First of all, sorry if this has already been posted. Mods, don't hesitate to merge
I was surprised not to see a mention of this with all the "Gaborik trade" speculations, but i believe he is one of the players that would help us climb the ladder to the Cup : Dynamic player, as good a goal scorer as they come, defensively responsible (you have to when you play for Lemaire...), he has all the qualities we need.
Don't let his poor playoff run this year fool you : he had 17 pts in 18 games back in 2003, so it's not like he's constantly choking or whatever...
So, 2 questions :
1- Do you think he would be a good fit here?
2- If so, give us a package that you think would entice Minny to trade him.
IMO, i believe you have to start with Higgins, our first this year, and maybe add two middle/good prospects...i don't know exactly what Minny needs, so i'll try McDonagh (you have to give to get) and maybe Fischer/Halak/Wyman/White. Obviously an established player ala Higgins would have to complete this.
Gaborik would definitely be a good fit as he would be on any team. That being said, Montreal has shown an ability to dish out "team offense" so I'm not really worried about the goal scoring part of the equation. It's not to say that Montreal will once again lead the league in offense, but we should be top 5 easily if player continue to stick to the system. I like Gaborik and his skill set, but I don't think he adds that physical dimension that I believe Montreal needs on the two tops lines. Against Philly, it was obvious that the Habs had a hard time creating traffic in front of the net to create scoring chances. I would be thrilled to get Gaborik, as in the regular season teams don't seem to clamp down as much, so it would really be a treat to see Gabs join the offense party. When it comes to the playoffs, I think he contribution would be at par with any other skilled forwards Montreal has. And that's my problem, I really like Gabs, but he doesn't bring a skill set that unlocks or "liberates" our existing offensive weapons. For the price, I'd rather have player like Conroy, or better yet Roltson, both of which can be had on the free agent market (and when I say had... I obviously mean pursued, but not signed).
But as I said, Gaborik's offensive contribution would definitely be an upgrade over Higgins in the event of a trade.
Gaborik would take most teams to the next level, provided they aren't already there. I'd love to see him in a Canadiens uniform, but I doubt there's any chance he leaves Minnesota.
He's putting up 42 goals and over a PPG on a trap team and while playing on the west coast; that's impressive.
Save the package and put it towards Lecavalier during the season. Gaborik is good but not put us over the top. Also giving up a lot...very little gain
I agree...if we have to come up with a package to get a star player, I would aim for what we really need. If Lecavalier don't sign a new deal with Tampa before Christmas, I think his days overthere will be counted, and they will trade him. If such thing happen, we have to make a huge push!
I'd have to think Gaborik's question marks (durability, dimensionality) so far outweigh what he'd command on the trade market. Treat him like a Hossa, wait till he hits the UFA market, and take the risk on a pure cash hit instead of trading the bigtime assets it would take to get him now.
I always liked Gaborik and would love to see him in a Habs uniform.IMO he would be a great fit on this team,great skater,know's his defence and can finish witch we need big time
I agree...if we have to come up with a package to get a star player, I would aim for what we really need. If Lecavalier don't sign a new deal with Tampa before Christmas, I think his days overthere will be counted, and they will trade him. If such thing happen, we have to make a huge push!
I agree. I would like to see a guy like Gaborik or Hossa or Havlat(but too much injuried) in a Habs uniform, but I would like to see a guy with a another kind of skills that what we already have. These guy will help our team a lot and they could become one of our top-2 or 3 players in a second. But I don't think get similar players help that much, for the cost. We need guys with differents style of players to get a good team. See Malkin, with Malone and Sykora... Or Datsiuk with Zetterberg and Holmstrom... We need guys who play well without the puck on offensive zone, who go to the net, etc. Gaborik could help, but less than an Erik Cole type or Jeremy Roenick.
Gabs would be great, but I doubt I'd be happy with giving up what it would take to acquire him. Much like Hossa at the deadline; I wanted him, but didn't want to give up Higgins + 1st + more to get him. So it really depends on the price, but I would think that for a guy like Gaborik, some team will be willing to pony up in a big way.
As much as Gaborik would bring to the team, I don't see him being the guy that can elevate the team to the cup. Don't get me wrong, he's a great talent and all, but I just don't see him being the one.
If I were to pick someone, I'd go with Brad Richards (no way he's leaving Dallas), Lecavalier (I am tired of hearing about him in a Habs uni some day though), Rick Nash (no chance of getting him) or Heatley (LOL, no chance either)
I don't remember hearing that about Brashear though...the whole UFA period was such a blur with all the rumours.
