The real question is the D pairings - who is going to play with Markov?
Isn't that what Spacek was originally signed for?
I think it will be Gorges to start the season, he's done well with Markov before. Emelin may eventually take the spot if he can perform at the NHL level.
FORWARDS
Mike Cammalleri ($6.000m) / Tomas Plekanec ($5.000m) / Erik Cole ($4.500m)
Max Pacioretty ($1.625m) / Scott Gomez ($7.357m) / Brian Gionta ($5.000m)
Travis Moen ($1.500m) / David Desharnais ($0.850m) / Andrei Kostitsyn ($3.250m)
Mathieu Darche ($0.700m) / Brendan Morrison ($0.725m) / Brad Winchester ($0.700m)
Ryan White ($0.850m) / Lars Eller ($1.270m)
DEFENSEMEN
Andrei Markov ($5.750m) / Alexei Yemelin ($0.984m)
Hal Gill ($2.250m) / P.K. Subban ($0.875m)
Josh Gorges ($2.900m) / Yannick Weber ($0.850m)
Jaroslav Spacek ($3.833m)
GOALTENDERS
Carey Price ($2.750m) / Peter Budaj ($1.150m)
BUYOUTS: Georges Laraque ($0.500m)
CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter)
(these totals are compiled without the bonus cushion)
SALARY CAP: $64,300,000; CAP PAYROLL: $61,170,509; BONUSES: $400,000
CAP SPACE (23-man roster): $3,129,491
I'm pretty happy with the way the roster is set - just bring in Winny for your extra 4th line energy (what if White gets injured or suspended right?) And get Morrison to centre the 4th or even 3rd line until Eller is back - then you'd be free to put DD on the wing like everyone seems to want and not have Ryan White taking faceoffs lol - you'd be surprised how underrated Morrison is and how cheap we could get him - very similar style game to Halpern but with better passing IMO.
The real question is the D pairings - who is going to play with Markov?
Much of Halpern's value lies in his faceoff and shot blocking ability. Morrison is under 50% on draws and to my knowledge is not known to block shots.
I would like to see Stillman here. He plays well with Cole if the need arises and can kill penalties. Proven vet,good in the dressing room. He could be a short term fix,1-2 years, and if we need another dman I would like O'Brien.
Here`s what I would like to see....................................
1) Trade Mtl: Lecavalier and picks Tampa: Spacek, Trotter, Darche and Dumpont.
2) Trade Mtl: P. Cormier Wini: Gomez or deal Gomez to Phoenix or Islander`s.
3) Trade Mtl: R. Suter Nash: Kostitsyn and Weber.
4) Sign Godard if he can play with the Pen`s he can play with the Habs.
5) Sign Artyukhin as fourth line LW and he as enough skill to play 3rd line if needed.
6) Sign Hannan at around $2.5 per for 2 year`s.
7) Trade Mtl: Brown and pick LA: Gorges and Moen
8) Trade Mtl: Clarkson Devils: White
Cammalleri Lecavalier Cole (A number 1 line finally)
Pacioretty Plekanec Gionta ( Excellent second line)
Clarkson Eller Brown ( An awesome 3rd line that can score and work there butts off) Artyukhin Cormier Godard (A very tough line to play against)
Suter Subban ( Excellent pairing)
Markov Emelin (Markov will bring out the best in Emelin, he is a gamer)
Hannan Gill ( Good shut down guys with size)
Diaz, Nash, Carle (All capable of filling in for a few games when needed)
Price (Best young goalie in league if not tyhe best overall goalie)
Budaj (Solid back up for 15 to 18 games)
Can you please FedEx me some of what you are smoking... lol.
You do realize that the GMs in the league do have to abide by a drug policy.
I would like to see Stillman here. He plays well with Cole if the need arises and can kill penalties. Proven vet,good in the dressing room. He could be a short term fix,1-2 years, and if we need another dman I would like O'Brien.
I really like the Stillman idea ... I think he would be valuable to our team based on his experience and his previous work with Cole. I would sign him to a one year contract at 1.5M. He proves great depth, especially with Gomez being a huge question mark (as usual )
I would also trade DD to Ottawa for Chris Neil. Would sign O'Brien.
These would be my lines
Pacioretty - Plek - Gionta
Cammy - Stillman - Cole
Kostitsyn - Gomez - Eller
Neil - White - Moen
Neil has 2 years left in Ottawa.....he's not going anywhere
I say sign Madden for the 4th line C spot (27th in Blocked Shots by Forwards, 50% faceoffs)
Winchester to add some toughness and hitting (25th in hits by Forwards)
and this might be surprising, but I'd bring back Sopel on the cheap, to replace Hamrlik's blocked shots (Hammer had 192 last year/ Sopel had 152)
Paches - Plek - Gionta
Cammy - Gomez - Cole
Stillman - Eller - Kostitsyn
Neil - White - Moen
As for Neil ... we can get him from ottawa ... they were looking to move him last year and they would also be picking up some offensive help and potential with DD. I would take Neil over winchester any day of the week. Neil can actually fight, more of a leader and most importantly can actually play hockey.
