Samsonov will probably sign with the Wings, but the Habs ARE interested.
I can't really see that...he just doesn't seem like their type of player. He fits into the Habs team style pretty much perfectly. I thought he looked kinda lost a lot of the times with the Oilers because they just didn't have a playing style that fit with him. I think that he'll want to go to a team that will compliment him. I think that the teams right now he could fit in well with would be NJ, Ott, MTL, SJ, Cal & TB. Or maybe he's just waiting to see who will pay him the most for the most time. I think it would be silly of him...but then again if people made sense there wouldn't be any Sens Fans .
Well, you say Koivu is injury prone, but in the last years, since the cancer, he didn't miss a lot of games... ok during the playoff, but we all know the highstick was disgusting... I feel like Koivu's injury-prone statue is kind of... past... know what I mean?
Koivu is my favorite player but the facts are that he has only played 82 games twice in his career - once in 95/96 and once in 02/03 otherwise he gets injured every year. The fact of the matter is that it is pretty much a given that Saku will miss games, based on his past history, due to injury, almost every year and when he does miss games in a season it averages out to about 23 games a season not counting the season he missed due to cancer and not counting full seasons played (obviously). As for your arguement that he hasn't missed much in the last few years - he missed 14 games in 03/04 and 10 games last year, slightly down from his career average . My next question would be how succesful was the team when he was injured? I'm going to guess not very succesful because I don't have those stats in front of me, which is why I'm a little leary about signing Samsonoff but at least we have cheap, young, talented depth at the wing position to fill the void. I may be mistaken but I'm pretty sure that almost everytime that Koivu's injured it has something to do with his knees and if that's the case his injury prone status is not in the past it's more like a reoccuring certainty that varies in duration.
I think that Samsanov would do some damage if given the chanec to play with Kovalev....I think those guys would compliment each other very well and give the Habs a very reliable scoring threat. To somehow get Lang into the mix as well as Sammy would give us a very good top 6 IMO.
Samsonov may only be 5-8 but is almost 200 pounds. He is strong on his skates and and excellent skater. He also has very good offensive skills and is only 27. I know people wanted Shanahan but I'd prefer Samsonov. Is he the same leader as Shanahan...no...not even close. But, really, would Shanahan for 1 year really be useful for the Habs? The Habs are getting better but I still don't think that this season is a year where we will be able to consider the Habs serious contenders. I think that the team needs another year under its belt.
If the Habs can lock up Samsonov for 3 or 4 years at a reasonable price, they are getting a potential 30 goal scorer and the contract would end when he is only 30/31 and when the Habs should be serious contenders for a cup. Plus, I think he would be a good fit on a line with Kovalev.
Size is not the only thing...it's how you play (big or small) that is important. Guys like Mark Recchi, who is small, played a lot bigger than a guy like Patrick Traverse or even Peter Popovic, who were bigger. Plus, in the new NHL, let's not overlook pure skill.
And as for Lang, I am not so enamored with him. He is 35 and I think starting to show signs of age. I just don't think throwing $$ at 35 year olds + is a good idea for the Habs.
Samsonov may only be 5-8 but is almost 200 pounds. He is strong on his skates and and excellent skater. He also has very good offensive skills and is only 27. I know people wanted Shanahan but I'd prefer Samsonov. Is he the same leader as Shanahan...no...not even close. But, really, would Shanahan for 1 year really be useful for the Habs? The Habs are getting better but I still don't think that this season is a year where we will be able to consider the Habs serious contenders. I think that the team needs another year under its belt.
If the Habs can lock up Samsonov for 3 or 4 years at a reasonable price, they are getting a potential 30 goal scorer and the contract would end when he is only 30/31 and when the Habs should be serious contenders for a cup. Plus, I think he would be a good fit on a line with Kovalev.
Size is not the only thing...it's how you play (big or small) that is important. Guys like Mark Recchi, who is small, played a lot bigger than a guy like Patrick Traverse or even Peter Popovic, who were bigger. Plus, in the new NHL, let's not overlook pure skill.
And as for Lang, I am not so enamored with him. He is 35 and I think starting to show signs of age. I just don't think throwing $$ at 35 year olds + is a good idea for the Habs.
Some very good points.
While Samsonov may seem like he brings redundancy to the lineup, he also brings experience. I don't think signing Samsonov would be a total waste. However I'm not convinced Lang still has the wheels to center Kovalev and Samsonov so we would still need to address the 2nd line center position. I don't know if Pleks is ready but I would give Pleks and Ribs the opportunity to win that spot.
With regards to this fascination with size. I totally agree that the Habs need to add some size. But the 2 guys they were targetting seem to have lost their willingness to throw their bodies around. Go check out the Red Wings board and see what they are saying about Shannahan. Arnott, well we all know what baggage he comes with.
Having said, my ceiling on Samsonov would be $3M - $3.5M per year. Maybe something like a 3 year $10M. There are still too many question marks to pay him top line $$$.
What Shanahan brings to the habs during a 1 or 2 yr tenure, aside from the goals of course, is leadership. He has seen it all and it's a great thing for our kids to have someone like him around to teach them and tell them what it takes to win. The guy's a 2-time cup winner, he is EXACTLY what we need in the locker room right now. Kovalev is the only one who has tasted the experience level Shanny has.
What Shanahan brings to the habs during a 1 or 2 yr tenure, aside from the goals of course, is leadership. He has seen it all and it's a great thing for our kids to have someone like him around to teach them and tell them what it takes to win. The guy's a 2-time cup winner, he is EXACTLY what we need in the locker room right now. Kovalev is the only one who has tasted the experience level Shanny has.
No one doubts his leadership. But, are the Habs really close enough this season to pay him $4 mill+? I say no.
Plus, at age 37 (I think), don't you think he will decline sooner than later. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me to see a huge drop in his numbers this season (not saying it will happen, just it wouldn't surprise me)...at his age, the decline may not be gradual.
I don't think it's a matter of wether or not we're planning on a cup run in his contract's term, but players like him bring things that don't show up on the scoresheet. It's like having another coach in the dressing room.
And I think you'll be surprised at how long he can last in the new NHL. Without the clutching and grabbing he can sit his *** next to the net and pot them in easily. He showed it last year, I doubt it'll suddenly decline.
I don't think it's a matter of wether or not we're planning on a cup run in his contract's term, but players like him bring things that don't show up on the scoresheet. It's like having another coach in the dressing room.
And I think you'll be surprised at how long he can last in the new NHL. Without the clutching and grabbing he can sit his *** next to the net and pot them in easily. He showed it last year, I doubt it'll suddenly decline.
You may be 100% right. But, imo, it just was not worth the financial cost. Plus, with Gainey, Carbo, Jarvis and Muller, I don't think this team will lack experience or leadership.
Sign him! Wasn't the most noticible player with the Oilers at the end of the season, but I liked the way he played. He'd definetly be a better pickup than Sykora.
I would prefer to not sign him, we really need to give place for guys like Perezhogin and Kostitsyn, they are now 23 and 21, we need to give them a try on the first 2 lines (well Kost can still wait a little bit). What we really need is a second center, we have enough talented wings (Kovalev, Higgins, Perezhogin, Ryder, Kostitsyn) that are ready and some other talented player that will be ready in 1 to 3 years (Latendresse, Grabovski, S. Kostitsyn and even D'Agostini could make the lineup one day.)
If we sign Samsonov, we will delay the developpment of our young players that will form the core team in a close future.
Ask Aaron Ward. I heard an interview with him once, and he's learned how to curse and speak other derogatory remarks about other players' mothers in several different languages.
.
