The reason I back Huet is because at least with him there is something to base my opinion off. With Aebischer it's all speculation. Huet had a great season and a good playoffs with us, that is a fact. Aebischer is more talent is not a fact, that's an opinion (right or wrong). Trading Aebischer IMO would be a better more for the future than paying him to play here.
Look at Aebi's career stats and you'll realize that he's a very good goalie. He's my pick until Price is ready.
I'm still of the opinion that Luongo is going to end up in Montreal next season or next offseason. I believe Gainey will do whatever it takes to get him here.
I believe that, having just rid himself of an albatross of a contract on a woefully underperforming superstar goaltender, Gainey will completely avoid Luongo. If Huet can replicate his performance next season, we'll have a goaltender who can put up comparable numbers at a fraction of the price. If Huet cools off, we've still got a perfectly capable 1a/1b tandem with Aebischer.
I get the sense from Luongo that he'd be very willing to exploit his would-be status as the next great Quebecois Canadiens goaltender to wrestle a very very pricey contract out of Gainey. I don't think it would be wise to jump right back into a situation where the goaltender will overshadow the team. Let Luongo stay in Florida.
First of all, letting Huet walk is a ridiculously bad idea. He goes away, we're left with Aebischer at $1.9 million or more for one year. That puts us in a lose-lose situation, either:
(a) Aebischer proves he's not that good, and we've wasted a high quality asset (shoulda kept Huet and moved Aeby for at least a decent pick) and have horrible goaltending
(b) Aebischer plays great, becomes a UFA at the end of the season, asks for gigantic money, and ends up signing somewhere else, meaning we've lost two very good goalies in just over a year for absolutely nothing.
Sign Huet. Keep Aeby or trade Aeby, that's up to Bob. But start by signing Huet. People forget that this wasn't his first year, he also did really well with the Kings. Apparently some are too focused on the hypothetical situation of Huet sucking, when there's no evidence on earth that that will happen.
I like the point you bring and they are very good. ( initial post ). Now i feel better with Huet or even Aebischer cause i like your argument about the end of contract of luongo and the one year deal of aebischer. I also think Huet is not perfect technicaly but hell.. he stop the puck.
I think either way, we will end up good. Which have the most risk? Huet to slump and not live up to his contract or not to have good goaltending from aebischer and not find a good UFA goalie on the market ?
Both seem a little bit risky but not that much. My mind is not set yet but my initial idea was to sign huet.
It's been a week now since the team got eliminated and we have had oh so many threads and discussions on next year. The one thing that sticks out at me is the overly eager desire by many to deal Aebischer AFTER we sign Huet. I may be in the minority here but I feel that we should let Huet walk and go with Abby for next season.
The upside with DA is far greater than whatever favourable contract arrangement we could get into with Huet. Here is my case.
1) First off, DA is more proven and talented than Huet. I like Huet the person a lot, but after watching the athleticism of guys like Miller, Brodeur, and Ward in the second round, I just can't see how Huet can ever be successful over the long term. His flawed technique and lack of skill for the position makes him prone to goofy goals in a seven game series. He will be picked apart far easier by the opponent than someone with better technique.
Hasek destroyed that above argument.
Now answering the question...
I would like us to sign Huet to a new contract. Then we have the option to trade either Aebischer or Huet.
I would rather get something in return, but most importantly, I would like us to have a say as to where he goes.
Among UFA, Huet is the least established goalie, but with the best RECENT record. That probably means, he will be more affordable.
I would hate to help Toronto or Tamba Bay to make the playoffs against us, without getting anything in return.
Let them fight with other teams for the few UFAs goalies that are there.
Or, if we are to help them... let them help us back by getting a player in a trade.
So overall, I don't toss the option of playing Aebischer rather than Huet, but I still want to sign Huet.
Last edited by Pere Noel: 05-10-2006 at 10:46 PM.
Reason: wrong word
Could we throw stats out for just a sec and evaluate the way both goalies played.
Huet was spectacular this year. He was great in the playoffs. Did he let in some softies? Yes. Guess what...ALL goalies let in softies. A goalie with the name of Patrick Roy let in softies throughout his career.
Huet is technically sound. He is "quiet" in nets. He makes difficult saves look routine because of positioning. He has a calming effect on the team. The team has tremendous confidence in him, and do not underestimate this. Huet gets into trouble when he gets tired, thus in my opinion the need for a goalie that can play 30 games as his back-up. He also, at times, is slow to move laterally. I was concerned with how he would handle playoff pressure in montreal, but to me, he passed that test. (even with a small sample size of 6 games). Plus, he wants to play in montreal.
