All rookies have to sign a two-way contract. There will be no waivers, he simply is not eligible for waivers, so please drop this. Out clauses with the go-to-Russia-free card are purely a myth at this point as well. He might have been able to return if Montreal tried to cut him at the start of the season, but now that he's made the team and played in the NHL he can't simply jump back to Russia if they try to send him to Hamilton.
But it's in everyone's best interest to keep him in Montreal and work him into the lineup on a semi-regular basis.
I might have been off base on the out clause I was going off memory from the signing article on tsn but a two way deal just means he makes less money in the AHL than in the NHL. He has 1 year of waiver exemption since this was his first NHL contract I believe. I thought since he was 25 he didnt get any but that was false, its 26.
Edit: It is in their best interest to work him in but do you really think that will happen considering he got benched for spacek and then 2 more dmen are going to be returning they arent keeping him up or putting him in semi-regularly.
Seing that, in JM's mind, he is not good enough to play even with Markov out, wow did they badly evaluate him during the last many years. It seems their Pro Scouts are horrible at identifying talent - or JM just won't develop it (for some).
You make a good point. Either Emelin was over evaluated or he's not getting the opportunity to display his talents. I'm not talking purely ice time, I'm talking about getting the support and confidence from your coach. I don't think JM has ever had faith in someone who hasn't been in the league for at least 2-3 years. He takes an extremely cautious approach with youth. There is no discrimination in his style other than that he seems determined to "keep those youth in line".
I can see JM as a youth, sitting at home on a Friday night organizing the pencils on his desk.. not because he's a loser or anything, but because that's honestly what he liked to do.
JM's treatment of Emelin suggests 1) he wants to win now to save his job and so values a steady presence in Gill, 2) he is more comfortable dealing with old guys than developing youngsters.
Arguments can be made but clearly Emelin is a talent we could use going forward, he's also a special case, an All-Star KHL defenceman who came over to play in the NHL not sit in the press box. I hope he's reasonable enough to hold on through November but if he does not get to play and leaves I would not blame him. Would not be the first youngster JM has lost.
I agree. However, I think that something has changed in management.
There is a loss of confidence in JM. I think he'll be watched on player development, and I could see someone stepping in and dealing with Emelin if he will not.
Losing a player like Emelin would be an absolute joke. He needs to play 40 games this year. He should also be reassured that that is the intention. Unbelievable if Emelin is not being told what the strategy for him is, but I would not be surprised. NHL coaches are a management joke for the most part, with some exceptions.
There are enough games against **** teams, there are injuries, and yes, Gill and Spacemen should be sat out every 6 games or so.
No more losses of top prospects please.
It will be very interesting to see how this unfolds. If the kid does not start playing now and then, or gets benched all the time in play, I'm going to seriously start hating JM. I don't watch the Habs to see JM, I watch the Habs to see kids like Emelin.
At the very least Emelin should be platooning with Diaz, and he is not. I'm getting very nervous about JM's handling of this difficult problem. I do not think he's up to it. Emelin's fate will decide me on JM, and it might decide management on him too.
Emelin is better than Gill and Diaz. End of conversation.
Diaz has been the player that's surprised me the most. He plays like a veteran. Rarely out of position, stong hockey sense and has the offensive flair. He's been solid.
Gill is a PK specialist and even though he's not overly physical he still wins a lot of board battles with his size. His reach and positioning make up for his lack of footspeed. He always starts slow but he's coming around now. He's also a great leader and mentor (and yes that is important on a hockey team)
Most importantly however, he's 11th in the entire NHL right now in blocked shots.
Emelin, save for a couple of offensive zone rushes where he looked good, looked lost a little, gave the puck away wasn't playing with confidence. He needs time in the AHL. He will also really, really benefit from Markov's return providing Markov assumes the responsibility to help him out.
I agree. However, I think that something has changed in management.
There is a loss of confidence in JM. I think he'll be watched on player development, and I could see someone stepping in and dealing with Emelin if he will not.
Losing a player like Emelin would be an absolute joke. He needs to play 40 games this year. He should also be reassured that that is the intention. Unbelievable if Emelin is not being told what the strategy for him is, but I would not be surprised. NHL coaches are a management joke for the most part, with some exceptions.
There are enough games against **** teams, there are injuries, and yes, Gill and Spacemen should be sat out every 6 games or so.
No more losses of top prospects please.
It will be very interesting to see how this unfolds. If the kid does not start playing now and then, or gets benched all the time in play, I'm going to seriously start hating JM. I don't watch the Habs to see JM, I watch the Habs to see kids like Emelin.
At the very least Emelin should be platooning with Diaz, and he is not. I'm getting very nervous about JM's handling of this difficult problem. I do not think he's up to it. Emelin's fate will decide me on JM, and it might decide management on him too.
What is he supposed to do put Alexei Emelin ahead of the interest of the team as a whole?
The team is winning at the moment. He has to go with the D-men that allow him to win. Simple as that.
I don't buy that Diaz is better than him. Maybe a bit better offensively, but in terms of defense, Yemelin is bigger, stronger and always in good position. I think part of Diaz playing more at this point is a language thing, easier for him to adapt to systems and such. I think they should rotate guys in and out, having one sitting for 2 weeks is not a good thing.
I just hope the Habs coaching staff are talking to the kid and keep encouraging him. I'm sure they are and Ladouceur I trust for that
Apparently Ladouceur is a guy who takes a lot of time 1 on 1 and talks to the players a lot. I'm sure he does. I wonder if they have an interpreter or translator to do this though. I would imagine they do.
I don't buy that Diaz is better than him. Maybe a bit better offensively, but in terms of defense, Yemelin is bigger, stronger and always in good position. I think part of Diaz playing more at this point is a language thing, easier for him to adapt to systems and such. I think they should rotate guys in and out, having one sitting for 2 weeks is not a good thing.
Not going to say he is better, but at the moment Diaz is definitely "le chou chou" of Jacques. He even got the 5 on 3 pp time against the Bruins. PK should be the one out there until Markov comes back
Emelin hasn't impressed me so far. At this time, Diaz is slightly better.
But we have to give time to Emelin to adapt to N.A. hockey. I agree that Emelin should replace Gill from time to time.
Subban and Price grew up with different cultures and more importantly, different attitudes towards the NHL. This whole idea of "if they don't fall in line they're out of here" is a horrible approach to managing unique assets. We've lost many players because management refused to tailor an approach to players with attitude problems. Instead they said "hey! fall in line youuuuuuu!" and as these are professional athletes with egos they did the opposite and we lost potentially good players and even worse, due to the lack of attention given to these players their trade values decreased and they brought a negative element to the dressing room. Management needs to take more responsibility in this area. It seems the culture is to have a very high behavioural/attitude standard for a player and leave it completely up to them to fall in line. I don't know what goes on behind the scenes but I doubt there's a lot of level-to-level motivation and confidence building going on. More likely its stern talking-tos and discpline. A new generation of players requires a new generation approach.
I guess 24 cups and all the Habs would have an interest in preserving the past and the old ways...
We nit pick a lot about small things on this board, but those small things are the difference between a good team and a champion.
Not going to say he is better, but at the moment Diaz is definitely "le chou chou" of Jacques. He even got the 5 on 3 pp time against the Bruins. PK should be the one out there until Markov comes back
PK's been pretty reckless of late. Nothing wrong with having him skip his turn once in a while
