I think he would want to stay here. He is always talking about the fact that this team has the best chemistry he has ever been on and all that.
At the same time he loves his daughter and that's a bigger factor.
It's all up in the air right now and what I take from the article is that he doesn't even know himself where the cards will fall. He is just speculating on what he would be doing if he was Gainey.
I personally hope he stays because he's great but if he goes out west its completely understandable because a child is more important than a game.
I love the guy, obviously, being Souray44 and all and I hope he stays as he's a great weapon to have on the point.
Sure I get pissed off as anyone when he makes his stupid mistakes but more often then not we're saying f-yeah sheldon after he blows one by for a pp goal. He brings something to our team that none of our other defenseman currently can.
I don't buy it. I have a feeling the article just takes what Souray said and makes it look like he isn't going to re-sign. The truth is Souray understands the reality of the situation and was just stating the obvious, which the article has taken and made it look like he wants out.
I still believe he will be back.
Markov is on pace for 63 pts. Let's say he gets 60 and continues to be sound defensively. That's worth 5M$+ multi-year in today's market.
Souray is on pace for 34 goals. Let's say he ends up with 25. That's worth 5M$+ multi-year in today's market.
Add 2.5M$+ for Rivet well, that makes 12.5M$+ for 3 d-men.
I will bet my last dollar
that Souray will not resign with Montreal
no matter what is offered
and who knows about Markov
he could just as easily go on the Market!!!
"It's not the best situation, but you play the cards you're dealt and I'm doing the best I can," Souray said. "It's all something that's made my character stronger. Through everything, my daughter has remained my No. 1 priority.
"They were depressing times last year, but I had a good summer, spent time with Vali and things got better. When I have her with me, everything else in the world kind of goes away. To have her for (2 1/2 weeks at) the start of the season was a lot of motivation for me. I seem to play my best when she's around."
In that case, expect a productive December. Souray will have Valentina with him for 10 days next month. He's hoping to pick her up in New York on Dec. 7, when the Canadiens play the Islanders on Long Island.
"If it works out, she'll fly back to Montreal on our charter," he said. "But I'll have to change my flight routine a bit. Her mom would kill me if she went home and started talking about poker."
"It's not the best situation, but you play the cards you're dealt and I'm doing the best I can," Souray said. "It's all something that's made my character stronger. Through everything, my daughter has remained my No. 1 priority.
"They were depressing times last year, but I had a good summer, spent time with Vali and things got better. When I have her with me, everything else in the world kind of goes away. To have her for (2 1/2 weeks at) the start of the season was a lot of motivation for me. I seem to play my best when she's around."
In that case, expect a productive December. Souray will have Valentina with him for 10 days next month. He's hoping to pick her up in New York on Dec. 7, when the Canadiens play the Islanders on Long Island.
"If it works out, she'll fly back to Montreal on our charter," he said. "But I'll have to change my flight routine a bit. Her mom would kill me if she went home and started talking about poker."
hmmm...Perhaps she was only attending the school temporarily then.
My guess is that Souray has a pre-school/day care that he uses when she's in town. I don't see any mystery here. I don't think the article mis-leads, it just shows us that he understands the situation.
The neccessity of joint custody means he'll only ever see her half of the time. Of course, living on the West Coast doesn't really change that, it just makes it easier for the child, not having to fly around on planes and such. That said, it sounds like the details of this custody arangement were made after he said the comment about moving out West, so I believe that factor is moot. Souray will see his child for half of the year no matter where he is, and living closer wont change that.
As far as the Habs, I have no doubt they're waiting to see if the cap goes up again this year. I wouldn't pay Rivet more then 2 mil per year, and even then I'd want to go cheaper. He wants to stay, he needs to take a hometown discount. He's very replaceable by a young guy at this point, and that 2 mil could be the difference between keeping Markov and Souray or keeping Markov and getting some UFA scrap for 2.5 mil.
As for the article, I agree with many others here: Souray is just being pragmatic. Was probably asked about the situation, and he just put himself in Gainey's shoes. Didn't say anything about where he'd WANT to be, just what BG is likely to do.
As far as trading him... are you guys nuts? GM's around the league would give their left nut for a chance to bag Souray for their PP. The New NHL is all about PK and PP, and Souray is possibly the best PP guy in the league right now. Without a doubt, given our contention possibilities, Souray is going nowhere. If we end up getting nothing for him (isn't there still a draft pick compensation?) then so be it. If you have a shot at the cup, you take it. You can't always make trades aimed at next year! They invariably weaken your team for this year, and that is still the priority is it not!