So we know Gorges and Spacek(experience at least), can play the right side, can Yemelin?
Gorges has played the right side so often is that now his default, or could he be paired with Subban?
Should we try Yemelin with Markov for comforts sake, if he plays the right side, or should we start him on the bottom pairing with a less capable defensive partner?
Paches - Plek - Gionta
Cammy - Gomez - Cole
Stillman - Eller - Kostitsyn
Neil - White - Moen
As for Neil ... we can get him from ottawa ... they were looking to move him last year and they would also be picking up some offensive help and potential with DD. I would take Neil over winchester any day of the week. Neil can actually fight, more of a leader and most importantly can actually play hockey.
There's no way I'm paying $2 million for a 4th liner. It's bad enough we're paying Kosty $3.25 to play on the 3rd line!
There's no way I'm paying $2 million for a 4th liner. It's bad enough we're paying Kosty $3.25 to play on the 3rd line!
Chris Neil is a rich man's 4th liner ... but he can also play 3rd line. He has more value then just a meat-head enforcer. He can score goals, and plays a defensively strong game. Rather have him a 2M then Moen at 1.5
So we know Gorges and Spacek(experience at least), can play the right side, can Yemelin?
Gorges has played the right side so often is that now his default, or could he be paired with Subban?
Should we try Yemelin with Markov for comforts sake, if he plays the right side, or should we start him on the bottom pairing with a less capable defensive partner?
All important questions imo.
Yemelin can play on both sides, like most Russian d-men. Hopefully Martin won't ask Spacek to play on the right side this season.
3 of our top 6 defenders are Gill, Weber and Yemelin! Why the hell would we sign a worthless kovafloat before going after a solid top 4 like Hannan? You want to see Markov get injured again and our d-corps has Subban and Gorges playing 25minutes a night followed up by Gill and Yemelin?
I guess you guys are itching to miss the playoffs.
Bingo. We're fine up front and in net. But on D, we are desperately short 1 top 4 Dman. Though like I said in my original post, I expect us to find that guy at the deadline for Weber and/or a pick (Kurtis Foster?), and then hopefully just dump spacek giving us:
Markov-????
Gorges-Subban
Gill-Yemelin
Last edited by hogtownhabsfan: 07-12-2011 at 05:04 PM.
Bingo. We're fine up front and in net. But on D, we are desperately short 1 top 4 Dman. Though like I said in my original post, I expect us to find that guy at the deadline for Weber and/or a pick (Kurtis Foster?), and then hopefully just dump spacek giving us:
Markov-????
Gorges-Subban
Gill-Yemelin
Kurtis Foster isn't a top 4 NHL d-man on a playoff team...Weber is already better than him at 22 so that would be a terrible deal.
$5M left once Gorges and White sign, so unless the team is intedning to go after Hannan they can still pick and choose among what's left and get 2 or 3 more players.
1. A depth defenseman, somebody better than Picard in the 6/7 role. I thought Mara was serviceable after being acquired last year, good sensible stay at home type who will play physical and drop the gloves if needed.
2. A proper 4th line C to take PK minutes away from Pleks, would like to not stretch Turtleneck too thin. Drury, Madden maybe. Halpern at <$1M would have actually been pretty sensible here.
3. I'd still like to see one more guy who can score a little. Cory Stillman and Vaclav Prospal are two vet guys who'll get cheap 1 year deals. Both might be 40 point + guys on the 3rd line. Nikolay Zherdev is a big body (6'2", 200) and he's only 26, so maybe you get the 50-point guy from a couple of years ago. Might be worth a gamble.
Paches - Plek - Gionta
Cammy - Gomez - Cole
Stillman - Eller - Kostitsyn
Neil - White - Moen
As for Neil ... we can get him from ottawa ... they were looking to move him last year and they would also be picking up some offensive help and potential with DD. I would take Neil over winchester any day of the week. Neil can actually fight, more of a leader and most importantly can actually play hockey.
Switch Stillman for DD, keep Cammy-Plekanec-Cole together and I would love that line-up!
i haven't seen much love for morrison... living out in calgary i saw him play and he is a far more legit third line player than DD is at this point in time, he can still put it together and never seems all that expensive.
$5M left once Gorges and White sign, so unless the team is intedning to go after Hannan they can still pick and choose among what's left and get 2 or 3 more players.
1. A depth defenseman, somebody better than Picard in the 6/7 role. I thought Mara was serviceable after being acquired last year, good sensible stay at home type who will play physical and drop the gloves if needed.
2. A proper 4th line C to take PK minutes away from Pleks, would like to not stretch Turtleneck too thin. Drury, Madden maybe. Halpern at <$1M would have actually been pretty sensible here.
3. I'd still like to see one more guy who can score a little. Cory Stillman and Vaclav Prospal are two vet guys who'll get cheap 1 year deals. Both might be 40 point + guys on the 3rd line. Nikolay Zherdev is a big body (6'2", 200) and he's only 26, so maybe you get the 50-point guy from a couple of years ago. Might be worth a gamble.
