On a decent defense gill is a 7th dman. He is barely even nhl material. I wouldn't be shocked to see geoffrion play better in our system and this trade might wake him up. This is a no risk/high reward trade.
Slaney was playing with our whole ECHL affiliate Cincinnati Cyclones and not exactly dominating the league. So Slaney is just a filler for the Dogs who might end up playing a role for them at one point. So in reality it is Gill for 2nd AND Geoffrion. Which is a GREAT deal for a team like us who are not going anywhere this year. Please let Timmins work his magic with that 2nd now and not trade it for Mike Commodore or something....
If Blake turns in to a 4th liner with a lot of heart and toughness, as he has been described, that will be absolutely perfect with me.
Ditto. And I think we've seen this year with the pu pu platter that has been our 4th line how not having a real 4th line can hurt a team. Sometimes, they can swing a game with their energy, heart, hard work, hard nose play, etc
I still think Geoffrion could be a 3rd liner though if we can get him back on track in the Hammer.
I believe this is a great trade for both teams. Gill gives Nashville that shutdown penalty kill defenseman. Gill is a leader.
Montreal gets Blake Geoffrion, 6'2" 210lbs, 11points in 42 nhl games. another BIG body who can play in the DIRTY areas. Don't get me wrong, he is not a top 6 player. He's a bottom 6 and will be a fan favorite. Think Travis Moen Jr. I'm looking forward to seeing Geoffrion with Eller on #3 shutdown line. Both have size, speed and position well.
Robert Slaney is another big winger who is a bottom 6. I don't expect him to be an NHL player. He could be a shutdown guy think Mathieu Darche but better.
2nd round pick? Wow we got alot for Gill. We have 1st, 3x2nd round picks. Our 1st round pick is guarantee top 10. What if we package our 1st, and 2x2nd round picks to move up to #1 overall? Columbus doesn't want to take another Russian and the top 2 projected players drafted are Russians. Columbus might take Ryan Murray and need to move down. We LACK an explosive offensive player. We take Nail Yakupov, Columbus also get two extra 2nd round picks.
Guys stop under valuing Gill. We got a strong return on him, yes. But this Gill is the second biggest reason habs have the best PK unit in the league. Hes fairly cheap. Hes a leader. Hes a Stanley Cup winner. Hes a role player (IMO role players are the most important thing in PO's after a goalie). And hes humble.
I hate him during the regular season. Love him in the POs.
Marc Antoine Godin @MAGodin
David Poile: "Il n'y a pas beaucoup de joueurs sur le marché et il fallait être prêt à payer le gros prix pour faire une transaction.''
For the non-french...Poile says there are not a lot of players on the market and you have to pay a big price to make a trade.
We are going to get something better than expected for Campoli, watch.
@RSlaney67
My twitter followers are just skyrocketing! I love Montreal already! #habsnation
@GMolsonCHC
Merci pour tout Hal et bonne chance!
@Real_ESPNLeBrun
I've been hard on Gauthier but this was a good deal for Montreal. Good haul of assets for rental player. Preds with a smart pickup, too
I don't know why people think we'd get nothing. Gill is incredibly valuable and he's a beast in the playoffs
Exactly, Gill may not be the most talented but his intagibles are pretty great. he brings great PK, leadership, and he calms down younger defensemen. There is more to the game than just the numbers fans see. He was worth a 2nd rounder easily but Gauthier did good in getting a player as well. Looks like players will be in demand this year. Makes me wonder if a team would be desperate enough to give up a first rounder for Moen.
Blake has been surpassed by numerous players in the Preds depth charts and he is even struggling in the A now so I see this as a great PR move by the team bringing in a very recognizable name but I don't see him being much more than a 4th liner at best. As per many Preds fans the 2nd round pick was the biggest asset they gave up in this deal.
The second is the big prize, IMO, if Timmons can make one of his stellar 2nd round picks with it, but I have to say I'm happy with the Geoffrion part of this deal too. Not so much because I expect huge things from him or because he's a hometown kid (not literally, but in so many symbolic ways). What I like about the Geoffriion deal is the kind of player is- big, with heart. We don't just need these qualities in the NHL, we need them in the AHL too, especially next year with all the rookies. With his pedigree, of course it will be great if he can stick in Montreal (and contribute positively) but even if spends most of next year in Hamilton he can be an important asset to the org there. We have to bring size, heart and grit into whole org. Plus we'd keep a 5th round pick. In that way the conditional pick is good. If he doesn't deserve to play, there's an incentive to send him down. Course given his name he might make it on the roster to help please fans. He wouldn't be the first. Hopefully the 5th round pick is reason enough to keep him down if his contribution in the NHL is worth less than the pick.
Wow, so we got good leadership, a great penalty killer, an important part of our playoff run, a mentor for Subban early in his career and a great return at the deadline. Gill might be our best FA pickup over the past few years.
very good post. agree with all of it. surprised at the 2nd rd. pick, but let's roll with it. good luck Hal. maybe Weber and Suter's presence will elevate his game?
Last edited by whaleoil: 02-17-2012 at 02:42 PM.
Reason: sp.
I bet Campoli will get moved too. He's still an NHL defenseman and that has value at the deadline. Not Gill value but you can at least get a pick for a guy you don't want anymore.
The real question is whether there is a buyer for Kaberle out there. As they are saying, not a lot of defenseman on the market right now.
I was not sure I was going to see this ever….but this has a real possibility of being a trade that is unanimous in Habsland. Thanks Gauthier. I’m crying a little.
Honestly won't be surprised if we can a 3rd for Campoli, he has been terrible but the demand for veteran defenseman is going to be ridiculous and there isn't much available.
Geoffrion has played 65 games in the AHL and 42 games in the NHL.
He has JUST started his professional career. I understand that right now, he's not looking that great, but considering he's spent most of his time in the NCAA, I don't think it's too farfetched to say that he still has time to develop.
I'm not expecting much from the guy, but who's to say he can't be a 20-20 player in the near future? I'm keeping an open mind until I've seen more of him.
Also, in his rookie AHL season, he scored 37 points in 45 games. That's not bad at all. The offensive potential is there imo.
