if that's what it took to get him to come here, I'd bite the bullet and take it. Palushaj and Gallagher can't hold a candle to him. Doan's impact is probably going to be approximately on the order of Cole's. At least until he hits a decline. Since it's not my money and since we have a very clear path to accommodating a $7.5M cap hit over the next two years (i.e. the two years remaining on Gomez's contract), then it's pure gain for our team - at least over those two years.
I honestly don't believe he'd take $30M/4yrs from us even if we offered it, though. It sounds like if we did offer it, he'll wisely use that as leverage to get better deals out of teams like Pittsburgh or whoever who are also in the running for him as more legitimate Cup contenders. More power to him for doing so. But still, even with that belief, I'd be all for improving our team with Doan if we really did have the chance.
I saw a lot of him in the playoffs and loved what he was doing. That would be great for our team. With him, Cole, and Pacioretty up front... it would really change the complexion of our team. And he's pretty good on the shootouts too, historically anyway.
And yeah, just like we're now in a position to dispose of Gomez at will (or at least his cap hit that represents his potential drag on our competitiveness), then I'll just assume we'll be able to find a way to dispose of Doan's similarly if it does turn out to be something we want to do in Year 3 or Year 4. 35+ may or may not be a category in the future CBA, or there may be other rollbacks or avenues for reducing any potential pain. There's always a way. And even if there's not, a $3-4M cap inefficiency for a couple years shouldn't be insurmountable... we're carrying something much larger than that right now when you add up our few most questionable salaries.
Okay for one Doan is a RW and we are loaded on that side.
Why would you pay more than 5 million for a guy on the downside of is career if you give Doan that much, how much should we give Max next year a kid who is a rising star??
Last if you throw Leblanc on the 4th line you do what we've been doing to our prospects for years, not giving them a chance to succeed! Leblanc is projected to be a third line RW with a possibility to fill in on the top two lines. He has got good hockey sense and needs experience and to fill out, something the majority of young kids need.
So we put him on the fourth line, give him 5-7 minutes of ice a night, frustrate him and kill his confidence!! BRILLIANT. Welcome to the Habs player development from the last regime.
We are not going to get Doan because for a 35 years old 20 goal scorer with some intangibles he is really worth 3 years at $5 million or $5.5 tops, and some fool GM( hey we had two recently) will pay the money he wants. So enjoy his visit but he'snot signiing here.
Oh, and there's that little silver cup he probably wants his name on within the next three years . too.
Just like it ruined Seguin, M. Richards, Eller, Plekanec etc. etc. The notion that guys can't develop on the fourth line is ridiculous.
Why would you pay more than 5 million for a guy on the downside of is career if you give Doan that much, how much should we give Max next year a kid who is a rising star??
Pacioretty is still cost-controlled. Well, pending CBA changes. He doesn't fall into the same category as Doan, and he/the team can go to arbitration and figure out the real number he's worth if they can't automatically agree. Doan isn't a comparable in that process. Although here's hoping Pacioretty does make himself worth $7.5M as a RFA too. That'd be great for the team if he elevated himself to that status. I don't see it as a problem. You can figure out what a player is worth and whether you'll pay that or not, on a case-by-case basis. You don't see Lars Eller arguing his worth based on what Scott Gomez is getting paid, for example.
Once again, how does Leblanc not qualify for duties on the bottom 6?
He certainly qualifies. But he's not the optimal choice for a 3rd liner at the moment. It would be more effective to pan out and get chemistry with the plethora of talent we have in Hamilton this year.
He's practically an NHL-tempered veteran there. Let's see if he can get it going strong.
He certainly qualifies. But he's not the optimal choice for a 3rd liner at the moment. It would be more effective to pan out and get chemistry with the plethora of talent we have in Hamilton this year.
He's practically an NHL-tempered veteran there. Let's see if he can get it going strong.
I don't have a problem with Leblanc starting and/or spending time in Hamilton next season.
But we are short on forwards as it is now are we not?
And also, a third line of Leblanc-Eller-Moen would be perfectly suited for his development and would be a nice third line.
Once again, i know Therriens coaching style very well, he will not have a skilled player playing the 4th line. He is all about grit and toughness on the 4th line.
He expects them to bump and grind and be mean and NOT get scored on.
I like Doan but Erik Cole is a better player and at 4.5, how could Bergevin justify giving Doan 6.5ish? I peg Semin as a 6 million dollar player, and Doan should be getting around 5 million, only higher than Cole beacuse he's in demand as a UFA. I think Doan is basing his contract more on reputation than performance. He's a complimentary player who would be great on the Penguins or Flyers or Rangers. Giving him a huge deal would be the same mistake we made with Cammalleri, overpaying UFA's to come here that are complimentary guys, not anchors. 7 or 7.5 million or whatever he's asking is superstar (or Gomez ) money, not 50-point over the hill wingers who have had physical, bruising careers.
I mean, Doan is such a product of the Canadian media hype at the moment IMO, the TSN guys love one of their own and pimp a 50 point declining player. We could sign Subban AND a guy like Kostitsyn for the money Doan wants, and know what we're getting, and probably get the same number of goals out of AK.
Don't get me wrong, Doan would be great. But the money he's asking is a joke? We get it, you like Phoenix (not sure why IMO), that doesn't mean you're entitled to a huge contract from some other team just because the ****** organization you play for can't guarantee you some security.
seems like you don't need to figure out how much you are willing to pay; you can say no if you aren't willing to pay him 7.5 mil per and a 4 year contract. http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=401580
).
) money, not 50-point over the hill wingers who have had physical, bruising careers. 