Abs played improved as he got more comfortable in montreal. He is "quick" in the nets, quicker than Huet, specifically laterally. But, he is not a "quiet" goalie in nets and this bothers me. He seemed to overcommit to the shooter and at times got himself too out of position. And this results in him scampering back into position. With Abs, I felt every shot would either go in, or the rebound would because he would get himself out of position. He also seemed unorthodox when catching shots.
If it were me, I would re-sign Huet, at fair market value, and keep Abs (unless I got blown away with an offer) . With the goalies on the market (free agents or to be traded like Nabakov) this summer, I think it is best to trade him heading into the trade deadline. The fact that he is UFA next season may increase his trade value because contending teams won't have to commit $$ beyond 2006-07 and pay little for this season (deadline to end of season)
You want to manage assets by giving a goalie a long term deal for unspecified money knowing full well that he isn't the goalie to take us to a Cup.
And then what happens when you are on the cusp of a Stanley Cup knowing you need a better goalie, but you are tied down to Huet on a long term deal?
You have basically shot yourself in the foot. In a cap world, the window of opportunity is small, real small. Foresight will count for a lot more than it used to.
First of all you are jumping to conclusions. You have no idea what Huet expects for a contract. Is $2 million too much... because that is approximately what the salary of the average NHLer would be if the cap was $44 million.
Secondly, Huet won a lot of games for us down the stretch and played well enough to win the series against Carolina. It was the offense that let us down.
So in your world, you would let Huet walk away for nothing... go to another team without any compensation. He was one of the top goaltenders in the league because he did the little things well... without flash.
You talk about Giguere as a superior goaltender. Kelly Hrudey dismisses him as being one of the most unathletic goaltenders in the league and I would have to agree. Why in the world would you want to go after Giguere when we already have someone better.
This proposal is based on poor talent analysis and even poorer asset management. Two thumbs down!!
Keeping Aebischer for 2 more years would limit the Habs' chances of advancing in the playoffs because there are better goaltenders out there and the team isn't strong enough to compensate for it. Pierre Lacroix realized that Colorado had little chance of success in the playoffs with Aebischer, so he gambled on an injured, messed-up, overpaid Théodore. Isn't there a message in this?
yeah and it reads loud and clear:theo got his team to the 2nd round.end of story!!!
I see the best thing for montreal to do is sign huet(the guy that gave us a decent season instead of a disaster that theo left us).
And sign abby and keep them both until the trade deadline or when some one beggs for a goalie 20/30 games in....
Start with huet and ride the hot goalie. Benefit from 2 solid starters and have an ace to deal..
Sign huet to a 2 or 3 yr deal and abby a 1yr.
Price will be ready to go when huet's contract is up and the Canadiens should be a powerhouse.
p.s we still have danis and Halak ready to be a backup..
Next year we should do really well, with the influx of a few new rookies and our current ones growing up another yr.
And of course a couple free agents this summer
Huet had out of this world #s in the regular season unlike Steve penney(playoff wonder).
He is a solid technical goaltender. The team is comfortable with him this is very important in hockey(confidence is half the battle).
This summer gainey is a GM with assets and money in his pocket..With a young team ready to become a contender with the right aditions.
Gaineys behind the bench experience gives him first hand knowledge of what he needs. He will do the right thing don't worry
Why do people believe that Huet can or cannot be a goalie that leads the Habs to the Cup in the next 3 years? I'd like to see posts from both camps.
I am in the "can" camp, for the following reasons:
(1) Technically sound goalie - the thing is he can't be overworked in the regular season
(2) His ability to elevate his play in the play-offs in the pressure cooker known as Mtl - he was spectacular against Carolina
(3) Age - I think he is 30. Well, goalies hit their prime later in life. He has a good 5 years ahead of him
(4) Experience - This is twofold. He has NHL experience, but more importantly, he has international experience playing for France. Also, I believe he won some major awards in the Swiss League
(5) Calmness and quiet confidence - He has the temperment (spelling?) to be a successful playoff goalie
(6) Leadership and team confidence - He is considered a leader by the team, but more importantly, the team believes in him. This allows the team to play better in front of him
Huet was awsome during the playoffs and im very confident with him in nets.. Aebisher is an adventure in nets, rebound control is awful and he always commits too soon. Huet gave us a chance to win in every games after Koivu went down with many big saves. The problem is, you dont win many games when you only score one goal a game. This is a no-brainer for me.
Can the Habs win the Cup within the next 3 years with Huet?
1) Some other teams have better goaltenders than Huet (or Aebischer).
2) Some other teams have better forwards and/or Dmen than than the Habs, and some of their best players are under 25.
I look beyond a 3 year time window. In the meantime, maybe Price will come through and the team will be strengthened.