No to Gaborik. Sorry but we need a physical presence upfront. He can't take a good Minnesota team to the next level, even after surrounding him with talent. I'd rather go for Vinny.
Great player, and I'd love to see him in Montreal.....
I just think the package he demands is too much....
The thing that made this team very, very good this season was the outstanding depth we had, I don't want to make a significant cut into that by trading a guy like a Chris Higgins, plus an O'Byrne, plus a first and a prospect.... its just too much for a gaborik IMO. If the price comes down you gotta pounce, but at that cost Gaborik is prohibitive. I'd do that type of package for a Vinny, but not Gaborik....
I'd love to have him as he fits our style of play and is a game breaking goal scorer, something we sorely lack. He has insane speed that would complement our players very well.
Gaborik --> Gamebreaking ability with top notch speed and great hands. His injury problems are his groin/hip flexor... He missed a big chunk of games last year because of a major groin injury. Nonetheless, he was able to be fully healthy this season. It's true that he wasn't a factor this year in the playoffs but I remember Theodore robbing him like crazy during the MIN-COL series. I didn't watch enough games involving the Minnesota Wild this year to know if they still use their tight defense first approach to their game but if they still do and Gaborik was still able to score 40G, that's just mind blowing. Next year, he's going to be a pending UFA. Minnesota will probably try to re-sign him this summer. If they're not able to do so, then Risebrough should really think about trading him instead of letting him test the UFA market. Until then, I honestly think he's not getting out of Minnesota...
Although i'd love to have Gaborik in our team, i dont want to give both Kostitsyn to get him (cause that would be the cost). Our key to the next level is to improve our depth; get another top 4 D, get a 3rd line center, Chip as our 4th line center and guys like Lats, S.Kosts and A. Kosts have to take the next step. Im not ready to dismantle the team for one guy when you groom a contender for the next 5 years and being able to sign your own guys.
How many points did he get in the playoffs again??
...I'll pass.
He's got about 1 PPG in 2003 and isnt it what was said about Datsyuk for a long time?
Minny in the playoff played how many games? 7? He's been average in 7 games straight! I wouldnt touch him with a 10 feet pole!
I'd like to get Gaborik. He's one if not the most skilled guy in the league. He's amazing with the puck. He's as good of a goal scorer as the best in the league and stuff. When he's healthy he can be really dominant he's as good as anybody in the league. He can make plays out of no where it's crazy. I remember him in 2006 at the olympics he made some plays i couldnt beleive was possible to make.
There are some questions marks tho. Injury and maybe even contract issues. It seemed like he always had problem signing his contracts and stuff, but as he gets older and find a good agent it'll prolly solve by itself.
For injury it's a tough call he missed alot of games, but it might be fixed by now who knows.
I'd take him anyday that's for sure, but at what price? If it would cost Higgins Top prospect(McDo/Pacioretty) a young player on the team or near to(O'B, Chipchura, Lapierre or Latendresse) and a 2nd tier prospect(Maxwell, White or Subban) or a 1st round pick I pass.
Not many players I would pay that for, but that would prolly be the cost.
I'd rather give our first and a guy like O'Byrne to get the 8th pick overall and pick Mikel Boedker. Same skill set, looks like a really good guy, would cost less player wise and money wise. Plus to me he's one of the guy that coud make the jump from OHL to NHL right away, but not in Montreal obviously as we already have good young players on the top 2 lines so we dont need to rush him, but he could.
As some other said, we dont need to trade the whole team for one guy. We've got good depth which would allow us to make that kind of move, but i dont like to give away a top 6, 2 first round and a guy currently on our 3rd-4th line 3rd pairing. That's alot.
It's tough to tell how much of an impact Gaborik would have on the tema. He's amazing, but is he better then a bunch of good young players? McDonagh and Higgins especially are 2 guys I'm looking to see with the team for a long time and i see them being leaders on the team for a long tie as well and maybe bring the cup back.
Gaborik would take most teams to the next level, provided they aren't already there. I'd love to see him in a Canadiens uniform, but I doubt there's any chance he leaves Minnesota.
He's putting up 42 goals and over a PPG on a trap team and while playing on the west coast; that's impressive.
i think Gaborik could dominate the eastern conference. With our speedy forwards he would fit right in, and would probably welcome the more offensive type of team that we are. That being said, we also need a physical banger up front. Tough call