Indeed, I try to figure how we could start the season with this D core and I just cant... I would try to sign Hannan or McCabe for 1 year even if we would have to overpay big time..
- trade Spacek for whatever we can get
- sign Brendan Morrison to a 1-year deal
- sign Hannan to a 1-2 year deal (i imagine that he isn't signed yet b/c he's looking for a longer deal, but if he goes un-signed until august he may go for a 1-year deal)
that's a pretty solid/deep lineup imo, and gives Martin a lineup chalked full of players capable/willing to play his style of game (with Kost as the most "borderline" of the group in that department).
Having Morrison/Eller/DD/Kost in the "bottom-6" means we actually have some NHL-level "top-6" depth in case/when injuries hit.
$5M left once Gorges and White sign, so unless the team is intedning to go after Hannan they can still pick and choose among what's left and get 2 or 3 more players.
1. A depth defenseman, somebody better than Picard in the 6/7 role. I thought Mara was serviceable after being acquired last year, good sensible stay at home type who will play physical and drop the gloves if needed.
2. A proper 4th line C to take PK minutes away from Pleks, would like to not stretch Turtleneck too thin. Drury, Madden maybe. Halpern at <$1M would have actually been pretty sensible here.
3. I'd still like to see one more guy who can score a little. Cory Stillman and Vaclav Prospal are two vet guys who'll get cheap 1 year deals. Both might be 40 point + guys on the 3rd line. Nikolay Zherdev is a big body (6'2", 200) and he's only 26, so maybe you get the 50-point guy from a couple of years ago. Might be worth a gamble.
Can't imagine those three would combine for much more than $4M so there's still some wiggle room for an acquisition later on.
Zherdev? Ughhhhh
Too much scoring on these three lines. I mean, there are only so many guys that can play on the PP and so much quality ice time that can be handed out. When you have 3 scoring lines like that you end up having a bunch of guys who disappoint offensively. Gionta, Cammalleri, Plekanec, Gomez and Cole likely get the quality ice time. AK, DD, Eller and Zherdev (were is he btw?) are on the outside looking in, and thats just too many players...
Its better to give a shot at Eller, DD and Kostitsyn making the third line. Its offensive enough and at least Eller is strong defensively. Kostitsyn can hit and Desharnais is positionally sound and responsible (his physical weakness is compensated by Eller and Kostitsyn being strong dudes)
Kostitsyn and Cole can be flipped depending on how they do. Same with Gomez and one of Eller or Desharnais if Gomez can't get his head out of his ass and/or one of the two kids break out. I think our top9 is good as it is, we have two guys that could hit 70pt and the rest can all get 40-50pt. Its pretty deep imho! Palushaj can be called up whenever someone is injured (we know its bound to happen)
Drury can be a good cheap option if he can stay healthy. I agree there is a missing piece on the 4th line. It could be Engqvist if he gets much better this summer!
Moen-Engqvist-White could be a strong line. Moen and White are hard to play against and sparkplugs. Engqvist, while not as physical as the other two, is still a big guy and strong defensively. Basically Moen and White run amock hitting and creating chaos while Engqvist makes sure we're not getting lit up.
While I pencil Desharnais on the third line as a winger, I think the org might see him as a replacement to Halpern (as a not so big but hard working bottom-sixer with underrated talent level that can move up on the chart with injuries at times. kind of like Metropolit also). In this case we DO need another third liner or hope Palushaj rocks.
Last edited by FlyingKostitsyn: 07-13-2011 at 03:20 AM.
Here`s what I would like to see....................................
1) Trade Mtl: Lecavalier and picks Tampa: Spacek, Trotter, Darche and Dumpont.
2) Trade Mtl: P. Cormier Wini: Gomez or deal Gomez to Phoenix or Islander`s.
3) Trade Mtl: R. Suter Nash: Kostitsyn and Weber.
4) Sign Godard if he can play with the Pen`s he can play with the Habs.
5) Sign Artyukhin as fourth line LW and he as enough skill to play 3rd line if needed.
6) Sign Hannan at around $2.5 per for 2 year`s.
7) Trade Mtl: Brown and pick LA: Gorges and Moen
8) Trade Mtl: Clarkson Devils: White
Cammalleri Lecavalier Cole (A number 1 line finally)
Pacioretty Plekanec Gionta ( Excellent second line)
Clarkson Eller Brown ( An awesome 3rd line that can score and work there butts off) Artyukhin Cormier Godard (A very tough line to play against)
Suter Subban ( Excellent pairing)
Markov Emelin (Markov will bring out the best in Emelin, he is a gamer)
Hannan Gill ( Good shut down guys with size)
Diaz, Nash, Carle (All capable of filling in for a few games when needed)
Price (Best young goalie in league if not tyhe best overall goalie)
Budaj (Solid back up for 15 to 18 games)
Good god whatever you are on my be intense mate because this post is... surreal. Without even touching the unmitigated disaster of trades you consider fair value. In what world is Cole ahead of Brown?
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