Why do people believe that Huet can or cannot be a goalie that leads the Habs to the Cup in the next 3 years? I'd like to see posts from both camps.
I am in the "can" camp, for the following reasons:
(1) Technically sound goalie - the thing is he can't be overworked in the regular season
(2) His ability to elevate his play in the play-offs in the pressure cooker known as Mtl - he was spectacular against Carolina
(3) Age - I think he is 30. Well, goalies hit their prime later in life. He has a good 5 years ahead of him
(4) Experience - This is twofold. He has NHL experience, but more importantly, he has international experience playing for France. Also, I believe he won some major awards in the Swiss League
(5) Calmness and quiet confidence - He has the temperment (spelling?) to be a successful playoff goalie
(6) Leadership and team confidence - He is considered a leader by the team, but more importantly, the team believes in him. This allows the team to play better in front of him
For me, it all comes down to cost. I personally think that Huet vs. Aebischer for next season is going to be a wash. I think Aebischer if given the chance to be a starter will have a solid above average season in his contract year. Huet, after getting a presumably large contract, will come back down to earth. Teams have begun to figure him out. Huet has good positioning, and his fundamentals are light years ahead of Theodore for example. On the downside, Huet's lateral movement is terrible...and his rebound control and Aebi's rebound control are both bad from what I have seen.
Therefore, if the performance you get from either one is going to be comparable, then I would say go with Aebischer because he's younger, and will come cheaper (again presumably). I just don't see Huet being vastly superior to Aebischer. Maybe if Huet was younger and I thought he was on the cusp of becoming a top flight goaltender I would be a bigger believer...but right now I'm not.
For me, it all comes down to cost. I personally think that Huet vs. Aebischer for next season is going to be a wash. I think Aebischer if given the chance to be a starter will have a solid above average season in his contract year. Huet, after getting a presumably large contract, will come back down to earth. Teams have begun to figure him out. Huet has good positioning, and his fundamentals are light years ahead of Theodore for example. On the downside, Huet's lateral movement is terrible...and his rebound control and Aebi's rebound control are both bad from what I have seen.
Therefore, if the performance you get from either one is going to be comparable, then I would say go with Aebischer because he's younger, and will come cheaper (again presumably). I just don't see Huet being vastly superior to Aebischer. Maybe if Huet was younger and I thought he was on the cusp of becoming a top flight goaltender I would be a bigger believer...but right now I'm not.
Aebischer is 28, Huet 30-31. That's not a big factor in goaltenders. What's more relevant is how they compare with the competition. From what we're seen recently neither is on a par with Miller or Ward, not to speak of the established veterans. I think the Habs should focus on leapfrogging A and H with someone like Price in about 3 years.
Aebischer is 28, Huet 30-31. That's not a big factor in goaltenders. What's more relevant is how they compare with the competition. From what we're seen recently neither is on a par with Miller or Ward, not to speak of the established veterans. I think the Habs should focus on leapfrogging A and H with someone like Price in about 3 years.
That to me means that Huet is in his prime, and Aebischer is about to hit it. I have no doubt in my mind that Aebi will be the better of the 2 one day, however I still think we need to resign Huet, and at the very most have them both compete for the number 1 job. I don't want to see Aebi get traded, cuz I think eventually (as soon as next season) he will be a goaltender who can take you far. But if the return is great, I don't see Gainey passing up.
Should what's happening in the Worlds right now should be important??? What kind of tournament is he having? Sure the Swiss ain't great and don't expect to win anything but what about the goals he gives??? Should the management base themselves on this a little???
This talk of goalies taking their teams to the promised land is like an old wives' tale.
Bryzgalov, Ward, Toskala, Miller et al are all providing their teams with steady work in nets. Each of those guys has stolen at least one game. Huet is a comparable goalie, imo, though Ward and Miller have the pedigree.
Where are Turco, Kipprusoff, Theodore, Giguere and Hasek taking their teams?
What you need at playoff time is a hot goalie, not an expensive one.
I agree completly.
"A playoff goalie" is an overrated statement to me, but I explain it by the fact that we had Roy for so many years, and we witnessed Brodeur a lot since he's in the east and from Quebec. The rest is irrevelent. I agree : you need a hot goalie, no matter who he is. And he has to be in a zone where he can easily forget a bad game. That's it.
So to me, almost any NHL goalie can do that on a given season. Remember Osgood winning the cup? And Hextall being named the Conn Smythe? Same with Giguere. Well two of these goalies have since been consider as chokers, while the third one isn't starting in the playoffs right now. And I'm not mentionning the Irbe's of the world that can help you're team reach the final. Or the Kabibhulin's, etc.
IMHO, I see something like 25-30 goalies that can help their team reach the cup around the league right now, on a given year.
