The trade deadline and fair thee well to 2012
Well I actually thought Gauthier had begun to do well with his trades. Here we were giving up on old long in the tooth Hal Gill for a second round pick and someone with a decent pedigree like Blake Geoffrion. Gill had shown not much of anything this year and frankly other then finding himself on a Stanley Cup team with the Penguins had really been a big bust in the NHL his whole career.
Well one out of two trades ain't bad if your a gambling man. AK46 has played most of the year in a fog. He has shown only glimpses of his innate hockey skills and offensive capablilities. He has averaged over 20 goals a year in his career. He uses the body more frequently then most Hab forwards. He seemed to show some pride as well when he demanded more ice time to show what he can do. He still has a poor command of english and this may create some communication problems with teammates and coaches However, with his impending UFA status it was clear that unless he signed soon, the Habs should put him up as trade bait and get some prospects in return.
Gauthier laid an egg with this trade. Ak46 was the 10th pick overall in the 2003 draft, he is only 27 and the skills are unmistakable. There will be only one 50 goal scorer in all probability this year in the NHL. Therefore, scoring over 20 goals a years is nothing to sneeze at. Gauthier sneezed at Ak46's talent as he did with Cammalleri, and got I feel the minimum he could have gotten for both players. Looking at the 2003 draft should bring tears to any habs follower. Drafted after AK46 in the first round included Jeff Carter, Dustin Brown, Brent Seabrook, Zach Parise, Ryan Getzlaf, Ryan Kesler, Mike Richards, and Corey Perry eeeeeeeek.
The Predators continued trading and gave up a first round pick for Paul Gaustad. Paul Gaustad? A man who averages 12 goals a year and was a 7th round pick in 2000. Granted he is a big rugged player, but the last I remember the goons of the NHL are normally benched in the playoffs.
I cannot fathom why other NHL GMs did not offer anything better for AK46. I am presupposing that Gauthier did offer him to most teams and this was the best offer. What to make of Campoli and Moen still on the team. I am unsure if there is some rule about trading an injured player. Maybe both these two would not pass the fitness test even though Campoli seems fully recovered from his knee surgery. Why is Weber still around when defencemen seem to be garnering all sorts of attention. Plekanec seemed to be saying through his agent and his play he has had enough of the habs as well.
A few years ago, the Habs seemed to have revamped their image. Previously many players simply refused to play in Quebec. Even French canadian superstars like Lecavalier and Briere looked askance at playing in Montreal and being savagd by the media and by the government tax rate and incompetent coaches. We had signed free agents like Cammalleri and Gionta who were willing to come here. Lately Cole signed with the habs and old draftees like Emelein decided to give us a try. All these players now look at how the likes of AK46, Ryder, Ribeiro, SK74, Grabovski, and Cammalleri were cast aside and remaining players like Gomez have their reputation in tatters and they must utter a phew thank God my instincts were right.
Let's bring back competence svp or we are into a long term dark ages.
Well one out of two trades ain't bad if your a gambling man. AK46 has played most of the year in a fog. He has shown only glimpses of his innate hockey skills and offensive capablilities. He has averaged over 20 goals a year in his career. He uses the body more frequently then most Hab forwards. He seemed to show some pride as well when he demanded more ice time to show what he can do. He still has a poor command of english and this may create some communication problems with teammates and coaches However, with his impending UFA status it was clear that unless he signed soon, the Habs should put him up as trade bait and get some prospects in return.
Gauthier laid an egg with this trade. Ak46 was the 10th pick overall in the 2003 draft, he is only 27 and the skills are unmistakable. There will be only one 50 goal scorer in all probability this year in the NHL. Therefore, scoring over 20 goals a years is nothing to sneeze at. Gauthier sneezed at Ak46's talent as he did with Cammalleri, and got I feel the minimum he could have gotten for both players. Looking at the 2003 draft should bring tears to any habs follower. Drafted after AK46 in the first round included Jeff Carter, Dustin Brown, Brent Seabrook, Zach Parise, Ryan Getzlaf, Ryan Kesler, Mike Richards, and Corey Perry eeeeeeeek.
The Predators continued trading and gave up a first round pick for Paul Gaustad. Paul Gaustad? A man who averages 12 goals a year and was a 7th round pick in 2000. Granted he is a big rugged player, but the last I remember the goons of the NHL are normally benched in the playoffs.
I cannot fathom why other NHL GMs did not offer anything better for AK46. I am presupposing that Gauthier did offer him to most teams and this was the best offer. What to make of Campoli and Moen still on the team. I am unsure if there is some rule about trading an injured player. Maybe both these two would not pass the fitness test even though Campoli seems fully recovered from his knee surgery. Why is Weber still around when defencemen seem to be garnering all sorts of attention. Plekanec seemed to be saying through his agent and his play he has had enough of the habs as well.
A few years ago, the Habs seemed to have revamped their image. Previously many players simply refused to play in Quebec. Even French canadian superstars like Lecavalier and Briere looked askance at playing in Montreal and being savagd by the media and by the government tax rate and incompetent coaches. We had signed free agents like Cammalleri and Gionta who were willing to come here. Lately Cole signed with the habs and old draftees like Emelein decided to give us a try. All these players now look at how the likes of AK46, Ryder, Ribeiro, SK74, Grabovski, and Cammalleri were cast aside and remaining players like Gomez have their reputation in tatters and they must utter a phew thank God my instincts were right.
Let's bring back competence svp or we are into a long term dark ages.
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