Ellipsis: July 3rd
Lots of happenings have happened in the NHL, but rather than collect their rapid fire thoughts in order to turn them into a well thought out, highly researched column, Sean and Zach decided to just exchange thoughts with one another and then post them here in the first ever Ellipsis Exchange. It works like the late-season introduced Ellipsis articles, but this time it’s two people writing it. Make sense? Even if it doesn’t…
Let me just get this Ellipsis Exchange (TM) going from downtown Toronto, where – on the day Andrew Raycroft joins elite Italian hockey-squad Milano Rossoblu – I like to remind folks that the Leafs dealt him for Tuka Rask…
Shane Doan has announced that he wants to wait until the Coyotes ownership situation is resolved before signing with anyone. The 15-year vet has certainly earned that right to do so, but you have to wonder how many teams will still have $4-5 million to spend come July 10th or so…A lot of folks thought that the five-year/$26.25 million contract that Dennis Wideman signed with Calgary would cause the market for free-agent defensemen to absolutely blow-up. The six-year/$27.6 million contract that Jason Garrison signed with Vancouver, however, looks like an absolute steal by comparison. It remains to be seen how Garrison produces without Brian Campbell setting him up, but he should fit in perfectly with the Canucks’ well-oiled machine…
Speaking of the Canucks, once The Luongo Situation is dealt with, I’m betting Vancouver becomes an odds-on-favourite to win the Cup next season with Schneider between the pipes…
It’s interesting to me how some Habs fans out there forget that there are 29 other teams in the NHL competing for players’ services. These same people also seem to forget that maybe a last place team isn’t necessarily the preferred destination for UFAs; some pots need some sweetening. Markets drive prices. Would it have been nice to get Prust for cheaper and for less years? Obviously. But I’m betting that wasn’t an option. Would you rather have nothing; nothing at all? We need players. We need to pay them. Sometimes we need to pay them more than other teams would have…
No team appeared more directionless in the first few days of free agency than the Dallas Stars. After four straight playoff-less seasons, Dallas appeared to kick-start the rebuilding process by shipping Mike Ribiero to the Washington Capitals on the first night of the NHL Draft. Oddly enough, however, the Stars followed that move by signing the 40-year old Ray Whitney and trading for Derek Roy’s substantial cap hit. Joe Nieuwendyk seems like a bright guy but it’s hard to get too excited a franchise being seemingly pulled in opposite directions…I’m not sure how to feel about the Justin Schultz soap-opera. On the one hand, nearly everyone in the know seems to agree that the former Wisconsin Badger is a blueline stud-in-the-making. On the other hand, the fact that one of the most highly coveted UFAs was a college free agent who has yet to play a single NHL shift is just downright bizarre. You also have to feel a little icky about the way Schultz stiffed the Anaheim Ducks, but the signing is a nice (and perfectly legal) coup for the Oilers…
Now that we are on the “it’s perfectly legal” theme, why the hell does no one ever put out on offer sheet for an RFA? Is everyone afraid of pissing off Brian Burke? Isn’t he always angry anyways? I doubt it would make much of a difference, since he probably already hates you. It’s legal and it could benefit your team. And yet, it is frowned upon to the point of being sacrilege around the league. GMs should operate more like Mafia bosses, i.e. don’t take it personally, it’s just business…
The Tom Cruise/Katie Holmes divorce hit me pretty hard. I’m still trying to shake off the shock and I don’t think I’m alone on that front either because Jay Feaster is also acting like his whole world is out of whack. Or maybe he was one of the 48 people who didn’t know A. Coop was gay…
I don’t think the market will really go into full gear until we see where Jeff Finger decides to play…
As soon as Guillaume Latendresse announced that he was leaving Minnesota to be closer to his son, it was bacially a two-way race between the Habs and the Sens to sign the services of the big winger. Bringing Latendresse back into the fold would have added even more size to the Canadiens line-up but I understand why Bergevin wasn’t willing to deal with the distractons inherent in re-obtaining a former first-round pick. I’ve always been a big fan of Latendresse and, if healthy, he could mesh well with the rest of the Sens forwards…
Anyone complaining that the Habs re-signed Carey Price at a higher per-year cap hit than what Jonathan Quick got from L.A. doesn’t understand how salaries work in the modern-day NHL. Yes the Habs are paying Price roughly $600,000 more per year than the reigning Conn Smyth winner, but you’re always going to have to sacrifice salary for term (or vice-versa). L.A. got Quick at a very cost-effective salary, but they are also locked in for the next 10 years. Montreal had to pay slightly-above market for Price but they’re also only on the hook for six seasons. Given how the long-term contracts handed out to Roberto Luongo, Rick DiPietro, Ryan Miller and Ilya Bryzgalov have turned out, the decision to limit Price’s term seems smart…
“If the Habs want to be competitive, they need another top six forward,” said everyone. True dat. True dat. But let’s all agree that the last place Canadiens will not evolve into the Stanley Cup winning Canadiens by next season. It has been pointed out here on The Montreal Bias that next year’s UFA class is much stronger than this year’s. Add to that the fact that the Habs have some decent prospects who are more likely going to be on the team a couple seasons down the road. Based on those factors, I vote we all stop screaming this “top six forward” thing like it’s a must right now. It isn’t. It’d be real nice, for sure. But a must it is not. Not based on what Bergevin likely has planned for the big picture. I’d rather see slow and steady versus the patch job that Dallas or Calgary are doing right now. That’s how you return to being a member of the 11th, 10th, 9th, 8th, and 7th place Annual Fight Club. Didn’t we all say we were done with that? A top six of Cole, Desharnais, Pacioretty, Gionta, Plekanec and – gulp – Bourque isn’t necessarily great, or even good, but maybe it’ll have to do for now…
Bergevin said Gomez is still a part of the team and that he won’t buy him out. That’s a good comment kids! Buying him out would be the dumbest thing you could do. I’m sick of explaining it. So I won’t. If you don’t understand, you have Google. MB also said he still believes in Bourque. Also a good comment! Even if he doesn’t actually believe in Rene, saying so wouldn’t exactly increase his chances of dealing him…
As the great Brian Wilde tweeted, I’d be a lot more confident about this season if Mike Cammalleri was still in the fold…Jaromir Jagr was rumoured to headed to Montreal to be that missing piece on the top two lines but Bergevin apparently said thanks-but-no-thanks once the asking price got into the $4 million range. Credit the GM for sticking to his guns, I suppose, but Jagr would have been a nice complementary winger and, if nothing else, a valuable trade piece at the deadline. There really is no such thing as a bad one-year-contract and the Habs might regret not bringing in a little more firepower…
What the hell is wrong with Jack Todd? I mean for real: drugstore cowboy outfit, Halak-love? If you still believe in Halak over Price, than there is no hope for you. Go try to find a sport to watch that you understand, because hockey is beyond your grasp…
until next time…
- Sean O’Neill & Zach Vanasse host our podcast. It is called The Two-Four. One of them has a beard.