As far as trading him... are you guys nuts? GM's around the league would give their left nut for a chance to bag Souray for their PP. The New NHL is all about PK and PP, and Souray is possibly the best PP guy in the league right now. Without a doubt, given our contention possibilities, Souray is going nowhere. If we end up getting nothing for him (isn't there still a draft pick compensation?) then so be it. If you have a shot at the cup, you take it. You can't always make trades aimed at next year! They invariably weaken your team for this year, and that is still the priority is it not!
He logs pk time too. His problems tend to be more 5 on 5. You can't make a deal that weakens your team with a 'next year' premise if you're in it. Let things play out and see what happens.
I will miss Souray. I've always liked him. When we dumped Malakov for SS I was very happy. He brings a powerful shot, great size, toughness, and will stick up for players on the ice. As other posters have said "he is average defensively".
Having said all that Bob Gainey would be nuts to keep him beyond February. In the cap NHL this is something we all need to get used to. In 5-7 years there will be so much parity in the league it'll be stupid.
So we need to build right......right now........by moving elite UFA for top teir prospects or high draft picks.
I'm no GM but Kevin Klein from the Preds might be someone to look at, since they'll be buyers come February.
Buyers(renters) Vs Sellers: Unless we dump salary we can't afford to rent anyone.
Is is possible Habs keep both Souray and Markov and left Rivet out?
Souray-???
Markov-Komo
Bouillon-Dandy
Streit
The ??? can be Cote, or Emlin...
Let's say Markov 4.5M, Souray 4M, Bouillon 2M, Dandy 2M, Komo 1M, Streit .5M, ??? 1M
Total = 14M
departure of Ninimma free up 2.5M, give it to Markov, Departure of Rivet free up 2M, give it to Souray. We only need 1M more to have the above lineup.
Yeah u may ask if we can have Markov signed at 4.5M
Markov was good a few years back then, why he was signed for 2M? Maybe there is off-ice issue. Just like Danny Markov, good D, why signed for so cheap?
Heck if we play Cote instead of Rivet... we may be set for next year. Just sign Souray and Markov.
Is is possible Habs keep both Souray and Markov and left Rivet out?
Souray-???
Markov-Komo
Bouillon-Dandy
Streit
The ??? can be Cote, or Emlin...
Let's say Markov 4.5M, Souray 4M, Bouillon 2M, Dandy 2M, Komo 1M, Streit .5M, ??? 1M
Total = 14M
departure of Ninimma free up 2.5M, give it to Markov, Departure of Rivet free up 2M, give it to Souray. We only need 1M more to have the above lineup.
Yeah u may ask if we can have Markov signed at 4.5M Markov was good a few years back then, why he was signed for 2M? Maybe there is off-ice issue. Just like Danny Markov, good D, why signed for so cheap?
Heck if we play Cote instead of Rivet... we may be set for next year. Just sign Souray and Markov.
I will miss Souray. I've always liked him. When we dumped Malakov for SS I was very happy. He brings a powerful shot, great size, toughness, and will stick up for players on the ice. As other posters have said "he is average defensively".
Having said all that Bob Gainey would be nuts to keep him beyond February. In the cap NHL this is something we all need to get used to. In 5-7 years there will be so much parity in the league it'll be stupid.
So we need to build right......right now........by moving elite UFA for top teir prospects or high draft picks.
I'm no GM but Kevin Klein from the Preds might be someone to look at, since they'll be buyers come February.
Buyers(renters) Vs Sellers: Unless we dump salary we can't afford to rent anyone.
Why would we want to rent anyone for Souray? Souray is effectively the equivalent of a rental as it is and he already knows the system and is willing to stand up for his team. Would be hard to find a rental that can contribute anything near this. And this is moot anyway, teams looking to unload rentals usually want young talent or picks in return, not a pending UFA like Souray.
It's false to think you need to dump that much salary to rent a player either. At the trade deadline, you only have a few month's salary left to pay. Getting Niinimaa's salary off the books would likely be enough (plus it's higher than Souray's!).
Lastly, I don't think the Habs are a rebuilding team. Trading Souray for picks or prospects that won't be ready for a few years is not in Montreal's plans at the moment.
Bottom line, look for Souray to stay for the season and then we'll see how things go from there - if we're playoff bound, he's more useful with the team than any return we might get. If the team starts to sink and look like they will be out of the playoffs, then and only then would Souray (and probably others) be moved to shore up our future.
